I have posted a follow up link below. An apology for the MORON was given but now another apology from Memphis is required as 2 of the Iraqis were robbed later by some lowlife.Well at least the robbery probably made them feel at home.
They should have just gone to Graceland and NOWHERE else.
The people of Memphis should be ashamed to have IDIOTS like this represent them in ANY CAPACITY.

http://tinyurl.com/4mk4m

Well go here if you want to see the official reaction so far.

Basically, here's the relevant portion from a Q&A; with Boucher of the State Department.

QUESTION: There's a group of Iraqis visiting, being hosted by the State Department, some city council members, and some civic community leaders traveling the country. Apparently, they ran into some trouble in Memphis. The Government was not very hospitable there and wouldn't even allow them --

MR. BOUCHER: I saw the story. Frankly, I forgot to check on it. I'll check for you. But I think, if I read through the end of the story, it kind of worked out in the end. They were able to meet with city counselors there anyway, so.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. BOUCHER: I'll check and see if there's any residue --

QUESTION: Thanks.

MR. BOUCHER: -- left over at this point.

Yeah, they're on it with typical speed and firmness.

Ah yes. . . . petty tyranny by a petty official - an honorable tradition in local elected government. Don't be too hard on local officials, though. As one who works with a number of local governments and, in fact, serves as a member of my town's council, I can assure you that in my experience most people who serve in local government are people of goodwill who try to do the right thing. It's just a shame that there are morons out there to grab all of the headlines.

The city official must have just left off reading this Web page before the Iraqis came:
http://www.angelfire.com/moon/yoelnatan/koranwarpassages.htm

Wow. What an ignorant ass. So, does this top the town council that unanimously banned gay people a while back?

Oh, and Mark, I sincerely hope that wasn't a comment intended to justify what the local official did. If it was, I could rattle off a few lines from the Old Testament for you just the same. The only joy I derive from reading the supposed ramblings of a "jealous" Christian God or the 164 "Jihad" Verses you link to is in knowing that mankind has (by and in large) long abandoned such irrationality. A contradiction in terms but worth saying, none the less: God Bless The Forces of Modernity.

The people of Memphis should be ashamed to have IDIOTS like this represent them in ANY CAPACITY.

Yes, I am.

The question is: Would this nutjob have acted this way before 9/11?

One of the things that I personally think Al-Q wants is the destruction of our way of life, particluarly in our ideals of liberty and justice for all. The years since 9/11 have certianly smeared those words that we have all pledged....

Now for the constructive question: How do we return to an Ideal of Liberty and Justice for all, while maintaining a reasonable defense for our homeland?

Notice how the news report leaves off the party Councilman Brown belongs to.

I take that to mean he's a Democrat.

Tosk --

There would be less of an issue over 9/11 if we could be confident that the Muslim community in the USA truly condemned the acts of the militants. To date, I have yet to hear our Muslim community unequivocally state that the militants are wrong. Don't get me wrong, though, none of this makes the Memphis officials behavior any less inappropriate.

Ben,

I've heard several representitives of the Muslim communitity decry the 9/11 attacks, the violence currently in Afganistan and Iraq, etc.

In fact, I just recently heard several muslim clerics here in the states explain why the beheadings were not in line with muslim teachings and condemed them.

After much searching on the mysterious Mr. Bropwn, I found the following via Google:

http://www.cityofmemphis.org/navigateCC.asp?sec=citycouncil&opt;=bio_jbrown

As for his party (which isn't mentioned directly anywhere) I found this: http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/clark/clarktn011304.html

which shows that he endorsed Wes Clark.

So yep, he's a democrat alright... and a Black Democrat to boot. How is racisim not obvious to people who have historicaly had to deal with racism?

"So yep, he's a democrat alright... and a Black Democrat to boot. How is racisim not obvious to people who have historicaly had to deal with racism?" -- Tosk

I am impressed with this research.That is why i love the internet; I can remain lazy and STILL learn new things.Great work
I think that it matters not at all whether you have had to deal with racism or not.It is who YOU are that determines your attitudes and values.This clown would not even think he is being racist as in his mind he can do no wrong and is ALWAYS the aggrieved party.On the other hand,I do not see this as racism.It more closely resembles SHEER STUPIDITY which is an equal opportunity character trait.What always amazes me is how these idiots can be so clearly idiotic and manage to ooze their way through life without EVERYONE noticing.

Tosk --

I have heard some Muslims say the same things. My confidence on how widespread their views are, however, is lacking because of items like this:

http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD75704

For every Western Arab that I have heard denouncing Islamofascism, I have heard at least two making excuses for it.

Ben,

Well then, I suppose it depends on which Muslims you decide to listen to.

Tosk

Doesn't that kind of prove his point? Shouldn't the vast majority of American Muslims and Arabs be condemning the actions of the terrorists? The terrorists who attacked their country, killed their citizens and continue to threaten them and their familes' lives?

Nuclear bombs are equal opportunity vaporizers, after all.

I guess the problem I'm having with the Muslim community, Tosk, is that if a white supremecist group in my community killed 3,000 black people, I would be stand up and say loudly and repeatedly that I was opposed to what they did. I would NOT say, "Of course killing people is wrong," and then spend the next 10 minutes talking about how legitimate the grievances are, how it is all Israel's fault, etc. The Muslim community is not doing a whole lot to give me the warm fuzzies that they really think the attack on the WTC was wrong.

No one who puts up with the suffocating summer humidity of Memphis should be shut out of an air-conditioned building. The King must be cryin'.

As someone who grew up in Memphis, I winced when I saw that story. Joe Brown is a dipshit of the first water, and I'm sorry that he was allowed to make any sort of decision about interacting with anyone visiting.

In his defense, he does claim that he didn't say what he was reprted as saying. He claims that he merely asked if the FBI knew about the group's plans. Given that Ms. Silverman was so disorganized that the Iraqis had to hire their own taxis in from the airport, it seems a pertinent (if impolite) question.

The delegation did get to meet on their first day with Councilwoman Carol Chumney, who has more brains in her little finger than Joe Brown has in his whole damn body, and they were given apologies from the city mayor, the county executive, and the entire city council (including Mr. Brown).

Then again, two of them got mugged downtown. Sigh.

"if a white supremecist group in my community killed 3,000 black people, I would be stand up and say loudly and repeatedly that I was opposed to what they did."

So, when McVeigh did his atrocity, did you stand up and say loudly and repeatedly that you were opposed to what he did?

I didn't bother, I assumed people would assume I disapproved.

I can sort of imagine it, though. You get this guy who starts posting etc, saying loudly and repeatedly. "I'm white McVeigh is white, but I say he was wrong to do it!" "I'm a veteran, McVeigh is a veteran, we don't all support him." "I'm in a militia, McVeigh was in a militia, he was wrong to use his training against the US government when the government hasn't been subverted yet."

Somebody who talked like that would probably get investigated pretty thoroughly....