Snapped Shot

Sometimes, the surroundings of a photograph speak volumes about the "message" that a photojournalist is trying to convey to his readers. For instance, framing a group of people behind a police barrier conveys the message that, somehow, the subjects in the picture are being "oppressed" by a particular police force, even though other photographs in the same series show very clearly that the police barriers are not intended to surround the people pictured.

Here's another interesting case of selective framing, courtesy Kevin Frayer of the-wire-service-that-hates-me. I'll refer you over here for the picture, but allow me to "paint words" with the caption, if I may—and if you have problems with it, Counselor, you know the drill:

Palestinian Muslim women stand under a Christian mural as they look on, during the funeral of four Palestinian militants in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Thursday, March 13, 2008. The militant Islamic Jihad group in Gaza fired more than a dozen rockets at southern Israel early Thursday after Israeli undercover forces killed one of its West Bank leaders in a raid in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. The attacks shattered a recent lull in Gaza fighting and highlighted the fragility of efforts to move Israel and Gaza's Islamic Hamas rulers toward an informal truce. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

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The funny thing is, I bet that the soldier was just messing around with the photographer. I mean, it's not like this is the first time something like that's happened, is it? (See the second large photograph down.) And don't forget that Kevin Frayer was only standing about 2 feet from the other photographer, so obviously the soldiers aren't that concerned about not having their pictures taken.



It'd be interesting to learn who the blocked photographer is. Either way, I'm sure somebody out there's going to be crying censorship any minute now, whether it is or not.

Dunno about you, but I don't plan on being the one to tell these folks that Israel didn't have anything to do with the execution of Saddam Hussein. Well, unless you consider fanciful conspiracy theories to be real, that is.



I sure hope they remembered to bring the bean dip. More festivities beyond the fold. Continue reading »

Sung to the tune of "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer," of course.

Sweetness & Light pounced on this story before I had a chance to get this posted, so I'll just introduce the topic with the best picture of the bunch, and then send you over yonder for the rest.

It's good to see the Associated Press acknowledge that the map in this picture encompasses the entire Israeli nation, though I do think that they're still missing the point by a wide margin.

Earlier this year, there were worldwide (and totally orchestrated) protests against Israel's "destruction" of the al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam—which does not appear once in the Qu'ran—even though Israeli excavations were being performed to preserve archaeological evidence before official Palestinian construction destroyed it. The press, in its endless exuberance for anything anti-Western, presented these protests as fact, not once attempting to understand the Israeli side of the issue.



Fast-forward to yesterday, where Israeli citizens were protesting their own government's plan to give the Temple Mount—which incidentally is the single-most holiest site in Judaism, mentioned in the Torah and Talmud hundreds of times—are tarred and smeared as "right-wing" extremists.



There's that good old-fashioned fairness and balance for you: "Curse those dastardly right-wingers."

Full coverage of yesterday's Radical Right Wing Israeli Protest can be found beyond the fold.

Update: Wow, here are some genuine words of "wisdom" from Ehud "The Dunce" Olmert:

Israeli PM Olmert slams right-wing extremists over 'flood of hatred'

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert launched a vitriolic attack on extreme right-wingers on Monday, amid a campaign to release a political assassin and incitement against talks with the Palestinians.

Olmert, who on Sunday said he may be able to conclude a peace deal with the Palestinians by the end of next year, vowed that such behaviour would not dissuade him from persevering with negotiations.

"We are prepared to make compromises because security is based on peace and peace requires painful compromises," he said in a speech to a managers' conference in Israel's commercial capital Tel Aviv.

Okay, here's a "flood of hatred" for you, Eddy Boy:—if you're so set against the Jewish people that you do not wish to hear what the Jewish people have to say about the future of Israel—the ancestral home of said Jewish people—then why in the devil do you allow yourself to remain as President? If genuine Judaism disgusts you so much, why not just pack up and move over to your best buddy's little tinpot regime?

After all, if your "counterparts" at the peace conference deny your right to exist, as the savages have done on every occasion they've been given, why do you suppose that "peace" somehow depends on giving them more land, you traitorous coward?!

Is Israel really so self-destructive now that they allow scum like this to remain in power?

Soccer Dad writes to remind me that Olmert used to be one of we dreaded "right-wingers", back before political expediency necessitated the abandonment of his core beliefs. How times change!

I dream of the day in which spinelessness will no longer be a requirement for public office in the West.

Update: The Elder has more thoughts on extremism.

See-also:

Israel Matzav

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Here's yet another photo of heartless Israeli oppression. Imagine the sheer audacity of this soldier, helpfully pointing an obviously belligerent woman in the direction of the queue—Oh, the outrage!



Someone remind me: Why do we bother employing photojournalists in the Middle East again? The ones already over there are so far in the bag for the "opposition" team that I really must wonder how any editor worth his salt would allow any of their material onto the news wires.

Being "impartial" is one thing, but this is ridiculous. Enough cheerleading for the terrorists already!

Nice, peaceful "youth." More of this "peaceful" nuttiness follows the break. Continue reading »

... this way comes. Without any prior warning from the photo wires, we're treated to a series of photographs of a funeral procession for a ten-year-old girl, reported to have been killed by a rubber bullet fired by IDF soldiers. But, as with many reports originating from the region, the lines are somewhat unclear. For instance, the first story I see about it is from yesterday, even though the event was reported by the photo wires to have happened on Tuesday. To make matters worse, there are only a handful of stories about it, at the time of this writing, it being worth only 8 stories. (And yes, I tried alternate searches as well.)

What really stinks to high heaven about this story, though, is a fact that none of these reports conveys: Much like their anti-war counterparts here in the United States, not a single one of these anti-"Apartheid" wall protests happens without being covered by any number of photographers. So why is it that after a girl is injured at such a protest, is there not a single photograph of her on the wires from the protest itself? Surely, the photographers would've noticed such a young girl being treated brutally, and would have proceeded to take hundreds of sympathetic pictures!

I mean, it's possible to explain it away by suggesting that the IDF confiscated film from every photographer on-site, but based on the photographic coverage we've seen from that area over the past 6 years, do you really think that's what's going on? Perhaps it was the Palestinians who confiscated the film, but really -- wouldn't that have merited at least a story about the event?

Finally, check out the professionally-printed "funeral" photograph on the gravesite. One doesn't usually find such detail, mere days after a little girl's life is abruptly ended--that is, unless one is intent on trying to score a very cynical political point.

There's definitely something very wrong with this story. I'll be keeping an eye on things to see what kind of reaction it gets in the international press. Keep reading below the fold for the handful of photos on the wire about this so far.

Update: The story is gaining traction, being featured on the front page of the "moderate" English-language Palestine Times.

Not to be too conspiratorial, but do y'all think there's any chance that the Palestinian government (or rather, a group of Palestinians, be it Fatah or Hamas) did this? It seems to be an awfully efficient way to try and re-direct some of the current fratricidal violence in the region back to the "evil Zionists," doesn't it?

Update: The more I see the "posterized" memorial photograph of this girl, the more convinced I am that this is heartless propaganda. The IDF has opened an investigation into her death, so we'll just have to wait and see what the truth is. I'm still scanning the wires, though, so we'll see if there are any pictures of the actual protest.

CAMERA reports some details on this case, including the blockbuster, "Police sources said on Sunday that autopsy findings indicated Aramin could have been killed by concussion from a shock grenade or by a thrown rock. However, they said, the findings were inconsistent with her having been killed by a rubber bullet: No bullet wounds were found on her body, and the skull injury that caused her death was a large one, whereas rubber bullets, even if they do not penetrate, usually make small wounds."

With that, I think I finally have enough of a story to cross-post this over at NewsBusters. Fair NB readers, I hope that you will not be disappointed by my work so far! Continue reading »

... with my whole apartheid, racist wall schtick, didn't you?

Sadly, I wasn't.



The top photograph will show up in newspapers around the world. But does it reflect reality? Let's look a little bit closer:



Oof, is that the end of the wall that I see? Real "racist" there, ain't it?

Let's be clear: The press does not want you to think about current events. They want you to "feel" them. By doing so, they control your entire thought process on what you're reading, and what you're seeing.

This series of photographs, to me, is one of the basest examples of propaganda I've ever seen. There's no logical reason for a photograph like this—it contains no information, but merely reduces the entire argument over the war to base emotions. And, as we all have learned over time, information transmitted by raw emotion can only be referred to as one word:—Propaganda!

UPDATE 21-AUG-2006 08:51 EST: I've completed the commentary which goes along with the photographs. Be sure to check it out by clicking on the "Read More" link below!

UPDATE 24-AUG-2006 12:34 EST: I WAS RIGHT! Check out this photo, which appeared on today's wires, sent by Zohra Bensemra of Reuters. Not quite as dramatic as Ben Curtis' dreck, but the same basic concept! Continue reading »

This post is no longer being updated. Please refer to The latest on the Funny Money Scandal for, well, the latest updates.

Now that Hezbullah has suddenly morphed into a philanthropic organization, we learn from this photograph that they are distributing approximately US$12,000 to the needy in areas destroyed by Israel. Of course, what is our intrepid photographer obviously not curious enough to know? Well, that Hezbullah has already been dinged for counterfeiting U.S. currency:

One of the most prominent and influential members of the Hizballah terrorist organization, along with two of his companies, was designated by the Treasury Department today under Executive Order 13224. Assad Ahmad Barakat has close ties with Hizballah leadership and has worked closely with numerous Islamic extremists and suspected Hizballah associates in South America's tri-border area (TBA), made up of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. . . .

Barakat has also been involved in a counterfeiting ring that distributes fake U.S. dollars and generates cash to fund Hizballah operations. As of early 2001, Barakat was one of two individuals reportedly in charge of distribution and sale of the counterfeit currency in the TBA.

Once again, it's left to the Blogosphere to ask the questions the media isn't interested in asking.

UPDATE 11:59 EST: I'm collecting all of the images connected with this story in this article. Click the Read More link below for a fun look at the world's newest charity.

UPDATE 13:30 EST: The hilarity continues. Apparently, we've been blessed to have the Hezbullah Engineering Company on-site, ready to fix all of those Zionist craters. Praise be to Allah, the Zionists will surely not stand up to the dreaded Hezbullah engineer! (As usual, check out the extended article for pictures)

UPDATE 19-AUG-2006 10:56 EST: Added wire photos from 19-Aug.

UPDATE 11:41 EST: It would appear that MechEng from Newsbusters has caught something in one of the photographs posted: The $100 bills shown here ought to have a security thread running roughly near the U.S. Treasury seal on the obverse (front) of the bill, yet in a silhouetted photograph of one of the bills being counted, we do not see this thread. While we can't be 100% certain, it is definitely increasingly likely that these bills are fake, and as a result, the press is possibly aiding and abetting the distribution of counterfeit currency.

UPDATE 21:10 EST: Wow! I've gotten an unprecedented reaction to this story! Thanks to everyone who's written! I want to take a moment to highlight some of the most poignant observations made by you, here:

Jim Hunter 2006-08-19 19:31

In photographs #17 and #18 the seal is in a different position relative to the numbers 1 0 0.

Wessoman 2006-08-19 15:10

I don't know about you guys, but I'm holding a new hundred right now. The US treasury has never made the new design 100 dollar bill without the strip. Considering the light passing through the bill in that photo, you would readily be able to see the strip. Those bills are about as real as Monopoly money and those victims (real or not) are either being duped or going along with one.

Wino 2006-08-19 16:47

Can I ask and answer some questions?
Who deals in American currency in Lebanon? Ans: No one
What is anyone going to buy with the money? Ans: Nothing
Why are they handing out the bills? Ans: Fauxto Op
Why is the press so willingly following along with this? Ans: They are cheering for the Hesbians.

tompain 2006-08-19 18:29

The photo by Hussein Malla (caption: "A Lebanese resident of a Beirut suburb ...") that might also indicate a missing security thread seems to me to reveal a more obvious flaw. The image of the federal reserve seal showing through the bill seems offset to the right. The outer circle of the seal should intersect with the branches of the tree in the rightmost part of the image of Independence Hall. On this bill, they barely touch.

DocMartyn 2006-08-19 18:47

A personal opinion. I moved to the USA from the UK two years ago. As I do not trust banks to move money from one country to another, I took just unser $7,000 dollars in cash.
I ordered my US dollars in advance and took them to America with me. I handled a loot of $100 dollor bills. That is my level of expertese. O.K. my view. These are too flat. The paper in fresh US $100 bills is a little more "Fluffy", it is not hard and stiff like these people are holding. It has texture, it is not flat and smooth. It is more like cloth than paper. Secondly, it is a bit more static. Bills tend to stick togeather. It makes it hard to count as is easy to count two bills togeather. The bundle in picture 11 looks very wrong. The whole stack of bills looks flat, whereas I found that the bills form a concave shape, like there is surface tension, the middle of the pile is more attracted to its partners than the edges are, and so the edges are puffed up. Again, these bills are flat, almost like a block of wood with a bill stook on top.

My deepest regards and thanks to all of you who've contributed to this story!

UPDATE 20-AUG-2006 19:05 EST: Ali Bubba has pointed out that Bill Gertz wrote an article about the North Korean "superbill" in 2004. While it's possible that Hezbullah obtained notes from North Korea, it should be noted that Iran already has all of the equipment necessary to make their own.

Thomas and Marcie write via e-mail that, not only should a portion of the security strip be visible towards the top of the bill in Photo #9, but that in Photo #15, the green color is brighter than a bill would normally be at that angle. Furthermore, on the backs of the bills, the semi-circle appears too green.

UPDATE 21-AUG-2006 09:12 EST: It would appear that the World's Newest Charity has started in its quest to conquer the Salvation Army.

UPDATE 13:27 EST: Blogger TomPain has written the most astute synopsis of this story that I've found so far, illustrated with a $100 note from his personal treasure. Many thanks for the very detailed analysis, Tom!

Related stories: Allahpundit, LGF, Disturbingly Yellow, FreeAlabamastan, Euphoric Reality, Backspin, Say Anything, Edgar's Musings, The Western Seminarian, DogfightatBankstown

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