Informative interactive map of protests against a movie which no one seems to have seen except for a few minute You Tube clip. This strikes me as something different from yelling "Fire" in a crowded theater.
I notice Bahrain is conspicuously absent, although I read a Twitter message a while ago by Maryam Alkhawaja of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights that protests there were being staged by supporters of the regime. The timing and ubiquity of these demonstrations does not pass the "spontaneity " smell test. Sometrhing is not right about this picture.
Oh, after the first 24 hours such demonstrations are never "spontaneous." A whole host of people see the opportunity to kill, loot and settle scores. Mob energy in the third world has its own predictable dynamics. Religious frenzy is the best cover for criminals of every stripe.
Posted by: Ruchira | September 14, 2012 at 06:56 PM
Your inquiry about Josh sent me looking to the place where he is based. Here is the most interesting post.
http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/2012/9/14/mena-video-special-the-biggest-and-most-important-protests-a.html
A dozen videos of protests in Syria, all looking the same, all with video and audio features that match. I don't know Arabic to know if they are protesting the movie, Assad or the US generally. The timing and organizational uniformity is telling. I'd like to know which group or individual has command and control. And what the real agenda is.
Posted by: John Ballard | September 14, 2012 at 07:26 PM
Multiple groups, multiple agendas, just looking for the perfect opportunity to do mischief. When the world media switches to the next shiny thing, all these miscreants will melt away into the woodwork. There may be some serious festering problems that continue to fester, but those likely pre-existed the 'movie mayhem' and will continue to exist after.
Posted by: Sujatha | September 15, 2012 at 04:50 AM