tvashtarkatena

For some of us, the distaste is the same.

ack - this one bugs me, and it's google-proof - i keep getting mental images of the wicked step sister from shrek or the bar-tenders in bill n' teds, but niether is right - gimme a clue! Your not supposed to be using Google, cheater. Casablanca?

THis is the same specious argument the administration uses. "Only in extreme circumstances", which basically means "Whenever we feel like it." The rule of law, and human decency, at this point, is gone. There is no situation that warrants torture, just as there is none that warrants slavery, or rape, or any other inhumane act. None. You either agree to give up basic human rights as a value, or not. And there is no 'gray area'. That is a bullshit fictional PR campaign brought forth by the administration to allow them to continue doing whatever they want to in this area. The law is clear: if it's inhumane, degrading, or humiliating, it's illegal. Waterboarding, sleep deprivation, dogs, mock executions, stripping prisoners and mocking them, disallowing access to a toilet, and all the other 'soft' techniques, by this standard, are prohibited by our own laws.

I'm way ahead of the game, here. There's already a substantial fuel supply in the crisper of my fridge.

My man nipples are getting hard.

Don't even think about whining to me. It excites my predatory instinct.

Safety, ultimately, is the only requirement of government. Then you're nothing more than another inmate. I believe that we can do a lot better than just 'staying safe', both in our personal and collective lives. Exploration, stewardship, creativity, great parties....

Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, big old horrible terrorists doing really bad scary things. So we should, too. Or so your logic goes. I don't think you know my logic. You dismiss whatever I say out of hand too quickly to consider it. But that is okay, you are going to be right no matter what the conversation is, so bringing up other options is a pointless excersize with you. 'Exercise'. I only dismiss the really stupid stuff you post. Step up to your intellect.

Cuba annex. One reason NOT to do it: Cranky Jewish retiree boat people.

A life lived without morals or purpose isn't worth very much. If simply being alive was the absolute highest objective for being, you know, breathing, eating, shitting, then why, throughout history, have so many sacrificed their lives for something higher? Safety is, ultimately, the worst form of prison.

Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, big old horrible terrorists doing really bad scary things. So we should, too. Or so your logic goes.

where does interrogation end, and "torture" begin Read the Article 3 prohibitions aloud and you'll likely find that this is a fairly simple question to answer correctly.

Yes, we do, if we are to be a nation of laws and not whim. And if we choose to be a civilized and humane people. You may personally wish to follow the lead of those who beheaded Mr. Pearl and their fellows. Personally, however, I'm damn glad to be on the only morally defensible side of this particular issue.

I think, at this point, a Floridectomy isn't entirely out of the question:

And windmills. Don't forget the windmills.

Sadly, torture doesn't work. THe victim talks, alright. They tell you exactly what you want to hear, but seldom anything useful. Decades of espionage and law enforcement has proven that the use of informants is far, far more effective at gathering high quality information.

Temporary problem. Buh bye, Florida....

'Planning'? What is this word, 'planning'?

Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which was ratified by Congress and is therefore U.S. law per the Constitution (and upheld by the Supreme Court as recently as 6/06 in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld), clearly prohibits torture in general and waterboarding specifically. Our new shit-stain excuse for an attorney general should have had no problem in referencing the following section from Article 3: (1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including...those placed hors de combat by…detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely. To this end the following acts are…prohibited at any time and in any place: (a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; © outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment;(d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples. But waterboarding is a smoke screen for the much worse things U.S. personnel have done: From a 2/04 International Committee of the Red Cross Report summary: “We have seen evidence of federal government employees engaging in acts such as soaking a prisoner’s hand in alcohol and setting it on fire, administering electric shocks, subjecting prisoners to repeated sexual abuse and assault, including sodomy with a bottle, raping a juvenile prisoner, kicking and beating prisoners in the head and groin, putting lit cigarettes inside a prisoner’s ear, force-feeding a baseball to a prisoner, chaining a prisoners hands-to-feet in a fetal position for 24 hours without food, water, or access to a toilet, and breaking a prisoner’s shoulders.”

for an old pair of Asolo plastics. The shells are fine, the inner boots suck. Any recommended sources/brands? Thanks.

I believe the policy includes Presidents are are brain dead. Does anyone know when the USS G.W.Bush is scheduled for commissioning?

This should be extended to pedestrians as well. I've seen way too many folks just step off the curb without looking both ways. Sidewalks are expensive to install. Look at all the money the city will be spending in North Seattle to retrofit the neighborhoods without. Pedestrians are getting a free ride in the tranportation game. We should tax the hell out of them or they should stay home. It's only fair. ...or you could just shut the fuck up and learn how to drive.

I prefer to pour toluene into one of my ears, let my brain marinate for a few hours, then let it sluff out through the other ear so I can clean the inside of the oven with it.