a rare surprise

[winterbadger]

Sen. John McCain actually said something that I not only agree with but applaud him for saying.

According to BBC reporting, Sen. McCain, along with Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Carl Levin, criticized the new film Zero Dark Thirty for suggesting that torture was an effective tool in the hunt for Osama bin Laden. The three published a letter in which

The senators said the "use of torture in the fight against terrorism did severe damage to America's values and standing that cannot be
justified or expunged".

The makers of Zero Dark Thirty, they went on, had "a social and moral obligation to get the facts right".

Good on them.

(As an aside, I have worked with the US military on many occasions over the years, and many of my friends and acquaintances are serving or retired military. I have NEVER heard anyone say "zero dark thirty"; this expression (which usually means "really, really early" rather than referring to a specific time), is pronounced "oh dark thirty".)

Comments

[wcg.livejournal.com]

I have, in fact, known Marines to say "zero dark thirty." So yeah, it can happen.

[winterbadger]

Alas! I stand corrected.

[wolfette]

in the UK we say "at crack of sparrow-fart" :-)