Comments on: You Gotta Keep It Confidential

By: worldwidehappiness

worldwidehappiness — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 07:05:46 +0000

SnarKassandra wrote:

Isn’t hurting people illegal even if it’s not torture? What about assault and battery and kidnapping and abuse?

YES! But, shockingly, that has become normalised since 9/11.

By: prostratedragon

prostratedragon — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 05:52:29 +0000

Not hardly ready to debate ethics and aesthetics, a probably unresolvable set of issues anyway, but seems to me that our big problem right now is addressing a concentration, in precisely the places where they can do the most harm with the least restraint, of folk who look at Buffalo Bill (or Jack Bauer) and see, not dramatizations of some of our nastiest paths to destruction, but suggested practices to be improved on.* That’d be a really useful walkback.

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* Think they’re all gone now? I don’t, and I don’t necessarily mean folk at the level at which we outsiders would know their names.

By: SmileySam

SmileySam — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 02:44:11 +0000

I watched as the hosts of the Fox morning new show mocked putting insects in the box. I’m still not sure which shocked me more, that we used it as torture or that they found it funny ?
A couple yrs ago CSI did a two part program one one of the Techs, Nick, trapped in a box with Red Ants. They sting like hell those little fire ants do. From 24 to CSI, if they see it on TV I believe we will see it used somewhere else soon…as if we haven’t had enough cartoon gov. already…

By: KeyserSoze

KeyserSoze — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 02:37:55 +0000

Digg is open

By: Wahrheit

Wahrheit — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 01:36:48 +0000

Does Room 101 ring a bell for any of these Bush criminals? Apparently some of these people think that Orwell wrote an instruction manual.

By: Dru

Dru — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 01:06:13 +0000

Some reputed to be on the D side are parroting that worst of the worst nonsense: Wasserman-Shultz, last nite on Maddow (lokywoky did an oxdown.)

By: bobschacht

bobschacht — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:54:09 +0000

The “shock the conscience” standard works mainly if you start by assuming the humanity of the other person. If, however, you are told that these are the “worst of the worst,” and therefore not to be considered human, to be despised out of hand, then it’s not so difficult.

What the right does is take for granted– without trial or due process– the “worst of the worst” meme. Once you have contempt for a prisoner, it is easy to justify abuse.

Bob in HI

By: bemar

bemar — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:43:48 +0000

Add Richard Adams (here) to the list of people who don’t mind confining people in a box with an insect. I really don’t understand this mindset.

By: SnarKassandra

SnarKassandra — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:37:38 +0000

Isn’t hurting people illegal even if it’s not torture? What about assault and battery and kidnapping and abuse?

By: Sachem

Sachem — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:14:28 +0000

It is the act of requesting the memos to be written that constitutes a criminal enterprise. Addington asked OLC to write these and he didn’t come up with the idea on his own. Thanx Dick.