Media Coverage and Iran

ed2hands

Another day. Another plethora of complete bollocks from the corporate media regarding the Iran "crisis".
It seems they have again been tasked with helping to magnify the current warmongering against the latest threat to "stability" in the region. (For stability read control)

As the great poet and philosopher Chuck D once said:
"Don't believe the Hype!":)



Iran, Nukes and the Failure of Skepticism
Iraq all over again?

11/16/11

"Much of the corporate media coverage of a new UN report on Iran strongly asserts that Iran is close to building nuclear weapons. But the International Atomic Energy Agency report does not actually arrive at that conclusion, and many critics contend that the speculations that are in the report are misguided.

A USA Today piece (11/9/11) was headlined "UN Agency Issues Red Alert Over Iran's Secret Nuke Program"--with the "red alert" hype coming from a source in the piece, Rep. Ed Royce (R.-Calif.). On CBS Evening News, Scott Pelley reported (11/7/11), "The U.N.'s nuclear agency is expected to report later this week that Iran is on the threshold of being able to build a nuclear bomb."

On ABC World News, anchor Diane Sawyer announced (11/8/11):
And now, a long-dreaded headline about Iran and nuclear weapons. After a decade of debating whether Iran would build one, a UN report says tonight they will, and it has begun.

ABC correspondent Jim Sciutto added that the IAEA found Iran has "been carrying out activities whose sole purpose can only be the development of a nuclear weapon." Sawyer closed the segment by pleading, "Anything else out there to prevent this, to stop it? Is it too late?" She added: "So much for Ahmadinejad claiming it was only nuclear power plants, always nuclear power plants."

On NBC's Today show (11/9/11), viewers were told that the "UN reported for the first time Tuesday that Iran is conducting secret tests with the sole purpose of building nuclear weapons."

"A dreaded headline on Iran," declared ABC This Week host Christiane Amanpour (11/13/11). "UN weapons inspectors reveal new evidence the country is working on a nuclear weapons device. Can the United States do anything to stop it now?"

An Associated Press piece (11/9/11) referred matter-of-factly to Iran being "on the brink of developing a nuclear warhead," and a Washington Post piece (11/14/11) about a Republican presidential debate mentioned ways to "deal with Iran’s apparent nuclear weapons program." A USA Today story (11/14/11) referred to a "United Nations report confirming Iran's nuclear ambitions" and "the strongest finding yet that Iran is going ahead with a bombmaking program." In Time magazine, Joe Klein (11/21/11) wrote, "Even the UN's extremely cautious International Atomic Energy Agency now believes Iran is working on a nuclear weapon."

This rhetoric wildly overstates the actual findings of the IAEA report.

The first part of the agency's November 8 report declares--once again--that Iran is not transferring uranium for use in a military project.

The more explosive allegations that media are focusing on are contained in an annex that attempts to lay out evidence that has been circulating for years. The IAEA report stresses concern over allegations over past activities; very little of the report is dedicated to research that could be describing as ongoing. Indeed, the media is focusing primarily on the IAEA's speculation about what might be ongoing research that could be related to a military program.

But how definitive are the IAEA's findings? As columnist and University of Southern California chemical engineering professor Muhammad Sahimi wrote (Tehran Bureau, 11/9/11):
The most important part of the report deals with alleged work on high conventional explosives, not for conventional weapons, but supposedly for use in triggering a nuclear device. The report discusses in detail fast-functioning detonators, known as "exploding bridgewire detonators" (EBWs), which are needed in nuclear weapons. By the IAEA's own admission, Iran informed the agency in 2008 that it had developed EBWs for use in conventional and civilian applications.

Sahimi points out that the IAEA report admits that "there exist non-nuclear applications, albeit few, for detonators like EBWs." The IAEA report also focuses on design and computer modeling research that it suggests Iran may have pursued. The insinuation is that this research has nuclear dimensions, but there is no solid evidence that this is the case. As Sahimi wrote, some of the apparently worrisome computer modeling
could very well relate to Iran's conventional-warhead missile program that it has never hidden, but has in fact boasted about. Even the IAEA acknowledges such a possibility. The agency itself does not even allege that the enumerated activities are related to a nuclear warhead, but that "they are highly relevant."

Some media coverage suggested the strongest evidence came in the form of a Soviet scientist who allegedly helped Iran with crucial detonator research. The Washington Post (11/7/11) reported that the IAEA was focused on "a former Soviet weapons scientist who allegedly tutored Iranians over several years on building high-precision detonators of the kind used to trigger a nuclear chain reaction."

What the Post did not report was that the scientist in question, Vyacheslav Danilenko, is a well-known researcher in the field of nanodiamonds--the creation of synthetic diamonds that can be used for a variety of industrial pursuits, including oil drilling, an activity that produces the majority of Iran's exports. Inter Press Service reporter Gareth Porter (11/9/11) detailed Danilenko's decades of research in this field, which requires the large-scale detonation chambers that news reports suggest are possibly part of Iran's alleged nuclear weapons research program.

An early critique of the Post story was posted at the Moon of Alabama blog (11/7/11), which noted that Danilenko's nanodiamond research was indeed mentioned in the IAEA report--but missing from the Post's story. The reporter who wrote the Post piece, Joby Warrick, followed up on November 14 with an article focused Danilenko's research--including the background missing from the first piece. Warrick wrote:
Evidence is often ambiguous, as the same technology can sometimes have peaceful as well as military applications. In the case of Danilenko, the scientist’s synthetic-diamonds business provided a plausible explanation for his extensive contacts with senior Iranian scientists over half a decade.

This time around, the Post included Danilenko denying that he had anything to do with a nuclear weapons program. But the paper seemed mostly unconvinced--calling his work, for example, "his diamond-making scheme."

As in the run-up to the Iraq War, it was certainly possible to report skeptically on the Iran intelligence. The Christian Science Monitor's Scott Peterson wrote an excellent report (11/9/11) that began:
The latest United Nations report on Iran's nuclear program may not be the "game changer" it was billed to be, as some nuclear experts raise doubts about the quality of evidence--and point to lack of proof of current nuclear weapons work.

The article quotes former IAEA inspector Robert Kelley, who is dismissive of the agency's analysis. And an NPR Morning Edition segment (11/9/11) began by noting that the agency's new report "was much anticipated, because advanced reporting suggested the IAEA had concluded definitively that Iran is engaged in a full-scale nuclear weapons program. Turns out the report does not say that."

Anyone wondering about the lessons learned from Iraq could find two newspaper editorials, both published November 10, instructive. The New York Times, under the headline "The Truth About Iran," called the IAEA report "chillingly comprehensive" and cheered the agency for standing firm: "The agency did not back down, and neither should anyone else." The Washington Post editorial began:
The International Atomic Energy Agency has now spelled out in detail what governments around the world have known for a long time: Iran's nuclear program has an explicit military dimension.

The paper declared that the IAEA report "ought to end serious debate about whether Tehran's program is for peaceful purposes."

The idea that a journalistic outlet would declare this debate over is profoundly troubling--and suggests that in the corporate media, few lessons have been learned from the Iraq debacle."
Source: http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4430

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Also latest article below from excellent Isreali journalist Neve Gordon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neve_Gordon)

http://www.countercurrents.org/gordon181111.htm

pacquiao

What's rte's stance on the situation? Are they repeating what the other companies are saying?

Jonny7

The "corporate media"?

Which corporation(s) is the media controlled by and which media is affected?

ed2hands

pacquiao wrote: »

What's rte's stance on the situation? Are they repeating what the other companies are saying?

Not sure actually.

Jonny7 wrote: »

The "corporate media"?

Which corporation(s) is the media controlled by and which media is affected?

Good info here Jon: http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart/print

There is a family tree type chart thingy i saw before; might look for it at some stage.

Jonny7

Relax its just another agenda piece. That site focuses on lambasting the "corporate media". Ironically they quote an expert who has been accused of working closely with Iranian state media without a problem.

I agree there has been _some_ sensationalism over the Nov 8th report, but it was extremely light. The report itself does raise very serious concerns, and as such has been pretty much covered by the global media in much the same way.

Jaafa

Jonny7 wrote: »

Relax its just another agenda piece. That site focuses on lambasting the "corporate media". Ironically they quote an expert who has been accused of working closely with Iranian state media without a problem.

I agree there has been _some_ sensationalism over the Nov 8th report, but it was extremely light. The report itself does raise very serious concerns, and as such has been pretty much covered by the global media in much the same way.

It raises virtually no new concerns at all. It is almost a carbon copy of the one in 2004, and even uses the same very unsatisfactory evidence from that report.

paky

this is the nature of politics. of course its utter boIIoxs but who cares? would you shed a tear if the likes of Ahmadinejad and his cronies are hanging from cranes, the very same cranes that so many of their citizens hung from because they 'disobeyed' islamic law? no i wouldnt think you would. screw them, they deserve to die like the fascists they are

Jaafa

paky wrote: »

this is the nature of politics. of course its utter boIIoxs but who cares? would you shed a tear if the likes of Ahmadinejad and his cronies are hanging from cranes, the very same cranes that so many of their citizens hung from because they 'disobeyed' islamic law? no i wouldnt think you would. screw them, they deserve to die like the fascists they are

Cranes? Really?

paky

Jaafa wrote: »

Cranes? Really?

its the prefered method in iran

look

weisses

Would an uprise as and seen it in Libya and Egypt etc be possible in Iran ?

paky

weisses wrote: »

Would an uprise as and seen it in Libya and Egypt etc be possible in Iran ?

havent a clue but by the sounds of it its probably the most stable of the states since its last on the list of invasions/us backed uprisings. it seems like the west fears iran the most but it looks like the uprising maybe off the agenda for the moment as that method was used last year to try and build a case against iran but failed. i must say though the last 10 years have been quite incredible. afghanistan, iraq, libya, egypt, tunisia and now syria/iran. theres no doubht iran is getting it next

Brown Bomber

paky wrote: »

this is the nature of politics. of course its utter boIIoxs but who cares? would you shed a tear if the likes of Ahmadinejad and his cronies are hanging from cranes, the very same cranes that so many of their citizens hung from because they 'disobeyed' islamic law? no i wouldnt think you would. screw them, they deserve to die like the fascists they are

which Islamic laws did they disobey?

paky

Brown Bomber wrote: »

which Islamic laws did they disobey?

protesting/speaking out aginst the state is considered a crime against 'god' and punishable by death. the possession of pornography is also punishable by death. simple freedoms we enjoy in the west could land you in a noose in iran. imagine if the shoe was on the other foot and iran was the leading superpower. would it feel the need to cleanse our perceived perverted way of living?

Jaafa

paky wrote: »

its the prefered method in iran

look

And you know that pic is from Iran how?

paky

Jaafa wrote: »

And you know that pic is from Iran how?

because it matches the other one thousand photos

Jaafa

paky wrote: »

because it matches the other one thousand photos

I need context here. One thousand other photos from where? Uploaded by who?

paky

Jaafa wrote: »

I need context here. One thousand other photos from where? Uploaded by who?

this isnt a courtcase. i dont need solid proof before i come to a conclusion. if amnesty international are saying that iran are the second biggest proponents of the death penalty in the world then theres a strong likelihood that these photos have been taken there jaffo

Brown Bomber

paky wrote: »

this isnt a courtcase. i dont need solid proof before i come to a conclusion. if amnesty international are saying that iran are the second biggest proponents of the death penalty in the world then theres a strong likelihood that these photos have been taken there jaffo

So you seen a photo of hanging bodies and thought to yourself...that'll be Iran?

How do you know it is not a fake? A movie still? Murder i.e. not an execution? Group suicide?

paky

Brown Bomber wrote: »

So you seen a photo of hanging bodies and thought to yourself...that'll be Iran?

no what i did was type capital punishment in iran into my search engine and then went to images

Brown Bomber wrote: »

How do you know it is not a fake? A movie still? Murder i.e. not an execution? Group suicide?

how do you its not real along with the many other photos?

Brown Bomber

paky wrote: »

no what i did was type capital punishment in iran into my search engine and then went to images

Hardly concrete is it? So where did you get the

the very same cranes that so many of their citizens hung from because they 'disobeyed' islamic law

from?
That's a huge leap

paky wrote: »

how do you its not real along with the many other photos?

I don't know it's not real, I don't know anything about it all.

weisses

I do remember in news bulletins they talked about executions in Iran and showing people hanging from cranes

brimal

Amnesty International wrote:

Public executions in Iran are usually carried out by cranes which lift the condemned person by a noose around the neck. They are advertised in advance.

Link

The Guardian wrote:

The video, which was supplied to Amnesty by an Iranian human rights activist, Fazel Hawramy from kurdishblogger.com, highlights the use of public executions, in which officials publicly hang convicts from a large crane or a high place in front of crowds.

Link


One of the most high-profile 'crane hangings' was probably that of Atefah Sahaaleh, a 16 year old girl hanged from a crane for 'crimes against chastity'
Link

It has got so out of hand that one crane company from Japan has stopped selling to Iran as their company logo was appearing in hanging pictures.

Jonny7

Jaafa wrote: »

It raises virtually no new concerns at all. It is almost a carbon copy of the one in 2004, and even uses the same very unsatisfactory evidence from that report.

Can you link me the specific 2004 report you are referring to.

If you haven't read it, just say which month it came out in.

Jaafa

brimal wrote: »

Link



Link


One of the most high-profile 'crane hangings' was probably that of Atefah Sahaaleh, a 16 year old girl hanged from a crane for 'crimes against chastity'
Link

It has got so out of hand that one crane company from Japan has stopped selling to Iran as their company logo was appearing in hanging pictures.

Thanks for that brimal. I was unaware of this before.

I've looked into it a bit myself and and it seems public executions such as these make up only the small minority of executions in Iran, (5% in 2011). And they are usually for very serious crimes, such as those of the so called 'black vultures gang' (5 men who gang raped dozens of women in Tehran).

That said it in rare cases it does happen to those who didn't deserve it like the girl you mentioned above and that is disgraceful. (its worth noting though the judge who sentenced her was arrested afterwards but unfortunately never charged. I suspect serious corruption here)

Jaafa

Jonny7 wrote: »

Can you link me the specific 2004 report you are referring to.

If you haven't read it, just say which month it came out in.

Just google IAEA 2004 report on iran. Its the November one.

Jonny7

Jaafa wrote: »

Thanks for that brimal. I was unaware of this before.

I've looked into it a bit myself and and it seems public executions such as these make up only the small minority of executions in Iran, (5% in 2011). And they are usually for very serious crimes, such as those of the so called 'black vultures gang' (5 men who gang raped dozens of women in Tehran).

That said it in rare cases it does happen to those who didn't deserve it like the girl you mentioned above and that is disgraceful. (its worth noting though the judge who sentenced her was arrested afterwards but unfortunately never charged. I suspect serious corruption here)

Iran has one of the highest rates of executions in the world including stonings.

Jonny7

I've just read through both reports

The main issue here is time, and the fact that Iran hasn't deviated in any transparent way towards total openness on its program (strange considering its peaceful)

Indeed the main factor with nuclear weaponisation is always time, the uranium needs to be enriched, as of now, Iran does have the capability to produce 4 or 5 so called "dirty" bombs.

Its definitely a cat and mouse game, because the IAEA can still access the country (a good thing), the more this is prolonged, the more options they have.. and the less options Israel has.

Ultimately will they weaponise? I don't think so, but the next elections will be very telling - if they are rigged it means the ruling clerics intend to hold onto Ahmadinejad or replace him with another lackey, which would definitely raise more concerns.

Jaafa

Jonny7 wrote: »

Iran has one of the highest rates of executions in the world including stonings.

Did I say otherwise?

Jonny7

Jaafa wrote: »

Did I say otherwise?

You said you were unaware of the crane hangings. I thought I'd add stonings in there, sinister direction for the justice system in what appeared to be a fairly modern country.

Jaafa

Jonny7 wrote: »

You said you were unaware of the crane hangings. I thought I'd add stonings in there, sinister direction for the justice system in what appeared to be a fairly modern country.

There have been I think 2 stonings in the last 9 years. They are in the process of removing it from legal practice.

paky

Jaafa wrote: »

There have been I think 2 stonings in the last 9 years. They are in the process of removing it from legal practice.

thats a real sign of progression right there :rolleyes:

Jaafa

paky wrote: »

thats a real sign of progression right there :rolleyes:

I've always been amazed at people who except every country and all the peoples of the world to adhere to the same standards that we in the west live in. 'Our law is the right law and you will change your system of justice to match it.'

Even if this were the case is it ridiculous to assume that every country in the world could develop at the same rate. For example Ireland made divorce legal in 1997. Iran made it legal many decades before. Countries will always be different.

Never will all countries have the same laws that all agree are fair because justice is meant to satisfy the will of the public. The public is different in every country and also changes over time. 200 years from now you easily have executions reintroduced in Ireland and gone again 50 years later.

This progress your talking about is not a one way street nor do all walk on the same path.

paky

Jaafa wrote: »

I've always been amazed at people who except every country and all the peoples of the world to adhere to the same standards that we in the west live in. 'Our law is the right law and you will change your system of justice to match it.'

Even if this were the case is it ridiculous to assume that every country in the world could develop at the same rate. For example Ireland made divorce legal in 1997. Iran made it legal many decades before. Countries will always be different.

Never will all countries have the same laws that all agree are fair because justice is meant to satisfy the will of the public. The public is different in every country and also changes over time. 200 years from now you easily have executions reintroduced in Ireland and gone again 50 years later.

This progress your talking about is not a one way street nor do all walk on the same path.

i look forward to the day when the bombs are raining down on iran. that regime has to go. they are a threat to our way of living

Jaafa

paky wrote: »

i look forward to the day when the bombs are raining down on iran. that regime has to go. they are a threat to our way of living

Ah I see your point. I retract all previous statements and accept your point of view. Thank you for this engaging debate.

paky

Jaafa wrote: »

Ah I see your point. I retract all previous statements and accept your point of view. Thank you for this engaging debate.

if they do that to their own citizens imagine what they would do with a nuclear weapon?

Brown Bomber

paky wrote: »

i look forward to the day when the bombs are raining down on iran. that regime has to go.

You look forward to the day when innocent men women and children are murdered?

I can't help thinking your concern for the Iranians that were executed was false.

paky wrote: »

they are a threat to our way of living

Who's they? All Iranians?

And how are "they" a threat`?

paky

Brown Bomber wrote: »

You look forward to the day when innocent men women and children are murdered?

I can't help thinking your concern for the Iranians that were executed was false.


Who's they? All Iranians?

And how are "they" a threat`?

if the government is a representation of the people then i would have to say, that the people are guilty by association.

brimal

Jaafa wrote: »

There have been I think 2 stonings in the last 9 years. They are in the process of removing it from legal practice.

According to IHRDC, there have been 13 people stoned to death between 2000-2009. 8 confirmed by Amnesty International, and 5 others sourced from Iranian newspapers and websites.

Between this time period there have also been 22 people sentenced to stoning and are awaiting their fate.

Report can be found here

Jaafa wrote: »

I've always been amazed at people who except every country and all the peoples of the world to adhere to the same standards that we in the west live in. 'Our law is the right law and you will change your system of justice to match it.'

Even if this were the case is it ridiculous to assume that every country in the world could develop at the same rate. For example Ireland made divorce legal in 1997. Iran made it legal many decades before. Countries will always be different.

Never will all countries have the same laws that all agree are fair because justice is meant to satisfy the will of the public. The public is different in every country and also changes over time. 200 years from now you easily have executions reintroduced in Ireland and gone again 50 years later.

This progress your talking about is not a one way street nor do all walk on the same path.

I agree that each country should have their own interpretations of law, but I firmly believe that each country should at least follow the most basic of human rights when applying law to its people.

Stoning, execution of minors, lack of transparency, etc. shouldn't be tolerated anywhere.

Brown Bomber

paky wrote: »

if the government is a representation of the people then i would have to say, that the people are guilty by association.

Ah collective punishment, the Israeli military's weapon of choice. So your in favour of war crimes then. Lovely. You do realise the irony of fighting barbaric acts with barbaric acts and then taking the moral high ground?

jackiebaron

paky wrote: »

protesting/speaking out aginst the state is considered a crime against 'god' and punishable by death. the possession of pornography is also punishable by death. simple freedoms we enjoy in the west could land you in a noose in iran. imagine if the shoe was on the other foot and iran was the leading superpower. would it feel the need to cleanse our perceived perverted way of living?

Protesting/speaking out against the state is certainly punishable by a beating or pepper spraying (occupy wall street) or indefinitite imprisonment without charge (Bradley Manning) in the US.

jackiebaron

weisses wrote: »

I do remember in news bulletins they talked about executions in Iran and showing people hanging from cranes

I remember news bulletins about WMD in Iraq and Saddam Hussein having Al-Queda connections. I remember news bulletins about Jessica Lynch fighting off dozens of Iraqi troops after having crashed her trucked and been severely wounded. I remember news bulletins about Iraqi soldiers throwing Kuwaiti babies out of incubators. I remember news bulletins about Ghadaffi giving his soldiers viagra so they would have plenty of wood in their dicks to rape people. I remember so many news bulletins and ALL of them complete and utter bullsh!t!

Brown Bomber

jackiebaron wrote: »

Protesting/speaking out against the state is certainly punishable by a beating or pepper spraying (occupy wall street) or indefinitite imprisonment without charge (Bradley Manning) in the US.

or death - Al Ahlakwi (?)

weisses

jackiebaron wrote: »

I remember news bulletins about WMD in Iraq and Saddam Hussein having Al-Queda connections. I remember news bulletins about Jessica Lynch fighting off dozens of Iraqi troops after having crashed her trucked and been severely wounded. I remember news bulletins about Iraqi soldiers throwing Kuwaiti babies out of incubators. I remember news bulletins about Ghadaffi giving his soldiers viagra so they would have plenty of wood in their dicks to rape people. I remember so many news bulletins and ALL of them complete and utter bullsh!t!

I fully agree with you there .. didn't state it as proof .. just to say that it was on television

The one bulletin that i hoped was bull**** was actually true ( sending that turkey to the euro-vision)

jackiebaron

Jaafa wrote: »

Thanks for that brimal. I was unaware of this before.

I've looked into it a bit myself and and it seems public executions such as these make up only the small minority of executions in Iran, (5% in 2011). And they are usually for very serious crimes, such as those of the so called 'black vultures gang' (5 men who gang raped dozens of women in Tehran).

That said it in rare cases it does happen to those who didn't deserve it like the girl you mentioned above and that is disgraceful. (its worth noting though the judge who sentenced her was arrested afterwards but unfortunately never charged. I suspect serious corruption here)

I find it bizarre that the people who are screaming blue murder about these hangings in Iran, hangings as you rightly point out are dished out for fairly serious crimes like gang rape, are the same hypocrites who think that child molesters, murderers and rapists in the West should be executed. Not only that but they don't make a peep about beheadings and stonings in Saudi Arabia for the "serious" business of having an affair:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b9c_1248139027

Furthermore they wholeheartedly agree with the beating of Wall Street protesters and campers in Zucotti Park stating "They had it coming. They should have dispersed when warned" (even though they have every right to assemble there), yet they'll express outrage at an Iranian being hanged for sedition (even though that person KNEW that sedition was a hangable offence).

They don't bleat a word about people being boiled to death in Uzbeckistan but just because the West wants to stoke up anger at Iran then they fall for the stupid nonsense again.

paky

Brown Bomber wrote: »

Ah collective punishment, the Israeli military's weapon of choice. So your in favour of war crimes then. Lovely. You do realise the irony of fighting barbaric acts with barbaric acts and then taking the moral high ground?

i dont see any other solution, do you? do you think they will eventually see the error of their ways and change over night? i dont think they would. it may take a hundred years before that happens. ironically it took something as brutal as the french revolution to bring about stability and our way of life in the west but it does demonstrate the nature of the planet we live on and the necessary methods which must be employed to protect our way of life

Joshua Jones

paky wrote: »

i dont see any other solution, do you? do you think they will eventually see the error of their ways and change over night? i dont think they would. it may take a hundred years before that happens. ironically it took something as brutal as the french revolution to bring about stability and our way of life in the west but it does demonstrate the nature of the planet we live on and the necessary methods which must be employed to protect our way of life

Well if you're for collective punishment then when you think about the bombers we let refuel here or the passive backing of guantanimo bay then maybe we deserve to get bombed?????

Don't let fear control you. If we spent one years world military budget on humanitarian projects and fostering good relations with our fellow man then I doubt we'd have much need to fear. What you describe won't protect our way of life, it'll just make our box that much smaller.

Jonny7

jackiebaron wrote: »

I find it bizarre that the people who are screaming blue murder about these hangings in Iran, hangings as you rightly point out are dished out for fairly serious crimes like gang rape, are the same hypocrites who think that child molesters, murderers and rapists in the West should be executed. Not only that but they don't make a peep about beheadings and stonings in Saudi Arabia for the "serious" business of having an affair:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b9c_1248139027

Furthermore they wholeheartedly agree with the beating of Wall Street protesters and campers in Zucotti Park stating "They had it coming. They should have dispersed when warned" (even though they have every right to assemble there), yet they'll express outrage at an Iranian being hanged for sedition (even though that person KNEW that sedition was a hangable offence).

They don't bleat a word about people being boiled to death in Uzbeckistan but just because the West wants to stoke up anger at Iran then they fall for the stupid nonsense again.

Iran, Saudi, Bahrain, they're all guilty of human rights abuses, and if you want to pretend that human rights abused aren't "noticed" in Saudi, then I'll provide you plenty of links and sources in the media that show the opposite.

Of course if you chose to ignore this and create fictional groups of people in your head and get all angry at their hypothetical hypocrisy, then that's up to yourself.

jackiebaron

paky wrote: »

thats a real sign of progression right there :rolleyes:

2 stonings in the last 9 years compared to 13 executions in the State of Texas in 2011 alone, and you sneer about "progress" :rolleyes:

brimal

jackiebaron wrote: »

2 stonings in the last 9 years compared to 13 executions in the State of Texas in 2011 alone, and you sneer about "progress" :rolleyes:

It's been 13 stonings between 2000-2009.

A further 22 sentenced to stoning, awaiting their punishment.

studiorat

jackiebaron wrote: »

2 stonings in the last 9 years compared to 13 executions in the State of Texas in 2011 alone, and you sneer about "progress" :rolleyes:

Iran Human Rights reported 546 executions in Iran in 2010, an increase year upon year since 2000. About 14 times the amount per capita as Texas. Talk about missing the point:rolleyes:

Jaafa

Here's some great acting to look at. I especially like the end where the lady calls the interview 'disturbing' and 'chilling'. Where she got that from is beyond me. I've know for a while that most US TV pundits/ 'reporters' are just B-rate actors but this was a very good performance.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45337442/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/#.TswBz5RmIyQ