Photographers with digital cameras have provided, almost instantaneously, an enormous flood of accurate, dramatic, and even shocking images to people around the world. But the daily downloads of news photos include some that are staged, fake, or so lacking in context as to be meaningless, despite the Western media’s best efforts to separate the factual from the fictional.
[…]
For photo editors, new pressures to get it right are coming from Internet bloggers who collect and post critical comments from ordinary citizens and also from niche experts who may have intimate knowledge of the local culture, the U.S. military, or the particular news event in question, Elbert said. “We in the mainstream media have always decided what [images] we want to push out, but now people are disagreeing and questioning accuracy,” he said. “This is really confounding the mainstream media.”
For example;
If big media refrained from hiring stringers from Zarqawi-Bin Laden Paparazzi Studios, this might occur a little less often. On the other hand – that seems to be where they find many of their “opinion” columnists, so why not!
h/t
Does anyone remember the specifics of the airstrike itself? What was the intended target? Was it supposed to be a bomb making facility?
Everyone got so tied up with the idea that an artillery shell was mistaken for a missile that we missed a common source of explosives for improvised explosive devices – unexploded artillery shells.
Just wondering if this photo op didn’t in fact prove the validity of the original target.
JCP: The photo did in fact prove the validity of the target. That’s an unspent artilary American round there; in Pakistan of all places. It has no business being there, and would only be there for the purpose of making an IED.
Staging photos has become a MSM staple. We only catch them sometimes, so they keep doing it. Added to this is the big problem that most international news comes via AP, which is notorious for paying local boobs, posing as journalists, to deliver news. In Iraq, AP seldom leaves the green zone, and pays “local” reporters for pics and news which is then sold worldwide. Virtually every international news story on your local radio station, even talk radio, originates in this way, and has no possibility of being verified.
It’s a scam.
always felt strange to see that 155mm round..both Pakistan and USA use that type of marking..the bottom band (driving band) has evidence of being fired through a rifled barrel.with the top carry ring on i would peg this as a training aid..all 5 w’s apply in this area of the world…
Unexploded and unsecured ordinance, is also and excellent source of materials for those in Iraq as well.
Not to mention that Saddam was extremely well supplied prior to the invasions of Iraq 1 and Iraq 2. No the Americans, did not secure every munitions site either. Gee several hundred metric tonnes of exciting stuff to make nukes out of would also be useful to say Iran and for making numerous IEDs for quite a long time.
That will tie down the troops for quite a while wouldn’t it?? OUCH, missed that in the planning stage did we?
Wonder why the US is worried about Iran? The story below may have something to do with it.
Fog of war and all that, watch for recriminations back and forth from the UN vs US etc.
Will the real dummies please stand up. Never mind the al-Quaqua site, this would be deep kaakaa!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3950493.stm
High explosives ‘missing in Iraq’
The IAEA said the US-led coalition had been warned about the danger
The UN’s nuclear watchdog has told the Security Council of the theft of nearly 350 metric tons of high explosives from a military complex in Iraq.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it was told by Iraqi authorities that the explosives were taken after last year’s invasion.
The Pentagon says that for the moment, is unable to account for the material missing from the al-Qaqaa site.
Democrats have seized upon the incident in the run-up to the presidential vote.
IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei passed on the letter from Iraqi authorities informing the agency of the theft to the Security Council.
He told the council that the high explosives had been lost after 9 April 2003, during “the theft and looting of governmental installations”.
MISSING EXPLOSIVES
195 metric tons of HMX
141 metric tons of RDX
5.8 metric tons of PETN
The IAEA was told about the loss over two weeks ago, Dr ElBaradei said, but he had hoped to give US forces and Iraqi officials time to try to recover the missing explosives before the matter became public knowledge.
The explosives mostly consist of 195 metric tons of HMX and 141 metric tons of RDX – key components in plastic explosives, which have been widely used in car bombings in Iraq.
The IAEA says the US-led coalition occupying Iraq had been warned about the danger posed by the explosives on several occasions.
It says the coalition forces were specifically told to keep the material secured.
‘Blunder’
Critics of the Bush administration have charged that too few troops were deployed in the invasion of Iraq to ensure sensitive sites received adequate protection.
It is certainly of concern to us that this material that could have such a potential danger and be so devastating could have gone missing
IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming
Democratic presidential contender John Kerry has accused US President George W Bush of committing “one of the greatest blunders” of his administration in failing to secure the material.
“George W Bush, who talks tough – talks tough – and brags about making America safer has once again failed to deliver,” he said while campaigning in New Hampshire.
In Washington, White House spokesman Scott McClellan countered that “the first priority, from our standpoint, was to make sure that this wasn’t a nuclear proliferation risk, which it is not.
“These are conventional high explosives that we are talking about. And the president wants to make sure that we get to the bottom of this.”
Pentagon officials acknowledge that they cannot at the moment account for the material.
They say the Iraq Survey Group, a US body which has been hunting for Iraqi weapons and programmes, is evaluating the situation.
The officials add that they cannot verify if the explosives have been looted, and say one possible explanation is that the facility was empty before US-led forces arrived, reports the BBC’s Nick Childs at the Pentagon.
IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said the agency had not yet received any formal response from the US government.
“It is certainly of concern to us that this kind of material that could have such a potential danger and be so devastating could have gone missing,” she told the BBC’s Newsnight programme.
High-powered
The IAEA last inspected the types and amounts of munitions available at al-Qaqaa in January 2003, at which point the HMX explosives had been sealed and tagged. The agency has not been allowed back into Iraq since the invasion.
Half a kilogram (1lb) of a explosive related to HMX was enough to bring down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing 170 people.
The amounts apparently taken from the al-Qaqaa site could have filled three trucks.
US weapons experts are concerned the explosives could be used in bomb attacks against US and Iraqi forces in the run-up to Iraq’s planned elections in January.
It is not the first warning the IAEA has given about potentially dangerous material going missing.
Two weeks ago the IAEA warned equipment and materials that could be used to make nuclear weapons had disappeared in Iraq since the invasion.
I suppose when one is invited to speak at an event it’s the Canadian way to try and be agreeable but my respect for Gen. Hillier just dropped a big notch.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/04/10/hillier-muslims060410.html“
“Canada’s top soldier is calling on Muslims to join the military, saying “the makeup of the Canadian Forces doesn’t reflect the country’s ethnic diversity.
“And in short, let me just tell you quite frankly, they don’t reflect your community in the numbers that we need, or that we want, or that are healthy for our country.”
…Some of the young Muslims whom Hillier wants to reach were skeptical. ”
Que surpriz !
Cal:
Translation he wants some troops with local language skills.
Not so dumb after all, when you have people attuned to local cultural nuances as part of your line up.
Give Gen. Hillier a little credit; not every living breathing Muslim is hankering to support the extremist elements. It is a mistake to assume that there is a homogeneity of opinion on the Afghan side of the equation.
Hans,
“Translation he wants some troops with local language skills.”
Then he should have said that, not some mealy mouthed multicult mantra.
“doesn’t reflect the country’s ethnic diversity.”
“not every living breathing Muslim is hankering to support the extremist elements.
That may be true but the only Muslim living Canada that I have heard supporting the fight for freedom in the Middle East was the Iraqi Ambassador who called the recently realeased hostages as “usefull idiots” for the insurgents.
If you can point me to where other Muslims in Canada have vocally supported our troops I’d be happy to read it.
He knows damn well he won’t get many recruits from Quebec – even though the higher ranks of the army are proportionately much higher in francophones relative to total number of troops.
He won’t likely get many recruits from western Canada for the army – why would one want to go into a career that is basically dead-ended because of official bilingualism. But we must couch all things in the veil of forced multi-culturalism. Blatent, patented B.S. Nothing is likely to change until the EE, BBB, and CCC coded crap is done away with.
If he wants linguists, this work can be contracted out or use civilian employees. Like what hasn’t been contracted out to the point where our national security is in jeopardy –
i.e., border services, airport security just for starters.
Cal:
Well when one is leading the Armed Forces as Chief of Defense Staff would you agree that it is a useful part of your skill set to be conversant in “politico-speak”.
As to “mealy mouthed”, I don’t think that holds up to scrutiny, since as the Resume and Quotes below show:
Name: Rick Hillier
Birthdate: 1955
Website: http://dnd.ca
Mini Bio:
At the age of eight, from his home in Campbelton Newfoundland, General Rick Hillier constantly wrote to Canadian Army recruiters in attempts to enlist. Not knowing his age, army recruiters attempted to sign him up!
Rick Hillier finally sucessfully enlisted at the age of 17, immediatley after high-school graduation, and then went on to study Sciences at Memorial University in St. John’s Newfoundland.
Upon graduation, his was admitted to the Officer core of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, and eventually went on to command the Dragoons’ 120 tank strong comittment in Germany during the 80’s. From there on, General Hillier’s accomplishments are quite notable;
1997, Hillier commanded the two-brigade comittment to the Red River floodings
1998, Hillier commanded the CF comittment to the Quebec Ice Storm
2004, Hillier commanded 6000 allied soldiers in the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. (the largest multi-national force led by a Canadian since the 1956 Suez Canal Crisis)
2005 Hillier promoted to Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the highest position in the Canadian Forces
——————————————————————————–
Resume:
Hillier Quotes
called terrorists, “scumbags,” who, “detest our freedoms”.
the army’s job is to, “be able to kill people”.
“When a soldier steps on foreign soil in a high-risk environment, every single Canadian should be walking with him or her.”
“Any commander who would stand up here and say that we didn’t need more soldiers should be tarred and feathered and rode out of town on a rail.”
“lead, follow, or get run over.”
“Any time you are close to or come under direct or indirect fire, it concentrates the mind wonderfully.”
“It took us a while to get in desperate straits (referring to the state of the CF), so we’re not going to get out of them in one month or one year, but we’ve got enough money to start and we’re going ahead fast”
“You have to be confident that what you’re doing is right and that the sacrifices are actually going to mean something. Is that on my mind? Damn right it is.”
Mealy mouthed? Not bloody likely! Perhaps you’ve got the jam to ask him? I’d like to see Gen. Hillier’s response, it should make for some interesting fireworks.
As I recall, he took some political heat for calling the terrorists are scumbags and the job of the military is to kill people.
No shit, shinola? A little too frank? form your own opinions.
Has the Canadian MSM presented this story? Asian Tribune has it. +
Sri Lankan Canadians applaud banning of Tamil Tiger terrorists
Asian Tribune – 1 hour ago
Toronto, 11 April, (Asiantribune.com): Sri Lanka United National Association of Canada (SLUNA) has applauded the decision taken by the new Conservative Government of Canada to outlaw the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a UN designated … +
googlenews
Hans,
“it is a useful part of your skill set to be conversant in “politico-speak”.”
PC correctness and politico speak are two of the rots that are domestically threatening the continued existence of Western culture.
I’m familiar with his quotes -called terrorists, “scumbags,” who, “detest our freedoms”.
the army’s job is to, “be able to kill people”….etc.
That’s why I was disappointed with-“doesn’t reflect the country’s ethnic diversity.”
Where did this PC multicult boiler plate statement come from all of a sudden?
It could have been written by Jack Layton or Carolyn Parrish.
As for :1997, Hillier commanded the two-brigade comittment to the Red River floodings and commanded the CF comittment to the Quebec Ice Storm.
I’m sure he did a good job but that’s a perfect description of what the NDP and Libranos think the armed forces should be for. Namely a rapid reaction civil defence service.
“Mealy mouthed? Not bloody likely! Perhaps you’ve got the jam to ask him? I’d like to see Gen. Hillier’s response, it should make for some interesting fireworks.”
We’ll I’m more of a marmalade guy myself but I’d be happy to ask him if he sincerely believes that Moslem Canadians could be a significant source of recruits.
Not worried about fireworks, he wouldn’t have made it to where he is today if he was prone to blowing his top.
Cal said:
“We’ll I’m more of a marmalade guy myself but I’d be happy to ask him if he sincerely believes that Moslem Canadians could be a significant source of recruits.
Not worried about fireworks, he wouldn’t have made it to where he is today if he was prone to blowing his top.”
I think it is part of history that there were a few Canadians of german linguistic ability fought
in WWI and WWII.
You don’t need perhaps an entire division of local dialect speakers in the Afghan theatre to be useful. Actually, rather shrewd I would think, you fight to win.
As to fireworks, I’m sure Gen. Hillier is capable of delivering a good “dressing down” when required; but you won’t usually read about it in print.
Gen. Hillier appeared quite capable of letting his voice be heard in regard to the “Soldiers with guns, In your cities, in Canada” ad. What he may have said about the Liberal military ad on the cocktail circuit you can probably fill in for yourself.
I’m sure he was mighty pleased to have the professionalism of everyone in the military be called into question; after you’ve just given your life’s work to the entire enterprise.
This is illustrated below:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060131/miltary_structure_060131?s_name=&no_ads=
Hillier veered from his organizational announcement to deliver a stern parting shot to Paul Martin, the outgoing prime minister, in relation to a Liberal Party ad that was released during the recent election campaign.
The ad, which was quickly pulled, attempted to cast fear in the hearts of voters by suggesting Conservative Leader Stephen Harper had plans to boost military presence in Canada’s cities.
Hillier said it was offensive to members of the military, and pointed out that there are already uniformed military men and women working and living in cities and communities across Canada.
“Almost every other man and woman in uniform — and I heard from thousands of them and their families — were insulted by that commercial. We don’t think it reflects the national treasure that our men and women in uniform are.”
And you can bet the some of those national treasures had a few more colorful descriptions for that attack ad than Gen. Hillier’s rather restrained but unusual public comment.
Awadh describes Islam: a revelatory moment, indeed.+
Awadh Al-Qarni: “They are a racist and fanatic group that is full of hatred, rejects any other approach throughout the world, and opts for the use of weapons.” +
Memri: Hate Like a Saudi Intellectual
On Saudi Arabian government television, �intellectual� Awadh Al-Qarni spews venomous antisemitism.
Awadh Al-Qarni: The real causes for the American invasion of Iraq are: First, the Zionist gang that has colonized America and the American people.
Interviewer: What proof do you have?
Awadh Al-Qarni: Look at the number of Jews in the American administration – I mean the Likud Jews, the extreme right wing over there… Some of the top American officials have Israeli citizenship. Some of them were top officials in Israel, such as Wolfowitz and others. Scores of them…The Zionist gang is now toying with the fate of America, and consequently, with the fate of the world, for the sake of the Jewish biblical greed and hatred.
[…]
Part of the American administration is not religious. They are neither Evangelists nor Jews, but they have a new ideological theory regarding international policy. They are called the neo-cons.
Fifteen years ago, the American intellectuals used to call them crazy, but now they are surprised to find that those crazy people are ruling America, and controlling the entire world. They say: We do not want America to be the leader of the world. We want it to rule and Americanize the world.
[…]
They are the closest thing there is to Nazism. The neo-cons are identical to the Nazis.
Interviewer: In what way?
Awadh Al-Qarni: They are a racist and fanatic group that is full of hatred, rejects any other approach throughout the world, and opts for the use of weapons. +
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/
via MEMRI TV
“Joshua has approved proceeding as we had hoped. If these conditions are acceptable to the Banana, then Oranges are ready to proceed.”
– Oliver North, Referring to the third shipment of TOWs to Iran, (with the ‘skim off the top’ used to fund the Contras).
Sure glad that Ollie was a ‘devout Christian’.
Copy/paste quotes:
“Iran with nukes will be a suicide bomber with a radioactive waist.”
“That moment of ascendancy is now upon us.”
“Iran�s nukes will be a factor in everything.”
“…what strikes you about the birth of the Islamic Republic is the near total lack of interest by analysts in that adjective: Islamic.”
Islamic-Islamist; same things… adjectives, used like this:
Islamist/Islamic terrorists kill infidels.
Islamist/Islamic terrorists with nukes kill millions of infidels in Israel…. in Europe…in Canada?
+++++++
Facing Down Iran
Mark Steyn
Our lives depend on it.
Most Westerners read the map of the world like a Broadway marquee: north is top of the bill�America, Britain, Europe, Russia�and the rest dribbles away into a mass of supporting players punctuated by occasional Star Guests: India, China, Australia. Everyone else gets rounded up into groups: �Africa,� �Asia,� �Latin America.�
But if you�re one of the down-page crowd, the center of the world is wherever you happen to be. Take Iran: it doesn�t fit into any of the groups. Indeed, it�s a buffer zone between most of the important ones: to the west, it borders the Arab world; to the northwest, it borders NATO (and, if Turkey ever passes its endless audition, the European Union); to the north, the former Soviet Union and the Russian Federation�s turbulent Caucasus; to the northeast, the Stans�the newly independent states of central Asia; to the east, the old British India, now bifurcated into a Muslim-Hindu nuclear standoff. And its southern shore sits on the central artery that feeds the global economy.
If you divide the world into geographical regions, then, Iran�s neither here nor there. But if you divide it ideologically, the mullahs are ideally positioned at the center of the various provinces of Islam�the Arabs, the Turks, the Stans, and the south Asians. Who better to unite the Muslim world under one inspiring, courageous leadership? If there�s going to be an Islamic superpower, Tehran would seem to be the obvious candidate.
That moment of ascendancy is now upon us. Or as the Daily Telegraph in London reported: �Iran�s hardline spiritual leaders have issued an unprecedented new fatwa, or holy order, sanctioning the use of atomic weapons against its enemies.� Hmm. I�m not a professional mullah, so I can�t speak to the theological soundness of the argument, but it seems a religious school in the Holy City of Qom has ruled that �the use of nuclear weapons may not constitute a problem, according to sharia.� Well, there�s a surprise. How do you solve a problem? Like, sharia! It�s the one-stop shop for justifying all your geopolitical objectives.
The bad cop/worse cop routine the mullahs and their hothead President Ahmadinejad are playing in this period of alleged negotiation over Iran�s nuclear program is the best indication of how all negotiations with Iran will go once they�re ready to fly. This is the nuclear version of the NRA bumper sticker: �Guns Don�t Kill People. People Kill People.� Nukes don�t nuke nations. Nations nuke nations. When the Argentine junta seized British sovereign territory in the Falklands, the generals knew that the United Kingdom was a nuclear power, but they also knew that under no conceivable scenario would Her Majesty�s Government drop the big one on Buenos Aires. The Argie generals were able to assume decency on the part of the enemy, which is a useful thing to be able to do.
But in any contretemps with Iran the other party would be foolish to make a similar assumption. That will mean the contretemps will generally be resolved in Iran�s favor. In fact, if one were a Machiavellian mullah, the first thing one would do after acquiring nukes would be to hire some obvious loon like President Ahmaddamatree to front the program. He�s the equivalent of the yobbo in the English pub who says, �Oy, mate, you lookin� at my bird?� You haven�t given her a glance, or him; you�re at the other end of the bar head down in the Daily Mirror, trying not to catch his eye. You don�t know whether he�s longing to nut you in the face or whether he just gets a kick out of terrifying you into thinking he wants to. But, either way, you just want to get out of the room in one piece. Kooks with nukes is one-way deterrence squared.
If Belgium becomes a nuclear power, the Dutch have no reason to believe it would be a factor in, say, negotiations over a joint highway project. But Iran�s nukes will be a factor in everything. If you think, for example, the European Union and others have been fairly craven over those Danish cartoons, imagine what they�d be like if a nuclear Tehran had demanded a formal apology, a suitable punishment for the newspaper, and blasphemy laws specifically outlawing representations of the Prophet. Iran with nukes will be a suicide bomber with a radioactive waist.
If we�d understood Iran back in 1979, we�d understand better the challenges we face today. Come to that, we might not even be facing them. But, with hindsight, what strikes you about the birth of the Islamic Republic is the near total lack of interest by analysts in that adjective: Islamic. Iran was only the second Islamist state, after Saudi Arabia� + more
http://www.city-journal.org/html/16_2_iran.html