February 07, 2005
ActionFigureGate Continues
SITE Institute currently has a story up about a message board member who takes credit for the "ActionFigureGate" hoax where a G.I.Joe-type doll was used in a particularly lame "hostage" attempt last week.
According the SITE, the hoaxer wrote :
The problem is that this picture appears to be a fake as well.
If you look at the wall and floor in the original picture, you'll see what appears to be an unpainted wall and floor, that both appear to be made of rough concrete that is mostly tan in color.
If you look at the SITES photo, you see a floor that is of gray concrete and a wall that has been painted white.
Also, you will note that the size of the two banners are different (the original is almost square, the SITES photo is more rectangular) and that the Arabic writing is significantly shorter on the original.
This admission appears to be as much a hoax as the original story.
Update: Added to OTB's Beltway Traffic Jam.
Update 2: There are also a hint in the text itself that leads me to beleive this was faked, but I only thought about it just now. The poster claimed that he paid for it in dollars ($). The last I checked, the monetary unit of Iraq is the dinar, not the dollar.
Update 3: The imposter claims that he is not part of any group... so how does he have posting rights on a known militant web site?
According the SITE, the hoaxer wrote :
In the name of God, the Most Merciful and Most Compassionate,The hoaxer, who identifies himself as "al-Iraqi4," apparently includes a picture showing him setting up the famed picture.
Soldier John Adam is [only] a toy.
I am a 20-year old Iraqi young man. I am unarmed, independent and do not belong to any party or group. I apologize to all the parties and everyone, for I meant nothing by that [no harm].
The picture was a scheme that I made up with a toy that I bought with $5.
Today I am announcing that this news was made up, and that the picture was of a toy that I worked on with the help of some children.
I cannot provide any information about me because, as I mentioned earlier, I am unarmed, and any information about me might jeopardize my life and the lives of my family [members].
My apologies to everyone.
The problem is that this picture appears to be a fake as well.
If you look at the wall and floor in the original picture, you'll see what appears to be an unpainted wall and floor, that both appear to be made of rough concrete that is mostly tan in color.
If you look at the SITES photo, you see a floor that is of gray concrete and a wall that has been painted white.
Also, you will note that the size of the two banners are different (the original is almost square, the SITES photo is more rectangular) and that the Arabic writing is significantly shorter on the original.
This admission appears to be as much a hoax as the original story.
Update: Added to OTB's Beltway Traffic Jam.
Update 2: There are also a hint in the text itself that leads me to beleive this was faked, but I only thought about it just now. The poster claimed that he paid for it in dollars ($). The last I checked, the monetary unit of Iraq is the dinar, not the dollar.
Update 3: The imposter claims that he is not part of any group... so how does he have posting rights on a known militant web site?
Posted by: Confederate Yankee at
01:48 PM
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February 01, 2005
Zarqawi quits al Qaeda, joins C.O.B.R.A.
Apparently Zarqawi and the Iraqi insurgency are so desperate to capture a U.S. solder to use as a hostage, that they doesn't even care if the soldier in question is only twelve inches tall.
It all started when Drudge cited this story where militants claimed to have captured a U.S solider.
Now, if you had taken the time to really look at the full-size image in the story, you might have developed deep suspicions early on. For starters, the uniform has no insignia. Second, the soldier does not appear to have the first bit of equipment on his vest. Every picture I've seen coming out of Iraq shows U.S. soldiers with wires, cables, hydration tubes, etc, sticking out all over the place, which are horribly absent here. Of course, the overly shiny head, expressionless face and fake gun (what's an oversized AR-10 receiver doing on a M-4, and why is it in camo?) also should have been clues.
I do think it is so funny that the insurgency is so pathetic that they are reduced to kidnapping children's toys. Maybe "Z-Man" isn't getting enough sleep, what with inner circle being picked off or picked up one-by-one, and the proverbial noose getting tighter around his neck.
I can understand him going off the deep end under that kind of pressure--we watch liberals do it every day--but I still don't think his new allies of The Baroness and Cobra Commander will do him much good.
They're too preoccupied with competing against Howard Dean for the chair of the DNC.
Update: Backcountry Conservative is on the case with what is probably the biggest roundup of blogger reaction out there.
Update 2: Thank you again, Glenn. Hello, Instalanche! Folks, please look around, and bookmark the site (CTRL+B) if you like it. Also, please check out some of the sites in my blogroll. You might not have heard of some of them, but they are all great reads. Fellow bloggers, if you like the site, please add me to your blogrolls. Thanks!
It all started when Drudge cited this story where militants claimed to have captured a U.S solider.
Now, if you had taken the time to really look at the full-size image in the story, you might have developed deep suspicions early on. For starters, the uniform has no insignia. Second, the soldier does not appear to have the first bit of equipment on his vest. Every picture I've seen coming out of Iraq shows U.S. soldiers with wires, cables, hydration tubes, etc, sticking out all over the place, which are horribly absent here. Of course, the overly shiny head, expressionless face and fake gun (what's an oversized AR-10 receiver doing on a M-4, and why is it in camo?) also should have been clues.
I do think it is so funny that the insurgency is so pathetic that they are reduced to kidnapping children's toys. Maybe "Z-Man" isn't getting enough sleep, what with inner circle being picked off or picked up one-by-one, and the proverbial noose getting tighter around his neck.
I can understand him going off the deep end under that kind of pressure--we watch liberals do it every day--but I still don't think his new allies of The Baroness and Cobra Commander will do him much good.
They're too preoccupied with competing against Howard Dean for the chair of the DNC.
Update: Backcountry Conservative is on the case with what is probably the biggest roundup of blogger reaction out there.
Update 2: Thank you again, Glenn. Hello, Instalanche! Folks, please look around, and bookmark the site (CTRL+B) if you like it. Also, please check out some of the sites in my blogroll. You might not have heard of some of them, but they are all great reads. Fellow bloggers, if you like the site, please add me to your blogrolls. Thanks!
Posted by: Confederate Yankee at
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