Photogabble » Politics

US Polls Open Today.

simon — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:41:10 +0000

Andrew Sullivan lists the above within his Daily Dish as his Campaign Sign Of The Day photo and it does appear to sum up what is actually happening in America. From todays BBC report on the US polls it looks like there has been a record turnout, I just hope that whom ever wins it actually does a good job this time. Not that it would be too difficult to beat Bush, putting him in power was like giving a five year old keys to a monster truck.

Joachim Lapotre: Fruit Seed Photography.

simon — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:03:41 +0000

The photo above from the French photographer Joachim Lapotre really took my attention when I first saw it simply because it is an oddity and as with all oddities, it stood out from others within his collection. While there is actually a Marshmallow Plant from which certain Marshmallow ingredients are found I do not believe that Lapotre was playing upon that comparison, rather the idea that Marshmallows are seeds from which you can grow more. An idea similar to the money tree concept, which while there are real money trees they don’t flower notes and coins – unfortunately.

This second photo is another by Lapotre which follows within the same line of thought, at first I believed this was a real melon segment which took away the original meaning shared between the two images. However on closer inspection I can see that it is actually a marshmallow piece that looks like a melon segment which adds another layer of meaning to this photo in comparison to the first. On its most basic level this is a photo of a marshmallow melon look-alike segment with a plant sprouting out of it. Going one level deeper the same theme as shown within the first photo become apparent; the idea that Marshmallows are seeds of the Marshmallow plant is apparent here to. However here the marshmallow actually looks like a segment of a real seed: the melon, something that makes you stop and think “is that really a marshmallow?”

Both photos are more than just an image within a frame, they are to myself works of art and have both been cleverly produced. I am very interested to learn how Lapotre put together the object, whether he just stuck some sprouts into the marshmallows or let them grow from the inside out. I may continue upon this line of thought and produce a series of my own.

Servailence nation.

simon — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:19:17 +0000

Congratulation England you have succeeded in becoming a nation dominated by the act of recording your’s and other peoples actions for the soul purpose of making money. I’m not talking about the government cameras watching what we do, here I am referring to the certain actions of Adam Blake and Hayley Byford which can be seen in the newspapers and around the Internet in various mediums. This pair of self serving “adults” claim to have caught popular BBC show Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson driving while using his mobile phone, they even have a photograph captured on a mobile phone to back up their claim oh the irony, or lack there-of. Now I wouldn’t be so aggravated by the situation if they had initially gone to the police with the evidence, not that I believe they should have taken the photo in the first place but if they wish to play policemen and prosecutor then who am I to deny them their little power trip. However this pair didn’t do that, had they done so then this wouldn’t have been a case for criticism as I would see them as doing what they think best but, and this is a very big sticking point; they did not go to the police first, in fact this pair didn’t even think to pass it along to the police their first port of call was the mass media. More specifically the Daily Mirror was their medium of choice and it was the newspaper that eventually passed the”evidence” along to the police once they had published the story of course.

The issue I have here is not that the pair took a photo of Clarkson apparently in breach of the law, it is that their first port of call was the media rather than the authorities which leads me to think that they only took the photo for the monetary gain they could get out of it by selling it to the media. We must then conclude that at no point did the pair believe what he had done should be prosecuted as if that had been their first thought the media would have found out from the authorities not the other way around! Under the current circumstances these events should remove any authenticity that the photo originally held and the case should not be brought against Clarkson.

Greed was declared a sin all those millennia ago for a reason and yet every day I see people falling into that trap, it’s a shame a great, great shame that this is what we as a civilization have come to.

When will the world see?

simon — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 15:50:21 +0000

Upon enrolment your university owns your soul.

simon — Tue, 15 May 2007 14:25:01 +0000

Imagine the following scenario: you sign up to a popular community website and become a contributing member sharing with others things you have created for peer review. After a couple of years or so one of your ideas are picked up outside of the community and after setting up your own company you become very rich, however that community comes after you demanding royalty payments because as you submitted it to that community for peer review they now own the intellectual rights to that work, any work you submitted to the community and even any work you created outside of the community of which you didn’t even share with the community. Sound like some greedy bullshit to you? If so I would agree.

Human logic dictates that if a person creates something then they believe they have the soul right to ownership over that thing, copyright law is is in their favour here as it protects anything you create from being copied by someone else without your consent. However the above scenario goes completely against that logic. If it were the case that you worked for a company then sure, it’s allowed you are being paid to come up with ideas that the company can profit from but in the case I gave you just signed up to a community to learn from it and submit your work for peer review to learn what to do better. Unfortunately small print is a bastard and that scenario wasn’t made up the truth of the matter is when you enrol into any university part of the contract between yourself and the establishment is that they own in full any intellectual property rights you claim ownership to while being a student.

That means that its just everything you submit to the university as part of your course they own the full rights to right? Yes but unfortunately there is more. I recently found out that it doesn’t matter if you submit material as part of your course, the university I attend claim full ownership over anything I create and profit from during the three years which I spend attending. Does this sound at all fair to you? I am paying them to teach me, again I am paying them! A popular community website deviantart introduced a similar clause into their terms and conditions small print which made them very unpopular with the community and caused an uproar during which a vast number of people left in disgust at the “greedy corporate monster” that the communities administration seemed to have become. I don’t see any such uproar happening in response to the similar clause in university enrolment, mostly due to people enrolling to university not even bothering to read the small print, I myself didn’t receive a copy until after I enrolled and even then saw no point in reading through a complex legal document as back then to me university appeared to just be an extension of school; how naive I was and what a pain in the arse hindsight is.

This can cause problems later on in life as any student alumni whom later on post graduation makes a lot of money from an idea which they produced while at university faces the big black cloud of uncertainty hanging over their head for the entire span of their career. Much in the same way as someone who suddenly becomes president of the United States hopes that all those hookers they slept with while young and stupid don’t go public with their story – it sounds stupid but that only illuminates the utter stupidity of the small print which we fail to read upon enrolling at university and the fact that it can wreck havoc with your life later on down the line when your university’s lawyers send you a notice demanding 90% of all gross profits from the idea that you came up with that they legally own all IC rights to, just because you thought it up while bored in a lecture.

Why are we spending years of our youth getting deeper and deeper in debt just to pay an administration while giving them the right to claim ownership over any and all work you produce while with them. It makes no logical sense to me and thus is pure and simple bullshit!

Petition to revoke the independence of the USA

simon — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 22:25:55 +0000

To the citizens of the United States of America, in the light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective today.

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories.

Except Utah, which she does not fancy.

Your new Prime Minister (The Right Honourable Tony Blair MP, for the 97.85% of you who have until now been unaware that there is a world outside your borders) will appoint a Minister for America without the need for further elections.

The House of Representatives and the Senate will be disbanded.

A questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
You should look up “revocation” in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up “aluminium.” Check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it.

The letter ‘U’ will be reinstated in words such as ‘favour’ and ‘neighbour’; skipping the letter ‘U’ is nothing more than laziness on your part. Likewise, you will learn to spell ‘doughnut’ without skipping half the letters.

You will end your love affair with the letter ‘Z’ (pronounced ‘zed’ not ‘zee’) and the suffix “ize” will be replaced by the suffix “ise.”

You will learn that the suffix ‘burgh’ is pronounced ‘burra’ e.g. Edinburgh. You are welcome to re-spell Pittsburgh as ‘Pittsberg’ if you can’t cope with correct pronunciation.

Generally, you should raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. Look up

Oprah: African Girls Deserve My Charity More than American Girls

simon — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 23:51:01 +0000

I was discussing or rather Camilla was telling me about how modern day culture appears to be based on materialistic ideals and greed, and how children appear to simply take Christmas for granted in that it has lost any magic it once had due to over-commercialization. It would appear that just like me Oprah agrees with her argument, see below:

Oprah Winfrey is firing back at critics of her decision to build a $40 million school complex in South Africa – saying she didn’t build it in the U.S. because inner-city kids here don’t appreciate the value of a free education.
“I became so frustrated with visiting inner-city schools that I just stopped going. The sense that you need to learn just isn’t there,” the TV talk-show maven says in the current issue of Newsweek.
“If you ask the kids what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don’t ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school.”
The tough talk comes as the famously philanthropic Winfrey unveils her Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa – a sprawling, 28-building complex for impoverished teens that features a yoga studio and beauty salon, among other luxuries.
The 22-acre complex has taken more than five years to build and has raised eyebrows in the U.S. and abroad, she said.
“I understand that many …feel that I’m going overboard, and that’s fine,” Winfrey said. “This is what I want to do. I wanted to take girls with that ‘it’ quality and give them an opportunity to make a difference in the world.”
Winfrey handpicked the 152 girls who will attend out of an application pool of more than 3,500. Winfrey has also supplied millions of dollars to educate needy children in the U.S. through the Oprah Winfrey Scholars program.

I for one agree with her, most children I know would rather have an ipod than go to school and learn, it is a very sad fact that in modern day western culture, our children have taken somthing so important as a free education for granted.

Source

NY Daily News

On Secret Societies and Freedom of the Press

simon — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 10:48:35 +0000

The very word secrecy is repugnant in a free and open society and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far out weigh the dangers which are sited to justify them. Even today there is little value in opposing the threat of an enclosed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today there is little value in ensuring the survival of our nation, if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be ceased upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment. That I do not intend to permit to the extent that it is in my control and no official of my administration, weather his rank is high or low, civilian or military should interpret my words here tonight as an excuse to censor the news, to stifle decent, to cover up our mistakes or to withhold from the press or the public the facts that they deserve to know. For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that rely’s primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence. On infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on gorillas by night instead of army’s by day. It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations. Its preparations are concealed not published, its mistakes are buried not headlined, its dissenters are silenced not praised, no expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed. No president should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding and from that understanding comes support or opposition and both are necessary. I’m not asking your newspapers to support an administration but I am asking your help in the tremendous task of informing and alerting the American people for I have complete confidence in the response and dedication of our citizens whenever they are fully informed. I not only could not stifle controversy among your readers I welcome it. This administration intends to be candid about its errors, for as a wise man once said “an error doesn’t become a mistake until you refuse to correct it”. We intend to accept full responsibility for our errors and we expect you to point them out when we miss them. Without debate, without criticism no administration and no country can succeed and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian law maker Solan decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy and that is why our press was protected by the first amendment. The only business in America specifically protected by the constitution not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and sentimental, not to simply give the public what it wants but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises’ and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion. This means greater coverage and analysis of international news for it is no longer far away and foreign but close at hand and local. It means greater attention to improved understanding of the news as well as improved transmission and it means finally that government at all levels must meet its obligation to provide you with the fullest possible information outside the narrowest limits of national security. So it is to the printing press, to the recorder of mans deeds, to the keeper of his conscience, the courier of his news that we look for strength and assistance confident that with your help man will be what he was born to be: free and independent.

J.F.Kennedy

My Thoughts

From what I have read and that people have told me, JFK was a great man and the best president of the United States in the past 120 years. JFK defied the central bank executive order 11110 which if still in use would have reduced Americas national debt (see link to find out how), it could be speculated that he was killed due to his defiance. He was a great president, a man who fought for the people and America need another president like him.

Although blandrys from digg.com has a point with his response to someone saying that JFK’s speech states that everything happening now is un-American:

RE: “That’s right, old JFK says everything that’s happening now is basically…well… unamerican”.

Hmmm… let’s see… a continent full of gun crazed, racist, brainwashed religious
freaks denying evolution, torturing POWs, wiretapping it’s own citizens, killing
and raping across all continents in the name of “freedom”, worshipping money
and capitalism, locking up millions of it’s own citizens for smoking a little herb,
refusing to sign treaties to slow down global warming, keeps building nukes while
forbidding others to do so…
Nope, sorry. Everything that

Saddam Execution

simon — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 15:28:13 +0000

I refuse to defend the ex-president of Iraq in light of the many horrific injustices he took part in and the crimes against humanity which he lead. However I still feel that it was morally wrong to hand him over to Iraqi authorities so as to be put to death. I question you, what good will it do the Iraqi people to kill their ex-leader, the Americans had already taken away everything he had, then they went and took away his life.

I’m sorry if this offends but I do not believe any good will come to the Iraqi people from this. Even the American president George Bush can be quoted as having said “Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq” (1) which only a few months prior had been the soul reason to stage the execution. If the execution would not in fact bring peace, or any good what so ever then why even carry one out in the first place. The most obvious answer would be for the purpose of revenge, but then why would America want to taint themselves with such an act by handing their prisoner of war over? The answer is that they don’t and this is why Bush has made it clear not only to his own people but to the whole world that this was the action of the Iraqi people and “an important milestone on Iraq’s course to becoming a democracy” (1), therefore exempting himself and his “government” from any blame – a very clever tactic.

I don’t believe any good can come of this killing because it was carried out as an act of revenge and has angered many people around the world whom shall want to exert revenge against those who carried out the killing. The result of this is that due to America placing the blame on Iraq’s new government for making the decision (when it is pretty obvious that it was Americas decision) then there will be more, not less violence in Iraq. But not only that, there shall be an increased risk to all Americans around the world, not just on their own soil but when they visit foreign countries they shall be big red targets just screaming to be kidnapped, raped or murdered – this also goes for all Westerners whose country or origin took part in the execution. Iraq is still not safe, and now the rest of the world isn’t either.

The killing of Saddam Hussein may have brought joy to those whom he had caused suffering, but to those who still had some respect for him and those who opposed it on moral principia and the fact that it appeared to be simply an American action: there was outrage. In Srinagar Kashmiri protesters shouted slogans in front of a burning effigy of U.S. President George Bush during a protest against the execution, they aren’t protesting against their new government, simply the fact that it appears to them to not be a government for the people of Iraq, more a government for the corporate interests of the United States of America.

I must state, I have no compassion for the man. He did a great many evil things, however I do not believe that Capital punishment should be regarded as a part of democracy – in fact to hang someone is downright barbaric and I am shocked that the American Government allied themselves with such an act. Many of the worlds leaders have officially stated their disagreement at the hanging as not only is the timing ill advised in light of the regions political problems but that Capital Punishment has been abolished in most civilized places on earth (Cambodia, Finland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom).

I think it is a good step the Iraqi people bringing their former leader to justice in a “fair” court abiding by their constitution and their laws. All dictators must answer for their crimes but I for one can not support this decision as I am against the death penalty. No crime is so great so as to lead another man into sin simply to correct prior evil deeds in his miss guided eyes. There will be a day when hindsight teaches all those involved that their actions were wrong – but for now let them rejoice, they have made their beds. Now let them sleep in them.

References & Source

“Blandede internationale reaktioner p

Long time coming

simon — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 19:23:58 +0000

It does seem that I have been neglecting my duties here on photogabble and subsequently the number of visitors the site has been receiving has taken a hit. The reason for my slight departure is as per usual work based, I have a lot of work to be doing as well as a fully fledged social life – going out every day, working hard to asitain a 2:1 average and seeing my wonderful Camilla as much as possible has caused me to forget about the website. Unfortunately the neglect is beginning to show seeing as my last post was late in October and wasn't even a fully fledged post; more simply just an announcement.

Dear Coffinman

Recently the website received several comments by the alias Coffinman on one of my posts I wrote a while back. I must admit it came to me as somewhat of a surprise that he found this website and read the post which I admit unfairly slated him – however I agree with what he had said with respect to where I chose to slate him. I believe that he would much rather I had directed my anger towards him on youtube rather than exert it here on my personal blog. I feel that my choice to publish my frustration here rather on youtube was a smart one as I didn't wish to at the time argue with him I simply wanted to expel my anger in a positive manor – however what I should have done is re-read and edited what I wrote, because it is quite obvious that what I had written was thought up on the spot and under the influence of anger and frustration.

Since Coffinman got in touch with me a couple of days ago, I replied to him with an email essentially agreeing with him that my comments at the time where harsh and apologizing for calling him an idiot. It has been a couple of days and he has still neglected to get in touch with a reply.

The dispute itself was about one of the films on his channel which attempted to disprove the moon landings, one of the reasons they stated was that you wouldn't have been able to travel though the Van Allen Belts due to the radiation found within them – I disagreed with and called up as an idiotic suggestion based on my knowledge of science. As far as I am aware the Van Allen belts are made up of alpha radiation and beta radiation caught in Earths magnetic fields, both forms of radiation are easy to shield against and at most you would only require a few millimeters of stiff card to block them. This can be proven in a laboratory and I have carried out this experiment before where you have a beta radiation source such as tritium and a Geiger counter you shall pick up a lot of radiation coming from the source on the geiger counter, however as soon as you place some stiff card inbetween the source and the counter it will pick up nothing, the card is effectively shielding the counter from the source, if this happens with beta radiation then alpha radiation which has less power is going to require less shielding. It must also be noted that clothing provides some protection against beta radiation.

With this knowledge the notion that the moon landings couldn't have happened due to people not being able to survive the radiation in the Van Allen Belts appears to sound absurd. Not only did the craft at the time provide adequate shielding, but the space suits themselves provide adequate shielding, therefore we can come to the conclusion that the Van Allen Belts posed no threat to the astronaut's lives.

I don't know if Coffinman actually believes the conspiracy theory and even if he did I should not have called him an idiot simply because I think the moon landings conspiracy theory is stupid – for that I do apologize and hope that Coffinman does get in touch with a reply to the email I sent him.