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Captain America vs. The Patriot Act?
Nerd_52637 writes "Yesterday, Marvel Comics released the first in its miniseries Civil War, which can only be described as a gutsy comic-book series focusing on the whole debate over homeland security and tighter government controls in the name of public safety.
The seven-issue series once again puts superheroes right back in the thick of real-world news, just as DC Comics has Batman battling al-Qaeda in a soon-to-appear comic and Marvel's X-Men continue to explore themes of public intolerance and discrimination.
In Civil War, hero is pitted against hero in the choice of whether or not to side with the government, as issues ranging from a Guantanamo-like prison camp for superheroes, embedded reporters and the power of media all play in the mix as Superheroes are ordered to register as human WMDs or be branded fugitives."
Mod parent up +5 nonexistent!
Watchmen. Astro City - Confession, etc.
OK, that flash has been overused recently, but Hero vs Hero? I couldnt resist!
Peace, Love, Unity, Respect
I just know the issue where they make all the superheroes pile into a giant naked pyramid will be a big hit.
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
Kudos to Marvel!
Comics in general and Marvel in particular have had a long tradition in embracing social issues - witness the classic Marvel comic series that decried on McCarthyism. This one is interesting because they aren't really taking sides.
Of course, many cartoons these days are overtly political (Southpark, American Dad, Boondocks) - at least Marvel tries hard to let the readers make up their own minds and explore the issue themselves.
Superheroes are ordered to register as human WMDs
Or what? They'll arrest them? Superheroes are used to fighting other super-beings. If pissed off, how many puny humans could they kill before getting taken down?
This could turn out to be made of Win and Good after all.
From TFA: "In the first issue of Civil War, he brilliantly folds an entire dissertation on security into one succinct dialogue bubble by saying: "Don't play politics with me, lady. Superheroes need to stay above that stuff or Washington starts telling us who the supervillains are."
I would hardly call those two sentences brilliant, or even succinct for that matter. In fact, the third sentence does not even seem grammatically correct (though I could be wrong; English is my third language).
Uttering logically derived and empirically supported truths to the disciples of the orthodox establishment.
I remember when DC called it 'Kingdom Come'.
All very good, but enlightening a generation far too young to do anything. In another 15 years kids who experience political intelligence and develop the ability to weigh up complex social debates will be able to make a difference to the world. If one still exists. The problem is not our children, its the fucking clueless, apathetic, greedy and lazy adults that grew up on a diet of might-is-right Hollywood poison for the last two decades. How do you re-educate people who live in denial while other peoples kids are bombed with depleted uranium so they can drive their fat ass around in a gas guzzling SUV?
The dirty bomber is "The Spleen" from the movie Mystery Men.
Pull my finger.
Fight Spammers!
Geez, weren't the X-men already hiding from the government for being dangerous?
Try something more intelligent, people. Talk about the ISPs snooping on you, about the RIAA lobbying the congress, about the Patriot Act, DRM, DMCA and all that stuff that's being shoved down our throats.
But do it in the near future, present a fear-driven country, where all civil liberties are ALREADY lost. We want to see people being arrested for having analog TV's! For copying music in authorized formats! For using encryption in their e-mails! We want Big Brother! (in the comics, that is)
What about Captain America as The Nomad and The Captain? He's currently signed up as the anti-registration faction leader, too.
GPL Deconstructed
George Bush Can't read.
Thus the comic book comment. I am sure he loves them funnies. Probably mostly reads ziggy or Family Circus though.
...but even if they DO register as human WMDs will the government know where they are?
To be fair, and correct for that matter, post-humans, otherwise known as "super heroes" are not being asked to register as "Human WMD's." They are being asked to register as law abiding crime fighters so someone can be held accountable for destruction of public property and life. I won't get into my views on it, since I am an avid comic book reader and highly invested in Civil War, but don't write an article about it if you don't know ABSOLUTELY EVEYRTHING about the subject. 'nuff said.
GENOSHA... search for that in relation to x-men.
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
'Nuff said!
I mean, think about it. Some guy with super powers that could bag any government agency including its agents anytime and twice on Sunday, and he's still allowed to have a secret identity, lead a normal life and only put on his spandex to hunt down some bad guys?
In reality, he'd have been approached by the feds ages ago and offered the choice to either work for them or, more likely, some dirt would've been dumped on him to have the media label him the greatest threat to humanity since Saddam, then he'd been hunted down 'til he's dead.
Face it. Government does NOT like power that isn't in its hands and under its control.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Then, last month, I read about the stunning news report by the "Washington Post". It reported on CIA-gate: the CIA, with the full approval of the president, has been running a network of secret prisons where enemies of the American nation are interrogated. Although this network is nowhere near the status of the Soviet gulag, the network does put tremendous credibility in the original accusations by AI.
At times like these, we need a Captain America to fight for truth, justice, and Western values. A network of secret prisons grossly violates the most sacred of Western values.
with stories like 'x-tinction agenda' and 'god loves man kills', marvel has always been pretty edgy and had some good social commentary. and that's while they are still under the comics code! more and more writers are seeing comics as a viable medium to tell their story and i'm looking forward to more good quality stories in the future.
Have you even read any comic books lately? Let me tell you what has just gone on recently. Batman has had his mind erased by other superheros because he found out that Zatanna was presured into erasing the minds of villians by other super heroes. I just read a comic book where Giant Man is an abusive @sshole and sprays his wife (Wasp) with bugspray when they got into a fight. He then essentally helps another world faction of heros to essentially invade the United States. (Almost confused this plot line in the Ultimate universe with the mentioned in the article.)
Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
How long did we wait for the third installment of DK Strikes Again - all the time hearing that the delay had nothing to do with the concurrent events following September 11 - all to bizarre effect - something that could have been bigger and better than DK Returns and fell to the earth with a muffled thud.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
http://www.genevaconventions.org/ You won't find that stated as such in there.
What you will find is that
If the local authorities do not exist, you may be held until they are established.
Other than that, you have all the same rights and protections that a POW has, except for things like getting paid.
The military is not allowed to torture anyone it captures. Regardless of their past actions.
In the Iraq war, pirate is pitted against pirate. There are no heroes. Well, maybe the mothers who try to shield their children from the bombs and bullets...
What?
To all you people rushing to say "Obscure comic company X did this in 1983 maaaan!"... just because some comic you read dealt with the issue of corrupt government before is not the same thing. This particular government is QUITE a particular government, and George Bush is named as the president in this Marvel series (according to TFA), which makes this a pretty specific attack on this very specific post-9/11 presidency and I think that makes this quite noteworthy. This isn't just about the fiction of it.
FSM, grant me the serenity to preview that which I cannot change...
I dont know about everyone else, but im with Cpt. America on this one
As an american High School student, I'd like to officially apologize for my generation.
"If you wanna kiss the sky better learn how to kneel."
I laughed at the weak who considered themselves good because they lacked claws.
Scarlet Witch registers, ok cool. So the government now has her on file as a human (or humanoid really for the non human types as well) WMD. That's great. What the fuck does that do to stop a character, like old Scarlet, from going apeshit and destroying the entire fucking universe?
It's already technically done as well in another sense: villians. Example, take Thanos right. Villian, bad guy. Automatically you consider him a humanoid WMD right. Again same situation. Having him on file, does jack and or shit. So Uncle Sam keeps him on file, hell we'll go one step further, keeps GPS and the whole schebang on him 24/7. Yea when he gets a huge powerup like the Infinite Gauntlet, being able to scramble your military ain't shit. The only benefit it would have is if they notified heroes of such things apon villians. But it's not, since they are only doing Hero registration.
Either way it's somewhat of an old storyline that while a good one, seems to be a publicity stunt. Considering the current state of America, we're pretty unhappy with our government, our president and basically how restricted life has become. Leave it to Marvel to sellout for the all mighty $
Aw Frell this
Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
But Al Jazeera said prisoners were abused in Guantanamo, so it must be false!! :)
Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
...still wearing skin tight leotards?
There exists no way of exchanging information without making judgments. --Bene Gesserit Axiom
But I'm not a WMD, my only power is in gaining /. Funny mod karma!
In training, you always have the option to say "Fuck this, I quit". You do NOT have that option in captivity.But 1 wrong and 1 right can.
Basically, you have several different scenarios:
#1. Innocent guy captured.
1a. Innocent guy tortured
1a1. Innocent guy swears vengence. (loss)
1a2. Innocent guy does not swear vengence. (gain)
1b. Innocent guy treated decently.
1b1. Innocent guy swears vengence. (why?) (loss)
1b2. Innocent guy does not swear vengence. (gain)
#2. Terrorist supporter captured.
2a. Terrorist supporter tortured
2a1. Terrorist supporter swears vengence. (no loss)
2a2. Terrorist supporter does not swear vengence. (gain)
2b. Terrorist supporter treated decently.
2b1. Terrorist supporter swears vengence. (no loss)
2b2. Terrorist supporter does not swear vengence. (gain)
So, by looking at it logically, it would seem that by treating the prisoners decently, we actually come out ahead of the game.
The innocents would have no reason to hate us and the guilty may be convinced that we are not the Great Satan as they have been told.
Yes, I am counting it as a "gain" anytime the prisoner does not vow to to strap on a bomb and blow himself up.
The thing about being the "good" guys is not the circumstances under which you perform the same actions the "bad" guys do.
The "good" guys will NOT perform certain actions, regardless of the circumstances. Anyone who argues any other way would be a great follower of Saddam, if you were born in Iraq instead of here.
Dubya is Sven Hoek.
"Daaah, he is Ole, you are Sven...He is Ole, you are Svaaaaaan..."
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
if you don't know ABSOLUTELY EVEYRTHING about the subject.
Superheroes(TM) are brands.
Superheroes have always been in worse positions than any of us, because superheroes are unable to live for themselves. They are unable to shit, to fuck, to hurt, to die. Not even imaginably.
Superpowers exist to alleviate misery. And right now, with even superheroes defending themselves from the exact same attacks all of us regular ol' non-heroes are defending ourselves against - cowardice, fighting, and rampantly betraying our own kinds - each of us is in the same boat as Wolverine, Spiderman, Mr. Fantastic, Iron Man, and even...Captain America!!!, it is time for the wheels to turn again.
Not back to September 10th, 2001 (a fine day!), but forward to a future where those of us who choose to live freely and happily can do so without detriment to any others.
But, sorry, having the good guys become bad guys who are after the good guys who are now the bad guys is only making matters worse.
I read comics because I believe in hope, and the possibilities, and power of having dreams. Marvel and DC make comics because they want us to sell out those dreams for expensive books, unimaginative storylines, and cheap headlines.
Trademark the concept superhero? Impossible.
How so?
Because my soul is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.
Nuff said(TM)?
"We're millions of miles from earth, inside a giant white face, what's impossible?"
I still say the Red Skull was just a metaphor for Communism, even if he was a red-faced Nazi. Red Skull == Red Menace, something that Captain America, or his faithful followers, must deal with.
Sentinels.
The issue of regular humans attempting to contorl the behaviour of superheroes has been covered dozens of times over the past 40 years, very prominently in one of the most popluar comic series of all time, the X-Men.
As another poster already commented, I'm such a geek.
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
Stan had nothing to do with Venom, which was a character created over a decade after he got out of the creative side of Marvel comics. He didn't even have anything to do with the black suit of Spider-Man's that was Venom's origin - that was Jim Shooter trying to change everything that Stan, Jack and Steve had created, and make Marvel his own.
:(
I think I'm actually getting geekier by the post with this story
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
Anytime you say you want to have a debate about military prisons, secret interrogations, or the general reduction of freedom in the name of public safety and security, you're coming down against it. The very idea of debating in order to decide which is right takes the side that democratic processes and freedoms are more important than strict safety and security: since public discussion is a democratic process, the notion that a public discussion should determine whether or not true democratic process is more important than security is preternaturally determined to come down in favor of democratic processes. If it doesn't, the people involved are idiots.
bush? You can't hide the comics from him, he gets real angry when they do that.
photosMy Photostream
http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=5284
a e111faea64e93e76e9c2c57d8bf6
#6, I couldn't find a quick link to the series itself. Rushkoff has been doing a series about this through Vertigo since December, and its quite impressive. One of the best comics I've read in a long time.
http://www.rushkoff.com/comics.html?PHPSESSID=e37
his more ties in with the bible, but its very much about the government and the things going on here.
What's frightening is that I don't have to look up GENOSHA. I remember that plotline.
I'm so going to nerd hell!
"09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0"
What's next - will Tony Stark release Iron Man's suit code under GPL?
Oh hell yeah.
Kidding aside, I'm just having a problem with the notion of equating terrorists with the heros I grew up loving.
As of 2002, the average age of the U.S. comic book reader was 24.
I recently read the Watchmen again. It nicely captured the sense of impending nuclear holocaust that was a staple of the Cold War era. The Cold War ended along with the Soviet Union back in '91.
In the Watchmen the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan and threatens Pakistan, which nearly provokes World War III. Nowadays we invade Afghanistan and Iran, and no one does anything except quietly complain about American imperialism. It just isn't the same without another nuclear superpower.
Damn people stop ripping on this, I think this will be pretty interesting. I'm going to pick it up tomorrow probably.
I'm sorry but if your default position was to believe the CIA and not Amnesty International then it's going to take more than superheroes to help you.
Read Pynchon.
The "good" guys will NOT perform certain actions, regardless of the circumstances. Anyone who argues any other way would be a great follower of Saddam, if you were born in Iraq instead of here.
"It's not fascism when *we* do it!"
It's a look at how the real world (ish) response to the emergance of people with superpowers.
I've yet to read the story, but it's not how I would have done it. Captain America, above all others, is the zeitgeist of the USA. As such, he needs to be the last to firmly make up his mind about opposing forces, because what he does establishes the right thing to do and thereby ends the story. He OUGHT to be paralyzed with indecision. He OUGHT to spend this conflict of ideologies being shown for a single frame about every second page: Sitting on his fattening ass eating cheetos. Watching TV. Playing a computer game. Jacking off in the bathroom. Lying in bed shivering, unable to decide whether or not to get up. Et cetera.
The City of Heroes backstory timeline has covered a few similar events, notably the Might for Right Act, which "proclaimed super-powered individuals and vigilante heroes a valuable national resource subject to draft without notice into the service of the United States government."
This assertion is of course also BS. No society in existance maximizes individual liberty while completely foregoing public safety and security. It's often a tradeoff, and most societies settle on a balance dictated by the circumstances. Those who say otherwise are just sloganeering.
Aceticon's list of /. heroes and villains:
Heroes:
- First Poster
- Insightfull Man
- Super Funny
- Anonymous Coward
- Cmdr Taco
Villains:
- Grammar Nazi
- Insensitive Clod
- Mega Troll
- Anonymous Coward's Evil Twin
Wrong. Read it in the text (http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/91.htm):
A. Prisoners of war, in the sense of the present Convention, are persons belonging to one of the following categories, who have fallen into the power of the enemy:
1. Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces.
2. Members of other militias and members of other volunteer corps, including those of organized resistance movements, belonging to a Party to the conflict and operating in or outside their own territory, even if this territory is occupied, provided that such militias or volunteer corps, including such organized resistance movements, fulfil the following conditions:
(a) That of being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates;
(b) That of having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance;
(c) That of carrying arms openly;
(d) That of conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war.
3. Members of regular armed forces who profess allegiance to a government or an authority not recognized by the Detaining Power.
[...]
6. Inhabitants of a non-occupied territory, who on the approach of the enemy spontaneously take up arms to resist the invading forces, without having had time to form themselves into regular armed units, provided they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war.
[...]
Article 5
The present Convention shall apply to the persons referred to in Article 4 from the time they fall into the power of the enemy and until their final release and repatriation.
Should any doubt arise as to whether persons, having committed a belligerent act and having fallen into the hands of the enemy, belong to any of the categories enumerated in Article 4, such persons shall enjoy the protection of the present Convention until such time as their status has been determined by a competent tribunal.
The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
If they're fighting out of uniform then they're illegal combatants.
The Geneva Convention is actually quite specific in which people enjoy the protection of the Convention. The main reason for this was to try to minimize casualties in the civilian population. If people choose to ignore the restrictions of the Conventions then they don't get the protection of the Conventions.
By those Conventions, summary execustion of non-uniformed combatants and spies is perfectly legal.
--- I wish I could hear the soundtrack to my life. That way I'd know when to duck.
I mean really, does criticizing the US really require such moral fortitude and personal risk?
The last actual gutsy cartoon we had was the Norwegian political cartoons of Mohammed. Just about the entire US media horribly failed their "guts check" after that one came out and people were threatened.
I suppose next we'll all be regaled with the old "speaking truth to power" line.
--- I wish I could hear the soundtrack to my life. That way I'd know when to duck.
When I was a kid, my favourite novel was about a guy who financed insurrections around the world, while cruising the oceans and sinking battleships with his submarine.
Maybe you have read it too. The title is '20.000 Leagues Under The Sea', by some French guy named Jules Verne...
In the long run we are all dead. - John Maynard Keynes (1883 - 1946)
Kingdom Come is a better example.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Come_(comic)
Overreaction to societal problems, tyranny in the guise of security, they even have a gulag.
"I don't know what you mean by "hard" evidence but we know for sure people have been waterboarded there and that's classified as torture."
I looked a lot, and the only source I could find that agrees with this statement is Human Rights Watch.
So, what is your source for the assertion that it is torture? Why are you making it appear as though there is any kind of consensus on the subject? I guarante I can find more sources that disagree with you than agree.
But even that wasn't my point. Why is it that people like you, instead of presenting eveidence, give arrogant self assured procalamations as though you know what the facts are, especially in cases like this where the facts are highly in dispute?
I get so tired of reading declaration after declaration that insists they have THE correct opinion on the subject, when in reality it's just another guy shooting his mouth of about what he thinks.
I love JMS too, and I understand your desire to mention his work whenever you can. In this case, though, you're reaching pretty far. In an industry whose main subject is superheroes, "government attempting to control superheroes" isn't a plot, it's a category of plots. If the Marvel Civil War is a ripoff of Rising Stars, then Rising Stars must be a ripoff of the way the police were always after Spider-Man back in the 70's, right? Rising Stars wasn't even about government controls; the government control of the super-kids was just a plot device in a different story.
There is a very good book that addresses people with "super powers" and how the government reacts: Brave Men Run. The audio version of the book is available for free as a podcast.
Galactus tried, but his hunger could not find foothole. The Watcher watched and wept.
Excelsior!
Needless to say, it was very convenient timing.
"Either way it's somewhat of an old storyline that while a good one, seems to be a publicity stunt."
How DARE they? The unmitigated gall of actually trying to get publicity, those evil fuckers.
"Leave it to Marvel to sellout for the all mighty $"
Yes, god forbid a company in the business of telling stories actually focus on telling a story people will buy. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THEM!!!
"Worst post ever"
Khasim, I wish had moderation points to heap on your article, but I don't, so I just wanted to say kudos. I wish there were more sane and rational posts like yours. My hat's off to you.
of Jihad Joe, he blows himself up at the end.
Shortest. Series. Ever.
"Listen, everyone complains when the Slashvertisements come down from above and aren't denoted as such."
I don't.
"The thinly veiled ads that are presented as stories are insulting to readers and undermine the credibility of Slashdot."
Credibility of Slashdot... What an interesting theoretical concept.
You don't think it undermines the credibility of Slashdot to have half-wit trolls sounding off about their opinion as though it were representative of the community, like you did there?
"In the same way, a comment that contains an advertisement undermines the validity of the comment and have no place here."
How so? If the comment is valid, it's valid. It would be exactly the same comment regardless of referrals. Look up ad hominem, and you'll realize why you should have kept that particual opinion to yourself.
"So call me a troll if you want"
No need, you wear it on your sleeve.
"I've made my point"
Well the only point you've made is that you post useless shit.
Do yourself a favor, stop acting like your opinion is representative of anyone but you.
that Captain America, aka Randy Couture, would do this! Say it's not true!
Obviously Marvel doesn't see any financial risk in this based on their large PR push for the series in question. They fact that they go to the "we're not trying to take any sides..." weasel words means that they don't have much courage behind those convictions.
Any work takes a financial risk, controversial or not. Your example only goes towards the fact that Hollywood is risk averse even when there's no political element in things, not that some artist is "gutsy" or taking a risk.
No, the media had a recent chance to show how gutsy they are and they blew it horribly. This "Civil Wars" thing is not gutsy at all.
--- I wish I could hear the soundtrack to my life. That way I'd know when to duck.
Fighting out of uniform, in your country or someone else's is a violation of the Convention.
The whole idea behind the Geneva Conventions was to reduce civilian casualties. If one side refuses to identify themselves and actively use the civilian population as shields then they're in violation and thus not given its protections.
I also find it quite funny that we're sitting here agonizing over our treatment of enemy combatants that goes above and beyond what we're required to do while the other side is busy sawing off heads of both combatants AND civilians with wanton disregard.
--- I wish I could hear the soundtrack to my life. That way I'd know when to duck.
He already did. Google for "Dell Rusk" (incidentally, an anagram of "red skull").
The Tlog - a technology blog
Terrorists do not respect the laws or customs of war. They regularly kidnap civilians, carry out executions of civilians, etc, etc, etc.
But lets say you are right.. they are still classified as prisoners of war.
If the terrorists are legitimate soldiers, then the war is not over. We are still fighting those "soldiers" in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Therefore the conflict is not over, and those "soldiers" cannot be returned to the country or released. They must be detained until the conflict has ended.
Help me take back Slashdot. When did 'News for Nerds' become 'FUD and Conspiracy Theories for Extremist Nutjobs'?
Terrorists are not legitimate soldiers, but these guys aren't terrrorists. They were captured on the field of battle in Afghanistan.
Who do you think is in Gitmo?
A blog about stuff.
They were captured on the field of battle in Afghanistan.
Yes, they were captured in Afghanistan, where we are still fighting ununiformed soldiers, who pledge allegiance to the same groups that these captured soldiers pledged allegiance to.
Therefore, we are still fighting the same group these captured soldiers belong to, and they cannot be released until the war is over.
Help me take back Slashdot. When did 'News for Nerds' become 'FUD and Conspiracy Theories for Extremist Nutjobs'?
You have failed to address how referer links make Slashdot a worse place.
You fail at flaming.
+++ATH0
It had very similar ideas.
Details in spelling make a big difference (as in the "man" in "Superman" and "Spider-Man").
It's "CmdrTaco"... not "Cmdr Taco".
-Grammar Nazi
Karma: NaN
The point is that they must be treated as prisoners of war.
How can so many people miss this?
A blog about stuff.
In order to be considered prisoners of war, they must "respect the laws and customs of war". It doesn't matter if they were captured on the battlefield if they do not respect the laws and customs of war.
Are seriously suggesting suicide bombings, civilian kidnappings, etc are part of the normal customs of war?
Help me take back Slashdot. When did 'News for Nerds' become 'FUD and Conspiracy Theories for Extremist Nutjobs'?
Read one.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
you're just making up international law. They were caught on the battle field resisting a foreign military. They are not PoWs because they don't follow the general rules and customs of war.. They are not civilians because they were caught fighting during the war. They don't get access to courts just because you say so.
Help me take back Slashdot. When did 'News for Nerds' become 'FUD and Conspiracy Theories for Extremist Nutjobs'?
3. Members of regular armed forces who profess allegiance to a government or an authority not recognized by the Detaining Power.
I think the talibans would rather be classified under this clause. "The laws and customs of war" is something so vague we can find a definition the taliban's behavior would fulfill and another that US soldier would not.
The war is over. The war was with Afghanistan. You have won the war, now you can restitute prisonners to the new stable and democratic government in Kabul (yes I am sarcastic) in order for them to be judged.
A war begins with a declaration of war and ends with an armistice or a peace treaty. War has been declared over Afghanistan (now it is over) and in Iraq (well, I think now everyone agrees it is not over there). "Terrorism" is not a nation, an organized force or an army, you don't fight it with soldiers. You fight Talibans, you fight Baasists, all of them having a leader, an organization. But you can't have a "war on an abstract concept". I have to tell you, from EU, this whole "war on terrorism" sounds like a politic slogan, but nobody considers it seriously as a real war.
The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
Anyway, screw treaties that the UN doesn't have the guts to enforce.
U.S. is doing this on its own. I mean, one can debate about whether or not they are allowed to do that by treaties, one thing is sure : no treaty forces them to act this way. So here you go, they made prisonners, some soldiers gave their words that these were terrorists, they were locked up without the opportunity to defend their case (how many of them do even speak english ?) And they were kept in a camp in a foreign country known for his infamous human right records, because the administration jurists were not sure they could keep them on american ground.
I mean, screw the written laws. They are doing THIS. Jailing people like cattle without trial for 5 years. Because there have been bombings, because there have hijackings, americans feel they have the right to regress and to commit injustices (and some say tortures) in the name of justice. No. In the name of vengeance. As a voter, ask you this : do you feel more secure, because 400 afghans are jailed in Cuba with no trial ? If you answered yes, do you feel secure, even knowing that 400 families out there miss someone and blame US for this ?
The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
You have no idea who is in Gitmo.
In fact, there were civilians, which means that the US is guilty of civilian kidnapping. So by your rationale it's ok to torture american soldiers.
A blog about stuff.
...i'd go naked everywhere. Fuck 'em. I'd be naked as soon as I realized I was invulnerable and can fly. I'd be the nakest superhero alive. Spandex? That's for aerobics. I have a planet to save, I look good, and everyone can kiss my bullet-proof ass if they have a problem with my bullet-proof balls.
"We're millions of miles from earth, inside a giant white face, what's impossible?"
He was not one of my heros.