I’m sorry. I apologize. It’s all my fault that the Obama administration won’t release the Osama bin Laden death-porn-shot-in-the-eye pictures.
Let me explain. I created a ridiculous photoshopped image (as I tend to do) combining two hot news items of the day, the OBL killing situation room photo and the I’m-so-rich-but-money-can’t-buy-taste Royal wedding.
One of the things that I think concerns Secretary [of State Hillary] Clinton and I is the risk not only of the pictures themselves inflaming people who were bin Laden’s adherents and radical extremists, but we were also worried about the potential for manipulation of those photos and doing things with those photos that would be pretty outrageous in terms of provoking a reaction that might in fact put our troops at greater risk in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
-snip-
I have gotten from friends all over the country copies of the picture that was this iconic picture taken in the Situation Room while we were watching the operation. And they have been photoshopped in every way you can imagine, including putting you know, coming after the royal wedding, one of these had all of us in one of these big, wide-brimmed hats from the wedding. Another had various football players seated at the table that had been photoshopped in.
Apparently Sec. Gates saw this image and it put the fear of jihad into him (I was frightened the first time I saw that hat too).
What he’s saying makes sense, though I’d take issue with the defense secretary on one minor but crucial point — and that’s that the hat is more “high-brimmed” than “wide-brimmed.” Also, to Twolf, the artiste responsible for the infamous Beatrice Room Photoshop: Congratulations. The people in that room have actually seen themselves wearing the hat. Just try not to incite a jihad with your magic wand tool.
Great excuse though — as if shooting an unarmed guy in the eye, blowing the top of his head off wasn’t what would provoke a “reaction that might in fact put our troops at greater risk in both Iraq and Afghanistan.”
I don’t really know what to say about this. It is truly pathetic.
Consider yourself warned, and just know that you will never get this 7 minutes and 19 seconds of your life back.
Enjoy… or whatever:
…told you.
UPDATE: David Weigel spoke with Christian Hartsock, the director of the video:
James and I had been talking about doing something like this around the time of his arraignment,” wrote Hartsock in an e-mail. “We were inspired by George Michael’s 1998 video ‘Outside’ and Michael Jackson’s ‘Black or White’ — both of which were released as kind of fuck-you-to-the-system pieces after those artist’s run-ins with the law. We brainstormed, he put together a track with Tony Dini, and I wrote a script and packaged a cast and crew and we went ahead and shot it.
President Obama’s comments on Egypt and Hosni Mubarak finally resigning as President of the country.
President Obama on a Historic Day in Egypt
February 11, 2011 | 6:54 | Public Domain
President Obama speaks on the situation in Egypt following the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, saying the U.S. supports the Egyptian people and stands ready to assist as the country moves towards a genuine democracy.
The Egyptian people have been told that there was a transition of authority, but it is not yet clear that this transition is immediate, meaningful or sufficient. Too many Egyptians remain unconvinced that the government is serious about a genuine transition to democracy, and it is the responsibility of the government to speak clearly to the Egyptian people and the world. The Egyptian government must put forward a credible, concrete and unequivocal path toward genuine democracy, and they have not yet seized that opportunity.
As we have said from the beginning of this unrest, the future of Egypt will be determined by the Egyptian people. But the United States has also been clear that we stand for a set of core principles. We believe that the universal rights of the Egyptian people must be respected, and their aspirations must be met. We believe that this transition must immediately demonstrate irreversible political change, and a negotiated path to democracy. To that end, we believe that the emergency law should be lifted. We believe that meaningful negotiations with the broad opposition and Egyptian civil society should address the key questions confronting Egypt’s future: protecting the fundamental rights of all citizens; revising the Constitution and other laws to demonstrate irreversible change; and jointly developing a clear roadmap to elections that are free and fair.
We therefore urge the Egyptian government to move swiftly to explain the changes that have been made, and to spell out in clear and unambiguous language the step by step process that will lead to democracy and the representative government that the Egyptian people seek. Going forward, it will be essential that the universal rights of the Egyptian people be respected. There must be restraint by all parties. Violence must be forsaken. It is imperative that the government not respond to the aspirations of their people with repression or brutality. The voices of the Egyptian people must be heard.
The Egyptian people have made it clear that there is no going back to the way things were: Egypt has changed, and its future is in the hands of the people. Those who have exercised their right to peaceful assembly represent the greatness of the Egyptian people, and are broadly representative of Egyptian society. We have seen young and old, rich and poor, Muslim and Christian join together, and earn the respect of the world through their non-violent calls for change. In that effort, young people have been at the forefront, and a new generation has emerged. They have made it clear that Egypt must reflect their hopes, fulfill their highest aspirations, and tap their boundless potential. In these difficult times, I know that the Egyptian people will persevere, and they must know that they will continue to have a friend in the United States of America.
For decades certain human beings were wrongly treated as property and denied liberty in America because they were not considered persons under the constitution. Today other human beings, the unborn of all races, are also wrongly treated as property and denied the right to life for the same reason; because they are not considered persons under the constitution. I am disappointed that President Obama, who rightfully fights for civil rights, refuses to recognize the civil rights of the unborn in this country.
The question is, and this is what Barack Obama didn’t want to answer, is that, is that human life a person under the constitution? And Barack Obama says no. Well if that human life is not a person then I find it almost remarkable for a black man to say ‘now we are going to decide who are people and who are not people.’
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