At least to the extent that someone with no skin in the game can substantiate it. The only torture I see is American torture. Everywhere else, well, the jury is still out on that.

Don't know if your link is down or for what reason...I opened it up a while ago, and meant to come back. But now there's no linkage...

"if you don’t propose any new ideas as to what to do with the terrorists in the future, but, instead, keep saying the same things day after day, your writing might eventually fit the classical definition of insanity.”

-- Calif Mike

I would think insanity is mindlessly giving consideration to incontrovertible evil just because people on TV and in newspapers are on board with it.

It's the same as saying, "Glenn rails against the systematic burning of people's faces off with blow-torches, yet never offers any serious alternatives"

How did America ever get through the much, much, MUCH bigger threats to this nation than Saudi thugs and not crumble under the weight of the sheer cowardice we've seen in America over the last 8 years.

Musa Saidykhan had been a reporter in his home country of Gambia for more than a decade when he was arrested and later tortured by government officials. Following Saidykhan's imprisonment, he fled the country with his family and now lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Saidykhan explains how he will commemorate freedom on this, his first, Independence Day in the U.S.

All the impediments that prevent American media organizations from using the word "torture" certainly do evaporate quickly when it comes to other countries.

Perhaps they figured that if even the Bush State department called this torture, it must be torture.  

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100483.htm

On November 29, the MFWA filed a lawsuit against the government at the ECOWAS court over the March 2006 illegal detention and torture of journalist Musa Saidykhan, editor in chief of The Independent newspaper. Saidykhan claimed electric shocks were administered to his naked body during his 22-day detention before he was released without charge.

Raw Story:

http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/07/05/biden-us-wont-stop-israel-attack-on-iran/ or click on sig

The attack against all things Persian continues. The world Empire tells the regional supper power to bomb the hell out of them.

Kitt out from under his rock has another bad trip and hollers that he must defend ondelette from a turn of phrase.

OK old burned out, we gotta ya. Now crawl back under there and sleep it off.

And just how were they? Characterized by torture and murder, eh? Dictatorship by an oligarchic ruling class, yes? Supported in their torture, murder and dictatorship by the Foreign Policy Establishment (and the White House) in Washington DC, correct?

Yes. I worked for an organization in Cambridge, MA that helped refugees from Central America during those halcyon days when teachers and labor organizers and priests and nuns and other such people (who were interested in the education or welfare of anyone outside the landowning or corporate or military elite) were considered enemies of the state and had to flee their homelands or die. Is Obama happily stirring up that kind of terror in Central and South America again?

Well, I suppose he has to make sure there is a good climate down there for western multinationals to enjoy their plunder. They must be able to do things like claim naturally flowing water as their own and then sell it to the poor at costs of up to half of their income. And if anyone hasn't heard of this--no, I am not joking.

I believe I have mentioned this before, but if anyone wants to read a good primer on how we have made Central and South America "safe for democracy" in the past, try Bitter Fruit, about the coup in Guatemala.

By David Swanson

"There are a million and one things that people can do to try to end the U.S. wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and to prevent new ones in Iran and elsewhere, as well as to close U.S. military bases in dozens of other nations around the world. Certain people are skilled at or interested in particular approaches, and nobody should be discouraged from contributing to the effort in their preferred ways. Far too often proposals to work for peace are needlessly framed as attacks on all strategies except one. But where new energy can be created or existing resources redirected, it is important that they go where most likely to succeed.

In my analysis, we should be focusing on three things, which for purposes of brevity and alliteration I will call: Communications, Congress, and Counter recruitment / resistance. Communications encompasses all public discussion of the wars and impacts all other approaches, including targets I consider far less likely to be influenced by us than Congress, such as the president, generals, the heads of weapons companies, the heads of media companies, the people of Afghanistan, your racist neighbor, etc. If our communications strategy can change the behavior of any of these targets, terrific! We should be prepared to take advantage of such opportunities should they arise. But the first place we are likely to be able to leverage successful communications will be the House of Representatives. Counter-recruitment / resistance is another area that overlaps with communications but involves much else as well, and it is a strategy that we continue to underestimate. ..."

much more ... click@sig

“I would think insanity is mindlessly giving consideration to incontrovertible evil just because people on TV and in newspapers are on board with it.

It's the same as saying, ‘Glenn rails against the systematic burning of people's faces off with blow-torches, yet never offers any serious alternatives.’"

1)The subject of discussion is applying harsh interrogation techniques to the terrorist suspects and not to the people, in general.

2)Glenn could try different approaches:

A. He may invite a few terrorists to his house and offer to them a cup of tea, maybe even a cigar.

B. When Gitmo is closed, Glenn could provide a housing for a couple of terrorists right at his place.

C.He could give an advice to the future terrorists to stay away from the U.S. to avoid any – soft or harsh – interrogation.

I hope you understand that I am kidding about items A and B. But I am serious about the item C.

I agree that America now faces much bigger threat than “Saudi thugs.” But probably what I think is not what you have in mind. From my point of view, the real thread is for the so called Left and Right to drift more in opposite directions. As long as we are united, those “Saudi thugs” will not destroy us. Otherwise, we will destroy ourselves from within.