didja see this?

[bigtree]

Want to get paid to write about Afghanistan? Apply for our blogger fellowship today!


from Jason Rosenbaum at FDL: http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/23429

Wednesday January 13, 2010 9:00 am

___Do you want to get paid to write about Afghanistan? Are you against the war and looking to help find a way out? Are you a blogger who needs an audience? If so, apply for our fellowship!

Details: http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/23429

Responsibilities:

The fellowship is a three month commitment, which the option of extending for a full year by mutual agreement.

As a fellow, you will be expected to blog three times every week on the war in Afghanistan, with a special focus on the domestic political implications and the 2010 elections.

You will also be expected to keep up to date with breaking Afghanistan news with more blog posts if events warrant.

You will be expected to speak with the media about your work and views.

Qualifications:

Qualified applicants are already writers. Bloggers are preferred (even if hardly anybody reads your blog), but you can and should apply even if you’ve never published your work online.

Qualified applicants should have a strong moral stance against the war in Afghanistan and be able to articulate that stance persuasively.

Qualified applicants should have a strong grasp on American domestic politics and elections.

Compensation:

Fellows are compensated at the rate of $480 per month to support their efforts.

To apply:

Send an email to [e-mail] with:

* your name
* email address and phone number
* 500 words on why you would be a great recipient for this fellowship
* links to (or attached) writing samples – the samples do not have to be about Afghanistan, though it is preferred
* a short resume

[NJmaverick]

1. Notice the Blogger isn't required to have a strong grasp of Aghanistan

or insurgencies or terroirsm or military history. All that is needed by Liar Dog Lake are propagandists that don't let facts get in the way of their agenda.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Spazito]

8. Yep, sure looks that way

FDL is entering the deeper end of the swamp. It started with Ms. Hamsher's partnering with Norquist, Shlafly and the teabaggers and this just adds to their lack of credibility, imo.

[sabrina 1]

32. What would characterize 'a strong grasp of Afghanistan'

Why is the US in Afghanistan? And what facts might be getting in the way of the fact that the US is not wanted there by the people of Afghanistan, that the American people do not want them there?

Torture, political assassinations, drones killing civilians, all being done in the name of American citizens.

Have you seen the years of demonstrations by the people of that sad country protesting the murder of their citizens? Probably not as the real propagandists in our media don't publish the facts about US foreign wars.

The death toll of civilians and troops rose once again this year by between 14% and 24%. What is this all for?

Why don't YOU write about Afghanistan and give us the facts.

Meantime, if you don't mind, I will depend on the few real investigative journalists who have actually been there and who have talked to the people, those most affected by our presence there, who have seen and photographed the bodies of the victims of this war.

And I'll take Russ Feingold's word that what we are doing there right now IS wrong for so many reasons, not least of which is the wishes of the people to whom it actually matters:

SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD: Rather than looking desperately for a quick fix to the problems that plague that country, we must acknowledge the limits, Mr. President, the limits of our ability to radically remake Afghan society, no matter how many billions of dollars and tens of thousands of troops we may commit to the cause. Instead, we should pursue a sustainable, a civilian-focused strategy to support the emergence of legitimate governance. Mr. President, this is the surest way to defeat the Taliban in the long term.

I don’t think this makes sense, Mr. President. Occupying the population centers of southern Afghanistan is likely to provoke a greater resentment and increase the danger to our troops and to the Afghan public. A majority of Afghans oppose an increase in foreign troops and want to see foreign troops leave the country within two years. Without giving the American and Afghan people a sense that our military operations will not go on indefinitely, I think we’re likely—unlikely to gain the support needed to accomplish our goals, particularly if we know going in that civilian casualties will only increase in the short term.

So, why would anyone want to hire more propagandists than we already have in the MSM to spin this travesty into something positive when the only logical, pragmatic and especially moral position IS to be against it?

[midnight]

2. K&R.

[Donnachaidh]

3. and your point for posting this?

??

[Drunken Irishman]

5. That any mental reject can write for FDL?

[cliffordu]

7. ....Survey Says:

GOOD ANSWER!!!!!

:rofl:

[NJmaverick]

10. ding! ding! ding! ding! You win the prize!

you got the answer correct in just one try!

[Luminous Animal]

20. Hey bigtree, it looks like a few here think that you are a mental reject.

[bigtree]

24. Its been a humbling experience

. . . bringing my viewpoint to the net. I'm still energetic and committed enough to the issues I express here and elsewhere to appreciate the criticisms for what they're worth, and to aspire to take those to heart and change (if they're at all relevant or correct).

But, I AM a POliticAL NuT! :crazy:

[Luminous Animal]

25. This is a good time to post a link to your journal

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/bigtree

Good stuff there!

[bigtree]

29. thanks, LA

seriously hoping more here apply, tho.

Great opportunity for an aspiring political writer. I have to admit that the exposure (and audience) would be my greatest challenge. The blogger that just advanced was exceptional in his coverage and expression. I'd have to improve to achieve that.

[Luminous Animal]

30. So, you feel that Robert Greenwald and the Brave New Foundation,

CREDO, Down with Tyranny, and Crooks & Liars is looking for a mental midget?

Six months ago, myself, Alex Thurston, and others here at The Seminal joined with Robert Greenwald and Leighton Woodhouse and others at Brave New Foundation to create the Afghanistan Blogger Fellowship.

...

We chose as our first fellow an unknown blogger from Austin, TX by the name of Derrick Crowe. Derrick was smart and he had a knack for research. He was also a religious Christian, and brought his background of faith to the anti-war message, creating a potent argument. Over the course of six months, Derrick has transformed himself into a leading voice against escalation in Afghanistan, regularly appearing throughout the blogosphere and in the mainstream media. And, as he’s just announced here, he’s now working full time on the issue with Brave New Films.

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/23429#comments

[bigtree]

6. what kind of question is that?

If you have an opinion on the post just spit it out

[Donnachaidh]

11. I asked you first. Serious question.

Considering the tone of the responses I can already assume this is going to be yet another FDL bashing thread. :shrug:

[bigtree]

16. I applied

I thought this might interest other anti-occupation writers here. Funny, huh? I always relied on FDL during the Bush administration for their opposition posts and articles. Too bad they've turned off so many with their health bill opposition efforts and other efforts critical of the administration. I just don't see the site the same way as the critics though . . . and I'm definitely not the opposition they describe.

[Luminous Animal]

18. Good luck, bigtree!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. K&R

[berni_mccoy]

12. FDL = Financially Dependent bLoggers?

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[berni_mccoy]

15. Actually, it's funny you mention that because FDL *does* pay bloggers and they did it on Kos

Originally, they didn't DISCLOSE that fact and when it was found out, there was an uproar.

So, basically, FDL is broadcasting: "Do as we say, not as we do."

How many FDL DUers get paid to post here? hmmm.

[Luminous Animal]

17. Actually they did disclose, originally. Both NYCEVE and Slinker wrote diaries

when they were hired by FDL. Just because some people missed those diaries does not mean that they did not happen.

The "outrage" occurred when readers neglected to click on either bloggers links added to reveal the extent of their contracts with FDL. Some people also had problems with the sentence structure of the links so both changed them.

[Luminous Animal]

14. Daily Kos has paid fellowships. The only qualification is blogging.

[mmonk]

19. I already blog about Afghanistan.

I don't know if I want to be tied down at the moment since I blog about multiple things as they happen.

[mmonk]

21. Why don't you take them up on it bigtree.

[Luminous Animal]

22. Bigtree has applied.

And good luck to her/him!

[mmonk]

23. Yes. Saw it after I posted. That's good.

[galileoreloaded]

26. Why would anyone act against their own interests and NOT support this war...

I mean, everybody knows that even though it was a bad idea last year, this year it is both a wise and necessary endeavor.

Several years from now, either 3 or 7, it will again become a bad idea, but until then, we need to do this, and need folks like you to get on board.

Please help us and get on board. Perhaps you could start a foundation to help wayward liberals who don't understand the necessity of these battles, where folks can receive a picture of their loved ones name and photo on the nosecone of a Reaper fired Hellfire missile. Kind of like adopt-a-brick.

What do you think??

[pleah]

27. K&R Good luck , bigtree.

[gateley]

28. Good luck! That would be a really cool thing to do! nt

[EFerrari]

31. Good luck, bigtree! They'd be lucky to have you.

:hi: