Human avian flu arrives in Europe
While it’s not a major crisis so far, it is significant that avian flu has now infected people in Europe, killing one: Turkey diagnoses human bird flu.
Add comment January 4th, 2006
Archive for January 4th, 2006
Bush reserves right to torture, despite ban
The Boston Globe reports today [Bush could bypass torture ban] that President Bush issued a ‘’signing statement” (as recomended decades ago by Alito) reserving the right to torture despite the Congressional ban:
After approving the bill last Friday, Bush issued a ‘’signing statement” — an official document in which a president lays out his interpretation of a new law — declaring that he will view the interrogation limits in the context of his broader powers to protect national security. This means Bush believes he can waive the restrictions, the White House and legal specialists said.
”The executive branch shall construe [the law] in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the President . . . as Commander in Chief,” Bush wrote, adding that this approach ”will assist in achieving the shared objective of the Congress and the President . . . of protecting the American people from further terrorist attacks….”
…
David Golove, a New York University law professor who specializes in executive power issues, said that the signing statement means that Bush believes he can still authorize harsh interrogation tactics when he sees fit.
”The signing statement is saying ‘I will only comply with this law when I want to, and if something arises in the war on terrorism where I think it’s important to torture or engage in cruel, inhuman, and degrading conduct, I have the authority to do so and nothing in this law is going to stop me,’ ” he said. ”They don’t want to come out and say it directly because it doesn’t sound very nice, but it’s unmistakable to anyone who has been following what’s going on.”
If allowed to stand, this will be a total assertion that the President is above the law. If Sen. McCain doesn’t move to impeach, we will know that his ban was just for show, and not intended to actually impede US behavior.
Add comment January 4th, 2006