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One of the major breakthroughs of the first McCain–Obama debate on Friday night passed with almost no notice. Both John McCain and Barack Obama, in characterizing their opposition to the Bush Administration’s interrogation program, called it torture. To those who have tracked this question with any care, there is no doubt whatsoever that the Bush Administration pursued torture as a matter of policy. However, ferocious blowback from the administration has up to this point intimidated the American media from calling things by proper names. As the Bush Administration now enters into its final meltdown, the perfect time has come to examine the moral corruption that has long festered right under the surface of what passes for national security policy.
On Monday evening at 9 p.m. (ET/PT), 8 p.m. (CT), HBO premiers this year’s Oscar-winning documentary, “Taxi to the Dark Side,” in which I appear. Don’t miss it. Here’s a recent interview of producer Alex Gibney with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow in which Alex explains why the issues treated in “Taxi” are current and will only grow in relevance in the coming months:
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More from Scott Horton:
No Comment — April 12, 2013, 11:11 am
A new report from Seton Hall University exposes government surveillance of attorney-client conversations
No Comment, Six Questions — March 18, 2013, 9:00 am
Rashid Khalidi on how the United States sustains the failure of the Israel-Palestine peace process
No Comment, Six Questions — February 4, 2013, 9:00 am
Alex Gibney on his documentary investigating the Roman Catholic Church’s handling of child sex-abuse cases


Years of consideration preceding the inclusion of the word “phat” in Random House’s 1996 Compact Unabridged Dictionary:

Scientists created crash helmets that stink when cracked and fruit flies to whom blue light smells delicious.

In Belize, a construction company bulldozed a 2,300-year-old Mayan temple to make road fill.
“This is the heart of the magic factory, the place where medicine is infused with the miracles of science, and I’ve come to see how it’s done.”