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Month: April 2009

Cheer up Brian, This *looks* like Good News

The bankruptcy signals that Obama is prepared to play hardball with holdout lenders rather than knuckle under to their demands and will likely set the tone for similar discussions with bondholders of General Motors Corp — which is now on the clock to restructure its operations by the end of May.

While Obama voiced his support for Chrysler and the deal with Fiat, he was pointed in his criticism of the investors who did not agree to this deal.

“I don’t stand with them. I stand with Chrysler’s employees and their families and communities,” the president said. “I don’t stand with those who held out when everybody else is making sacrifices. That’s why I’m supporting Chrysler’s plans to use our bankruptcy laws to clear away its remaining obligations.”

Twitter Updates for 2009-04-30

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Fringe Episode 18: Scarier than a Hunting Knife

Yes, that's some spine
Yes, that's some spine
After they went on an on about it being human teeth, wtf are those?
Hey Baby, I haven't even touched you yet!
I saw him twice this episode
I saw him twice this episode - The Witness

fringe118_thewitness2

The big scary this week was killing people by biting their spines open and sucking out their juices.  They made a big deal about the teeth being human:

Teeth: Not Human
Teeth: Not Human

Twitter Updates for 2009-04-29

  • Time for Gym… Injury on leg might affect workout, #
  • Gym Over, Worked until brain sweat #
  • Dear House writers: Not everyone with a disability wants to stay “special” please have one person celebrate a cure in the future, thanks! #
  • That was an excellent House… Bravo! #
  • Arg, it needed /bin/bash! Also My scripts are working properly, it WAS the network. Seee? I know something! #
  • http://tinyurl.com/d2nyyj #
  • Julia Roberts sure likes to curse http://tinyurl.com/crwhhz #
  • WTF? “At 8PM, “Nancy Grace” beat Keith Olbermann’s “Countdown” in the demo,” You Americans have really lost your minds. #
  • I know where my Dad will be on May 2nd | Aberdeen vs Celtic @12:30GMT #
  • Road Rage by Catatonia is a fine fine song | http://tinyurl.com/5j7h8q #
  • Damn, why not? “The Gmail gadget does not support the “Always use https” ” #
  • Patrick Duffy and the Crab http://tinyurl.com/cn6acm #

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Drinking with the Crazy

Doesn't that face say "Phallus Goes Here"?
Doesn't that face say "Phallus Goes Here"?

Don’t visit his page; it’s infectiously crazy.  DrinkwithBob is all about selling ads for his Mouth Stretching goods.  Not for me; not for you.  If you need yuor mouth stretched, let me suggest the Pear of Agony.  It’s less of a chore.

Twitter Updates for 2009-04-28

  • What happened to Damon’s Domain? #
  • BTW Facebreakers on the 360 is AWESOME #
  • It appears to be impossible to prove that there is a connectivity issue when the symptom is “it just doesn’t connect” I see the syn… #
  • My wife is online playing Gor Slave with mike riddel instead of doing the house work; over a year of unemployment has worked its magic! Yay! #
  • I really really dislike these people on Second Life; they’re like crack addicts with designs on spreading their lifestyle #
  • If you’re interested in knowing; I gave a rebel xt to Jen in order to give her another hobby and a wii and exercise gear and and and …. #
  • The Good news is that on April 19th I start working “days” so that I’ll be home in the evening; sometimes No SL at night, whoo! #
  • On a professional note; we suffered a heat issue over the weekend. No Damage, but lots of sweating. Lots. #

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A First Person account of Water-Boarding

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showth…

Next up is saran wrap. The idea is that you wrap saran wrap around the mouth in several layers, and poke a hole in the mouth area, and then waterboard away. I didn’t reall see how this was an improvement on the rag technique, and so far I would categorize waterboarding as simply unpleasant rather than torture, but I’ve come this far so I might as well go on.

Now, those of you who know me will know that I am both enamored of my own toughness and prone to hyperbole. The former, I feel that I am justifiably proud of. The latter may be a truth in many cases, but this is the simple fact:

It took me ten minutes to recover my senses once I tried this. I was shuddering in a corner, convinced I narrowly escaped killing myself.

Here’s what happened:

The water fills the hole in the saran wrap so that there is either water or vaccum in your mouth. The water pours into your sinuses and throat. You struggle to expel water periodically by building enough pressure in your lungs. With the saran wrap though each time I expelled water, I was able to draw in less air. Finally the lungs can no longer expel water and you begin to draw it up into your respiratory tract.

It seems that there is a point that is hardwired in us. When we draw water into our respiratory tract to this point we are no longer in control. All hell breaks loose. Instinct tells us we are dying.

I have never been more panicked in my whole life. Once your lungs are empty and collapsed and they start to draw fluid it is simply all over. You know you are dead and it’s too late. Involuntary and total panic.

There is absolutely nothing you can do about it. It would be like telling you not to blink while I stuck a hot needle in your eye.

At the time my lungs emptied and I began to draw water, I would have sold my children to escape. There was no choice, or chance, and willpower was not involved.

I never felt anything like it, and this was self-inflicted with a watering can, where I was in total control and never in any danger.

And I understood.

Waterboarding gets you to the point where you draw water up your respiratory tract triggering the drowning reflex. Once that happens, it’s all over. No question.

Some may go easy without a rag, some may need a rag, some may need saran wrap.

Once you are there it’s all over.

I didn’t allow anybody else to try it on me. Inconceivable. I know I only got the barest taste of what it’s about since I was in control, and not restrained and controlling the flow of water.

But there’s no chance. No chance at all.

So, is it torture?

I’ll put it this way. If I had the choice of being waterboarded by a third party or having my fingers smashed one at a time by a sledgehammer, I’d take the fingers, no question.

It’s horrible, terrible, inhuman torture. I can hardly imagine worse. I’d prefer permanent damage and disability to experiencing it again. I’d give up anything, say anything, do anything.

The Spanish Inquisition knew this. It was one of their favorite methods.

It’s torture. No question. Terrible terrible torture. To experience it and understand it and then do it to another human being is to leave the realm of sanity and humanity forever. No question in my mind.

Questions? Doubts?

P.S. Yes, I really did try it.