Thu 7 Aug 2008
Check out this glowing profile of Jameel Jaffer in the Toronto Star. Jaffer’s new book, Administration of Torture: A Documentary Record from Washington to Abu Ghraib and Beyond, is available on Amazon. Link here and here for previous Jaffer coverage.
Lest anyone fear that Ephblog is suddenly developing a liberal bias, I also note an equally glowing recent profile of Jeff Nelligan, an Eph from the other end of the political spectrum …
August 7th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
jaffer gave a talk on campus in november…it was very good, mostly covering what is in his book.
August 7th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Documenting the illegal use of torture by secret government agents is a leftist pursuit?
I had no idea Conservatism was such a completely debauched and decadent political philosophy. Oops, I guess I forgot that Conservatism and Bushism were indistinguishable.
August 7th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Anon ‘89er: Your suggestion that secret government agents would ever, EVER, do anything “illegal” reveals you to be a leftist America-hater. Go back to Belgiumistan!
August 7th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I cannot think about this subject for more than a couple of seconds. It would drive me absolutely mad, if I were to really sit down and think about what went on.
August 12th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
“I cannot think about this subject for more than a couple of seconds. It would drive me absolutely mad, if I were to really sit down and think about what went on.”
I know exactly what you mean by that. The more I think about it, the more it will eat away at me inside, though I try not getting to the point where I’m avoiding it/ignoring it.
The Williams College MSU brought him in last Fall to speak and subsequently aired a related documentary, “Taxi to the Dark Side” at Images in the Spring semester.
August 12th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Think about the large measure of torture practiced by the Allies in WWII - grounds for posthumously discrediting generally, removing from office and possibly hanging FDR and Churchill (and also for good measure De Gaulle, Stalin and Chiang).
August 13th, 2008 at 6:09 am
World War II, this war ain’t. While we’re at it, FDR, W ain’t.
August 13th, 2008 at 6:17 am
Torture is torture in any circumstances, and the buck stops at the President or the Prime Minister, whoever he may be.
August 13th, 2008 at 6:24 am
Or the Secretary General or the Generalissimo (I had to take a moment to confirm those titles).
August 13th, 2008 at 6:52 am
True enough Frank — far be it from me to defend torture authorized by any President or PM, but (I imagine) US and for that matter global standards for what conduct is, and is not, appropriate during wartime have evolved considerably over the last 70 years.
August 13th, 2008 at 7:21 am
If the human race had engaged in evolution, by now it would have stopped waging war - torture is only a very small part of it in terms of both severity and also frequency. I would much rather be waterboarded than blown up.