Jarvis is in a tizzy today because of a New York Times article that I gather is not complimentary to the former IraqTheModel blogger, Ali. In particular he accuses the reporter of putting Ali’s life in danger by reporting his fullname.
Note, by the way, that Boxer does use their full name. They don’t even use it on their blogs. I am usually very critical of people who do not use their names on their weblogs — but I do make an exception for those whose lives might be at risk if they did. I will still not use their full names here.
Considering that the young man is part of a party that has declared its candidacy for the upcoming elections (thanks Paul L.), I find this accusation, well, peculiar.
What I particularly find confusing was that it wasn’t that long ago that Jarvis wrote, in a post calling Juan Cole ‘pond scum’ (and you wonder where this arose when others used the term in turn against webloggers), because Cole was raising questions about the brothers:
I celebrate the brothers’ opinions, too — because I am an American and because I believe in the cause of freedom and because I support the efforts of people to live in democracy and because I have met them and admire their courage and not because I am “right-leaning” (hell, I appeared on Air America this morning, Prof.).
Cole continues his spiteful idiocy:
Contrast all this to the young woman computer systems analyst in Baghdad, Riverbend, who is in her views closer to the Iraqi opinion polls, especially with regard to Sunni Arabs, but who is not being feted in Washington, DC.
OK, Juan, then let’s see you invite her to Michigan. Fete her… if you can find her. She doesn’t have the guts to identify herself.
(em. mine)
Now, what was that about fact checking one’s ass in this business? You tell me, is Jarvis angry because the reporting was sloppy? Or because the reporter didn’t check with him before going to press.
Look, you all want to make a hero of Jeff Jarvis, when he can’t go a week without stepping all over himself in his haste to condemn others of the same behavior he, himself, exhibits, go ahead. But I hope you’ll excuse me if I point the more obvious of his idio…syncratic contradictions.