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Have a look at the list of all known detainees here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Guantanamo_Bay_detainees https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Guant
by tyingq 5y ago
Have a look at the list of all known detainees here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Guantanamo_Bay_detainees https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Guantanamo_Bay_detaine...
A couple of the entries that caught my eye:
Al Hajj, Sami Sudan 2001
Cameraman for al Jazeera, only journalist held at Gitmo, hunger-striker
Released May 1, 2008
Al Kandari, Abdullah kamel bin Abdullah Kamal Kuwait
* Main allegation is wearing a Casio F91W digital watch
More info on Sami Al Hajj: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_al-Hajj https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_al-Hajj
More on the Casio watch thing: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/25/guantanamo-files-casio-wristwatch-alqaida https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/25/guantanamo-fil...
- TedDoesntTalk 5y agoThe only watch better than the Casio F91W is the Casio F-105. They are nearly identical, except the F-105 has a backlight that is usable. The backlight on the F91W is worthless, and there are quite a few mods out there showing you how to replace it. Source: I’ve been wearing both of these models for decades, although I haven’t touched the F91W in years and never will again.
- tyingq 5y agoPerhaps true, but the interesting bit in the linked article is that some al-Qaida bomb-making training course in Afghanistan gave you a free F91W to be used as a detonator. And apparently the US then decided that meant possession of an F91W on its own was reasonable evidence of terrorism. Despite 90+ million of them being sold over the years.
- freeflight 5y ago> Despite 90+ million of them being sold over the years. It’s a feature not a bug, wouldn’t want to run out of “terrorist suspects” or else the war on terror would be difficult to sell.
- AnthonyMouse 5y agoPlus, what if you suspect someone for illegitimate reasons and then you need some alternative pretext? I think it was the TSA manual that classified as "suspicious" both looking at law enforcement personnel and not looking at law enforcement personnel.
- afarrell 5y agoI've had many conversations with people with anxiety. I think you're attributing more intentionality than existed here. Scared people make stupid choices.
- burkaman 5y agoI've been scared before, but I've never tortured someone and imprisoned them for 20 years on a hunch.
- afarrell 5y agoHave you ever been in a position where you had either the power or the responsibility to imprison someone?
- burkaman 5y agoNo I haven't, I was illustrating the absurdity of being so frightened by 9/11 that 4 years later you make the "stupid decision" of ordering your subordinates to torture prisoners. Note also that the people in charge of Guantanamo didn't have the power or responsibility to torture anyone, but they did it anyway. Remember that the people making decisions about looking for a certain watch or using torture are not scared soldiers in Afghanistan, they're career officers and politicians who face no personal risk.
- afarrell 5y agoOkay, you've successfully illustrated that it is absurd. That only shows it would be out-of-place in a work of fiction. However, we are talking about reality. Which is more realistic: 1. People twirling their moustaches and intentionally deciding to lie to give themselves a supply of prisoners to torture to the benefit of... 2. People deceiving themselves into justifying a course of action because they are scared and their self-image as a stalwart protector is under threat.
- cnlevy 5y agoSo, you shoud be interned as a terrorist in Guantanamo with Obama https://iknowwatches.com/casio-f-91w-classic-watch-review/ https://iknowwatches.com/casio-f-91w-classic-watch-review/
- squarefoot 5y agoI'm sure I've had a watch like that in the past, they were pretty common back then. I also know how to build timers without using watches. Does this make me a suspect terrorist? Or maybe by not being muslim (or of any other religion) I don't qualify as a person of interest? That is crazy. Moreover, any watch can be converted to be a timer, not just that one. The internal buzzer all watches contain is a piezo transducer driven by square waves generated by the processor, and is much simpler to reach than the backlight led; a simple circuit made by a bunch of parts recycled from any old pocket radio can be used to drive a relay, hence to trigger anything, from a coffee machine to a missile launcher. The point is that having the tools doesn't make one a terrorist; detaining someone on these premises reveals lack of intelligence and probably the need to fabricate some "results" to justify the enormous spending behind Gitmo and other facilities and keep the money flowing.
- actually_a_dog 5y agoBe careful! If your timer is attached to a circuit board, you could be labeled a terrorist. https://agoodmantoknow.com/2015/09/22/ahmeds-clockbomb/ https://agoodmantoknow.com/2015/09/22/ahmeds-clockbomb/
- mmaunder 5y agoThanks. F91W user here and you’re absolutely right. I’ll try the 105.
- TedDoesntTalk 5y agoThe 105 uses EL for its backlight. It’s really great stuff: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroluminescent_wire https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroluminescent_wire
- tephra 5y agoThe problem with my F91W is that it doesn't sport a calculator, had to get myself a DBC32 for that.
- philihp 5y agoThe backlight comes in really handy when you’re in a low light situation and want to see how much time is left on your bomb.