VIDEOS- Jane Mayer: "U.S. rights thrown out the window", Bush warned "This may be criminal"

By GottaLaff

This is Part 28349239 in my series, primarily about an innocent prisoner held for the past 7+ years at Gitmo, Fayiz al-Kandari, as told to me by his military attorney, Lt. Col. Barry Wingard.

All previous posts can be found here; That link includes audio and video interviews with Lt. Col. Wingard, one by David Shuster, one by Ana Marie Cox, and more. My guest commentary at BuzzFlash is here.

This post introduces you to Jane Mayer, for those who haven't yet seen her or read her book:

August 15, 2008

There has been significant debate about the United States' tactics in the fight against terrorism and how they have undermined America's moral authority. Recently, I spoke with two authors who have new books out on the subject. Jane Mayer is an investigative reporter for The Yew Yorker. Her book is called The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals. Philip Gourevitch, editor of the Paris Review, co-authored the book Standard Operating Procedure.

Here’s another in our series of short video interviews, each running a minute (give or take), with PBC authors. This one’s with Jane Mayer, author of The Dark Side, which tells the inside story of how the US government shredded the Constitution after 9/11, adopting “war on terror” policies —indefinite detention, rendition, torture—that violated the most basic and cherished American values.

Our system of justice is broken. Military commissions rely on coerced confessions and hearsay, something Jane Mayer covers in great detail in her book..

If you are inclined to help rectify these injustices: Twitterers, use the hashtag #FreeFayiz. We have organized a team to get these stories out. If you are interested in helping Fayiz out, e-mail me at The Political Carnival, address in sidebar to the right; or tweet me at @GottaLaff.

If you'd like to see other ways you can take action, go here and scroll down to the end of the article.

Then read Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. You'll have a much greater understanding of why I post endlessly about this, and why I'm all over the CIA deception issues, too.

VIDEO: Military Commissions Hearing: Coerced testimony

By GottaLaff

The Senate Armed Services Committee held hearings July 7 on legal issues regarding military commissions and the trial of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Military Commissions allow coerced testimony and hearsay upon hearsay to bolster their prosecution cases, which is what happened to Fayiz al-Kandari, Lt. Col. Barry Wingard's client. Please follow that link to read every post I've written on this.

Then read Jane Mayer's book, The Dark Side. Then call your representatives and the White House. This is not justice, this is more of the same.

VIDEO; Defeat the Dark Side

By GottaLaff

May the force be with Obama:

I would like to pass along a funny little pro-Obama video that's been posted on YouTube, in the hopes that you might like it enough to pass along to your readers. The lightsaber fight between the two candidates is fun, and the message leads to a website that is raising money for the Obama campaign.

H/t: Rachel

Video: Jane Mayer, David Letterman, and The Dark Side

By GottaLaff



I'm putting this up without having seen it. Why would I do that, you ask? Because my server is lethargic and will only load some sites, and won't let me play videos. So let me know how this is. Jane Mayer wrote the book The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals.

Trying to post today has been an exercise in frustration. In fact, anything computer-related this month has been torture, which makes this post even more relevant. Waterboarding might even seem like recreation after my little misadventures.

So please tell me in comments what the video was like. I don't have a clue.