By Any Other Name

Last week, the New York Times reported that despite constant denials from the Bush Administration, torturing of detainees by U.S. interrogators was approved by the Justice Department. The article states the DOJ, “provided explicit authorization to barrage terror suspects with a combination of painful physical and psychological tactics, including head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures.”

That’s not “torture”? The Daily Show’s Senior Interrogation Analyst Jon Oliver helps us find lost meaning in “torture” and other words.

#2 No More

Bin Laden wanted to make sure we didn’t forget about him and released two video messages right before the sixth anniversary of 9/11. But this Bruce Hoffman op-ed piece in the Washington Post suggests Osama’s, “time of active involvement in al-Qaeda operations is behind him.” The real threat, says Hoffman, is his #2, Ayman al-Zawahiri: “He may lack bin Laden's charisma, but Zawahiri is the superior strategist.” “He has not only revived the movement's fortunes but has also made it once again the global threat poised to strike the United States that was depicted in the National Intelligence Estimate released in July.” Read the entire piece here.

Elections In Turkey

“Democracy has passed a very important test.” Secular Turkey votes to have its current governing party - with Islamist roots - remain in power. BBC

Check out these two lead paragraphs about Bush’s Executive Order on how the C.I.A. can handle detainees suspected of terrorism. They sound like they’re about different stories. BBC New York Times The U.S. must reveal information about prisoners at Gitmo. New York Times It’s the foreign policy, stupid. Washington Post

China has its own “war on terror.” It’s brutal. (London) Times Al-Qaeda’s brutality in Iraq has one unintended consequence: It’s own members are becoming informants for U.S. forces. (London) Times

Maybe someone’s devoutly religious. Maybe they picked up some duty-free whiskey at the terminal before your flight. Whatever the case, Homeland Security will know about it - and keep the information for 15 years - when passengers fly to the U.S. Guardian

Identity thieves are looking at your Facebook and MySpace pages. BBC

Background on the NBA referee scandal.. And the referee himself. Sports Illustrated

Do you live in Richistan? Probably not. Guardian If you do, you could probably afford the world’s most expensive prosti- um, escort - pictured here: Esquire

This preacher really knocks ‘em out. Check out the big guy who said, “Hit me two times!!”

Report Card

A progress report on Iraq is expected to be issued today. Some news is expected to be good. Some news, not so good. Washington Post

There’s a meeting this afternoon at the White House to discuss a threat of a terror attack from al-Qaeda this summer. This story was reported on Tuesday night. Why wait at least two days to meet about it? ABC (video) What the Homeland Security chief meant by his “gut feeling.” MSNBC (video) A government report says Al-Qaeda is as strong as it was before 9/11. CNN Is the media making too much of this threat? Was this story of a terror threat placed to divert attention from something else? What are your thoughts?

A former Surgeon General under Bush says politics trumped science when talking to the public about stem cells, sex education, and the health of prisoners. New York Times

After eight days and at least 106 dead, “the operation is over” at the Red Mosque in Islamabad. Guardian What’s next for Musharraf? BBC

Jesus! The Vatican says Protestant and Orthodox faiths are “not proper churches.” In a statement that has the blessing of the Pope, the Vatican says it’s “difficult to see how the title of ‘Church’ could possibly be attributed to them” and Roman Catholicism is “the one true Church of Christ.” (London) Times

Remember UNMOVIC? The U.N. group that correctly asserted Saddam didn’t have WMD? The U.S. and U.K. got it shutdown. Newsweek


“A First Date” has a different feel to it depending on which video-sharing site it comes from.

Left The Party

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is no longer a Republican. New York Times The election is 17 months(!) away and he’s not even running yet, but everyone is asking if Bloomberg could win the White House. Time

Now that Hamas and everyone else living in Gaza is isolated, what is life like for Palestinians there? MSNBC (video)

“Toys made in China make up 70 to 80 percent of the toys sold,” in the United States. This is troubling since Chinese products are “responsible for about 60 percent of all product recalls” in the U.S. New York Times China has become the world’s #1 CO2 emitter. Guardian

Looking for terrorists and protecting oil interests in Africa. Economist

Iwo Jima has a new name -The name it was called before World War II. Guardian

Smoking bans in bars are definitely a good thing, but it caused a problem in Finland. (Melbourne) Age

Alvin and the Chipmunks were never this dramatic.

Bridging The G8

Ahead of the G8 summit, Tony Blair tries to close the climate change gap between the U.S. and the other world leaders. Scotsman What Blair has learned in his ten years at Number 10. Economist

What’s that chill in the air? Could it be the return of a cold war as Russia’s Putin says he could point nukes at Europe? (London) Times

The plot to blow up fuel tanks and pipelines at JFK wasn’t close to being executed, and the announcement may have been over-hyped. New York Times How big is the threat of a terrorist attack in the U.S. from the Caribbean and South America? Los Angeles Times

There’s a debate over whether to prosecute a member of “Canada’s first family of terrorism” for war-crimes allegedly committed when he was 15 years-old.. And even younger than 10. New York Times Do you think special consideration should be given to minors who are charged with war-crimes?

Higher fares. Fewer seats. Flying this summer is going to be bad enough. To keep traveling from getting even worse, here are some airports to avoid. U.S. News & World Report

The $1300 this mom spends to give this little girl a fake tan for her school picture - to look like Lindsay Lohan - is a down payment on therapy 20 years from now.

Six Men v. The Army?

The government’s case against the six men arrested in the (very stupid) alleged plot to attack Fort Dix. New York Times

Northern Ireland power sharing: It wasn’t tension-free at the first day. Guardian

Bye Bye Blair: Tony Blair will step down as prime minister on June 27. BBC Timeline of Blair’s 10 years in office. AFP/The Australian The worldwide farewell tour: (London) Times The Blair Doctrine Sky

Why there could be a “Third Force” candidate in ’08. Newsweek


As a kid, were you the playful and rough older brother or the unsuspecting little brother who ended up crying?

Guilty

Five men were found guilty of plotting to use fertilizer to cause a series of explosions in Britain. Telegraph One of the men had links to the 7/7 bombers who killed 52 people in 2005. That link was known before those attacks. ITV

Former spy chief George Tenet defends his role in the lead up to 9/11 and the Iraq invasion. He also chats about enhanced interrogation techniques (um.. Torture?) and the “slam dunk” remark. 60 Minutes (video) Six former CIA officials say Tenet was ”the Alberto Gonzales of the intelligence community.” As head of the CIA they say Tenet was “a grotesque mixture of incompetence and sycophancy shielded by a genial personality." Ouch! CNN

Protesters rally for secularism in Turkey as the military hints at a coup if an candidate with an Islamist past is elected president. (London) Times

Iran will attend a regional meeting this week on creating stability in Iraq. It could lead to a high level one-on-one chit-chat between the U.S. and Iran. Reuters

Still doing a heckuva job. $854 million in foreign assistance was offered to the U.S. after Katrina. Twenty months later, only $40 million has been used. MSNBC (video)

Celebrities come out to raise awareness about the genocide Darfur. AFP/France 24

Hate tying that half-Windsor every morning? A frou-frou group in Hong Kong is promoting the Mandarin collar that doesn’t need a tie. Reuters (video)

Here’s what happens when a Gap parody for Mom and Dad goes wrong. What the hell is a “boyfriend trouser” anyway?

More Time

The Pentagon extends tours for active-duty soldiers from 12 to 15 months in Iraq and Afghanistan. New York Times

The attack on the Algerian prime minister’s office by a group recently affiliated with al-Qaeda brings renewed fear in that country. BBC What threat could this group cause to France and the rest of Europe? Time

More Power? The National Intelligence Director - America’s spy chief - wants to give intelligence agencies even more power. AP/MSNBC

Behind Iran’s announcement of an industrial-scale nuclear program. It’s not all it’s hyped up to be. Time Background Q&A on the Iran nuclear standoff and nuclear weapons around the world. BBC

Don’t understand the extent of the genocide in Darfur? See it on Google Earth. Reuters

First, Live Aid. Then, Live 8. This summer: Live Earth which intends to raise awareness about the environment. (London) Times

Writer Kurt Vonnegut has died at the age of 84. New York Times


These action figures are pretty realistic.. And gory: Jets, flamethrowers, and in the accessory kit, ground beef!

9/11 Confession

In a transcript released by the Pentagon, alleged 9/11 plotter Khalid Shaikh Mohammed confessed on Saturday to being the mastermind behind the attacks on NYC, the Bali bombing and attempts at other terrorist attacks. He implied he had been tortured in captivity, but not to make this confession. New York Times

People get fired from their jobs everyday, but here’s why there’s this hub-bub over the Justice Department’s removal of those 8 federal prosecutors. San Francisco Chronicle

Conservative Republicans are looking for another Reagan to win the Oval Office in 2008. They may have found him several times over, but don’t realize it. Time

Dozens of Zimbabwean protesters were arrested horribly beaten by president Robert Mugabe’s unapologetic regime. Guardian Mugabe’s hold on power may be nearing an end. It won’t be soon enough. Telegraph

The charges against former Hewlett-Packard chair Patricia Dunn have been dropped due to her health. CNN Money

How likely is it that Viacom will win its $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube? CNET

We don’t normally like “scare the sh*t out of you” stories, but here’s one way to steal your identity you probably didn’t know about: AP/Wired Meanwhile, cyber-stalking your ex- will be more private as Google says it will add an extra layer of security to search queries. AP/Yahoo

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a Chardonnay? Pub life is changing. On Monday we told you darts in England are on the decline, now we hear Guinness sales are sinking in Ireland. Reuters

Will consistency make a difference to get Pete Rose admitted to the Baseball Hall of Fame? “Charlie Hustle” said he bet on the Reds to win “every night” when he was their manager. ESPN

Before you head out to get blitzed in honor of St. Patrick, “the patron saint of bar fights,” Mark Day has some ideas on becoming a modern-day saint.