snapped shot

I'm making this video sticky again just for a certain reader in Austin. Hope you enjoy, Ching!

Considering that the penalty for doing this in Iran is certain death, my hat is genuinely off to these brave souls. I just wish they would get around to setting a higher standard for their demands than some bureaucrat-dictated, largely worthless document.

Watch the video here—or here via YouTube. I'm betting it'll be pulled from the latter by lunch time, of course. Can't have any of that free thought junk over there, you know.



Big h/t to IBA for pointing this out!

A Blog for All asks if Western news stringers operating in Beirut today are enemy embeds. The answer to that is twofold:—For starters, all of the photographers that are covering this week's events live there, so they're essentially covering their home turf. However, Hezbullah has been going through plenty of effort to censor photographers that are "unfriendly" to the group, and has shut down media outlets that are run by the opposition, so the remaining photographers aren't exactly enemy "embeds," as much as they are enemy-vetted.

By the way, I still haven't heard a single word of condemnation issued by Reuters against the brutal treatment shown to its employees by the terrorist militia. Yet, if Israel were even remotely thought to have been involved, I'm sure the press releases would've been flying before the photos even hit the wires.

One wonders why Hezbullah feels it needs to even bother with censorship of the press, considering how friendly to the group the media already are.

Another gem from Donkeyrock:

A certain shoemaker is going to be very happy with the prominent product placement in this wire photograph:

Of course, the people who threatened Mr. Belien's website still live in the 7th century... but heck, you already knew that:

Your news is very race.If you are continue this your website is must be close. We check your server, database,IP and find this pictures, news.You must be careful. Our father of Turk is Ataturk. We are democratic, laic and muslum. We are not Arabic people.We live for peace. We like "Isa" and "Meryem" They are God childs. We give you 7 days. If you are dont change any news or insult. Turkish attack will be started!

Heck, if it's that offensive, we might as well post it here on Snapped Shot as well. I always love finding new ways of getting fan mail.

Charles Malik has details on Hezbullah's takeover of the Lebanese press:

Hezbollah has taken control of the media in Lebanon, and their propaganda campaign has already begun. They are currently presenting themselves as liberators of Lebanon, and allies of the Lebanese Army against a corrupt government supported by pro-government snipers and brigrands.

Hezbollah's militant takeover of Beirut and its systematic destruction of the authority of the state and freedom of the press suggests a sophisticated and planned campaign to take power. There is no hiding the violence Hezbollah used to seize Beirut and cut it off from the rest of the country. But as their media campaign is already showing, Hezbollah is employing subtle and sophisticated mechanisms to take over the rest of Lebanon. All news which could be construed as negative behaviors, such as the blatant destruction and corruption of Lebanese institutions, is hidden beneath a Hezbollah-dominated media blackout.

No one knows if Hezbollah is currently occupying government building, re-routing the telecommunications networks, placing weapons in areas they could not gain access to before, and more. If Hezbollah wins this battle, this information will never be made public.

And it certainly won't be made public by the Western press, which is already quite sympathetic to Hezbullah:

Al Jazeera is claiming that Hezbollah has made a "concession" by opening the airport road. As was told to me by a veteran Lebanese reporter, all of the journalists and news agencies reporting right now have been vetted by Hezbollah. Even if the news is true, it is written to present Hezbollah's actions as gracious.

The servants of the master celebrate in Beirut:

A Hezbollah gunman poses as he flashes a victory sign after putting up posters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and taking over of an office of the Future group loyal to Saad al-Hariri Majority leader, in the Rass al-Naba'a area in Beirut May 9, 2008. Hezbollah gunmen took control of large areas of Beirut on Friday in a third day of fighting between the pro-Iranian group and fighters loyal to the U.S.- backed governing coalition. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON)