Snapped Shot

As if I needed more proof that the days of our news media reporting fact are over, Reuters offers a rather negatively charged interpretation of Scripture as a direct response to efforts by Israeli settlers to explain their position:

Jewish settler Yovram Cohen, a self-taught winemaker, pours wine for journalists visiting the West Bank Jewish settlement of Ofra November 17, 2008. On a tour settlers organised this week to redress a negative image in foreign media, they cited scripture going back 3,500 years to explain why a land-for-peace swap was out of the question. This makes it hard to discuss rationally a resolution of the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel over its occupation of West Bank land since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Picture taken November 17, 2008. REUTERS/Eliana Aponte (WEST BANK) To match feature ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/SETTLERS

Reuters will never admit that Hamas gun-running, tunnel-digging, and rocket-launching all contribute to making it "hard to discuss" peace in the Middle East, but will instead continue to carry the official Hamas party line of "blockade" and repression without one single question being raised in caption.

But when it comes to information brought before it by politically inexpedient people, such as these Israeli settlers, Reuters makes no bones about "challenging" the viewpoint that is being presented.

That must be what Reuters thinks it means to be "fair and independent" carriers of the news.

See-Also:

Elder of Ziyon

I don't know about you, but I can't help but think that this would make one heck of an awesome marketing campaign.

Now there's a growth industry for Thompson Reuters to pursue.

If your funeral isn't stocked to the brim with masks, RPGs, and a really obnoxious speaker, it's no funeral at all.

Why bother hiring your own PR firm, which would mean having to spend your easy-earned dollars, when you can just use the largest "news" agencies in the world as your advertising firm, free of charge?

The Associated Press doesn't seem to mind being used in the least.

Agence France-Presse seems to surrender to their every whim.

But Reuters, of all, seems to be the most adept at meeting today's terrorist group's needs, serving up photos that are worthy of gracing any terrorist's den.

Notice that not a single one of those photographs is original. In other words, the agency photographers are doing nothing more than taking the pictures that the terrorists are ordering them to take.

Once again, I'm left to wonder why it is that the largest news organizations in the world have become content with being nothing more than the unpaid public relations arms of the world's terrorist regimes.

Of course, judging by the fact that all of these agencies' revenues are collapsing due to declining readership—Yeah, the public notices that y'all aren't actually delivering any news—maybe it's time these companies start charging Hamas for their services.

Update: It would seem that all P.R. work is not equal.

Can you guess what kind of P.R. work the Associated Press hates?

See-Also:

Dhimmi Watch

Hamas has resorted to smuggling potential brides through its Gaza-Egypt border tunnels?

No wonder the Associated Press felt the pressing need to document this monumental occasion for posterity's sake.

It's funny how the press is never around when the smuggling tunnels are being used for their primary purpose, though.

Here's a free tip for my dear friends (but mostly mortal enemies) over at the Associated Press:

If you're going to go through a tremendous amount effort to stage a "protest" against the "dastardly" Israeli siege that you claim is responsible for causing rolling power outages in your city, it might be wise to protest in an area that doesn't actually have power.

Pay particular attention to the background.

But never you worry—This round of advice is free of charge!

Don't they always feel something like this?

I'm working on easing back into the photo-criticism thing that this blog is supposed to be about, now that election season is officially over. I've got a big pile of photos that I've been meaning to write about over the past week, but have been putting it off for various reasons. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to get caught up shortly.

And yes, I know today is Wednesday. It sure acted like a Monday, though.

You'd never guess. Then again, maybe you would:

Palestinian gunmen from the radical Palestine Liberation Front, watch U.S. presidential candidates [sic] Sen. Barack Obama speak on a television, as poster of the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein hangs on the wall, at their base in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday Nov. 4, 2008. The race for the White House is attracting huge media coverage in Lebanon, with newspapers on election day Tuesday Nov. 4, 2008, displaying on its front pages pictures of U.S. presidential candidates Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain along with banner headlines.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Nice to see that my mortal enemies over at the Associated Press treat a murderous dictator with so much respect, incidentally.

Update: Also in the Happy Lucky Obama Fan Club?
Continue reading »

Women's rights are protected to the utmost in the Palestinian terror-tories. Protected, honored, and even cherished far moreso than anywhere else in the world.

How cherished are they?

If you love someone, cage them up. That's exactly how that old saying goes, right?

Hamas policewomen take part in a graduation ceremony in Gaza October 30, 2008. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA)

Oh, and before I'm embattled with predictable accusations of racism from our friendly visitor: I am being facetious. Continue reading »

You know how B. Hussein Obama, the Left's predestined Chosen One, keeps on insisting that Hamas is nothing more than a lawfully-elected government, content with such mundanities like trash collection and combating "disenfranchisement?"

Yeah... I wonder how it would impact his ever-shifting opinion if he were to see more pictures like this.

Because, to me, it doesn't seem like they care all that much about trash collection.

Then again, I'm racist for even daring to bring this up, aren't I?

Israeli citizens and Palestinians are both sparring in today's protests, now against and for the "oppressive" barrier wall.

Can you guess which side the press portrays as the belligerent bad guys?

Yeah, I'm totally surprised, too.

A Palestinian man, based on all the evidence available today, has intentionally plowed his car into a group of people in Jerusalem. The police forces on-site reacted quickly, neutralizing the terrorist threat as they were trained, yet still, the bystanders he hit were pretty brutalized.

So whose story in all of this mess do you think the press wants you to hear?

If you guessed "the would-be terrorist's," then you're probably just as surprised as I am.

The media's immediate preference for the completely manufactured "oppressed Palestinian" storyline could not possibly be any more transparent.

Update: The Elder has more details about the motive. Romantic jihad? Who would've guessed it!

Israel has been bending over backwards during this Ramadan season to ensure that the IDF treats all Palestinians with respect, and does its best to ensure that they don't have any extraordinary problems getting to where they're going during the festivities.

How does Israel get thanked for the extra concern towards the Palestinians' sensitivities?

If you guessed with an acid-throwing attack, you'd be just about as surprised as I am:

The woman arrived at the Hawara checkpoint and attempted to cross into Israel using the humanitarian aid lane, which is meant for emergencies and therefore has no security checks. Upon approaching the soldier manning the lane, she threw the acid at his face and then ran back towards Nablus.

(h/t Smooth Stone and BtB)

Soccer Dad sends along the exclusive sneak preview of the movie event of 2020. I don't know about you, but I'm definitely going to be lining up to buy my tickets to this historic event today.

His commentary is definitely worth repeating, as always:

There seem to be a higher concentration of news service photographers relative to the population in Palestinian areas than any place in the world. So there’s a lot of news. Among the most popular images are people waiting for their terrorist friends and relatives to be released, Palestinian policeman undergoing incomprehensible training and “militants” training to attack Israel. (I’m not sure there’s a difference between those last two groups.)

Are there really more photojournalists per-capita in the Palestinian terror-tories than anywhere else on earth? Continue reading »