Cartoon Violence, Cowardly Media, And Random Thoughts
This has now become a simple update as the violence continues to spin out of control. Four more people were killed today, bringing to toll up to around a dozen since the violence started, and in the same article, moderate Muslim groups are calling for an end to the violence.
"Islam says it's all right to demonstrate but not to resort to violence. This must stop," said senior cleric Mohammed Usman, a member of the Ulama Council _ Afghanistan's top Islamic organization. "We condemn the cartoons but this does not justify violence. These rioters are defaming the name of Islam."
Other members of the council went on radio and television Wednesday to appeal for calm. It followed a statement released Tuesday by the United Nations, European Union and the world's largest Islamic group urging an end to violence.
"Aggression against life and property can only damage the image of a peaceful Islam," said the statement released by Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the EU chief Javier Solana.
Meanwhile, a U.S. military spokesman said the United States and other countries are examining whether extremist groups may be inciting protesters to riot around the world because of the cartoons that have been printed in numerous European papers.
"The United States and other countries are providing assistance in any manner that they can ... to see if this is something larger than just a small demonstration," Col. James Yonts told reporters when asked whether al-Qaida and the Taliban may have been involved in days of violent demonstrations in Afghanistan.
The Afghan protests have involved armed men and have been directed at foreign and Afghan government targets _ fueling the suspicions there's more behind the unrest than religious sensitivities. But Yonts stressed they had no evidence to support suggestions that al-Qaida or Taliban are linked to the riots in Afghanistan.
Hundreds rioted outside the U.S. military base in the southern city of Qalat on Wednesday, throwing rocks at Afghan police. Police tried to clear the crowd by firing shots in the air, then were forced to fire into the crowd, said Ghulam Nabi Malakhail, the provincial police chief.
Four people were killed and at least 20 were wounded, he said.
And while this was going on today, Dr. Condoleeza Rice leveled a solid, well-thought out warning to the world.
Speaking at a Washington news conference with Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Rice said: "Iran and Syria have gone out of their way to inflame sentiments and to use this to their own purposes and the world ought to call them on it."
She said nothing justified the violence that had resulted from the cartoons and appealed to governments to urge calm.
"There are governments that have used this opportunity to incite violence," she added, referring to Syria and Iran.
Earlier, President George W. Bush also said the violence must stop.
"I call upon the governments around the world to stop the violence. To be respectful. To protect property. To protect the lives of innocent diplomats who are serving their countries overseas," he said.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana plans to travel to Arab and Muslim countries in an attempt to calm anger over the publication of the cartoons in Europe.
In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, government officials and religious leaders urged calm after Denmark told its citizens to leave for their own safety.
For the last couple of days as Thomas and I have updated our readers, we have pointed towards both Iran and Syria. The reason for their stoking of these fires is quite evident as things heat up for both nations. On Saturday, the IAEA recommended Iran to the UN Security Council, and surprisingly, Russia and China did not try to block anything regarding Iran. Also, Bashir Assad is facing more scrutiny from the UN in regard to his possible participation into the death of Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri. Both nations needed something to pull the world's prying eyes away from their machinations, and the cartoons served the perfect cover for them. Further, it has been revealed that some Syrian soldiers participated in the raids and burning of the embassies in Syria.
But, I must ask, where is our media on this? The cowardly MSM has refused to address this issue the way it should be.Indeed, Michelle Malkin points to CNN's new spin. Below are their excuses for refusing to show the cartoons.
CNN has chosen to not show the cartoons in respect for Islam.
That was last week. This is now.
CNN is not showing the negative caricatures of the likeness of Prophet Mohammed because the network believes its role is to cover the events surrounding the publication of the cartoons while not unnecessarily adding fuel to the controversy itself.
Personally, I agree with Cox and Forkum's newest take on the yellow media. In addition to them, and Michelle Malkin, Editor and Publisher has this for the "Cowardly Lions" in the MSM.
Editors across the country continue to face difficult decisions surrounding the cartoons featuring the prophet Muhammad, which have set off rioting abroad. Few American papers have published the cartoon so far, although several have shown them on their Web sites or provided Web links.Here is a look-around:
* Four top editors at the New York Press, a weekly in New York City, resigned Tuesday after being ordered, they claim, to pull the Danish cartoons -- from an issue that centers on the dispute. Editor in chief Harry Siegel charged that the Press leadership "has suborned its own professed principles. For all the talk of freedom of speech, only the New York Sun locally and two other papers nationally have mustered the minimal courage needed to print simple and not especially offensive editorial cartoons that have been used as a pretext for great and greatly menacing violence directed against journalists, cartoonists, humanitarian aid workers, diplomats and others who represent the basic values and obligations of Western civilization."
* National Public Radio decided not to even post a Web link to the cartoons. "The bottom line for me is that the cartoon is so highly offensive to millions of Muslims that it's preferable to describe it in words rather than posting it on the web," said NPR News executive Bill Marimow, the former editor of The Sun in Baltimore. "In this case, I believe that our audience can, through our reports -- on radio and the web -- get a very detailed sense of what's depicted in the cartoon. By not posting it on the web, we demonstrate a respect for deeply held religious beliefs."
* At USA Today, "we concluded that we could cover the issue comprehensively without republishing the cartoon, something clearly offensive to many Muslims. It's not censorship, self or otherwise," said Deputy World Editor Jim Michaels.
* According to an article in USA Today, New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller said that he and his staff concluded after a "long and vigorous debate" that publishing the cartoon would be "perceived as a particularly deliberate insult" by Muslims. "Like any decision to withhold elements of a story, this was neither easy nor entirely satisfying, but it feels like the right thing to do."
* A California paper, the Daily Press in Victorville, became one of the few to publish a Muhammad cartoon--the one with the prophet with a bomb in his turban--today, with its editor in a column knocking The Associated Press for refusing to distribute the images. Another small paper in Cheyenne, Wyoming, also published two of the cartoons, and also complained about the AP stance.
* Eric Mink, commentary editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, explains in a column today: "If a government controls what can and cannot be distributed, it’s called censorship. If a media outlet decides for itself what to include and exclude from its products — whether for journalistic or economic reasons, out of respect for possible sensitivities of some readers or concern about possible impact on its community — it’s called editorial judgment.
"Here in the United States, at least two major newspapers in the last week — the Austin American-Statesman and The Philadelphia Inquirer — chose to publish one of the original Danish cartoons to illustrate stories about the controversy and violence. Other papers, including the Post-Dispatch, have decided that the images aren’t necessary to communicate the story. It’s called judgment."
Personally, I could care less whether the papers choose to print them or not. However, we do have a problem with the MSM in the fact that not only will they not show or reproduce the cartoons, but they are taking extra steps to avoid as much of this story as possible. Aside from the remarks by Dr. Rice today, no one has questioned why Iran and Syria seem to be stoking the fires of this MSM defined "row."
The simple fact of the matter is that they refuse to consider this "real news" because it is not pushing their agenda. The coverage of this violence is so very reminiscent of Eason Jordan's avoidance of showing any of the atrocities of the Hussein regime. Were the radical Muslim animals torching our embassies, the media would click their tongues and present expert after expert stating that we deserved it.
And as we sit idly by, the Middle East continues to come unglued.
The Bunny ;)
This has now become a simple update as the violence continues to spin out of control. Four more people were killed today, bringing to toll up to around a dozen since the violence started, and in the same article, moderate Muslim groups are calling for an end to the violence.
"Islam says it's all right to demonstrate but not to resort to violence. This must stop," said senior cleric Mohammed Usman, a member of the Ulama Council _ Afghanistan's top Islamic organization. "We condemn the cartoons but this does not justify violence. These rioters are defaming the name of Islam."
Other members of the council went on radio and television Wednesday to appeal for calm. It followed a statement released Tuesday by the United Nations, European Union and the world's largest Islamic group urging an end to violence.
"Aggression against life and property can only damage the image of a peaceful Islam," said the statement released by Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the EU chief Javier Solana.
Meanwhile, a U.S. military spokesman said the United States and other countries are examining whether extremist groups may be inciting protesters to riot around the world because of the cartoons that have been printed in numerous European papers.
"The United States and other countries are providing assistance in any manner that they can ... to see if this is something larger than just a small demonstration," Col. James Yonts told reporters when asked whether al-Qaida and the Taliban may have been involved in days of violent demonstrations in Afghanistan.
The Afghan protests have involved armed men and have been directed at foreign and Afghan government targets _ fueling the suspicions there's more behind the unrest than religious sensitivities. But Yonts stressed they had no evidence to support suggestions that al-Qaida or Taliban are linked to the riots in Afghanistan.
Hundreds rioted outside the U.S. military base in the southern city of Qalat on Wednesday, throwing rocks at Afghan police. Police tried to clear the crowd by firing shots in the air, then were forced to fire into the crowd, said Ghulam Nabi Malakhail, the provincial police chief.
Four people were killed and at least 20 were wounded, he said.
And while this was going on today, Dr. Condoleeza Rice leveled a solid, well-thought out warning to the world.
Speaking at a Washington news conference with Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Rice said: "Iran and Syria have gone out of their way to inflame sentiments and to use this to their own purposes and the world ought to call them on it."
She said nothing justified the violence that had resulted from the cartoons and appealed to governments to urge calm.
"There are governments that have used this opportunity to incite violence," she added, referring to Syria and Iran.
Earlier, President George W. Bush also said the violence must stop.
"I call upon the governments around the world to stop the violence. To be respectful. To protect property. To protect the lives of innocent diplomats who are serving their countries overseas," he said.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana plans to travel to Arab and Muslim countries in an attempt to calm anger over the publication of the cartoons in Europe.
In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, government officials and religious leaders urged calm after Denmark told its citizens to leave for their own safety.
For the last couple of days as Thomas and I have updated our readers, we have pointed towards both Iran and Syria. The reason for their stoking of these fires is quite evident as things heat up for both nations. On Saturday, the IAEA recommended Iran to the UN Security Council, and surprisingly, Russia and China did not try to block anything regarding Iran. Also, Bashir Assad is facing more scrutiny from the UN in regard to his possible participation into the death of Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri. Both nations needed something to pull the world's prying eyes away from their machinations, and the cartoons served the perfect cover for them. Further, it has been revealed that some Syrian soldiers participated in the raids and burning of the embassies in Syria.
But, I must ask, where is our media on this? The cowardly MSM has refused to address this issue the way it should be.Indeed, Michelle Malkin points to CNN's new spin. Below are their excuses for refusing to show the cartoons.
CNN has chosen to not show the cartoons in respect for Islam.
That was last week. This is now.
CNN is not showing the negative caricatures of the likeness of Prophet Mohammed because the network believes its role is to cover the events surrounding the publication of the cartoons while not unnecessarily adding fuel to the controversy itself.
Personally, I agree with Cox and Forkum's newest take on the yellow media. In addition to them, and Michelle Malkin, Editor and Publisher has this for the "Cowardly Lions" in the MSM.
Editors across the country continue to face difficult decisions surrounding the cartoons featuring the prophet Muhammad, which have set off rioting abroad. Few American papers have published the cartoon so far, although several have shown them on their Web sites or provided Web links.Here is a look-around:
* Four top editors at the New York Press, a weekly in New York City, resigned Tuesday after being ordered, they claim, to pull the Danish cartoons -- from an issue that centers on the dispute. Editor in chief Harry Siegel charged that the Press leadership "has suborned its own professed principles. For all the talk of freedom of speech, only the New York Sun locally and two other papers nationally have mustered the minimal courage needed to print simple and not especially offensive editorial cartoons that have been used as a pretext for great and greatly menacing violence directed against journalists, cartoonists, humanitarian aid workers, diplomats and others who represent the basic values and obligations of Western civilization."
* National Public Radio decided not to even post a Web link to the cartoons. "The bottom line for me is that the cartoon is so highly offensive to millions of Muslims that it's preferable to describe it in words rather than posting it on the web," said NPR News executive Bill Marimow, the former editor of The Sun in Baltimore. "In this case, I believe that our audience can, through our reports -- on radio and the web -- get a very detailed sense of what's depicted in the cartoon. By not posting it on the web, we demonstrate a respect for deeply held religious beliefs."
* At USA Today, "we concluded that we could cover the issue comprehensively without republishing the cartoon, something clearly offensive to many Muslims. It's not censorship, self or otherwise," said Deputy World Editor Jim Michaels.
* According to an article in USA Today, New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller said that he and his staff concluded after a "long and vigorous debate" that publishing the cartoon would be "perceived as a particularly deliberate insult" by Muslims. "Like any decision to withhold elements of a story, this was neither easy nor entirely satisfying, but it feels like the right thing to do."
* A California paper, the Daily Press in Victorville, became one of the few to publish a Muhammad cartoon--the one with the prophet with a bomb in his turban--today, with its editor in a column knocking The Associated Press for refusing to distribute the images. Another small paper in Cheyenne, Wyoming, also published two of the cartoons, and also complained about the AP stance.
* Eric Mink, commentary editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, explains in a column today: "If a government controls what can and cannot be distributed, it’s called censorship. If a media outlet decides for itself what to include and exclude from its products — whether for journalistic or economic reasons, out of respect for possible sensitivities of some readers or concern about possible impact on its community — it’s called editorial judgment.
"Here in the United States, at least two major newspapers in the last week — the Austin American-Statesman and The Philadelphia Inquirer — chose to publish one of the original Danish cartoons to illustrate stories about the controversy and violence. Other papers, including the Post-Dispatch, have decided that the images aren’t necessary to communicate the story. It’s called judgment."
Personally, I could care less whether the papers choose to print them or not. However, we do have a problem with the MSM in the fact that not only will they not show or reproduce the cartoons, but they are taking extra steps to avoid as much of this story as possible. Aside from the remarks by Dr. Rice today, no one has questioned why Iran and Syria seem to be stoking the fires of this MSM defined "row."
The simple fact of the matter is that they refuse to consider this "real news" because it is not pushing their agenda. The coverage of this violence is so very reminiscent of Eason Jordan's avoidance of showing any of the atrocities of the Hussein regime. Were the radical Muslim animals torching our embassies, the media would click their tongues and present expert after expert stating that we deserved it.
And as we sit idly by, the Middle East continues to come unglued.
The Bunny ;)
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 6:46 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home