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Caption This: Obama at Mandela's memorial service

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NFS4 said:
v0fKzip.jpg
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there is one who can save us

bush_lordoftherings.jpg
 
waggy said:
I gotta say Michelle is one of the only First Ladies i have seen where 95% of the pictures of her are unflattering.
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Just Google image searched her. She looks fine in most of them, nice figure as well if we're going to overly judgemental on looks.

I think people just like to spam the ones where she looks cross/pissed off.
 
Interesting article from the Photographer who actually took the picture at the Stadium that has created so much excitement.

http://blogs.afp.com/correspondent/?post/Selfie
By Roberto Schmidt


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.
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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.
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^^^ Truth and sanity? GTFO!

Angry, right wing P&N'ers have so outed and embarrassed themselves in this thread, yet you will never, ever get them to admit it. They can't. Their whole tea party world would collapse if they had the courage and integrity to face the simple truth.

It's pathetic and sad. They're pathetic and sad. Speaking of pathetic and sad:

hans030390 said:
But despite you claiming to not be upset, you're the most vocal about it. I really do think it is just a select group of people that care (mostly right wing), and you are doing a much better job proving that than proving Obama "doesn't give a shit out us, our nation or how other nations see us."

The fact that you can't even see your irrationality and surprisingly aggressive behavior about what is essentially nothing is unfortunate.
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Life in the right-wing echo box:

tmw-big.jpg
 
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.
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You know, I could post something about being spot on in my opinion of this... but I won't. 😛
 
Of course she joked around with the PM. She knew that the spotlight was on her and our Dear Leader, that he was being disrespectful at a funeral, and she played her role well of diffusing the situation.

She knew that she had to separate them to avoid further flirting and embarrassment, and she did what any good leader's wife would do.. Conveniently swapped seats at the first opportunity without making a scene.

Hell, she did much better than our Dear Leader. I don't fault her at all.
 
Perknose said:
SA and rudedude respectfully disagree. Well, ok, maybe not respectfully . . .

obamacare_lies.jpg
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nope...don't disagree at all

I was pissed at the government this morning. I took it out on Obama taking selfies and hijacked NSF's thread, which was wrong. I made nice though.

But there is still one very big unanswered question....

what filter did she use?
 
SpatiallyAware said:
Of course she joked around with the PM. She knew that the spotlight was on her and our Dear Leader, that he was being disrespectful at a funeral,
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For the eleventy seventh time:

It wasn't the funeral you dumbass.

Why are you now the only person in this thread who hasn't figured that out?


Never mind, keep building your fantasy world.

LLLL-67937661866_xlarge.jpeg
 
SpatiallyAware said:
Of course she joked around with the PM. She knew that the spotlight was on her and our Dear Leader, that he was being disrespectful at a funeral, and she played her role well of diffusing the situation.

She knew that she had to separate them to avoid further flirting and embarrassment, and she did what any good leader's wife would do.. Conveniently swapped seats at the first opportunity without making a scene.

Hell, she did much better than our Dear Leader. I don't fault her at all.
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Read the article the photographer wrote, dumbass.
 
SpatiallyAware said:
Of course she joked around with the PM. She knew that the spotlight was on her and our Dear Leader, that he was being disrespectful at a funeral, and she played her role well of diffusing the situation.

She knew that she had to separate them to avoid further flirting and embarrassment, and she did what any good leader's wife would do.. Conveniently swapped seats at the first opportunity without making a scene.

Hell, she did much better than our Dear Leader. I don't fault her at all.
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You are a dumb dumb.

KT
 
SpatiallyAware said:
Of course she joked around with the PM. She knew that the spotlight was on her and our Dear Leader, that he was being disrespectful at a funeral, and she played her role well of diffusing the situation.

She knew that she had to separate them to avoid further flirting and embarrassment, and she did what any good leader's wife would do.. Conveniently swapped seats at the first opportunity without making a scene.

Hell, she did much better than our Dear Leader. I don't fault her at all.
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GOPIdeology_zpsbcb3249b.jpg
 
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