"Evidence? We don't need no stinkin' evidence!"

US Federal Judge Richard Leon, a rock solid conservative judge, has upset the court of Captain Codpiece by ordering the release of five more innocent men, in this case Algerians, from the Guantánamo Bay Beach and Leisure Resort. He demanded that they be released "forthwith" which I assume means sometime after President Obama's inauguration.

How do you spell "e-n-t-r-a-p-m-e-n-t"?

At the trial of five men accused of attempting a terrorist attack against Fort Dix in New Jersey the chief FBI informant admitted that at least three of the me considered him the brains and the leader of the operation and that they were reluctant to go through with it.

Nonetheless as the men are foreign born Muslims they are undoubtedly evil doers and deserve the punishment they are likely to get.

Have we no shame?

I think the answer is "no" as Captain Codpiece and his evil minions are working to ensure that seventeen innocent Chinese men will remain behind bars at Gitmo (or elsewhere) for the rest of their lives. Perhaps we can can take steps to ensure that Captain Codpiece, "I'm a Big" Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Conocoleeza Rice, Alberto "Gone-zo" Gonzales and John Woo join them there.

Friends like these

The British High Court has strongly (and quite rightly) criticising the American government for refusing to disclose evidence related to the alleged torture of Binyam Mohamed. Mr. Mohamed is a British resident who has been (illegally) held at Guantánamo Bay Beach and Leisure Resort for nearly six years. Prior to his incarceration at Gitmo American "intelligence" services has (illegally) "rendered" him to Morocco where Mr. Mohamed's attorneys argue the torture took place; the treatment included (blokes should take a deep breath before reading further) slicing his penis. The Guardian article goes on to say

In a particularly damning passage, Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones said claims by Mohamed's lawyers that the US was refusing to release the papers because "torturers do not readily hand over evidence of their conduct" could not be dismissed and required an answer.

The British government is bravely siding with the Yanks because the American government is essentially threatening to take its ball and go home by withholding intelligence data.

Once again I am reminded that it is not only possible, but often necessary, to be ashamed of the actions of one's government.

Today in Schadenfreude

There must be wing nut heads exploding all across America today as a federal judge orders Captain Codpiece and his evil minions to release 17 evil doers completely innocent men from the Guantánamo Bay Beach and Leisure Club. And not just release them either; release them INTO AMERICA where they will be able to wreak their innocence on unsuspecting loyal Americans. The worst of the worst indeed.

I suggest that they be given government housing somewhere in the heart of America; I think Crawford Texas would fit the bill admirably.

Reassuring words

I have just finished reading Philippe Sands's excellent and disturbing book Torture Team: Deception, Cruelty and the Compromise of Law Philippe Sands. In it the eminent human rights attorney, who used to share chambers with St. Tony's wife Cherie Booth (whatever did they talk about), tracks the involvement of the lawyers in the American path to torture and violations of international law. In one of the later chapters Mr. Sands discusses with an unnamed Judge and prosecutor from a NATO country the possible expose of these seven or eight people to international prosecution. In the words of the Judge:

"It's a matter of time, these things take time. And then something unexpected happens, when one of these lawyers travels to the wrong place."

So we have something to look forward to then.

By the way if you have read Mr. Sands's other equally disturbing book Lawless World it is well worth a read as well.

Today in maths

If x = 7 months what does 1/x equal?

Imagine that Iraqi confessed to standing guard whilst four Americans were bound, hooded and executed. In the unlikely event that he would ever be given a trial and found guilty do you think that the sentence would be seven months? I think not.

Lucky Gone-zo!

The legal team for currently under-employed former US Attorney General Alberto "Gone-zo" Gonzales admit that their client violated the law in his mis-handling of extremely sensitive national security documents, including taking them home for the weekend. Fortunately for "Gone-zo" the Justice Department has decided not to prosecute this "technical violation of the rules".

I can only assume that this falls under the "not every violation of the law is a crime" guidelines of "Gone-zo's" successor, Robert Mukasey.

It may take most people six steps to get to Kevin Bacon....

...but it only takes corrupt Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi one step to get to John Ashcroft. The former US Attorney General, who we only remember fondly now because of those who have followed him, famously spent thousands of dollars of US taxpayer money to cover the shameful nudity displayed by a statue of the "Spirit of Justice" in his office. Now the normally less bashful Sr. Berlusconi has had the has had the naked breast in a copy of the painting "La Verita Svelata dal Tempo (The Truth Unveiled by Time)" so that his status as a faux statesman is not muddied by his head sharing a camera shot with Truth's Tit when he gives a press conference.

It can only be a matter of time before some other equally idiotic player on the global stage finishes off the "Truth, Justice and the American Way" hidden breast trifecta!