Not that exclusive if you count forced sterilization, which the US does.
Source?
I posted this on Facebook
Call me cynical if you like (and I certainly am no supporter of the Iranian Regime!) but this post from Cory Doctrow at http://boingboing.net/ is too much. The post comes from The Telegraph (written by a journalist in Tel Aviv) and purports to be a set of images issued by the Iranian government itself! The sheer theatricality of the images and the industrial-grade grunt of that machine also make me think that this is an elaborate hoax. I normally enjoy boingboingâs postings and am an admirer of Doctrow but this is disappointingâŚI will apologise if I am proved wrong!
Can you cite a recent example of sterilization that isnât optional and reversible pills? Iâm honestly asking; Iâve done only a bit of research on this, but I havenât seen any.
I donât think it would change the post much even if it is shown to be a hoax. Itâs an interesting post either way and will be updated if it is. I donât see posting it as advocating anything one way or another. Just passing it on.
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BB is turning into LiveLeaks, shame in a wayâŚ
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The Iranian government has released photos of a machine that amputates thieves fingers using the state media agency.
That sentence hurt to read - both on the level of basic human decency as well as from a grammatical standpoint.
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Thanks Timmo for your response and I of course agree that it as an interesting post. I do however think that it
raises the question of boingboingâs journalistic standards and the question of journalistic standards at large. A reputable journal such as boingboing should not just pass on posts uncritically if it wants to retain its credibility. To post misleading posts, as I believe this post to be, is irresponsible
Why is âthievesâ in scare quotes in the headline? The Iranian government has no need to gin up thievery charges against whomever it wants to punish, so itâs likely that these people are being dedigitated because they were straightforwardly â even if wrongly â convicted of theft. I mean, if theyâre pissed at someone for criticizing the Ayatollah or offending Allah or whatever, theyâll just convict him of that.
Also, my understanding is that theyâve been amputating bits for hundreds of years, if not more, so being upset or outraged over this development is like being upset about the guillotine supplanting a guy with a big axe.
Almost time for them to have a Renaissance.
Eh, if he was fooled he wasnât alone. There were a number of news organizations reporting on this back in January, including ABC and a number of other British papers whose reputations Iâm unfit to judge.
wonderfully disconcerting video, thanks for the link.
And yes, it indicated the machine may be used for Administration of Shariâa Law.
If it is real then Iran is doing its best to remind the world that it is batsh*t crazy and heartless. Religious fanatics have more in common than differences regardless of faith though.
What year is it over there?
Right, quite a bit behind the USA. But, with our various torture programs (here and abroad), mass deaths and wounded from wars based upon lies/profits, mass incarcerations of ridiculous proportions for non-violent offenders, brutal police actions against peaceful protestors, capital punishment and suspicion-less mass spying on our own citizens⌠I guess weâre not exactly the shining city on the hill anymore either.
Feels like 1984 here.
So⌠what do they do with the fingers?
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I donât mean to brag, but look what I found in a single Google search as my top result:
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Yes, the ABC did report it in January as fact. The Telegraph and The Blaze however had the good sense to say that the photos âappearâ to show the amputation. Boing Boing did not temper its post with any such qualifications and so my criticism of Boing Boing still stands. I am trying to get onto the archives of the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) to check them because they are often credited with being the âOfficial Iranianâ source of the information and photos. So far my server cannot connect me to the archive (perhaps because I live in rural Australia). I will keep trying and let you know when and if I can get a definitive answer but until then I stand by my criticism of Boing Boing.
Considering that their antiquity is well older than that of Greece and Rome, they are waaaay overdue.
Wait, what? Arenât there better ways to deal with dangerous employees?
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