Goddard: Hand Count of RTA Ballots Affirms Election Results

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: David Safier has faithfully chronicled the goings on in the RTA ballot recount, but since he is on vacation it falls to me to fill you in on the latest news. On Tuesday, The Arizona Attorney General’s Office announced that its hand count of the ballots cast in the May 2006 Pima … Read more

Ex-CIA official: “This was torture”

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Even after interrogators informed CIA headquarters Abu Zubaydah had told them all he knew, according to a newly released Justice Department memo, they were told to carry out harsh questioning anyway because CIA leaders in Washington insisted he knew more — setting off a quiet crisis inside the government. "You've got people … Read more

From the Archive – John McCain: Japanese Hanged for Waterboarding

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Nov. 29, 2007 – (AP) Republican presidential candidate John McCain reminded people Thursday that some Japanese were tried and hanged for torturing American prisoners during World War II with techniques that included waterboarding. "There should be little doubt from American history that we consider that as torture otherwise we … Read more

Obama open to probe, prosecution of top officials over interrogations

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Speaking to reporters today following a meeting, President Obama defended his decision to release memos in which senior Bush administration officials approved interrogation techniques that have been widely denounced as torture. He said the memos "reflected, in my view, us losing our moral bearings," adding, "That's why I've discontinued those enhanced interrogation … Read more