There have been some new developments regarding Eric Harroun, the 30-year old Army veteran who is fighting in Syria alongside rebel fighters.
Last week I wrote about Harroun, who was reported by the Daily Mail to have joined the al Qaeda-linked group Jabhat al-Nusra. The group was designated by the United States government as a terrorist organization in December 2012.
Harroun has been using Facebook to keep people up to date on his life and to boast about his fighting in Syria.
On Friday, AOL Defense ran a story reporting that a Pro-Assad Group was claiming Harroun was killed.
"A graphic video depicting someone who resembles Eric Harroun, a convert to Sunni Islam who boasted of his Syrian exploits on his Facebook page, was posted on YouTube earlier today with the headline: "Terrorists, including American Extremist 'Eric Harroun', Have Been Terminated." [We are not linking to the video because it is so graphic.] The video bears the imprimatur of Syria Tube, a pro-government site."
Later in the day, AOL Defense writer Colin Clark received a Facebook message from someone claiming to be Harroun, denying he was dead and that he had joined the FSA, not al-Nusra.
The message read:
"Lol I was reported Dead! Show me the link. I never joined Al Nusra !!! I am FSA get it right."
The NY Daily News also covered the story and included screen shots from the graphic video posted to YouTube that purported to show Harroun’s death.
This story has had some twists and turns and I’m guessing we’re only seeing the start of it.
Read more at AOL Defense.
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This news probably isn’t as groundbreaking as the discovery of “The God Particle”, but Milblogging.com is finally on Facebook.
You’re probably asking yourself, “How did Milblogging go so long without a Facebook page?”
I know I know, it’s taken a little bit of time (less than 10 years, at least). Milblogging.com officially launched in 2005, about a year after Facebook launched. I've worked hard over the years to build up the Twitter feed and will start working on the Facebook side-of-the-house.
Thanks to everyone who fans us at http://facebook.com/milbloggingdotcom
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(Daily Mail)
The “Indie” Journalists At the Center of the Bradley Manning Trial. One reporter had the scoop on the day after the 2012 election, when the lawyer for Bradley Manning, the young Army private accused of leaking more than 500,000 classified documents to WikiLeaks, stood up in the courtroom and announced that Manning would be taking responsibility for providing some of the documents...
(PBS)
War heros should share their stories. I have often thought that some of the best stories are the ones that are never told. There are likely many such tales in each one of our family histories, and knowing this makes me wish I could interview the so-called average Joe and spend each day writing someone’s life story...
(Farm and Dairy)
Iraq war 10 years on: a young artist's story - video. The film is about a young Iraqi who, during the Iraq war in 2003, lost his arm in an explosion. He wanted to study photography at college, but was not accepted because he could not carry or use a camera; he then tried the art department, and was admitted...
(Guardian)
Underground Dog Fighting in Afghanistan. We went to Kabul in search of illicit gambling rings where men bet on quail fights, buzkashi (like polo, but with a headless goat), and dog fights...
(YouTube)
Briefing Books: A Civil War soldier's story, a novel of Steelers' female fandom, lush Greek life and more. The Civil War will never exhaust itself as a subject of scholarly investigation. The best stories are usually journal entries and letters written by ordinary men trying to make sense of their circumstances. New Kensington-based writer and historian Pete Schilling focuses on the experiences of Pvt. William Henry Randall, one of 10 cousins who served in Company K, 161st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment...
(Pittsburg Post-Gazette)
War veteran, 'Dancing With the Stars' winner shares 'story of survival'. J.R. Martinez spoke at Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital Saturday in Jacksonville...
(jacksonville.com)
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****************************
Military.com has enjoyed bringing together military bloggers and military spouse bloggers for seven years with our MilBlog conference. The networking and camaraderie that took place as milblogging evolved from a small group of voices giving first person accounts of the war and the effects on the family, to a front and center resource and recognized media medium, was superb.
As we entered planning for this year’s con ference we realized that much has changed in the military environment, in the new media environment and in the economy. As such, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the MilBlog conference. We know that many of you will be disappointed and we understand that this was an event you looked forward to and planned for, but we also know that this is the right thing to do today.
The good news is we still plan to hold the MilBloggie Awards, although they will be held totally online as they were in the beginning. We’ve spoken with JP Borda and nominations will begin Monday, April 22, 2013 and final winners will be announced Wednesday, May 8, 2013. Winners will still receive an engraved award and will be featured on Military.com. We look forward to honoring those who are continuing to speak for the military community through their prolific blogs.
Thank you for many wonderful years of gathering together. We will continue to look for creative ways to service the military media community by being part of other new media events. Thank you for all that each and every one of you do to document, detail, and celebrate the military. Your writing has changed the way in which people view those who serve and their families. You’ve commanded an audience with a president and national security advisors and warranted the presence of the military’s highest levels of leadership at the conference. You’ve put faces on the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coastguardsmen; and you’ve allowed America to see the challenges and benefits of military life.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to Sarah Blansett on our staff at sarah.blansett@monster.com.
Sincerely,
T. McCreary
President, Military.com
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(TechPresident)
Syrian Cyber-Rebel Wages War, One Hack At A Time. The Internet is a battleground in Syria, a place where President Bashar Assad's regime has mounted a sophisticated surveillance campaign that includes monitoring and arresting activists by tracking their Facebook pages. The Syrian Electronic Army, an arm of the Syrian military, is in charge of the monitoring...
(NPR)
Daily Life in Syria’s Civil War. Lynsey Addario entered Syria this year on assignment for The New York Times to show a broader, more human aspect of the conflict there. Her work took her to Aleppo Province, home to Syria’s largest city and site of some of the fiercest fighting. In a phone conversation with James Estrin from London, Ms. Addario, 39, discussed her recent work. Their conversation has been edited...
(NY Times)
DOD Reaches 1 Million Users On Cloud Email. The Department of Defense now has one million users on a consolidated private cloud email platform, making it one of -- if not the -- largest of all independent email systems worldwide...
(InformationWeek)
‘Sisterhood of War:’ Nurses who served in Vietnam will tell their story. March is Women's History Month, and the Ramsey County Branch Library in Roseville is celebrating it with programs about some of the more interesting aspects of being an American female. The one that caught my editor's attention was historian Kim Heikkila's talk on her book "Sisterhood of War: Minnesota Women in Vietnam." She knew immediately that I would have a particular interest in the topic since I worked for Special Services in Vietnam during the war. It provided recreation programs for U.S. servicemen...
(LillieNews.com)
Vietnam Veteran Translates War Background Into Positive Outcome in THE VIOLENT SEASON. The fiftieth anniversary of the infamous "Gulf of Tonkin Incident," which propelled the United States into the Vietnam War, a conflict which continues to haunt us today, is quickly approaching. Following the war, the U.S. suffered social turmoil, a weakened faith in the government, resentment towards the military and the shunning of veterans...
(BWW)
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Image of North Korean bulletin board via WashPo
Believe it or not, North Korea actually has its own social network-like website...sorta.
The announcement comes way of The Washington Post via Jean Lee, the Korea bureau chief for The Associated Press who presented on a South by Southwest panel over the weekend.
WashPo's Caitlin Dewey writes, "Lee shared this screenshot from the unnamed social network, which is more of an intranet bulletin board and is used largely to post birthday messages, especially among university students and professors."
You can see a screenshot above.
Looks promising, right?
The bad news is 99.9 percent of North Korea’s citizens don’t have access to the internet.
There isn’t a lot more detail about the message board, but you can read the full story here.
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Image via Mail Online / Source: Facebook
Last month I posted a link to a YouTube video showing an American sitting in a Jeep next to a rebel fighter. They were celebrating after having shot down a Syrian government military helicopter, which you can see in the video.
Not much was known at the time about the American with a beard.
Well, much more information has been discovered and is now making the rounds.
According to Mail Online, the American's name is Eric Harroun, 30, of Phoenix, and he has joined the al Qaeda-linked group Jabhat al-Nusra.
The group was designated by the United States government as a terrorist organization in December 2012. Al Jazeera English reported back in early December: “Officials in Washington said on Tuesday that the group had claimed responsibility for carrying out nearly 600 attacks in major cities that have killed numerous innocent Syrians during the 20-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.”
Hayley Peterson writes for Mail Online, “His story will undoubtedly infuriate the hundreds of thousands of service men and women who have risked their lives on the battlefields fighting al Qaeda, only to learn that he never actually served overseas for the United States, and has picked up disability pay for years before going over to fight for the terrorist-backed organization.”
Harroun has even been boasting on Facebook about his involvement with the al-Qaeda linked group.
“Eric Harroun revels in his 'hero' status and brags on Facebook and in YouTube videos of his bloody exploits in the Middle East. His Facebook page is littered with photos of himself brandishing handguns, rifles, mortars and other weaponry.”
Mail Online has a bunch of pictures and info on Harroun.
Full story here.
UPDATE: Harroun was reported killed in Syria after a graphic video was posted online that purported to show his death. Someone claiming to be Harroun then wrote AOL Defense saying he was not dead and that he had joined FSA, not al-Nusra. More here.
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(NY Times)
I Spoke to the Photographer Who Got Blown Up in Afghanistan. Giles Duley has been getting a lot of attention recently as the photographer who lost both his legs and an arm after stepping on a landmine in Kabul while documenting American troops in Afghanistan. Giles has been reluctant to speak about himself and his accident, but it's the work that he's been compiling for the past ten years that I really wanted to talk to him about...
(VICE)
Oops! Video-game image of Syria used in TV news segment. A Danish television channel has admitted it mistakenly used an image from a computer game to illustrate a news report about Syria. TV2 Head of News Jacob Nybroe said Sunday the picture that was used as a backdrop behind news anchor Cecilie Beck on Feb. 26 came from Ubisoft's adventure game "Assassin's Creed."
(NBC News)
Syria: the story behind one of the most shocking images of the war. Why did the bodies of 110 men suddenly wash up in the river running through Aleppo city six weeks ago? A Guardian investigation found out...
(The Guardian)
UN disputes Gaza strike on BBC man's house. The son of a BBC journalist and two relatives killed in last November's war in Gaza may have been hit by a misfired Palestinian rocket, a UN agency says...
(BBC)
China's new leadership faces censorship challenge. China's new leaders will face unprecedented challenges to controlling the media, even as journalists' efforts to test the system continue to carry great risk, according to a new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists...
(CPJ)
Al Jazeera in Site Hunt. Al Jazeera has taken a look at the former New York Times building as part of its hunt for a New York headquarters for the U.S. cable channel it plans to launch in July, according to multiple people familiar with the matter...
(WSJ)
A piece of WWII history returns into the hands of a Moorhead family. A Moorhead man and his grandson have quite the war story to tell. And even though it is from World War Two, a new chapter has been written in the life of Private Gordon Strom...
(WDAY)
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Once again, a story published by The Duffel blog has gone viral with a rumor that Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan was recently promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and also received a Legion of Merit.
Many people unaware of The Duffel Blog’s Onion-like satire fell for the story.
Even funnier: I’ve seen some bad Photoshop jobs, but the picture of Hasan at the top of the story (via The Duffel Blog) is one of the most terrible Photochops, which makes the whole thing even funnier.
Not to mention the author’s name: Dick Scuttlebutt (a reference to rumor or gossip).
The Duffel Blog is enjoying a lot of love from fans and the media alike.
The site’s Facebook likes have topped 40,000.
Last month, a Photoshopped image of the Distinguished Warfare Medal posted to The Duffel Blog Facebook page went viral, adding to the controversy over the nicknamed “Drone Warfare Medal”.
February was the same month that The Duffel Blog tricked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Yesterday, The Blaze covered the military satire website and commented on the Hasan rumor saying, “Even if you don’t find the joke funny, it’s difficult to argue with the basic fact that it is a joke, and there is no “story” to substantiate the rumor. Major Nidal Hassan remains a Major, and his only potential promotion is to the post of “ex-Major.”
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CPJ considers a killing “motive/confirmed” only if they are reasonably certain that: a journalist was murdered in direct reprisal for his or her work; was killed in crossfire during combat situations; or was killed while carrying out a dangerous assignment such as coverage of a street protest.
On February 21, 2013, French freelance photojournalist Olivier Voisin, was wounded by shrapnel in Syria. He died three days later in a Turkish hospital.
Radio show host Malfado Bezerra Goes was killed in late February by two gunmen on a motorcycle who shot Goes as he walked to work.
According to CPJ, Goes had often denounced local criminal groups and drug traffickers on his program and had received death threats in the past.
As it stands, the world’s deadliest country this year for a journalist so far is Pakistan, with 3 killings. Syria is the next deadliest country with 2 killings.
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UN Reports the Truth: Hamas Killed BBC Reporter's Baby in Gaza. The United Nations has issued a report with unusual courage and accuracy that plainly tells the tale of Israel’s Pillar of Defense counter terror operation – and exposes the lies of Hamas, told to a grieving father and his BBC bureau chief. In what has become typical of international media, The Washington Post and a BBC bureau chief last November accused and convicted the Israel Defense Forces in a heartrending, angry piece without verifying their information after a fellow editor in Gaza lost his baby son in rocket fire that struck his home...
(Israel National News)
(The New York Times)
Losing Control? Social Media and Military Influence. Social media are altering the way in which information is shared worldwide in new and unpredictable ways. The uses of social media as tools of military influence, however, are still to be explored. Nigel Jones and Paul Baines analyse the significance of this change for the nature of strategic communication in the twenty-first century...
(RUSI)
For Social Media Viewing, Twitter Is Live TV; Facebook Is DVR. When you follow someone on Twitter, you see everything they post. When you follow someone on Facebook, it decides what you see. Which is right? I’d say both, and it comes down to the live TV versus DVR personalities of each service...
(Marketing Land)
World War II code talker shares story at N.M. Veterans Memorial. Bill Toledo welcomes every chance he gets to do the one thing he wasn’t allowed to do for so long: Talk about what he did during World War II. Talking is the very thing that made him and a small group of others heroes. He is one of the few living Navajo code talkers. “We saved a lot of lives using our language during the war,” Toledo said...
(KOAT)
Host Of TV Gun Show ‘A Rifleman’s Journal’ Shot And Killed. The host of The Sportsman Channel’s “A Rifleman’s Journal” was shot and killed in Montana on Friday. The gunman, seemingly a jealous husband, then turned the weapon on himself. It is not yet clear if the weapon used in the crime was obtained legally...
(ThinkProgress)
Army nurse recalls captivity in World War II. On New Year’s Day 1942, the young American civilian nurse wandered through a dark, empty hospital, hours before Japanese forces invaded Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. No military members were left to raise the American flag or play “The Star-Spangled Banner.” At sunrise, she walked alone on the road to her family’s home and an uncertain future as the sound of advancing enemy troops thundered in the distance...
(ArmyTimes.com)
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The British Army is one step closer to reaching 1 million likes on Facebook.
The Facebook page passed 924,000 likes on Facebook on Friday and is on track to reach 925,000 likes by today or tomorrow.
The British Army has one of the top non-US military Facebook page in terms of total likes.
The next closest non-US military Facebook page is the Pakistan Army with over 700,000 likes.
The Armed Forces of the United Kingdom Facebook page is in third place with nearly 550,000 likes.
As I wrote about late last year, The British Army’s page topped 900,000 likes in December.
The Royal Navy has nearly 200,000 likes, while the Royal Air Force is only a few thousands likes away from 300,000.
To stay on top of how government organizations are doing on Facebook, you can check out the metrics on PageData.
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As Robert Mackey over at The Lede points out, Russians have a strange fondness for mounting cameras to the dashboards of their cars.
It’s one of the main reasons you see so much video footage of auto accidents available online from Russia.
Last month's meteor that crashed into central Russia had plenty of video coverage, thanks to dashcams.
Now the dashcam is being fitted onto government tanks in Syria and not by Syrians, but by the little-known Russian news network Abkhazian Network News Agency (ANNA).
According Mackey, ANNA released footage of recent battles recorded by a camera mounted on a government tank, which can be seen here on YouTube.
News of the footage was first reported by Syrian blogger Edward Dark via Twitter.
At the time of this story being published, the video has been viewed over 11,000 times.
More over at The New York Times.
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(Twitchy)
Azeris Plan New Protest Over Army Deaths With Facebook Campaign. Thousands of Azeris are signing up on Facebook Inc. (FB) to stage a second rally in three months to protest violence in the former Soviet republic’s armed forces. A Facebook Inc. page created to coordinate the event shows that almost 18,000 people accepted the call to demonstrate in the central Fountains Square in the capital, Baku, on March 10, with more than 150,000 invited to take part.
(Bloomberg)
Family of Canadian journalist killed in Iran granted appeal. The Supreme Court of Canada will decide whether the son of the murdered Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi can sue the Iranian government. The high court has agreed to hear an appeal from Kazemi's son Stephan Hashemi, who argues he has the right to sue the Iranian government for allegedly killing his mother and failing to return her body after she was imprisoned.
(CP24.com)
Al Gore Sued Over Current TV Sale to Al Jazeera (Exclusive). Current TV's $500 million sale to Al Jazeera has prompted a lawsuit that claims co-founder Al Gore originally was opposed to the deal but had a "change of heart" on selling his cable network to oil-rich Qataris. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court by John Terenzio, who presents himself as a highly regarded media consultant, executive and TV producer who conceived the idea for the distribution of an American version of Al Jazeera.
(The Hollywood Reporter)
Andersonville presents Civil War living history weekend. Andersonville National Historic Site will host its annual Civil War Living History Weekend on Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10, 2013. This living history program offers visitors the opportunity to gain a better understanding of what life was like at Camp Sumter, the infamous Civil War military prison near Andersonville. Civil War period living historians will portray Union prisoners and Confederate guards.
(WALB.com)
New book sheds light on dark history of Civil War site in Millen. The dark history of the Civil War is being brought into the light as a team from Georgia Southern continues to dig up artifacts from an old prison camp in Millen. But finding the site of Camp Lawton back in 2010 was just the first chapter to the story. Now, the project historian has written the rest. His new book marks the first full-length, fully-documented history of the prison.
(WRDW.com)
Marshall author retells Civil War story. The faces that stare back from the cover of the book already have a world-weary look that suggests life won’t be simple or easy or, for that matter, lengthy. The photo was taken in the mid 1850s and the Towles’ boys couldn’t have known what was looming up the road — for them or for their country. But on the cover of Keith Kehlbeck’s first book, “Gone to God: A Civil War Family’s Ultimate Sacrifice,” the brothers seem to know more than they realize.
(Battle Creek Enquirer)
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This is a Syrian Facebook video that criticizes the military aid by the United States.
Impressive water spraying skills, I must say.
While there is some serious stuff going on in Syria, this is still funny...
Via WIRED
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I love Reddit. They usually run an impressive series of pictures from the military throughout the week in their Military subreddit.
Here's the latest. It's called, "OH...so you didn't feel like mopping the barracks today? We'll fix that."
Click here for some awesome comments including the top rated comment so far:
"In all fairness, he was probably the shitbag who stood in the corner cleaning the same spot while everyone else actually did something. It's good to see justice."
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(Twitchy)
A rare glimpse inside Pakistan's ground zero for terrorists. It's been called the most dangerous place in the most dangerous region on the planet. A rugged swath of tribal territory nestled between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Waziristan is ground zero for some of the region's most notorious militant groups and warlords, including the Pakistani Taliban and Haqqani network. North and South Waziristan are hit by more U.S. drone attacks than anywhere else in the world. NBC News obtained rare access to South Waziristan and last week became the first foreign team of journalists to report from North Waziristan...
(NBC News)
Soviet war veteran found in Afghanistan after 33 years. A Soviet soldier who went missing in Afghanistan nearly 33 years ago has been found living with Afghans in the western province of Herat. The soldier is semi-nomadic, has the adopted Afghan name Sheikh Abdullah and practises herbal medicine, Russia's RIA news agency reports. An ethnic Uzbek, he was found by ex-Soviet veterans of the war...
(BBC)
FBI Seeks Public's Assistance in Identifying, Locating Unmanned Aircraft and Operator. On Monday, March, 4, 2013, at approximately 1:15 p.m., the pilot of Alitalia Flight #608 spotted a small, unmanned aircraft while on approach to John F. Kennedy International Airport. The Alitalia flight was roughly three miles from runway 31R when the incident occurred at an altitude of approximately 1,750 feet. The unmanned aircraft came within 200 feet of the Alitalia plane. The FBI is investigating the incident and looking to identify and locate the aircraft and its operator. The unnamed aircraft was described as black in color and no more than three feet wide with four propellers...
(FBI)
Syria's Civil War: Amateur video of attack on Homs in Syria. Amateur video posted on the internet appears to show the city of Homs being shelled and a tank coming under fire in Syria. Report by Jeremy Barnes...
(YouTube)
A Day in the Life of a Freelance Journalist—2013. Here is an exchange between the Global Editor of the Atlantic Magazine and myself this afternoon attempting to solicit my professional services for an article they sought to publish after reading my story “25 Years of Slam Dunk Diplomacy: Rodman trip comes after 25 years of basketball diplomacy between U.S. and North Korea...”
(natethayer)
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Iranian news site PressTV has published a brief interview with an activist named Mimi Laham who accuses YouTube of deliberately removing videos from its website that depict crimes by the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
Laham complains that YouTube gives the FSA space on YouTube to "wage their propaganda war against the Syrian nation”, but ironically won’t allow videos of the FSA committing what she alleges are “war crimes”.
Apparently, Laham had a play list of 60 videos, and half have now been removed.
Not surprising, Laham admits some of the videos were flagged for being “shocking” – which, as any routine user would know, is in clear violation of YouTube’s terms of service.
Laham also admits some videos didn’t respect copyright. Yup, another violation.
You can probably see where this is going...
I know YouTube has drawn criticism before. Regardless of why Laham’s videos were taken down, the video-sharing site’s community guidelines are pretty straightforward though.
Here’s a snippet from YouTube:
> Don't post videos showing bad stuff like animal abuse, drug abuse, under-age drinking and smoking, or bomb making.Graphic or gratuitous violence is not allowed. If your video shows someone being physically hurt, attacked, or humiliated, don't post it.
> YouTube is not a shock site. Don't post gross-out videos of accidents, dead bodies or similar things intended to shock or disgust.
> Respect copyright. Only upload videos that you made or that you are authorized to use. This means don't upload videos you didn't make, or use content in your videos that someone else owns the copyright to, such as music tracks, snippets of copyrighted programs, or videos made by other users, without necessary authorizations. Read our Copyright Tips for more information.
> We encourage free speech and defend everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. But we don't permit hate speech (speech which attacks or demeans a group based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, and sexual orientation/gender identity).
YouTube.
I don't think Laham has much of an argument at all.
I mean, it’s already been reported that both sides in the Syrian war have committed crimes. That shouldn’t be news to anyone.
In November, a video of Syrian rebels executing government soldiers surfaced and went viral, and drew condemnation from around the world.
That same video can actually be found on YouTube after doing a simple search.
Considering YouTube is one of the most visited websites in the world, it relies heavily on its user community to police the site, so often it’s just a matter of time before videos that violate the site’s TOS are noticed, flagged, and taken down.
There have also been plenty of fake Syrian war videos posted online to create sympathy for one side or the other and dupe unsuspecting people, as reported by the Global Post last year.
If you want to read the full PressTV story, you can view it here.
Of course, the comments devolve into conspiracy theories and bashing, as expected.
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It’s not often you see a Twitter message retweeted nearly 3,000 times, unless of course it’s some political figure or Hollywood celebrity.
But that’s just what happened when English footballer Michael Owen got into a Twitter exchange with a soldier.
JOE reports, “James Talbot tweeted the former Liverpool and United footballer to ask whether he still played football, and it is difficult to know for certain whether this was a genuine question or a sly dig at the crocked striker.”
According to JOE, Owen has been struggling with injury for the majority of the season.
Owen responded by tweeting back to Talbot the following message:
“do you play football?” Not much nowadays but I shook the World in my day. What have you done in life?”
Little did Owen know how Talbot would respond.
Talbot then tweeted: “in answer to what I have done, served and protected your country in the army, 6 years of physical work without injury”
What was nothing more than a simple, honest response by Talbot, ended up quickly going viral and surprising the user who has less than 1,000 followers.
It appears Talbot has now been receiving abusive tweets by other Twitter users and spent time responding on Twitter earlier today.
A quick scan of the page shows numerous messages on both sides, some supportive, some not so much.
Joe Harrison @Joe_Harrison01 writes:
@JT1zzle @themichaelowen Well f*cking done. How good are you? You chose to so don't play that card
kurt whufc berry @kurt_squirt writes:
@JT1zzle hahaha bet he feels like a twat now mate!! Haha
David Woods @realdavidwoods
@JT1zzle @themichaelowen did the army teach u to pick a pointless fight? Nothing to be proud of here
As Talbot points out, “…I didn't say anything offensive, just responded to his belittling response…”
You can follow Talbot on Twitter at @JT1zzle
More at JOE.
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(PressGazette)
The Dangerous Logic of the Bradley Manning Case. After 1,000 days in pretrial detention, Private Bradley Manning yesterday offered a modified guilty plea for passing classified materials to WikiLeaks. But his case is far from over—not for Manning, and not for the rest of the country. To understand what is still at stake, consider an exchange that took place in a military courtroom in Maryland in January...
(New Republic)
Take the Iraq War Reading Pledge. This will be the 10th anniversary of the bombing of Baghdad, that began a war that was declared "mission accomplished" within two months of its start and that ultimately lasted more than eight years...
(Causes.com)
ZDNet cuts U.S. bloggers as it refocuses on global coverage. Business technology news site ZDNet has cut five bloggers from its staff in the past few weeks as it continues to realign its organization into a global one. ZDNet has a long history of writing about the technology industry, and CNET acquired it for $1.6 billion in July 2000. In 2003, ZDNet refocused to more closely cover business technology. In May 2008, CBS Interactive purchased CNET, and since that time, ZDNet has existed as a combination of technology blog network and news outlet...
(VentureBeat)
Love Letter To War Photographer Killed In Syria Leaves Journalist In Choked Silence. A BBC Radio 4 presenter was so overcome by emotion that he fell silent on air for more than ten seconds today after hearing a moving poem by the girlfriend of a French photographer killed in Syria. Paddy O’Connell struggled to compose himself following a reading of a love letter from Emilie Blachere to Remi Ochlik, who died alongside Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin in the besieged city of Homs last year. After the end of the poem, which was read by Miss Blachere herself, the airwaves were plunged into silence for about 12 seconds before the presenter regained enough composure to speak again...
(Business Insider)
Hostile Teacher Writes ‘The Guns Are Loaded’ On Chalkboard, Asks Kids If They’d ‘Care To Try Me?’. An Indiana teacher is on leave today after he wrote a variety of threats for his students on his classroom’s chalkboard. After calling his student’s idiots, he noted that his “guns are loaded.” The teacher concluded his menacing message by asking if his students would “care to try me?”
(Mediaite)
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