“Torture”: The Song

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Nearly two decades ago, lyricist Ellen Fitzhugh and composer Jan Hammer wrote a ditty called “Torture” for a Star Wars musical that never came to light. The tune was supposed to be crooned by a robot controlled by Darth Vader. Instead, it’s being released to lament the robotic torture policies controlled by Vader’s doppelganger, Dick Cheney, for Friday’s U.N. International Day in Support of Torture Victims and Survivors.

Today, the words ring eerily true. Sample lyric: “For you it’s just a pain/For us it’s justified/But you’re too self-absorbed/To see it from our side.”

Watch the song’s YouTube treatment—set to creepy old cartoons—here:

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Our news will always be free to read, watch, and listen to online. But what is its value?

Unbiased reporting on the issues that billionaire-owned newsrooms won’t touch. Fearless research into the dark corners of government and corporations. Ferociously fact-checked news that focuses on the facts, and the facts alone.

It IS free for you and every reader, viewer, and listener to utilize. But it’s not free for our team to make. So, what’s it worth to you? Let us know by making a donation: Make a one-time donation today to support this work. Or make a monthly sustaining donation to help us plan for the future.

Whatever you choose, know that you’re supporting more independent, investigative journalism in a time when we need it most.

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