[Rick James]

Clicky

Speaking as one who is overall a political liberal, I do sometimes find Keith Olbermann annoying, but the facts he raises are nonetheless disturbing, and the Harper's article mentioned raises some very uncomfortable questions.

According to the NCIS, each prisoner had fashioned a noose from torn sheets and T-shirts and tied it to the top of his cell’s eight-foot-high steel-mesh wall. Each prisoner was able somehow to bind his own hands, and, in at least one case, his own feet, then stuff more rags deep down into his own throat. We are then asked to believe that each prisoner, even as he was choking on those rags, climbed up on his washbasin, slipped his head through the noose, tightened it, and leapt from the washbasin to hang until he asphyxiated. The NCIS report also proposes that the three prisoners, who were held in non-adjoining cells, carried out each of these actions almost simultaneously.

Three prisoners, all in isolated cells, decided at the same time to commit suicide in the exact same fashion as one another?

What the fudge is going on here? How did those detainees actually die? And why?

[Dilmah G]

Who knows? Maybe they all decided they'd had enough last time they talked?

[Nuclear1]

Given the sorts of things Gitmo interrogators have been known to do, I wouldn't doubt these prisoners were murdered.

I would possibly believe suicide, but the suicides are far too similar.

[Aardwolf]

It's possible it was an organized protest... The only way to get a message out, etc.

Although IIRC suicide is forbidden in all the Judeo-Christian religions, that doesn't stop Christians, so I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't stop these guys.

Impossible to tell.

[Dilmah G]

When you're in this kind of situation, I doubt religion matters much, especially since I could've sworn I read somewhere that Gitmo interrogators pissed on copies of the Koran in front of them.

[Nuke]

face it, gitmo was his white elephant excuse to get elected. every politician does it. they look at the world, find something that everyone doesnt likes, and promises to fix it. and then as soon as theyre in office, they dont. seriously, you didnt expect this?

[Bobboau]

no they didn't, they actually thought he would be different, they actually believed in the change.

[General Battuta]

Who's 'they'?

[SpardaSon21]

"They" being people who voted for Obama and who thought he would be different from Bush.

[General Battuta]

He is demonstrably different from Bush.

People just remain persistently unaware that the President has relatively little power. In spite of this limitation Obama has done a fair amount to move us back in the right direction, including moving to shut down Gitmo. I'm sure we'd all be happier if it was going a bit faster, though.

Nonetheless, attributing responsibility for these murders to Obama is a bit like blaming a broken leg on the sun rising that morning.

[SpardaSon21]

Yes, Obama is different from Bush, and depending on your political views that's either good or bad.

Democrat: Obama isn't Bush, we love him!

Republican: Obama isn't Bush, we hate him!

Libertarian: Obama is a corrupt piece of **** just like all politicians, so we hate him.

[General Battuta]

Well, I think Republicans are glad to have someone different from Bush, but they think Obama's different in the wrong direction.

[blackhole]

Or maybe absolutely no one has a goddamn clue what they're talking about in the first place.

[General Battuta]

Directionless rage?

[Dilmah G]

I hate everything that exists.

You bet.

[High Max]

The NCIS report also proposes that the three prisoners, who were held in non-adjoining cells, carried out each of these actions almost simultaneously.

Sounds similar to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_of_the_Century ... in which people were possessed and killed themselves because they were being controlled by some supernatural entity. Good movie by the way.

Also, Bush seemed like a Sith by talking in absolutes saying sillying things like 'either you are with us or with the terrorists' when both sides technically committed what would be defined as terrorism.

[Bob-san]

Thank you, President Obama, for instituting some real changes!

[General Battuta]

Thank you, President Obama, for instituting some real changes!

Nonetheless, attributing responsibility for these murders to Obama is a bit like blaming a broken leg on the sun rising that morning.

Hooray for not reading threads?

I wouldn't have blamed Bush for this one (well, maybe for creating the situations that put people there in the first place). No reason to blame Obama.

[High Max]

Is it really a good idea to blame presidents so harshly when congress has the real power and the president can't do a thing without congress' approval?

As for people blaming Obama. It is kind of silly to do so since the problem that we have was already there when Obama took office and these problems occured when Bush was president, and taking office while all these problems are present is quite a predicament for Obama to be in (I can imagine the stress a president has to endure and it must be utter hell). Also, Obama hasn't had much time in office yet, which is another reason for people to not be so quick to blame him for any problems. Seems that older people who are pure conservative have a thing against him and always think dropping bombs is the answer.

[Mars]

If we wanted a president who could get things done, we'd have a king.