“After that they hanged me. There was some kind of machine — a winch — "

[kpete]

Stress positions? Hey, I stand for 9-10 hours a day at my desk.

Forming a Frame

Would that that might happen when someone mentioned a torture technique. I suppose it may be that I've been writing on this blog for a while, but the words "stress position" float up in my mind when I see that picture too. They don't for most people, most people don't know what the famous Rumsfeld/Haynes memo was talking about, stress position. When Senator McCaskill belabored the lack of constraints in that memo on removal of clothing, after Jim Haynes asserted, rather ridiculously, that that did not imply nudity. Nudity bothers us Americans. Stress positions? Hey, I stand for 9-10 hours a day at my desk. But they should conjure up a distinct revulsion. Remember strappado and squassation? I wrote about them once before. In not one, but two accounts of the treatment of individual detainees interviewed by PHR doctors and psychologists, they show up:

He stated, “After that they hanged me. There was some kind of machine — a winch — that pulled me up after each question…and because of this torture, I lost consciousness two times… and when I (lost consciousness) they pour(ed) cold water on me and (went) on questioning me.” He noted that his shoulder was dislocated as a result of being suspended. He also reported losing feeling in his arms while being suspended, and the numbness persisted for approximately three months afterward. (p. 21, "Hafez")

One time they took me to be questioned and there was a chain coming from the ceiling. It was a winch. They pulled me (by my wrists, from behind) and they left me for about four hours. Only my toes were touching (the floor). I started saying to them, “It is very painful — I have a very severe headache,” and after that I passed out. (p. 18, "Kamal")

In both cases, medical examination found that nerve injury had occurred, and in one case problems with range of motion of the shoulder, consistent with the use of this technique, a favorite of the Inquisition. A third detainee was suspended, it isn't clear from his statement that it was necessarily this method, but he did pass out from the pain. Keep in mind that leaving the toes on the ground is also a well studied torture technique: It's used to slow the inevitable dislocation of the shoulders. Stress positions. Oh, and in the case of Hafez, a "doctor" attempted to reduce the dislocation, and then, once satisfied that the shoulder had been put back in place, told the interrogators to "continue" (p.21).

http://humanityagainstcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/06/its-been-big-week.html

[derby378]

1. Ever try to strappado yourself? I did...

I didn't suspend myself off the ground, but I did torque my arms behind me as far as they would go. I must say that I do not recommend anyone trying this as it can be rather uncomfortable and there is a chance you may dislocate or tear something.

If this is what the Bush administration tries to pass off as "stress positions," their place in Hell has been guaranteed.

[Webster Green]

2. This was a favorite technique of the Nazis..

Of course Bush is a fucking Nazi, so it's not a surprise he uses it too.

[kentuck]

3. I'm Proud To Be An American...

At least I know I'm free...

(Everybody! All together now!)

[derby378]

5. Oh, I've got a song for you...

I was listening to the news the other day
I heard a fat politician who had the nerve to say
He was proud to be American, by the way
With the glories of our past to remember
Here's to us, who's like us, listen to the cry
No surrender to the truth, and here's the reason why
The pride and the glory's just another bloody lie
They use to keep us all in line

'Cause there's no gods and there's precious few heroes
But there's plenty on the take in the land of the free
And it's time now to sweep the future clear
Of the lies of a past that we know was never real

So to hell with "God Bless the USA"
It's just cheap crowd control on Independence Day
And they want the teeming masses kept that way
And if men can think like sheep, it's even better
There's nothing much to choose between the old guard and the new
They still don't give a damn for the likes of me and you
Just mind you pay your taxes to your Uncle when they're due
And mind your bloody manners when you pay

'Cause there's no gods and there's precious few heroes
But there's plenty on the take in the land of the free
And it's time now to sweep the future clear
Of the lies of a past that we know was never real

And tell me, will we never hear the end
Of September-Bloody-11 and the Towers yet again
Bush ran like a rabbit down the glen
Leaving better folk than him to be butchered
Or are you sitting in your La-Z-Boy, thinking of your clan
Waiting for the Minutemen to come and free the land
Try storming City Hall with a rifle in your hand
And count all the lobbyists in the queue

'Cause there's no gods and there's precious few heroes
But there's plenty on the take in the land of the free
And it's time now to sweep the future clear
Of the lies of a past that we know was never real

So don't tell me 'bout the home of the brave
'Cause if we don't fight soon there'll be nothing left to save
Or would you rather stand and watch them dig your grave
While you wait for the Republican Messiah
He'll lead us to the Promised Land with laughter in his eye
We'll all live off the oil and the whiskey, by and by
Free market bullshit and the hungry masses die
Will we never have the sense to learn

'Cause there's no gods and there's precious few heroes
But there's plenty on the take in the land of the free
And it's time now to sweep the future clear
Of the lies of a past that we know was never real

Aye, there's no gods and there's precious few heroes
But there's plenty on the take in the land of the free
And I'm damn sure that there's plenty live in fear
Of the day we stand together with our shoulders to the wheel

With apologies to Brian McNeill...

[bleever]

4. kpete,

when do you rest?

:hi:

This story highlights the banal evil of the BFEE, whereby the law is turned inside out, and made to become the servant of evil.

But we will see this end, and America righted. I know it.

[crickets]

6. ...

[Triana]

7. This is the way McCain was tortured. HE of all people ought to know better...

...than to support this.

[Solly Mack]

8. K&R

All the truth coming out in the world won't make up for (or change or make less complicit) allowing the war criminal executive to go free.