Online Media Break Gore-for-Smut Story

[Jon8503]

Another case of how US MSM tries to ignore certain stories:

La Republica and Corriere della Serra, two of Italy's top dailies, reported in August about an online "gallery of horrors" -- photos of mutilated Iraqis and Afghans that U.S. soldiers had posted on the Internet in return for access to a pornographic Web site. The story, which was first circulated by a 20-year old Italian blogger who calls himself Staib, drew no interest from English-language news organizations. Once upon a time, the story would have died then and there.

But Staib's story was picked up by Helena Cobban, a journalist and blogger in Charlottesville, Va., and then by University of North Carolina law professor-blogger Eric Muller, who wondered if Staib's claims could amount to "The Next Abu Ghraib?"

Conservative maverick blogger Andrew Sullivan commented on the story on Sept. 18. Two days later, Mark Glaser of the Online Journalism Review followed up with a story quoting Christopher Wilson, proprietor of the porn site allegedly involved (whose name includes a four letter word and won't be published or linked to here).

Wilson defended the gory pictures allegedly obtained from U.S. soldiers in Iraq by saying, "I see pictures taken by CNN and the mainstream media, and they all put their own slant on what they report and what they show. To me, this is from the soldier's slant."

On Wednesday, Chris Thompson, columnist for the East Bay Express, a weekly in Berkeley, Calif., followed up with this story -- "U.S. Soldiers Swap Gore for Porn." Wilson told Thompson that European reporters had predicted the U.S. media wouldn't pick up on the story because "it's such a sore spot. ... It raises too many ethical questions. ... I started to laugh, because it's true."

http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/worldopinionroundup/2005/09/online_media_br.html

[SpiralHawk]

1. God help us. More Republican Family Values from BushCo

Right out of the White House Skull & Bones PNAC "morality"

The fish rots from the head down.

George Bush resign now, and let the citizens of the USA restore some semblance of honor and dignity.

We don't need no more stinkin "image adjustment" and paid propaganda

[Missy M]

2. When I read your title I thought it was about Al Gore...

This story is very disturbing to say the least. It has so many different angles, one being the soldiers are so oblivious to the Iraqi deaths they are willing to exchange the photos for porn. I am not entirely blaming the soldiers, as I believe it is the bush administrations fault for creating the monster. The other problem is the administration and military always covering up the atrocities to keep the American public behind the war. Americans are finally and slowly starting to see the light.

[Jon8503]

3. Sorry for that Missy, I thought about that too after posting, not good

old Al though at all.