As more revelations come out, DC is circling the wagons to make sure no one is held responsible. Video of Cheney claiming that torture worked to capture bin Laden and other potential terrorists. The current head of the CIA has hinted this may happen again. Many of the pictures and video of the torture have been destroyed or redacted so that Americans can’t see the reality of what we did. Right after Cheney’s appearance on MTP, Democratic Sen Ron Wyden, who is against torture was shaky on whether or not the people responsible for it will be held accountable, including the head of the CIA, Brennan. Rep Peter King of NY told CNN that the biggest problem is that we aren’t supporting the CIA agents that carried out the torture program. John Yoo, the Justice Dept lawyer that wrote the legal justification for torture couldn’t even defend these tactics. Now that revelations of rectal feeding have become more and more widespread, defenders of the torture tactic have come forward, claiming that it was a medical procedure to feed the detainees unwilling to eat. Videos of Karl Rove and Michael Hayden defending the move. Despite the torture report that claimed Pres Bush wasn’t fully aware of all of the torture techniques, Rove and Cheney both dispute that he was in the dark. Cenk talks about how they are willing to throw Bush under the bus so that they won’t end up there.
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Cheney: ‘I’d do it again in a minute’
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/dick-cheney-white-house-113566.html
Even Torture Memo Author John Yoo Thinks Rectal Feeding Was Illegal
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/14/john-yoo-torture-report_n_6323360.html
Sydney Hostage Siege Ends With Gunman and 2 Captives Dead as Police Storm Cafe
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/world/asia/sydney-australia-hostages.html
Suspect in 6 Killings Is at Large Near Philadelphia
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/us/police-outside-philadelphia-search-for-gunman-after-reports-of-multiple-shootings.html
CIA report: ‘Torture is a crime and those responsible must be brought to justice’
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/09/torture-cia-amnesty-international-human-rights-watch
Rove: Bush knew about CIA’s harsh tactics
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/227075-rove-bush-knew-about-cias-harsh-tactics
Comments
Dude, he’s not just a “lone nut” who happens to be muslim. He clearly did it BECAUSE he was a fanatic muslim. This guy has a history of beeing hardcore Islamist and did what he did because of his belief. He himself admitted it.
But no no no….. it has nothing to do with Islam. I like you Cenk, but this is getting ridiculous.
The guy in Pennsylvania was a Christian soldier, just like Tim McVeigh and General Boykin before him, isn’t just a lone nut who happens to be Christian. This guy has a history of being a hardcore Christian and 10 years trained to be violent.
So does his actions hold the rest of Christian soldier culpable just as the Sydney “lone nut” make the rest of Islam culpable? Can we generalize by the actions of one individual’s actions that everyone else that share’s their belief that are guilty or that their religious faith is justifiable to assume they are capable of horrendous violent acts? If your answer is yes only if the “lone wolf” is Muslim, then you are prejudice against Muslims. If your answer is yes on both Christians and Muslims, you are at least equal in treatment.
The Christian soldier because he is not Muslim will not have his faith blamed for his actions and won’t have people like you blame all others that believe in the same faith somewhat guilty of holding the wrong belief. Either we can extrapolate that the actions of one Christian on all other Christians, just as you are doing to Muslims, or we judge each individual by their own merits and not the worse of the actions taken by an individual who shares a commonality trait that is not a dominant held trait (cisgender, european descendant, heterosexual, Christian or human secularist, tacit acceptance of market capitalism).
Sydney has as much to do with Islam as the Christian soldier’s murders have to do with Christianity.
Here here
If the Christian soldier did it the the name of Christianity, then yes, Christians need to answer for that. If the soldier did it the name of of whatever else, then no, Christianity shouldn’t have to answer for that.
so, if I call myself a christian, anything I do has to be answered for by anyone else who calls themselves a christian?
gathly shows off his “willful ignorance” special ability.
Exactly. Great way to make that connection.
I didnt blame all Muslims so dont put words in my mouth. I blame his islamic belief-system which clearly is the reason for his violent act. And yes, i would totally blame every other belief-system that leads to this kinda heinous shit, christianity included.
It’s funny though , that every time someone has to bring up christianity, when Islam is criticized. I’m agnostic so i couldn’t care less.
In the end everyone is responsible for his own actions. But some belief-systems lead to more violence than others. That’s the truth. And we are all a witness to that right now.
but you’re using the phrase “belief system” to cover a wide chasm of beliefs. Which belief system is the real one to be condemned? The 1.7 billion Muslims who commit no acts of violence and say Islam is a religion of peace, or the handful that use it as an excuse for their violence? Is Christianity or Buddhism a religion of peace or of violence?
The obvious answer to anyone without a very simple understanding of the world is that it’s neither. Religion is just one excuse people use to justify their violence or to justify their benevolence.. People use it to convince people that they must do good, and that they must do evil. If you ask me, the most violent religion in the world is Capitalism. It’s a system that has as its founding principle that everyone should be greedy, and that one can own anything and everything. Nobody has died or suffered harm more than the victims of Capitalism. People accept great death and losses under the simple explanation that “well, it’s just business.” Does this mean all capitalists are evil? No. It’s just a system they live in, one that changes over time and is interpretational like any religion.
Wrong again Diddi
Right, and we slaughtered hundreds of thousands of muslims in iraq and afghanistan because this country’s government indulges racist hatred toward muslims. it goes both ways. turns out when you wage genocidal holy war, there’s pushback. your victims don’t just walk passively to their deaths.
Well, and i thought this war got started because Dick Cheney wanted to triple his Halliburton stock option value. Why weren’t there any christian priests, who took over, if that was a “holy war”? Have you seen missionaries in mass in iraq trying to convert everybody to christianity? Was there even a single church built after the “Crusaders” won your mythical “holy war” ?
Cenk didn’t say it had nothing to do with islam, he was just saying this wasn’t a coordinated attack by some terrorism cell.
In what way is putting up a flag that says “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” not related to the religion of Islam?
As much as the overwhelming of Muslims in the world are peaceful and would never wish harm upon others (based on religious grounds at least). You HAVE to admit this is unlikely something an atheist Middle Eastern person would ever do.
You are calling this person a lone nut – I have lived in Aus for 20 years. The only time I’ve seen a hostage situation for the sake religion. What do you say to the families of those who died? “Your son/daughter/mother/father died because a gunman who says Allah is the only God took them as hostages. But it’s OK though because he’s a lone nut and this isn’t related to Islam”
Also – I am a liberal, been a member for 4 years, happy to get banned for voicing this.
Religion is the excuse, not the reason. We’ve had extremists from all religions, We shouldn’t be concerned with focusing on a single religion, but eliminating the root causes of extremism: poverty, alienation, desperation and mental issues.
Ideology, in this case Islam, is just a framework that is used to fit their altered worldview.
Maybe Religion is the reason, the excuse and the altered worldview !? huh, threw you for a loop there didn’t i?
This is exactly right. Diddihimself is just another simpleton who needs to understand the complex world in simple terms of good and evil, black and white. Also sounds like one of those atheists who figured out the most obvious lie in the world and needs to share with the world how great they are for figuring it out.
gathly, I’m *positive* you don’t get to call others simpletons.