Torture in Darfur

Recently a friend wrote a blog complaining about the alleged torture of suspected and/or known terrorists being held in Guantanamo. He further described an incident where a prisoner was bound, had a hood covering his head and was held by a dog, thereby suffering from fear. What, fear of the dark? Fear of the dog? He further criticized the United States and referenced the UN Commission Against Torture as a "scathing indictment of recent US policy".

There are many governments torturing their own citizens and the UN seems helpless to do anything about it, and, moreover, doesn't seem too terribly concerned. But there are certain member nations — unfriendly to the United States, of course — that routinely and deliberately torture, indeed murder, their citizens for a number of reasons; usually to gain or remain in power. And even at the urging of the US and its allies to take measures to prevent it, they seem to be satisfied with sweeping it under the rug. Darfur is just such a place.

What about the torture taking place in Darfur? Beawitness.org states, "Genocide is the ultimate crime against humanity. And a government-backed genocide is unfolding in the Darfur region of the Sudan. As the horror in Darfur continues, our major television news networks are largely missing in action."

Many put much faith in the ability of the UN to right the wrongs of nations violating human and civil rights, but more than 180,000 citizens have died (been murdered) and more than 2.5 million displaced from their homes (more like tents) by the Sudanese government. Scaring a terrorist with a dog is a far cry from the torture and murder of the citizens of Darfur. Where is the public demand on the UN Security Council over Darfur? Has the UN lost its effectiveness in controlling and/or ceasing atrocities by governments on its citizens? Was it ever effective?

Where is the public demand on the UN to address the issue of terrorism and the attempt to build nuclear weapons in Iran? How about the recent pact between Iran and Syria, both known for their support of terrorism and hatred of America and its allies?

Can't terrorism be considered a form of torture? The fact that we haven't suffered another 9/11-like attack is not for the lack of desire. It is because of the heightened awareness and preventative actions of the agencies that protect us from such attacks. But if the liberal democrats and ALCU had their way, we wouldn't be incarcerating these terrorist's or attempting to monitor overseas calls to regions suspected of terrorist activity. No, we would be laying down our weapons, bringing our troops home, sending all the incarcerated terrorists back home to commit more terrorist acts and begging them to "play nice". In case your memory is fading about the events of 9/11, view several CNN video clips here.

Oh, and by the way, we'll pay any price you want for your oil, because the environmentalist's in America own our government and they won’t let us drill for any more; not to mention that we haven’t built a refinery in about 30 years.

I have a great deal of difficulty conjuring up the same sympathy or empathy for a known or suspected terrorist being scared by a dog as I have for the 9/11 victims and their families. All of them were innocent people going about their daily lives. God rest their souls.

Bias in the News

Another example of bias in the news has appeared (surprise, surprise!) on the KCRA TV news channel and web site today. I'm not singling out KCRA; most major national news media are guilty of the same thing hundreds of times over everyday. The police investigation so far has determined that the suspect, Eugene Gallegos, Jr., tried to run down a police officer responding to an armed robbery report. Witnesses claim the suspect was accelerating toward the officer and the officer jumped on to the head of the suspect’s car to avoid being pinned between a squad car and the suspect’s vehicle. However, KCRA news reporter Mike TeSelle, while failing to report the results of the investigation and trying to turn the incident into a case of police doing something wrong, focuses on the mother's remarks of doubt that the police officer had justification for defending himself.

First, while the mother, Michelle Andrade, was being interviewed, she didn't show any signs of grief, no tears, nothing. Oh, she tried her best to sound grief stricken. She said, “My son was terrific, man; my son was great. I thank God that He gave me my son in my life. I thank God. My love for my son and my son’s love for me, was just totally (pause) I thank God for giving me my son.” Watch the video and judge for yourself how grief stricken this mother is (isn’t). But this really doesn’t speak to the question of whether Mr. Gallegos is at fault. What is more to the point can be found in Ms. Andrade’s admitting that her son was not a saint; by Sacramento Police Chief Albert Najera commenting, "There's no doubt in my mind that the driver of that vehicle intended to kill the officer. All of our investigation thus far supports that statement as well." What’s more, two of the car’s occupants fled the scene after the shooting. Hmmm, let me see now. They were so afraid for their lives they decided to make a run for it. No, innocent people don’t run from the law. Criminals run from the law.

Then Mr. TeSelle asks, ”…do you think it’s at all justified?” And Ms. Andrade answers, “No, it’s not; no it’s not justified. I don’t know (pause) there’s a lot I don’t know still.” Which begs the question, which is it? They weren’t justified, or you don’t know?

This is a glaring example of the news media playing to the “bleeding hearts” to create something more sensational for their news report, quoting someone as allegedly calling it a “Hollywood style shooting”, but failing to name the person making the quote. For all we know it could have been a by-stander who watches too many violent TV shows and gets reality confused with fiction. But, gee, anything Hollywood seems to get a lot of attention these days, what with shows like Entertainment Tonight, E! News and so–on. Often these stories are created and sensationalized to try and grow their viewing audience. But more often than not these type stories paint the policemen and deputy sheriff's as the bad guys, when in fact; it’s almost always the opposite. Deputy Sheriff’s and Police Officer’s put their lives on the line each and every day. And as a law abiding citizen I thank God and them for doing it. They know the streets, and they know who the bad guys are; which is more than I can say for many news reporters.

The community would be better served if the media provided more coverage on the growing crime rate in the Sacramento area. Just in the last week there have been, multiple murders, armed robberies, home invasion robberies, auto thefts and robber’s grabbing purses from women, physically assaulting one of them before fleeing. Every night there are new stories about violent crimes and the news media focuses on the poor mistreated suspect instead of the violated victims and the need for measures to reduce the crime rate. Do you notice anything wrong with this picture? I do, and I hope the main stream citizen does, or we’re in for some rough but predictable times ahead.

Re-activated the Comments Setting on my Blog

Well, I may have found a way to prevent unwanted comments on my blog by setting "Word Verification" to yes. We'll see if I get any unwanted comments (advertisements).

I have been invited -- and have accepted -- to join the "Four Views" blog. Some friends and I have often had discussions (mostly about political views on various subjects), and one of our group decided to start a shared blog so we have a forum to share our views with whoever wishes to read them. You may find our comments interesting and we invite others to read them. We always have friendly discussions, even though our views are often at opposite ends of the political spectrum, so don't expect any personal attacks or bashing. And, please don't include any personal attacks or bashing if you decide to post any comments. Happy blogging!