# Protesters storm US embasy...in Cairo?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 11, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420 "2012-09-11T18:53:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/141 "2012-09-13T03:41:14Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > That’s **Der Trihs** ’ point: they conceivably could have not known they were playing Muslims or Muhammad, nor saying any such line. That’s what post-production is: doing stuff to film \*after \*it was filmed. Stuff such as extensively re-dubbing lines (e.g. when movies are localized). Not to make this overly personal, but I did work in the industry for a time. So yes, I know what you speak of: dubbing and/or Additional Dialogue Recording. Now, if you care to do so, watch the clip again. Note that the actors voices are not just in sync but also in exact timber/tone of voice. What does that tell you? I mean, say you believe the one lady that came on CNN making the claim that she was duped…what about the other 79 and the TONS of lines they would have had to ADR? In any event, this is simply not a huge point of contention for me in this whole sordid affair. I simply don’t believe them. That’s all. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/142 "2012-09-13T03:51:59Z")
You guys realize, right, that the organized bad guys (Al Qaeda, if you must) absolutely want to polarize the dialog as much as possible? They _want_ us to think Muslims are a bunch of crazed maniacs, so that we react with bombs and invasions, so that they get fired up, and so that Al Qaeda (or whatever you want to call them) can get power, money and influence from all those angry people. You can get a group of people to protest about just about anything. Every few years, chunks of China go nuts protesting about _World War II_, which ended a while ago but still fires people up. This is doubly true in a country (like, say, Libya and Cairo) with high unemployment and a high concentration of young, bored, unemployed men. Heck, look at the US or UK. How difficult is it to get people rioting over a _ball game_? Young bored people will riot over any old dumb reason, as long as you know how to sell it. The best thing we can do is to not focus on Islam at all. Al Qaeda is a criminal organization that uses the cover of Islam to keep the food soldiers fired up. Every time we treat it like a religious organization, we give them more credibility and more power to recruit as one. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/143 "2012-09-13T03:54:36Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > [Cairo Embassy](http://rt.com/news/cairo-clashes-us-embassy-013/). Just like yesterday. Dude, I have CNN on, watching it live. Again, what’s you point? I already explained which attack was planned and which one was the result of the troll flick. My worry is that it’s likely to spread…and not just in Egypt. > [@](#): > > I stated it in my post. The cartoons are blasphemous toward various religions. This was what the people protested about at the embassies in regards to the movie. What don’t you understand? > > I don’t believe you when you say you have no idea. Not a fan of cartoons, so I’ve seen very little of those shows but my point is I am sure that what gets on national TV is nowhere _near_ as offensive as that clip is. Thus I am claiming false equivalence. Free speech is not devoid of responsibility. OTOH I am also not defending by any means the a-holes that are going bonkers over the flick. On the contrary, as I’ve said from the start the amount of “stupid” surrounding this whole thing is staggering. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/144 "2012-09-13T08:57:50Z")
Now [there’s a report](http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-09-13/protesters-storm-us-embassy-in-yemen) that protestors have stormed the American embassy in Yemen. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/145 "2012-09-13T10:42:07Z")
This was nice to see: [Anti-terrorism protestors in Benghazi: we’re not all crazy people.](http://globalgrind.com/news/libyans-anti-terror-demonstrations-response-benghazi-attacks-photos) Admittedly it doesn’t look like a huge group but at least they’re trying. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/146 "2012-09-13T11:04:14Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > This was nice to see: > > [Anti-terrorism protestors in Benghazi: we’re not all crazy people.](http://globalgrind.com/news/libyans-anti-terror-demonstrations-response-benghazi-attacks-photos) > > Admittedly it doesn’t look like a huge group but at least they’re trying. I completely agree that it’s a great message to send. Remember after 9-11 when the Palestinians were partying in the streets and everyone was asking where all the Muslims were who were condemning what happened? They were there, but I don’t recall any demonstrations or massive messages. Point is: it works. It’s nice to hear that many people don’t want them as representatives of their religion/country. Good for them! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/147 "2012-09-13T12:36:55Z")
Have a look at Pat Condell on Youtube. Certainly not PC (but everyone is a target) and perhaps a little over the top but I find myself agreeing with him on most points. Below is but one example. There are many. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HhN6CG1zCRc/hqdefault.jpg "The Trouble With Islam") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhN6CG1zCRc) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/148 "2012-09-13T13:29:42Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > You said hundreds. And? He said there were hundreds. He was telling the truth about at least one. I have no reason to doubt him, considering the treatment Webster Cook got. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/149 "2012-09-13T14:35:46Z")
> [@US response to diplomat's killing in Libya](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-response-to-diplomats-killing-in-libya/634602/2): > > The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has already stated that Libyan authorities need to release statements about bringing those responsible to justice. Because the country is obviously a mess it might be necessary to get a resolution from the UNSC to assist the Libyans. Then the US can ask to have them extradited. Why would they be extradited? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/150 "2012-09-13T15:24:09Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > You can get a group of people to protest about just about anything. Every few years, chunks of China go nuts protesting about _World War II_, which ended a while ago but still fires people up. One day I went for a walk in downtown Glasgow and encountered a parade. Many groups of men in kilts, toting standards and playing pipes. Turns out it was an “orangist” parade: some of the standards directly called for the killing of all Catholics. It put me off my food (which is quite a hard thing to do), but also made me think that this must be how current north-African immigrants feel about “Moors and Christians” celebrations in Spain… People get all het up about things which happened hundreds of years ago; current stuff can cause sparks real easily. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/151 "2012-09-13T16:02:48Z")
The filmmaker is an absolute kook. The film quality is even ridiculous, many of the scenes look like cheap satire. But to believe that all of the outrage over this film is the true reason behind these protests and the attack on the American Embassy in Libya is naive. Those trailers have been on youtube for months. Was it coincidental that the attack on the Libyan emmbassy occurred on 9/11? Think not. This was a weakly coordinated attack on the US by _Al Quaeda_ using this propaganda youtube videos as bait for the rally cry. The religious barbwire is just a ruse to veil their terroristic tactics. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/152 "2012-09-13T16:08:49Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > But to believe that all of the outrage over this film is the true reason behind these protests and the attack on the American Embassy in Libya is naive. Those trailers have been on youtube for months. Was it coincidental that the attack on the Libyan emmbassy occurred on 9/11? Think not. This was a weakly coordinated attack on the US by _Al Quaeda_ using this propaganda youtube videos as bait for the rally cry. The religious barbwire is just a ruse to veil their terroristic tactics. That’s possible, but not a guaranteed. Nobody seems sure at this point if the terrorists set up the protests in Libya or just took advantage of them. But it’s obvious that someone found the video, dubbed it into Arabic, and spread the word about it to provoke a reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/153 "2012-09-13T17:05:30Z")
Perhaps the attackers were upset over [the embassy’s US of the weird US date format](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=664677). ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/154 "2012-09-13T18:10:33Z")
> [@XT](#): > > 😕 Woah…this is a wtf moment. Why the hell are protesters [storming our embassy in Cairo](http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/11/world/meast/egpyt-us-embassy-protests/index.html?hpt=hp_t1)? What movie are they talking about (obviously the folks at CNN have no idea)?? I mean, I can see why **the average Egyptian** would be no fan of the US, since we were a factor in propping up the previous regime, but why the hell are they storming our embassy now and tearing up the flag over some film that even they seem uncertain about (assuming CNN’s questions to the folks there were pertinent)? I see the problem. The “average Egyptian” probably didn’t storm the embassy. Some radicals did. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/155 "2012-09-13T21:04:56Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > No; but neither should we refuse to criticize people who deliberately try to provoke violence. Again, there is an infinite number of insults to Islam on the Internet. You can criticize the movie all you want but it’s no different than any other idea that Muslims may not like. Nobody was tied down and forced to watch the movie trailer. It wasn’t shown publicly in Egypt. It was brought to the attention of Egyptians and other Muslims via instigators. They could have downloaded virtually any other bit of blasphemous crap from the internet and gone on a panty-wadding frenzy. The people to criticize, in total, are those who object to it in a violent manner. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/156 "2012-09-13T21:14:35Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > And? He said there were hundreds. He was telling the truth about at least one. I have no reason to doubt him, considering the treatment Webster Cook got. uh huh. At best, such a person would have been escorted out of the church and excommunicated which to a non-believer would be meaningless. Interrupting a mass would be the height of assholery and would garner the same reaction as interrupting a Broadway play just to fuck with the audience. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/157 "2012-09-13T21:18:21Z")
Apparantly part of the reason for the riots was because a religious TV station in Egypt reported that the movie was being financed by the US government. Keep in mind that in Egypt and just about all other Middle Eastern countries nothing can be shown on TV without the permission of the government and it’s quite common for governments to sponsor films promoting hatred of “the other”. For example Egypt produced a mini-series about ten years atoning featuring some courageous archaeologists attempting to find and reveal to the world The Protocols of the Elders of Zion while some evil Jews tried to stop them from doing it. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/158 "2012-09-13T21:25:35Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Apparantly part of the reason for the riots was because a religious TV station in Egypt reported that the movie was being financed by the US government… Not doubting you but would you happen to have a cite for that? I ask because I’ve been trying to distinguish the incidents in Benghazi & possibly Yemen as well, from what is happening in Cairo. And what you’re reporting falls right in line with my train of thought. BTW, as bad as Libya could get, I think the potential downside of a fallout with Egypt is humongous. ETA: if that’s the case, the original Embassy tweet also makes perfect sense. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/159 "2012-09-13T21:26:50Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > uh huh. At best, such a person would have been escorted out of the church and excommunicated which to a non-believer would be meaningless. Interrupting a mass would be the height of assholery and would garner the same reaction as interrupting a Broadway play just to fuck with the audience. None of what you said has anything to do with the credibility of the blogger, or the idea that he could have received hundreds of death threats over his stunt. Also, you seem to be doubting the very notion that he \*could \*have sneaked a communion cracker out in the first place - that’s rather weird and indicative of cognitive dissonance in and of itself. Catholic Mass doesn’t involve the TSA - they don’t cavity search you on the way out or thoroughly prod your lip folds when you put the body of Christ in your mouth to make sure you really swallowed it all, you dirty little slut. Or do you simply disbelieve in sleight of hand altogether ? Finally, as an aside/bit of a gratuitous, gleeful jab : do people who \*do \*interrupt Broadway shows get death threats in the mail later ? Not that I don’t appreciate your implicitly equating the Catholic Mass with theatrical, profit-driven farce of course ! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420/160 "2012-09-13T21:48:25Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > For example Egypt produced a mini-series about ten years atoning featuring some courageous archaeologists attempting to find and reveal to the world The Protocols of the Elders of Zion while some evil Jews tried to stop them from doing it. What happened at the end? I’m on the edge of my seat here. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesters-storm-us-embasy-in-cairo/634420.md?page=9)