Archive for the 'terrorism' Category
February 12th, 2008 by Matt
Hey kids (and fellow adults), I’ve got to use ye ole platform here to make a brief mention about torture and the death penalty. In case you missed it, the latest and the not-so-greatest goes like this:
Military prosecutors today issued the first charges relating to the September 11 attacks, saying they would seek the death penalty against six detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, including the alleged mastermind of the plot, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
The Department of Defense, which is leading the prosecution through a controversial and much-criticised process of military commissions, issued 169 charges against the men that include conspiracy, murder in violation of the law or war, attacking civilians, destruction of property and terrorism.
I know. I know. If these guys were behind the 9/11 attacks, then it seems like they deserve to be treated like the festering roadkill they are. Two problems:
- Some of the information obtained in regards to these detainees likely came about thanks to waterboarding, and we know that some of it definitely came about through other methods of torture (read on and you’ll see what I mean).
- The death penalty is, in all instances, amoral.
Okay, stay with me here. The right we as Americans value above all others is the right for all people to own their respective lives: this is the greatest liberty of them all, and the liberty without which no other liberties can apply. Since life is the greatest liberty of them all, it must be universally applied: simply because someone isn’t American doesn’t mean we, as Americans, should value their life any less. If a society values life as much as ours does, then even those monsters who may “deserve” the death penalty actually deserve to live. Since we believe life is the greatest liberty of them all, then we should never deny it to anyone through our justice system, even those who may have denied it to others.
The emphasis there is “may have” for a reason. We now know that information has been gathered at Guantanamo Bay through waterboarding. According to Dr. Bryce Lefever, a navy command psychologist, waterboarding, a method of illegal torture, goes like this:
You’re strapped to an inclined gurney and you’re in four-point restraint, your head is almost immobilized, and they pour water between your nose and your mouth, so if you’re likely to breathe, you’re going to get a lot of water. You go into an oxygen panic.
But waterboarding and other methods of torture isn’t only legally wrong, it’s tactically wrong, because, according to Steve Kleinman, an Air Force Reserve colonel and expert in human-intelligence operations, they “produce false leads and hazy memories.” And we know that similar tactics were used against Abu Zubaydah, the guy who fingered Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as the leader of the 9/11 attacks. What did they do to Abu Zubaydah? According to a 2006 article in the New York Times, U.S. captors “[blasted] the Red Hot Chili Peppers at top volume, [stripped] Zubaydah naked, and [made] his room so cold that his body turned blue.”
We’re fighting a so-called “War on Terror” by using methods of terror. We’re willing to kill people to demonstrate that killing people is wrong. Our logic is, at best, backwards, and at worst, horrifying.
What can you do? Three things:
None of the three are cure-alls, but each is a start in a respectable direction.
September 12th, 2007 by Progressive Wednesday
Problem:
Yesterday marked the sixth anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Like nearly every American that day too far away to help, I sat glued to Peter Jennings' and Tom Brokaw's continuous broadcasts of that day's horrifying attacks well into the night, until weariness finally took hold.
As a nation, we swore that day never to forget the victims of the World Trade Center and Pentagon bombings. We swore that we would honor their sacrifice by taking care of the families of those killed, by focusing our military and foreign policy on finding those responsible and preventing them from causing further harm to our country, and by providing the best medical care to those who were injured, both physically and psychologically, on that worst of days.
We have not done that–at least not to the extent that we should.
Make Progress:
Six years later there are still people suffering from the effects of the collapsing towers, Osama bin Laden has not been “smoked out– as promised, and others responsible are regaining strength in Afghanistan while our forces are tied up in Iraq, a war that was sold to the American people partly with a fabricated connection between Saddam Hussein and the attacks of September 11th.
Fortunately, there are still ways in which we, as individuals, can help. Here's how.
.
Mail:
As I'm quite sure you know, Osama bin Laden, well, he's still out there: not because of our service men and women, not because they don't want to hunt him down and catch him, but because our federal government has let us down, focusing the bulk of our military and (in all likelihood) intelligence agencies on Iraq and its surrounding countries.
At Progressive Wednesday, we believe there is, not only a strategic need to capture the maniac behind 9/11, but a moral obligation as well. In other words, we owe it to all Americans living and all Americans who died six years ago yesterday to find him.
So, we're asking that you ship this letter, or some variation if it, to your local newspaper.
Dear Editor:
The sixth anniversary of September 11 has come and passed, and as I'm sure all readers of this newspaper know, Osama bin Laden, the maniac behind that horrific day, remains free.
I believe there is, not only a strategic need to capture this man, but a moral obligation as well. We owe it to all Americans living and to all Americans who died six years ago yesterday to capture bin Laden.
What can we do? We can call our Senators and Representatives in Congress to do what's right: demand that the executive branch redouble its efforts to hunt down bin Laden, bringing at least some sense of justice to the victims of 9/11.
Sincerely,
.
Sign:
For nearly six years the official death toll at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 was 2,749. More than half a decade later, that number has started to climb. According to CNN.com:
The death of U.S. Department of Education attorney Felicia Dunn-Jones, 42, five months after she became trapped in dust caused by the collapse of the first World Trade Center tower, is now being considered a homicide and her name has been added to the official list of World Trade Center victims.
There have been a few local efforts in New York and New Jersey to help people who are suffering as Ms. Dunn-Jones did. In September 2003, the World Trade Center Health Registry was created to obtain as much information as possible about the health of those who were in lower Manhattan when the towers came down, especially those valiant souls who were digging for days in the rubble. 30,000 have already signed up and regularly give updates to their condition so that health professionals can get a clearer picture of the consequences of exposure as well as what to do about it. (If you were there and haven't registered, you can do so here.)
Still, while the Federal Government has falsely used the September 11th attacks to sell a war in Iraq that has cost Americans nearly half a trillion bucks, not a single Jefferson, neither coin nor paper (he's on the two-dollar bill), has been spent to help the estimated 150,000 rescuers and civilians who may have need of medical attention due to the effects of toxins released when the World Trade Center towers collapsed.
Here is a petition, sponsored by 9/11 Environmental Action, urging the President and Health and Human Services Secretary, Michael O. Leavitt to:
Create a federally funded program to screen, track and treat 9/11-related illnesses for all those who lived, worked and attended school in Lower Manhattan and other affected neighborhoods.
James Zadroga, 34, was the most recent to die due to toxic dust. Please take a minute, no, 30 seconds, to add your name to the list, or, as James father said, “They’re going to be adding to that (WTC Memorial) wall for the next 20 years.–
Photo credit goes here.
Call:
Now that you've signed the petition, your voice has been heard with the masses. Now I'll ask you to make it heard by itself. Last week, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Congressman Vito Fossella (R-NY) took the first step toward providing that health care to those still affected by Ground Zero toxins. According to their press release, the bill would do the following:
- Ensure that everyone exposed to the toxins of Ground Zero has a right to be medically monitored and anyone who is sick as a result has a right to treatment.
- Expand care to the whole exposed community, including residents, area workers and students, and to the thousands of people who came from across the country to respond to the 9/11 attacks.
- Provide compensation for economic damages and losses by reopening the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.
- Build on the expertise of the Centers of Excellence, which are providing high-quality health care to thousands of responders.
- Require the federal government to collect data about and research the extent and severity of WTC-related illnesses.
- Establish and fund Coordinating Centers of Excellence to collect and analyze data, coordinate outreach, and develop medical monitoring and treatment protocols.
- Require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to conduct or support research, diagnose, and treat WTC-related conditions.
If you don't think that the United States government should provide these medical benefits for those who were there, whose lives were in danger, who spent weeks digging through the debris at Ground Zero, all while breathing in toxic fumes, then, well… do nothing.
But if, like us, you think that the government has a responsibility to protect its people from terrorism, whether the danger is immediate or long term, please call your congressperson and tell them to support the Maloney-Nadler-Fossella 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. You can find their contact information here.
Oh, and here's some help, in case you need it. It can be a bit nerve-racking to call your Representative.
- I'm a voter from [name your state], and I am calling to voice my strong support for the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. The United States has an obligation to help all of those who risked their lives helping others on September 11th and in the days following. If Congressman/woman [last name] wants my support in future elections, [he or she] must support this legislation. Thank you for your time.
Photo credit goes here.
September 6th, 2007 by Matt
I’m done watching the Presidential debates. It’s not that I don’t care who wins, ’cause I do. I’m actually a bit obsessed with politics, even though we shy away from politicians on Progressive Wednesday. In fact, I’ll probably end up working on a campaign for a third party candidate. If I do, for the sake of full disclosure, I’ll let you know who and maybe even why. But here’s why I’m done with the debates: most of these folks are blow-hards and wannabes who’d have you and I believe that if we don’t watch our backs, well, the terrorists are gonna get us, and if we don’t elect them, well, then we’re not really watching our backs.
The problem with this ridiculous argument is two-fold:
- Superman they ain’t. Superman kicks serious tail. I know Superman, and none of them are Superman.
- They’d all like it if we kept this on the down-low, but here goes: you don’t need to be afraid of terrorism.
I’d say that the proof is in the pudding, but I don’t really dig on pudding. I’m a cheesecake kind of guy, so, for the sake of this argument, the proof’s in the cheesecake.
According to the Global Terrorism Database, which is connected to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, between September 12, 2001 and January 1, 2005, exactly five Americans died on U.S. soil as a result of terrorist attacks.
In other words, my sisters and brothers, terrorism isn’t really something we ought to be fearing during our daily lives. Consider some of these comparative statistics:
So put the golf clubs away when the cumulonimbus clouds come calling. Double-check your ladders, and help your octogenarian grandmother down the porch steps. Maybe consider a flu shot, or, I don’t know, washing your hands on occasion. For crying out loud, 11 people died in 2003 because of fireworks.
One last thing on terrorism, because I know folks might be thinking, Well, Mr. Zambito, what about 9/11? First, please, call me Matt. Second, I care deeply about the the tragedy of 9/11, because 2,356 people died, because it filled us with a gut-wrenching feeling of the unknown. That date and the images from that day will always remind us of a huge loss of innocent human life, and what can result from a tremendous act of cowardly, unprovoked violence. But just consider for a moment that about 3,000 people die every month from the flu. That’s a tragedy, too, and an easily preventable one at that.
What I’m getting at is that we needn’t fret thinking that the terrorists are going to “follow us home.” Odds are, even if they do (which they don’t seem to be doing), we’ll be safe because the vast majority of terrorist attacks result in zero fatalities. And if we demanded that our government spent more of our money and resources protecting our borders, our ports, our food and water sources, and increasing our global intelligence, well, then we’d be all the safer.
(Please Note: If you’re planning on serving me cheesecake (hint, hint), hold the cherries, okay?)
May 28th, 2007 by Matt
Editor’s note: This is the second entry of an occasional column at Progressive Wednesday. Each post will bust a myth created by fear-mongers, years of tradition, advertisers, the mainstream media, general skittishness, or pandas. I mention pandas because they freak me out. Why do they freak me out? Read this for yourself — and I quote: “ In general, if a female panda produces twins, she raises one and abandons the other.” So, anyway, on to the column. We hope to make FDR happy.
- – - – -
According to the Global Terrorism Database, which is connected to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, between September 12, 2001 and January 1, 2005, exactly five Americans died on U.S. soil as a result of terrorist attacks.
In other words, my brothers and sisters, terrorism isn’t really something we ought to be fearing during our daily lives. Consider some of these comparative statistics:
So put the golf clubs away when the cumulonimbus clouds come calling. Double-check your ladders, and help your octogenarian grandmother down the porch steps. Maybe consider a flu shot, or, I don’t know, washing your hands on occasion. For crying out loud, 11 people died in 2003 because of fireworks.
One last thing on terrorism, because I know folks might be thinking, Well, Mr. Zambito, what about 9/11? First, please, call me Matt. Second, I care deeply about the the tragedy of 9/11, because 2,356 people died, because it filled us with a gut-wrenching feeling of the unknown. That date and the images from that day will always remind us of a huge loss of innocent human life, and what can result from a tremendous act of cowardly, unprovoked violence. But just consider for a moment that about 3,000 people die every month from the flu.
What I’m getting at is that we needn’t fret thinking that the terrorists are going to “follow us home.” Odds are, even if they do (which they don’t seem to be doing), we’ll be safe because the vast majority of terrorist attacks result in zero fatalities. And if we demanded that our government spent more of our money and resources protecting our borders, our ports, our food and water sources, and increasing our global intelligence, well, then we’d be all the safer.
March 22nd, 2007 by Matt
Let’s say you or I gave 1.7 million bucks to, I don’t know, say a major terrorist organization or two in Columbia. I’m taking any and all bets that we’d find ourselves getting the waterboard treatment in Guantanamo. And likely we wouldn’t be heard from again any time soon.
Now let’s say you’re a major corporation cultivating and selling bananas, and you dole out dinero to known terrorist groups. In our Patriot Act times, you’d think your company would get more than a tiny slap-on-the-wrist fine. But according to the Associated Press, the not-so news-ilicious news goes like this:
Banana company Chiquita Brands International said Wednesday it has agreed to a $25 million fine after admitting it paid a Colombian terrorist group for protection in a volatile farming region.
In court documents filed Wednesday, federal prosecutors said several unnamed high-ranking corporate officers at the Cincinnati-based company paid about $1.7 million between 1997 and 2004 to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, known as AUC for its Spanish initials.
So, what’s the United Self-Defense Forces of Columbia all about? Massacres of Colombians. Cocaine exportation. As you might suspect, I write with a sigh of resignation, there’s more:
The company also made similar payments to the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, according to prosecutors.
And what’s the deal with FARC? Well, let’s see:
FARC is Colombia's largest and best-equipped rebel group, with around 12,000-18,000 members — it is also one of the world's richest and most powerful guerrilla armies. FARC is responsible for most of the ransom kidnappings in Colombia.
And where does FARC get the cha-ching necessary for, you know, amping up the terror? Half from hocking drugs, and the rest from kidnappings, extortion, ransom, and, of course, now from the only sorta, kinda good folks at Chiquita bananas.
So, since it’s pretty unlikely that we’re going to convince the feds to put some of the head honchos at Chiquita in the slammer, we’re going to have to do what we can: boycott these bananas. Boycott, baby. In the United States, the way we choose to spend our hard-earned cash is our most powerful voice.
Chiquita doesn’t sell the only bananas in the U.S. (Dole and Del Monte are two others), and more and more there are options to snag fair trade fruit. Besides, as it turns out, an apple a day keeps the terrorists away.
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