Back to Afghanistan and Back!
The economy sucks and the world of journalism has been hit harder than anywhere else. All the magazines that used to have the money to send me on trips to Central Asia and Afghanistan have either gone out of business or have eliminated their travel budgets. Still, as one of the few (only?) writers to be right about Afghanistan from the start--I called the war doomed to fail shortly after 9/11--I'm dying to go back to get the truth for myself--and report it back to you.
There are lots of places willing to publish my work: my syndicated column clients, magazines, major newspapers, and of course I can do another book. What's missing is the tremendous travel budget required to get around in war zones. In 2001 it took $25,000 to get there and survive three weeks--and I was cheap! One helicopter ride across the Hindu Kush on a Northern Alliance chopper, for example, cost $10,000. One way.
I think the stuff I got, which ended up in "To Afghanistan and Back" and elsewhere, was worthwhile. Now for the follow-up!
Anyway, I found out about a website called Kickstarter and will soon be posting my proposal to return to Afghanistan there. You get the chance to pledge money--you don't pay unless I get the whole amount--toward my travel expenses. It's not an investment, but you do get stuff depending on how much support you're willing and able to give.
It's an experiment, but I hope it works out. And if you hate my guts, this may be your best way to get rid of me legally!
I'll post my project here in a week or two.
There are lots of places willing to publish my work: my syndicated column clients, magazines, major newspapers, and of course I can do another book. What's missing is the tremendous travel budget required to get around in war zones. In 2001 it took $25,000 to get there and survive three weeks--and I was cheap! One helicopter ride across the Hindu Kush on a Northern Alliance chopper, for example, cost $10,000. One way.
I think the stuff I got, which ended up in "To Afghanistan and Back" and elsewhere, was worthwhile. Now for the follow-up!
Anyway, I found out about a website called Kickstarter and will soon be posting my proposal to return to Afghanistan there. You get the chance to pledge money--you don't pay unless I get the whole amount--toward my travel expenses. It's not an investment, but you do get stuff depending on how much support you're willing and able to give.
It's an experiment, but I hope it works out. And if you hate my guts, this may be your best way to get rid of me legally!
I'll post my project here in a week or two.
posted by Ted Rall at
2:52 PM
8 Comments:
I'm very interested!
Broke myself, but I'll see what I can dare pledge:-)
I'll give you my only dollar.
Let me get this straight, Ted: you are willing to risk your life to go confirm what pretty much everybody knows already about this scam of a 'war', yet you still won't get into why WTC7 was brought down by controlled demolition, right?
Going for the gatekeeper slot, then, Ted, are ya? Say, 'to the left of Cesca', but not too far...
Same here. But I worry that we will lose you.
Be careful don't advertise etc.
Good luck
Whatever the reason Ted chooses to risk his life, it's better than the ULTIMATE COWARD, George W. Bush, still hiding behind his Daddy and Mommy Bush's connections and skirts. The past and present emperors with clothes may get buried with honors in places reserved for honorable people, but you see, we have the likes of J. Edgar Hoover in a place of honor. People KNOW he doesn't deserve it. Merely showing up for work for years doesn't put Hoover or Bush in a place of honor. The everyday working stiff doesn't deserve honor, either. They got paid for showing up. But Bush got paid for 'not showing up.' Ah, rants! They come so easily with the right subject.
WTC7 was brought down by controlled demolition
I'm just guessing that you are also a "warmist"
As a fellow crew of sorts on the sinking ship Print Journalism, I'll pledge something. The 'Stan Watches were unforgettable and Silk Road to Ruin was great.
Funny that Jon Krakauer was able to get money to go to Afghanistan for his book. Could it be the subject, one Pat Tillman? Every time you pat yourself on the back about 'getting it right' in Afghanistan you should also be kicking yourself in the nuts for the huge one you got so horribly and painfully wrong.
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