...Throughout time, torture has been used to extract important information from people who are unwilling to give it. Some argue that it is a necessary, justified and effective way of forcing someone to release vital information they may not have wanted to, while others argue it is unjustified, unnecessary, violent and inhumane. Governments sometimes characterise torture as an indispensable interrogation tool for gathering strategic intelligence. However as highlighted by countless historical figures such as Napoleon Bonaparte and Greek philosopher Aristotle, torture is almost always pointless because most people, if put in sufficient pain, will say absolutely anything to stop it (Scott, 1995). Therefore this essay sets out to argue that torture...
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...In the beginning of the essay, the author identifies himself as an African American principal, creating interest, and a better understanding of the title. Identifying himself also gives the author credibility on the subject, which helps the effect of the argument before the end of the first paragraph. With his opinion clearly stated, Joseph’s reasoning becomes increasingly relevant, through the progression of the essay. Logically articulating each reason of opposition, the seventh paragraph welcomes a shifting tone of the author. In the text, Joseph believes that the basic idea of one month of black history is a joke, and believes its focus point in irrelevant. With stating his ethnicity and occupation, he tells readers how opposed he is. While telling readers how serious he is, the author simultaneously gives his credentials to further the impact of his argument. Joseph’s argument is made by logical observations, followed by logical reasoning as to why Black history month is a redundant form of teaching....
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...current debate regarding torture being used as an interrogation measure stands whether or not forms of torture are being masked as “enhanced” interrogation techniques to extract information from suspected terrorists. The argument in Essay 161 is that waterboarding and other severe interrogation methods constitute as torture, and are not effective. Therefore, we should find alternative solutions to extract information. The argument in Essay 172 is that severe interrogation methods are necessary to save the lives of hundreds or thousands of innocent lives. Therefore, we should reject the arguments made by those against severe interrogation methods. In this paper, I will evaluate each of these arguments and furthermore say which argument is stronger with evidence. Enhanced interrogation methods refers to the U.S government’s program of systematic torture of detainees by the Central Intelligence Agency (and others) authorized by the George W. Bush administration.3 Waterboarding is a form of torture in which water is poured over a cloth covering the face and breathing passages of an immobilized suspect, causing the individual to experience the sensation of drowning. Waterboarding can cause extreme pain, dry drowning, damage to lungs, brain damage from oxygen deprivation, and other physical injuries including broken bones due to struggling against restraints, lasting psychological damage, and death.3 Whether waterboarding should be classified as a method of torture or not since it was...
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...Compare and Contrast Torture or Not to Torture 2012 “Any direct or indirect participation in any act of torture or other forms of degrading or inhuman treatment or punishment by psychologists is strictly prohibited. There are no exceptions.”(APA website, 2012). The American Psychological Association through the last two decades has taken a sever stand on torture and helping the United States government on how to handle prisoners at the “black site” also known as Guantanamo Bay (Peltz,Burnstein,Grand, 2008)P587. Their stand on how psychologist should aid in the treatment of information recovery in forms of torture interrogation technics has always been a longstanding policy against psychologist involvement in torture. Many members wanted the association to take a strong stand against any involvement of psychologists in national security interrogations during the Bush administration. Psychologists were used during the bush administration “war on terror” efforts and took part in both abusive interrogation techniques and torture. While the APA acknowledged issues of psychologist involvement in national security-related investigations has been an extremely difficult and divisive one for our association (Personal Communication, 2012. The APA has always had a longstanding policy against psychologist involvement in torture; many members wanted the association to take a strong stand against any involvement of psychologists in national security interrogations...
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...Torturing Terrorist The word torture makes teeth cringe with images of a person tied down to a chair with ruptured lips, bruised face, in a room full of people taking turns in “beating the truth” out of them. Torturers have an illusion of finding the “truth” through creative forms of inflicting agonizing pain on a terrorist. During times of crisis this technique can be tempting to practice. The ticking time bomb scenario is always a form in an attempt to justify torture (Smith). These methods can cause a negative impact in communities in our nation. Torture should not be an option. Torture is defined as: the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty (Dictionary.com). In human nature every being is wired to survive. The primal instinct takes over a person when they are being tortured and know that they are in a life or death situation. Regardless if they know anything about what the interrogators want to know, they will say anything to keep themselves from being tortured. Excruciating pain is not the only way of obtaining information because torture has two forms that could be either physical or psychological (law.harvard.edu). There have been data-based attempts to probe the definition of torture. In a sophisticated empirical study of 432 torture survivors, Metin Basoglu (2009) analyzed the psychological meaning of 46 torture techniques. Statistical analyses revealed...
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...boarding and genetic engineering. Is water boarding a form of torture or not? Both sides bring a valid argument to the table. Is genetic engineering socially acceptable or not? Is it a form of acceptance in this new age society? I think that water boarding is ethical and is a successful way of getting a subject to come forth with information withheld, whereas genetic engineering is something which is unethical and immoral. Water boarding is a method used to extract information and is sometimes also referred to as a “torture method”. This approach has been under scrutiny since its introduction in the late 14th century. The method, originally called “water torture” or “water cure”. At that time period it was a way of water induced confession. Today, the methods have changed slightly but the objective is still the same. In today's military, our special forces use this tactic in their SERE (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape) training to prepare for any unorthodox treatment they would receive from enemy forces not complying with the Geneva Convention. The CIA also has used this and is currently using this as a form of interrogation of high valued targets in the Al Qaeda regime and other terrorist organizations. Since the beginning of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, this technique has been under scrutiny on whether it is ethical or moral to “torture” people. Christopher Hitchens wrote a short essay called Believe Me Its Torture. In the story he relates to the special forces community...
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...11 Position Papers I f you like to argue, you will enjoy writing position papers and argument essays. The purpose of a position paper or argument essay is to explain both sides of a controversy and then argue for one side over the other. This two-sided approach is what makes position papers and argument essays different from commentaries (Chapter 10). A commentary usually only expresses the author’s personal opinion about a current issue or event. A position paper or argument essay explains both sides and discusses why one is stronger or better than the other. Your goal is to fairly explain your side and your opponents’ side of the issue, while highlighting the differences between these opposing views. You need to use solid reasoning and factual evidence to persuade your readers that your view is more valid or advantageous than your opponents’ view. In college, your professors will ask you to write position papers and argument essays to show that you understand both sides of an issue and can support one side or the other. In the workplace, corporate position papers are used to argue for or against business strategies or alternatives. The ability to argue effectively is a useful skill that will help you throughout your life. 221 CHAPTER AT–A–GLANCE Position Papers This diagram shows two basic organizations for a position paper, but other arrangements of these sections will work too. In the pattern on the left, the opponents’ position is described up front with its...
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...The aim of this essay is to show how the three performances in dance, music and drama were influenced by Brecht, Lea Anderson and the various artists involved with the musical genre of minimalism. This essay will also describe the process the ensemble went through while devising and rehearsing the performance as well as the similarities between the art forms, such as the significance of characterisation within dance and drama when portraying stereotypical characters. Devising For drama, the practitioner the ensemble studied was Berthold Brecht, an early 20th century German theatre practitioner who pioneered the theatrical movement of Epic theatre. Brecht is of particular interest given the similarities in subject matter, as the groups subject is about the detention facility Guantanamo Bay; thematically similar to Brecht’s work which also dealt with topics involving the abuse of power, institutional corruption, the effects of war etc. The ensemble initially did a great deal of research into Epic theatre and the techniques of Epic theatre as well as Berthold Brecht and his life. Following that, they then made a mind map of the problems surrounding Guantanamo and focused particularly on the issues that garnered the least attention publically yet posed the greatest threat to the liberty and rights of everyone. Based on this we chose the unlawful kidnaping, imprisonment and torture of individuals without trial, the implementation of secret courts, and the propaganda published by...
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...The novel “1984” describes the results of drastic totalitarianism which tramples the dignity of humans who are under the control of an omnipresent, Big Brother. Many people do not believe that the novel “1984” is significant to our society. Likewise they think that the novel itself posses very little relevance to the modern world. Though many people might think 1984 is solely relevant to the post after World War II politics, but the fact is that today any of us could become Winston or Julia. It is clear that the circumstances of novel “1984” are revealing to our society with the three slogans; War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength, invasion of privacy and physical Control. This essay will go on to discuss these points in greater detail. “War is Peace, Freedom is slavery, Ignorance is Strength” which is the three slogans of the English Socialist Party of Oceania emerges the...
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...mystify, torture, mislead, and surprise the audience as much as possible (Roff).” Hamlet is a dramatic production written by William Shakespeare. “The play, set in the Kingdom of Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius for murdering the old King Hamlet, Claudius's own brother and Prince Hamlet's father, and then succeeding to the throne and marrying Gertrude, the King Hamlet's widow and mother of Prince Hamlet ("Hamlet”).” Shakespeare’s main objective was to impress his Elizabethan audience because entertainment through theater was extremely important to everyone in the era ("Elizabethan Theater"). Shakespeare successfully captivated an Elizabethan audience with this production (“Hamlet”). This essay will explain how an Elizabethan audience was targeted by Hamlet’s final monologue (act 4, lines 32-66). This speech effectively targeted and engaged an Elizabethan audience because its format, mentions of revenge and exciting nature caused the audience to sympathise with Hamlet’s decisions and feelings, and become enthusiastic and involved in the play. The format of this speech is a key factor which explains why the Elizabethan audience is effectively targeted. This speech is written and delivered in the form of a soliloquy. This means that it is an “uninterrupted speech delivered by a single character to the audience but not to other characters” (Jaber Al-Ogaili 48). Soliloquies are a literary device that is most often used as a technique to express...
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...Identifying an unknown work of art is no easy task. It requires various detail oriented exercises ranging from performing a visual analysis, understanding historical context, and much more. For this essay, we were given four unknown works of art and were asked to identify one of them. The work identified was a painting of an eagle devouring Prometheus’ liver in Northern Italy in the early seventeenth century. The painting of Prometheus being tortured by an eagle was most likely done in Northern Italy between 1580 and 1600. A reason for the years chosen is because works of art of the same subject matter are not usually done at the same time. An example of this idea was the creation of three David sculptures. Donatello created the bronze David in approximately 1440, Michelangelo created his in 1501-1504, and Bernini created his in 1523-1524. Peter Paul Rubens created Prometheus Bound in 1611, meaning the unknown work was done before or after Rubens. To decide whether the painting was finished...
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...tendencies in society (Leggat 1995). In the history of vaccines, it is not different; there are many pictures that explain reality in different societies at different times. From this context, this essay will analyze two pictures that link smallpox early attempts of treatment in two different societies. The first selected picture was found in AIDS: The Burdens of History a book wrote by Fee and Fox in 1988. The image explains the early vaccination technique called “Jennerian vaccine” that was a prodigious improvement in the history of medicine. I believe that this picture was intentionally made to show how the vaccination...
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...culture shock upon reading the essay. After further contemplation, I felt that the cultural relationships and practices were not all that different from my own. I found it very interesting that the social and economic structure of the Nacirema society is the same as that in which we live in. As with our culture, goods and services are the pinnacle of the economy and each person has their place or purpose within the society. The cultural universals of the Nacirema seem to parallel those of our own culture. The shrine that is the location for private rituals to take place is what our society considers the bathroom. The socialization of the Nacirema children to these rituals can be equated to potty training and personal hygiene in our culture. The daily body rituals that the Nacirema men perform may be viewed as a masochistic but in our society that is the same as shaving. It is not uncommon for a culture to view the natural body as ugly and seek to modify it to be esthetically pleasing. Even though the language used to describe the body rituals preformed in these shrines may sound unusual or even barbaric, the rituals described are the same as in our culture. The obsession with the mouth and visits to the “holy-mouth-men” are folkways that our culture participates in as well. We may not classify brushing our teeth with a toothbrush and toothpaste a mouth-rite ritual but if viewed from another cultural perspective it may seem odd. Also, the techniques and the tools used by the dentist...
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...While almost all pieces of writing have a theme, some writers use their techniques to show the theme. In pieces like The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen, The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, “Teens Against Hitler” by Lauren Tarshis, and “Betrayed By America” by Kristin Lewis, the authors use their techniques to express their theme in a masterful way. In The Devil's Arithmetic, Hannah goes back in time to the holocaust and experiences it herself, meanwhile in The Boy Who Dared, Helmuth looks back at what put him on death row during the holocaust. Then, in “Teens Against Hitler”, A young boy is take to a ghetto, and then leaves to join a resistance group, and in “Betrayed By America”, a japanese boy is taken to an internment camp...
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...Joint Command and Staff Programme 38 Distance Learning Rank & Name: Major Lynne Chaloux Syndicate No: 1 Directing Staff: BGen Gagnon Course: JCSP 38 DL Assignment Code: D1/DS 541/EFF/LN-2 Assignment Name: Leadership Research Paper Convergence of Errors: Leadership Failures Contributing to Abu Ghraib Abuses ASSESSMENT Assessor: Marc Imbeault Mark: Comments: Convergence of Errors: Leadership Failures Contributing to Abu Ghraib Abuses Introduction The purpose of this persuasive essay is to reveal the key leadership factors contributing to events that occurred during Operation Iraqi Freedom at Abu Ghraib Confinement Facility in Iraq between October and December 2003. “The abuses at Abu Ghraib primarily fall into two categories: a) intentional violent or sexual abuse [against detainees], and b) abusive actions taken based on misinterpretations or confusion regarding law or policy.”[1] From the standpoint of “Leading the Institution,” it will be argued that authorities failed to develop of a coherent body of policy or procedures[2] regarding detainee operations, which would have served to appropriately and consistently guide actions in the field and thus enable success. Instead, policy was inconsistent, ambiguous and changing – resulting in confusion regarding morally and legally acceptable standards for interrogation and detention. These lapses in policy contributed...
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