Mandela Dies

ferrari77 · Dec 11, 2013

Dubya getting chummy with Queen Rania. (I ain't mad at him) :grin:

ferrari77 · Dec 11, 2013

The truth about the "selfie".

http://blogs.afp.com/correspondent/?post/Selfie

So here’s the photo, my photo, which quickly lit up the world’s social networks and news websites. The “selfie” of three world leaders who, during South Africa’s farewell to Nelson Mandela, were messing about like kids instead of behaving with the mournful gravitas one might expect.

In general on this blog, photojournalists tell the story behind a picture they’ve taken. I’ve done this for images from Pakistan, and India, where I am based. And here I am again, but this time the picture comes from a stadium in Soweto, and shows people taking a photo of themselves. I guess it’s a sign of our times that somehow this image seemed to get more attention than the event itself. Go figure. Anyway, I arrived in South Africa with several other AFP journalists to cover the farewell and funeral ceremonies for Nelson Mandela. We were in the Soccer City stadium in Soweto, under a driving rain. I’d been there since the crack of dawn and when I took this picture, the memorial ceremony had already been going on for more than two hours.

From the podium, Obama had just qualified Mandela as a “giant of history who moved a nation towards justice." After his stirring eulogy, America’s first black president sat about 150 metres across from where I was set up. He was surrounded by other foreign dignitaries and I decided to follow his movements with the help of my 600 mm x 2 telephoto lens.

So Obama took his place amid these leaders who’d gathered from all corners of the globe. Among them was British Prime Minister David Cameron, as well as a woman who I wasn’t able to immediately identify. I later learned it was the Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt. I’m a German-Colombian based in India, so I don’t feel too bad I didn’t recognize her! At the time, I thought it must have been one of Obama’s many staffers.

Anyway, suddenly this woman pulled out her mobile phone and took a photo of herself smiling with Cameron and the US president. I captured the scene reflexively. All around me in the stadium, South Africans were dancing, singing and laughing to honour their departed leader. It was more like a carnival atmosphere, not at all morbid. The ceremony had already gone on for two hours and would last another two. The atmosphere was totally relaxed – I didn’t see anything shocking in my viewfinder, president of the US or not. We are in Africa. I later read on social media that Michelle Obama seemed to be rather peeved on seeing the Danish prime minister take the picture. But photos can lie. In reality, just a few seconds earlier the first lady was herself joking with those around her, Cameron and Schmidt included. Her stern look was captured by chance.

I took these photos totally spontaneously, without thinking about what impact they might have. At the time, I thought the world leaders were simply acting like human beings, like me and you. I doubt anyone could have remained totally stony faced for the duration of the ceremony, while tens of thousands of people were celebrating in the stadium. For me, the behaviour of these leaders in snapping a selfie seems perfectly natural. I see nothing to complain about, and probably would have done the same in their place. The AFP team worked hard to display the reaction that South African people had for the passing of someone they consider as a father. We moved about 500 pictures, trying to portray their true feelings, and this seemingly trivial image seems to have eclipsed much of this collective work. It was interesting to see politicians in a human light because usually when we see them it is in such a controlled environment. Maybe this would not be such an issue if we, as the press, would have more access to dignitaries and be able to show they are human as the rest of us.

I confess too that it makes me a little sad we are so obsessed with day-to-day trivialities, instead of things of true importance.
Click to expand...

TMac'n · Dec 11, 2013

AroundTheWorld said: ↑

This is funny and sad at the same time.

http://www.businessinsider.com/mandela-sign-language-interpreter-fake-2013-12

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/NpPvGP_GUXs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The Sign Language Interpreter At Mandela’s Memorial Was 'A Complete Fraud' Making Nonsense Gestures
.
Click to expand...

LOL!!! This had me rolling!!

What a disgrace, with the addition of the Obama selfies and Bush with Bono, this Mandela memorial was just full of failure

Lady_Di · Dec 12, 2013

AroundTheWorld said: ↑

This is funny and sad at the same time.

http://www.businessinsider.com/mandela-sign-language-interpreter-fake-2013-12

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/NpPvGP_GUXs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The Sign Language Interpreter At Mandela’s Memorial Was 'A Complete Fraud' Making Nonsense Gestures
Click to expand...

I seriously HAVE no idea how that guy managed to get on the stage next to heads of state & obama! What if he was a terrorist pretending to be an interpreter? They have some serious investigating to do. He said he was seeing angels during that time.

SwoLy-D · Dec 12, 2013

I don't think she's helping their case. "Having fun"? At a memorial, huh?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-Schmidt-defends-Mandela-memorial-selfie.html

JeopardE · Dec 12, 2013

SwoLy-D said: ↑

I don't think she's helping their case. "Having fun"? At a memorial, huh?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-Schmidt-defends-Mandela-memorial-selfie.html
Click to expand...

I think you should read the words of the person who actually took the photos above. There was nothing inappropriate about the photo. I'm an African myself and I know very well how even burial ceremonies can often turn into festive parties, let alone memorial events.

AroundTheWorld · Dec 13, 2013

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...ony-was-once-charged-with-murder-9003539.html

Fake signer who stood next to Obama at Mandela ceremony 'was once charged with murder'

The sign language interpreter accused of "making up" hand gestures at Nelson Mandela's memorial service has faced charges of murder, rape, kidnapping and theft, it was reported today.

Court records uncovered by the South African news channel eNCA reported that Thamsanqa Jantjie has faced a string of criminal charges since 1994, and was accused of murder in 2003.

The conclusion of the murder case remains unclear, as the court files of the trial have been discovered empty. It has been alleged however that many of the charges brought against Jantjie were dropped due to him being deemed mentally unfit for trial.

Jantjie, who stood beside world leaders including Barack Obama as they paid their tributes to Mandela last Tuesday, caused controversy after it was reported that he had interpreted the speeches completely inaccurately. Responding to the claims, Jantjie claimed that he was schizophrenic, and was suffering from a hallucination at the time.

The records uncovered by eNCA have now raised further questions over Jantjie participation in the service, revealing that he was acquitted for rape in 1994, but convicted for theft a year later, and sentenced to three years in jail.

The records also show that over nine years Jantjie faced seven separate charges, including rape, theft, housebreaking, malicious damage to property, murder, and kidnapping.

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Great job, secret service!

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