Demonstrators hold posters of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (L) and former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin during a rally in front of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo, December 22, 2004. Demonstrators protested against China’s policy towards North Korean refugees, who face forced repatriation and severe punishment when they return to their impoverished country. [via Reuters]
From COLIN GLAD TO DROP NEW YEAR’S BALL, The New York Post, Dec. 22, 2004:
“Secretary of State Colin Powell will return to the city of his birth and drop the famous Waterford Crystal ball in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday.
“‘Colin Powell is the American dream come true,’ Bloomberg said of the Bronx-raised outgoing secretary of state.
“‘He’s done everything his country has ever asked.’…”
Yes, well, that’s been his undoing.
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Does Music Piracy Aid Terrorists?
Yes. Yes, it does.
OK, OK…you’re right. Sorry about that bit of woefully-miscontextualized usage of news photography. If you’re a stickler for accuracy in reporting, here’s the AP’s actual take on the events depicted in the above image:
“An Iraqi policeman checks for compact discs made by terrorist groups with instructions on how to make improvised explosive devices in Baghdad Tuesday Dec. 21 2004.In continuing violence, five American soldiers and an Iraqi civilian were wounded when the Humvee they were traveling in was hit by a car bomb near Hawija, some 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said Tuesday.The bloodshed came a day after Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi blamed the upsurge of violence on a campaign by insurgents to foment sectarian civil war as well as derail the legislative elections set for Jan. 30 (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)”
Why is the Times so obsessed with autism? It’s like they’re in their own little world, not looking out, just focusing inward.
Battling Insurers Over Autism Treatment, December 21, 2004, by MILT FREUDENHEIM, appearing in the Business section
How About Not ‘Curing’ Us, Some Autistics Are Pleading, December 20, 2004, by AMY HARMON, appearing in the Health section
In Autism, New Goal Is Finding It Soon Enough to Fight It, December 14, 2004, by ANAHAD O’CONNOR, appearing in the Health section
For Siblings of the Autistic, a Burdened Youth, December 10, 2004, by JANE GROSS, appearing in the National Desk section
One subject matter. One human interest. Three different sections. Three different weeks. Four different dates. Four different writers.
“President Bush strongly defended Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld today, declaring that the Pentagon chief is doing ‘a really fine job’…”
–Bush Defends Rumsfeld, Saying He’s Doing ‘a Really Fine Job’, by David Stout, The New York Times, Dec. 2004.
Related: If you google “gentleman C’s”, almost all the hits are for Bush. Maybe William Safire or Jesse Sheidlower can give us the full etymology.
More proof that wire-service photo editors have a top-notch sense of humor, at least when it comes to fetuses and acts of depravity: The above image was attached to the latest A.P. wire story about that whole “I killed a woman and cut her unborn baby from her mangled womb” news item from last week.
Seriously. That image right there. Of the suspect maternally holding a fucking chihuahua or some other hirsute little newborn.
Thankfully, they clarify the presence of the dog with their accompanying caption:
This is an undated photo showing Lisa M. Montgomery, a resident of Melvern, Kan. Montgomery was arrested late Friday, Dec. 17, 2004, and charged with kidnapping resulting in death in a case of a woman being murdered and her 8-month-old fetus cut out of her womb. The baby of Bobbie Jo Stinnett was recovered and was reported in good condition on Saturday. (AP Photo/Maryville Daily Forum)
See? Embedded somewhere within those clauses is a full and rational explanation for using this particular photo of the woman. You just have to be one of those university-trained “close readers”, perhaps.
Me? I’m just a loving asshole who adores puppy portraits, and fuck if I don’t get angry when such cute photos are tainted with the Anne Geddes-esque stigma of dead mothers and shortened pregnancies.
From “Grieving Families Outraged over Rumsfeld Condolence Letters“, The Christian Broadcasting Network, December 20, 2004:
A deadly weekend in Iraq could spell more trouble ahead for next month’s elections. And the President’s defense chief is at the center of controversy, this time over condolence letters to families of military soldiers killed in action.
[…]
But relatives of the deceased soldiers, and even some congressional leaders, are outraged that Rumsfeld used a machine to stamp his signature on more than 1,000 letters that have already been mailed.
And now for the completely unanticipated A.P. followup: “Bush Comes to Rumsfeld’s Defense”
Image War: Cuban anti-American billboard, as seen by AFP in two, views.
Related: All this over Christmas decorations.
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Adventures in the Skin Trade, Vol. 2
Wes Anderson (left) at “The Aviator” premiere and C. Montgomery Burns (right)