"... 'there exist acts which per se and in themselves, independently of circumstances, are always seriously wrong by reason of their object'. ... 'whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, physical and mental torture and attempts to coerce the spirit; whatever is offensive to human dignity' ... 'all these and the like ( Read more... )

To see how radical our establishment consensus in this area has become... look at the Terrorism policies of what had previously been the most right-wing administration in America's history: the Reagan administration... Terrorism by Islamic radicals had been a greater problem in the 1980s than it is now. There was the 1983 bombing of our Marine ( Read more... )

All it took was a few seconds.



(unfortunately there's an ad at the beginning)

Update: Here's a link to Hitchens being waterboarded

Freedom from torture is an inalienable human right. The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment, ratified by the United States and more than 130 other countries since 1984, forbids governments from deliberately inflicting severe physical or mental pain or suffering on those within their custody or controlNotorious ( Read more... )

In the last several days, much has come out about the policies and ( Read more... )

The United States participated actively and effectively in the negotiation of the Convention . It marks a significant step in the development during this century of international measures against torture and other inhuman treatment or punishment. Ratification of the Convention by the United States will clearly express United States opposition to ( Read more... )

"It's unacceptable. It's unacceptable. One is too much. Waterboarding is torture, period. I can ensure you that once enough physical pain is inflicted on someone, they will tell that interrogator whatever they think they want to hear. And most importantly, it serves as a great propaganda tool for those who recruit people to fight against us... ( Read more... )

Click to view

Senate Armed services report on treatment of detainees released (PDF).

The abuse of detainees in U.S. custody cannot simply be attributed to the actions of "a few bad apples" acting on their own. The fact is that senior officials in the United States government solicited information on how to use aggressive techniques, redefined the law to create ( Read more... )

• Gov. David A. Paterson on Thursday announced that he would introduce a bill to legalize same-sex marriage
  
  "Anyone that has ever experienced degradation or intolerance would understand the solemn duty and how important it actually is. Anyone that’s ever experienced antisemitism or racism, any New Yorker who is an immigrant, who has experienced ( Read more... )