I think it's good that our program has a skill level to which it can aspire. Everyone needs a role model, and till now, all we've had are Communist China, the North Koreans and Torquemada.
I'm no exceptional friend to NYU but what's the point of implying some kind of wrongdoing here, pointing out that the torturer's brother is a doner/friend/f**ckbuddy?
And on a completely different note, this "torture" business has gotten out of hand. This looks more like a mob-style beat-down to me. (Is every act of violence torture now?) And this is worrisome because by loosening the definition of torture, the teeth of the issue is taken away and it becomes so ubiquitously cited that people just start going "Again?! meh, whatever" even more tan they already do.
@SigSauer: You're wrong about it being a mob-style beat down -- which I assume to mean that it was a personal dispute. The issue here is that the police were acting on behalf of Sheikh Issa, which is worrying in itself:
"At one point during the incarceration, the U.S. Embassy attempted to come to Mr. Nabulsi's aid. In response, the Embassy was informed by the police department that the reason for the incarceration was a personal dispute between Mr. Nabulsi and Sheikh Issa.
"Despite the efforts of the U.S. Embassy, Mr. Nabulsi was kept in jail, where he was continuously tortured. Each day, the jailors, at the direction of the Issa, would have a "session" with Mr. Nabulsi, threatening him with immediate death and extreme pain. Because of what he had seen on the torture tapes, Mr. Nabulsi was frighteningly aware of Sheikh Issa's capacity for cruelty as well as his apparent influence with the police."
WI'm a huge pacifist, but the only way to "privately" settle setting my testicles aflame would be a severed head in a bucket. Those are balls we're talking about. Balls.
The matter was "settled privately." And by that we mean that the guy agreed to keep his mouth shut and we agreed not to back the fucking truck up over his head.
Ah torture, it's in the news! Glad that Gawker is classy enough to offer the "more" button which doesn't automatically start the video. That way I can read about what happened without participating in it. AND I can wait around for some of the American leadership who consented to utilizing illegal torture tacticts during the Bush administration to be properly prosecuted. Still waiting...
@SkyHits: There's a huge difference between pouring water over someones head for 40 seconds while a doctor watches to make sure they're not in any real danger in order to get info that can possibly save lives, and lighting someones genitals on fire and running them over with an SUV because they maybe cheated you out of some money.
@Almostbanned [jezebel took away my star]: Ah yes, but how much difference is there between this, anally raping someone and pulping his legs until he dies, which was carried out in Abu Ghraib under the torture regime sanctioned by the memos released this week?
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Man. In the States you have to pay big money for that kind of action.
(Terrible joke. Sorry.)
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And on a completely different note, this "torture" business has gotten out of hand. This looks more like a mob-style beat-down to me. (Is every act of violence torture now?) And this is worrisome because by loosening the definition of torture, the teeth of the issue is taken away and it becomes so ubiquitously cited that people just start going "Again?! meh, whatever" even more tan they already do.
04/23/09
"At one point during the incarceration, the U.S. Embassy attempted to come to Mr. Nabulsi's aid. In response, the Embassy was informed by the police department that the reason for the incarceration was a personal dispute between Mr. Nabulsi and Sheikh Issa.
From [www.uaetorture.com]
"Despite the efforts of the U.S. Embassy, Mr. Nabulsi was kept in jail, where he was continuously tortured. Each day, the jailors, at the direction of the Issa, would have a "session" with Mr. Nabulsi, threatening him with immediate death and extreme pain. Because of what he had seen on the torture tapes, Mr. Nabulsi was frighteningly aware of Sheikh Issa's capacity for cruelty as well as his apparent influence with the police."
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Wonder what percentage of people can watch something like that without having a physical reaction.
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