Latest UN silliness.

[unixronin]

Tasers are torture, says the UN.  But waterboarding?  What's that?  "We 'ave not 'eard of zees waterboarding.  Should we be concerned?"  (You may know it by its older name, "Chinese water torture".)

When people elect a bunch of mendacious fools to lead them, you get governments.  When governments elect a bunch of mendacious fools to lead them, you get the UN.

Comments

[guppiecat]

It's not torture, it's a public service. See, they're from a desert, so they don't know how to swim. All our government is doing is teaching them a valuable life skill!

Actually, I'm surprised that our government hasn't tried that excuse yet.

Just a point of detail

[http://users.livejournal.com/crossfire_/]

Chinese water torture is not the same as waterboarding. The Chinese water torture is simply strapping someone down and dripping water on them slowly but steadily until they go insane. Like most subtle forms of torture, it doesn't always work, though there was a Mythbusters episode where they confirmed the myth (cold water + variable dripping rates proved to be the most effective).

Waterboarding, on the other hand, is the simulated drowning of a person. It can be as simple as stuffing rags into someone's mouth and pouring gallons of water over their face, or it can be as complex and controlled as strapping the person to a board and dunking them head-first into a pool of water until they start to drown.

Re: Just a point of detail

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I thought the Chinese had used both forms. But I'll take your word for it.

Re: Just a point of detail

[http://users.livejournal.com/crossfire_/]

They may very well have--it is, after all a...uh...logical form of torture. But the specific name "Chinese water torture" refers to the more subtle version.

It's a point of detail that I've seen cause misconceptions about the seriousness of this situation.