[IMC-DC] BTL Summary 4-24-09: Red Cross Report on Bush Torture; Amnesty Intl Call for Review of U.S. Arms Sales to Israel; The Battle for Single-Payer Healthcare

[sharris at snet.net]

Between The Lines
For The Week Ending April 24, 2009
http://www.btlonline.org/2009/btl042409.html




 

THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM 

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This week we present Between The Lines' summary of under-reported news stories and: 


Red Cross Report Documents Torture
at Secret CIA Prisons 

RealAudio MP3 

Interview with Joanne Mariner,
director of the Terrorism and Counterterrorism program, 
conducted by Scott Harris 

 

The
International Committee of the Red Cross issued a confidential report
in 2007 on interrogation abuse that their monitors documented at U.S.
CIA-run secret prisons. The report condemned America's treatment of 14
"high-value" terrorist suspect detainees held at so-called "black sites,"
as inhuman, violating U.S. and international law. The report remained
secret until it was made public in early April by writer and journalism
professor Mark Danner on the New York Review of Books website. 

The Red Cross noted that apart from subjecting prisoners to "waterboarding," U.S. interrogators, with the apparent authorization from the Bush administration,
had exposed detainees to extreme temperatures, beaten them and deprived
them of food. In addition prisoners had recounted how they were
threatened with electric shock, infection with HIV/AIDS, sodomy and
violence against family members. 

Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon, who indicted Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet when he visited London in 1998, has launched a new investigation of 6 former Bush administration officials
 for their alleged criminal authorization of torture. Between The Lines' Scott Harris
spoke with Joanne Mariner, director Human Rights Watch's Terrorism and
Counter-terrorism Program. She discusses the importance of the Red
Cross report and how it adds to the growing world-wide pressure on the
Obama administration to open an investigation and prosecute Bush
administration officials who may be guilty of war crimes. 

Contact the Terrorism and Counterterrorism program at Human Rights Watch by calling (212) 290-4700 or visit their website at www.hrw.org 

Related links: 
"The Red Cross Torture Report: What It Means," by Mark Danner 
International Red Cross Report on the Treatment of Fourteen "High Value Detainees" in CIA Custody 
100 Days to Restore the Constitution 
Amnesty International at www.amnestyusa.org 
ACLU at www.aclu.org 
National Lawyers Guild at www.nlg.org 


Amnesty International Calls 
for Review of 
U.S. Arms Sales to Israel 

RealAudio MP3 

Interview with Curt Goering,
Amnesty International USA,
conducted by Melinda Tuhus 

 

In late December of last year, a ship loaded with weapons departed the U.S. bound for Israel, while George W. Bush was still president. A Pentagon
 spokesperson confirmed that it arrived in Israel on March 22, after Barack Obama
took office. The spokesperson said that the shipment was destined for a
U.S. pre-positioned ammunition stockpile in Israel. Under a
U.S.-Israeli agreement, munitions from this stockpile may be
transferred for Israel to use if necessary. 

This weaponry is
part of the $3 billion in annual U.S. aid to Israel, most of it for
military assistance. Amnesty International USA followed this shipment
and contacted both the former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and
the incoming Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton,
to express concern that Israel was using U.S.-supplied weapons against
Palestinians in ways that violated a number of U.S. laws. The latest
instance was Israel's three-week-long air and ground assault on Gaza
that began on Dec. 27, which killed an estimated 1,400 Palestinians,
including 300 children and hundreds of other civilians. 

An
Obama State Department official told Amnesty International that
Israel's use of U.S. weapons during the Gaza conflict is under review
to determine if Israel complied with U.S. law, but no conclusion has
yet been reached. Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Curt
Goering, senior deputy executive director of Amnesty International USA,
who talks about the U.S.-Israel military agreement and what steps
concerned Americans could take to raise the issue with their elected
officials. 

Contact Amnesty International USA. at (212) 807-8400 or visit their website at www.amnestyusa.org 


Health Care Group Battles Insurance Companies
to Include Single-Payer Bill in National Debate 

RealAudio MP3 

Interview with Katie Robbins,
assistant national coordinator,
Health-Care Now! 
conducted by Scott Harris 


 

During his campaign for the White House, Barack Obama was an advocate of national
 healthcare reform
with the goal of universal medical coverage for all Americans, of whom
47 million are without coverage. On the campaign trail Obama was often
quoted as saying, if he were starting from scratch, he would probably
support a government-run single payer system, but went on to say, that
because of the existing infrastructure, he would settle for
improvements to the current privatized insurance system. 

The
group, Healthcare-Now!, doesn't accept President Obama's concession to
the current system. Believing that healthcare is a human right, not a
privilege tied to the ability to pay, Healthcare-Now is spearheading a
national campaign to push for the passage of single-payer healthcare
legislation known as the National Health Insurance Act (HR 676), sponsored by Rep. John Conyers, D-Michigan. The bill would in essence extend the current Medicare system to all
 citizens regardless of their age. 

A coalition comprised of healthcare activists, small businesses, faith organizations, labor unions,
doctors and nurses, HealthCare Now! has organized demonstrations,
public forums and lobbying to overcome the private insurance industry's
well financed effort to exclude the single payer option from the
national debate on healthcare reform. Between The Lines' Scott Harris
spoke with Katie Robbins, assistant national coordinator for Health
Care-Now! She talks about the advantages of single payer, and the
obstacles that stand in the way of getting a fair hearing for the model
used for the provision of health care in most industrialized nations of
the world. 

Contact Health Care-Now at 1-800-453-1305 or visit their website at www.healthcare-now.org 

Related links: 


Physicians for a National Health Plan at www.pnhp.org 


This week's summary 
of under-reported news 

RealAudio MP3 

Compiled by Bob Nixon


The call for
"fiscal responsibility" in the federal budget as the deficit surges to
counter the deep recession could force the Obama administration in
coming years to undermine its commitment to Social Security. ("The man who wants to loot Social Security," The Nation, March 2, 2009) 
Civil unions in France,
officially known as Civil Solidarity Pacts or PACS are growing
increasingly popular with heterosexual couples, where they enjoy most
of the tax advantages of marriage and can easily end the civil pacts.
(" Straight couples in France are choosing civil unions meant for gays," Washington Post, Feb. 14, 2009.) 
The pistachio salmonella scare comes as Congress is debating ways to improve food safety standards, including giving the FDA
the power to issue mandatory recalls of tainted foods. There is a
proposal to split up the FDA and establish a new Food Safety
Administration. ("Food safety reform is on the table again," Los Angeles Times, April 3, 2009; "Pistachio recall signals tough stance on safety," New York Times, April 7, 2009.)
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