I'm still here

I know I haven't been posting much lately, but I am still here. My arms have been particularly unhappy with the idea of typing lately, and I've been training some voice recognition software to help out. It is a bit of a struggle quite frankly, but it is working. There are some words it hates, like the word cow. It only gets that word about one time in 10.

Anyway, the ultraviolet LEDs didn't work out very well in fixing the stink of stinky bass. They helped, and while the stink decreased significantly, it still had quite the stench. So I used an alcohol scrub, and that helped a little more. But it was still pretty bad. So now I've gone all out and hit it with a couple of washes of hydrogen perchlorate. And by washes, I mean full-on scrubs with a brush I made out of wire and sponge. Even with all the previous cleanings, the interior was still surprisingly filthy. At least, that's what I get from the colour of the rinse.

(I know, I know, I should never use water on wood. I didn't like the idea either. Of course, the "water" was the highest concentration of hydrogen perchlorate I can make at home. And yes, I'm following the advice of various websites on how to salvage mildew-infected wood. I force-air dried it out as quickly as possible with the output of a HEPA filter for 12 hours.)

Anyway, I've hit it with lemon oil, to try to restore some of lost oils in the wood. Currently, it mostly smells vaguely of lemon. I can live with that as an endpoint. But the stink comes back again, I don't really know what I'll do. Any suggestions? I don't have an ozone generator.

Oh, also, I went down to Rustycon on Friday. I had a good time, and ended up accidentally sort of kind of playing a party for about 15 minutes! Someone asked me what an Irish bouzouki was, and I gave a demonstration, which turned into a mini concert. That was kind of awesome. ^_^ I also think I sold two or three people on them. Someone should give me a commission!

Oh, and if anyone is curious

This is the exact variant of Klira Model 162-1 that is Stinkybass. (Stinkycase also pictured! Obviously not this case, but the model. Sadly I do not think Stinkycase is salvageable.)

Uncovered, then un-covered, in American media

I want to bring this article in Harper's magazine to your attention. It's about the three so-called simultaneous suicides at Gitmo in 2006, which are widely believed to be torture deaths, and the official story - to which the government still holds! - is farcical in every respect. This article brings forth a lot of new evidence showing that the men were, in fact, murdered, as were many other US torture victims during the era. This article in particular outlines the existence of a facility at Gitmo generally known as "Camp No," as in "No, it doesn't officially exist." Camp No appears to have been one of the many "black sites" used in torture operations.

Andrew Sullivan comments here on the nearly-complete blackout of the ongoing torture story in American media, even as coverage happens in other countries, and here on why this should be a much bigger story than it is. Here are satellite photos of what may be "Camp No."

All this is part of the Bush administration torture programme which Mr. Obama continues to do everything in his power to prevent from being investigated, much less prosecuted. Or, possibly, even stopped:

Nearly 200 men remain imprisoned at Guantánamo. In June 2009, six months after Barack Obama took office, one of them, a thirty-one-year-old Yemeni named Muhammed Abdallah Salih, was found dead in his cell. The exact circumstances of his death, like those of the deaths of the three men from Alpha Block, remain uncertain. Those charged with accounting for what happened—the prison command, the civilian and military investigative agencies, the Justice Department, and ultimately the attorney general himself—all face a choice between the rule of law and the expedience of political silence. Thus far, their choice has been unanimous.

With no investigation, with no accountability, with nothing less than exactly as thick a stonewall as the Bush administration maintained, we can't know.

eta: The base commander at the time, Colonel Bumgarner, says he has no idea who Sgt. Hickman even is, despite recommending him for a medal and naming him NCO of the Quarter at the camp in 2006. He also claims that he was at the base at the time, which contradicts earlier testimony, so he either perjured himself then or is lying now. The Department of Justice says there is "no evidence of wrongdoing" whatsoever.

An ETA to the previous post

We're starting to see a few official responses to the Harper's story. They're in full-on denial mode, up to and including blatant lies about undisputed fact. (See the eta at the link.)

Also, if you didn't read the Harper's Magazine story, please do.