Quotes of the Morning

“Oops, I think I missed the most interesting quote yesterday from Bill Tierney, our friendly neighborhood Christian extremist / Schiavo protestor. Here is the best part, brought to you by the incomparable Billmon.”
-Skippy

“Bill Tierney . . . had just returned from eight months working as an interrogator for US forces in Baghdad, and had come to talk, on the record, about torture.
‘The Brits came up with an expression – wog,’ Tierney said. 'That stands for Wily Oriental Gentleman. There's a lot of wiliness in that part of the world.'. . .
After explaining his various psychological tactics to the audience, interrogator Bill Tierney (a private contractor working with the Army) said, 'I tried to be nuanced and culturally aware. But the suspects didn't break.''
Suddenly Tierney's temper rose. 'They did not break!' he shouted. 'I'm here to win. I'm here so our civilization beats theirs! Now what are you willing to do to win?' he asked, pointing to a woman in the front row. 'You are the interrogators, you are the ones who have to get the information from the Iraqis. What do you do? That word 'torture'. You immediately think, 'That's not me.' But are we litigating this war or fighting it?'
… Asked about Abu Ghraib, Tierney said that for an interrogator, 'sadism is always right over the hill. You have to admit it. Don't fool yourself – there is a part of you that will say, 'This is fun.'’ ''
-Boston Globe, February 13, 2005

“So not only is Mr. Tierney a vocal proponent of Terri Schiavo’s and a one-time believer in the WMD story, but he was also apparently a proponent of torture. If only Mr. Tierney was one of the protestors with tape over his mouth..”
-Skippy

"Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow-creatures is amusing in itself."
-James Anthony Froude (1818-1894)

“Except, of course, for cats.”
-Skippy

"The healthy man does not torture others — generally it is the tortured who turn into torturers."
-Carl Jung (1875-1961)

"In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule."
-Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

"Censorship is almost systematically the weapon of first resort for governments in uncertain political situations. So not only are the famous writers and bold journalists in danger; at every level of public and private life, the freedoms to think, read or write are denied. In the absence of a free press, other human rights abuses flourish unabated. Nothing is reported, criticized, questioned. The example of imprisonment, torture or execution imposes a further silence. A blindly obedient mob mentality is encouraged, driven by extremist religious or ethnic loyalties. The citizens do not know what is happening. Fear and ignorance permeate discussion."
-Marian Botsford Fraser