'We were torturing people for no reason' - "The results of the hangings, shacklings and prolonged stress positions - sometimes for hours - were devastating. "You take a healthy guy and you turn him into a cripple, at least for a period of time," Lagouranis told me. "I don't care what Alberto Gonzales says. That's torture.""
Suspect at Guantanamo Claims Torture - ""From the time I was arrested five years ago, they have been torturing me. It happened during interviews. One time they tortured me one way, and another time they tortured me in a different way," al-Nashiri said, according to the transcript. "I just said those things to make the people happy. They were very happy when I told them those things.""
Congress tells Bush: Get us out of Iraq - "A defiant, Democratic-controlled Senate approved legislation Thursday calling for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq within a year, propelling Congress closer to a wartime veto confrontation with President Bush."
Blogging with Bush - "In trying to win support for his escalation in Iraq, President Bush was reduced to quoting two bloggers in Baghdad -- who turned out to be brothers he once met at the White House -- and their comments were more than three weeks old. Has it come to this?"
Israel's Olmert Fights Publication Of War Probe Findings - "Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert established the Winograd Commission to probe the government's execution of last year's war with Lebanon's Hezbollah, but now he is intent on making sure its findings never see the light of day."
U.S.: China cyberspace, outer-space war gains impress - ""The scope, though not yet the scale of these investments, is consistent with global aspirations, but by most assessments, is excessive in relation to China's regional security needs," said Schneider in remarks similar to Pentagon complaints." -- Um, Pot. Kettle. Black.
America unprepared for 'likely' nuke attack - "The most extensive study of the effects of nuclear detonations in four major U.S. cities paints a grim picture of millions of deaths, overwhelmed hospitals and loss of command-and-control capability by government."
Face the fear, people - "It's fine for me to protest, as long as the cops don't beat me down. It's fine for me to write my congressperson, so long as I don't piss someone off and have someone in a suit with a gun and handcuffs knocking at my door. It's fine to argue with my Bush-lovin' neighbor, as long as tensions aren't too high and one of us doesn't end up in the morgue. We're afraid of what might be coming to us if we act, and we're afraid of what we might do if we’re confronted."
‘Ice’ becomes drug enforcement nightmare - "In the last few years, through arrests and laws restricting chemicals used to make methamphetamine, authorities were able to dramatically reduce meth labs in the United States. But now, those efforts around the country are being undercut by Mexican drug traffickers, who are mass-producing ice in big labs south of the border, then smuggling it throughout the U.S."
Somalia battles called worst in 15 years - "Insurgents shot down a helicopter gunship in Somalia's capital and mortar shells slammed into a hospital Friday in the worst fighting seen in this beleaguered capital in more than 15 years."
Teacher-Sex Scandal Spurs Cries Of Racism - "Both women are white. The boys — six in all — are black. ... Some blacks shudder to think what would have happened if the teachers were black men and the students were white girls."
Students give up social networks for Lent - "For some, it's chocolate. For others, it's coffee or cigarettes. But as this Easter approaches, some young and devout Christians are anxious to return to what they gave up for Lent: Internet sites Facebook and MySpace."
Student punished for spaghetti beliefs - "But the disciplinary action has provoked controversy – because the student says that the ban violates his rights, as the pirate costume is part of his religion. Bryan Killian says that he follows the Pastafarian religion, and that as a crucial part of his faith, he must wear 'full pirate regalia' as prescribed in the holy texts of Pastafarianism. The school, however, say that his pirate garb was disruptive. Pastafarians follow the Flying Spaghetti Monster (pictured), and believe that the world was created by the touch of his noodly appendage. Furthermore, they acknowledge pirates as being 'absolute divine beings', and stress that the worldwide decline in the number of pirates has directly led to global warming."
US 'no longer technology king' - "The US is now ranked seventh in the body's league table measuring the impact of technology on the development of nations. A deterioration of the political and regulatory environment in the US prompted the fall, the report said. The top spot went for the first time to Denmark, followed by Sweden."
Former Christian Right Homophobe Sees the Error of His Ways - "Religious right-wing activist Joe Murray was drawn to the American Family Association because of its "prolife" positions -- and soon he started bashing gays without giving it "much thought.""
Schlafly cranks up agitation at Bates - "For nearly two hours, she belittled the feminist movement as "teaching women to be victims," decried intellectual men as "liberal slobs" and argued that feminism "is incompatible with marriage and motherhood." ... "By getting married, the woman has consented to sex, and I don't think you can call it rape," she said."
Bill to ban smoking in cars advances - "SB7, proposed by Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Carson (Los Angeles County), would make it an infraction punishable by a fine of $100 to smoke a cigarette, cigar or pipe in a vehicle containing anyone under 18."
Does Maya calendar predict 2012 apocalypse? - "With humanity coming up fast on 2012, publishers are helping readers gear up and count down to this mysterious — some even call it apocalyptic — date that ancient Mayan societies were anticipating thousands of years ago."
The World Needs More Rebels Like Einstein - "Albert Einstein, as every kid knows, was a smart guy. But as we discover when we get older, smart gets you only so far. It's worth remembering, especially now, that what made Einstein special was his impertinence, his nonconformity, and his distaste for dogma."
China and US at highest risk of damage from asteroids - "China and the US are the countries most vulnerable to damage from future asteroid impacts, according to preliminary new research. Sweden also ranks surprisingly high in this first attempt at quantifying the risks of impact effects, such as tsunamis, on individual nations."
Scientists doubt how dinosaurs died out - "The asteroid part of the story is still true, but a study published today in the journal Nature challenges the oft held belief that the demise of the dinosaurs played a major role in the rise of our ancient ancestors, suggesting global warming and the appearance of flowers could have been much more important."
Ancient Head-Squishing Violence Revealed - "Ancient Peruvian aristocrats dismembered their less well-off neighbors as a scare tactic, new archaeological finds suggest. ... "When a dominant class appears, [it] always seeks mechanisms to impose fear," said Pedro Castro-Martinez of the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB), who headed up a study of the corpses. "The power of an elite is exercised and maintained by means of force and fear. Mutilations can be part of those tactics to frighten."" -- Hmmm. Things haven't changed much.
Quote of the Day
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
~ Dr. Seuss
No comments:
Post a Comment