"To Tell the Truth"
Good editorial from Paul Krugman examining recent changes in attitude of the press towards Bush.
Excerpts:
Some news organizations, including The New York Times, are currently engaged in self-criticism over the run-up to the Iraq war. They are asking, as they should, why poorly documented claims of a dire threat received prominent, uncritical coverage, while contrary evidence was either ignored or played down.
It's not just Iraq, and it's not just The Times. Many journalists seem to be having regrets about the broader context in which Iraq coverage was embedded: a climate in which the press wasn't willing to report negative information about George Bush.
People who get their news by skimming the front page, or by watching TV, must be feeling confused by the sudden change in Mr. Bush's character. For more than two years after 9/11, he was a straight shooter, all moral clarity and righteousness.
Excerpts:
Some news organizations, including The New York Times, are currently engaged in self-criticism over the run-up to the Iraq war. They are asking, as they should, why poorly documented claims of a dire threat received prominent, uncritical coverage, while contrary evidence was either ignored or played down.
It's not just Iraq, and it's not just The Times. Many journalists seem to be having regrets about the broader context in which Iraq coverage was embedded: a climate in which the press wasn't willing to report negative information about George Bush.
People who get their news by skimming the front page, or by watching TV, must be feeling confused by the sudden change in Mr. Bush's character. For more than two years after 9/11, he was a straight shooter, all moral clarity and righteousness.
"What Adolescents Miss When We Let Them Grow Up in Cyberspace"
Related, perhaps, to my last posting...
Excerpts:
Studies show that gregarious, well-connected people actually lost friends, and experienced symptoms of loneliness and depression, after joining discussion groups and other activities. People who communicated with disembodied strangers online found the experience empty and emotionally frustrating but were nonetheless seduced by the novelty of the new medium. As Prof. Robert Kraut, a Carnegie Mellon researcher, told me recently, such people allowed low-quality relationships developed in virtual reality to replace higher-quality relationships in the real world.
Excerpts:
Studies show that gregarious, well-connected people actually lost friends, and experienced symptoms of loneliness and depression, after joining discussion groups and other activities. People who communicated with disembodied strangers online found the experience empty and emotionally frustrating but were nonetheless seduced by the novelty of the new medium. As Prof. Robert Kraut, a Carnegie Mellon researcher, told me recently, such people allowed low-quality relationships developed in virtual reality to replace higher-quality relationships in the real world.
"Friends, Friends With Benefits, and the Benefits of the Local Mall"
Interesting article, depressing at times. Also, hard to tell whether girls are the losers in this.
"How the Iraqis See Their Future"
Article about a division in Iraqi public opinion: between tolerating the American presence despite significant misgivings, or resisting the occupation despite the chaos a withdrawal of U.S. troops would likely bring. Worth reading.
"Abuse of Captives More Widespread, Says Army Survey"
It seems the "few bad apples" claim is becoming less tenable by the day.
Excerpts:
An Army summary of deaths and mistreatment involving prisoners in American custody in Iraq and Afghanistan shows a widespread pattern of abuse involving more military units than previously known. ...
But the details paint a broad picture of misconduct, and show that in many cases among the 37 prisoners who have died in American custody in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army did not conduct autopsies and says it cannot determine the causes of the deaths.
Excerpts:
An Army summary of deaths and mistreatment involving prisoners in American custody in Iraq and Afghanistan shows a widespread pattern of abuse involving more military units than previously known. ...
But the details paint a broad picture of misconduct, and show that in many cases among the 37 prisoners who have died in American custody in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army did not conduct autopsies and says it cannot determine the causes of the deaths.
"Lower low-carb expectations"
I always thought the obsession over low carbohydrate diets was unwarranted given its newness; apparently new longer-term studies indicate it is not particularly helpful, at least for obese people.
I also wonder whether the low-carb dieter's obsession with meat, cheese, and other fatty foods will cause longer term health problems such as heart disease.
Anyway, my favorite quote: "Americans want to figure out a way to lose weight by eating."
Excerpts:
According to the study of 132 obese adults, published Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, low-carb dieters lost an average 11 pounds after one year. Those on a traditional diet, cutting 500 calories a day and limiting fat, shed an average eight. ...
In spite of all this attention to "carbing down," Americans are getting heavier. The federal government estimates that nearly 65% of adults are overweight or obese, and the number of overweight children has doubled since the late 1970s.
And as diet crazes have come and gone during that span, the solution to the problem hasn't changed: eating less and exercising more. That's not as palatable as searching for an easier way — even if the quest has done more to fatten bottom lines than slim fat bottoms.
I also wonder whether the low-carb dieter's obsession with meat, cheese, and other fatty foods will cause longer term health problems such as heart disease.
Anyway, my favorite quote: "Americans want to figure out a way to lose weight by eating."
Excerpts:
According to the study of 132 obese adults, published Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, low-carb dieters lost an average 11 pounds after one year. Those on a traditional diet, cutting 500 calories a day and limiting fat, shed an average eight. ...
In spite of all this attention to "carbing down," Americans are getting heavier. The federal government estimates that nearly 65% of adults are overweight or obese, and the number of overweight children has doubled since the late 1970s.
And as diet crazes have come and gone during that span, the solution to the problem hasn't changed: eating less and exercising more. That's not as palatable as searching for an easier way — even if the quest has done more to fatten bottom lines than slim fat bottoms.
"For Sniffing Out Land Mines, a Platoon of Twitching Noses"
Really neat article about using a particular species of rat to sniff out landmines. And no, they don't just let them run around and blow up the fields...
Excerpt:
Just about every method of detecting land mines has a drawback. Metal detectors cannot tell a mine from a tenpenny nail. Armored bulldozers work well only on level ground. Mine-sniffing dogs get bored, and if they make mistakes, they get blown up. ...
Rats are abundant, cheap and easily transported. At three pounds, they are too light to detonate mines accidentally. They can sift the bouquet of land-mine aromas far better than any machine. Unlike even the best mine-detecting dog or human, they are relentlessly single-minded.
Excerpt:
Just about every method of detecting land mines has a drawback. Metal detectors cannot tell a mine from a tenpenny nail. Armored bulldozers work well only on level ground. Mine-sniffing dogs get bored, and if they make mistakes, they get blown up. ...
Rats are abundant, cheap and easily transported. At three pounds, they are too light to detonate mines accidentally. They can sift the bouquet of land-mine aromas far better than any machine. Unlike even the best mine-detecting dog or human, they are relentlessly single-minded.
"Black, White, and Brown"
I haven't read the summary text, but the video is certainly worth watching.
Synopsis:
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision, Sam Tanenhaus, the editor of the Book Review, moderated a discussion of the historic ruling between Cornel West, whose new book, ''Democracy Matters,'' will be published in September, and Henry Louis Gates Jr., whose latest book is ''African American Lives,'' edited with Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham.
Synopsis:
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision, Sam Tanenhaus, the editor of the Book Review, moderated a discussion of the historic ruling between Cornel West, whose new book, ''Democracy Matters,'' will be published in September, and Henry Louis Gates Jr., whose latest book is ''African American Lives,'' edited with Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham.
"Is This What War Will Come To?"
Popular Science looks at research and development in weapons technology. Some bizarre sounding stuff; worth reading, though.
"Harsh C.I.A. Methods Cited in Top Qaeda Interrogations"
Describes some of the method apparently used in interrogation of top al-Qaeda detainees. I'm certainly no fan of terrorism, but I worry about the complete lack of both due process and accountability. Also, some of the actions described seem uncomfortably close to what reasonable individuals would call torture -- a form of punishment I don't think any amount of guilt or intelligence warrants.
Excerpt:
The authorized tactics are primarily those methods used in the training of American Special Operations soldiers to prepare them for the possibility of being captured and taken prisoners of war. The tactics simulate torture, but officials say they are supposed to stop short of serious injury. ...
Many authorities contend that torture and coercive treatment is as likely to provide information that is unreliable as information that is helpful. ...
One set of legal memorandums, the officials said, advises government officials that if they are contemplating procedures that may put them in violation of American statutes that prohibit torture, degrading treatment or the Geneva Conventions, they will not be responsible if it can be argued that the detainees are formally in the custody of another country. ...
The result was a series of secret agreements allowing the C.I.A. to use sites overseas without outside scrutiny.
Excerpt:
The authorized tactics are primarily those methods used in the training of American Special Operations soldiers to prepare them for the possibility of being captured and taken prisoners of war. The tactics simulate torture, but officials say they are supposed to stop short of serious injury. ...
Many authorities contend that torture and coercive treatment is as likely to provide information that is unreliable as information that is helpful. ...
One set of legal memorandums, the officials said, advises government officials that if they are contemplating procedures that may put them in violation of American statutes that prohibit torture, degrading treatment or the Geneva Conventions, they will not be responsible if it can be argued that the detainees are formally in the custody of another country. ...
The result was a series of secret agreements allowing the C.I.A. to use sites overseas without outside scrutiny.
"Just Trust Us"
"Pentagon Interrogation Guidelines Eyed in Prison Scandal"
A look into techniques approved for interrogations at Guantanamo Bay. I suppose this is what was meant when I'd in the past heard about a policy of 'torture lite.'
Excerpt:
In April 2003, the Defense Department approved a list of interrogation techniques for use at the Guantanamo Bay prison that permits making a detainee disrobe entirely for questioning, reversing normal sleep patterns and exposing them to heat, cold and 'sensory assault,' including loud music and bright lights, according to defense officials. ...
Defense and intelligence officials said similar guidelines have been approved for use on so-called "high-value detainees" in Iraq, those suspected of terrorism or of having knowledge of insurgency operations, and for prisoners detained in CIA-run detention centers. ...
Some prisoners could be made to stand for four hours at a time. Questioning a prisoner without clothes was permitted if he were alone in his cell. Ruled out were such techniques as physical contact....
Excerpt:
In April 2003, the Defense Department approved a list of interrogation techniques for use at the Guantanamo Bay prison that permits making a detainee disrobe entirely for questioning, reversing normal sleep patterns and exposing them to heat, cold and 'sensory assault,' including loud music and bright lights, according to defense officials. ...
Defense and intelligence officials said similar guidelines have been approved for use on so-called "high-value detainees" in Iraq, those suspected of terrorism or of having knowledge of insurgency operations, and for prisoners detained in CIA-run detention centers. ...
Some prisoners could be made to stand for four hours at a time. Questioning a prisoner without clothes was permitted if he were alone in his cell. Ruled out were such techniques as physical contact....
"Why Bush (probably) won't dump Rumsfeld"
Analysis by Fred Kaplan. Pretty good perspective I think.
This bit from Rumsfeld angered me:
Even now, the secretary seems to miss the point. He appears to think the issue is not the torture but the photographs. He didn't tell the president because, as he put it, 'The problem at that point was one-dimensional. It wasn't three-dimensional. It wasn't photographs and video.' At several points in the hearings, he talked about the unique problems posed by 'the information age.'
This bit from Rumsfeld angered me:
Even now, the secretary seems to miss the point. He appears to think the issue is not the torture but the photographs. He didn't tell the president because, as he put it, 'The problem at that point was one-dimensional. It wasn't three-dimensional. It wasn't photographs and video.' At several points in the hearings, he talked about the unique problems posed by 'the information age.'
"Mr. Rumsfeld's Responsibility"
Editorial from the Washington Post condemning Rumsfeld for policy decisions that may have facilitated the abuse and torture of prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan, and very possibly Guantanamo Bay.
Beginning more than two years ago, Mr. Rumsfeld decided to overturn decades of previous practice by the U.S. military in its handling of detainees in foreign countries. His Pentagon ruled that the United States would no longer be bound by the Geneva Conventions; that Army regulations on the interrogation of prisoners would not be observed; and that many detainees would be held incommunicado and without any independent mechanism of review. Abuses will take place in any prison system. But Mr. Rumsfeld's decisions helped create a lawless regime in which prisoners in both Iraq and Afghanistan have been humiliated, beaten, tortured and murdered -- and in which, until recently, no one has been held accountable.
Beginning more than two years ago, Mr. Rumsfeld decided to overturn decades of previous practice by the U.S. military in its handling of detainees in foreign countries. His Pentagon ruled that the United States would no longer be bound by the Geneva Conventions; that Army regulations on the interrogation of prisoners would not be observed; and that many detainees would be held incommunicado and without any independent mechanism of review. Abuses will take place in any prison system. But Mr. Rumsfeld's decisions helped create a lawless regime in which prisoners in both Iraq and Afghanistan have been humiliated, beaten, tortured and murdered -- and in which, until recently, no one has been held accountable.
"Iraq Shiites Urge Cleric to Desist"
Encouraging signs, hopefully of progress, regarding Moqtada al-Sadr. Some discouraging signs, though, regarding Shi'a-Sunni relations.
Excerpt:
On Tuesday, the Shiite leaders, including a representative of a Shiite clerical group that has close ties to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, effectively did what the Americans have urged them to do since Mr. Sadr, a 31-year-old firebrand, began his attacks in April: they tied Iraq's future, and that of Shiites in particular, to a renunciation of violence and a return to negotiations. ...
On few occasions, if any, since the American invasion last year, have mainstream Shiite leaders spoken so bluntly in public of the political rivalry with the Sunnis, who were referred to repeatedly by speakers as "they" or "the other side," and barely at all by name.
Excerpt:
On Tuesday, the Shiite leaders, including a representative of a Shiite clerical group that has close ties to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, effectively did what the Americans have urged them to do since Mr. Sadr, a 31-year-old firebrand, began his attacks in April: they tied Iraq's future, and that of Shiites in particular, to a renunciation of violence and a return to negotiations. ...
On few occasions, if any, since the American invasion last year, have mainstream Shiite leaders spoken so bluntly in public of the political rivalry with the Sunnis, who were referred to repeatedly by speakers as "they" or "the other side," and barely at all by name.
"Our Hidden WMD Program"
With the Soviet Union dissolved, I'm not sure what value there is in maintaining such a massive strategic arsenal of nuclear weapons. Nor do I think the use of tactical nukes to destroy bunkers is practical. Not sure what motivates this policy, but overall quite disconcerting...
Excerpt:
The budget is busted; American soldiers need more armor; they're running out of supplies. Yet the Department of Energy is spending an astonishing $6.5 billion on nuclear weapons this year, and President Bush is requesting $6.8 billion more for next year and a total of $30 billion over the following four years. This does not include his much-cherished missile-defense program, by the way. This is simply for the maintenance, modernization, development, and production of nuclear bombs and warheads.
Excerpt:
The budget is busted; American soldiers need more armor; they're running out of supplies. Yet the Department of Energy is spending an astonishing $6.5 billion on nuclear weapons this year, and President Bush is requesting $6.8 billion more for next year and a total of $30 billion over the following four years. This does not include his much-cherished missile-defense program, by the way. This is simply for the maintenance, modernization, development, and production of nuclear bombs and warheads.
Torture in Iraq
It's hard to explain how disgusted and angry I am about the mistreatment of prisoners in Iraq. It hurts me deep to know something like this would happen in the name of the United States, and the fact that it happens in a part of the world we are trying to eliminate extremism and bolster moderatation... what the fuck were these people thinking?
This article from the New Yorker is the best and most comprehensive of those I've come across thus far.
Excerpt:
Taguba's report, however, amounts to an unsparing study of collective wrongdoing and the failure of Army leadership at the highest levels. The picture he draws of Abu Ghraib is one in which Army regulations and the Geneva conventions were routinely violated, and in which much of the day-to-day management of the prisoners was abdicated to Army military-intelligence units and civilian contract employees. Interrogating prisoners and getting intelligence, including by intimidation and torture, was the priority.
This article from the New Yorker is the best and most comprehensive of those I've come across thus far.
Excerpt:
Taguba's report, however, amounts to an unsparing study of collective wrongdoing and the failure of Army leadership at the highest levels. The picture he draws of Abu Ghraib is one in which Army regulations and the Geneva conventions were routinely violated, and in which much of the day-to-day management of the prisoners was abdicated to Army military-intelligence units and civilian contract employees. Interrogating prisoners and getting intelligence, including by intimidation and torture, was the priority.
