Milking it?

EU Referendum ^ | 31st July 2006 | EU Referendum

[plenipotentiary]

For an update on this post, see here.

Certainly, the photographs are distressing, and indeed they are meant to be. As this piece tells us:

Until recent years, images of civilian casualties in wars often took days to appear in newspapers, but now they can be captured and transmitted around the world to newspaper Web sites, where they are posted immediately, adding to the shock value that sketchy words by reporters often cannot capture. This happened again Sunday morning in the case of the Israeli air strike on the Lebanese village of Qana that left dozens dead, reportedly at least half of them children sleeping in their beds overnight.

The photos, taken by The Associated Press, Reuters, and others, showed bodies in the rubble, or being taken away; survivors digging or wailing…

But the photographers, it seems, are not too fussy about how they go about "adding to the shock value". These two sequences illustrate the extent to which photographers on the scene are prepared to ensure that the "shock value" is maximised.

In this first of the two sequences, we see a shot by Reuters and taken by Adnan Hajj, timed at 2:21 pm. It has the caption:

Rescuers pull the body of a toddler victim of an Israeli air raid on Qana that killed more than 60 people, the majority of them women and children, in south Lebanon, July 30, 2006.

Note the "rescue worker" in the foreground, complete with olive green military-style helmet and fluorescent jacket, with what appears to be a flack jacket underneath. His glasses, "designer stubble", blue tee-shirt and jeans make him quite a distinctive figure. Note also, he has a radio in his jacker pocket and he has bare hands, things which becomes relevant later.

The next shot in this sequence is credited to AP's Kevin Frayer. Timed at 4.09 pm, it shows the same "rescue" worker, and has this caption:

Lebanese Red Cross and Civil Defense workers carry the body of a small child covered in dust from the rubble of his home that was hit in an Israeli missile strike in the village of Qana, east of the port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Sunday. Lebanese Red Cross officials said 56 people died in the Israeli assault on the village, including 34 children. Rescuers dug through the debris to remove dozens of bodies.

This is horrific, but a scrutiny of the framing does suggest that the subject is offering the victim to the photographer.

Just in case you missed it, however, we get another view, courtesy of Reuter's Adnan Hajj, with a time given of 4:30 pm - some 20 minutes after the first shot. The caption reads:

A rescuer carries the body of a toddler victim of an Israeli air raid on Qana that killed more than 60 people, the majority of them women and children, in south Lebanon, July 30, 2006.

Interestingly, in this sequence, the pocket radio is missing. And, although the positioning of the child looks the same, the angle of the shot looks to be about ninety degrees from the first, but in each case, the "worker" is facing towards the camera. The shots are clearly posed.

But now, timed at 12:45 pm, an hour and twenty minutes before the child's body is pictured being pulled from the ruins, we get a picture from AP's Kevin Frayer of the same child's body being paraded by our ubiquitous helmeted rescue worker.

Lebanese Red Cross and Civil Defense workers carry the body of a small child covered in dust from the rubble of his home that was hit in an Israeli missile strike in the village of Qana, east of the port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Sunday, July 30, 2006. Lebanese Red Cross officials said 56 people died in the Israeli assault on the village, including 34 children. Rescuers dug through the debris to remove dozens of bodies.

At 12.53 pm, after an interval of eight minutes, Frayer photographs the child's body again, from a different angle. The caption is the same. This time, though, our helmeted worker is showing some distress, which was absent in the previous photograph.

The photographs show the characters moving down the hill, with little distance between the scenes, which suggest that they have been taken sequentially and spontaneously. But they have not. The eight minute interval has allowed a crowd to gather around "green helmet". Furthermore, "orange jacket" has switched from left to right. Note also the tee-shirted man in the centre of the picture.

Then, timed at 1:01 pm, eight minutes on, we get another picture from Frayer. Once again, the caption is the same but this time the child's body is being paraded aloft by our ubiquitous helmeted rescue worker, but the tee-shirted character had moved from centre to right and is taking his turn to displaying his emotion to the camera. The UN soldier in the background has turned away, confirming a time lapse. The scene is clearly staged, as have been those preceding it.

Next, we have the second of the two sequences, the first shot of which, timed at 7.21 am shows a dead girl in an ambulance. Taken by AP, the caption reads:

Among others, the body of a child recovered under the rubble of a demolished building that was struck by Israeli war plane missiles at the village of Qana near the southern Lebanon city of Tyre, is placed in an ambulance Sunday July 30.

In the next frame, we have the same girl, this time apparently being placed in the ambulance. Also taken by AP,this time by Mohammed Zaatari the caption here reads:

A Lebanese rescuer carries the body of a young girl recovered from under the rubble of a demolished building that was struck by Israeli warplane missiles at the village of Qana, near the southern city of Tyre, Lebanon, Sunday, July 30, 2006. Dozens of civilians, including many children, were killed Sunday in an Israeli airstrike that flattened houses in this southern Lebanon village - the deadliest attack in 19 days of fighting.

Intriguingly, though, the dateline given is 10.25 am, three hours after she has already been photographed in the ambulance.

Also from AP's Nasser Nasser, we see the same worker, showing obvious distress, carrying the same girl. But now he is wearing his fluorescent jacket and helmet and has acquired latex gloves. He has also got his radio back. The photograph is timed at 10.44 am and the caption reads:

A civil defense worker carries the body of Lebanese child recovered from the rubble of a demolished building that was struck by an Israeli airstrike at the village of Qana near the southern Lebanon city of Tyre, Sunday, July 30, 2006. Israeli missiles struck this southern Lebanese village early Sunday, flattening houses on top of sleeping residents. The Lebanese Red Cross said the airstrike, in which at least 34 children were killed, pushed the overall Lebanese death toll to more than 500.

Here we are now, same "worker" and same girl, but this time it is done for the benefit of EPA, the photographer, Mohamed Messara, the worker rushing towards a uniformed Red Cross worker. This caption (without a time) reads:

A rescue worker carries the body of a Lebanese girl after an Israeli air strike on the village of Qana, east of the southern port city of Tyre, on Sunday 30 July 2006. At least 51 people were killed, many of them children, and several others wounded in the raid Sunday, witnesses and rescue workers said.

But now, for the benefit of AFP, the photgraph taken by Nicolas Asfouri, we have the same unfortunate child being handled by another worker, the original worker showing in the background, having passed the casualty on. The timing of the photograph is 7.16 pm (now apparently corrected to 6:46 am) and the caption reads:

A rescue worker puts the body of a dead girl on a gurney after Israeli air strikes on the southern Lebanese village of Qana. Israel agreed to temporarily halt air strikes in south Lebanon a day after 52 people were killed, many of them sleeping children, when Israeli warplanes bombarded the Lebanese village of Qana, triggering global outrage and warnings of retribution for alleged "war crimes".

Remember, however, earlier in the sequence, the girl is being carried to the ambulance, by the other worker, sans jacket, helmet and gloves.

Finally, in this sequence, we get another shot from AP's Nasser Nasser, again without a timing but with this caption:

A civil defence worker carries a body of a young Lebanese child recovered from the rubble of a demolished building that was struck by Israeli war plane missiles at the village of Qana near the southern Lebanon city of Tyre, Sunday, July 30, 2006.

Whatever else, the event in Qana was a human tragedy. But the photographs do not show it honestly. Rather, they have been staged for effect, exploiting the victims in an unwholesome manner. In so doing, they are no longer news photographs - they are propaganda. And, whoever said the camera cannot lie forgot that photographers can and do. Those lies have spread throughout the world by now and will be in this morning's newspapers, accepted as real by the millions who view them.

The profession of photo-journalism thereby is sadly diminished by them, and the trust in those who took them and in those who carried them is misplaced. Truly, we are dealing with loathesome creatures.

If he had been a genuine rescue worker, he would deserve a medal. Mr "Green Helmet" is everywhere at Qana, rushing around pulling children out of the rubble, carting them to ambulances and even, on the front page of the Guardian, escorting "White Tee-shirt", who also performs his own cameo role, carting round the body of another unfortunate girl, emoting freely while he does so.

That photograph is credited to Nicolas Asfouri of AFP/Getty Images and the caption reads, "A man screams for help as he carries the body of a young girl after Israeli air strikes on the southern Lebanese village of Qana".

"White Tee-shirt" is still "screaming" on the front page of The Telegraph, but in an altogether different location, this photograph attributed to Reuters. He also makes the front page of The Times and The Independent, in yet another location, with “Green Helmet” just out of shot.

The New York Times, however, has "Green Helmet" dragging the body of yet another unfortunate child from the ruins, this photograph attributed to Tyler Hicks of The New York Times. The caption reads, "Rescue workers recovered bodies at the scene of an Israeli air raid on the southern Lebanese town of Qana on Sunday".

We also get one more shot of the baby dragged from the rubble – yet another pose to add to the many already published. This time, "Blue Tee-shirt" is standing behind the baby's body, holding its head up to make a more dramatic picture.

The picture itself is in Arab News with the caption, "A dead child, a victim of Jewish terror, is taken out of a destroyed building in Qana on Sunday. The pacifier of the child is seen hanging from the vest, a mute testimony to the innocent victim's tragic end." The photograph is attributed to EPA.

A picture remarkably similar to that in The New York Times is also offered by Reuters, attributed to Zohra Bensemra. Its caption reads, "A Lebanese volunteer rescuer carries a child killed in the Israeli air raid in Qana." It looks like the same child, but "Green Helmet", seems to have swapped positions for the camera with "Grey Tee-shirt".

Gulf News, on the other hand, has "Green Helmet" carrying the body of the girl shown in the previous post, but in yet another, slightly more picturesque location. This shot carries no attribution and the caption is not related to the picture. It refers to the cessation of air strikes by the Israelis.

But the great tragedy for Qana, of which we are constantly reminded by the media, is that this is history apparently repeating itself. On 18 April 1996, the village was also visited by death and destruction. re-visiting the photographs of the time, however, who do we see at the centre of the action? Why, "Green Helmet" of course. This is a younger man, without his glasses, but recognisably the same man, in his now classic pose of handling a victim of an Israeli "atrocity".

His presence at Qana on Sunday, and his central, unchallenged role, cannot have been a coincidence. Is he a senior ranking Hezbollah official? If not, who is he?

* * * *

And here he is again!

This time, according to Reuter's Zohra Bensemra, "Green Helmet" is a Lebanese rescue worker, watching "while a bulldozers clears away the rubble of a building demolished by an Israeli air strike in Sreefa, 18 miles (30km) south east of the port-city of Tyre(Soure)". The dateline is 31 July, 2006, at 10:37 am.

Doesn't Hezbollah have anyone else the media can photograph?

[plenipotentiary]

This series shows the timeline of the same man presenting the same body to multiple photographers at Cana in 2006.

Also the same man presenting bodies to photographers 18 miles away.

Also, 10 years ago in the 1996 Cana incident, it appears the same man was presenting bodies to the media.

This has all been staged and choreographed.

[Tenacious 1]

I am hoping, no praying that this is true and that the MSM finds it newsworthy and verifies that is it as this article claims.

I hope it to be reported in the press tomorrow.

[Inge_CAV]

It seems the best time to take out Hezbollah terrorists is while they are posing for photo ops with the rescue workers.

[weegee]

Media Schadenfreude and Media Shenanigans PING

DAMN the liberal media. Where was ONE photo of such tragedy (a DEAD body) from the 9-11 attacks?

Can you say "too soon" and "respect for the families"?

Lies. Damn lies from evil editors with a horrible seditious agenda all because they can't handle a Republican administration.

They serve the cause of antisemitic terrorism by distributing such agitprop imagery.

Either show all such images or NONE.

[Peach]

It's interesting that the media wasn't at all interested in the thousands of innocent children killed when Clinton had his little bombing campaign at 25,000 feet.

[weegee]

Forget about the Maine.

I've got a new slogan for this war...

[MHGinTN]

The time lag from when the air strike occurred and the pulling out the victims was clearly to give the hezzidemons time to get the Syrian missle launcher truck out of the area before bringing in the press. I don't for one minute put the atrocity past the hezziscumallah for the desired effect of stopping what they could not handle once they pushed Israel over the edge for their Iranian masters. Kill them all, every last male hezzi above the age of ten. Sterilize their women and adopted their children into sane households. THEN this may end in a generation. Otherwise the hate of the Muslim vermin murder fanatics in all of the Middle East will continue to be the cancer on humanity.

[Peach]

Good one.

I just had an e-mail from a friend in CT complaining about the children killed, which is horrific that little children get caught up in any war.

But I mentioned to him that if we had the media we have today during WWII, we'd have stopped bombing Germany because the media would have exposed the hundreds of thousands of civilians killed.

And then Germany could have continued with their Final Solution.

All of which is making me wonder at why the media is so darned uninterested in pursuing the Hezbollywoodization and stagecraft of this.

[statered]

"Also, 10 years ago in the 1996 Cana incident, it appears the same man was presenting bodies to the media. "

Does anyone have the '96 photos? I haven't seen them yet.

[silverleaf]

Mr Green Helmet....Greg Packer!!! Is that you?

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000576165

[weegee]

I agree that dead children are depressing and tragic.

I also know that the media doesn't care about 45million babies killed by abortion in the US.

That ranks up there with the genocide of Stalin and far more than the butchery of Hitler.

To show these dead bodies and not the bodies of American civilians kidnapped and beheaded in Iraq is hypocrisy.

I recently picked up a copy of a book about news photos manipulated, staged, and exploited.

I was unaware that Time Magazine altered the picture of the dead soldier being dragged through the streets in Somalia. It seems they were offended that his genitalia was exposed. Dead US soldier's corpse being treated as a war trophy, no problems, naked bits and they had a problem.

I guess they wanted to show "respect" for his family. < /s >

I hate the DUmass media.

[plenipotentiary]

It's the second to last photo.

[Peach]

I never knew that -- how Time manipulated the photo of that soldier. I detest the media too. Pretty much more than I detest Congress Democrats.

[weegee]

Here's the book: Underexposed - Pictures Can Lie And Liars Can Use Pictures (Edited by Colin Jacobson)

Most damning evidence in the book comes when comparison images are shown.

[Gritty]

Important article BUMP!

[PajamaTruthMafia]

Bump.

It might be easier to read and understand if you go to the source:

http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2006/07/milking-it.html