Nothing good ...

... That's what is 'says' about us!

... the thesis of the article is that electric torture devices only become popular in democratic societies where police are constrained in how much cruelty they can inflict. What exactly does that say about us?

-- Shocking Reflections by digby

Digby gives up ...

... the authoritarian torturers win.

Obama may sound more reasonable than Bush the Lesser, but ...

... Obama's unconstitutional imprisonment and kidnapping policies for anyone his administration doesn't like is the same. Maybe, perhaps they aren't torturing them. But secrecy and injustice lead to lies, so who knows. And any nation that regularly tortures its own citizens with Tasers is hardly to be believed on this issue.

As Glenn Greenwald writes:

Does that remotely sound like a "justice system"? If you're accused of being a Terrorist, there's not one set procedure used to determine your guilt; instead, the Government has a roving bazaar of various processes which it, in its sole discretion, picks for you based on ensuring that it will win. Even worse, Holder repeatedly assured Senators that the administration would continue to imprison 9/11 defendants even in the very unlikely case that they were acquitted, citing what they previously suggested was their Orwellian authority of so-called "post-acquittal detention powers." Is there any better definition of a "show trial" than one in which the defendant has no chance of ever being released even if acquitted, because the Government will simply thereafter assert the power to hold him indefinitely without charges?

and

The administration should have the courage of its convictions and defend jury trials as a linchpin of American justice, which would entail giving them to all Terrorism suspects not captured on any battlefield. But by refusing to do so -- by exhibiting the very cowardice of which Holder accused Republicans, i.e. denying Terrorism suspects a trial -- the administration has no cogent argument to make in its own defense. It's just another case of the administration wanting to bask in the rhetorical glory of "the rule of law" while simultaneously trampling on it for petty political convenience.

That is IF this administration has convictions. This Democratic Administration has become Republican Lite. Now that's really scary ...

The Republicans at least have a goal, a creed. Perpetual war, perpetual dominance of the world, ensuring the 'haves' have all and the 'have-nots' are effectually slaves. It's very direct, very simple minded. What you say today only applies to today. Justice is a word like any other.

Republican Lite, one the other hand, is an attempt to appease. A cowardly approach with no principals behind it that can be defended.

Is Obama trying to be Solomon? Now that the Thugs have demanded that he split the baby, and he's actually tried, what is he going to do next? I think the lesson of Solomon and the baby is one that the Thugs understand and Obama does not. Solomon wished to identify the real mother. Obama's actions are more like negotiating with the fake mother and pushing the real mother out of the way.

The UK just like the US, don't expect any help from them ...

British Government refuses to help 'torture flight' victim

Britain says it will not help Binyam Mohammed - who is facing trial by US authorities - because it has "no obligation under international law" to provide information that might prevent someone being convicted outside the UK on evidence obtained through torture.

Certainly not many still expect help, or even lawfulness, from the US anymore.

"I was absolutely stunned -- it changed my whole world view in an instant -- to be told that London knew [the intelligence] coming from torture, that it was not illegal because our legal advisers had decided that under the United Nations convention against torture, it is not illegal to obtain or use intelligence gained from torture as long as we didn't do the torture ourselves," Murray said. [link to this quote no longer active, came from C&L post: Former UK Ambassador: US Sent Detainees to Uzbekistan for Torture ]

Lawlessness has a way of escalating [just look at the Taser's progress through US Lawless enforcement]. Just think if Bush the Lesser hadn't wanted torture closer to home we wouldn't have Guantanamo and we could go on pretending that torture by proxy is not torture.

I blame Obama ...

If Obama had really wanted health care for Americans, even in his dubiously claimed pragmatic and incremental fashion, why the hell didn't they just start opening up Medicare. That would have had almost instant effect. Lower the Medicare age 10 year every two years or so.

And next Congress could have started working on the problem with the cost of drugs.

But of course, Obama didn't really mean anything he said when he was running for President. [The following ADDED] And most of Congress didn't want to upset their corporate masters anymore than did Obama.

Wars and killing and torture (ever hear of Tasers as a means punishing Americans for even existing in view of the police) and handing the control of policy to corporate power is all American Presidents know.

The everyday horror show of US 'Law' Enforcement ...

Mom in minivan tasered twice in Salina traffic stop; camera captures deputy's rough roadside arrest (VIDEO)

But that's what current-day Americans like, isn't it? The latest reality show, live, curbside.

The Fashion Taser -- the jokes on us ...

Taser International's newest weapons for the public will come in leopard print and fit in a holster with an embedded MP3 player ...

I am not adverse to ordinary citizens owning Tasers.

However, since there is this absurd notion, despite examples to the contrary, that tasering someone is no more than a big joke [all the more so because it hurts a lot and usually doesn't kill] it's possible that the public will use Tasers with much more frequency than they use firearms. After all, the police have provided such a fine example [after example, after example] of how the Taser can be used just to shut someone up because they are annoying you.

Most people know firearms are a serious business. But Tasers? They appear to have become a joke! How long they will remain so if quarreling boyfriends, girlfriends, brothers, sisters and the like start getting frequently zapped remains to be seen.

Ethics ... an affair of caprice?

So cute ...

Scientific American, which was a real scientific periodical (decades ago), brings humor to the Taser torture arena:

TASER Seeks to Zap Safety Concerns --TASER International develops new technology, touts safety in wake of Canadian deaths possibly linked to police use by Larry Greenemeier

The article gives considerable space to the 'medical' opinion of a Taser trainer who, in addition to assuring us that the Taser's effects are temporary and mostly any damage will depend on where and how hard the victim falls, has apparently not followed the news concerning repeated Tasering of victims who are already on the ground writhing in pain.

As far as I know no one claims being Tasered isn't painful, yet the article reports:

"The TASER is the only weapon the police have that doesn't rely on pain compliance," Ashley says.

Evidently, 'pain compliance' and torturing with a Taser to inflict pain are two different things?

Does this mean what I think it means?

Another new weapon under development is the Shockwave, which Tuttle refers to as "an area-denial system" that simultaneously fires six TASER cartridges up to 25 feet. Scheduled for availability late next year, the Shockwave is designed to be used by military and Homeland Security personnel at airports, checkpoints and other open spaces.

Sounds like if someone runs away at an airport they will just Taser everyone. Hope I'm reading this wrong.

Giuliani and Tasers ...

The Giuliani Connection to the TASER Abuse Explosion

There's so much to thank Rudy Giuliani for. Dead firemen and Tasers may just top the list.

The Doctor joins Taser ...

After leaving the Surgeon Generals Office Arizona's own Dr. Richard Carmona joined Canyon Ranch (and miscellaneous boards of directors).

Now Carmona has joined the board of Taser.

Carmona certainly has an interesting background that includes working in the law enforcement arena.

I think, though, that joining the Taser board raises the question, or perhaps it just confirms the answer, of what kind of physician Carmona is.

------------
Wikipedia: Richard Carmona
Arizona Daily Star: Carmon named to Taser's board
PR Newswire: Dr. Richard H. Carmona, 17th United States Surgeon General, Joins TASER International Board of Directors