P060809PS-0350 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Grazi Galvão off-line [deleted] says:

First! Obama!!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

Apparently Yahoo and the Obama Administration Don't Believe in Free Speech
Submitted by davidswanson on Sat, 2009-06-06 05:49. Media
[Editor's note: Photos of torture and war crimes can always be found here, so there's really no need to get corporate sites to host them, although posting them on a White House site could be useful.]

By Shepherd Johnson

I was on flickr, a service of Yahoo.com, making comments on several
photos of the Official Whitehouse Photostream with the following text and image:

"The Obama White House is supporting a new bill (sponsored by Sens.
Lindsey Graham & Joe Lieberman) whose sole purpose is allowing the government to suppress any 'photograph taken between September 11, 2001 and January 22, 2009' relating to the treatment of detainees in the 'War on Terror.' In other words, Obama wants Congress to change the FOIA so that the courts can't compel release of any more torture photos."

www.flickr.com/photos/28432909@N05/2668981958

Here is the same photo from another website:
www.antiwar.com/photos/perm/abughraib2.jpg

I had posted it on several of the "official Whitehouse photos" in the comments section. At about 11:00pm on June 05, 2009 my flickr account was terminated. No explanation or anything. One second I was on and then I could not access my account. When I got back onto flickr using another account I went back to the Whitehouse site and all of my postings had been scrubbed. They were gone. I had about a years worth of work on that account and they just terminated my account with no warning. Some of the photos I had on the account had no back ups so they are now gone forever.

www.flickr.com/photos/24153209@N06

Apparently, flickr is OK with censorship and apparently so is the
Whitehouse staff and the Obama administration. I find it rather ironic that I was making a comment on the Obama administration's support for a censorship bill when I find myself being censored by both Yahoo and the Obama administration. It is also apparent that the Obama administration wishes to hide the criminal acts of the Bush administration by supporting the Graham/Lieberman bill.

This is unfortunate, so many people voted for Barack Obama because of his platform of Hope & Change, however many are now waking up to the fact that words like "hope" and "change" are really nothing more than campaign rhetoric used to solicit votes from an ill-informed and lazy populace. Where is the change? Barack Obama is looking more and more like George Bush every day.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

*Blueberry Pie says:

johnsonshepherd you are so annoying... no one care about your shit

(and your a lazy photographer)
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

M@rt!n.. says:

hi Barack !
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

lat454205 / Lisa says:

Another great one.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

dustinhenderlong says:

His soles are clean.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Roberto Hunger Junior says:

Perfect
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Dimas Filho (disconnected until 2010) says:

hi Obama!!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

digitalyeti says:

@johnsonshepherd

I would believe this specifc forum is more about the photos posted and discussion pertaining them, not to serve as a political soapbox for whoever wanders into it and feels they have something to air. Propriety, my friend. There's a time and place for everything.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

dede778 says:

Hello. Mr. President !
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

*Rosemea says:

Welcome back!!
I hope you had a great weekend!!
How does Michelle and the girls got to France
when you take Pres. airplane?
Do they have another 2 aiplanes.. for the wife.
You don't have to tell..
Just curious!!
XOXOXOXO
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

••SEMA•• says:

verry gooodd ;))
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

marymrevis EMPRESS OF EXPLORE! says:

Excellent shot of our leader hard at work.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

kolored says:

lol.. hard at work with his feet up on the desk.

finally somewhat of a nice, honest photograph.. but still not good enough to be a fave.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@digitalyeti

Oh, I am so sorry, I didn't realize the comments section was reserved for sycophants. You lot may be content with Obama swallowing cheeseburger after cheeseburger but I would like something done about tha horrible state of our country. The first comments I posted on this photostream did pertain to the photos being mentioned, I posted about Obama's Cairo speech and al Qaeda, guess what? those comments were scrubbed. Censorship by the Whitehouse and flickr. My subsequent comments are pertaining to the torture photos. If this is not the time to have a dialogue about this digitalyeti, then when? I'm sick of being force fed photos of Bo the Obama puppy by Peter Souza the Whitehouse propagandist. Enough is enough, let's see some REAL change Mr. Obama not more of this Bush administration redux.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Fabian Stürtz says:

great shot
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@Blueberry Pie

Nice language. I checked out your photostream, you're no Ansel Adams either.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Im not Angry says:

still makes me smile seeing him sitting there

nice shot
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

gcardinal says:

Nice shot :))

and @johnsonshepherd get a life, you are annoying.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

geertfotografeert says:

One of the best shots Pete!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Something For Kate says:

Really great shot! Fab angle, composition and shallow DoF. Man, I wish I could spend just a day being a White House photographer!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Kiki FL says:

Love the shot and instant favorite!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

kolored says:

dude.. you posted that same obnoxiously long comment on several pics. quit spamming. if you want to have a dialogue then write something sensible from scratch.. you're simply provoking flickr into banning you and then whining after they do. not cool.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

It is a shame that you would denigrate my freedom to express myself, nay my 1st Amendment right to free speech, by calling it "spamming". Way to shut down the discussion.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

sgtpepper23 says:

and the spamming continues...
There must be a way to report this doofus.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Renidroc says:

Great to see these photos and great camera :-)
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@sgtpepper23

Why don't you call Homeland Security? You are not interested in discussion, only cheerleading.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Richard- says:

Welcome back Mr. President. Some of us are glad you're here and I see you've worn out yet another pair of shoes walking around Europe.

PS: Don't feed the troll folks.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Mirko M.Photography Prato! says:

Obama uno di noi!!!!!Lo stimo tantissimo che porti la pace in tutto il mondo!
Mirko.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

THROUGH_HAWAIIAN_EYES says:

@johnsonshepard:

~I would rather be a meaningful specific than a wandering generality.~
Author KNOWN

~Remember when you point one finger at someone you have 3 fingers pointing back directly at you.~
Author KNOWN

You are viewing a photograph of the President of the United States
of America. If he wants to put his finger up his nose, he has the RIGHT
to do so. We are guests here, privileged to see these photographs
made public on flickr by the Official White House Photography Staff.

"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. "
~Martin Luther King, Jr.~

Aloha Mr. President,
Moanalani Ke`alohilani Roquette :)
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

kolored says:

it is a shame that you would abuse your right to free speech..
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

digitalyeti says:

@johnsonshepherd

There are many and certainly far more apropos forums on the interwebs to discuss the issues you bring up. No one is trying to stifle anyone's freedom of speech, but there is something to be said about staying on topic given the subject of this particular forum. This forum is about photos from the White House.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Mr. Chapel says:

It would be cool under the image:

"Man, try to understand,dont mess whit me,I am the BOSS!"
:)))

Respect,I'm far away from america,but i1m really happy for him!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Scott Barlow says:

Excellent portrait and DoF. Nice work!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

stevej_1960 says:

Great shot. The lines are already wearing onto our President's face. His eyes seem to display a weary intensity that few see in the passing glanses seen on television.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Vincent Wang Yean Perng says:

Haha, Mr Obama's feet almost look as though they're not a part of him in this photo.

Oh by the way, since this image is posted on the internet (therefore it's international), there are some cultures that view showing of the soles of the feet/shoes as disrespectful.

I'm not one of them but I've been told that there are such cultures around.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

TKoutdoor says:

Caption Contest?

"Man, I'm telling you... I've got just the car for you! You'll love it! American made... Straight from GM! Yeah, that's right, Government Motors! I'll have to take your offer to the boss... One moment please... Michelle, you got a minute? Another guy with an offer on that 2009 GM Hybrid... :-)

Nice photo Pete!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

lolbrandon says:

Wow, Pete, you've got the best photography gig in the world! And you really deserve it, too. These photos are amazing.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@THROUGH_HAWAIIAN_EYES

That is the real question, now isn't it? Is this an Official Government site or something else entirely. This photostream is bought and paid for by tax dollars, so ma'am, I am not a guest of it, I am one of it's investors. It is in essence, public property, I can say and do as I please, this is still a free country is it not? I am questioning this considering the events of my account being deleted and my comments censored? At what price freedom?
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

*Summer's Rose - Merry Christmas! says:

OK Johnsonshepard, time to go to another stream or better yet do something constructive instead of your gibberish here...like watch CNN or MSNBC! Dude, you are one angry indivudual!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Blue387 says:

He put his feet up on the Resolute desk!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@kolored

You have it all backwards kolored, an abuse of free speech would be to make campaign promises to obtain votes and then not deliver on those promises. An abuse of free speech would be to tell the American people that the crimes of the Bush administration are in the past and that we should for get about them. Are we a nation of laws Mr Obama? Why haven't Bush/Cheney et al been prosecuted? Apparently we ARE NOT a nation of laws. Supression of photos which depict children being raped in Iraqi prisons. What kind of man are you Mr Obama that you would condone such a thing? Not very much of one.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

blake.fawley says:

i thought he was holding a wheat thin when i saw the thumbnail haha
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@digitalyeti

Are you reading what you are typing? Mr Obama pledged a more open government. How open is that government if his administration can't even take criticism on a site that same government set up. No, this is the perfect place for me to make comments to my government about the abuse of prisoners and the PHOTOGRAPHS of these abuses, which the Obama administration is try to hide. Who knows maybe ole Pete will take up some of these concerns with the President after having read this, not likely, but who knows.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@Summer's Rose

Have you ever stood up for anything in your whole life? All indicators point to "no". Political discussion doesn't seem quite your speed, stick to American Idle.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

J.T. PHOTO (Boas Festas - Happy xmas) says:

Godspeed mr. Obama, Godspeed.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

kolored says:

not really.. what you're talking about is called "politics". besides, i'm sure that obama knows lots of things now that he didn't when he was campaigning. anyone who takes everything politicians say to heart is naive. what you can do is wait another 4 years and vote for ron paul or whoever you think would be a better choice. posting obnoxiously long manifestos that irritate people will not get you very far.

besides.. what are you all worked up about? bush is out of office.. leave the man alone, he did what he thought was best.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Digammo says:

Looks like he stepped in one of Bo's White House lawn mines. Or he;s been tap dancing too much.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

WinaVD says:

AWSOME Obama!! Awesome shot!!!very cool style !!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@kolored

I think you are wrong, kolored. Clearly somebody at the Whitehouse read my comments about al Qaeda and Obama's Cairo speech. They were deleted. Anybody else gotten a comment about their comment from Pete Souza, his staff or the Whitehouse? Deleting my comments IS a comment. And it reflects directly back upon the Whitehouse and Mr. Obama himself. It's just not the cheerleading they had come to expect from everybody else. Why do you continue to comment on my comments kolored? It's obviously gotten me very far. Oh and kolored? Take a look around, these are photos of the President of the United States, if that ISN'T political, then I don't know what is.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

LadyB! says:

Nice blazer...
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Luke Dukem says:

@johnsonshepherd
This is not a political forum, the point of the white house feed is just to publish photos of what the president is doing. That is why no one here cares about what you are saying. People are not here to talk politics or hear it they just want to look at photos. If you want to find people who care or want to talk politics go to a political board and discuss your thoughts.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@Luke Dukem

Are you completely daft, man? Not a political forum? Who is that in that picture, Luke? Seriously, answer me, who is that pictured above? Unreal how much people are willing to deceive themselves. And if you don't care, then don't comment on what I have to say.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

robertparks33 says:

@johnsonshepherd
dude just shut up
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

ColleenM says:

johnsonshepherd
You seem to have confused a privately owned website (Flickr) with a democracy.

One of the rules you have to follow when you join Flickr is
Don’t vent your frustrations, rant, or bore the brains out of other members.. See the Community Guidelines (link at the bottom of every Flickr page) for other rules that Flickr enforces.

The First Amendment applies to government, not private corporations. Flickr/Yahoo can make any rules they like about what kinds of speech they allow/disallow here.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

kolored says:

your comments were not deleted because of their "controversial" content.. they were deleted because you posted pre-written manifestos to several photos. that constitutes abuse. if those comments were about dallas cowboys cheerleaders refusing to eat pork on tuesdays, they would have been deleted as well. are you seriously that stupid or are you just being a troll? if it's the latter, please stop or you'll fuck this up for everyone.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

jakerome says:

johnson,

you should email Flickr (using the contact form) and ask them why your account was deleted. If they say it was for a "community guidelines" violation, write back and ask them to specify which one.

It's possible your account was deleted (and comments scrubbed) for posting spam, but that's just a total guess on my part-- I have no inside information. Would be interested in hearing why your account was deleted if Flickr responds.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@jakerome

I tried contacting them. But to no avail. Typical end around that you would get from a corporation.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@ColleenM

Actually, the 1st Amendment applies to the entire country. Nice corporatist attitude you have there though. Maybe O has a place for you in his administrration considering how he is the Corporatist's President. Bought, sold and paid for. Please ColleenM, give me an example of an appropriate remark, go ahead type away. Would it look something like this:

AWSOME Obama!! Awesome shot!!!very cool style !!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Brad Filice says:

He is so fresh.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@kolored

Nice language. Off topic, man, speaking of trolls, I'm waiting for your buddy icon to sprout fangs and start howling at the moon. LOL! Seriously, it's a funny picture.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Rinaldo_ says:

Superb photo, Mr. Souza!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

ColleenM says:

The full text of the first amendment. It only applies to Congress
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Congress shall make no law.

Anyone but Congress (and by judicial extension through court decisions, lawmakers at other levels of government such as state legislatures and city councils) can forbid any sort of speech they want.

Private corporations are allowed to set whatever rules they like for use of their services, as long as the rules do not discriminate on certain enumerated criteria, such as race, creed, etc.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

PhD9 says:

Nobody's right if everybody's wrong.
ColleenM is right that Flickr has the right to delete accounts for any purpose it sees fit and johnsonshepard is right that there's no reason not to try to start a policy discussion in a forum such as this one.

I, on the other hand, just find it intriguing that Obama feels compelled to gesture with his hands even when he's on the phone.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Jay Corvid says:

@johnsonshepard
You clearly aren't getting any support here (perchance due to people coming here to look at pictures and not get in a political debate) so feel free to move along. Perhaps you could try, and this is crazy I know, going to a website where people want to discuss politics? There are thousands of them.

Now if you don't mind, I'm off to Amazon.com so I can jot down my feelings on religious intolerance as a buyer review of a gallon sized galvanized bucket.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

jakerome says:

Anyone but Congress (and by judicial extension through court decisions, lawmakers at other levels of government such as state legislatures and city councils) can forbid any sort of speech they want.

Actually, that's wrong Colleen. One of the 14th-16th amendments specifically extended all constitutional protections to all citizens of all states, and no government entity is allowed to pass laws restricting the freedom of speech as described in the 1st Amendment.

Yahoo! can do whatever they want of course.

I looked through many of Obama's photos, and my guess is that Yahoo! deleted the account for spamming, which violates the Flickr terms of use. The last dozen White House photos had the exact same description of them, suggesting to me that Johnson's former account did the same. When spammers have their accounts deleted, all their comments are scrubbed, too.

--
Seen on my Flickr home page. (?)
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

jakerome says:

Actually, I may be misreading what Colleen wrote. But to be clear:

neither congress nor any other government entity may pass laws restricting the freedom of speech.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

//alexandre\\ says:

Obama yyeah !!!!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

gLouis says:

nice dof, excellent light, nice photo.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@ColleenM

What are you a Constitutional scholar? LOL!
The facts are these: I feel I have been wronged. I have choosen this forum to air my greivances as this is where the transgressions against me took place. Photography plays a part in all of these issues. I see no notice on what is or is not appropriate topic for dicussion here. Therefore I will assume that dissenting voices are aloud dispite the chorus from the Obama cheerleaders.

Do I feel my dialogue is appropriate to this forum? Obviously I do.

Can flickr or the Whitehouse delete my posts? Obviously they can.

Is it their right to do so? I don't know, I think the appropriate question here is who owns this information.(Is it the Whitehouse vis a vis U.S. taxpayers or is it flickr?)

Will the Whitehouse or flickr delete my posts? They have made it abundantly clear that they will.

Is it censorship on the part of the Whitehouse and flickr? Oh, you better believe it is.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

kolored says:

there is no censorship.. once again. you spammed, they deleted. simple as that. the content of your spam is irrelevant. nobody is censoring you, you're not that important.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

jakerome says:

Johnson, here's the thing.

If you have something to say, say it. Don't copy & paste the same thing onto tens or hundreds of photos. That's spam, it's annoying to other Flickr users and Flickr allowed anyone to spam the comments, they would soon be overrun with people selling Viagra and telling folks how to get a free iPod.

Say your piece, but just say it once. Or once a day.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

jakerome says:

Finally, the operative question is really this: did Flickr delete the account (a) because of the content of the message, or (b) because the message was posted dozens of times? Only Flickr knows for sure, but considering how many political rants are posted here every day without problem, and considering how many spammers are deleted every day, I'm going to guess it was (b).

You're welcome to believe otherwise, but I think it's counterproductive if you make that your cause.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@kolored

Clearly I am as you are stalking my posts. Yeah, pictures of prisoner abuse and torture done in your name(I assume you are American) are irrelevant. Have you completely lost all of your humanity? And if it's spam as you express and I assume you think these consequent posts are spam, then why have these posts stood yet the other posts were deleted?

Look I get that your guy(Obama) won and that you are happy and gushing over his Presidency. I wanted Obama to be my guy too, heck, I think he's a nice guy, much nicer than Bush. But you know what? He clearly has not made good on several campaign promises, he has thrown the LGBT community under the bus, he hasn't made good on ending the wars in Iraq and on top of all this, he covers for the war criminal George W. Bush.

Again I ask, are we a nation of laws? It's amazing that Americans aren't wandering around in a haze proclaiming that don't know the difference between right wrong. Obama clearly has not lead by example. So Mr. President I ask you, what is the difference between right and wrong? Is raping Iraqi children to gain intelligence wrong Mr. President? Is it?
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

natsncats says:

Great shot Pete! And johnsonshepherd, please go away...

--
Seen in my contacts' photos. (?)
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@jakerome

It would be impossible for me to spam this forum as I am on dial up, my posts about the Cairo speech, I made on several photos. Then the posts I made concerning the torture legislation, the Graham/Lieberman bill in the Senate, I made on several photos, then poof. gone. That my friend, is censorship. There are also spam filters on flickr that prompt you if you make to many posts too quickly. But good of you to play along and try to diminish this important issue by calling it spam. It's a shame that so many on here would stifle free discussion. America has truly lost it's way and it's evident in the comments section for this photograph. Truly disgusting in the mob attitude provided here.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Sarasnee says:

Even if wasn't spam, Yahoo is a private company and you agreed to their guidelines by accepting the Terms of Service. Doing a quick look at the community guidelines they uphold, for instance, it is included that you will not "vent your frustrations, rant, or bore the brains out of other members."

I think you could have violated all three of those Terms.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@natsncats/Working the next 7 days straight, oy!

Off topic, your username is a trainwreck. It's kinda funny though.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

jakerome says:

Way to win friends and influence people Johnson. You continue to insult people that offer you help and ignore well-meaning advice from other Flickr users on ways to make your point without putting your account at risk.

It's that attitude that turn people off from you, not the content o your posts. Until you realize that, you are doomed to lecture an empty hall.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@Sarasnee

Did you know that you also have to comply with the Patriot Act as per the Yahoo! terms of Service agreement? I'll bet a lot of people didn't.

info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/utos-173.h tml

provide material support or resources (or to conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, or ownership of material support or resources) to any organization(s) designated by the United States government as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

Well at least they have a alot in common with Obama who also unconditionally supported the Patriot Act:

www.zcommunications.org/zmag/viewArticle/1408 9

Never mind that Obama voted to re-authorize the repressive PATRIOT Act. Or that he voted for the appointment of the war criminal Condaleeza Rice to (of all things) Secretary of State. Or that he opposed Senator Russ Feingold’s (D-WI) move to censure the Bush administration after the president was found to have illegally wiretapped U.S. citizens. Or that he shamefully distanced himself from fellow Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin’s forthright criticism of U.S. torture practices at Guantanamo. Or that he refuses to foreswear the use of first-strike nuclear weapons against Iran.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

kolored says:

heh.. don't flatter yourself, nobody is stalking you. these comments are showing up in my feed, and when i see that, i respond.

perhaps you don't understand the unwritten and written guidelines of acceptable behavior on the web, specifically on flickr.

if you want to make comments, go right ahead. if you want to say something negative about obama or this administration, go right ahead. you wouldn't be the first. i've been criticizing wh photographers for weeks now on this stream... frankly because i don't really like the job that they're doing. i have also criticized obama... who i did not vote for. in fact, i disagree with 80-90% of what he has said and done in office.

but you on the other hand, are crossing the line by taking a pre-written, obnoxiously long manifesto and plastering it all over this stream on photos that have absolutely nothing to do with the contents of your ramblings.

the spam is the first comment you made on this photo... because you also pasted the same comment on 10 other photos. is it really that difficult for you to understand?
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

mosippy says:

Love the perspective on this one. No FUTAB for Obama, though. ;)
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

sgtpepper23 says:

can flickr delete this johnson fool already?
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

spookas says:

Dudes, if a guy posts some irrelevant drivel, why respond to him? johnsonshepard may insist that freedom of speech necessitates belligerence but you don't have to play his game.

Anyway. Nice photo and all yada yada. But I hope part of this relaxed phone conversation included something about certain military occupations of certain territories.

Although I admit it would be an awkward aside in an otherwise pleasant conversation between heads of state.

(Now THERE's a topic to wrangle with for 80 comments. Not this "flickr is censoring me, I'm such a victim" nonsense).
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

natsncats says:

Good point, and it might be time to use this useful phrase: Do not feed...
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@jakerome

jake,
I don't want to be your friend. You are just some guy who makes unfounded comments on the internet. You see, jake, I'm not some politician who will blow smoke up your ass, I really don't care at all about you, the only reason I am responding to your posts is because you continue to respond to mine. And as for kolored, who is afraid that my comments will get this comments section shut down, I say, don't be under any delusion that I have any power whatsoever to make the descion to shut this comments section down. I think Pete Souza is a horrible person to be working in the Office of the Whitehouse Press Secretary. Censorship is something that should be abhorred and scorned in this country. Shame on Pete Souza, shame on Yahoo! and shame on Obama.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Richard- says:

I repeat, don't feed the troll. Ignore him, her, or it.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

I love it, you all just want to disappear me. Extra ordinary rendition. Where should I be disappearred to? Gitmo? I swear, the Obama zombies look more and more like Bushbots everyday.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

kolored says:

yea.. it kinda just spiraled out and became a beast of its own. whatever. it's not that big of a deal.

on a serious note.. if idf were to pull out tonight, the west bank would be completely taken over by hamas thugs before the break of dawn. thoughts?
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

annagarcia says:

This is an amazing shot!

---
Please don't feed the troll!

This is, after all a place for photo sharing, is it not? :)
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@Richard

it? You are calling me an "it"? Way to dehumanize me. Thanks. Are you in the U.S. military because I understand that U.S. military personell dehumanize their targets before they attack them. I wonder how many Afghani and Pakistani people Obama has dehumanized. He has certainly bombed enough of them already. How many more have to die, Mr Obama?
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

*Summer's Rose - Merry Christmas! says:

Hahahaha...Johnsonsheperd...NOT!!! I VOTED for Obama...so go on Rush's stream!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

spookas says:

First off, I'm not one to believe in absolute fatalism, and I think that kind of mentality - if this happens then this is bound to happen - can be paralyzing and ultimately reactionary.

Having said that, I haven't honestly given a full think-through of the implications of a full pulling-out on the part of Israel's military forces and I don't necessarily advocate such a move (definitely not overnight). And really, does my opinion tangibly count on this? I have no say in the matter.

My point was, mainly, that Obama used to be fairly critical of Israel's human rights record, and now he is reinforcing the status quo of his predecessors. It's a disheartening example of populism, from a man who has moved many by his genuineness and idealism.

In the broader context, I'm concerned about Obama's treatment by media as a sort of entertainment figure. And, for his part, I feel a lot of Obama's friendly posturing is high on showy rhetoric and low on action. Friendly chit-chat with Israel (or Egypt or whomever else) is a nice stepping stone, but it would be better to stop providing tense nations with the instruments for the escalation of their conflicts.

(I say this fully recognizing that one person, even president, cannot singlehandedly disengage the military-industrial complex).

Particularly, I'm concerned that a lot of the reaction to this photo has been "oh good photo" and "cute to see the president with his feet on the desk", with little regard given to the potential gravity of the phone call being photographed.

In 80 comments, I'm the first to even bring up Israel or Palestine. Does that seem right to you?
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@Summer's_Rose

Could you please explain your post. I'm a progressive. I don't like Rush Limbaugh. I'm for GLBT civil rights and ending wars. You couldn't gather that at all from anything I posted? Obama is a slightly right of center Centrist.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Manfred Schmidt says:

great shot
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

CountingMyBlessings says:

He's the man! Love the pose you captured! My prayer's are with the best President this country has ever seen at the most difficult of times.

Caption? "God's gift to our country"

How about..."World Peace...If he can't do it, no one can!" Keep up the great work Mr President!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

kolored says:

yea, i agree with you. it doesn't seem right. but i think that it's somewhat symbolic of how this election was won and who voted for him. there are, of course, exceptions.

however, i disagree with you about the shift in his stance with regard to israel. on the contrary, while he was running for president he painted himself a staunch ally of the jewish state. he even stood in front of aipac and proclaimed that jerusalem will remain undivided.

and now, in his speech at cairo university, he went as far as drawing parallels between the holocaust and the arab displacement during israel's independence. not to mention his even more disturbing moral equivalence of islamic jihad with natural expansion of jewish settlements.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

*Blueberry Pie says:

they should not allow comments on photos
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

spookas says:

Yes, when it was time to garner votes en-masse, he became fiercely pro-Israel. But if you look into his time as senator he was much more critical of Israel's government and the US foreign policy.

Two articles (with completely polar biases, haha) suggesting this:
electronicintifada.net/v2/article6619.shtml
www.campus-watch.org/article/id/5410

Obama's politique is essentially populist. He won within a populist system because he's good at playing the populist game. I suspect he was once (maybe as recently as a year ago) a starry-eyed idealist ready to shake things up, but soon faced the stubborn realities of the system.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

shepherd.johnson says:

@Blueberry Pie

Why do you say that Blueberry Pie?
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

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