Waterboarding

[rm]

From all over my friends list:

Is waterboarding torture?

A dude on the Internet (in very good shape and politcally conservative, I should note) tries it to find out.

His answer?

Yes.

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=448717

This is one of those not to be missed strange political moments on the Internet.

Comments

[jaspamaster.livejournal.com]

and yet he still manages to make a jerk of himself in his replies.

Its nice to se where he went for it and changed his tune but then goes on in a later reply to use his ability and breaking point as an absolute for anyone who could or would be tortured.

At least he got one thing right, the funny thing is for all his training and background he almost earned himself a Darwin award as he could have killed himself with that stunt.

[delchi.livejournal.com]

I'm still lost on how anyone can think that it's not tortue.

[winterknight.livejournal.com]

Anaphylactic shock, as I've had it, is very similar to that feeling. I have PTSD from the two bouts I had followed by being told that I could have that reaction again, any time, any where, for no reason except that that's what my body does. Yep.

I know a girl who tore out her own throat during an attack, with her bare fingers, in a blind panic. She survived, but the story puts that 'switch flip' into perspective.

I know what it's like to take that breath that's the last one and for there to be nothing after. Nothing like it at all.

[sociallyawkrd.livejournal.com]

It is. I am deathly allergic to of all freaking things Naproxen. I was in college when Aleve came out, a friend gave it to me and left me alone for a bit to recover from my headache. She came back about 45 minutes later to me not breathing (but with a hearbeat thank god). I remembered a good chunk of the bit before I passed out and I thought I was going to do die. I fought pretty hard (although not to claw out my throat).

So yes if waterboarding is like that...then hell yeah it is torture. (although I pretty much thought it was before)

[baldanders.livejournal.com]

It is beyond me how anyone could think that a physical technique used to soften people up for interrogation wasn't torture.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah. But this whole thing is one long thread of "OMGWTF?"