The Nazz
23-08-2005, 06:28
This issue has come up in this thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=9498808#post9498808) a few times, but as far as I know, has not been reported on in Moderation. I'm looking for an opinion.
Eutrusca's thread is titled "Sheehan - "America not worth dying for!"" In his original post, Eutrusca did not cite the place from which he drew the quote he attributes to Sheehan. In later posts, others linked to an LA Times editorial which quoted a FrontPage magazine transcript in which Sheehan allegedly says "This country is not worth dying for." The context of the Sheehan quote is vague enough that there have been continuous arguments about whether Sheehan meant Iraq or the US when she said "this country," but that's not the issue.
The problem is that, even if the FrontPage transcript is accurate (and I have no reason to believe it is, given David Horowitz's problems with accuracy in the past and the lack of any other corroboration), Sheehan most certainly did not say what Eutrusca quotes her as saying in the thread title, and since there is another logical explanation for what she meant, Eutrusca's paraphrase of her statement borders, I believe, on libel.
I'm not asking that the thread be closed or deleted or anything like that. I'd just like the title edited to reflect what Sheehan is purported to have said. Eutrusca has not responded to challenges to do so in the thread, but in fairness, he could have missed them, since that thread moves awfully quickly at times. I'd like a mod to make the request, and if he refuses, to edit the title.
Thank you.
Eutrusca's thread is titled "Sheehan - "America not worth dying for!"" In his original post, Eutrusca did not cite the place from which he drew the quote he attributes to Sheehan. In later posts, others linked to an LA Times editorial which quoted a FrontPage magazine transcript in which Sheehan allegedly says "This country is not worth dying for." The context of the Sheehan quote is vague enough that there have been continuous arguments about whether Sheehan meant Iraq or the US when she said "this country," but that's not the issue.
The problem is that, even if the FrontPage transcript is accurate (and I have no reason to believe it is, given David Horowitz's problems with accuracy in the past and the lack of any other corroboration), Sheehan most certainly did not say what Eutrusca quotes her as saying in the thread title, and since there is another logical explanation for what she meant, Eutrusca's paraphrase of her statement borders, I believe, on libel.
I'm not asking that the thread be closed or deleted or anything like that. I'd just like the title edited to reflect what Sheehan is purported to have said. Eutrusca has not responded to challenges to do so in the thread, but in fairness, he could have missed them, since that thread moves awfully quickly at times. I'd like a mod to make the request, and if he refuses, to edit the title.
Thank you.