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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
I am saddened and disgusted by your site's choice to publish more painful, horrifying photographs of the Iraq prison tortures. You did it for publicity, you did it for shock value, you did it for the buck. You try and stand on some kind of synthetic moral ground saying you did it because we all just need to see so much more pain and suffering because it's going to what, make us better people? You say it was only given three weeks of coverage. Were you IN this country at the time?? It was a huge, media (including the internet) extravaganza and people followed the trials of those convicted for the crimes for months.
I think you are a pathetic excuse for an online magazine and you should hold yourself completely responsible for stirring up the pot again. Most of us were shocked and mortified by the photographs. You stand on some kind of "we're doing the best thing" pedistal while the Iraqi's and the Americans and the world have to re-live the pain of those photographs but now in an even more graphic manner. I hope that if innocent people lose lives because you had to take your right to publish regardless of the outcome, that the people who made this decision feel that outcome personally. Perhaps only then you will have a thought about caring more about your fellow human beings that the bucks in your pocket. It's called responsibility.
Why not change your name to the National Enquirer?
Once again I am reminded why I read Salon. You personify what "real media" should be. In today's information rich world one would think that there would be many places to turn for the combination of serious reporting, thought provoking articles as well as fun entertainment, but alas, this is not the case.
I have been very troubled by the Abu Ghraib torture since I first learned of it. I did not feed on the orginal images, I took a glance at a few and stopped. Nor will I view the new photos you have published because I am physically sickened by what our Goverment has done in our names.
But, unlike the current administration, I don't believe that the truth should be hidden in dark corners - it must be set free no matter how how repugnant it may be. Otherwise there is no freedom.
I would gladly step onto an airliner full of terrorists if that could undo these deeds, or prevent such activities in the future.
On September 11th, 2001 I promised myself that I would not change in the face of terrorism. This was my way of dealing with the shock and hurt that I fealt along with the rest of the nation. It was a matter of standing firm. I never stopped flying, and I have insisted to anyone that would listen that to change our behavoir is to give a victory to the terrorists.
I am repulsed by how others have taken the opposite approach - that "September 11th changed everything" including our liberties and our basic value of human rights that was the core of what we stood for in front of the entire world for over 200 years.
We must confront what we have become, so that we can correct it. To allow ourselves to continue down this path is to hand the terrorists a victory.
Thank you for doing what is right. I hope it wakes of our country.
To the Editor,
I applaud Salon's editors for having the courage to publish new photographs from the truly horrible place called Abu Ghraib. However I am very disappointed that you haven't taken this opportunity to put all of the material online for the world to finally see. I'm tired of only getting part of the story; a small photograph, a single page from a report. I don't want a description of a video. I want to see the video. I deserve to see this material. We all do.
The Bush administration has brought government secrecy to alarming and unprecedented levels as they have brought shame and dishonor to our our nation. "Democracy dies behind closed doors" and our democracy is, indeed, expiring right before our eyes. The only way to stop this ever-accelerating slide into a police state is to open the doors. Unleash the truth.
Let the sunshine in.
I urge you to publish the entire report including all the videos and every single disgusting photo - at full size. No blacked-out faces. No redacted phrases. No tiny pictures. Do your job as journalists and trust that we, your subscribers, are adult enough to look at all this material and reach our own conclusions.
Thank you.
Very Truly Yours,
Todd Wilkinson
New York City
I'm getting really tired of seeing nothing but shock news. We've seen pictures of the detainees at Abu Ghraib! This is not news anymore! Why don't you cover a story about all of our military members in history that were POW's? What kind of torture did they endure? How did the Abu Ghraib detainees expect to be treated when they were captured? It's too bad that the Abu Ghraib summer camp didn't have a nice swimming hole or an arts and crafts department. The goal was to obtain information from the prisoners... not to put them in the presidential suite and order room service. If you're going to publish pictures to get people to come to your site, you should at least tell the whole story.
Cheney! I find it very shocking that reporters were upset about his response time. Seems like they were trying to make a story out of nothing. I don't recall the white house having a given response time for relaying non-critical information to the public. How does this have anything to do with national security... do we really need to know all about his hunting trip in order to operate day-to-day. I'm very tired of hearing the media get worked up over nothing.
I would really like to see a site take some responsibility for what they report... list all of the facts, not just what they think will shock the readers. Why not be the first?
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
