Self-proclaimed waterboarding fan Dick Cheney called it a no-brainer in a 2006 radio interview: Terror suspects should get a "a dunk in the water." But recently released internal documents reveal the controversial "enhanced interrogation" practice was far more brutal on detainees than Cheney's description sounds, and was administered with meticulous cruelty.
Interrogators pumped detainees full of so much water that the CIA turned to a special saline solution to minimize the risk of death, the documents show. The agency used a gurney "specially designed" to tilt backwards at a perfect angle to maximize the water entering the prisoner's nose and mouth, intensifying the sense of choking – and to be lifted upright quickly in the event that a prisoner stopped breathing.
Waterboarding for dummies
Somalia Food Aid Bypasses Needy, U.N. Study Finds
As much as half the food aid sent to Somalia is diverted from needy people to a web of corrupt contractors, radical Islamist militants and local United Nations staff members, according to a new Security Council report.
The report, which has not yet been made public but was shown to The New York Times by diplomats, outlines a host of problems so grave that it recommends that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon open an independent investigation into the World Food Program’s Somalia operations. It suggests that the program rebuild the food distribution system — which serves at least 2.5 million people and whose aid was worth about $485 million in 2009 — from scratch to break what it describes as a corrupt cartel of Somali distributors.
Pope's brother linked to new claims of child abuse by clergy
A series of allegations in Germany and Holland have plunged the Catholic Church into a renewed crisis over how it has dealt with child abuse after it emerged that the Pope's brother ran a renowned choir at the centre of some of the latest claims.
Vatican secrecy ‘let German school abusers go unpunished’
Germany has blamed a “wall of silence” created by the Vatican for hampering investigations into decades of abuse of schoolchildren by Catholic clergy.
Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, the Justice Minister, said that Vatican secrecy rules, including a 2001 directive requiring even the most serious cases to be investigated first by Church officials, were complicating efforts to shed light on claims of abuse at some of Germany’s most highly regarded schools.
Former MI5 Head Says U.S. Lied To Allies About Torture
"The Americans were very keen that people like us did not discover what they were doing," Manningham-Buller told a meeting at Britain's Parliament.
Britain's spy agencies have come under heavy criticism for their alleged collusion in the torture overseas of terrorist suspects, including detainees held in U.S. custody.
In a recent court ruling, one of Britain's most senior judges questioned MI5's record on human rights and claimed the agency may have misled Parliament and the courts about how much it knew about mistreatment. Manningham-Buller said that in 2002 or 2003 she questioned how the U.S. was able to supply Britain with intelligence gleaned from Sheikh Mohammed.
Israeli group: Police improperly arresting kids
Israeli police are improperly arresting Palestinian boys in nighttime raids in Jerusalem that involve assault rifle wielding security forces handcuffing minors and interrogating them without lawyers or parents, an Israeli rights group charged Tuesday.Most of the youths were accused of hurling rocks at Jewish settlers and damaging their property in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, where tensions are high between settlers and Palestinian residents. Some of them have since been charged. Police say the arrests were legal, and a matter of law and order.
"They are using military-style night raids to extract children as young as 12," said Sarit Michaeli of rights group B'tselem, which says the raids are an inappropriate method to detain children. They also argue the raids defy Israeli law, which demands children be accompanied by guardians while being arrested.
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Dutch church orders inquiry into sex abuse allegations
Dutch religious leaders have ordered an independent inquiry into alleged sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests. Earlier, the Vatican defended its response to child sex abuse allegations in a number of European states, saying it had reacted rapidly and decisively.
In the latest revelations, the head of an Austrian monastery confessed to abusing a boy more than 40 years ago. Separately, Pope Benedict's brother said in an interview he slapped pupils in the face at a German choir school.
The Dutch investigation will be opened "as soon as possible", it was announced after Dutch bishops met to discuss abuse claims by about 200 alleged victims, some from several decades ago.
Prosecutors reveal terrorism charges against 'Jihad Jane'
Federal prosecutors unsealed criminal terrorism charges Tuesday against a Pennsylvania woman who allegedly used the Internet to recruit men and women across the globe to "wage violent jihad."
Colleen R. LaRose, a U.S. citizen who used the nicknames "Fatima LaRose" and "Jihad Jane," has been in custody for months while the FBI and Justice Department pursued leads in the investigation, according to federal sources.
She is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, making false statements and attempted identity theft in connection with the stealing of a U.S. passport. LaRose and five unidentified co-conspirators allegedly discussed how her appearance would help her blend into Western society and avoid detection by authorities.
Challenging conventional wisdom on renewable energy's limits
Offshore_wind.jpgIn making the case for a rapid conversion away from heavily polluting energy sources like coal and nuclear power to cleaner generation, renewable energy advocates often confront the argument that their scheme is impossible due to the intermittent nature of sun and wind.
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