Pages 100-102 of the Jay Bybee Transcript are worth reading closely, not least for the way Jay Bybee tries to shift the focus of discussion on torture from “severe physical or mental pain or suffering” to “prolonged mental harm” to avoid the obvious fact that CIA and DOJ approved extended sleep deprivation without having any [...]

When Jerry Nadler asked Jay Bybee whether or not it would legal to disappear someone for three years, the Appeals Court Judge refused to answer, saying he might have to rule on such an issue. Nadler: Let’s assume you had been asked the question, would it be legal to keep people incommunicado in solitary confinement [...]

On May 26, the House Judiciary Committee interviewed Jay Bybee about the circumstances that went into the Bybee Memos authorizing torture.  Here’s the transcript of that interview. I’m going to read them in depth, but for now I wanted to point out this detail. Bybee confirmed that a number of techniques reportedly used on CIA [...]

Okay, this is one for the ages. Karl Rove is out today with what is presumably an excerpt from his book, revealing his biggest mistake. He doesn’t verbalize what that mistake is, really. Rather, he bitches about a list of Democrats. But the initial complaint appears to be that on July 15, 2003, Ted Kennedy [...]

Remember Liz Fowler? The former WellPoint VP whom William Ockham noted was the literal author of the health care reform bill? I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to learn that WellPoint’s former VP will be in charge of consumer issues and oversight as our country implements the WellPoint/Liz Fowler health insurance bill. (h/t Glenn Greenwald) Liz [...]

Judge Lewis Kaplan has basically concluded that if the government can persuasively argue that government believed the torture necessary at the time, then they can torture a detainee as long as he still has intelligence value without infringing on the detainee’s right to a speedy trial.

At the point in the World Cup when five South American teams had made it to the knockout round and European teams like Italy and England performed badly, I wondered whether this year’s Cup would be a kind of revenge on the IMF. All these South American countries that had spent much of the 80s [...]

Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy that–after all these years–someone on the right is calling out Presidents Bush and Obama on their abuse of power (watch the video to hear Andrew Napolitano complain about Obama’s targeting of Anwar al-Awlaki). Nader: Is that what you mean also about throwing people in jail without charges violating habeas [...]

Carol Rosenberg, recently freed from her arbitrary banning at Gitmo, posts this picture of a statement Omar Khadr read aloud in court today explaining why he wants to boycott any further proceedings. [my transcription; I've added punctuation but not changed spelling]: Your honor, I’m boycotting this military commission because: Firstly, the unfairness and unjustice of [...]

Let me start by saying I’m thrilled the Obama Administration has focused stimulus and energy efficiency funds to support a number of new battery plants in and around Michigan. For all my complaints about the Obama Administration, it has used the auto bailout as an opportunity to support new technology for the auto industry. But [...]