From someone who JUST MIGHT be on the other side of the political aisle....I refer this site to everyone who wants more info on the War. Effective LEADERS (that you are) never make everyone happy. You keep doing what you are doing, and let the readers decide.

Good Job. From the Right.

Sean-Paul, Keep shoveling, I will sort out what I want.

Sean-Paul, Keep shoveling, I will sort out what I want.

We love you. keep on.

Please keep up the excellent work.

AND.....I don't think you ever claimed that you weren't pulling your info from a lot of different sources, did you?

Double negative? I have never not done that.

I see no reason to end and I for one will continue to patronize your site. Keep up the good work...

Please don't stop, this is the best site out there that provides so much information.

You have no need or reason to rebutt this. It will serve no purpose. Information you post is yours to post.

The service you provide is information aggregation. No intelligent person thinks you're doing first hand reporting... you're reporting what's reported. If you source it, all the better. But otherwise, who gives a flyin fck.

I think I posted along similar lines before: we could all become victims of this 'war'. As the fighting comes closer to Baghdad, you will see less and less 'objective' info. This is evident also in the split between the Pentagon and the White House over the future of Iraq. The strategy changes as often as the weather, I'd bet.

Please pray for all victims regardless.

Bah! Forget their whining! Keep up the good work. I fer one don't have time or energy to search the whole web, and I think it's perfectly legit to cut/paste. Credit where credit is due, when possible, but no harm if not.

JIM :)

Where is their post?

Jealousy is an inevitable byproduct of success.

You are doing the right thing, in exactly the right way. Ignore the parasites who are just unhappy that someone else is getting attention (and, perhaps, are hoping to steal a bit of it by taking you on).

Please keep up the outstanding job that you're doing, for as long as your wife can tolerate it. :-) The other opinions don't count.

Keep going Sean, I will believe what I want to. You haven't led me in the wrong direction yet.
Keep up the great work.

I'm a proud conservative and I love what you have here. Just keep doing it the same way. Don't let the idiots bother you... and please post more this evening! (it's fine with me that every post doesn't cite source.)

Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead

In the immortal words of Abe Lincoln:

"You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time but you cannot please all of the people all of the time." Don't even try--you do a heroic job. E.

I am not sure what is going on behind the scenes, but I am a supporter of the war and I read (and have donated to) your blog because it provides unfiltered, fast updates. I only know that you must have some anti-war/liberal bias by inferring it from posts in this forum. Nothing you have posted since I started reading this blog suggest anything other than neutrality. Your readers are another story. The plagarism thing is a joke. Don't worry about it. Please keep posting just as you are.

Aw, c'mon Sean-Paul. Rise above the trolls and snarks and keep doing the incredible job you've been doing. I've come to depend on your blogs from all the sources. And I don't think I'm alone. Most of us are intelligent enough to figure out the contradictions for ourselves.

Sean -- keep doing what you're doing. The news doesn't belong to any one person. it belongs to all of us.

#6: What do you want?
#2: We want information!
#6: Well, you won't get it!
#2: by hook or by crook, we will!

muhaaahaaa!
:)

Say it ain't so!

http://www.stratfor.com/corp/Corporate.neo?s=INT&c=g

Stratfor is pursuing action.

The Agonist, which has skyrocketed to popularity in part by offering inside breaking news about the war before the mainstream media reports it, and which has been touted by the likes of Will Femia's Weblog Central and Nick Denton.org, appears to have an 'interesting' relationship with Stratfor and its US-Iraq War site. In fact, approximately 50% of The Agonist's posts, almost all those not credited to a mainstream media source -- which are the ones that have mostly made it shine -- appear to be identical to Stratfor sitrep, intel, and combat reports! Verbatim. While perhaps in one out of twenty times Stratfor is credited, 95% of the time, the reports somewhat infer they are inside information directly from its own sources.

Anyone truly paying attention can see that you work hard to get things right, get things fast, and make at least as much of an effort to keep things balanced as any other news service one could name.

This site rocks. Its demise would be a major blow to this historically unprecedented real-time look at war.

Keep it up, Sean. Please.

I think the posts here answer your question....?

Sean-Paul,
We very much appreciate your good work. Information is, at this time, a very important resource. We, as readers, are capable of—if we choose to—researching the news presented.

Sean-Paul:

Don't play this game. Either provide the service or don't. But don't expect constant ego stroking.

Most folks like it, some folks hate it.

Most folks are nice, some are shits.

If you feel the service is worth it, then -- by all means -- keep doing it.

If you're having second thoughts, then stop.

But please don't come out and beg. Run it like a business. Be brutal. Understand that some folks have a 'tude, some folks don't, and most folks appreciate what you're doing.

I do. I appreciate it very much. But I hate when the blogs start turning personal and the admins start threatening not to post.

Cripes, either do it or don't. And if you don't, just move along. The world's a big place.

Don't stop!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sean Paul,
You're doing a great job, providing an essential service. Don't let the ***tards get you down.

Keep up the good work, Sean-Paul, you are doing an excellent job. Best.Warblog.Ever. :)

I don't think you should treat these complaints seriously at all. This comes with the territory of sudden popularity. We all know what we're getting here.

keep on keeping on.

And all you others out there--hit the paypal button!

I don't care who the source is, I come here because you are monitoring so many different sources at once and it's a good place to find a collation.

Should you provide a cite for each item as to the source? I think only you can answer that, but can see if things get hot and heavy mistakes and/or omissions will be made...and you've always been very upfront with saying to take everything with a grain of salt.

So, keep posting and if anyone is giving ya a hard time for not providing a cite when ya can, just provide one. I'll keep coming back either way.

I am new to your site, but I realized from the start that you wer gathering info from a lot of areas and providing capsules and links for us to use in forming our thoughts on the war.

Please keep it up. It helps me get info and balance the filters of Fox,Cnn, MSNBC and other sources that may have other agendas

I don't give a rat's behind who your sources are. I find it amazing that you get so much information from so many sources, on all sides of the issues.

This isn't about you, or us as individuals--it's about something much larger and more important--that fate of millions is at stake here.

Keep up the good work.

Unbelievable - you're not charging for this. I think you're providing a valuable service, and have donated. Unfortunately, my family is a victim of this economy, so it wasn't much. If people don't like this site,they don't have to view it. Probably sour grapes.

I looked at the "other" site, and it appears that you both get your info, at times, from the same sources. So this guy is craving the attention that you've gotten, perhaps, and that's led to his unfortunate posting. I've never heard of his blog.

I'm not deserting, captain.

Besides, maybe he copied your excellent writing style. ;-)

Sources! We don't need no stinking sources. Besides nearly all of the military stuff comes from the Pentagon regardless of who typed it up. Fly on....

i think they're saying that you're distributing content for which stratfor usually charges. i have seen you give occasional credit to stratfor, so i wouldn't call it plagiarism. however, i have wondered how stratfor feels about it, if this is indeed what you are doing. maybe you have cleared it with them; i wouldn't know, but it might be a good idea for your own sake to do so if you haven't -- i can imagine that they might object.

in general i prefer if you give your sources. i rather have the source than have you be the first who reports something; i am here (and try to contribute) not as part of some sort of race, but as part of accountability and truthful information dispersal. and it seems the fair thing to do, to give credit. you do it a lot, but not always, and i've just assumed that's an oversight for the sake of speed.

Stratfor doesn't own "breaking news." If you were reposting their commentary, that would be one thing, but you're not, you're reposting their breaking news, along with the breaking news of scores of other news organizations. Keep doing what you're doing, you're in the right!

As an aside, there's no harm in going back over your posts and adding in all the citations when you have time to breathe.

I refered your site to a bunch of socialist folks in the Netherlands (old mIRC friends)and my hard-right co-workers. Your site may be a true Rainbow coalition. Terrific job.

Ditto, Didion.

SP: I appreciate the work you do, but please, just tell stratfor to STFU. And keep up the good work.

Keep posting news.

The news (from whatever credible source) is the only thing that keeps me here. If this becomes a politics ranting board (from posters, not you), as it appears to be becoming, serious news searchers will leave.

Please start becoming more strict on the NEWS TIPS. I know you allow some commentary. For a few hours today, right after you changed the title from comments to NEWS TIPS, it was ok. It has since returned to a lot of name calling or disparaging the political views of others.

I second Didion Sprague, eihter do it or don't. But I'm a news junkie that's hooked so please keep doing it!

Those who attack you and your sources, Sean-Paul, are doing so for two possible reasons:

1) Jealousy - you are getting a LOT of up-scale attention from the mainstream money buckets, and those whose methods, sources, or style is not as attractive or effective are suffering sour grapes.

2) Trying to savage the messenger out of hate or fear of the message -- the information you are posting is potentially very damaging to the political and popularity ambitions of many powerful people who have and awful lot of money, credibility, and face riding on the spectacular and sparkling success of this "splendid little war".

Regardless of where one stands on the justification, rationale, or need for this war, it is very clear from the relatively unfiltered, relatively dry and objective information clearinghouse nature of this site...that things ARE NOT going as predictedd by those who need it to.

Is the US going to "win" the war -- 95% yes, no question, barring disaster (at which point the N-word gets thrown around).

Is the US going to "win" the peace -- we've already lost it.

Keep your back up. We know you are using sources, we know you have the wherewithal to back up your info.

We also know that you do not have the time for attrubutions and standard references.

Sounds to me like someone is trying to play "Wolfowitz" and make you out to be "Hersh".

Don't let it get to you.

You have remained remarkably objective, able to retract and correct, and published stories on ALL sides of the issue, regardless of their impact on one stance or the other.

KUDOS!

I agree with the aforenoted comments.

Keep it coming, if who you are shows through your work, it's just a reflection of your passion, you're still providing a great gift to all of us.

Even though I often disagree with (what I estimate to be) your politics I DEMAND your services!

Now keep your pecker up (a Canadian reference to your chin) and get back in there.

It's most of the posting that goes on at this site that I can't stand, so i've opted not to engage those lunatics, but you are doing an excellent job of keeping it straight.

Most sincere thanks, and look forward to your next; sleepless, foodless, workless, familyless, friendless, socialess day.

Your sacrifice has not gone unnoticed.

I just found you -- you can't go now!

I don't know if I will post anymore tonight.

Don't play this game.

You're providing a service for many people. I'm sure many parents and husbands and wives of coalition soliders are reading this blog. They appreciate your news flashes. But if you can't provide the service or can't deal with the complaints, then stop.

But don't play the game of, "Gee, my feelings are hurt. Make me feel better."

Folks are dying out on battlefields -- on both sides. They're providing a service, too, but they don't have the luxury to sit back and sulk.

Either get your head straight or move on. And if you move on, someone else will provide the service.

With your job youre providing us news from many different sources and that is a really hard task. I was doing the same the very first days of this conflict and I went blind. I needed to reboot myself couple of times. In spite of been complete against the war I try to follow up the events and you do this for me. I just read the news critically and I apreciate what you are doing. Just go ahead.

As a professional writer, I expect that you know more about your obligations as regards citing sources than I, so I won't presume to offer comment beyond saying that I've appreciated and benefited from your labours and hope you continue as soon as you are up to it.

On the one hand, it's good form to cite sources whenever possible. Besides being fair to the sources, it makes your site more interesting, because readers learn of other places they can check, in addition to yours.

On the other hand, how about adding a sidebar with a caption something like, "The Agonist Watches the Following Sites Closely:" and then list the sites you use most.

That seems to me like a reasonable way to balance Stratfor's right to attribution with your own desire (which I salute) to spend your time gathering and relaying as much information as possible. It should help you avoid repeating yourself (citing the same sources over and over) or burning time dealing with cites rather than war information.

Thank you for doing what you're doing.

Please keep this going. We all know you do your best and are getting info from many different places.

Except for those people who figured you had deep background contacts in the Pentagon, I assume most understood that you were using existing press reports.

But I can't believe that you were actually republishing the intellectual property and valuable work product of another company. That's clearly grounds for a suit, and you had better contact an attorney -- unless these Stratfor guys are very forgiving.

I think this should remind us that bloggers aren't journalists and shouldn't pretend to be. We're for the most part armchair pundits who get to publish without years of academic or journalist experience. Let's not risk lawsuits for the sake of hits.

Best of luck, and thanks for an otherwise quite valuable resource.

Read what Didion posted at 8:48 PM. Read it again. Memorize it.

Thanks!

Sean-Paul, because of what you are doing, I am following this more closely than any other historical event in my lifetime with the exception of the Kennedy assassination and 9/11.

Keep up the good work; credit wherever possible and always make your position clear as you did in the post about how you get info.

Because you are growing so fast, the mission and modus operandi of this website bear repeating fairly often so that people understand what your goals and methods are.

This is truly a populist initiative that has revolutionized communication; don't underestimate the power of what you are doing.

keep on !
from a swiss guy at Thailand...

Sorry to post twice, but I want to
say, that you know in your heart
that you are performing an
extremely valuable service. That
said, there is nothing left for
you to do, but focus on the task
that can only be judged at its
completion. Look to that completion
and give no thought to the
barnacles in life.
is made, there is nothing leftt

I agree with the sentiments expressed above. This is, without a doubt, the most timely and comprehensive source for war coverage. Keep it up, Sean Paul.

some people just kinda suck it.

maybe they should shut the mouth and log on to cnn.com. it ain't like they're payin'.

keep the faith.

The site is great--it's my primary source of news on the war. Keep it going!

But why not add a disclaimer at the top of the site (or somewhere) stating exactly what your sourcing situation is? That should quell the complainers and clarify the situation for new readers.

I've been waiting to see whether people who read you have been on the ball with regard to Straw and his comments about the missile hitting the market in Baghdad. One comment came in only a while ago.

Anyway........ Now it's clear

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=393066

but actually a CBC person had Googled details given in Fisk's original report and posted the results hours before Straw's comments appeared on The Agonist.

mr agonist

your work is top class. you have created a 'climate' here of debate that does its best to be informed, and of well-founded cautious reading of all news sources. you attribute most stories. if you don't, i think everyone here is smart enough to chase them up and either catch you out or confirm your reputation for breaking news ahead of the networks. AFAIK you haven't 'spun' any report you've presented, and the debate on the boards is wide enough to provide the checks and balances this kind of operation needs. i guess the explosion of interest (i only found the agonist once the war started) has changed things out of all recognition for you, and the sudden apparent responsibility must weigh heavy.

my POV is just keep doing what you're doing, don't take the world on your shoulders. you've managed and altered the site intelligently since it took off. that's all anyone could ask. if we're even entitled to ask, which i'm not sure we are, given that you do this as a blog with the odd paypal donation.

what i mean is, y'know, keep up the good work!

You look a little like Vincent D'Onfrio from the Law and Order series.

%$&^^!@!!

"Don't let the man get you down!"

from the left

Sean-Paul,

this is my main source of fair unbiased news and rowdy conversation. i for one don't give a rats ass where you get your info, i like the way it is presented and the majority of the posters.

please don't let these idgits depress you. take the night off, spend time with your pretty wife and come back in the morning. don't let the life come out of this community. yes, it is a community.

%$&^^!@!!

"Don't let the man get you down!"

from the left

%$&^^!@!!

"Don't let the man get you down!"

from the left

Ready on the left;Ready on the right;
All ready on the firing line!
Sean Paul, lock and load one magazine, aim your weapon down range, and fire at will. I need the service you provide, please don't give up because of someone who does not understand what you do . . .

Judging by the overwhelming number of positive responses here, I'd say the readers have spoken.

Damn the naysayers. 99.9% of the readers agree. This is one of the best things on the net today.

A FAN

Agonist: (ægonist), n. one involved in struggle or competition.

Truly... stay the course!

Look it's this simple: If the Agonist wasn't providing a service, I'd be hearing on NPR about Stratfor instead of your site. In fact, I never would have heard about Stratfor if I hadn't visited your site. So please, in a world where Karl Rove has cowed the editors into submission, please keep up the good work. I have a nasty feeling that history will remember Sept 11 as the fuse being lit, this war is the explosion.

To Didion Sprague: cripes, have a bit of human compassion. Ask yourself: what exactly is Mr Kelley's reward for doing this? Clue: it isn't the quarterly profits.

Just remember: Accurate, Cheap & Fast. Pick any two cause you ain't getting the third one.

I, for one, appreciate your efforts. Keep up the flow of information, we'll figure out the fact(s) or fiction(s).

If ya don't like it don't read it!

Hell, I was never under the impression that SP was generating copyrighted material and presenting it as his own creation, I was functioning under the impression that this guy was doing a fine job of consolidating all the info out there on the WWW or otherwise, and even doing us the favor of attempting to verify it before he posted it. What's the problem? Is this a blogger-envy thing? Its a war da**it, isn't all fair in love and war? Okay that was cheezy, sorry. Thanks for all your hard work S-P!

Amitava Mazumbdar is clearly not an attorney. You are not doing anything that would subject you to a lawsuit (however, I give you the caveat that you shouldn't take your legal advice from a comments board to a blog -- if you are really concerned, consult an attorney). You are recopying breaking news that was reported somewhere else. You have the legal right to do that and are not required to cite the original source. It would be different if you were recopying commentary or other creative writing without sourcing it -- that would violate copywrite law.

As a matter of journalism ethics, however, it would probably be better to cite the source of the news whereever you can. If exigent circumstances make that impossible, you should probably use your best efforts to add in the sources after the fact, when you have time.

sean-paul,

your morale is a little low, no?

this is to be expected, after so many days of combat... get some r&r and will be able to deal with all those enemy forces afterwards.

i think we are all getting a little depressed. this subject is not very jolly to begin with, and it all seems very surrealistic. i keep thinking it will be over, and it never is.

Well as the zen Buddhists say, if you don't allow yourself to get too easily wowed by praise, you won't be too easily devastated by criticism. I've been following both the pro- anti antiwar blogs fanatically for weeks, and very much appreciate the fastidously non-partisan approach you've put forward. Buck up, you're widely and highly regarded, just don't expect to get rich or even secure out of all this.

Sean-Paul, please keep on keepin' on. I have come to rely on several blogs, yours chief among them, as part of a balanced daily breakfast (sez the guy who voted "moderate right").......

Whoa --

I retract my comment. After reading the weblogs blog, I see that you have been, in fact, plagiarizing.

I hadn't realized you were copying items verbatim from Stratfor. This isn't about ego stroking. This is about laziness and journalistic ineptitude.

Time constraints or no, plagiarism is terrible. I tell my students this year after year and most understand. But a few don't. And those that don't fail my class.

I'm disappointed.

I urge you to immediately publish an apology to Stratfor and attribute all the plagiarized material.

And I'll certainly not visit your site any longer. You've completely lost my trust and good will.

Please. Take the night off if you need to. But come back renewed and **KNOW** that we rely on you. You are the refreshing fountain of knowledge, unfiltered, unaltered, and unspinned.

But why not add a disclaimer at the top of the site (or somewhere) stating exactly what your sourcing situation is? That should quell the complainers and clarify the situation for new readers.

I think this is a good suggestion. Sorry for not sourcing it. :-)

I can understand why alarms have been raised. *If* a lot of content is being posted from a subscription site without mentioning the source, some might be lead to believe the author of this site was trying to infer he had unique or personal sources that don't exist.

In plain terms: anyone can scour sites and post links to the material he finds, but if that's what you're doing you should provide sources. Otherwise, when the curtain is pulled aside, folks may be disappointed to find the little man working the levers. If you do have your own unique sources, highlight those somehow, so no confusion can arise.

People post an awful lot of value-less material out on the net; this site has provided some interesting material though. Understand though, that when a site like this grows in popularity, it's likely to be scrutinized by many who are well-equipped to discover any cracks in its integrity.

Good luck.

Sean-Paul,
The news/truth/information belongs to everyone..it's our right to have what will help us make choices, and thus have as much freedom as possible...is there a price to pay for that? Sometimes. What are you willing to pay? As far as i can see, this is YOUR project, this site is for you; you decide. You have a good heart and a good mind. You'll figure it out.

quit whining, i want a sitmap, where is al hay(SP?)

ah, never mind, take a night off, you have earned it. judging from the boobtube, the map changing kinda fast.

by the way, where do you stand on the war?

Why bother with these critics? You will never satisfy everyone. Why even bother protesting neutrality? We all have a point of view, and no one should apologize for that. To me, one of the great things about blogs is that they DO have a point of view. However, I admit I spend absolutely NO energy trying to ferret out yours - I have better things to do with my time, and I have my own life to live.

Keep doing what you're doing - you're providing an outstanding service. Let the critics hang.

Please don't stop your valuable work. I have noted to many how I admired your site not only for all the hard work you clearly put into it, but for being remarkably *unbiased* in this time of war and all of the propaganda it brings.

Also, enjoy the pledge.

This site is an invaluable information resource, and it is changing the way people view the war and the way the media presents the war.

For goodness sake, SP, don't stop!! We need you.

Sean-Paul, Keep doing what you're doing. It's a shame someone who busts their ass like you do should have to put up with unproductive criticism. But I guess that's why you get paid the big bucks, right? (VBG)

Waldo,

I have a Statfor subscription.

Sean-Paul is not plagiarizing stratfor.

He may be compiling info from stratfor, but he is certainly not plagiarizing.

Compilation and plagiarization are extremely different.

Another thing -- there are many other sites giving out the same kind and quality of info as stratfor, including Janes, and multiple news sources around the world.

Not to mention the slightly more ... questionable, but still interesting and often correct... sites like iraqwar.ru, the China Peoples' Daily, IRNA, Xinhua, ArabNews, and Al Jazeera.

So, as a "clearinghouse", Sean-Paul has distinctly avoided, in my opinion, plagiarizing anything.

Stratfor may be CLAIMING so, but that does not MAKE IT SO.

Erm... we don't know whether someone at Stratfor was copying material from THIS blog, ... vice versa, or if they both got information from some of the same people who were "live" sources. I don't want to jump to any conclusions without hearing what Sean has to say about it, too.

I never would have heard about Stratfor if I hadn't visited your site.

Another excellent point. You and Stratfor need to figure out how to turn this into a win-win situation.

If they stay confrontational and you just figure out some legalistic way to not ever mention them, they'll lose more than you will. Someone should clue them in to this.

Please keep at it. Ignore the BS. We just want the raw news. Screw everything else.

Keep going! This is great real time stuff. And listen, CNN, BBC, all of them have to pull back off of what gets out from time to time!

The entire blog spirit is precisely this. Real time and out there.

Thanks so very much!

I like the disclaimer on the top. You may want to also consider the fact that this will have to be a site that must exist without compansation....if there is any real legal quaking about the sources you use, it would be better if you could say that you didn't PROFIT from it. Just a thought from a supporter.

I like the 'imbedded' political commentary from some of you. Smooth.

How liberating....like what our troops are doing.

*grinning ear to ear at the monitor*

I really don't care where you get your information from as long as it's diverse. Please continue to provide links to the sources as you've been doing. I think you're doing a fine job of consolidating a huge amount of information and hope that you continue to do so. Best site I've seen.

Consider taking the night off to recharge. You've earned it.

How about an "agonist for dummies" link near the top of the left-hand column, with the disclaimers and so forth that were reposted here?

I got some action for Stratfor to pursue, the lousy.......

Oh, Waldo, if you haven't left never to return, please realize that a blog is not technically journalism..please also read pontificator's post about what's legal and what's not. This a news/rumour aggregation site, and by its very nature cannot conform to the so called rules of "real journalism." This is not mainstream media. The rules are loose. There are lies, innuendo and falsehoods. It's entertainment too! Get off the high horse.

mais non mon cheri Sean-Paul, ne t'arretes pas. tu sais bien qu'on t'aime bien et qu'il ne faut jamais ecouter les imbeciles. ca ne sert a rien.

i find that when i am down, nothing gets me feeling better than soft words in french.

I found your site the most readable. I did not think you had "embeds" so I knew you were collating a lot of information that might be available on individual sites. I thought you were pretty scrupulous at citing, including hot links so we could read the originals ourselves. If anyone objects, your choices are to post prominently that you will not be using anything from x.com or to refer us to an interesting story at hotlink and let us judge for ourselves.

I value very much your gathering the information in one place. It saves the trouble of scanning ten sites.

Keep up the good work!

Raymond

Sean, chin up. You're a smart guy.

You know you can't please everyone all the time, regardless of what you do. I agree it's a waste of time to reiterate your neutrality. One solution on the use of sources might be to develop and use a code of acronyms that over time would be quickly.

Sean-Paul, you are providing us with an excellent service! The amount of information produced by the media outlets is staggering; it's wonderful that you, with the acknowledged help of news-tippers, are trying to sort through it all and present it in an objective a manner as possible. I accept that, unless stated otherwise, the information will be from various sources. You scrupulously acknowledge the help of the news-tippers, and usually give the source of a specific bit of information.

I agree with Jim, credit as often as you can, or put up a notice (to keep the complainers quiet) stating that information is compiled from various sources, unless otherwise stated.

Again, I humbly thank you for this tremendous service,

kschultz

Citing sources, when at all possible, would be an appropriate action. %100 percent. And then your integrity would not be questioned.

In the simplest terms I can use, I say you da man SP.

If there are jealous pissants out there, f*** 'em. ;)

I hope this ends soon so you can take a break. Gen. Franks may be calling for the most accurate sit-rep tomorrow from you.

Ambidextrously yours.

Don't be such a pussy, don't bring shame to your family. Just post. Sleep. Post....

A very good friend of mine was in Japan at the time of the Kobe earthquake. He and a few others cobbled together a site offering a list of persons confirmed dead. They were threatened with legal action by the NHK (Japan's national broadcasting service) -- on the grounds of COPYRIGHT violation, if you can believe that. They didn't take down the site, and the NHK never pursued the claim.

If you're worried about legal action, write to me and I'll try to line you up with people who can help. If you're just irritated about could-do-better backseat driving, take a rest and rejoin the fight tomorrow; you are doing well at what you set out to do, and it's worth a good deal more than my $20 donation. :-)

Never sweat the pissants, they're everywhere. Especially on the right.

But they are always outnumbered by the good folks.

Keep up the terrific work!

John Cross...

Excellent point.

Stratfor cannot claim "intellectual property" if no profit is made from the use of that property.

Sean is NOT publishing anything -- he is sharing it with his friends, some of whom he has never met, and some of whom lend him some money every now and then.

And, anyway, Stratfor's claims of Plagiarism are bogus.

I check in with your site 6 to 10 times a day . Couldn't do without it. Have recommended it to a bunch of friends. Thanks Sean Paul!
Ken
Milwaukee

envious trolls, eh?
well i told em we live on the internet and information will not be stopped...
honestly - nobody is going to be able to stop you if you don't want to stop
wouldn't it be funny for them to blow their income on lawyers like the RIAA did with napster only to find ppl are so damn pissed off they won't be tolerated on the net?
nothing they can do in any way - you are untouchable.
if you have to, you can set up sites anywhere that can't be touched...it's so easy to defeat em.
oh boy...i better not mention what they did to any of the thousand script kiddies i know on irc...
P-} HAR and muahaha too!

Pontificator--

Actually, I am an attorney.

There isn't a problem if SP is just reprinting headlines that Stratfor provides on its site for free.

But if he was republishing wire reports that Stratfor sells by subscription, that's a serious problem and SP should have known better.

This all reminds me of littlegreenfootball's assertion that his site broke a story of WMD suits found in Iraq, when all he did was link to the newspaper that actually did break the story. Bloggers are confusing what work belongs to someone else and what is their own.

You are doing a great service. Please, do NOT let the B@st@rds wear you down.

sean paul
my son is in iraq with the 101st please keep the info coming...from the right...from the left...who cares...this is huge...the truth of it all is overwhelming and yet elusive..the nuggets and jewels of facts and awareness from varied sources i find here are like a lifeline for me...it's important that you continue..thank you...
peace

Sean - we don't read you for "inside" news, or at least I don't. We read you because you are the only place to find every little new development. You're like a minute by minute Drudge, who just reprints other media too. People visit Drudge, and you, to find everything in one place.

You are like crack and we can't do without you. Screw the naysayers!

Contact Rense and FTW -- their sites are pretty loony, but they have a LOT of experience getting hounded and getting out of it.

You are doing a great job, keep it up. The threat of the ultimate American weapon, the law suit, indicates that you have successfully touched someone's nerve.

Keep the information flowing. I'm enjoying the fact there is a place I can catch up in no time on the day's events. I check several sites/TV's throughout the day and have no problem with anything you post.

Keep up the GREAT work

Well - this wasn't a problem when you were flying low. You were saving us from running all over the internet. But you've become really visible and some seem to think you're cutting into their revenues or some such.

I haven't looked to see whether you were actually cutting and pasting. But you're breaking new ground, and you probably need an attorney just because of that.

Needless to say, we all love the site. But we sure don't want to encourage you to do something inappropriate, let alone illegal. So I think you'd better go find out what the guidelines will be. You can probably help shape them.

You have a lot of support, regardless.

Waldo's Right

The rules are loose. There are lies, innuendo and falsehoods. It's entertainment too! Get off the high horse.

Well, Waldo's sorta right. If he's lifting shit from Stratfor, not sourcing -- then it really doesn't matter if it's a blog or it's an article in The New Yorker.

Plagiarism is plagiarism. It's serious business. If Sean's *lifting* stuff word for word, then there's something fundamentally wrong. I won't go as far and say, "I won't return," but, yeah, I understand the anger -- both from Waldo and from Stratfor.

Look, three days ago Sean was wondering if he was gonna make a living out of this. Well, sure, you can try, but here's a tip: if you're gonna go full-time, don't plagiarize. Geez.

Your site is really valuable -- great source of up to date info, and I appreciate the political transparency. Sure, the more sources the better -- it helps in evaluating the information, but I understand your time constraints..

I'm glad you are taking a break. We sometimes overreact to criticism when tired or stressed.

Jimminy cricket. What is intel but the aggregation of information? The free flow and replication of data ensures a "free" society. It is this free flow and dialogue based not on differences, but common ground, that most threatens the extremists in this world.

The Agonist has done a great service by giving me and others a "one stop" way to access different views on the war. It's a shame that the major news agencies can't be as honest and objective as your posts, but as a wise person told me long ago-you can't believe everything you hear(and read). You have become a valuable resource to many. Please keep it up!

Sean please do not give up. I have been here almost from the beggining and I too am indeed hooked. I have to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the transformations that this site has taken. I am new to web programming (3 months from my B.S. in I.T. majoring in Web Programming) and it has been quite an education for me. Much like watching those documentaries that show enhanced photograpy of a flower blooming (can't remember the technical term for that someone help me). It has really given me hope about my choice of future career at a time when theres not much to be hopeful about! (the Internet is not dead yet!)So you see I have been observing the site on yet another level. It has been a sublime pleasure and a thrill to view your success. You seem to have stumbled onto a service the public wants/demands in a style that they enjoy. Be true to your original design and make as few deviations as necessary. Others are trying to accomplish what you have but they have not been able to serve thier readers in a way that is most palatable. There will always be detractors who will envy your success. Ignore them, those opinions do not matter. I am sure you already know whose opinions matter most!

Good luck with the future of this project and keep up the good work. You have been an inspiration to me.

Larry King just report that a correspondent has reported from the site that 11 american bodies were also recovered when they rescued the pow.

where's waldo?

Sean

Keep on reporting.

It seems to me that a very likely explanation for the finger pointing is to demonize the messenger.

I'm very comfortable in sorting it all out when the shooting stops.

Let me be the judge of who I believe, who's credible and who's not.

Right or wrong I believe Scott Ritter, Peter Arnett and the Agonist have all been demonized for the same reasons.. information!

Information not filtered by FOX, CNN, MSNBC...need I say more.

Without the internet, without blogs, without alternative news sources we would truly be living in the "fog" of war.

You post... I'll read...I'll decide what's fair and balanced.

FOX not!

Whoa, SP, I apologize.

I just went back to the stratfor site and poked around again. I see that the reports you copied are indeed provided for free. When I visited before all the links led me to notices that I needed a subscription.

My bad.

However, there are still serious IP issues at stake. You were definitely taking credit for commercial work that wasn't yours. That's also serious business, just not as serious as I first thought.

Anyway, best of luck.

SP, your blog is a jewel -- lightning fast, unbiased reporting and a host of intelligent, thoughtful posters from all across the political spectrum. I've recommended your site to everyone I know, left and right. Those who would rag on you are welcome to start their own blogs. You are what you are, and we Agonistas really appreciate your dedication, hard work, and good cheer!

Thanks a million zillion ka-jillion! :-)

I remember reading many times here that SP had about 18 windows open and a bunch of TV's on, so I was never under the illusion that he was getting the info from some 'secret' sources...imo, the main reason for coming here is so that you didn't have to surf thru dozens of sites or watch a half a dozen TV channels. As someone else mentioned, until I saw a cite to a story here, I never even heard of Stratfor.

But I think it's best to provide a cite whenever possible.

Keep up the great work Sean. I'd be lost without your site.

Well, Stratfor's never getting my money, that's for sure. Are they so dumb they can't tell that what you're doing isn't plagiarism?

Or are they just jealous?

I guess I missed a bunch again. Life keeps getting in the way.
I profoundly appreciate you dedicating this part of yours to making mine better.
Your site has become the boisterous success it is because of your unflagging effort and dedication to providing a great service. Period. This is yours and yours alone. We are all just tagging along, amazed and edified by your dedication, creativity and energy. Be proud. Be very proud.
I know many, many people who have never heard of a blog before. I've been trying to get them to check it out for years. Now they are, because of people like you and particularly, you. For them, this is like discoveing a new country. Now they are hearing entirely new voices with new perspectives, one they couldn't find anywhere else. For some, it's like discovering their own language.

Even when a sumptious meal is handed out free on a silver platter, there will be trolls that complain about the menu. Don't let them get to you. This is your world.

http://www.rense.com/general36/support.htm

Syria affirms its "full support for the Iraqi people".

Doh.

Didion, Waldo:

1) Stratfor has no case for plagiarism -- I know because I read it. Compilation is not plagiarism.

2) This is not a subscription site, and Sean-Paul has not yet been "making a living from it", so he is still, legally, "conversing with his friends and acquaintances" -- Note that the buttin says "Donate", not "Subscribe".

3) The info that Sean has posted is available via other sources than Stratfor, which does NOT have a lock on the straight dope. Please also note who and what Stratfor is, and who and what their "Sources" and main readers are. Now extrapolate as to why Stratfor might want Sean-Paul shut down...Total Information Awareness strikes again, and John Poindexter and his felonious buddies can suck the root, as far as I am concerned.

4) for confirmation of the above, go read Rense, Iraqwar, Aeronautics, FTW, IRNA, Xinhua, Arabnews, Peoples' Daily, NHK, Al Jazeera...and also read the histories of several of those sites' legal histories -- fighting off the same garbage that Sean is dealing with now.

THOSE WITH THE MOST TO HIDE HAVE THE MOST TO LOSE.

Live by it.

Sean-Paul, This is just my humble opinion, oh and that of my 17 year old son, who now keeps track of the site during the day from his high school library...we truly value your efforts and appreciate the hard work you have been doing. (the 17 yr old says...hey sean-paul....dude...keep on doing just as you have been and don't sweat the small stuff.. matt and angel

It's fairly clear that Sean-Paul attributed Stratfor in general. I recall a post as the war was ramping up and he said they were the least biased news source, short of the expensive services like Janes.
I believe the Stratfor excerpts fall under Fair Use, since they are usually just one or two sentences. It might be a good idea to put a Fair Use disclaimer in the footnotes somewhere. Rightwingers have often tried to silence people who repost stories they don't like by reporting trumped-up copyright violations to ISPs. This tactic rarely works.

Sean-Paul,

The burden of proof is on stratfor to prove without a doubt that you intentionally took anything from them. They know that and they're just hoping to scare you, that's all. They may also be trying this tack to see if they can get hold of your sources (or force you to reveal them). Don't fall for this transparent attempt at intimidation.

Would it be relevant to know if a poster has clicked Paypal and contributed to Sean's MREs?

I think so, but who cares? Sean-Paul would never ask for it.

I just discovered this site 4 days ago. I actually use it as my "Home Page" on one of my computers. NP*

Perhaps a single character could indicate if one has paid, such as:

Paid - P

or as in my case

* Not Paid - NP

Hey Sean-Paul, I just found you! You can't stop now! You have become my source for up-to-date information. Thank you so much for doing this.

Hi SPK.
OK, according to NYT, the ground offensive against the RG divisions around Baghdad has begun. What info do you have? Let's get on the stick, man. You've got some work to do!

dejah thoris, where is john carter. and how is Tharsis treating you these days?

Screw stratfor - his site is very disorganized and difficult to read. I don't care where you get your news, I don't care if you exlain every little source: your writing is clear, your site is well organized, and I like your style.

Please keep it up.

I think if you copy and paste from Stratfor you should cite them, if only because they get so p***ed off when you don't. I assume they work hard to get their stuff just like you do - they deserve a credit, as you would if they cited you.

As a loyal Agonist reader, I don't need headlines *SO* fast that you don't have time to cite a source.

I don't know what PDA you use when you file from the field, but a lot of them have "macro" features that let you enter frequently used blocks of text with a couple of clicks. You could create macros for your 5-10 most common sources and just click the right one when you post.

I love what you're doing - please take this as constructive criticism.

Keep posting for the people who read your site but that may never contribute tips. Information is necessary for everyone whether seen or heard.

I have recommended your site to a number of my friends. I feel that you do a good job, and I never was under the impression that you were not using various sources.
Do not worry. Many of your detractors have the inability to read and conceptualise. Victims of TVee programming.

Dan,

I saw John Carter posting in here lately. The view from atop Olympus Mons on Tharsis is great. We can talk more in the BB! :)

DT

Time to be a little more professional, if that's what you want. Stop complaining and just do the job. We want to read news about the war, not your problems with the comments section. Get some help with the site. Get some sleep. Be a pro. You're providing a great service. Keep doing it, or not. But do the best job you can. We don't want complaining and polls about how the blog should be. Hunker down and decide what you want to do. Then just do it. Forget the rest. Best of luck. And we hope you decide to deliver a great war news blog.

Thanks,
Rob

Being quite proud of my arithmetic skills i added the five hour difference between EST and GMT and find that SP is usually posting the informarion before that other source.

I don't care where he gets it, I want more.

Unfortunately, your post doesnt set the record straight.

Copy n' paste is one thing, but the slight alterations are even more suspicious.

Was it too good to be true?

Keep on - Sean!!!! I check this site...so much I'm making myself dizzy.

C-SPAN 1 is televising the Iraqi news conference from this morning with the information minister and other news.

2) This is not a subscription site, and Sean-Paul has not yet been "making a living from it", so he is still, legally, "conversing with his friends and acquaintances" -- Note that the buttin says "Donate", not "Subscribe".

It really doesn't matter, I'm afraid. Plagiarism is plagiarism.

That's like a student saying, "well, I only plagiarized from the web!"

Sean-Paul goofed. He shouldn't lift stuff without attribution. Period. There's really no point in arguing whether or not he's an "aggregator" or a "compilator" or whatever.

Intellectual property is intellectual property. And even if it's out on the web for "free" -- it belongs to someone. If you lift it, you attribute it. If you can't attribute it -- or if attribution cramps your style -- then you don't lift it. You move on.

It's especially disappointing because Sean-Paul was (perhaps inadvertently) leveraging much of Stratfor's IP in order to position his site as one of the top war-aggregation blogs.

Thing is, if he sourced everything that belonged to Stratfor, he would probably not be having the problems he's now going to have.

Amitava -- if Stratfor is charging for information that is protected by the fair use doctrine because of its overwhelming news value, that's stratfor's problem. Stratfor is reporting the news. It can't put a price on it and say noone else can report it.

Pay the naysayers no heed. You do what you say you do, and you do it exceptionally well. A teacher, I have recommended your sight to many people from both the right and the left. Virtually every one has gotten back to me, enthusiastic about the site, and with praise for your dedication (and Jay's), for the dependability of your information, and for the neutrality you maintain. Do keep it up... you're doing a wonderful job.

I consider it a recommendation, S-P, that I have no idea WHERE you stand on the justice, utility, whatever of the war. It doesn't matter to me. I have made a small donation -- AND ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME! Keep it up: I think you're in the midst of creating something new and useful here.

Sean Paul here's a cc of my msg to stratfor: "You're a jerk and your site sucks. I check 26 sites every day for news and info re the war - yours is the most disorganized and poorly laid out of the bunch. I've removed your bookmark and forwarded your NASTY message to Sean Paul to all my buds who blog. Ever wonder why your "speak freely"s have NO MESSAGES?
jaymie • 4/1/03; 6:48:41 PM"

Your blog is the first place I visit in the AM and the last place I visit at night. Keep up the good work and don't let the bastards get you down!

Dear GeneralRoy,

I've visited Stratfor, plus many other areas of reportage here, there, and everywhere.

Stratfor does not have a lock on the latest; nor is having some PhD to help put the right "spin" on the analysis of any use when all one needs is news.

We're all paying for this war, one way or another. We shouldn't have to pay premium dollar to enrich another beltway bandit and his insider friends to get news of what we're paying for.

Troll your bait elsewhere. And remember, Stratfor can bluster and threaten, but the burden of proof is -- as always -- on the whiners who threaten lawsuits when they can't win any other way.

[Stratfor] can't put a price on it and say noone else can report it.

Of course they can! It's their *intellectual property*. They can do whatever they want with their property.

Are you folks really serious about not seeing a problem with Sean-Paul's plagiarism?

I never thought this stuff was SP's own work. Wasn't there some sort of a disclaimer somewhere? Yes, one does have to cite one's sources -- that is one of the hallmarks of good research (make it so others can follow yer tracks and make sure you aren't making stuff up) However, it is also fairly standard that if it is in a couple places then it can be uncited as "fact" (whatever the hell that is). Big-time research tells you to cite everything (currently I have a project with 2 1/2 lines of citations... what a laugh),

Anyway - Show of hands -- how many people DIDN'T know that this was a compilation of info from a variety of places?

'S what I thought. Compilation does mean that it comes from a variety of places and is, in general, not one's own original thought. That's why we so often ask things like, "Hey, where'd you get that?"

*duh*

On 9/11/01 and for a long time thereafter I used www.drudgereport.com for a way to get news from all over at one place. For this war, I am entirely disappointed with Drudge, and think that this site is by far the most useful news service I have found. I tend to be fairly liberal, although I wholeheartedly support this war.

Please keep doing what you are doing. You are providing a unique and valuable service to me and many others I have directed to your site.

FWIW, I have never had free time to waste reading the opinionated tripe most people dump into blogs . . . but The Agonist has sold me on their value. I now start my day and end my day on your site. Damn fine stuff here. Thank you.

Memory is a capacity. Recall and recollection, storage and categorization, association and reconstruction are facets of this capacity. Generally speaking memory involves information that is received through the senses, filtered in terms of past experience and current context, and then stored. Storage creates connections based on the content of the input and its associations. Remembering is the reactivation of the information. Learning is closely related to memory and involves many activities including conditioning and training, habituation and imprinting, trial-and-error and insight [Rahmann 1992]. Von Foerster suggests that the faculties to perceive, remember, and infer, used in learning and cognition, cannot be isolated: "(i) Omit perception: the system is incapable of representing internally environmental regularities. (ii) Omit memory, the system has only throughput. (iii) Omit prediction, i.e., the faculty of drawing inferences: perception degenerates to sensation, and memory to recording" [Von Foerster 1967].

Who the heck cares where SP gets his information from, as long as it gives us insight into what's going on?

If he's been plagurizing, that's his own problem. He'll get his knuckles rapped. It doesn't change the actual quality or veracity of what we've read.

IMO, all sources should be credited, if only because it helps us all filter the information. I treat reports from the Weekly World News a whole lot differently than information from CBC.

Keep posting re: the war, SP. You've provided us all with a great amount of information and insight, while the commentary logs have provided (at times) some good opinions, discussion, and insight.

Tharsis? Oh, on the lovely red world of Barsoom.

I think this thread is making my head hurt.

So, disclaim yourself as a info compilation site, note your sources (saying, of course, "...and other various sources", and maybe provide a no-frills links page or area.

Then, tell them to shut the hell up.
TORT REFORM!!!

Again, nice Leftist hints and sashays. Can't beat it...of course, my side isn't used to putting out flowery words meant to hide our intellectual bankruptcy.

HE HE (now, laughing hard at the computer monitor, and in good humor)

Folks,

Before you decide that S-P HAS plagiarised, let him take his breather and then come back to set the record straight. If he has, he can set his attributions properly. If he hasn't, then he can explain that. But it's premature to be lecturing him on what he has or hasn't done.

DT

plz ignore laws and lawyers -
lawyers are pimps of the fascisti
laws are cheap substitutes for principles.
do what you know is right
for most of us, the net is the final frontier of freedom - i'm ready to fight over it
no need to draft me, i'll enlist
without knowledge, we are...envious trolls...lol

SPK is not in the business of global intel and analysis. Stratfor is. This is Stratfor's sweeps month.

"The war telecast is the property of the National Football League for the private viewing pleasure of our audience. Any rebroadcast or description thereof for public or commercial use is restricted without the expressed written consent of the NFL, the Department of Defense, and the Iraqi Ministry of Information."

Sean-Paul

Glad to hear you are taking the night off. Recharge your batteries, be kind to yourself.

This blog is an amazing contribution to democracy. If the big business networks and press truly provided objectivity and news from a diversity of sources, there would be no niche for Agonist to fill. I think all the corporate organizations should study your tone, objectivity and compilation of truly divergent sources, to see what that actually looks like. They would see what it is to be upfront about your own bias without being confrontational about it, censoring the other view of events, or letting it flavor the objectivity of information.

If the corporate press had any integrity, they would not need the object lesson in neutral and truly "fair and balanced" reporting that Agonist demonstrates. These organizations would know what it was from practice. Americans do not lack intelligence, only information.

Keep taking the high road. The diversity of sources you compile has saved me much time and helped give me peace of mind. I feel as if I have as true a picture of the war from both sides as any American can right now.

I know more about the suffering the Iraqis and Arab world see than is good for my ability to sleep at night. As it should be. Our country is responsible for initiating this war and we should all be aware of everything this entails.

Wherever your road takes you, Agonist has performed an exemplary public service and demonstrated a new possibility in communications. Carry the torch or pass it along as your strength and peace of mind will let you.

It is my hope and belief that this new form of communication will continue to grow. I think it has great potential for educating the citizenry and as I said strengthening the practice of informed democracy.

As a fan, I must admit I wish you would continue to pioneer it yourself. No one else has yet been able to express this experiment in information gathering with your clarity. It's got to be a tremendous amount of work! Perhaps it would be wise to pace yourself, at any rate.

Posting the policies/disclaimers upfront for all the new visitors seems like a very good and practical idea, including the use of the donate button.

Best wishes, and thanks for all the hard work.

So far as I can tell, SP doesn't even have a link to STRATFOR on his blogroll. I know Sean-Paul is working damn hard on this little experiment - but especially for web pure-plays like STRATFOR, he should make the effort to drive traffic to the source. He needs to make more use of the most powerful aspect of the web and link his notes and "close the circuit". Goodwill will build goodwill; but if a cease-and-desist gets issued, whoever is right will not matter - everybody will get burned by the lawyers....

That being said, I hope everthing works out (here and in Iraq).

A reporter can't report news? It would depend on the source, wouldn't it, providing a link or other reference to the source of information, if required. Otherwise there would be no reporters . . .

Sure Sources should be cited (although I personally don't care)... but that idiot is just nervous because your site is much easier to use all and all around better... and he's worried. Screw stratfor... just cite your sources from now on and fuck'em.

WTF is all this about? The Agonist is my No 1 news source.

Nearly a million visitors, eh - S-P will write a best seller one day too.

Detractors - please laugh at yourselves.

CNN embed Alessio Vinci, who witnessed the expedition that rescued MIA Jessica Lynch, reports that the group also recovered the remains of at least nine U.S. soldiers, possibly 11. Lynch is suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

I have an idea. Say you are a reporter, and that you are protecting your source!

Hey..just an idea.

Stratfor's behavior is immature, dufus-baiting...and you are no dufus. I can't tell you why i keep coming here instead of the myriad other warblogs out there...maybe it's your graphics, maybe it's the navigability, maybe i just dig that you claim to be "thoughtful, global and timely" and never so far have veered from that course. Calling you a plagiarist is like calling a librarian (or any news agency for that matter) a plagiarist, ie. ridiculous. Plus, hasn't the author been dead since Foucault?

Or at least he'll cut and paste a best-seller one day.

I don't mean to be ugly here. I like the site, but you have to attribute this stuff. And I agree that the slight editing makes it worse, as if one is trying to avoid detection.

Anyway - Show of hands -- how many people DIDN'T know that this was a compilation of info from a variety of places?

It doesn't matter what everybody thinks. My gosh.

Why do you think Druge *links* to all the stuff he publishes? He's an aggregator, too, but he doesn't just stick stuff on his site *without attribution*.

Even his "flashes" have sources and links. He waits for the NYT or the Post to publish the story, but once the story is published, the link goes live.

Drudge has had his own problems with improper, unsourced accusations and has since learned better.

But what's interesting is that Drudge is still Drudge: the sourcing and attribution in no way detracts from the uniqueness of his site. (That's not to say I *like* the uniqueness of his site, but it's what makes Drudge Drudge -- and why CNN and MSNBC and whoever else are always checking Drudge to get the "Drudge" angle -- even if they don't use it, report it, or agree with it.)

A number of important points need to be made:

>Sean-Paul admitted he's posting stuff here from Stratfor, so clearly he isn't posting info found there *before* them

>The fact that he's not making any money of it is irrelevent: *if* he's copying without attributing, it's still plagiarism - even if it is a blog

>Normally blogs go overlooked, sure, but since this one's being spotlit, he needs to be sure to maintain its integrity

>The wording of content does not have to be exact for it to be plagiarism

>Many have no doubt construed that Sean-Paul has some *secret* (or exclusive) sources for his content. If he doesn't attribute the very *public* sources he's using, that plays up the secret source idea and adds a mystique to the site it may not deserve - some might consider this a deception, especially if that content is actually cut and pasted from another site

I hope Sean-Paul will pay attention to some of the very legitimate criticism his site is receiving right now and use it to improve and press forward with his site.

Cheers.

People would complain if they were given gold every hour on the dot. They would want it every half hour. They would check to see if it's valid.

What you do is important. What you do has impact. You are the best source of knowledge on this crisis. Anyone with a brain can tell this is a sharing of info you think is possibily valid. It's up to the reader to wade through and find their truth. Unfortunately most idiots can't see the forest through the trees.

Hang in there.. and thanks

Charles has offered you good CYA advice - to cover those posts that aren't specifically attributed to Stratfor or whichever news source, post a Fair Use disclaimer for the entire site. You have mentioned Stratfor so many times as a source by now, they should be thanking you for the free advertising.

Hey,

Great site - I love it, and it sure beats watching TV.

I would suggest that you consult with a copyright attorney, however, if you are simply cutting and pasting from other sources. Plagerism or not, copying the original work of another can constitute copyright infringment. Note the words "orignal work" in the previous sentence. I have no idea whether the other site wrote their own materials or not. If they did, and you are simply copying off of their site, whether its news or not, and whether you attribute it to that site or not, it's copyright infringement.

You may have a "fair use" defense for using it for news purposes, or a there-is-only-one-way-to-convey-the-idea defense, but that still does not defeat the initial argument of copyright infringement.

Just be careful. There are copyright owners who can convince your ISP under the Digital Millinieum Copyright Act that your web site should be disabled due to use of their materials.

Hopefully that doesn't happen to you because, again, this is a great site and you obviously spend a lot of time putting information out there for the public. Good luck.

A while ago I read that during the Challenger disaster one network had a local cameraman that provided footage of the shuttle breaking up to the national network, and this footage was intercepted and used by another national network...I don't recall if there was no attribution for the footage or if it was placed in the screen so small no one could read it.

Either way, it was one network using the work product of another network. You know darn well that if one network has a breaking story, others report the story also in short order.

Like I said, I always assumed that SP was collating the info from a multitude of sources. Where else would he be getting it, sitting in his apartment next to the computer and tv?

C'mon this is not the time to throw your toys out of the cot.
We are not idiots out here in cyber space. If you weren't providing a valuable service we wouldn't be here. Go and give your garbage can a good kick, and then get back to work!

Please take a deep breath, and do whatever next you must do to get back on track. Yours is no academic exercise in which every source, every citation, must be credited. By the very nature of what you're setting before your readers "plagiarism" is an inapplicable term. Again: a deep breath, maybe a second deep breath, and then get on with it. (If you'll tell us just who these nefarious critics are, believe me, we'll take care of them right quick!)

Sean -
Let me be the 126th+ person to say please keep this site going. This war is getting foggier by the minute and we need sites like yours to burn away some of the fog. Truth is a precious commodity in times of war and your site, by referencing several news sources, helps all of us to find the truth amidst the opinions, biases, half-truths, and out-right lies of individual news sources.

Thanks for all of your work!

Sean-Paul,

I have been reading The Agonist since day 1 of GW2, it has been clear to me that much of your material was copied and pasted, and that you posted sources as you were able to, given the pace of breaking news.

Newer readers and people who have not read closely may not be as aware of that--so with that in mind, it might be wise to have a disclaimer stating that, with, as others have suggested, a list of sites from which you commonly get material.

You have dedicated so much of yourself to this for the past weeks--I and others thank you for that, both in words and with donations (hint, hint).

I very much hope you will continue posting/blogging, and I hope also that you will take enough time away from it to maintain your perspective and to have enough of yourself to share with your family and other loved ones...after all, they are more important than we are...

wishing you well,

Kathy

We are the ones breathing deeply. Sean-Paul is working along. We are Boring!

We are the ones breathing deeply. Sean-Paul is working along. We are Boring!

Sean,

I have never seen better, EVER. Robert Stribley is a whiner.

Please keep posting.

Too much reliance on mega media, CNN, WashPost, Reuters, BBC, etc.

How about this site as a very interesting alternative:

http://www.aeronautics.ru

Daily translations of the Russian www.IraqWar.ru which has reports supposedly based on Russian Military intelligence, the GRU. Here is the header for one of those translated reports:
--------------------------
The IRAQWAR.RU analytical center was created recently by a group of journalists and military experts from Russia to provide accurate and up-to-date news and analysis of the war against Iraq. The following is the English translation of the IRAQWAR.RU report based on the Russian military intelligence (the Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU) reports.
---------------------

Would be good to hear what Arabs are saying too. www.arabnews.com

Or try Google News Tab "Robert Fisk" "Iraq" for a left viewpoint direct from Baghdad.

I was sent to this site for a "balanced" view of this war but so far it seems like your approach is a U.S./U.K., Western European mega media viewpoint. This conflict does involve others besides the G7 nations doesnt it?

Peace,

Doug

Hey, you didn't cite my quote, you plagerist.

Like I said earlier, if it is in several places it is considered public domain. *shrug* The internet makes that more difficult -- otherwise we could end up with some truly insane citation (as in my damn research project with 2 or more lines of citations for one stupid "factoid")

We know he gets this stuff from a variety of sources. Yes, if it is lifted, it should be sourced. Yes, re-writing something someone else wrote is plagerism (welcome to freshman comp, for crying out loud). Paraphrasing should be sourced. HOWEVER, is it possible his stuff came from more than one place? Maybe he read it there, followed up later? Who knows.

'Sides, he's a bright boy, I'm sure he'll make what changes are necessary. Just remember that nobody OWNS the truth.

Not whining, Jerry, just trying to offer some helpful info. There are many folks who will leave a site if they discover it's unreliable. Offered criticism and advice should hardly be considered whining by anyone interested in improving his product. It's called feedback in my trade. Cheers.

Don't ya love it when we talk about ya like ya aren't there?

Didion,

Sean is not a student doing this for a grade.

Sean is not a reporter doing this for a job.

Sean is not a professional doing this for money.

Sean is an individual with a computer doing this because he wants to.

If and when he decides to make money, build a career, get a job, or get a degree using this material, THEN and ONLY then will he be required to provide proof positive as to the originality and veracity of his original thoughts and sources, in contrast to those sources and thoughts that he has used from others' work.

I can, if I wish, copy and paste the entire Iliad onto my website, and claim that i wrote it. I can, if I wish, copy and paste the latest article on Polar deep water circulatio from the Journal of Geophysical Research onto my website and claim that I researched and wrote it.

Both would be wrong, both would be plagiarism, and both would be laughable...but NEITHER would be illegal until and unless I tried to get a job, get money, or advance my position or career based on those actions. Period.

And, as for plagiarism, and cut and paste -- hey, if the British Government and the American Government can used plagiarized, lifted, cobbled together cut and pasted material (much less outright fabrications) to JUSTIFY AN INVASION of a sovereign nation, then why can't we?

You are incorrect as to the legal implications of this. As long as 1) there is no overwhelming proof that plagiarism actually occured (and as far as I am concerned the charge is essentially baseless), and 2) that EVEN if plagiarism is proven, there is no legal case AS LONG AS the plagiarized material is not being used for personal advancement or profit.

Keep up the great work. It's quite obvious you are compiling information. That's the reason I look to your site. You sort and pull together information that would otherwise take me hours to find.

Dan...you wound me....he he he!

However, my politically-challenged friend, your advice is sound.

If and when he decides to make money, build a career, get a job, or get a degree using this material, THEN and ONLY then will he be required to provide proof positive as to the originality and veracity of his original thoughts and sources...

You're wrong, Dan.

Do this because you want to do it.

When things become a grind then it's time to lay down the keyboard.

If the information is publically available to anyone who happens upon it then repeating the information is allowable I believe.

It is a tricky legal question of course, but I believe 2 to 3 sentences cut and pasted is allowable as long as the source is sited. Cutting an pasting an entire article would be not allowed it would be a reprint without proper authorization. There is a difference.

A quick example:
CNN states MSNBC is reporting something. Certainly MSNBC would not like CNN stating their "exclusive" story, however it is in the public domain after being aired. Paraphrasing the report would certainly eliminate any legal considerations. Ask a lawyer but that is what I believe is the case.

I recall a post where you stated the Command Post was using some of your material as well and you were frustrated. So it is a two-way street.

Chin up, Sean-Paul. Thanks for the fantastic effort in collating the information and presenting it. I recognize the time it takes you and appreciate your efforts.

(If you ever do make this a pay-for subscription or accept advertising then definitely find out more about the legal in's and out's to cover your butt.)

Sean-Paul keep up the great work, the agonist is for people who are united in their search for facts. and we know you're doing a great job don't sweat it. I wonder if I don't detect on this site greater harmony between differing opinions that both seek to be well-informed than there is between the informed and the uninformed holding common opinions. Me, I lost a dozen friends 9/11, I enthusiastically support war against Al Queda, but opposed this war because I'm tired of the killing and thought alternatives were not exhausted. But having started the war I won't protest it anymore, I think the world needs us to win, the U.S. can still be a force for world stability and peace if not justice in the future but NOT if we blow our military prestige in Iraq.

Who cares where information is gathered. I think the Stratfor site has mistaken the service that the Agonist is doing for all the public...Reporting news to the public in one convenient place. If he gathers news from the Stratfor site, and 100 others, we don't care. It is simply the service that he is providing to bring it all to one place. He has never said that he is not gathering the information from sites such as Stratfor(in fact, he has quite often said he has), and if Stratfor simply wants the 'credit' for posting specific information first,they should just communicate that as such. Diplomicy, which obviously Stratfor lacks, would have gone much further in the future for both sites. The current way it has been done, simply has angered alot of previous readers of Stratfor, whom will probably never return, and eliminated many of us, whom have never visited the Stratfor site previously from ever visiting again. It has simply come across as a jealous schoolchild, whom was not getting his way. Regardless of Stratfor's charges of Plagiarism or such, information on the web is mostly 'free domain' and reposting of the information gathered from a site, unless SPECIFICALLY claimed as one's own, can be freely posted, unless it violates terms of service of the service(Stratfor). If infact, it violates the terms of service of Stratfor, then the perfect solution would be revoking the membership of the poster, rather than public libelous acts such as happened based on Stratfor's actions.(Yes, Libel in this case can be proved as well as Stratfor might be able to 'prove' plagiarism. The only difference, is that The Agonist, has not claimed its information as it's own, whereas, Stratfor's posts, can be proven directly back to Stratfor. The issue behind this whole Stratfor attack on the Agonist is money, and if Stratfor was more diplomatic in it's approach, they probably could have worked some sort of compromise with Sean-Paul, and not lost readers and potential