It's coming back

Britain is asking the US to torture its ghost detainees to extract intelligence about the London bombers.

George Monbiot article on why the American and British plans to build usable tactical nuclear weapons and American treatment of new nuclear nations creates an incentive for nuclear proliferation.

Many Texas school districts are offering Bible study as, so far, an elective. The program, produced by the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools (motto: “It’s Coming Back”), is anti-intellectual horseshit, as you’d expect (did you know that NASA has proven that the sun did stop in the sky, just like it said in the Bible?). Still, you have to wonder about this WaPo headline: “Bible Course Called Biased, Error-Filled.” Really, a course on the bible is biased and filled with errors? What else was it supposed to be filled with?

The US is still pretending that the reason it was told to get its troops the hell out of Uzbekistan was that it bravely stood up for human rights, because it was just the right thing to do, dammit, no matter what the consequences. But at the same time it’s pretending this, it’s very careful not actually to stand up for human rights, in case Uzbekistan changes its mind about the base. This from the DOD website: “The relationship between the United States and Uzbekistan has grown tense since protests in May in the Uzbek province of Andijan turned bloody. The Uzbeks said about 200 people were killed in the protests. The government maintains those killed were terrorists.” Way to stand up for human rights.