Posted on 04/23/2004 2:18:15 AM PDT by kattracks
A woman who was fired from her job as a cargo handler in Kuwait on Wednesday for photographing caskets of GIs killed in Iraq gave her friend the rights to the picture and the friend has retained an agent to help sell the photo.Tami Silicio, who worked for the Maytag Aircraft Corporation, took the picture on April 7 in direct violation of Pentagon rules while working for the U.S. Government at the Kuwait airport.
Silicio, who is not a professional photographer, asked her friend, Amy Katz, to forward the image to The Seattle Times, whose decision to publish the picture last weekend kicked off a firestorm of controversy.
"Tami wanted to share the image with the American people," Katz insisted, saying her friend thought it was a way to honor the fallen troops.
But Thursday editions of the Sydney Morning Herald report: "On Wednesday Ms. Silicio engaged an agent, who offered her photograph to newspaper outlets for $1400 for one-time, non-exclusive use."
Appearing on MSNBC's "Scarborough Country," Ms. Katz staunchly denied that there was any financial motive behind the decision to sell the photo.
"I know that Tami absolutely did not try to sell the photo because she doesn't own the photo. She gave the rights to me. . . I have the rights and I contacted an agent due to the overwhelming response, so I needed help dealing with this."
But Katz also said she felt responsible for her friend's plight - both Silicio and her husband were fired - because she encouraged her to go public with the picture and had contacted the Times.
"So this money that I am collecting is going into a fund that can be used in the future for either charitable purposes or to help pay Tami's mortgage," Katz said, "if she takes it."
So far, however, Silicio has refused to accept any money and instead asked her friend to establish a fund for military familes.
"I don't want to have anything to do with the money, either," Katz insisted to MSNBC. "That's why I have no idea how much anyone is paying for anything. I have no idea what's been brought in."
Silicio's employer Maytag issued a statement Thursday saying it "fully concurred" with the Pentagon policy banning photographs of GI caskets.
(And for all of you who hate AOL, so do I, but my husband doesn't want to change. Please spare me the comments on it. Thank you.)
Maytag Aircraft? Is this the same folks who make the washing machines? Stuff her in and put it on heavy duty cycle.
Silicio was let go (Wednesday) for violating U.S. government and company regulations
"I feel like I was hit in the chest with a steel bar and got my wind knocked out. I have to admit I liked my job, and I liked what I did," Silicio said.
Maytag also fired David Landry, a co-worker who recently wed Silicio.
CNBC went as far as getting a mother from Maine who just lost a son in Iraq on .....then had her debate the editor from the Seattle Times....the editor lectured her on the good points of doing this.... the mother was not happy.
Have you considered switching husbands?
When I am babysitting (like I will be doing later today) I can do housework in between pages of different threads. HA!
Katz said that Silicio lost a son to a brain tumor about 5 years ago, and when she saw the caskets she thought how difficult it would be for the mothers of the dead soldiers to be so far away from their own sons, and to imagine their bodies being treated like "cargo"... Silicio was moved by the sight of the flag-draped caskets, and thought that the families would be comforted to know how respectfully the bodies were being treated. She sent a single photo to her friend (Katz), who felt compelled to share the photo with the Seattle Times. They advised her to get an agent because this photo would become huge news. At least that is the story Katz told last night... She definitely sounded a bit cagey about the sequence of events and what the money would be used for, but it was hard to tell if she was exploiting this for money from the beginning or if she was just naive, and hadn't anticipated the questions and thought her answers through before her MSNBC appearance.
That is actually a very good response. While there is no other side to what the press is trying to do, there is perhaps another side to the issue between Silicio and the Pentagon.
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