One thing to Hammer about Kaloogian's "Baghdad" Photo-Lies...

[JHB]

...it was taken, ironically enough, on the "Iraq Truth Tour".

:spray: :rofl:

[Demit]

1. The Iraq Truthiness Tour, you mean.

[BR_Parkway]

2. Truth? We don't need your stinking truth. We've got a campaign

to win, with our Values Voters, a special election to replace a Congressman from our party who pled guilty to accepting bribes over $2,400,000 in order to sell out the country and push military contracts to those who paid us rather than delivering what our troops need.

You have to vote for us, because those liberals don't support the troops.

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. Kaloogian is the horse's ass.

[Redstone]

4. And EVERYBODY knows that now. What a doof.

Redstone

[The_Casual_Observer]

5. This affair casts doubt on whether the guy ever went to Iraq in the

first place.

[DaveJ]

10. If so doubt Kaloogian actually ventured off the military base. n/t

[TallahasseeGrannie]

6. Somebody explain Kaloogian. I missed it.

[Kali]

7. erm

can't believe I will be first:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x776401

[JHB]

8. Shorter Kaloogian

Howard Kaloogian is a RW hack who's organized astroturf "causes" against Cindy Sheehan, to promote Social Security privatization, etc., including this "Iraq Truth(less) Tour" that flew in conservative talk show hosts and others of similar ilk so they could "get the real Iraq story first hand" (since, of course, the "librul meeedia" never focusses on "all the good things" happening over there).

Now he's running for the 50th Congressional District of California (the one vacated by Randy "indicted" Cunningham). On his campaign website, he features a photo of a bustling street scene, the caption of which claims he (or a staffer) took it in Baghdad, and he offers it as evidence that things are much calmer in Iraq than mainstream reporting indicates.

The problem was too many things were wrong with the photo for it to have been taken in Baghdad: the (non-arabic) street signs, cars, attire of the people, brands of merchandise, etc.

Over the last 24-or-so hours, persons here at DU and at DailyKOS have positively identified the location depicted in the photo as an intersection in a suburb of Istanbul, not Baghdad. So no wonder things look more peaceful than MSM reporting from Iraq.

See threads here and other places (links therein):
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x776401

[TallahasseeGrannie]

9. Thanks everyone.

What an idiot.

THIS IS WHY I READ THE INTERNETS!

Thank you, Al, for inventing them.

[Nothing Without Hope]

12. ***Here's my unofficial Kaloogian thread list:***

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x776401
thread title (3-28-06 GD): Fake photo of Baghdad used to bolster GOP's claims?
Howard Kaloogian (R) has posted a photograph on his campaign website which he claims to have recently taken in downtown Baghdad, to show how "calm" and "stable" the city was during his visit. But the photo is actually from Istambul, TURKEY!!! Long thread with additional finds all confirming Istambul ID. Now up at Huffington Post and other blogs too.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x785305
thread title (3-29-06 GD): Oops...Kaloogian Blames Iraq Photo Error on Staffer
Says there were “hundreds and hundreds” of photos taken on his Iraq trip, and they had a layover in Istambul. His campaign site says “Baghdad is calm and secure. I know. I’ve been there.” So egregious!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2194954
thread title (3-29-06 LBN): Baghdad, Turkey Baghdad photo scandal
See Reply #17 – It’s not the first time Kaloogian “got lost” like this. What a lying slime. Good composite photo showing obviously NOT in Iraq but Turkey.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x784983
thread title (3-29-06 GD): More photos of things going great in Baghdad
Hilarious! Photos from all over the world – favorite: the “banana burka” from Rio

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x786665
thread title (3-29-06 GD): Kaloogian Slams Press Coverage of Iraq With Bogus Photo (Its made the MSM)
Cites 3/29 Editor & Publisher article on the whole debacle.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x789542
thread title (3-29-06 GD): NEWSWEEK - Baghdad/Istanbul - Blogosphere Nails Kaloogian

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x785264
thread title (3-29-06 GD): Re FAKE PHOTO: It's not just Howard Kaloogian, it's BIG right-wing players
” It's Move America Forward, and it's Russo Marsh & Rogers, the Sacramento-based political public relations firm with major right-wing ties. Move America Forward is an astroturf political action group that RM&R uses to woo big-money financiers of right wing candidates and causes. While it feels good to nail Howard Kaloogian, that phony "downtown Baghdad" photo used on his Web site has a stream that runs right to the heart the right wing ….”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x787933
thread title (3-29-06 GD): UK Guardian now linking to DU thread on the Kalgoolian photo
Excerpt from the Guardian UK: “The Backbencher has been enjoying the spat over a picture, allegedly of Baghdad, that wannabe Republican congressman Howard Kaloogian posted on his website. It purported (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x776401) to show a peaceful street in Baghdad. "Iraq (including Baghdad) is much more calm and stable than what many people believe it to be," Howard wrote. "But, each day the news media finds any violence occurring in the country and screams and shouts about it". Inevitable, then, that left-liberal blogs would point out that this picture actually shows a street in Turkey. The tight female clothing and non-Arabic signs did give it away.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x790319
thread title (3-29-06 GD): Kaloogian: "It’s one itty-bitty picture"
From msnbc site (Newsweek): “Kaloogian is no stranger to controversy. He was one of the architects of the successful recall drive against former California governor Gray Davis. But he seemed annoyed at the sudden onslaught of attention. ‘Journalists weren’t interested in our trip for nine months afterwards, and now they’re trying to find one picayunish mistake,’ he complained to NEWSWEEK. ‘It’s one itty-bitty picture. The Associated Press gave us a Mark Twain Award for a broadcast we did from Iraq, and nothing was written about that at all.’ (Kaloogian is not named on the Web site of the Associated Press Television and Radio Association of California-Nevada as a Mark Twain Award winner, although several radio talk-show hosts who accompanied Kaloogian on the Iraq trip are named. ‘We invited these talk-show hosts to go with us, it was our trip, but they were on it,’ Kaloogian told NEWSWEEK.)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x785309
thread title (3-29-06 GD): I suggest a new usage: Hock a Kaloogian

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x785904
thread title (3-29-06 GD): DKos: Kaloogian Fake Baghdad Photo ID'ed
”This photo was taken by a photographer named Faruk, a member of the wowturkey.com community, and posted there.” So Kaloogian didn’t even use an ORIGINAL photo from Istambul!!!
Full SCREEN SHOT of Kaloogian’s campaign page with the bogus photo and its caption in Reply #8.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2542205
thread title (3-29-06 GD-P): Francine Busby is now at 45% - Survey USA
SurveyUSA current standings – Kaloogian in second place among GOPs with 12%, Busby with 45% (only Dem).

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x791597
thread title (3-30-06 GD): DU'S NETECTIVES HOCK A KALOOGIE ALL THE WAY TO THE NY TIMES!
Excerpt: “The sleuths of cyberspace never sleep. Starting Tuesday afternoon and working through the night, a group of bloggers dissected a photo and a caption on the Web site of a Republican Congressional candidate in California, Howard Kaloogian, and declared it a fraud. Within hours, Mr. Kaloogian withdrew the picture, blamed an unnamed staff member for the blunder and apologized. The whole kerfuffle would be of no moment, except that Mr. Kaloogian posted the photo to illustrate a peaceful and prosperous Baghdad that he claims the antiwar liberals who run the so-called mainstream news media never show. Mr. Kaloogian, a former state assemblyman, is one of 18 candidates running for the San Diego Congressional seat vacated when Representative Randy Cunningham, a Republican, resigned and later went off to prison after being convicted of taking $2.4 million in bribes. The color photograph shows a bustling street corner with a variety of shops, billboards and fashionably dressed pedestrians. The caption reads, ‘Iraq (including Baghdad) is much more calm and stable than what many people believe it to be. But each day, the news media finds any violence occurring in the country and screams and shouts about it — in part because many journalists are opposed to the U.S. effort to fight terrorism.’ It turns out that the photo was taken in a suburb of Istanbul last summer by a member of a group Mr. Kaloogian led to the Middle East in support of President Bush. Mr. Kaloogian said photos taken by the party had been mixed up.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2196702
thread title (3-29-06 LBN): On Web, Error Is Uncovered Through Relentless Pursuit (Kaloogian photo)
LBN thread on the NYT article. Note that Kaloogian’s blatant lie is called an “error” and the reaction to it is downgraded to a “kerfluffle.” Almost as “fair and balanced” as Faux News!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x784626
thread title (3-29-06 GD): One thing to Hammer about Kaloogian's "Baghdad" Photo-Lies...
The photo was taken on the “Iraq Truth Tour.” Now that’s irony.

[BuyingThyme]

11. ...and it was used to MURDER innocent Americans and Iraqis.