A group of 17 Chinese people, members of a group called Uighurs, are being held in Guantanamo.

Hassan left for Kyrgyzstan, then traveled to Afghanistan in 2000 to live in a Uighur camp, which was destroyed in the U.S. bombing campaign. He then fled to Pakistan to seek sanctuary. After 9-11, he was captured along with 17 other Uighurs. One of them, Abu Bakkar Qassim, who was later released to Albania, wrote they'd been sold by Pakistani bounty hunters to the U.S. military "like animals for $5,000 a head." By February 2002, Hassan was at Guantanamo.

They are there because we bought them from a dealer who specializes in terrorists...

A declassified FBI report indicates international politics was a factor in their fate. The report said initially American officials considered handing the Uighurs back to the Chinese, in return for their support in the war on terror. But that didn't happen. In August 2002, the U.S. listed a little-known group, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, as a terrorist organization. Many analysts believe it was a quid-pro-quo move to gain Chinese support.

...Then we used them as pawns to leverage our good friends in the Democratic Republic of China...

In September 2002, a visiting Chinese delegation was allowed to interrogate the Uighurs in Guantanamo Bay. One detainee said he was forcibly interrogated, threatened and deprived of sleep and food by the Chinese.

...Who we then allowed to stop by and torture...

Two and a half years after arriving at Guantanamo, a Combatant Status Review Tribunal, or CSRT panel, found Hassan not to be an enemy combatant. So he was judged not to be affiliated with al-Qaida, or a threat to the U.S.

A few months later that decision was reversed. Hassan's lawyer said a declassified Pentagon memo explained the decision this way, "Inconsistencies will not shed a favorable light on the CSRT process, or the work done by OARDEC."

Attorney Clarke interprets the memo to mean, "It's inconsistent so we have to flip him back. It won't shed a good light on the process if we don't flip him back to be an enemy combatant."

...But don't worry. Ours is a clear-eyed view of the world, one guided by a system of laws. We know what we're doing...

Court filings show after that Hassan spent some time in Camp Six, a maximum prison. He was in solitary confinement 22 hours a day, he never saw direct sunlight, his two hours of recreational time were spent in a cage — on alternating days, in the middle of the night; and he was punished for trying to touch or greet other detainees.

...When it comes to incarceration.

Link at sig.

USA. USA.

Not always. Sometimes we call it "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques"

Is a financial fruit like a cash cow, but gay?

There are some pretty good modern treatments for OCD these days - You should get yourself some.

Natural growth is a natural outcome of the natural course of human events. We just grow. There is no stopping us. You cannot get in our way. If you get in our way, you will die from natural causes.

It's only natural.

The pro-Israel lobby AIPAC last week got the signatures of 329 members of Congress, including key figures in both parties, on a letter calling on the administration to work "closely and privately" with Israel — in contrast to the current public pressure.

Is a great idea. Obama should pull Netanyahu aside, drape an arm over his shoulder, and let him know, in a hushed but stern tone, that Israeli actions are not acceptable, and as long as they continue, there will be no more money, no more military support, and in fact, the U.S. will act to support the Palestinians in the face of Israeli aggression. Then Obama should say "Have a nice day", and back out of the room.

Israel will then have the opportunity to look the hero, by initiating true peace.

Just my little fantasy.

The reaction was even stronger when those prisoners would, hypothetically, be moved to a prison in the respondent's home state.

And when the question was whether or not to move those prisoners to the spare bedroom, the reaction was even stronger

Here's a question to ask: "Do you think that America has a responsibility to clean up the mess left behind by Bush?" or how about: "Which do you think is more dangerous: A convicted muderer-rapist or a 19 year old Iraqi who has never been charged with a crime?"

They're like little aborted chickies on the half shell

As well as the Democrats themselves.

I'll say right off that I totally agree with your premise that criticism based on intellect comes from both sides. No doubt about it.

However, the fear is not about intellect - It's about votes. Thomas continues to be a reliable vote for the right. Souter, for example (appointed by Bush I), did not turn out so well for the right.

If you haven't already, check out "The Nine" by Jeff Toobin. Although somewhat slated to the left, he confirms what has been often written - That Thomas is no great intellect - He's a rubber stamp.