Friday, September 16, 2005

Bush leak and Stalinist propaganda

Since every major newspaper is making a big thing of it (three articles only on The Times; has it been bought by The Mirror?), I might as well give my two cents on Reuters photoshopped pic of Bush telling Condi that he needs to pee.

First of all, and contrary to Reuters intentions, the photo backfired: everybody likes a human angle and to discover that even the earth’s great are like them is reassuring. Second, it is clear that the President should not be distracted by protocol, and in fact – probably so advised by Condi’s team - he had to wait for Blair to finish his speech before going to the bathroom. Third, what Reuters did is illegal, they refused to acknowledge the manipulation and probably violated UN rules on privacy. Not as bad as AP's complicity in a murder to get a scoop, but certainly not very ethical.

At least it was done with a minimum of expertise, which cannot be said for this pathetic attempt by CAIR (Council of Islamic Relations) to show the devotion of its members and followers by covering their heads (indiscriminately):

Before









After









They even put a hijab on a man (bottom left). Click on the photos for the whole story.

This is very disturbing news: if al Qaeda gets hold of an MSPaint manual, western civilization is doomed.

,

1 comment:

Roamerick said...

The hijab pic I get, but I'm not so sure the Bush "Bathroom break" pic needed to be photoshopped. What's the big deal? The guy had to go to the little boy's room and wanted to know if protocol allowed it. Why is that so impossible? It's perfectly in character with his "salt-of-the-earth" Texan yee-haa personality, isn't it?

As far as AP arranging a murder... I think you're going too far into conspiracy theory land here. Although if you told me they found out about it in advance and kept it to themselves (instead of reporting it to the authorities) then I'd be more inclined to believe you.