The entire Afghan riot thing is BULLSHIT

[Atman]

Look, 15 people may be dead in Afghanistan -- maybe, I guess -- but LOOK AT THE DAMNED VIDEO TAPES! These are supposed to be RIOTS? I've been Cable News free for a few days, and while I glanced at the tapes of the "riots" a few days ago, this is the first time I really looked at them. One showed maybe 50 people, waving their arms in the air, not looking particulary riotous, but moving somewhere. Then there was the larger crowd shot...but everyone was walking calmly, doing some hollering. The only shot that looked remotely like a riot was actually a close up of the smaller crowd, and upon closer inspection, no one looks all that upset in THAT shot, either, but they shook the camera a lot, like a fight in an old Batman episode.

Something is seriously, seriously stinky about this whole situation.

I think it is the first round in an attempt to discredit the press once and for all, so when the corruption and war crimes shit really starts hitting the fan, they can laugh and point to the distrustful media, while brushing it all off. Look how successful they've been so far...quote the New York Times or CBS to a republican these days and see what kind of reaction you get. They're trying to get Americans to think that way about all media, while they keep their iron corporate grip on Cable News and the stuff the teevee generation thinks is "real."

[chelsea0011]

1. There are bigger riots in our cities when sports teams win

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sandnsea]

14. Ironic, isn't it

Somebody concerned about the discrediting of print media so people will only trust what's on the teevee, based on what he saw on the teevee.

:banghead:

[chelsea0011]

15. hopefully you got this angry over a 100,000 dead over Bush lies

if not FUCK OFF

[bennywhale]

22. It sounds like its just a fucking game to you lot

Aloof fucking mocking tones, know it all. American-centric never left your state, haven't a clue about the outside world.

I hate Bush but people like you are blinded by your neurotic hatred of the man it clouds your judgement.

I was fucking furious over the war. I along with 2 million others marched in London. I've protested outside the American Embassy.

I've travelled to countries affected by the neo-cons imperialism. I've supported and help fund illegal trade unions where American multi-nationals rape countries,i've taken fucking action, i'm prepared to stand up and be counted.

What the fuck do you do. Sit at home posting smug, knowing comments about countries and situations you know fuck all about.

Where's your action?

[FreedomAngel82]

25. So do you

have the proof of these riots? If so present it.

[bennywhale]

31. I've heard eyewitness accounts from two

Red Cross nurses who had to flee the country after the Red Cross came under attack. Its not proof, but that eyewitness acount, plus all independent News agencies and stations, and papers from countries around the world. India, Packistan, Russia, Chin, Britain ........with reporters on the ground have reported riots and destruction and deaths.

Now unless you think that all media on planet earth is lying spontaneously and in line with a dictum from Bush, then you are naive. If you look outside of American media you may be surprised that planet earth has a free press.

[Atman]

32. Self delete

Edit: I saw bennywhale's apology after my rant. No need to extend this further. Good on ya, benny. See ya around!

[Atman]

16. "Isolationist prick?"

If I were an "isolationist prick," I'd hit the alert button and get rid of you so I wouldn't have to listen to people who disagreed with me.

Besides entirely missing my point, you and sandnsea are about as off-base as I've seen in quite a while. But me...I'm just a noob who doesn't know what's going on in the world. Sheesh.

[RetroLounge]

21. "Isolationist prick"???

Aren't you the clever one...

:eyes:

RL

[tanyev]

2. There was an earlier thread where somebody was

suspicious of the signs they were holding. It reminded me of the quote from John Rendon and his perception management.

Another media triumph Rendon brags about was the manipulation of media during the actual conflict. "If any of you either participated in the liberation of Kuwait City ... or if you watched it on television, you would have seen hundreds of Kuwaitis waving small American flags. Did you ever stop to wonder how the people of Kuwait City, after being held hostage for seven long and painful months, were able to get hand-held American flags? And for that matter, the flags of other coalition countries? Well, you now know the answer. That was one of my jobs," he told a National Security Conference in 1998.
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11486

EDIT to add DU thread about the suspicious signs.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1786176

Another relevant DU thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3667679

[LittleClarkie]

3. There is a small name at the bottom of both signs shown

I wish I could read it. It seems to be a credit for whoever wrote those signs for them.

[Atman]

5. They remind me of signs on The Beverly Hillbillies

Remember, whenever Granny and Jethro and Ellie May would paint a sign for their next zany stunt, like a moonshine sale or picket against Commerce Bank, they'd always have the exact same almost too-perfect lettering, as if done by a professional sign painter trying to pretend he didn't know what he was doing.

[LittleClarkie]

10. Sort of like the "hick" font, eh?

Yeah, they are suspiciously alike. Who takes time to have signs professionally printed before a riot?

[FreedomAngel82]

26. Interesting

Small American flags? That's like the recent stunt in Georiga Bush made. They were all stooges and given American flags and shit. Everything with this administration is staged. And that's a good point. Why would prisoners who have been in jail be able to get American flags? Who kept them in the prison's and why? Also, do they have American flags over there??

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. Does anybody care that Karzai felt the need to subdue the "riot"

by murdering 15 people? Hell of a way to subdue a riot in my estimation.

[James T. Kirk]

6. I know what you mean. The LA rioters killed more.

Now that was a riot.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[James T. Kirk]

13. I was being sarcastic.

The original poster's message that the foreign riot was not significant was insipid and I was mocking it. Maybe I should use emoticons so it does not go over your tiny head again.
:eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes:

[Atman]

19. Don't do that to your eyes

They'll get stuck like that.

Keep these stories in context, and don't jump to the emotional conclusions you're expected to jump to until you have all the facts. The Newsweek story was published 11 days ago, yet they only decided to "riot" this weekend?

Maybe their subscriptions get to Afghanistan later than the copies in the states.

I'm just saying essentially the same thing you're risking your posting rights flaming me for...keep your eyes wide open and don't be so quick to place your bets on the veracity of a BushCo-related story. Haven't you been burned enough?

BTW, for you "turn off your teevee" flamers...I haven't watched television news since the Schiavo-Popeathon. I've been relying on international news and DU for my updates. Thanks for pre-judging me!

:eyes:

[James T. Kirk]

35. I "turned off" Newsweek a long time ago.

I figure why waste money on a magazine when there is much better news available elsewhere at a better price. Good choice on my part since they can't figure out what's true and what's not, but never mind if it gets people killed or puts the lives of Americans in danger.
:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P

[Atman]

36. I guess you've missed the part about it being bullshit

General Meyers publicly stated that he didn't believe the Newsweek story was behind the riots.

Newsweek, like CBS, has not backed away from the substance of the story. An AMERICAN "senior government official" gave Newsweek the information about the Koran flushing, and the ENTIRE STORY was reviewed and okayed by the WH before Newsweek published it.

It stood for 11 days before the "senior government official" changed his version of the story, which changed only one aspect of the Newsweek story..."confirmation" from a senior government official. No one has retracted all the previous publications of these same accounts. No one. Newsweek, in the face of a source who changed his story, could no longer say its source was credible.

Nowhere, nowhere, has anyone said the Koran story wasn't true.

Newsweek is being used by BushCo. And you, James T. Kirk, are an enabler. The facts are in front of you. You are only getting riled about the White House version of event, that the Newsweek story somehow caused rioting 11 days after publication of an allegation which was alreay widely known.

Why do you give the WH so much credit for being honest here, when they have never shown a propensity for such behavior in the past?

[Atman]

18. Hey, bennywhale...

Two days ago, TWO DAYS AGO, more than 500 are dead in Uzbeckistan.

Too bad I wasn't referring to Uzbekistan...then your flames might be relevent. But at least you're one post closer to getting tombstoned.

Lighten up.

[hatrack]

34. Thank you! You read my mind

Meanwhile, our staunch ally Uzbekistan, whose Soviet holdover Supreme Leader likes to deal with confrontational demonstrators and reporters by boiling them in oil, has killed somewhere between 500 and 700 demonstrators who rioted to protect a group of businessmen accused of "terrorism".

Please note - this is a low-end estimate, but the concensus of BBC/AFP/DW reports getting out of the country.

And of course, after the typical three-day delay, RiceCo (the artist formerly known as the State Department) spoke out today with a stinging denunciation of the violence. Ooh. I'll bet Karimov's shaking in his shoes now.

So, down the memory hole with Freedom On The March in Uzbekistan, and let's get crackin' with the First Amendment auto da fe.

[FreedomAngel82]

28. If you don't like

people asking question's why are you in this thread? Go somewhere else. People are allowed to ask question's on this board you know. You're the fucking arrogant, small minded and ignorant one. Shithead. (to bennywhale)

[Fire Walk With Me]

7. Didn't CNN show phony footage of muslims "cheering" the 9/11 attack?

Totally phony, setup nonsense.

Just like the close-ups at the Saddam statue tear-down.

Is the dog wagged yet?

[erpowers]

37. Not Sure

I am not completely sure the footage was phoney. It may have been that CNN made more of the cheering than was real. It might have been that they tried to make out like large numbers of muslims were cheering 9/11 when in fact it was only small groups of people in some countries. I am not sure the footage was actually fake. It may have just been over blown.

[mtnsnake]

8. Remember the Laura Bush comedy show last week? It's all related

During that STUPID coverage of the First Pickle's comedy routine, I predicted that we hadn't seen anything yet, and that there would be more well-timed, choreographed "events" to take place in a frantic attempt at getting Chimpy's ratings a boost.

These people are really desperate. What will be next??

[Chicago Democrat]

12. Bullshit, indeed, didn't need to happen..The main shitty part is the part

is the desecration of Koran by US soldiers.

[killbotfactory]

17. Who killed who in the riots?

Did they make our troops nervous and get fired on?

It's a PR nightmare, and they're going to crucify Newsweek for it. The rest of the spineless media will let them.

[Atman]

20. For bennyhill, sandnsea, captkirk...

You did the same thing the "MSM" did when you jumped all over me for expressing doubt that I was seeing actual riot footage. You entirely missed the CONTEXT of the post; that there are so many ulterior motives for the US, and so many reasons why they'd want to find someone to pin the blame on, that you completely overlooked that and went after me personally. But, I apparently do a little more research than you do, AND I try to stay on topic.

Apparently, so does the US military...someone still isn't owning up to something. And I don't think the true culprit here is Newsweek...

===

Afghan Riots Not Tied to Report on Quran Handling, General Says

Army investigating allegations of mishandling at Guantanamo Bay facility

Created: 12 May 2005 Updated: 13 May 2005

Washington – The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff says a report from Afghanistan suggests that rioting in Jalalabad on May 11 was not necessarily connected to press reports that the Quran might have been desecrated in the presence of Muslim prisoners held in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Air Force General Richard Myers told reporters at the Pentagon May 12 that he has been told that the Jalalabad, Afghanistan, rioting was related more to the ongoing political reconciliation process in Afghanistan than anything else.

http://usinfo.state.gov/is/Archive/2005/May/13-299433.html

[bennywhale]

23. I stand corrected

been drinking and saw what i thought was an peice of ignorant crap. Having re-read it i humbly retract and apologise

[FreedomAngel82]

29. So next time

it'd be nice if you watch your mouth and calling people ignorant and arrogant. If you're new here that's not a way to get on the right track.

[bennywhale]

30. I still think

that some of the posts replying to yours were ignorant and arrogant and i said as much. The American-centricity is palpable throughout many threads and its annoying when trying to debate things that no-one knows anything about. That is why i got so annoyed. However i consider myself a gentleman so i apologise again.

[Timbuk3]

33. Nice post Atman

:-)

[FreedomAngel82]

24. You may be on to something

I wonder if they set this up just like the Saddam statue ordeal?? Could that be possible? They will definitely blame the media for their lies. I wouldn't be surprised because they have such a hold on the media and do Bush's bidding.

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Tinoire]

38. New scandal brewing or is it the UK Memo they need to divert from?

I haven't watched the tapes or the News reports but I don't doubt your analysis.

The entire thing about Newsweek didn't make much sense because they were merely reporting, nay mentioning, a known fact from old news, old Human Watch reports etc... Their lousy excuse that one lone man read the passage to people and sparked these riots is bizarre because we've known about the Koran desecration for a while and I'd bet you we don't know 1/3rd of the stories that are circulating in the Arab/Muslim world.

Is it the UK memo that Bush is getting pressured to explain, a new scandal brewing or something else??

[leesa]

39. But you haven't heard about the memo, have you?

All of this Koran stuff is very old news. It's yet another of the hundreds of distractions.

[Beelzebud]

40. Welcome to Reality Control.

[Catchawave]

41. As a Newsweek subscriber......

I missed the article first time around, which was two issues ago, and the Koran wasn't even in the headline of the article....I really had to look for it!

Actually, I think this retraction is a bigger story, and it certainly seems the MSM ==national and local==won't let it die !

I agree, I think something smells, since the Afghans have been pissed for quite some time now as the Taliban rebuilds and moves home :)

My first thought, the WH has to blame someone/something for losing control over there. An obscure article in Newsweek ? I don't get this at all :silly:

[ChiciB1]

42. Well People....

WE all see right through the shit, but far too many go about their busy little lives and simply bury their heads in the sand.

I just watched the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" on my Dish. While I wasn't particularly impressed with the movie, it's plot says a lot.

Like PAY ATTENTION! Of maybe better we should now be saying ACHTUNG!(sp) The "corrupt ones" ARE actually taking over the country, bit by bit and far too few are even aware of it. Having to face the fact that they were wrong about these people is akin to signing ones own death sentence!

What a TRAVESTY to be turning every bit of information into some kind of German Pretzel!! And they even want "the informed" to APOLOGIZE!
:nuke: :mad: :grr:

[Just Me]

43. I believe it's a smokescreen,...to cover-up what really happened...

,...to cover-up what is really happening.

Typical neoCON diversion tactic.

[Skittles]

44. this entire "scandal" is so obviously manufactured

I think perhaps the White House may be pushing their luck - I mean, come on, the absurdity of it all - no one can seriously believe a Newsweek article is responsible for violence in Afghanistan - it is absolutely ridiculous.

[dansolo]

45. And no mention of who did the killing in the riots

The thing that gets me the most is that the deaths are attributed to the rioters. But weren't the deaths caused by the Pakistani security forces? Why hasn't that fact been mentioned by the MSM?