To enforce its order that a group of Iraqi journalists leave Tayaran Square, where the bombing occurred, police fired several shots in the air, reporters said. This is freedom of press?
Brig. Gen. Abdel Karim Khalaf, the operations director at the Interior Ministry, said this weekend that Iraq’s government has decided to bar news photographers and cameramen from the scene of bombings. Gen Abdel Khalaf says “This is to prevent the people in the USA to see to see the truth”. Out of sight…..Out of mind Gen khalaf says.
Of course some pics and video is going to get an individual in the background and there are some creative ways to get pictures such as in silhouette. But CNN.com (and they aren’t the only ones) has a closeup of an Amish man talking to someone right on the FRONT PAGE! And other media features closeups of Amish children playing, and Amish bystanders at the school milling around consoling each other. I think this is horribly disrespectful.
Please reporters and photographers…show some tact.
dh1977 you are misinformed about the taxes, and I disagree with you about a lot of things in your answer but thanks for the commentary.
In fact, the Amish DO pay taxes, and accept almost no help. They pay property taxes to fund schools that their children do not attend. They pay income and sales taxes. All citizens have the right to police and fire protection, even people of deep faith that separates them from larger society.
Other points: there are no food restrictions in the Amish faith. While some loopholes seem to water down things a bit when you look from the outside, understand these make a LOT of concessions to live with their faith.
I’m sure there must be some unique problems when the two worlds collide.
Yes if you weigh the two, anyone else who has commented, please know that I agree the shooting is a much bigger violation than the media. Just seems to me that we should be more sensitive as outsiders than to violate them even more. It’s self-serving on our part.
