CIA Secret Prisons: What Was Done On Our Behalf

Larry Cox, Executive Director of Amnesty International, USA, in a letter to the New Yorker (Sept. 17):

The interrogation methods within these prisons were carefully designed to cause immeasurable
suffering, violating the Geneva Conventions and a battery of human-rights
standards. Whatever confessions they resulted in should not, and likely will
not, stand in a court of law. The abuses...are shocking, but what is unknown is
how long it will take all of us to demand that Congress and the Administration
deliver the United States back to the ranks of nations seeking to uphold human
rights rather than violate them.

When indeed, will we cease being "Good Americans," and demand that this country return to the standards of decency that we have always claimed to represent as a nation?

PHOTO: Sunset over the Atlantic Ocean...a Fall phenomenon.

Using Torture Is Always Wrong

Tomorrow Dan and I will be attending the 5th Annual Golden Wagon Film Festival in Ocean Beach, a community about an hour and a half walk to the West of Cherry Grove. You can read about the festival here. We'll make a day of it, enjoying the films then having dinner in "OB."

Last night we had our delayed special 24th anniversary dinner at Le Soir, a fine French restaurant in Bayport, NY, which is on Long Island. Our good friend Ed Mallon accompanied us, and it was a most festive and enjoyable evening. The food is really great. You can read about the restaurant here.

I had a spirited discussion with Ed over dinner about, of all things, using torture against terrorists, and the Geneva Conventions. Ed feels that all bets are off when dealing with terrorists, and that the Geneva Conventions should be "changed." My position is that the terrorists only win if we sink to their level and use their tactics, including torture. I think we should abide by the Geneva Conventions, not change or ignore them. Our flouting of the Conventions and International Law are a large part of the reason that America has lost respect worldwide. 9-11 was an unspeakable horror, but it should not be used as a justification for torture, or for the wholesale gutting of our constitution, as has been done by the current administration.

Jim