Protests in Palestine, Egypt, Sudan, Pakistan and Indonesia

14 Comments

1. 

   vida on May 13, 2005 at 4:35 pm

   And now Condi is on the case promising a full investigation and touting America’s policy of tolerance and respect for all religions? Guess she should make sure the Air Force gets a copy of this, they seem to have missed it.

   • 

     Man Eegee on May 13, 2005 at 5:31 pm

     I posted a comment on the World/Open forum recently, with a link to Condi’s statements.  It frightens me how clueless this administration is about the effects of their torture policies.  They have no regard for accountability.

     • 

       DuctapeFatwa on May 13, 2005 at 6:33 pm

       They know exactly what they are doing in that regard.

       Interestingly, even Saudi-Occupied Arabia is jumping in here – officially.

       But even more intriguing is that this is not new news. It has been known about for years now, and in fact was first reported in eastern papers that one does not even bother quoting on western message boards because they are invariably denounced as unreliable propaganda organs, and the news they report seems to be particularly distressing to a US population that has little left to cling to but the psychological comfort they derive from their faith in centcom & embeds.

       Meanwhile, the crusaders continue to inch toward Syria, flattening little villages and shredding little bodies as they go…

2. 

   Johnny Gentle famous crooner on May 13, 2005 at 4:45 pm

   They hate our freedom.

3. 

   Dean Pajevic on May 13, 2005 at 5:12 pm

   This alienation of the majority, the Pashtuns, is at the heart of Afghan unrest. As long as the majority of the Afghan population is kept out of the political process, Afghanistan will continue to remain unstable. The violent demonstrations Wednesday, though stemming from injured religious sensitivities, are an expression of an alienated and suppressed people. The Karzai government and the U.S. would do well to heed the warning signs if they don’t want Afghanistan to go the way of Iraq.

   Khaleej Times

4. 

   Man Eegee on May 13, 2005 at 5:29 pm

   I just read a comment at DKos on this issue that REALLY pissed me off.  I would quote it here but I don’t want to start a war, we have Bush for that.  The basis gist was “They need to get over it.”  It appalls me that there are some people who would write this off as something that would only affect “extremist Muslims”.  I know that if someone did this to a Bible, I would be enraged; and I don’t consider myself an extremist Christian.

   This is a fundamental issue of respect.  Whether you believe in a higher power is not the point; it’s about respect for a person’s beliefs.  For Muslims, the Quran is a sacred book, and to hear allegations that American personnel at Guantanamo went so far as to flush one down the toilet is disgraceful for me to hear as a fellow American.  I consider it akin to psychological torture.  We have to show respect.

   • 

     Dean Pajevic on May 13, 2005 at 5:35 pm

     exactly.  it’s humiliation.

     speaking of kos, have you checked out the battle royale re economic forecasting?  bizarro.  Mountain out of a molehill.  

     • 

       Man Eegee on May 13, 2005 at 5:39 pm

       No, haven’t seen it yet.  I can imagine though, BooMan’s diary regarding Buchanan kept me entertained with the comments and subsequent flamewar/rating abuses.  Hey Abbott, where can I get me one of those pea flickers?  

5. 

   roses on May 13, 2005 at 7:38 pm

   Your diaries are always an extremely valuable source of news–and so often it’s news that we would not hear about otherwise. I usually don’t have much time to comment on diaries these days, but I always read yours even if I don’t comment on them. So thanks, as always.

6. 

   Fran on May 13, 2005 at 10:59 pm

   The sad thing is that it is absolutely irrelevant if the story is true or not. It fits perfectly in the current US image over here. No one I talked to doubts that the story is true, and all declarations to the contrary will be considered whitewashing. In a way I think this is the last drop that brought the glass to overflow. I wonder if the violence can be stopped, I have my doubts.

   • 

     Matt in NYC on May 14, 2005 at 12:22 am

     The sad thing is that it is absolutely irrelevant if the story is true or not.

     There are so many things they openly — make that proudly — admit to that they have absolutely no credibility denying this charge. Like, we’re really supposed to believe that they have “respect” for Islam when they obviously couldn’t care less about basic Judeo-Christian standards of behavior?

     “Do unto others …” comes to mind.

     • 

       DuctapeFatwa on May 14, 2005 at 4:28 am

       here’s the link

       You’ll probably hear a very loud ‘whoosh’ as that zings over western heads.

       The east, however, will receive the message loud and clear. Again.

7. 

   Euronymous on May 14, 2005 at 4:36 am

   completely 🙁

   what have we done?

8. 

   Dvx on May 14, 2005 at 6:00 am

   The Al Jazeera story linked to in the diary entry referred to a report in Newsweek. I grabbed by nose and headed over there and found this:

   May 9 issue – Investigators probing interrogation abuses at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay have confirmed some infractions alleged in internal FBI e-mails that surfaced late last year. Among the previously unreported cases, sources tell NEWSWEEK: interrogators, in an attempt to rattle suspects, flushed a Qur’an down a toilet and led a detainee around with a collar and dog leash.

   Newsweek works so hard at being bland. Ironic that they’ve no gone and stirred up global unrest.