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Senate committee releases report on CIA interrogation methods; ‘Frozen’ conquers the box office; President George W. Bush covers TIME; MLK Jr. Wins Nobel Peace Prize; and a doctor who treated President Lincoln died

 

⇒ What You Were Talking About This Week: CIA’s “Enhanced Interrogation”

On Tuesday, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released a much-anticipated report on CIA interrogation methods. The report details techniques used by the agency following 9/11 in an attempt to gather information from suspected terrorists; these techniques included waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and umm rectal feeding. The report concludes that the CIA’s “enhanced interrogation techniques” were not effective, the CIA provided inaccurate information about the effectiveness of its programs to policymakers and the public, the management of the program was deeply flawed, and (in case those interrogation techniques didn’t tip you off), the methods were far more brutal than what was communicated to policymakers.

This week, much of the conversation centered on whether or not the report should be released at all. Republicans and the intelligence community argued that releasing the report could threaten U.S. national security. Democrats argued the American public should know the truth.

Of course, not everyone falls into those neat categories. Senator John McCain, a well-respected leader on defense issues, rose in support of the report’s release this week, saying “I believe the American people have a right—indeed, a responsibility—to know what was done in their name; how these practices did or did not serve our interests; and how they comported with our most important values.”

Former Vice President Dick Cheney on the other hand added some colorful commentary, noting the report is “full of crap” and “I’d do it again in a minute.”

⇒ Last Year: Let it Goooo          

“Toy Story” has nostalgia and “Finding Nemo” has heart, but “Frozen” is the undisputed king (or queen) of animated movies. Since it opened on November 22, 2013, the Disney movie has earned $1.2 billion worldwide (it became number one at the box office December 8). And that’s not all. The “Frozen” soundtrack earned the most weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard charts since 1998’s “Titanic” soundtrack. Elsa—named after one of the film’s lead characters—jumped 243 slots to become one of the most popular names. And the movie became Amazon’s best-selling children’s film of all time based on advance orders alone.

“Frozen” subverts a lot of Disney tropes: the movie is more about sisterly love than romance, one of the main characters (Elsa) has flaws with real consequences, and there is no real villain. These were intentional choices made by writer/director Jennifer Lee that helped to broaden the movie’s appeal.

On that chart-topping soundtrack is the Oscar-winning song “Let it Go” sung by Broadway darling Idina Menzel. (“Frozen” also won the Oscar for best animated feature film.) Consider the lyrics to this anthem: “Let it go, let it go/And I’ll rise like the break of dawn/Let it go, let it go/That perfect girl is gone!/Here I stand/In the light of day/Let the storm rage on/The cold never bothered me anyway!”

⇒ 10 Years Ago: Dubya Covers TIME

Ten years ago, TIME Magazine named President George W. Bush the 2004 Person of the Year. The reasons why? “For sticking to his guns (literally and figuratively), for reshaping the rules of politics to fit his ten-gallon-hat leadership style and for persuading a majority of voters that he deserved to be in the White House for another four years.”

This accolade is noteworthy (and maybe a little bit funny) considering the way his administration played defense this week over the enhanced interrogation methods used by the CIA and made public with the Senate report.

⇒ 50 Years Ago: MLK Jr. Wins Nobel Peace Prize       

The Nobel Committee awarded Martin Luther King Jr. with the Nobel Peace Prize in October 1964. Dr. King accepted the accolade during a ceremony on December 10, 1964.

He began his speech (one of his most famous) by questioning the committee’s decision because the “movement” is an “unrelenting struggle” and “has not won the very peace and brotherhood which is the essence of the Nobel Prize.” Yet he goes on to say:

After contemplation, I conclude that this award which I receive on behalf of that movement is profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time—the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression.

It’s a particularly chilling line given the ongoing protests over the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. Read Dr. King’s full speech here.

⇒ 100 Years Ago: Albert Freeman Africanus King Passes Away

Albert Freeman Africanus King, an American doctor who witnessed President Lincoln’s assassination and connected mosquitoes to malaria, died on December 13, 1914.

King was in the audience at Ford’s Theater the night John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln. He is thought to be among the first doctors to treat the dying president and he helped carry the president’s body across the street.

Now that I have your attention (since everybody loves Lincoln), I’ll fill you in on King’s theory that mosquitoes transmit the malaria virus. In the late 19th century only a few physicians subscribed to this idea and the science did not yet support the theory. King, who lived in Washington, D.C. at the time, proposed encircling the city in a wire net as tall as the Washington Monument to keep mosquitoes out of the marshy town. King’s idea may be silly, but bed nets are an effective way to protect people, especially children, from contracting the disease. Thanks to targeted investments, and the successful Nothing But Nets campaign, the World Health Organization reported a drop by nearly 50 percent in malaria mortalities since 2000.