Diktat
Ethical arguments of the form “We should torture [other people] if . . . ” will be rejected out of hand. Ethical arguments of the form “I should be tortured if . . . ” may be entertained. Or, maybe better, “My sister should be tortured if . . . ” That is all.
UPDATE: JUSTICE DEPT. CONSIDERING TORTURE IN SPACE - Borowitz.

Comment by the talking dog —
March 14, 2005 @ 7:43 pm
To be fair, Jim, I understand that a lot of Cubans have been complaining about all the noise coming from Camp X-Ray; damned AQ bastards can’t take their torture like men.
Anyway, the space-based version has a number of advantages, including an excuse to get our shuttle program back up and working (so we can begin that public works project that will take a manned mission to Mars), but mostly, its about that line in Alien:
IN SPACE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM.
Comment by SP —
March 15, 2005 @ 2:43 am
Mars, bitches!
Comment by Lori (aka Camera Obscura) —
March 15, 2005 @ 4:18 am
“its about that line in Alien:
IN SPACE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM.”
What did Harlan Ellison say when that line came out, I wonder?
Trackback by Kieran Healy's Weblog —
March 15, 2005 @ 9:56 pm
Needles Under the Nails
The effort to normalize torture proceeds on two fronts. The first comes up with scenarios where torture seems justified —…
Comment by elendil —
March 17, 2005 @ 6:15 pm
Hehehe. Thanks. After reading that whitewash of an inquiry by Admiral Church, I needed something to smile at
Pingback by Best Utilitarian Torture Post in Weeks § Unqualified Offerings —
May 5, 2005 @ 7:22 am
[…] gedankenexperiment shows how hard it would be to avoid being tortured if you wanted to be. Some weeks ago, I called for the moral imagination to recast “We should tort […]