Who was the guy that "water-boarded" Mancow?

[kentuck]

Did he have previous experience?

Granted, I have no experience whatsoever at "waterboarding" but it seems to me that the water should be poured much more slowly over a cloth so that the prisoner can drown more slowly?

It was a useful exercise in that it showed how prisoners cannot stop the water from going down their nose. However, it was nothing like the "real thing".

First of all, his arms were not tied down to the gurney. He was not being tortured by al Qaeda or an enemy. He can say "stop" at any time. He knew he was not going to drown. Big difference.

But there should be no doubt in anyone's mind that "waterboarding" is torture. But this was only one of the techniques that were used. The others were cruel and inhumane as well.

[babylonsister]

1. Olbermann said the guy 'earned' $10,000 for his part last night.

Those earnings are going to a Vet's charity, so he must have been 'experienced', I'm thinking.

And it was real enough to shut up the apologists, which is okay by me.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SteelPenguin]

3. My understanding was that he was a Marine Sergeant

and that he'd been trained to do it at SERE.

[underpants]

4. What was that THING on Mancow's chin and upper lip?

Is it really still 1993?

[MagickMuffin]

5. The Marine said he was NOT a professional and it showed

First, of all from all the footage I have seen the cloth is placed over the nose and mouth. This was not the case with "Mancow" it was over his eyes and nose.

Secondly, the Marine said he was holding his nose but afterward they are saying it went down his nose :shrug:

At the end of the video the Marine makes the statement that he IS NOT a professional, so basically he didn't really know what he was doing or how it was suppose to be done.

[lunatica]

6. How do you know what technique has been used all along?

We've seen exactly two instances of volunteers being waterboarded. Cristopher Hitchins and this Mankow guy. Both lasted mere seconds even knowing they could stop it instantly. That doesn't make them cowards by the way. It makes waterboarding torture, which is what both said it was after laughing at anyone who claimed it wasn't.

We've never seen it done for real, so we don't know how it's done normally. For all we know it may be worse, and probably is as the torturers don't believe they'll be held accountable.

[kentuck]

7. I think I said in my post what would have made it more "real"...

???

[MagickMuffin]

8. KO shows videos of waterboarding and I don't think it is Hitchins

Here's a link to demonstrations if you want to see it being done.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=waterboarding+demonstration&aq=0&oq=waterboarding

[lunatica]

13. One video to show what the 'correct' technique is?

I guess you've been at these torture sessions to see that they're done right?

[Harry Monroe]

9. Slowly? He should have shoved a fire hose up that asshole's nose!!

But granted, I'm sure the slow method is much more terrifying, due to its very nature of being slow and nonstop.

[MajorChode]

10. His experience was NOTHING like the real thing

He was not tied down and was free to call uncle when he had enough. Even at that he didn't last for more than a few seconds. Imagine being tied down for the experience, your screams ignored, and not knowing if you were going to be actually killed or not.

Anyone who says it isn't torture is simply a fucking moron who doesn't have enough synapses actively firing to know when their ideology is overpowering anything that remotely resembles reason and common sense. You don't need someone pouring water over your nose to figure that one out.

[kentuck]

12. He proved another thing...

there is no empathy within the brains of right-wingers. He had "no idea" it would be like that?

[MajorChode]

14. I'm not sure if it's a matter of empathy or just garden variety stupidity

For most wingnuts I have ever bothered to listen, it doesn't take long to conclude they can only think in very simplistic terms. They use a lot of analogies and metaphors because they simply have no ability to think outside of meaningless abstractions when it comes to even remotely complex ideas. That's why wingnuts are so easily swayed by pundits like Limbaugh, Beck, and others that speak almost exclusively in false analogies and metaphorical idiocies. Limbaugh tells them that waterboarding is just a bit of "water on the face" and they believe it, because they simply have no ability to think things through for themselves.

[kentuck]

15. I was trying to be charitable..

:-)

[MajorChode]

16. I used to think that way

There was a time when I thought that conservatives weren't so stupid. Although I never got on board with their ideology, the premise that smaller government leads to increased liberty at least at it's heart has the goal of liberty. However, given the candidates they so vehemently support, I've come to the conclusion that so-called conservatives don't give the least shit about liberty. They will gladly sell out liberty just like turning their mothers out to prostitution. Their ideology is nothing more than that which serves their bigotry. No more do they deserve the least bit of respect. They deserve nothing more than to be ridiculed and marginalized.

[hootinholler]

17. The two are fairly indistinguishable. n/t

[cwydro]

11. Not only that, but he was nice enough

to hold Mancow's nose closed. Jeez.

[lonestarnot]

18. Girlcow