Robert Parry: Orange Jumpsuits/Double Standards

[marmar]

from Consortium News:



Orange Jumpsuits/Double Standards
August 25, 2011

Exclusive: The U.S. news media regularly rallies the American public to outrage when a U.S. adversary or some unpopular group is linked to a heinous crime. But a different standard applies to U.S. allies even when there is strong evidence of a similar offense, observes Robert Parry.

By Robert Parry


In Great Britain, convicted looters are being dressed in orange jumpsuits and made to clean up areas damaged by recent riots. The law-and-order crowd on both sides of the Atlantic cheers this “riot payback scheme,” even when applied to offenders who only grabbed some bottled water or received a stolen pair of running shorts from a friend.

After all, the phrase “zero tolerance” was made for moments when the poor and the powerless break the rules.

By contrast, these same British authorities will take no action against officials from the former government of Prime Minister Tony Blair, who joined with President George W. Bush’s team in making a bloody mess out of Iraq in clear violation of international law.

Indeed, if the architects of the Iraq War were put in orange jumpsuits and forced to fix the devastation of Iraq, one might see more justice in humiliating the British looters. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://consortiumnews.com/2011/08/25/orange-jumpsuitsdouble-standards/

[Demeter]

1. Right on!

[Hydra]

2. Laws are for the little people

Funny how that's going to turn out when people realize it.

[saras]

3. Yep - if a banker steals from 10,000 it should be 10,000 felonies

But when the poor are involved it's sure easy to get DUers screaming "string 'em up!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVpktlj1KA0