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Discovery Channel Drops Plans To Air 'Taxi To The Dark Side' Because It Is Too 'Controversial'

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Topic started on 18-2-2008 @ 01:30 PM by TrueAmerican

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Discovery Channel Drops Plans To Air 'Taxi To The Dark Side' Because It Is Too 'Controversial'

thinkprogress.org

Taxi to the Dark Side, a documentary about an innocent Afghan taxi driver tortured to death by U.S. officials at Bagram Air Base, has received wide critical acclaim since its debut in April at the Tribeca Film Festival. The New York Times’s A.O. Scott said, “If recent American history is ever going to be discussed with the necessary clarity and ethical rigor, this film will be essential.”

(visit the link for the full news article)

THE FULL MOVIE:
Taxi to the darkside

Related News Links:
www.taxitothedarkside.com
www.thenation.com

[edit on 18-2-2008 by TrueAmerican]

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reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 01:30 PM by TrueAmerican

Director Alex Gibney agreed to sell the rights of Taxi to the Discovery Channel because executives convinced him they would “give the film a prominent broadcast.” Now, however, Discovery has dropped its plans to air the documentary because the film is too controversial. Gibney responded to the news in a press release this week:

Now, I am told that ‘it doesn’t fit into Discovery’s plans,’ and that the film’s controversial content might damage Discovery’s public offering.

Anyone here seen this film? It sounds great and has received wide acclaim. Hehe, give it to Lou Dobbs, and we'll see what he says about it!

The senate recently voted to ban waterboarding, amid question of what the vote was really about:

Randy Scheunemann, McCain's top national security adviser, said McCain was concerned about the Senate legislation's requirement that the CIA abide by Army rules. "It's not a vote for torture," Scheunemann said. "This wasn't a vote on waterboarding. This was a vote on applying the standards of the field manual to CIA personnel."

The Army manual specifically bars waterboarding and seven other tactics: forcing a detainee to be naked, perform sexual acts or pose sexually; placing hoods or sacks over the head of a detainee; beatings, electric shock, burns or other forms of physical pain; threatening detainees with dogs; the use of temperature extremes to cause physical trauma; mock executions; and depriving detainees of necessary food, water or medical care.

It seems the powers that be are suppressing once again the real truth. Just because a film is too controversial should not stop the network from airing it. What are they afraid of? Public opinion? Or losing their FCC license?

thinkprogress.org
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 01:50 PM by DimensionalDetective

reply to post by TrueAmerican

They're probably afraid of both. We've been given fully sanitized versions of how we're 'spreading democracy' to the middle east...This type of stuff makes people aware of the other side of things. TPTB do not want the masses having any clue, it just furthers uproar and slows their agenda.

reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 02:01 PM by TrueAmerican

reply to post by DimensionalDetective

Yep. It's funny to read some of the comments over at think progress, calling the film leftist propaganda against Bush.

I think the American public at large remains disconnected in their own minds from the reality, the truth, of what is being done in our own detention camps. This is another film attempting to connect them. And Bushies just don't like that. Sorry. Face the truth, murdering scum.

[edit on 18-2-2008 by TrueAmerican]

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reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 02:02 PM by pluckynoonez

The film would embolden the the enemy and make Falafel Boy blow a gasket.

reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 02:05 PM by biggie smalls

reply to post by TrueAmerican

The truth is usually controversial. The discovery channel was probably intimidated by the military.

We have initiated Genocide in Afghanistan, well NATO has anyway, but none seemed to notice.

Another case of the wool being pulled over our eyes.

Bad form US government

reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 02:09 PM by deltaboy

reply to post by biggie smalls

If it was genocide in Afghanistan, I expect zero population growth in Afghanistan. You pretty much just blowing it out of proportion of the war.

reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 02:10 PM by TrueAmerican

More info on the film:

www.imdb.com...

In 2002 taxi driver Dilawar was picked up by US forces with his passengers in the desert and taken to Bagram prison in Afghanistan. Five days later he was dead. Injuries to his legs were compared with those he would have sustained if he had been run over by a truck – had he lived it was likely that his legs would have had to have been amputated due to the damage. With this as the starting point, this documentary tells the story of the role of "torture" in the war on terror, from Abu Ghraid to Guantanamo.

Having put Gibney's documentary on Enron as one of my ten favourite films of 2005, I eagerly took up the opportunity the UK (and much of Europe) had to catch this on television ahead of the full release in the US in 2008. Shown as part of the BBC's excellent "Why Democracy" series of films, this one opened with the caption question "can terrorism destroy democracy?". To the casual listener the question appears to be about the ability of terrorists to bring down what we see as Government (ie by crashing planes into it) but really the question in regards this film appears to be more about whether our idea of freedom and democracy can survive the way we fight terrorism. As a result this film is about the use of "torture" against terrorist suspects, specifically focusing on the United States...

...What the film does from then on in is paint a picture of lack of respect for humanity, lack of respect for international laws, lack of accountability and lack of transparency. The film plays a clip of Rumsfeld speaking on the (then) allegations of mistreatment and says that it will be looked into so that "the world will see how a free system, a democratic system, functions and operates"; well he was right – and it is not pretty viewing. As with Enron, Gibney does betray his politics and the film has very little in the way of even handedness about the debate. This is a little disappointing in regards the debate but the overwhelming nature of the presentation of arrogance and carelessness did make wonder how you would balance these issues – certainly the quotes I have heard down the years from politicians have not been able to convince. Certainly a clip of Bush talking about "suspected terrorists" who have died, or as he says "put it this way – they're no longer a problem to the United States"; the fact that he acknowledges they are "suspects" rather than convicts but yet sees their death as a good thing says it all.

Alex Gibney: 1,000,000 Cheney: - 1,000,000 ..... Iraqi, Afghan and American lives, that is.

reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 02:11 PM by IMAdamnALIEN

Excellent find my friend!

A bright blue star for you, and a mighty flag!

Any links to the video?

reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 02:14 PM by TrueAmerican

reply to post by IMAdamnALIEN

Thanks IMA.

I haven't found any yet, checking around now. But you can view the trailer at the website provided in OP. It looks goooooooooooooooooooood!

Here is the Wiki entry on the film:

en.wikipedia.org...

AboveTopSecret.com is advertising supported.

reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 02:22 PM by pavlovsdog

In a coincidence, I just watched this video on Google Video two days ago. I'm sure I can find it again. However, would I violate ToC to link to copyrighted 'illegally hosted' video?

Can a mod advise pls?

reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 02:23 PM by brill

Its available via bit torrent, I'm grabbing it now. I'm not posting any links as it may violate T & C but its out there.

brill

reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 02:27 PM by TrueAmerican

YouTube Link

interesting coverage of this film from Democracy now, interview with Alex Gibney!

lol he says: "The discovery channel appears not to be so interested in discovery!"

[edit on 18-2-2008 by TrueAmerican]

reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 02:34 PM by Pellevoisin

This is another indication that the USA has become a fascist state with only the veneer of republican democracy attached to it.

Does anyone doubt that the Discovery Channel folks were threatened by the Bush/Cheney goons? What does it take for the Imperial US American Presidency to have its way I wonder... do they threaten the lives of the families of those who oppose them? Do the guys at the Discovery Channel know that the Bush/Cheney and military-industrial complex goons will kill them if they don't do as they are told?

The USA tortures innocent taxi drivers in Afghanistan, but lets the poppy fields bloom so they can rake in the profits from the dope trade. It has all the markings of the Bush-Clinton Crime Syndicate.

reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 02:37 PM by TrueAmerican

BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

video google, sort by duration and vualla!

here you go! I'm watching it now, I think it's it, not sure, but looks like it!!! Enjoy!

Taxi to the darkside

[edit on 18-2-2008 by TrueAmerican]

reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 02:41 PM by pavlovsdog

My comment on the film would be that I believe it to be a very well done presentation of facts regarding how the USA treats prisoners of war in custody. It has interviews with ex soldiers who were present an in charge of interrogation of suspects. These interviewees have been convicted and sentenced for their crimes.

It is a telling and very sad piece of film. It is also very disturbing and graphic. I would question the Discovery channel airing it die to it's content, especially during 'prime time'. It's seems to me IF discovery was pressured to pull the film, a much easier excuse for them to use would be that it's content, while important, is not suitable for a family television channel. The 'censors' would have a field day with this airing. So why did Discovery Channel decided to lean on the crutch of it being 'too controversial'

[edit on 18-2-2008 by pavlovsdog]

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reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 02:49 PM by Pellevoisin

reply to post by pavlovsdog

That the Discovery Channel has apparently decided to sit on the film and not allow it to be sold to anyone else truly underlines the fact that they must have been told by the Bush/Cheney war criminals to kill this film and stop it from being seen. Why else would a corporation not try to make money off of something it bought? It makes no sense unless they have become a puppet to the Bush/Cheney military-industrial puppet masters.

If U.S. Americans knew half of what the rest of the world knows about their government's torture and execution history, I would like to think the citizens of the USA would rise up and throw their entire government, intelligence agencies, and military leaders in prison for life.

If US Americans really knew what their nation was doing abroad, would they reject these attrocities or would they emblazon the name of Jack Bauer on their forehead and Sieg Heil to the US Federal Empire and its abuses???

reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 03:15 PM by TrueAmerican

Still watching, but I can already see that this is an important video, and would urge the staff to seek the possibility of putting this up on ATS Premium Video. For sure.

reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 04:16 PM by TrueAmerican

Wow, what a ride. The kind that terrifies both the Discovery channel and the government, no doubt.

It's interesting that no mention of private military contractors was made, and the issue of putting relatively untrained such people in positions to do interrogations.

But one of the most intriguing issues for me was the statistics that were quoted that 93% of detainees were being obtained through Afghan military that were receiving payoffs in cash to do so.

I mean the potential for abuse of that system is so obvious up front that I've got to scratch my head and wonder (again) WTF.

And then the way they tie the supposed evidence that they obtained under torture to the statement by Powell. That was powerful and disturbing.

Ok, phew. Let me come back out of that nightmare a minute to a more subdued and global perspective.

Does this not speak volumes supporting what so many have said about the notorious motives of this administration? I mean look at this. They are so determined that they will resort to tactics like this to build a case of why we are supposedly there? Why do they continue to seek ways around what is known that torture experts keep saying? (that the best evidence from detainees is obtained through gaining their confidence over the long term).

So they get impatient with the FBI's tactics that are taking too long, and get the CIA involved? And so right there, please review what I posted in the OP about what the senate vote was really about: imposing military rules on the CIA. It's all starting to make ridiculous, infuriating, and common....sense now.

reply posted on 18-2-2008 @ 04:34 PM by they see ALL

This wouldn't be the first time that the Discovery Channel dropped a show because it was controversial. If what the article being discussed in this thread is true, then 'Taxi to the Dark Side' would be the second show to be dropped by the Discovery Channel that I heard about in two days (although, I am sure that there were many more shows in the Discovery Channel's and other channel's history's to be dropped because of similar issues).

Here is an excerpt from the article:

...

In 1993 the Discovery Channel contracted a British documentary team to investigate the story, Yorkshire Television spent 10 months in Nebraska interviewing witnesses and reviewing taped testimonies. The documentary, Conspiracy of Silence, was slated for air in 1994 and was listed in the TV Guide, but it was never shown. It is said that influential and connected people put pressure on the cable industry, fully reimbursing the production company and the Discovery Channel and that all copies were destroyed. Luckily, an unfinished version later turned up on John DeCamp´s doorstep.

...