Max Cleland on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer talking about “cut and run stuff”
Jon Stewart rips on Bush’s Rose Garden speech of Wednesday.
Bush: I firmly believe Mike, that ummm that is the best strategy to solve the problem. One has a stronger hand when there’s more people playing your same cards.
Stewart: I am not a card player, but that does not sound right to me.
[tag]As the Red Cross wraps up it’s two week visit with the 14 recent arrivals to the Guantanamo Bay prison, the British foreign minister released Britain’s annual report on human rights around the world, stating that holding hundreds of terrorist suspects at the camp for years was “unacceptable in terms of human rights” and “ineffective in terms of counterterrorism.” The U.S. released 17 detainees from Gitmo on Thursday. One Afghanistan doctor who was released, stated he was held there for four years for nothing. He shook as he spoke. It is thought most of the Afghan prisoners were arrested because of false reports by other Afghans. Why is it the world sees the WRONG in this, but the war criminals running this country won’t see it? Seems the Brits are about through supporting this government’s inhumane and illegal activities.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The Red Cross met at Guantanamo Bay with 14 new “high-value detainees,” including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday.
The encounters apparently mark the first time the 14 detainees have met with anyone other than their captors since they were arrested, held in CIA custody at secret locations and transferred weeks ago to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Among them are the alleged architects of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and the U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.
Simon Schorno, spokesman in Washington for the International Committee of the Red Cross, declined to discuss specifics or even confirm the encounters had taken place. In meetings with prisoners, Red Cross officials explain that they are visiting as monitors.
Read the full article at MSNBC
Luciano Pavarotti - “Nessun Dorma”
Happy 71st birthday, Luciano Pavorotti! This song is from Puccini’s last opera, Turandot. While Pavarotti has always had a magnificent voice, here he seems to be quite emotionally invested in one of his signature songs.
This aria is one of my favorites. Here is the translation. If you hear a good tenor singing it live, it will send chills down your spine. I find it a striking piece because even though The Prince, the character singing, faces daunting odds, he is astoundingly optimistic, singing “I will win!” His faith is so strong he has put his life in the hands of a cold, cruel woman - but he believes he can reawaken her humanity. The music is stirring. And the Prince’s passion is inspiring. Vincerò!
