[antimedia] antimedia: Around the blogosphere, some have taken....

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Posted by antimedia:
Around the blogosphere, some have taken....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1168141135.shtml


   ....their eyes [1]off the ball. The AP has blamed bloggers, in a case
   of monumental chutzpah, for endangering the life of their Jamil
   Hussein and proudly proclaimed that they have been right all along,
   without ever actually producing a Jamil Hussein. Now we know why.

     Here's what I can tell you:
    1. Media reports about Jamil didn't use his name as he is known at
       work so we had trouble finding him (Jamil Gulaim as opposed to
       Jamil Hussein: the initial query we got from MNFI was for "Jamil
       Hussein").
    2. The real issue is this: Jamil works in Al Khadra (think of Staten
       Island) -- he's telling the media about Al Hurriah murders (Think
       of Queens -- it's a different area of the city):
          + Why would any reporter consider this guy a reliable source
            under these circumstances?
          + When you consider that he's been quoted in more than 60 AP
            stories, you have to ask how much of that information was
            secondhand or rumor, considering there is no evidence this
            last report of his ever happened.
          + There's been a series of murders reported by the AP
               o There are no bodies.
               o The source is a police officer from a different area of
                 the city
               o There's no official police report to refer to -- so
                 where did the information come from?
               o The bodies were reportedly taken to a hospital morgue
                 that doesn't have a morgue
               o There are no family member reports, complaints or
                 interviews
               o There are no pictures or video of the event.
               o None of the other media in Baghdad are covering this
    3. The MOI doesn't follow AP or any other western media source
       closely: they are very busy trying to impact the security
       situation -- what raised the issue for them was a request from
       MNFI Public Affairs to confirm the event actually happened.

   The real issue isn't the existence or non-existence of Jamil Hussein.
   The real issue is the credibility of the AP and whether or not they
   are reporting falsehoods. The jury is still out on that issue, but the
   evidence supplied so far is not in the AP's favor.
   Furthermore, Mr. "Hussein" (aka Golaim, Gholaim) has already been
   questioned and stated, on the record, that he is not the AP's source.

     Additionally, this may very well be the same guy that the MoI had
     believed was the Jamil Hussein we were looking for last week but he
     denied that he was ever a source for the AP:

     my CPATT sources informed me today that MOI officials have now
     questioned Captain Jamil Ghlaim at MOI headquarters. Ghlaim
     continues to deny speaking to AP or any other media outlet.

     Not only did he deny being the source, he challanged anyone to
     prove he was a source:

     "I am challenging any one can prove by recording or film that I did
     that"

     So hold your horses everyone.

   The idea that the AP has silenced their critics is ridiculous. To date
   they have proven nothing except that they are arrogant and obtuse. We
   already knew that.

References

   1. http://www.floppingaces.net/2007/01/06/new-twists-in-the-jamil-hussei/