1. Comment #392914 by GandalfGrey on July 2, 2009 at 9:31 am

Highly disturbing.

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2. Comment #392915 by robotaholic on July 2, 2009 at 9:31 am

I am not watching this, but thanks for the awareness. That place sounds like hell.

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3. Comment #392916 by stevenLagnew on July 2, 2009 at 9:35 am

Her screams are muffled by the burka she's forced to wear.

Depressing

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4. Comment #392918 by Galapagos on July 2, 2009 at 9:45 am

The video is made even more disturbing the unflinching presence of all the bystanders(cowards) in the background. One man comes in about 3/4s through, either to help hold the woman down more or to comfort her by touching her, I am not able to discern which.
Disgusting.

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5. Comment #392920 by black wolf on July 2, 2009 at 9:47 am

Remember, this is in Pakistan, an ally of the West, who thought it was a wise move to accomodate and appease fanatics by giving them a piece of the land.

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6. Comment #392922 by Squigit on July 2, 2009 at 9:54 am

56 seconds into and I am already tearing up and a bit nauseaous. Disgusting, repulsive..and yes, Galapagos, it is made more so by the bystanders watching as if she actually deserves this and/or it is just another day, another whipping of a woman...

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7. Comment #392923 by justncase80 on July 2, 2009 at 9:55 am

This is actually a really old video and interestingly enough there have been some follow up news reports saying that this video might have actually been a turning point for the influence the Taliban have had in Afghanistan.

http://www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/20090613/swat-vally-taliban-pakistan.htm

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8. Comment #392924 by MarshallEvans on July 2, 2009 at 10:00 am

If any of these shameless empowered men are carrying a gun while not flogging women they are gonna hear this loud noise, look up, and see Allah soon. Justice by hellfire missiles!!

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9. Comment #392925 by scottishgeologist on July 2, 2009 at 10:07 am

So this is how belief in a "deity" as a source of morality manifests itself, this being the muzzie version

The judeo-christian version of course has this:

Pr 13:24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. Pr 22:15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. Pr 23:13 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Pr 23:14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. Pr 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

Of course, the bible *says* this,but actually its a transcendental truth, it has to be taken in "context" and of course, yes, thats how it translates, but if you were a theologian you would know it means something totally different, because of translation issues, and anyway thats Old Testament stuff, we only have the Moral Law now not the Civic or Ceremonial, what do you mean these verse sound like Moral Law - you an atheist or something£

:-)
SG

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10. Comment #392927 by Clairebear on July 2, 2009 at 10:20 am

I know a girl who lived for many years in a country where these things happened daily, and the stories she tells me are nightmarish. She's getting treatment for her trauma, because she can't sleep or eat right, and finds it hard to trust people. But she is the most amazing woman I know, and dedicates herself to women's rights.

I'm not watching the video, because I don't care to see it, but it's important that we don't sugarcoat these things and we get them out there so people can see the reality. As a woman, I can't help but ask why we're blamed for everything and hated so much. I might be a 'Western woman' but I can't separate myself from women like the one on video.

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11. Comment #392930 by TheLordHumungus on July 2, 2009 at 10:29 am

2009 everybody... Imagine where we would be without these religions holding billions of people's minds hostage. That woman being flogged could have grown up to discover cold fusion, or lived a life of relative happiness at least. Religious people get so mad about abortion, when they perform post-birth abortions on other human's potential every day.

People like those in this video are a cancer on our humanity, and they will one day destroy us all if we don't stop them.

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12. Comment #392931 by MaxD on July 2, 2009 at 10:32 am

I think it is a woman holding her arms. The bastard whipping her strikes the person holding her hands pretty hard. Then other men jump in and try to hold the girl too. Hideous.

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13. Comment #392932 by lassewesth on July 2, 2009 at 10:32 am

"I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

Seriously, I wish I knew more of the history of this region, it seems things are regressing? Or are we just getting this kind of information for the first time?

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14. Comment #392933 by black wolf on July 2, 2009 at 10:38 am

scottishgeologist,
sadly many evangelical/Protestant/Baptist whatever they call themselves Christians have no problem at all following those verses. In fact, they trot them out as guidance - Bible says it, so it's good. They publish dozens of books about child rearing based on that shit:
http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Godly-Children-Ungodly-World/dp/0890515425/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246556233&sr=8-21
yes, a book about raising children by Ken 'vegetarian dinosaurs rode Noah's Ark' Ham.

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15. Comment #392934 by moniz on July 2, 2009 at 10:39 am

Islam, the religion of peace. Yeah, right.

Two wrong don't make a right, but I can't help wishing I could flog those bastards for such cruel behavior.

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16. Comment #392935 by DoctorE on July 2, 2009 at 10:41 am

Religion of little insecure men... thats what islam was made for

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17. Comment #392936 by phatbat on July 2, 2009 at 10:43 am

Disgusting little men.

Of course the fact is that although they think they know the mind of god, they don't at all, other people know the mind of god much better than them. These other people have got it right for sure, they know this because of superior interpreting skills which they are able to check using this special faith device that i've heard of that trully does allow you to "know" when you have the correct information.

If only these little bastards could understand this very simple concept.

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18. Comment #392937 by Ignorant Amos on July 2, 2009 at 10:45 am

Cowardly Scumbags!!!!

Give me five seconds....just five, they wouldn't be thrashing anybody else.

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19. Comment #392938 by beanson on July 2, 2009 at 10:45 am

I wonder how many of those men are sustaining erections?

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20. Comment #392939 by phatbat on July 2, 2009 at 10:45 am

16. Comment #392934 by moniz

Two wrong don't make a right, but I can't help wishing I could flog those bastards for such cruel behavior.

True, but you assume it is wrong to flog the flogger. I would propose that it would actually be a good thing.

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21. Comment #392940 by Steve Zara on July 2, 2009 at 10:47 am

Comment #392938 by beanson

That is quite a good question. This is giving some men power over women that they could never obtain through normal social interactions. It would not surprise me if some got off on it.

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22. Comment #392941 by Steve Zara on July 2, 2009 at 10:49 am

Comment #392939 by phatbat

I think you have written some truly awesome posts recently, but I have to disagree with you here, I am sorry to say.

I think we need to show such people that we are civilized by dealing with them using our own laws and (common) standards. Otherwise it will degrade us towards their level.

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23. Comment #392942 by SASnSA on July 2, 2009 at 10:54 am

And in case anybody missed it in the text, one of the men holding her down is her brother.

"It's symbolic that he does it with his own hands. It gives him honour in local society, that he has done it for the sake of religion."

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24. Comment #392944 by friendlypig on July 2, 2009 at 11:08 am

The ironic thing here is that no matter how disgusting this episode is it was the CIA who created and armed the Taliban to fight the Russians.

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25. Comment #392945 by BlueCollar8theist on July 2, 2009 at 11:09 am

My biggest disgust with the article is that it fails to identify the root cause of the problem. The word 'Taliban' is a favorite on the lips of many people (especially in the US), but it only refers to a SECT of Islamic belief. The fact that a sect like the Taliban even exists is direct evidence that religion provides power and justification for people to do evil. I encourage the people I hear using phrases like "The evil that the Taliban does..." to modify their thinking a bit. It is the "Evil that RELIGION does!!"

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26. Comment #392946 by wouldbesakota on July 2, 2009 at 11:10 am

Women are the true victims of Islam. I was feeling queasy reading the article, so I didn't watch the video.

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27. Comment #392948 by liberalartist on July 2, 2009 at 11:15 am

I heard on NPR this morning that there is a US offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan. I hope it works and I hope we destroy that organization once and for all.

With what is going on in Iran and other muslim countries, I think most people are getting sick and tired of these fanatics and their religion. I would like to hope that change is on the horizon...

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28. Comment #392949 by cerebate on July 2, 2009 at 11:20 am

Comment #392941 by Steve Zara

I think we need to show such people that we are civilized by dealing with them using our own laws and (common) standards.

Well our own laws forbid direct interference in another countries affairs (short of declaring war on them). Even as a mostly non violent pacifist, Im hard pressed to see any other solution other than violence towards cases like the Taliban.

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29. Comment #392950 by MrPickwick on July 2, 2009 at 11:23 am

"A crowd of men stands by, watching silently."
Only religion can accomplish this feat.

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30. Comment #392951 by Steven Mading on July 2, 2009 at 11:31 am

26. Comment #392945 by BlueCollar8theist on July 2, 2009 at 11:09 am

My biggest disgust with the article is that it fails to identify the root cause of the problem. The word 'Taliban' is a favorite on the lips of many people (especially in the US), but it only refers to a SECT of Islamic belief. The fact that a sect like the Taliban even exists is direct evidence that religion provides power and justification for people to do evil. I encourage the people I hear using phrases like "The evil that the Taliban does..." to modify their thinking a bit. It is the "Evil that RELIGION does!!"

"Taliban" is not the name of the sect. "Wahhabi" is the name of the sect. "Taliban" is the name of a political group trying to spread that sect. Blame Wahhabi tenets for what these people are doing - that way it also applies to the same sort of garbage going on in Saudi Arabia. (Maybe if more people did that we in the west might eventually get enough of a conscience to realize that support for Saudi Arabia is making us complicit in this sort of atrocity. A woman getting flogged just for being in the same location as a man is just as bad of an affront to human dignity when our allies do it as when our enemies do. Blaming this on just the Taliban sort of glosses over that point. The root problem is the sect that our allies are just as guilty of following as our enemies are.

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31. Comment #392952 by mdowe on July 2, 2009 at 11:34 am

I'm afraid I don't have the stomach to watch this kind of brutality. I'll just skip directly to condemning the sadistic scum involved.

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32. Comment #392953 by Ignorant Amos on July 2, 2009 at 11:37 am

23. Comment #392941 by Steve Zara

Usually I would tend to agree.....

But there comes a time when the normal goes out the window and I'm afraid its an eye for an eye.

Its unfortunate, but our western civilised laws hold no threat to the sort of animal who gives so little thought for human life. Granted, a good fuckin' kicking or in my case, the forcing of my index finger into the orbital socket, through the eyeball, to the knuckle, probably wouldn't concern the piece of shit either, but boy would I get a chuckle out of it. Sorry, its twisted I know, but that's just the way these people have me.

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33. Comment #392955 by DamnDirtyApe on July 2, 2009 at 12:05 pm

What I wouldn't give for a Culture GSV loaded with slap bots to deploy worldwide. Just set them to 'please don't murder' and bam, instant peace.

The reality is, if we want to change the world, we need a sustained progressive effort by the people. We need to talk about this, raise awareness, we can't expect the government to give a damn unless we all do first.

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34. Comment #392956 by xcattyx on July 2, 2009 at 12:11 pm

So seriously, what's the solution? What do we do?

-catty-

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35. Comment #392957 by mordacious1 on July 2, 2009 at 12:14 pm

As justncase80 stated, this is an old video (I saw it on RD.net awhile back). It is interesting how some of the Pakastanis in territory recently controlled by the Taliban are actually hunting them down now and killing them. With Obama's offensive in Afghanistan starting this week, I think they are in for a world of shit.

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36. Comment #392958 by detox on July 2, 2009 at 12:30 pm

A little perspective here people? Watching one human inflict pain on another is disturbing and we react with revulsion. We condemn the instigators instictively because we don't subscribe to their religion.

Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, waterboarding, the death penalty. I'm not condoning what is in this video but some of the knee-jerking going on on this thread makes me think: let he who is without sin...

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37. Comment #392959 by Steve Zara on July 2, 2009 at 12:31 pm

Comment #392953 by Ignorant Amos

Sorry, its twisted I know, but that's just the way these people have me.

I do understand. But our aim should be to stop these awful activities. Good law, I think, should be about prevention. I don't think it should even be about justice, or revenge.

But if you want revenge, think how degrading it would be for someone to be stuck hidden in a Western prison for life.

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38. Comment #392961 by Ignorant Amos on July 2, 2009 at 12:46 pm

38. Comment #392959 by Steve Zara

I know Steve....I was only teasing...and you are civilised and correct of course.

Thanks for keeping on the straight and narrow.

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39. Comment #392963 by Steve Zara on July 2, 2009 at 12:54 pm

Comment #392961 by Ignorant Amos

I sometimes think that those who impose such perverse punishments will feel that they have won if we use such punishments against them.

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40. Comment #392968 by MarcKeys on July 2, 2009 at 1:11 pm

Suddenly drone strikes lead into Pakistani territory seem like a decent enough idea.

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41. Comment #392971 by petermun on July 2, 2009 at 1:16 pm

What nasty little apes we are.

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42. Comment #392974 by AfraidToDie on July 2, 2009 at 1:23 pm

As backward and ignorant as these people are, I was surprised that the flogging was not nearly as brutal as I thought it would be. Each hit was not nearly as hard as it could have been. Also, as sick as it may sound to most, as noted by a couple of others here, I believe it was a sexual stimulus for most of the men (maybe some of the women as well). I'm sure it was painful, but really is was not that gross IMO. I think all of you who claim you couldn't stand it would be surprised that it really isn't that bad.

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43. Comment #392980 by shonny on July 2, 2009 at 1:50 pm

As always, this is what to expect when the most primitive elements in a society rule the roost.

And it is not the severity of the punishment that is the the issue, but that something very normal and natural is punished at all.
Bloody rock apes (with an apology to real rock apes as they no doubt are much more civilised)!

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44. Comment #392981 by Max of Earlobes on July 2, 2009 at 1:52 pm

This is one of the key recent events which has all but removed the popular support that the Taliban previously enjoyed among Pakistanis, particularly among youths.

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45. Comment #392982 by Duff on July 2, 2009 at 1:58 pm

Afraid to die,
Not that bad, huh? I suppose you will be jumping in to take the punishment if you happen upon a flogging. How hard would you have liked to see the woman beaten?

It isn't even a question of how hard, or whether to goat milkers get off sexually. It is a matter of primitive religious concepts in the 21st century. There is no place for this kind of misogynistic idiocy in this day and age.

Women of the world, rise up!

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46. Comment #392985 by j.mills on July 2, 2009 at 2:01 pm

Kind of agree with AfraidToDie (#43): the punishment itself appears more symbolic than vicious, and I suspect the victim's protests are as much to do with public humiliation as with pain. Not justifying it: as others have said, it's absurd that any punishment should flow simply from whose company you keep, let alone a flogging; but I expect this is at the milder end of the physical punishments handed out under this 'regime'.

Incidentally, not meaning to derail, but we aren't in Afghanistan because of the brutality of the Taliban. They were in charge for 6(?) years before the Western powers took an interest, following 9/11; and the objectives of the invasion, spelled out in advance by Colin Powell, were to apprehend or kill Bin Laden and to 'smash' Al-Queda. Failed on both counts. But evidently, now that we're there, we can't decently walk out to leave the Taliban in charge.

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47. Comment #392993 by Goldy on July 2, 2009 at 2:34 pm

Taliban justice is not always so gentle
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/5220532/Taliban-gunmen-shooting-couple-dead-for-adultery-caught-on-camera.html
Then, of course, you also have tribal law (Pashtunwali, I think it's called). Sometimes it's hard to separate the two but they are different...

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48. Comment #392997 by Jack Rawlinson on July 2, 2009 at 2:40 pm

Primitive scum.

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49. Comment #392998 by KRKBAB on July 2, 2009 at 2:40 pm

Comment #392951 by Steven Mading- Excellent point, Steve. The *ucking disgusting land known as Saudi Arabia (let's go on vacation to Mecca!) is it. There's the kingpin of all the islamic countries. And they've become wealthy and powerful beyond control, thanks to oil/politics.
No President, Dem., Repub. or Inde. will ever mention this even though it's the Wahabi/Saudi element that's perhaps the major source of the problem- it's not just the Israel/palestine problem. I'm always amazed how Saudi Arabia gets so glossed over in the news.

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50. Comment #393010 by AfraidToDie on July 2, 2009 at 3:22 pm

Duff, I'm not trying to trivialize the absurdity of these idiots. There seemed to be a couple of bloggers that did want to see this film because of the brutality. Everyone has their own threshhold of what is too gross not to watch, but I just wanted to point out that from my perspective, it wasn't that bad too watch. There isn't any blood showing, although I am sure there are at lest major whelps on her buttocks. I don't think it is anything close to waterboarding for those who might want to witness it.

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