What would evil minds not do to realize money? For a long time now, four women have been running a syndicate that specializes in renting babies for public display, with whom they solicit alms from the sympathetic public.
But today the game is up for the quartet, as the long arm of the law has finally caught up with them.
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Mugabe, the only leader this country has known since its break from white rule nearly three decades ago, agreed to remain in the race and rely on the army to ensure his victory. During an April 8 military planning meeting, according to written notes and the accounts of participants, the plan was given a code name: CIBD. The acronym, which proved apt in the fevered campaign that unfolded over the following weeks, stood for: Coercion. Intimidation. Beating. Displacement.
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A video shot by a commando posing as a journalist recorded the rescue of 15 hostages in a daring operation that was celebrated Friday from Colombia to as far away as Paris, where French leaders welcomed the best known of the hostages, Ingrid Betancourt.
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Photo by Zoriah
After the post was online, I was told that the Marine Corps would not allow even the pants or shoes of a injured or killed Marine to be depicted in images. This was a rule I had never been told or even heard of. I refused to remove the blog post. It seemed insane to me that the Marines would embed a war photographer and then be upset when photographs were taken of war.
A few minutes later my embed was terminated and a convoy was arranged, despite a fierce sand storm, to bring me to Camp Fallujah where I would wait for the first flight out of the Marines area of operation and into the Green Zone.
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The hostages, who had been divided in three groups, were taken to a rendezvous where two disguised MI-17 helicopters piloted by Colombian military agents were waiting. Betancourt said her hands and feet were bound, which she called “humiliating.”
At first she thought the pilots were from a relief organization. Then she saw their Che Guevara shirts and assumed they were rebels.
Only when they were airborne did she notice that Cesar, who had treated her so cruelly for so many years, was naked and blindfolded on the floor.
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You’re 20 years old. You’ve just won the College Photographer of the Year award, and then your girlfriend becomes pregnant. Is this the beginning or the end? Matt Eich picked up his camera and precociously declared, “Nothing good comes without some sort of struggle.”
Not only is Matt an Eddie Adams Workshop alumnus, but he won the top prize in 2006 — a $10,000 grant from Nikon, the primary sponsor of the workshop to follow his own vision and shoot what he wanted. If Matt is representative of the new guard of photojournalists, we’re in good shape.
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When experienced from many different perspectives, is the instant when a photograph is taken still just a single moment?
Barbara Probst’s diptych and triptych photos, taken at the same time from different cameras and points of view, offer multiple versions of a split second.
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I had brought a Nikon D300 on the trip with me, and when he saw it he asked if I knew the story of Nikon’s recent DSLR resurgence. Apparently, (at least according to my friend) in about 2005 Nikon’s board had a break with the company’s senior management. After some 50 years as a dominant player in the Pro camera market Nikon was losing not only marketshare but also “face”, because of Canon’s dominant position in almost every market segment, but particularly with regard to Pro cameras and Nikons lack of a full-frame competitor to Canon 1Ds series. In short – Canon had been cleaning Nikon’s clock, and the board was pissed.
It seems (or so the story went) that the board removed some of Nikon’s more conservative senior management and replaced them with more aggressive “Young Turks”, along with a mandate to rebuilt Nikon’s reputation and market position.
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Photo by Robert Hanashiro / Sports Shooter
The Los Angeles Times’ Wally Skalij covered the recent Boston Celtics – LA Lakers NBA Finals. Sports Shooter sat down with him to discuss the trials and tribulations of covering this highly anticipated match up, Skalij had covered the Lakers four previous appears in the Finals.
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Frank Folwell shows us where the media will be sleeping and offers other wonderful information about traveling to China.
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By David McIntyre
As the 2008 Beijing Summer Games are just around the corner — August 8th, 2008 to be exact — I thought I would take this opportunity to give some insight into what people might expect, not expect, and also feel free to ask so that I can try to answer later.
As a resident of Hong Kong and China for the past 14-1/2 years, I guess I might have some knowledge in me for you all.
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Matthew Harding spent 14 months visiting 42 countries in order to produce “Where the Hell is Matt?”, a four-and-a-half minute video featuring Harding (and anyone else he could rope into it) doing an incredibly silly, high-energy dance in some of the most breathtaking scenery around the world. This may be the best four minutes and twenty-eight seconds of your week.
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MSNBC reporter Monica Morales is seeing stars after a light stand came crashing down on her head during a live report. Morales valiantly tried to press on but was clearly too fazed to do anything other than throw it back to anchor Mika Brzezinski, who commiserated: “Oh my goodness, I love it when the wind blows down the light thing.”
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For me this has always pointed to the distinction that can be made between considering yourself a “newspaper photographer” versus a “photographer who happens to work for a newspaper.”
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This August is going to be one to remember. I got lucky…real lucky. I’m going to be part of the Gannett team that is covering the Olympics in Beijing, China. Wow…I still can’t believe it. Did I mention it’s the Olympics?! Ya think I’m excited? Oh…I’m excited. This excitement, however, comes bundled with anticipation, urgency and a touch of nervousness. You see this is my first Olympics, which means I’m a rookie. A rookie who asks the question, “What the hell am I supposed to pack for this international event?” Well, I’ll give it a shot…
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By Vincent Laforet
The challenge is to find a way to continue to produce quality original content, and to connect with your audience – not to hold on to the old, traditional way of doing things. So while the cloud may be falling – there’s plenty of blue sky above – and the possibilities are endless. Good luck.
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Photographers have had a long love affair with freebies. And I’m not talking about the Canon fanny packs and Nikon Olympic pins we all love to get at big time sporting events. If only. No, I’m talking about giving away freebies. Free prints. Free portrait sessions. Free wedding photography. Free photographs to the local SID. Why, I’d bet there are some photographers who would give away their own grandmother for the promise of a 6-point photo credit along the inseam of a trade publication. And while I’d love to say that all this giving only proves that we have big hearts, the sadder reality is that we have an addiction to giving things away and the only hope right now is for an intervention.
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By Robert Beck, Sports Illustrated
I have spent a lot of time thinking about writing this piece. I have even started it a couple of times. But trying to describe the incredible experience that was the 2008 U.S. Open on the South Course at Torrey Pines is more confounding than covering the tournament. There are tales within tales and stories that will grow grander, perhaps becoming mythical, over time. So, in advance, please forgive me if weave through this yarn as crookedly as I might play a round of golf.
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“Once again we have shamed all our detractors, who, through gullible people, tried to use every opportunity to undermine our independence and desecrate our hard-earned and inalienable right to self-determination,” Mugabe said as he opened his sixth term in office.
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