Morning Roar: More CIA Torture Documents, Sony Will Release ‘The Interview’, Disgusting Michael Brown Song
Here’s a daily dose of liberty to get your Christmas Eve festivities started on the right foot!More CIA Torture DocumentsThe CIA has claimed that gruesome torture tactics detailed in Senate torture report were both legal and save American lives. The Senate report states that the CIA lied about the torture program, but the CIA has repeatedly denied this claim as well. But there is more evidence that could soon be released that would challenge the CIA’s claim. This document, which could discredit the CIA’s claims, is currently locked up in a Senate safe.The Huffington Post has the scoop:
Over the past five years, this document, known colloquially as the Panetta Review, has made its way to the center of an unprecedented feud between the Senate Intelligence Committee and the CIA. Committee members, who have spent those years investigating the torture program the CIA ran between roughly 2002 and 2006, believe the Panetta Review reveals that there was doubt within the agency itself about the morality and effectiveness of torture.While the CIA’s official response to the Senate committee’s allegations has been to deny many charges of wrongdoing, senators on the intelligence panel say that the still-classified Panetta Review contradicts that official line. In fact, lawmakers believe the document actually confirms some of the incriminating charges that the committee made in its report.A meticulous condemnation of the agency’s failings, the executive summary of the Senate document, released Dec. 9, accuses the CIA of using gruesome techniques like waterboarding, rectal feeding and sleep deprivation, all the while lying to authorities around Washington about the efficacy of these tactics.Some senators say the Panetta Review concedes that the use of so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques” -- the spy agency’s often-used euphemism for what is widely considered to be torture -- did not make detainees any more willing to talk, despite the CIA's public insistence that the program was successful.
The article at the Huffington Post describes how the Senate came to find this information and paints a picture how this story has developed over time. I highly recommend giving the entire piece a read.My opinion on the so called Panetta Review is simple. Right now the majority of people in this country are A-OK with torture. Until that portion of the public comes to understand that torture is a violation of individual rights little else matters.It’s good that some in the Senate are working to release the top secret information the CIA has gathered in the Panetta review. Hopefully, transparency wins out and the American people are able to see behind the curtain. But confirmation that torture does not work as a tactic to gather information is not the reason torture should be opposed. Torture should be opposed because it is a violation of basic human rights. There is no Senate review or CIA document dump that can teach this simple truth to the masses.Sony Will Release ‘The Interview’Count me as someone who is not surprised in the least that Sony is still going to release ‘The Interview’ on Christmas Day. Perhaps they came to a settlement with the hackers that have made the past few weeks so difficult for Sony.The Wrap has the details on the movie release:
The plan is to release the film simultaneously in participating theaters and via video on demand. A number of independent theaters — including The Plaza Theater in Atlanta, MX Theaters in St. Louis, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Dallas/Fort Worth and others —have announced they will distribute the film. MX said it would be selling tickets as of 2 p.m. CT Tuesday.The release will likely be in the 200-theater range; exhibitors typically cap the rollout of films that offer day-and-date VOD at around 300 sites, because it usually cuts attendance significantly. The move has reportedly exacerbated relations between major theater chains and the studio. Day-and-date VOD releases are a hot-button issue for the major exhibitors.Sony announced the move Tuesday morning and issued this statement:“We have never given up on releasing ‘The Interview’ and we’re excited our movie will be in a number of theaters on Christmas Day,” saidMichael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony Entertainment. “At the same time, we are continuing our efforts to secure more platforms and more theaters so that this movie reaches the largest possible audience.“I want to thank our talent on ‘The Interview’ and our employees, who have worked tirelessly through the many challenges we have all faced over the last month. While we hope this is only the first step of the film’s release, we are proud to make it available to the public and to have stood up to those who attempted to suppress free speech.”
This is the definition of turning lemons into lemonade. Sony is going to make so much more money on ‘The Interview’ than they would have if they had not been hacked and had all of their dirty laundry aired to the public.We talked about the Sony/North Korea situation extensively during the latest Lions of Liberty Podcast feature Libertarian In Living Rooms Drinking Liquor. The podcast was recorded Monday night and will be available to listen on Thursday, Christmas Day! Rather than rehashing our opinions in this space please check out the podcast. You can listen with the whole family!Disgusting Michael Brown SongA shocking video has emerged that was recorded in the Glendale, CA Elks Lodge a week ago. A performer at a charity event sang a song celebrating the death of Michael Brown to the tune of a Jim Croce song. To make matters worse, the audience was said to be full of retired and current cops.TMZ has the horrid video:Read The Morning Roar every weekday Monday-Friday!The Lions of Liberty are on Twitter, Facebook & Google+Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!
