Extreme Makeover - Beirut Edition
Either this woman is the unluckiest multiple home owner in Beirut, or something isn't quite right.
Same clothes, same scar on her left cheek, same mark under her right eye. Two pictures of the same woman, maybe even taken on the same day.
So, what gives?
Update 10.30pm. The BBC is currently using that second picture. Twice. On one page.
(Hat tip David from the Cabarfeidh Pages)
Update Aug 7, 3.45pm. Stealth edit from the BBC:
(Hat tip David again)
Update. Welcome to visitors from the 100+ sites linking to this page. Here's a related post with a possible sighting of the same women doing her act on August 1.
Update. And a special welcome to visitors from the BBC Editors blog.
Update August 9. More pics of the woman here.
A Lebanese woman wails after looking at the wreckage of her apartment, in a building, that was demolished by the Israeli attacks in southern Beirut July 22, 2006. REUTERS/Issam Kobeisi (from Yahoo News)
A Lebanese woman reacts at the destruction after she came to inspect her house in the suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2006, after Israeli warplanes repeatedly bombed the area overnight.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (from Yahoo News)
Same clothes, same scar on her left cheek, same mark under her right eye. Two pictures of the same woman, maybe even taken on the same day.
So, what gives?
Update 10.30pm. The BBC is currently using that second picture. Twice. On one page.
(Hat tip David from the Cabarfeidh Pages)Update Aug 7, 3.45pm. Stealth edit from the BBC:
(Hat tip David again)
Update. Welcome to visitors from the 100+ sites linking to this page. Here's a related post with a possible sighting of the same women doing her act on August 1.
Update. And a special welcome to visitors from the BBC Editors blog.
Update August 9. More pics of the woman here.
posted by DFH at 3:12 pm
224 Comments:
lol
Based on what Reuters has just admitted to, I'll go with ..."something isn't quite right."
"Lights! Camera! Ululate!"
It's just like you said, she obviously owns multiple properties and is really really unlucky... I means, you don't think these are propaganda pictures do you? Everyone know that only the evil Americans and the Jooos do that sort of thing :-D
So a photographer sent two different images of the same event in response to two picture requests. And the sub-ed didn't remember the first one. Or else a different sub-ed didn't actually bother checking the image against every other on on file.
The fault here is that Reuters employ free-lance photographers and reporters who will happily try something like this on to get another payment. That's what performance related pay gets you.
This kind of thing seems to be on the increase.
The second one shows such utter destruction that her home looks like, er, a typical Middle East building site
I like this freelance-snappers-on-the-make theory.
Green Helmet and his buddies ring freelancer to tell snapper that he has blagged some dead bodies from the local morgue and would he [freelancer] like to come along and do some tasty shots of mutilated corpses.
Snapper (eyeing a tasty Independent front-page gig) sends his shots off, gets a nice bonus and Green Helmet gets his ten per cent (out of which he pays the 'paramedics', who are out-of-work actors).
Another option is, that she is suffering from amnesia, and came back 10 days later and had a similar reaction.
Here's yet another one:
http://photos.reuters.com/news/newsPhotoPresentation.aspx?type=photoSearch&imageID=2006-08-01T085908Z_01_NOOTR_RTRIDSP_0_OUKTP-UK-MIDEAST.XML
"A woman reacts as she surveys the damage to the southern suburbs of Beirut, site of intense Israeli air raids, August 1, 2006. REUTERS/Issam Kobeisy"
Not as totally obvious that it's the same woman, but if you enlarge the jpg you may be able to just barely make out the same mark under her right eye.
Same photographer as the July 22 photo - Issam Kobeisy.
Hmmmmm...
clematus -> i think you've hit the nail on the head.
AP gave photographers a bonus of $500 for the qana photos:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=21885&only&rss
I hope they had a long angle lens, because if she hasn't changed clothes between picture (she has the same dress on) then she has the gift that keeps on giving....
Let's see-- she has the same facial features, is the same age, is wearing clothes with the same red on black zig-zag markings, has the same facial mannerisms, is prone to the same broad gestural motions, ties her scarf in the same position... I'd say it's just random and the two are long-lost twin sisters separated at birth. Arab stringers wouldn't lie, would they?
You guys are missing the point! Look, from what I see, the Reuters and AP photographers probably shot this same woman from the same scene on the same day, most likely July 22, 2006.
However, in an effort to distort the news with propoganda, the AP editor chose, at random, a photo to depict that Israel continues to bomb innocent Lebonese destrying their homes...
WITHOUT ANY PROOF OF THE SUCH.
As proof, they try to pass a photo that is nearly 2 weeks old off as happening on August 5th.
This is the AP offering propoganda of the worst type to slant the outcome of the news.
I'll say...there's a good chance it's the same woman.
But first, find me a Lebanese woman who DOESN'T dress like that. I can also believe in a general tendency to gesture in a similar manner.
But I also remember Mohammed al-Dura, the little kid who was the subject of a France2 documentary. There are actors, and cameramen who specialize in fakery.
CERTAINLY there is enough evidence for a careful news agency to PULL BOTH STORIES pending further clarification.
Steve O
Oh, gosh, Anonymous aka Steve O - thank you for your considered opinion, but isn't it way past your bedtime?
Yikes! Oh, wait.
It's only 9:48ph where I'm at (Michigan, USA). Is the server in Europe?
Steve O
Let's put it this way, SteveO-- If I hired a model to pose for a figure drawing session and Model #1 got sick after the first session, it wouldn't exactly bother me that Model #2 showed up the same day and happened to be wearing precisely the same clothing and had the same facial features, age, weight, build, scars, mannerisms and demeanor. The fact that she new the same poses would also be a plus.
Of course, I'd only consider it happy coincidence or good karma.
Well said. I think it's probably the same person. But even if it's not proven, it's POSSIBLY the same person. The most AP/Reuters can say is that it's not proven.
The question is whether AP and Reuters will have the guts to pull stories and photos that are questionable, or if they're going to try to pretend that the smoke photo was a one-time slip up.
After a week of reviewing models for sketchwork, I'm willing to say conclusively that it's the same woman. The laugh lines are identical, everything is identical except the frames and attributions.
If there was some outrageous coincidence that had her bombed out twice on two different days in two different bombings and she just happened to be found by two different photographers from two different news services, I'd find that remarkable. More likely, the stringers have a stable of reliable models or they just use different names and outlets for selling the same shoots.
I'll accept your expertise as someone who spends a lot of time looking at faces. I can't always tell if the models in clothing catalogs are the same. But the question is: What will AP/Reuters do about it?
They have a decision to make -- pull all the questionable pictures and stories for an immediate hit to their credibility, or try to wait it out, risking a bigger hit to their credibility.
As long as the mainstream outlets don't pick it up, they might think it can just blow over. Eventually this will be old news. So, don't look to them to be honest until they are forced to be so.
Okay, now it IS getting to be my bedtime...
Cheers!
Steve O
I think it is clearly the same woman.
Besides the two cheek features pointed out above, there is also:
1 - the right nostril is smaller than the left one on both pictures
2 - the left cheek/mouth curve has the same s-curve proportions on both pics
3 - the eyebrows in both pics have a (weird) high placement on the forehead
4 - the incisor under her right nostril is pronounced in both pictures
5 - her teeth to the right of that incisor recede in both pictures
6 - the lower lip juts out identically in both pics
However, I think it more likely they were taken on different days.
1 - the headscarf is much looser at the top in the 7-22 pic
2 - the knot around the neck-chin area is black in the 7-22 pic and patterned in the 8-05 pic
(Although I admit the same day is still a possibility, but perhaps hours apart?)
Oh, and one more thing. There is also the zig-zag finish at the cuff of her black under-robe.
I wish I could prove this to be the case, but I have seen this sort of thing before: First on September 11th, when the Philistines were dancing in the street. There was a brief shot of a woman in a hijab with large squarish rimmed glasses. She was ululating and tossing candy to children and dancing with them on a sidewalk. The reason she stands out so vividly in my memory is that she looks like my sister in law in the face. So much so, that I was startled to see her face a few months later, this time having been accused falsely by her son as a collaborator. There was a picture of her standing against a mattress, or wallpaper that looked like a mattress, same face, same exact glasses, no ululating, no smile, no dancing, total distress, still looking like my sister in law. She was shot by the Palestinians and all that was left was a photo of a bloody mattress.
My God she is unlucky. She's Shelley the well known brothel madame of downton Beirut. Supplies all the Hezbollah with their young boys for the use of.
Jauhara:
Thank you for sharing the happy ending!
"She was shot by the Palestinians and all that was left was a photo of a bloody mattress."
Update 10.30pm. The BBC is currently using that second picture. Twice. On one page.
They're not even trying to hide their fake news anymore, are they?
I think the simplest explanation here is that both pictures are of the same woman and were taken on the same day, most likely by the same person (the rueters photographer). I believe the Reuters and AP guys know each other and together are pulling off this scam to make extra money. So the reuters guy gives the AP guy some of his photos (the ones he didn't send to reuters), and tells him he can use them two weeks later if there's another bombing. The AP guy probably returns him the favor by sharing his unpublished photos. That's how they increase their profits without having to work too hard. I also believe that in general a lot of photographers reuse photo they took themselves at a later date. That's the easiest thing to do and hardest to discover.
I was just kind of struck by what Jauhara said a couple of comments above. She mentions after 9/11 how the "Philistines" were dancing in the streets... I have seen this term used a lot by Arabs and others as an attempt to attach the modern Palestinian people to the ancient Philistines of Bible times and their land. This is false. Most scholars (including Palestinians) refute this claim. All traces of the Philistines as a people or ethnic group disappear around the Neo-Babylonian Empire (627 BC). It has been suggested that the Philistines formed part of the great naval confederacy, the "Sea Peoples", who had wandered, at the beginning of the 12th century BC, from their homeland in southern Greece and the Aegean islands to the shores of the Mediterranean and repeatedly attacked Egypt during the later Nineteenth Dynasty. British writers of the 19th century and very early 20th century sometimes referred to the Arabs of Palestine as "Philistines". This was apparently not due to a belief in a strong connection with the ancient Philistines, but merely reflects the former convention that "Philistine" simply denotes "native of "Palestine". The name of the region of Palestine comes, via Greek and Latin, from the Philistines. I can go on, but please do your own research if you’re interested in this history. Peace…
You ought to retitle this article. I think a more appropriate title would be:
The Bitch is Back
You potted history is essentially accurate. You neglected the most salient point, however. The name "Palestine" was given to the area by a very savvy Roman psy-ops advisor to the Emperor.
After the razing of Jerusalem and its rebadging as "Aeolia Capitolina", the Romans sought out the name of the Israel's most potent enemy -- the Philistines (the traitor Josephus Flavius probably had a hand in this one).
Hence, the land was re-named "Palestrina" to add ultimate insult to ultimate injury.
I think Green Helmet got on the phone: "Mom, whaddya doing right now?"
Here"s another Lebanon-based photographer who has some explaining to do:
http://dof.skynetblogs.be/?date=20060807&number=298&unit=weeks#3571152
is that the same woman as prominantly featured on this photogs blog site?
http://www.snappertalk.com/index.php/20060728/beirut-lebanon-photo-gallery/#comments
you know .. ben curtis .. the guy of the blown off arm photos
Here's an Adnan Hajj photo captioned July 16,2006 (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/060716/ids_photos_wl/r2616182136.jpg) being used to illustrate a Reuters story dated August 7, 2006 (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3287452,00.html) AFTER he's been "fired".
Come on ! Don't underestimate the power of the MSM in the "Age of (mis)Information. Can't you just see what would have happened that made the good-folks-at-Al-Reuters dirty their hands doing such stuff.
The Israeli's have been careful, a little too careful if you ask me, in their bombings this time round. So much so, that they started dropping leaflets fortnights in advance of bombing Hezbollah positions.
The following is the transcript of a conversation held between Hassan Nassrallah and his media advisors at his secure undisclosed location somewhere in Tehran. The translation in English captures the gist of the conversation, although the unique Arabic dialectic inflections would be sorely missing.(Author's Note:-The author insists that the conversation is genuine and is obtained by the same means that the various venerated news agencies obtain their news and photoshops(oops! ..he..he...photographs))
The time of the conversation has not been revealed to the Author by his source.
Hassan Nassrallah and his media advisors(identified only as M.A. 1, 2 & 3) and his political advisor(identified as P.A.) and his strategic affairs advisor( identified as S.A.A.) at their secure undisclosed location in Tehran:
Hassan Nassrallah: By the Grace Of Allah, The Most Benevolent and the Most Magnificient! How is the Israeli bombing campaign going.
Media Advisor 1: By the Grace of Allah,etc. etc. etc. They have started the first phase of their campaign.
H.N.: Have they bombed Beirut as yet?
Strategic Affais Advisor:By the Grace of etc..etc..etc. No. They are still in the first phase of their campaign.
H.N.: So are they concentrating on South Lebanon?
S.A.A: No! In the first phase of their campaign the Israeli's are dropping leaflets.
H.N.: Leaflets! So the infidels are once again targetting our Noble Prophet. Like the Ayatollah has always said, the Danes were part of a Zionist-American Conspiracy. We ought to have torched a few more western embassies during the Cartoon Jihad!
S.A.A: No they are not dropping cartoon leaflets. The leaflets contain detailed time table of the Israeli bombing raids and instructions for the people of those places to evacuate.
H.N.: Evacuate! That would be a disaster!
S.A.A.: Oh yes! The Stupid-Zionist-Enemy has already forwarned us of their evil plans. We can remove all our people from the region well before the Zionist machine starts their terror campaign.
H.N.:(To S.A.A.) You stupid son of cross-eyed illegitimate camel! I was talking about the civilians evacuating! If our brave Mujahiddeen don't stop them from leaving soon enough we are heading for a Public Relations Disaster. (To self) Remind Ayatollah not to straddle me with half baked Revolutionary Guards masquerading as Strategic Analysts.( To Media Advisors) We must organize campaigns at the earliest and make sure that no one leaves their homes before the Zionists start bombing and make doubly sure that those who leave should be housed as close as possible to our Weapons Depots.
M.A.2: In the name of Al..
H.N.: Quiet!I am getting tired of this s--t. You don't have to repeat all that s--t everytime you start speaking!
M.A.2: I was just wondering whether the people would buy it that easily. Who would want to expose themselves to 100 ton bombs.
H.N.: The how else would you explain uneding lines of volunteers at our recruitment camps? This time around we will tell them that those who die will get double their share of virgins, if they die fighting.
Make sure to assure the civilians that the Zionists won't strike civilian facilities. Not with a PM who has a hippie moonbat for a daughter.
M.A.3: In the ...( seeing his boss frothing, he lets it trail off) But what about civilian casualties?
H.N.: That will be a disaster!
M.A.3: So many civilians dying in the bombing will be a disaster.
H.N.: No you son-of-a-cross-legged-camel ! Civilians not getting killed will be a disaster.(Notes to self) Remind Basshar not to press me with his retarded in-laws as media managers.
M.A.3: But what about our credibility?
M.A.1: Our credibility depends on how many civilians we get killed in the bombing before our forces get wiped off.
S.A.A.: That is correct. The sooner we take the death toll to the thousands the sooner we can get the U.N. to end this war.
M.A.3: But what about our Mujjahiddin. Won't they die too?
M.A.2: Yes! But they would get counted as civilians.
M.A.3: But won't our fighting force diminish?
S.A.A.: You are still a novice when it comes to war.exactly what we That's want. We want our fighting force to diminish so that we can get new volunteers for the Cause. Besides, our Mujahiddin are getting older anyway and our pension fund is not exactly bursting at the seams. This way we give them a premature retirement without pension and get a great recruiting video.
H.N.: Send a circular to all personnel to get as many journalists as possible to tour the bombed out sites.
M.A.3: But what about them sighting our weapons? Won't they create a fuss about that?
M.A.1: Which numbskull ever let you in here! Not in their lives. The journalists who come across any weapons would make sure that they are the first to arrive at the site in case it gets bombed. It works better for them that way.
M.A.3: When will our brothers in Iran and Syria join us in our fight?
S.A.A: This fellow will be the end of us! Iran and Syria will defend us to the last- thats why they won't join the fight!
M.A.3: You have me confused here. How can they defend us to the last if they won't join the fight?
S.A.A.: You miss the entire point. Iran and Syria can only survive to defend us to the last only in case they don't join the fight.
M.A.3: I still have my doubts.
H.N.: This guy is asking too many questions....We should send him
as our liason to Lahoud. That way we can keep Lahoud engaged and this numbskull can get somebody who answers his stupid questions with more stupid questions.
"This woman owns a lot of houses, so far she has only reacted to the destruction of 3 of them. When Israel hits one of the remaining 7, she'll be in the news again."
-BBC Official
Dang, I came up with that line thinking I was original and funny, only to notice that Ace made the same joke 2 lines below his link to you :(
I hate that.
Adnan Hajj himself took a picture of the same woman. See http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/060806/photos_ts/2006_08_05t072545_450x325_us_mideast
Hey, this is a GREAT way to increase body counts!
Repeat them or just make them up!
Check out this statement - "should be the speech by Ehud Olmert" written by Ben Caspit - Israeli author who writes for Maariv newspaper.
http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART1/457/743.html
Highly recommended - a good read.
Bullwhip
Dude! That "woman" is just Palpetine/Darth Sidious in drag.
Dont hold your breath till these scabby news agencies do anything honorable. There not that stupid that this was a mistake.Anyone that believes anything from this deck is nuts.
It finally was revealed that it is the media that is destroying Lebanon and that have bombed 169 bridges in Lebanon and leveled thousands of homes to the earth... My my my, so it appears that the peaceful secular democratic state of all its inhibitants (Jews and non Jews) that is also known as Israel isn't bombing Lebanon... So the Israeli generals are letting go with Hezbollah's attacks on the Israeli civilians! shame on them really, they gotta do something these peaceful gens....
Are we at all sure that this is actually a woman?
Looks like mrs. Green Helmet to me.
I emailed al-Beeb about the use of the woman's image and the fact that she has now lost two houses in the space of two weeks - poor thing. They have changed the image, though I'm betting that they won't be emailing back to me (or any one else who complained) to say thanks.
Does anyone else notice a striking resemblance to Gollum in LOTR?
Anon 5:35AM
But they are philistines in the modern sense of the word.
=================
The Hizbollah story of Qana is unraveling further.
A French language Lebanese publication, citing an unnamed source in Hezbollah, has claimed that the organization placed a rocket launcher on the roof of the notorious building in Qana to provoke an Israeli attack and brought invalid children inside to serve as victims and blacken Israel's name.
The wheels are coming off.
Those photos seem to have been taken in front of a bluescreen. If you can look closely you might be able to spot it. Someone might want to look into some anaylsis to prove it.
But in the case of the first photograph, there seems to be little continuity between the figure in front and the background. The focus isn't quite what you would expect. The second photograph seems like it might have some lighting discrepencies.
re Ararat's mention of the jewish traitor Josephus. When Emperor Hadrian changed the name of Judea to Palestrina in 135 AD, Josephus was was born around 37 AD would be quite elderly, he died around 100 AD.
"...and brought invalid children inside to serve as victims..." Note to Green Helmet:If you wanted to borrow my little yellow bus, i could have painted Qana Special Ed School on the side....
Could it be another nail? Is this the same woman?
Look at picture #12 on the Rooters "Protests Against Israeli Attacks On Lebanon" (http://photos.reuters.com/Pictures/default.aspx). Looks very similiar to me.
Buy-to-let is taking a pounding in Hizbollahtown
Another clue. Look at the shape of her nostrils. You can't see the left and right are different from each other, but exactly the same in the two photos. (left-left and right-right).
Your so pathetic!!!
Go yourself in the battle zone and take your own pictures, but I think you prefer to be behind your screen and speculate on images (less stressfull hein). While people die by hundreds you enjoy your ice cream and play video games. What a pity!!
Tell me why the liberal media trust in the toilet now?? lol...
One thing that still remains, the death toll to the Lebanese is still far greater than that of the 'put upon, we are so weak and defenceless with all our American weapons flown through the UK Israeli's'.
Also not reported by the news very heavily is the fact that the two kidnapped Israeli soldiers were in fact on Lebenese soil. Yet another incursion into a land only just recovering from the fighting of the eighties.
Oh and that UN peace deal, yeah, allows the Israelis to remain on Lebanses soil. Hang on, is this deja vu. Rewind... back to the 80's. Lebanon - occupied state?
Definition of terrorist: someone who is not armed by the West.
I am not from either of these regions and do not endorse war, I can read though....
PERSPECTIVE PEOPLE!!!
congrats DFH on getting the link from LGF.
well done mate.
top post as well!
"I am not from either of these regions and do not endorse war, I can read though...."
you obviously havent read about the Hezbollah rocket attack on northern israel that day. funny how you leave out certain details to fit your perspective on events.
Classified: Seeking someone with extensive photoshop experience. Must have lots of experience in altering photos. Please call me between the hours of 2-3 AM in the hezballa headqaurters or Email me at editorinchief@reuters. Jews and Republicans need not apply.
Charles Martel: Er, hello!!! You agree with the rest of my argument.
I reiterate, the loss of life in Lebanon FAR outweighs that of the Israelis. Please, quote me some figures since the conflict, go on. I think it is ten Lebanese dead for every Israeli, although I could be wrong, the ratio could now be even higher 15-1?
Er, you got anymore bullsh£t?
Now where the hell did you put that dradle, I'd stick to playing that and close your eyes to the, as any impartial observer would agree 'excessive force' used by the Israelis.
You can keep 'Zion'.
It's just not fair, is it? I mean, all the Lebanese did was let Hezbollah launch a few thousand rockets targeted at Israeli civilians from their soil.
Oh, why can't the Israelis just die like good little J-o-o-s?
/sarc (duh!)
A landlord who rents a house to a gang-banger who builds a meth-lab in the garage and runs a crack-den in the living room really has no excuse to complain when the cops bust down the door.
Liberals and Reuters are exactly alike, they change history with a clone brush. Damn liberal cloners!
So, I take it the Friends of Hizbullah who can't post on LFG are spewing here?
Idiot you can't get anything right. I told you to post as follows in the classifieds: Seeking someone with extensive photoshop experience. Must have lots of experience in altering photos. Please call me between the hours of 2-3 AM in the hezballa headqaurters or Email me at editorinchief@reuters.com Jews, MEL GIBSON and Republicans need not apply. Signed, CEO of reuters
She looks like Uncle Fester's sister.
i was going to say unfreakingbelievable but it actually isn't at all anymore.
What a bad fake, how could this get past the editors? JJB
Normally, I don't flame bad spellers, but when they offending party choses a handle of "Literate". I can't resist.
I reiterate, the loss of life in Lebanon FAR outweighs that of the Israelis. Please, quote me some figures since the conflict, go on. I think it is ten Lebanese dead for every Israeli, although I could be wrong, the ratio could now be even higher 15-1?
Hey "Literate":
We in the civilized world would like to see the ratio go to at least 1000:1, camel jockey to Israeli.
Take that rag off your head and wake up, boy.
The only reason Israeli death tolls are far less then the Lebanese is because Israel saw fit to build bomb shelters for their people. Also most of Lebanon's death toll is probably due to dead Hezbollah fighters, except of course the poor children they used for propaganda purposes and those citizens that were forced to remain behind, again, probably at gun point.
in the second pix she actually is reacting to pigeons that are about ready to unload on her.
has anyone seen the pix of the Party of G?d army marching?
is it any conincidence that pretty much all of them are hot?
or maybe i had too much tequilla while watching the newscast on my birthday a few days ago LOL
I would advise her to buy some "Head On" (that pesky commercial playing on CNN over and over)
Actually I would recommend a NEW product that has yet to hit the market.
HOME ON!....APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE BOMB SITE!
At least it will appear the image isn't so bad when you look again
The more important question is....Who was the agent that sold her TWO mutli-dwelling properties in -- of all places -- BEIRUT?
But I'm sure it's a challenge to look up history on real estate for Beirut. Those buildings "in question" probably rose from the rubble more than once in the past 10 years.
In most situations you can buy Flood Insurance, and Earthquake insurance. What about Bomb insurance? Must be pricey. Huge deductibles. No matter how you slice it it seems like a lousy investment.
I'd invest in new clothes for the next pic.
Aah! I was just wondering what happened to the Emperor from "The Return of the Jed-eye".
He needs a new makeup application bad.
Instead of babbling on here on this inconsequential site, if you have a problem with when and by whom the photo was taken, why don't you contact Reuters and ask for a clarification? The embedded metadata in a digital photo will tell you exactly when it was taken, besides other identifying characteristics. What a bunch of lazy-ass wankers!
Islamic culture also has a tradition of professional mourners at funerals. It's probably her off-camera job.
You're funny. Looks like the Pot is trying to Call The Kettle Black.
It's a free country and free speech is quite wonderful. Hard to do when you're wanking but still wonderful.
We're not lazy ass wankers! It takes a lot of work to respond to finger-pointers like you. We have a WHOLE team of writers coming up with a meaningful response to your overly harsh criticism :>)
As far as contacting Reuters, seems like they are having credibility issues as we speak. They might just borrow YOUR response. I emailed it to them just in case.
I have seen her picture on a Lebanese Real Estate web site. I think she's an Agent in her "day job" and a "shock and awe" actor on the weekeends.
Have I got the perfect house for you!
Oh no. Looks as if this site has attracted some stragglers from the semi-literate troll brigade (Daily Kos? MPACUK?).
The format and content are all-too-predictable.
"yo u lazy-ass zionist bush luvvers neo-con nazis lol lol why don't u get a job or r u still at school lol lol...get a life lol lol or a girl...or r u a queer lol lol..."
Yes. It the monkeys-with-typewriters syndrome.
2 different women wearing the same clothes and who just happen to look alike... I laughed my backside off. BBC definately avoided a train wreck by changing the pics on that page.. Move over Reuters, CNN is out to take the Jackass award!
"Instead of babbling on here on this inconsequential site, if you have a problem with when and by whom the photo was taken, why don't you contact Reuters and ask for a clarification? The embedded metadata in a digital photo will tell you exactly when it was taken, besides other identifying characteristics. What a bunch of lazy-ass wankers!"
In this case it's the classic example of SLUGS with an internet connection. Or is it slime that came before slugs in the evolutionary ladder?
Monkeys is way too generous dude.
"....2 different women wearing the same clothes and who just happen to look alike... I laughed my backside off. BBC definately avoided a train wreck by changing the pics on that page.. Move over Reuters, CNN is out to take the Jackass award!...."
You kindly forgot to mention they shop at the same Kay-Martt and they used the same real estate agent.
Pity.
Looks like the "next big thing" is to get rich in Beirut real estate. Is it possible to sell short?
THIS TELLS THE STORY.....READ ON.
A Lebanese woman wails after looking at the wreckage of her APARTMENT, in a building, that was demolished by the Israeli attacks in southern Beirut July 22, 2006. REUTERS/Issam Kobeisi (from Yahoo News)
A Lebanese woman reacts at the destruction after she came to inspect her HOUSE in the suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2006, after Israeli warplanes repeatedly bombed the area overnight.
SO....the real issue is in the first pic she has an apartment and in the second pix she has a house.
Multiple real estate owner in a bomb sensitive area.
What's the going price for rubble these days?
> We in the civilized world would like to see
> the ratio go to at least 1000:1, camel jockey to Israeli.
What in the world is civilized about a 1000:1 death ratio?
Oh - and have you got a nice slur for a person from Israeli, or is your civilized vocabulary limited?
Stupid morons! first of all in the official death toll they list say "200 israeli soldiers and 400 israeli civilians killed" then by lebanon its 1000 lebaneese civi's killed.
uhhh can we get a "1000 lebaneese camel humping terrorist killed"
Staging a pic is old stuff... I'll tell you because ive had my pic taken by reuters / AP fotogs hundreds of times and I allways come out looking like I was oppresing some poor arabs.
funny how these fukers in south lebanon are potrayed as hero's for refusing to leave.
This war is pissing me off. I say we just bomb all of lebanon and turn it into a refuge camp for the worthless arabs.
Yeah I definatly need a job, oh wait I have a business and I am in law school.
Ever been to gaza ? or the west bank or jerusalem?
I never saw a arab with a job. They just sit around all day wanking over their goats and blaming the evil joooooos.
How many lebaneese does it take to change a light bulb ? nada they just photoshop the bulb and it looks like its back on.
Whats a hot chick in lebanon ?
A israeli soldier.
Why must arab women cover their faces ?
Trust me if your wife was THAT nasty youd force her to to the same!
How do arabs practice safe sex ?
They mark a X on the goats that kick.
How many arabs does it take to change the light bulb ?
None they just sit around and blame the evil joooooos.
Oh, I see. If Israel lost more people, then it would be more civilized? What about the Allied bombing of Japan? That surely was not "civilized" right? But who hired these trolls to be actuaries of war? Who decides what is civilized when it comes to numbers of dead? Is not the point of war to annihilate your enemy, to crush him? And P.S. if you believe the numbers that the MSM tells you, then your problem is one of source data.
The lebanese who have died are not innocent, they aided and abetted terrorist which makes them legitamate targete, not to mention they were warned to leave, and the ones that said they had not place to go, camping in a refugee camp sure beats dieing!!!
Don't you infidels see the miracle that Allah has created? Instead of 72 virgins, it's two wailing maidens.
Keith;
you do know that the metadata can be altered after the fact, right???
All the threads are good even the sand-niger lover. The photos are a scam, and yes war is hell.
The "joo's"( as you spell it)sould just nuke the fukers and send them all to alla and them 100 vergins who look like the "handsome" lady in queston.
ALL IS FAR IN WAR even if it's civilized or not.
one last thought...
Who is calling this a holy war,,,, not us, but the rag heads there the ones calling the people to fight and kill the inicent, if it's to hot in the kichen GET FUK OUT, and learn to live with every body, or be the man and die like a man standing up for what "YOU" believe in not what your told to believe. If you believe in killing people with suiside bombs, your up for nuking
What if the reality is that the actual images are much worse and that causes the occidental media to fake stuff? I've seen some first hand images that the arabs want you to see and they were much worse than these and did not seem tricked
WHY DOES'T ISRAEL DEMAND 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER' OF THIS RABBLE ONCE AND FOR ALL?
Some of the comments on the doctored photographs are extremely funny. I can see that the trolls have come out of their hiding place again. Someone should tell them to pull their heads in ;-)
After seeing the doctored pictures of Qana, I believe that the death toll of civilians killed in Lebanon should be revised downwards - to 2 poor little children who have become a macabre cause celebre for a bunch of murderous looney bins who deserve to be bombed out of existence.
I linked to your story from It's not Photoshopping - it's al-Taqiyya
hey Anon at 5:10pm. So why can't trolls have fun too?
I think we are all here for the same reason. To express our frustration about the absurdity of this whole thing and on top of it the Arab world constantly crying on TV (about fake bomb reports that MASSACRE 40 people but really it's only 1 == ok reverse tears and backtrack on national TV) and then the fake pix of virgins (above) who look like drag queens that own 100's of bombed out homes and apartments in Beirut. how many of ARE there of this lady?
Who would buy there in the first place let alone live there?
Some of these poor people can't get out. they are too old and too broke or just plain patriotic. And of course you hear ALL the Rhetoric about the Arab guys who are STUCK there in these bombed out hell holes who will glady die for Hezz-bollywood if the Israeli troops happen to skip thru their town.
they do need to brush up on their acting and modeling though.
Where is Anna Nicole Smith when you really need her?
And stop using civilians as pieces of meat for hungry wolves to chase down. Notice I didn't say "Innocent" civilians.
Guerilla warfare? Hmmmmmmmmm.....i think it's clearly a less manly approach to war. it's like sucker punching someone.
One minute you appear to be a goat and the next minute you look like a "virgin" (like our super model above) and the next minute you look like a Hezbolla guy.
too many costumes for Israel to figure out.
I can't beleive that people still get MAD about bombings and people dying after 1000's of years of regional conflict that has ever YET to have a peace plan STICK.
it's like nailing jello to a tree.
so get over it already. it's all about EGO now.
let's see who lowers their rockets first.
and what if there were 72 virgins who look like our supermodel above? i'm sure that you'd have many young men strapping on bomb belts by the thousands.
count me in!
why are these guys wasting their time as photojournalists? Comedy central could seriously use these guys..
It's definitely Darth Vader's mom. I swear. I met her on a recent trip to the Death Star.
Drew
I think you are right about that but if they need a good "bombed out building landlady" character they should contact her agent. :>)
I'm sure she has done extra work for other bombed to hell type of movies. I'm going to search IMDB for images of her. I wonder if it's too late to nominate her for an Emmy along with the photog-journalist who "took" the pix.
?
Well, that's two.
Where are the other seventy virgins?
Nice to know that all the reporters and photographers posting those pictuers are Muslims.
Those Muslims ruin the name of the journalism and the respect I used to have to journalism prior to this war with their lies, their propaganda against Israel, and their shameless support of terror.
Don't believe what you see in TV and those Muslims teach us exactly why we can't believe anything we see in TV.
Interesting stuff, but as others above have pointed out, it could be that it was taken on the same day, and that mistakes were made as to the location and date when they went back and wrote out the captions. It is fairly common for an area to be described as part of a city by some people, and as a suburb of that city by others.
Both photos certainly seem to show areas which are bombed to all hell, which is the main reason they would be included in media coverage. Do you guys think those bombed-out buildings are fake, too? I'm not saying this discrepancy isn't interesting, but the tone of the post seems to suggest that this somehow invalidates all of the other evidence of heavy damage to Lebanese neighborhoods.
Here's more:
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/08/02/lebano13902.htm
(note that HRW condemns Hezbollah's attacks on civilians as well)
Interesting stuff, but as others above have pointed out, it could be that it was taken on the same day, and that mistakes were made as to the location and date when they went back and wrote out the captions. It is fairly common for an area to be described as part of a city by some people, and as a suburb of that city by others.
Both photos certainly seem to show areas which are bombed to all hell, which is the main reason they would be included in media coverage. Do you guys think those bombed-out buildings are fake, too? I'm not saying this discrepancy isn't interesting, but the tone of the post seems to suggest that this somehow invalidates all of the other evidence of heavy damage to Lebanese neighborhoods.
Here's more:
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/08/02/lebano13902.htm
(note that HRW condemns Hezbollah's attacks on civilians as well)
Looks like Joe Pesci to me.
BY Israeli law every new home since the mid 80's must have a safe room capable of withstanding rocket and bomb attack. All the older suburbs have public shelters within 200 meters of any building. Does anyone still wonder how the casualty figures are so low for the Israelis. If the Israelis built homes like the Lebenese that the death toll would be higher.
It is quite plain to see that the Israelis always expect attacks on their civilian centres while arabs don't expect their civilians to be in the front line.
well this is fun!
Remember in the Iraq 'conflict' the 'Baby Milk Factory' Sign? Nuff said!
I think the Isrealis should stop fuking about and level the place, they drop leaflets, the 'insurgents' make their people stay when they really know its time to get the fuk out, so level it, sort it out once and for all, the sensible arabs will quickly get the message that isreal is not to be messed with and leave them alone if one of their neighbours gets turned to a wasteland.
Harsh? Yes. The only way to go?
I'm gonna go with the extremely unlucky option. She lost her house, managed to build a new one in two weeks and right when it was finished, it was bombed again. Which is why she looks nuch more disturbed in the second picture. Oh and by the way, she owns twenty pairs of the same outfit.
Well it's to be expected. People who fire rocket bombs packed with ball bearings into urban areas, in the hopes of killing a few Jewish women and kids, aren't exactly going to lose sleep over deliberately putting out disinformation and doctoring photos.
Although I must admit, ever since the Left fascists allied themselves with militant Islam it's been a lot more nasty than usual.
Reuters have published another picture of the Beirut Multiple Home Mourner:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/060808/ids_photos_wl/r2262986329.jpg
dear "Literate", the death tow on the lebanies side is indeed far greater then the one in israel, which does not say anything about anything, u know, in WWII the german civiliance deat tow outnumbered the on of all the allies put together, do u sugest that it meens that germany was not the agressor?
Isn't her expression in the second photo the same one you have just before you're run over by a steamroller?
You can still see the original article: "Stressed out and anxious in Beirut", by Googling it. Clicking on the main link will give you the revised page with the new picture, while the old one can still be accessed by clicking "cached"
I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't a man dressed to look like a man. Look at the size of her hands!!! Man Hands....Jerry Seinfeld...lol
you are all sooo wrong... they are not pictures of the same person... these people just all look like eachother.. ( a lot )
I spotted her on BBC TV news, I knew immediately that she was a "Wailer". In middle eastern culture, Wailer’s are professional female mourners who are paid to lament the dead, often in a highly dramatic fashion. The tradition pre-dates Islam and is popular amongst Shi’ites, Hezbulla is Shi’ite. It is likely that western reporters did not understood her and wrote a story to fit with their cultural bias. She is there to lament the dead.
I don't get you right wing cunts. You carry on like all these photographs have been staged. Get a load of the facts, shitwits:
1,000 innocent civilians dead
1,000,000 innocent civilians homeless
tens of thousands of homes, roads, bridges, power stations, pipelines, factories and municipal buildings destroyed.
33 Israeli civilians have died. And you still think Hezbollah is the agressor?
Where's the lie? I know these people are Arabs (the new 'nigger' for racist cunts such as yourselves). But in the face of such human tragedy, all you can find to talk about is Hezbollah's hamfisted attempts at PR? If only they had such a well funded and organised PR campaign as Israel, eh?
get a life folks!
I think, there's a whole industry of things like that...
Leo Kearse said...
I don't get you right wing cunts. You carry on like all these photographs have been staged. ---SLAP!
Poor baby ... are you embarrassed when your victims du-jure get caught lying?
Don't worry ... you will undoubtedly find some other excuse to hate america.
Here's another photo:
http://i.today.reuters.com/misc/genImage.aspx?uri=2006-08-08T112324Z_01_L07726695_RTRUKOP_2_PICTURE1.jpg&resize=full
The same woman? Looks pretty close. Anyone care to take a closer look?
Harold Pinter – Nobel Lecture
Art, Truth & Politics
In 1958 I wrote the following:
'There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false.'
I believe that these assertions still make sense and do still apply to the exploration of reality through art. So as a writer I stand by them but as a citizen I cannot. As a citizen I must ask: What is true? What is false?
Truth in drama is forever elusive. You never quite find it but the search for it is compulsive. The search is clearly what drives the endeavour. The search is your task. More often than not you stumble upon the truth in the dark, colliding with it or just glimpsing an image or a shape which seems to correspond to the truth, often without realising that you have done so. But the real truth is that there never is any such thing as one truth to be found in dramatic art. There are many. These truths challenge each other, recoil from each other, reflect each other, ignore each other, tease each other, are blind to each other. Sometimes you feel you have the truth of a moment in your hand, then it slips through your fingers and is lost.
I have often been asked how my plays come about. I cannot say. Nor can I ever sum up my plays, except to say that this is what happened. That is what they said. That is what they did.
Most of the plays are engendered by a line, a word or an image. The given word is often shortly followed by the image. I shall give two examples of two lines which came right out of the blue into my head, followed by an image, followed by me.
The plays are The Homecoming and Old Times. The first line of The Homecoming is 'What have you done with the scissors?' The first line of Old Times is 'Dark.'
In each case I had no further information.
In the first case someone was obviously looking for a pair of scissors and was demanding their whereabouts of someone else he suspected had probably stolen them. But I somehow knew that the person addressed didn't give a damn about the scissors or about the questioner either, for that matter.
'Dark' I took to be a description of someone's hair, the hair of a woman, and was the answer to a question. In each case I found myself compelled to pursue the matter. This happened visually, a very slow fade, through shadow into light.
I always start a play by calling the characters A, B and C.
In the play that became The Homecoming I saw a man enter a stark room and ask his question of a younger man sitting on an ugly sofa reading a racing paper. I somehow suspected that A was a father and that B was his son, but I had no proof. This was however confirmed a short time later when B (later to become Lenny) says to A (later to become Max), 'Dad, do you mind if I change the subject? I want to ask you something. The dinner we had before, what was the name of it? What do you call it? Why don't you buy a dog? You're a dog cook. Honest. You think you're cooking for a lot of dogs.' So since B calls A 'Dad' it seemed to me reasonable to assume that they were father and son. A was also clearly the cook and his cooking did not seem to be held in high regard. Did this mean that there was no mother? I didn't know. But, as I told myself at the time, our beginnings never know our ends.
'Dark.' A large window. Evening sky. A man, A (later to become Deeley), and a woman, B (later to become Kate), sitting with drinks. 'Fat or thin?' the man asks. Who are they talking about? But I then see, standing at the window, a woman, C (later to become Anna), in another condition of light, her back to them, her hair dark.
It's a strange moment, the moment of creating characters who up to that moment have had no existence. What follows is fitful, uncertain, even hallucinatory, although sometimes it can be an unstoppable avalanche. The author's position is an odd one. In a sense he is not welcomed by the characters. The characters resist him, they are not easy to live with, they are impossible to define. You certainly can't dictate to them. To a certain extent you play a never-ending game with them, cat and mouse, blind man's buff, hide and seek. But finally you find that you have people of flesh and blood on your hands, people with will and an individual sensibility of their own, made out of component parts you are unable to change, manipulate or distort.
So language in art remains a highly ambiguous transaction, a quicksand, a trampoline, a frozen pool which might give way under you, the author, at any time.
But as I have said, the search for the truth can never stop. It cannot be adjourned, it cannot be postponed. It has to be faced, right there, on the spot.
Political theatre presents an entirely different set of problems. Sermonising has to be avoided at all cost. Objectivity is essential. The characters must be allowed to breathe their own air. The author cannot confine and constrict them to satisfy his own taste or disposition or prejudice. He must be prepared to approach them from a variety of angles, from a full and uninhibited range of perspectives, take them by surprise, perhaps, occasionally, but nevertheless give them the freedom to go which way they will. This does not always work. And political satire, of course, adheres to none of these precepts, in fact does precisely the opposite, which is its proper function.
In my play The Birthday Party I think I allow a whole range of options to operate in a dense forest of possibility before finally focussing on an act of subjugation.
Mountain Language pretends to no such range of operation. It remains brutal, short and ugly. But the soldiers in the play do get some fun out of it. One sometimes forgets that torturers become easily bored. They need a bit of a laugh to keep their spirits up. This has been confirmed of course by the events at Abu Ghraib in Baghdad. Mountain Language lasts only 20 minutes, but it could go on for hour after hour, on and on and on, the same pattern repeated over and over again, on and on, hour after hour.
Ashes to Ashes, on the other hand, seems to me to be taking place under water. A drowning woman, her hand reaching up through the waves, dropping down out of sight, reaching for others, but finding nobody there, either above or under the water, finding only shadows, reflections, floating; the woman a lost figure in a drowning landscape, a woman unable to escape the doom that seemed to belong only to others.
But as they died, she must die too.
Political language, as used by politicians, does not venture into any of this territory since the majority of politicians, on the evidence available to us, are interested not in truth but in power and in the maintenance of that power. To maintain that power it is essential that people remain in ignorance, that they live in ignorance of the truth, even the truth of their own lives. What surrounds us therefore is a vast tapestry of lies, upon which we feed.
As every single person here knows, the justification for the invasion of Iraq was that Saddam Hussein possessed a highly dangerous body of weapons of mass destruction, some of which could be fired in 45 minutes, bringing about appalling devastation. We were assured that was true. It was not true. We were told that Iraq had a relationship with Al Quaeda and shared responsibility for the atrocity in New York of September 11th 2001. We were assured that this was true. It was not true. We were told that Iraq threatened the security of the world. We were assured it was true. It was not true.
The truth is something entirely different. The truth is to do with how the United States understands its role in the world and how it chooses to embody it.
But before I come back to the present I would like to look at the recent past, by which I mean United States foreign policy since the end of the Second World War. I believe it is obligatory upon us to subject this period to at least some kind of even limited scrutiny, which is all that time will allow here.
Everyone knows what happened in the Soviet Union and throughout Eastern Europe during the post-war period: the systematic brutality, the widespread atrocities, the ruthless suppression of independent thought. All this has been fully documented and verified.
But my contention here is that the US crimes in the same period have only been superficially recorded, let alone documented, let alone acknowledged, let alone recognised as crimes at all. I believe this must be addressed and that the truth has considerable bearing on where the world stands now. Although constrained, to a certain extent, by the existence of the Soviet Union, the United States' actions throughout the world made it clear that it had concluded it had carte blanche to do what it liked.
Direct invasion of a sovereign state has never in fact been America's favoured method. In the main, it has preferred what it has described as 'low intensity conflict'. Low intensity conflict means that thousands of people die but slower than if you dropped a bomb on them in one fell swoop. It means that you infect the heart of the country, that you establish a malignant growth and watch the gangrene bloom. When the populace has been subdued - or beaten to death - the same thing - and your own friends, the military and the great corporations, sit comfortably in power, you go before the camera and say that democracy has prevailed. This was a commonplace in US foreign policy in the years to which I refer.
The tragedy of Nicaragua was a highly significant case. I choose to offer it here as a potent example of America's view of its role in the world, both then and now.
I was present at a meeting at the US embassy in London in the late 1980s.
The United States Congress was about to decide whether to give more money to the Contras in their campaign against the state of Nicaragua. I was a member of a delegation speaking on behalf of Nicaragua but the most important member of this delegation was a Father John Metcalf. The leader of the US body was Raymond Seitz (then number two to the ambassador, later ambassador himself). Father Metcalf said: 'Sir, I am in charge of a parish in the north of Nicaragua. My parishioners built a school, a health centre, a cultural centre. We have lived in peace. A few months ago a Contra force attacked the parish. They destroyed everything: the school, the health centre, the cultural centre. They raped nurses and teachers, slaughtered doctors, in the most brutal manner. They behaved like savages. Please demand that the US government withdraw its support from this shocking terrorist activity.'
Raymond Seitz had a very good reputation as a rational, responsible and highly sophisticated man. He was greatly respected in diplomatic circles. He listened, paused and then spoke with some gravity. 'Father,' he said, 'let me tell you something. In war, innocent people always suffer.' There was a frozen silence. We stared at him. He did not flinch.
Innocent people, indeed, always suffer.
Finally somebody said: 'But in this case "innocent people" were the victims of a gruesome atrocity subsidised by your government, one among many. If Congress allows the Contras more money further atrocities of this kind will take place. Is this not the case? Is your government not therefore guilty of supporting acts of murder and destruction upon the citizens of a sovereign state?'
Seitz was imperturbable. 'I don't agree that the facts as presented support your assertions,' he said.
As we were leaving the Embassy a US aide told me that he enjoyed my plays. I did not reply.
I should remind you that at the time President Reagan made the following statement: 'The Contras are the moral equivalent of our Founding Fathers.'
The United States supported the brutal Somoza dictatorship in Nicaragua for over 40 years. The Nicaraguan people, led by the Sandinistas, overthrew this regime in 1979, a breathtaking popular revolution.
The Sandinistas weren't perfect. They possessed their fair share of arrogance and their political philosophy contained a number of contradictory elements. But they were intelligent, rational and civilised. They set out to establish a stable, decent, pluralistic society. The death penalty was abolished. Hundreds of thousands of poverty-stricken peasants were brought back from the dead. Over 100,000 families were given title to land. Two thousand schools were built. A quite remarkable literacy campaign reduced illiteracy in the country to less than one seventh. Free education was established and a free health service. Infant mortality was reduced by a third. Polio was eradicated.
The United States denounced these achievements as Marxist/Leninist subversion. In the view of the US government, a dangerous example was being set. If Nicaragua was allowed to establish basic norms of social and economic justice, if it was allowed to raise the standards of health care and education and achieve social unity and national self respect, neighbouring countries would ask the same questions and do the same things. There was of course at the time fierce resistance to the status quo in El Salvador.
I spoke earlier about 'a tapestry of lies' which surrounds us. President Reagan commonly described Nicaragua as a 'totalitarian dungeon'. This was taken generally by the media, and certainly by the British government, as accurate and fair comment. But there was in fact no record of death squads under the Sandinista government. There was no record of torture. There was no record of systematic or official military brutality. No priests were ever murdered in Nicaragua. There were in fact three priests in the government, two Jesuits and a Maryknoll missionary. The totalitarian dungeons were actually next door, in El Salvador and Guatemala. The United States had brought down the democratically elected government of Guatemala in 1954 and it is estimated that over 200,000 people had been victims of successive military dictatorships.
Six of the most distinguished Jesuits in the world were viciously murdered at the Central American University in San Salvador in 1989 by a battalion of the Alcatl regiment trained at Fort Benning, Georgia, USA. That extremely brave man Archbishop Romero was assassinated while saying mass. It is estimated that 75,000 people died. Why were they killed? They were killed because they believed a better life was possible and should be achieved. That belief immediately qualified them as communists. They died because they dared to question the status quo, the endless plateau of poverty, disease, degradation and oppression, which had been their birthright.
The United States finally brought down the Sandinista government. It took some years and considerable resistance but relentless economic persecution and 30,000 dead finally undermined the spirit of the Nicaraguan people. They were exhausted and poverty stricken once again. The casinos moved back into the country. Free health and free education were over. Big business returned with a vengeance. 'Democracy' had prevailed.
But this 'policy' was by no means restricted to Central America. It was conducted throughout the world. It was never-ending. And it is as if it never happened.
The United States supported and in many cases engendered every right wing military dictatorship in the world after the end of the Second World War. I refer to Indonesia, Greece, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Haiti, Turkey, the Philippines, Guatemala, El Salvador, and, of course, Chile. The horror the United States inflicted upon Chile in 1973 can never be purged and can never be forgiven.
Hundreds of thousands of deaths took place throughout these countries. Did they take place? And are they in all cases attributable to US foreign policy? The answer is yes they did take place and they are attributable to American foreign policy. But you wouldn't know it.
It never happened. Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening it wasn't happening. It didn't matter. It was of no interest. The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them. You have to hand it to America. It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good. It's a brilliant, even witty, highly successful act of hypnosis.
I put to you that the United States is without doubt the greatest show on the road. Brutal, indifferent, scornful and ruthless it may be but it is also very clever. As a salesman it is out on its own and its most saleable commodity is self love. It's a winner. Listen to all American presidents on television say the words, 'the American people', as in the sentence, 'I say to the American people it is time to pray and to defend the rights of the American people and I ask the American people to trust their president in the action he is about to take on behalf of the American people.'
It's a scintillating stratagem. Language is actually employed to keep thought at bay. The words 'the American people' provide a truly voluptuous cushion of reassurance. You don't need to think. Just lie back on the cushion. The cushion may be suffocating your intelligence and your critical faculties but it's very comfortable. This does not apply of course to the 40 million people living below the poverty line and the 2 million men and women imprisoned in the vast gulag of prisons, which extends across the US.
The United States no longer bothers about low intensity conflict. It no longer sees any point in being reticent or even devious. It puts its cards on the table without fear or favour. It quite simply doesn't give a damn about the United Nations, international law or critical dissent, which it regards as impotent and irrelevant. It also has its own bleating little lamb tagging behind it on a lead, the pathetic and supine Great Britain.
What has happened to our moral sensibility? Did we ever have any? What do these words mean? Do they refer to a term very rarely employed these days - conscience? A conscience to do not only with our own acts but to do with our shared responsibility in the acts of others? Is all this dead? Look at Guantanamo Bay. Hundreds of people detained without charge for over three years, with no legal representation or due process, technically detained forever. This totally illegitimate structure is maintained in defiance of the Geneva Convention. It is not only tolerated but hardly thought about by what's called the 'international community'. This criminal outrage is being committed by a country, which declares itself to be 'the leader of the free world'. Do we think about the inhabitants of Guantanamo Bay? What does the media say about them? They pop up occasionally - a small item on page six. They have been consigned to a no man's land from which indeed they may never return. At present many are on hunger strike, being force-fed, including British residents. No niceties in these force-feeding procedures. No sedative or anaesthetic. Just a tube stuck up your nose and into your throat. You vomit blood. This is torture. What has the British Foreign Secretary said about this? Nothing. What has the British Prime Minister said about this? Nothing. Why not? Because the United States has said: to criticise our conduct in Guantanamo Bay constitutes an unfriendly act. You're either with us or against us. So Blair shuts up.
The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law. The invasion was an arbitrary military action inspired by a series of lies upon lies and gross manipulation of the media and therefore of the public; an act intended to consolidate American military and economic control of the Middle East masquerading - as a last resort - all other justifications having failed to justify themselves - as liberation. A formidable assertion of military force responsible for the death and mutilation of thousands and thousands of innocent people.
We have brought torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, innumerable acts of random murder, misery, degradation and death to the Iraqi people and call it 'bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East'.
How many people do you have to kill before you qualify to be described as a mass murderer and a war criminal? One hundred thousand? More than enough, I would have thought. Therefore it is just that Bush and Blair be arraigned before the International Criminal Court of Justice. But Bush has been clever. He has not ratified the International Criminal Court of Justice. Therefore if any American soldier or for that matter politician finds himself in the dock Bush has warned that he will send in the marines. But Tony Blair has ratified the Court and is therefore available for prosecution. We can let the Court have his address if they're interested. It is Number 10, Downing Street, London.
Death in this context is irrelevant. Both Bush and Blair place death well away on the back burner. At least 100,000 Iraqis were killed by American bombs and missiles before the Iraq insurgency began. These people are of no moment. Their deaths don't exist. They are blank. They are not even recorded as being dead. 'We don't do body counts,' said the American general Tommy Franks.
Early in the invasion there was a photograph published on the front page of British newspapers of Tony Blair kissing the cheek of a little Iraqi boy. 'A grateful child,' said the caption. A few days later there was a story and photograph, on an inside page, of another four-year-old boy with no arms. His family had been blown up by a missile. He was the only survivor. 'When do I get my arms back?' he asked. The story was dropped. Well, Tony Blair wasn't holding him in his arms, nor the body of any other mutilated child, nor the body of any bloody corpse. Blood is dirty. It dirties your shirt and tie when you're making a sincere speech on television.
The 2,000 American dead are an embarrassment. They are transported to their graves in the dark. Funerals are unobtrusive, out of harm's way. The mutilated rot in their beds, some for the rest of their lives. So the dead and the mutilated both rot, in different kinds of graves.
Here is an extract from a poem by Pablo Neruda, 'I'm Explaining a Few Things':
And one morning all that was burning,
one morning the bonfires
leapt out of the earth
devouring human beings
and from then on fire,
gunpowder from then on,
and from then on blood.
Bandits with planes and Moors,
bandits with finger-rings and duchesses,
bandits with black friars spattering blessings
came through the sky to kill children
and the blood of children ran through the streets
without fuss, like children's blood.
Jackals that the jackals would despise
stones that the dry thistle would bite on and spit out,
vipers that the vipers would abominate.
Face to face with you I have seen the blood
of Spain tower like a tide
to drown you in one wave
of pride and knives.
Treacherous
generals:
see my dead house,
look at broken Spain:
from every house burning metal flows
instead of flowers
from every socket of Spain
Spain emerges
and from every dead child a rifle with eyes
and from every crime bullets are born
which will one day find
the bull's eye of your hearts.
And you will ask: why doesn't his poetry
speak of dreams and leaves
and the great volcanoes of his native land.
Come and see the blood in the streets.
Come and see
the blood in the streets.
Come and see the blood
in the streets!
Let me make it quite clear that in quoting from Neruda's poem I am in no way comparing Republican Spain to Saddam Hussein's Iraq. I quote Neruda because nowhere in contemporary poetry have I read such a powerful visceral description of the bombing of civilians.
I have said earlier that the United States is now totally frank about putting its cards on the table. That is the case. Its official declared policy is now defined as 'full spectrum dominance'. That is not my term, it is theirs. 'Full spectrum dominance' means control of land, sea, air and space and all attendant resources.
The United States now occupies 702 military installations throughout the world in 132 countries, with the honourable exception of Sweden, of course. We don't quite know how they got there but they are there all right.
The United States possesses 8,000 active and operational nuclear warheads. Two thousand are on hair trigger alert, ready to be launched with 15 minutes warning. It is developing new systems of nuclear force, known as bunker busters. The British, ever cooperative, are intending to replace their own nuclear missile, Trident. Who, I wonder, are they aiming at? Osama bin Laden? You? Me? Joe Dokes? China? Paris? Who knows? What we do know is that this infantile insanity - the possession and threatened use of nuclear weapons - is at the heart of present American political philosophy. We must remind ourselves that the United States is on a permanent military footing and shows no sign of relaxing it.
Many thousands, if not millions, of people in the United States itself are demonstrably sickened, shamed and angered by their government's actions, but as things stand they are not a coherent political force - yet. But the anxiety, uncertainty and fear which we can see growing daily in the United States is unlikely to diminish.
I know that President Bush has many extremely competent speech writers but I would like to volunteer for the job myself. I propose the following short address which he can make on television to the nation. I see him grave, hair carefully combed, serious, winning, sincere, often beguiling, sometimes employing a wry smile, curiously attractive, a man's man.
'God is good. God is great. God is good. My God is good. Bin Laden's God is bad. His is a bad God. Saddam's God was bad, except he didn't have one. He was a barbarian. We are not barbarians. We don't chop people's heads off. We believe in freedom. So does God. I am not a barbarian. I am the democratically elected leader of a freedom-loving democracy. We are a compassionate society. We give compassionate electrocution and compassionate lethal injection. We are a great nation. I am not a dictator. He is. I am not a barbarian. He is. And he is. They all are. I possess moral authority. You see this fist? This is my moral authority. And don't you forget it.'
A writer's life is a highly vulnerable, almost naked activity. We don't have to weep about that. The writer makes his choice and is stuck with it. But it is true to say that you are open to all the winds, some of them icy indeed. You are out on your own, out on a limb. You find no shelter, no protection - unless you lie - in which case of course you have constructed your own protection and, it could be argued, become a politician.
I have referred to death quite a few times this evening. I shall now quote a poem of my own called 'Death'.
Where was the dead body found?
Who found the dead body?
Was the dead body dead when found?
How was the dead body found?
Who was the dead body?
Who was the father or daughter or brother
Or uncle or sister or mother or son
Of the dead and abandoned body?
Was the body dead when abandoned?
Was the body abandoned?
By whom had it been abandoned?
Was the dead body naked or dressed for a journey?
What made you declare the dead body dead?
Did you declare the dead body dead?
How well did you know the dead body?
How did you know the dead body was dead?
Did you wash the dead body
Did you close both its eyes
Did you bury the body
Did you leave it abandoned
Did you kiss the dead body
When we look into a mirror we think the image that confronts us is accurate. But move a millimetre and the image changes. We are actually looking at a never-ending range of reflections. But sometimes a writer has to smash the mirror - for it is on the other side of that mirror that the truth stares at us.
I believe that despite the enormous odds which exist, unflinching, unswerving, fierce intellectual determination, as citizens, to define the real truth of our lives and our societies is a crucial obligation which devolves upon us all. It is in fact mandatory.
If such a determination is not embodied in our political vision we have no hope of restoring what is so nearly lost to us - the dignity of man.
Lebanon is not innocent, neither is israel, THERE IS innocent people dieng on BOTH sides and you ARE a bunch of rightwing cunts who could be friends with a bunch of LEFT wing cunts because your attitude is very similar, more than you can imagine.
In war all sides manipulate information to be used as propaganda, USA has done it, Germany has done it, England, Russia, Argentina, etc, etc.
When th planet id recked and no more resources are available, then it is time for us to step out of the picture. Right, Left, innocent and guilty.
It´s like the the spanish inquisition judging the ateous torturers.
In the end it would not be surprising for the real people in power on all sides to be the same.
Kristopher - you deduce I hate America because I don't hate Arabs? That's some pretty fucking loopy logic there.
You haven't explained how the photo 'lies'. You think the annihilation of much of Lebanon and the killing of 1,000 civilians hasn't happened just because Hezbollah badly organised some photo opportunities? Have a million people not been made homeless?
You right wing idiots are not fooling anyone by denying the annihilation of Lebanon happened. You're just discrediting yourselves and your ideology.
You must be kidding me - is this the same women on cnn's website yet again?
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/08/08/mideast.main/index.html
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Leo Kearse,
I don't know anyone who is denying immense destruction in Lebanon. Nobody but a partisan can argue that Israel is not faced with a difficult decision in how to respond to Hizballah, because rockets have been fired from Lebanon for many years and when they took hostages Israel read it as a cassus belli. For Israel now to lay off Hizballah - and Hizballah's only purpose is to attack Israel - would result in tragedy just as much as the tragedies we are seeing from Lebanon. I believe that is crystal clear and that only those who oppose Israel's existence will fail to see Israel's point-of-view, regardless of whether they see Hizballah's or anyone else's.
Photographers deliberately influencing perceptions is unacceptable, and I conclude you cannot seriously be arguing that to oppose that is to endorse Israel. Refusing to acknowledge what Hizballah is up to, is not only partisan, but undermines any hopes for peace, because Hizballah is not for peace.
For the Lebanese to whine about damage to their infrastructure is like a guy who harbors a fugitive complaining when the cops break down his door.
The CNN picture appears to be of the same woman and the same building as in the first picture you show - notice the ledges in the building. This shot appears to just be at a different angle.
I don't see the point of this blog. The pics are not altered, at least not to a point where they were misleading. The basic facts they're showing are true, destruction in Lebanon is vast, lebanese people die en masse, more are displaced, even more are living in desperate circumstances. A whole generation of little children are traumatisized and suffer from nightmares.
In my eyes, every pic is welcome, which might help to stop this insanity.
This blog is aimed at fucking those people a second time, after they have been fucked by the jewish soldateska in the first place.
"I don't see the point of this blog. The pics are not altered, at least not to a point where they were misleading. The basic facts they're showing are true, destruction in Lebanon is vast, lebanese people die en masse, more are displaced, even more are living in desperate circumstances. A whole generation of little children are traumatisized and suffer from nightmares.
In my eyes, every pic is welcome, which might help to stop this insanity."
So you're an idiot. the caption is lying. The news is lying. Lies that are designed to villify Israel, are lies. The fact you hate Israel doesn't change the fact, that you support lying in order to acheive the villification of Israel to the point where it cannot act against its enemies - ie those who have vowed to attack Israel until Israel is vanquished.
You don't see the point?
NB And you think your own position hasn't been influenced by some of those lies?
"Was the dead body dead when found?"
huh?
Lets just wipe all the religious kooks off the planet and we will be able to have real peace!
Hate to break this to you, Greg, but the greatest genocides in the twentieth century were led by atheists (Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot) and a Pagan (Hitler).
On the other hand, the people being exterminated didn't fight back, so it was a peaceful process. Perhaps, that is what Greg and the left mean when they say they want "Peace."
Good grief, I can't believe someone's actually quoting the Pinter Nobel Lecture.
same lady shows up again?
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/060808/481/54c670536b394eb38503cf98822a3978&g=events/wl/080601mideast;_ylt=AkRqzTOqEoCX9RrUs4SxH5kUewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA3bGk2OHYzBHNlYwN0bXA-
Showed up in this article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060808/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_israel_876;_ylt=AvpykmEJ7W_jC4YqWoBG2rsUvioA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
now i know why islam moved from veil to burkha... and why women should remain in veil.. and now i also know why militant use to cover them completely in summers....
anyways tip for the women in photo.... don't use same veil/burkha in future again.. if u r next to camera... remember, it stinks as well as it will release your identity...
In the spirit of modern journalism I submit the following:
This happened only because the AP and Reuters are both complicit in trying to make Israel look like the horrible bad guy that is destroying everything and killing civilians in Lebanon. Just goes to show you, you cannot trust any photos taken in Lebanon by a lebanese or arab photographer because they either use them again in a later photo or they use adobe photoshop to make them look worse than they really are and exagerrate what happened! A bunch of liars if you ask me!!
This woman is like the Japanese man who survived Hiroshima and said, "Screw this! I'm moving to Nagasaki."
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7828123714384920696&sourceid=igoogle
this video kinda explains it all..
I think I saw the woman on the TV news a few nights back. I wonder if this is the fourth or fifth time her "uncle and his whole family" has been killed. An out-of-work actress needs a job just like anybody else.
I think this photo got somehow messed-up with Dan Rather's Fax Machine
Reuters and AP: "Our fake photos are authentic!"
Wouldn't a woman lamenting the destruction of her apartment be facing the building with her hands in the air... not posing for a camera while looking away from the building?
this is funny! rueters apparently has a habit of rehashing pics for multiple purposes.
My girlfriend is a bit of a celebrity in Singapore. Rueters took her picture at some function with her sitting in front of a computer.
She showed me how they used the same photo for three different, and totally unrelated stories.
It's a good picture when you need to depict a youthful asian girl enjoying her time on a computer.
Thank heavens y'all have exposed the fact that she had only ONE house destroyed. I guess it's not a big deal, then.
THESE TWO PICTURES WERE TAKEN BY 2 DIFFERENT PHOTO-JOURNALISTS WORKING FOR REUTERS AND AP.
ONLY THE CAPTION ON THE JULY 22 PHOTO SAYS HER APARTMENT WAS DESTROYED...THE AUGUST 5 CAPTION HAS HER REACTING TO DESTRUCTION AFTER INSPECTING HER APARTMENT. ONLY WE KNOW HER APARTMENT WAS DESTROYED, THANKS TO THE JULY 22 PIX & CAPTION.
I DON'T SEE THE SCAM UNLESS THE TWO PHOTO-JOURNALISTS ARE ONE AND THE SAME AND THEY SUBMITTED THE SAME PHOTO SHOOT A WEEK APART...AND YOU DON'T PROVE THAT, SO YOU'VE GOT NOTHING.
Really, what does it matter whether the photos were faked or not? Should we care less if there were only 10 Lebanese civilians killed instead of 1000? It is ridiculous to thinkg that there is any number of acceptable civilian deaths, whether in Lebanon or Israel. Do we really need a picture of each person who's life has been destroyed? Do we need to see more than one life catastrophically changed to believe that there is a war? Sure this is a photo that is misleading, but THERE IS STILL A WAR KILLING PEOPLE! Let's focus on solving that problem before we worry about how many different people we need to see photos of before we step in a do something to help.
Anonymous...the one who claims there's a war going on. Are you sure? Has Reuters or AP bothered actually checking to make sure? Since most of the photos seem to be faked or file or contrived in all possible ways except actually on the scene they claim to be taken at, are we really sure there's a war going on? Maybe its just a barroom brawl on a slow news day...
Look at the hands! Looks like a man to me.
One photo is dated July 22 2006. While the other is dated August 5th 2006. hmmm
Moonbats are hilarious. "Dammit! Stop showing us the fakery! We demand to be deceived!"
"Wouldn't a woman lamenting the destruction of her apartment be facing the building with her hands in the air... not posing for a camera while looking away from the building?"
very good point!!!
I think it further illustrates the fact that a lot of news organizations will go to ANY lengths to be the "first" and the "exclusive" story teller.
In this case, it's a clear example of "woman facing wrong direction while lamenting bad real estate investments taken out by bombs" and bad acting. Why is she lamenting in front of the camera?
If I were her I'd be chasing down my real estate agent and demanding a refund.
After studying the pictures and the nature of this Middle East conflict (by the way...where the heck is the Middle WEST?)
I think she's Syrian not Lesbian..>I mean Lebanesian.
Freudian slip of course.
She's surveying the loss of one of her bombs and not the loss of the "prop"erty.
If you look closely there is a Bomb under her skirt, as opposed to a Brisket.
She reminds me of mother Cindy Sheehan, Beriut style.
Holy Bombs sherlock!
"Harold Pinter – Nobel Lecture
Art, Truth & Politics
In 1958 I wrote the following:"
Is this guy STILL around and STILL trying to tell the same War and Piece (I mean peace) novel he wrote 50 years ago? takes up half a block (blog) in Beirut.
I could only make it through the first sentence and lost it. Much too much work for a blog site. Prime example of Mars rocks with an interenet connection. Everyone has a story to tell (sell).
:>)
night everyone!
I reckon we're gonna see a lot of that lady in the coming days... spoofing the spoof of the German on top of WTC before impact, in front of Pearl Harbor in '41, after the napalm in 'Nam, post-Tsunami, etc... get yer Photoshop out.
I am always baffled by Israel’s actions. They have the power and to be frank an unassailable military advantage (thanks to the US Egypt has the gear to be equal to them, but is behind in intel and has no nuke capacity, chemical and bio weapons being a poor substitute) to act in a way more 'fair' to others than themselves.
Take Hezbollah, couple of years back a serious plan was to give them back the Lebanese imprisoned during the occupation years and the sheba farms. In essence at a stroke remove all but the self defence rational from Hezbollahs existence (oh yes and the 'protocols of Zion' :) those ruskies really did create a document that lasts forever!). Was to be co-ordinated with US support/pressure, forcing a pull back by the Syrians, strengthening of the state military (a pro western state incidentally) and reinforcing of the useless UN border force.
Now it fell apart for various reasons (hardliners in Israel opposed to any handing over of anything, UN uselessness, mixed messages from the Lebanese, US not quite understanding what they had to do etc) but it was an example of the sort of creative thinking the Israel should be doing. And it would have been a darn site easier than launching the current war, not to mention removing another issue that is repeatedly used against them. They have a great PR machine, especially in the US, they should give it something to feed and build on.
Plus it might have started Lebanon and Syria arguing over those farms :)
anonymous,
There is no way Israel can give the farms to Hizballah. By all means to the Christians who have always lived there, under credible protection. In this instance Hizballah were becoming an extreme threat, Iran is flexing its muscles and giving them quality weaponry, and then they varied from the missiles and took captives for an exchange. Israel's position is they have been misjudged as weak, and they will work to incapacitate Hizballah in the knowledge that Hizballah will never accept Israel and will always attack it as long as they can. You can disagree and complain about the scale of warfare or whatever you like, but there is no need to be baffled.
All those up there in this thread who think it is petty and distracting news that reporters have deliberately misled us, are nuts. You cannot politicise this material except inasmuch as it damns a few of the jihadi photographers and exposes that there are pro-jihadis in the media. If the left tends to want to ignore these facts in favour of the big picture view that anyway there is a ghastly war going on, without assimilating any implications of reporters lying in the mainstream news, they have no integrity, no values, just an obscure agenda that isn't rooted in truth and reality and certainly doesn't interest me.
WELL, YES the journalists arent doing their job properly, pressed by time, in search of sensationalism etc. but what is not sensationalism is the F16 you hear above your head and the missiles falling a couple of minutes away from you, and you thank god you are still alive - although you thought you were safe, because you live in a christian neighbourhood and there are certainly no hezbollah rockets hidden there...
anonymous,
I have only spoken to Christians (and Sunnis) who absolutely hate Hizballah and accuse Hizballah of permanently occupying Christian villages and firing from their houses. The story you came up with is no doubt also a valid reading, but it is a little story you have put together, again in the expectation that it will distract us from the subject of jihadi propaganda in the media. We can agree that war is awful, and that distinguishes someone who takes Israel's view from someone who takes Hizballah's. Hizballah are totally committed to war and winning. Israel reckons this can only change if they lose enough times. When considering its position Israel puts store in its own honesty as against the jihadis. It is a shame others do not. Either way, you cannot brush over the propagandising of respected media.
you are all very sad people i fear you will never understand axactly what is going on. 'sigh' do you realy think you know the truth and are digging deep enough or are you stoppping at the first hurdle. flame this post if you like, i wont be back on any way so i wont see it. but for all of your sakes i hope you open your eyes more.
good bye
Found some more photos of the same woman from foreign site:http://jaakkokovanen.googlepages.com/home2
I just found your blog today through a link from a different site. I wanted to say good job on catching that fake photo (or staged photo, or inaccurate caption, or whatever you want to call it). I'll definitely be looking at news pics more closely from now on!
She's Mrs. Short-Term Memory!!
(Ala Tom Hanks on SNL several years ago)
The picture still shows the extent of the suffering that the people of lebannon are suffering, those who could not afford to get out before its too late. You dont think this conflict is real? Would you rather see pictures of bodies?
But no you wont, because that takes it too far. If you did that you may aswell show pictures of the bodies from the World Trade Center, death is death. And the racism on this blog nearly makes me puke.
The picture still shows the extent of the suffering that the people of lebannon are suffering, those who could not afford to get out before its too late. You dont think this conflict is real? Would you rather see pictures of bodies?
But no you wont, because that takes it too far. If you did that you may aswell show pictures of the bodies from the World Trade Center, death is death. And the racism on this blog nearly makes me puke.
steve-cyprus,
There is something I don't understand about your comment and a few others: Why object to the highlighting of this news, whereby at least one photographer for Reuters, upon which many millions are relying for information before forming emotional and powerful opinions, was doctoring his photos and including misleading captions?
Can you see that anyone who values truth, which you obviously do because you are fearful that news of this photographer pushes everyone towards prejudicial assumptions, may be outraged and want to see this investigated? Or is it irrelevant that we are being targetted with embellished news in support of jihad from respectable outlets?
Nobody denies that Israel is conducting a bloody and destructive campaign in Lebanon, least of all the Israelis. Where there is disagreement is on Israel's intentions - eg it has been suggested that Israel is gung-ho around civilians, and Israel counters that they are not but that Hizballah fire from civilian positions - and the extent to which action can be carried out against Hizballah being as they make use of but do not represent Lebanon. In this context then, where Israel says, convincingly for me, that Israel is being villified, it is vital that news agencies are responsible and avoid the propaganda of any party. Rather the news has become a vehicle for the great global anti-establishment protest, which is a shift in world politics, and a de facto vehicle for jihadis, who happen to be ruthless liars and spies.
Do you think that the jihad is any less real than the Israeli bombing? Do you think you and the public at large are above being influenced by the agitprop?
anonymous,
I may have missed some posts, please point me to the racism and if it is representative I will never come back here.
What is making me sick is the fact that straightforward exposure of a widespread hoax is prompting people like yourself to try brushing it under the carpet and reinforce the hoaxers' agenda. Nothing wrong with expressing sorrow and outrage and even an opinion blaming Israel, but if as a result of those feelings and opinions you feel the doctoring of news is no biggie, you are not to be taken seriously. Worse, you prefer point of view and ignorance to the unvarnished truth.
Look, it’s all very simple, AP and Reuters SUCK. They hire cheap idiots - edit stories to their liking meant to bend the reader to their distorted point of view. They don’t report the news, they try to make it. It’s fiction, so why not use fake pictures to emphasize their idiotic points.
Who cares how many Lebanese die? Nobody seems to care how many Israeli’s die. Lebanon started this whole mess by being such a weak kneed leaderless country that they let Syria and Iran run an Army called Hezbollah set up camp in the lower third of their country.
Then Lebanon allows Hezbollah to attack Israel, kill 8 solders and kidnap two more and the leaderless free world with the possible exception of America, Great Britain and Australia all call on Israel to cease fire and allow Hezbollah to go unpunished.
The rest of the world can stick their heads way up their butts and eat the crap that’s pouring out of their mouths. How long would Russia and China put up with an Army lobbing unguided bombs into their countries?
Maybe we ought a let a few loose and see if they’re as willing to accept a cease fire as they want Israel to be.
Left up to AP and Reuters ideal strategy the Israeli’s would need to walk into the sea and die, that’d make them happy. Free Fish Food off the shores of Palestine – see our great pictures.
Why are the Israelis targeting this particular woman, is what I want to know!
Anonymous said...
"WELL, YES the journalists arent doing their job properly, pressed by time, in search of sensationalism etc. but what is not sensationalism is the F16 you hear above your head and the missiles falling a couple of minutes away from you, and you thank god you are still alive - although you thought you were safe, because you live in a christian neighbourhood and there are certainly no hezbollah rockets hidden there..."
So the 'journalists' are pressed for time? Is that some sort of 'free pass' for misleading the public. Pressed for time or not, a few of these 'journalists' know full well what they are doing. On top of this it is the responsibility of the news organizations and its editors to verify the photos as accurate, not bloggers. This is a problem that plagues the MSM and gives rise to the new media. See unlike blogs and editorials, news articles are supposed to be free of bias and depict the facts, not propaganda. Christian neighborhood or not, it really shouldn't matter what religious part of town you are in, the terrorists are still free to go into where ever they can, because they have the fire power to do so, if they want to go into somebodies home, fire rockets into another nation, expect that nation to wipe out that building. Who is to stop them? The Lebonese government? Like it or not, tragic or not, its war and war is a terrible and horrible thing. Though obviously can be neccessary to provide safety and security. If you are in a warzone, it is your own personal responsibility to get out alive, no matter how rich or poor you may be. The loss of innocent life is always sad. Perhaps Israel could issue warnings to the areas they are about to bomb, (oh wait, the do!)
Information is the deadliest weapon of all. You must recieve acurate, unbiased information to make well informed decisions. If that is not available from a single source, (as it never is) you should seek out a huge information network, to gain an acurate picture of what is really going on.
Hello,
Good job watching the 'news.' You've a good looking site. How about a link to my Blog on your site?
http://kittyhawk69-72.blogspot.com/
Thanks,
DG
Has anyone else noticed that this could be a MAN?! Notice the rather large hands in relation to body size, plucked eyebrows...wonder if their is an adam's apple under that scarf. I also thought it was odd that she/he would have so many scars and missing bits of flesh on her fingers on her left hand. (Thumb and middle finger). Looks like a military man's hand to me...it is easy to loose chunks of your fingers in the action of an AK-47 or almost any semi-auto weapon during cleaning and disassembly. Who knows, but one thing is for certain...she could play Uncle Fester in the next Adam's Family movie! This is another attempt to create sympathy for hezbollah by the major media outlets...and it is definitely the same person.
Look at this!!!!!
This is the same faker from this post!
This was a page that was hacked on to the yeshivah university
http://www.canonist.com/?p=1156
http://www.serienaufdvd.de/images/fuck-israel.html
Gotta see this awesome film:
Photo Fraud in Lebanon
What I am curious about is, Why is she allowed to show her face to cameras? Aren't devout muslim woman supposed to cover their faces with a veil when in public?
Great work!
Is it this you are looking after, if it's the same women in the picture. Yes maybe it is ! In Lebanon we have an house in our village, and one in the big city, Beirut. Maybe this women went from her home in south to her home in Beirut cause the first photo is post the 22 july, and the second is posted 5th august.
I got home from Lebanon a few days ago and I was in the south .. as I said , most of the Lebanese people has houses both in south and in Beirut.
This woman looks just like a woman that is screaming in the Superman Returns movie. I've seen it 3 times and each time it looks just like her...
To all you Geniuses who are bragging about "exposing the fraud"..
SHAME ON YOU ALL..PEOPLE ARE DYING, CHILDREN, MEN AND WOMEN on both sides.
u think the pictures are an exaggeration? I invite u to go to Lebanon and see for yourselves, I dare you to open your eyes and see the truth.
is not it enough that there is so much deatn and destruction, you want to deny the victims the right to show the world what is happening to them????????
You are pathetic, you can't accept to see the truth even if it slaps you on the face
Go to google earth and check an aerial view of the destruction in dahyeh/beirut, unless u believe google earth is part of the conspiracy as well.
I bet not even one of you has heard a bomb in their life, or known what it means to be forced to leave your home..not one of you has lost a loved one to war..not one of you has experienced the anxiety of not knowing if the bomb is gonna fall on their heads or not..
Guess what, this is how people in Lebanon have lived for the 20 years of Israeli occupation, and this how they are living now.
Discount this picture, or whatever photo you think is staged, doctored or whatever, it does not change the fact that ATROCITIES ARE BEING COMMITED AND REAL PEOPLE ARE DYING.
GO VISIT LEBANON OR BETTER YET PALESTINE IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE IT.
YOU PEOPLE ARE SICK SICK SICK!!!
LOOK AT HER FACE!!!!
What do the pics prove...that shew had two pics taken while standing outside her home??
Did you think that the reporter may have been mistaken in posting the pic twice?
I can't believe how sickly inhuman and brutal the comments are. I do not care where you're from even if you are my enemy..Some feelings are just HUMAN and if I saw this happen to anyone I'd feel bad...
SICK
CNN (http://www.cnn.com/) has a picture (http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/WORLD/meast/08/14/mideast.main/newt1.0943.lebanon.afp.gi.jpg) that shows a woman who also has markings on her cheeks...
I saw another photo at a link to Photos from Chiyeh (alt. “Chiyah”) at Yahoo! News, which has a woman who looks familiar!
Look at
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/060808/ids_photos_wl/r2262986329.jpg
same woman?
aCkret,
Your profile says something about celebrating with Palestinian stones. These people here are not sick, they are pooling their evidence that Arab photographers are staging news. Additionally I and no doubt others are persuaded that anti-Israel attacks are deliberately waged from civilian localities so as either to deter retaliation or to boast of the enemy's cruelty. These are serious allegations about very sick activities. You are stupid, and your profile tells us you are already a biased observer, not some passer-by, you are sickened not by anything disgusting, but by views that directly challenge your prejudices.
Anonymous,
I don't think those are photos of the same woman, I think you are trying to discredit the rest of the thread. That is all in the deceitful and irresponsible approach to war and peace of people such as yourself, aCkret and Adnan Hajj. You are all propagandists.
Take a look at the website of the Dutch socialist party. Same woman again.
http://anjameulenbelt.sp.nl/weblog/2006/08/10/oh-my-god/
ITS AMAZING HOW MUCH TIME YOU ARE SPENDING WONDERING ABOUT THIS.
some one fucked up! and editor or a photographer was LAZY or STUPID, something like that. to call these propaganda pics is fucking moronic!
there REALLY are HOUSES DESTROYED here in beirut!
A LOT more than TWO! these photo's
are not staged. you dont need to strage photo's of a woman at a destroyed house in south beirut.
I do know more than one family who has lost two homes by they way. their house in the mountianss and their apartment in the city, SO DONT BE SO FUCKING SMUG YOU PRICKS.
Stage, Verb
3. a. To put (a person) into a play; to satirize in drama; to represent (a character, an incident) on the stage. Sometimes in phr. to stage to the crowd or show.
Putting this woman in separate pictures, the same scene but having them set on different dates. Sounds like something was staged for me. As for HOUSES REALLY DESTROYED says nothing to the fact that these pictures were staged by the photographer. If anything you are trying to excuse the misuse of media because you agree that it should be misused.
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Talk about a busy place, even 'internet traveling salespeople. I wonder if "Il-literate" heard that the Palestinians in east Jerusalem don't want to live under Palestinian rule, they want to stay with Israel. Maybe because in Israel you can live a good life?
What happened to the beautiful greenhouses the Israelis left for the Palestinians when they gave land 'back' to them? The Pals. destroyed them. It seems all they know is death and destruction, oh, and overacting!
Before Israel was resettled with the Jewish people, it was a barren landscape, with hard work, the Jews made it bloom.
The desert is blooming....
Good Job! :)
she might have been walking while the photographer was taken the picture and just caught her in a different area/angle... dont you think?
or she really might have been a multiple homeowner....
cheers.
chris
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thanks for sharing!
nice pictures...you can really see the drama in it.
Very funny! A lot of destruction brought this luck of being copied to two news articles. Whatever exbi chao.
I agree with Thomas S that the photos of the woman could be legit. Maybe she walked around her house to look at it from another angle. Much like the many Israelis who have lost their homes. For example, a lot of Kiryat Shmona is rubble.
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