Cox & Forkum

I haven't weighed in on this particular scandal over the weekend, because I've been doing my utmost to relax and keep the ol' blood pressure down. But now it's Monday (albeit a holiday throughout most of Canada), and it's back to business.

There are actually two parts to the sad sorry tale of Al-Reuters: The photoshopping by a Lebanese photographer, and the death threat to Charles Johnson.

A Reuters employee was suspended after using the company's internet access to issue a threat saying "I look forward to the day when you pigs get your throats cut."

The e-mail was sent to Charles Johnson, who maintains the of Little Green Footballs blog.

Johnson said, "This particular death threat is a bit different from the run of the mill hate mail we get around here, because an IP lookup on the sender reveals that he/she/it was using an account at none other than Reuters News," adding "I think it's more than fair to say that Reuters has a big problem," according to YNet News.

Reuters spokesman Ed Williams said that "I can confirm that an employee has been suspended pending further investigation. The individual was not an employee of Reuters' news division."

Reuters Retracts Lebanon Photo

Relatedly, Reuters said it has retracted a photograph of Beirut, Lebanon, and credited to Adnan Hajj, after discovering that it was altered - and as reported at the Little Green Footballs blog. The photograph had shown two plumes of black smoke rising out of buildings in Beirut.

The retracted photograph was titled "Smoke billows from burning buildings destroyed during an overnight Israeli air raid on Beirut's suburbs August 5, 2006. Many buildings were flattened during the attack. REUTERS/Adnan Hajj"

Charles has delved deeper into the photshopping by Adnan Hajj and wonders if he is in league with the man known as "Green Helmet". He also reports that Reuters has pulled all photos by Hajj.

LGF is slow today. Remember that patience is a virtue.