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Bush’s legacy: report on CIA interrogation tactics post 9/11 expected to be graphic
The Senate Intelligence Committee will be releasing a report Tuesday on the interrogation tactics it used on suspected militants following the events that took place on Sept. 11, 2001. U.S. officials have bolstered security at various facilities across the country, expecting some backlash to the graphic nature of the report, which charts the details of George W. Bush’s “Rendition, Detention, and Interrogation” program. It will describe how one suspect was threatened with a power drill, and another threatened, sexually, with a broomstick, according to sources familiar with the report. Bush put a stop to most of the program before leaving the presidency, but such interrogation techniques were quickly banned when Barack Obama took office. [Source: Reuters]
Newly discovered asteroid on collision course with Earth
Russian astrophysicist Vladimir Lipunov says there’s an asteroid about 370-metres in diameter hurdling through space towards Earth. He said as much in a video called “Asteroid Attack,” which he posted on the Russian Space Agency’s website on Sunday. Though, fear not. He does not suspect a collision, despite asteroid 2014 UR116’s current trajectory. Lipunov said this particular asteroid crosses Earth’s orbit every three years. The unexpected discovery sheds light on the erratic behavior of asteroids, and just how little is known about them. According to Lupinov, the gravitational pull from other planets will likely alter the asteroid’s current path. He did say, however, that if it did hit Earth, the explosion would be 1,000 times greater than the one Russia experienced in 2013, when a meteor crashed into Earth near the city of Chelyabinsk. A group of scientist, researches, and others studying asteroids have named June 30, 2015, the world’s first Asteroid Day. [Source: Yahoo]
Tougher sentence sought in Pistorius case
Oscar Pistorius’s sentence of five years in prison with parole eligibility after just 10 months was too lenient, prosecutor Gerrie Nel told judge Thokozile Masipa at a court hearing in Pretoria. Nel has applied to send Pistorius’s case to South Africa’s supreme court of appeal for review. Masipa will rule later this week whether the appeal can continue. Pistorius admits to shooting his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, through the closed washroom door at his home on Feb. 14, 2013, but maintains he didn’t know it was her he was shooting. He thought it was a burglar. “There can also be an instance where too much mercy is shown to an accused. Based on all the facts, we say that the element of mercy was over-exaggerated,” Nel told news sources. “The sentence for what the accused did is inappropriate. It does not fit the crime … There is a very good prospect that we may convince an appeal court that the shortest possible incarceration in a case like this, my lady, is shockingly inappropriate.” Nel also called into question the Masipa’s culpable homicide ruling. [Source: The Guardian]
Korean Air executive resigns following bag of nuts fiasco
Cho Yang-ho, a Korean Air Lines executive, has resigned over the backlash she has received since forcing an attendant off the plane and delaying the entire flight over how she was served macadamia nuts in a bag instead of on a plate. According to reports, the plane was preparing to take off from New York’s JFK airport when the incident occurred; when a flight attendant served Cho, who was in first class, a bag of nuts. Cho ordered the attended off the plane, which meant the aircraft had to return to the gate. The airline apologized to passengers. [Source: The Guardian]
Rosolie let the Internet down by not letting a snake eat him alive
Paul Rosolie told the world he was going let a giant anaconda eat him alive. And the Discovery Channel told the world they would film it, believing it a good fit for their show, “Eaten Alive.” The stunt’s concept got attention. Would Rosolie be harmed? Would the snake be harmed? The episode aired Sunday and no one was harmed nor entertained. Rosolie let the snake squeeze him for a paltry couple minutes before tapping out, a fact the Internet won’t let him forget anytime soon. It was a bold stunt. He said he would do it. He didn’t. Watch the video below:
[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6UgXSWTRBU” width=”540″ height=”420″][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzLbjD6rN14″ width=”500″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXexeL3IQbI[/su_youtube][/su_youtube]
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Follow Toban Dyck at @tobandyck.
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