29
Who’s Holding the Bagh, Dad? (See asterisk for key update.)
Howard Kaloogian,* a leading Republican running for the seat in Congress recently vacated by indicted Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham. . .posted on the official Web site for his campaign a picture taken in “downtown Baghdad,” he said, during his visit to the city, which supposedly indicated that the media was wrong about the level of violence in the city. “We took this photo of downtown Baghdad while we were in Iraq,” he wrote. “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.”
In less than a day, it was over. “Jem6X” at the popular DailyKos blog confirmed the street scene was in Istanbul, not Baghdad.
Tipped off by someone who recognized the actual intersection in Istanbul, Jem went through online photo galleries and in a matter of minutes today found a snap taken by a “Faruk” that lined up with the “Baghdad” photo in numerous conclusive ways. Game, set, and match to the blogosphere.
A faked photo? This is a big day for the Internet’s premier suspicious-photo pointer-outer and tireless photo-fakery obsessive.
Or not.
* The story falls into perspective with the addition of a key detail: Kaloogian is a founder of the Move America Forward Foundation, our favorite, and the most unscrupulous and whooping-assedly dishonest, of the fake-nonpartisan GOP front groups — which belches astonishing lies into the atmosphere like a giant, constantly-erupting lie-cano. The fake photo was supposed to have come from the group’s Iraqi Truth Tour, which brought a team of PR hacks and talk-radio goblins to Iraq for a week of supervised good-news broadcasts.
mrgumby2u said,
March 30, 2006 at 0:17
What’s this “indicted” nonsense. The Dukester done been convicted.
teh l4m3 said,
March 30, 2006 at 0:26
Ha ha I have compromising photos of the Dukester in Faghdad (I’m the bitch in the gimp mask.)
Christopher said,
March 30, 2006 at 0:51
What a worthless pile of shit.
Lying about a goddamned war to get re-elected.
Yeah, I know that in his native culture, that sort of thing is no big deal, but I’m not a moral reletivist.
That sort of thing pisses me off.
Andrew A. Gill, SLS said,
March 30, 2006 at 0:59
Shouldn’t that be Who’s holding the Bage?
Gary Ruppert said,
March 30, 2006 at 1:10
There’s not anything to prove that the picture is fake. A lot of places in the Middle East look like that.
The Disgruntled Chemist said,
March 30, 2006 at 1:24
Actually, there is, Gary - the picture itself is the evidence. It’s a real picture, but it’s from an Istanbul neighborhood, not anywhere in Iraq.
Kaloogian is a fuckup and a liar.
Gary Ruppert said,
March 30, 2006 at 1:31
Well, that’s not exactly conclusive evidence that the other picture was taken in Turkey. There’s nothing that really proves that it’s in Turkey.
Anyways, this is just attacking the messeger, because the left knows that Iraq isn’t as violent as the media portrays it.
Kathleen said,
March 30, 2006 at 1:33
There’s not anything to prove that the picture is fake. A lot of places in the Middle East look like that.
but the question is does any place in Baghdad look like that?
after all, whether the picture is really of Turkey or one of “a lot of places in the Middle East” does not really matter since it isn’t a picture of Baghdad.
blowback said,
March 30, 2006 at 1:33
Rove must be really screwed if he allowed the Retire backdrop to Prick Cheney given how much effort has gone into them in the past.
BTW, Kagoolian might be the innocent party. What if to save casualties, the DoD takes Republican politicians wishing to visit Iraq to Turkey instead and tells them that it is Iraq. This way Bush looks good as well.
STH said,
March 30, 2006 at 1:35
But of course it must be Baghdad! That’s why all the signs are in Arabic. Well, umm . . . .
But there’s that woman at the bottom left–she’s dressed according to Sharia law! Uh . . . .
You’ve sure convinced me, Gary.
Kathleen said,
March 30, 2006 at 1:35
Anyways, this is just attacking the messeger
are you sure it isn’t a “strawman”?
Kathleen said,
March 30, 2006 at 1:36
Anyways, this is just attacking the messeger
are you sure it isn’t a “strawman”?
STH said,
March 30, 2006 at 1:39
Nobody’s attacking the messenger, Gary. We’re attacking the LIAR. Not a fallacy, as far as I know.
Red and Black said,
March 30, 2006 at 1:44
From Kaloogian’s site itself:
We originally posted a photograph not of Baghdad, Iraq but from Istanbul, Turkey where our delegation traveled on the way home to the United States. We apologize for this mistake. We have corrected it with a photograph we took from Baghdad. We took this photo of downtown Baghdad while we were in Iraq. 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.
Gary Ruppert said,
March 30, 2006 at 1:46
well, it was a mistake by the webteam there. These things happen all the time.
STH said,
March 30, 2006 at 1:54
I’m sure you’re right, Gary. Of course, it’s also possible that there is not a single, solitary, fucking thing that the Republicans will not fucking lie about.
Guess I picked the wrong week to give up swearing.
yagi said,
March 30, 2006 at 1:59
Well, that certainly makes it plausibly deniable, waterboy.
yagi said,
March 30, 2006 at 2:03
Looking at the sky-cam view posted on Kaloogian’s site though, I really can’t discern how calm or disrupted life may be. It’s a bunch of buildings, some trees, and dusty air. I suppose the fact that the buildings are standing is a good sign, though.
The Disgruntled Chemist said,
March 30, 2006 at 2:04
From Kaloogian’s site itself:
How awesome is it that the only picture they could find to show the calm and stability of Baghdad was taken from the balcony of their hotel?
Incredibly awesome.
It’s so calm there, they can’t even go down to street level to snap a quick picture.
Mal de mer said,
March 30, 2006 at 2:04
Right you are. Liars lie all the time, and when caught, they usually lie some more. Vide Ben Domenech.
Thanks for playing, Gary. We have some lovely parting gifts for you.
yagi said,
March 30, 2006 at 2:12
“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.”
This guy is running for public office? Seriously? He barely passes the animal/vegetable/mineral test.
Hint: They’re also reporting about it because *that* *is* *what* *is* *happening*.
The Disgruntled Chemist said,
March 30, 2006 at 2:14
Incredibly awesome.
Ummm…I’m not celebrating violence from Iraq, I promise. What I meant was that it’s great that they still try to tell us that nothing is wrong there, when they won’t post pictures not taken from a rooftop/hotel balcony. That’s all.
JK47 said,
March 30, 2006 at 2:24
Gee, things aren’t so bad in Baghdad after all. Sure, there are death squads and bombs that go off every day, but that stuff is exaggerated. I know because Gary Ruppert told me so. I’m sure Gary’s been to Baghdad many times, because he says things there aren’t so bad. He seems like a standup guy, the kind of guy who wouldn’t just recite government propaganda in the face of cold, hard reality.
punkinsmom said,
March 30, 2006 at 2:49
But what about the tens of thousands of people who aren’t killed in Iraq every day? No one is reporting on them! Liberal MSM. Sheesh.
Andrew A. Gill, SLS said,
March 30, 2006 at 2:50
The next evolution of the photo controversy would, of course, be this.
mr. x said,
March 30, 2006 at 2:59
You jokers need to give this guy some serious shit. Friggin’ lying ass lawyer congress wannabe where’s my picture I took in Baghdad, I know there must be one in there somewhere that I can cover my ass and have plausible deniability that it was all just a big mistake and not my fault and look at my cheesy smile as I pose for pictures with people who obviously hate my cowardly guts so much they’d like to punch my lights out but they can’t because I’m a lawyer and I would most certainly sue so get a grip. Gosh darn mutha effin’ low life piece of crap shit eating dog, butt sniffin’ sack of lying putrid tell ‘em whatever they want to hear because I have no scruples and no convictions and I’ll say anything if it will get me elected because I want to be one of those slimeball politicians so bad I can taste it baby!! Whew!! That felt too damn good.
Jillian said,
March 30, 2006 at 3:19
Turkey’s in the Middle East?
And that’s the best picture he could come up with to show us how peaceful Iraq is? A crane shot?
Well, I guess this shot proves that the conditions after Hurricane Katrina weren’t nearly as bad as people thought they were. I don’t see any rioting or looting in any of those pictures, do you?
melior (in Austin) said,
March 30, 2006 at 3:40
That was Istanbul, not Constantinople.
windy said,
March 30, 2006 at 3:43
Africa is doing fine as well! This picture shows there’s no trace of AIDS, malaria, poverty, hunger or conflict down there, see:
http://3dshaders.com/shaders/Earth-1tex.jpg
blowback said,
March 30, 2006 at 3:44
What the new picture from Baghdad doesn’t show is the twenty foot high blast wall just out of view of the bottom of the picture.
Realist said,
March 30, 2006 at 3:59
Where do you even get a cape?
You have one made, of course. What kind of loser would wear an off-the-rack cape?
Desert Rat said,
March 30, 2006 at 4:07
Hmm. I’m thinking Kaloogian was right about things being better in Iraq though.
g said,
March 30, 2006 at 4:12
So….Kaloogian posted a photo of Istanbul claiming it was Baghdad.
When called on it, he says oops, his group spent a layover in Turkey and took pictures there, and it must have been mistakenly included by the webmaster.
But at DailyKos Jem found the same photo in an online gallery, attributed to someone named Faruk?
So… the photo Kaloogian’s webmaster posted was stolen. Unless “Faruk” is someone in Kaloogian’s group. Which I doubt.
g said,
March 30, 2006 at 4:24
Just visited Kaloogian’s website, with the pitiful hotel-balcony shot of Baghdad.
Hmm. a handful of photos taken at Centcom and on a military base. One photo of Baghdad taken from a distance or height.
But…but….but….I though Baghdad was so safe his entourage could wander the bustling streets with their cameras? I thought the webmaster someone mixed up the Turkey shot from among ALL THE OTHER photos. Where are all the other photos of the vibrant and safe city of Baghdad?
Dorothy said,
March 30, 2006 at 4:47
If we assume that Mr. Kaloogian’s story is correct and the webmaster merely uploaded the wrong picture by mistake, then we’re left with one of two conclusions:
1) Mr. Kaloogian allows content to be posted on his campaign website without review or proofreading.
2) Mr. Kaloogian can’t tell the difference between Istanbul and Baghdad.
Either one of those makes me not want to vote for him.
Random Guy said,
March 30, 2006 at 5:28
“Guess I picked the wrong week to give up swearing.”
Looks like I picked
the wrong week to
quit sniffing glue…
birdseatbugs said,
March 30, 2006 at 8:13
Melior — yes, but Istanbul _was_ Constantinople. Now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople. Why did Constantinople get the works?
celticgirl said,
March 30, 2006 at 8:16
Wait - Malkin’s got the offensive Muhammad cartoons on her website? WFT??? Why, you’d think she was trying to incite racial hatred, you know, throwing gas on the fire, etc. (D’oh, ok, I’ll stop now. But seriously, WTF?)
Ginger Yellow said,
March 30, 2006 at 10:47
“I suppose the fact that the buildings are standing is a good sign, though.”
Sadly, No! http://aapics.nfshost.com/
gus said,
March 30, 2006 at 11:01
It’s funny that when a “good christian” lies the God and America hating ‘left’ gets pissed while the “good christians” defend the liar. I mean of course the lying hypocrite chickenhawk coward WATB gary rupert.
I thought lying was frowned upon by God.
Ahruman said,
March 30, 2006 at 12:40
g: no, Faruk had taken a similar photo from almost the same spot. It’s not the same photo.
gus: Ahh, I hear you haven’t heard of “lying for Jesus.�
Mark Painter said,
March 30, 2006 at 15:17
“Istanbul _was_ Constantinople. Now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople. Why did Constantinople get the works?”
That’s nobody’s business but the Turks.
GoatBoy said,
March 30, 2006 at 16:14
I’ve got a date in Constantinople.
buttermyself said,
March 30, 2006 at 17:10
Word. I’m coming Constantinople. Here I come.
Marsupial said,
March 30, 2006 at 17:33
I thought I had a date in Constantinople once, but it turned out she was waiting in Istanbul.
bellatrys said,
March 30, 2006 at 18:24
No, they didn’t steal Faruk’s photo, it’s a photo (from a different angle) of the *same intersection,* not the same photograph.
Faruk’s a *much* better photographer, for one thing.
The way it went was, someone emailed a friend of theirs in Turkey and asked if they recognized it, and they said OMG yes, that’s a neighborhood called Bakirkoy and emailed a digital snap of their own, and then from there people started googling for more pics of Bakirkoy and found the site with Faruk’s pics.
But the signs in Turkish, the absence of uniforms and rifles, the presence of a UPS van, all of these things were dead giveaways that wherever it was, it *wasn’t* Baghdad and was *probably* Turkey…
But we already know that to be a conservative you have to turn off your critical thinking capacity. If you can’t, they kick you out, if you don’t realize that you don’t fit in, like happened to me.
Tulkinghorn said,
March 31, 2006 at 3:00
Will you sell me one of those if i shave my head
Get me out of town is what fireball said
Never trust a man in a blue trench coat
Never drive a car when you’re dead
Sam Silverstein said,
March 31, 2006 at 10:40
I don’t know if anyone else was following this story on DailyKos, but the irony continues.
Kalloogian’s replacement photo of Baghdad was taken from the Rashid Hotel (in the heavily fortified Green Zone). Apparently Kallogian didn’t get out on the streets much.
Link
Even more ironic…the photo was taken last summer, and includes a police station that was
bombed to pieces
on December 4.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/3/30/14344/6926
Sam Silverstein said,
March 31, 2006 at 10:42
Sorry for the bad post…pressed the wrong button.