2010.01.05 - PEGC Update ======================== [ Correcting bad link for Bihani opinion ] 1) ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER ATROCITY And gee, it sure didn't take long did it? "Unlike either Hamdi or Al-Marri, Al-Bihani is a non-citizen who was seized in a foreign country. Requiring highly protective procedures at the tail end of the detention process for detainees like Al-Bihani would have systemic effects on the military’s entire approach to war. From the moment a shot is fired, to battlefield capture, up to a detainee's day in court, military operations would be compromised as the government strove to satisfy evidentiary standards in anticipation of habeas litigation." -- Al-Bihani v. Obama (CAD 2010), Brown, Circuit Judge, per curiam. After eight years of endless BS it's getting a bit difficult to judge these things precisely, but this might just be the most disgraceful judicial opinion since the abomination in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 316 F.3d 450 (4th Cir. 2003)... D.C. Circuit -- January 5, 2010 AL-BIHANI v. OBAMA, No. 09-5051 Before: BROWN and KAVANAUGH, Circuit Judges, and WILLIAMS, Senior Circuit Judge. Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge BROWN. Concurring opinion filed by Circuit Judge BROWN. Opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment filed by Senior Circuit Judge WILLIAMS. http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/common/opinions/201001/09-5051-1223587.pdf SCOTUSblog -- January 5, 2010 WIDE DETENTION POWER UPHELD DC Circuit's first ruling post-Boumediene by Lyle Denniston http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wide-detention-power-upheld/ Opinio Juris -- January 5, 2010 DC CIRCUIT SPEAKS ON GITMO HABEAS MERITS by Deborah Pearlstein http://opiniojuris.org/2010/01/05/dc-circuit-speaks-on-gitmo-habeas-merits/ 2) OTHER DEVELOPMENTS * The government got a one month extension for their response in Kiyemba v. Obama from the Supreme Court. The response is now due at the beginning of February, and oral argument is set for Tuesday, March 23, at 10:00 am: http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/March-2010-argument-calendar.pdf * Then there's some news that was a little startling... the HUMAN RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT ACT, which sets up a section in the DOJ Criminal Division with a mandate to prosecute violations of Title 18 USC sections 1091 (genocide), 2340 & 2340A (torture), 2441 (war crimes), or 2442 (recruitment or use of child soldiers). This is supposed be established within 90 days, and I figure it might be a useful pressure point if it isn't just a new house in the Potemkin Village. Main Justice -- December 23, 2009 NEW DOJ HUMAN RIGHTS SECTION BECOMES LAW by Andrew Ramonas http://www.mainjustice.com/2009/12/23/new-doj-human-rights-section-becomes-law/ Thomas -- S.1472 HUMAN RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2009 Title: A bill to establish a section within the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice to enforce human rights laws, to make technical and conforming amendments to criminal and immigration laws pertaining to human rights violations, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen Dick Durbin (D-IL), introduced 7/20/2009. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:s.01472:S.1472 * GPO PDF: http://tinyurl.com/HREA-2009 * HTML: http://www.pegc.us/HREA_2009.html * Edited (larger font) PDF: http://www.pegc.us/S.1472.pdf Passed the Senate by unanimous consent 2009.11.21. Passed the House by a 416-3 roll-call vote 2009.12.15. Signed by President Obama on 2009.12.22. White House -- December 22, 2009 STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY ON H.J.RES. 62, H.R. 4165 AND S.1472 http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/statement-press-secretary-hjres-62-hr-4165-and-s1472 3) GUANTANAMO BAY Andy Worthington -- January 4, 2010 GUANTANAMO: THE DEFINITIVE PRISONER LIST (UPDATED FOR 2010) by Andy Worthington http://tinyurl.com/ykckztm NY Times -- December 29, 2009 QUESTIONS FOR JOHN YOO by Deborah Solomon http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/magazine/03fob-q4-t.html?ref=magazine 4) OP-ED Consortiumnews.com -- January 5, 2010 WHY COUNTER-TERRORISM IS IN SHAMBLES by Ray McGovern and Coleen Rowley http://www.consortiumnews.com/2010/010510c.html New York Times -- January 3, 2010 YES, IT WAS TORTURE, AND ILLEGAL Editorial http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/opinion/04mon1.html Harper's -- January 2, 2010 BALZAC -- PROSECUTORS AND THE PUBLIC TRUST by Scott Horton http://harpers.org/archive/2010/01/hbc-90006310 The Atlantic -- January 1, 2010 How Cheney Made America A Torture Nation by Andrew Sullivan http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/01/how-cheney-made-america-a-torture-nation.html 5) HAPPY NEW YEAR I wanted to wish all of you a HAPPY NEW YEAR, and let everyone know my health appears to be pretty good. I'm feeling better than last year at this time, and had an MRI on my head that both oncologists were happy with, and now I'm waiting on approval for a new PET scan to see how the rest of me is doing. But I can tell already the treatments were pretty effective just from how I feel, and my biggest medical problem right now is entirely bureaucratic: I'm entering a 6-month stretch between the anniversary of getting Medi-Cal coverage (California State insurance program) and my two-year anniversary of receiving Social Security disability benefits in July, the upshot of which is that I'll have a $1,500 per month co-pay for my medical insurance the next six months. The good news is that other than that PET scan and a few prescriptions, I'm hoping the insurance won't be needed that much (knock on wood), plus I can even afford it regardless (ditto). In July, I'll be covered by Medicare absent any unfortunate consequences of the new health care reform, assuming there is one, real or imagined. So I'm working and thinking on the project. Indeed, I'm half-way through a major update / reorganization of the PEGC file archive, a good indicator of how much better I'm feeling. Best, Charly * * * Charles B. Gittings Jr. 223 South Harrison St. Fort Bragg, CA 95437 +1-707-888-3561 Project to Enforce the Geneva Conventions (PEGC) http://www.pegc.us