Snapped Shot

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud is using a photograph from Qana to illustrate a point in his address to the UnTIed Nations. I'll do my best to pull a transcript of his speech to find out what the context in which he's using it is, but needless to say, I doubt he's saying, "This illustrates the cynical nature of the activist press."

This does appear to be "an historic" moment in the eyes of the press. The wires are flooded with various angles of this exact same pose, sent across by two of the major agencies so far. I can't wait to see the report on this speech, which can be summarized easily by saying:

"It was da jews."

It should be noted that Emile Lahoud has been serving illegitimately beyond the limits imposed by the Constitution of Lebanon. As is the practice with good dictators everywhere, Emile seems to be carrying on a strong tradition.

UPDATE 13:13 EST: The speech is in! Read it here and weep (PDF format)

I have completed the OCR of the speech, and it is posted to the extended article without corrections. Will be highlighting my favorite parts next!

UPDATE 13:31 EST: AS I THOUGHT. He's taking the Talking Points of the Non-Aligned Movement 100%, and is repeating everything said by the other dictators before him.

Emile Lahoud, welcome to the Axis of Evil.

UPDATE 13:44 EST: Jeha points out that nobody really listens to Emile Lahoud in Lebanon. Unfortunately, his successor may be more of a problem than he is. Thanks for pointing that out, Jeha!

UPDATE 13:59 EST: Charles has noticed this story, but hasn't discovered our additional context yet. C'mon over, Charles! We've got more of the story here.

UPDATE 15:07 EST: He's really being given the royal treatment by the Chosen Fauxtographers. Be sure to check out all of the wonderful objective photographs future 8x10 glossies.

UPDATE 15:56 EST: All three agencies have now chimed in with photographs of the, well, fauxtograph, now that the AFP has transmitted the work of one of their photographers. We'll probably see one or two more scattered shots, but it's clear that they all found this to be the defining image of Emile's "Throw the Jews down the Well" speech. Emile's country has a problem, indeed. Continue reading »