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U.S. agency blocks photos of New Orleans dead
Reuters | September 7, 2005

Posted on 09/06/2005 10:29:23 PM PDT by HAL9000

NEW ORLEANS, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. government agency leading the rescue efforts after Hurricane Katrina said on Tuesday it does not want the news media to take photographs of the dead as they are recovered from the flooded New Orleans area.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, heavily criticized for its slow response to the devastation caused by the hurricane, rejected requests from journalists to accompany rescue boats as they went out to search for storm victims.

An agency spokeswoman said space was needed on the rescue boats and that "the recovery of the victims is being treated with dignity and the utmost respect."

"We have requested that no photographs of the deceased be made by the media," the spokeswoman said in an e-mailed response to a Reuters inquiry.

The Bush administration also has prevented the news media from photographing flag-draped caskets of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, which has sparked criticism that the government is trying to block images that put the war in a bad light.

The White House is under fire for its handling of the relief effort, which many officials have charged was slow and bureacratic, contributing to the death and mayhem in New Orleans after the storm struck on Aug. 29.



TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: alreuters; fema; hurricane; hurricanekatrina; katrina; neworleans; photojournalism
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To: RobbyS

The Guardian? This was from Reuters.


21 posted on 09/06/2005 10:40:48 PM PDT by Prime Choice (E=mc^3. Don't drink and derive.)
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To: HAL9000
""We have requested that no photographs of the deceased be made by the media," the spokeswoman said in an e-mailed response to a Reuters inquiry. "

Before reading this post, I have been sensing a conspiratorial effort on the part of all gov't officials and media to withhold actual causuality count figures. I think the public is being lied to. To what end, I assume it is to not further depress the evacuees?

22 posted on 09/06/2005 10:41:12 PM PDT by de Buillion (Perspective: 1880 dead Heroes in 3 yr vs. 3589 abortions EVERY DAY , 1999, USA.)
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To: HAL9000
No pictures of New Orleans dead people?

Not even the walking dead like Mayor Nagin?

23 posted on 09/06/2005 10:42:23 PM PDT by Jeff Gordon (Recall Barbara Boxer)
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To: dc-zoo
I've seen plenty of dead bodys on cnn's coverage in the last day or so.

Yeah, i even saw a couple on fox a day or so ago. If you watch the helicopter shots you will often see dead people near those being hoisted, at which point there is a quick camera jerk and the move off it.

Its going to happen, and as long as the shots are long range and not identifiable I don't see the problem in showing America what happens when you elect incompetents and put them in charge of executing disaster plans.

When the finally tally is in we will have lost more people to a Sobbing Governor and a corrupt and incompetent Mayor that we lost on 9/11, Afghanistan, Gulf I, Gulf II and the occupation of Iraq combined.

24 posted on 09/06/2005 10:42:52 PM PDT by konaice
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To: HAL9000

There is going to be many, many dead.


25 posted on 09/06/2005 10:43:00 PM PDT by bnelson44 (Scouts Up! http://www.scouting.org/media/katrina/unithelp.html)
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To: Uncle Joe Cannon

Most of them were very badly bloated and floating face down.


26 posted on 09/06/2005 10:43:01 PM PDT by dc-zoo
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To: de Buillion
I think the public is being lied to. To what end, I assume it is to not further depress the evacuees?

This is not something that can be hidden in this day and age. Too many computers.

27 posted on 09/06/2005 10:46:20 PM PDT by konaice
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To: HAL9000

If we don't have photographs, how will Louisiana officials identify the dead when they show up at the polls on election day?


28 posted on 09/06/2005 10:47:42 PM PDT by Alter Kaker (Whatever tears one may shed, in the end one always blows one’s nose.-Heine)
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To: HAL9000



Al'Reuters is in true form tonight.


29 posted on 09/06/2005 10:51:09 PM PDT by msnimje (CNN - Constant Negative Nonsense)
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To: shield
I think seeing 40,000 dead bodies is way over the top...Glad FEMA stepped in.

How did you arrive at that number? Do you have a crystal ball? If so, you'd win the lottery in a nano-second.

30 posted on 09/06/2005 10:51:25 PM PDT by Cobra64
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To: HAL9000

I agree , the dead should not be filmed or photographed ,
it's disrespectful . Let them be .
I think many have a morbidity fetish , let's not feed that.


31 posted on 09/06/2005 10:51:58 PM PDT by injin
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To: HAL9000

Good God don't these vultures have ANY sense of decency?

What am I saying? They're journalists!


Of course not.


32 posted on 09/06/2005 10:53:21 PM PDT by trubluolyguy (Come on you apes! D'ya wanna live forever?!!?)
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To: killjoy
How would you like to find out about your mother or father by seeing their bloated corpse in some picture.

Good grief, these people have been through enough without having their dead paraded just so some photographer can get a cheap thrill.

33 posted on 09/06/2005 10:53:35 PM PDT by McGavin999 (Global Dumbing far more serious threat than Global Warming)
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To: killjoy

The article impies that they are not going to be allowed to go on the recovery routes with FEMA. I don't think the government has the responsibility to take them to the bodies. I'm thinking there are still some bad guys out there and they probably don't want to go on their own but that is just assumption on my part. If they get in on their own and take pictures and publish them, more power to them.


34 posted on 09/06/2005 10:55:04 PM PDT by tiki
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To: McGavin999

Well said. We don't need to see pictures of the dead.


35 posted on 09/06/2005 10:57:19 PM PDT by djf (Government wants the same things I do - MY guns, MY property, MY freedoms!)
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To: HAL9000

Has Rooters published photos of the victims of 9/11?


36 posted on 09/06/2005 10:59:49 PM PDT by VeniVidiVici (When a Jihadist dies, an angel gets its wings)
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To: HAL9000

I was supposed to be on a crew to look for and remove bodies in MS this week. It is my understanding that the people on body removal are "professionals" only, meaning military or med tech. The fella that hooked me up assumed I was military, but I'm not. So, I was not allowed on a crew.

I have also spoken with one of the building inspectors in Pascagoula (some of his family will be loaned a house owned by my family) and he says even he can't find out any actual numbers. That may not seem all that strange to folks from not around these parts. Why would a building inspector know what the body count is? Well because in Pascagoula everybody knows everybody, and this guy is one of only three building inspectors in the city. They are checking every building for structural damage and condemning them left and right. I wonder if the city officials even know the true count. We may never know because it seems there is every effort being made to bury it.


37 posted on 09/06/2005 11:04:38 PM PDT by numberonepal (Don't Even Think About Treading On Me)
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To: de Buillion
I assume it is to not further depress the evacuees?

You mean unless they see an actual picture, they may not miss their loved one?

38 posted on 09/06/2005 11:04:39 PM PDT by Howlin (Have you check in on this thread: FYI: Hurricane Katrina Freeper SIGN IN Thread)
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To: killjoy
The US Government did a great job of pimping the casket photos as much as they could on defenselink until the casualty figures started getting too high. If they are so concerned about privacy, why did they have them up on a military site to begin with?

I think you are mistaken. The military casket photos were never on DefenseLink.mil until after the forced release of them via the FOIA from "TheMemoryHole.org".

39 posted on 09/06/2005 11:04:50 PM PDT by FreedomCalls (It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
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To: McGavin999
How would you like to find out about your mother or father by seeing their bloated corpse in some picture.

LOL! Have you ever seen a week old bloated corpse? If you can ID that type of body simply by visuals, you are in the wrong profession.

My girlfriend was 'drafted', she was one of the only people there with a digital camera, to be a forensic photographer after the tsunami here in Thailand. She still has plenty of the pictures on her PC. If you want to see what this type of corpse looks like, I will be more than happy to forward you a few shots.

40 posted on 09/06/2005 11:05:41 PM PDT by killjoy (Real Men Love Bush)
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