I uploaded this icon just to reflect my feelings on this subject
THIS.
Just...that. Both the NPR story and the links to other stories on the subject.
You know what makes this even better? I chose just the right time to have breakfast today so that I caught the CNN interview with Cheney while I was eating. I wanted to throttle the reported for not asking the right follow-up questions. Because while Cheney said that by not torturing people Obama's putting America in danger, he never actually did say it produced results. He said that the administration's intelligence programs, in general, produced results. He couldn't say that torture produces results, because it doesn't. You want to know what a terrorist group is planning? You infiltrate, you get some of them drunk, you befriend their girlfriends or wives, you find out where they meet and bug the place, you can even stick them in the box with whichever of your employees does the best Pembleton impression. You want to know that this particular conspirator is oh god so sorry please make it stop he'll never steal cigarettes again, then maybe torture is useful to you. And if you want to contest that, Mr. Cheney, why don't we strap you to a gurney, put you upside down, put a cloth over your mouth and nose, and pour water over you, all after having deprived you of most sleep for weeks, and see how much useful information you can come up with.
Ultimately, this is why my mother shouldn't worry that I'll ever really work for the CIA. Sure, we've got a new administration. But this should never have happened in the first place. And I'm sure some of the people involved in this are still there. They just need another Cheney to give them permission, and I doubt I'd do much good working inside the system. I'd rather just work for state. I'd most like to legislate against this kind of shit, and call for the prosecution of anyone who tries it.
Seriously, you read about some of this and you begin to think that the only fantastic element of some parts of The Bourne Ultimatum was that the people were competent enough to keep it hidden.
Replies will be later. I'm going to see if reading about the international banking system in the 1980s can dim my rage. ...Considering that I've made going to Target to buy tights and eating dinner feed into my rage, that might not work.
Just...that. Both the NPR story and the links to other stories on the subject.
You know what makes this even better? I chose just the right time to have breakfast today so that I caught the CNN interview with Cheney while I was eating. I wanted to throttle the reported for not asking the right follow-up questions. Because while Cheney said that by not torturing people Obama's putting America in danger, he never actually did say it produced results. He said that the administration's intelligence programs, in general, produced results. He couldn't say that torture produces results, because it doesn't. You want to know what a terrorist group is planning? You infiltrate, you get some of them drunk, you befriend their girlfriends or wives, you find out where they meet and bug the place, you can even stick them in the box with whichever of your employees does the best Pembleton impression. You want to know that this particular conspirator is oh god so sorry please make it stop he'll never steal cigarettes again, then maybe torture is useful to you. And if you want to contest that, Mr. Cheney, why don't we strap you to a gurney, put you upside down, put a cloth over your mouth and nose, and pour water over you, all after having deprived you of most sleep for weeks, and see how much useful information you can come up with.
Ultimately, this is why my mother shouldn't worry that I'll ever really work for the CIA. Sure, we've got a new administration. But this should never have happened in the first place. And I'm sure some of the people involved in this are still there. They just need another Cheney to give them permission, and I doubt I'd do much good working inside the system. I'd rather just work for state. I'd most like to legislate against this kind of shit, and call for the prosecution of anyone who tries it.
Seriously, you read about some of this and you begin to think that the only fantastic element of some parts of The Bourne Ultimatum was that the people were competent enough to keep it hidden.
Replies will be later. I'm going to see if reading about the international banking system in the 1980s can dim my rage. ...Considering that I've made going to Target to buy tights and eating dinner feed into my rage, that might not work.