Abu Graib and the Right Wing Culture Warriors
Timothy Noah writes about how the right-wing culture warriors blame the Abu Graib prisoner abuse on moral relativism, gays, pornography, feminists, Quentin Tarantino, the Farrelly Brothers, women in the military, the academic left, the liberal media/entertainment complex, journalists' Vietnam-bred hostility toward the military, our "sick" society...
They blame anyone but those actually accountable--starting with the Commander in Chief and the Secretary of Defense..and on down.
Who or what do we blame for this kind of attempted blame-escape?
Ignorance? Poor character? Pride? Partisanship?
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Internet muse.
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My daily weblog of politics, humor, philosophy...and a constant and nagging reminder of the existence of universal love....
Monday, May 24, 2004
'Nick Berg Was a Soldier of Peace' by Michael Berg
'Nick Berg Was a Soldier of Peace'
by Michael Berg, father of Nicholas Berg
by Michael Berg, father of Nicholas Berg
..George Bush can see neither the heart of Nicholas nor the American people — let alone the people his policies are killing daily.
..Donald Rumsfeld said that he took the responsibility for the sexual abuse of Iraqi prisoners. How could he take that responsibility when there was no consequence? Nick took the consequences of the policies both stated and given with a wink and a nod by the Bush administration. And, even more than those murderers who took my son's life, I can't stand those who sit and make policies to end lives and break the lives of the still living.
..George Bush's ineffective leadership is a weapon of mass destruction and it has allowed a chain reaction of events that lead to the unlawful detention of my son.
..Many people have offered to pray for Nick and my family. I appreciate their thoughts, but I ask them to include in their prayers a prayer for peace. I ask them to do more than pray. I ask them to demand it from the politicians and leaders in the White House and in the statehouses across the world and in the mountain camps where they may hide. And let them know that if you don't get it, they aren't going to work for you as their leaders any more.
..Donald Rumsfeld said that he took the responsibility for the sexual abuse of Iraqi prisoners. How could he take that responsibility when there was no consequence? Nick took the consequences of the policies both stated and given with a wink and a nod by the Bush administration. And, even more than those murderers who took my son's life, I can't stand those who sit and make policies to end lives and break the lives of the still living.
..George Bush's ineffective leadership is a weapon of mass destruction and it has allowed a chain reaction of events that lead to the unlawful detention of my son.
..Many people have offered to pray for Nick and my family. I appreciate their thoughts, but I ask them to include in their prayers a prayer for peace. I ask them to do more than pray. I ask them to demand it from the politicians and leaders in the White House and in the statehouses across the world and in the mountain camps where they may hide. And let them know that if you don't get it, they aren't going to work for you as their leaders any more.
It's Monday
It's Monday
NY Times- An American U.N. resolution draft, critical to efforts to make the United Nations more involved in Iraq, is expected to call for international donations and troops. It is also supposed to define any limitations on Iraq's sovereignty after the transfer of power planned for June 30.
Thanks to Bohemian Mama for pointing me to a listing of 25 things we have learned on Fox News. Bohemian Mama also has some interesting thoughts on Atrocity Fatigue.
This photo bothers me because of the distinct resemblance of the prisoner's stance to Christ's crucifixion pose. The shit on the prisoner's back doesn't increase my joy in seeing the image.
*Note: A friend mentioned to me today that he suspected this photo was a fake. We really don't know, but if you look at it very closely, it does seem quite suspect. In all fairness, I thought I'd submit this possibility to you, my fine readers.*
"This shit has been brewing for months. You don't keep prisoners naked in their cell and then let them get bitten by dogs. This is sick. We don't raise kids to do things like that. When you go after Mullah Omar, that's one thing. But when you give the authority to kids who don't know the rules, that's another."
-An unnamed Pentagon consultant
from Seymour Hersh/ The Gray Zone
I found a lovely recipe for homemade strawberry ice cream.
In The Sun magazine's May 2004 edition, Robert Bly says the U.S. is the insane, obsessed father who took Iraq and bombed it back into childhood. The negative father has come forward almost nakedly and has beaten a country that was already on its knees. We citizens are broken in spirit upon finding out that our father has been beating all our sisters and brothers. (We are all brothers and sisters, regardless of country).
What they see.....
Fragments of musical instruments, tufts of women's hair, and a large blood stain..
Pools of blood lay inside the green-domed Sahla mosque...
What we hear......
Wedding party?! Those killed were involved in smuggling foreign fighters into Iraq and that the houses attacked were way stations for militants.
We said we weren't going to attack sacred sites in holy cities. Well, we are. Period. U.S. soldiers fought militiamen (note-it doesn't say "terrorists"-) near Kufa's Sahla mosque and then raided it for weapons after an Iraqi counterterrorism force "cleared" the site.
NY Times- An American U.N. resolution draft, critical to efforts to make the United Nations more involved in Iraq, is expected to call for international donations and troops. It is also supposed to define any limitations on Iraq's sovereignty after the transfer of power planned for June 30.
Thanks to Bohemian Mama for pointing me to a listing of 25 things we have learned on Fox News. Bohemian Mama also has some interesting thoughts on Atrocity Fatigue.
This photo bothers me because of the distinct resemblance of the prisoner's stance to Christ's crucifixion pose. The shit on the prisoner's back doesn't increase my joy in seeing the image.
*Note: A friend mentioned to me today that he suspected this photo was a fake. We really don't know, but if you look at it very closely, it does seem quite suspect. In all fairness, I thought I'd submit this possibility to you, my fine readers.*
"This shit has been brewing for months. You don't keep prisoners naked in their cell and then let them get bitten by dogs. This is sick. We don't raise kids to do things like that. When you go after Mullah Omar, that's one thing. But when you give the authority to kids who don't know the rules, that's another."
-An unnamed Pentagon consultant
from Seymour Hersh/ The Gray Zone
I found a lovely recipe for homemade strawberry ice cream.
In The Sun magazine's May 2004 edition, Robert Bly says the U.S. is the insane, obsessed father who took Iraq and bombed it back into childhood. The negative father has come forward almost nakedly and has beaten a country that was already on its knees. We citizens are broken in spirit upon finding out that our father has been beating all our sisters and brothers. (We are all brothers and sisters, regardless of country).
What they see.....
Fragments of musical instruments, tufts of women's hair, and a large blood stain..
Pools of blood lay inside the green-domed Sahla mosque...
What we hear......
Wedding party?! Those killed were involved in smuggling foreign fighters into Iraq and that the houses attacked were way stations for militants.
We said we weren't going to attack sacred sites in holy cities. Well, we are. Period. U.S. soldiers fought militiamen (note-it doesn't say "terrorists"-) near Kufa's Sahla mosque and then raided it for weapons after an Iraqi counterterrorism force "cleared" the site.
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