Glenn Greenwald live-blogs the executive summary of the Senate's CIA torture report, and, well, it's pretty disgusting. I sure hope all the folks who said, back in 2002, that I don't care what they do as long as they protect us are feeling the appropriate amount of shame today. I actually have hope that they do -- as opposed to the hope I have that the perpetrators of these crimes feel shame, which I know is impossible.
Speaking of which, Dick Cheney dismissed the report, continuing to maintain that CIA torture saved lives and prevented terrorist attacks. Of course, we learn early on that he hadn't actually read the report, but was responding to "news reports about it" -- from the same "liberal" media outlets that failed to report accurately on it in the first place, one presumes. Really, the article should have ended right there. It certainly shouldn't have let him erect straw men so he could knock them down.
U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear appeals from British Petroleum about the settlement it reached with businesses and folks over the 2010 Spillageddon in the Gulf. The Supreme Court does seem to be at its best when it does nothing, though I bet even John "What More Can a Corporation Do?" Roberts responded with disdain upon hearing that BP was trying to weasel its way out of a settlement it had reached. Oh, and if folks are actually trying to defraud BP, then they're criminals -- not an excuse to skip out on your obligations to law-abiding folk.
Big Republican donors, deciding they'd like to spend less money, are apparently trying to decide on a single "establishment" candidate for the 2016 Presidential race. I say "apparently" because the Times says they'd choose from among Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, and Mitt Romney, when Scott Walker is going to be the nominee. Really, it's a complete waste of time talking about anyone else. Could rich Republicans be that dumb -- or is that just what they want us to think?
Finally, Australian solar power researchers have figured out how to get commercially-available solar panels to convert 40% of the sunlight that hits it into electricity. These solar power systems generally deliver less than 20% efficiency, so this is a big deal -- and the efficiency boost involves those same mirrored towers I've made plenty of fun of in this space. Well, a man learns.
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