rumours revisited

no sooner had i posted my rumour-thing yesterday that i coincidentally had three separate discussions on the topic with three very astute, long-term observers of timorese society. once again, we discussed the power and pervasiveness of rumours here and how both the national and international media have a tendency to amplify them without double-checking the facts first. the end result of this climate of rumours and insinuations is a society permeated by fear, a fear that in a sense is disproportionate to the actual level of violence - but not to the rumoured level of violence which is of course much higher.

all these discussions got the puritan in me thinking whether or not participating in this national pasttime through my blog was in a way reprehensible or not, even if i do it tongue in cheek for a very limited audience. well, i have a long overland journey again tomorrow to think about that one.

but before i leave for that trip, i'll post one last rumour piece later today, one which has some interesting implications.