"The gloves are coming off. . . "

A soldier is on trial for the murder of a former Iraqi general during interrogation. Radio Havana Cuba (RHC) reported on air this evening that Lewis Weishofer's supervisor said "the gloves are coming off," when he okayed the use of the 'sleeping bag' technique for interrogation in Iraq. Whether the technique was permitted by the Army Field Manual is at issue in his trial. Of course it's not in there. The Army Field Manual is designed to prevent torture during interrogations. That's why Senator John McCain fought to get a law passed saying that the US has to go by the book -- the Army Field Manual -- in interrogations (see my previous blog).  Who ordered what? The normal meaning of "the gloves are coming off" is to throw out the rule book and fight dirty. In my book that means you go after the big fish in court, not the minnows.

     Now that we know our government spies on us, the great thing about listening to RHC or BBC on air is that our government can't put a cookie in your shortwave receiver to track what you're listening to. You could even listen to the latest on bird flu on the Voice of Vietnam or Radio China International. But I enjoy RHC because the reception is good, and the news has a very different slant from any domestic source.  RHC reads the news on the hour and half hour between 2:00 and 4:00 GMT. That's 8 to 10 pm central standard time. The frequency is 6000 or 9550.