French Torture Battery? (Photo/Capture)

MSNBC ^ | 03/28/03 | Self

[MikeWUSAF]

Do my eyes deceive me or does this battery that was supposedly used for torture say FRANCE on the side of it?

I DID NOT DOCTOR OR TOUCH UP THIS CAPTURE.

The sick irony...

The uniforms, which had had their American flag patches and names ripped off, were found inside a bag. In another room, Marines found a large battery next to a bed — leading them to suspect it was used as a torture device, Sanders reported.

From: Signs of U.S. POWs found at hospital

I pray our troops will find the decrepit animals that did this perverted deed and unleash hell on their souls.

Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war; That this foul deed shall smell above the earth With carrion men, groaning for burial.

[Blood of Tyrants]

That battery might have simply been used to power a radio. Just because it is next to a bed means nothing.

[meyer]

That battery might have simply been used to power a radio. Just because it is next to a bed means nothing.

That would be my guess - a 12-volt car battery isn't very useful as a torture device unless you either pour the acid on someone or beat them with it. I'd think that the clamps on jumper cables would be more irritating.

That said, it is interesting that a battery stating "France" on it was used as a prop. Perhaps Saddam (or his replacement) is trying to make us angry. Like N. Korea, they seem to want to provoke us into going Nuclear. It isn't going to work.

[encm(ss)]

Right. Or maybe to power the electric blanket. You know the nights are cold in Iraq. Right.

[MEG33]

I saw the piece.It's treating prisoners under Islamic law. It did not surprise me.God be with our troops,our POW's,their families. May the torturers soon burn in hell.

[Scenic Sounds]

Looks like a 12 volter.

[_Jim]

That battery, used in conjuction with an old coil from a car (truck or tractor) could be QUITE a painful torture agent ...

[NeilSmith]

May he burn on earth first.

[muawiyah]

My word, the way you say that one would imagine that the biggest difference you see between the USA and Saddam's Iraq is the way taxes are collected.

Look, trust me, the battery was NOT powering a radio!

[Jonez712]

Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war; That this foul deed shall smell above the earth With carrion men, groaning for burial.

Julies Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, Act III, spoken by Marc Antony. ;)

And yes, this is interesting that the battery apparently used for torture would say FRANCE across the side of it.

[MEG33]

That Would be Hell wouldn't it!?

[lonewacko_dot_com]

I guess you could convert the 12VDC into a high AC voltage fairly easily, and that might hurt a bit.

[Paradox]

A 12 volt battery is MORE than enough to torture with. I have shocked myself plenty of times with one. Through dry skin, its bad enough, but on an open wound? Very painful. You apply the voltage to an open wound? Yikes..

Or as another poster said, you use an automotive coil, and that steps up the voltage no problem.

[Naplm]

a 500 amp car battery could be used to inflict extreme pain, you ever cross the terminals on a car battery?

[crz]

Yup and you and I know fully well the juicing a guy could get from charging up an old condensor and leaving it lay around for someone to pick up.

[Fzob]

a 12-volt car battery isn't very useful as a torture device unless you either pour the acid on someone or beat them with it. I'd think that the clamps on jumper cables would be more irritating.

I don't know what the battery was used for, but a 12 volt car battery can pack a wallop of a shock if done "correctly". Think cold crack amps.

[OKSooner]

Yeah, all you need is something to modulate the current from 12v/high amperage to 10,000v/low amperage. Any high skool electricity student can do that for you. About this "bed"... was it a bed, or just a set of springs? I've read that certain South American tinhorns would use bare bedsprings as a conduit for high voltage electric shock torture, presumably with house current. Seems like a car coil or a cattle prod would get the same result.

[pipecorp]

It ain't the voltage, its the amps that kills ya.

[virgil]

A battery is a power source. It can be boosted with a coil. Basic electriciy 101. It can hurt. But the chemical suits...I think they were planted to play with our minds.

[Malsua]

To parrot the others, unless modified a 12 volt car battery only works as a torture device if you drop it on someone's head or pour out the acid on someone.

A coil could indeed make life a bit more uncomfortable, but I've been shocked by a 50,000 volt coil(tried to move a wire on my race car while testing compression) and while it would suck to be subjected by repeated shockings, it's not really that bad. 220V AC is much more disabling...I've been whacked by that before as well as someone had left one leg grounded against a case and I opened the case and was glued to it for several seconds. Gave new meaning to "seeing stars"

[Semper911]

I DID NOT DOCTOR OR TOUCH UP THIS CAPTURE.

I can testify that this pic was shown as video was taken from a supposed torture chamber. I was shocked (pardon the pun) to see this battery and its FRANCE label.

I just knew a freeper would get a screen shot. Nice work, Mike.

[_Jim]

A coil could indeed make life a bit more uncomfortable, but I've been shocked by a 50,000 volt coil ...

Ever had that done to your balls?

[Pagey]

A Wretched Hell Bump

[Malsua]

>>Ever had that done to your balls?<<

Heh, no, but you could do the same with a coat hanger to the nads.

[_Jim]

Also - think 12v-powered fence charger.

One of those models that will burn through weeds ...

[RippleFire]

BUMP

[vigilante2]

it could have been a car battery

[piasa]

It's not the volts, it's the amps. Car batteries have been used to torture people all over the globe.

Some have used them in conjuction with conductive rods or other devices, on the genitals, or in the case of female victims, internally.

Just because you can't think of ways to inflict pain with everyday doo-dads, don't think people in a really sick, oppressive regime cannot.

[meyer]

I guess you could convert the 12VDC into a high AC voltage fairly easily, and that might hurt a bit.

As opposed to an ordinary wall outlet, assuming one is available. Actually, converting DC to AC is a little more complicated than converting AC to DC, but inverters are cheap and available.

[meyer]

That battery, used in conjuction with an old coil from a car (truck or tractor) could be QUITE a painful torture agent ...

I've been tortured by such a setup and it hurt, but not as much as whacking my head on the hood when I jumped!! Do NOT grap the distributor cap with wet gloves while someone else cranks the engine.

[_Jim]

Simply not possible. 12 volts is not enough to

It gets PAINFUL when a Sears Craftsman 9/16ths combo wrench comes across the terminals though ...

[error99]

O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man
That ever lived in the tide of times.
Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood!
Over thy wounds now do I prophesy,

[MikeWUSAF]

The more I see of this war the more enraged I become!

On one channel I see U.S. soldiers giving away their own MRE's to Iraqi POWs. On the next channel I see this grizzly scene and pictures of the men and women who were thought to be captured and tortured.

I beseech our CINC to remove the embedded seditionist reporters and unleash America's full military might against these unworthy scum. If that means nuclear weapons then so be it.

[Malsua]

Growing up on a farm in Ohio...I have experience with this.

>>Also - think 12v-powered fence charger.

One of those models that will burn through weeds ...
<<

For horses, you can use one that pulses. For Cows you use on that has constant voltage.

As a kid, there are two thing that we did. First, hold someone's hand and grab the fence...the other person gets shocked. No idea why that happens, but it's true.

Second, we used to see who could full fisted grab the wire for the longest :). Stupid yes...but hell, I grew up on a farm, we had to entertain ourselves, heh.

[_Jim]

And you need at least 40 volts to get enough amps to even get a tingle.

Depends of the conductivity of the *surface* being 'tested' - a common 9V battery delivers a very distinct tingle to the tounge for instance ...

[js1138]

Simply not possible. 12 volts is not enough to shock you even if you wet your hands with salt water. If you managed to shock yourself with 12 volts, you must have copper skin.

But as others have pointed out, 12v can be boosted with easily obtained items, such as an auto coil.

[meyer]

a 500 amp car battery could be used to inflict extreme pain, you ever cross the terminals on a car battery?

Well, I suppose it depends on what you do with it. You can grab both terminals with your hands until the cows come home and you'll feel nary a thing - 12 volts isn't adequate to push the current through the resistance of your body. You could get some interesting jolts out of an ignition coil using the same battery, however.

[error99]

bull mo hocky
I have been shocked so badly working on car engines that I would have ratted my mama out.

[Blood of Tyrants]

My word, the way you say that one would imagine that the biggest difference you see between the USA and Saddam's Iraq is the way taxes are collected.

Be very careful, my friend. I don't take such insults very lightly. I am certain that Saddam is and has tortured and murdered people. You have SUSPICIONS, as do I, but to state that this battery was used for torture just because it is sitting near a bed is flat out speculation.

[meyer]

I don't know what the battery was used for, but a 12 volt car battery can pack a wallop of a shock if done "correctly". Think cold crack amps.

Not at its native voltage. It does pack some power, but needs some external toys in order to harness the power in such a way as to inflict pain. The ignition coil is the one with which I'm most familiar, having enjoyed the jolt of such. I suspect that there are 12-volt powered "paddles" such as those a paramedic would use to jump-start your heart. I'm certain that those would hurt, but could easily kill you as well.

[_Jim]

I have been shocked so badly working on car engines that I ...

Ditto.

[meyer]

A battery is a power source. It can be boosted with a coil. Basic electriciy 101. It can hurt. But the chemical suits...I think they were planted to play with our minds.

Understood, but I didn't see the other toys necessary. I did see a microphone cord, however.

[Malsua]

>>I have been shocked so badly working on car engines that I would have ratted my mama out. <<

A running engine with bad wires can cause that.

Turn it off and there's no way you can be shocked. None. Not possible. (ok, I suppose you might get a shock in the few seconds before the coil is discharged after the engine is off)

Yes, it is possible to practically weld a wrench pole to pole on a battery or any other positive to ground point. However, 12 volts is below the electrical conductivity of skin.

[DBrow]

I have been zapped by car batteries, when my skin was wet. Add a little salt and I'd imagine you could get more than a tingle.

An ignition coil would make a better torture implement as stated above, but I would not relish being doused with brine and hooked up to a high-amp current source.

[_Jim]

. I did see a microphone cord, however.

If anything - that looks like a big old fat Motorola 2-way radio microphone cord ...

[HiTech RedNeck]

Well the picture does not show what's on the other end of those wires, but I'd guess it's something like sharp needles. On bare skin it would do zip.

[_Jim]

A running engine with bad wires can cause that.

Poor man's way of finding a dead cylinder involves pulling each wire in succession - till the dead cylinder/bad cylinder is found ...

[meyer]

If anything - that looks like a big old fat Motorola 2-way radio microphone cord ...

Like those old 170-whatever-MHZ radios we used to have at work. :^) I remember those monsters.