The so-called “ticking bomb” scenario, however, presupposes that torture gets results, whereas the evidence suggests precisely the reverse. Torture did not work in Ulster or Vietnam. The US scholar Darius Rejali [my friend at Swarthmore, who taught me more about political theory than any of my professors!] has trawled the archives of the brutal Algerian war of independence and found no evidence that torture did anything to aid France or delay defeat. Even medieval torturers began to look to other methods once it became clear that the rack and thumbscrews were not producing reliable statements of guilt.

Torture is an effective way of intimidating prisoners; it certainly produces confessions. But as information these tend to be useless, if not actively misleading.

He is the best-selling fantasy fiction author from the West whose mysterious tales are loved by millions of bookworms the world over. Now, for the first time, one of the…
Now, for the first time, one of the stories from Wiltshire-based Terry Pratchett’s hugely popular Discworld series is to be adapted into a TV film. And the £6million Sky One production will feature a host of familiar faces, including one of Britain’s best-loved actors, Sir David Jason, in a starring role.

Hogfather will be the first time a book from Pratchett’s Discworld series has been made into a feature-length film.

It will be shown in two parts, combining live action with state-of-the-art computer-generated sequences.

The channel promises more famous faces from both sides of the Atlantic to join Only Fools and Horses star Sir David, who will play the role of Albert, a grumpy former wizard.

Hogfather, the third book in Pratchett’s series, will be screened over Christmas. It will be filmed in studios in Romania, where the snow and mountain ranges required for the film’s setting are just two hours away.

Fabulous news, and a must-buy DVD.

Nero Wolfe Author, Goldsborough, Wins Meaningless Readers’ Choice Award

Nero Wolfe Author, Goldsborough, Wins Readers’ Choice Award

Bzzt. Mr. Goldsborough is going too far in wrapping himself in the shroud of Nero Wolfe. I’ve read all of Rex Stout’s incomparable Nero Wolfe novels, and I’ve read a couple of Goldsborough’s sharecropped follow-ons, and, in the words of Lloyd Bentsen to Dan Quayle, Robert Goldsborough, you’re no Rex Stout.

Sorry to rain on your parade, fella, but you are really getting on the nerves of some of us who love and revere Rex Stout. Your PR firm ought to dial it back.

Google, the Khmer Rouge and the Public Good - February 6, 2006
Google Book Search is the most revolutionary enterprise I’ve ever experienced. It has the potential to transform the flow of knowledge, and there is no greater gesture a university can make.

….

That means the public good of education.

It means taking advantage of the latest technology and our lawful rights as book owners.

It means stepping up, looking forward, and saying: “Let’s do it.”

Google Book Search, with the books of the University of Michigan, makes all that possible—it takes the corpus of human knowledge and puts it in the hands of anyone who wants it.

It can, and will, change the world, and I want the University of Michigan to be part of it.

Slate: The case for mocking religion. By Christopher Hitchens
Therefore there is a strong case for saying that the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, and those who have reprinted its efforts out of solidarity, are affirming the right to criticize not merely Islam but religion in general. And the Bush administration has no business at all expressing an opinion on that. If it is to say anything, it is constitutionally obliged to uphold the right and no more.

Absolutely correct. This is about freedom of speech and freedom of thought, which should be primary concerns for book-lovers everywhere.

Welcome to Retro-Gram.Com Purveyors of Internet Telegrams
Say farewell to ordinary cards for birthdays, anniversaries or special occasions. Authentic vintage telegrams sent from your computer and delivered across the globe via first class post. Delight your correspondents by sending a Retro-Gram today!

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