Barack Obama...torture bill signed. Human Rights advocates applaud move...

Human Rights advocates are applauding three executive orders Barack Obama's signed into Law the first day in office.

On their face, the orders seek to close down the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, end the CIA's use of interrogation techniques that many in the civilized world regard as outright torture - and ultimately - shut down a network of shadowy overseas prisons where the dirty work of the intelligence agency has been carried out since the war in Iraq began.

Many Americans may recall viewing a shocking expose about the issues on Sixty Minutes last year which established wrongdoing on the part of the CIA.

The in-depth probe established that sly government agents registered a plane to a P.O. Box under a fictitious business name - and under the guise of being a private enterprise - flew alleged terrorists overseas to allies of the U.S. who were ready able and willing to torture the suspects to extract information.

The feature film, Rendition (a thinly-veiled account of the scandal) stirred up a lot of controversy, too, when it was released in theatres nationwide and pointed an accusing finger at the wrongful (and potentially illegal) activities of the CIA.

In that feature, Meryl Streep's character - a U.S. Official - uttered a line that resonated with hundreds of thousands of filmgoers here and abroad.

"Americans do not torture people."

No, they just farm the work out, to keep their hands clean.

Post: 10/11/07

http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2007/10/renditionamericans-dont-torture-people.html

Although the executive orders ensure that the U.S. will break free from a Bush administration policy that has been highly criticized - and likewise brought a lot of scorn upon Americans - the new President has not addressed any of the particulars.

For example, no decisions have been made about what to do with the detainees when Guantanamo is shuttered for good.

In addition, sources note that in spite of the executive orders signed this week, the CIA appears to still have a bit of "wiggle room" in respect to methods used to extract highly-sensitive information from terrorists.

The surprisingly quick move on the part of Obama was based on his position that the "executive orders" reflected an understanding that dates back to the Founding Fathers.

"We are willing to observe core standards of conduct not just when it's easy, but also when it's hard."

As John Adams astutely noted:

"People and Nations are forged in the fires of adversity."

http://www.julianayrs.com

Proposition 8...riot police swarm streets of Hollywood! Protestors petition the court...

On Saturday evening - a few members of the press and a handful of AFI Festival organizers were sipping cocktails and kibitzing about the days events in the Cinema Lounge at the Roosevelt Hotel - when a disturbance outside caught our eye.

A rag-tag band of protestors - in support of Gay Marriage - stormed by in the streets angrily denouncing the passing of Proposition 8.

On their heels, a swarm of motorcycle cops and squad cars - manned by hard-jawed officers in riot gear - began to form an impenetrable barricade on the glitzy "Walk of Fame".

At first, onlookers surmised that the police were there to crack heads in the event the gay protestors got out of line.

However, when I stepped outside to determine the facts, passers-by assured me they were there to prevent "fag bashing".

As I trundled down the street to check my e-mail at the Internet cafe - a couple of ugly incidents around me - validated that argument.

Red-neck types were cruising the Hollywood streets in the vicinity shouting out car windows "Fu** you faggots".

As I hopped on the Internet at the PC outlet at La Brea and Sunset, I overheard some patrons muttering about the turn of events with disgust.

"Those faggots. They lost! When are they going to figure it out?"

I can't recall this kind of shocking conduct going down against Gays in a number of years in the streets of Hollywood proper.

Ironically - earlier in the day - I attended a screening for a small Independent Feature - "A Quiet Little Marriage" - at Mann's Chinese Theatre.

The film was a romantic little drama about a newly-wed heterosexual couple focusing on their wedded bliss, issues about child-rearing, and so forth and so on.

In essence, "Quiet Marriage" was about a nurturing union of two "souls", that a majority of voters in California appear to want to deny "gays".

Over the weekend, Arnold Schwarzenegger jumped into the fray and noted for the record, that he hoped Proposition 8 would be overturned by the Courts.

Shortly after the vote count was in on the eve of the November 4th election - supporters of the right for Gays to "marry" - sprang into action, too.

Anti-discrimination groups and bar associations have joined with 44 State Legislators in a bid to overturn the anti-gay marriage initiative made into Law last week by virtue of ballot.

A ban on same-sex marriage amounts to a sweeping revision of the State Constitution, some have argued, and is way beyond the scope it was intended to span.

"Proposition 8 threatens the permanent and abiding nature of the requirement that Laws must apply equally to all - the most basic principle of democratic government," it was noted in a letter to the court from the Anti-Defamation League, Asian Law Caucus, Bet Tzedek Legal Services, Japanese American Citizens, and the Public Counsel.

The issue continues to be a contentious one.

And, potentially explosive, too.

During the course of the drive by both sides to get their message out to the voters, a handful of individuals and businesses were threatened - according to eyewitnesses - that any position taken contrary to their own would result in retaliation.

Will the courts be able to resolve this thorny issue sometime in the near future?

David Kaczynski once opined:

"We've got to take back the ideal of justice, we've got to take back this principle of human dignity. We've got to take it back from vengeance, from hatred, we've got to say: look, we're all in this together. We are human beings."

Beijing...fudged on smog data! Faces scorn of world...

A week ago - I reported on Beijing's last-ditch efforts to curb smog in anticipation of the upcoming Olympics - by shutting-down factories, limiting the number of vehicles on the road, and so forth and so on.

But, the surge forward to clean up the environment has been to no avail, according to reports out of Beijing over the past forty-eight hours.

A huge cloud of smog still hangs thick and ominous over the horizon - obscuring the dazzling new superstructures built to impress the world - and posing a potential threat to Athletes due next week to participate in the games.

In fact, Olympic Officials have expressed their concerns that the quality of air is less than standard and may be a hazard to the health.

A Greenpeace Campaign Director - Lo Sze Ping - blamed the bad air on what he characterized as a - "develop first, clean up later" - approach by the Chinese Government which has obviously backfired.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, it was reported that smog around the Stadium is "unhealthful for sensitive groups".

The Chinese Government - which won the games on the provisio the environment would be "cleaned up" for the Olympic Festivities - has issued a statement in which they flatly allege they have reached their commitment to make sure the air quality is satisfactory for the Games.

Beijing Environmental protection official (Du Shaozhong) asserted to the press in recent days that seventy-percent of the days were able to boast acceptable levels of pollution or an improvement over last year's figures by twenty percent.

However, some are pointing fingers at the data, and accusing Chinese Officials of fudging the figures.

For instance, Steve Q. Andrews - a U.S. Environmental Consultant (who analyzed Beijing's figures) - alleges that two air monitoring stations in congested parts of the downtown sector were dropped from the Government's calculations for the air pollution index and substituted for monitors in the outskirts of the city.

Notwithstanding this kind of obvious skullduggery, those in-the-know claim that China does not even measure ground-level ozone levels which are a major component of smog, according to scientists in the field.

Andrews got a little ballsy and griped,

"They are manipulating the way they measure and what they measure so much that you cannot say the air quality is improving."

As athletes vow to wear masks during the games, China has been forced to look into novel ways to clear the air. For one, they are exploring the idea of artificially inducing rainstorms to dissipate the smog.

In the final analysis, it all appears to boil down to Karma, in my estimation.

Until China stops violating "Human Rights" and denying Monks "Freedom of Speech", and being "negligent" about the environment, their country will continue to face the wrath of God by virtue of floods, famine, earthquakes, poison air, and the like.

China must commence with a spiritual cleansing now - and pray, ultimately, for forgiveness - or face continued ongoing hardships to her detriment and well-being as a Nation.

What do they say?

Confession is good for the soul!