Posted on 02/09/2009 4:34:38 PM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
SAN FRANCISCO — In a closely watched case involving rendition and torture, a lawyer for the Obama administration apparently surprised a panel of federal appeals judges Monday by pressing ahead with an argument for preserving state secrets originally developed by the Bush administration.
In the case, Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian native, and four other detainees filed suit against a subsidiary of Boeing for arranging flights for the Bush administration’s “extraordinary rendition” program, in which terrorism suspects were taken secretly to other countries and tortured. The Bush administration argued that the case should be dismissed because even discussing it in court could present a threat to national security and relations with other nations
President Obama had harshly criticized the Bush administration’s treatment of detainees during the campaign, and has broken with the previous administration on such questions as whether to keep open the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. But a lawyer for the government, Douglas N. Letter, made the same state-secrets argument on Monday, startling several judges on the panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. [snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
So CHANGE = BUSH.
“Never mind.”
What a doofus!
0bama’s January 22 Executive Order establishes a Commission to study rendition, and the relevant section reads as follows:
“(ii) to study and evaluate the practices of transferring individuals to other nations in order to ensure that such practices comply with the domestic laws, international obligations, and policies of the United States and do not result in the transfer of individuals to other nations to face torture or otherwise for the purpose, or with the effect, of undermining or circumventing the commitments or obligations of the United States to ensure the humane treatment of individuals in its custody or control.”
Well here’s my theory on this one . . . call me Mr. Conspiracy Theory.
This is the Ninth Circuit. The Administration gets significant cover if ruled against by the Ninth Circuit. They can do the “see we tried” thing.
I’ve litigated and argued enough cases to know things are very often not at all what they seem.
The List
First president not to attend The Inaugural Medal of Honor Ball
5 exectutive orders the first week in office. Including
* -allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians with ties to Hamas to resettle in the United States.
* - Scrapping the Mexico City Policy that protected taxpayers from involvement in overseas abortions for eight years. Obama will send hundreds of millions of dollars to groups that aggressively promote abortions on a worldwide scale.
First official phone call to Abbas
Insults China
First interview, with foreign news outlet- for Muslims
Talks about his muslim family
Picks fight with Limbaugh
Won't take question from press
Allows to FDA approve first human embryonic stem cell safety trial (3 days after Pres. Bush left)
Excludes any compromise with GOP on Stimulus bill Massive pork in stimulus bill
5% of stimulus bill to actually go to infrastructure
Offers to negotiate directly with Iran
Puts 5 millionairs on his cabinet
Makes a tax cheat the Sec. of the Treasury
Bombs Pakistan
Argues with the Pope on abortion
Signed the SCHIP bill, that gives health care to illegals
Won't allow a video of his retaking of the oath of office
Ordered the closure of Gitmo
Halts all pending Bush regulations
Second week:
Appoints extremist Samantha Powers to head foreign policy team
Secret nuke talks with Iran/Syria
Appoints tax cheat for commerce secretary
Illegal alien aunt, granted a "stay" of deportation Daschle the tax cheat/lobbiest proposed as secretary for health care
Nancy Killefer for candidacy to be the first chief performance officer for federal government fails to pay household help taxes ...withdrawn
Obama brings the U.S. Census Bureau under White House jurisdiction under protest from Republican lawmakers
12 lobbyists (or more) appointed to high gov't positions within the first 14 days of his administration (up to 17 by another source)
Administration demands defense cuts of 10% during wartime
Obama envoy George Mitchell tells Palistinians " they believe can extract from Israel concessions reaching "much further" than during talks held under the previous administration
The European Union warns the US yesterday against plunging the world into depression by adopting Obama's “Buy American” policy, intensifying fears of a trade war Obama immediately backs down from policy
After stating her priority would be "mum-in-chief", Michelle Obama goes on listening tour and then makes political speeches with her husband not yet one month in office...
George Mitchell resigns from a Saudi Lobbying firm, two weeks into his appointment as "Special Middle East Envoy"
Obama administration says it will cancel 77 drilling leases near Utah parks
Ogden, President Obama's pick for deputy attorney general, used to represent Playboy
Steven Chu, Obama's secretary of energy (not a climatologist) states: California's farms and vineyards could vanish by the end of the century, and its major cities could be in jeopardy, if Americans do not act to slow the advance of global warming
Obama names “most fined” Washington State bureaucrat Ron Simms to the #2 position in HUD
Hilda Solis, Obama's pick for labor secretary's husband is found to be a tax cheat just before the confirmation vote
Directed military prosecutors to revoked charges pending against mastermind of USS Cole bombing: Al Nashiri
Adding insult to injury: speaks to families of USS Cole dead, after decision to free Al Nashiri- not before
Third week in office
Obama changes the setup of the National Security Councel by executive order
Shauna Daly, professional “dirt digger” hired as “White House councel research director”
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel got free housing from House rep (D) Rosa DeLauro for 5 years . DeLauro is married to Stan Greenberg; a pollster (Quinlin Rosner Research) with lucrative contracts from both that representatives.
A Syrian paper reported that the Obama U.S. Dept. of Commerce agreed to sell plane parts to Syria
A lawyer for the Obama administration surprised a panel of federal appeals judges by making an argument to preserve state secrets in a trial regarding terrorism subjects. This argument was made, after repeatedly attacking the Bush administration for doing the same thing.
Great job keeping up with the current blitkrieg! You should post this running list on your forum home page for easy reference.
And I propose a "sanity commission" to investigate Leaky Leahy.
Nothing like hiring an expert and sending the retainer to someone that you do not want to see on the witness stand.
If we had a “truth commission” for every major Democratic leak, act of treason, etc,. we’d need a new Govt Printing Office just to publish it.
Leaky Leahy
Leakly Rockefeller
Leaky car - Ted Kennedy (and Chappaquidick)
Leaky Rep. Drinan
Leaky Rep. Michael Harrington
Traitor Conyers and Abzug, Cranston, Harkin, Kerry, Crockett, Charles Hayes, Dodd, Dellums
Communist front supporters - Metzenbaum, Parren Mitchell, George Miller, Kastenmeier, Frank, Waters, Lee, T. Weiss, Don Edwards, the Burton Brothers, Charles Porter, Gus Savage, and many, many more
Iran - 1979
Sandinistas - 1979
Bay of Pigs - 1961
McNamara’s policies during Vietnam
Jimmy Carter’s destruction of HUMINT (Human Intelligence agents in the CIA and on the ground)
Bill Clinton, George Tenet, Hillary Clinton, Jamie Gorelick and Janet Reno, for stupidity and near treason
There is so much more, more and more.
Thank you for the idea. I just put the list on my page.
Thank you!
bump
I hadn’t heard about these:
Obama names “most fined” Washington State bureaucrat Ron Simms to the #2 position in HUD
Obama has agreed to sell plane parts to Syria
My comment: Good Grief!!!!!!!!!!
(Thanks for the LIST!)
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