Is this real?? Not sure if I should post, but.....

[Avalux]

I've been searching the net trying to get a handle on the number of casualties over the past couple of days. I haven't had much luck, but I did run into this. Please, please someone tell me this photo is fake. If it isn't, I am sick and completely disheartened. Why?

http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/article.php?id=2621

[Renew Deal]

1. I heard about that on air america this morning.

I am not sure yet.

[Avalux]

2. What show -

and what were they saying?

[fryguy]

3. i think i'm going to be sick......

if that is real....

nothing on snopes about it.....anyone have details yet?

[Avalux]

4. I can't find anything else

was hoping someone here could debunk it for me.:shrug:

[patriotvoice]

5. "Lcpl Boudreaux"

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Lcpl+Boudreaux%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=xx-hacker

67 results.

A cursory scan through them seems to indicate that netizens feel this is a real event but with hoaxed lettering.

[Avalux]

6. Thanks

:hi:

[Crunchy Frog]

7. I'm not sure how accurate

that particular source is, but I believe that is the sort of thing that happens in wartime situations, and I have no reason to believe that this one should be any different.

I have definitely seen accurate accounts of female soldiers being raped by male soldiers, so I would be surprised if there weren't some incidents of soldiers raping local women and girls.

[Avalux]

9. The jury seems to be out

about whether or not it's real. I know nothing about the source (the link I posted). One explanation I read says it's just the Marines sense of humor (didn't really happen - made the sign and took the pic). Well if that's the case, someone should tell them it isn't funny.

Our soldiers need to come home now.

[Vickers]

18. All military folks have a weird sense of humor

I'm sure there's a reason...some coping thing I guess.

Veteran Vickers

[mellowinman]

8. It is definitely fake.

It's not even a good fake.

Here is the real photo

[mellowinman]

10. Here are two more bad fakes...

[FDRrocks]

14. Set us up the bomb....

the MOAB?

I'm waiting for the day I wake up face down with "All your base are belong to us" tattooed on my ass.

[democracyindanger]

19. Waaaaaitaminute...

You're saying the "All your bases" one is the real one? And the man is a local?

[mellowinman]

20. I'm not saying the man is a local.

I was wrong on that.

But look at the lettering on the "All your bases..."

I think that speaks for itself. It looks much more like pen on cardboard than any of the other signs, and the soldier most likely is aware of the "All your bases" craze.

[democracyindanger]

21. Well

I agree that it looks the most like pen and the likelihood of the "All your bases" reference, but it seems kinda fake as well. The handwriting looks like something written with a mouse, and there's a noticeable tint change in the upper right hand corner of the cardboard.

I dunno. My head hurts.

[mellowinman]

23. You had to bring up the tint change...

Well, it's still a better photo, without all the distortion in the cardboard, so I will make my final bold statement before going to bed:

IF THE "ALL YOUR BASES" ONE IS FAKE, THE L/CPL BOUDREAUX IS DEFINITELY FAKE.

Perhaps they're ALL fake!

I'm sick of looking at this.

[w4rma]

22. That makes sense to me. The "All your bases.." one is also larger than the

rest. Good for photoshopping.

[drfemoe]

24. what is

the "All your bases" craze"?

[democracyindanger]

25. From an old

Nintendo game. One of the cutscenes had a poorly translated-from-Japanese subtitle that said, "All your bases are belong to us!"

[Virginian]

11. But they are smiling

The soldier and the kid with the sign are smiling. The soldier could be playing a prank on a buddy.

[mellowinman]

12. The soldier is not a soldier.

He is a local, in camo clothes.

[Avalux]

13. How do you know this?

Please post links to the pics you displayed. Thanks. :hi:

[mellowinman]

15. Here.

http://portland.indymedia.org/es/2004/03/284119.shtml

If there's one thing that pisses me off, it's internet misinformation.

Notice how some of the posters assume our military is raping children. This type of attitude gives the Republican/Neocon types lots of ammunition to keep Centrist posters suspicious of Leftwingers. (I am not a leftwinger; I am a LIBERAL)

Also notice how one poster makes a bogus argument about a sixth finger, which does nothing to bolster his point. "Phakephoto" comes across as arrogant and condescending; usually a good sign not to believe the person.

"Photoshop Dude" correctly pokes holes in "Phakephoto's" argument, but lucky for us, a sensible person by the name of "breakthrough" cracks the case once and for all.

The REAL photo has much fainter lettering on the sign; and none of the distortion pointed out by "Phakephoto," who was on the right track, but outsmarted himself.

[mellowinman]

16. Oh, and for future reference

I did MY google search using the entire text of the the alleged sign in the first link you provided. That's my favorite way to google search; to simply use all the text, even if google claims it isn't using all the words. For some reason, that gets me quicker matches. Not infallible, but possibly helpful.

[mellowinman]

17. It gets weirder...

http://www.planettribes.com/allyourbase/story.shtml#hist

http://frogstar.com/aybabtu/index.asp

I take back my self-assured comment that the man to the right is not a soldier. I guess I don't know.

But I'm pretty damn sure about the rest.

[bobthedrummer]

26. I started a thread about that pic here at DU last Saturday

asking for the expert opinions of DU techies, none of them saw any obvious signs of alteration, the site I linked to was CRG/Center for Research on Globalization which is usually pretty good as an Internet resource for those seeking truth to counter all the lies of George W. Bush aka The War President and his administration.

I think it is a real pic of a very sick prank played on those non-English speaking kids by a US Marine that should be reprimanded.

[mellowinman]

27. You may be right...

but look how convincing the one I did on Ulead Photo Express looks:


(for Ramones fans)



I spent five minutes on that, using a program that came free with a cheap scanner I bought a while back. My letting isn't the best, but look at the quality of my cardboard!

Even if it is real, the whole "soldiers raping kids" thing is way overblown. Gosh, what are the odds that a young Marine might be a bit of an asshole, while in a place where many want to kill him?