snapped shot

I don't know if you remember that wacky photo of Syrian dictator-for-life Bashar al-Assad test driving a subcompact car from a while back, but if you do, this one's for you:



Only 9 months from initial design to production? Not bad for a thugocratic dictatorship, right?

For what it's worth, the car is reportedly a rebadged Peugeot design. The reliability of the Post Office, the versatility of a pencil.

Classy.

It would appear that Bashar al-Assad, the darling of Nancy Pelosi, has graciously allowed himself to be re-elected to another 7-year term of dictatorship running the DNC's foreign policy. Here's to another 7 years of silly pictures of chinless ophthalmologists.

For the record, winning "97 percent" of the vote by cowing the populace via brutal violence does not make one the "elected leader" of anything, much less a nation worthy of being called "free."

Unless you happen to be a "favoured" member of the Socialist elite, in which case your praises will be sung by such widely diverse thinkers as "Red" Nancy Pelosi, Michael "Flabmeister" Moore, and Hugo "Killed the TV Star" Chavez.



The local population of public employees (hint to you DNC members: Public employees are employed by Assad) made an effort to celebrate the occasion. While it couldn't possibly live up to Cuba's half-century of practice at these faux-genuine celebrations, I'll be rounding up the pics below, so you can see the wonders of freedom for yourself. Continue reading »

Quick: Name me one single public University here in the United States that has large neo-Soviet propaganda posters of "dictator" George W. "Chimpy McHalliburton" Bush plastered all over them.



Syria? An evil dictatorship, ruled by Bashir al-Assad's iron fist. The United States? Still not so much.

Hark! A chinless ophthalmologist this way comes!



I don't call him a "dictator" for nothing, folks. He appears to be confident enough in Iran's backing that he can dictate whatever policy to the region that he wants.

Of course, the fawning press would gladly give him that power.

One thing to note very seriously, though: If Assad is talking about Israel being "weak," you can mark my words that he's preparing for war. If you're wondering why I can so confidently say that, I suggest reading up a bit on the practice of hudna. Continue reading »

Is it proper for the press to participate in a blatantly staged photo op, even when it's admitted that the people who showed up only did so because they were paid to?

Consider this situation from the "occupied" Golan Heights: In exchange for "free" education in Damascus, around 200 people showed up to "shout" Mother's Day greetings to their "relatives" who lived (presumably, as the caption provided doesn't delve into details) on the Israeli side of the valley.

While it's decent of Bassem to note that these people showed up, in essence, as paid players, take particular note of the purposeful staging of the scenery: We're shown "peaceful" students, a vast gulf of land, and evil barbed wire. (It should be noted that the barbed wire pictured is most likely on the Syrian side of the border, which means it's not evil Zionist barbed wire, but the implication that it is still remains.) All of these combine to form some rather powerful imagery, but is the substance presented in the photographs genuine?

There are no news stories accompanying these photographs as of yet, and I've not determined how old this "ancient" custom is, but if any of y'all are aware of the background behind what's pictured here, please do let me know of it.

My question to you is this: Is a series of photographs like this proper? Even though the motivation of the players is mentioned, it's not uncommon to see details like that removed from the photojournalist's captions when the photograph is used in other media outlets. At what point does it become "improper" for the press corps to cover and transmit photographs of a knowingly-staged event? Continue reading »

Rumour has it that there's a massive DAY OF ANGER!! (now where have I seen this before?) planned to protest the Israeli "destruction" of the al-Aqsa mosque. I haven't seen any photos of it yet, but considering that today is Friday, the Muslim holy day—and traditionally the day of the largest organized worldwide protests—I expect we'll be seeing quite a bit of action on the wires shortly.

Plenty of "anger" and "rage" are evident in the photographs, following the break. I ask you: Aside from "anger" and "rage," what else is there in the Muslim world?

Update: From what I can tell, there are two separate efforts underway. The primary is a large, "peaceful" protest, with plenty of flag-waving, propaganda posters, and other traditional elements of jihadi misinformation. The secondary seems to be an effort to goad the Israeli police into a firefight using "stone throwers" and other violent elements.

We shall see which side gets the greater coverage...

Previously on Snapped Shot: Selective Outrage Syndrome, Selective Outrage Syndrome, Day 2

Update: Here's the background on why all of this inflamed "protest" is genuinely fake. Thanks to LGF commenter BabbaZee for the link!

Update: In a rather interesting twist, it seems that this is a Palestinian day of RAGE, considering we haven't seen any action on the wires from Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, or any of the other usual hot spots. I'll keep an eye on the wires, of course, but I find it interesting that nothing's come across yet. Continue reading »

Senator Nelson, I could've sworn that the Department of State was solely responsible for representing the United States to foreign governments. Why would you bother to meet with a known sponsor terrorism, other than to somehow improve your party's chances of success in the 2008 elections?

To think that a mere 40 years ago, such actions were still identified as what they are:

HIGH TREASON

Update: Provided a picture of the happy couple, above.

Here is the Dishonourable Nelson's side of the story. Even as a future member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, there is no precedence for Senators conducting the foreign policy of the nation, is there? Why else would the Congress have created the Department of State, anyway??

Update again: Condoleeza Rice has reiterated that direct talks with the terrorist supporters in Syria and Iran are not on the table. Is the Congress planning on pursuing its own foreign policy, wholly seperate and distinct from the Executive Branch's? If so, can they please consider seceding into their own nation to do so, so they don't get the rest of us killed?

And yet again: I'm very pleased to report that Doug Ross has fired up the ol' trusty Blogotronic™ recorder and presented us with an unofficial transcript of the surely intellectual depths that these two reached. My favorite part:

Not to worry. It's off the record as far as I'm concerned. One last thing: I wanted to present a gift on the behalf of the people of the great state of Florida... It's an NCAA Championship Basketball autographed by the Florida Gators!

Thanks, Doug! It's fitting for the Senator to prefer the Gators, though I hope for the Booster's sake that Assad is, truly, not an FSU fan.

Go 'Noles!

Continue reading »