torturous

LAT: over last two months, civilian death toll "plunged" in Iraq. some attribute the drop to displacement and segregation of neighborhoods, some to the surge. " 'What happened this time is we stayed . . . so now the people said, 'Hey you're staying,' and once they see we're staying with Iraqis and the Iraqis [army and police] are staying with us and getting much better and treating the people with dignity and respect, they start coming forward with tips,' said Brig. Gen. John Campbell, U.S. deputy Army commander for Baghdad."

NYT editorial: "Consider how President Bush has degraded the office of attorney general." In his testimony, Mukasey seen as trying to prevent possibility of prosecution of admin officials, including the president, for approving water boarding.
Ind: offers more insight on the Medieval technique, which a Homeland Security adviser says the SEALS use as well (even though the CIA is supposedly the only dept that the administration gave the go-ahead to, not the military.)
Check out the original memo written at the Small Wars Journal by Malcolm Nance, the adviser cited in the article.

WP: hell no, we won't go: the diplomatic corps protests possibility of going to the Green Zone.

WP: Rummy's ruminations. the WP gets two of his "snowflakes" (what Pentagon employees called his memos because he wrote so many each day) and selects some gems (e.g., "...Make the American people realize they are surrounded in the world by violent extremists")

BBC: rebels from the Hyniewtriep National Liberation Council, a group fighting for a homeland for Khasi tribes, killed by Indian security forces.

BBC: censoring and un-censoring reporting in Sri Lanka.
GDN: the gov't can't prevent the UN and Human Rights Watch from reporting; groups accuse gov't of torture

LAT: Dennis does my 10th Ohio district proud.

penance for taking my first-world toilet for granted.