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POPSHow Our Interrogations Got KSM to Talk Thanks to the ACLU, the whole world now knows what “torture” means in the United States. Here’s a partial list: Sleep deprivation “insult slaps” water dousing “walling” (slamming a detainee’s head against a wall) Apparently, American-style torture consists of attending a frat party.
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POPSBut Mr. Cheney, Waterboarding is Torture Given that Cheney and others have confessed to authorizing waterboarding, we have very strong evidence that systematic torture was used in our name. Cheney doesn’t get to redefine our values. Waterboarding IS torture.
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POPSVitamin Water? There's nothing wrong with treating yourself to a snack. It's important to do so with eyes wide open. Vitamin waters are marketed as healthy alternatives to soda. The distinction for most brands is not nearly as clear-cut as the marketers would have you believe.
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POPSWhat's really in foods labeled "healthy"? Rule of thumb: if it has an advertising campaign, be intelligently skeptical about it. For example, plain old yogurt is good for you. Sweetened, thickened, colored, flavored "Go-gurt" in a tube... not so much.
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POPSchlorine resistant microbial pathogens uh-oh. guess chlorine isn't 100% effective. guess i answered my own question, too. one of the byproducts of the chlorine disinfecting of the wastewater must be DBP's. Is that just a cute pet name that the EPA came up with?
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POPSExclusive Text: What Waterboarding Revealed I herein present the actual results of the EITs as described in the partially redacted 5/30/2005 memo (U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel, MEMORANDUM FOB JOHN A. RIZZO, SENIOR DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL, CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, "Re: Application of 'United States Obligation; Under Article 16 of the Convention Against Torture to Certain Techniques That May Be Used in the Interrogation of High Value al Qaeda Detainees'", originally classified TOP SECRET/NOFORN). The terrorists who KSM ratted out include: Majid Khan, Hambali, Rusman “Gun Gun” Gunawan, Yazid Suffat, Jose Padilla, and Lyman Faris. Hambali, to choose only one of these animals, coordinated the first Bali nightclub bombing on October 12, 2002. It killed 202 and injured 209, including 89 Australians and seven Americans. Hambali also led the bombings of 30 churches across Indonesia in 2000 during Christmas Eve services -- which killed 17 --
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POPS Memo To Handwringing Short-Twisters purposes of extracting actionable intelligence from high-value subjects, not for purposes of punishment or extracting confessions, and that a great deal of actionable intelligence reportedly was obtained. Also fails to note that, in accordance with CIA guidelines, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who apparently was subjected to the most extensive dousing, demonstrably suffered no lasting physical or pyschological harm, nor was much cowed by it, given that in recent appearances before a military tribunal, he not only remained a proud and defiant terrorist, but was actively trying to manipulate the behavior of other members of his cell in Guantanamo. At this point it is all academic, as the practice is no longer in use, and the current administration has declined to attempt a prosecution, perhaps having recognized that it is more productive to focus on combating al-Qaeda and its offshoots than engaging in Ed Norton “Fight Club”-style beatdowns on ourselves,
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POPSHow to cold-brew Japanese green tea More: Place 1-2 T. of green tealeaves into a 4-8 oz. glass or ceramic teapot. Fill the pot with ice cubes made from filtered tap water or low-mineral-content spring water. Let sit until enough of the ice has melted to produce a couple of ounces of tea liquor. Infusion time will depend on air temperature. Pour off liquor into individual cups or glasses. For the second and third infusions, wait until more of the ice has melted, or fill the pot again with new ice cubes and cold water. Infuse for 15-20 minutes or longer, to taste. This technique yields delicious results with both sencha and gyokuro, as well as Chinese green teas.
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POPSHow to Make Vanilla Extract Mmmm...vanilla! :) "Did you know that each vanilla bean comes from an orchid that has been pollinated by hand? Once the vanilla seed pod has developed, it must be hand picked as well. After picking the curing process takes several months. So if you've ever wondered why vanilla extract, and especially vanilla beans, can be so expensive, this is why."--Elise Bauer This is a very welcoming recipe website to frequent. Her family's tasty recipes are elegantly enhanced by her gorgeous photos and bits of history and geography.
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POPSWater on Mars A color-enhanced image of the delta in Jezero Crater, which once held a lake. Researchers led by CRISM team member and Brown graduate student Bethany Ehlmann report that ancient rivers ferried clay-like minerals (shown in green) into the lake, forming the delta. Clays tend to trap and preserve organic matter, making the delta a good place to look for signs of ancient life.
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POPSGoogle considers investment in Geothermal Energy Google is in discussions with Israeli geothermal company Ormat Technologies, about a possible investment in so called enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). The EGS concept is to extract heat by creating a subsurface fracture system to which water can be added through injection wells.
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POPSWhat's Tappening? The Tappening campaign is capitalizing on viral buzz and celebrity seeding (reusable bottles were given to Cameron Diaz and Scarlett Johansson), as well as exposure from the Associated Press and Good Morning America. In the first 36 hours of business, 39,000 reusable bottles were sold.
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POPSEveryone @ Coca-Cola is going to Hell!! Word to the wise, they bought Vitamin Water which used to be sweetened with fructose exclusively, and although they are still empty calories, they lack the addictive, fattening, immune depressing, advanced aging, diabetes causing qualities. They so desperately want our kids to have! Please boycott any product you buy that puts money in their pocket.
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POPSProtected Areas & Ecosystem Services Many developing countries, such as China, Brazil and Cuba, requested deletion of references to innovative financial mechanisms throughout the text, and to “payment for ecosystem services” and language on “removing legislative barriers that may hinder the diversification of incomes for PAs.” Colombia however, did support the development of measures to promote the evaluation of ecosystem services in PAs to achieve greater linkages between conservation, poverty alleviation and the MDGs. This led to the retention of brackets on two alternative proposals: one by Brazil, stating that countries should develop a “socioeconomic justification” to increase PA funding by linking PAs to development agendas; and another proposed by Cuba, stating that better integration of conservation and development should be achieved by promoting the valuation of ecosystem services.
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POPSSome Convenient Truths Right on! My own experience proves that the research is correct. The less you consume and the more you give back to the earth, the happier you are.
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POPSWhen is torture not torture ? "And indeed, American law does now forbid the "cruel, inhuman and degrading" treatment of prisoners, defining it in minute detail: infliction of severe mental or physical pain or suffering, or even threats of death. U.S. military courts have in the past prosecuted soldiers of other countries for using waterboarding on American troops..." Bush and his advisers opposed passage of that law a few years ago, presumably wishing to reserve the right to inflict all those things in the United States' secret overseas prisons. Having lost that fight, though, they devised a neat device to circumvent the new law: The president simply signed secret executive orders declaring that none of the CIA's or the Pentagon's "enhanced techniques" fall within the law's definitions. Members of Congress, who thought they were banning torture when they passed the law, were unhappy to hear about the secret orders, and said so."
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POPSStorm Clouds Everyone has been sending some cool pictures. I wanted to share out. This pic isn't funny, but I think it is amazing. Wouldn't Ben Franklin love it?
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POPSCholera Epidemic in Northen Iraq From the article: "The source of the epidemic remains unclear but the WHO remains confident it can be brought under control, Chaib said. Naeema Al-Gasseer, the WHO's representative in Iraq, warned however that delays in ensuring access to safe water, safe food and enhanced hygiene practices could all lead to the further spread of cholera. Northern Iraq suffered an earlier cholera outbreak in 1999, while the disease struck the southern province of Basra shortly before the US-lead invasion of 2003."
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