Links of interest for December 7th, 2007 through January 20th, 2008:

• George Monbiot: The Turks haven’t learned the British way of denying past atrocities | News | Guardian Unlimited Books
  - A brief tour of British genocides in India and Kenya. Contrary to popular belief, the British Empire was anything but benign, and in India alone killed between 12 and 29 million Indians through deliberate starvation.
• The Duck of Minerva: Is there a Santa Claus?
  - A social constructivist makes a case for the existence of Santa Claus. I’m convinced: he’s at least as real as the State, and a lot less destructive.
• I know waterboarding is torture - because I did it myself
  - An expert from the SERE school talks about waterboarding:"our training was designed to show how an evil totalitarian enemy would use torture at the slightest whim."
• Who Is IOZ?: The Dotted Line
  - "If you call yourself a Democrat, you’re a torturer. If you vote for Hillary Clinton, you’re a torturer."
• The Reality-Based Community: Two More Filibusters
  - More proof that the Republican party is of, for, and by the rich: they are filibustering AMT tax relief for the middle class.