Kevin, I really hope you can get to an agreement with CNN. The blogosphere is an amazing tool against censorship. We need different voices so as to get the real sense of this war.

Kevin waiting to hear your latest info. Have been following you through this. Be safe Donna p.s.I notice you are reporting more . Be safe

Kevin:

I want to extend my prayers to you for all your hard work in getting information from the front line. Be careful to look out for your own safety and be sure in every chance that you get to tell the troops how proud we are to have them fighting this war. This war matters, and you and the troops are constantly in our thoughts, every moment of every day.

realmente es increible lo que están haciendo, arriesgándose día a día, por una pasión, por vocación.
les deseo toda la suerte del mundo y gracias por hacer algo por la humanidad, aunque más no sea mantenernos informados sobre esta ridícula gerra.
ojalá dure muy poco y no tenga grandes consecuencias.haya paz por favor.

Sadly I've only found your blog now that is has ceased, but I'll be watching your RSS feed for any future updates.

Blogs have become a lot more mainstream lately, as has RSS.

I hope you continue your involvement with both.

Melbourne, Australia.

Kevin:

I used to work at NBC and probably did your producer contract....all I can say is stay safe. And keep up the good and interesting work. I guess by now you know that your blog was on Romenescko's page, so you should be getting tons of hits. Very interesting.

Thanks for giving a human voice and face to what's happening. I can only take so many huge headlines from an ocean away, so reading your descriptions and seeing your pictures are the kind of news I want to see more of.

Kevin,

It has begun. May you stay safe.

kevin, i am so glad i found out about this blog. i am really looking forward to reading about what is happening before it is translated and edited for the viewing audience. thanks for a chance to feel reality.

Kevin - thanks for being taking on the risk of being in a war zone so the rest of us can know what's really going on. Keep safe, keep blogging, you'll be in my prayers.

Wonderful. What a great idea! Be Careful!!

This is great. It's so important to have information sources not attached to commercial interests. THANK YOU!

Fantastic to see a first-person report from Iraq. I'm reading it daily! I wish there was no war to report on, but failing that, getting firsthand reports is a much better way to find out what's really going on. Are the US Military minders going to censor what you're blogging as soon as the invasion begins? I hope not.

Thank you Kevin, Xeni and John. We wish you a safe return home, Kevin, but until then, great blog!

The way you reach readers, as a real person who is a journalist, rather than a cold journalist giving a report, gives us a unique, connected perspective into whats going on... Its one of the advantages of the blogosphere; real people...

LoL, you've got some fans from the little land of high-school journalism (including me) sitting here in admiration of all you do to get the information out... hectic. scary. amazing... :)

Edited by author 03-17-2003 07:53 PM
Thanks, Kevin, for a very interesting read. You're providing a perspective that is certainly available nowhere else - and makes what is going on so much more real. Please keep blogging your experience - but mostly, keep safe.

Xeni and John, thanks for helping out Kevin with this blog.

Thank you, Kevin. I've been keeping up with all of your entries; you're doing us all an invaluable service. Don't think for a moment that we're not appreciative of your hard work. Good luck, and stay safe.

Kevin, you're doing a great job. We need you. I am nothing like a journalist so cannot imagine the work you do. Tell us.

I'm guessing that you're going to be having an tough/exciting time over the next few days, as the war machine rolls on. Don't worry about riding it along to promote your career, it's not YOUR fault this is happening. I want to hear you do well..

I recently came upon your blog after it was mentioned in another blog ("notes of an iranian girl")It's facinating and I truly enjoy all the hard work you put into relaying all this information to everyone. Good luck, stay safe and my prayers are with you.

fuck usa, fuck busch, peace, peace

Great job! I can only imagine how difficult it is to do what you're doing. Good luck.

Also a journalist... ditto what Wendy S. said: Fierce jealousy, but watching this all unfold is somewhat terrifying as well. The site is absolutely wonderful (never underestimate the power of the Internet!!) Will be anxiously following updates!

Thanks for doing this!

Love your blog. It's nice to see what is really going on in Iraq. As a fellow journalist I have a mixed bag of jealousy and scared feelings for you through this. Jealousy because, well, this is the coverage of a lifetime and the fear because I can sense through your postings that time is getting close for this situation to blow up (no pun intended).

Keep the posts coming, I've put a link on my blog too. This is the kind of information we need!

Great job Kevin. I found your blog sometime early last week and it's good to hear something that's not from the mainstream press. Unfortunately, this technology might be limited or shut off completely by a microwave blast once the U.S. attacks.

Edited by author 03-17-2003 12:34 PM
From WA State...USA
I picked this site up from my on line journal.
Keep the information coming.
 Journalists put so much on the line for all of us. I thank you.
Praying for Peace.
Ilene

Kevin, your blog is quite insightful and I visit it often. I will continue to do so... you of all people know how controlling Western media can be sometimes. Thank God for the Internet; a first-hand account is now available. Thank you... keep safe.

hears about you on the french radio today. In those days full of "fakeinformation", bring us "REAL" Informations.
Thanks and good luck to you.

Kevin, This is amazing jouranlism. Your blogs are very interesting to read and I hope you remain safe during the war. Please add more pictures to the blog. This conveys more about those places which most of us have not seen.

Good Luck
JK (http://varnam.org/blog)

Keep up the good work, and for heavens'sake keep safe. You news guys are crazy. Brave, but crazy.

Keep it up, Kevin.
All too often do we see foreign correspondents as simple parrots that report the news without insight. Yes, we want our information without bias, but once we know the facts, we start to wonder just what life is like where those facts hold sway.
A blog that deserves your attention: http://dear_raed.blogspot.com ... maintained by a rather rational Iraqi native named Salam.
------------
http://www.grabbingsand.com

Dear Kevin, Thanks a lot for your work. In these days of war (question of hours) "you" are the one to read. With some other teachers we have decided to show your reports to the students (15-18y). They have to make up their own opinion about what's happening and "yours" is absolutely necessary. Reading papers is one thing but it is definitively too unilateral. Go on with your reports, young people are reading them in Belgium.
We wish you the very best and take care!
lib.jj@skynet.be

Kevin, thanks for creating this blog and cutting out the middlemen and their interpretations and propaganda. A rare opportunity for us. Excellent and engagingly written too.
The BBC breaking news is that the US just told the UN inspectors to leave Iraq. So looks like it's about to hit the fan. Stay well.

Great work Kevin. I've found the postings on your blog thus far more engaging then any of the news reports that have made it to CNN proper within the same timespan. That says something for both this medium, where first hand rules, and your reporting. All eyes are on your corner of the world right now, expecting to see not only the future of Iraq and the region, but also the future of reporting and media. You are one of the portals those eyes will look through. Thank you so much for showing up to the revolution.

As the trend appears to be in the forum, here is a link to my blog.. http://www.memestreams.net/users/rattle .. And a more general plug for MemeStreams.. http://www.memestreams.net ..

And be careful.. I never want to come to this blog to find a message you wound up hurt or dead.

Great work Kevin!

Very interesting posts, please keep doing well, and be carefull.

Yves Baeyens

Great work!
Me an old foreign affair journalist and I love this new blog world and clever use. Take care - war is around the next corner.

Yours Bo

My daily blog op ed world press on opinions in the press and media at http://www.sboa.se/blog/opblog.html

AMAZING blog. I have really enjoyed reading your posts. It has been very insightful and enjoyable. I would rather read 10 blogs like this, than the sterile mass media news outlets that are out there. You really seem to be able to bring life into these stories.

Thanks! Think you could get any of your colleagues to join the blogging world? :)

Good luck with everything that you do over there.

As many others have said, it's good to read the perspective of someone who is "in the field", and who is not directly affiliated with the US government.

thank you all SO much for your work -- on this blog and in the field. i can't tell you how much it means to me to hear about the undigested aspects of our global presence, especially when all we get in the popular media is the *with-us or lose-your-sponsors* feed. i only found this site a few days ago, after blogger! put you guys up on their main page; i've since linked you to my site as well (not like i get a LOT of hits, but anything is better than nuthin!) and emailed the link to everyone i could think of. hope it helps...

...and know that on this St. Paddy's Day i'll be raising a glass to ya. cheers! thanks again. -ray massie

At last. You are at the primal edge of information for us now. I thank you for all that position. Good luck to you. We love you ! Shit !

I am Pier from Geneva, Switzerland

p.s. I would translate in french yours blogs if you like to? www.genevacityguide.com

Yo Kevin,

Keep posting, looking good so far. Here's a little something for you from my blog:

http://thenewjazzthing.com/2003/03/17.html#a866

"And good move with the local Iraq time on his blog (12:07 Monday, up and reporting I'd assume) Another way we are right there. It will be interesting to see how Kevin's and Chris's blogs will evolve in comparison. Big Media (CNN) vs. Personal Media. Hopefully the blog is the equalizing factor, not the access or connections or other advantages that Kevin may have. Maybe he has some feedback on that?"

And there's more. Do you like Jazz? I'd love to take a request for something on my radio show. If you'd be interested in talking on my Jazz show this coming Thursday about your experiences living and blogging from Iraq, just let me know.

Much Love and Keep Safe...VO
http://TheNewJazzThing.com