Wednesday 2 July 2008
The military trainers who came to Guantánamo Bay in December 2002 based an entire interrogation class on a chart showing the effects of “coercive management techniques” for possible use on prisoners, including “sleep deprivation,” “prolonged constraint,” and “exposure.” What the trainers did not say, and may not have known, was that their chart had been copied verbatim from a 1957 Air Force study of Chinese Communist techniques used during the Korean War to obtain confessions, many of them false, from American prisoners. An Expert Reveals Chinese Origins of Interrogation Techniques at Guantánamo ☀
Nevermind, I'm Not Waiting For August ☀
On occasion, I will post a Christian quote or Jesus thought. But as a general rule, I don’t desire AZspot to be predominately centered on matters of faith. Because (a) definitely I do not have down pat authoritative answers, disdaining those (like James Dobson and other media appointed “leaders”…) who pontificate as such, (b) there are others far more gifted in this regard and (c) I wish not to bludgeon many readers who are not of Christian faith with ineffective and counterproductive pleading, instead aiming to demonstrate by example.
However, here is a lead-in, courtesy of sierracolfer, prompting me to emit a few words:
I want you to break down every single idea you’ve ever had about Christianity. I want you to tear apart each and every ritual, prayer, song, and thought and question it. I want you to think and wonder and understand why you do certain things. Why do you say bless you? Is it relevant today? Why do you pray every single time you eat opposed to praying every time you drink as well? Why pray at those times at all or why not pray more often? Why sit, stand, and kneel? What is the purpose? Why pray before bed? Why not pray throughout the day and if you forget before bed, who cares? Why pray so much? Why not pray more? WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO AND WHY DO YOU THINK WHAT YOU THINK? Before you crazy people out there find yourself offended (I hate these ridiculous disclaimers for over-offended fools) I am not attacking Christians and I am not saying that I hate anyone.
Why do you say bless you?
Because when you sneeze, your soul can be dispelled from your body, opening you up to Satan invasion. Hence, “bless you” is admonition to ward off that sinister evil!
Seriously, when I say (or pray or think) “bless you” it’s a geniune desire and wish for the countenance of God’s Kingdom. I believe in prayer, and I don’t think it’s incompatible with science. There is a great deal we don’t know about how the mind works, and regardless of your faith affiliation or spiritual beliefs, peace and other benefits can be derived from repeated positive affirmations.
Is it relevant today?
I’d say it’s a timeless and universal deed relevant yesterday, today and tomorrow. In times of scarcity and plenty. Through bouts of joy and sadness. In episodes of celebration and persecution.
Why do you pray every single time you eat opposed to praying every time you drink as well?
I wish I could engage in ceaseless, continuous prayer but honestly, there are times I consume a meal without pre-prayer. Always though, I want to be aware of God’s presence, but I am broken and the goals and tasks I chart out for myself are not always fulfilled.
Why pray at those times at all or why not pray more often?
Again, the aim should be to pray early and often, not just at prescribed moments in set locales.
Why sit, stand, and kneel?
No need to. Meet God wherever you are. He (or she) is a big God. I don’t believe there’s any special requirement need. However is most comfortable for you (well, hopefully, without offending fellow brothers and sisters).
What is the purpose?
To put you in alignment with the highest forces in the universe. To solidify your thoughts. To gain purity of the heart. To firm your resolve. To find inner peace. To thank someone or something for the beauty in life.
Comments (View)
Facebook Was Shut Off in China Today ☀
(via marco, Ricky Van Veen)
Wow. Facebook did something good. Nice job, Facebook.
I have a telephone instrument on my desk. I rarely use it. Most of the calls I get are recruiters, evil telemarketers, and wrong numbers. I mostly communicate with people using email, im, and the old reliable f2f. The office phone is as useful to me as a typewriter, Lamson tube, or telegraph key. Douglas Crockford ☀
Once the framework for utilizing slave laborers – all nice and legal, of course – is established, it’s quite easy to increase the pool of potential laborers, if necessary. The government merely has to criminalize more behaviors. Caught driving your car on the “wrong” day? Three months in prison loading ammunition cartridges. Caught possessing gold coins? Six months in prison assembling computers. Caught saying “subversive” things over the telephone to your aunt? Five years on a prison farm – for the both of you – tending crops. Of course, prison sentences will likely be accompanied by asset forfeiture, that is, if you have anything the government wants. There is already a precedent today for asset forfeiture too, even for minor offenses such as hiring a prostitute or having a marijuana cigarette in your car. Heck, simply walking through an airport today with “too much” cash on your person might result in it being confiscated. The End Of Civilization ☀
The U.S. government has no qualms about dropping bombs on civilians, whether they be in Serbia, the Middle East, or Africa. It is all in a good cause – our cause. This slaughtering of foreigners doesn’t seem to bother the American public. Americans take it for granted that Americans are superior and that American purposes, whatever they be, take precedence over the rights of other people to life and to a political existence independent of American hegemony. Paul Craig Roberts ☀
…what games won for best historical board game and best general board game? Age of Empires III and Starcraft. And both are what? Ports of computer games. Origins 2008 Post Addendum ☀
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