Snapped Shot

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Entries tagged as REUTERS

PETA Alert: Animal Abuse in Palestine?

One wonders what the indomitable nonpareils of Norfolk would think of this one:

Palestinian boys ride dyed donkeys at Marah Land zoo in Gaza City October 8, 2009. Two white donkeys dyed with black stripes delighted Palestinian kids at a small Gaza zoo on Friday who had never seen a zebra in the flesh. A genuine zebra would have been too expensive to bring into Israel-blockaded Gaza via the smuggling tunnels under the border with Egypt, said zoo owner Mohammed Bargouthi. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT ANIMALS)


Is a dyed donkey deserving of divergent discourse? Or is a painted pony as pleased as a pickle at his precious new apparel?

(On a completely unrelated note, it would seem that somebody has finally had enough coffee to activate his trusty thesaurus.)
 

Happy Al-Quds Day 2009!

"Down whit USA! Down whit ISRAEL!"


What better way to celebrate the long and distinguished* ties between Jerusalem and the Islamic world than to burn the American flag?

A Shi'ite Muslim shouts slogans beside a burning U.S. flag during a protest rally to mark al-Quds (Jerusalem) day in New Delhi September 18, 2009. The annual al-Qods day rallies are a show of support for the Palestinian people. Al-Quds day is held on the last Friday of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi (INDIA POLITICS CONFLICT RELIGION)


* Yes, I'm being sarcastic.

On a serious note, there appears to be some pretty heavy protesting in Iran right now. Opposition parties are reportedly chanting "DEATH TO RUSSIA" again, in defiance of the dictatorship's preferred American and Israeli whipping boys. Not sure how heavy things are going to get over there, but it's obvious from here that the Iranian people blame the Obama Administration for their continued oppression.

I hope all of you supposedly Democratic-leaning Americans are proud of that.

In any case, I'll be adding the best of the worst photos to this thread, so please do stay tuned for more! Continue reading »
 

Reuters Celebrates

It's delightful to see Reuters promoting such a heartwarming celebration:

Performers reproduce the scene of a hanging during a ceremony to celebrate the 40th anniversary since Muammar Gaddafi seized power in Libya, at former U.S. base Matega in Tripoli August 31, 2009. Military bands, 400 dancers, aerobatic planes and fireworks are set to electrify a hot and drowsy Tripoli as Muammar Gaddafi throws Libya's biggest party to mark four decades since taking power. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra (LIBYA ANNIVERSARY POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY)


Apparently, the global news world is hungry for just about anything negative about America these days. Up to and including scenes of Libyan dictators throwing elaborate staged hanging parties on overthrown U.S. military bases!

Who knew that celebrating "diversity" could be so one-sided?

You can see the rest of the laser-enhanced festivities over at Daylife.

Update: Guess who else made it to Libya's big party?

The Labour Party is, no doubt, truly proud of their traditional buffoonery.
 

Reuters Editorializes

I'm guessing that the message Yannis Behrakis is trying to send with this picture is "the IDF likes to shoot women:"

An Israeli security officer stands guard near the Israeli controversial barrier as Palestinian women wait to cross Qalandiya checkpoint outside the West Bank city of Ramallah August 28, 2009. Hundreds of Palestinians lined up as they tried to reach the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem on the first Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking and sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. The sign is at the entrance women use to pass through at the checkpoint. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (WEST BANK RELIGION POLITICS MILITARY IMAGES OF THE DAY CONFLICT)
 

A Likely Excuse

Technically, the caption is telling the truth. I have a sneaking suspicion that this intrepid photojournalist's attention just might have been elsewhere, though.

Israeli soldiers patrol along the beach after mortar bombs fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza landed near Kibbutz Zikim, just outside the northern Gaza Strip August 24, 2009. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL CONFLICT MILITARY POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY)
 

Home Economics, Jihadi-Style

You really just need to see it to believe it. What wonders will those wily terrorists come up with next?

Palestinian female militants of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) take part in a training drill in front of the media in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip August 20, 2009. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA POLITICS CONFLICT)
 

We Get It

The Iraqi Army likes to point guns at women:

An Iraqi soldier patrols a street during a military operation in Baghdad's al-Fadhil district March 30, 2009. Iraqi security forces swept through an area of Baghdad on Sunday and detained several people after Sunni patrolmen angry at their leader's arrest clashed with police and troops in a battle that killed three people. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ CONFLICT IMAGE OF THE DAY TOP PICTURE MILITARY)


Most of Mohammed's other shots are more pedestrian in nature, but it's always interesting to see photos like this hit the wire, considering how often similar photos are used to illustrate the "cruelty" of politically-unpopular armed forces around the world. Such as this and that.

In short, if you see photos like this in your local paper, stop and ask yourself—Are you reading news? Or are you really just looking at raw emotion, published with the intent of changing your opinions?

Because only one of the two purposes is a valid function of a news agency.
 

Puppetry

Barack's Teleprompter makes it look so easy:

U.S. President Barack Obama, seen through his teleprompter, delivers remarks announcing a comprehensive, new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan in Washington March 27, 2009. Standing behind is U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES POLITICS IMAGE OF THE DAY TOP PICTURE)
 

Flatulence

... has a strange way of ruining even the most basic of photo ops:

Palestinian militants from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) attend the funeral of fellow militant Mahmoud Hamdan in the central Gaza Strip March 5, 2009. An Israeli air strike killed three Palestinian militants, one of them Hamdan, in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, said medical workers in the Hamas-controlled coastal territory. An Israeli army spokesman said the air strike targeted a group of militants who had fired an anti-tank missile towards a military patrol on the Israeli side of the border. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA)
 

Six Words Make All The Difference

Here's a rather curious refile, sent across by Reuters stringer Ronen Zvulun:

REFILE - CLARIFYING CAPTION A Palestinian boy stands in front of the rubble of a house that local residents say was recently demolished in the neighbourhood of Silwan in Arab East Jerusalem March 4, 2009. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticised Israel on Wednesday over plans to demolish Palestinian homes in Arab East Jerusalem and said Washington would engage Israeli leaders on Jewish settlements. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM)


The words in bold are the only thing in the caption that's clarified. One wonders why Ronen felt compelled to clarify the caption—Could it be, perhaps, because the ruins to which he references are covered in rust, and therefore look like they've been in that state for slightly longer than 12 hours?

Of course, one suspects that the traditional anti-Israelis will continue to use their time-honored explanation for incidents like that:

That dastardly fast-rusting Zionist steel!

(The original, slightly less-than-honest caption can be found here.)

Update: Brian is having mathematical issues right now. This is a six word difference, of course, not the five-word correction I originally alluded to.

Must. Have. More. Coffee.
 

Rainy Day Awesomeness

This is a really nifty shot. I definitely look forward to exploring the concept once the rainy season starts here in Fairfax County.

A man walking with an umbrella in the rain is photographed through a a windshield in Kabul March 3, 2009. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood (AFGHANISTAN)
 

Sure Thing!

I'll get right on releasing all of them... As soon as I can figure out what a "detenus" is:

Activists of the Jammu and Kashmir People's Freedom League (JKPFL) hold a placard during a protest in Srinagar February 16, 2009. Dozens of activists of the JKPFL took to the streets in protest on Monday to demand the release of all political separatist leaders kept in different Indian jails, the protesters said. REUTERS/Danish Ismail (INDIAN-ADMINISTERED KASHMIR)
 

Playing to the Cameras

Considering how blatantly the subjects in this photograph are acting for the camera's sake alone, I think it's safe to say that photojournalism has outlived its usefulness in the Palestinian Terror-tories:

Palestinian mourners react during the funeral of militant Al'a Abu al-Rob in Qabatiya near the West Bank city of Jenin February 5, 2009. Israeli troops shot dead al-Rob at his home in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, a Palestinian security official said. An Israeli military spokesman said the militant belonged to the Islamic Jihad group and was suspected of involvement in attacks against Israelis. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK)
 

I Bet it Improves with Each Telling

It used to be that we, as a news-consuming public, listened intently to a skeptical press, all of whom repeatedly told us that they were eager to question propaganda and other "official" storylines before such manipulations corrupted mainstream thought.

Sadly, those times are long behind us, as the press seems more intent on inventing propaganda these days:

Mahmoud Ghabayen (L) and his brother Hassan re-enact their interrogation by an Israeli officer [Ed.:—In other words, they are "making stuff up" that is "not newsworthy in the least."] in front of members of the media in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip February 1, 2009. Mahmoud Ghabayen and his younger brother Hassan told the story of their interrogation by an Israeli officer during the Gaza war by re-enacting the scene for reporters. Mahmoud, 16, tied the hands of his 15-year-old brother behind his back, using wire found in the rubble of their uncle's damaged home in Beit Lahiya, a town where militants had fired rockets into Israel. Picture taken February 1, 2009. REUTERS/Ismail Zaydah (GAZA)