Thursday, December 12, 2013

Mandela Gathering and Obama colliding.




I have been working away.
Missed the whole of the Mandela gathering.
Need to catch up
Need to read the Obama speech.
Any others I nee to listen/read?

But I love this item about the day::


8 Photos You Didn't See From Obama's Trip to South Africa

On Tuesday, conservative news outlets in the United States 
decided that the best way to commemorate the life of 
Nelson Mandela, and to report on the memorial services 
in his honor, was to manufacture a controversy about 
an AFP photo of President Barack Obama
shooting a selfie with Danish Prime Minister 
Helle Thorning-Schmidt. According to Fox News
the “international incident” was so bad that, 
“The tsk-tisk-ing could be heard across continents.”
Liberal news outlets countered with a photograph from former 
President George W. Bush’s Instagram feed, 
taken at the same memorial, 
in which he’s seen posing with pop star Bono.
Two things were lost amid the nonsensical partisan wrangling. 
First, the furor shamefully overshadowed the memorial service 
itself, and the heartfelt messages that were delivered by 
Mandela’s family and colleagues. 
Second, such outcries overlook the close quarters 
in which our Democratic and Republican politicians 
actually live and work.
Candid images from White House photographer Pete Souza 
tell another story.

1.

Via: Pete Souza
Looking at the individual AFP and Instagram shots, 
you would have no idea that Obama and Bush 
traveled to South Africa together on Air Force One.

2.

Via: Pete Souza
You would miss the fact that they and their wives 
dined together on the plane ...

3.

Via: Pete Souza
... or that Bush dazzled Michelle Obama and a smiling 
Hillary Clinton with photos of his recent paintings.

4.

Via: Pete Souza
You wouldn't see that Obama managed to sneak in his own 
photo op with Bono ...

5.

... or that the Bushes and Clintons spent the day together 
at FNB Stadium.

6.

Via: Pete Souza
It’s almost as if photographers go out of their way to present 
isolated images of political figures ...

7.

Via: Pete Souza
... when in reality, politicians spend their days surrounded by 
people ...

8.

Via: Pete Souza
... and by political adversaries and allies alike. 
Perhaps, instead of giving in to the frantic us-or-them discourse 
proffered by the media (Funeral selfies! Handshakes! Ted Cruz!), 
it's time that we acknowledge that conservative 
and liberal politicians spend more time together, 
and have more in common with one another, 
than we’d like to believe.