post 500: PM delivers Canadian Goverrnment apology for The Purge

Winnipeg  Free Press story here
New York Times story here
The Globe and Mail story here

torture and interrogation

Why torture doesn’t work

published May 2017 

michaelshermer.com

As recounted by author and journalist Daniel P. Mannix, during the European witch craze the Duke of Brunswick in Germany invited two Jesuit scholars to oversee the Inquisition’s use of torture to extract information from accused witches. “The Inquisitors are doing their duty. They are arresting only people who have been implicated by the confession of other witches,” the Jesuits re ported. The duke was skeptical.

Suspecting that people will say anything to stop the pain, he invited the Jesuits to join him at the local dungeon to witness a woman being stretched on a rack. “Now, woman, you are a confessed witch,” he began. “I suspect these two men of being warlocks. What do you say? Another turn of the rack, executioners.” The Jesuits couldn’t believe what they heard next. “No, no!” the woman groaned. “You are quite right. I have often seen them at the Sabbat. They can turn themselves into goats, wolves and other animals…. Several witches have had children by them. One woman even had eight children whom these men fathered. The children had heads like toads and legs like spiders.”

Turning to the flabbergasted Jesuits, the duke inquired, “Shall I put you to the torture until you confess?”

One of these Jesuits was Friedrich Spee, who responded to this poignant experiment on the psychology of torture by publishing a book in 1631 entitled Cautio Criminalis, which played a role in bringing about the end of the witch mania and demonstrating why torture as a tool to obtain useful information doesn’t work. This is why, in addition to its inhumane elements, it is banned in all Western nations, including the U.S., whose Eighth Amendment of the Constitution prohibits “cruel and unusual punishments.”

What about waterboarding? That’s “enhanced interrogation,” not torture, right? When the late journalist Christopher Hitchens underwent waterboarding for one of his Vanity Fair columns, he was forewarned (in a document he had to sign) that he might “receive serious and permanent (physical, emotional and psychological) injuries and even death, including injuries and death due to the respiratory and neurological systems of the body.” Even though Hitchens was a hawk on terrorism, he nonetheless concluded: “If waterboarding does not constitute torture, then there is no such thing as torture.”

Still, what if there’s a “ticking time bomb” set to detonate in a major city, and we have the terrorist who knows where it is— wouldn’t it be moral to torture him to extract that information? Surely the suffering or death of one to save millions is justified, no? Call this the Jack Bauer theory of torture. In the hit television series 24, Kiefer Sutherland’s character is a badass counterterrorism agent whose “ends justify the means” philosophy makes him a modern-day Tomás de Torquemada. In most such scenarios, Bauer (and we the audience) knows that he has in his clutches the terrorist who has accurate information about where and when the next attack is going to occur and that by applying just the right amount of pain, he will extort the correct intelligence just in time to avert disaster.

It’s a Hollywood fantasy. In reality, the person in captivity may or may not be a terrorist, may or may not have accurate information about a terrorist attack, and may or may not cough up useful intelligence, particularly if his or her motivation is to terminate the torture.

In contrast, a 2014 study in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology entitled “The Who, What, and Why of Human Intelligence Gathering” surveyed 152 interrogators and found that “rapport and relationship-building techniques were employed most often and perceived as the most effective regardless of context and intended outcome, particularly in comparison to confrontational techniques.” Another 2014 study in the same journal— “In interviewing High Value Detainees”—sampled 64 practitioners and detainees and found that “detainees were more likely to disclose meaningful information … and earlier in the interview when rapport-building techniques were used.”

Finally, an exhaustive 2014 report by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence analyzed millions of internal CIA documents related to the torture of terrorism suspects, concluding that “the CIA’s use of its enhanced interrogation techniques was not an effective means of acquiring intelligence or gaining cooperation from detainees.” It adds that “multiple CIA detainees fabricated information, resulting in faulty intelligence.” Terrorists are real. Witches are not. But real or imagined, torture doesn’t work.

michaelshermer.com

Dr. Michael Shermer is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, a monthly columnist for Scientific American, and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University where he teaches Skepticism 101. He is the author of New York Times bestsellers Why People Believe Weird Things and The Believing Brain, Why Darwin Matters, The Science of Good and Evil, and The Moral Arc. His next book is Heavens on Earth: The Scientific Search for the Afterlife, Immortality & Utopia.

Kerry's response to Netanyahu

New West Pride street party

    

MP Peter Julien and MLA Judy Darcy

Vancouver Pride 2016, staging area #4

the fabulous

 

go ahead and kill them

"If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself

as getting their parents to do it would be too painful"

( from https://www.rt.com/ )
New Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who has recently declared "a bloody war” on drug cartels, has called on willing Filipinos to “go ahead and kill” drug addicts, amid concerns that “getting their parents to do it would be too painful.”

Duterte, who said during his campaign that some 100,000 criminals would die in his crackdown, their bodies dumped in Manila Bay, has been conspicuously deaf to criticism that he was promoting a “culture of death" in his native country.
After taking his oath inside the Malacanang presidential palace, Duterte, 71, continued his defiance and threats against drug traffickers in front of a crowd of some 500 people gathered in a Manila slum Thursday night.
"These sons of whores are destroying our children. I warn you, don't go into that, even if you're a policeman, because I will really kill you," the outspoken Philippines leader told the crowd, AFP reported. "If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful," he added.
Setting up funeral parlors would help earn some money, Duterte noted.
"I assure you [that] you won't go bankrupt. If your business slows I will tell the police, 'Do it faster to help the people earn money.'"

Read more

Bounty war: Drug lords raise offer for Philippines leader’s head to $1,000,000

Amerigod speaks

YouTube preachers were falling over themselves

to heap scorn and abuse on the folks in Orlando.

YouTube is pulling them as hate speech.

 

 

A sermon by Pastor Roger Jimenez, of Verity Baptist Church,

is similar and was also removed by YouTube as hate speech... but not before it was copied:

 

Later, Pastor Jimenez refined his position:

“As a Christian, we shouldn’t be mourning the death of 50 sodomites. Let me go ahead and start right there. As a Christian, we shouldn’t be sad or upset,” Jimenez said in his sermon, which was posted online to YouTube. YouTube has since removed the sermon, deeming it “hate speech.”
ABC10 News spoke with Jimenez at his Sacramento home on Tuesday morning. He said he did not have any regrets about the sentiments expressed in his Sunday sermon.
“The bible does teach that homosexuality deserves the death penalty. Leviticus 20:13 says that if a man lie with mankind like he does with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination and will surely be put to death. Romans 1 says that they which commit such things are worthy of death,” Jimenez said. “My whole point was, if people die who deserve to die, we don’t need to be mourning that. This gunman there that shot people up, the bible says he deserves to die, he died and we shouldn’t be mourning his death, either. That’s the whole point I was making, and it’s been taken out of context.”
Jimenez was asked to explain how his statements are not an incitement to violence against the LGBT community.
“I’m not calling people to arms. And I’m not telling people they should go do this … What I’m saying is that if the government followed the laws of God, that’s what they would be doing. And if the government did that, I’d be fine with that,” Jimenez said.
When asked to clarify whether he was saying that he’d support the government killing gay people, Jimenez said, “I would be fine. I would be totally okay with that, if the government did that. That’s what they would do, if we lived in a righteous nation.”
Jimenez said he will be holding his weekly sermon on Sunday as usual, and invites Christians who are not afraid of the media to attend Verity Baptist Church.

other Christians disagree
 



"Saying that singling people out because of their religion, sexual orientation,

or nationality must be offensive to God, Bishop Robert Lynch responded to the

attacks on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando..."

read the full article on the Tampa Bay Times

Mass shooting claims 50 lives in targeted attack

(this post has been edited and expanded)

We expected, at least anyone familiar with queer history did, a backlash against marriage equity in the U.S. Add the recognition of trans folk and you get entire demographics losing their minds.

The religious right regards us, as lgbt people, with utter, visceral loathing. In Canada, these extremists are held in check by the moderate majority. In the sothern US they ARE the majority. Not long ago, Ted Cruise and two other Republican presidential candidates raised their voices calling for the execution of homosexuals.

The only thing about this act of terrorism that surpises me is the religion of the murderer. Statistically, I expected southern Baptist.

from NBC:

"... The massacre — the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States — began when the gunman stormed the Pulse Nightclub about 2 a.m. ET with an AR-15 type rifle and a handgun

                    

The gunman called 911 before the attack, expressing fealty to ISIS. He twice had been investigated by federally authorities for alleged comments he made about terrorism, but both investigations were closed.
The names of the first victims identified in the shooting include seven men between the ages of 20 and 36 years old.
Mateen had security and firearm licenses and the gunman's weapons were legally purchased within the past week.
President Obama called the attack "an act of terror and hate." ..."

full NBC article with video here

from MailOnline:

"... ISIS has claimed responsibility for the deadliest mass shooting in US history and says the gunman who slaughtered at least 50 innocent party-goers in an Orlando gay club was one of its fighters...

Shortly before the attack, Mateen, who was born in New York to Afghan parents, called 911 and pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, law enforcement officials told NBC News.

And the terror group's Amaq news agency said on Sunday the Islamist militant group was responsible for the shooting.

'The armed attack that targeted a gay night club in the city of Orlando in the American state of Florida which left over 100 people dead or injured was carried out by an Islamic State fighter,' Amaq said.

U.S. officials cautioned, however, that they had no immediate evidence of any direct connection with ISIS or any other foreign extremist group, nor had they uncovered any contacts between the gunman and any such group.
read the full MailOnline article here

related:

fun with fundies: It really was a ‘kill the gays’ call to arms

Rachel Maddow calls out Republican presidential candidates for attending an anti-gay religious liberty conference where speakers openly called for the execution of gay and lesbian citizens.Last Friday Republican presidential candidates Bobby Jindal, Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz joined radical right-wing pastor Kevin Swanson on the stage of Swanson’s “National Religious Liberties Conference” where the controversial pastor once again called for the execution of gays and lesbians.Discussing the alarming conference, Maddow said:

It really was a ‘kill the gays’ call to arms.

from patheos.com/blogs

old pope, new pope, same pope

in case you were under the impression that Francis is somehow different from Joey Ratz...

Pope Francis gave his blessing on Wednesday to a referendum
that would ban marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples
in Slovakia, which will be voted on this Saturday.

“I greet the pilgrims from Slovakia and, through them,
I wish to express my appreciation to the entire Slovak church,
encouraging everyone to continue their efforts in defence of the family,
the vital cell of society,”
Francis said during Wednesday’s general audience in Rome.

full article on BuzzFeed 

Lawrence Krauss: Science, Religion, and Culture in light of Paris and Charlie Hebdo

from: Smith & Franklin Academic Publishing, Special Issue: Islam, Culture, and the Charlie Hebdo Affair

Guest Editorial:  by Lawrence Krauss (Foundation Professor of the School of Earth and Space Exploration and Inaugural Director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University)

Lawrence Krauss: Science, Religion, and Culture in light of Paris and Charlie Hebdo

I am terribly discouraged, not just by the senseless violence in Paris, but by the response worldwide to both the publication of content by Charlie Hebdo before the killings and by the mass protests throughout the Islamic world to the bittersweet cover published the week following that tragedy. 

As a scientist who has spoken out and written about the incompatibility between the world’s major organized religions and the empirical evidence about the universe that science has provided over the past four centuries, I receive many emails from the faithful, from a variety of religious backgrounds. While fanatical fundamentalists have responses that are relatively similar, what is striking to me is the number of letters I get from well-meaning followers of Islam who somehow are convinced that the actual words of the Qur’an actually scientifically anticipated the description of the world that science has produced in the fifteen centuries or so since the book was written. This derives from the notion, which also has been conveyed to me by many, that the book is ‘perfect’, every word the direct speech of God, and therefore it not only could not have been written by an ordinary mortal, but it can also not be in error in any way.

Perhaps because the Judeo-Christian scriptures are so much older, there has been much more time for theologians in these sects to sensibly acknowledge the facts that the words contained therein must be interpreted as products of the humans who wrote them, and of the time in which they were written. While some zealots still maintain the ludicrous notion that the Earth is 6000 years old, this is not the official doctrine of the leaders of these religions. While they nevertheless maintain the sacred nature of the inspiration for the bible, very few assert the Bible itself is so sacred that it cannot even be discussed intelligently and skeptically by people who would like to better understand that document and their own place in the cosmos. 

However, this does not seem to be the case in the Islamic world, and this is what makes the current dilemma so urgent, and what implies that Charlie Hebdo, and other publications that ridicule politicians, sex, and religion with equal force are so important. 

Hate speech involves people, not ideas. No idea should be sacred in the modern world. Instead, in order for us to progress as a species, every claim, every idea should be subject to debate, intelligent discussion, and when necessary ridicule. Satire is perhaps one of the most important gifts we have to inspire us to re-examine our own lives and our own ideologies. If every other area of human endeavor is open to ridicule, then certainly so should religion. The notion that a cartoon, which presents an image of a historical figure, is so blasphemous to provoke violence is repugnant to anyone who believes that free and intelligent discourse is the basis of a civilized world.

This means that we need to encourage even ridicule of the sacred Qur’an in the public media. The more frequently and openly this appears, the less threatening it will seem, and the more acceptable it will be for believers to actually intellectually engage rather than emotionally and violently act. 

The biggest threat to the peaceful and sustainable progress of human civilization in the 21st century, with challenges ranging from global climate change, to energy and water shortages, and the oppression of women throughout the world, is a refusal to accept the empirical evidence of reality as a basis for action. Those who feel they know the truth in advance, and therefore cannot even listen to alternative arguments, are not just part of the problem, they are the problem. 

This is the reason that religion is, in my opinion, on the whole a negative force in the world. In spite of the charity and empathy it may generate among many, because it asserts as true notions that clearly are incompatible with the evidence of reality, it inevitably engenders actions that are irrational. These range from the innocuous to the deadly. 

Science has taught us to revel in the idea that we do not understand all there is to know, that cherished notions may in fact be wrong. It teaches us that claiming to know the answers to questions before they have even been asked or explored is folly. 

Some have argued that because ridiculing sacred notions is offensive to believers, it is inappropriate for such ridicule to be carried out in the public sphere. However, we choose whether to be offended. An appropriate response is not to condemn the offender but rather to generate intelligent arguments that demonstrate they are wrong. If we shy away from such dialogue for fear of offense, we will never allow those who are offended the opportunity to examine and defend their beliefs. If we shy away from dialogue for fear of reprisal by those who would rather their children not learn about the world out of fear that knowledge will undermine their faith, we have given in to ignorance and repression. That should offend us all.

Long live Charlie Hebdo. Long live ridicule. Long live satire. Our culture and our world are the better for them.

Read more at Smith and Franklin

 (All contents of Smith and Franklin Academic Publishing Corporation, UK are Open Access under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use provided the original work is properly cited.)

it's black and white

Leo Igwe: Witch Hunts, Misogyny and Enlightenment in Black Communities

Props, Stumblers

two men and their dad

found on Upworthy

stone the (gays, apostates, insulters of Islam, fornicators...) law introduced in Brunei

“Today, I place my faith in... Allah the almighty 

to announce that tomorrow, Thursday 1 May 2014, 

will see the enforcement of Sharia law phase one... "

Hassanal Bolkiah, 29th Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei and multi-billionaire

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brunei/ Wikimedia commons

Sutan of Brunei, right

gays, apostats, insulters of Islam, fornicators...
 Brunei joins Sudan, Iran, Mauritania, Saudi-Arabia, United 

Arab Emirates and Yemen in seeking religiously justified death for lgbt people.

from the Brunei Times:
“The (Syariah Penal Code Order) code is a special guidance from Allah (SWT) to us all... This Act without doubt, is now part of the great history of our nation,” he said last October. 

The Order outlines several offences which are punishable by hadd, where the penalty has been set out by the Quran or the hadith (traditions) of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Hadd offences cover six areas – theft, illicit sexual relations, making unproven accusations of illicit sex, causing physical hurt, drinking intoxicants, apostasy, and acts contrary to Islamic beliefs.

Since the announcement was made, Brunei has captured headlines both at home and abroad due to some of the punishments prescribed by Islamic law, such as stoning, flogging and amputation of limbs...

The law states that the Order shall apply to both Muslims and non-Muslims, except where expressly provided... "

Phase one begins May 1, 2014. The second phase "will introduce corporal punishment" and is expected within "12 months after the Syariah Courts Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) is gazetted". Phase three enforces the death penalty and will be in place "24 months after the Syariah CPC is finalised".

Pink News article here 
Brunei Times article here
related posts on stormidae: 
welcome to Uganda
Uganda and South Africa
Nigeria and Sudan

beating the bullies... sort of

Pluralism and civil society: The Aga Khan speaks to Peter Mansbridge

WikiCommons

" ...It’s not surprising, then, that the Aga Khan would be a leading proponent of pluralism, ensuring that minority groups can participate fully in society while maintaining their cultural differences. But his vision of pluralism also sets him apart: He argues that it’s more than protection of minority rights, more than diversity of language – it is a culture, a habit of mind, a set of practices that celebrates difference, is curious about the unfamiliar and actively embraces the other. "

(JANICE GROSS STEIN, Special to The Globe and Mail, Published Friday, Feb. 21 2014)

CBC
MSN News
The Globe and Mail
Knowledge Circle

Don't care to travel overseas for your over-the-top bigotry? Welcome to Arizona and SB 1062

Arizona's Religious Freedom Restoration Act

"The bill... would allow anyone in the state to legally refuse business or service to LGBT people based on religious freedom. The bill was passed by the Republican-controlled Senate, [and] also passed by the Republican-controlled state House.
Governor Jan Brewer, also Republican, has until February 28 to act."

 Wikipedia

"We are trying to protect people's religious freedoms," 

Republican Representative Steve Montenegro said. "We want to prevent the government from forcing a person who is trying to start a business to sell out their religion for money."

Phoenix New Times Blogs, Feb.21, 2014

"No Arizonan should be forced to choose between making a living and living free. 

An amended bill that provides a safeguard from laws that violate our First Amendment 

freedoms — while still letting government enact laws necessary to the common good — is 

a sensible one.

No court in Arizona should be able to tell you that a violation of those freedoms is 

just the “price of citizenship.”

AZCentral, Feb 24, 2014

^^for: Senator Al Melvin

^^against: Senator Steve Farley

SB1062 full text

back to Uganda

With all eyes on Russia, Uganda has proceeded with it's anti-gay law.

"... The Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill (often called the "Kill the Gays bill" in the media due to the originally proposed death penalty clauses) was passed by the Parliament of Uganda on 20 December 2013 with the death penalty proposal dropped in favour of life in prison. The bill must be signed by the President of Uganda before becoming law.

The legislative proposal would broaden the criminalisation of same-sex relations in Uganda domestically, and further includes provisions for Ugandans who engage in same-sex relations outside of Uganda, asserting that they may be extradited for punishment back to Uganda, and includes penalties for individuals, companies, media organisations, or non-governmental organisations that know of gay people or support LGBT rights ..."
(from Wikipedia)

" ...American Evangelical Lou Engle's involvement in organizing TheCall Uganda was mired in controversy from the very beginning given his long history of violent anti-gay and anti-abortion rhetoric and preaching. At past TheCall rallies, like the one in support of Proposition 8 in California, Engle called homosexuality a "spirit of lawlessness" and called for "martyrs" to become "God's Avengers of Blood" to stop the "homosexual agenda" at all cost...
(from Huffington Post)

>>>update, Feb 24/14:President Museveni has signed the anti-gay law in Uganda. It means life inprisonment for gays and lesbians, and seven years in jail for anyone helping them. Let the Ugandan government know how you feel - sign the petition



related posts on stormidae:
welcome to Uganda
Uganda and South Africa
Nigeria and Sudan