July 2014 Archives
Rebecca Gordon, author of the new book Mainstreaming Torture, says "There are several important reasons why the resurgence of torture remains a possibility in post-Bush America: * Torture did not necessarily end when Obama took office. * We have never had a full accounting of all the torture programs in the "war on terror." * Not one of the senior government officials responsible for activities that amounted to war crimes has been held accountable, nor were any of the actual torturers ever brought to court. And further, "The U.S. has a long history of involvement with torture -- from its war in the Philippines at the dawn of the twentieth century on. It has also, as in Latin America in the 1960s, trained torturers serving other regimes. But until 9/11 top officials in this country had never publicly approved of torture...
That consensus no longer exists today. After 9/11 those 'gloves' came off." |
In Refracted Justice, Professor Laurel Fletcher argues that international courts and tribunals consistently frustrate the victims of mass atrocities. In her analysis of transitional justice and victims' rights, she questions whether the International Criminal Court can live up to its moral commitments.
Which begs the question: whose 'morals' does Berkeley Law represent?
"..it is imperative that we develop new models of philanthropy that recognize and honor the interests of our donors." -- UC President Janet Napolitano
Guantanamo nurse refused to
participate in "criminal" force-feedings
c/o www.reprieve.org.uk, with special thanks to Carol Rosenberg at the Miami Herald
For immediate release: Tue July 15, 2014
A military medical professional at Guantanamo Bay recently refused to force-feed detainees after witnessing the suffering it caused detainees, it has been revealed.
The incident is thought to be the first case of 'conscientious objection' to force-feeding at Guantánamo since a mass hunger-strike began at the prison last year. Cleared Syrian Abu Wa'el Dhiab related the news on a phone call last week with his Reprieve lawyer, Cori Crider. Dhiab explained that a military nurse recently told him he would no longer participate in force-feedings, saying: "I have come to the decision that I refuse to participate in this criminal act."
Continue reading Courageous resistance to institutionalized torture.
A poignant, heart-wrenching and profoundly truthful poem by Professor Francis A. Boyle
Ode to My Colleague and Friend Frank Newman
I.
Way to go Berkeley Law!
Deeming Yourselves above The Law
Your Dean Frank Newman now crying in Heaven
Berkeley Law can go to Hell!
Way to go Berkeley Law!
Deeming Yourselves above The Law
Your Dean Frank Newman now crying in Heaven
Berkeley Law can go to Hell!
Accessories After The Fact to torture, murder and war crimes
Law Prof Carl Schmitt would be proud of You All
The Nazis had Their Law Schools too
Replete with John Yoo
Law Prof Carl Schmitt would be proud of You All
The Nazis had Their Law Schools too
Replete with John Yoo
RIP Berkeley Law
Into the Ashcan of History You All go
Good Riddance to Cal's Neo-Nazi Rubbish!.
Into the Ashcan of History You All go
Good Riddance to Cal's Neo-Nazi Rubbish!.
II.
American Law Professors
What have we become?
American Law Professors for torture!
American Law Professors for Gitmo Kangaroo Courts!
American Law Professors for indefinite detention!
American Law Professors for spying!
American Law Professors for drone strikes!
American Law Professors for murder!
American Law Professors for assassinations!
American Law Professors for war crimes!
American Law Professors for crimes against humanity!
American Law Professors for genocide!
American Law Professors for wars of aggression!
American Law Professors for murdering US citizens!
American Law Professors for murder courts!
American Law Professors for trashing the US Constitution!
American Law Professors for trashing the Bill of Rights!
American Law Professors for trashing International Law!
American Law Professors for trashing Human Rights!
What have we become?
American Law Professors for torture!
American Law Professors for Gitmo Kangaroo Courts!
American Law Professors for indefinite detention!
American Law Professors for spying!
American Law Professors for drone strikes!
American Law Professors for murder!
American Law Professors for assassinations!
American Law Professors for war crimes!
American Law Professors for crimes against humanity!
American Law Professors for genocide!
American Law Professors for wars of aggression!
American Law Professors for murdering US citizens!
American Law Professors for murder courts!
American Law Professors for trashing the US Constitution!
American Law Professors for trashing the Bill of Rights!
American Law Professors for trashing International Law!
American Law Professors for trashing Human Rights!
How much lower can American Law Professors sink
Into this criminal shit
Of Neo-Nazi Legal Nihilism?
Into this criminal shit
Of Neo-Nazi Legal Nihilism?
The Nazis had their Law Professors too
The worst of the bunch was Carl Schmitt
And now we have: American Law Professors
For Carl Schmitt too!
The worst of the bunch was Carl Schmitt
And now we have: American Law Professors
For Carl Schmitt too!
Arabs and Muslims
Have become
American Law Professors'
New Jews
And now at Berkeley Law too
With Chaired John Yoo
Have become
American Law Professors'
New Jews
And now at Berkeley Law too
With Chaired John Yoo
Francis A. Boyle is an attorney and a professor at the University of Illinois College of Law. His books include Foundations of World Order (Duke University Press: 1999) and Tackling America's Toughest Questions (2009). His most recent book is United Ireland, Human Rights and International Law. This is his poem "Ode to My Colleague and Friend Frank Newman."
Sujit Choudhry defended a victim of Guantanamo. He now has the power to hold the architect of the boy's incarceration accountable.
Will the new Berkeley Law Dean meet the challenge? Respecting student calls for long overdue investigation of the actions of John Yoo could go a long way towards restoring the moral imperative to release Omar Khadr and all the prisoners at America's torture camps.
Caricature credit: DonkeyHotey
"..knowingly targeting civilians because they happen to be in the vicinity of an often unidentified suspect presumed to commit some future harm comes dangerously close to the strategy employed by al-Qaeda." -- John Glaser
Fire John Yoo has documented the dearth of moral leadership at the Law School, but abandonment of human rights study by the Dean of Humanities adds to serious concerns about campus-wide accommodation for the contemporary imperial state.
..terms of the agreement would prevent lawyers from helping their clients reach out to human rights organizations or UN agencies that deal with torture. Judge Pohl, no expert in international law, rejected their [defense teams for 9/11 suspects] motion for the right to seek remedies under the Convention against Torture, and this is something that they want to relitigate. If they sign the agreement in its current form, they would in essence be voluntarily abandoning that option.
UC Berkeley Billboard
Donations via PayPal
are not tax deductible.
Events & Calendars
Important Reading
Physicians for Human RightsBroken Laws, Broken Lives
NLG White Paper
ON THE LAW OF TORTURE...
The President's Executioner
Detention and torture in Guantanamo
