Tag Archives: torture

A Murakami Villain Surfaces in Ukraine

Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine bring to mind Boris the Mankiller in Murakami’s “Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.”

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Even Iago Should Not Be Tortured

Examining an upcoming trial by people who were tortured during the George W. Bush administration, Ariel Dorfman examines the face of Iago and the satisfaction we take at the tortures that await him.

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Trump to Torture’s Opponents: Drop Dead

Donald Trump wants to bring back torture, specifically waterboarding. Like the colonel in Carolyn Forché’s poem by that name, he is a showman who seeks to intimidate.

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Obama Is to Trump as Albany Is to Goneril

While Trump calls for torture of terrorists and Ted Cruz calls for carpet bombing them, President Obama calls for America to take the high moral road. He sounds like Albany arguing with Goneril in “King Lear.”

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Ring Wraith Trump Wins in New Hampshire

Donald Trump, winner of the New Hampshire primary, has been promoting torture. I’ve been teaching “Lord of the Rings” recently and he reminds me of the temptation of the ring, which hollows one out.

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The CIA’s Heart of Darkness

Published details about the CIA’s torture program reveal that America descended into a Conradian heart of darkness.

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George Orwell and Waterboarding

An indication that defenders are not entirely at peace with the practice is their use of a euphemisms. They don’t call waterboarding “torture,” even though the U.S. used to call it torture and it has generally been considered torture since the Spanish Inquisition used it. They instead call it “enhanced interrogation techniques.” Anyone who knows George Orwell’s 1984 recognizes this as classic doublespeak.

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