Leslie 's EasyBlog

just what you were saying about torture....depressing article

Quotes:

Op-Ed Columnist - The Real-Life ‘24’ of Summer 2008 - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com

• No less destructive are the false confessions inevitably elicited from tortured detainees. The avalanche of misinformation since 9/11 has compromised prosecutions, allowed other culprits to escape and sent the American military on wild-goose chases. The coerced “confession” to the murder of the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, to take one horrific example, may have been invented to protect the real murderer.
  • Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, an accused Qaeda commander whose torture was outsourced by the C.I.A. to Egypt. His fabricated tales of Saddam’s biological and chemical W.M.D. — and of nonexistent links between Iraq and Al Qaeda — were cited by President Bush in his fateful Oct. 7, 2002, Cincinnati speech ginning up the war and by Mr. Powell in his subsequent United Nations presentation on Iraqi weaponry. Two F.B.I. officials told Ms. Mayer that Mr. al-Libi later explained his lies by saying: “They were killing me. I had to tell them something.”

I have highlighted the appropriate area of this article as refers to home exchanging. It's a different take than anything I've ever heard before.

Leslie

Quotes:

Home swapping provides a break from pricey holidays - Scotsman.com Business

• The obvious downside to home swapping is that someone else will be living in your home, sleeping in your bed and potentially damaging your property. However, as you are staying in their home at the same time most swaps go without a hitch."All the UK agencies we spoke to told us that serious complaints were few and far between. Those they do receive are generally down to incompatible cleaning standards," said consumer group Which? when it looked into holiday exchanges earlier this year. "If things do go seriously wrong, the agency will act as a go-between. However, the exchange system is based on mutual trust, and the agency bears no legal responsibility. Members may be struck off if it is believed they have broken an agreement, or even abused the system, but that is of little comfort if you have a bad experience."Another downside of home swapping is that your home insurer may not cover you for accidental damage, theft or vandalism while strangers are staying in your home. Insurer eSure confirms it wouldn't cover your building and its contents if swappers were staying in your home; a view uSwitch says is shared by most, if not all, insurance companies."The main reason is that accidental damage cover is there to cover damage to your property by your family and friends – such as wine accidentally being poured onto your television or smashed lighting if a game on the Wii became too animated," says an eSure spokesperson."It is not there to cover an eventually that has a definite outcome: if you allow a stranger to use your home then the likelihood of damage is almost certain. Friends and family will take due care in your home and with your belongings. People who don't know you have no reason to treat your personal property as if it were their own."