GB prisoners to be released into the States?

This is an interesting article dealing with a particular group of men that are being currently held in Guantanamo Bay. They are part of an ethnic and linguistic group of Muslims known as the Uighurs from western China. The government has dropped all enemy combatant status against them and cleared them for release however there are no countries that are willing to take them. Recenly a federal judge determined that they could temporarily be released into the Washington DC area. This is the first time a judge has suggested anyting of the sort and brings up some difficult and important questions: how will our government treat these individuals ? Will they receive pardons? Apoligies? Will they be addressed at all by our government? This demonstrates some of the most important aspects of closing guantanamo that are rarely spoken about in the media.

Boumediene Vindicated!

Today Federal Judge Leon ordered that the five men in the case Boumediene v. Bush be released from Guantanamo Bay. This is unprecedented! Judge Leon was the judge who originally saw the case that eventually went before the Supreme Court. In June his decision was overturned by the Supreme Court restoring the right of prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay to demand the writ of habeas corpus. Judge Leon's decision today is the first time prisoners in Guantanamo Bay have been released in recognition of the fact that there is not good reason to believe they pose any threat to the US . It is the first time a writ of habeas corpus has been handed down since the Bush administration's war on terror.

Report suggesting non-partisan government investigation into Guantanamo Bay

This article is short and quite interesting, suggesting an investigation into the treatment of detainees and the administration's orders pretaining to GB.

Here is a link to the full report that was done in partnership with the Human Rights Center
University of California, Berkeley International Human Rights Law Clinic, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and in partnership with Center for Constitutional Rights.

The full report is about 100 pages. However, there is an executive summary on pages 1-5.

The First Habeas Corpus Trials Held for Guantanamo Bay Prisoners

The first article to the right hand side, titled Algerians in Guantanamo Challenge, is about the men who were represented in Boumediene v. Bush - the case handed down this July by the US Supreme Court! The court's decision granted the five men the right to demand Habeas Corpus - which is what they are doing right now! This is big news!

In an article appearing on foxnews.com Judge Leon (the federal judge overseeing their case) was mentioned. "Leon, who was appointed to the bench by President Bush, said he expects to decide this month whether to release the Algerians.

Leon described the unprecedented case as a legal and logistical headache that needed to be resolved quickly before any "inevitable delays due to the turnover" of government with the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama." Judge Leon was the federal judge who found the government's argument legally convincing and determined that the five men did not have the right to ask for Habeas Corpus - it was this opinion that was overturned by the Supreme Court in July.

Here is a link to another article on the hearings: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/06/AR2008110602945.html?sub=new

Welcom Mr. President

What a pleasure to be writing on the other side of the elections! As you can see my last post (in July) was about the New Yorker cartoon depicting Barack and Michelle Obama. What a long way we have come.

I am glad to be back and hope to be writing and posting on a daily basis.

For now, if you have not already, check out the link I have posted at the top(or click here). It is a song that was created based upon Obama's Yes We Can speech. Most of you might have already seen it but if not check it out.

Also - here is an article that I found particularly interesting in all the election news.

More to come soon...