The Village Voice: Features: The Case Against Torture by Alisa Solomon

“There is no proof that torture works. Sometimes, according to a 1963 CIA training manual, it backfires: “If an interrogatee is caused to suffer pain rather late in the interrogation process and after other tactics have failed,” the manual says, “he is almost certain to conclude that the interrogator is becoming desperate. Interrogatees who have withstood pain are more difficult to handle by other methods. The effect has been not to repress the subject, but to restore his confidence and maturity.” On the other hand, those who cannot withstand pain will often say anything to make their abusers let up: admit to things they know nothing about, give the names of anyone they ever met, deliberately provide disinformation.”

Flash cartoon exposing all the rotten peaceniks in the Bush administration. Generals, heads of the CIA…where will it end?

Oh my God.

South Africa are eliminated from thh Cricket World Cup because of a tie against Sri Lanka. This is the second consecutive World Cup where South Africa has tied a match and been eliminated. In the intervening four years, they have only tied one, a heartstopper against Australia.

What are the chances? Tough day to be a Proteas fan…sigh.

You didn’t know I was a cricket fan, did you?

“The customs of a decadent society use cunning and deceit to dress up the useless.”

–From “The Book of Leadership and Strategy” (the Taoist classic Huainanzi)

From Moxy Fruvous, a song written during the last Gulf War

Gulf War Song

We got a call to write a song about the war in the Gulf
But we shouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings
So we tried, then gave up, ’cause there was no such song
But the trying was very revealing
What makes a person so poisonous righteous
That they’d think less of anyone who just disagreed?
She’s just a pacifist, he’s just a patriot
If I said you were crazy, would you have to fight me?

Fighters for liberty, fighters for power
Fighters for longer turns in the shower
Don’t tell me I can’t fight, ’cause I’ll punch out your lights
And history seems to agree that I would fight you for me

So we read and we watched all the specially selected news
And we learned so much more ’bout the good guys
Won’t you stand by the flag? Was the question unasked
Won’t you join in and fight with the allies?
What could we say…we’re only 25 years old?
With 25 sweet summers, and hot fires in the cold
This kind of life makes that violence unthinkable
We’d like to play hockey, have kids and grow old

Fighters for Texaco, fighters for power
Fighters for longer turns in the shower
Don’t tell me I can’t fight ’cause I’ll punch out your lights
And history seems to agree that I would fight you for me
That us would fight them for we

He’s just a peacenik and she’s just a warhawk
That’s where the beach was, that’s where the sea
What could we say…we’re only 25 years old?
And history seems to agree
that I would fight you for me
That us would fight them for we

Is that how it always will be?