FC: Nigerian newspaper's excuse for mob riots: "The computer did it!"

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

More coverage:
http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/africa/11/22/nigeria.missworld/index.html

---

Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2002 12:51:08 -0800 (PST)
From: herror <blackmarkets () yahoo com>
Subject: not so smart mobs
To: doctorow () craphound com, declan () well com

Cory, Declan,

     The Miss World Riots- "smart" mob inspired?
     Stupid, murderous mobs can use tech too.
     From http://allafrica.com/stories/200211220347.html

> Ironically, the blasphemous story published against the prophet has
> tended to unite the nation's muslims who have not only been unanimous
> in their condemnation of the story, but have also been sending
> solidarity text messages on their GSM phones to alert one another on
> the blasphemy since last Sunday.
>
> AbdulHameed Daramola, a Lagos Muslim told Weekly Trust that he alone
> alerted over seventy Muslims across the country about the blasphemy
> through text messages on his GSM since last Sunday when he became aware
> of the issue.

     Also check out the groveling apoplogy from the Newspaper that
"blasphemed".  They're using "the computer did it" defense in their
desperation.  http://www.thisdayonline.com/news/20021122rec01.html

> The supervising editor made an attempt to remove the offensive portion
> during the editing process. But we must say that this time, technology
> failed us, and gravely too
>
> ...We have learnt that we cannot always rely on technology, and that we
> have to do more to improve our processes so we can continue to pursue
> the path of truth and reason. Ours is a public trust. We do not, and
> will not take our responsibility for granted.
>
> May the Almighty Allah, the God of infinite wisdom, continue to guide
> us aright. Ma-Assalam, and Ramadan Kareem.

                          best,
                          tom brennan phila pa
                          http://agendabender.blogspot.com/



=====
"Blackmarkets for a Blue Century"




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