Month: March 2016

Torture

I believe the use of torture is necessary in some cases to protect lives. However, yet again innocent people are being tortured by terrorists and even killed but for what reason? Thousands of people are being tortured just because of their beliefs and just to make people scared of terrorists. An example of this is Isis, a group of militants from Iraq. They have been going around parts of Iraq and have been killing people like they are animals, just because they believe in different things. Isis have even been capturing news reporters and have been torturing and killing them on live TV leaving families without their loved ones just because of what has been going on between their own countries. This torture is disgusting and unnecessary.

Another example of torture is when the American government torture the terrorists they have captured. This is the torture I believe is acceptable as it isn’t just to scare innocent people, it is required. The American government are torturing them because they need some information about the other terrorists, and trying to get information to stop any further attacks on the county and its people. However over the years there has been many complaints of human rights breaches in places such as America’s renowned prison called Guantanamo Bay, where on many occasions people held there have accused the Americans of torture. Three British Muslims who were detained there said after they were released that U.S forces tortured them, this included beatings and forced drugging. This is just one of many examples of people claiming they have been tortured at Guantanamo Bay. The issue with torture is that everybody has human rights and torture is a breach of the human rights act, and the government are breaking one of the nation’s rules. George Bush, when he was president, said only 30-40 people were ever subjected to “enhanced interrogation techniques”, one of these was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the organiser of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre’ “I believe this is when it is acceptable to use torture as he killed almost 3,000 people”. This was a statement made by the then president of the USA, proving that he went against the human rights act for his country’s wellbeing. I believe that this is an acceptable way to get information, however you could argue that when they have tortured someone but then released them that maybe in these cases torture wasn’t necessary, maybe it was a case of mistaken identity.

Torturing a terrorist may not be right, but surely saving thousands of lives must make it ok. Torturing someone is not something we should encourage, however in some cases I believe it is justified because you need to get information from these people in order to save many more lives. Although I do believe that torture should only be used to prevent future attacks. It is hard to argue with this when you consider in some countries they use the death penalty. The death penalty is another way to potentially get information out of someone, because if someone is faced with the death penalty for a crime, which they did not commit then they would inform the authorities of who it actually was. However, if the person does not value their life, then an innocent person may get killed, and the guilty person is able to roam the streets, and commit more crimes.

In conclusion I think torture should only be used if it is to get information that could save many lives. However it is a breach of human rights act which is breaking the law. Torture and the death penalty is just a means of punishing those who have committed a severe crime such as terrorism, treason, and mass murder. However sometimes justice has not been served and the innocent may be tortured or killed, this is why it is difficult to judge when somebody deserves to be tortured or face the death penalty.

J Humphry discusses in his article that the texting generation of today is ruining the English language, and how the younger generations are not picking up the english dictionary to develop their knowledge. This may be the case, they may not have used an English dictionary, but i can promise that texting is not ruining the English language. It is a way for the younger generations to express themselves, and is developing the English language. Not only is texting a way to communicate, it also allows people on social media to connect with each other, and express their feelings in a way that people that they know, understand. It is the short abbreviations of words that are effective in sending short, quick, and easy text’s. In case of an emergency, you do not want to be writing a full paragraph to let them know what is happening, you want to be able to send a quick, snappy text to show the emergency and where you are, and this one example of why modern language is so helpful.

Even the computers have evolved and accepted the change of language throughout the years, for example if you type on your computer or mobile device ”OMW’, the auto correct on the computer will automatically change it to say ‘On My Way’, yet again leading back to how quick and easy it is to communicate using texting language. I don’t see what J Humphry’s problem is, even William Shakespeare used different language to express himself, and much of that has evolved to the language we speak today, which he says is the correct way. J Humphry also mentions the problems with people using auto-correct, ‘The spell-check (sorry: spellcheck) on my computer is happy with both’. I do feel that this is a problem however, as auto corrects computers are giving us two ways to write one word, even if you spell the word wrong. Although it does help us when we are trying to type quickly, it does not give us or especially the younger generations an opportunity to learn from their mistakes. Furthermore, people aren’t gaining the knowledge of how to spell words. If you type the first three letters of a word it’ll come up with the word without you needing to know how to spell it fully. However It can also offer you the wrong word if you have not used enough letters or spelled the beginning incorrectly, making you think about the word you need to spell, a helpful side to auto correct. Despite this, it is hardly a ‘raping of the english language’ but helps people who find it hard to spell or those with learning difficulties . People with Learning difficulties are able to communicate with their friends effectively, due to auto correct. This type of technology not only helps them communicate, but can have a good effect on their confidence, social life, and ability to do things on their own.

”the eyes fall on a word you’ve never seen before or one whose meaning you’ve always wanted to check”I also agree with your love of reading the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) for the sake of learning because when you look through a dictionary you see hard words and ones you’ve never seen before and it gets you thinking of possibilities where you could use them. also, seeing a word constantly helps you remember how to spell it whereas with spell-check which suggests the words you use the most and as such you don’t learn new words. However, the times are changing, and the world is evolving. We are in a new era, where you can go online to access the dictionary, and for many it is easier. Even in schools they now promote the use of mobile devices to research, and type up classwork and this allows the children to use spellcheck and is proving quite handy.

Taking my view on board, i hope that J Humphry changes his opinion on the modern language and how the texting language is ‘pillaging’ our language.