PC Roberts wrote:

http://www.antiwar.com/roberts/?articleid=13265

Do You Feel Safe Now? Proud?

Now that military officers selected by the Bush Pentagon have reached a split verdict convicting Salim Hamdan, a onetime driver for Osama bin Laden, of supporting terrorism, but innocent of terrorist conspiracy, do you feel safe?

Or are we superpower Americans still at risk until we capture bin Laden's dentist, barber, and the person who installed the carpet in his living room?

The Bush regime with its comic huffings and puffings is unaware that it has made itself the laughingstock of the world, a comedy version of the Third Reich.

Hamdan was not defended by the slick lawyers that got O.J. Simpson off, and he most certainly did not have a jury of his peers. Hamdan was defended by a Pentagon-appointed U.S. Navy officer, and his jurors were all Pentagon-appointed U.S. military officers with an eye on their careers. Even in this kangaroo court, Hamdan was cleared of the main charge.

The U.S. Navy officer who was Hamdan's appointed attorney is certainly no terrorist sympathizer. Yet even this United States officer said that the rules Bush designed for the military tribunals were designed to achieve convictions. He also said that the judge allowed evidence that would not have been admitted by any civilian or military U.S. court. He said that the interrogations of Hamdan, which comprised the basis of the Bush regime's case, were tainted by coercive tactics, including sleep deprivation and solitary confinement.

Does this make you a proud American?

[...]

The lesson that our administration is trying to tell us is very simple. Behave or we can convict you of anything, just like in the USSR. If they do not feel like going to court at the time of your brutal capture, why they may just keep you in jail for a few years. (are up to decades yet?) Or, they may just destroy your life by trying you in the press. That always gets ratings.

I once had an educated woman tell me that she never worried about her kids and the law because they would never break the law; good boys they were. I wonder if she would feel the same today?

If your worst enemy could be your judge, prosecutor, jury, jailer, and interrogator; would you feel safe knowing you had done nothing wrong? And yet, many people I know talk about defence lawyers as if they were the scum of the earth. Stupidity is in abundance in this country.

By the way, what sentence did Hitler's chauffeur get?

Well yes, if this was a forum, but it is not. It is a place where comments are made to the author of a blog post at Salon. In that regard the software is fine. In fact Salon looks at them as "letters to the editor" like in your local paper.

I have often wished that Salon would put in a real forum where we could interact. Perhaps modeled after the forums you see all over the Internet. It is not that they can not, or do not know how; it is that they do not want to do so at this time.

Perhaps a group here could figure out a way to list positive benefits to Salon itself that would convince the powers that be that a real forum would be a useful and attractive addition.

Go for it.

You did it again.

Salon looks at it as you commenting on Glenn's posts. Salon does not, at this time, seem to want discussions -- as we do on forums.

The guys and gals on many tech forums will even volunteer to moderate the board according to whatever rules are in place; and God knows that UT could use moderation! One forum for a Linux distro even has a "back yard" or something like that where flame wars are permitted. Whole threads get moved there when it becomes a flame war.

So, yes it would be damn nice to have a forum on Salon; but this comment area is not a forum.

Does Salon have any idea how many people would see the adds if there was a Greenwald section of a forum? Jebus!

Glenn would not even go there if he did not want to; and certainly would not moderate it. Think Billmon and Moon of Alabama when Billmon got tired of moderating the comments on his own site.

Come on Salon, open that sucker up for up poor folk!

Yes, I did it again -- I am lobbying Salon to upgrade the design of their website to encourage more useful discussion, more visitors and more stickiness. It's in both their interest and our interest to do so.

Yes, you are lobbying Salon. I hope you win. It would not even take an upgrade of this site, only the addition of a few features or areas.

First, what about a political wiki available for the rare times, such as this, that a group is trying to unravel a mystery.

Second, an off the self set of forum software separate from the comments section. You leave messages for Glenn in the comments, and you have discussions in the forum section.

But as simple as these two ideas are, the benefits to Salon need to be identified before they will consider it. After all, how important are all the non-paid people who are here just because of Greenwald?

lwm: I'm on all the best no fly lists.

Jim White: Under how many names? ;')

I understand that 1/2 of the list is made up of aliases. I think that would be 1/2 million; damn he is a buzy little bee.

But we have seen that here. :-)

I am only an egg, but perhaps he wants to share water and get closer?

:-0