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snakelegs
05-05-2008, 06:36 AM
just when you think things can't get worse, more disgusting, more inane, more obscene.... they do.

this is just the first few paragraphs. check the link if you want the full story and have the stomach for it.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1811

Greetings from Guantanamo Bay ... and the sickest souvenir shop in the world
By ANGELA LEVIN - More by this author »

Last updated at 00:06am on 4th May 2008



Mockery: A child's T-shirt proclaiming the camp a tourist spot

The sands are white, the sea laps gently and crowds of bronzed Americans laze in the Caribbean sunshine.

They have a cinema, a golf course and, naturally, a gift shop stocked with mugs, jaunty T-shirts and racks of postcards showing perfect sunsets and bright green iguanas.


Only the barbed wire decoration, a recurring motif, hints at anything wrong.


Welcome to "Taliban Towers" at Guantanamo Bay, the most ghoulishly distasteful tourist destination on the planet.


As these astonishing mementoes show, the US authorities are promoting the world's most notorious prison camp as a cheap hideaway for American sunseekers – a revelation that has drawn international anger and condemnation.


Just yards from the shelves of specially branded mugs and cuddly toys, nearly 300 "enemy combatants" lie sweltering in a waking nightmare.


It is six years since foreign prisoners, many captured in Afghanistan, were first taken to this US-occupied corner of Cuba. Yet even now, no charges have been brought against them.


While the detainees lie incarcerated, visitors can windsurf, take boat trips and go fishing for grouper, tuna, red snapper and swordfish.


The United States' 1.5million service personnel and Guantanamo's 3,000 construction workers are eligible to visit the "resort", which boasts a McDonald's, KFC and a bowling alley.


They even have a Wal-Mart supermarket.
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Ninth_Scribe
05-05-2008, 01:43 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by snakelegs
While the detainees lie incarcerated, visitors can windsurf, take boat trips and go fishing for grouper, tuna, red snapper and swordfish.
They can fish all they want... but they won't catch anything, lol.

An international group of ecologists and economists warned yesterday that the world will run out of seafood by 2048 if steep declines in marine species continue at current rates, based on a four-year study of catch data and the effects of fisheries collapses.

Source= http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...110200913.html
How's that for a dose of retribution?

The Ninth Scribe
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Muezzin
05-05-2008, 01:46 PM
What, no souvenir orange jumpsuits?
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Keltoi
05-05-2008, 02:59 PM
Seems like a little bit of fabricated outrage to me. The Gitmo shirts and other stuff are made for the same reason people buy "I survived Hurricane Katrina" shirts. For the people that work there and have to live there, it is just adding humor to their situation.
Reply

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Trumble
05-05-2008, 03:23 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Keltoi
Seems like a little bit of fabricated outrage to me. The Gitmo shirts and other stuff are made for the same reason people buy "I survived Hurricane Katrina" shirts. For the people that work there and have to live there, it is just adding humor to their situation.
I agree. It's a very poor story (as I would expect from the Mail) in that it completes overshadows what it is important. You have to read a fair way in to discover that that those 'sunseekers', 'tourists' and 'visitors' are in reality all military personnel.. and is there a significantly sized US military base that DOESN'T have fast food joints and a bowling alley these days?

There is indeed worldwide outrage about the treatment of the prisoners, but does anyone really care about T-shirts and mugs, in bad taste or not? If so, maybe they should re-examine their sense of priorities?
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truemuslim
05-05-2008, 06:23 PM
me casa esu casa, guantanamo
the grass is greener on my si-i-i-ide and i got all my moro's in! guantanamo! juss me and ma family i-i-i-i
...
lol thats the tiight song guantanamo

and now its officially died
thank you sister snakey for making me stop one of the songs :D

and WOOW at the topic
people really cant get worse and stupider..................i take that back...
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Izyan
05-05-2008, 09:06 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by truemuslim
me casa esu casa, guantanamo
the grass is greener on my si-i-i-ide and i got all my moro's in! guantanamo! juss me and ma family i-i-i-i
...
lol thats the tiight song guantanamo

and now its officially died
thank you sister snakey for making me stop one of the songs :D

and WOOW at the topic
people really cant get worse and stupider..................i take that back...
More stupid. Stupider is not a word.
Reply

Mikayeel
05-05-2008, 09:12 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by truemuslim
me casa esu casa, guantanamo
the grass is greener on my si-i-i-ide and i got all my moro's in! guantanamo! juss me and ma family i-i-i-i
...
lol thats the tiight song guantanamo

and now its officially died
thank you sister snakey for making me stop one of the songs :D

and WOOW at the topic
people really cant get worse and stupider..................i take that back...
sister snakelegs? Snakelegs ur a female?
Reply

truemuslim
05-05-2008, 09:56 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Izyan
More stupid. Stupider is not a word.
hm...i dont care.

nooooo we got another one of dem grammar people!!

am juss messin

format_quote Originally Posted by Hamada
sister snakelegs? Snakelegs ur a female?
lol i have no idea wut he/she is... i alwasy imagined her/him asa boy but then started thinking itsa girl and then.....unknown...and LOOOL
Reply

Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн
05-05-2008, 10:23 PM
Whether or not it's over exaggerated, why in the world would you do it anyway? There's nothing humorous about it. And what exactly do you think is supposed to be important about it except that they're making it a tourist attraction? Or near it at least.

I doubt she cares how she writes on a forum Izyan. It's not english class :p
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truemuslim
05-05-2008, 10:27 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Jazzy
I doubt she cares how she writes on a forum Izyan. It's not english class :p

Lol u kno me!

hehe

@ topic ...

Oh i fink these dum people are tryna copy denmark by doing somthing stupid bcuz they got bored and wanna be center of attention.:X

Woops

Wasalaam
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Mikayeel
05-05-2008, 10:42 PM
oh in that case am prtty sure snakey is a male, females+snakes= chaos+panic, u cn rearange that equation 2 ur likein :)
Reply

truemuslim
05-05-2008, 10:49 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Hamada
oh in that case am prtty sure snakey is a male, females+snakes= chaos+panic, u cn rearange that equation 2 ur likein :)
LOOOL!

i kno snakes make me panic...not that i've seen one...if i hav...i wouldnt be here.....


wait i have! it was at an AMERICAN park...where they dont clean nothin!



btw this thread has sooo killed my image of guantanamo:raging:
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Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн
05-05-2008, 11:16 PM
I have never had an image of Guantanamo, except the mistreatment of our fellow Muslims whom they don't exactly have proof against. Nothing positive before and surely not now!

Peace
Reply

Na7lah
05-05-2008, 11:25 PM
Nothing positive before and surely not now!
same here...did u see the Sudani brother they left out? Sami Al-Hajj?
subhanallah if u see how he looked before and now der is a MAJOR difference
he looks beaten up :(
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truemuslim
05-05-2008, 11:28 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by muslimah421
same here...did u see the Sudani brother they left out? Sami Al-Hajj?
subhanallah if u see how he looked before and now der is a MAJOR difference
he looks beaten up :(
Omg
Where sis?
Reply

Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн
05-05-2008, 11:35 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by muslimah421
same here...did u see the Sudani brother they left out? Sami Al-Hajj?
subhanallah if u see how he looked before and now der is a MAJOR difference
he looks beaten up :(
Hmm I dont remember...I might not have. His name is familiar though.
Reply

Na7lah
05-05-2008, 11:36 PM
i didnt read this but i think it tells the story...i saw him on Al-Jazeerah
http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2006/DA.../prisoner.html
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Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн
05-05-2008, 11:40 PM
Ohhhh yea i remember now. I have seen em. Yea he looked totally different...=/ SubhanAllah :(
Reply

truemuslim
05-05-2008, 11:42 PM
Oooh jazakallah khair sis
astaghfirallah
!
wuts happening to this world
!???
Wasalaam
Reply

YusufNoor
05-05-2008, 11:45 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Hamada
oh in that case am prtty sure snakey is a male, females+snakes= chaos+panic, u cn rearange that equation 2 ur likein :)
:sl:

off topic, but snakelegs IS a sister in humanity...

:w:
Reply

snakelegs
05-05-2008, 11:49 PM
yup i am indeed a sister.
i just thought that this was in disgustingly poor taste. there is nothing humorous about guatanamo and it is an ugly stain on my country that will not go away.
Reply

Na7lah
05-05-2008, 11:57 PM
there is nothing humorous about guatanamo and it is an ugly stain on my country that will not go away.
inshallah it does
Ameen

yup i am indeed a sister.
*shocked* i always thought u wer a brother
Reply

truemuslim
05-06-2008, 12:00 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by muslimah421
inshallah it does
Ameen



*shocked* i always thought u wer a brother

LOOL same here!!
Reply

Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн
05-06-2008, 07:15 PM
I found out recently "it's" a sister hahah :p No offense snakelegs xD
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Keltoi
05-06-2008, 08:35 PM
I think this article did a good job of confusing people, which is what it was intended to do. There is no attempt to turn Gitmo into a tourist destination. It was shirts designed by the people who live and work there as sort of an inside joke.
Reply

MinAhlilHadeeth
05-06-2008, 08:58 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Keltoi
It was shirts designed by the people who live and work there as sort of an inside joke.
Perhaps I am missing something, but where's the joke in all this?
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Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн
05-06-2008, 10:11 PM
^^Thats the problem. There is no joke about it. We aren't the confused ones. That's the problem nowadays. Everything is a joke unfortunately.
Reply

Keltoi
05-06-2008, 10:57 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Jazzy
^^Thats the problem. There is no joke about it. We aren't the confused ones. That's the problem nowadays. Everything is a joke unfortunately.
For those who live and work at Gitmo it is a joke. You don't live there and you don't work there, and you are coming at the issue from the standpoint of "evil America and their gulag in Cuba". These are simply workers and military personel who have to work there and designed these shirts as an inside joke. You may not get the joke...but quite frankly, you don't have to get the joke. They do.
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Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн
05-06-2008, 11:12 PM
Way to put words in my mouth. I never said any of that, so perhaps you need to rethink your standpoint. Or perhaps lose the preconcieved notions. It's no joke when any human being is being mistreated for all these years. I highly doubt you would like it if I made souvenirs or an inside joke for any American victims that have died anywhere? This just proves how much humanity is left. No suffering of human life is a "joke." It's only a joke for people who don't give a crud.
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Keltoi
05-06-2008, 11:29 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Jazzy
Way to put words in my mouth. I never said any of that, so perhaps you need to rethink your standpoint. Or perhaps lose the preconcieved notions. It's no joke when any human being is being mistreated for all these years. I highly doubt you would like it if I made souvenirs or an inside joke for any American victims that have died anywhere? This just proves how much humanity is left. No suffering of human life is a "joke." It's only a joke for people who don't give a crud.
You just reinforced what you just stated was my preconcieved notions. These shirts aren't about "victims" or glorifying anything. They aren't meant to be political. As I stated earlier, they are in the same vein as "I survived Hurricane Katrina" shirts. I doubt many of the workers there, either civilian or military, actually want to be there. So for the sake of humor, they designed sarcastic shirts as a parody of their situation.

No tourists are coming...the Gitmo detainees still get three hots a day that dont contain un-Islamic ingredients...the Red Cross is still given access. Nothing has changed.
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Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн
05-06-2008, 11:32 PM
Where did I reinforce anything:? I'm saying it's not a joke, your saying it is. The only joke I see out of it is that whats going on there is stupid and uncalled for. But either way, why would you make souvenirs? For what political purpose? Did you ask them? Imagine having a getaway over there near a cell full of people. That's really silly.
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Keltoi
05-06-2008, 11:40 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Jazzy
Where did I reinforce anything:? I'm saying it's not a joke, your saying it is. The only joke I see out of it is that whats going on there is stupid and uncalled for. But either way, why would you make souvenirs? For what political purpose? Did you ask them? Imagine having a getaway over there near a cell full of people. That's really silly.
You are reinforcing what I said because you keep forcing politics into the equation, as I said you were. These shirts aren't meant to make a political statement. It isn't glorifying Gitmo or the Taliban. They are JOKE shirts designed for those who WORK and LIVE there and don't particularly like it. I'm sure the detainees don't like living there either...perhaps they could get the joke you don't seem to get.
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MinAhlilHadeeth
05-06-2008, 11:42 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Keltoi
For those who live and work at Gitmo it is a joke. You don't live there and you don't work there, and you are coming at the issue from the standpoint of "evil America and their gulag in Cuba". These are simply workers and military personel who have to work there and designed these shirts as an inside joke. You may not get the joke...but quite frankly, you don't have to get the joke. They do.
Please tell me what you think could possibly be funny about the situation in Guantanamo, then?
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MinAhlilHadeeth
05-06-2008, 11:44 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Keltoi
You are reinforcing what I said because you keep forcing politics into the equation, as I said you were. These shirts aren't meant to make a political statement. It isn't glorifying Gitmo or the Taliban. They are JOKE shirts designed for those who WORK and LIVE there and don't particularly like it. I'm sure the detainees don't like living there either...perhaps they could get the joke you don't seem to get.
"Another praises "the proud protectors of freedom"."

Not a political statement?
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Keltoi
05-06-2008, 11:49 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Faizah
Please tell me what you think could possibly be funny about the situation in Guantanamo, then?
It isn't funny! That is why the shirts were made in the first place! Haven't you ever heard of a sarcastic sense of humor?

Okay....I walked outside my house and as soon as I opened the door a giant elephant fell from the sky and landed on my house..leaving nothing but rubble. I have to live there anyway...so I walk down to the T-shirt printing store and create my own shirt. The graphic reads: "Welcome to the Keltoi Hilton"...showing a pile of rubble with a dead elephant on top of it. The exact same thought process is at play here with the Gitmo T-shirts. Is it literally funny to me that my house was destroyed(or that those in question work at Gitmo) NO! Its called a sarcastic sense of humor...or dark humor if you prefer.
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Keltoi
05-06-2008, 11:55 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Faizah
"Another praises "the proud protectors of freedom"."

Not a political statement?
I'm sure this gift shop has a vast array of shirts. Some are in the motif of the sarcastic shirts we have been talking about, and some are simply related to being part of the task force. Soldiers buy these things and either send them home or take them home. It is the exact same situation in South Korea, Germany, etc.
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MinAhlilHadeeth
05-06-2008, 11:56 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Keltoi
It isn't funny! That is why the shirts were made in the first place! Haven't you ever heard of a sarcastic sense of humor?

Okay....I walked outside my house and as soon as I opened the door a giant elephant fell from the sky and landed on my house..leaving nothing but rubble. I have to live there anyway...so I walk down to the T-shirt printing store and create my own shirt. The graphic reads: "Welcome to the Keltoi Hilton"...showing a pile of rubble with a dead elephant on top of it. The exact same thought process is at play here with the Gitmo T-shirts. Is it literally funny to me that my house was destroyed(or that those in question work at Gitmo) NO! Its called a sarcastic sense of humor...or dark humor if you prefer.
Yeah, I suppose that is pretty funny. You're the victim, so it's your right to poke fun at your inconvenience. However, it wouldn't be so funny if I bulldozed your house and then started distributing T-Shirts, as a joke or otherwise. See the difference?

I don't really see how you can sweep this under the carpet, and just refer to it as 'dark humour'. It's clearly quite disgusting. People are being tortured, and they've treating the place like a holiday resort. Despite the fact that only millitary personnel are 'holidaying' there, does it make a difference? It's the attitude that needs to be addressed. And to put it crudely, their attitude stinks.
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Keltoi
05-07-2008, 12:01 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Faizah
Yeah, I suppose that is pretty funny. You're the victim, so it's your right to poke fun at your inconvenience. However, it wouldn't be so funny if I bulldozed your house and then started distributing T-Shirts, as a joke or otherwise. See the difference?

I don't really see how you can sweep this under the carpet, and just refer to it as 'dark humour'. It's clearly quite disgusting. People are being tortured, and they've treating the place like a holiday resort. Despite the fact that only millitary personnel are 'holidaying' there, does it make a difference? It's the attitude that needs to be addressed. And to put it crudely, their attitude stinks.
What attitude? Most of the people that work there or are stationed there will never see a detainee. This gift shop is simply about the military experience. If you want to protest keeping detainees without charges..fine. However, whining over a military giftshop is bordering on ludicrous.
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Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн
05-07-2008, 12:20 AM
Just because it's "military personnel" doing it, doesn't dismiss the fact that it's insanely stupid and pointless. Why would you even bother doing it. If it was an ordinary giftshop, it wouldn't have been a problem. But a joke or even a giftshop about anything like this is what you call "ludicrous." It's low and pathetic.
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MinAhlilHadeeth
05-07-2008, 12:24 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Jazzy
Just because it's "military personell" doing it, doesn't dismiss the fact that it's insanely stupid and pointless. Why would you even bother doing it. If it was an ordinary giftshop, it wouldn't have been a problem. But a joke or even a giftshop about anything like this is what you call "ludicrous." It's low and pathetic.
Exactly, it's not the gift shop that's the problem - it's the nature of what's being sold there, in relation to the environment in which it's being sold.
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snakelegs
05-07-2008, 12:47 AM
i see abolutely nothing humorous about this - to say it is in poor taste is an understatement. these men are being held for years without trial - often without even being charged. we blatantly endorse torture.
this vacation spa for 1.5 million military personnel - what message does this send out to them?
to say there is nothing political about it is ludicrous.
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Keltoi
05-07-2008, 03:37 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by snakelegs
i see abolutely nothing humorous about this - to say it is in poor taste is an understatement. these men are being held for years without trial - often without even being charged. we blatantly endorse torture.
this vacation spa for 1.5 million military personnel - what message does this send out to them?
to say there is nothing political about it is ludicrous.
What message is it supposed to send and to whom? The majority of the military and civilian personel who work at Gitmo don't care about politics. It is a job, a job that keeps them away from home for extended periods of time. Is it the fact that these little t-shirts and coffee mugs don't show compassion and buy into the poor innocent victim line in regards to those kept at Gitmo? Is it because(ready yourself)....soldiers are actually proud of being soldiers? Oh, the humanity! :omg:
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Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн
05-07-2008, 04:01 AM
Your going off the whole point, for posts now. You didn't get it before, I highly doubt you'll comprehend it now. Soooooooooooooooooooo

Peace
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snakelegs
05-07-2008, 05:47 AM
it is not just for the staff that work there. it is a resort for 1.5 million servicemen.
first we detain people without charges or trials. then we say that torture isn't torture and now we make a joke of it!
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barney
05-07-2008, 07:17 AM
"They lie sweltering in a waking nightmare", in airconditioned cells.
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