Who Hijacked Our Country

Monday, May 16, 2005

Newsweek Caused A Riot

Thousands of Moslems have been protesting (and in some cases rioting) all across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Indonesia for the past few days. The protests started after Newsweek published a report of one particular interrogation/ humiliation technique practiced in Guantanamo Bay: Interrogators would flush a Koran down the toilet.

If the situation were reversed, just imagine — if it’s even possible — the reaction in this country. Just pretend for a minute: Jerry Falwell being felt up by female Moslem prison guards and then having to watch while a Bible gets flushed down the toilet. Can you say Holy War?

Now Newsweek is starting to hedge their bet and "qualify" their story. But these allegations have been leaking out since last Spring. And they go hand in hand with some of the other abuses and tortures committed by U.S. soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.

Extremists on both sides are milking this for every last drop. Radical Islamic leaders are using it to fan the flames and turn the protests into riots. And here in the U.S., the Far Right wingnuts have found another hot-button issue to get themselves worked up over.

Right wing pundits and bloggers are in their tightest lockstep formation since the Terri Schiavo case. And what are they all chanting in unison? It’s Newsweek’s fault. Newsweek caused these riots! Duuhhh!!!

It figures. Last year when the Abu Ghraib tortures were first publicized, rightwing Neanderthals were up in arms. Were they furious that some inbred prison guards were violating the Geneva Convention and putting other American soldiers at risk? Nope. They were furious at the media for airing the story.

And you remember last Fall, when a soldier in Iraq asked Rumsfeld about their substandard equipment, and Rumsfeld gave his famous response of “you go to war with the army you have, not the army you wish you had.” According to the Chicken Hawks on the Far Right, the main issue was that the soldier’s question had been prompted by a reporter. So what if our soldiers are getting killed because of inferior armor — by God, a reporter snuck in there and planted this question just to embarrass Rumsfeld.

So once again, like a stampeding herd of cattle, the right wing bloggerbots are off and running. Look out; don’t get trampled. Here comes one now; and here's another one. And yet another one. Don’t worry, there're plenty of others, but after awhile one stampeding head of cattle looks pretty much like the rest of them.

So these protests and riots were all caused by a magazine article?!? These right wing dildos have such a clear grasp of cause and effect, they probably think rain is caused by wet sidewalks.


cross-posted at Bring It On!

cross-posted at Booman Tribune

13 Comments:

Blogger kender said...

Falwell would pay good money to get felt by almost any woman...and could care less about a bible getting flushed.

May 16, 2005 at 1:30 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Bastard: Yup, over we go.

Kender: I wouldn't doubt it, especially the first part.

May 16, 2005 at 1:38 AM  
Blogger Sar said...

Tom - I was surfing on Blog Explosion and your site popped up. I've been enjoying it so much, I almost forgot I was stil in BE. Great blog!

May 16, 2005 at 7:09 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sar: Thanks very much!

OK Democrat: Like you say, the fact that there were allegations makes it news. And the story was so believable because of the prior scandals at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.

May 16, 2005 at 12:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I wonder how much traction these stories would have had if the United States had actually told the truth from day 1 about its intentions?

Not only did we lie to get into Iraq, but we've lied about everything since. Is it any wonder that any story, no matter how outrageous, is believable? I remember being stunned by the Lynndie Show-without the pics I never would have believed it.

May 16, 2005 at 1:14 PM  
Blogger ~jay said...

This entire thing is insane.

If the information has been floating around for months, if the Ad-dim-nistration is trying to silence it, if it incites both ends of the radicalist spectrum to boiling, it's a bit late to take it back, isn't it?

I can understand why Newsweek is debating their own reporting on a short report after all of this, but I'm kind of disappointed that they're the ones who have to question their own reporting, rather than say to have questioned our leaders' "undisputable findings" that have led us into this overwhelming mire.

May 16, 2005 at 2:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jolly Roger: That's exactly it. The Newsweek story had so much traction because so many similar abuses have already happened. And Bush's denials don't have any credibility since he's been lying since day one.

Jay: You're right; it's the Ad-dim-nistration and all their lies that have gotten us into this quagmire.

May 16, 2005 at 3:08 PM  
Blogger Ken Grandlund said...

From a purely non-political, non-religious standpoint, all I can say is...

WTF?

We are talking about a book here, okay...this is the problem with religious wacko's of every stripe- putting too much value in the tangible pieces of religious property when all religion is supposed to be a spiritual endeavor.

Someone trashed your book? Who cares, go buy another one. Someone derides your version of God? Lighten up...just smile and move along.

For most of the civilized world, these actions are not something to riot and kill over, even if they are true. (And they probably are.) How does anyone expect humanity to move beyond war and poverty if we can't even get beyond an angry mob writhing over a piece of printed matter.

(And for those ready to say- "It's more than printed matter- It's their word of God," I still say B.S. It's a book. Period.)

May 16, 2005 at 4:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ken: Can't argue with that. I'm an agnostic myself, so I can't imagine going ballistic because of a book being desecrated. But these actions by American soldiers (if true) were done specifically to push the right buttons and antagonize their prisoners. Rightly or wrongly, some devout Moslems and Christians will react violently to things like this.

May 16, 2005 at 5:38 PM  
Blogger ~jay said...

Ken, you have an excellent point. a book is a book to us agnostics...

for me, though--- there's still a certain level of respect for other cultures that is in proliferation here.

This is about a lot more than a book; this is about how we treat our prisoners.
And considering the number of them that we are holding for no real reason other than they are followers of Islam who happened to be in the wrong place (their home country) at the wrong time (after 9/11), the least we can do is not strip them of their right to religion-- and to have that religion without persecution, and I see this behavior as cruel and unusual punishment.
They would have that right as naturalised citizens-- hell, they would have that right if they were European POWs in WWII.

What makes these prisoners any less deserving of the right to not-be harassed by our frustrated soldiers? (I'm starting to believe that most of this animosity is the buildup of fighting a losing battle.)

May 16, 2005 at 10:34 PM  
Blogger Ken Grandlund said...

jay-

of course we should do our best to show respect. I was playing a bit of the devil's advocate there. But one does need to take a good hard look at a culture who places more value on a printed page than on human life. How many of us would riot in the streets simply because our holy book was derided?

Don't be confused here- I don't condone the actions, if they are true. Similarly, I can't condone rioting over this type of cultural conundrum.

May 17, 2005 at 8:48 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

For Moslems, their religion permeates their day to day lives in ways Westerners couldn't even imagine. I guess that's why the Koran (the book itself) is so sacred. It's true that most Christians wouldn't get as worked up over the Bible.

The American flag might be a closer comparison. You know how millions of Americans just drool and spit with fury when the flag gets desecrated. I don't know if that's a valid comparison or not; I just thought I'd put it out there.

May 17, 2005 at 11:38 AM  
Blogger ~jay said...

Ken--- thanks for the claritfication, and I agree, there is a weirdness about it, but at the same time, I think a lot of us skeptics don't have a similar foundation of ideals to compare it to.

I know *I* get riotously angry about things in this government which very blatantly violate rights-- which to my very young age, do not make sense to refuse to other people who are equally human; marriage rights and abortion rights, things which are being constricted by conflicting values in our politicians.
(We saw the hard way the Prohibition didn't work, maybe a similar view down the line will be all that it takes to put this ridiculous double-standard to rest.)

I get really angry when I hear evolution is a "theory" when we have proof, and that "intelligent design" (the PC way to say "Adam'N'Eve" in School™) is fact, when we don't have real proof.

Maybe it's something like that?


It's something that attacks yourfundamental life's view to a degree where rationality goes out the window. For the more vehement of the Islamic fundamentalists, it may very well be a desecration of something that meaningful to them. Remembering too that when they are in the American military system, that book, that religion, may very well be all they have.

~j

May 17, 2005 at 12:57 PM  

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