Barry Yourgrau writes, performs & attempts humor in multimedia. His early works A Man Jumps Out of An Airplane & Wearing Dad's Head are considered surreal classics. His book Haunted Traveller plays with imaginary travels. Fans know him too from MTV, NPR & the film The Sadness of Sex in which he starred. For kids (?) there's recent NASTYbooks series. South African-born BY lives in NYC, travels a lot. Has great nostalgia for years in LA. More info @ www.yourgrau.com & www.nastybook.com.
John Yoo's Torture Opinions Are Not Just "Opinions"
From "Riot" by AES-F at Istanbul Biennale
In some of the responses to a post I wrote about John Yoo's torture-enabling legal opinions, some readers raised the issue of "free speech" and "academic opinions" or the like -- comparing holding Yoo criminally liable for these opinions to suppressing and punishing, say, the opinions of a controversial college professor.
Sorry, that is a grossly errant load of mush, and I say that though I ain't no legal scholar.
Mr. Yoo supplied his war-crime enabling opinions in his role as a government lawyer. The Nuremberg Trials established the precedent that a lawyer does not get to enable war crimes and plead "it's just an opinion." That kind of opinion is an act--an act of enabling war crimes.
Scott Horton at no comment puts it with characteristic cogent clarity:
"They (the torture memo drafters) also missed the established precedent I have cited repeatedly here, namely United States vs Altstoetter, under the rule of which the conduct of the torture lawyers is a criminal act not shielded by any notions of government immunity." (my bold)
If you care to share your concern about Mr. Yoo and his opinions, you can try sharing them (politely) at a Berkeley event in which he'll be participating Monday April 14.
Horton, by the way, is hanging up his blogging hat as of today. His immensely authoritative, informed and wide-ranging mind will be missed. Typically, his last regular post is an Andrew Marvell poem, with his own exegesis of it. "(A) green thought in a green shade," to quote the poet.
