Apparently, today is "Blog Against Torture Day"

[chaotic_nipple]

It seems silly that we even need such a day, but, whatever.

So, torture is bad, see? It's completely ineffective as a means of intelligence gathering, since the victim will say whatever he thinks the torturer wants to hear, and that torturer will have no way of knowing weather the information gathered is accurate. Even in the much ballyhooed "ticking bomb" scenario, your much likelier to get inaccurate information which will result in you wasting manpower running after non-existent threats, while the real bomb continues ticking.

On the other hand, torture can be very effective as a means of ensuring compliance to authority by spreading fear. So if you think the US is really made safer by the rest of the world thinking of us as evil Ogres who rape babies while their parents are forced to watch, then I guess torture could be said to "work" after all.:-P

Comments

[cmorley.livejournal.com]

I am completely appaled. We should not rape babies!

We should eat them.

Mmmm, babies.

[dracphelan.livejournal.com]

Only unbaptized babies. The baptized ones taste nasty.

[cmorley.livejournal.com]

Which is completely odd; I always thought of that like marinating them.

[dracphelan.livejournal.com]

When you torture to death people who want intelligent design taught in public schools, it is a very effective deterrent. ;>

[dracphelan.livejournal.com]

On a more serious note, there is the question of what is torture. What is torture to some can be (to others):
- A kinky date
- A fraternity initiation
- Ranger/SEAL school
- The list goes on

This is the problem we people complain about torture. What do you define as torture?

[blue-chicory.livejournal.com]

I think the important difference is consent.

[blue-chicory.livejournal.com]

And also, the things listed are means to an end that the person they are inflicted on wants. You sign up for Ranger school, you (ideally) consent to kinkiness. Most people who are tortured are tortured because of their torturers goals, and their own may be quite different

[nanimo.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I was thinking the same damn thing!

[chaotic-nipple.livejournal.com]

The obvious one is, anything that we, as a nation, have convicted German and Japanese troops as "war criminals" for doing to our troops, let's _not_ do that.