To be fair, its been a busy newsweek. The ruble collapsing, Putin's ridiculous Q&A and befriending of North Korea, the Sony hack, Iran coming to the negotiation table, a few days of no deaths in Ukraine, Australian terrorist operation, UK VIP sex ring deaths, Hong Kong protestors being pushed out, etc.

The torture report is just more details on what happened 10 years ago. No one is shocked or surprised. The guy in charge of all this left when the current guy took office in 2008. If we're playing nation state PR trickery games, it seems to be Russian and Chinese media outlets were really pushing the report as a way to distract from their own domestic issues, their own domestic human rights issues against their own citizens, and to continue to vilify the US as it serves them domestically to deter people from their god given rights to freedom, justice, and self-rule.

Of course, to many internet commentators, Russia and China never do dirty tricks like these, only the US. Shame we can't have a more evolved view of press release timing, news cycles, etc. Its just more anti-US conspiracy theories while the rest of the world, especially dictatorial regimes, get a free pass.

You rather ironically left out the most historic event this week, the US normalizing relations with Cuba. To say the news this has been a busy newsweek is an understatement.

I'd just like to point out that the "Australian terrorist operation" turned out to be one person with a previous history of violence and mental instability, who has been disowned by every group he claimed some connection with.

It wasn't so much a "Terrorist operation", as an act of horrible desperation by an incredibly disturbed individual.

This is a perfect example of why "Terrorism" is a dangerous term. It has huge definition creep.

Well, walking past it every day on the way to work certainly gives me a bit of terror

>> "It seems unfortunate to me that the Sony hack has now displaced the CIA torture report completely in the national narrative."

Unfortunate but let's be honest - nothing was ever going to be done about that report. The world is outraged, the US apologises and does nothing, and most people forget.

Edit: Deleted -- totally wrong story, the heck was I thinking...

Also, the Omnibus budget bill that was passed in the middle of the night that fed pork to every special interest who gave money to the candidates.

Every topical political thread has to get derailed by conspiracy bullshit.

what is politics but a series of conspiracies?

Yeah, no conspiracy here. A hack in a private company is a reason good enough to start another war. I didn't know people feel so patriotic over Sony Entertainment

I hate Sony, but if North Korea really did hack them and threaten terrorist attacks in the US purely to cancel a movie mocking their leader, then yes I feel angry and rather "patriotic". US businesses giving into terrorist threats is not a good precedent.

Also, Sony Pictures is an American company which was bought by Sony, the Japanese megacorporation.

Who the hell is talking about a war? It's the usual posturing on HN for people to Out do each other in histrionics and paranoia.

Ok, how much do you wanna bet than in less than 6 months there is going to be a war? (probably giving the weapons to south Korea so the put the body count)

> Ok, how much do you wanna bet than in less than 6 months there is going to be a war?

Be foolish to bet against that, since the US has never stopped being at war with North Korea since the 1950s.

> (probably giving the weapons to south Korea so the put the body count)

Given the pre-targeted artillery pointed at their capital, neither the people nor the government of South Korea are likely to get behind resuming active conflict with the North without some somewhat more substantial provocation than the SPE hack.

And US encouragement -- if it were to be offered -- is unlikely to change that.

>Be foolish to bet against that, since the US has never stopped being at war with North Korea since the 1950s.

They are not trying to hard right, I mean they trhowed down Saddam Hussain in a couple of years, but somehow they are unable to take North Korea despite fighting for more than 50 years (based on your claim), yeah... no.

Yeah, the DPRK actually sank a ROK naval vessel a while ago, and shelled an island, but obviously an InfoSec/Hacker related issue will cause war to break out!

The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; Korean: 대한민국 해군; Hanja: 大韓民國 海軍; Revised Romanization: Daehanminguk Haegun) is part of South Korean army, not the USA. Please know your stuff before you talk.

There is absolutely nothing better than a common enemy to stick people together, just ask ISIS.

Also, Cuba.

Also, Christmas.

Far more important IMO is the simple fact that a large number of Americans, possibly a majority, support torturing suspected terrorists and think that the only thing wrong with this whole affair was that the report was published.

A large number of Americans also believe the Earth is only a few thousand years old and insist their children are being taught their believes as 'facts' in schools.

Yes, these are also serious problems, but I'm not sure what the relevance is here.

The relevance of the GP's statement lies in three controversial-sounding assertions that are rapidly becoming irrefutable:

   1) Most people are dumbasses

   2) Often willfully so

   3) This has troubling implications for democracy, representative or otherwise

These assertions, if true, affect everything in our public and private lives, including the development and dissemination of the story at hand.

Don't take what a clown like Cheney says as gospel. Many Republicans and most Democrats take these things seriously and do not want to stoop to the level of the Taliban.

The whole idea of "America doesn't torture because we are the good guys" is a relic of the cold war.

No it isn't. We prosecuted US officers for doing the exact same thing in the Phillippine-American war, albeit not very energetically.

Everybody forgot about Ebola :(