What does it mean to "like" someone on Facebook? Salon Columnist Glenn Greenwald says that he is a fan of anti-Israel conspiracy theorist Alan Hart. I wonder why. (See screenshot from Hart's website above. Hart's Facebook widget featuring Greenwald's image is located on the right side.)
Does Greenwald share Alan Hart's belief that, on 9/11, Israeli agents controlled the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center via remote control devices hidden in cell phones? Does he agree with Hart that Israel has stolen nuclear weapons from a U.S. military base and intends to use them to destroy an American city? (Read my column documenting Hart's conspiracy theories here.) In May, Hart not only made those bizarre assertions, he also claimed in radio/podcast interviews with conspiracy mongers Kevin Barrett and Alex Jones that he had proof that the World Trade towers were destroyed by controlled demolition, i.e. that explosives had been planted within the buildings and were detonated after the plane crashes to bring down the towers. (This implausible belief is an essential part of truther conspiracy theories.) Hart said in those interviews that his proof for this controlled demolition conspiracy, which he claimed came from a source within "one of the world's leading engineering firms", resided on a laptop to which he didn't then have access because he was away from home on a U.S. speaking tour. That was more than four months ago, and Hart has still not come forward with the computer file that, if it actually existed, would undoubtedly provide him with the biggest scoop of his career as a journalist. Maybe Hart just hasn't gotten around to looking for it.
I don't believe that Greenwald shares Alan Hart's belief in these bizarre theories, but his "liking" Hart does raise the question: how crazy does an anti-Zionist have to be to be too crazy for Glenn to like?
(The Facebook widget featuring Greenwald's image was found here: Obama speaks at the UN… Goodbye to peace - Alan Hart)
6 comments:
This whole post is an idiot-lie.
I've never heard of "Alan Hart." I have no idea who that is. I never selected any "like" for him or anyone else on Facebook. My "like" section is filled with spam and other selections I never chose. This whole post rambles on about a connection that is totally non-existent and a by-product of your own fantasies.
Other than that, it's very astute and incisive.
Glenn:
All outraged insults aside, I'm actually glad to hear that you don't support Hart, although I'm not sure I understood your blaming "spam".
This is your Facebook accout: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=712284111 . It still indicates that you "like" Alan Hart. Rather than rage against me for writing about it, why don't you just "unlike" him and thank me for letting you know about it. If you don't, your image, your name and a link to your Facebook page will continue to appear on everything Alan Hart posts on his blog. In the meantime, your comment here is the only indication that you don't support him.
You're welcome.
By the way, it is interesting to note that Greenwald's Facebook "likes" -- the ones that all allegedly resulted from spam -- included several anti-Zionists of an unsavory nature (Cynthia McKinney and Lew Rockwell stand out) but no Zionists.
He's now taken the list from public to private on his profile. Or the Magical Mystery anti-Zionist Facebook spam is attacking again.
By the way, does the spam defense seem a little fishy to you too? Is this the Facebook version of the twinkie defense?
Mr. Greenwald has informed me via twitter that he is no longer interested in pursuing this matter. It's simply too tedious for him to discuss.
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