World Focus: “Obama Defends Decision to Close Guantanamo”

From WorldFocusOnline:

On Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama delivered a strong defense of his decision to close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, an issue that has become increasingly political in recent weeks. On Wednesday, Congress had denied Obamas request for $80 million to close the detention facility.

In the speech, Obama largely repudiated the Bush administration policy on dealing with terror suspects — and declared again, in no uncertain terms, we do not torture.

Shayana Kadidal, a senior managing attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights who has represented a number of Guantanamo detainees, joins Martin Savidge to discuss how the president made his case, the next step and potential pitfalls of the Obama plan.

The Two Americas

Left versus Right political divides seem to be at all time highs.

We live in two different spheres of media and politics where there is no common ground whatsoever. Even within defining the past, and simple definitions of words, there is no mutual understanding between groups.

The Liberal versus Conservative Debate cannot take place under these conditions, and ultimately does nothing but aggravate social divisions. Each side blames the other for this via biased media and partisan rancor.

Partisanship is inevitable. Each side must strive to avoid not only personal bias when discussing politics but also avoid one-sided media bias when consuming political news media. Many mistake this suggestion as promoting only specifically formatted media programs.

I instead suggest hearing both sides of the debate. Every liberal should boldly consume partisan media of the right as should every conservative boldly consume partisan media of the left.

President Barack Obama spoke out early in his presidency against partisanship on the right and specifically named the radio conservative Rush Limbaugh. Obama specifically urged conservatives to stray away from partisans like Limbaugh, and with good reason.

While we all have partisanship within us there are certain figures in media who exhibit a bias so strong it is questionable if it is indeed genuine. Rush Limbaugh may well be far less partisan against liberals than he appears while on the air.

The bottom line is partisanship sells media. As long as media consumers of all political persuasions wish to only have their own opinions echoed back at them the partisan media will continue to thrive. This leads to the Two Americas of politics today.

A land where intolerance of thought is standard. A land of our own creation.

Brown Racism and Gay Bigotry are The New Norm

Seeing as how American Society has decided that racism against blacks is anathema there leaves little room for modern racists and bigots in which to move.

Clear evidence of this is the fact that most anyone who reads this knows what racial slur I refer to the “N-Word” but no such complete verbal bans exist within any other racial slurs or forms of hate speech.

More evidence of the intolerance in American Society would be found in classrooms, schoolyards and off-record public gatherings. Time and time again I find my strongest divide with my peers is that of bigotry and racism. Even in some who no doubt assume themselves to be ‘free’ of cultural hate.

Brown Racism seems most strongly found in the older generations of racists. Very possibly the remnants of the Anti-Civil Rights Movement. I imagine many of these individuals have much of the same prejudices against all minorities and they are seemingly focusing their hate toward illegal immigrants from Mexico. Using the political stance of border reform as a guise for their radical and often completely absurd notions regarding Mexican-Americans. These are clear examples of American Racism.

Gay Bigotry seems most strongly found in the young generations of bigots. Not in any way unique from any group that hates another for a belief except that this belief is not a religion but rather a concept that sexuality is unbound between genders. Philosophical considerations are not made, for or against, and openly expressed prejudices go unchallenged as any non-heterosexual person is declared a ‘pervert,’ ‘immoral,’ ‘abnormal,’ ‘evil,’ or ‘flawed.’ In my perception this is the most commonly found example of American Bigotry.

The implications are simple. These forms of thought are purely destructive to American Society. Allowing the fears of the past to dictate our future will only lead to failure.

Waterboarding is Torture

It disturbs and disgusts me that so many American conservatives refuse to address all empirical evidence regarding practices like waterboarding while supporting these failed and immoral policies enacted under the Bush Presidency in the aftermath of the attacks of 2001.

Political partisanship aside, our nation has long stood as a global role model of a free republic and a just democracy by which the policies of fledgling democracies might observe and hopefully mimic.

A country claiming moral superiority must have reflective policies as pertaining to these morals. Any country that approves of a policy such as legal waterboarding of detainees cannot hope to claim any degree of civic morality inherent to it’s soil.

Redefinitions of torture as acceptable in any form is counter-intuitive to sound American policy making, in my view. Within political debate the same attempts are contrary to the Spirit of The Constitution itself. Not to mention the practice is specifically banned by the Military Code of Conduct and the Geneva Convention.

Political Images

Mexico in Crisis Today, America in Crisis Tomorrow

According to the Public Broadcasting Station (affiliate: KQED) and the Mexican authorities an estimated 5,000 people have been killed in Mexico in the past year.

Kidnappings, public displays of carnage and executions are common place in areas where brave men and women speak out against the violent reign of the Cartels.

480 missing persons and kidnapping cases leave loving parents asking continually unanswered questions of the Mexican authorities.

Cartel televised informant described a complete lack of any code of conduct in any of his experiences. He stated that Tijuana was the central focus of the Cartels for the drug trade and launching point into the US.

The Mexican President was reported to say he saw no escape from a tail-spin into a corrupt culture of violence and drug lords in years to come.

The notion that the state of Mexican-national affairs will not ultimately effect American-national affairs is not supported by facts.

The likelihood of these events in Mexico between 2007 and 2008 effecting America in a highly negative fashion in years to come becomes more likely under any system that precludes the importance of action.

The danger posed by the Cartels and other violent organizations established in Mexico should be at the highest of priorities of border-state governors and all applicable agencies charged to such matters in our government.

Eric Lightborn

December 19^th 2008