Snapped Shot

Taking a page from Brian's critiquing of a photo's descriptors, I find this....

Egyptian riot police prepare to stand guard at the Rafah border crossing December 29, 2008. Wounded Palestinians trickled one by one from Gaza into Egypt on Monday after a day and a half of confusion and disagreement between the Islamist movement Hamas and the Egyptian government. REUTERS/Amr Dalsh (EGYPT)

So, now Hamas is just another social club within Islam? Just another peaceful ideology based on Islam that we keep hearing about?

Or, are they murderous thug terrorists that have major sympathizers in the major media?

No wonder Israel kicked the press out. They know who their enemies are.

Do you think this guy's hole can match the size of the one in the photog's head photo?

I guess the skirmish Israel had with Lebanon in 2006 had more of an impact on photojournalism than we thought. They just can't seem to get away from that taking pictures through bombed out walls. Is that supposed to make Israel look bad or something?

Of course grown adults created this mess. No child in his right mind would take credit for such idiotic looking papier-mâché.

Also, it's the idiot without a mask in this picture, along with the retarded-looking hammer and sickle, that have provided me with moments of immense enjoyment.

One must start the afternoon right, after all.

Compare and contrast, foreground to background.

Religion. Of. Peace.

The wire services are genuinely rallying to Hamas' support in this latest Israeli offensive. Case in point is this photo, filed by Reuters with the immediate storyline-following caption:

A student holds an Israeli flag during a protest at Hebrew University in Jerusalem against Israel's offensive in Gaza December 29, 2008. Israeli aircraft destroyed a bastion of Hamas's rule over the Gaza Strip on Monday, the third day of an offensive that has killed more than 300 Palestinians in the deadliest violence in the territory in decades. Hamas fired a rocket salvo into the Israeli city of Ashkelon, killing one person, the second such fatality since Israeli bombing began on Saturday. REUTERS/Nikola Solic (JERUSALEM)

Now, it's not too far beyond reason to suspect that muttonhead university students would be rallying against the Israeli military, but it did seem a little bit odd to see her holding the Israeli flag sans fire.

To my surprise, Reuters issued an update mere moments later:

REFILE - CORRECTING REASON FOR DEMONSTRATION A student holds an Israeli flag during a rally at Hebrew University in Jerusalem in support of Israeli troops and residents of the Gaza border December 29, 2008. Israeli aircraft destroyed a bastion of Hamas's rule over the Gaza Strip on Monday, the third day of an offensive that has killed more than 300 Palestinians in the deadliest violence in the territory in decades. Hamas fired a rocket salvo into the Israeli city of Ashkelon, killing one person, the second such fatality since Israeli bombing began on Saturday. REUTERS/Nikola Solic (JERUSALEM)

Would it be too much for me to suggest that the Reuters Middle East desk needs to slow down a bit, and stop trying to shove events into their predetermined narratives quite so fast?

Update: Soccer Dad sends along a similar Reuters photo, which has not been corrected yet, as far as I can tell.

He also sent this AFP photo over, which may help explain some of Reuters' confusion:

Israeli right-wing students hold Israeli flags (top) and left-wing students hold a Palestinian flag (bottom) during simultaneous demonstration for and against the military operation on the Gaza Strip on December 29, 2008 in front of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip has sparked protests across the occupied West Bank and the world, with demonstrations held in European capitals, Turkey, Egypt and Syria AFP PHOTO/AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images)

Again, my advice to Reuters would be to slow down. The world can wait, if it means having access to a more accurate caption.

Some people just can't take a joke:

First of all, I’ll post my comment as a photographer, I’ll not speak about the boring Palestinian Israeli conflict.
It seems that u r so stupid to judge on our work, captions.. etc, because u r to lower than us in the way u think, we are professional photographers, controlled and monitored by professionals ISRAELI editors, so u need to knew that every word we put in the caption is True, Really True, So Stop u’re craps and have a life

What can I say? I'm jealous!

Be sure to read the rest of Aussie Dave's commentary at the link above. It's priceless, as always—Which is why he gets paid the big bucks!

There goes Iran again, shamelessly using its citizenry as props in its effort to legitimize its nuclear-weapons ambitions in front of the press.

I'm not sure what it says about Iran that the same faces keep appearing at these events. Could it be that Tehran running low on puppets that it can march into these media-friendly events?

I'm torn, incidentally. These photos show that either (a) Iran uses its citizens—or at the very least, a small portion thereof—as puppetry, staging protests like this for the cameras to help create the impression that your average Iranian citizen supports the nuclear program.

Or (b) the Iranian people really do support Tehran's nuclear program—because it is being taught by the imams that the Iranian government puts in its mosques.

I think this begs a larger question, and am positive that I'll be hearing some interesting reactions from at least one of you about it. Continue reading »

I know, I know! I was as stunned to find out about this as you are!

Aren't we so fortunate to know that Reuters considers this to be news of the highest value?

On a positive note, I think this proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that American university students are no dumber than their international counterparts.

And if you still believe that, I'd be delighted to introduce you to my friend, the tooth fairy.

By the way, did I see that attribution right? Why yes, I believe I did:

A Lebanese journalist holds a sign reading "The atomic shoe", during a gathering to demand the release of Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi, at the journalist syndicate in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008. Al-Zeidi, the journalist who threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush, was handed over to the Iraqi judiciary, an Iraqi official said Tuesday, a move that ordinarily signals the start of criminal proceedings. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Irony cleanup, aisle two.

Thanks for the link, Charles!

An unnoticed pattern from earlier today emerges.

You'd think that these guys have never seen a woman before.

We been spending a bit too much time in the darkroom?

The next person who suggests to me that Palestinian protests are inherently peaceful will be subject to this level of peace and tolerance.

A Palestinian protester places a Palestinian flag on barbed wire while another throws a rock as they block a road during a protest against the construction of the controversial Israeli barrier in the West Bank village of Nilin near Ramallah December 10, 2008. REUTERS/Fadi Arouri (WEST BANK)

Seriously, after seeing a crowd like this, I don't understand how one wouldn't look happier than this.

Different strokes, I reckon.

Reuters Photo News Service says this pic's a winner... but I daresay it's quite boring, and clearly unworthy of being an RPNS IMAGE OF THE YEAR in 2008.

Here's a much better photograph, which has all of the drama and seriousness one would expect from a reputable news organization. Not that the agency in question is actually any of the above.

Anyway, I now pronounce him man... and goat?

If this were a photograph of an Israeli soldier manhandling a Palestinian woman like this, I can comfortably say that the whole wide world would be on fire right now:

An Israeli police officer detains a Jewish settler during a protest against Israel's plans to remove 13 families from a building in the West Bank city of Hebron December 3, 2008. Hundreds of settlers have come to the Jewish enclave in recent days to protest Israel's plans to remove 13 families from a building in accordance with a high court ruling. Settlers moved into the building in 2007 saying they had purchased it from a Palestinian. Palestinian Faiz Rajabi said the building belongs to him and denies selling it to the settlers. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (WEST BANK)

Who knows? Maybe the IDF's public relations department has finally decided that it's time they become equal-opportunity abusers.

Or, more accurately, that not a single person in the entire world would lift a finger of outrage at abuse of this particular community.