Month: December 2010

David House, a friend of Bradley Manning, was allowed to visit him at the brig where he is currently imprisoned. He basically confirmed the mistreatment that has been outlined by Glenn Greenwald and others:

— Solitary confinement in a small cell 23 hours a day
— No sleeping allowed from 5am to 11pm (5am wake-up)
— No exercise allowed in cell (allowed to walk in chains one hour a day)
— No personal items in cell

House described a “remarkable decline in his psychological state and physical well-being.” He also said the Pentagon is not telling the truth about his conditions. House recently wrote an article describing the visit.

Watch the interview on MSNBC:

In an example of how quickly many members of the public have become not only comfortable with by comforted by the harsh and seemingly arbitrary treatment received by others at the airport, 56-year-old rape victim Claire Hirschkind was hurled to the ground and dragged across the airport by police yesterday, reassuring others that the TSA was right on top of things.

“It makes me feel a little safer,” noted Emily Protine, one of the other travelers who witnessed the arrest, the consequence of Hirschkind not wanting her breasts felt by TSA agents. “It is for our protection so I have no problems with it,” added another witness, one Gwen Washington.

Hirschkind was apparently singled out because she has a pacemaker implanted in her chest, but objected when TSA officials announced they intended to feel her breasts. When she argued there was no due cause “the police actually pushed me to the floor, handcuffed me,” Hirschkind report, prompting the extreme comfort of fellow would-be passengers Washington and Protine.

The TSA insisted that Hirschkind’s arrest and her treatment were perfectly in keeping with their orders, and an airport spokesman added that she had the option to “not fly” if she objected to having her breasts groped. The TSA added that only about 3 percent of travelers are actually subjected to the treatment. The other 97 just get to feel a little safer because they didn’t get singled out.

This has to be one of the best interviews I have seen with Julian Assange.

Assange was interviewed today by MSNBC’s Cenk Uygur.

Here is a rush transcript. Watch the interview below.

from LobeLog: News and Views Relevant to U.S.-Iran relations for December 22nd, 2010:

Commentary: Jonathan Tobin writes on Commentary’s Contentions blog that the Obama administration has fallen for the Iranian’s ploy of practicing “Fabian diplomacy in which they play upon the West’s belief in negotiations with endless delays.” Tobin says that the administration’s position that the West could accept Iran enriching uranium for peaceful purposes “is an open invitation to Iran for more stalling and pretense,” and “is a signal that Obama and Clinton are willing to appease Ahmadinejad in order to gain his signature on an agreement that will pretend to stop an Iranian nuke but will, in fact, facilitate one.” Tobin, attacking Tony Karon’s recent piece in The National, concludes, “talk of a ‘diplomatic solution’ that ‘could be years in the making’ helps to stifle the calls for action against Iran from sensible Americans that rightly fear the consequences of the mullahs’ gaining possession of a nuclear weapon while giving Ahmadinejad and his confederates all the breathing space they need.”

USA Today: Sarah Palin opines that “it’s time to get tough with Iran” and repeats the hawkish, but misleading, talking points about the WikiLeaks cables showing that Arab leaders want the U.S. to attack Iranian nuclear facilities. “If Iran isn’t stopped from obtaining nuclear weapons, it could trigger a regional nuclear arms race in which these countries would seek their own nuclear weapons to protect themselves,” writes Palin. Stressing the threat to Israel posed by a nuclear Iran, Palin writes, “Iran already possesses missiles that can reach Israel. Once these missiles are armed with nuclear warheads, nothing could stop the mullahs from launching a second Holocaust.” She calls for dramatically tighter sanctions, advocates the threat of military force and states that “I agree with the former British prime minister Tony Blair, who said recently that the West must be willing to use force “if necessary” if that is the only alternative.”

The Washington Post: Jennifer Rubin blogs on the Post’s website that it’s time for the U.S. to give up on the Israeli Palestinian peace process and “do something more productive.” She advises the administration to “fire George Mitchell (whom neither side trusts), work on Palestinian institution-building, and go after the main sponsor of regional terrorism, Iran.” Rubin argues against “linkage,” again (making it explicit with a tweet), writing “the Obama administration was convinced that a peace deal would bring about progress on Iran. This was another false premise.” She repeats the “reverse linkage” argument that “regime change in Iran would help to stem the supply of weapons and support to Hamas and Hezbollah and re-establish the U.S.-Israel relationship as the essential component in a stable, peaceful Middle East.”

from the Ottawa Citizen