Letter: Torture Antiquated and Useless

To the Editor:

The Senate Intelligence Committee’s recently released report on the CIA's interrogation program shows that torture is an outdated, inhumane, and ultimately ineffective practice that ruins the lives of innocent people like you and me.

When I learned about the experiences that the suspects were forced to go through by the CIA, the details were, in the words of John McCain, "a tough pill to swallow," to say the least. The everyday things we enjoy were stripped from these people.

Human beings were forced to be nearly drowned multiple times a week, and kept in a dungeon, locked away from their families. They were deprived of basic necessities such as sleep for up to a week at a time. Most of us can’t function if we don’t get our nightly eight hours and cup of coffee. Even their choice of whether to eat or not was ripped away through a grisly process described as "rectal feeding."

But these methods surely must have given us some helpful information, right? Wrong. They gave the CIA absolutely no information that they didn’t already know. Which means that innocent men and women were inhumanely tortured for absolutely nothing for years upon years. Over one hundred people have been scarred for life for no gain whatsoever.

Certainly, the panic surging throughout the United States in the months following 9/11 put national security forces on extremely high alert in order to prevent another attack against America. However, what is not excusable, under any circumstances, is treating a fellow human being, no matter who they are, what color their skin is, or who they pray to, like an animal, which is exactly what the CIA was allowed to do.

These events are disgusting and revolting. They are difficult to read without cringing. However, they must be confronted by and shown to the American people if these barbarian practices are ever to be stopped. Torture belongs to the Middle Ages and the history books. Not the 21st century.

Joseph Liporace
Clarksburg, United States

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.