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Porn Reportedly Found At Bin Laden Compound

Hugh Pickens writes "Reuters reports that a stash of pornography was found in the hideout of Osama bin Laden by the US commandos who killed him. The pornography consists of modern, electronically recorded video and is fairly extensive, according to the officials, who discussed the discovery with Reuters on condition of anonymity. Officials said they did not know if bin Laden himself had acquired or viewed the materials and it is unclear how compound residents would have acquired the pornography but a video released by the Obama administration confiscated from the compound showed bin Laden watching pictures of himself on a TV screen, indicating that the compound was equipped with video playback equipment. Officials familiar with evidence gathered during investigations of other Islamic militants said the discovery of pornography is not uncommon in such cases." Is it too cynical to mention that the US government has a vested interest in denigrating Bin Laden, and that he's no longer around to deny this claim?

90 of 537 comments (clear)

  1. Too cynical? by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is it too cynical to mention that the US government has a vested interest in denigrating Bin Laden, and that he's no longer around to deny this claim?

    No, probably not. I'm not sure why they would release this detail if it's true. It's not like people's opinion is going to change. "Well, I sort of liked bin Laden until I found out there was PORNOGRAPHY in his compound." Also, it's not like Muslims are going to believe the US government anyway, whether they were bin Laden supporters or not.

    --
    Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
    1. Re:Too cynical? by hamvil · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I do not get it. How owning some video with pornographic content qualifies as "denigrating"? Are you US people so sexophobic that watching pornos is equavalent to be some kind of sex offender or pedophile? I you discovered that Obame and michelle actually watched porn together would that make him less qualified to run your country?

    2. Re:Too cynical? by the_one(2) · · Score: 3, Informative

      No, it's the muslim extremist that are so sexophobic....

    3. Re:Too cynical? by Xeranar · · Score: 5, Insightful

      He would be less revered by muslims if he was found with pornography which is what our imbecilic author is implying. Because the US government has to resort to this sort of denigration after executing him. The odds are it's true, most of the extremist leaders use the religion as a draw to their personal egomaniac ideals. We're finding now most "terrorists" are really disillusioned young men in third world countries with a moderate amount of education, essentially the same men who in the US would have become part of the counterculture are being drawn into a cycle of violence by angry leaders who tout religious ideals but just want to wage a personal war because of their own self-loathing. Back on the pornography note, numerous times they've found porn in the various raids, they're men with access to the internet and markets. Regardless of how "religious" they may be (which it seems very little) they tend to just be massive hypocrites.

    4. Re:Too cynical? by tverbeek · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Whether it's true or not, I don't know, but disclosing this does have propaganda value. Most Americans (and people in general) have made up their minds that Bin Laden was a horrible human being. And there's a population of bitter and persecuted-feeling Muslims who believe that Osama could do no wrong. But there are some who fall in between: such as Muslims who agree with his criticisms of the US, but are uncomfortable with some of his tactics, or people who shared his hatred for the West but don't buy his theology. Those people might be swayed away from him (and al-Qaeda) by news that (seemingly) exposes him as a porn-watching fundie hypocrite. They may not be convinced that it's true... but the seed of doubt has been sown, and that can grow.

      --
      http://alternatives.rzero.com/
    5. Re:Too cynical? by tverbeek · · Score: 3, Informative

      The US is not the only (or even most) sexphobic society in the world. This news is intended for the one that is.

      --
      http://alternatives.rzero.com/
    6. Re:Too cynical? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Ah, the execution of an old man in front of his family. You've phrased it that way to encourage sympathy.

      I can't help thinking he had a quick, easy death. Compared to those people who had to choose between jumping to theirs, or getting burned alive in one of the Towers. What do you imagine their last moments were like?

    7. Re:Too cynical? by ccandreva · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Because every bit of propaganda helps. Frankly, I would think they were idiots if they DIDN'T announce they had found porn, whether they did or not.

      It has nothing to do with what "US people" think of porn. The idea is to show he was a hypocrite. People may be less willing to die for his cause, if it can be shown that he didn't follow his own words. Anything that went against his own supposed ideology would serve the purpose.

    8. Re:Too cynical? by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 2

      He didn't have hundreds of sneakernet couriers. He had one trusted courier. At least that's what I have heard. Maybe there were several. Definitely not hundreds. His having a large number of couriers would mean his location was well known, which we know he did not want.

    9. Re:Too cynical? by guyminuslife · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Also, it's not like Muslims are going to believe the US government anyway

      You don't have to believe something, it doesn't have to be true, for it to have significant propaganda value. There was a study done...I don't remember the exact details...where people who had been told terrible things about a person were more likely to have a negative reaction toward that person, even after they'd been told later that they'd been lied to.

      That's really the deal with, say, the whole Obama-Socialist-Commie-Muslim-Terrorist-Foreigner thing. It's been consciously played up by right-wing propagandists, not because they think that people will consciously change their minds because they are actually convinced: the people who are out calling for birth certificates were already voting Republican. It's because even if you recognize it as lies and manipulation, it's still an effective tactic for shifting (not necessarily changing) attitudes.

      Richard Gere stuck a gerbil up his asshole as a gay sex thing. It's not true, but it's certainly one of the first things I think of when I see Richard Gere. Or was it a hamster? I don't know, it's a totally made-up story anyway. That pervert.

      --
      I don't believe in time. It's a grand conspiracy designed to sell watches.
    10. Re:Too cynical? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 3

      "So what would the US have to do to be thought of as NOT sexphobic by you?"

      1. Page Three.
      2. No significent outrage against it.

    11. Re:Too cynical? by TheReaperD · · Score: 2

      The sad part is, it's irrelevant whether porn was actually found there or not. The people who want to believe it will and the ones that don't won't. With a few exceptions, it does not matter how much evidence you show one way or the other as people tend not to allow facts to interfere with their preexisting beliefs.

      --
      "Be particularly skeptical when presented with evidence confirming what you already believe." -
    12. Re:Too cynical? by Jiro · · Score: 2

      Except without the "innocent" part.

    13. Re:Too cynical? by countertrolling · · Score: 2

      ...have been for at least 50 years.

      More like since the whiskey rebellion... resistance is not only futile, it's fatal. You WILL comply, and groupthink says you WILL believe!

      --
      For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
    14. Re:Too cynical? by darjen · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'll bet there are a lot of people in the US who don't even believe it. Just think about how many times they changed the story in the first 3 days after they got him. Then they don't even keep the body around long enough for anyone else to verify it. They just go dump it in the sea? Seriously? They are all pathological liars in my book.

    15. Re:Too cynical? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Please name a state where pornographic movies are rated for lower ages than violent movies.

      Euphoria.

    16. Re:Too cynical? by Jessified · · Score: 2

      I know, right? I mean, before he was just the world's most notorious terrorist. But now, not only is he a pervert but he's a PIRATE! I knew there was a link between illegal downloading and terrorism!!

    17. Re:Too cynical? by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 4, Interesting

      No, it's the muslim extremist that are so sexophobic....

      Which I've always found very retarded given that their own sexual mores aren't that prude/hetero to begin with. It's been a long tradition in the Pashtun areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan to molest and rape little boys, to the point of having a tradition of selecting very cute boys to wear make-up and female dresses when dancing. The Taliban during their reign put a stop to that, to a point. Now that they have been on the run, they as well as those no longer under their yoke are doing the same shit again. In the countries with the most repressive religious regimes, there has always been a dont-ask-dont-tell habit of homosexualism among the young. Even with the death penalty hanging around, it is an open secret.

      I don't think it really makes a difference if there was a stash of goat-to-camel porn in bin Laden's compound. I cannot believe the government would be that stupid to release *that* info if it is not true (it is always possible, but still). People will always doubt that it is true, after all, look how many idiots here and in the Muslim world truly believe 9/11 was a zionist/CIA plot!!!

      But I wouldn't think this to be impossible. Whether that was directly owned and sanctioned by bin Laden, that's an open question (and a pretty irrelevant one). But it is plausible, and I would have a hard time to believe the Obama administration would release this if it weren't true. There has always been a precedent of quote-and-quote deviant sexuality among those who condemn them the most.

      In the end, it is entirely plausible, most likely true... and ultimately irrelevant.

    18. Re:Too cynical? by GameboyRMH · · Score: 4, Interesting

      So what would the US have to do to be thought of as NOT sexphobic by you?

      Having a nipple accidentally show on TV not become a major national incident? Not have controversies over public breastfeeding? Maybe even consider women's breasts non-obscene like France and Canada among others? Legalize homosexuality in all states? Allow gay marriage?

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    19. Re:Too cynical? by funkelectric · · Score: 2
      Here is some very interesting coverage regarding one of the incidents that you mention:

      "Mommy has dirty chest bumps," said a 5-year-old boy quoted in one of the thousands of case studies compiled by the FCC. "She's like the bad lady on TV. I'm afraid Mommy will take off her shirt and scare everyone. I hate Mommy." Girls were traumatized as well, often expressing apprehensions about sexual development. According to Wasserbaum, one 8-year-old girl told her parents that she didn't "want to get evil breasts."

      This publication is a welcome voice of reason.

    20. Re:Too cynical? by poliscipirate · · Score: 2

      If we're thinking of the same study, I think the subject had to believe the information was true before being told it was a lie for it to have an effect. If the subject dismissed the information outright, then telling them that it was a lie afterward actually increased their attachment to the subject of the propaganda. The interesting thing is that many of the tests subjects who initially believed it, were then told it was a lie, then later completely forgot about the propaganda still had substantially negative opinions about the propaganda target. The emotional meaning of the information was retained, but the factual information was discarded.

      This raises the possibility that this propaganda isn't aimed at Muslims, but at us. Since we're more likely to believe it initially even if it's false, this could be an attempt to further solidify our dislike of OBL. It could have something to do with the increasing calls for an investigation into the legality of his killing by the left.

    21. Re:Too cynical? by cold+fjord · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The essentials of the story didn't change:

      Navy SEALs flew to Pakistan in helicopters to Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad where they shot him dead, and one of his wives in the leg after she came between the SEALs and Bin Laden. The SEALs took Bin Laden's body and the US buried it at sea in accordance with Muslim custom. The rest is relatively minor detail.

      Then they don't even keep the body around long enough for anyone else to verify it. They just go dump it in the sea? Seriously?

      They didn't just dump his body in the sea, they buried it at sea in accordance with Muslim tradtion (though there are disputes among Muslim scholars about when and how it is permitted). Muslim custom requires quick burial. Besides, DNA tests provide all the certainty needed. (How many other 6'4" Muslims that look exactly like Bin Laden are there in Pakistan living in million dollar compounds with vast quantities of communications with Al Qadea and Bin Laden's wives present? That many?)

      Why is it so important for a Muslim to buried their dead in a day?

      Muslims strive to bury the deceased as soon as possible after death, avoiding the need for embalming or otherwise disturbing the body of the deceased.

      Islamic Scholars Split Over Sea Burial for Bin Laden

      ... Mr. Brennan said that appealing to other countries would have exceeded the time frame that Islamic custom requires, of burial within 24 hours of death.

      I don't think there is any serious reason to doubt a quick burial at sea, especially since the US is trying to account for Muslim sensitivities.

      They are all pathological liars in my book.

      President Obama announced Bin Laden was killed by American forces:
      Obama Announces Death of Osama bin Laden

      Al Qaeda has announced he is dead:
      Text: Al Qaeda statement confirming bin Laden's death

      Iran says he is dead:
      Iran's intelligence chief says bin Laden died long before the 'alleged raid'

      Family members denounce his death:
      My father's death was criminal and I may sue the U.S.

      Locals protest his death:
      Pakistani tribesmen protest

      So tell me, are all of these people with multiple and conflicting interests lying about Bin Laden being dead? Is it just to fool you? If so, why?

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
  2. Let the jokes begin... by emailandthings · · Score: 5, Funny

    Guy walks into a bar and orders a "bin laden"

    What's that? replies the bar tender

    "Two shots in the head and a splash"

    1. Re:Let the jokes begin... by Bios_Hakr · · Score: 4, Funny

      You can order that, but it'll take 9 years to deliver...

      --
      I'd rather you do it wrong, than for me to have to do it at all.
  3. Not too cynical by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    No, it's not too cynical to mention that. It's also not too cynical to mention that such behavior is also fairly predictable among religious extremists of any stripe.

    The things they want to deprive others of on religious reasons are usually the things they are most guilty of.

  4. It must be pretty good... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...since it took this long for the commandos to report it.

  5. Steganography by shoppa · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If I wanted to distribute hidden terrorist messages broadly around the world, leveraging willing dupes who would use their PC's to host the filesharing/torrents, for sure I would embed it in porn using steganography. It's really the obvious choice.

  6. Re:Human after all! by mrclisdue · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Doe anyone really find this strange, since my own personal made-up statistics show that most men have some porn stashed somewhere....?

    It would be more discomforting if they couldn't find his porn....

    cheers,

  7. Re:he had the women in the house by tripleevenfall · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You must not be married if you think having a wife around means someone will usually fulfill your desires :)

  8. He hadn't bin laden how long? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    He hadn't bin laden how long? Time for some porn and a little alone time!

  9. Porn? by Wowsers · · Score: 4, Funny

    I heard one of the DVD's was "Monica does Bill".

    --
    Take Nobody's Word For It.
  10. Worth mentioning? Probably not... by Jahava · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Is it too cynical to mention that the US government has a vested interest in denigrating Bin Laden, and that he's no longer around to deny this claim?

    Only if you mention that even if he were around, he'd probably deny it regardless of whether or not it is true.

    Then again, the story isn't unbelievable. Just take a look at some interesting Google Trends results:

    I suppose, either way, we're going to have to judge for ourselves whether or not we believe the story, and to what extent. I, personally, feel that it's not unlikely or surprising, but also that I don't really case. Who'd have thought someone able to morally justify slaughtering thousands wouldn't also find a way around whatever porn-related barriers they face?

    1. Re:Worth mentioning? Probably not... by InfiniteZero · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is a textbook example of the selection bias.

      In countries like Afghanistan, the segment of the population that have Internet access and are capable of search in English terms, probably have little in common with the rest of the population.

    2. Re:Worth mentioning? Probably not... by Reservoir+Penguin · · Score: 2, Informative

      Somehow I doubt Aphganis would be doing Google searches in English. The statistics likely apply to foreign troops and NGO stationed there.

      --
      US-UK-Israel: The real Axis of Evil
  11. Uh... by GoneAwry · · Score: 2

    Is it too cynical to mention that the US government has a vested interest in denigrating Bin Laden, and that he's no longer around to deny this claim?

    Is it too hard to believe that people at the top of fanatical religious organizations like Al-Qaeda might consider themselves above the rules they preach to the desperate men that give their lives for him/their cause blindly?

  12. Anyone else? by Ender_Wiggin · · Score: 4, Informative

    Seems like a dozen people lived in the compound, and porn was found on one of the PCs there. People are hoping it's Bin Laden's, since it fits with the idea he's a bad person, and a perv on top of it. Maybe it was his son's.

    I'm skeptical it's Bin Laden's. I can't find the story now, but there were recordings of Al Qaeda leaders watching Al Jazeera, and then covering over the screen whenever an "immodestly-dressed" woman anchor came on.

    1. Re:Anyone else? by Mr2cents · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If you watch porn you're a perv? Ouch.

      --
      "It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
    2. Re:Anyone else? by Reservoir+Penguin · · Score: 4, Interesting

      He was a good person when he was killing our soldiers in Afghanistan, but when he started murdering Americans he became evil, or hypocrisy!
      Silly Americans, you really fucked yourself over twice, late Soviet style autocratic socialism would have been such a step up from the shit they are in now . But you had to spoil it by sponsoring OBL and other assorted Arab and Pakistani scum.
      Now the Afghans are back to squire one in civilization building. OBL attacked your cities and you and NATO are stuck in that shithole.

      --
      US-UK-Israel: The real Axis of Evil
    3. Re:Anyone else? by Locke2005 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The history of US foreign intervention is rife with examples of the Law of Unintended Consequences. On the whole, the American belief that we can fuck with other countries at will has done a lot more harm than good to American interests. I say that as an American and a Libertarian. Sometimes the best action is to do nothing. And I miss the cold war, because despite our demonization of the Soviets, they at least were predictable and dependable.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    4. Re:Anyone else? by tnk1 · · Score: 2

      Don't long too much for the Soviets. They were less predictable than you think. For one thing, they didn't buy into the whole Mutually Assured Destruction thing like everyone here assumed they did.

      They also truly believed that the US was interested in attacking them first.

      I'm just saying, we got luckier than anyone can even imagine that there wasn't a nuclear war. Even Reagan himself realized it after 1982 when he got word that the Soviets actually believed that they needed to defend themselves from NATO after Able Archer. We were being more aggressive than usual because we thought the Soviets considered us soft push-overs and were waiting for a chance to invade. Turns out that they expected us to attack first and nuke half of Poland just so we could take over East Germany. As if anyone would actually want that shithole after what the Communists did to the place. The Germans are probably still paying through the nose to fix it.

      Anyway, having lived through a decade or two of the Cold War, I can tell you, I'll take terrorists any day over 20,000 nuclear warheads on alert status targeting me.

  13. Cynical or Typical? by Fringe · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Is it too cynical to mention that the US government has a vested interest in denigrating Bin Laden, and that he's no longer around to deny this claim?

    That level of "cynicism" does pass over any rational line, sounding more like Les Nesman finding a conspiracy under every rock. Who else don't you trust? Just a general paranoia or specific techie-anarchist? The submission would have been better without cheapening yourself that way.

  14. He didn't seem all that ba... wait,he had PORN!?!? by thesandbender · · Score: 2

    I don't know why they even bother mentioning this... it's not like the whole world was on the fence about the guy and looking for some reason to love him or hate him. The only people who this would possible impact are those who do think he's a hero. And guess what, they're not going to believe a word of it.

  15. The First Report Is Never Right by DG · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have worked in a variety of military operations centres.

    What you are seeing is likely not willful deception, but rather a common phenomenon that "The first report is never right".

    When people are under stress, they report the details wrong, or they mis-hear, or they make assumptions to fill in gaps in knowledge, or there or misunderstandings, etc etc.

    So the details in an initial report are almost always wrong. You learn to not leap into action based on an initial report, but to be patient and wait for follow-up reports, because they tend to be more accurate. As time goes by and people calm down, the true details start to resolve.

    So for example, if the operative on the ground reported that Osama was "resisting" (by which, he meant that he did not immediately surrender) the next guy up the chain may have interpreted "resisting" to mean "armed and shooting" - and that's what he reported. Later debriefs would reveal what actually happened, and the story would change.

    That's nothing nefarious; that's just the nature of crisis reporting.

    If you are old enough to remember 9/11, for the first few hours of the attacks, all kinds of crazy crap was being reported. It wasn't until later in the day the the actual nature of what had happened had resolved itself.

    By the way, Bin Laden's standing amongst the world's Muslims is not very high, and never was. His standing amongst the worlds Jihadist Terrorists was much higher. Please don't confuse the two.

    DG

    --
    Want to learn about race cars? Read my Book
  16. But muslim porn is different ... by Barbara,+not+Barbie · · Score: 3, Funny

    Obviously nobody actually read the article. It was stuff that is offensive to muslim beliefs. Here's the top 12 videos:

    1. "Miss Piggy does Dallas"
    2. "Makin' Bacon"
    3. "2 Pigs in a Blanket"
    4. "Porky Pig Got Fingered"
    5. "Ham and Cheezy"
    6. "Doing the 'Flying Pig'"
    7. "3 Little Pigs, One Cup"
    8. "Hogzilla Attacks"
    9. "Pearls Before Swine"
    10. "Squeal Like a Pig!"
    11. "The Adventures of Peter Porker, Spider-Ham"
    12. "Swine Flew Epidemic - Attack of the Killer Hogs"

    --
    Let's call it what it is, Anti-Social Media.
    1. Re:But muslim porn is different ... by JavaBear · · Score: 2, Funny

      Naah, it was Pornography where actors dressed as "Mooh-Ham-Mad" were literally porking the pigs.

  17. Re:Human after all! by binkzz · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yeah, but very strict religiously Islamic or Christians shouldn't have porn according to their respective teachings. Especially if they're in a position of leadership and example.

    Saying that, I consider myself pretty devout Christian, and I watch porn even though I feel I really shouldn't.

    --
    'For we walk by faith, not by sight.' II Corinthians 5:7
  18. Jihadists Gone Wild? by Flipstylee · · Score: 2

    or was it "Rear Cave Entrance Sluts 9"?

  19. Wouldn't be shocking.. by feidaykin · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Is anyone shocked when one of those "family values" politicians, preaching about the sanctity of marriage and the evilness of a culture that glamorizes homosexuality comes out of the closet? Or in the case of Larry Craig, gets busted trying to have sex in a men's room? It doesn't shock me anymore, since it seems the most passionate moral crusaders are really crusading against their own personal desires.

    Hell, look at "culture warrior" Bill O'Reilly. Remember the Andrea Mackris thing? She had transcripts of alleged phone conversations that are clear examples of sexual harassment (and the detailed nature of the transcripts lead people to believe she had recordings). Bill O paid her a bunch of money to shut up and never spoke of it again. Sexual harassment is wrong when anyone does it, but it seems doubly wrong when you preach day in and out about morals and the "dangers" of things like rap music.

    I guess, essentially, the gist of my post here is that people are often hypocrites, so hypocritical behavior does not shock me at all. So a group of extremist Muslims who feel strongly enough about their religion to blow up thousands of innocent (including Muslim) Americans happen to enjoy porn when nobody is looking. Not surprised. In fact, it makes me wonder aloud here if the religion is just an excuse for the killings, and if what people like bin Laden were really upset about was Israel and our support of it, that it's more of a territorial dispute than a religious one, but it's just a lot easier to get people to fly planes into buildings if you tell them 72 virgins will greet them afterward. I mean, I tend to notice the folks at the top of these terrorist organizations aren't the ones blowing themselves up. Think maybe they have some doubts about whether or not they end up anywhere afterward?

    But then again I shouldn't read too much into this one incident, it is after all just some porn. Just a thought though - maybe if bin Laden's wives didn't have to be covered head to toe, he wouldn't need a stash to get off.

    --

    "To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit." -Stephen Hawking

  20. Re:Human after all! by jamesh · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think this will backfire against the US... it will actually make him appear super-human. He had porn _without_ internet access... I mean how does that happen???

  21. Human - and flawed by DG · · Score: 5, Insightful

    One of the things that made Osama so dangerous was that he had set himself up as a kind of religious aesthete who, to his followers, had claimed the moral high ground and was thus an example to be emulated.

    He was claiming to be more pious than Islamic religious leaders who were preaching a more moderate course of action.

    If his claims of piety can be shown to be demonstrably false; if he can be shown to be as flawed and "sinful" as every other man, much of the righteous indignation that mobilizes his followers can be neutralized.

    Having disillusioned former terrorists and jihadists renounce their former ways and return to the Muslim mainstream is a win for everybody - it's a win for Islam, a win for the West - and a win for the former jihadists, who will get to live more normal lives that won't have to end violently.

    Killing one's enemy is never the ideal course of action. Sometimes it is necessary. But far better for everyone if they become your friends - or at the very least, renounce being your sworn enemy.

    DG

    --
    Want to learn about race cars? Read my Book
    1. Re:Human - and flawed by SuricouRaven · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Except that won't happen. His followers are just going to assume the porn is a plant by the US. Maybe they are even right - it doesn't matter where the porn came from, either way followers wouldn't believe it.

    2. Re:Human - and flawed by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 5, Insightful

      We only need to look at religious fundamentalists and associated scandals (usually involving sex) in the US to have an idea how this plays out. Granted - it's not exactly the same thing and there are additional factors (geopolitical, racial / tribal, etc.) in this case. Yet fundamentalism has some commonality no matter what the exact brand of religion is involved.

    3. Re:Human - and flawed by RsG · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Actually, even if they didn't assume it was a plant, even if they assumed it really was Bin Laden's porn stash, they'd do what we humans always do in situations like this. They'd rationalize.

      It's a universal fault in human nature that we condemn the actions of strangers but forgive those same acts if they're carried out by our idols, friends, family, countrymen, or what-have you. When your friend's SO cheats on them, you call them a bitch/bastard/horrible human being - when that same friend cheats on his/her SO, you assume there were extenuating circumstances. When your religion calls child molestation an unforgivable sin, you condemn all the kiddie-fiddlers to hell - except when the padre is caught with his hands up the altar-boy's skirt; then it's "he has a problem and needs help", and you look the other way while he's reassigned to a new position where he won't have the temptation. When another nation's soldiers kill civvies in a combat zone, it's a war crime - when your own soldiers do the same it's unavoidable collateral damage.

      See the pattern? Guilt doesn't matter. Morals don't matter. Familiarity with the accused does. Basic human tribal behaviour.

      So what will the supporters of Al-Qaeda think about dear leader's porn stash? They'll make allowances for it. They'll rationalize it, make excuses. Just like any other human being would were they put in that position. That doesn't even get into the fact that most of those same supporters will be adult men, who have their own well hidden porn stashes, and therefor may empathize.

      --
      Erotic is when you use a feather. Exotic is when you use the whole chicken.
    4. Re:Human - and flawed by GameboyRMH · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well the US has to try something after they accidentally demonstrated just how much of a devout Muslim he is.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    5. Re:Human - and flawed by tnk1 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Everyone knows he did what he was accused of. He admitted it on video tapes and audio tapes. He was planning to do more.

      Sure, if he clearly surrendered, he should have been bound, incarcerated and tried, but honestly, sending troops into the compound of the leader of a group that uses suicide bombers regularly and not taking every precaution to prevent him from killing your people is stupid. We're not talking about your run of the mill criminal here. Although a lot of these guys tend to be less committed to their beliefs than they would have you believe, there was no reason to believe that bin Laden was not a true believer. He could easily have been going for the button to blow his compound and everyone in it sky high.

      And his "home" as you put it, was a high security compound with walls and guards. It's not like they headed out to the suburbs, smashed in the picture window to his ranch and shot him in his living room while he was watching The Price Is Right in reruns. They didn't assault it with helicopters because they like fast roping out of them for fun.

      There's plenty of reason to not be happy with the US, considering all of the various shady endeavors that have happened in the past. This is not one of them. He was a combatant commander who had indicated on more than one occasion that he had no intention of surrendering. Sending the SEALs in with the orders to capture if possible, kill if necessary is hardly strange, nor particularly brutal in the annals of history. The only thing that is strange is that you consider *this* to be the point where you are disillusioned with the US. Not CIA overthrows of other governments, not the Iraq War, not Guantanamo Bay, but arguably the closest thing to a just action that has happened in the last decade. Please excuse me if I believe that perhaps you might have been harboring your resentment a bit longer.

    6. Re:Human - and flawed by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 2

      Don't they usually appear before their followers blubbering, apologising, and begging for forgivness (that is never given).

      In the history of televangelism, there's been plenty of scandal. It usually costs the subject in question money, marriages, followers and sometimes even their church. But remarkably, more than a few continue to maintain followers or later form new churches. And while they seem to rarely hit the same heights, those that bounce back seem to do fairly well. Remarkable considering the usually unforgiving nature of their message.

  22. I believe It by jesseck · · Score: 4, Informative

    When I was in Iraq, we found porn in a few houses on raids. Videos (arab and French), Playboy, and a few other things.

  23. Re:Human after all! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Which is incredibly stupid. Sex is a natural and good act. There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing it, watching it or just rubbing one out when you feel tense.

  24. Score for Censorship! by Seumas · · Score: 2

    Now those groups that want to censor everything adults consume can assert that not only does pornography lead to rape, but terrorism!

  25. Re:Human after all! by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Funny

    He had porn _without_ internet access... I mean how does that happen???

    Now you know why all the convenience stores are owned my muslims.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  26. Re:Human after all! by JavaBear · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Haggard's Law: "The likelihood of a person harboring secret desires to engage in sexual and/or romantic activities with members of the same sex is directly proportional to the frequency and volume of said person's vocalized objections to homosexuality." Basically, it is often the case that the more religious people rant about a vice, the more likely it is that they are really harbouring a strong desire for it, and probably hate themselves for doing so. That is not to say that everybody fighting for a cause or against something fall into this category.

  27. Re:Don't believe it by maxwell+demon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why does George W. Bush have standing among Americans? He was a terrorist

    I don't think that word means what you think it means.

    who invaded Iraq

    Invasion of a country is an act of war, often an unjustified one, but no act of terrorism.

    based on the lie that Saddam had WMDs

    Lies are not an act of terrorism (otherwise we would have to arrest all politicians as terrorists ;-))

    resulting in the deaths of 150,000 to 600,000 Iraqis (and the deaths of 4,000 Americans, if you don't care about Iraqis).

    The number of deaths also does not define terrorism.

    Now if Bush had given the explicit command to intentionally kill random civilians in Iraq (as opposed to "just" accepting their death as collateral damage), then the term "terrorist" would be justified. But I don't think he did.

    --
    The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  28. Surprised? by Heliologue · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm a little surprised that (a) this surprises _anybody_, and (b) that there are plenty of Slashdotters who are convinced it's lies and propaganda. You're making the mistake that because Bin Laden subscribed to an ideology that was sexually repressive, he must also have been sexually repressed. This isn't the case. The sexual mores of the conservative (read: fundamentalist) Islamic world are pretty twisted; the reason burqas are mandated for women is because the men supposedly can't help themselves if shown a bit of ladyflesh, even a bare ankle. The onus for sexual purity is placed almost _entirely_ on women (which sounds a little like the US, come to think of it); it's no surprise, then, if Bin Laden is a total pervert. Honestly, I'd be surprised if there _wasn't_ porn in the compound.

  29. Re:he had the women in the house by AchilleTalon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You are thinking like an occidentalist, don't forget about the rights of spouses and women in general in the Taliban's culture.

    --
    Achille Talon
    Hop!
  30. Re:Don't believe it by fiendy · · Score: 2

    Mean? Really? This isn't kindergarden. The man help plan and fund a way for other terrorists to fly planes full of people into buildings. You make it sound like he might have some redeeming qualities. Far worse things have been said about far nicer people. Whether it Is a deliberate smear or not, I'd say it's well deserved. Whether it will work or is a good idea strategically is another matter.

  31. Cynical by DaMattster · · Score: 2, Informative

    Is it too cynical to mention that the US government has a vested interest in denigrating Bin Laden, and that he's no longer around to deny this claim? No, it is not too cynical at all. I believe that there is a nugget of truth to OBL having pornography because we have seen religious zealots and conservative politicians here in the US having closet sexual perversions. However, the Obama Administration wants to parade OBL's faults and make his hypocrisy well-known thereby lessening his martyrdom. By denigrating him, Obama et al hope to further weaken the resolve to potentially avenge Bin Laden's death.

  32. Re:WMD? by milkmage · · Score: 2

    nope.. just several well used copies of Weapons of Ass Destruction

  33. Re:Human after all! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    most men have some porn stashed somewhere

    ... like under their wife's clothes?

    Very clever! She would never think to look for it hidden in her own dresser drawer.

  34. Re:Human after all! by g4b · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sex is natural and quite some great thing, and I don't think, biblical views saw it ever different (just think about it, what did adam and eve do? they had a lot of children according to the story). In fact, the bible does address pervertion, it never adresses sex.

    However, you will notice, porn is not about real sex. It is about sex, no doubt, it shows people enjoying an almost ritualic show, accessing the viewers lust for sex simply by depicting it, and we males are dominantly visually adressable, so it works. Real sex however includes intimacy, relationship, trust.

    Condemning sex is actually based on the personal shame of Augustin, who himself quite a ladiesman, later felt bad about his past life. Augustin, like many great christian teachers, did have a lot to say, most of which is considerable good - but to accept his whole teachings, some people felt the need to accept every aspect of it.

    You see a lot of religious teachers suffer from personal affairs in their life, including those personal pains in their teachings. I take them as a warning, as for being addicted to porn, or losing touch with sexuality in terms of relationship can damage people in great effect.

    But to go so far as saying: its not bad at all to be sexually centered and have no self control - thats just ridiculous.
    I would not feel worse after a cigarette, than after watching porn, but I dont have to accept addictive behaviour as something benevolent towards my life.

    Modern christianity is often considered antisexual.
    At the same time, non-christian westernism is very much concentrated on this topic, maybe fighting for a freedom, which was never really taken away.
    Not by having faith at least.

    Just because boundaries make you suffer, breaking them does not make you heal nor free. Christianity is more about peaceful stopping at boundaries, because they were taken away, or stop feeling ashamed if you can't otherwise than cross them.

    The antisexual tendism of some christian lines just damages our respect of people who really suffer from addictions, like porn, lies, drugs, anger, fear, and so on. But they are not strict about sex, because they don't like sex.

    Everybody likes sex. It's weird if you don't. But is it so important, that it dictates your daily actions?

  35. Re:Human after all! by Oligonicella · · Score: 3, Informative

    One can admit guilt in a venue other than court, say a video recording. He did some admitting there, for instance.

  36. Re:Human after all! by ultranova · · Score: 4, Informative

    But to go so far as saying: its not bad at all to be sexually centered and have no self control - thats just ridiculous. I would not feel worse after a cigarette, than after watching porn, but I dont have to accept addictive behaviour as something benevolent towards my life.

    Nobody cares what you do with your own life. Except the religious, who decide something, then decide it's God's will, and soon are either burning people at stake or posting Youtube videos, depending on the era. And, of course, are utterly convinced that causing completely unnecessary grief makes them extra holy.

    Or flying airplanes into buildings, to get back on topic.

    --

    Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

  37. Re:Human after all! by m.ducharme · · Score: 2

    Admitting guilt doesn't necessarily make you guilty. There are plenty of examples of false confessions being given, and it's not uncommon for terrorist groups to try to take credit for activities that they didn't actually do, to make themselves seem more powerful than they really are. Terror is about branding, after all.

    --
    Rule of Slashdot #0: You and people like you are not representative of the larger population. - A.C.
  38. Define porn by metacell · · Score: 3, Funny

    Maybe it was videos of Iranian women taking off their headwear and shaking their hair?

  39. You may be a terrorist if.... by Memroid · · Score: 3, Funny

    1. You may be a terrorist if... You wear a Casio watch
    2. You may be a terrorist if... You use large amounts of shampoo and like to travel
    3. You may be a terrorist if... You dislike low-tech fondling by strangers
    4. You may be a terrorist if... You refuse maid service
    5. You may be a terrorist if... You pay for a hotel in cash
    6. You may be a terrorist if... You use a video camera in a non-designated video recording area
    7. You may be a terrorist if... Your car has boxes or bags in it
    8. You may be a terrorist if... You own a GPS unit
    9. You may be a terrorist if... You take pictures of buildings and landmarks
    10. You may be a terrorist if... You are unemployed and in possession of cash
    11 You may be a terrorist if... You are a pregnant women and carry around bulky diaper bags
    12. You may be a terrorist if... You or somebody you live with is in possession of pornography

  40. Re:Human after all! by Mindcontrolled · · Score: 2

    Well, in this case, there is probably really no room for doubt. Still should have kept up the procedure. That's what *should* distinguish us from random barbarians.

    --
    Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
  41. Re:Don't believe it by dotfile · · Score: 2

    No, killing civilians makes you a war criminal, not a terrorist.

    No, intentionally killing unarmed, noncombatant civilians makes you a war criminal. If I shell a building just to kill the civilian occupants, I'm a war criminal. If I have to shell the same building, killing all the occupants because I'm taking sniper fire from there... well, sucks to live in that building, but I gotta do what I gotta do to protect my troops. Collateral damage and civilian deaths during war are a fact of life. A sad and tragic fact of life, but a fact of life nonetheless.

  42. Re:Human after all! by InsertCleverUsername · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Exactly. Some of Freud's ideas haven't aged well, but when it comes to vices, he really nailed one aspect of human nature with what he called Reaction Formation.

    --
    Ask me about my sig!
  43. Planted and/or Rationalized by DG · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You're right that some will assume it was planted, some will assume that it wasn't his, some will rationalize it away, and so on.

    But some won't. Some will realize that Osama wasn't the saint he made himself out to be, and will leave the network because of it.

    And every one of those is a fighter lost who didn't have to be killed - a win for everyone.

    A course of action need not have a 100% success rate to make it worth following.

    DG

    --
    Want to learn about race cars? Read my Book
    1. Re:Planted and/or Rationalized by capnkr · · Score: 2
      DG - Please stop it with the sensible replies. Could you not tell by the editorializing in the summary:

      Is it too cynical to mention that the US government has a vested interest in denigrating Bin Laden, and that he's no longer around to deny this claim?

      ...that this story/thread is here for a pile-on of illogical and unreasoned anti-US sentiment for the largish segment of the population of /.'ers who love this sort of thing, and so will produce ad views while contributing their own version of the same rhetoric to the thread?

      In short, there is no room here for comments like yours. Please post elsewhere if you wish to be unbiased and thoughtful in what you share. Thank you.

      Tags: Sarcasm, Irony

      --
      "...there are some things that can beat smartness and foresight. Awkwardness and stupidity can." ~ Mark Twain
    2. Re:Planted and/or Rationalized by Surt · · Score: 2

      But given the world suffers from a severe overpopulation problem, every fighter not killed is actually a loss for everyone.

      --
      "Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
  44. How is he different from any government official? by Shivetya · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Seems to me that government officials and religious officials have one major thing in common.

    They are more than willing to demand that you live your life a certain way but tend to shy away from doing so themselves.

    Both will have ardent followers who will defend their leaders infractions. Royalty simply assumed a new title.

    --
    * Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
  45. Re:Human after all! by hellwig · · Score: 2, Interesting

    That's not really the point or what he's arguing. The presumption of innocence is something we give to our worst, our very, very, very worst, most obviously guilty criminals. It was also something tribunals gave to the Nazis, some of the very worst criminals in all of world history. It is a bedrock prinicple of Western society. But we didn't give it here.

    The tribunals only gave that to the Nazi's the Allies didn't kill during the war. If you forget, America is still at war (with Terror, not sure how we can battle and abstract concept, but hey). Therefore, Bin Laden was a war combatant, and assuming he didn't surrender (do you think he would have?), the American soldiers who shot him were under no obligation to read him his rights and take him, unharmed, into custody.

    Why? Well, we still don't know all the details. But if he resisted in a way where he couldn't be subdued, they sure haven't told us. It looks, from the information we do have, that he was simply assassinated, without due process of any kind.

    Wait a minute, so you're saying it was wrong to shoot Bin Laden because he didn't get his day in court, but you're only saying this because you assume that Seal Team 6 went into that compound guns-a-blazing shooting everything in sight without cause? What about their day in court, what about assuming they are innocent until proven guilty? Sure, I bet Osama was just sitting at a desk, dutifully reciting the Quran from memory, probably knitting his mother a sweater when some mean ole American came in and double-tapped him in the forehead, just like all us gun-owning American's would do to anyone given the opportunity.

    I know American's do a lot of shit to earn a bad reputation, but for your anti-American sentiment to be so strong that you would actually support Bin Laden rather than admit that America might have done the right thing in this instance is disgusting. And if you're an American, you should be ashamed of yourself.

    --
    Eggs
    Milk
    Bread
    Cat Litter
    Soda
    ...
  46. Re:nothing new... by dancingmad · · Score: 2

    Read a book called Orientalism by Edward Said. Your perceptions of Islamic views on sex are greatly influenced by the desire for your (and to some degree my) own culture to create the other, something, through opposition, by which it can define itself.

    The most striking thing is how different this other was one hundred to two hundred years ago - Western culture was prudish, while Asians (including Arabs) were the ones of wild sexuality (think about our misconceptions of the haram, geishas, etc.).

    --
    "There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter," Jeeves, (Jeeves and the Impending Doom)
  47. Re:Human after all! by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 2

    While I love it when a believer is able to rise above what's in their holy books, and I really hesitate to make an issue out of it -- it's not like I want you to be more puritanical, let alone start stoning your children -- I'm not sure you can really say this honestly:

    I don't think, biblical views saw it ever different (just think about it, what did adam and eve do?

    It's not clear what they did before knowledge of good and evil, but once they ate the fruit and gained such knowledge, they immediately covered their nakedness out of shame. If sex is natural and a great thing, why would they cover their nakedness?

    I'm not suggesting that nudism makes sense now (or that it doesn't), but who, exactly, were they trying to cover themselves from? Each other? God? I wonder which is more absurd -- trying to hide from an all-knowing being, or trying to hide from someone you've been perfectly comfortable with naked (and perhaps more) for as long as the two of you have existed.

    The subtext is pretty clear, however: Your bodies are inherently shameful. The only reason you would think otherwise is if you were naive enough not to know any better.

    In fact, the bible does address pervertion,

    According to the Bible, homosexuality is perversion, on par with bestiality, and quite a bit worse than rape.

    it never adresses sex.

    Of course it does. Aside from the above, we see all sorts of fuss made about virgins (keep only the virgin girls of the Midianites, kill those who've lain with a man), we also have the Story of Onan -- when God tells you to get someone pregnant, you do not pull out, and this is where the Catholics get their ideas about birth control, though they are, of course, missing the point. There are also pages and pages of laws about how a wet dream will make certain things unclean, and you can't enter the sanctuary if your junk is damaged, and oh, the foreskins...

    Reading the Bible, it almost seems like God is obsessed with sex.

    However, you will notice, porn is not about real sex... Real sex however includes intimacy, relationship, trust.

    These aren't mutually exclusive, though they are fantastically rare. And I'm not sure I agree with you about "real sex" -- that sounds almost exactly like a No True Scotsman -- but that's really just bickering about your terms, and you can have the terms if you like.

    You see a lot of religious teachers suffer from personal affairs in their life, including those personal pains in their teachings. I take them as a warning, as for being addicted to porn, or losing touch with sexuality in terms of relationship can damage people in great effect.

    I'm not sure being "addicted to porn" or "losing touch with sexuality" is what was happening with, say, Ted Haggard. I think what was happening is his religion had taught him to be ashamed of his sexual identity.

    But to go so far as saying: its not bad at all to be sexually centered and have no self control - thats just ridiculous.

    That's the problem -- lack of self-control. I see no problem at all with being "sexually centered" -- as Wash says, "Some people juggle geese!" There are all kinds of things you could live for.

    I would not feel worse after a cigarette, than after watching porn,

    I would. The cigarette is actually unhealthy, physically -- I would actually be damaging my body, even if it wasn't physically addictive. There's nothing about porn itself which could be physically addictive, certainly nothing that you wouldn't find in actual intercourse -- do you feel similarly bad after sex?

    I don't know if you get this idea from religion, but it doesn't seem far off from the kind of pattern that we see with, say, Ted Haggard -- ashamed of his homosexuality, vocally and publicly working against gay rights in between se

    --
    Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
  48. Re:Human after all! by VanGarrett · · Score: 2

    It upsets me that yesterday I had mod points, and today I have none. You both have made very good points.

    I suspect you intended to contradict g4b's statement, but I believe that what you say and what he says are complimentary to eachother. G4b points out that otherwise good teachers often speak out against their own vices, and that their irrationality on that subject tends to be the result of a disastrous addiction. You remind us that those irrational preachings tend to be swallowed whole by their followers, who then use that information for their own gratification-- a vice in and of itself, which is seldom called out for being just that.

    What g4b speaks of, leads directly to what you speak of. These things go hand in hand. Religion speaks to man's sense of superstition, and some men would use that to control others; sometimes knowingly, other times, obliviously.

    This is not a reason to throw out religion, though. Scriptures tend to be remarkably pure in this regard, not having the rabid mark of the zealots who would wield them as weapons. Regardless of how you view the origins of religion, the writers of the scriptures usually had a pretty good idea in mind. I can't really speak for the scriptures of Islam or Buddhism, but the Christian scriptures in particular express that peace and personal satisfaction are best achieved by benevolence and self-control, rather than violence and the control of others. We see how quickly that's corrupted, though-- it is as you both say.

  49. It's apparently legit by reboot246 · · Score: 2

    Some of the movie titles were:
    Deep Goat
    Hairy Popper and the Prisoner of Guantanamo
    Roadside Bombshells
    Debbie Does Darfur
    Behind the Green Tent Flap
    Her Mouth is Like a IED and She Will Blow You Away

  50. Re:Human after all! by xelah · · Score: 2

    So bluntly, contrary to the massive stupidity run amok here, the killing was entirely lawful, even under US law. Period. End of discussion.

    What about, umm, under Pakistani law? If a bunch of Pakistanis shot someone dead in the US it'd be quite legitimate for them to be tried in the US for murder, after extradition if necessary. Would this not apply to SEALs breaking Pakistani law? Would it not be just as big a breach of Pakistani sovereignty as if those hypothetical Pakistanis in the US were officially sanctioned and extradition was refused? Pakistani public opinion seems to think so and there's going to be a price to pay for the US.

    Might I also suggest that this will be remember the next time some Polonium 210 turns up in some sushi, too? Not everyone in the world agrees on what 'terrorist' means.

  51. Re:Human after all! by cold+fjord · · Score: 2

    Proper procedures were followed.

    Bin Laden, as leader of the international terrorist and insurgent group Al Qaeda, declared war on the United States in 1996. After the many attacks that killed thousands of people and treating it as a police problem, the US Congress issued the Authorization for Use of Military Force (equivalent to a declaration of war) following the 9/11 attacks that killed 3,000 Americans. Intelligence located Bin Laden, military leader of Al Qaeda, and he was killed by a commando raid. A similar fate occurred to Admiral Yamamoto in World War 2. All perfectly legitimate, and legal under the Law of War.

    --
    much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
  52. Re:Human after all! by rohan972 · · Score: 2

    Reading the Bible, it almost seems like God is obsessed with sex.

    God made man in his own image?

  53. Re:Human after all! by bluemonq · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Ugh! More stupidity. He mean, "illegal combatant." Illegal combatants are specifically excluded from the protections provided by Geneva Convention. Period. Furthermore, these people can be summarily executed on the spot by order of the officer in charge. The simple fact is, Bin Laden's death is 100% legal around the world.

    That's interesting. According to your logic, that would mean the murder of any active duty CIA personnel (remember, not part of the military) by foreign military personal, if he were to be declared a terrorist/enemy of a foreign state, would be 100% legal around the world.

    Accordingly, he receives zero legal protection under US law unless he is captured and taken into US custody.

    Then it seems that anytime you want to kill an individual, declare him a terrorist and kill him on non-US soil; then you'll have a lawful killing. Okay, got it. The $64,000 question is whether or not he could have been easily captured. The video would show - or at least suggest - if that was or wasn't the case.