April 19
1775 - American Revolutionary War: The war begins at the Battle of Lexington and Concord.
1936 - First day of the Great Uprising in Palestine.
1943
- World War II: In
1976 - Executive Order 9066 is rescinded. United States Executive Order 9066 was a presidential executive order issued during World War II by U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, using his authority as Commander-in-Chief to exercise war powers to send ethnic groups to internment camps.
1993 - The 51-day siege of the Branch Davidian building outside Waco, Texas, USA, ends when a fire breaks out. Eighty-one people die.
1995 - Oklahoma City bombing: The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, is bombed, killing 168. That same day convicted murderer Richard Wayne Snell, who had ties to bombing suspect Timothy McVeigh, is executed in Arkansas.
2009 Barack Obama killed Hope
Yeah, right. When all logic... or all else fails, blame....
Must be something in the intertubes today.
April 20, 2009 10:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, stuff like this.
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama will visit CIA headquarters on Monday amid charges he undermined the US intelligence community by unveiling details of its controversial interrogation methods.
...
Obama is set to reassure CIA officers of his promise not to seek prosecution of CIA agents or former officials under his predecessor George W. Bush who authorized or carried out the harsh techniques the government now condemns.
I am sorry that this does not trouble you.
April 20, 2009 11:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
Barack brought this burden on himself. The ICRC said it, the UN representative on torture said it and I say it. If there is a defect here, I challenge you to elaborate it. Each of the above represented a turning point, some for the better and some for the worse. I don't think that I am alone in feeling betrayed. Ask yourself which is a lower act, the brutality or the words and deeds of those who enable, excuse or ignore the brutality.
April 20, 2009 11:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm sorry -- did you think all work was done when he got elected?
April 20, 2009 11:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
On April 19 he committed a crime by violating the obligations of the United States under a number of international human rights treaties. He and his spokesman have made both oral and written statements guaranteeing protection those who have practiced torture.
April 20, 2009 11:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, slowboat. The ones who made this look legal have to go to jail. Nailing people for rules that they didn't propound is counterproductive. Nailing the jerks that created the policy, I'd love to to do that, too.
April 20, 2009 1:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think you may have missed something. Following orders is never an excuse to torture. There are many regulations, laws and treaties that specifically refute 'just following orders' as a defense. In fact, US soldiers have a duty to disobey illegal orders. So far, only the lower ranking (those lacking money and patronage) have taken a hit on torture.
One recent example is the German extradition of Demjanjuk, more than 60 years later and a guard is charged with 29,000 counts of war crimes.
All of them should be prosecuted. The US is supposed to be about higher principles and the rule of law, not the rule of men. This used to be the proud distinction, albeit imperfect, that set the US apart from other regimes.
April 20, 2009 2:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
I still maintain hope...
April 20, 2009 12:34 PM | Reply | Permalink