Music from Sesame Street used to torture Guantanamo prisoners

[Tender Branson]

In 2008, reports surfaced that detainees at Guantanamo Bay had been tortured by songs such as Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and Drowning Pool's "Bodies."

Now, a new documentary from Al Jazeera shows that detainees may also have been subjected to musical torture of a softer variety.

According to the report, prisoners at the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base were forced to wear headphones blasting music from Sesame Street on repeat for hours or days on end.



Christopher Cerf, the award-winning composer of Sesame Street, was stunned to learn how his music was being exploited.

"My first reaction was this just can't possibly be true," he told Al Jazeera. "...Of course I didn't really like the idea that I was helping break down prisoners, but it was much worse when I heard later that they were actually using the music in Guantanamo to actually do deep, long-term interrogations and obviously to inflict enough pain on prisoners so they would talk."

This isn't the first time that music from Sesame Street has been used to break the will of prisoners. In 2003, the U.S. reportedly used the soundtrack to soften up Iraqi POWs.

Sesame Street, an educational children's television series, has been on the air since 1969.

Watch the full report from Al Jazeera in the video above. Below, check out some of the tunes reportedly used at Gitmo.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/30/torture-guantanamo-bay_n_1557294.html#s=more229766

[So the Heroes Fall]

I wonder if emoviolence has been used.

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

I wonder if emoviolence has been used.

If anything they could have done is in violation of international law, that would be it.

[Free Palestine]

I watched the documentary yesterday.  I found it rather disturbing.

Here is the documentary in question.

[Insula Dei]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VznlDlNPw4Q

I've been told.

[I left.]

At least this is real torture. Not the "waterboarding" stuff the pinkos were talking about. I've never cared about the Geneva Convention much (My country, right or wrong...right?), but this just goes to far!

[True Federalist]

Nah.  This isn't real torture.  Real torture would use Barney or Teletubbies rather than Sesame Street.

[Kevin]

Nah.  This isn't real torture.  Real torture would use Barney or Teletubbies rather than Sesame Street.

Real Torture would be having them read this forum. Esp. some of the predictions in the 2012 election section.

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

Real torture would use BRTD's record collection.

[The Mikado]

Has anyone read the book The Men That Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson?

(The book, not the movie with Clooney)

[Svensson]

Real torture: black metal, brutal death metal, Blind Guardian's first two albums, Justin Bieber.

(Damn, now I've given them ideas...)

[Vasall des Midas]

This was news seven years ago.

Also, of course I have.

[BaldEagle1991]

Horrible....

Although if they played Justin Bieber and One Direction to them that would be considered real torture.

[muon2]

Nah.  This isn't real torture.  Real torture would use Barney or Teletubbies rather than Sesame Street.

My kids got a Barney music maker way back when. It had no volume control, so once started loud was the only setting. It qualified as torture in my experience.

[Zioneer]

Real torture: black metal, brutal death metal, Blind Guardian's first two albums, Justin Bieber.

(Damn, now I've given them ideas...)

I seem to remember hearing about some Latin American criminal figure (warlord or cartel leader, I think) who liked classical music giving himself up after American forces blasted acid metal 24/7 during a week-long siege of his mansion. I can't find the exact article or person, but it was a few years back.

[So the Heroes Fall]

Manuel Noriega