Do Canadians torture, too?? Yes, they do.

B.C. Civil Liberties release documents detailing alleged Afghan torture

VANCOUVER - The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is releasing documents it says were sent to federal government officials detailing reports of torture against Afghan detainees.

The heavily censored documents describe interviews with several detainees who claimed they had been "whipped with cables, shocked with electricity and/or otherwise hurt" after they were transferred from the Canadian military into Afghan custody in Kandahar.

The association says the papers leave no doubt that Ottawa knows that Canadian-transferred detainees are subsequently tortured by Afghan authorities.

The government documents were released as part of court attempts by Amnesty International and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association to stop transfers of prisoners taken by Canadian troops in Afghanistan.

The association said the documents are an exchange between diplomatic and Department of Foreign Affairs personnel who visited facilities in Afghanistan. It claims that Aghanistan's National Directorate of Security engaged in forms of torture after prisoners were transferred into their custody by the Canadian military.

It states each detainee interview lasted between 15 and 60 minutes, in the absence of NDS officers. The documents note that the "atmosphere overall was surprisingly relaxed."

It is not clear from the document how many prisoners were interviewed.

All the detainees interviewed complained about "lack of clarity in their cases. They said they did not know why they are being held, nor did any seem to have been charged."

One claimed he'd been knocked unconscious during an interrogation and beaten "with electrical wires and rubber hose."

The documents says that when the man indicated the spot where the alleged assault took place, the interviewer "found a large piece of braided electrical wire as well as a rubber hose. He then showed us a bruise (approx. 4 inches long) on his back that could possibly be the result of a blow."

Association president Jason Gratl said the report proves that Canada knew that torture was happening.

"The denial of the existence of torture in Afghanistan are no longer plausible," he said. "The prime minister, in effect, is forced to act."

Representatives with the Department of Foreign Affairs could not be reached for comment.

Since last April, allegations have been dogging the government that some prisoners taken by the Canadian military were in turn abused after being handed over to the Afghan authorities.

Published reports on April 23 suggested as many as 30 prisoners had been mistreated by the Afghans.

Two days following those allegations, a prison visit was arranged for Corrections Canada officers and an official at Canada's provincial reconstruction base. Reports were filed that night to both the Foreign Affairs Department and the Correctional Service of Canada.

Gavin Buchan, the political director of the reconstruction base wrote how two prisoners came forward with complaints of mistreatment, despite being accompanied by NDS officers.

When confronted by deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff in the House of Commons on April 26, Harper described claims of prisoner abuse as "baseless allegations."

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day was also quoted that day as saying: "We have no proof of the allegations."

However, the government negotiated its prisoner deal with the Afghans to give Canadian authorities the right to monitor those captured.

yeah, just like in America .. "We do not torture"

In Canada they just deny the evidence ..

See this link .. http://www.canadaoutofafghanistan.ca/articles/torture.html

CANADA TORTURES

Some background stories and information -

HERE is a google search link and then:

Savage beatings, electrocution, whipping and extreme cold: Detainees detail a litany of abuses by Afghan authorities

Detainees Detail a Litany of Abuses by Afghan Authorities

Torture of Detainees in Afghanistan

It's You Canadians Who Are Responsible for Torture ...
La Presse October 29, 2007

Several prisoners pass from the hands of Canadians to the secret services, then directly to the Sarpoza prison. Without a judge, without a trial and without a lawyer.

Canada does not torture the Taliban captured by its army. But it hands them over to Afghan authorities that are not so squeamish, according to what people say. Here is the first article in a large-scale investigation conducted on the ground by our special envoy who met several prisoners who were victims of torture.

Even though Ottawa concluded an agreement with the Afghan government in the spring, the prisoners captured by Canadian soldiers are still tortured on the premises of the secret services in Kandahar.

Beaten with bricks, deprived of sleep, nails torn out, given electric shocks. Some detainees must remain standing with their arms in the air for two days and two nights. Their feet become so swollen that their leg-irons cannot move. Others have their arms fastened behind their back and are hung from a wall, then beaten with electric cables.

What Ottawa doesn't want you to know: Government was told detainees faced 'extrajudicial executions, disappearances, torture and detention without trial'
Globe and Mail April 25, 2007

"The Harper government knew from its own officials that prisoners held by Afghan security forces faced the possibility of torture, abuse and extrajudicial killing, The Globe and Mail has learned.

But the government has eradicated every single reference to torture and abuse in prison from a heavily blacked-out version of a report prepared by Canadian diplomats in Kabul and released under an access to information request.

Initially, the government denied the existence of the report, responding in writing that "no such report on human-rights performance in other countries exists." After complaints to the Access to Information Commissioner, it released a heavily edited version this week.

Among the sentences blacked out by the Foreign Affairs Department in the report's summary is "Extrajudicial executions, disappearances, torture and detention without trial are all too common," according to full passages of the report obtained independently by The Globe.

The Foreign Affairs report, titled Afghanistan-2006; Good Governance, Democratic Development and Human Rights, was marked "CEO" for Canadian Eyes Only. It seems to remove any last vestige of doubt that the senior officials and ministers knew that torture and abuse were rife in Afghan jails."

Reporting on torture in Afghanistan
'The story is starting to make my life difficult as I am discovering that I have made many powerful enemies here in Afghanistan.' — Graeme Smith
>by Stefan Christoff May 4, 2007 (An interview with The Globe and Mail journalist Graeme Smith — a rabble.ca exclusive.) On Monday, April, 23, 2007, The Globe and Mail published a front-page feature article from correspondent Graeme Smith, which detailed experiences of torture by multiple Afghan prisoners captured by the Canadian military and transferred to Afghan authorities. The article, headlined “From Canadian custody into cruel hands,” made major political waves in Canada, sparking grassroots discussion across the country and debates in Parliament leading to calls from opposition political parties for Gordon O'Connor, the Minister of Defense, to resign from his. Graeme Smith was interviewed by telephone from Kandahar, Afghanistan concerning the report on torture under Canadian watch in Afghanistan and the political implications resulting from the article, on Canada's military mission in Afghanistan. Stefan Christoff: Can you explain the process of collecting the information and conducting the interviews for your break-through report on the torture of Afghan prisoners? Graeme Smith: In Kandahar it's very well known that the National Directorate of Security (NDS) tends to mistreat prisoners in custody and it is also very well known that the Canadian military hands over detainees to the NDS. So putting two and two together would seem very obvious, so it was a matter of just doing the leg work, going around working travel networks and having tea with NDS representatives in Kandahar City and generally trying to track these people down while also persuading the people who run the prison to open their doors in a way that they have never been open before for journalists, as best I know. The prison officials took some persuading but eventually granted me access to interview the prisoners and many of the details emerged from these interviews. Everyone in Kandahar has accepted this as the status quo. If you told someone in Kandahar City that the police or secret police are torturing people, no one would bat an eyelash but would shrug and say that's the way it is. What's interesting is that in the last few days, the fact that the Canadians appear to be upset about this has certainly caused waves in Kandahar City. Very high level politicians in Afghanistan are trying to do damage control as the issue is definitely getting some attention now. Stefan Christoff: As a reporter who has addressed multiple issues in Afghanistan, how does the issue of Afghan prisoner abuse illustrate the legitimacy of the current government of Afghanistan, which the Canadian government is so closely aligned with? Graeme Smith: The problem with the case of Afghanistan's police force is that no one calls the police or security services by their official name in Kandahar, no one refers to the National Directorate of Security or NDS, people often refer to the police as the KHAD, which is an acronym for the old Communist-era secret police in Afghanistan. About half the staff for the current National Directorate of Security according to a 2004 study, are old KHAD officers, so it's not particularly surprising that they behave like the old KHAD. Obviously the responsibility of the Canadian and other NATO forces in this situation is to try to pressure local authorities to improve the conduct of the National Directorate of Security — not only because a country like Canada has obligations under the Geneva Conventions, but also for their own tactical purposes on the ground because if you don't torture people then fewer people will be angry with you. Stefan Christoff: Clearly practices of torture on prisoners in local prisons are upsetting people in Kandahar. Can you describe or recount what former and current prisoners told you in terms of their experiences in Afghanistan's prisons? Thousands of people across Canada read and reacted to your article in The Globe and Mail but I am asking for you to convey in this interview the details regarding torture in Afghanistan's prisons. Graeme Smith: The prisoners told me that they were beaten, often beaten with electrical cables, which was the most common complaint. Some prisoners said that they were left outside for long periods of time during the short winter months when the temperatures here in Afghanistan dips below freezing. Others said that they were electrocuted and one man did make a particularly graphic description of being electrocuted with a hand-crank generator and flopping around on the floor like a fish. I have to tell you that these stories are very personally upsetting because just like the Canadian military here, I as a reporter have been dealing on a regular basis with the Afghan authorities. So although I had heard the rumours and innuendo concerning torture, I sat down with these men who pulled up their shirts to show me their scars, which clearly was very personally upsetting. Stefan Christoff: This is a reality that is understood and talked about in Afghanistan and you explained that within Kandahar people generally assumed that torture is taking place within Afghan prisons. For readers in Canada and throughout North America, your report on torture in Afghanistan is making major waves on a popular level and at the highest levels of the Canadian government, with calls for Gordon O'Connor, the Minister of Defense, to resign. How do you feel as the journalist who broke this important story? Graeme Smith: Well frankly, it makes my life difficult as a reporter who is trying to document what is happening here in southern Afghanistan and plans on documenting for a while what is happening here in southern Afghanistan — particularly when my report was picked up by BBC Pashto Radio and broadcast to all the local homes here in Kandahar. The story is starting to make my life difficult as I am discovering that I have made many powerful enemies here in Afghanistan. But I think it was extremely important to report on this issue because if I can help prevent the practice of torture in Afghanistan or anywhere, writing this story was worth the cost. Stefan Christoff is an independent journalist working with CKUT Radio Montreal & Free Speech Radio News.

My computer went kaput totally. So I've been working at other stuff for
over a week. I now have a "proper" computer at long last, btw.

Tonight I got the following message. But just a few words of
explanation.

George Ure is a people's economist of incredible reputation. I TRUST
him. He is, perhaps, a seventh generation prophet. He had this idea
with another guy to do a supercomputer run of millions of sites around
the internet . and they would take out ALL references to the past, and
only use sentences written in the present tense or those written in the
future tense to determine linguistically a sort of futurist universal
prediction project/service.

He took this idea to the US Department of Defense and offered to do it
for them as a consultant. They turned him down, so what he did was do
it anyway, but sell the information to clients (wealthy investors) who
would want the information these computer runs turned up. The
predictions, while a bit hazy at times get really intereting .. things
about volcanoes (the big one hasn't happened yet), things about the
appearance of this woman Elvira for instance, show up in advance ... if
Elvira Arellano isn't the untainted, non-partisan woman who the
linguistics have making headlines about now
<http://www.ipsnews. net/news. asp?idnews= 39055>

But this below came out tonight .. and we'll all see if it comes to pass
... remember this is based on thousands of websites, millions of words
having been gone through, world wide ... (This is the guy who alerted me
to the ammo shortage ...)

Veeger

BULLETIN ITEM:

Something Big & Nasty September 2? Heads Up From The
Web-bots

The web bots are picking up something big for Sunday or Monday.....as
Igor says; "Everybody guard your pies."

The whole report......

<http://www.urbansur vival.com/ week.htm

Urgent: Something Sunday?
Just in from the predictive linguistics team at <http://www.halfpast human.com/

"Igor here.


Clif has worked all day yesterday and all last night. And was back at it
at 4 this morning when I checked in. We have a large data bubble of
datas which are showing up for Sunday, 9-2.

Clif says that he will have part 1 posted by Saturday afternoon at the
latest since so much of the data says that Sunday and Monday will be
very nasty here in US.

He probably ain't wrong about this one. And I think that he is probably
right about the 19th too. But anyway part 1 by late Saturday.

Everybody guard your pies. Igor out. "

No, I have no idea what the bubble is that is showing up in the 'time
scanning' technology, but something 'out of the blue' Sunday/Monday
seems to be coming...

Lake Sharbot; must reads

I started making arrangements yesterday to go up there.
V

Governments urged to end native blockade

BILL CURRY
Print Edition 30/08/07 Page A7

Algonquin leaders are urging the federal and provincial governments to diffuse an escalating standoff in this rural Eastern Ontario community before violence erupts.Doreen Davis, Chief of the Shabot Obaadjiwan Algonquin community, said the group of aboriginal and area non-native demonstrators will continue to block a uranium mining prospecting company's access to land she says was never surrendered by the Algonquin people.

Another native protest gathers steam On-line 28/08/07 05:05 PM
Protesters block access to proposed uranium mine in eastern Ontario; call on provincial government to settle the dispute after judge orders them to leave


Non-natives support Algonquins' mining rallies BILL CURRY
Print Edition 14/07/07 Page A12
Prospectors hoping to make the case for a multimillion- dollar uranium mine north of Kingston are furious that their access to the site is being denied by Eastern Ontario Algonquins.

Source that spurred this on at: Globe and Mail Report on Business



Last week, I asked wolfy if I should start digging into the TRUTH abou the oil sands in Albert.&nbsp; I figure it is just another of those big fat CON jobs ...



Where is this technology to .. be developed .. to be exploited ..



How are all these folks flooding into and around Calgary going to survive on some mighty slim pickings in social services department, too few schools and doctors, too many Crapacinno bars and late night clubs for Duppies (dual income nincompoops), not enough "parking lots" and a VERY VERY VERY strange (to my mind) cultah.



But back to the left brained stuff .. what spin is Harper going to put on the strange goings on that will take place as people push and shove their way(s) around the oil game ...? Hunh? Whadda ya think ...?



So may be this is the first part of a series, Maybe I am already fed up with the whole fiasco to come. Dunno for SURE about this at all and I don't know what I am going to do with what I find out.



But here is something to chew on.



And don't fret, my peak oil buddies! We have NOT forgotten the Russian oil alerts. They are just too fascinating for Wordz ....

Refinery advances oil sands strategy

NORVAL SCOTT

Globe and Mail Update

May 2, 2007 at 9:37 PM EDT

CALGARY —
Husky Energy Inc. has trumped competing bids to land
Valero Energy Corp.'s
165,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Lima, Ohio, for $1.9-billion (U.S.),
plus net working capital, narrowing the available options for firms
seeking to bring crude from Alberta's oil sands to market.

The deal, expected to close by the end of the second quarter,
effectively allows Husky to advance its ambitious oil sands development
plans, as it provides a refining home in the U.S. for the firm's future
crude output. However, it also increases the stakes for companies that
haven't tied up a downstream solution for their oil sands projects,
with the number of U.S. refineries available decreasing and the cost of
building an upgrader in Alberta soaring.

“The acquisition of the Lima refinery represents a significant step in
Husky's ongoing strategic move of expanding our downstream business,”
Husky chief executive officer John Lau said in a press release.
“Integration of the Lima refinery with future growth of heavy crude oil
and oil sands production is part of Husky's long-term strategy to
enhance returns to shareholders.”

Husky, which produced 360,000 barrels of oil and gas a day in 2006,
expects to extract 500,000 barrels of crude a day from its oil sands
operations alone by 2020, with the 200,000-b/d Sunrise development
expected on stream in 2010. However, because oil sands crude is heavy
and difficult to refine, the firm – like other Canadian producers –
needs to find refineries to process its extra output in order to bring
it to market.

With the refinery previously valued between $1.5-billion and
$2-billion, the deal is positive for Husky, especially in the wake of
spiralling prices within Alberta, said Adam Zive, a Toronto-based
analyst at Desjardins Securities.

“This deal compares favourably to similar recent deals and makes a lot
of strategic sense for Husky,” he said. “The highest value proposition
for a company with oil sands production is buying a U.S. refinery and
converting it to take the heavy crude.”

While the refinery acquisition will allow Husky to process crude from
Sunrise, it won't meet all the company's future refining requirements
and so the firm will still consider other options, including expanding
its 77,000-b/d Lloydminster upgrader, Husky spokeswoman Tanis Thacker
said.

“This is a first step, not a complete solution,” she said.

While some Canadian producers are looking to build upgraders – which
make the heavy oil sands crude lighter, and therefore easier for more
refineries to process – in Alberta, the province's oil boom appears to
have made their development less economic than a U.S. solution. On
Tuesday, the increased costs claimed a casualty as oil sands developer
Synenco Energy Inc.
said the upgrader portion of its Northern Lights project would now cost
$6.3-billion (Canadian), more than triple the estimated 2005 capital
cost of $1.9-billion, and it halted work on the facility because of the
new estimates.

Canadian producers
Western Oil Sands Inc. and Suncor
Energy Inc. are believed to have unsuccessfully bid on the Lima
refinery. Suncor CEO Rick George said last week that while the firm was
still searching for U.S. assets, the current asking price for
refineries is “too high.”

While a potential partner for Canadian producers is Houston-based
Marathon Oil Corp.,
which has been vocal about seeking a swap of its refining equity for a
stake in the oil sands, other potential deals seem thin on the ground.
BP PLC,
which holds major refining assets in the U.S. that could process more
Canadian crude, has a long-standing policy of non-involvement in the
oil sands and currently appears uninterested in a possible asset swap.

Question of the Day

(for newbies to this blog only ....)

What does British Petroleum KNOW that the others don't?

Hmmmmmmmmmmm....?

Technorati Tags: Alberta oil sands, Husky Energy, Valero Energy Corp., Synenco Energy Inc., boondoggles, urban crises to come

Powered by ScribeFire.