Richard Bugg

Holy caramba, check out the price on my dream (semi affordable) DSLR:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/322237187093

Had quite a price drop lately! Hopefully it means a D750 mk2 with 4K is just around the corner

There has never been a good war. Not one. I think everyone can agree on this. There are going to be casualties - as much as we don't like it.

I believe Russia is directly what stopped the advance of the Saudi/Qatari/Turkish militias from over-running our military and over-throwing our government. Of course, this viewpoint is rarely, if ever, reiterated on Western mainstream media.

Regardless, people have the choice to believe me or not, I don't mind - my information comes directly from my family and friends on, nearly, a daily basis (thank God for free WhatsApp WiFi calls!). Everyone is ultimately entitled to their point of view.

And I agree with Andrew that not every other Syrian's experience of the war will be like mine, or my family's. Lines have been drawn, sides have been taken, and all of us have been caught between the crossfire in one way or another.

I believe Obama's choice of not using U.S. ground forces directly was simply because the U.S. cannot afford another ground war - both in terms of causalities, morale, support and financially (15 Trillion in debt last time I checked). Having failed in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, the U.S. has lost its military deterrence - Obama bluffed, Putin called it. Further, post-Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, they have also lost whatever credibility they had left as being morally conscious force in the world...

I'll be honest, guys, I find it very difficult to continue discussing this. I hate to sound weak, but it's rather emotionally draining. All I want is for Syria to go back to how it was when I was a kid. I had friends from all different faiths and creeds. People would celebrate each other's holy days as if it were their own. I didn't matter what part of Syria you were from, or what religion you happened to be born into. There wasn't even a concept of "Christian Syrian, Shi'a Syrian, Sunni Syrian, Alawite Syrian, Druze Syria, Jewish Syrian" - we were all just "Syrian".

And the awful truth is, you can see in my very own statements that even I have become a victim of this segregation - I have said, time and again, how I am "Christian Orthodox Syrian". The truth is, I don't like saying it - I just want to say "Syrian"...

All in good time. I hope.

In an otherwise dreary and crappy thread, I have some much needed good news, fellas!  They opened a place for those who are having a hard time with the election. Check it out!
 

The DSLR is dead. Long live the DSLR.

I think I mostly agree.  A well mannered discussion about a particular issue of government policy isn't of any harm.  Its when people start spewing highly opinionated views on partisan politics like elections and referendums that things get messy.  Particularly if the views are demeaning and incendiary like the cartoon in the opening post. 
Like many people I think that if I spent an hour talking face to face with any reasonable person that I could convince them that any opinion I have on politics is well reasoned and well thought out.  But it is clearly impossible to do this with everybody, so I have to accept that there are millions of people whose opinions are different to mine and whose opinions I cannot change.  The most prudent way of avoiding conflict with such people is to refrain from talking about such things in situations where they aren't relevant.
Unfortunately but perhaps fittingly it seems to be the less thoughtful and the less prudent that are the most vocal.  The issue is that when people feel the discussion from such people begin to snowball into a back patting session they feel more compelled to reveal their hand.
People are free to do what they want of course, but I'd rather leave that stuff for youtube comments.

I also wondered about discussing politics on a site such as this and what effect it might have on the audience. But I'm not so sure about it being a bad idea completely. I wonder if it really is a bad thing to discuss important matters related to society as a sidebar to the main course. Where there is a strong emotional drive, it will be discussed. Politics is frequently a taboo subject, but if we want to progress to greater understanding then we need to be able to have the discussion with people who might have a different view. Perhaps the problem is more in how we have these conversations - personalising the issue through labelling each other, or lecturing one another, rather than approaching the problem more inquisitively and journalistically in an attempt to tease out the underlying issues by gaining another person's perspective. In this regard, Jonathan Pie (other thread) was right - have a respectful discussion with those who have different view. It's easy to have an opinion; much harder to empathise and get to the underlying issues instead of leaping to judgment. I'm not so good at this myself, but when there are important differences to discuss, instead of remaining silent on these matters within a community, I'd like to get better at having the discussion, but in a manner that is non-alienating to others or descending into argument. Is this too utopic? Possibly. But this forum is populated by some pretty intelligent and good natured people, so I expect it is possible.

I'm not sure that wether or not someone commercialises their work is particularly relevant, if that's what you meant. I have seen low quality output from people who charge for what they do, high quality output from people who do not, and a lot of stuff in between. So I'm not sure that commercialising your work is a necessary pre-condition for being able to express an opinion. Nor is it necessarily a good indicator of quality. Hence, not particularly relevant.

The DSLR is dead. Long live the DSLR.

Clearly there are huge imbalances and injustices through out the world. In the so called developed world many of the voters have simply switched off as far as politics is concerned. This is a huge problem as it leaves the door open for organised or even semi-organised extremists with narrow agendas (racism, fascism, religious groups, etc). This has been seen in recent votes in the UK, Colombia and the USA among others. Other democracies have been manipulated and attacked like in Turkey, Hungary and Poland. Media has played a huge part in twisting the truth and feeding people's worst impulses. How we deal with this is one of the great questions of our times.
We are at the end of an era, a system (neoliberalism) is in it's death throes. It has torn up and shat out the social order in place since the second world war as well as truly trashing the planet, all for some stupid tokens that we call money. Our problem is what comes next. The losers are fed up and angry, lashing out at anything or anyone that might be to blame. Whilst we have so many scientific means to understand the world, more and more people seem to be turning to the ignorance of extreme religious beliefs. Witness the power of the evangelicals in places like the USA and Colombia and Hindu and Islamic groups in Asia. Dangerous groups who have been thoroughly manipulated to believe absolute nonsense and who try to enforce those beliefs on others.
We can choose those that offer a change but a change for the worse like Trump, Farage, Le Pen or those who live in a world of anger like Uribe, Erdogan and Orbán, or we can take a step back and realise we have to change many things in our lives, the way we run our planet, how we treat each other, how we share what's left...What we really need is a positive movement that people can rally around because if not we are going to tear ourselves apart again.

Given enough time he may very well suffer gunshot wounds to both feet.

I'm not sure that wether or not someone commercialises their work is particularly relevant, if that's what you meant. I have seen low quality output from people who charge for what they do, high quality output from people who do not, and a lot of stuff in between. So I'm not sure that commercialising your work is a necessary pre-condition for being able to express an opinion. Nor is it necessarily a good indicator of quality. Hence, not particularly relevant.

I'm not sure that wether or not someone commercialises their work is particularly relevant, if that's what you meant. I have seen low quality output from people who charge for what they do, high quality output from people who do not, and a lot of stuff in between. So I'm not sure that commercialising your work is a necessary pre-condition for being able to express an opinion. Nor is it necessarily a good indicator of quality. Hence, not particularly relevant.

I'm not sure that wether or not someone commercialises their work is particularly relevant, if that's what you meant. I have seen low quality output from people who charge for what they do, high quality output from people who do not, and a lot of stuff in between. So I'm not sure that commercialising your work is a necessary pre-condition for being able to express an opinion. Nor is it necessarily a good indicator of quality. Hence, not particularly relevant.

I'm not sure that wether or not someone commercialises their work is particularly relevant, if that's what you meant. I have seen low quality output from people who charge for what they do, high quality output from people who do not, and a lot of stuff in between. So I'm not sure that commercialising your work is a necessary pre-condition for being able to express an opinion. Nor is it necessarily a good indicator of quality. Hence, not particularly relevant.

I'm not sure that wether or not someone commercialises their work is particularly relevant, if that's what you meant. I have seen low quality output from people who charge for what they do, high quality output from people who do not, and a lot of stuff in between. So I'm not sure that commercialising your work is a necessary pre-condition for being able to express an opinion. Nor is it necessarily a good indicator of quality. Hence, not particularly relevant.

The DSLR is dead. Long live the DSLR.

The DSLR is dead. Long live the DSLR.

The following piece about the writing of "The Art of the Deal" reinforces your point quite well:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-tells-all
This whole things seems a bit like the Ebrahim Saadawi fiasco on steroids.

Other than spreading half-truths, I don't blame the Left for my vote. I blame them for assuming the worst of me rather than discussing my choice. I blame them for ignorantly labeling me this or that without knowing how I feel about specific policies.
I, personally, am fine with my vote. I will wait to see how he governs before I reevaluate my decision as I'm sure a lot of the other Trump voters will do. I am not above admitting I am wrong if I am.

Pie's critique is from the point of view of The Shocked Left. But what about the Trump voter who now thinks they may have fucked up and are looking to rationalise their decision by blaming The Left for not giving a good enough alternative? To them I say: credit where credit is due. It wasn't The Left who was responsible for putting Trump into power; they voted for someone else - it was the people who voted for Trump who are responsible for elevating him to power. For those who voted for Trump, you now have him. For those who voted for him but now think that vote may have been a mistake, you can't shirk the uncomfortable responsibility by saying The Left made me do it, or that The Left didn't discuss sufficiently how you shouldn't shit on the dining room table at dinner time. Every vote counts, and you now have what you voted for.
But with the benefit of new information and a fresh perspective you are always free to change your mind at any time and help fix up the damage. That is a perfectly acceptable and reasonable thing to do. It is a necessary thing to do, not least for your own sanity.

Yeah...as a European this whole election and its outcome has been shocking, nauseating and pretty terrifying to watch. Here's John Oliver's take, for some laughter to go with the dread:
So yeah...fuck 2016.

Yes, I understand. No problem at all. I get that you are pretty frustrated with the discussion. I just think that people are going to be pretty emotional about the topic for a while. Personally, I'm really pissed off, and the thought of talking shutter speeds and megapixels at the moment - I just can't be bothered. I think I'll just go and spend some time in the garden, cut some wood, enjoy a cup of tea, spend time with family. Thanks for the jolt back to reality. 

My apologies. I didn't mean to offend.

I am against Clinton and Trump, I am only pro-logic, and people declare Trump a surealist poet is too much. I can't really see the metaphor in grabbing a female's privates, and I am really well read. 
Trump is a populist. That's it, there isn't anything mystical or magic behind him. He is a raw man, the kind of "I grab what I want" man, and " I'll tell you what you want to hear" and that is why he won.
People want to be Trump, billionaires, don't pay taxes, bankrupt and saved by the system, being a tv persona, have a trophy Slovenian model wife and a beautiful daughter that "if I wasn't his father I would date her". There is nothing metaphorical, or lyrical, or surrealistic, or anything, he is what ALL the uneducated simpletons want to be.
The issue no one is talking about is the voting system. Why there are only two (very similar in reality) political parties? Why can't we vote NONE OF THE ABOVE? How people with less than the 1/4-1/5 of the electoral capacity rule whole nations?
Hitler was voted by themasses, that didn't really go that well (ofcourse they are not the same, just saying).
And.."democracy is the worst, but is the best one we know so far".
Whoever cares about political systems, let's check the Swiss democratic system, the most democratic I know, and ofcourse the Athenian democracy, the most advanced social experiment, 2500 years ago..
Also,Trump's latest words are very moderate. He lied to his own voters?!

This is why every democracy should strive towards having an excellent public education for everyone.