Zed of the morning to all.

Buenos Dias from Costa Rica!

This Bradbury Guy at DOJ is piece of work:From WaPo

Justice Official Defends Rough CIA Interrogations
Severe, Lasting Pain Is Torture, He Says

…

In testimony before a House subcommittee, Steven G. Bradbury, the acting chief of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, spelled out how the administration regulated the CIA’s use of rough tactics and offered new details of how simulated drowning was used to compel disclosures by prisoners suspected of being al-Qaeda members.

The method was not, he said, like the “water torture” used during the Spanish Inquisition and by autocratic governments into the 20th century, but was subject to “strict time limits, safeguards, restrictions.” He added, “The only thing in common is, I think, the use of water.”

Bradbury indicated that no water entered the lungs of the three prisoners who were subjected to the practice, lending credence to previous accounts that the noses and mouths of CIA captives were covered in cloth or cellophane. Cellophane could pose a serious asphyxiation risk, torture experts said.

…

Nice location to be spending a Sunday morning AZ Matt.

Glad to know that ‘no water entered their lungs’ while their brain was starved for oxygen.
We are soooo much more humane than those Spaniards.
That’s another reason to seal the southern border, I guess.

Yes it is. I am in San Jose at the moment but will at the beach tomorrow.

No David Shuster? What gives? Hey, it wasn’t that big a deal– I know if someone said I was pimping out my daughter I wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. I’ve heard Shuster’s a nice guy. Get over it already!

If the Clinton campaign really cares about seating the Michigan and Florida delegations, its officials need to drop the charade that they only care about not disenfranchising the voters and pressure the Democratic leadership in Michigan and Florida to conduct DNC-sanctioned primaries or caucuses.

Enforcing the Rules Conflicts With Getting Clinton the Nomination

Looking at a mid-40s rainy day transitioning to snow in the evening here in Chi.
Builds character.

Good Morning Christy!

I see MM didn’t go back to bed at all, he just was lying in wait for the zed – no doubt eating sticky buns while he was at it, least I hope he was eating sticky buns mMmmm

And AZ Matt, tell us what’s out your window, and how is the weather?

Sunshine, orchids and an avocado tree with avocados on it! Plus I have a great cup of Costa Rican coffee in my hand.

Good Morning Elliot.

Well I did go back to bed and savored the warm toasty feeling for a while, then rose in time for a sticky bun and a zed. Now off to breakfast, all though I doubt it will be as yummy as Marion’s gracious offer of fresh asparagus omlettes.

That’s pretty much what we’re looking at here in Flint, too. Only up here it doesn’t build character, it just turns everyone’s front lawn into a hockey rink.

Flint? Howdy neighbor. Freezing rain out here 3 miles northwest of Linden. Lived on the eastside of Flint for 46 years.

Cool! I live in Grand Blanc, but I lived on the east side for a couple of years when I moved out here. It’s a pretty rough neighborhood now. I lived right by Kearsley Park, across the street from the sledding hill.

OT,

I would invite all Pups, when they have the time, to take a fabulous tour of NYC in images. Steve Galliard would love this. You see the big apple as you never have before.

http://www.forgotten-ny.com/index.html

We lived on the south side of Robert T, east of the college. It’s no longer the safe haven it once was, either. Moved out here in ‘94.

I’m curious about the Sat/Missile spinny thing.
Someone/several someones :) have wondered about ‘FLASHY’ launch of New Weapon/bully stick and I thought of this…
http://www.livescience.com/tec…..ecord.html

This is from Armswonk.com (?), article, The Shot..(h/t to who ever posted the link yesterday? :)
‘General Carwright, to his credit, provided enough technical information to model the intercept. David Wright is working on that right now — for those of you who can’t wait, the important numbers are:

1. The intercept will occur at 240 kilometers (130 nautical miles)
2. The mass of the satellite is 2,300 kg (5,000 pounds)
3. The mass of the interceptor is 20 kg. (From CBO)
4. The closing velocity will be 9.8 km/s (22,000 mph), suggesting a virtually head-on collision.

Other pertinent observations. At 240 km, the satellite should be traveling 7.8 km/s; the SM-3 has a burnout velocity of 3 km/s.’

The method was not, he said, like the “water torture” used during the Spanish Inquisition and by autocratic governments into the 20th century, […]

Talk about lowering the bar: “We’re not so barbaric as the Spanish Inquisition and the SS.”

Has United States of America, the city on the hill, come to this?

ooo thanks Jackie, I can’t figure out what they’re doing. I’ve read a lot of different takes, didn’t see this article before tho.

FWIW, here’s what my army major friend sez about the probability of hitting the satellite. I don’t know how much information he has on this particular issue, so can’t vouch for his knowledge or opinions.

I am told we have an 80% chance of a hit. I think it will be MUCH lower chance if the General that I know is involved with this is in anyway in some position of authority in this operation.

PS – Now, if this isn’t the ultimate self-licking ice-cream cone for DoD I don’t know what is!!! Imagine, asking for a budget increase to afford BOTH replacement satellites as well as the missiles to shoot them down! Some one is getting a fat medal for this one!

‘I am told we have an 80% chance of a hit. I think it will be MUCH lower chance if the General that I know is involved with this is in anyway in some position of authority in this operation.’
That bit is quite telling though,
I wonder who the General is? and,
I wonder if we know any of his ‘friends’? ;)

Is Joe on crack?

From TPMuckraker:

Lieberman: Waterboarding is OK by Me
By Paul Kiel – February 15, 2008, 4:37PM
Well, we know why Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) voted “nay” Wednesday. “[Waterboarding] is not like putting burning coals on people’s bodies. The person is in no real danger. The impact is psychological,” he says.

I must maintain my friend’s anonymity, and even if I asked, my friend would not reply.

I was interested in Trump Tower Chicago, how is it going?
Trump Tower Tampa was not built and appears to be a total failure.
Levitt and Sons went bankrupt in Florida leaving 100 million in debt and only 1 million in assets. Ouch!

Morning, Christy.

Morning, all…

Hmmm, Navy test New Electrio Mag weapons and ?

Mysterious Fires in the Messina Area

AGI in Messina
February 10, 2004

http://www.humanresonance.org/messina.html

Oh, I wasn’t asking for an answer, more just thinking out loud…

morning pups. my battery-powered radio just lost its power. no npr this morning. Must be thankful for small favours on Sunday.

I suspect that Kosovo’s declaration of independence, expected in a few hours after the emergency session of parliament called by the Prime Thaci, Hashim Thaci, will dominate the news, defintely a boost for Wes Clark’s chances of being VP on someone’s ticket…

I saw something like this roughly 20 years ago at (IIRC) the University of Texas.

One of the guys with me was a Quaker and was totally disgusted by the whole thing. (And, unfortunately, I’m fascinated by such stuff.)

Well, “pura vida” to you! I plan to retire in Costa Rica-the Switzerland of C.A. No army, great coffee, volcanoes and beaches. What else does one need?

Pura Vida, Matt!

I have an acre and a quarter in Marbella, Matt. Close to Tamarindo on the Niquoia Peninsula. Heaven.

OK
Chris Wallace is covering superdelegateness

so that’s where the Firedoglake retreat will be!

Bradbury indicated that no water entered the lungs of the three prisoners who were subjected to the practice, lending credence to previous accounts that the noses and mouths of CIA captives were covered in cloth or cellophane.

The fact that a government attorney could conceivably promulgate such an argument and have even the slightest expectation of being taken seriously tells you how far we have fallen as a nation.

That’s a great site! Thanks for the link.

McConnell Director of the National Intelligence, on Fox now discussing how much greater our danger is now that fisa has lapsed, we’ve lost agility and speed, and the telecommies won’t cooperate with us if they could be liable for doing illegal things. (I admit I’m paraphrasing)

Lieberman’s standards are even lower than those of the notorious
Military Commissions Act of 2006:

(1) PROHIBITED CONDUCT.–In subsection (c)(3), the term
`grave breach of common Article 3′ means any conduct (such
conduct constituting a grave breach of common Article 3 of
the international conventions done at Geneva August 12, 1949),
as follows:

(A) TORTURE.–The act of a person who commits, or
conspires or attempts to commit, an act specifically
intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or
suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful
sanctions) upon another person within his custody or phys-ical
control for the purpose of obtaining information or
a confession, punishment, intimidation, coercion, or any
reason based on discrimination of any kind.

(B) Cruel or inhuman treatment.–The act of a person who commits,
or conspires or attempts to commit an act intended to inflict
severe or serious physical or mental pain or suffering (other than
pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions), including
serious physical abuse, upon another within his custody or control.

And the MCA’s definitions include:

(2) DEFINITIONS.–In the case of an offense under
sub-section (a) by reason of subsection (c)(3)–

–(A) the term `severe mental pain or suffering’ shall
be applied for purposes of paragraphs (1)(A) and (1)(B)
in accordance with the meaning given that term in section
2340(2) of this title;

–(B) the term `serious bodily injury’ shall be applied
for purposes of paragraph (1)(F) in accordance with the
meaning given that term in section 113(b)(2) of this
title;

–(C) the term `sexual contact’ shall be applied for
pur-poses of paragraph (1)(G) in accordance with the
meaning given that term in section 2246(3) of this title;

–(D) the term `serious physical pain or suffering’ shall
be applied for purposes of paragraph (1)(B) as meaning
bodily injury that involves–

— (i) a substantial risk of death;

— (ii) extreme physical pain;

— (iii) a burn or physical disfigurement of a serious
nature (other than cuts, abrasions, or bruises); or

— (iv) significant loss or impairment of the function
of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty;

–(E) the term `serious mental pain or suffering’ shall be applied for
purposes of paragraph (1)(B) in accordance with the meaning given the
term `severe mental pain or suffering’ (as defined in section 2340(2)
of this title), except that–

— (i) the term `serious’ shall replace the term `severe’ where it
appears; and

— (ii) as to conduct occurring after the date of the enactment of
the Military Commissions Act of 2006, the term `serious and
non-transitory mental harm (which need not be prolonged)’ shall
replace the term `prolonged mental harm’ where it appears.

And 2340 (2) of the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, which the MCA
includes by reference, reads:

(2) “severe mental pain or suffering” means the prolonged mental harm
caused by or resulting from:

(A) the intentional infliction or threatened infliction of severe
physical pain or suffering;

(B) the administration or application, or threatened
administration or application, of mind-altering substances or
other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or the
personality;

(C) the threat of imminent death; or

(D) the threat that another person will imminently be subjected to
death, severe physical pain or suffering, or the administration or
application of mind-altering substances or other procedures calculated
to disrupt profoundly the senses or personality;

McConnell Director of the National Intelligence, on Fox now discussing how much greater our danger is now that fisa has lapsed, we’ve lost agility and speed, and the telecommies won’t cooperate with us if they could be liable for doing illegal things.

What a fucking liar.

the mess left when a star explodes

Pura Vida y Loo Hoo,

I am heading to Samara tomorrow. Tough, I know but someone´s gotta go. My wife is Costa Rican so I will probably retire here too but that is way in the future.

Sure. Right here.

We’ll have to pitch tents though.

That is an awesome image. It is fascinating that some people look at it and see evidence for a supernatural grand designer concerned with their fates, while others see it as evidence for a universe of natural laws that is wholly indifferent to the actions of human beings.

McConnell Director of the National Intelligence, on Fox now discussing how much greater our danger is now that fisa has lapsed, we’ve lost agility and speed, and the telecommies won’t cooperate with us if they could be liable for doing illegal things.

Existing law requires telecommunications companies to comply with LEGITIMATE requests from intelligence officials and immunizes them from liability for that assistance.

WOW!

ahh, so nice, tents there’s OK with me!

Yeah, AZ Matt, sorry about the day you’ll endure tomorrow, *sigh*

and Kathryn in MA, thanks for the hubble shot, that’s a beauty.

it’s all quite the contrast with the television which is broadcasting to me the Fox News All Stars opining on the Democratic primary race, and it’s on to superdelegates

‘azmat – how does the coffee there stack up to starbucks?

[edited by mod] They are certainly making it sound as if it no big thing.

From Think Progress:

This morning, CNN ran a story “tracking the strain furious campaigning puts on the human body” for the presidential candidates. During the segment, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee joked that his campaign schedule is not providing enough time to sleep and that, for him, is “like being waterboarded”:

HUCKABEE: I’m finding just out how long I can go sleep deprived. You know, running for office is sort of like being waterboarded, I think.

[Mod Note; Please don’t suggest acts of violence or torture be carried out on others, including public officials. Thanks.]

The export quality coffeee, which is the type Starbucks buys, is excellent. I always bring bags home for personal use and as gifts. If you like Starbucks then you would very much like Costa Rican coffees.

in my hippie days 35 years ago, i was hitchhiking down thru mexico, CA, and SA. and in Costa Rica got picked up by a rock climbing club – spent the day climbing a chimney formation at a volcanic national park and rapelling down. Lovely country!

Now that I have been to Mapquest, all the towns in Costa Rica seem to be on the Pacific side and not on the Gulf of Mexico side is there a reason for this?

Better climate?

Good morning to all.

Isn’t it? As lifelong I New Yorker I found so much of interest in there. What a wonderful city as shown on that website.

here’s the link again

http://www.forgotten-ny.com/index.html

In the promo for This Week, George S. just said Mark Halprin, not EJ Dionne. I wonder if EJ cancelled on him last minute? I thought “oh, all Republicans all the time, how dull.” And really, what a boring morning line up.

Limon is on the Carribean. I’ve heard tell it’s lovely, but I’ve not been there.

Total crock. If they are asked to place a legal tap, they do it, can’t not do it.

Long as it’s within the law, no problem.

So we want to permit illegal stuff for convenience?

Rubbish

SanderO that site is frickin’ fantastic.

More talk of Tim Pawlenty as McCain’s veep choice.

In the promo for This Week, George S. just said Mark Halprin, not EJ Dionne. I wonder if EJ cancelled on him last minute? I thought “oh, all Republicans all the time, how dull.” And really, what a boring morning line up.

I’ll say, Meet The Press scrounches up the Capital Gang for pity’s sake, for some real cutting edge paralysis analysis.

What a great site! thanks

The claim is that “we’ve lost speed and agility” (whatever that means) in spite of the ability to get the necessary warrants after the fact. Perhaps anticipation of the need to get those warrants encumbers our intelligence officials and slows them down.

Not sure what on topic is today so I won’t apologize for off topic.

It is interesting we’re starting to hear that Obama has the most liberal voting record in the Senate. I think this might be the first article with this claim here though I’ve heard it elsewhere. If only it were true! According to the ADA He and Clinton were tied in ‘05, ‘06 and ‘07. In no year were they “the most liberal” and in fact in 07 their rating was only 75%. No one holds the distinction of “most liberal” as there were ties every year.

It is good to see what the strategy of the right will be in attacking Obama though should he get the nomination. I wonder about how Obama’s team is planning on dealing with this?

Population where the cruise ships are?
supposed to be a great place to live.

eggzactly!

I wonder how Liarman reconciles torture with orthodox Judaism?

It’s such a real look at New York… aside from Rock Center and Statue of Liberty. NYC is one incredible place with an amazing history in its streets, buildings and so forth.

Long Live the WWW.

Have you read the Old Testament recently?

it’s novakula!
my eyes!

I’ve suspected that, if Israel does something ethically questionable, he feels uncomfortable if the U.S. doesn’t do it too, thereby, somehow legitimizing Israel’s behavior. (But I have no evidence for that suspicion.)

So, any Republican sex perverts child protection advocates resign in disgrace today?

I love the smell of shredded wingnuts in the morning, and Glenzilla seldom disappoints. Today his victim is Mark Steyn:

In response to my post on Friday pointing out that nobody outside of the handful of Muslim-obsessed faux-warriors is moved any longer by the Government’s endless exploitation of Terrorism to secure more and more unchecked power, National Review’s Mark Steyn said:

He may have a point: It’s psychologically exhausting being on permanent Orange Alert, especially as the reason for it recedes further and further in the rear-view mirror. A lot of Americans are “over” 9/11, and, while the event had a lingering emotional power, the strategic challenge it exposed has not been accepted by much of the electorate.

The truth is exactly the opposite. There is nothing more psychologically invigorating than the belief that you are staring down the Greatest and Most Evil Enemy Ever in History, courageously waging glorious war for all that is Good and Just in the world. Nothing produces more pulsating feelings of excitement and nobility like convincing yourself that you are a Warrior defending Western Civilization from the greatest threat it has ever faced, following in — even surpassing — the mighty footsteps of the Greatest Generation and the Warrior-Crusaders who came before them.

[…]

Dave Neiwert has an interesting piece on “Talking Heads” and the “Clinton Rules”….probably soon to become the “Obama Rules”

Orcinius

Yeah, that was beautiful! PWND!

Lieberman got fragged, too.

Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota as McCain running mate. The guy who would not raise taxes when the bridge collapsed. Like bridge inspectors and repairs are just not important! Hopefully the Democratic Party can drive a truck though him!

FYI — the National Journal has admitted a big flaw in their analysis on that “most liberal” ranking for Obama. Media Matters covered it, even though punits keep using the flawed data as a basis for making those comments. It’s the same thing that they did to Kerry in 2004, btw…gee, wonder if it was on purpose by someone?

On the Chris Matthews show the last question was how can McCain run against Obama. The celebrities then began to lay out all the perceived negatives of Obama. No similar question was asked concerning McCain. John McCain will be the media darling who they will rally around to protect their pampered and priviledged position as purveyors of the status quo. Not only will Obama have to run against McCain he will have to run against a corrupted and complicit media that is desperate to preserve the status quo.

Elisabeth Bumiller, biographer of Condi Rice who has helped usher thousands of minorities to death by explosion, has a trademark now when she gets her hot air on TV:

“Iraq has improved so much militarily and politically.”

She knows that hosts like Timmuh never zero in much less grill her for any qualification to this desultory false statement which she couldn’t back up and clucks like the rest of the sheep in the MSM.

Hi firepups, I’ve been mostly lurkin’ here of late, and less of even that than in the past. You guys are still doing great in my books, I’ve just been more preoccupied with British Columbian and Canadian issues lately. It’s looking more every day like our chance to dismiss our pseudo neo-con minority government or (shudder) fall under the heel of a Stephen Harper majority comes closer by the day. The only thing the Harp seals can seem to do right is to confuse a large portion of the Canadian electorate. Hopefully they can’t fool enough. As neo-cons everywhere prove, they hate government too much to succeed in actually governing.

I watched PunkinHead this morning and the appearance of the slime named Novak, inspired me to post on my own blog (RagsMag) “Treason’s Boy Toys”

An excerpt:

This morning Robert Novak crawled out from whatever rock he lives under to add his wisdom to a discussion focused mainly on the Democratic primary season. I’m always surprised to see Mr. Slime and unctuousness himself, not in jail and all, since he is pretty much a self confessed traitor who in a normal world would be guilty of treason.

I guess I’m rootin’ for Obama, not that I have anything against Hillary other than the Dynasty thingie. I find it difficult to believe that Ms. Clinton, Mr. Obama and the sad Senator McCain are the best three that America can come up with. All except the sad, angry old man are better than what they’ve currently got, however.

I had thought my blog was linked to with my username, but maybe the new system has changed that. Or maybe you guys hate my blog, but I doubt that as I only say nice stuff about youse guys when I mention youse at all. So for now heres the place – RagsMag