Get your news groove on with Kandy Korrespondent!

According to a recent report by Human Rights Watch, at least two-thirds of Guantanamo inmates are at high risk for mental breakdowns. The report states that 185 of the 270 detainees at Guantanamo spend 22 hours in tiny cells, with little to no fresh air and light, with only the Koran to occupy their time.

Moreover, as Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel at HRW notes “Guantanamo detainees who have not even been charged with a crime are being warehoused in conditions that are in many ways harsher than those reserved for the most dangerous, convicted criminals in the United States” i.e. “supermax” prisons.

U.S. inmates of the supermax prison system include, notable Mafia leader Sammy Gravano, bomber Eric Robert Rudolph—responsible for the 1996 bomb at the Atlanta Olympics, and Terry Nicholas—the coconspirator to the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

In Other News:

On Monday, Ohio Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich called for the impeachment of President Bush. Kucinich said that he will proposed over two dozen charges centering on Bush’s “calculated and wide-ranging strategy” to trick Congress and the American Public into launching the Iraq War. This symbolic resolution is expected to dead end in the same manner as Kucinich’s similar call for the impeachment of Vice President Cheney in April 2007. Read More »

Drum roll please…
It’s the news with Kandy Korrespondent! (wild applause) anyways:

The California Supreme Court has overturned the state’s same-sex marriage ban by a vote of 3-4 stating that gay unions must be given the “respect and dignity of marriage” and that same-sex couples should be permitted to wed. Governor Schwartzenagger said on Thursday that he will respect the court’s ruling. Meanwhile, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told reporters that he will gladly officiate at same-sex weddings.

This ruling is the first to apply arguments typically used with regards to the protection of gender and racial rights to the issue of same-sex marriage.

In Other News: Read More »

And now for the news with Kandy Korrespondent:

All eyes are on North Carolina and Indiana as Democrats head to the polls today. The New York Times’ Adam Nagourney analyzed the three different scenarios that could possibly emerge out of today’s race. Briefly, here they are:

1. Clinton wins both states: This will demonstrate that her campaign has continued momentum and may serve to win some superdelegates over to her camp. It will also reflect the extent to which Obama has been hurt by the Rev. Wright debacle.

2. Obama wins both states: The death bell will ring for Clinton’s campaign. Najourney notes that several of her advisers have actually said that they will counsel her to quit at that point.

3. Spit decision: The Clinton campaign’s uphill battle to catch up with Obama’s delegate count will continue. After today’s election, only 217 delegates (excluding superdelegates of course) will be up for grabs. Najourey As democratic consultant Ron Klain states,

“The math still favors Senator Obama, no matter what happens Tuesday.”

Even though I’m so done with this whole Obama-Clinton endless fight, I’m hooked– I have to see it through to the end. For that reason, and because I have no life, I’ll be posting exit poll updates throughout the afternoon and evening–so stay tuned!

In Other News: Read More »

And now (drumroll please) the news with Kandy Korrespondent

As the price at the pump soars beyond $4 in some parts of the country, President Bush attempted to distance himself from the crisis, stating during Tuesday’s news conferences,

“I firmly believe that, you know, if there was a magic wand to wave, I’d be waving it, of course […] I’ve repeatedly submitted proposals to help address these problems, yet time after time Congress chose to block them.”

These proposals for the most part have to do with allowing the construction of more coal and nuclear plants and opening of an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer then responded to the President’s criticism of Congress by stating,

“The president has proclaimed that he is ‘the decider,’ but this morning all he tried to do is pass the buck to someone else rather than accept responsibility for his administration’s failed economic policies and escalating gas prices.”

In related news, on Tuesday Federal Judge Claudia Wilken ordered the Bush administration to decide on whether to place the polar bear on the endangered species list by May 15th. The inclusion of the polar bear on the list will hamper the future of oil and gas development in the Artic circle. Read More »

Is it just me or have we all entered some kind of Twilight Zone in which torture and terror are okay as long as the defenders of freedom and democracy are using them?

This past Saturday, March 9th, President Bush exercised his veto on a piece of legislation that would have banned interrogation techniques used by the CIA, such as waterboarding. In his weekly radio address he stated,

“The bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror […] so today I vetoed it”

What is Waterboarding?

This incredibly controversial interrogation technique/ form of torture, depending on who is talking, originated in the 16th century during the Italian inquisition.

A bound and gagged prisoner is immobilized on his back, head tilted downward. Water is then poured over him, causing an immediate gag reflex and simulating drowning. Often, cellophane is also placed over the prisoner’s face—further preventing him from taking any air. (remember how your parents told you not to place saran wrap over your face when you were little….) Read More »