1 Doncha just love it, CY, when someone's plan melts like butter? Looks like this joker needs to upgrade more than just his computer! Heh, Heh, Heh ....

2 I've had quite a few hits from the Islobbic Repubic of Iranaway. Looks like the islamofascists are worried about a bunch of pajama-clad infidels. Sweet.

3 Baw-Hahahahahaha!!!

What a bunch of rubes. I've been averaging about 40 visitors a day from Iran, but no comments thus far.

Nice one, CY.

4 But....but....why isn't it that Gary didn't know he could be traced. I mean...according to the moonbats the people over there know all about technology so any leaks of confidential tracing/tapping didn't make any difference....

Could it be that these guys don't really know? LOL

5 You zionist sympathizers won't be so smug when our nuclear "power" station goes online, Allah be praised.

Erm, I mean, how about those Sea Eagles?

6 Why did this dork have to use MY name?

7 That made me smile. A fool named Hamid Reza Mehrabi, saying that his name is "Gary". My new name is going to be "Jibbili Intheni VonBeggerSchmoot"

8 I keel you.

9 Hmm--maybe that's "Gary" as in Spongebob's pet snail. Must be a big hit among the Mullahs.

10 Really this guys (muslims) are so transparent but their b.s. and threats are seriously considered by the media and most of the leftist governments. The muslims understand how to win with intimidation and they are succeeding on many fronts.

11 If “Gary’s” post was state-sponsored as CY suggested, I would have to agree that sending out Hamids as Garys into the American blogosphere is a very pathetic way to influence public opinion. Pathetic and elementary.

At least in the states we get pretty dang sophisticated about these things. Released only a few weeks ago, a “roadmap” signed by Rumsfeld in 2003 outlines the extent to which Americans use disinformation and third party websites to sway foreign opinion. (Read the story here http://news.bbc.co. uk/2/hi/americas/4655196.stm and you can download the pdf copy of the roadmap). --a space is included in the url because apparently it's considered questionable content--

Some of the tactics outlined include Websites about politics of Africa and the Balkans that appear to be information sites, but are actually run by the Pentagon.

The roadmap even acknowledges that the information put out by the military as psychological operations (Psyops) is finding its way into the msm. Of course, the authors say that the American news media should not unwittingly publish military propaganda.

Psyops personnel (yep, there’s even personnel) are told to consider “a range of technologies to disseminate propaganda in enemy territory” including wireless devices, cellular phones and the internet.

Maybe Gary can download a copy and learn a thing or two from it.

12 One thing "Gary" reminds me of is an international blogosphere. Theoritically, every open blog is possible to be an international public sphere; but the existence of language and culture barriers impede the interaction of people from diverse backgrounds in blogosphere. Because English is the dominant language in the global area, English blogging has a much bigger potential of attacting international attendance than blogging in other languages. That's why many people in non-English speaking countries choose English as their second blogging language and become "bilingual blogger".

French bilingual blogger Loic Le Meur is blogging in both French and English. His blog has more than 2100 links, but it did not show up in the Feedster Top 500 list because the majority links pointed to the French version of his blog. (http://www.loiclemeur.com/english/2005/08/technorati_and_.html) Welsh blogger Suw Charman has a Welsh language blog, but she never updates because the majority of her readers don't speak Welsh. Therefore, she bloggs in both English and Welsh now. (http://chocnvodka.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2004/7/10/102821.html ) Jananese bilingual blogger Joi Ito's English blog has much more comments than his Janpanese one. ( http://joi.ito.com/archives/2005/07/11/the_internets.html )

Another thing "Gary" reminds me of is the possibility that blogging offers a channel of non-reported facts or dissent opinions from abroad to enter the U.S. public sphere. These information make possible Americans to explain some events in a different perspective from that offered by msm. A good case in point is the "Baghdad Blogger" Salam Pax, a 29-year-old Iraqi architect. On writing what happened in Baghdad during Iraq war, his blog attracted millions of visitors in several months and was quoted by the New York Times, BBC, and Britain's Guardian newspaper. University of Michigan history Professor Juan Cole said when referring to the surge of Middle Eastern publications on the Internet, "I could get a level of texture and detail that you could never get from the Western press."

13 Wallys Conhaim wrote “Campaigning on the Web,” which Information Today published in its March of 2004 (Volume 21, Issue 3) journal. In the article, Conhaim stated, “Blogs are powerful because they feed information-hungry people the tidbits they need, provide a platform for those with opinions, and give a sense of immediacy and involvement to those who may be geographically distant.” While Iran is, in fact, very far away from the United States, I don’t believe “Gary’s” post, with grammatically erroneous statements such as “they only pretend that iranian program is threateninf and jeopardizing ,while they ignore this fact that the most destructive nuclear arenas are located in israel soil and zionists are enjoying to see the world view has turned on them,” will persuade a very large segment of the public. Blogs can, however, “change public opinion.” Howard Dean found some success through blogs in influencing public opinion during the Democratic primaries prior to the 2004 Presidential election. Conhaim wrote, “Howard Dean's blog (http://blogforamerica.com) is credited with helping build his popularity and has become a gathering point for serious discussion on national issues.”

I am sorry, but I don’t think old “Gary” will have the same results with his brilliant posts.

14 This is an example of what makes the Internet a great equalizer. It gives more individuals a voice than any other previous medium but it also gives individuals the tools to examine the sources of the information behind those voices. This was pointed out in the recent events involving the controversial NASA spin-man who turned out not to have the college degree he had claimed. It was a blogger who revealed his lack of a degree and found online resources that demonstrated his biased reporting in college and his subsequent hire by the Bush campaign. It was important enough that once the blogger had done the heavy lifting of finding the records, The New York Times did a story about it.

15 Hamid Reza Mehrabi or Gary as we all know him, says, “despite the effective and sensible confidence building that iranian officials have taken, europeans conversely have tried to grow more dishonest and turn this very simple dossier into a controversial issue.” Recent comments from your outstanding role-model of a world leader, that you call a president, are not confidence-building and are just the beginning of examples why the world cannot trust an Iranian government with nuclear capabilities. (Nothing against the Iranian people, because most of them are good people and the ones that I personally know here in the U.S. are model citizens that any country would be proud to have)

For someone or a government to claim the holocaust was a myth and to call for the destruction of another country (Israel), is not one that myself and I am sure most of the world, wants to possess the capability to make decisions regarding the handling of nuclear technology. Not to mention the history of Iran’s connection to terrorism around the world, “peaceful nuclear energy” is not the definite right for irresponsible decision-makers that we call the Iranian government.
Please see: http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=4366214&nav=HMO6

As far as Gary’s attempt to fool the world of his own identity (even possibly connected with the Iranian government) and influence public opinion is another example of a lack of this confidence-building that Gary mentions.

Melissa7005 makes a great point, blogs are a great platform for different voices and opinion, but it also can allow for the rest of us to take what we read with a “grain of salt” when we can check-out information regarding the source and the data that he or she posts.

16 The fact that someone can be so easily uncovered on a blog just reminds us that we are never really anonymous. Therefore, are blogs anything different than letters to the editor where we openly post our name and contact information? If we are so easily identifiable through blogs, are blogs anything different than newspapers? Sure, there is freer access to them. But as far as being able to express your opinions openly without the fear of reprisal, this goes to show that blogs are really no different. Not even on the internet are we allowed to be irresponsible with our words and not fear being held responsible.

17 The issue is not what Gary said (because it’s his opinion and he is entitled to that), but rather the real substance is in the humor that he thinks he’s pulling one over on us. I’m all for healthy debate from countries other than America, in fact I wish there was more of it online, but hiding behind a thinly veiled pseudonym is sort of sad. Let’s just suppose that CY is right and Gary is not only from Iran, but actually works with/for the Iranian government. Do you suppose it never once occurred to any of them that the internet is not actually anonymous? Could they not see that the telltale language Gary uses may be a dead giveaway? I for one feel sorry for Gary and his crackerjack staff, and I want to help. To that end, I will close this entry with a personal letter to him:

Dear Hamid,

If your intent is to continue your life in Bloggersville as Gary Martin, then there are some tools that you will need:

1. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (www.webster.com)
2. English Grammar 101 (www.englishgrammar101.com)
3. “What Are Those Crazy Americans Saying?: An Easy Way to Understand Thousands of American Expressions,” SER Publishing; 3rd edition, available at www.amazon.com for $10USD.

Furthermore, you should stay away from these sites:

1. Blogs by Iranians (http://www.blogsbyiranians.com/)
2. Islamic Republic of Iran - Official Website of the Iranian Government (http://www.iranonline.com/iran/iran-info/Government/index.html)
3. Blogging Ethics (http://blogethics2004.blogspot.com/)

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

(*The author of this letter chooses to remain anonymous.)

18 The most interesting aspect of “Gary’s” rambling – and of CY’s response – is that is raises seriously the question of whether planting blog posts could become a viable state-sponsored activity.

Why not? With so many political junkies frequenting blogs, with the potential for a captive audience – a politically active audience likely to vote – blogs seem like especially fertile ground for propaganda.

Granted, this kind of effort could have a great backlash, especially if enough CY’s out there do a little inspection work.

CY’s find has shown this probably isn’t a good idea. With enough astute blog editors out there, the propaganda perpetrators (hopefully) wouldn’t stand a chance.