{ Daily Archives }
October 22nd, 2006
Instant October Surprise
Via Crooks and Liars, this report from Bloomberg News:
The United States is tracking a North Korean ship described as suspicious by a U.S. official, Agence France-Presse reported from Washington.
The vessel left a North Korean port and may be carrying military equipment banned under UN sanctions imposed after North Korea carried out a nuclear test on Oct. 9., AFP said, citing a CBS News report.
It doesn’t matter whether there’s any banned material on board. If we can just get some sort of exchange of shots, Karl Rove has his October Surprise.
It Begins
The Washington Post reports the beginning of the end of law:
Moving quickly to implement the bill signed by President Bush this week that authorizes military trials of enemy combatants, the administration has formally notified the U.S. District Court here that it no longer has jurisdiction to consider hundreds of habeas corpus petitions filed by inmates at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.
In a notice dated Wednesday, the Justice Department listed 196 pending habeas cases, some of which cover groups of detainees. The new Military Commissions Act (MCA), it said, provides that “no court, justice, or judge” can consider those petitions or other actions related to treatment or imprisonment filed by anyone designated as an enemy combatant, now or in the future.
“No court, justice or judge” can check the president’s absolute power.
Some time ago, I said the Bush Administration wants to roll back not just the New Deal, but the Magna Carta. Now, with the indispensable help of the rubber-stamp Republican Congress, they’ve done it.