snapped shot

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 »

It seems that the Lebanese army is starting to inspect and neutralize all of the unexploded artillery and other ordnance that Shamnesty is so worried about. This photograph is rather odd, though. It's extremely grainy, due to high levels of jpeg compression, but it purports to be two members of the Lebanese Army inspecting an unexploded missile. What's odd is that the object they're studying doesn't readily appear to be a missile to me—Could it be an external fuel tank? Some other piece of artillery? Humpback whale? Beats me. As usual, if you have exceptional eyesight and vast stores of military knowledge, be sure to chime in and let me know what you think.

UPDATE 15:38 EST: Commenter Mean Gene Dr. Love writes, "As an F-16 crew chief in the USAF photo #1 looks like it is quite possibly the aft section of a centerline external fuel tank. Photo #3 looks like what we call a travel pod (used to be napalm canisters until Viet Nam), possibly used to distribute leaflets. I have removed and installed hundreds of both of these items in my career. The pilot can jettison them when they are no longer needed. If anyone has access to the uncompressed photos and can pass them on to me, I could give more definite answers.

Photo #2 looks like a home-made piece of crap. I have never seen any (unemprovised) munitions that look like that.

Photo #4: If that is indeed a UXO, the man is a fool and lucky they are all still alive.

Photo #5: Looks like an external fuel tank for a smaller (than an F-16) aircraft like say, an A-4 Skyhawk, which the Israelis do have. See this photo courtesy of the USMC. Those cigar shaped things under the wings are fuel tanks. In combat, they are "punched off" when empty."

InfoJunkie adds, "I have 5 years experience loading bombs and 8 years experience watching them fall on a bombing range.

#1 looks like a stuffed marlin with the head cut off.
#2 looks like nothing I have ever seen.
#3 looks like a 1000 lb bomb (with a looter... is this New Orleans?)
#4 looks like an artillary round (what a moron!)
#5 looks like a 500 lb bomb (with another moron!)"

Our own local commenter brian (no relation!) notes, "That -thing- among the sewer pipes.... wtf? LOL!! I mean... seriously... who built that? Hezbollah H.S. metalshop class? The shipping charges must've been a bitch!! Am I to beleive that this thing was dropped from an aircraft going 500+knots at 8-30k feet? Sucker is tough!! Not a scratch on it!!"

My sincerest thanks to all of you for this fascinating info!

UPDATE 21:57 EST: Reader captainfish writes, "That last photo, photo#5,.... isn't that the site of the bridge that was said to exist in two different places, the site on the border with the guard station, blasted out bridge with an antenna and an upside down truck some thought was "moved around". The antenna and the vegetation in the background in this picture sure looks like that scene."

This is a very astute observation! It appears that Powerline had the dirty on the bridge, and from the looks of things, we may be dealing with the same scene. See the full article for details.

UPDATE 24-AUG-2006 08:58 EST: The Associated Press has posted a slightly higher-quality copy of our original image. There's less jpeg compression in this image, but it's still not entirely clear what we're looking at. There's a possibility that the object the soldier is standing on is in front of the missile, though I don't see anything clearly missile-like in the background.

UPDATE 24-AUG-2006 12:48 EST: Reader SBW notes that the item in Photo #2 is a known weapon in use by the IDF—the Carpet Mine Breaching System. After reviewing the websites he links, I concur. There is, it seems, still a question of what a canister which has been fired would look like:—whether it would have scorch marks, scuff marks, or anything else to indicate that it had actually been used. The technology seems to involve a fuel-air explosive, so it would seem that this is, indeed, a failed canister, though it certainly doesn't appear to be anywhere near a minefield. Does anyone know if "dud" fuel-air weapons are as dangerous as "unexploded missiles?"

UPDATE 25-AUG-2006 09:40 EST: Reader captainfish informs us that the photograph he was refering to was this one. I'll update the comparison, but it definitely could be a closer match than the one I referenced earlier! Continue reading »

I dunno. It could be the same woman, it might not be. Anyone have sharper eyes than I do? (My most gracious thanks to Gateway Pundit for the concise comparison graphic, illustrating the scar which appears to be common to both of the photographs!)

UPDATE 21-AUG-2006 10:50 EST: It would appear that I'm not the only person who spotted this. My warmest regards to Gateway Pundit and Atlas, who are both tracking this possible lead as well.

Continue reading »

After being treated to hundreds of photographs like these:



the best the wires are able to come up with to illustrate the Israelis' plight is this:



Perhaps Ronen could have found a picture where Mr. Maman was scowling even more than this one? I don't think he looks nearly threatening enough...

And thus, the objectivity train rolls on.

As I mentioned in the morning edition, the wires are teeming with obligatory rubble shots today. For the full record, I'll post all of the shots here (click the title to see all of them).

A Lebanese man inspects the damage of a destroyed apartment building, following an Israeli airstrike early Friday, in the Hezbollah stronghold suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Aug. 11, 2006. Powerful explosions resounded across Beirut early Friday, and local media reports said Israeli jets were pounding Hezbollah strongholds in the southern Dahieh suburb. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Continue reading »

I think I'm going to do my best to start a little tradition. Let's compare and contrast the treatment given to both sides of the war. After all, if the press was as impartial as they claim to be, wouldn't both sides be presented somewhat similarly in the news?

(AP/Oded Balilty) Displaced Israelis, right, wait at a school to be taken away from the town of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel.

versus

(AP/Lefteris Pitarkis) Lebanese Samir Taan Waheb carrying some belongings leaves a damaged building adjacent to the destroyed buildings that were attacked late Monday by Israeli forces.

The Israelis are considered as merely "displaced," inconvenienced only enough to have to get onto a bus and drive away. On the other hand, we see pitiful scenes of Lebanese leaving their devastated homes, in sad tones, with ever more somber descriptions. Also be sure to compare the lighting and tone of the first picture, which appears somber, but not quite sad, with the second, which is in monochrome hues, and is intended to be more heart-breaking.

Of course, one thing that can be learned from this comparison is that the Israeli government CARES enough about its citizens to try and get them OUT of harm's way, BEFORE something happens to them. Contrast that with the Lebanese government, a mere puppet of Hezbullah, which is more than happy to PARADE its dead citizens around endlessly.

Quite a contrast, don't you think?