and later says her press credentials were thrown to the floor ...

My guess is that the written statement is the correct "story" and that she "misspoke" in the moment of being released in the video (though she seemed to be walking stiffly and in the very brief video of her arrest, she did appear to be handled roughly)

apologies ... maybe someone can ask about this discrepancy ... on the behalf of all those troubled by it.

Jules Crittenden on Amy Goodman... What? You mean that flaming al Qaeda sympathizer wasn’t already shackled in the hated Crusader gulag of Guantanamo with a sack on her head? Those Bush Cheney McHitlerites are slacking!

June 11, 2008

When AIPAC Went Missing

Whatever Happened to "Democracy Now?"

By MUHAMMAD IDREES AHMAD

It is with some alarm and dismay that I watched Amy Goodman’s “Democracy Now” provide platform to right-wing Paksitani journalist Ahmad Rashid, long an apologist for Bush's war-on-terror, to recycle propaganda from British tabloid press and other discredited sources. His tale about al-Qa'ida recruiting white converts for terrorist acts in Europe originated with the British security services as part of their fearmongering campaign to build support for the 42-day detention without charge plan. No shred of evidence was ever offered...

Amy, what happened to Democracy Now's promise to speak truth to power? Did you not say once that your aim was to go where the silence is? How is it that the Washington Post was able to break the silence even as Democracy Now remained AWOL? Why did Democracy Now join MSM in denying Mearsheimer and Walt a voice, instead allowing their views to be misrepresented by critics without a chance of rebuttal? How well placed are you to criticize the mainstream for refusing to stand up to power when you can yourself be considered guilty of the same?

http://www.counterpunch.org/ahmad06112008.html

She can't win for losing. She probably knows how a cop feels most days. Poor bastards.

So are the other three.

-- CargoCult

Yes, I know. My point was made without repeating your entire Spam.

Please honor my request and do not address me again with your telemarketing style spam antics. Or in any other way.

I'm starting to suspect you're working with the authorities to distract attention from the anthrax investigation. Very suspicious.

I'm pretty sure that if it weren't for Amy Goodman, 9/11 would never have happened, we wouldn't have invaded Iraq, and George Bush would have had only one term in office. - GlennGreenwald

I think he's due for another vacation already.

You could always start blogging about the dogs.

;-)

Yesterday, after reading about the literally outrageous police raids in/around Minneapolis-St. Paul, I found myself sufficiently motivated to part with my $600 economic stimulus rebate by sending it all to the ACLU. And with what I've read today, it seems like an even better investment. Looking on the somewhat brighter side of this latest episode in the rueful police-state downfall of America, perhaps this will further expand Democracy Now!'s audience.

right-wing Pakistani journalist Ahmad Rashid,

Disagree with this characterization of him. Of course, that is an Indo-centric view.

apologies

-- susan sunflower

No need to apologize to me. I was only making sure you had the story right. I'm not concerned with the propagandists pretending to be detectives.

I'm sorry if people are offended, but I do believe these are legitimate questions.

-- CargoCult

I agree with you.

I'm starting to suspect you're working with the authorities to distract attention from the anthrax investigation. Very suspicious.

I'm pretty sure that if it weren't for Amy Goodman, 9/11 would never have happened, we wouldn't have invaded Iraq, and George Bush would have had only one term in office.

- GlennGreenwald

Huh, hmmm? Just a case of Bush derangement?

I've grown accustomed to taking statements like that and attributing them to propagandistic tactics used by those who have nothing more. Usually from the right.

Very curious, I'm probably wrong, but I still think cargocult brings up a valid point.

You have to realize that those stormtroopers, I mean riot police, had no idea what was in that flower. I saw an animated episode of batman where the joker shot acid from a flower into someone's face. It was horrible. What if that flower had acid in it? Or mace!? Those cops had no choice.

Look at it from their perspective, they see the video, they hear your commentary, and they say to themselves, 'you mean she got out in three hours? That's great'

Fail to learn this lesson at your own peril. These complaints sound like those of a bunch of pampered elites who stepped out beyond the gates to discover that there was suffering in the world. They are not taken seriously by anyone but the converted.

This is awesome, I definitely need to spend more time answering your insightful comments. For one thing, it's clear how painstakingly you read my original letter, because your response is a perfect refutation of when I wrote, "omg amy goodman amy goodman how could this ever happen omg." You're spot on there.

But for another thing, when you write I become wealthy, pampered, elite, and past troubles with the police all disappear. I become ensconced in a wealthy suburb, insular town, or perhaps a gated community somewhere. What's perhaps best of all is that my voice becomes emblematic of mainstream centrist opinion to which American liberals, as a body, give such credence.

What a life! No wonder the idea that organized, warrantless police detention without cause is such a new concept for me. And this magical transformation is effected merely by your words. How can I thank you enough?

E.g., “Washington is doing itself no favors by serving as Musharraf’s enabler. Indeed the Bush administration’s policy of sticking by Musharraf is fast becoming eerily reminiscent of the Carter administration’s policy of sticking by the Shah of Iran”.... from Ahmad Rashid is not characterizable as right-wing.

I understand (finally) what you are saying. Have you been here (U.S.) recently? I don't think we can afford to use euphemisms here anymore, even of some people will think we are idiots for the harsh language. There (Europe) it may sound ridiculous, and people may think "Democracy" and "Police State" are incompatible. Here they are slowly becoming quite compatible, and acting as if "Democracy" is a golden shield against an encroaching "Police State" is not a very good strategy anymore.

I am quite sure about the mentality. When I described what I had seen in that police state as to the mentality of the populace (just like in China right now, they were nationalistic and very supportive of the police state) to a friend, she told me it sounded (and others she had talked to also sounded) like pre-war Japan. She had grown up in pre-war Imperial Japan. Another friend of mine, whose relatives were lost at Hiroshima, agreed. I do know the mentality, and I am seeing it, and that is very bad.

I had a talk with a South American friend recently, he drew analogy after analogy to what he saw growing up in police states there to the current climate here. He thinks mentality and the press language are a very, very good match. The existential threats, the equating some trouble makers at a rally with international terrorists. The belief that whatever the police say should be obeyed. The shiny eyed babbling vocabulary about automatic weapons, the (in some circles I frequent) sheer joy at knowing esoteric 10-codes, and stuffing their EMT pants into the boots so they look like SWAT BDUs. The slow seduction into cruelty and indifference.

I'll make a deal with you. If I come to Europe, I'll be circumspect in my language even as I explain what's happening in the U.S. If you get Stateside, please don't pull your verbal punches, it helps people here stay asleep.