Posted on 05/30/2012 8:19:49 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
Guantanamo Bay Prisoners Were Tortured With Sesame Street
Guantanamo Bay prisoners were reportedly tortured with the sounds of children’s Sesame Street songs, in an attempt to get them to talk.
Al Jazeera reports that Thomas Keenan, a human rights researcher, explained that:
“Prisoners were forced to put on headphones. They were attached to chairs, headphones were attached to their heads, and they were left alone just with the music for very long periods of time. Sometimes hours, even days on end, listening to repeated loud music.”
Christopher Cerf, the award-winning composer of the songs used to torture prisoners at both Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, was shocked when Al Jazeera broke the news to him that his music was being exploited in such a way. He stated that:
“My first reaction was this just can’t possibly be true…Of course I didn’t really like the idea that I was helping break down prisoners, but it was much worse when I heard later that they were actually using the music in Guantanamo to actually do deep, long-term interrogations and obviously to inflict enough pain on prisoners so they would talk.”
The Huffington Post reports that other songs torturers have used on their victims have included Metallica’s ”Enter Sandman” and Drowning Pool’s “Bodies,” both of which were used in the same way as Sesame Street at Guantanamo Bay.
The Sesame Street, which includes about 200 songs, which are meant to help children learn reading and writing skills, is apparently very effective, considering this is not the first time it was reportedly used for torture. Al Jazeera reports that Cerf went on to say:
“This is fascinating to me both because of the horror of music being perverted to serve evil purposes if you like, but I’m also interested in how that’s done. What is it about music that would make it work for that purpose?”
Cerf, since learning about the powerful effect music seems to have in interrogation work, produced a film entitled “Songs Of War,” in which he embarks on a journey to learn what makes music so powerful. Al Jazeera reports that in the process, he spoke to soldiers, psychologists, and prisoners who were tortured using his music. He also discovered during his travels that the military has been using music as a potent torture weapon for hundreds of years.
Not to mention that Baez got the lyrics wrong in several places.
Did they make them watch it while wearing women’s panties on their heads?
How about the Teletubbies? Has anyone heard of the Chinese Teletubby Torture Technique?
So, instead of being beaten with rubber hoses, they were bombarded with “Rubber Duckie.”
Or the agonizingly irritating nasal tones of Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. Imagine having to sit through that for hours at a time.
"The Prophet said that Allah commanded him to destroy all the musical instruments, idols, crosses and all the trappings of ignorance."
Muhammad also said:
(1) “Allah Mighty and Majestic sent me as a guidance and mercy to believers and commanded me to do away with musical instruments, flutes, strings, crucifixes, and the affair of the pre-Islamic period of ignorance.”
(2) “On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will pour molten lead into the ears of whoever sits listening to a songstress.”
(3) “Song makes hypocrisy grow in the heart as water does herbage.”
(4) “This community will experience the swallowing up of some people by the earth, metamorphosis of some into animals, and being rained upon with stones.” Someone asked, “When will this be, O Messenger of Allah?” and he said, “When songstresses and musical instruments appear and wine is held to be lawful.”
(5) “There will be peoples of my Community who will hold fornication, silk, wine, and musical instruments to be lawful ….” -- 'Umdat al-Salik r40.0
I especially like the "Fatwa?" issued by the former head Mad-Mullah of Iran, the Ayatollah, Rouhollah Mousavi Khomeini:
"“Allah did not create man so that he could have fun. The aim of creation was for mankind to be put to the test through hardship and prayer. An Islamic regime must be serious in every field. There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humor in Islam. There is no fun in Islam. There can be no fun and joy in whatever is serious. ...
Let's see: No booze under Islam. No eating Pork under Islam. No music under Islam. No "fun" under Islam.
Gee, I can't imagine why anyone would NOT voulutarily want to convert?
If you want me to spill secrets all you’d have to do is tickle me.
Or just threaten to. I’m that ticklish.
What about tickle torture?
These f-ing savage moose limbs cut our boys heads off and we’re the bad guys for playing cartoons for them?
Letting politicians run wars is about as stupid as it gets, just ask L.B.J.
In the spirit of knowing mine enemy, I make a point of reading books about Muhammad and Islamic history published before 2001 - not the scribblings of Westerners, but English translations.
The story goes that Muhammad’s last campaign against jealous rivals in the Mecca area resulted in his victory and later the formal execution of 6 or 8 unrepentant foes, two of them females. One of these had been singing songs that mocked Prophet (piss be upon him).
Apparently Allah is sensitive about his shortcomings.
I think liberal application of the Barney the dinosaur song would suffice, along with It’s a Small World, to exact willing confession of anything.
This is true.
Of course, ...
“You ever hear the other side?”
There’s another side? Who knew?
Seriously, it was very forgettable.
Listening to Barney would make the muzzies yearn for Vlad the Impaler.
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