The curious definition of torture

A morning would not be complete anymore without at least one story to set you spinning.
In reviewing some of the press clippings on Gonzalez (Bush’s choice for attorney general) it is impossible to bypass references to a memo written by Gonzalez in 2002 where he states that laws prohibiting torture do "not apply to the President's detention and interrogation of enemy combatants."

But even if we (gulp) had to abide by the Geneva Convention and not resort to the use of torture, not to worry, because it’s a long way, according to Gonzalez, before we cross the line and enter the world of the pain caused by torture. Thus, according to an approved by Gonzalez memo:
pain caused by an interrogation must include "injury such as death, organ failure, or serious impairment of body functions—in order to constitute torture.” (from the NYT and Newsweek, June 2004, via Center for American Progress)

I’m relieved.