This Week In The News
This week, the US. government dismissed charges against Mohammed al Qhatini, the so called 20th hijacker, who was detained at Guantanomo Bay. The dismissal came on the heels of an admission by Pentagon official Susan Crawford that al Qhatini had been tortured repeatedly at Gitmo and that any information he provided was unreliable. Asked about the impact of her concession that the "enhanced interrogation techniques" used at the US prision amounted to torture, Crawford deferred saying that she was too busy preparing for the change over in Administrations to answer questions: "we were all asked to submit a list of ways the President restored dignity to the White House, so I am working on that now."
This week, President Bush delivered a prime time farewell address to the nation as part of his legacy building camapign. Asked how his efforts to define his Presidency are proceeding, the President candidly offered. "Tough row to hoe. Really I am trying to do two things. First I have to convince people that my various lapses in judgment were really 'making the tough decisions.' Next, I have to convince people that some actions that barely meet minimum expectations for a President are actually heroic successes. Always tough to lower the bar. Lastly, I gotta keep sayin' I kept people safe after 9/11 even though there is no evidence anyone tried to attack us. I am not worried though. There is always a chance that someday, a sequence of random and unforeseeable events will somehow make me look good. Kind of banking on that actually...."
This week a Vatican spokesman condemned the Isreali invasion of the Gaza Strip, stating that Gaza resembled a "concentration camp." The Pope followed up those remarks with a statement that: ''Once again I would repeat that military options are no solution and that violence, wherever it comes from and whatever form it takes, must be firmly condemned.'' Curious about how American Catholics would react to the Vatican's stand , TWN sought out Jeff Holloway, a prishoner at St. Agnes of the Sweetest Pain and Suffering in New Hempstead NY. According to Jeff, " Basically its a non issue for me. I mean, is anyone having sex - no; is anyone having an abortion -no; is anyone gay -no; is anyone trying to mess with some stem cells-no. So really, I do not see how its a Catholic issue. I mean, war happens. What are we supposed to do, go around saying 'stop killing people...?'"
This week, Barak Obama indicated that he would likely not puruse any investigation or prosceution of former US officials for crimes related to torture, illegal wiretaps, war profiteering or the selling of the Iraq invasion. Obama emphasized that he was "focused on the future." This was good news to at least one resident of the Upper East side in Manhattan. Contacted at his penthouse home, where he is serving under house arrest, disgraced investor Bernie Madoff said, ' I need to hire some of the Obama people for my defense team. That's precisely the message I need. Why focus on the past. Don't cry over spilled milk. Nothing we can do now to recover that $30 billion. So let's just put this whole thing behind us and focus on the future. I mean accountability is just so negative... "
This week, President Bush delivered a prime time farewell address to the nation as part of his legacy building camapign. Asked how his efforts to define his Presidency are proceeding, the President candidly offered. "Tough row to hoe. Really I am trying to do two things. First I have to convince people that my various lapses in judgment were really 'making the tough decisions.' Next, I have to convince people that some actions that barely meet minimum expectations for a President are actually heroic successes. Always tough to lower the bar. Lastly, I gotta keep sayin' I kept people safe after 9/11 even though there is no evidence anyone tried to attack us. I am not worried though. There is always a chance that someday, a sequence of random and unforeseeable events will somehow make me look good. Kind of banking on that actually...."
This week a Vatican spokesman condemned the Isreali invasion of the Gaza Strip, stating that Gaza resembled a "concentration camp." The Pope followed up those remarks with a statement that: ''Once again I would repeat that military options are no solution and that violence, wherever it comes from and whatever form it takes, must be firmly condemned.'' Curious about how American Catholics would react to the Vatican's stand , TWN sought out Jeff Holloway, a prishoner at St. Agnes of the Sweetest Pain and Suffering in New Hempstead NY. According to Jeff, " Basically its a non issue for me. I mean, is anyone having sex - no; is anyone having an abortion -no; is anyone gay -no; is anyone trying to mess with some stem cells-no. So really, I do not see how its a Catholic issue. I mean, war happens. What are we supposed to do, go around saying 'stop killing people...?'"
This week, Barak Obama indicated that he would likely not puruse any investigation or prosceution of former US officials for crimes related to torture, illegal wiretaps, war profiteering or the selling of the Iraq invasion. Obama emphasized that he was "focused on the future." This was good news to at least one resident of the Upper East side in Manhattan. Contacted at his penthouse home, where he is serving under house arrest, disgraced investor Bernie Madoff said, ' I need to hire some of the Obama people for my defense team. That's precisely the message I need. Why focus on the past. Don't cry over spilled milk. Nothing we can do now to recover that $30 billion. So let's just put this whole thing behind us and focus on the future. I mean accountability is just so negative... "
posted by Jack Reed at 3:52 PM
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