Kaos

It should be hard enough to take another man's life...terrorist's life or not. And to make a joke about taking a child's father's life away, AND having sex with that kid's sister is digusting.

Memnoch

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

- sometimes attributed to George Orwell

This doesn't mean that those rough men are suddenly excepted from rules of "decency," as Hal put it. I can't imagine that the guys who flew the planes holding the first atomic bombs were too thrilled that they had a hand in killing hundreds of thousands of people. I don't think they'd make a sign saying "I fucked this Japanese chick, and our baby is going to have tentacles from the radiation I poured on its mommy!" I understand the need for humor, I understand that it's incredibly hard to deal with the violence and death day after day. But if you can't handle it without losing your sense of humanity and decency and dignity, you shouldn't have fucking signed up in the first place. I feel no sympathy towards soldiers who are part of a volunteer army - this was Bourdreaux's choice, so he must live with the consequences, and should do his damnedest to make sure no one but himself comes to any disrepute or indignance because of his poor judgment.

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tehblaed

If you're saying Ann Coulter is a liberal, please rethink your entire life. She is the one, after all, who said, and I quote directly from her article located at http://www.nationalreview.com/coulte...er091301.shtml , "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."

Macheath

liberal Ann Coulter being "the liberal version of Ann Coulter" if such a strange creature could exist on this earth. "Bizarro" refers to a character from the Superman comics who comes from an alternate dimension where everything is it's exact opposite.

The whole thing is really an absurd mental image. But we live in absurd times, so it fits.

splck

If the shoe was on the other foot I'll bet people here that find this shit funny would be jumping up and down with rage.
The only thing that's funny about it is the guy will get in shit...

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nice line eh?

tricks

So, what's the caption in Arabic say?

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Stare At The Sun

I've looked back over this, and i've thought about it again. The guy is serving in a hostile land where people die everyday. He makes a poster, and has some kid hold it. Big shit. I doubt he did either thing. He could die tommorow, if he wants to have a good story to tell at the bar, let him.

Get of this guys case, if you think its so not funny, why not step in his shoes and serve. Think of the stress that guy is under. and what he goes through everday, and has to see everday. Its a god damn joke. Get off his case, he probably gave the kids some food as well, or some money.

Regardless, it's a joke.

Chingal0

Laughed hard, but I saw it a few weeks ago. Still damn funny tho.

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Chingal0

The arabic says the exact same thing that teh soldier wrote, and then in yellow it says 'The soldier has written' .. Make sense?

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"Eventually I became too sexy for my gym membership fee."

Aletheia

I feel the same way.

flamingpeach

I don't find it funny, I think its actually kinda sad. Those people arn't a joke, we're supposed to be helping them

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I've eaten my veggies all my life so bring it on, I am educated and strong for the revolution.

Evil Milkman

lmao

That's too much!

BClonghair

Pretty sad yet funny... I understand the need for humour when you are surrounded by death
Sanity holds tight in the balance...
The unfortunate bit is that he chose the wrong thing to say,
So you know that there will be repercussions that won't be funny!

Perhaps they should have sent this around Sooner!
*People who were offended ealier SHOULD look at this!
http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=59682

Making light of things might NOT be a laughing matter ~:BClonghair:~

moonstrucksoul

thaks for the other pic BClonghair, looking at them both, then probably the "tasteless" one is a fake. i think, hard to decide because I am not a phototshop expert.

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Devilinmypants

Well, it is probably not a step towards winning the war, or good PR, but it's freaking hilarious!

Silvy

I think you're wrong, (but i'd be relieved if you were).
I'm no image expert either, but the writing ("font" if you will) seems pretty consistent over the complete text in the "tasteless one" while the differing text in the "humorous one" looks a little more improvised.
But both can be passed as authentic to me, if I hadn't seen both of them. Depending on photoshop quality, a careful examination will reveal which is the original... ( perhaps neither....)

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water_boy1999

I do not find this funny. I also am not passing judgement on the Lt.. With what they have to endure over there, I can see how poor tastes in judgement, humor, and general ways of acting don't always pass muster. We, as Americans, expect our soldiers to go over there, clean house, and send us back a message of humanitarian acts, heroism, bravery, and courage. Unless you actually fight in a war, you don't know what goes on and I can bet it sucks! This is no excuse to belittle and disrespect another countries people, especially children, but I do feel it was a bad joke among friends that got out of hand. He should be reprimanded, but not discharged. Make him clean the toilets for a week and set an example of his poor judgement.

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Doh!!!!


-Homer Simpson

Lebell

You're welcome to that opinion, but it seems a little melodramatic to be comparing this guy to the dropping of the atomic bomb.

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Lebell

Well,

Congratulations to all of you wanting Lance Corporal Boudreaux's head.

You may just get your wish.

*shakes head with disgust*


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK

Islamic group demands inquiry into ‘gag’ photo
Reservist under investigation for claims in image

By Laura Bailey
Times staff writer


An Islamic civil liberties group has called for a Pentagon investigation into an apparent gag photograph of a Marine in Iraq taken during the last year.

In the photo, a smiling Lance Cpl. Ted J. Boudreaux Jr. is standing next to two Iraqi boys. All three have their thumbs up as one of the boys holds a cardboard sign that reads “Lcpl Boudreaux killed my Dad, th[en] he knocked up my sister!”

The photo has been circulating around the Internet for at least a month.

On April 2, a Muslim upset by the image e-mailed the photo to the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations. The organization, which describes itself as America’s largest Islamic civil liberties group, promptly issued a press release calling for an investigation, said organization spokesman Ibrahim Hooper.

“We’re asking ‘was it legitimate, what were the circumstances, did this guy do these crimes or was it a joke?’” Hooper said April 5.

In the April 2 release, the council called on the Defense Department to take action “to let military personnel know that such behavior harms America’s image and will not be tolerated.”

“If the United States Army is seeking to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, this is the wrong way to accomplish that goal,” stated council executive director Nihad Awad in the release.

Boudreaux is a reservist with Headquarters and Service Company, 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marines, according to Capt. Jeff Pool, a Marine Forces Reserve spokesman. The New Orleans-based infantry unit deployed to the Kut area of Iraq in May and returned home in mid-September.

Pool said the command began an investigation shortly after it received the photo via e-mail several weeks ago.

Investigating officers have spoken with Boudreaux and are working to determine whether the claims on the sign are true and what, if any, charges to bring against him, Pool said. Investigation results were not expected to be released for another week or two, Marines Forces Reserve spokesman Capt. Patrick Kerr said April 8.

One Arab-American Marine who teaches culture to fellow military personnel called the photo “deplorable” and said such behavior is a serious issue to be addressed.

Gunnery Sgt. Jamal Baadani, the president and founder of the Association of Patriotic Arab Americans in Military, is on a one-year tour in the Middle East. There, he gives cultural lessons to newly assigned personnel and is Chief of Host Nation Training Support Coordination.

“This picture and sign directed towards a Muslim family is inexcusable,” he said via e-mail. “Inexcusable because if this lance corporal was given a basic class on Islam, he would have known that remarks such as ‘knocking up’ a Muslim Arab woman is not tolerated and violates the honor of a Muslim woman and her family.

“If it was a local Iraq Arab that did this, he would have been shot by a family member on the spot for violating their family honor,” he said.

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"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." – C. S. Lewis

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lurkette

But do you have to laugh at the expense of the people you are there supposedly to protect? And who said crying was a bad thing?

This shouldn't excuse you from knowing that you are a representative of your country and not everyone else is quite as blase about death as you are.

I don't know how this picture wound up on the internet. Maybe Boudreaux just wanted the photo for himself, but if he had any hand in putting it on the internet, he had to know right then and there that it would/could be widely viewed. At a time when we are desperately trying to make diplomatic inroads with moderate Muslim countries, this kind of tasteless joke is irresponsible. Boudreaux just handed the Muslim world one more piece of evidence that Americans are crass, insensitive, and immoral. If he needs to laugh, let him watch Monty Python or something instead of mocking the locals.

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NoLa

Hmmm...

It was and it wasn't funny.

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Lebell

Honestly, you and I have NO idea what these guys go through is all I am trying to say, and taking ONE picture and making a huge deal out of it ignores the long history of grisley soldier humor.

The worst thing Boudreaux did was exhibit poor judgement and for that he should get a reprimand.

But the people who think this is an international crisis are way over board.

__________________
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." – C. S. Lewis

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moonstrucksoul

the downfalls of digital photography, once you move it from camera to your pc (then erasing it from the cameras' memory) there is no easy way to tell if it has been altered or not

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Xell101

Funny? I think so. In poor judgement? Yeup, but the kind that gets you a thunk in the head, and nothing more.

wannabenakid247

Not Funny at all.

yournamehere

Absolutely. It's not My Lai, for chrissakes.

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Mephisto2

Who is making this an international crisis?

It's YOU who is exaggerating now.

The consensus here is that this was in bad taste and the guy deserves to be punished.


Mr Mephisto

guthmund

Well, I think he should be reprimanded for his stupidity.

I don't care much what the grunt is doing for fun. He's part of a war I have neither the appetite for nor the inclination to jump into, so, if this is the way for him to get his jollies before the next "encounter" then so be it.

I do, however, believe that he should be reprimanded for his ineptness at covering his own ass. He should have known this was going to get out and cause the masses to get all in a tizzy. The world is a much smaller place than most realize. Obviously, Lance Corp. Boudreaux didn't.

Was it tasteless? Sure, no doubt about it; I totally agree on this issue. I've seen some pretty tasteless shit from both sides of the isle so this one is just par for the course. Of all the things to get up in arms over this photo ain't one of them.

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Lebell

I've reread the entire thread and just a smattering of words used:

"Fired"

"Treason"

"Dishonorable Discharge"


So I stand by my original statement.

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"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." – C. S. Lewis

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Charlatan

Humour is all about context.

As Spived2 points out, it was harmless fun when it was taken for personal amusement. Yes it was tasteless but a lot of humour is tasteless.

However, as others have pointed out this tasteless joke has now burst into a new context a context where the stakes are much higher and the humour is not funny.

He should be reprimanded.

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rat

As someone who has done quite a bit of Photoshop and Digital Imaging work, spending hours at a time to make a picture look accurate and seamless, that first photo is pretty obviously doctored. It wouldn't be hard to make it believable, but when compared to the picture provided by Image dump (http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=59682)
it's pretty easy to tell where it was doctored. Poorly done and highly publicized makes it gospel truth I guess.

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water_boy1999

Very interesting rat!!!
I hope that this is the correct photo.

I agree with you lurkette. Especially about: "Boudreaux just handed the Muslim world one more piece of evidence that Americans are crass, insensitive, and immoral." IMO, it is some of the comments in this thread, people who think this is funny and people should lighten up, that give us the reputation Americans have. Maybe....just maybe, is we showed a little more compassion and understanding of other cultures, then we won't find our own people hung from bridges after we have been tortured, or mindlessly butchered only because we are American, or have continual attackes against us because of our attitude towards others. America needs to be humbled.

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Doh!!!!


-Homer Simpson

Slims

Why should it be hard?
we were built to survive, and if that means killing someone, we should be able to do it as efficiently as possible.

And if they are going to make you go to all the trouble of killing them, you might as well have a little fun at their expense.

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Nisses

Greg: that makes as much sense as giving a toast because you just farted.

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bernadette

[ comment removed ]

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sam95519

I find it very funny and very much in keeping with the sense of humor that is generated by a bunch of grunts on the ground that have been living and fighting together. This is war, it's not pretty, it's not nice, and far from losing your humanity a sense of humor helps you keep it. He should get in trouble for being so stupid as to let this get out since now we get to hear how heartless and terrible this is and OMG what if it's TRUE. I'm sorry but I'm more concerned about the safety of our people fighting than in hurting somebody's feelings over a picture.




War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873)

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Prince

It's pretty funny. Not "offensive" in the least. I wouldn't call it tasteless, either, although it sure ain't Seinfeld quality.

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hiredgun

in case anyone's interested, someone made a sign generator out of this picture: http://www.ryano.net/iraq/

i'd have to say it's real; to me the biggest tip-off is the arabic at the bottom. i speak some arabic, i can confirm that it does indeed repeat the message on the sign. i find it unlikely that an arab speaker would go to the trouble to doctor a picture like this...

then again, this picture could be from a broadcast of the already doctored image. *shrug*.

nash

If I were in charge of the fate of this man, I wouldn't do anything until the original picture can be found and confirmed. It's all too easy to modify the picture and send it around the web, and it certainly doesn't take a master "Photoshoppist" to do it.

How would the media over there find out about the photograph? Certainly Boudreaux didn't send it to them, I'd think. It must have been around the web for a while by that time. By then, any alteration could have been made to it. I can't believe such accusations are being made based on such easily manipulated "evidence." Until the original is found (there's a good chance it won't be if it was taken by a digital camera) everyone should hold their horses before jumping all over him and condemning him.

RoboBlaster

I'd imagine that war can do some twisted things to a person's sense of humor.