doc,speak for yourself!Gitmo is not an embarassment for all Americans!I happen to believe that ''Gitmo'' has been one of the most beneficial strategies to preventing more terrorists attacks to the USA!
Guantà¹namo Bay detainment camp serves as a joint military prison and interrogation camp under the leadership of Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) and has occupied a portion of the United States Navy's base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since 2002.[1] The prison holds people suspected by the executive branch of the U.S. government of being al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives, but with some people no longer considered suspects who are being held pending relocation elsewhere. The prisoners were captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world.
The detainment areas consist of three camps in the base: Camp Delta (which includes Camp Echo), Camp Iguana, and the now-closed Camp X-Ray. The facility is often referred to as Guantanamo, Gitmo (derived from the abbreviation "GTMO" ), or Camp X-Ray.[2]
The camp has drawn strong criticism both in the U.S. and world-wide for its detainment of prisoners without trial, and allegations of torture. The detainees held by the United States were classified as "enemy combatants". The U.S. administration had claimed that they were not entitled to the protections of the Geneva Conventions, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against this interpretation on June 29, 2006.[3] Following this, on July 7, 2006 the Department of Defense issued an internal memo stating that prisoners will in the future be entitled to protection under the Geneva Conventions.[4][5][6]
Most of the detainees still at Guantanamo are not scheduled for trial. As of November 2006, according to MSNBC.com, out of 775 detainees who have been brought to Guantanamo, approximately 340 have been released, leaving 435 detainees. Of those 435, 110 have been labeled as ready for release. Of the other 325, only "more than 70" will face trial, the Pentagon says. That leaves about 250 who may be held indefinitely.[7]
Pentagon sources have said that some detainees who were deemed to no longer be a threat and were released have since been recaptured or killed while fighting US and coalition forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Obviously ,I am no more of an expert than any other poster here!But I think that ''Gitmo'' and eavesdropping on particular phonecalls has probaly had something to do with no terrorist attacks in the USA since 9/11!What do you think!
The latest report on Thailand released by the State Department is an interesting document. Washington was obviously very careful in describing the overall human-rights situation in Thailand and avoided judgemental evaluations. The report contained factual, verified reports from newspapers and interviews. There were some errors, but that had to do with the follow-up assessment, such as the progress made on lifting martial law in various provinces.
Since the report overlaps two governments, it provides a rather clear contrast. Certain violations in the previous government continue to occur under this administration, such as the culture of impunity within the police force, who are well versed in torture and the art of disappearances. Despite the Surayud government's promise that there would not be any human-rights abuses on its watch, there were still some breaches of human rights reported, although not as severe as in the past. Despite the government's pledge to respect freedom of expression and press freedom, certain government agencies and officials continue to intimidate the media. But overall, there is more freedom of expression now than under the elected government of Thaksin.
The State Department's report on human rights around the world does not, of course, contain an assessment of the US. Criticism levied against the US government for human-rights violations it has committed against its citizens and foreigners, such as those being held in the infamous Guantanamo Prison, and for interrogations in the US concerning terrorism after the September 11 tragedy is now widespread.
In one way, the report highlighted US hypocrisy in its promotion of human rights inside its own country. However, one thing is positive about the US: everyone can easily read about the topic. The US media, including civil-society organisations, have continued to speak out against the US government's high-handed policies.
For better or worse, the US human-rights report can serve as a yardstick. It gives an idea of how the US views other countries. Of course, the ideal scenario would be for each nation to conduct its own truthful assessment of human rights, so that their own people are informed. But in the absence of that, the US report is useful to help us understand our neighbours and ourselves. The Thai government has taken the right attitude towards the report this year; that is to say, not the confrontational one of the Thaksin years.
[/quote]cookie wrote:From the editor of the Nation.
it seems to me that he agrees with Doc as well as with Stan.
he made the same connection as Doc between the violations of the human rights in Thailand as the violation of human rights in the US (GITMO).
I also wonder what they will think about the freedom of expression and freedom of press, but on the other hand they block youtube video clips. I wouldn't call that press freedom
The onus is now on Germany. Would be interesting to see what they do with this clown.h sexual predators... at least the second time around...
Pattaya City News
German boy bar owner arrested on allegations of making underage sex videos.
We joined officers from the Women and Child Protection Unit, a division of Chonburi Provincial Police as they conducted a raid of a house in Soi Paniachang 8 in Central Pattaya on Thursday Morning. An arrest warrant had been issued for Mr. Peter Fritz Alfred Kuttner, aged 53 from Germany who is the owner of the Dragon Bar located in Soi Sunee Plaza, an area notorious for boy bars that will often employ underage male workers. The warrant states that the suspect is accused of taking pornographic movies of boys under the age of 15. Inside his house explicit pictures of young boys and other items including VCD movies were seized of evidence. This is not the first time Mr. Kuttner has been arrested in Pattaya. In July 2004 he was arrested and charged with sexually abusing two girls under the age of 15 and was also arrested for operating the Triple Bar in Soi Sunee Plaza without valid operating licenses. Mr. Kuttner was refused bail and has been transferred to German Embassy Officials in Bangkok who may take the option of prosecuting Mr. Kuttner in Germany.
March 21, 2007 : Last updated 12:08 pm (Thai local time)
The Nation
Popular rocker given suspended jail term for having sex with underage girl
Popular rocker Ekkarat Wongcharat or Dak Big Ass was Wednesday given a suspended jail term after the Criminal Court found him guilty with having sex with a girl under 18 years old.
He was initially sentenced to one and a half years in jail and a fine of Bt20,000 but the court suspended the jail term for two years. The court also commuted the fine to Bt15,000.
The Nation
