photo a day #154 - the train is arriving on platform two
8/01/2009
when is a pirate not a pirate?
8/01/2009
… when he’s protecting himself from internationally organised crimes against humanity.
i’ve just finished reading a good article suggesting that somalian pirates are not all that CNN leads us to believe. no doubt, some of them are gangsters who are trying to make money for nothing … but it appears that many are pirating in the act of protecting themselves, their people, and their country’s natural resources.
the story was covered in an article by the uk’s independent newspaper. the story uncovers attrocities by western nations who are taking full advantage of a nation which is amongst the world’s poorest - somalia. the story outlines the theft of natural resources, through the uncontrolled illegal fishin in somali waters (worth hundreds of millions of dollars), and the dumping of unwanted toxins, including nuclear waste, in the local waters.
there is also, apparently, evidence that such toxins are already having a disasterous effect on the local seaside populations.
so while the western media paints a picture of piracy on the high seas … and some of these people are genuinely out for profit … there’s also a much bigger, underlying problem that we are conveniently ignoring - the raping of a country which is virtually defenseless and completely unable to protect itself.
along with england and america’s support for israel, i am quite ashamed of what rich, white christian nations are doing to the weak and defenseless … but then again, our world is run by liars, cheats and war junkies. who am i kidding to think that this will end well?
… at least hugo chavez has the balls to call ‘em as he sees ‘em.
afternoon at gyoung bok
28/09/2008
took the afternoon and headed out to gyoung bok palace. the weather was very nice and it was just a little cool. when i arrived, the palace was quite crowded, which i didn’t like. it’s hard to get shots with people constantly walking in front of the camera. i even had people walk up, stand right in front of me, and take their own photos. it didn’t annoy me though, i just let it slide and waited patiently (a heroic effort for me). my favourite place in gyoung bok is the two ponds, both of which looked great with the clear blue sky behind them.
unfortunately, i couldn’t do any night shooting. they shut the palace at 6pm, which is too early. so i headed out, jumped on the subway and went home to watch the liverpool game.