Mancow Waterboarding Called Into Question

Miami Herald:

I dunno, maybe actual NBC reporters don't want to come on Keith Olbermann's show since he took to bellowing insults at them on the air while anchoring the network's coverage of the Republican convention last year. Whatever the reason, he's now apparently resorted to faking stories. The media-news site Gawker has been reporting for two days that the video of waterboarding you can see up above was faked. And, Gawker adds (though, it should be noted, without attribution), Olbermann knew it.

Read the whole story: Miami Herald

Comments

[jonjon358]

So what's the idea supposed to be - Mancow fakes getting waterboarded so that all the gullible liberals believe he actually did it, and that he now agrees it's torture...­only to have it revealed that it was all a con-job? What's the point of that even as a dumb stunt? As if the whole question rides on whether Mancow was faking it? Or yeah, he duped Olberman, or maybe Olberman was even in on it, so I guess there goes the whole discussion about waterboarding. Because we all know that liberalism and the anti-torture position adheres exclusively in the person of Keith Olberman.

Anybody who would let himself be distracted by any of this, away from the fundamental question of whether the US ought to be employing these kinds of techniques, is already a lost cause.

[LarBear]

Those who claim fake..... Put your bodies where your mouth is!

Volunteer and show us it's fake and not torture!

[TheBlackCat]

But that's not really waterboarding, either. When you are in complete control of the situation, can stop it at any time, and KNOW the point of the exercize isn't to actually kill you, that kind of negates the entire purpose of waterboarding.

[Rjmartinelli]

Again, the point is that despite the fact that you know it's a controlled event your body does not.

Every person who has gone through this process in training for our military has stated the same thing.

I'm sorry, but you have no clue what you're talking about. Water holds no intention when it pours in your nose/mouth.

[ebanks84]

That's malarky. You are NEVER in control of waterboarding whether you think you are or not. Yes, you can jump up before actually drowning, but the experience of drowning is oh so very real anyway. And to say otherwise is to say you don't really know what drowning feels like.

[ebanks84]

Thank you!

[Bude]

Having to listen to Mancow is torture!

[phlashba]

Having to hear (or even read) the word "mancow" is torture.

[ebanks84]

Having to read both of you is torture!

[solarian]

to bad the people who call into question about the waterboarding should try it and see what they say

[260Parkway]

Well if they don't believe Mancow's waterboarding, why doesn't Sean "I"ll do anything for the troops because I'm a great american and patriot" Hannutty take Olbermann up on his offer and they can make sure they do it the RIGHT way?

[imsosure]

The best way to resolve this would be to have all the whiners who say it's not torture to be water boarded. Even just the reporters who are so opinionated but have absolutely no experience with this. Come you girley men step up and do it.

[IDIOTA]

The last time I heard Mancow Muller was 16 years ago. I don't need him to tell me that water boarding is torture.

[Jerry Pecks]

This whole thing has gotten so ridiculous it's sick! I mean, with these "news" personalities volunteering to undergo waterboarding in order to determine whether or not the methods constitute toture, blah blah BLAH! The fact that we're even having the discussion at all tells you that it must not be right, or we wouldn't be so concerned about it. The majority of Americans believe it was torture. The only people who are sticking up for it, are the same war-mongering idiots who lied to the nation (and world) about the invisible Iraqi WMD's.

[Tim303]

Surely they must be referring to the video, not the actual event--surely there are laws against showing people being tortured on national TV. Methinks this is a non-story.

[LarBear]

Mancow's PR people had to call it a "Hoax" because Security got word of it and threatened to stop it........ AS WATERBOARDING IS AGAINST THE LAW!

Just as in training, our Military is shown what it is like (and NO THANK YOU) so as to be more prepared, if it is done to them, but they are NOT TORTURED..­. WATERBOARDING IS AGAINST THE LAW!

The USA executed people for waterboarding American prisoners!

I am a Obama supporter, but I DO NOT support him in giving a pass to, and NOT pushing for prosecution of those involved in Torturing.­.. "WE do not Torture" is meaningless words used before, during, and now after WE Tortured people....­.

[k4freedom]

Those Japanese you are referring to were NOT executed for specifically waterboarding American troops....­they were executed for tremendous crimes against not only out troops but against hundreds of thousands of civilians (Read about the atrocities in NanKing) They raped women by the tens of thousands and then disembowled them with bayonets..­.they withheld food, and medicine, and used unspeakable torture techniques on our troops. Read about the Japanese waterboarding 'technique' vs the American 'technique­'...which was complete with a doctor observing with a stop watch in hand...and you will quickly realize that our 'technique' use against the Muslim terrorists at Gitmo would have been a welcome respite to our troops unlucky enough to have been captured by the Japanese in WWII....yo­u owe it those veterans to know your history before you distort it to make your point. I will gladly give you the names of the 7 Japanese war criminals who were tried by an international war tribunal in Tokyo if you wish.

[ebanks84]

Thank you. The truth prevails!

[jatkins]

Christopher Hitchens is shown waterboarded for Vanity Fair. Online though - not sure if it was shown on TV.

[mam]

Ooooo, I dared to criticize this post's ridiculous headline, so naturally my comment wasn't "approved"

[Bude]

This is the internet, a place to share thoughts and ideas free of the fear of censorship and retribution.

This is the worst site I've ever seen for censorship. Come on people, back off a little!

[jordan3189]

You want censorship, try dailykos!

[Bude]

Because I am a Countdown junkie who also grew-up listening to Mancow, I actually tried to email Countdown and warn them that Mancow is a very bad actor, but the email address for Countdown is nowhere to be found.

When Mancow was new on Chicago radio I listened to his show often. Until, that is, he started to complain that a black government spy helicopter in whisper mode, was hovering outside of his home recording all of his communications. That was at a time when his show was nothing more than four hours of frat humor. Nothing political, outside of the helicopter that is.

Mancow will do anything for attention, anything. I am a regular Countdown viewer, but Olbermann jumped the shark with this one. He was set-up like a bowling pin.

[nomobull]

TELL US HOW IT WAS FAKED. AND THE STORY WAS HERE BEFORE COUNTDOWN.

[eleutheros]

Authentic or not ... Mancow, A Radio Stunster! I too am disappointed in Countdown and Olbermann for pursuing this PR stunt. Report it, fine. Tie it into the Hitchens story, fine. "Mention" it when Jesse Venture is a guest, Okay. But to give it sooooooo much coverage ( even with the charitable donation ) only makes Countdown part of the stunt .... a line that need not, or should not be crossed.

[Bude]

Exactly!

[noaxe397]

Let's say for arguments sake that Mancow and Hannity were in on this to dupe Olberman (similar to how Rove set up Dan Rather over the Bush NG documents.­) Let's face it, liberals are always playing checkers while conservatives are playing chess. Anyway, if it was a set up, how does Mancow flip and, after a very emotional debriefing on his WB experience suddenly say Ha-Ha, fooled you? Would the charity that received Olberman's 10K dollars have to give it back? Would Mancow start to lose his audience, not because of any issue pro or con regarding WB but because his fan base would feel suckered? And, since there has been exchanges between Mancow and Hannity over this, would not that be a second hoax? A phoney dust up between the two conservatives? And if this was an attempt to dupe Olberman, would not Olberman simply turn it back on Hannity and challenge him again?

Right wingers are so dumb they will forgive their fearless leaders anything. But is there a limit?

[Foreground]

Chess might be a bit of an exaggeration. I don't think there's any rules in chess that allow setting fire to the building and then painting some of the opponent's pieces your own color while s/he is distracted by the smoke alarms.

[StevenLeeFitzgerald]

I challenge Mr. Garvin to go through ten seconds of the "fake" waterboarding that Mancow went through. Waterboarding in essence is exactly what Mancow went through which was water poured up his nose so that he couldn't breathe. Period. There's no expertise beyond that needed. Any further particulars of waterboarding aren't relevant to what is actually killing you which is the drowning, everything else is just to add restraint and terror. Well, what do you say, Mr. Garvin? Mr. Garvin? I didn't think so...

Steven Lee Fitzgerald

[kevenseven]

Hitchens also was waterboarded, and declares it torture, no doubt.

Hitchens is an enthusiast for the war in Iraq.

[demfriend]

So a video of a guy having water poured down his mouth isn't good enough unless who has the whole thing taped by you or who? The guy appears to have altered his story about waterboarding 180 after the experience when he had said many times before he thought it was not torture. Now he says it is? I seriously doubt Olberman or Maddow would put anything on their shows they could not verify as real, honest and truthful. So the drug dust must be flying in Miami at the Herald to have the liars dance this one.