Taliban execute boy, 7, as spy

[JakeandElwood]

Some things are just universal. Or should be.

 

[YGBFKM]

I think we would condemn and attack New Jersey. How could it let a dad throw his 3-month-old off the bridge? Anyhoo, of course it's an outrageous act by the Taliban, one of thousands of atrocious acts committed all over the world every day. How many thousands of punishment missions shall we undertake.? And its posting by YF as the usual jingo/outrage snuff porn kinda isn't savory, either.

So newsworthiness is determined by the person posting the story? Would you have felt differently about the execution of a 7-year-old had a poster you like started this thread?

 

[Double J]

I think we would condemn and attack New Jersey. How could it let a dad throw his 3-month-old off the bridge? Anyhoo, of course it's an outrageous act by the Taliban, one of thousands of atrocious acts committed all over the world every day. How many thousands of punishment missions shall we undertake.? And its posting by YF as the usual jingo/outrage snuff porn kinda isn't savory, either.

Big difference between a deplorable act committed by one man - who also deserves to be punished to the limit of the law - and that committed/endorsed by an entire society or sub-society, however you wish to characterize the Taliban. This wasn't a case of one person acting as judge, jury and executioner in the case of this boy.

 

[Care Bear]

Great post, Double J. All that needed to be said. This thread is disturbing. This story is news, and it's horrifying. If New Jersey endorsed the hanging of a seven-year-old for political reasons, there probably would be some minor outrage. Jesus.

 

[Boom_70]

Great post, Double J. All that needed to be said. This thread is disturbing. This story is news, and it's horrifying. If New Jersey endorsed the hanging of a seven-year-old for political reasons, there probably would be some minor outrage. Jesus.

A more apt comparison might be the NJ Mafia

 

[Stoney]

^KEYWORD(S):=((APNewsAlert))=@BC-AS--APNewsAlert,0019
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban is really, really bad.
AP-ES-06-10-10 2227EDT

BP = Bad -- Let's Boycott!

Bush = Bad -- Let's March in the Streets!

Taliban Kills 7-year old = Bad -- Eh, Let's move on

Excuse me, but WTF are you talking about?

Are you somehow under the impression that we've just sat back and done nothing about this Taliban problem? Did you miss us driving the Taliban from power in Afghanistan? Or the last decade waging a war in Afghanistan that has cost thousands of young lives to keep the Taliban out of power? We've done a helluva lot more to combat the Taliban than "march in the streets" and boycott.

The murder of a 7 year old boy is an undescribably horrible and evil thing and we should all be outraged by it, but I doubt anyone here who's been paying attention over the last decade is honestly shocked to learn that the Taliban is capable of such hideous atrocities. If you have some greater point here, just say it. What more do you think we should be doing?

 

[YankeeFan]

^KEYWORD(S):=((APNewsAlert))=@BC-AS--APNewsAlert,0019
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban is really, really bad.
AP-ES-06-10-10 2227EDT

BP = Bad -- Let's Boycott!

Bush = Bad -- Let's March in the Streets!

Taliban Kills 7-year old = Bad -- Eh, Let's move on

Excuse me, but WTF are you talking about? "Let's move on"?

Are you somehow under the impression that we've just sat back and done nothing about this Taliban problem? Did you miss us driving the Taliban from power in Afghanistan ealy this decade? Or the last decade waging a war in Afghanistan that has cost thousands of young lives to keep the Taliban out of power? We've done a helluva lot more to combat the Taliban than "march in the streets" and boycott.

The murder of a 7 year old boy is a undescribably horrible and evil thing, but I doubt anyone here who's been paying attention over the last decade is genuinely and honestly shocked to learn that the Taliban is capable of such hideous atrocities. If you have some greater point here, just say it. What more do you think we should be doing?

I'm sorry. I guessed I missed the outrage in MB's response.

 

[Stoney]

Sorry, but when I read it, your post plainly seemed to imply that we have a greater response to BP and Bush than the Taliban. Let's see, to BP and Bush we responded with anger and some protests, to the Taliban we responded not only with the anger/protests but also full scale invasion of Afghanistan, an overthrow of a government, and a monumentally costly decade long war that has bankrupted our treasury and costs thousands of young lives. Somehow I think we reacted more to the Taliban problem.

If your point was merely to point out how unimaginably horrible this killing was, I agree with you and I assume everybody else here does too. But if you're going to imply that we don't care enough or haven't done enough to combat the Taliban, then I suggest you better be prepared to explain yourself.

 

[schiezainc]

I'm so glad there are no political discussions on this board.

In before the lock ...

 

[printdust]

I don't think Karzai's "crime against humanity" line is going to have much impact on a bunch of people who aren't even remotely human.

But they're Muslims!

 

[YankeeFan]

I'm so glad there are no political discussions on this board.

In before the lock ...

This wasn't started as a political thread, it wasn't meant to be a political thread, and there's no reason it has to be a political thread.

Oh, and btw, Moddy has specifically asked people not to make snotty "in before the lock" comments. They add nothing and only serve to antagonize.

 

[schiezainc]

Sorry, didn't see it. I'll make sure to refrain from now on.

 

[YankeeFan]

Sorry, but when I read it, your post plainly seemed to imply that we have a greater response to BP and Bush than the Taliban. Let's see, to BP and Bush we responded with anger and some protests, to the Taliban we responded not only with the anger/protests but also full scale invasion of Afghanistan, an overthrow of a government, and a monumentally costly decade long war that has bankrupted our treasury and costs thousands of young lives. Somehow I think we reacted more to the Taliban problem.

If your point was merely to point out how unimaginably horrible this killing was, I agree with you and I assume everybody else here does too. But if you're going to imply that we don't care enough or haven't done enough to combat the Taliban, then I suggest you better be prepared to explain yourself.

I didn't get the impression from some of the replies that everyone agrees with us.

There was universal condemnation, global condemnation when the Taliban blew up the Buddha statues.

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

As horrible as that was, they were statues.

This was a 7-year old boy -- convicted as a spy! If this story is to be believed, it wasn't the act of one lone madman, it was a group decision to execute a prepubescent boy.

I'm sorry, but I think that needs to be highlighted. Maybe it needs to be verified, but this story should be on the front page of the New York Times, the lead story on ABC's World News Tonight and featured on 60 Minutes if true.

 

[wisportswriter]

I can only assume/hope this thread is the product of politically charged posters hanging on to their rivalries.

Mostly because, if that's not the reason, I fear what it would say about anyone who would make a point to post in a thread like this about a story like this and essentially tell the original poster to get over it.

 

[Smash Williams]

Honestly, it's kind of a dog bites man story. The Taliban have done lots and lots and lots of terrible things. As sad as it is, it's not shocking when they go and do another in a long line of terrible things. Horrifically sad and inexcusable, yes, but not shocking.

Because of that, I don't get necessarily why it would be a front-page story even if verified. We already know these guys are insane extremists who use religion as a front for ethnic cleansing and a search for power (much like the conflict in, say, Bosnia where the Serbs [Orthodox Christians] massacred Bosniaks [Muslims] or whatever).

Take like... the Mexican drug cartels. These guys are organized groups that have done things like raided birthday parties and tried to kill everyone there because they believed (without proof) someone there had a tie to a rival gang. http://www.elpasotimes.com/juarez/ci_14308360

When groups like the cartels or the Taliban stoop to those lows, it just... doesn't surprise me anymore. Honestly, I suspect both groups have done a lot more of these things and we just don't know about it yet. We might never find out how ruthless and bloodthirsty they have been.

 

[deskslave]

Guess what? The Taliban did stuff like this -- or at least very similar -- for YEARS before 9/11, and we -- the Western world -- did exactly ****-all about it. Maybe it wasn't a public hanging, but there were plenty of women and children who got, say, shot in raids of their houses or beaten on the streets for perceived violations of made-up religious laws.

Meanwhile, kids get raped every day in the Congo or worked to death in sweatshops in China, and we do exactly ****-all for them as well. And a little closer to home, there are plenty of people in America who have no problem making nasty comments about children of illegal immigrants -- send them all back, they don't deserve citizenship, why should I pay their medical bills, etc.

There are plenty of opportunities right on all of our doorsteps to make the world a better place for kids -- if not this specific, particular kid who can help make a point -- and we don't do it. (Nor, for that matter, does the originator of this thread seem to have any actual ideas for what we should do in this particular case. More bombs? More troops? Because, you know, that won't result in more children dying.)

So to portray ourselves as some kind of moral world superpower is pretty damn disingenuous, to say the very least.

 

[Flying Headbutt]

perfect way to lock it up