[Mars]

Wonder how long before the smart people in America have another reveloution. I'm not feeling like I can make any impact in the governement right now.

Looks around nervously in case the Department of Homeland Security is bushing down the door to take me to a secret torture base.

[Shade]

Don't worry. They won't come until you're asleep.

[an0n]

They're like Santa.

They know the second you fall asleep. Then they land on your roof, break into your house and beat you with clubs till you stop screaming.

[Mars]

It worries me how much ammusment this thought seems to be giving you an0n. 

 

I'll post a desperate message for help when I hear them in the fireplace, one that ends mid-word.

[Flipside]

Can't win can they....

'Omg! he killed an innocent civilian!'
'Who?'
''Himself!'
'But I thought he was here cos he was a Terrorist?'
'Yes, but...er....the Terrorist part of him turned on the rest and killed it! Yes! That's what happened!'

[Rictor]

More like

"Oh God Abdul, if I have to hear that guard talk about American Idol one more time I'll fukcing off myself! No, I know it's a sin, I don't care! He never stops! I knew we would be tortured, but this is simply sadism. Just starting cutting off my fingers or something, I would welcome it, anything is preferable to this! "

[an0n]

Torture is being forced to hear about it, without getting to drool over that McPhee chick.

[Turambar]

no, torture is being forced to listen to this competition to see who's better at singing music that sucks.

[an0n]

That's why the TV has a mute button.

[NGTM-1R]

So what?

So if you dismiss the circumstances, I'll just dismiss you out of hand. Because clearly you're delusional if you think they don't matter.

Prove it.

I don't have to prove it; it's already been proved. This thread is one proof in and of itself. It worked. Perversely, it might not have worked had the camp commander not told the truth about what it was.

[Flipside]

That's circular thinking. The problem is not that these two may have commited suicide to further their own political cause. The point is that commiting suicide, whether it was depression, attempting to hide secrets or simply a political ploy along the lines of a hunger strike, is not an act of War and describing it as such was really rather silly.

Politically, it would have been wiser to say 'It's entirely possible these people killed themselves to prevent giving out information that could have saved lives.'. Taking a passive stance and implying that by killing themselves they have endangered other people would have swayed support more in their direction. It's more or less the same as saying 'It's an act of War', but not trying to define it as such, which is what has caused the main problem.

[an0n]

What he means is they killed themselves so everyone would go "Oooh, look how mean the Americans are."

[Flipside]

Exactly, and by defining it as an act of War, rather than simply saying, 'Well, they must have had something to hide' would have been wiser than stamping their feet and saying 'We're not mean!', because you are immediately drawing attention to the whole situation. Misdirection beats denial every single time

[aldo_14]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5070514.stm

One of the three men who committed suicide at the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay was due to be released - but did not know it, says a US lawyer.  Mark Denbeaux, who represents some of the foreign detainees, told the BBC's World Today programme the man was among 141 prisoners scheduled for release.
...
The Pentagon named the prisoner who had been recommended for transfer as 30-year-old Saudi Arabian Mani Shaman Turki al-Habardi Al-Utaybi.
...
Utaybi had been declared a "safe person, free to be released" but the US needed a country to send him to, Professor Denbeaux said.

[Jetmech Jr.]

Wow, aldo...that's ****ing depressing.

[Flipside]

Indeed, wasn't there an item not that long ago about a riot because the soldiers allegedly wanted to search the Quoran's for illegally stored medicine to prevent a suicide attempt or something?

[aldo_14]

Indeed, wasn't there an item not that long ago about a riot because the soldiers allegedly wanted to search the Quoran's for illegally stored medicine to prevent a suicide attempt or something?

Probably. To be fair, in the context of a prison system, it's wholly understandable and indeed reasonable to have that sort of search.  It's the arbitrary detention of innocent (until proven guilty at the very least) people for years on end that grates. 

Any prison would have suicides or attempts to some degree, but the issue is IMO that everyone there is, in legal terms, innocent and being held in breach of our basic system/s of justice.  That, and the strong evidence of torture (which to me would make any case pretty much untriable).