The LA Times is today running a news story and an opinion piece that together make for an interesting contrast.

The news story is about congressional efforts to obtain copies of the two recently revealed secret Justice Department memos.  These memos, it appears, reversed an earlier abstention from cruel and painful treatment of terrorism suspects.

The opinion piece is by Clive Stafford-Smith, a lawyer for detainees in Guantanamo Bay.  He describes some of the things he sees every time he visits his clients.  That is, things about which there is no dispute at all, unread memos aside. 

Reading these two pieces side-by-side leaves the reader slightly dizzy, bewildered.  Congress is demanding memos which may disclose that Justice is secretly allowing the infliction of inhuman, painful, or degreading treatment of prisoners. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Stafford-Smith sees inhuman, painful, or degrading treatment of prisoners every time he visits Guantanamo.  For example, he is not allowed to bring throat lozenges to an imprisoned journalist whose anti-hunger-strike feeding tubes are inserted and removed twice a day by Guantanamo guards, unnecessarily, increasing the discomfort and pain he endures.

Let’s read snips of these pieces, side-by-side.

Democrats demand interrogation memos

The secret Justice Department legal opinions reportedly allow painful tactics on terrorism suspects.

From the Associated Press
October 5, 2007

WASHINGTON — Senate and House Democrats demanded Thursday to see two secret Justice Department memos that reportedly authorize painful interrogation tactics against terrorism suspects.

Gitmo: America’s black hole

A lawyer for prison detainees is struck by how the immoral mistreatment of inmates has become so mundade.

By Clive Stafford Smith
October 5, 2007
GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA —

— snip —

It is sometimes a minor rule change, imposed from far above, that inflames me. I always carry lozenges, and some months back, a hunger-striking client agreed to take one to soothe his sore throat. By my next visit, the list of “contraband” had expanded to bar this insignificant salve.

news story . . .

— snip —

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino told reporters: “This country does not torture. It is a policy of the United States that we do not torture, and we do not.”

Mr. Stafford-Smith . . .

— snip —

Sami looked very thin. His memory is disintegrating, and I worry that he won’t survive if he keeps this up. He already wrote a message for his 7-year-old son, Mohammed, in case he dies here.

news story . . .

— snip —

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) sent a letter to the acting attorney general saying the administration’s credibility was at risk.

The memos are “critical to an appropriate assessment” of tactics approved by the White House and the Justice Department, Rockefeller wrote to Acting Atty. Gen. Peter D. Keisler. “Why should the public have confidence that the program is either legal or in the best interests of the United States?” he asked.

Mr. Stafford-Smith . . .

— snip —

Tonight, I must plan tomorrow’s visit with Shaker Aamer. Shaker has never met his youngest son, Faris, who was born after his imprisonment and who waits in London, hoping to meet his father. I’d love to ask Shaker about the Speedos I supposedly gave him, but he was floridly psychotic the last time I saw him. He’s been on a hunger strike even longer than Sami — almost 300 days — and an interrogator told him I was Jewish to sow discord between us. He is fairly certain that I work with the CIA.

(Note, Mr. Aamer is the prisoner to whom Mr. Stafford-Smith allegedly smuggled speedos.  Mr. Stafford-Smith denies the charge.)

news story . . .

— snip —

“The program, which has taken account of changes in U.S. law and policy, has produced vital information that has helped our country disrupt terrorist plots and save innocent lives,” Little said in a statement. “The agency has always sought a clear legal framework, conducting the program in strict accord with U.S. law, and protecting the officers who go face to face with ruthless terrorists.”

Mr. Stafford-Smith . . .

— snip —

In more than 20 years trying death-penalty cases, I have visited all the worst prisons in the Deep South, yet none compares to Camp Six here. To the military, this tribute to Halliburton’s profiteering is state-of-the-art; to the human being, it is simply inhumane.

— snip —

It is worth wondering, then, what exactly congress expects to discover that is not already well known. 

Guantanamo must be closed. 

Another regular list.  If anyone has a book topic they’d like me to cover, feel free to suggest it.

If you like to trade books, try BookMooch.

cfk has bookflurries on Weds. nights
pico has literature for kossacks on Tues. nights

What are you reading?  is crossposted to Daily Kos

Just finished:
Making Money by Terry Pratchett  –
Last week I wrote:

A new Discworld novel!  Enough said!  And, if it isn’t enough, then you need to start reading Pratchett!

Additionally:

Actually, this is not the top of Pratchett, but it’s still very very good. 

Continuing with

John Adams by David McCullough.

Last week:
An excellent book about a fascinating man.  The more I read about this era, the more I am impressed by the fathers, but the less I understand the Jefferson cult.  I like Adams more. 

Additionally:
I continue to be impressed with this book and with Adams

The Indian Clerk – by David Leavitt.

Last week:
  Absolutely wonderful.  A novel, a history, a math book.  A primer on sexual mores in the era of WWI in Britain.  A love story (several).  And a dual biography of two fascinating people: GH Hardy and Ramanujan.  I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Additionally:
A little about Hardy and Ramanujan.  Hardy was the quintessential eccentric English don at Trinity.  Although the few photos that exist show a normal looking, even handsome man, he was so convinced of his hideousness that he had no mirrors in his house.  A militant atheist, he refused to set foot in a church.  A brilliant mathematician.  Ramanujan was a self-taught mathematical genius.  In contrast to Hardy, he was also a mystic, who thought a goddess wrote math formulas on his tongue while he slept.

How Mathematicians Think by William Byers.

Last week:
Fascinating ideas about ambiguity, paradox, and math.

Additionally
Really quite an amazing work, and relatively accessible.  I recommend it to anyone interested in math.

Causality by Judea Pearl.  Fascinating but deep.

Intro to Probability Theory by Hoel, Port, and Stone.  A good text.

The Elements of Statistical Learning by Trevor Hastie and Robert Tibshirani.  An in-depth look at a wide range of statistical techniques.  Beautifully produced.

Just started:
Find Me
by Carol O’Connell.  This is another in the Mallory series.  Unlike many series, you could start in the middle.  I am about 50 pages into it, and it looks very good.  This is a mystery…. Mallory, the heroine, is a former homeless child who was adopted by a policeman; now grown, she is brilliant, beautiful, and as cold as ice.  The first volumes of the series were great, in the middle it got too mystical for me, but O’Connell seems back on her game.  There are 8 books in the series so far
list of Mallory books

(that link is great for those of us who like series!)