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Topic: Burning Libraries (Read 319 times) |
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rhinoceros
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My point is ...
  
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Burning Libraries
« on: 2003-04-15 08:06:53 » |
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http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=397350
Library books, letters and priceless documents are set ablaze in final chapter of the sacking of Baghdad
By Robert Fisk
The Independent, 15 April 2003
<snip>
But for Iraq, this is Year Zero; with the destruction of the antiquities in the Museum of Archaeology on Saturday and the burning of the National Archives and then the Koranic library, the cultural identity of Iraq is being erased. Why? Who set these fires? For what insane purpose is this heritage being destroyed?
When I caught sight of the Koranic library burning flames 100 feet high were bursting from the windows I raced to the offices of the occupying power, the US Marines' Civil Affairs Bureau. An officer shouted to a colleague that "this guy says some biblical [sic] library is on fire". I gave the map location, the precise name in Arabic and English. I said the smoke could be seen from three miles away and it would take only five minutes to drive there. Half an hour later, there wasn't an American at the scene and the flames were shooting 200 feet into the air.
There was a time when the Arabs said that their books were written in Cairo, printed in Beirut and read in Baghdad. Now they burn libraries in Baghdad.
<snip>
For almost a thousand years, Baghdad was the cultural capital of the Arab world, the most literate population in the Middle East. Genghis Khan's grandson burnt the city in the 13th century and, so it was said, the Tigris river ran black with the ink of books. Yesterday, the black ashes of thousands of ancient documents filled the skies of Iraq.
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Full article posted on the BBS here:
http://virus.lucifer.com/bbs/index.php?board=7;action=display;threadid=28252;start=0
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David Lucifer
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Enlighten me.
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Re:Burning Libraries
« Reply #1 on: 2003-04-17 13:14:57 » |
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The end of civilization
The sacking of Iraq's museums is like a "lobotomy" of an entire culture, say art experts. And they warned the Pentagon repeatedly of this potential catastrophe months before the war.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2003/04/17/antiquities/index.html
I'm willing to bet that the US military was not willing to sacrifice one human (American) life to save the archives. Is that a rational choice?
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ElvenSage
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Think for yourself, question authority.
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Re:Burning Libraries
« Reply #2 on: 2003-04-18 10:19:51 » |
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I don't think so. Hell, if I could have I would have defended the archives to my best ability. 
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Safe from the pain and truth and choice and other poison devils
See.. they don't give a fuck about you, like i do.
Just stay with me, safe and ignorant,
Go back to sleep
Go Back to sleep
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