Short thoughts on torture, the creeping police state, and Bush's illiteracy
Four stories from today's news have stuck with me. First off, the enduring and irreversible effects of US government torture on Jose Padilla have left him with permanent mental damage:
Jose Padilla had no history of mental illness when President Bush ordered him detained in 2002 as a suspected Al Qaeda operative. But he does now.
The Muslim convert was subjected to prison conditions and interrogation techniques that took him past the breaking point, mental health experts say.
Two psychiatrists and a psychologist who conducted detailed personal examinations of Mr. Padilla on behalf of his defense lawyers say his extended detention and interrogation at the US Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, S.C., left him with severe mental disabilities. All three say he may never recover.
Go read that entire article. While you're reading it, keep in mind that Jose Padilla is an American citizen. If it can happen to him, it can happen to any of us.
Next up is a detailed dossier of torture conducted on a British resident at Guantanamo and at a US military base in Afghanistan:
A British resident held by the US as an alleged terrorist has claimed his captors repeatedly tortured him, subjecting him to beatings, sexual abuse and threats of execution.
And that's not the half of it. Go read the entire laundry list. Keep Jose Padilla in mind while you're reading it.
From the Creeping Police State files, the Department of Homeland Security is shelling out millions to deploy spy cameras in American cities big and small:
In the last month, cities that have moved forward on plans for surveillance networks financed by the Homeland Security Department include St. Paul, which got a $1.2 million grant for 60 cameras for downtown; Madison, Wis., which is buying a 32-camera network with a $388,000 grant; and Pittsburgh, which is adding 83 cameras to its downtown with a $2.58 million grant.
Small towns are also getting their share of the federal money for surveillance to thwart crime and terrorism.
Recent examples include Liberty, Kan. (population 95), which accepted a federal grant to install a $5,000 G2 Sentinel camera in its park, and Scottsbluff, Neb. (population 14,000), where police used a $180,000 Homeland Security Department grant to purchase four closed-circuit digital cameras and two monitors, a system originally designed for Times Square in New York City.
Big Brother is watching.
On a brighter note, our president is an idiot and now finally admits it. When asked by a reporter if he knew any words in French, George W. Bush replied, "I can barely speak English."
He's finally admitted what the rest of us have known for years.