Comments on: The Jihad Will Be Televised

The Jihad Will Be Televised

digaman — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:44:42 -0800

NewsFilter: Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID - Conn.) strikes a decisive blow against another Islamic terror front group: YouTube.

By: digaman

digaman — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:47:30 -0800

From the Senator's letter to Eric Schmidt: "Today, Islamist terrorist organizations rely extensively on the Internet to attract supporters and advance their cause. The framework for much of this Internet campaign is described in a bipartisan staff report released last week by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ('Committee'), which I am privileged to chair, titled Violent Islamist Extremism, the Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat. The report explains, in part, how al-Qaeda created and manages a multi-tiered online media operation that produces content intended to enlist followers in countries all over the world, including the United States. Central to this media campaign is the branding of content with an icon or logo to guarantee authenticity that the content was produced by al-Qaeda or allied organizations like al-Qaeda in Iraq, Ansar al-Islam (a.k.a Ansar al-Sunnah) or al-Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb. All of these groups have been designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) by the Department of State. Searches on YouTube return dozens of videos branded with an icon or logo identifying the videos as the work of one of these Islamist terrorist organizations. A great majority of these videos document horrific attacks on American soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan. Others provide weapons training, speeches by al-Qaeda leadership, and general material intended to radicalize potential recruits. In other words, Islamist terrorist organizations use YouTube to disseminate their propaganda, enlist followers, and provide weapons training - activities that are all essential to terrorist activity.."

By: QuarterlyProphet

QuarterlyProphet — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:50:21 -0800

I think you're just jealous you don't live in CT like all the cool Mefites.

By: digaman

digaman — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:51:37 -0800

Violent Islamist Extremism, the Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat, with a PDF link to the report itself.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:51:52 -0800

the jihad will be streamed live over the intartubes.

By: iamabot

iamabot — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:54:35 -0800

the jihad will have a video response shortly

By: wendell

wendell — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:55:06 -0800

...which is fine with me, because I am never going to be closer than a few thousand miles of where it is actually happening.

By: ten pounds of inedita

ten pounds of inedita — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:55:33 -0800

I keep forgetting. What's the answer to bad speech?

By: mephron

mephron — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:56:28 -0800

mocking Joe Lieberman.

By: wendell

wendell — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:00:52 -0800

That Zarqawi character is nearly as boring a speaker as Lieberman. And I once owned an ugly couch just like the one he's sitting on. So there's a furniture store in North Hollywood, CA that may have terrorist connections.

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:04:11 -0800

Love is a mighty power.

By: TrialByMedia

TrialByMedia — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:08:03 -0800

how does one burn an e-book?

By: Mr_Zero

Mr_Zero — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:08:08 -0800

Well they don't have to worry about Osama, he only does audio now.

By: BeerFilter

BeerFilter — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:08:40 -0800

I take comfort in the fact that the terrorist don't seem to know how to properly de-interlace video.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:11:06 -0800

Sen. Joe Lieberman illustrated his love for free speech during his anti-video game jihad in the '90s.

By: zardoz

zardoz — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:13:35 -0800

Good thing Lieberman knows all the ins and outs of interweb. As his colleague Ted Stevens would say, "The Internet is a series of tubes!", and YouTube is just one of those tubes. Therefore, if the jihadist tube is removed from the larger YouTube (one of a series of tubes), then there should be no more tubes for the bad guys to use. Leiberman's running mate may have invented the Internet, but Joe's got the real brains.

By: LiveLurker

LiveLurker — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:17:55 -0800

Indeed love is a mighty power, but not half the power of "group think"

By: empath

empath — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:19:41 -0800

photoshopped.

By: telstar

telstar — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:19:45 -0800

Sorry Joe, the only thing I watch on YouTube are 9/11 truth videos. Interestingly, your name comes up a lot.

By: LiveLurker

LiveLurker — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:20:41 -0800

Let's watch the "love".

By: LiveLurker

LiveLurker — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:25:05 -0800

Ok so telstar doesn't "love" Joe Lieberman. Next?

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:26:04 -0800

My objection to this is that, with the videos in plain site, we have a better idea of some of their tactics and ideas. Removing them from YouTube will not prevent them from getting their message out online and, furthermore, will make it a little more work for the rest of us to check out. Mind you, I grasp the concern about them being hosted on YouTube, but I think having them there is actually to our strategic advantage.

By: ornate insect

ornate insect — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:29:08 -0800

If the terrorists did not exist, the neocon-complex (that is, the "bomb Iran" crowd holding court at the PNAC, AEI, AIPAC, and in Hagee's rapture ready cult, etc) would have had to invent them. Come to think of it, if they did at least partly invent them, or perhaps wildly exagerrate them, how exactly would we know? Without the threat of an external enemy that pops up like clockwork come election time, what exactly would these people like Lieberman do with themselves? It's remarkable how seamlessly the Cold War morphed into the "War on Terror," complete w/its own Vietnam in Mesopotamia.

By: LiveLurker

LiveLurker — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:29:39 -0800

Agreed Joey.

By: cobaltnine

cobaltnine — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:30:23 -0800

Hey, Joe, there's still some Marilyn Manson videos out there you haven't finished eradicating. Or is that too small potatoes now?

By: b1tr0t

b1tr0t — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:31:05 -0800

It's a series of tubes. It's not a big truck bomb.

By: LiveLurker

LiveLurker — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:32:20 -0800

lol ornate, it is the "IF" that is gonna git you...and EVERY time.

By: fourcheesemac

fourcheesemac — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:33:41 -0800

Lieberman is a pathetic tool

By: naju

naju — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:34:50 -0800

Free speech is often very beneficial in these situations. For example, hate groups really embraced the power of the internet to rally and organize. But the relative transparency of their activities on the internet helps government organizations to keep tabs on them like never before. Similarly, if terrorist organizations want to create content and organize via Youtube and other sites, I say let them. It's better than the alternatives we're seeing: crap intelligence, false information gained from torture, etc. (on preview, what Joey said.)

By: LiveLurker

LiveLurker — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:35:26 -0800

OMG i did a bad bad thing! I "lol'd" . Sometimes you just need to though, especially when things are a bit more serious. Funny how that happens.

By: Avenger

Avenger — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:37:24 -0800

I keep forgetting. What's the answer to bad speech? A boot stomping on a human face, forever.

By: ornate insect

ornate insect — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:37:28 -0800

And last summer Lieberman was one of several political guests at Hagee's Xtians United for Israel. Hagee has endorsed McCain, as has Rod Parsley.

By: fleetmouse

fleetmouse — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:38:27 -0800

Ahmadinejad's twitter is pretty cool. - Praying. - Conference call with Pelosi, Obama. - Hating ur freedom. - Praying again, lol

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:45:27 -0800

Let the old guard have their fun. They give speeches, pound their pulpits, and declare what must be done to save our children. Meanwhile progress marches onward with seven league boots, and cannot be stopped. The genie is out of the bottle, and won't get back in; this new world ushered in by the internet brings with it untold evils, unable to be separated and divided from the good, but the beauty and truth it brings to every corner of the globe is blinding. The chicken littles will be gone one day, and humanity will survive, as it has always done.

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:46:58 -0800

Argh, the JRUN jihadists have struck in an act of brutal cyberterrorism.

By: LiveLurker

LiveLurker — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:48:26 -0800

naju says let the government go, but let the terrorists follow. Ok then.

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:49:09 -0800

Why does Joe Lieberman hate copyright laws? YouTube, I hate that "leave brittney alone" guy - can you take that down too?

By: Postroad

Postroad — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:51:13 -0800

Good news and bad! Bad: Joe is from my state. Good: he is no longer a Democrat

By: Sailormom

Sailormom — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:51:58 -0800

At least with the videos on YouTube we can give a thumbs up or down to show where we stand.

By: naju

naju — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:53:22 -0800

Certainly I'm not advocating for the government to stomp on any faces, LiveLurker. This is an inherent by-product of free speech. Talk in the public square, and everyone will hear you. It's the same reason I was confused by the uproar over pedophile bloggers some time ago. Let the pedophile blog, for chrissakes. It's better knowing what he's up to and preparing for it.

By: dances_with_sneetches

dances_with_sneetches — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:55:40 -0800

You know, they also write on paper. We'll need to eliminate all written words.

By: LiveLurker

LiveLurker — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:00:22 -0800

Oh I am all for being prepared, naju, Thing is we all need to know what it is we are "prepared" for?

By: drjimmy11

drjimmy11 — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:07:08 -0800

Lieberman is in serious need of a penis-copter-ing.

By: LiveLurker

LiveLurker — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:08:14 -0800

For example, is Metafilter prepared for listening to those who do not think in the same way as the majority of the SPEAKING members?

By: ornate insect

ornate insect — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:11:14 -0800

livelurker--so far you have 9 brief and somewhat cryptic comments on this thread but I can't make heads or tails of what a single one of them means. I'm guessing I'm not alone on this.

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:13:17 -0800

For example, is Metafilter prepared for listening to those who do not think in the same way as the majority of the SPEAKING members? Huh? I wasn't paying attention.

By: LiveLurker

LiveLurker — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:14:03 -0800

I know we sure as hell trot us all out there when we want to make a point about how DIVERSE we are. Not so sure that some are not trying to trip up my trot though when we talk just amongst ourselves.

By: LiveLurker

LiveLurker — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:16:45 -0800

By: LiveLurker

LiveLurker — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:20:57 -0800

By: MegoSteve

MegoSteve — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:23:24 -0800

Are you secretly Joe Lieberman?

By: Avenger

Avenger — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:30:01 -0800

LiveLurker appears to be channeling the angry ghost of Bevets. BEWARE: FOR HE HEARS THE SUMMONS!

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:36:04 -0800

Could we perhaps just do posts about US politicians who AREN'T idiots? I'm sure if we went with that as a policy we could save loads of the rare and endangered blue electrons, which must be good for the environment.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:39:34 -0800

Wait until Joe sees how much "terror" looks like "torrent".

By: digaman

digaman — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:42:29 -0800

First we have to get them nominated and elect them, PPT. I'm tryin'!

By: bunnytricks

bunnytricks — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:43:53 -0800

Did a post about youtube break the Yahoo Pipes Mefi/YT comment comparison page and start replacing livelurker's comments in this thread with random tuber noise?

By: jamjam

jamjam — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:47:27 -0800

This generation's 'Tailgunner Joe' sounds off yet again. Beano will help you with that problem, Joe.

By: mullingitover

mullingitover — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:56:51 -0800

What Lieberman is doing makes sense. Most people can only handle one propaganda stream at a time. Seriously though, why demand that the videos be taken down? Why not just deliver a crushing diss via a video response? Maybe this century's wars could be fought via youtube flameouts.

By: LiveLurker

LiveLurker — Mon, 19 May 2008 21:00:56 -0800

laughing here....Who is this Bevets? Does he know Butthets? I THOUGHT not! I rest my case...and my body follows.

By: netbros

netbros — Mon, 19 May 2008 21:07:19 -0800

Remember how upset everyone was in 2000 when the election was "stolen" from Gore? Well, this could be your vice-president ... and most likely the Democrat nominee for preznit this year. Heads/Cheney Tails/Lieberman Call it in the air

By: Jaltcoh

Jaltcoh — Mon, 19 May 2008 21:28:49 -0800

and most likely the Democrat nominee for preznit this year. You must have missed his 2004 run.

By: netbros

netbros — Mon, 19 May 2008 21:37:30 -0800

Ah, but it Gore had won, Joe would still be VP now.

By: Any Moose In a Storm

Any Moose In a Storm — Mon, 19 May 2008 21:44:22 -0800

Joseph Lieberman, Likud Party-Connecticut

By: VulcanMike

VulcanMike — Mon, 19 May 2008 21:47:54 -0800

I miss Ned Lamont.

By: formless

formless — Mon, 19 May 2008 22:07:08 -0800

"Homegrown Terroroist Threat". I love that phrase. You can almost hear Robert Mueller, Keith Alexander, and Michael Hayden ejaculating on the bill of rights everytime it's uttered in the media. Nothing like some good old fashioned homegrown scare tactics. I think 4-H has a category for that now.

By: Optimus Chyme

Optimus Chyme — Mon, 19 May 2008 22:31:55 -0800

Nine, ten, eleven cryptic comments? OMG next thing I know I will be seen as a troll! Which is exactly my point. The only thing cryptic about me is that I don't do "group think". Hell, I would leave before it got to that!;) posted by LiveLurker at 8:20 PM on May 19 You're not blowing anyone's mind, dude, you are just being weird. If you have a point in response to naju, do us a favor and don't dress it in ill-used alliteration like an 8th grade poet.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Mon, 19 May 2008 22:33:29 -0800

"Homegrown Terroroist Threat". I love that phrase. You can almost hear Robert Mueller, Keith Alexander, and Michael Hayden ejaculating on the bill of rights everytime it's uttered in the media. Your unpatriotic attitude has been noted, citizen.

By: formless

formless — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:14:00 -0800

homunculus: Your unpatriotic attitude has been noted, citizen. Main Core?!? That is so awesome. God, I love these guys. The Help America Vote Act, Healthy Forests, the PATRIOT Act! They're like bureaucratic supervillains. Main Core. That is so dystopian cyberpunk.

By: loquacious

loquacious — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:58:53 -0800

Barkeep? I'll have three or four of whatever it is LiveLurker is having, one right after the other. No! Don't tell me! I don't care if it's a swift slap in the face with a flaming weasel soaked in ether, or the pureed adrenal glands of a shark soaked in the natural DMT extracts of a thousand bonobos served on a salad of fresh Jimson weed followed by a Belladonna milkshake! Drill a hole in my head to let it breathe! Let it breathe laughing gas! Stuff wild mushrooms in all my holes, build me a straw bale house out of reefer, stuff me in it and light it! Whatever it takes to get me there! If there's one thing I respect it's a motherfucker who is truly, ludicrously high and somehow entirely lost in his or her own world. Here's my hotel room number and a hundred bucks to split with the bellhop. Keep 'em coming until I'm done, then throw (or strap) me to the nearest luggage cart. I won't need a turndown, just dump me on the floor. I'm figuring I won't mind by that point. Unless this guy is either a Markov-chaining algorithm, brain damaged, clinically insane and/or a non-native English speaker. In that case, just give me a neat double vodka and an ashtray.

By: Cranberry

Cranberry — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:02:03 -0800

Perhaps we have the necessary technology. Would free copies of Vista render Al Quaida incommunicado?

By: furtive

furtive — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:02:15 -0800

Joe's just reminding all you Americans about the Terror and Fear you're supposed to be feeling, since you all seem to be smitten by internal nonsense such as elections, the economy, etc.

By: Kadin2048

Kadin2048 — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:03:53 -0800

Could we perhaps just do posts about US politicians who AREN'T idiots? [Cue crickets chirping]

By: rokusan

rokusan — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:12:02 -0800

Even if LiveLurker's not a bot, he's really, really making me want to write one now. It would be so easy in these threads, where nobody's quite making sense anyway (including me with the while kumquat thing.)

By: loquacious

loquacious — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:50:02 -0800

Tell me how you really feel about really making me want to write one now?

By: aqhong

aqhong — Tue, 20 May 2008 01:20:49 -0800

Could we perhaps just do posts about US politicians who AREN'T idiots? Let's call it "ObamaFilter"!

By: rodgerd

rodgerd — Tue, 20 May 2008 01:30:24 -0800

Downside of US 2000 Presidential Election: George Bush elected. Upside: Joe Lieberman nowhere near levers of power. (Remember that when waxing nostaligic about Saint Gore)

By: hortense

hortense — Tue, 20 May 2008 01:38:36 -0800

He should ask pmrc Tipper for some help, the saint of censorship .

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Tue, 20 May 2008 01:53:02 -0800

the jihad will be streamed live over the intartubes. the jihad has more Twitter followers than you. the jihad has more Facebook friends than you. the jihad has had more comments favorited than you. the jihad has a higher pagerank than you. the jihad hated LOLCATS before you. the jihad has switched to Apple. the jihad has its own blog. the jihad is a fuckwit.

By: psmealey

psmealey — Tue, 20 May 2008 03:19:38 -0800

It's incredibly sad that Lieberman, on issues other than the war in Iraq or anything having to do with Israel or terrorism has been staunch proponent of Democratic ideals during his many terms in the Senate. It's a plain shame that this white whale has driven him into apparent madness and ruined both his career and his legacy.

By: cobaltnine

cobaltnine — Tue, 20 May 2008 04:04:45 -0800

What? I'll say he was okay on some Democratic ideals, but not all of them. I mean, I'm younger than you, but Lieberman's pro-censorship stance goes back to earlier days and his more recent votes to keep EC and proper post-rape treatment from women in all CT hospitals speaks against it, to me.

By: psmealey

psmealey — Tue, 20 May 2008 04:27:00 -0800

Point taken. I should have qualified that.

By: a robot made out of meat

a robot made out of meat — Tue, 20 May 2008 04:43:44 -0800

loq: Sure? 800 mcg acid is a lot. I have some haldol and some diazepam ready if you need it.

By: Jaltcoh

Jaltcoh — Tue, 20 May 2008 04:48:12 -0800

Ah, but it Gore had won, Joe would still be VP now. Doesn't matter since he was a terrible campaigner when he ran for president; ergo, he would not be the nominee.

By: kisch mokusch

kisch mokusch — Tue, 20 May 2008 06:11:14 -0800

That Zarqawi character is nearly as boring a speaker as Lieberman. You mean, "That Zarqawi character was nearly as boring a speaker as Lieberman."

By: Tuatara

Tuatara — Tue, 20 May 2008 06:12:54 -0800

You mean, "That Zarqawi character was nearly as boring a speaker as Lieberman." Nope, I still got to give it to Lieberman.

By: krautland

krautland — Tue, 20 May 2008 06:53:25 -0800

"strikes a decisive blow" ? lieberman has always sucked but this actually blows.

By: Rykey

Rykey — Tue, 20 May 2008 08:24:16 -0800

Today, Islamist terrorist organizations rely extensively on the Internet to attract supporters and advance their cause. Yeah, when they're not too busy signing up new recruits inspired by US foreign/military policy.

By: quin

quin — Tue, 20 May 2008 08:57:06 -0800

"Islamist terrorist organizations use YouTube to disseminate their propaganda, enlist followers, and provide weapons training," the Senator said in his letter. "YouTube also, unwittingly, permits Islamist terrorist groups to maintain an active, pervasive, and amplified voice, despite military setbacks or successful operations by the law enforcement and intelligence communities... So, what Lieberman is saying is that no matter how much money or resources we've thrown at shutting these guys up, they are still able to post on YouTube, and that is a bit of an embarrassment, huh?

By: digaman

digaman — Tue, 20 May 2008 09:48:08 -0800

Yeah, when they're not too busy signing up new recruits inspired by US foreign/military policy. Precisely.

By: digaman

digaman — Tue, 20 May 2008 09:50:08 -0800

YouTube responds.

By: digaman

digaman — Tue, 20 May 2008 09:51:29 -0800

Ack, sorry: YouTube responds. ...First, some background: hundreds of thousands of videos are uploaded to YouTube every day. Because it is not possible to pre-screen this much content, we have developed an innovative and reliable community policing system that involves our users in helping us enforce YouTube's standards. Millions of users report potential violations of our Community Guidelines by selecting the "Flag" link while watching videos. Senator Lieberman's staff identified numerous videos that they believed violated YouTube's Community Guidelines. In response to his concerns, we examined and ended up removing a number of videos from the site, primarily because they depicted gratuitous violence, advocated violence, or used hate speech. Most of the videos, which did not contain violent or hate speech content, were not removed because they do not violate our Community Guidelines. Senator Lieberman stated his belief, in a letter sent today, that all videos mentioning or featuring these groups should be removed from YouTube -- even legal nonviolent or non-hate speech videos. While we respect and understand his views, YouTube encourages free speech and defends everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. We believe that YouTube is a richer and more relevant platform for users precisely because it hosts a diverse range of views, and rather than stifle debate we allow our users to view all acceptable content and make up their own minds. Of course, users are always free to express their disagreement with a particular video on the site, by leaving comments or their own response video. That debate is healthy. We appreciate Senator Lieberman alerting us to videos that violated our policies -- and encourage our users to continue to do the same through the flagging tool. And while we disagree with him about the details of our policies, we respect his views and thank him for giving us the chance to respond to his concerns.

By: everichon

everichon — Tue, 20 May 2008 12:48:23 -0800

We live God's Law today! We win Free Speech OK! With 10 men & full-truth, our only God, we rally-raise-unite All-One! All-One! All-One!

By: everichon

everichon — Tue, 20 May 2008 12:48:50 -0800

*stuffs more 'shrooms in holes*

By: [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST]

[NOT HERMITOSIS-IST] — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:43:24 -0800

YouTube responds.

By: [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST]

[NOT HERMITOSIS-IST] — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:46:21 -0800

No really, that's how they'll baffle the terrorists.

By: digaman

digaman — Wed, 21 May 2008 07:55:14 -0800

Don't click on that link, folks. Trust me on that.

By: squarehead

squarehead — Wed, 21 May 2008 08:39:37 -0800

So YouTube basically told Lieberman that he should just flag and move on.

By: digaman

digaman — Wed, 21 May 2008 08:51:31 -0800

This man is likely to be McCain's running mate.