That sort of thing; waterboarding, swirlies, etc.; puts a person in fear of something. The notion that swirlies aren't taken more seriously is the reason distraught kids shoot up schools. If you are kept against your will and put in fear of losing your life in order to coerce information, you have been submitted to torture. Ridiculous? the idiots running these places took PICTURES of prisoners being submitted to this sort of thing. It is the same as making someone stand in an iron maiden, or strapping them over a growing bamboo spike. Just because it is "safer" doesn't make it any less evil. Moreover, scaring answers from a prisoner with fear of continued pain or death just makes them likely to tell you whatever they think will get them off the hook, but not necessarily the truth.
Intelligence, not force, is necessary to get reliable information from a prisoner. You must have some knowledge of where they came from and what they were doing. Then give them a perceived method of helping the cause they are fighting for, not themselves. As a prisoner, an enemy combatant has likely given up on himself as a going concern. He will still likely die for his cause. Use what you know of him against him.
Your method of argument, "grow some balls" and "ice-cream and lollipops", tells me you are likely listening to the propaganda spouted by certain pundits and likely have put very little thought into this sort of thing yourself.
As for my lumping Mr. McCain in with the others in his party, I apologize. I think I've seen questions craftily avoided too much. Maybe the "Straight Talk Express" is still on schedule. I think I should go look at his website.
Clinton and Obama are both viable candidates for the presidency. Unfortunately, I foresee the Democratic party running the winner and runner up in their primary as running mates. This will frighten away voters. The American people are afraid of too much change. A woman and a black man on the same ticket will ruffle enough bits of the populace that we will have 4 years of President McCain.
McCain, Romney and Huckabee have all waffled and started puking platitudes when asked about waterboarding. The simple question for them is, "If waterboarding is NOT torture, then why are they doing it?" If we want a nation that is at least in appearance against torture, we need to avoid those candidates.
Plenty of money-sucking ticks on our country move out for tax purposes or cheap labor. How long until WE as a PEOPLE get sick enough of this STEALING of our jobs that we kick out our "elected" "representatives" in government who have engineered the trade agreements that make this possible. (And yes, it needed two sets of quotes.)
Don't get me wrong, I have a job. I can pay my bills. It just sickens me to see more of my friends and neighbors every day who can't. Even if you have a job and are entirely self-serving, you should realize that a society losing its jobs is only going to breed crime faster than the spread of any supervirus in their distracting news stories.
Don't walk around with the attitude of "I can't do anything about it". Talk to the others around you. Make sure everyone is at least irritated at these leeching bastards. Together we can start a wave of giving a crap about our fellows. Most of the money in the world cannot stand against most of the people in the world for long; because people's beliefs give money its power in the first place.
... and IE only websites will only occur on Microsoft servers. Is this the beginning of a downswing for Microsoft, or just another harsh business move designed to kill off Macintosh?
We as a community of "enlightened" people need to inform our employers/friends of the difference between "public site doesn't follow public standards" and "I wanna go here and it wont load on my browser".
Leeches? We used to dreeeam of having leeches. We had to play naked, under the tables at a McDonalds. And to get a random number, we used to count the salt crystals stuck to each others' bums.
Seriously, watch out for Joss Whedon. The man knows how to produce and write good shows. He knows how to hire good writers to back things up for him. Really, character development in his shows was good enough that even us geeks gloss over the plot/science holes.
Now if the gorram T.V. execs would pull their heads out.
The original strip was a parody of both Strawberry Shortcake AND American McGee. It would have done NO harm to the image of either party, as they are obvious take-offs on aspects of the other.
Had I been a legal eagle at American Greetings, I would have replied by getting one o' my art guys to draw up a Strawberry-esque Tycho and Gabe with the following layout: Panel 1:
Tycho: We use DIRTY words. Panel 2:
Gabe: MUCK!! Panel 3:
Both: tee hee!
The only image tarnished by this whole affair is that of the overly-litigious facist dorks who thought a suit would be a good idea.
Slashdot Mirror
Wouldn't they have to use falcons? Hawks might keep rabbits off the runway, but they don't hunt birds.
I couldn't help but think the same as you while watching that speech.
Ever hear "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" by XTC?
"but he made too many enemies
of the people who would keep us on our knees."
That sort of thing; waterboarding, swirlies, etc.; puts a person in fear of something. The notion that swirlies aren't taken more seriously is the reason distraught kids shoot up schools. If you are kept against your will and put in fear of losing your life in order to coerce information, you have been submitted to torture. Ridiculous? the idiots running these places took PICTURES of prisoners being submitted to this sort of thing. It is the same as making someone stand in an iron maiden, or strapping them over a growing bamboo spike. Just because it is "safer" doesn't make it any less evil. Moreover, scaring answers from a prisoner with fear of continued pain or death just makes them likely to tell you whatever they think will get them off the hook, but not necessarily the truth.
Intelligence, not force, is necessary to get reliable information from a prisoner. You must have some knowledge of where they came from and what they were doing. Then give them a perceived method of helping the cause they are fighting for, not themselves. As a prisoner, an enemy combatant has likely given up on himself as a going concern. He will still likely die for his cause. Use what you know of him against him.
Your method of argument, "grow some balls" and "ice-cream and lollipops", tells me you are likely listening to the propaganda spouted by certain pundits and likely have put very little thought into this sort of thing yourself.
As for my lumping Mr. McCain in with the others in his party, I apologize. I think I've seen questions craftily avoided too much. Maybe the "Straight Talk Express" is still on schedule. I think I should go look at his website.
Clinton and Obama are both viable candidates for the presidency. Unfortunately, I foresee the Democratic party running the winner and runner up in their primary as running mates. This will frighten away voters. The American people are afraid of too much change. A woman and a black man on the same ticket will ruffle enough bits of the populace that we will have 4 years of President McCain.
McCain, Romney and Huckabee have all waffled and started puking platitudes when asked about waterboarding. The simple question for them is, "If waterboarding is NOT torture, then why are they doing it?" If we want a nation that is at least in appearance against torture, we need to avoid those candidates.
Plenty of money-sucking ticks on our country move out for tax purposes or cheap labor. How long until WE as a PEOPLE get sick enough of this STEALING of our jobs that we kick out our "elected" "representatives" in government who have engineered the trade agreements that make this possible. (And yes, it needed two sets of quotes.)
Don't get me wrong, I have a job. I can pay my bills. It just sickens me to see more of my friends and neighbors every day who can't. Even if you have a job and are entirely self-serving, you should realize that a society losing its jobs is only going to breed crime faster than the spread of any supervirus in their distracting news stories.
Don't walk around with the attitude of "I can't do anything about it". Talk to the others around you. Make sure everyone is at least irritated at these leeching bastards. Together we can start a wave of giving a crap about our fellows. Most of the money in the world cannot stand against most of the people in the world for long; because people's beliefs give money its power in the first place.
... and IE only websites will only occur on Microsoft servers. Is this the beginning of a downswing for Microsoft, or just another harsh business move designed to kill off Macintosh?
We as a community of "enlightened" people need to inform our employers/friends of the difference between "public site doesn't follow public standards" and "I wanna go here and it wont load on my browser".
Leeches? We used to dreeeam of having leeches. We had to play naked, under the tables at a McDonalds. And to get a random number, we used to count the salt crystals stuck to each others' bums.
Another vote for more Firefly.
Seriously, watch out for Joss Whedon. The man knows how to produce and write good shows. He knows how to hire good writers to back things up for him. Really, character development in his shows was good enough that even us geeks gloss over the plot/science holes.
Now if the gorram T.V. execs would pull their heads out.
I wondered how long until someone came up with this.
... and don't forget the machine drugs.
Everyone else go out and READ THE STORIES, soak your brain, wallow in the magnificence that is Transmet.
The original strip was a parody of both Strawberry Shortcake AND American McGee. It would have done NO harm to the image of either party, as they are obvious take-offs on aspects of the other.
Had I been a legal eagle at American Greetings, I would have replied by getting one o' my art guys to draw up a Strawberry-esque Tycho and Gabe with the following layout:
Panel 1:
Tycho: We use DIRTY words.
Panel 2:
Gabe: MUCK!!
Panel 3:
Both: tee hee!
The only image tarnished by this whole affair is that of the overly-litigious facist dorks who thought a suit would be a good idea.