Exposing the lack of compassion by conservatives and
debunking right wing hypocrisy at every opportunity.
Glancing at the Washington Post's Nation Section, I was pleasantly
surprised that beyond the headline of the day covered by every major
paper -- the California wildfires -- they were reporting on real news
this morning. It's a shame this "news" was stuff I already knew from reading blogs.
Nothing really new here, but the good news is that they didn't blow these stories off. Especially the Higazy case, which is the first time I've come across a court opinion that was yanked and reissued with sections redacted for "national security" reasons. Just because the story is a week old doesn't make it less important, both for the world to know about how the threat of torture or of retribution to one's family is a common practice in the law enforcement community -- even before "9/11 changed everything."
The Post also tips it's the hat to the blogosphere that not only kept the story alive, but preserved the evidence of what the government considers proper information to keep from the public -- which turned out to be more embarassing than any kind of state secret of sources or methods of intelligence gathering.
Oh, and I did learn something from the article. That radio Higazy was suspected of using as a homing beacon for the jets that crashed into the Trade Center Towers belonged to someone else.
For more background, including the redacted portions of the opinion and links to the original, look at my previous post from Tuesday.
surprised that beyond the headline of the day covered by every major
paper -- the California wildfires -- they were reporting on real news
this morning. It's a shame this "news" was stuff I already knew from reading blogs.
Nothing really new here, but the good news is that they didn't blow these stories off. Especially the Higazy case, which is the first time I've come across a court opinion that was yanked and reissued with sections redacted for "national security" reasons. Just because the story is a week old doesn't make it less important, both for the world to know about how the threat of torture or of retribution to one's family is a common practice in the law enforcement community -- even before "9/11 changed everything."
The Post also tips it's the hat to the blogosphere that not only kept the story alive, but preserved the evidence of what the government considers proper information to keep from the public -- which turned out to be more embarassing than any kind of state secret of sources or methods of intelligence gathering.
Oh, and I did learn something from the article. That radio Higazy was suspected of using as a homing beacon for the jets that crashed into the Trade Center Towers belonged to someone else.
This case is the poster child of why torture, or even the threat of torture should be left to the pages of a more barbaric time and place. It doesn't work and we lose a bit of our humanity even discussing it's utility. There is no reason whatsoever to see it practiced in the 21st century.
Three days later, an airline pilot from Ohio who had stayed one floor below Higazy on Sept. 11 walked into the Millenium Hilton
and asked for his radio. Within two days, Higazy was released, and a
hotel security guard eventually pleaded guilty to making false
statements to FBI agents about the location of the radio.
"What if that pilot had not walked into the Millenium Hotel?" Abady
said. "We know that Mr. Higazy could have spent the rest of his life in
prison."
For more background, including the redacted portions of the opinion and links to the original, look at my previous post from Tuesday.
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