Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter recently requested that arch-contrarian Christopher Hitchens get in on the torture debate, Plimpton-style. Ever the badass, Hitchens accepted.
The only two qualifiers I would offer are: 1) as far as the real thing is concerned, it pretty much begins exactly where this demonstration ends, and that, 2) the truly awful thing about torture is the loss of autonomy and personal will. So such a demonstration, while salient, remains just that: a demonstration.
Hitchens' article on the experience: Believe Me, It's Torture
UPDATE: a good companion podcast to the subject, courtesy of Philosophy Bites:
Raimond Gaita on Torture
UPDATE 2: from Mogolori downthread:
In tandem, be sure to read Scott Shane's revelation in today's New York Times, "China Inspired Interrogations at Guantánamo.
http://www.nytimes.com/...