PRESSER

Obama only called on women at his press conference. No accident, I'm sure. But this did not sit well with everyone . . .

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/12/fox-news-ed-henry-bashes-women-reporters

No accident? http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/12/19/president-obamas-last-press-conference-of-the-year-was-his-best-press-conference-of-the-year/
President Obama’s last press conference of the year was his best press conference of the year

Highlights: http://www.salon.com/2014/12/19/from_keystone_to_james_flacco_highlights_from_obamas_year_end_news_conference/

The whole thing: http://www.vox.com/2014/12/19/7423091/obama-year-end-press-conference

Free at last, free at last!

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/12/obama-midterms-political-enemies-113704.html#ixzz3MRbVwRae 

Okay, okay

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/19/1352917/-Busy-lame-duck-session-means-this-Congress-wasn-t-the-least-productive-ever-Yay
Thanks to a last-minute scramble to pass some bills, the 113th Congress managed to dodge the title of "least productive." That title will stay with the 112th Congress . . .

The revolving door spins faster and faster
 
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/19/1352914/-Republicans-welcome-a-flood-of-lobbyists-to-Capitol-Hill

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_12/revolving_door_really_spinning053379.php

St. Louis prosecutor defends his handling of the Michael Brown shooting, ignores revelations about Witness #40

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/19/1353052/-Under-pressure-St-Louis-prosecutor-Bob-McCulloch-admits-he-called-witnesses-who-were-lying

More: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/12/ferguson-prosecutor-allowed-lies-before-jury.html

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/19/7425533/robert-mcculloch-perjury
Prosecutor in Ferguson grand jury says he knew some witnesses were lying

All of politics in one sentence

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/12/one-little-survey-question-explains-all-politics

Sick of drones? Buy a kangaroo!

http://americablog.com/2014/12/pod-kangaroo-takes-drone-seriously.html

Bonus item: Sex myths (you're welcome)

http://www.vox.com/2014/7/2/5862448/sex-myths-whats-real-whats-fake-and-what-still-needs-more-science 

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

THINGS WE KNOW

So, today a collection of items you basically already know:

"North Korea is Not Funny"

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_12/north_korea_is_not_funny053369.php

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/18/exclusive-sony-emails-say-studio-exec-picked-kim-jong-un-as-the-villain-of-the-interview.html
Sony Emails Say Studio Exec Picked Kim Jong Un as the Villain of ‘The Interview’

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/18/7415995/the-interview-sony-assassination
The Kim Jong-Un assassination scene from The Interview is out. And it's terrible.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/19/opinion/sony-and-mr-kims-thugs.html?ref=opinion&_r=0
Sony and Mr. Kim’s Thugs

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/18/7418435/sentences-interview
Hollywood reels from The Interview's cancellation

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/18/7414405/sony-hack-interview-cowards
Why Sony was wrong to pull The Interview

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/19/sony_hackers_real_crime_why_its_not_an_assault_on_speech_but_something_worse/
Sony hackers’ real crime: Why it’s not an assault on speech — but something worse 

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/18/7415417/sony-the-interview-profit
Pulling The Interview will probably lose Sony $20 million

More: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/12/national-circus-sonys-apocalypse-is-now.html

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/12/us-must-defend-us-culture-from-north-korea.html

What we should do in light of the disclosures about "Witness 40"

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/18/1352704/-4-things-that-should-happen-now-that-we-know-the-truth-about-witness-40-a-white-supremacist

John McCain is FOS -- but you knew that

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/18/1352782/-Sen-John-McCain-position-switcher-extraordinaire

More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/mccain-vs-mccain-cuba

Michele Bachmann is delusional -- but you knew that

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/12/bachmann-says-she-defeated-progressives

Here's an article that didn't really need to be written

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/12/18/dont-assume-jeb-bush-will-be-the-republican-nominee-in-2016/
Don’t assume Jeb Bush will be the Republican nominee in 2016

More: http://crooksandliars.com/2014/12/jeb-could-lose-nomination-because

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/jeb-bushs-challenges-quickly-becoming-apparent

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/jeb-bush-running-for-president-uphill-struggle

An historic trend

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/18/the-unbelievable-rise-of-single-motherhood-in-america-over-the-last-50-years/
The unbelievable rise of single motherhood in America over the last 50 years

A huge step backwards

http://politicalwire.com/2014/12/19/lawmaker-would-require-men-to-approve-abortions/
Lawmaker Would Require Men to Approve Abortions 

And one forwards

http://www.samefacts.com/2014/12/crime-incarceration/sexual-assault-has-declined-dramatically-in-a-generation/
Sexual Assault Has Declined Dramatically in a Generation

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/12/rape-way-down-over-past-two-decades-%E2%80%94-so-all-violent-crime

Bonus item: The year's best commercials

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/18/did-stephen-colbert-make-the-year-s-funniest-commercial.html 

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

CUBA LIBRE

It's liberating when you don't have to worry about making concessions to the Republicans any more. Obama does what's right

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/obama-united-states-cuba-embassy
Obama Abandons Failed Cuba Policy After More Than 50 Years

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/17/7408067/cuba-deal-obama-embargo-alan-gross

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/17/isolation_has_not_worked_obama_says_u_s_ending_outdated_approach_to_cuba/

Analysis: https://www.emptywheel.net/2014/12/17/cuba-libre-a-momentous-shift-in-relations/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/17/what-you-will-and-wont-be-able-to-do-now-that-obama-is-opening-relations-with-cuba/

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/17/7408743/cuba-embargo-failed

Will the Republicans try to block it?

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/congress-cuba-reaction-113654.html#ixzz3MFXDQSnh

Obama's had a pretty good month since the midterms that supposedly finished him

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/12/obamas-had-helluva-good-month-midterms

More: http://prospect.org/article/barack-obamas-revival-way

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/obama-libre-113663.html#ixzz3MFfD6b9D
Obama feels liberated, aides say, and sees the recent flurry of aggressive executive action and deal-making as a pivot for him to spend the last two years being more of the president he always wanted to be. . . . 

A key witness in the Michael Brown case was a racist and a liar

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/unmasking-Ferguson-witness-40-496236

Elizabeth Warren: naive?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/18/how-naive-is-elizabeth-warren.html

Bonus item: Ah, 'tis the season of "year's best" lists

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/18/the_10_best_moments_in_political_comedy_this_year_partner/
The 10 best moments in political comedy this year 

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

HEALTH CARE

The US torture regime could not have worked without the active involvement of psychologists and physicians. Will they be held accountable?

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/16/scathing_report_calls_for_war_crimes_inquiry_into_cia_health_professionals/

http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2014/12/16/cia-health-professionals-role-in-systematic-torture-including-human-subjects-research/

The kind of people they are -- Taliban edition

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/16/7401609/peshwar-attack-school-taliban
Pakistani Taliban slaughters over 100 children in Peshawar school attack

More: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/16/pakistani-taliban-massacre-more-than-80-schoolchildren.html

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/16/7405921/taliban-peshawar-sentences

Dick Cheney's legacy

http://prospect.org/article/has-gop-become-pro-torture-party
[Paul Waldman] If you'll permit me a momentary bit of crowing, I'd like to take some credit for what we learned from Dick Cheney's appearance on Meet the Press last Sunday. Not that we didn't already know about Cheney's enthusiasm for torture, but we now understand better just how morally infantile his thinking is . . .

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/16/jon_stewart_blasts_dick_cheneys_outrageous_torture_denial/
[Jon Stewart] Dick Cheney's Mind Is The Scariest F------ Place In The Universe

More: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/mar/06/darkness-dick-cheney/

How Obama mishandled the torture issue

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/12/president-obamas-greatest-torture.html

Federal judge blocks Obama's immigration order. . . for now

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/judge-obama-immigration-action-unconstitutional

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/16/7403433/immigration-unconstitutional

Who is he? http://talkingpointsmemo.com/fivepoints/judge-arthur-schwab-controversies
The federal judge who ruled Tuesday that President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration are unconstitutional has a controversial past which includes slaps on the wrist from the circuit court that oversees his court. . . .

More frustration with the Dems over the CRomnibus deal

http://prospect.org/article/great-budget-sellout-2014-do-we-even-have-second-party
The Great Budget Sellout of 2014: Do We Even Have a Second Party?

More: http://crooksandliars.com/2014/12/bipartisan-cromnibus-saga-final-assessment

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/12/more-debt-ceiling-chicken.html

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/12/stand-for-something-by-bloggersrus.html

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/12/good-dems-bad-dems-dems-who-are-in.html

Historic!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/another-republican-upends-the-senates-year-end-plans/2014/12/16/127292d8-8559-11e4-9534-f79a23c40e6c_story.html?wprss=rss_politics
The least-productive Congress in modern history drew to an abrupt close late Tuesday

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/12/republicans-cave-backbite-head-home

Why a Jeb Bush candidacy will be fun to watch

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/jeb-bush-president-republican-primary-2016/

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/16/1352229/-Run-Jeb-run

Should environmentalists be pro-nuke?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/16/why-climate-change-is-forcing-some-environmentalists-to-back-nuclear-power/

The paranoid South

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/17/rise_of_the_fearful_south_how_defending_against_outsiders_brought_the_region_together/

"Oh, God, it's Mom!"

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/12/oh-mom.html

In Fox World, Elizabeth Warren IS "The Devil"

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/12/fox-host-wall-street-will-defeat-elizabeth

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/opinion/david-brooks-elizabeth-warren-can-win.html?_r=0

Bonus item: Images of the suffragette movement (don't miss these!)

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/16/7396449/suffragette-posters







***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

SO?

The creepiest part of the torture report might be the general non-reaction to what it revealed

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/12/15/that-big-cia-torture-report-americans-just-shrugged/
That big CIA ‘torture’ report? Americans just shrugged.

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/12/torturers-r-us.html This makes me want to cry . . .

How bad is it when even John Yoo calls certain acts torture?

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/even-john-yoo-has-his-limits

We are nowhere close to where we need to be as a society

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/15/wealth_gap_between_white_and_black_people_is_largest_in_25_years/
Wealth gap between white and black people is largest in 25 years 

So stupid, so sad

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/us/politics/good-economic-news-but-taking-credit-is-a-conundrum-for-democrats-.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0
Good Economic News, but Democrats Differ on Whether to Take Credit

I like Elizabeth Warren -- though not as much as many others do. And I can see the merits of a progressive challenger to Hillary in the primaries. But folks, let's get serious, this woman is never going to become President

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/15/the-most-powerful-democrat-in-america.html
The Most Powerful Democrat in America

http://americablog.com/2014/12/speech-may-make-elizabeth-warren-president.html
The speech that may make Elizabeth Warren president

http://americablog.com/2014/12/elizabeth-warren-ready-president.html
Is Elizabeth Warren ready to be president?

More: http://crooksandliars.com/2014/12/elizabeth-warren-im-not-running-president
Elizabeth Warren: 'I'm Not Running For President'

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/15/7393749/elizabeth-warren-not-running
Elizabeth Warren says she's not running for president. Should we believe her?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/12/15/non-candidate-elizabeth-warren-is-not-running-for-president-right-now-today/
Non-candidate Elizabeth Warren is not running for president right now, today

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/12/15/why-elizabeth-warren-is-smart-not-to-totally-rule-out-running-for-president/
Why Elizabeth Warren is smart not to totally rule out running for president

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/227022-what-does-warren-want
What does Warren want?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/12/15/why-the-elizabeth-warren-for-president-chatter-will-continue/
Why the ‘Elizabeth Warren for president’ chatter will continue

Russia's in trouble

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/15/russias-economy-is-doomed-its-that-simple/
Sorry, Putin. Russia’s economy is doomed

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/12/russian-ruble-now-entering-free-fall
The Russian Ruble Is Now Entering Free Fall

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/12/krugman-russia-keeps-looking-more-vulnerable-crisis

Bonus item: The NRA loses one

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/15/senate_confirms_vivek_murthy_as_surgeon_general_over_nra_opposition/

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

WE'RE BACK!

Sorry for the missed issues of PBD. My computer died and I have been working on loaners and older machines. Posting may still be iffy for a day or two, then I hope we'll be back on a new computer and a regular schedule!

The dark side

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/15/1351763/-Dick-Cheney-on-CIA-torture-I-d-do-it-again-in-a-minute

Dick Cheney on CIA torture: 'I'd do it again in a minute'

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/cheney-torture-report-innocent-detainee

Cheney Seems Unfazed By Question About Innocent Detainee Who Died 

More: http://crooksandliars.com/2014/12/torture-apologist-dick-cheney-shrugs-death

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/dick-cheney-george-w-bush-knew-about-torture-program

Cheney Throws Bush Under The Bus On Torture Program

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/15/time_to_take_the_gloves_off_how_dick_cheney_accomplished_exactly_what_he_set_out_to_do/

Dick Cheney’s grotesque legacy

https://www.emptywheel.net/2014/12/14/meet-the-press-12-years-of-unchallenged-cheney-claims-about-iraq-and-al-qaeda/

Meet the Press: 12 Years of Unchallenged Cheney Claims about Iraq and Al Qaeda

"Justice" Scalia

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/scalia-torture-constitution

Scalia: Nothing In The Constitution Prohibits Torture

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_12/scalia_and_cruel_and_unusual_i053320.php

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/antonin-scalias-spirited-defense-torture

Koch addiction

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/12/barbara-walters-cuddly-interview-david

Barbara Walters' Cuddly Interview With David Koch

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/david-koch-im-a-social-liberal-not-an-evil-billionaire

Koch Brother Says He's A 'Social Liberal,' Not An 'Evil Billionaire'

The mess that is the "CRomnibus" bill - what the Dems won, and what they lost

Overview: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/12/wonkbook-a-guide-to-the-craziness-that-just-went-down-in-congress/

Bad: http://prospect.org/article/did-democrats-get-hosed-budget-bill

Did Democrats Get Hosed on the Budget Bill?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/obamacare-cromnibus-risk-corridors

Republicans Dealt A Quiet Blow To O-Care In The CRomnibus

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/15/why_wont_congress_let_nutrition_council_discuss_the_environment/

Congressional GOP sneaks anti-science provision into government shutdown bill

Not so bad: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/12/12/morning-plum-the-good-and-the-bad-in-the-big-budget-deal/

The good and the bad in the big budget deal

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/12/heres-what-democrats-got-out-cromnibus

Here's What Democrats Got Out of the Cromnibus

http://prospect.org/article/progressives-just-lost-fight-budget-so-why-are-they-so-happy

Progressives Just Lost a Fight On the Budget. So Why Are They So Happy?

Ted's sneaky ploy backfires

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/ted-cruz-democrats-nominations-cromnibus

Ted Cruz Gave Obama An Early Christmas Gift Over The Weekend

Theocracy watch

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/15/john_kasich_schools_must_partner_with_religious_groups_to_receive_mentoring_funds/

John Kasich: Schools must partner with religious groups to receive mentoring funds

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

SCOT FREE

No charges to come following the CIA torture report

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/10/1350790/-Justice-Department-says-it-still-won-t-pursue-criminal-charges-over-American-torture-program

Why not? http://www.vox.com/2014/12/11/7367543/torture-report-prosecutions

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-unlikely-to-lose-power-in-wake-of-interrogation-report/2014/12/09/be72dfc2-7fee-11e4-9f38-95a187e4c1f7_story.html
CIA unlikely to lose power in wake of interrogation report

What CAN we do?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/12/10/morning-plum-the-torture-report-is-horrific-heres-something-we-can-do-about-it/

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/12/what-next-step-on-torture.html

The new budget: Dems are balking at providing votes to protect the Repubs from (another) shutdown -- but they have to be careful not to be blamed themselves

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/12/09/whats-in-the-spending-bill-we-skim-it-so-you-dont-have-to/
What’s in the spending bill? We skim it so you don’t have to

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/09/1350557/-Pelosi-wins-budget-showdown-over-contraception
Pelosi wins budget showdown over contraception 

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/10/1350782/-Democratic-votes-may-not-be-there-to-bail-Boehner-out-on-spending-bill
Democratic votes may not be there to bail Boehner out on spending bill

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/warren-leads-liberal-democrats-rebellion-over-provisions-in-1-trillion-spending-bill/2014/12/10/c5c915e4-80b5-11e4-9f38-95a187e4c1f7_story.html?wprss=rss_politics 

Ed Kilgore argues that the South isn't impossible for the Dems, just another political challenge

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/myth-southern-democrats-stop-agonizing

Koch addiction 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/koch-brothers-north-carolina-history-class
The Conservative Ideas The Koch Brothers Want To Sneak Into Schools

Why Jeb Bush is a risky nominee for president

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/11/jeb_bushs_damning_secret_history_partner/

Theocracy watch

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/10/rick_perry_the_bible_proves_that_poverty_is_inevitable/
Rick Perry: The Bible proves that poverty is inevitable  

Scott Walker reaches out to the Jewish vote

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/12/walker-to-jewish-chairman-thanks-and-molotov.html
‘Thank You and Molotov’

Michele Bachmann says goodbye . . . for now

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_12/the_bachmann_farewell_speech053258.php

Health journalism sucks

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/10/7372921/health-journalism-science

Bonus item: Old McDonald's

http://rt.com/usa/212555-mcdonalds-sales-fall-america/
McDonald's sales in US plummet

More: http://www.vox.com/2014/12/9/7357125/mcdonalds-sales-decline

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

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FOR SHAME

The Senate report on CIA torture is released, and however bad you thought it was . . . it was even worse

The full report: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/senate-cia-torture-report-realsed 

In brief: http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=dce63826-5f14-4975-9617-a4e6bd7527cb
1. The CIA’s “enhanced interrogation techniques” were not effective. 
2. The CIA provided extensive inaccurate information about the operation of the program and its effectiveness to policymakers and the public. 
3. The CIA’s management of the program was inadequate and deeply flawed. 
4. The CIA program was far more brutal than the CIA represented to policymakers and the American public.

Not quite as brief: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/national/cia-interrogation-report/key-findings/?hpid=z2
1 “not an effective means of acquiring intelligence” 
2 “rested on inaccurate claims of their effectiveness” 
3 “brutal and far worse than the CIA represented” 
4 “conditions of confinement for CIA detainees were harsher” 
5 “repeatedly provided inaccurate information” 
6 “actively avoided or impeded congressional oversight” 
7 “impeded effective White House oversight” 
8 “complicated, and in some cases impeded, the national security missions” 
9 “impeded oversight by the CIA’s Office of Inspector General” 
10 “coordinated the release of classified information to the media” 
11 “unprepared as it began operating” 
12 “deeply flawed throughout the program's duration” 
13 “overwhelmingly outsourced operations” 
14 “coercive interrogation techniques that had not been approved” 
15 “did not conduct a comprehensive or accurate accounting of the number of individuals it detained” 
16 “failed to adequately evaluate the effectiveness” 
17 “rarely reprimanded or held personnel accountable” 
18 “ignored numerous internal critiques, criticisms, and objections” 
19 “inherently unsustainable” 
20 “damaged the United States' standing in the world”

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/09/1350297/-Today-we-learn-more-details-of-the-villainous-behavior-of-U-S-torturers

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/world/senate-intelligence-committee-cia-torture-report.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/09/cia-torture-report-released

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/10/what-the-torture-report-kept-hidden.html
Despite more than 500 pages of excruciating, awful detail, there’s much about the CIA’s interrogation, rendition, and detention programs that the Senate Intelligence Committee’s torture report doesn’t address. . . .

The low points

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/12/09/the-gigantic-disaster-of-the-cias-torture-program/
With respect to al-Najjar specifically, the legal advisor indicated that the CIA’s interrogation plan included “isolation in total darkness; lowering the quality of his food; keeping him at an uncomfortable temperature (cold); [playing music] 24 hours a day; and keeping him shackled and hooded.” In addition, al-Najjar was described as having been left hanging — which involved handcuffing one or both wrists to an overhead bar which would not allow him to lower his arms — for 22 hours each day for two consecutive days, in order to “‘break’ his resistance.” It was also noted al-Najjar was wearing a diaper and had no access to toilet facilities . . .

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/09/the-most-gruesome-moments-in-the-cia-torture-report.html
At least five detainees were subjected to “rectal feeding” or “rectal hydration,” without any documented medical need. “While IV infusion is safe and effective,” one officer wrote, rectal hydration could be used as a form of behavior control. . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/world/senate-torture-report-shows-cia-infighting-over-interrogation-program.html
At the Salt Pit, the junior officer ordered a prisoner, Gul Rahman, shackled to the wall of his cell and stripped of most of his clothing. Mr. Rahman was found dead of hypothermia the next morning, lying on the bare concrete floor. Four months later, the junior officer was recommended for a cash award of $2,500 for his “consistently superior work.”  A C.I.A. accountability board later recommended disciplinary action against one of the officers involved in the death at the Salt Pit. But in that instance and another, the board was overruled. The “director strongly believes that mistakes should be expected in a business filled with uncertainty,” an agency memo said. . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/09/1350553/-CIA-paid-two-ex-military-psychologists-who-helped-designed-and-run-torture-program-81-million
Included in the hideous details of the executive summary version of the torture report released Tuesday is the news that the company founded by two former military psychologists who urged waterboarding and other coercive methods against suspects secretly imprisoned by the CIA and Department of Defense was paid $81 million for work with the agency's interrogation program from 2005 until 2009.  The two, referred to by pseudonyms in the torture report, were James E. Mitchell and Bruce Jessen. . . . [read on] 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/world/senate-report-raises-doubts-about-cia-claims-on-hunt-for-osama-bin-laden.html
But in page after page of previously classified evidence, the Senate Intelligence Committee report on C.I.A. torture, released Tuesday, rejects the notion that torturing detainees contributed to finding Bin Laden  . . .

https://www.emptywheel.net/2014/12/09/ssci-torture-report-key-knew-it-was-torture-knew-it-was-illegal
They Knew It was Torture, Knew It Was Illegal

More: http://www.salon.com/2014/12/09/10_appalling_findings_in_the_senates_torture_report/

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/9/7360823/cia-torture-roundup

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/09/inside-a-cia-dungeon.html

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/9/7361091/cia-torture-bin-laden

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/09/cia-torture-report-khan_n_6297936.html
This May Be The Most Remarkable Story In The CIA Torture Report

You know, for people who kept insisting that what they were doing was perfectly legal and justified, the CIA torturers sure lied a lot about what they were doing -- even lying to their bosses in the Bush administration

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/cia-torture-report-113420.html
A long-awaited Senate report concludes that the CIA repeatedly misled the public, Congress and the White House about the agency’s aggressive questioning of detainees  . . .

http://mashable.com/2014/12/09/5-times-the-cia-lied/
5 times the CIA lied to the White House, the Senate and other authorities

http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/9/7361295/biggest-lies-the-cia-told-about-the-torture-program
The 8 biggest lies the CIA told about torture 

More: http://www.nationaljournal.com/defense/how-the-cia-lied-to-congress-on-torture-according-to-congress-20141209

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/world/cia-kept-bush-ill-informed-on-interrogation-tactics-torture-report-says.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Emptywheel asks: https://www.emptywheel.net/2014/12/09/torture-obviously-but-what-about-litany-of-other-crimes/
18 U.S.C. §1001 False Statements  
18 U.S.C. §1621 Perjury  
18 U.S.C. §1505 Obstruction of Justice

Punishing the whistleblowers, not the perps

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/10/torture_reports_big_bombshell_how_a_glaring_double_standard_was_exposed/

The response from Fox World

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/09/1350554/-Fox-News-host-on-torture-report-We-are-awesome
"The United States of America is awesome, we are awesome," she said. "We’ve closed the book on it, and we’ve stopped doing it. And the reason they want to have this discussion is not to show how awesome we are. This administration wants to have this discussion to show us how we’re not awesome."

More from Fox World: http://www.salon.com/2014/12/09/fox_news_sick_reaction_to_torture_report_its_a_distraction_from_obamacare/
It’s a distraction from Obamacare!  

The banality of evil

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/12/quote-day-questions-about-torture-are-not-helpful
"Strongly urge that any speculative language as to the legality of given activities or, more precisely, judgment calls as to their legality vis-à-vis operational guidelines for this activity agreed upon and vetted at the most senior levels of the agency, be refrained from in written traffic (email or cable traffic). Such language is not helpful."

Bonus item: The variety of torture defenses

http://prospect.org/article/taxonomy-torture-defenses-0
Torture isn't really torture.  . . .[read on]

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-torture-apologia-chart-by-batocchio.html 

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/9/7361635/torture-wrong

Unfortunately . . .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/09/lets-not-kid-ourselves-most-americans-are-fine-with-torture-even-when-you-call-it-torture/
Most Americans are fine with torture, even when you call it “torture”

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***