Veto of bill banning CIA from using waterboarding – SantaFeNewMexican.com President Bush said Saturday he vetoed legislation that would ban the CIA from using harsh interrogation methods such as waterboarding to break suspected terrorists because it would end practices that have prevented attacks.
“Religious faith can be of help to torture survivors who suffer from psychological trauma. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association examined the impact of torture on Bhutanese refugees in Nepal. Torture survivors who were practicing Buddhists were less likely to be depressed or anxious. A separate study of refugee Buddhist nuns and students who had been tortured in Tibet revealed that their spiritual practice provided protective coping mechanisms.
An important role
Churches can play an important role in the fight against this form of inhumanity by becoming advocates against torture. Amnesty International is one example of a worldwide organization that works to promote human rights. It campaigns to free prisoners of conscience; ensure fair and prompt trials for political prisoners; abolish the death penalty, torture, and other cruel treatment of prisoners; end political killings and “disappearances.†Amnesty International opposes human rights abuses by opposition groups. It is one of several organizations that advocate for humane treatment and human rights that people of conscience can join. ”
“…we have to address the basic issues of terrorism. If there’s a frustration among people for something…it will be good breeding ground for terrorism. So why don’t we address those issues, political issues, economic issues, rather than bring the gun? Gun cannot stop terrorism. It only put the terrorism underground for awhile. It will come back in a more frightening way. So instead of trying to conquer it by guns, why don’t we go as a human problem, solve it in a human way, address those issues and solve them one by one, piece by piece? It could be done. With all the good will in the world, we could do that. So this is what I would say is the most damaging thing that we have done so far.” –Nobel Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus on a 2/12/08 Democracy Now interview.
“Religious faith can be of help to torture survivors who suffer from psychological trauma. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association examined the impact of torture on Bhutanese refugees in Nepal. Torture survivors who were practicing Buddhists were less likely to be depressed or anxious. A separate study of refugee Buddhist nuns and students who had been tortured in Tibet revealed that their spiritual practice provided protective coping mechanisms.
An important role
Churches can play an important role in the fight against this form of inhumanity by becoming advocates against torture. Amnesty International is one example of a worldwide organization that works to promote human rights. It campaigns to free prisoners of conscience; ensure fair and prompt trials for political prisoners; abolish the death penalty, torture, and other cruel treatment of prisoners; end political killings and “disappearances.†Amnesty International opposes human rights abuses by opposition groups. It is one of several organizations that advocate for humane treatment and human rights that people of conscience can join. ”
http://www.umc-gbcs.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=frLJK2PKLqF&b=3941677&ct=5088529&tr=y&auid=3446871
“…we have to address the basic issues of terrorism. If there’s a frustration among people for something…it will be good breeding ground for terrorism. So why don’t we address those issues, political issues, economic issues, rather than bring the gun? Gun cannot stop terrorism. It only put the terrorism underground for awhile. It will come back in a more frightening way. So instead of trying to conquer it by guns, why don’t we go as a human problem, solve it in a human way, address those issues and solve them one by one, piece by piece? It could be done. With all the good will in the world, we could do that. So this is what I would say is the most damaging thing that we have done so far.” –Nobel Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus on a 2/12/08 Democracy Now interview.