http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/12/protesters-try-to-convince-moviegoers-to-skip-zero-dark-thirty Comments On: Protesters Try to Convince Moviegoers to Skip <em>Zero Dark Thirty</em> by Paul Constant en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:30:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://vi.winningft.tv

Posted by Victor1122]]> Sat, 27 Apr 2013 05:39:29 -0700 The Stranger all inclusive resorts bahamas
Posted by jazzzb]]> Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:59:49 -0700 The Stranger Thanks you very much for sharing these links. Will definitely check this out..
cyprus website design
Posted by Jon carter111]]> Mon, 15 Apr 2013 04:23:14 -0700 The Stranger It is also incorrect, if we are to believe the CIA.I've yet to see the film, so I'll refrain from commenting on what it does or doesn't say about torture; Bigelow's been a reliable enough cinematic presence that she'll get my money, in any case. I'm wondering, though, if you might agree that "if we are to believe the CIA" constitutes a mighty big "if."
Posted by thelyamhound]]> Tue, 15 Jan 2013 11:55:58 -0800 The Stranger Great70.com
Posted by mas789]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 03:27:39 -0800 The Stranger
And from a movie standpoint, Jessica Chastain was horrible in the lead role. Much of her dialogue was forced, at times to an almost comic degree.
Posted by runswithnailclippers]]> Sun, 13 Jan 2013 19:37:05 -0800 The Stranger Posted by sirkowski]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 20:12:47 -0800 The Stranger Just saw Zero Dark Thirty. Excellent film about years of heroism, including in the enhanced interrogation program, that led to bin Laden.
Posted by simianarmy]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 19:03:18 -0800 The Stranger
A protest is in order.
Posted by These people will protest a letter opening]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 17:18:44 -0800 The Stranger
The actual flyer we handed out can be seen here: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/117…

Our point was to bring out the context this film is taken in, that torture is never justifiable, acceptable or moral and that Guantanamo most be closed. This is a message anybody can and should bring to the general public whether they have seen the film or not. This is what we have taken responsibility for doing.

On your point that torture is not justified in this film, after having seen the film, I am more than willing to debate anybody about this and our responsibility to the people of the world to not go along with torture or the illegitimate war on terror. I am all for having one of those fruitful conversation your refer to about about this film and the war on terror. Let's have it.
Posted by EmmaK]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 16:56:04 -0800 The Stranger @13, mattluby, ...

"You're an educated guy...." [Referring to Paul Constant]

You make some excellent comments, matt, but that comment on Constant is but an assumption, which doesn't stand up to close scrutiny: work experience at Barnes & Noble and that other place didn't necessarily equip Constant with any special background, which he certainly hasn't demonstrated --- but then he was probably being compared to Frizzelle!

Posted by sgt_doom]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 16:07:10 -0800 The Stranger @15, gloomy guttersnipe:

"That usually intelligent people (Paul is an example).."

What the hell are you smoking, dood? While it is true that Americans appear to now exist in a state of rapid devolution, even among the Ameritards, Constant stands out as far below substandard!
Posted by sgt_doom]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 16:03:29 -0800 The Stranger @17, SeMe,

"The film clearly says that torture as awful as it is, allowed the US to ultimately kill Bin Laden."

Good point and followup --- and I seem to recall that Robert Young Pelton said for quite a number of years that, if Osama was still alive, they would find him in Pakistan, near a Pakistani military facility of some sort --- which indeed was the case.

And Pelton tortured no one, that I'm aware of .....
Posted by sgt_doom]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 16:01:06 -0800 The Stranger @26, RP makes some other unique and outstanding points,

Many eons ago, in USAF/ARRS we went through an extended form of SERS training at commando school (Eglin at that time), along similar lines.

Again, RP's point makes clear the historical --- up to the very present --- reason for torture, whether done in Syria (recall the first high-value high-ranking target, the medical officer/general, was also heavily involved with military torture projects), or Egypt, or Myanmar, or China, or Saudia Arabia (where they are supposed to put on torture show for select royals) or the US of A: to torture a false confession from an innocent party, or someone possibly tangetially connected, but bearing no responsibility, etc., in order to misdirect and hide the true guilty parties.


Posted by sgt_doom]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:57:29 -0800 The Stranger @4, David Thompson, makes the best point --- and, as much as galls me to admit it, @8, Fnarf's followup points are intelligent (admittedly an infrequent occurrence!).

@ Paulie Constant: "..feels like reportage to me.."

What a shocker, a douchtard fictionalized movie rendition feels like reportage to f**kwit Constant; to be expected!

Now Paulie, try and focus those two or three active neurons you still possess, and attempt to grasp the following:

Historically, and up to the present day today, rulers, royals and regimes pick up innocent paupers or bystanders then torture a "confession" out of them for the purpose of covering up the actual culprits.

Anyone can be tortured to admit to anything. They once taught the Spanish Inquisition in high school history classes --- hope they are still doing it, especially as it is most necessary today.

The blank screen opening of that douchetard film should have featured the following two clips:

the Pentagon's comptroller, on the day before, 9/10/01, at the news conference where he explains that their auditing team (DIA's Financial Management staff) uncovered the unaccounted for sum of $2.3 trillion (let me repeat that for the lowbrows, halfwits and fellow f**kwits, that was $2.3 trillion), and the next clip would feature the announcing of the deaths of the majority of that auditing team the very next day, when an airliner crashed into the Pentagon's west wall. (We all should know by this time, thanks to a commercial satellite picture taken 24 hours afterwards of the roof of the Pentagon, that by the burn marks it was obviously a dead center crash by the airliner, a most incredibly aviation maneuver, when to do the most damage it would have been far easier for the airliner to come in for a roof strike above, or if they wanted to take out the upper echelon of command, to crash into the opposite side of the Pentagon.

Note the primary outcome: the deaths of almost all the auditing ream responsible for uncovering that unaccounted for sum of $2.3 trillion, with the few remaining ones severely injured --- only one member, a lady officer (if I recall correctly), who worked off-site, but thankfully overslept that morning, and therefore viewed the last-minute email (sent sometime around 2:00am on 9/11/01) requesting an emergency meeting that morning of the Financial Management staff at their conference room by the Pentagon's west wall --- said lady officer arrived just in time to view from a distance the airliner flying dead center into the west wall.

Now, add to that the destruction of Building 7 at the WTC, which housed the source documents of approximately 3,000 ongoing SEC investigations -- no source docs, no trial possiblity.

Further add to that the invoking by the SEC of an emergency clause in the Securities Act (or Securities Exchange Act, it has been many years since I read it) which allowed for the transfer, etc., of hundreds of billions of securities without the normal oversight processes in place.

There were other financial manipulations and machinations which took place concurrently, but these are the really important ones to take notice of.

And those who were to be tortured --- whether cutouts or innocent paupers or bystanders --- would confess to anything! ! !
Posted by sgt_doom]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:50:36 -0800 The Stranger
Our point was to bring out the context this film is taken in, that torture is never justifiable, acceptable or moral and that Guantanamo most be closed. This is a message anybody can bring out to the public whether they have seen the film or not. This is the message that needs to be brought out to the public and this is what we have taken responsibility for doing.

On your point that torture is not justified in this film, after having seen the film, I would like to challenge to you to a public debate around this question and our responsibility to the people of the world to not go along with torture or the illegitimate war on terror. You name the date and time and we will have one of those fruitful conversation your refer to about about this film and the war on terror.

(1) -Emma Kaplan
Seattle Chapter of World Can't Wait
Posted by EmmaK]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:35:56 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Cato the Younger Younger]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:25:21 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Just Jeff]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:38:32 -0800 The Stranger
A million dead? Do they just pull these numbers from their asses?
Posted by Tampon]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 12:36:57 -0800 The Stranger
It's the standard story: those of us who oppose torture (played by wincing Maya) just don't have what it takes to understand what grownups do. We are to "avert our eyes" while the real men do the work. The protesters are right.

That said, it's a pretty good movie if you don't mind a little wincing and eye-averting at Bigelow's indulgences. At its best, it comes close to achieving the tone and urgency of "Syriana".

Posted by Michael of the Green]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 12:22:24 -0800 The Stranger
This is what I loved about the scene in Dark Knight when Batman slams the Joker's head on the interrogation room table— not only was it ineffective, but the Joker went on to explain exactly what he did wrong. Instead of demonstrating his power over his enemy, Batman only proved his impotence. (Similarly, in the sequel, Aiden Gillen's CIA character's false executions in the opening scene have no effect.)

I hope the extended cut of Zero Dark Thirty shows FBI agents chasing geese in Central Park from all that 'valuable intel' that was extracted by the Guantanamo Inquisition.
Posted by madcap]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 11:40:17 -0800 The Stranger
When I was in the military about 25 years or so ago, all flight crews had to go through a short course on what to do if their plane went down and they were captured and tortured. There was no pretext of holding back. Everyone knew that under torture, you will say anything to make the torture stop. Anything, regardless of whether it is true or not. Truth doesn't matter. Only stopping the pain matters. So the entire point of the training course was to learn to make shit up that will get them to stop torturing you, yet still deflect the truth or keep critical information secret.

Any information derived from torture is completely unreliable. The CIA knows this. The military knows this. They've known it for decades. Torture is useless as a means of gathering intelligence.

I haven't seen the movie, and have no opinion of it. But if it promotes the idea that torture can result in useful information (even if it is morally repugnant), then it is full of shit.
Posted by Reverse Polarity]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 11:34:22 -0800 The Stranger
*zing*
Posted by six shooter]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 11:05:19 -0800 The Stranger Posted by this guy I know in Spokane]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 10:58:45 -0800 The Stranger

• Greg Mitchell - "Debate Rages: Does `Zero Dark Thirty' Endorse Torture?"


• Greg Mitchell - "My View: `Zero Dark Thirty' Shows Torture Playing Key Role in Getting bin Laden"


• Xeni Jardin - "Is the new Osama bin Laden snuff flick `Zero Dark Thirty' pro-torture?"


• Xeni Jardin - "`Zero Dark Thirty' not good enough to justify torture fantasies"


• Xeni Jardin - "Seven steps to learning to love US torture and detention policies, via `Zero Dark Thirty'"

Posted by Phil M]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2013 10:52:43 -0800 The Stranger