Happy New Year 2016

It's that time of the year, and for the 14th time*, I have no choice but to wish you a happy next year, considering what's going to happen in 2015:

January 2015: 

First YouTube video to go viral this year: a female polar bear, surfing topless in a bikini, disturbs a beach volley game in Churchill, Manitoba.

February 2015 : 

North Korea hacks the movie '50 shades of grey': Kim Jong-un wanted a sneak peek at the plans of the new attraction in Universal Studios' adult section.

March 2015: 

A major tsunami completely overwhelms the Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The rest of the world will remain totally unaware of the tragedy until the 2016 Australian Tennis Open.

April 2015: 

The GOP impeaches Barack Obama for mentioning the possibility of enforcing existing gun control laws after 1,715 kids die in school shootings across the States over the last week of March - a mere 0,2% increase compared to the previous year.

May 2015: 

UKIP wins the elections: Scotland leaves the Union, the UK leaves the European Union, David Cameron ends his union with Nick Clegg, the Kingdom's official tabloid becomes The Onion.

June 2015: 

ISIS plants its flag in the Vatican, threatens to behead one cardinal every day if Pope Francis doesn't surrender, but before the terrorists make up their minds to select their first victim, all hostages die of old age.

July 2015: 

Now officially Chinese, Club Med inaugurates its new resorts in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib.

August 2015: 

Shinzo Abe Declaration on August 15th: "I feel deeply sorry that people feel sorry about the lack of apologies from Japan, but I feel even more sorry that our campaign of pacification of Asia during the first half of last century is still perceived as an aggression, and that our heroes who fought to control demographics in occupied nations or to better understand the spread of deadly diseases on human guinea pigs are still considered as war criminals. In order to iron out all misunderstandings in the region, I pledge to destroy all evidence, and to jail for 10 years all whistle blowers."

September 2015: 

As soon as King Bhumibol Adulyadej dies, the nation splits in two: his son Vajiralongkorn will rule over Yellow Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra over Red Thailand, and the only passage in the wall separating East from West Bangkok is called Check Point Chili.

October 2015: 

Because it was morally impossible to let Japan be the only candidate for the Asian seat at the UN Security Council elections, a last minute rival wins by a landslide. China warmly welcomes the newcomer to the institution's inner circle: "North Korea was a far better choice to bring stability and continuity in the region".

November 2015: 

Ebola outbreak in the Kremlin. Officially after Putin kissed, Brezhnev-style, Mugabe on the mouth, unofficially because Vladimir dropped the test tube where he kept the strain he manufactured for Ukraine.

December 2015: 

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Alberto Gonzales, for redrawing the Middle East map on a waterboard.


blogules 2014
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
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* see "Happy New Year 2010" (Jan 2009), "Happy New Year 2011" (Dec 2009), "Happy New Year 2012" (Dec 2010), "Happy New Year 2013" (Dec 2011), "Happy New Year 2014" (Dec 2012), "Happy New Year 2015" (Dec 2013)... and in French: "Bonne Année 2009" (Jan 2008), "Bonne Année 2010" (Dec 2008), "Bonne Année 2011" (Dec 2009), "Bonne Année 2012" (Dec 2010), "Bonne Année 2013" (Dec 2011), "Bonne Année 2014" (Dec 2012), "Bonne Année 2015" (Dec 2013).

2004 inverted

Justice !!! Rupert Murdoch the amoral Kingmaker drowning in his own slime, George W. Bush the amoral Chief Torture Officer about to be indicted by Human Rights Watch...

Of course, neither Murdoch nor Dubya are in jail yet (heck, even Alberto Gonzales is walking free !), but the 'winners' of the 2004 elections have definitely moved closer to the 'losers' category. Note that the GOP joined the said category even before those doomed elections*, torn between classic conservatism and a cocktail of theocons + free market ayatollahs willing to destroy the Republic itself...

Of course, the US of A remain in danger of bankrupcy or worse, of a relapse into moral bankrupcy. Of course, UK politics remain under "Dirty Digger"'s spell, David Cameron prolonging Tony Blair as Murdoch's Prime Puppet.

But at long last, some fingers are being pointed to the right direction (and when I write 'right' I don't necessarily mean it literally).

Now France too has significantly evolved since 2004. But certainly not in the right direction (except maybe literally).

Remember France, that longtime US ally crucified for mentioning the risks that Bush's crusade in Iraq might fuel worldwide terror instead of taming it (yeah, France, that good friend of African and Middle Eastern dictators) ? Remember France, that herald of mutual respect denouncing the clash of civilizations imposture (yeah, France, that place where only sportsmen and sportswomen can succeed if their skin is too dark) ? Remember France, that country where Murdoch's Weapons of Mass Disinformation couldn't strike except for a one shot French edition of the Sun making fun of Chirac, or the infamous 'cheese eating surrender monkey' uttered in an episode of the Simpsons (yeah, the less unsung France, that country where medias consider off limits the dirty secrets of their most respected politicians) ?

Well that France is passed on ! This France is no more ! It has ceased to be ! It's expired and gone to meet its maker ! This is a late France ! It's a stiff ! Bereft of life, it rests in peace ! If you hadn't nailed it to the UN Security Council it would be pushing up the daisies ! Its metabolical processes are of interest only to historians ! It's hopped the twig ! It's shuffled off this mortal coil ! It's run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible ! This is an ex-France !

Over the past few years, Nicolas Sarkozy has been dutifully** following Dubya The Perfect Fundamentalist's to do list :
- undermining the republic's safeguards ? check.
- extending the executive power's sphere against all other powers (legislative, media, justice...) ? check.
- pushing for an end to the separation between the state and religion and palling around with Ratzinger ? check.
- widening all national divides, starting with his own party ? check...

And now, Presidential Elections that have Karl Rove's fingerprints all over them.

Well. As far as Dominique Strauss-Kahn is concerned, Sarko's diggers didn't have to venture too deep into the pigsty : DSK knew perfectly that they were coming at him, but apparently the guy is too sick to control his own behavior...

But for Martine Aubry, an Angela Merkel wannabe and now their main target, here's their story : the socialist mayor of Lille would be a lesbian and an alcoholic (I thought they would save that last one for Jean-Louis Borloo, a center-right contender with a solid reputation in that field), and her husband would be a dangerous radical Islamist.

Of course, just like Bush in 2004, Sarkozy decently cannot win the elections in 2012 : that would be an insult to the Republic and a tragedy for the country, and bring absolute shame on French voters.

Well fool me once...

blogules 2011 (see also in French blogules : "Un Novembre 2004 a l'envers")

* see "GOP - Time to split"
** see "Traître à la nation"

"Restoring Honor" ? Maybe, but not the Glenn Beck way

blogules 2010

Republican Appointed Judges : John Ashcroft "repugnant to the Constitution"

Message to Mrs BUSH, CHENEY, ROVE, RUMSFELD, GONZALES, ADDINGTON, YOO... : Justice is coming, and even Republican appointed judges are eager to set the record straight.

I didn't forget John Ashcroft in the list : the "soaring Eagle" was the main target yesterday. And according to US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, former Attorney General is not only not protected by immunity and thus prosecutable (by Abdullah Kidd or any other victim), but very much likely to be sued since what happened under his watch as chief Destructor Of Justice was "repugnant to the Constitution, and a painful reminder of some of the most ignominious chapters of our national history" :

We are confident that, in light of the experience of the American colonists with the abuses of the British Crown, the Framers of our Constitution would have disapproved of the arrest, detention, and harsh confinement of a United States citizen as a “material witness” under the circumstances, and for the immediate purpose alleged, in al-Kidd’s complaint.
Sadly, however, even now, more than 217 years after the ratification of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, some confidently assert that the government has the power to arrest and detain or restrict American citizens for months on end, in
sometimes primitive conditions, not because there is evidence that they have committed a crime, but merely because the government wishes to investigate them for possible wrongdoing, or to prevent them from having contact with others in the
outside world. We find this to be repugnant to the Constitution, and a painful reminder of some of the most ignominious chapters of our national history.
(AL-KIDD v. ASHCROFT / "ABDULLAH AL-KIDD, Plaintiff-Appellee vs JOHN ASHCROFT, Defendant-Appellant" - ca9.uscourts.gov 20090904)*

This document also tells us about the debate and dissents within the court (see "gotcha!"), but on the Judicial Richter's Scale, this is not exactly what I would call "word mincing".

Even Eric Holder and Barack Obama were less direct. They are politicians, but they don't have to speak for Justice. Here, Justice spoke, and rather loudly : this is not the crime of the century but a crime unseen for at least two centuries !

Aggravating circumstances : the crime was perpetrated by the very people in charge of promoting justice ! "It is only the misuse of the statute, resulting in the detention of a person without probable cause for purposes of criminal investigation, that is repugnant to the Fourth Amendment."

Actually, torture, Abu Ghraib, illegal abductions, and all other terrible abuses are nothing compared to this ultimate "misuse" / abuse of power.

This abuse of power has a name : TYRANNY. And the judges dared pronounce the word clear and lound : "the Fourth Amendment was written and ratified, in part, to deny the government of our then-new nation such an engine of potential tyranny.".**

I'm glad that these self evidences are eventually out in the open.

Coming from "not-GOP-unfriendly" judges, that's even greater news for democracy in the US.

Behold ! Change is coming !


* See also "Ashcroft can be sued over arrests, appeals court rules" (LA Times 20090905)

Memo : Al-Kidd v. Ashcrof claims :

"Al-Kidd asserts three independent claims against Ashcroft:
- First, he alleges that Ashcroft is responsible for a policy or practice under which the FBI and the DOJ sought material witness orders without sufficient evidence that the witness’s testimony was material to another proceeding, or that it was
impracticable to secure the witness’s testimony—in other words, in violation of the express terms of § 3144 itself—and that al-Kidd was arrested as a result of this policy (the § 3144 Claim).
- Second, al-Kidd alleges that Ashcroft designed and implemented a policy under which the FBI and DOJ would arrest individuals who may have met the facial statutory
requirements of § 3144, but with the ulterior and allegedly unconstitutional purpose of investigating or preemptively detaining them, in violation of the Fourth Amendment (the Fourth Amendment Claim).
- Finally, al-Kidd alleges that Ashcroft designed and implemented policies, or was aware of policies and practices that he failed to correct, under which material witnesses were subjected to unreasonably punitive conditions of confinement, in violation of the Fifth Amendment (the Conditions of Confinement Claim).
Ashcroft argues that he is entitled to absolute prosecutorial immunity as to the § 3144 and Fourth Amendment Claims. He concedes that no absolute immunity attaches with respect to the Conditions of Confinement Claim. He also argues that he is entitled to qualified immunity from liability for all three claims.
The complaint also quotes the public statements of a number of DOJ and White House officials implying or stating outright that suspects were being held under material witness warrants as an alternative means of investigative arrest or preventative
detention. In addition to this direct evidence, the complaint cites a number of press reports describing the detention of numerous Muslim individuals under material witness warrants.
The complaint further alleges that the policies designed and promulgated by Ashcroft have caused individuals to be “impermissibly arrested and detained as material witnesses even though there was no reason to believe it would have been impracticable to secure their testimony voluntarily or by subpoena,” in violation of the terms of § 3144."

** maybe as a compensation for their mention of "abuses of the British Crown", the judges summoned Sir William Blackstone, a British jurist who died in 1780 (between the US Independence and the US Constitution) : "To bereave a man of life, or by violence to confiscate his estate, without accusation or trial, would be so gross and notorious an act of despotism, as must at once convey the alarm of tyranny throughout the whole kingdom. But confinement of the person, by secretly hurrying him to gaol, where his sufferings are unknown or forgotten; is a less public, a less striking, and therefore a more dangerous engine of arbitrary government."

CIA to Blackwater : Kill, Baby, Kill

Government outsourcing according to Bush-Cheney ?

. To Halliburton: drill, baby, drill

. To Blackwater: kill, baby, kill

Even if Blackwater didn't succeed in capturing nor killing jihadists*, the contractor managed to kill at least 17 Iraqi civilians in 2007. A small step compared to the hundreds of thousand deaths caused by that illegal invasion, but a giant leap for a private corporation.

So as someone said, Mission: accomplished.

And Magna cum laude according to standards set by then Amerikan rulers, most notably :

. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, a.k.a. The Chief Torture Officer, head of the Destruction of Justice

. Vice President Dick Cheney, a.k.a. The Chairman of the Waterboard, a supervillain with a knack for illegality and infamy.

. President George W. Bush, a.k.a The Fundamentalist in Chief, a stubborn again theocrat under whose rule America ended up one Supreme Justice away from outright fascism.

We don't know yet what CIA's Leon Panetta will come up with next, but expect more public outcries than five years ago when, even as all abuses were perfectly known, Dubya's Weapons of Mass Disinformation earned him a clear mandate from American voters to keep digging.

Eric Holder, this is your time to shine and restore justice in the US.

blogules 2009

* see "C.I.A. Sought Blackwater's Help to Kill Jihadists" (NYT 20090819)

"Insects placed in a confinement box" (welcome on waterboard)

"In releasing these memos, it is our intention to assure those who carrying out their duties relying in good faith upon the legal advice from the Department of Justice that they will not be subject to prosecution".

Some may cringe at this weakness : we want to bring down a system, and the guys who did the waterboarding are as guilty as those who obeyed orders from the IIIrd Reich, so they should be brought to justice as well.

Obama is fighting the good fight, at the root of extremism and fundamentalism, starting from enemies from within.

But Barack Obama is not pointing the finger at anybody : he is showing the direction for Justice. As the head of executive power, his job is not to define what is legal and what is illegal, and certainly not to tell what is good from what is evil (see "True v. False vs Good v. Evil").

Justice will eventually prevail, and the most rotten apples fall by themselves. Not by exposing the dark side but the best side of everyone : it's not about being with us or against us, but about embracing justice or refusing it. Some of the torturers will be jailed, many will walk free. But Justice will have won when the main culprits are behind bars or at least officially condemned : Jay Bybee, John Yoo, David Addington, Alberto Gonzales, Dick Cheney.

Cheney will fall only when his protégés feel that his protection won't save them. Thus his panic as George W. Bush refused to pardon Scooter Libby. Lord Dubya ? He will do what he does best : play dumb. Torture memos have Lobby Dick's fingerprints all over them, but The Fundamentalist in Chief himself grew very prudent following Abu Ghraib "revelations". What, me worry ?

Their torture memos led to such atrocities as "insects placed in a confinement box"* and ironically, that's exactly the image I have of this disgraceful mob.

I can't wait to enjoy the show. A perfect way of celebrating Darwin Bicentennial.

* "Interrogation Memos Detail Harsh Tactics by the C.I.A." (20090416 - New York Times Mark Mazzetti and Scott Shane)

Yoo Got Mail - The Prince's Diary

The USDOJ released on monday confidential OLC memos ¹ confirming what everybody already knew : the Bush administration had rather strange ways of defining such concepts as democracy, freedom, justice, or law. To name a not so happy few.

I'm afraid my title may be perceived as too kind for the infamous psychopath who used to run (and disgrace the very name of) the Office of Legal Counsel at the time when those memos were crafted : John Yoo is neither Niccolò Machiavelli, nor even Karl Rove (at least, The Architect did have some competence, some florentine know-how, and a few neurons to spare).

And John Yoo was not an advisor to "Il Principe" : Lorenzo il Magnifico offered Renaissance to the World. George W. Bush ? A sick Medieval revival.

Indeed, W. seems closer to Girolamo Savonarola than to Lorenzo de' Medici : his glorious "acts of faith" will be remembered as the destructive crimes of a dangerous fundamentalist, the same way "auto de fe" / "auto-da-fé" now echoes Spanish Inquisition delicacies, or bonfires of good books or people.

At least, the Bush Administration did embrace innovation in that field, and not only in the torture section : compared to Yoo's 9 memos, a Library of Alexandria of confidential documents has disappeared in the shredding machine feeding frenzy meant to save Dick Cheney from Justice (see "Justice now").

But change has come to America and guess what ? Justice, the real thing, is back.

Exit Yoo. Exeunt Addington, Ashcroft, Gonzales.

Enter Eric Holder. Enter Dawn Johnsen, and the new OLC boss has a long history of sound statements against the mob that used to rule the nation ².

Other relevent comments ? From Jack Balkin (Yale), who sees in Yoo's memos a "theory of presidential dictatorship". "This was a period of panic, and panic creates an opportunity for patriotic politicians to abuse their power" ³.

I guess "patriotic politicians" abusing their power could pose a problem.

But I know for sure what happens when it's a bunch of "fascist theocons" ⁴.


1 http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/documents/olc-memos.htm
2 "Obama's impressive new OLC chief" (Glenn Greenwald - Salon 20090105)
3 "Bush administration memos on presidential powers stun legal experts" - David G. Savage - LA Times 20090303)
4 see "Universal Declaration of Independence from Fundamentalism" and "Let's Face It They're Fascists" (archives 2004)

Happy new year 2010

Sorry, but I want to forget 2009 :

January - Tel Aviv hawks perfectly used the window of opportunity before Obama's inauguration, igniting a 3rd intifada and an attack from Hezbullah. The Likud is disbanded (too far left) and on February the 10th, Yigal Amir's National Nationalist Party wins in a landslide. All Israelis of Palestinian origin lose their citizenship and their rights to the Geneva Convention but as a compensation, receive a one-way ticket to the Gaza Ghetto. Moderate Jews are considering a secession and by April, medias start talking about a civil war.

February - in order to celebrate Darwin's bicentennary, Sarah Palin burns the Library of Congress and a few science museums to the ground : "Them scientists have been lying to us for too long, and this fake Santa deserves to fry. Burn'em all ! And let's check if they taste like monkeys ! If we descend from the apes, how come I'm dumber than a moose ?"

March - Bernanke is arrested for a massive pizza scheme : he traded all the Federal Reserves with anchovies and pepperoni. China saves the US from bankruptcy but the country has a new currency : the Western Yuan. A Big Mac costs about two redbacks.

April - Gordon Brown choses the 60th anniversary of the Republic of Ireland to become the new King of Scotland. And 20 years after Tiananmen, the Politburo proposes a new deal to the Chinese People : "a slower growth but even less freedom". Wu Jintao is ousted within one day, and Wen Jiabao becomes the new Leader of the Cultual Revolution. By the end of his first 5 year plan, he should become the next Dalai Lama.

May - Alberto Gonzales escapes prison and manages to fly to North Korea where he becomes Honorary Chairman of the Waterboard.

June - Europe votes : 75% abstention and 95% NO. NB: it wasn't even for a referendum but to elect members of the Parliament...

July - No fireworks on the 4th. Need more ammos for Afghanistan, Iraq, Georgia and Estonia.

August - A new Putin blitz : invades Vatican the 5th, becomes Pope the 6th, canonizes Stalin the 7th.

September - Black Thursday the 24th. Quotation suspended for the S&P500. As of today, it's still uncertain whether it will become the SubStandard & Poorer 300 or 200. The latter wording has the favor of people who want to be at least once ahead of the market.

October - The corpse of Francis Bacon, 100, paints a vivid portrait of Hank Paulson screaming on the electric chair.

November - George W. Bush collapses at the end of a gigamass in his honor. The autopsy shows he choked on the Eucharistic bread. Human right activists who wanted him to share Dick Cheney's cell find it hard to swallow.

December - The Nobel Peace Prize goes to Robert Mugabe for his role in the reconciliation between the ANC and COPE. He also gets the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his eradication of AIDS and all other human diseases in Zimbabwe (no more Zimbabwean alive to celebrate at home).

Everybody loves Raymondville, TX

America just redeemed itself*, and Texas seems to follow suit.

I mean literally : a local Grand Jury has indicted, along with Senator Eddie Lucio Jr**, the two symbols of George W. Bush's sick idea of justice.

Cheney and Gonzales Indicted At Last !

This suit has something to do with abuses of prisoners, but neither in Gitmo nor in Abu Ghraib : the crimes were perpetrated in US prisons just a few miles away from the Mexican border, in Willacy County, TX. Today, everybody loves Raymondville.

W.'s Chief Torture Officer is charged for lobbying against investigations into those abuses, and "Lobby Dick" for - what else - conflict of interest : Darth Vader owned shares in the Vanguard Group which itself had something to do with those dark Texas detention centers.

Interesting day for Alberto Gonzales : the Justice Department announced that his lawyer fees would be paid for (up to 24 Grants a month) by taxpayers' money. You know ? Gonzie happens to be sued for imposing political biases in hirings and firings within that very Justice Department... I doubt this exceptional favor was awarded by a "liberal leaning" appointee.

* see "America is a great country"
** KRGV-TV, today's Huff Post "Cheney, Gonzales Indicted By South Texas Grand Jury".

Driving Mister Crazy

Salim Ahmed Hamdan, Osama Bin Laden's Yemeni driver, enjoyed his 15 Wharolian minutes.
Bonus : 7 years in Gitmo Resort, and more to come.

Hamdan has eventually been found guilty of something. Amerika's justice simply could not let this pathetic figure walk away without losing what's left of its own credibility : this nobody symbolically won all previous bouts, including the fabled Hamdan v. Rumsfeld case. For one good reason : this whole mock-up of a judicial framework was proven inconstitutional. And the only way to maintain him in the Guantanamo limbo was to label him "Enemy combatant" (turning his car into a Mobile Weapon of Mass Destruction with SA-7 missiles).

So Hamdan is guilty. For serving Dubya's partner* in his Good vs Evil crusade. For exposing the failures of freedom, justice, and democracy in a country that was supposed to disseminate freedom, justice and democracy**. For masterminding a plot against the cover-ups, lies and forgeries of an Administration that insulted the values of its nation.

So the driver will pay. But the madman who's been driving the USovA down the gutter of infamy shall remain un-prosecuted. In spite of all the recent "revelations" from former White House members who should have blown the whistle a long time ago. Yeah, Dennis Kucinich did mention impeachment but this masquerade was too little too late, and only an expedient for Nancy Pelosi to clinch a minor deal***.

Actually, I can't prove that George W. Bush was a member of al Qaeda but History will probably charge him for "engaging in hostilities against the US", "conspiracy", and "providing support for terrorism".



* see "Universal Declaration of Independence from fundamentalism"
** both Dubya's experts in justice (Harriet E. Miers and Alberto Gonzales) should actually end up in jail, and his record consists of the disastrous handling of the cases of two underbrained misfits (Zacharias Moussaoui pairing with Salim Hamdan) and one former dictator (see "Smokescreened him out - Saddam 1-1 Slobodan - Red blogule to justice in 2006" 20061230).
*** in her own crude words, she even claimed to have saved the POTUS from self-inflicted torture ("We pulled the president's chestnuts out of the fire")

Jane Harman, save our soul

"I look forward to your response."

"Have enhanced techniques been authorized and approved by the President ?"

To this question, and many other relevant ones regarding interrogation techniques used by the Agency, Scott W. Muller, CIA's general counsel, lyrically answered "I think it would be fair to assume that policy as well as legal matters have been addressed within the Executive Branch."

Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), top Dem in the House Intelligence Committee, received no feed back regarding the most crucial issue of the destruction of the infamous videotapes either*. Her recommandation was pretty clear, though : "You discussed the fact that there is videotape of Abu Zubaydah following his capture that will be destroyed after the Inspector General finishes his inquiry. I would urge the Agency to reconsider that plan. Even if the videotape does not constitute an official record that must be preserved under the law, the videotape would be the best proof that the written record is accurate, if such record is called into question in the future. The fact of destruction would reflect badly on the Agency."

Praise Jane Harman for restoring the image of the Democrats and beyond, the whole American people, in front of History.

Let's forget about Muller and even Gonzales. The President must answer by himself. In front of an Impeachment Commitee.

"I look forward to your response."

In very deed.

* Harman fully disclosed her letter to Muller and his answer on her House.gov site. On the destruction of the tapes, see also "Faith, lies and videotapes" (20071207)

Justice now

Alberto R. Gonzales, David S. Addington, Harriet E. Miers, John B. Bellinger III... the simple mention of those names reminds us the way justice has been disgraced under the Bush-Cheney rule (denial of justice, withdrawal from international conventions, promotion of torture, illegal abductions, the Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib messes... you name it).

These four Bush "law" experts discussed together the destruction of the CIA tapes at the core of the scandal the most likely to lead to some form of impeachment in the short term. We know they didn't issue any warning against the destruction, but we don't know if they pushed in favor of it - one can easily guess where their preferences lied.

We do know what John Negroponte, then the head of national security, recommended. He sent a memo to Goss, then the head of the Agency and thus a subordinate, warning against the destruction of the said tapes.

We do know that the CIA tapes have been destroyed.

Don't tell me a small fish turned the wrong button at the wrong time in a matter involving such big whales (nothing personal, Karl*).

Once again, we are not talking about a fling with an intern in the Oval Office but about the cover up of acts of torture condoned by both the President and his VP.

If the American people wants justice, it should demand impeachment right now.

* see "Whale Hunt at the White House" (20070814)

Chief Torture Officer

Impeachment. The situation requires impeachment.

I know neither Dubya nor Lobby Dick are likely to get it on time. But there is a chance their Chief Torture Officer will, as a tribute to such a disgraceful presidency.

The least one could say is Alberto Gonzales acted wrongly in the US at the head of the DOJ, but History is bound to attach two more exotic resorts to his name : Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. Not to mention these Twilight Zones where people disappeared, phantom CIA planes landed, and justice was denied.

If Gonzales is not responsible for everything ("higher" beings were in charge), he clearly provided the theory and was a mastermind for the most revolting insults made by this administration to justice and democracy.

Impeaching Alberto Gonzales would be a small step for the restoration of American values, but a giant leap for mankind.

Red blogule to Wolfie's Personal World Bank

Annus horribilis for neocons (continued) : Paul Wolfowitz, whose World Bank is supposed to give governance lessons, abused his power to raise above the level of decency the pay of his own girlfriend. Alberto Gonzales and Karl Rove may be the next members of the crude crew to fall, the Dems only have a few months to restore America and impeach both Lord Dubya, King of the Banana Republic of the Divided States of Amerika, and his puppeteer Lobby Dick Cheney.
Anyway, History will give its verdict sooner or later, and the Bush years will be forever remembered as years of immorality and disgrace.

Monica Goodling's silence of the lambs - Red blogule to the State of Terror

John M. Dowd is a lawyer. I'm not sure he's doing his best to help his client*, Monica Goodling, the Justice Department’s White House liaison who, following his advice, refuses to testify before the Senate panel about her boss, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.
Because, as we saw before**, Dubya's Chief Torture Officer is being grilled on the removal of US attorneys.
According to Dowd, Goodling is afraid of being treated as a witness in a criminal inquiry.
According to me, she is s..t scared of being treated as yet another disposable White House scapegoat.
She knows what this mob is capable of. She knows the dark side of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And that Monica knows she may leave the place with stains on her dress, but of the bloody kind. Courtesy the President of the United States.

* I don't know who is the actual client there, but I've got an idea about who will pay in the end...
** see "George Pontius Pilate Bush lets Gonzales face justice - Red blogule to Our Dear Compassionate Leader" (20070315)

George Pontius Pilate Bush lets Gonzales face justice - Red blogule to Our Dear Compassionate Leader

"Al has got work to do up there".
Ecce homo. I give you Alberto Gonzales, and it's up to the people to judge, it's up to him to explain why he dismissed some nosy attorneys, it's up to my fuse to explain why he short circuited the Congress.
George W. Bush washes his hands and I see mud on them : his justice promotes scientific revisionism and medieval fundamentalism, attacks the moderates and pacifists, protects Special Interest Groups.
George W. Bush washes his hands and I see blood on them : his justice promotes torture and protects the gunslingers.
George W. Bush pretends to be compassionate and to stand for values ? He should be remembered as the immoral coward who betrayed America.
Go get Alberto Gonzales, the mastermind of this deviant justice, but don't forget to get the man who ordered this kind of plans*.
Go get Alberto Gonzales, the mastermind of Abu Ghraib, but don't forget to impeach his master.


* "plans", "intelligent design", "The Architect"... building a fundamentalist utopia looks demanding on the gray cells side for the promoters, but the aim of the game remains the negation of intelligence for all others.

Red blogule to Justice as defined by The White House

George W Bush once more uttered his favorite mantra : "Those who violated the law, if they did, will be punished." This time, it's about 24 Iraqi civilians killed by US Marines. But this time, Dubya is likely to go all the way and punish the actual decision makers ; after all, these soldiers do not rank high in the hierarchy. Those in charge of the cover up do, but they shouldn't fear anything considering the history of justice and punishment for wrongdoings under Dubya's rule.
Here, Justice means praising the likes of Karl Rove and Donald Rumsfeld. Here, Justice is monitored by Alberto Gonzales, the man who made Abu Ghraib possible. Here, Justice is said to be in the hands of God but meant for the sole protection of the President and his interests.
I'm confident this man doesn't stand a chance facing the judgement of History. The problem is till then, the whole world is paying for the damage done.

White blogule to Bob Woodward - Blowing another fuse

Going for another impeachment ? With an exquisite sense of timing, Bob Woodward revealed I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby wasn't his Plame-Wilson deep throat. The Bush Administration may have to blow another fuse and look for another scapegoat.
They easily replaced Scooter with another hawk : the only specie to avoid the laws of evolution does breed by entire flocks at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC, USA (watch out : herd flu hazards). David Addington is already at work to please his masters Lobby Dick and King Dubya, revising the U.S. Army Field Manual in order to allow torture and escape such un-american and un-patriotic documents as the Geneva Convention, the UN Convention Against Torture or the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights.
If he were to chose, W could pick Rummy instead of Dick or even Alberto. He would then please a great part of the Army and even find an alibi to change strategies in Iraq, "his" Rep majority pushing harder than ever for a clear withdrawal agenda before 2006 elections.

Red blogule to the Department Of Justice - Denial Of Justice

A couple of months ago, French soldiers would try to cover up an incidental death in Ivory Coast : as soon as the Government understood it, they suspended the general in charge of the whole operation in the country.

Just days later, the US DOJ decided not to charge CIA felons for the institutionalized abuses in Iraq and Afghanistan*, considering enough people paid.

Only low rank soldiers have been charged but everybody knows who's responsible for the Abu Ghraib and Salt Pit infamies ; the man who even wrote down in memos his vision of an Amerika refusing the Geneva Convention and embracing torture ; the man George W. Bush put at the very head of the Department Of Justice.

You don't want to stir bitter feelings among CIA people these days. So Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales decided not to sue Senior Adviser Alberto R. Gonzales.

Shame, shame, shame ? Not really : this mob keeps talking about the pride of defending Freedom and Democracy against fascism.

Lynnie England definitely found her master in sick jokes.

* C.I.A. to Avoid Charges in Most Prisoner Deaths" (NYT 20051023)

Red blogule to the Red machine - The potential RNC tickets for 2008 :

Jeb Bush - John McCain
Rudolf Giuliani - Condoleeza Rice
Arnold Schwarzennegger - Buzz Lightyear
Ken Mehlman - Barbie
Billy Graham - Abu Masab Al Zarqawi
Dick Perle - Paul Wolfowitz
Alberto Gonzales - Hannibal Lecter
Dick Cheney - Dick Cheney
George Prescott Bush - Chelsea Clinton