Category Archives: Torture

GITMO At the National Cathedral

Posted on March 24, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

So I visited D.C.’s National Cathedral this weekend–I’ll have more pictures later in the week. But on the way to the downstairs bathrooms I noticed this: Wasn’t quite sure what to make of this, but apparently it hails from a … Continue reading →

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Maybe She Should Be Afraid

Posted on December 21, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

So freedom is on the march (boldface mine): NBC News published a story on a senior CIA official who is a “top al Qaeda expert” and a “key architect of the agency’s defense of its detention” and torture program for … Continue reading →

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Torture and the Limits of Political Civility

Posted on December 19, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Outsourced to Athenae, who is appropriately angry that discussion of torture is being viewed as “old arguments” (boldface mine): Right. That’s all that’s at stake here. Old arguments. We don’t want to have old arguments. Actually, I don’t want to … Continue reading →

Posted in Basic Human Decency, Torture | 1 Comment

The Washington Post Goes Full Hacktacular on Torture

Posted on December 18, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Look at this photo with a Washington Post piece explaining why Democrats are so uncool to oppose torture: That’s a picture of ‘dirty bomber’ Jose Padilla, a fucking idiot who actually believed this is how you build a dirty bomb: … Continue reading →

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The Justification For Torture That No One Wants to Confront

Posted on December 17, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

For those who have followed our reign of torture closely, in 2005, videotapes of torture sessions were destroyed. Most people assume this was done because the tapes were so horrifying, no one wanted them released. In light of last weekend’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Torture | 6 Comments

Torture and the Cost of Looking Forward, Not Back

Posted on December 15, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Jane Meyer in the New Yorker on the Senate CIA torture report (boldface mine): There was a way to address the matter that might have avoided much of the partisan trivialization. In a White House meeting in early 2009, Greg … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Democrats, Torture | 2 Comments

This Is the Horrifying Fiend Torture Was Supposedly Protecting Us From

Posted on December 11, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Like I mentioned recently, this would be funny, except for the torture part. From the Senate CIA torture report (pp. 251-252; boldface mine): The Thwarting of the Dirty Bomb/Tall Buildings Plot and the Capture of Jose Padilla Summary: The CIA … Continue reading →

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What Will We Tell the Children?

Posted on December 10, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Remember back during the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal–one involving consensual sex between adults–when people, faced with the specter of explaining what a presidential blow job was, would caterwaul about how do we explain this to our kids? Well, how do adults, especially … Continue reading →

Posted in Torture | 1 Comment

It Would Be Funny, Except For the Torture Part

Posted on December 10, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Looks like the CIA outsourced its torture operations to the same bozos who managed the Hurricane Katrina response (pp. 133-134 of the CIA torture report; boldface mine): In the spring of 2004, after two detainees were transferred to CIA custody, … Continue reading →

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Will Occupy Wall Street Remain Non-Violent?

Posted on November 20, 2011 by mikethemadbiologist

I hope so. To morph into a violent movement would be both ethically wrong and tactically stupid. But in the face of this: (from here) it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect that, at some point, some of the OWS protestors … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Liberties, The Rule of Law, Torture | 2 Comments