jimstaro's blog

AIR DATE: May 25, 2010
In Cambodia, Verdict Nears in Khmer Rouge Genocide Trial

Muntadhar Al-Zaidi from Beirut: I expected to be killed the day I threw my shoes at Bush

The man that "shoed" Bush Pt.2

While the Chilcott Iraq War Inquiry was mostly about what was going on in Britain at the time of the lead up and into the Iraq War and Occupation there were many points made, early on especially, as to what was happening in the White House as well as between the Counterparts in the Governments and the Military's of both countries. Just below is a clip of what I had posted of testimony coming out of that Inquiry:

What Canada can learn from Britain’s detainee scandal

May 21 2010 Exactly why Canada’s Conservative government is so adamant about hiding information related to Afghan prisoner abuse has long been something of a mystery.

The government stonewalled a public inquiry and did the same to opposition MPs, relenting — slightly — only when it faced the threat of a snap election.

Now, thanks to a British court case looking into the treatment of Britain’s Afghan detainees, we may be getting some clues about Ottawa’s motives.

In London, two high court justices are being asked to determine whether Britain’s policy of transferring captured Afghan prisoners to that country’s secret police defies European human rights law.

The pressures on such a Dam, corruption, power hunger, greed, evil mentality........, can only hold up so long especially in this day and age, unlike prior where it would take decades to surface, the leaks here have been many now the truth needs to be brought to light!

Torture and rendition: Inquiry expected to expose officials who colluded

Disclosures made by press about the way British facilities used during US programme of extraordinary rendition

William Hague. Photograph: Warren Allott/AFP/Getty Images

Who Murdered UK Weapons Inspector Dr David Kelly?

Dr. David Kelly Photo courtesy: RawStory.com

May-19-2010 Christopher King examines the death of UK weapons inspector Dr David Kelly in 2003 and argues that, in the light of fresh analyses of the circumstances of his death, it is vital that the new British government make public Dr Kelly’s post mortem report and other documentation relating to his death.

”We need public access to Dr Kelly’s post mortem report and the documentation relating to his death. The Blair-Brown government’s delaying tactics will not do. Since we have a new government, a new attorney-general and a new home secretary, this is a test of the Cameron-Clegg government’s integrity.”

Snip

'Armadillo' screened in Critics Week sidebar

May 18, 2010 CANNES -- "Armadillo," Janus Metz's Critics Week documentary about Danish soldiers in Afghanistan, has set off a firestorm of political debate in its home country, with the Danish defense minister being called to explain the allegations raised by the film.

In light of what's been going on in this country, the past couple of years especially, and a highly reported so called populist movement, themselves calling the participants 'teabaggers', but really a very loud and even with some media and political ideology backing a minority of the population, I bring you this in the subject title and below.

The bush apparently won't be questioned, probably couldn't find cheney, in his undisclosed location, to sit down next to him while being so. Also may not question other top administration figures. We'll see what this produces, every little tidbit, like many that came out early in the Inquiry, can only help and cause even more questions hopefully finally leading up to this country facing it's own accountabilities.

But breath is not being held nor great expectations of my seeing the guilt cleansed!

UK Iraq inquiry to question officials in US

19 May 2010 Britain's Iraq war inquiry panel arrived in the United States on Tuesday as it continues to investigate mistakes made in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, but officials are not expected to hold talks with former President George W. Bush.

Spanish judge Garzon allowed to work for international court

18/05/2010 The body that oversees Spain's judiciary on Tuesday approved a request by crusading judge Baltasar Garzon, suspended last week for alleged abuse of power, to work for the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

Snip

The same body on Friday suspended Garzon from the bench at the National Court ahead of his trial for abuse of power for opening a probe into the disappearance of tens of thousands of people during Spain's 1936-39 civil war and General Francisco Franco's subsequent right-wing dictatorship. Continued

1,000 Americans Dead

He was an irreverent teenager with a pregnant girlfriend when the idea first crossed his mind: Join the Army, raise a family. She had an abortion, but the idea remained. Patrick S. Fitzgibbon, Saint Paddy to his friends, became Private Fitzgibbon. Three months out of basic training, he went to war.

From his outpost in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan, he complained to his father about shortages of cigarettes, Skittles and Mountain Dew. But he took pride in his work and volunteered for patrols. On Aug. 1, 2009, while on one of those missions, Private Fitzgibbon stepped on a metal plate wired to a bomb buried in the sun-baked earth. The blue sky turned brown with dust. Continued

The Old Guard

Tells of PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury in the Civil War Biography of a Vicksburg and Corinth Veteran

May 16, 2010 -- Henry Clay Robinett, a graduate of Delaware Military College, distinguished himself with valor during two Civil War battles – the defense of “Battery Robinett” during the Battle of Corinth (October 3-4, 1862), where he was wounded with a musket ball that creased his scalp, and later during the siege of Vicksburg. While honorable, Robinett’s service seems little different from that of any other young man, North or South, who went off to war in 1861. At a glance, Robinett, who emerged from the war as a Major, would hardly seem a likely subject for a biography.

British general 'horrified' by Baha Mousa injuries

17 May 2010 Sir John Reith tells inquiry into Iraqi's death that UK troops should never have used harsh interrogation methods

The general in charge of British operations in Iraq has said he was "absolutely horrified" by the number of injuries sustained by Baha Mousa, the Basra hotel worker who died in the custody of British soldiers in September 2003.

General Sir John Reith told the inquiry into Mousa's death: "If I had been aware that hooding for the purposes of interrogation, stress positions, white noise and/or the deprivation of food, water and/or sleep were being used in 2003 I would have ordered this to cease immediately."

It seems strange, though it was him that wanted to investigate Spains past, that all this is happening after he called for investigations into War Crimes during the bush administration. Two factors playing here, or at least one, that's as to Spain and it's past, the other wellll!

Spanish Judge Garzón Suspended over Franco Probe

Quest for oil leaves trail of damage across the globe

Like many of her neighbors, Celina Harpe is angry about the oil pollution at her doorstep. No longer can she eat the silvery fish that dart along the shore near her home. Even the wind that hurries over the water reeks of oil waste.

"I get so mad," she said. "I feel very sad."

Harpe, 70, isn't a casualty of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. She lives in a remote corner of Alberta, Canada, where another oil field that's vital to the United States is damaging one of the world's most important ecosystems: Canada's northern forest. Continued

Socialized Health Care?

Last night, 15 May 2010, ABC News, they're video of is not up yet, had a report on that many should have seen, a report that could have been extremely sad, not only for the family involved but any viewing, but instead was extremely happy and informative for all.

Pittsburgh Mom Determined to Help Son

Woman Finds Resources to Make Medical Care Affordable

Look at those cheeks...look at that face. 7-month old Bennett, a sight that Kelly Frey and her husband feared they might never see. (ABC News)

Lawmakers reach deal in Afghan war row, avert election

Political parties on Friday resolved an impasse over the release of sensitive Afghan war documents that risked triggering a snap election, the New Democrats said.

House Speaker Peter Milliken last month gave the Conservative minority government and opposition parties two more weeks to agree to terms for releasing the top secret documents.

The documents are believed to contain evidence that Canada transferred prisoners to Afghan custody knowing they could be tortured, in violation of Canadian and international law.

And the politicians?, who obviously didn't care, instead welcomed the funding!

Stand-ins Posed as Members of Navy Veterans Association

May 16, 2010 Lt. Cmdr. Bobby Thompson was under the gun.

A newspaper was about to report that his charity, the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, which reported annual income of $22 million and tens of thousands of members, appeared to consist of just one person — him.

Thompson said the group’s members are real and doing good deeds.

To show that, he could draw on what was supposed to be a coast-to-coast network of volunteers: 66,939 association members, 41 state chapters and dozens of officers, spending millions upon millions for gifts to veterans, military men and their families.

Frontline: On air and online May 18, 2010 at 9:00pm (check local listings)

FRONTLINE tells the dark tale of the men of 3rd Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion of the 506th Infantry, and how the war followed them home. It is a story of heroism, grief, vicious combat, depression, drugs, alcohol and brutal murder; an investigation into the Army's mental health services; and a powerful portrait of what multiple tours and post-traumatic stress are doing to a generation of young American soldiers.

Trailer