"Snopes" unmasked..... Please read.

[greenberetTFS]

Subject: FW: "Snopes" Unmasked -Please Read!

Interesting?

For the past few years www.snopes.com
has positioned itself, or others have labeled it, as the 'tell all final
word' on any comment, claim and email.

But for several years people tried to find out who exactly was
behind snopes.com. Only recently did Wikipedia get to the bottom of it
- kinda makes you wonder what they were hiding. Well, finally we know.
It is run by a husband and wife team - that's right, no big office of
investigators and researchers, no team of lawyers. It's just a
mom-and-pop operation that began as a hobby.

David and Barbara Mikkelson in the San Fernando Valley of
California started the website about 13 years ago - and they have no
formal background or experience in investigative research. After a few
years it gained popularity believing it to be unbiased and neutral, but
over the past couple of years people started asking questions who was
behind it and did they have a selfish motivation? The reason for the
questions - or skepticisms - is a result of snopes.com claiming to have
the bottom line facts to certain questions or issue when in fact they
have been proven wrong. Also, there were criticisms the Mikkelsons were
not really investigating and getting to the 'true' bottom of various
issues. I can personally vouch for that complaint.

A few months ago, when my State Farm agent Bud Gregg in
Mandeville hoisted a political sign referencing Barack Obama and made a
big splash across the internet, 'supposedly' the Mikkelson's claim to
have researched this issue before posting their findings on snopes.com.
In their statement they claimed the corporate office of State Farm
pressured Gregg into taking down the sign, when in fact nothing of the
sort 'ever' took place.

I personally contacted David Mikkelson (and he replied back to
me) thinking he would want to get to the bottom of this and I gave him
Bud Gregg's contact phone numbers - and Bud was going to give him phone
numbers to the big exec's at State Farm in Illinois who would have been
willing to speak with him about it. He never called Bud. In fact, I
learned from Bud Gregg no one from snopes.com ever contacted anyone with
State Farm. Yet, snopes.com issued a statement as the 'final factual
word' on the issue as if they did all their homework and got to the
bottom of things - not!

Then it has been learned the Mikkelson's are - very
Democratic (party) and extremely liberal. As we all now know from this
presidential election, liberals have a purposeful agenda to discredit
anything that appears to be conservative. There has been much criticism
lately over the internet with people pointing out the Mikkelson's
liberalism revealing itself in their website findings. Gee, what a
shock?

So, I say this now to everyone who goes to www.snopes.com
to get what they think to be the bottom line
facts...'proceed with caution.' Take what it says at face value and
nothing more. Use it only to lead you to their references where you can
link to and read the sources for yourself. Plus, you can always google
a subject and do the research yourself. It now seems apparent that's
all the Mikkelson's do. After all, I can personally vouch from my own
experience for their 'not' fully looking into things.
Believe or disbelieve whatever or whoever .

GB TFS

[DanUCSB]

Originally Posted by greenberetTFS

But for several years people tried to find out who exactly was
behind snopes.com. Only recently did Wikipedia get to the bottom of it
- kinda makes you wonder what they were hiding. Well, finally we know.
It is run by a husband and wife team - that's right, no big office of
investigators and researchers, no team of lawyers. It's just a
mom-and-pop operation that began as a hobby.

I cannot speak to any inherent political bias in the Snopes reporting (I haven't noticed anything too blatant, but YMMV); however, it isn't as if it's a big surprise that it's a husband and wife team that runs the site: it says exactly that right on their FAQ page. From there:

Q: Who creates the material for this site?

A: With very few exceptions, all of the material on this site is prepared by the same people who operate this site, Barbara and David Mikkelson.

While there may very well be political bias in the Mikkelsons' reporting, I don't find it overwhelming, nor surprising. When you write as much as they have over the years, personal views are bound to leak out at some point. To me, Snopes is a resource on par with Wikipedia: interesting to read, but far from definitive. If you care about an issue on either of the sites, you're well advised to do your own research.

[Kyobanim]

Where did this article come from?

[sf11b_p]

Recently I'd sent a message to snopes about one of their pages.

Obama ties to Islam

Ref article page: http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp

Snopes reply claims there is no evidence Obama has ever been a Muslim radical or otherwise. Snopes also quoted Obamas Senatorial page and statements as if they were irrefutable evidence.

A brief google and it seems to me there is evidence Obama did participate in Islam and Muslim studies and faith and did participate in prayer and attend Mosque.

In January 1968, Obama was registered as a Muslim at Jakarta's Roman Catholic Franciscus Assisi Primary School under the name Barry Soetoro. After attending the Assisi Primary School, Obama was enrolled, also as a Muslim, in the Besuki Primary School, a public school in Jakarta.

In his autobiography, "Dreams From My Father," Obama mentions studying the Koran and describes the public school as "a Muslim school." - LA Times March 16, 2007

A close boyhood friend of Obama, Zulfin Adi, said Barack "was a Muslim. He went to the mosque." - LA Times March 16, 2007

Tine Hahiyary, a principal of Obama's school (SDN 1 Menteng, Jakarta) while he was enrolled there, said she recalled he studied the Quran in Arabic. "I remember that he studied 'mengaji (recitation of the Quran)."- Kaltim Post

In Indonesian and Malay society, I found the word mengaji means learning to recite the Quran rigorously in its native language, Arabic.

Obamas campaign announcement, February 20, 2007, produced articles in Indonesian dailys, including the The Kaltim Post and Benjarmasin Post, regarding their belief of Obamas Muslim faith. In addition a March 6, 2007 article in The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof comments on Obamas ability to recite the Adhan, the Muslim call to prayer in Arabic.

"There are elections in America now. Along came a black citizen of Kenyan African origins, a Muslim, who had studied in an Islamic school in Indonesia. His name is Obama," said Muammar Gadhafi at a rally marking the anniversary of the 1986 U.S. air strike on him in Libya.

"All the people in the Arab and Islamic world and in Africa applauded this man," continued Gadhafi. "They welcomed him and prayed for him and for his success, and they may have even been involved in legitimate contribution campaigns to enable him to win the American presidency.

"We are hoping that this black man will take pride in his African and Islamic identity, and in his faith, and that [he will know] that he has rights in America, and that he will change America from evil to good, and that America will establish relations that will serve it well with other peoples, especially the Arabs," - Muammar Gadhafi address aired on Al-Jazeera TV on June 11, 2008 (translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute, MEMRI,)

The reply was an enthusiastic thanks for using snopes and a how to use their search to find what I was looking for.

[nmap]

Thank you, Sir! A most interesting revelation.

[PSM]

Originally Posted by Kyobanim

Where did this article come from?

Hmmm. I ran it through Snopes and didn't find anything.

Pat

[greenberetTFS]

Originally Posted by Kyobanim

Where did this article come from?

Kyobanim,

It was sent to me by an old friend of mine during a discussion on just how reliable Snopes is.....I told him I didn't think they were...I see so many people quote them as the final word regarding a source or statement that was made, even on this forum.....

GB TFS

[greenberetTFS]

Originally Posted by sf11b_p

Recently I'd sent a message to snopes about one of their pages.



The reply was an enthusiastic thanks for using snopes and a how to use their search to find what I was looking for.

sf11b_p,

Thank you,I rest my case....

GB TFS

[Team Sergeant]

Hell I already busted snopes a while back.....

Where is that thread where I stated snopes.com creditably was zero.

Team Sergeant

[Red Flag 1]

greenberetTFS,

Thanks for the post!!

Really did wonder about them.

I recall a "bust" by TS a few months ago. Did a quick search and your thread was all that showed Teddy.



RF 1

[PSM]

Originally Posted by Team Sergeant

Hell I already busted snopes a while back.....

Where is that thread where I stated snopes.com creditably was zero.

Team Sergeant

These?

http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/...5&postcount=27

http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/...61&postcount=5

Pat

[Red Flag 1]

Pat,

Yup!

Jim

ps. sometimes you just piss me off :-)
j

[jw74]

Good to know. Thanks for the info.

[PSM]

Originally Posted by Red Flag 1

Pat,

Yup!

Jim

ps. sometimes you just piss me off :-)
j

Gittn' slow in your old age?

Pat

[ZonieDiver]

Originally Posted by PSM

Hmmm. I ran it through Snopes and didn't find anything.

Pat

I couldn't find anything at Wikipedia, either. I mean ANYthing!