Definition of torture

To keep it or not??

  • Waterboarding is not torture and should be retained.

    Votes: 15 29.4%
  • Waterborading is torture and Obama is right banning it.

    Votes: 36 70.6%

  • Total voters
    51

simon482

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Feb 8, 2009
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Seems like it, if you're going to throw human rights out the window, do away with due process of law, and become a barbaric animal, why not?
that is not even close to what i am saying. if you catch someone that you know has participated in terrorism and you know he has information that could save thousands of lives would you not do everything you could by any means needed to get that information ? i will use the kidnapping analogy once again, your kid is taken and you catch the guy that has her will you not do anything you have to do to get your child back or will you give him a nice warm meal and ask "pretty please"

cutting off a hand cuz you caught someone stealing is just plain stupid. extreme torture for petty crimes makes no sense and that is not even close to what i was suggesting.

although i have seen video's of men being held down by the victims family and the woman who was raped being allowed to cut off his dick before the cops showed up. i can't say i disagree with that.
 

fuji

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if you catch someone that you know has participated in terrorism and you know he has information that could save thousands of lives would you not do everything you could by any means needed to get that information ?
No, I would not. Doing so would mean turning my back on everything I believe, on the country I love, on the system I support. People who do that are the worst form of human scum.

The moment you accept that sort of travesty the other side has already won. You've morally bankrupted yourself and acknowledged that you have no principles, nothing worth fighting for. I would not support any government or armed forces that engages in that sort of practice and would view any such organization as the enemy.
 

simon482

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Feb 8, 2009
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No, I would not. Doing so would mean turning my back on everything I believe, on the country I love, on the system I support. People who do that are the worst form of human scum.

The moment you accept that sort of travesty the other side has already won. You've morally bankrupted yourself and acknowledged that you have no principles, nothing worth fighting for. I would not support any government or armed forces that engages in that sort of practice and would view any such organization as the enemy.
well people like you can sit around and say its not right and people like me can do what we do to make the world safe. people like you are disgusted by people like me but i promise you the world would be a lot worse off if you didn't have people doing things by any means neccesary.
 

fuji

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Put it this way:

Torture is a crime against humanity, one that should be punished by either life in prison, or death.

If there's really 1000's of lives at stake and you feel you could save them by torturing someone, then your execution or you spending the rest of your natural life in a prison, ought to be a very small price to pay to save those lives.

The punishment being there ought to be sufficient to ensure that torture is not used for any less serious cases.

Those who torture other should be brought to justice and should forfeit the rest of their lives, either through life in prison, or through execution.
 

fuji

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well people like you can sit around and say its not right and people like me can do what we do to make the world safe. people like you are disgusted by people like me but i promise you the world would be a lot worse off if you didn't have people doing things by any means neccesary.
It makes the world less safe, you're so short sighted. It loses the moral high ground and costs us infinitely more than the minor benefit on that particular day. It loses the overall war for hearts and minds and gives our enemies grounds to fight us, enables them to recruit, and causes our allies to lose faith in us.

In my judgement as of today the largest threat to our national security is the propensity of our security forces to lose the moral high ground by engaging in short-sighted barbaric behavior.
 

fuji

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people like me can do what we do to make the world safe
I have one more thing to say about this: You are a coward and a traitor. I've already answered your question: I don't want safety at that price. I'm prepared to face danger for what I believe in. You, on the other hand, are willing to sell out everything this country stands for, you are a coward who is willing to betray our most fundamental and cherished principles, and for what? A few lives? A hell of a lot of people died fighting for what this country stands for. A hell of a lot more than a few thousand.

I'm prepared to face danger for what I believe in, you are not. You're the coward here. I'm prepared to stand up for what this country is all about, you are not, you want to sell this country out for a cheap and temporary gain. You're the traitor.

Those who engage in wholesale violation of human rights, who engage in torture, who work against what Canada stands for, are the enemy, must be brought to justice, and spend the rest of their natural days in jail.
 

simon482

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Feb 8, 2009
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I have one more thing to say about this: You are a coward and a traitor. I've already answered your question: I don't want safety at that price. I'm prepared to face danger for what I believe in. You, on the other hand, are willing to sell out everything this country stands for, you are a coward who is willing to betray our most fundamental and cherished principles, and for what? A few lives? A hell of a lot of people died fighting for what this country stands for. A hell of a lot more than a few thousand.

I'm prepared to face danger for what I believe in, you are not. You're the coward here. I'm prepared to stand up for what this country is all about, you are not, you want to sell this country out for a cheap and temporary gain. You're the traitor.

Those who engage in wholesale violation of human rights, who engage in torture, who work against what Canada stands for, are the enemy, must be brought to justice, and spend the rest of their natural days in jail.
think what you want but i know the deal. every side does it the good and the bad, it is a war thing. call me a traitor if you want but i have had a member of my family in every war from ww1 till now. my family has bled for this country many times over.
 

simon482

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It makes the world less safe, you're so short sighted. It loses the moral high ground and costs us infinitely more than the minor benefit on that particular day. It loses the overall war for hearts and minds and gives our enemies grounds to fight us, enables them to recruit, and causes our allies to lose faith in us.

In my judgement as of today the largest threat to our national security is the propensity of our security forces to lose the moral high ground by engaging in short-sighted barbaric behavior.
i also agree with the death penalty and i got no problem with gutting someone like a fish.
 

simon482

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Feb 8, 2009
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It makes the world less safe, you're so short sighted. It loses the moral high ground and costs us infinitely more than the minor benefit on that particular day. It loses the overall war for hearts and minds and gives our enemies grounds to fight us, enables them to recruit, and causes our allies to lose faith in us.

In my judgement as of today the largest threat to our national security is the propensity of our security forces to lose the moral high ground by engaging in short-sighted barbaric behavior.
i also agree with the death penalty and i got no problem with gutting someone like a fish.
 

seth gecko

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Nov 2, 2003
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The Semrau case is a fine, real example of the conundrums serving soldiers must face, and come out the other side of with their self-respect and ours as well as that quaint concept of 'our country's honoour' intact. That's ground truth for you and there aren't easy answers. But that's exactly what this sort of thread's asking for.

If you stand for the human rigfhts, the rule of law, for treating people humanely and justly, then you do NOT make laws that excuse you—in advance—from living up to those principles. The hard, ground truth is that every individual is responsible for his own decision making in such a case, and the proper way for a society to deal with such a case is—as with Semrau—to apply the laws that we hope and pray truly do reflect the beliefs and principle we say we are defending. What are we 'defending' otherwise? Torture? The 'right' of anyone we've given a gun to to execute who they wish? How far are we from gas chambers to finally solve problems of intransigent populations?

Like the "harsh interrogation techniques"—note how reluctant those who defend it are to call it torture— that are claimed to have saved lives, Semrau's an example of the temptation to do evil for good. I cannot judge things such in advance. I do not believe anyone can. I believe anyone who claims to has already betrayed the good they pretend to be upholding. There is no readymade advance excuse for evil. Not ever.

Afterwards, I can, and we all must, be ready to examine the circumstances and motives that compelled someone to whatever forbidden acts, and we determine how best and appropriately our society should respond. We do it all the time. We call it justice, and only yesterday we recalled the millions who died to uphold justice in the world. That's the proper way to deal with your 'ground truth' gecko. Afterwards.

Of course waterboarding's hot because GeorgeII oh so manfully admitted authorizing it. Not at the time of course, because lying, prevaricating and fabricating excuses was the order of the day to keep him in office and at least nominally useful and functional. The saddest aspect of the matter (now that no one's near-drowning of course) is that we're discussing making such loathsome evil legal instead of prosecuting him for it. If he, or the swivel servants in it, had any faith that the American justice system actually delivered justice, he and they would be competing to get the People vs. George W. Bush before a competent court to be judged fairly, impartially and with true and equal justice.

And if he and others posting here are right, he'd get off with a minor penalty and an enhanced reputation. But actually living up to principles is hard; easier to live in a world of donkey jokes and easy answers. As long as it's someone else suffering. Far away.

Gangsters live by ground truth.
Ah Jonesy, Jonesy, Jonesy.......
Ground truth, my friend, is the reality of the situation on the ground in a conflict zone. Its what the 90 year old gents standing at attention around the Cenotaph yesterday lived through from 1939-1945. Its what Canadian volunteers are presently experiencing in Afghanistan. Its what politicians avoid and distort because it is very unpleasant. You clearly have no idea what ground truth in a conflict zone is, and you are a very very lucky man for that. No disrespect meant towards my elders, Oldie, but denying the brutality of the situation is either incredibly naive, stupid or callous towards those who face it. Deal with it afterwards??? Dealing with it afterwards means advising a mother, or a wife, or a child, that their son or husband or father got blown up (but his death could have been prevented)......have you ever had to do that, Oldie? If not, then again you are a very very lucky man. Know what? I haven't had to do it either and I'll do everything within my abilities to make sure I never do.....I fully intend that every man I'm responsible for becomes one of those 90 year olds standing around a cenotaph (in 50+ years). I plan to join them. I hope to see you there. Now Jonesy, if that makes me immoral, or a gangster, or doesn't fulfill your fantasy of what the reality of the ground truth should be, I'm perfectly at ease with that. Your feelings towards me arent much of a concern, nor are your feelings in general.

"The way of war is not paved with flowers." Think about what that means, Oldie. It means theres going to be hardship and sacrifice. You seem pretty quick to insist that others endure hardship and sacrifice to satisfy your personal sense of morality. Maybe you should use your morality to convince the extremists and fanatics to play by the established rules so that those who have volunteered to face them can beat them safely and "cleanly", so that you aren't tainted by the incredibly difficult choices that those guys often need to make. PS: source of the quote is Sirajuddin Haqqani. Do some homework before you start comparing any Canadian soldier to what Mr. Haqqani stands for......oh and another PS: Haqqani and his ilk are pretty quick to use the "we have moral superiority" argument in their fight with us.

I've had a very rough past few days so I'm crankier than usual. A nice steak dinner followed by watching "Babe" with the kids should help calm me down. Too bad thats not in the cards for me for the next few weeks(?). How's your week been, Jonesy?
 

Asterix

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i also agree with the death penalty and i got no problem with gutting someone like a fish.
Evidently not since you posted it twice. You must have interesting hobbyies. Probably just the boy in you.
 

mandrill

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Aug 23, 2001
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No it means Vlad was one psychotic fuck. It didn't do him any good. The Turks defeated him eventually.
Actually, I believe he was betrayed to the Hungarians who wished to annex Transylvania.
 

simon482

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Feb 8, 2009
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Evidently not since you posted it twice. You must have interesting hobbyies. Probably just the boy in you.
i clicked the post botton twice, no more no less. you don't want to know about the hobbies i had as a kid lol.
 

seth gecko

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Nov 2, 2003
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The operational disadvantage occurs when our allies use of torture becomes a recruiting tool for the enemy. That is the new reality.
Okay Rid, you're next.
Torture has been around for a long, long time. Its use is still very very prevalent in many places around the world, despite everyones best intentions to end it. Torture is just another form of violence, and violence is part of the human condition.
We go to these countries that have some pretty brutal practices and expect that everyone will play by our rules. That is pretty frickin' wishful thinking on our part. There's not much we can do that shocks them when it comes to personal violence - thats the historical reality and it continues to this day. Do you honestly, truly think that A-stan was a peaceful, happy place before Oct 2001?? Maybe, like Oldjones, you should do some homework. Its been a brutal, brutal place for a long, long time. Ask Elphinstone, or Dr. Brydon.
What is the best "recruiting tool" for our enemies? It's got nothing to do with what you think it is, ie "torture". Harsh treatment is pretty commonplace over there. They aren't seeing anything they haven't seen before. Its drones. Those marvels of new technology - UAV's. Some dude in some cubicle far, far removed from the ground, using one of those to kill a HVT without putting your guy at risk, but every time this things are used you've got protests and riots and reciprocal actions for the next 3-4 days. Its that imbalance that causes more ill-will towards us over there than any use of torture. Only the western world demonstrates against the "torture", because "it lowers us to their level". Not too many demonstrations against drones happening in the US or Canada, are there?. Peshawar, Karachi, Kabul, where the "enemy" actively draws its recruits is where the protests against drones strikes happen.
But if you want to continue to believe that issues like "torture", that don't even make the news for 3000 miles of either side of the Durand Line, are a recruiting tool, be my guest.
 
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Asterix

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Actually, I believe he was betrayed to the Hungarians who wished to annex Transylvania.
That was just the last move in a long list of people who wanted him gone. He was too nuts for anybody's good.
 

seth gecko

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I guess that's why we're winning the war there :rolleyes:
Geez Fuji, what happened?
We actually had an intelligent exchange of ideas & information just the other day in the Politics forum. How many times have I explained this issue to you and it's still not getting through? Since its foolish to do the same thing over & over and expect a different outcome, I won't try to get into it with you again. Usually, I like to tease you, but this week I'm not in a playful mood and may take it too far......this board is the really the only place I've got to vent, so I don't want to get banned.
You're bright enough to understand the facts, and they've been explained to you several times now, but you're also totally free to beleive whatever you want to beleive.
 

fuji

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think what you want but i know the deal. every side does it the good and the bad, it is a war thing. call me a traitor if you want but i have had a member of my family in every war from ww1 till now. my family has bled for this country many times over.
Yet you now appear to be working against this country and against the things your relatives fought for. You are undermining what Canada stands for. You are working against human rights and against the rule of law.

You've disgraced your relatives and become one of the enemy.
 

simon482

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Feb 8, 2009
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Yet you now appear to be working against this country and against the things your relatives fought for. You are undermining what Canada stands for. You are working against human rights and against the rule of law.

You've disgraced your relatives and become one of the enemy.
everyone on every side is doing it, just cuz you don't approve doesn't mean it is bad. get over your moral superiority complex and realize not only do these things happen but they have to happen. waterboarding is not that bad compared to what the guys over seas do. have you seen the torture vids that come out of there ? people having spikes shoved up their asses, drawn and quartered, pieces cut off. do you know why they do it over there ? they do it for fun. we do it to try and stop people from dying and the worst that happens with water boarding is the guy gets a little wet. get over yourself.
 
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