October 24, 2013 at 2:35 P.M. A new Google sign-in sheet today instills fear (in me) concerning whether I will be able to write again. Also, I remain concerned about plagiarism, censorship, silence from American and New Jersey authorities and media outlets (same thing?), even as (I believe) world media continues to provide coverage of my matters.
Alison Smale, "Anger Growing Among Allies On U.S. Spying," The New York Times, October 24, 2013, p. A1. (France, Germany, Brazil and Mexico are raising concerns about American spying in their countries. Russia and China may be next to complain about cyberspying and computer crime.)
Ben Protess & Jessica Silver-Greenberg, "JP Morgan Faces Possible Penalty in Madoff Case," The New York Times, October 24, 2013, p. A1. (Affiliations between JP Morgan and Mr. Madoff are coming to light. Also, the Morgan Bank -- fittingly, given its robber-baron origins! -- may be subject to Interpol investigation for money-laundering for cartels. Enjoy the Opera, Jamie.)
Michael M. Grynbaum & Michael Barbaro, "Lhota in Acrid Second Debate, Turns Up the Heat on de Blasio," The New York Times, October 24, 2013, p. A1. (Mr. Lhota's nasty tactics -- right out of the Republicans' government "shut-down" playbook -- may backfire and hurt his chances in the election. "Jofi Joseph" and other NSA/White House security personnel may have visited my sites before "throwing the Constitution under a bus." Mr. Lhota, you are no Rudi Giuliani. Rudi has a lot of charm as well as the famous toughness.)
Declan Walsh & Insamullah Tisu Mershad, "Civilian Deaths Cited in a Report On Drone Strikes," The New York Times, October 22, 2013, p. A1.
"Names of the Dead," The New York Times, October 22, 2013, p. A10. (2,273 Americans killed in Afghanistan; about 20,000 wounded; 15-20,0000 Americans killed in Iraq; 110,0000 wounded; numbers of dead and wounded Americans in Pakistan and "elsewhere" in 2013 is not known.)
Pakistanis report living in a permanent state of terror over the unpredictable drone bombs raining death on militants as well as innocent civilians, including children and old people.
The U.S. claims that the drones are used with great precision, sparingly and highly effectively, to "control" Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters and militants in northwestern Pakistan, parts of Afghanistan, Yemen and "elsewhere."
U.S. officials do not dispute, however, that more than 3,000 "collateral victims" -- far more than the total number killed by the illicit use of chemical weapons, allegedly, by Mr. Assad in Syria -- have been KILLED by U.S. drones in Pakistan alone. ("Mr. Putin's Advice to America" and "America's Drone Murders.")
The total number of innocents killed by U.S. drones in the world (beyond Pakistan) may be twice the figure in Waziristan. No one knows the exact figure, but few of the young victims of these drone bombings -- including "survivors" maimed for life -- have been nominated for the Nobel prize or will be interviewed by Dianne Sawyer on ABC/Disney's "World News." ("What is memory?" and "Can you lie to yourself?")
In terms of international human rights law, the following facts and principles are not disputed by any government: 1) The U.S. is not at war with Pakistan or Yemen, nor with the people of Afghanistan; 2). civilians -- even "foreseeable unintended casualties" -- are not "acceptable collateral harm" resulting from drone bombings within any country's borders; and 3). indiscriminate killings of civilians by the thousands in a non-combatant nation is a "crime of war" and a "crime against humanity." ("Mr. Obama's Waterloo.")
Drone killings can only be regarded as heinous violations of international law which have been brought to the attention of President Obama by young Miss "Malala," the Afghan nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, and by Pakistan's Prime Minister during a recent White House visit.
Targeting civilians to make a political point was the crime committed by the 9/11 terrorists. Suggesting that the killing of civilians is "permissible" ignores the basic premise of human rights laws and the UN Charter -- each person's rights to life, dignity, justice are precious and, I argue, deontological in nature. ("Zero Dark Thirty" and "Drawing Room Comedy: A Philosophical Essay in the Form of a Film Script.")
No person is a political football to be kicked down the field to serve the interests of powerful forces using people for their own purposes.
A man or woman is not a "thing" to be "used" for purposes that are not his or her own by anyone. For this reason, also, men and women may not be tortured to obtain information valued by any state or other group:
" ... a new Amnesty International investigation that found, among other points, that at least 19 civilians in the surrounding area of North Waziristan had been killed in just two of the drone attacks since January, 2012 -- a time when the Obama administration has held that strikes have been increasingly accurate and free of mistakes." (emphasis added!)
A separate Human Rights Watch report on American drone strikes in Yemen echoes the findings and conclusions published with respect to Pakistan:
"While the strike rate has dropped drastically in recent months, the constant presence of circling drones -- and accompanying tension over when, or whom, they will strike -- is a crushing psychological burden for many persons."
I have lived with such terrorism for about twenty-six years. Today, a new Google sign-in sheet appeared when I signed-in at the NYPL, computer #02, Morningside Heights branch. I can never know whether I will be able to write from one day to the next, even as my work is plagiarized, censored, or destroyed.
Threats, silence, continued violations of my rights to the truth about my life from New Jersey's legal authorities are meant to instill a sense of hopelessness and fear in me. I will remain hopeful, optimistic and I will continue to write. ("Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of Torture" and "Psychological Torture in the American Legal System.")
America's use of terror as an instrument of foreign and/or domestic policy, even as we proclaim a war against terror, leads to absurdity. Contradictions between our statements and practices concerning human rights and torture, terrorism and opposition to indiscriminate killings of civilians undermines American credibility for many persons and countries whose cooperation is essential to winning the "war against terror." ("Is America's Legal Ethics a Lie?" and "Legal Ethics Today" then "American Doctors and Torture.")
An embargo is also an act of war. Starvation tactics are never properly used against countries with which we are at peace. ("Time to End the Embargo Against Cuba" and "American Hypocrisy and Luis Posada-Carriles" then "Cubanazos Protest Against Peace!")
" ... in a speech announcing changes to the drone program in May, Mr. Obama admitted that 'mistakes had been made.' Civilian deaths from drone strikes will haunt him, and others in the American chain of command, for as 'long as we live,' he said."
No pronouncements concerning legal ethics by a jurisdiction identified with corruption, theft from the public treasury, organized crime-controlled judges, child-porn and -prostitution together with hypocrisy about all of these things can be believed by Americans or the peoples of the world. ("Law and Ethics in the Soprano State" and "New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System.")
Mr. Obama's assurances that innocent civilians were not killed by drones is contradicted by Amnesty International's report, which suggests near indifference to the "collateral" loss of life in Pakistan, and ...
" ... examines 45 known strikes in North Waziristan between January, 2012 and August, 2013 [and] asserts that in several cases drones killed civilians INDISCRIMINATELY." (emphasis added!)
"Indiscriminately" is the criteria under international law for what constitutes "Crimes Against Humanity."
Is this how we will defeat terrorism and uphold human rights in the world, Mr. Obama?
