Torture

Torture (from the Latin tortus, “twisted") is the act of deliberately inflicting physical or psychological pain on an organism in order to fulfil some desire of the torturer or compel some action from the victim. Torture, by definition, is a knowing and intentional act; deeds which unknowingly or negligently inflict pain without a specific intent to do so are not typically considered torture.

Torture has been carried out or sanctioned by individuals, groups, and states throughout history from ancient times to modern day, and forms of torture can vary greatly in duration from only a few minutes to several days or longer. Reasons for torture can include punishment, revenge, political re-education, deterrence, interrogation or coercion of the victim or a third party, or simply the sadistic gratification of those carrying out or observing the torture. The need to torture another is thought to be the result of internal psychological pressure in the psyche of the torturer. The torturer may or may not intend to kill or injure the victim, but sometimes torture is deliberately fatal and can precede a murder or serve as a form of capital punishment. In other cases, the torturer may be indifferent to the condition of the victim. Alternatively, some forms of torture are designed to inflict psychological pain or leave as little physical injury or evidence as possible while achieving the same psychological devastation. Depending on the aim, even a form of torture that is intentionally fatal may be prolonged to allow the victim to suffer as long as possible (such as half-hanging).

Torture and the United States

Torture and the United States includes documented and alleged cases of torture both inside and outside the United States by members of the U.S. government, the U.S. military, U.S. law enforcement agencies, U.S. intelligence agencies, U.S. health care services, and other U.S. public organizations.

This includes the U.S. government, fifty U.S. state and territorial governments, 3,033 county, and thousands of municipal governments, all of which have their own independent judicial systems. All are subject to the U.S. Constitution and their own state constitutions.

While the term "torture" is defined in numerous places, including dictionaries and encyclopedias of various nations or cultures, this article only addresses the legal definition of the term, under the codified and case law of the United States of America. After the U.S. dismissed United Nations concerns about torture in 2006, one UK judge observed 'America's idea of what is torture ... does not appear to coincide with that of most civilized nations'. A two-year study by U.S. independent group The Constitution Project concluded that it was "indisputable" that U.S. forces had employed torture as well as "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" in many interrogations; that "the nation's most senior officials" bear ultimate responsibility for allowing and contributing to the spread of these techniques, and that there is substantial evidence that information obtained by these methods was neither useful nor reliable.

Torture (The Jacksons song)

"Torture" is the second single released off the album Victory by the band, The Jacksons. Written by Jackie Jackson and fellow Motown veteran Kathy Wakefield, the song is about someone ending a relationship and the torture that a person can receive while trying to end it. Jackie was originally going to sing the song with his brother, Michael, but Jackie's role instead went to Jermaine Jackson, whose availability for the album was in question until the last minute. The rest of the Jacksons sang the chorus along with Michael and Jermaine.

The song received mixed reactions from critics. The video was probably best known for Michael not being available, and the use of a wax dummy in his place throughout the video. Paula Abdul replaced Perri Lister as the video's choreographer, in which various scenes of torture are displayed with the Jacksons being on the receiving end of most of it. The shoot was an expensive and arduous affair that neither Michael nor Jermaine took part in, and it ultimately bankrupted the production company. The song peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it the second best selling single on the album, behind "State of Shock". It also peaked at #26 on the UK charts.

Room (magazine)

Room (formerly Room of One's Own) is a Canadian quarterly literary journal that features the work of emerging and established women and genderqueer writers and artists. Launched in Vancouver in 1975 by the West Coast Feminist Literary Magazine Society, or the Growing Room Collective, the journal has published an estimated 3,000 women, serving as an important launching pad for emerging writers. Currently, Room publishes short fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, art, feature interviews, and features that promote dialogue between readers, writers and the collective, including "Roommate" (a profile of a Room reader or collective member) and "The Back Room" (back page interviews on feminist topics of interest). Collective members are regular participants in literary and arts festivals in Greater Vancouver and Toronto.

History

The journal's original title (1975-2006) Room of One's Own came from Virginia Woolf's essay A Room of One's Own. In 2007, the collective relaunched the magazine as Room, reflecting a more outward-facing, conversational editorial mandate; however, the original name and its inspiration is reflected in a quote from the Woolf essay that always appears on the back cover of the magazine.

Room (disambiguation)

A room is any distinguishable space within a structure.

Room may also refer to:

People named Room

Room 33

"Room 33" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of the anthology television series American Horror Story. It aired on November 11, 2015 on the cable network FX.

Plot

1926

Elizabeth (Lady Gaga) goes to the Murder House to visit Dr. Charles Montgomery (Matt Ross), revealing that she is three weeks pregnant. Before the abortion, the nurse is skeptical about Elizabeth's abnormally low body temperature. During the process, the baby attacks the nurse assisting Charles with the operation. When Elizabeth wakes up, he announces she had a boy.

2015

In present day, John Lowe (Wes Bentley) is awoken from sleep by Holden (Lennon Henry), and he chases him reaching the underground swimming pool where he sees Alex Lowe (Chloë Sevigny) and Holden in a coffin, and faints upon seeing them. Liz Taylor (Denis O'Hare) and Tristan Duffy (Finn Wittrock) have sex and profess their love for each other, but they are wary about Elizabeth. In the meantime, Elizabeth and Will Drake (Cheyenne Jackson) also have sex, but stop due to Will's erectile dysfunction. She texts Tristan to join them, asking him to perform fellatio on Will. Alex drugs John and with Liz's help destroy the coffins. John awakes again and sees Alex on his bed. She explains that his "vision" of the pool filled with coffins is from Scarlett's (Shree Crooks) description. She follows him down to the now emptied sleeping chamber. Elizabeth visits her son in Room 33, before leaving for Paris.