C-Span 9:35 a.m. another RIGHTRIGHTWINGER - Iraq Prison non-torture

[LittleApple81]

York, Byron, Correspondent, , White House
Mr. York will discuss his article on the torture memos in the National Review and other issues in the news. He will respond to telephone calls, faxes, and electronic mail from viewers.

And the stupid RWing callers say C-Span is left-leaning? Give me a greak. Today: David Brooks, this guy... only one reporter from the WP in between, and definitely not a left-leaning correspondent talking about commerce.

[molly]

1. I just turned it off - had enough after David Brooks

[LittleApple81]

2. He says that "he minds" but that the US got a lot information out of

the prisoners... SO HE APPROVES! Well, I want information from Mr. York... let's hire our trained soldiers from Abu-Ghraib to get the info out of him with non-torture techniques.

[GR]

6. Would You Expect A Torturer To Say What He Did Didn't Work...

of course, he's going to try and justify what he did.

York is more heinous than Limbaugh because he couches his torture supporting rhetoric in erudite phraseology.

What he's been ignoring: The Taguba report has not been released to the Senate yet. There's no way that's not stonewalling and stonewalling means they've got something to hide.

York is another prissy "tough guy" radcon, trying to show all those schoolmates who bullied him that he's the tough one now...He's like Ricard Perle who was bullied and called names and now drops bombs to show he's gotten the last laugh.

[Jack Rabbit]

7. Torture doesn't work

Many experts point out that a detainee under torture is more likely to say what he thinks the torturers want him to hear just to get them to stop. In any case, whatever the torture victim says would have to be verified, just as if it were voluntarily given.

More practical arguments against the torture can be found here.

[LittleApple81]

3. He is going after Sy Hersh...The techniques were effective in getting info

WE NEED TO SEE ALL THE PICTURES on TV. This people will keep of denying it until the other pictures are shown.

[LittleApple81]

4. Caller: Sy Hersh did a great favor to American democracy. The Bush

administration will hide the truth as to who actually is responsible higher up. This administration is lowering us to the level of the beheaders.

[Jack Rabbit]

5. Convention against Torture

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Recognizing that those rights derive from the inherent dignity of the human person,

Considering the obligation of States under the Charter, in particular Article 55, to promote universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Having regard to article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which provide that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,

Having regard also to the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the General Assembly on 9 December 1975,

Desiring to make more effective the struggle against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment throughout the world,

Have agreed as follows:

Article 1.
1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "torture" means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.
2. This article is without prejudice to any international instrument or national legislation which does or may contain provisions of wider application.

Article 2
1. Each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction.
2. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political in stability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.
3. An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture.

Read more.

The junta's latest talking point is that nothing that happened in Abu Ghraib was torture. Most experts (see Article 17) consider sleep and sensory deprivation or forcing a detainee to stand stationary for hours to be torture. Apparently, Rumsfeld's defense is that if it isn't the rack or the iron maiden, it isn't torture.