Don't flame me
If you are one of those freaks who spends all your time reading other people's web-sites, you have most certainly seen this... you can skip. If you are one of those freaks who spends all your time cutting out coupons, you are my mom, and I'm sure you have never seen this.
It's a web site from a person in Iraq. I make no claims as to the validity of this, and I am not saying it is fake. I hope it really is someone in Iraq (for the reader's sake) and I hope it is a hoax (for the writer's sake). I wonder however why it is so hard for journalists to get news out of Iraq and people in Iraq, yet this guy is somehow allowed to write every day on a web site open to the world. From what I have heard (and i make no claim to the validity of the news I hear from western journalists) for him to do so is suicide. This link has been making it's way around the world, but I have yet to see anyone question it. I know a lot of people are very gung-ho about the power of personal web-sites in regards to making the world better, and reforming the government. I hope it happens, but I think if no one questions the authenticity, "blogs" are not any more valuable than FOX.
I mention all this especially because my mom recently congratulated me on having so many people, after seeing my painting, felt the urge to line up to get my autograph. Don't believe everything you see... but give it the benefit of the doubt or you'll become like me.
True or not, it's some of the most interesting reading I have seen in a long time, and the author seems to know a lot about Iraq.
Again... I am not calling it a hoax, but I haven't been able to find any proof that it is real.
I have no evidence to make me doubt it... I'd just feel more comfortable if I knew that some other people have validated it.
This site is not the only site I doubt. I doubt every site I see. It's just that most sites I see don't really matter if it is true or not.
Comments
http://paulboutin.weblogger.com/2003/03/20
Not proof, but at least he doesn't have an AOL ip address or something.
-Ian
Posted by: Ian | March 21, 2003 10:50 AM
I'll accept that. And doubt it a little less. But I still can not trust it anymore than FOX. And I still recomend reading it. And as far as the "power of blogging", I could have searched for that link you sent me on Google, but even though I was too lazy I found it anyway, because of you. I guess that'S something good.
Posted by: Kevin | March 21, 2003 11:38 AM
But I wonder how many people who have posted a link to tht guy's site, and like me have been to lazy to chekc out the authenticity for theirselves, have even wondered about it...
Posted by: Kevin | March 21, 2003 11:40 AM
Heh, the power of blogging indeed ;). I remember Stuart talking about this fake blogger at the first meetup:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6666/Diary/diary.html
It was actually written by some guy. And I guess it's not fair to call it a "blog" as it predates the whole blog-explosion thing.
Posted by: Ian | March 21, 2003 12:56 PM
I don't think people who cut coupons are freaks--they are just thrifty. I will take that you mean "freak" as a loving term of endearment. Right?
Posted by: MOM | March 22, 2003 05:40 PM
I don't think people who cut coupons are freaks--they are just thrifty. I will take that you mean "freak" as a loving term of endearment. Right?
Posted by: MOM | March 22, 2003 05:41 PM
I too see a lot of value even if it is fake. That is why I even bothered to post it. But I think it really does matter that the reader know if it is fiction or not. For the same reason that I don't mind a network showing a fictional movie right before the news, but the important thing is that no matter how valuable the movie is as a fictional comment on society, I still know it is fiction. We put a little more trust in the facts presented by the news however. We all know it is embelished for drama just as much (or more?) than the movie of the week, but at least we (used to) have some sense that the news people are at least a little bit liable for what they say.
If this blog was openly fake, I would recomend reading it just as much as if it was real, for it's literary value. ( but I would not have placed that ugly disclaimer along with the link).
Posted by: kevin | March 24, 2003 10:11 PM