BLOGISTAN
Babba Zee
Outraged Spleen of Zion
"Those who counsel avoidance of blogs are no different from those who advise against frequenting dark, crime-ridden neighborhoods. There may be bargains to be had in such locales, maybe even a good library or pizzeria. But they are scuzzy places to spend time in."
--Rabbi Avi Shafran, Blogistan
Are you a member of the easiest cult in the world to join? Are you part of the Internet's underbelly?
One of the signs of a cult is the constant search for enemies: someone or something to rally the members of the cult against; something or someone on which to concentrate their energies.
Some blogs--particularly those that concentrate on conspiracy theories--appear based on the premise of finding a dark enemy for their members to combat.
Outraged Spleen of Zion reprints Blogistan, an informative piece by Rabbi Avi Shafran on the darker side of the Internet. It raises some interesting points.
No one knows exactly why the Internet appears to bring out the worst in people, but there is little doubt that it often does. And the cloak of anonymity seems to unleash truly dark, ugly alter egos.
Although the post isn't very complimentary of the Blogosphere in general, many of the points it raises are spot-on.
Perhaps even more disturbing is the apparent gullibility of so many visitors to those blogs, who, from their own postings, seem ready to swallow any accusation or character assassination, as long as the charges are sufficiently salacious or forcefully asserted. Some of the many adulatory comments posted on offensive blogs may have been planted by the blogerrai-meisters themselves, but many certainly seem to be from other citizens anxious to join in the fun.
The post is easy to read and breaks down the problems of the Blogosphere into easily-digested chunks.
Are the blogs you visit part of Blogistan?
Visit, read and decide for yourself.
ALSO at DBKP.com:
Blogistan: Are you part of the Underbelly of the Internet?
by Mondoreb
image: Outraged Spleen of Zion
Source: Blogistan
The NY Daily News is titled "Blame US for 911 Idiots in Majority". The story by Andy Soltis, reports Scripps-Howard/Ohio University poll results showing that "nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the federal government had warnings about 9/11 but decided to ignore them".
Some will shake their head in sad resignation, others in vigorous agreement with those particular figures. However, what is really interesting to those who fret about the U.S. becoming "Jerry Springer Nation" was at the end of the story.In the latest Scripps Howard/Ohio University poll, 811 US adults were interviewed Sept. 24 to Oct. 10. Among the findings:
And some finding from the same poll in 2006.
* 42 percent believe the federal government knew in advance of the plot to assassinate John F. Kennedy, compared with 40 percent who call that theory "not likely."
* 37 percent believe UFOs are real and that the feds have been hiding the truth about them.
The 2006 poll found 36 percent believed the government was also hiding proof that intelligent life exists on other planets.
* Eight out of 10 Americans suspect oil companies are conspiring to keep fuel prices high and 50 percent said a conspiracy is "very likely." Only 14 percent felt it was unlikely. In that (2006) poll, 16 percent said the Twin Towers might have collapsed because of secretly planted explosives - not hijacked passenger jets flown into them.
And what hit the Pentagon? Twelve percent figured it was a US cruise missile.
Anger at the federal government and skepticism in general by younger Americans is fueling the popularity of crackpot conspiracy theories.
Only 12 percent of Americans expressed anger at the government following the 2001 terrorist attack, but that grew steadily and reached 54 percent last year.
Most young adults give some credence to a conspiracy theory, while seniors are the least likely to believe in one, pollsters found.
Is the whole country populated by kooks?
These poll results might be used to illustrate almost any point one is trying to make: that U.S. education is failing miserably to teach students critical thinking skills; that video games are the ruination of the Republic; that lunacy loves company; that the system works; or, that the "truth" is getting out.
Soltis' point is a good one: anger and mistrust at the federal government has clouded the judgment of many Americans participating in polls.
Once, only Democrats had to worry about feeling the wrath of that mistrust.
Now Republicans, once the party of limited government and lassez faire are known for 'compassionate conservatism', and other fuzzy re-labeling of federal government expansion.
The frenzy of Republican-controlled Congressional earmarks further alienated conservative voters.
Any presidential candidate need only look at these poll results to see, come next November, which side to be on.
by Mondoreb
& Little Baby Ginn
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.
Forty-four years after it happened, details continue to come to light about the assassination and the presidency of John F. Kennedy.
World Net Daily has a story of more intrigue: an attempted whistle-blower in the form of a secret service agent; the agent's imprisonment; the recanting of the testimony of a key witness against the agent; and, the story of another November plot to assassinate JFK.
From JFK assassination plot uncovered in Chicago?:Ex-Secret Service agent reveals tip caused president to change travel plans 3 weeks before Dallas shooting
More food for thought for both those interested in full disclosure of the JFK story's details and JFK conspiracy theorists.
Former agent Abraham Bolden, 72, told Chicago ABC affiliate, WLS-TV, Kennedy was waved off from a much-publicized visit to Chicago on Nov. 2, 1963, to attend the Army-Air Force football game at Soldier Field and ride in a parade after the Secret Service received a report from a motel manager who told of seeing several automatic weapons with telescopic sights on the bed of a room rented to several Cuban nationals. They had an outline of the route Kennedy was to follow from O'Hare airport that would take his motorcade past the motel. The route had been printed in Chicago newspapers.
Bolden, a former Illinois state trooper, was the first black agent to protect a president.
The Secret Service was already uneasy about the presidential visit because an outspoken critic of the president, Thomas Vallee, had arranged to take off work for Kennedy's visit. Vallee was arrested before the planned visit with an M1 rifle, a handgun and 3,000 rounds of ammunition in his possession.
News of the Cuban nationals triggered an investigation but, Bolden charges, the surveillance was mishandled and the Cuban suspects disappeared and were never identified.
"No one was sent to the room to fingerprint it or get an ID. The case was lost and that was the end of it," he said. The day of the planned flight from Washington, D.C., with a suspected Cuban hit team somewhere in Chicago, the Secret Service urged a change of plans.
Bolden tried to come forward at the time, but his story about the assassination attempt and the bungling by officials was overshadowed by another story: that of a secret service agent arrest for bribery.
"The morning of the game, the special agent in charge of the Chicago office called the White House and recommended the president cancel his trip to Chicago," Bolden said.
News reports at the time blamed the change in plans on illness and a diplomatic crisis. South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem was assassinated in Saigon on that same day.
But Bolden told WLS-TV neither illness nor crisis were the reason plans were changed – JFK stayed away from Chicago because of the suspected assassination plot.
It was hard for Bolden to make much noise from a prison cell.Following Kennedy's murder in Dallas three weeks later, Bolden said he tried to inform the Warren Commission of the Chicago plot and misconduct by Secret Service agents, including on-duty drunkenness, but his efforts were thwarted when he was arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to prison for soliciting a bribe from a counterfeiter.
This story is an illustration of the times: with so many sources of media available to people--the Internet and blogosphereare bit two--it's hard to imagine the story staying out of the public eye today.
Bolden, who served six years, claims he was set up to silence his criticism of agents' behavior and is hoping to clear his name after the main witness against him recanted his testimony.
The same media voices who chastise the blogosphere as some sort of irresponsible "Wild West" environment are the same ones who left this story unreported for years.
There's a difference between the media of 1963 and the media of 2007.
It's the difference between having 5 or 6 points of view and having a choice of thousands.
Given his choice between the sanctimonious gatekeepers of Traditional Media and today's Internet news resources, Abraham Bolden would probably cast his vote for the "Wild West".
by Mondoreb
[hat tip: pat]
[image:prisonplanet]
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.
