ok, so
this story has Susan Crawford (the convening authority of military commissions over guantanamo bay detainees) declaring that a gitmo detainee was tortured.
what evidence did she have that he was tortured? it wasn't the "enhanced interrogation tactics" used against the man (like isolation, exposure to coldish environments, and some frat-like things like making him wear a bra) that had her reach that conclusion, but, rather, the fact that the tactics twice caused his heart rate to drop well below 60 beats per minute.
in her own words:
The techniques they used were all authorized, but the manner in which they applied them was overly aggressive and too persistent. . . . You think of torture, you think of some horrendous physical act done to an individual. This was not any one particular act; this was just a combination of things that had a medical impact on him, that hurt his health. It was abusive and uncalled for. And coercive. Clearly coercive. It was that medical impact that pushed me over the edge [to call it torture]
the medical impact of having his heart rate drop below 60 beats per minute.
i dunno about ya'll, but i still think of torture as "a horrendous physical act done to an individual" like saddam hussein feeding people's legs to a wood chipper.
but it's comforting to know that this woman has my back, because apparently i'm being tortured every week. i wonder if i can get some gubmint money for my pain?!
let me 'splain.
my parents got me a heart rate monitor (HRM) for Christmas. this is all part of my ongoing effort to be healthier. i use it to pace myself properly when i go running 3 times a week (sometimes even in "torturous"ly extreme temperatures below zero). occasionally i'll wear the HRM throughout the day to establish a baseline of where my heart rate rests in normal activity. usually i'm right around 60-65 bpm.
last sunday i wore the HRM to church. the speakers for sacrament meeting were a very interesting family with interesting things to say. i was attentive and interested in the talks. i wasn't even close to falling asleep (which, i sheepishly admit, does happen way too often for me in sacrament meeting).
my heart rate measured a consistent 48bpm throughout the meeting (only spiking to normal when i had to reprimand one of the kids for something).
i just figured that i had scientific evidence that church was good for your heart, but apparently, according to Susan Crawford, i was being tortured.
so, anyone know a hungry lawyer-type that would be interested in making some easy money? we'll make sure the complaint includes reference to bush AND cheney and maybe throw in something about how global warming is causing the "torturously" cold tempurature's i'm having to run in. surely one of the liberal bugaboos has got to stick and make us rich!
Chirstmas 08 was a great success. We finally got with the times and had Santa bring us a Wii. It has been lots of fun and everyone has been enjoying it the last month. We've had to put a ban on playing on school mornings since that usually causes problems with being ready on time. The games we got were: Raving Rabids (1, 2, and 3), Lego Indiana Jones, Mario Kart, Mario Super Sluggers, My Sims, and Wii Sports.
It was also Maegann's year to get her American Girl Doll. she was very excited. Especially when she got a trunk full of clothes and accessories from Grandma Kenney.
Hannah's favorite stocking surprise was a set of earrings. At first she was confused since she doesn't have pierced ears, but it turned to thrilling excitement when she realized it meant she could go get her ears pierced later in the week.
