Mancow Addresses Accusation That His Waterboarding Was A Hoax (VIDEO)

Erich 'Mancow' Muller appeared on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" Friday to address rumors that the waterboarding he underwent a few weeks ago to see whether the technique was constituted torture was in fact a hoax. Olbermann mentioned a report on Gawker which reported that Mancow's waterboarding was 'completely fake' and simply a publicity stunt. As evidence they mentioned an email from Mancow's publicist that said "It will be a hoax but have to look real."

While Mancow admitted to Olbermann that it was fair to call the incident a "stupid radio stunt," he noted that "waterboarding, all it is is water in your nose and mouth with your head back. I'm not David Copperfield. We had 50 news cameras there." He suggested that while the event was meant as a stunt, as his publicist suggested, the events that took place were completely real.

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Comments

[ramblingjohnny]

Bubba the love sponge waterboarding an "intern" six months ago!
http://www.btls.com/video/bubbaraw/bubbas-real-waterboarding-video.html

[SLCPunk]

NOW?!

Now you want intelligent debate? Where were you 6 years ago Mancow.

[TheAlchemist]

Kudos to Mancow for speaking the truth.

[ladyvader]

I will give Mancow respect that he said he only did it cause it thought it was a joke and a little water in the face. He was wrong and stated that he was wrong.

[danielet]

Mancow's "waterboarding" was Stunt, not Torture. "S" would become "T" if the towel had bit put over the man's lower half of the face so that when the pooring of water stops and he takes a breath, what drips off the towel would be inhaled causing a "dive reflex," including drop in blood pressure, cardiac output resulting in brain hypoxia. This "dis-inhibits" subcortical brain centers, breathing stops and he panics in dyspina (hyperinflated cOPD sufferers know what that's like). Mancow held his breath, blocking water stream with tongue and held his breath until water stream directed below his chin. Determined prisoners can go to cardiac arrest, as many have. But the real point is that Americans are pornographic voyeurs of realitiy and when it hits them they mindlessly run. I saw it on the ground at the World Trade Center-- in contrast to the cops, firemen and EMS that ran into the jaws of death, unflinching in courage, "doing my job." Macow is more like the "star whores" at the Pentagon not like WTC life-savers and ground troops fighting in Iraq. Worst still, the middle aged pot bellied Americans who suffer from "ain't my kid going to Iraq" disconnect sydrome, buying big SUVs to make up for their failed erections, are the real criminals for having supported doning with someone else's kid as soldier in Iraq what they would never allow to be done with their own.

[Doug Holmes]

Yes, and "berliner" in Kennedy's speech became "jelly donut" when he said "ein" to acknowledge he wasn't a native of said city, despite "berliners" in Berlin being called "phannkuchen."

It really doesn't matter if the rag is in his mouth or not, if water is being poured over your mouth and nose, you still can't breathe and will induce dry drowning. The rag in your mouth is something akin to cutting someone with a dull knife than a sharp one. It's being a bit more cruel. By your definition, every waterboarding CIA does isn't waterboarding because they use cellophane with a hole poked in it. Also, we can't torture detainees because torture as defined in the Geneva Convention is null and void because Al-Qaida isn't part of it.

It's a bit too heavy a topic to be splitting hairs and offering all these stupid technicalities.

It wasn't textbook, and just because it wasn't textbook doesn't mean it wasn't.

[devildidit]

Jesus Christ himself could walk across water and the Republicans would call it a hoax. As long as
they are out of power they will challenge everyone and everything until they can control things again. It is
their way or the highway. They do not want anyone who can think for themselves. Steele is a good example.

[Heru1]

uh-oh mancow told the truth. his future as a conservative talk show host is therefore in serious doubt

[Heru1]

The only people who say waterboarding is not torture are cowards like hannity who would never submit to it themselves

[Michael Gerety]

Come on guys! you say it is not torture without trying it. Go try it and come back and tell us your experiences. If it is not torture, it should be no big deal. Try to do it so you can "prove" you didn't fake it. Lets put the argument to rest.

[glalgoo]

I just think his name is funny.

[AnthonyVolpe]

Keith donated $10K to charity, Mancow almost drowned with a camera filming it, and all people can do is call these two guys liars and frauds. I don't see anyone at Gawker volunteering to be waterboarded or donating five-figure checks to a charity whose ass is on the line trying to prove a point.

[landthatilove]

YOU CAN ALSO DROWN IN A THIMBLEFULL OF WATER!

[ClearingtheAir2010]

Only if one's head is as tiny as yours.

[USCitizenforever]

One man's torture is another man's foreplay...

[gallimaufry03]

Oh my ... how you do talk!

[TheBaffler]

He did the honorable thing in admitting his mistake, but he still comes off as a massive ashhole.

[Matthew543]

Ditto - I can't stand K.O. either.

[Clavis]

That's very clever of you. But you forgot to use mocking language or childish nicknames.

[DeeW]

If this stuff really worked then the Texas Rangers and other police organizations would be using it - it doesn't. And what's that about Mike Tyson's daughter? That was unneeded. As was his kids running around in the background. it's all ridiculous.

[USCitizenforever]

These techniques are employed on the Navy Seals, Green Berets, Army Rangers, all of the elite military teams. They are all subjected to it as part of their training. It DOES work, or our military wouldn't be teaching our elite personnel how to handle it AND employ it~

[Matthew543]

It works...I did it during SERE and broke pretty quickly...and that was without the rag down my throat... but is was about as miserable as anything I have ever had done.

[aftershock]

What you fail to understand is that it works in getting people to say whatever the interrogator wants to hear, not necessarily any actionable intel. In other words, we could waterboard you and probably get you to confess to Abe Lincoln's murder after awhile. When you employ techniques like this, you can NEVER guarantee the veracity of statements made. THAT's the problem you apologists fail to realize. You know what else works real well, threatening family members. That gets people to talk REAL quick, should we employ that technique as well? Let's hold a gun up to the head of some guys 9 year old son because we think he knows where a bomb is planted. How's that sound? Wait that's wrong? But it's effective, it gets people to talk. Just because the ends justify the means in some cases doesn't make it right, nor particularly effective.

[Clavis]

Your logic stinks. It works for torturing people and extracting false confessions, which is why it is used.

[blukazoo]

So your argument is that it's successful because we use it? What information have we learned from our own military personnel that have been waterboarded by our own military personnel?

To clarify: SERE training is done by comrades (not enemies) under controlled circumstances as a part of training to prepare as much as possible for being tor.tured by the enemy. That's not the same thing as really being tor.tured for information by an enemy--AT ALL.

[DrLogic]

It works in making people talk. There is no proof that it makes them give up any reliable or credible information.

Also, they're put through this as it takes some of the "edge" off of it. They're shown what could happen to them if they're tortured. While it doesn't lessen the horror of enduring it, it takes away some of the psychological menace of knowing it could happen, but not what it is.

Most importantly, they're NOT taught to employ it.