Trivia: Who wrote this note recently?

[Thinker]

[Ireneo_Funes]

a recent supreme court nominee?

[bunglehead]

Mr. Monkey Man?

Mr. I want a banana?

Mr. Fuckface?

Mr. Speech impediment?

Mr. Imperial flyover?

Mr. falls off bike?

Mr. Love?

[barjor]

Bush wrote it. The funny thing is that he wrote Rice to ask for permision to use the bathroom. I wounder who wears the pants in that administration.

[Thinker]

Ding! Ding! good work.

 

 

news story

Bush 'caught short' at UN summit

 

It's a situation anyone could find themselves in - having to answer the call of nature in the middle of an important meeting.

But when you are the US president, at a gathering of more than 150 world leaders, it is even more tricky.

 

While talk at the UN world summit was focused on terrorism and internal reform, George W Bush appeared to have been caught short.

 

And, he is said to have turned to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for advice.

 

"I think I may need a bathroom break? Is this possible?" a Reuters news agency photographer caught him writing in a note to Ms Rice.

 

The photograph, and Mr Bush's apparent request for permission to pee, has been the subject of discussion on a number of satirical websites.

 

President Bush was among monarchs, presidents and prime ministers for the opening of the three-day summit, marking the 60th anniversary of the UN.

 

In a speech, he urged the UN to pursue meaningful reforms to allow it to meet modern challenges and said the US was committed to helping overcome poverty.

[barjor]

I think Bush and Rice have some kinky sex games going on.

Edited September 15, 2005 by barjor

[archenemy]

I think they should cath him and save him from future embarrassment.

[knelson]

The funny part is - if I'm seeing that note correctly - it's a question!

 

"I think I may need a bathroom break?"

 

He wasn't sure?

[jon]

Interesting how he goes from lowercase semi-cursive to capital block letters and back.

[Camilo]

The funny part is - if I'm seeing that note correctly - it's a question!

 

"I think I may need a bathroom break?"

 

He wasn't sure?

Yes, it was a question. The he asked, "Is this possible?" I ask myself the same thing whenever I need to pee:

I think I might have to take a leak. How can this be?

[klenke]

I call bullshit...checking snopes now...please stand by...

 

SNOPES: Undetermined <-- click me

Edited September 15, 2005 by klenke

[knelson]

Interesting how he goes from lowercase semi-cursive to capital block letters and back.

 

I was going to take a jab at that one too, but then realized I do it all the time. Kinda scares me now.

[cj001f]

I call bullshit...checking snopes now...please stand by...

 

SNOPES: Undetermined <-- click me

 

Note the address on this copy:

http://i.photos.reuters.com/Pictures/gal...2_SUMMIT-UN.jpg

[ashw_justin]

No it's code. He is inquiring into the feasibility of dropping bombs somewhere.

[cj001f]

No it's code. He is inquiring into the feasibility of dropping bombs somewhere.

A Condi Rice booty call? We'd be better off if he did more Clinton style bomb dropping.

[EWolfe]

I never did understand the whole golden showers thing...

[Ducknut]

How come he didn't raise his hand and ask Kofi Anan for a hall pass so he could go to the bathroom?

 

Imagine the simultaneous translation into 127 different languages and the subsequent laughter..........

[mothboy88]

This a headline on Drudge:

 

"REUTERS has acknowledged Bush 'Potty Note' photo was enhanced via Photoshop... "

 

But his link to the story is dead.

 

If he is right (there is always a big IF with Drudge) then it looks like the story is real but they had to mess with the writing to make it legible (and not tell anyone it was enhanced). While the story is kinda funny, another digital manipulation of photo journalism is very disheartening.

[Double_E]

I wonder if the Mythbusters have ever, or will ever, take on the widely held myth that Snopes.com is the final word on whether shit is true or not.

[cj001f]

While the story is kinda funny, another digital manipulation of photo journalism is very disheartening.

Photo's have been "manipulated" as long as there has been photography.

[mothboy88]

While the story is kinda funny, another digital manipulation of photo journalism is very disheartening.

Photo's have been "manipulated" as long as there has been photography.

 

And here I thought those old 1940 postcards with 4 foor tall apples labeled "Greetings from Washington" were real until now.

 

My perception is that there is a lot more overt changes being made to photos that appear in newspapers these days (a la the LA times photo a few years ago where they merged two photos together and some people appeared twice in the same shot). Most of them seem fairly harmless when uncovered, but I think its an incredibly slippery slope that "photo-journalists" and editors are tiptoeing down.

 

I did just find the link to the article about the topic: Potty Note Photo Story

 

Here is some text from the article:

"Once he saw what it said, Hershorn decided the note was interesting and worth publishing. The white parts of the picture were overexposed, so a Reuters processor used Photoshop to burn down the note. This is a standard practice for news photos, Hershorn says, and the picture was not manipulated in any other way."

 

That doesn't sound so bad upon reviewing it; I imagine that isn't that different from what a person might do in a darkroom. I was imagining someone going in and using photoshop to write the text.

Anyway, so much for my thread drift.