Reluctant Habits » Torture

Hitch Shifts from Makeovers to More Substantive Stunt Journalism

Edward Champion — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:35:13 +0000

Christopher Hitchens is waterboarded and confesses, “Well, then, if waterboarding does not constitute torture, then there is no such thing as torture.” Video here. (via Maud

It’s Doubtful We’ll Be Saying a Guantanamo Reunion Along These Lines

Edward Champion — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 15:21:28 +0000

Washigton Post: “‘During the many interrogations, I never laid hands on anyone,’ said George Frenkel, 87, of Kensington. ‘We extracted information in a battle of the wits. I’m proud to say I never compromised my humanity.’”

In Tony Snow’s Universe, An Electrocution to the Nuts is “Playful Shocking”

Edward Champion — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 22:21:32 +0000

Editor & Publisher: “He said Cheney is not a guy who ‘slips up,’ but a reporter wondered if, in fact, it was no slip up—that is, we do waterboard, and the vice president wanted to signal to voters that the Republicans are tougher than the Democrats. Asked to define ‘a dunk in the water,’ Snow replied: ‘A dunk in the water.’ A reporter later asked, if dunking does not mean waterboarding, does that mean there’s a new swimming pool at Guantanomo? That did not get a reply.”

Not Graphic Enough, Keller! And Besides Where Was This on Thursday?

Edward Champion — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 19:43:03 +0000

New York Times Corrections: “A front-page article on Thursday about an announcement by President Bush that 14 high-profile terror suspects had been transferred from secret prisons run by the Central Intelligence Agency to the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, incompletely described the interrogation technique of waterboarding, which intelligence officials say was used on one suspect. The technique involves strapping a prisoner to a board with his feet elevated above his head and placing a wet cloth down his throat or over his nose and mouth to create the sensation of drowning.”

More Abu Ghraib Photos

Edward Champion — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 14:14:45 +0000

Here. These were, of course, kept secret from the public. Disgusting. Definitely NSFW. I’m ashamed to be American. And I think I’m going to roll into a ball. Because if these photos don’t get America horrified, I don’t know what will.

NPR, of course, is silent about these images this morning.

I’m looking at CNN’s website and there’s a tiny link to the right when this should be the top story.

Nothing at the Washington Post or the New York Times. Or even my hometown paper, the San Francisco Chronicle.

In short, the American media is thoroughly bought and paid for at a time when Americans absolutely need to bear witness to the inhumane and cruel actions that Americans — yes, that would be us — have inflicted upon the Iraqi people. They need to understand that these images were kept from them by a government all too determined to “protect” them from the knowledge that war is well beyond hell.

I can’t imagine what kind of atavistic asshole you have to be to turn away and ignore these images and walk into work with that bullshit skip in your stride, that Starbucks cup in your hand, and say to yourself just how great it is to be an American.

[UPDATE: Transcript from Australian news program containing more details on the video and link to video itself. Utterly atavistic. (Thanks for the lead, Tayari!)]

[UPDATE 2: Brian Sawyer writes in to note that the images are now the front-page story on CNN and Google News. The San Francisco Chronicle? A Valentine's Day pillow fight at the Ferry Building is apparently more important than these new photos. See screenshot below.]

Uzbekistan: The United States’ Dirty Little Secret

Edward Champion — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 05:18:32 +0000

In an effort to protest the United States government’s recognition of Uzbekistan, a nation that specializes in torturing prisoners to death with boiling water (their names were Elena Urlaeva and Larissa Vdovna) as well as torturing children in front of their parents, I mirror the following documents, as per the viral stratagems of Blairwatch, in an effort to draw attention to Craig Murray‘s memos, information that the UK government is currently trying to oppress:

Series of telegrams sent by Craig Murray to UK Foreign Office
Copy of legal advice the UK Foreign Office sought

Despite all this, the United States has remained one of Uzbekistan’s largest trade partners. We’re talking half a billion dollars (largely weapons) in 2003 and 2004, and some $2.383 billion in investment projects involving American companies and financial institutions.