"Innocence of Muslims" Filmmaker Likely Doesn't Exist, Film May Not Exist

[Wezil]

He was referring to Whittington Sloww.

The man (from Texas) apologised for being shot by Cheney.

[SlowwHand]

He's still a dork.

[Zevico]

It's pretty much exactly that in this case. It seems they used their freedom of speech to deliberately cause a predicatbly violent reaction.



I'm an atheist, why on earth would I want blasphemy laws? Where exactly is anyone asking for freedom of speech to be taken away?

MSNBC commentators, for starters:

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/09/12/msnbc-commentators-muslim-brotherhood-on-the-same-side-against-free-speech/

Obviously they're being taken out of context, their views distorted, maliciously, inherently, bigotry, etc--

MIKE BARNICLE: Given this supposed minister’s role in last year’s riots in Afghanistan, where people died, and given his apparent or his alleged role in this film, where, not yet nailed down, but at least one American, perhaps the American ambassador is dead, it might be time for the Department of Justice to start viewing his role as an accessory before or after the fact.

DONNY DEUTSCH: I was thinking the same thing, yeah.

[kentonio]

A film inciting the deaths of four people would go something like "Hey everybody, you should totally kill the US ambassador and anybody associated with him, they're known pedophiles who bathe in infants' blood and they also draw funny pictures of Mohammed." This is something altogether different - I'd say that the film's creators are on the hook morally for being douchebags, but certainly not for being murderers.

I might well agree if the deaths had been unexpected, but this kind of thing has led to killings how many times now? A dozen?

MSNBC commentators, for starters:

Oh noes, some talking heads on TV said something? Wow, that's definitely going to make America decide to change its constitution.

[DinoDoc]

How credible a paper is The Independent?

Revealed: inside story of US envoy's assassination

Exclusive: America 'was warned of embassy attack but did nothing'



The killings of the US ambassador to Libya and three of his staff were likely to have been the result of a serious and continuing security breach, The Independent can reveal.

American officials believe the attack was planned, but Chris Stevens had been back in the country only a short while and the details of his visit to Benghazi, where he and his staff died, were meant to be confidential.

The US administration is now facing a crisis in Libya. Sensitive documents have gone missing from the consulate in Benghazi and the supposedly secret location of the "safe house" in the city, where the staff had retreated, came under sustained mortar attack. Other such refuges across the country are no longer deemed "safe".

Some of the missing papers from the consulate are said to list names of Libyans who are working with Americans, putting them potentially at risk from extremist groups, while some of the other documents are said to relate to oil contracts.

According to senior diplomatic sources, the US State Department had credible information 48 hours before mobs charged the consulate in Benghazi, and the embassy in Cairo, that American missions may be targeted, but no warnings were given for diplomats to go on high alert and "lockdown", under which movement is severely restricted.

Mr Stevens had been on a visit to Germany, Austria and Sweden and had just returned to Libya when the Benghazi trip took place with the US embassy's security staff deciding that the trip could be undertaken safely.

Eight Americans, some from the military, were wounded in the attack which claimed the lives of Mr Stevens, Sean Smith, an information officer, and two US Marines. All staff from Benghazi have now been moved to the capital, Tripoli, and those whose work is deemed to be non-essential may be flown out of Libya.

In the meantime a Marine Corps FAST Anti-Terrorism Reaction Team has already arrived in the country from a base in Spain and other personnel are believed to be on the way. Additional units have been put on standby to move to other states where their presence may be needed in the outbreak of anti-American fury triggered by publicity about a film which demeaned the Prophet Mohamed.

A mob of several hundred stormed the US embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday. Other missions which have been put on special alert include almost all those in the Middle East, as well as in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Burundi and Zambia.

Senior officials are increasingly convinced, however, that the ferocious nature of the Benghazi attack, in which rocket-propelled grenades were used, indicated it was not the result of spontaneous anger due to the video, called Innocence of Muslims. Patrick Kennedy, Under-Secretary at the State Department, said he was convinced the assault was planned due to its extensive nature and the proliferation of weapons.

There is growing belief that the attack was in revenge for the killing in a drone strike in Pakistan of Mohammed Hassan Qaed, an al-Qa'ida operative who was, as his nom-de-guerre Abu Yahya al-Libi suggests, from Libya, and timed for the anniversary of the 11 September attacks.

Senator Bill Nelson, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said: "I am asking my colleagues on the committee to immediately investigate what role al-Qa'ida or its affiliates may have played in the attack and to take appropriate action."

According to security sources the consulate had been given a "health check" in preparation for any violence connected to the 9/11 anniversary. In the event, the perimeter was breached within 15 minutes of an angry crowd starting to attack it at around 10pm on Tuesday night. There was, according to witnesses, little defence put up by the 30 or more local guards meant to protect the staff. Ali Fetori, a 59-year-old accountant who lives near by, said: "The security people just all ran away and the people in charge were the young men with guns and bombs."

Wissam Buhmeid, the commander of the Tripoli government-sanctioned Libya's Shield Brigade, effectively a police force for Benghazi, maintained that it was anger over the Mohamed video which made the guards abandon their post. "There were definitely people from the security forces who let the attack happen because they were themselves offended by the film; they would absolutely put their loyalty to the Prophet over the consulate. The deaths are all nothing compared to insulting the Prophet."

Mr Stevens, it is believed, was left in the building by the rest of the staff after they failed to find him in dense smoke caused by a blaze which had engulfed the building. He was discovered lying unconscious by local people and taken to a hospital, the Benghazi Medical Centre, where, according to a doctor, Ziad Abu Ziad, he died from smoke inhalation.

An eight-strong American rescue team was sent from Tripoli and taken by troops under Captain Fathi al- Obeidi, of the February 17 Brigade, to the secret safe house to extract around 40 US staff. The building then came under fire from heavy weapons. "I don't know how they found the place to carry out the attack. It was planned, the accuracy with which the mortars hit us was too good for any ordinary revolutionaries," said Captain Obeidi. "It began to rain down on us, about six mortars fell directly on the path to the villa."

Libyan reinforcements eventually arrived, and the attack ended. News had arrived of Mr Stevens, and his body was picked up from the hospital and taken back to Tripoli with the other dead and the survivors.

Mr Stevens' mother, Mary Commanday, spoke of her son yesterday. "He did love what he did, and he did a very good job with it. He could have done a lot of other things, but this was his passion. I have a hole in my heart," she said.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...n-8135797.html

[loinburger]

I might well agree if the deaths had been unexpected, but this kind of thing has led to killings how many times now? A dozen?

But it's not like something wouldn't have happened anyway. The order of operations wasn't "man-on-the-street Muslims stumble across a youtube video making fun of Mohammed -> man-on-the-street Muslims spontaneously start a violent protest," it was "Muslim extremists look for an excuse to incite a violent protest -> Muslim extremists find an excuse to incite a violent protest." If it hadn't been this video, it could have been any random video that was disrespectful to Islam. Search youtube for "drawings of Mohammed," for example - there are dozens of examples, and thousands more on google. Any of those could have "caused" a violent protest.

[Zevico]

But it's not like something wouldn't have happened anyway. The order of operations wasn't "man-on-the-street Muslims stumble across a youtube video making fun of Mohammed -> man-on-the-street Muslims spontaneously start a violent protest," it was "Muslim extremists look for an excuse to incite a violent protest -> Muslim extremists find an excuse to incite a violent protest." If it hadn't been this video, it could have been any random video that was disrespectful to Islam. Search youtube for "drawings of Mohammed," for example - there are dozens of examples, and thousands more on google. Any of those could have "caused" a violent protest.

They're being repressed. Where's your empathy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOOTKA0aGI0

[The Mad Monk]

How credible a paper is The Independent?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...n-8135797.html

I've been told that it's not a tabloid. Probably a good source.

[SlowwHand]

Originally a broadsheet newspaper, since 2003 the newspaper has been published in a tabloid or "compact" format.[2] The Independent is regarded as leaning to the left politically,[3] but tends to take a classical liberal, pro-market, stance on economic issues.[4] It has not affiliated itself with any political party and features a range of views given on its editorial and comment pages. The paper originally described itself as "free from party political bias, free from proprietorial influence"—a banner it carried on the front page of its daily edition. This banner was dropped in September 2011.[5]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Independent

[Lorizael]

He's still a dork.

It's true.

[Provost Harrison]

You can tell these protesters have not grasped the concept of "free speech". These people are obviously used to the state machinery being responsible for everything. Methinks they are also rather sensitive.

[dannubis]

Ya Think ?

[SlowwHand]

University of Texas is being evacuated over bomb threats.

[Guynemer]

Apparently, said bombs were supposed to go off two hours ago, so it appears to be a hoax (unsurprisingly). Hope they find the guy and prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law.

[Dinner]

You are very close to advocating blashphemy laws (as was hinted earlier) as clearly these poor, righteous people just can't help themselves.

BS.

I refuse to pander to their superstitions.

Good post.