Occasional blogging, mostly of the long-form variety.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Torture PTSD, Twinkies and Galileo

In "No Harm No Foul" Digby links an important piece on lasting psychological damage from torture, including post-traumatic stress disorder. Further proof for the pile. "It's Never The Crime ..." covers news from The Daily Telegraph (UK) that the unreleased Abu Ghraib photos include evidence of rape and sexual abuse reported by General Taguba previously. The Obama White House has pushed back on the Telegraph's credibility. Several questions remain. Are rape photos part of the group of photos requested through the Freedom of Information Act and now being withheld? And, as Nick Baumann asks, if there's clear photographic evidence of rape, why has no one been prosecuted for that?

Think Progress has a ten-page piece on "Why Bush’s ‘Enhanced Interrogation’ Program Failed" that can be read on their site or downloaded as a PDF. It's also further proof for the pile, and a useful overview.

Finally, Scott Horton has two valuable pieces, "Cheney Prepares the Twinkie Defense," dissecting Cheney's speech from last week, and "Galileo and Gitmo." Horton's always insightful, but this latter piece is a cut above for all that. If you're a fan of both Galileo and Brecht (as I am), you'll really appreciate it, and even if you're not, I think you'll find it memorable.

(Cross-posted at Blue Herald)

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