Not going quietly into the night

New Signs of Mugabe Crackdown in Zimbabwe

It looks like it will get worse before it gets better.

Mugabe out?

Finally, Mugabe concedes defeat - in private, at least. It only took 28 years. Apparently, his policies in the last 10 years have been especially catastrophic for the economy and when he started to really crack down.

So, you want to be a McCain Democrat?

Look before you jump

The Gravel Trip

Enhancing willpower

Tighten Your Belt, Strengthen Your Mind

In psychological studies, even something as simple as using your nondominant hand to brush your teeth for two weeks can increase willpower capacity. People who stick to an exercise program for two months report reducing their impulsive spending, junk food intake, alcohol use and smoking. They also study more, watch less television and do more housework. Other forms of willpower training, like money-management classes, work as well.

I O Yoo

Torture as self-defense

Yoo's infamous 2003 torture justification memo is now out.

The Justice Department sent a legal memorandum to the Pentagon in 2003 asserting that federal laws prohibiting assault, maiming and other crimes did not apply to military interrogators who questioned al-Qaeda captives because the president's ultimate authority as commander in chief overrode such statutes.

The 81-page memo, which was declassified and released publicly yesterday, argues that poking, slapping or shoving detainees would not give rise to criminal liability. The document also appears to defend the use of mind-altering drugs that do not produce "an extreme effect" calculated to "cause a profound disruption of the senses or personality."
...
"If a government defendant were to harm an enemy combatant during an interrogation in a manner that might arguably violate a criminal prohibition, he would be doing so in order to prevent further attacks on the United States by the al Qaeda terrorist network," Yoo wrote. "In that case, we believe that he could argue that the executive branch's constitutional authority to protect the nation from attack justified his actions."

Interrogators who harmed a prisoner would be protected by a "national and international version of the right to self-defense," Yoo wrote. He also articulated a definition of illegal conduct in interrogations -- that it must "shock the conscience" -- that the Bush administration advocated for years.

"Whether conduct is conscience-shocking turns in part on whether it is without any justification," Yoo wrote, explaining, for example, that it would have to be inspired by malice or sadism before it could be prosecuted.

If Nick had a cat

Finally...

Clinton tells Democrats: Don’t vote for McCain

Good for her, although it is about time she did.

Toxic apple fat

Study Links Middle-Age Belly Fat to Dementia

People who have big bellies in their 40s are much more likely to get Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia in their 70s, according to new research that links the middle-aged spread to a fading mind for the first time.

The study of more than 6,000 people found that the more fat they had in their guts in their early to mid-40s, the greater their chances of becoming forgetful and confused and showing other signs of senility as they aged. Those who had the most expansive midsections faced more than twice the risk of the leanest.

The potential mechanism? Toxic Fat

The research is the latest evidence that fat in the abdomen is the most dangerous kind. Previous studies have linked an apple-shaped physique to a greater propensity for diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Researchers suspect that belly fat cells are the worst because of their proximity to major organs. They ooze noxious chemicals, stoking inflammation, constricting blood vessels and triggering other processes that may also damage brain cells.

"There is a lot of work out there that suggests that the fat wrapped around your inner organs is much more metabolically active than other types of fat right under the skin," Whitmer said. "It's pumping out toxic substances. It's very potent toxic fat."

This fits with what I learned way back that pear-shaped body is healthier than an apple-shape.

The other side of the story

Some discussion here

Maybe Nick is right

If McCain vs. Obama, 28% of Clinton Backers Go for McCain

Time to move to Canada.

Chunk of Antarctic ice shelf collapses, putting larger area at risk

Rapid melting on Wilkins Shelf is attributed to global warming.

The Evil Penguin

Bush 2.0

"We're succeeding. I don't care what anybody says. I've seen the facts on the ground," the Arizona senator insisted a day after a roadside bomb in Baghdad killed four U.S. soldiers and rockets pounded the U.S.-protected Green Zone there, and a wave of attacks left at least 61 Iraqis dead nationwide.

And this is well timed:

Check out the Media Myths of McCain

killer war-bots are here, almost

On GDP and beyond

Robert Kennedy was ahead of his time.

Jim Rogers on FED money injection - PART 1

The Speech

The Road to Guantanamo

Wow. This is a road trip gone really bad. From here.

A good cup of good coffee