PTSD

always look on the bright side of life

Moving on from labour (and labourers), here's a handy list of Top Ten Reasons to Visit (and stay!) at Guantanamo Bay Health and Recreation Facility from the Department of Defense (with additional PTSD comments in italics).

1. The detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility include bin Laden’s bodyguards, bomb makers, terrorist trainers and facilitators, and other suspected terrorists.

I like the "and other suspected terrorists" at the end. The rest of them being real terrorists already, I suppose (and they call it a detention centre)

2. More money is spent on meals for detainees than on the U.S. troops stationed there. Detainees are offered up to 4,200 calories a day. The average weight gain per detainee is 20 pounds.

But...but...but...how many of each are there? and what do the meals consist of?

3. The Muslim call to prayer sounds five times a day. Arrows point detainees toward the holy city of Mecca.

Do the Catholics get a Sunday mass? Oh, and do Buddhists get opportunities to meditate? and how about the atheists? What happens to them?

4. Detainees receive medical, dental, psychiatric, and optometric care at U.S. taxpayers’ expense. In 2005, there were 35 teeth cleanings, 91 cavities filled, and 174 pairs of glasses issued.

Obviously not the same health insurance offered to TUWSNBN students then

5. The International Committee of the Red Cross visits detainees at the facility every few months. More than 20,000 messages between detainees and their families have been exchanged.

6. Recreation activities include basketball, volleyball, soccer, pingpong, and board games. High-top sneakers are provided.

I can imagine a group of detainees sitting around and playing LOTR Risk. Or Diplomacy

7. Departing detainees receive a Koran, a jean jacket, a white T-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, high-top sneakers, a gym bag of toiletries, and a pillow and blanket for the flight home.

and how many have departed as of today?

8. Entertainment includes Arabic language TV shows, including World Cup soccer games. The library has 3,500 volumes available in 13 languages — the most requested book is “Harry Potter.”

Good taste--footy and magic

9. Guantanamo is the most transparent detention facility in the history of warfare. The Joint Task Force has hosted more than 1,000 journalists from more than 40 countries.

Seriously, no comment

10. In 2005, Amnesty International stated that “the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay has become the gulag of our times.”

From the Department of Defense
Office of Public Affairs

I'm still not quite sure the list's not a joke perpetuated by a canny blogger, especially no.10.

posted by Priya @ 1:19 PM