'Ground Zero mosque'? America needs a reality check. Really

[Violet_Crumble]

Read this. It's so funny...

Millions of Americans are furious about the 'Ground Zero mosque'. But it doesn't exist

by Charlie Brooker

Things seem awfully heated in America right now; so heated you could probably toast a marshmallow by jabbing it on a stick and holding it toward the Atlantic. Millions are hopping mad over the news that a bunch of triumphalist Muslim extremists are about to build a "victory mosque" slap bang in the middle of Ground Zero.

The planned "ultra-mosque" will be a staggering 5,600ft tall – more than five times higher than the tallest building on Earth – and will be capped with an immense dome of highly-polished solid gold, carefully positioned to bounce sunlight directly toward the pavement, where it will blind pedestrians and fry small dogs. The main structure will be delimited by 600 minarets, each shaped like an upraised middle finger, and housing a powerful amplifier: when synchronised, their combined sonic might will be capable of relaying the muezzin's call to prayer at such deafening volume, it will be clearly audible in the Afghan mountains, where thousands of terrorists are poised to celebrate by running around with scarves over their faces, firing AK-47s into the sky and yelling whatever the foreign word for "victory" is.

I'm exaggerating. But I'm only exaggerating a tad more than some of the professional exaggerators who initially raised objections to the "Ground Zero mosque". They keep calling it the "Ground Zero mosque", incidentally, because it's a catchy title that paints a powerful image – specifically, the image of a mosque at Ground Zero.

<snip>

To get to the Cordoba Centre from Ground Zero, you'd have to walk in the opposite direction for two blocks, before turning a corner and walking a bit more. The journey should take roughly two minutes, or possibly slightly longer if you're heading an angry mob who can't hear your directions over the sound of their own enraged bellowing.

Perhaps spatial reality functions differently on the other side of the Atlantic, but here in London, something that is "two minutes' walk and round a corner" from something else isn't actually "in" the same place at all. I once had a poo in a pub about two minutes' walk from Buckingham Palace. I was not subsequently arrested and charged with crapping directly onto the Queen's pillow. That's how "distance" works in Britain. It's also how distance works in America, of course, but some people are currently pretending it doesn't, for daft political ends.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/23/charlie-brooker-ground-zero-mosque

[Douglas Carpenter]

1. my favorite line from this article:

According to a recent poll, one in five Americans believes Barack Obama is a Muslim, even though he isn't. A quarter of those who believe he's a Muslim also claimed he talks about his faith too much.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/23/charlie-brooker-ground-zero-mosque

.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. K&R! ROFL!

Love it, Violet! I actually did LOL! Thanks so much for posting! :rofl: :hi:

The main structure will be delimited by 600 minarets, each shaped like an upraised middle finger, and housing a powerful amplifier: when synchronised, their combined sonic might will be capable of relaying the muezzin's call to prayer at such deafening volume, it will be clearly audible in the Afghan mountains, where thousands of terrorists are poised to celebrate by running around with scarves over their faces, firing AK-47s into the sky and yelling whatever the foreign word for "victory" is... :wow: :rofl:

[tavalon]

7. Those are my favorite lines

Geez, I bet all them militants wish Bin Laden were still around. Alas, he died laughing his ass off at us.

[Rhiannon12866]

15. Mine, too! :D

It's an uncomfortable feeling to know that the rest of the world is laughing at us over this idiocy, but this article actually made me laugh... :rofl:

This should be required reading for anybody planning to take to the streets in protest, but I'm afraid that most of them wouldn't get it. :(

[MissHoneychurch]

3. Great article

"Obama is Gargamel and he's killing all the Smurfs?" Now there is an image :D

I like how Booker shows again the way too much power of the so called news media.

[dkf]

4. I'm sure this will be great consolation to any who may experience hardship over this "peace" center.

I feel sorry for those who experience the backlash.

[Violet_Crumble]

10. My heart bleeds for them and their ignorance and intolerance n/t

[Cali_Democrat]

5. Nice!

K&R

[Xipe Totec]

6. It's the ground zero point one sorta mosque nt

[wcast]

8. His concluding two paragraphs really brings it all home

"Sixty per cent said they learned it from the media. Which means it's time for the media to give up.

Seriously, broadcasters, journalists: just give up now. Because either you're making things worse, or no one's paying attention anyway. May as well knock back a few Jagermeisters, unplug the autocue, and just sit there dumbly repeating whichever reality-warping meme the far right wants to go viral this week. What's that? Obama is Gargamel and he's killing all the Smurfs? Sod it. Whatever. Roll titles."

Sad and funny at the same time. News is about corporate interest and bottom lines, not about truth. It's also sad that we have to read the UK newspapers to get real reporting on US news.

[Turborama]

18. On a serious note, the Reichwing media aren't called that for nothing...

"I consider radio to be the most modern and the most crucial instrument for influencing the masses.." was a famous and important quote from Goebbels.

(today, we could easily update that by changing "radio" to "24/7 cable news")

His other famous and important quote was...

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."

Full quote, http://thinkexist.com/quotation/-if_you_tell_a_lie_big_enough_and_keep_repeating/345877.html">here.

Volksempfänger

The Volksempfänger (German for "people's receiver") was a range of radio receivers developed by Otto Griessing at the request of Joseph Goebbels.

The purpose of the Volksempfänger-program was to make radio reception technology affordable to the general public. Joseph Goebbels realized the great propaganda potential of this relatively new medium and thus considered widespread availability of receivers highly important.


Volksempfaenger & 1936 Nazi propaganda poster, promoting
the use of the Volksempfänger

More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volksempf%C3%A4nger

More on the use of the radio by Goebbels' "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Public_Enlightenment_and_Propaganda#Propaganda">Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda"....

Radio

The radio was an important tool in Nazi propaganda and it has been argued that it was the Nazis who pioneered the use of what was still a relatively new technology as a tool of genocide. Certainly the Nazis recognised the importance of radio in disseminating their message and to that end Goebbels approved a scheme whereby the production and distribution of millions of cheap radio sets was subsidised by the government. By the start of the Second World War over 70% of German households had one of these radios, which were deliberately limited in range in order to prevent them picking up foreign broadcasts. These so-called Volksempfänger featured little beyond propaganda and speeches. Radio broadcasts were also played over loudspeakers in public places and workplaces, where listeners were frequently observed by radio wardens.

More, including links to references here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_propaganda#Radio

How many foreign TV news channels are available in the US? How many McDonald's etc have Faux on 24/7....?


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[pinboy3niner]

9. K&R

[Odin2005]

11. This is getting insane.

[klook]

12. Anti-Islam Americans manage to out-dumbass themselves again.

Most people going to Ground Zero would never even see the planned Islamic Cultural Center on Park Place, unless they went exploring to find it.

"From...the former Burlington Coat Factory building that will make way for the Cordoba House, it's two blocks, around a corner, to get to the WTC site. Park Place doesn't lie between the construction site and any mass transit stations, so you would need to go out of your way to have it offend you.

If you look up the walking directions you'll notice that it takes a couple of minutes to walk the distance (approximately a tenth of a mile) between the two spots. Pretty much two minutes exactly when I took the trip with a shaky video camera."
More info + map: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-sledge/just-how-far-is-the-groun_b_660585.html

I like the way this rabbi expresses his support:

Aug 16, 2010

Dear President Obama,

I write to thank you for your support of the plans for the Park51 Islamic Cultural Center in Lower Manhattan and of religious freedom for all Americans. I know I speak for many, many Jewish leaders when I express my thanks for your support of Park51. I have worked with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and with Daisy Khan. I appreciate their commitment to interreligious dialogue and so, have been outspoken in my support for them. I can think of no better memorial to the Americans who gave their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, than a place of prayer, contemplation, and communal engagement.

I also deeply appreciate your standing up for our freedom of religion. It is not sufficient to assert the right to build; only the free exercise of that right is a guarantee of religious freedom. I am distressed at those who would divide America and use hatred of other Americans as a political tool. I applaud your courage at speaking out on this issue. We consider support of Park51 essential to the rights of religious expression for the Jewish community, as well.

My best wishes to you, in the hopes that you continue to serve America in helping ALL of our citizens achieve their basic rights such as healthcare, economic wellbeing, and freedom of expression and religion.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Burt Visotzky
Appleman Professor of Midrash and Interreligious Studies
Director, Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies

FYI, I posted the Charlie Brooker column a few hours earlier, but since this thread has more legs, I'm asking the mods to lock the one I started.

[Romulox]

13. I don't believe "millions are furious"--this stinks of culture war crap to me...

The economy is the worst it's been in three generations, and this mosque is what everyone is worried about? I. Don't. Buy. It.

[CanonRay]

14. "Americans aren't dumb"

Thats where he made his mistake in analysis.

[Rhiannon12866]

16. Kicking for exposure!

This article made my day... :D :kick:

[Scurrilous]

17. K & R

:thumbsup:

[Turborama]

19. K&R Excellent piece, thanks for posting, Violet! The comments below are well worth a read, too n/t

:kick:

:hi:

[Vehl]

20. K&R lol'd

"dome of highly-polished solid gold, carefully positioned to bounce sunlight directly toward the pavement, where it will blind pedestrians and fry small dogs. The "



That was hilarious :))

[Turborama]

21. .

:kick: