Sunday, January 20, 2008

When Your Pals Torture, It's Not Torture


Canada's federal bootlickers, the SHarper government, are falling all over themselves to avoid their pals being called what they are, torturers. From CanWest:

ForeignAffairs Minister Maxime Bernier lashed out Saturday at a controversial document identifying the U.S. and Israel as countries it suspects of practising torture, calling it "wrong" and demanding it be rewritten.

"I regret the embarrassment caused by the public disclosure of the manual used in the department's torture awareness training," said Bernier in a statement.


"It contains a list that wrongly includes some of our closest allies. I have directed that the manual be reviewed and rewritten," said Bernier.

After making this pronouncement, Maxie swung deftly back to his perch and whiled away the rest of the afternoon tossing his own waste at passing children.

America doesn't torture? Israel doesn't torture?

Let's begin with Israel and this BBC report from February, 2000:

"An official Israeli report has acknowledged for the first time that the Israeli security service tortured detainees during the Palestinian uprising, the Intifada, between 1988 and 1992.

The report, written five years ago but kept secret until now, said the leadership of the security service Shin Bet knew about the torture but did nothing to stop it.

The report did not detail the torture methods used, but human rights organisations say some detainees died or were left paralysed."

"Most of the violations were not caused by lack of knowledge of the line between what was permitted and what was forbidden, but were committed knowingly," the report said.

"At the Gaza facility, veteran and even senior investigators committed very grave and systematic violations."

So, Maxi-pad, that ought to whet your intellectual appetite on the subject of Israel and torture, if you had the slightest interest in anything beyond whitewashing your government's buddies.

As for the United States? Well we know at least the tip of the iceberg on the waterboarding business. That, Maxi, is also torture - plain and simple just the way you like it. Even former Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge has just condemned waterboarding as torture because, well because it is dimmo.

Then there's that special rendition business - kidnapping folks and flying them off to sunny destinations where, for a few bags of cash, you can hire people to do your torturing for you. Hey Maxi, remember that guy, Maher Arar? He got done up pretty good, didn't he? We paid him ten million bucks. Why was that again? Oh yeah, I remember now - we paid him because he spent a year in captivity as America's guest being tortured.

There's something really creepy about people like the Harpies who choose to erase the historical record to whitewash the evils of their friends. At the end of the day, they all wind up with the same stench.

6 comments:

wilson said...

Arar and William Sampson were tortured while the Liberal government dithered.
You Liberals wear that stench.

The Mound of Sound said...

Nice try Wilson. While the Martin government was struggling to get Arar back it was your reich-wingers who rose up in the House castigating the Libs for aiding a terrorist. Shove that where it belongs Wison.

Oxford County Liberals said...

In addition, Wilson, it's Canada's "Current" Government, who is saddled with this, not the Liberals. I realize its COnservative SOP to try and blame everything on the Libs, but its coming up 2 years that you folks have been in power.

I want everyone who is in the Opposition to get up in Question Period when it recommences and ask Maxime Bernier whether he believes waterboarding is torture or not, and if it is, and we know the US does it, why they should be taken off that list.

Larry Gambone said...

Torture is a lot like terrorism, suppression of dissent or state involvement in the economy. It is only wrong when the other guy does it.

Mike said...

wilson, apologist for torture.

Sampson may have been tortured under the Liberals, but the Liberal government never came out and said it was OK, you sniveling idiot.

The Conservatives have just made us complicit and accomplices to a crime against humanity and to the war crime of torture, just so we don't upset a bunch of lame-duck neo-con thugs. They are despicable.

The US tortures and Canadians should be protected.

Anonymous said...

Maxi-pad, yes. Although even maxi-pads are wet few days a month and this Maxi-pad all the time and stinks.

It is a shame. It does not make you feel proud about Canada. Even staunch supporter of Iraq war, John McCain, calls it torture. Sad chapter in our history.