Double Talk, Doublethink, and the Owner of Rights to Animal Farm

Last week the call went out: the horror that is Abu Ghraib would be closed:

Abu Ghraib, symbol of America's shame, to close within three months

· 4,500 inmates to be moved to other jails
· Buildings will be handed over to Iraqi government

Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Friday March 10, 2006
The Guardian

Abu Ghraib, the prison which will be forever linked with images of Iraqi detainees stripped naked and humiliated by their American jailors, is to be closed, US military officials said yesterday. The sprawling, low-slung prison in the western suburbs of Baghdad, a torture chamber under Saddam Hussein that gained even more notoriety with the photographs of abuse committed by US troops, is likely to close within three months...

Let's see, the release intitially to British news sources, which penetrated the American main$tream via those sources, was on the 9th- the day before the 10th.

On the 9th, the D.o'D. quietly released this at home:

U.S. Has No Immediate Plans to Close Abu Ghraib Prison
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2006 – The United States always has planned to transfer authority for all detention facilities in Iraq to the Iraqis, but announcements regarding the imminent closure at the Abu Ghraib prison are premature, defense officials said today.

News reports that the U.S. military intends to close Abu Ghraib within the next few months and to transfer its prisoners to other jails are inaccurate, officials said.

There's no specific timetable for that transfer or for closure of the Baghdad prison, they said. Decisions regarding Abu Ghraib and other detention facilities in Iraq will be based largely on two factors: the readiness of Iraq's security forces to assume control of them and infrastructure improvements at the facilities.

The Abu Ghraib facility, which houses about 4,500 prisoners, became notorious in 2004 after isolated reports of prisoner abuse were made public. Defense officials condemned the actions sharply, insisting that detainee abuse is not tolerated. All allegations of detainee abuse are aggressively investigated, and anyone convicted of or involved in abuse is held accountable, they said. Six soldiers at the Abu Ghraib facility were tried on abuse charges.

All detainees are treated humanely in accordance with the Geneva Conventions and receive military medical care similar to what deployed U.S. servicemembers receive, officials said.

Of course they're all treated in accordance to the Geneva Conventions.

"We're gonna close it, except, you know, we really aren't."

This must be an example of catapulting propaganda to foreign news sources to confuse the terra'ists.

Your tax dollars at work supporting the Ministry of Truthiness in action.

In other news this morning, Darth Rumsfeld made a "killing" on Tamiflu even though the H5N1 bug never took off here at home this winter. He's sold his stock options now, so likely that means there are too many vaccines that are likely to be released for it this fall. Still, a tidy sum for the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Speaking of the Dark Lords of the Sith and the Ministry of Truthiness, you will be relieved to hear the CIA now holds the syndication and distribution rights to the film of Animal Farm (via Defense Tech).

Now that's a book that ought to be Classified.

The Memory Hole has put together a list of other interesting films the CIA now owns. Here are some other interesting titles whose release the CIA controls:

CBS Reports: UFO: Friend, Foe or Fancy?

Extraordinary Occurrence, II

Jim Garrison's Responses/Discusses JFK Assassination

Mickey Mouse Cartoon-Squatter's Rights

Moscow Antarctica -- Polar Outpost

Our Election Day Illusion/The Best Majority

Restoration of Sanity, Mental Illness Diagnostic

Study of Sun's Corona

Unidentified Flying Objects

Curious choice the Company has, no? This list is part of a longer list of films you might see the Agency wanting to control. For example, there might be a point in worrying about How to Fight A Guerrilla War -- 20th Century. But you just have wonder what Mickey Mouse, UFOs, and the study of the Sun all have that the CIA is afraid of.