"Jack Bauer Saved Los Angeles...He saved hundreds of thousands of lives."
-- Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
Jack Bauer is a fictional character. Antonin Scalia's comments to a group of Canadian jurists during an open panel discussion regarding torture and terrorism law raised the issue of this character's continued and pernicious use of torture to "save hundreds of thousands of lives".
Nevermind that one of the most powerful jurists on the planet seems ready to excuse torture in extreme cases but this great mind of jurisprudence has staked his basic premise to a fictional act of terrorism in a television show. He went on to say, when questioned about the admissability of evidence gained during periods of torture "I don't care about holding people. I really don't", presumably meaning that even if he had to let the torture victim go after he got his evidence, that would be just fine with him. (I wonder if the parents of -- Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. -- Geneva Convention, Part 3, Article 17.
Apparently, Mr. Scalia has no interest in internationally binding treaties either....
Quotes attributed to Justice Scalia first appeared in the Globle and Mail, Saturday, June 16, 2007.
-- Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
Jack Bauer is a fictional character. Antonin Scalia's comments to a group of Canadian jurists during an open panel discussion regarding torture and terrorism law raised the issue of this character's continued and pernicious use of torture to "save hundreds of thousands of lives".
Nevermind that one of the most powerful jurists on the planet seems ready to excuse torture in extreme cases but this great mind of jurisprudence has staked his basic premise to a fictional act of terrorism in a television show. He went on to say, when questioned about the admissability of evidence gained during periods of torture "I don't care about holding people. I really don't", presumably meaning that even if he had to let the torture victim go after he got his evidence, that would be just fine with him. (I wonder if the parents of -- Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. -- Geneva Convention, Part 3, Article 17.
Apparently, Mr. Scalia has no interest in internationally binding treaties either....
Quotes attributed to Justice Scalia first appeared in the Globle and Mail, Saturday, June 16, 2007.
"We'd place more value on vacation and travel" -- George Clooney on what he'd do as Ruler of the World
Well George, it's about time someone got down to the really important issues facing us all today. I mean, shit, if we could just have more vacation time and travel opportunities, life would be a big fucking bowl of really sweet, shiny cherries for all concerned.
Let's not deal with America's profilgate spending habits which are running the global financial system into the ground while propping up unsupportable growth in personal debt faster than "The Peacemaker" made it to $1.99 used video bin.
Let's not consider a healthcare system where costs are growing at twice the rate of inflation while average Americans watch their real incomes shrink while all the benefits of increased worker productivity accrue to the wealthy and the corporate.
Let's not consider our morally compromised position in the Middle East; participating in the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqis in the name of Democracy while we prop up the very corrput political and economic systems that gave voice to the rage of militant Islam.
No, I'm with you, Clooney. It's better to make sure people can travel and have vacations than it is to work for freedom from fear, or promote economic security, or support political self-determination (as opposed to the "father knows best" kind of political determination we practice today throughout the world), or provide access to clean water or maybe even just get a little food to millions of stasrving children before their bedtimes.
Perhaps Mr. Clooney should stick to making movies that merely pretend to consider grave topics of international concern. At least the words pouring forth from his mouth on the silver screen would consist only of the drivel and drool of mindless and faceless Hollywood hacks; unatrributable to his own teflon persona of "America's Leading Man".
--To be fair, George did mention Darfur and "firing George Bush and his cronies" as other things he would support. I guess life ain't all fun and games even for Mr. Looney... ah, pardon me, Mr. Clooney.
-- No Shit
10/06/06: And Now for a No Shit News Break
From a recent medical study:
"cannabinoids (pot, weed, ganja, cheeba, the chronic, marijuana) work both to prevent inflammation and to protect the brain" a finding which "may set the stage for [cannabinoids’] use as a therapeutic approach for [Alzheimer’s disease].”
Ironic that the President whose "just say no" anti-drug campaign might have been saved a lot of pain and suffering had he "just said yes".
-- No Shit
09/28/06: No Shit News -- September 28
Dateline: September 18, 2006 : Various Sources
"Amaranth Loses Billions in Unregulated Energy Trading"
Amaranth, a hedge fund (apparently in name only), recently reported losses totaling over $6Billion US due to heavy losses in natural gas trades. While natural gas inventories and reserves are the highest in at least 5 years, the price for natural gas is also the highest it has been in 5 years. Global unrest cannot be the reason for this irrational speculation as most of America's natural gas comes from; you guessed it; America.
A contributing factor to Amaranth's spectacular fall is the lack of oversight in the trading of energy contracts on over-the-counter markets. This little loophole was introduced at the end of the 2000 congressional session and is known as the "Enron Loophole" simply because Enron was a driving force behind it's conception and passage.
Interestingly enough, the largest over-the-counter energy trading market today (IntercontinentalExchange or ICE for short) is jointly owned by investment banks including GoldmanSachs and Morgan Stanley and (shock of shocks!) energy companies including RoyalDutch/Shell and BP (Beyond the Pale) Amoco.
A bill to close the loophole is being held up by Senator Bill Frist which according to one of the bill's sponsors "probably reflects the power of the oil and gas industry around here (Capital Hill)"
--No Shit
"Amaranth Loses Billions in Unregulated Energy Trading"
Amaranth, a hedge fund (apparently in name only), recently reported losses totaling over $6Billion US due to heavy losses in natural gas trades. While natural gas inventories and reserves are the highest in at least 5 years, the price for natural gas is also the highest it has been in 5 years. Global unrest cannot be the reason for this irrational speculation as most of America's natural gas comes from; you guessed it; America.
A contributing factor to Amaranth's spectacular fall is the lack of oversight in the trading of energy contracts on over-the-counter markets. This little loophole was introduced at the end of the 2000 congressional session and is known as the "Enron Loophole" simply because Enron was a driving force behind it's conception and passage.
Interestingly enough, the largest over-the-counter energy trading market today (IntercontinentalExchange or ICE for short) is jointly owned by investment banks including GoldmanSachs and Morgan Stanley and (shock of shocks!) energy companies including RoyalDutch/Shell and BP (Beyond the Pale) Amoco.
A bill to close the loophole is being held up by Senator Bill Frist which according to one of the bill's sponsors "probably reflects the power of the oil and gas industry around here (Capital Hill)"
--No Shit
09/24/06: The No Shit News
I'm launching a new feature in this space, the No Shit News. I think you'll see that it explains itself...
