Leave your comments below: what do you think of the Sun’s feature on waterboarding and its related video? It’s not the first time a news outlet or magazine has done this feature – see Vanity Fair’s Christopher Hitchens’ article in 2008, but is what it shows to readers irresponsible?
Tom of all people ought to know that if anyone is determined to do tor…enhanced interrogations, they’ll find instructions of their own volition. Videos are out there for those concerted enough to look for them. Therefore decrying The Sun as adding a further string to its extremely beefy bow of irresponsibility is in this case tenuous.
Though this report is not by any stretch entertainment I’m rather surprised Mr. Watson sent that message in light of his support of violent expression in video games and film media; these share the attribute that almost all people will not commit acts depicted after seeing it unless having tendencies in the first place.
Correlation isn’t causation though journalists are past masters of conflating scant evidence or controversial sources with hyperbole, distortion and falsehood. I’d not be surprised if a few joined Tom in decrying this report.
What’s telling is that a former President condones waterboarding whilst a publication owned by Murdoch which with all his others supported Bush’s administration apparently condemns the process. That said I wouldn’t read too much into it as Fox News in the US has probably aired reports sypathetic to what George Bush wrote which is in keeping with the slow, steady shift of goalposts towards oppression in the name of security.
Pete, editor at Dirty Garnet.