How can a photographer defame her country?

Uzbekistan tried to answer that question this week in a slander trial that harked back to the days of soviet censorship. The answer, in part: by showing people with sour expressions or bowed  heads, children in ragging clothing, old people begging for change or other images so dreary that, according to a panel of experts convened by the prosecutors, "a foreigner unfamiliar with Uzvekistan will conclude that this is a country where people live in the middle ages."
 The Uzbek authorities have, in the past, prosecuted artists who openly took on politically charged themes, like the folk singer Dadakhon Khasanov, who wrote a song in the 2005 crackdown on antigovernment demonstrators in the city of Andijon, in which hundreds are thought to have died. But the case against Ms. Akhmedova breaks ground by singling out an apparently apolitical visual artist for her work.
The charges prompted widespread protest among fellow photographers, who circulated petitions in Ms Akhmedova's defense and have organized exhibits of her own works in Minsk, that capital of Belarus, and the Russians city of Nizhy Novgorod. Daniil Kislov, editor in chief of the Web site Ferghana.ru, which has followed the case avidly as part of its coverage of central Asian events, said he believed that the publicity prompted the authorities to grant Ms. Akhmedova amnesty on Wednesday.

killer wale kills 3 people! (way to go Tilikum!!)

Wonderful Thunderous applause greeted SeaWorld's Tilikum today as the killer whale returned to the theme park's big stage, 13 months after grabbing trainer Dawn Brancheau by her ponytail and killing her.
SeaWorld officials would not specify what safety precautions were instituted, but some appeared to be obvious.
Steel bars blocked the whales from the main stage and female trainers wore their hair in high buns. Trainers also stayed out of the water and off the stages during Tilikum's performance.
When the 12,000 pound orca made his splashy entrance, the crowd erupted in applause and cheers. It included the thrill of danger.
"I was afraid," said one boy who was splashed by the giant whale.
"We were nevous," said one spectator. "It was Tilikum's first time back."
SeaWorld officials said that it was the 12,000-pound whale's "choice" to perform in the "Believe" show this morning and that none of the park's whales are coerced to participate.
In a statement, executives from SeaWorld defended Tilikum's reentry into the performing world saying it "is an important component of his physical, social and mental enrichment."

Tilikum Tied to Three Deaths

Tilikum has been connected to the death of three humans. The last death was on Feb. 24, 2010 when Tilikum used his girth to snatch trainer Dawn Brancheau's ponytail, pull her underwater and shake her violently until she died.
The death was caught on tape and watched by horrified spectators.
In 1991, trainer Keltie Lee Byrne fell into a tank holding Tilikum and two other whales at Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, Canada. A homicide inquest found that the whales had prevented Byrne from climbing out of the tank and ruled her death an accident.
After Tilikum was transferred to SeaWorld in Orlando, Tilikum was again connected to the death of a person in 1999.
The body of Daniel Dukes, 27, was found naked and draped across the giant whale's body in July 1999. Dukes reportedly got past security at SeaWorld, remaining in the park after it had closed. Wearing only his underwear, Dukes jumped, fell or was pulled into the frigid water of Tilikum's huge tank.
Tilikum had been brought to SeaWorld mostly to mate and trainers like Brancheau were not allowed in the water with him, but did interact with him on the pool ledge.
The 40-year-old trainer was at ease with the killer whale and had just petted him on the nose. However, in a scene that horrified SeaWorld visitors, Tilikum pulled her into the pool and began swinging her around in its mouth.
SeaWorld officials had always said Tilikum would be back after Brancheau's death, despite protests by experts and activists.
"He's the big finish and it worries me that the show is more important than his well being or trainer safety," said Naomi Rose from the Humane Society of America.

SeaWorld's Tilikum Performs Despite Reservations From Activists, Federal Officials

Federal officials aren't as worried about the largest killer whale in captivity, but more about his human trainers.

In August, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said that Seaworld showed indifference or intentional disregard for employee safety by exposing workers to drowning hazards when they interact with killer whales

photojournalism

so this is a picture of a beautiful lake.(incase you couldnt figuare that one out for yourself.) so i went to a girl scout camp when i was like 12 and my mom gave me a cammra(well a few cammras.) and told me to take TONS of pictures. so we were going to go swimming in the gorgous lake and before i thought, "great nature shot!" so i took it and its great. i think. what do you think?

so this was also the lake. (my mom wanted lots of pictures like no joke 3 cammras so i took lots of nature pictures.) so i took this in the grassy woodland of the bank of this camp. well this lake was so pretty and so fun to canno on. it was a blast an i love this picture. what do you think when you see it?

 so this is a family of milk cartons and napkins. we get a little to bored at lunch but insted of yet another picture of the lake i thought you would like to see what i do in my spare time. we were at lunch one day and we had a bunch of empty milk cartons on our table and napkins so i took them and made a a family. but then they seemed sad and faceless so i took an eye liner pencil out of my pocket and drew on some faces. its fun and dumb all at the same time! what do you think about it?

Bruce Lee

                                 Two words. Bruce Lee. the first thing i think is "everybody was kung fu fighting!!" Bruce was amazing! for those of you who don't know who Bruce lee was he was an actor and a Martial arts expert. so like a famous professional ninja. pretty awesome if you ask me. he was born November 27th 1940 in San Fransisco California. he dad was a opera singer and moved to the US in 1939 but moved back with his family in 1941. A natural in front of the camera he was in at least 20 films as a child actor. he also studied dance and once won a cha-cha contest. when he was a teen he was in a hong Kong street gang. that must have been intense because it some Japanese teen who was pro at martial arts and told me to give him my wallet i would probably pee my pants. in 1959 he got in trouble for fighting and his mom sent him back to the US with some family and friends. in 1964 he moved to California and became a star in movies and shoes like the green hornet, iron side, Longstreet,Marlowe fists of fury,Chinese connection way of the dragon and enter the dragon. this amazing man died on July 20 1973. he will be missed. i love you Bruce!

                                        xoxoneatospeedoxoxo

teenage stupidity

I don't have a my divers licence but we had a car my aunt left at our house and i would take it and drive when my mom wasn't home. (like every teenager) well once it was dark but, I'm like addicted to driving so i was out driving around the block and randomly this crazy cat pounced out of nowhere in front of my car! so i hit it and killed it. i felt so bad. i jumped out of my car and picked up the cat not knowing what to do, i just tossed it into my neighbors yard. the next Sunday this old lady was talking about a dead cat she found in her yard and the other lady was like "that was my poor cat mittens!" i wanted to cry! i felt like a total d-bag.

so i had a trampoline a few years ago and i had a friend over and were climbing on the roof of my house and jumping off onto the trampoline. it was pretty sick. so we had to take a ladder up onto the roof of course and when we got up my brother and his crazy friends took the ladder and moved the trampoline then. so were where stuck up there for like ten minuets screaming.(my mom was not home. if she was i would be killed) they got super sick of us so they got the hose out at like 10 pm and sprayed us! we were soaked! after two hours of freezing our buns off they mad us jump off to the trampoline... but it was so dark that we couldn't see the trap. we made it in the end. lucky jump.

on my way to seminary one day i noticed the kid ahead of me, Jess, had his hair spiked in such a way that it reminded me of a porcupines butt. i was dieing inside so like any kid i pulled my phone out to take a picture. well i ad i was about to take the picture Jess turned around and saw and i thought maybe he didn't notice but then my phone made the loud camera noise phone cameras do. the rest of the way there him and is friend were whispering and kept looking back at me. i was humiliated i didn't need the whole school thinking i was some creep that took pictures of boys when they weren't looking. i have a lot to my reputation but being a creep isn't nor will it ever be one. (i hope)

where i go to school there is this really steep hill. in the seventh grade me and a friend of mine were hopping down this hill. it was challenging and fun and we were amused. at the bottom of the hill were these cute ninth grade boys.(most boys that go to the school are so fine!!) they were standing in a circle and i thought i would impress them by hopping into the middle of it. so i stood at the top of the hill and jumped. i was doing good but i got to the bottom and slipped. i face planted into the middle of the circle and i bounced. after a second i got up dusted myself off and looked at them... made a ridicules face, made a strange noise and ran. i am so stupid some times.

 one night me and my good pal menlove went to a privet good Charlot event the radio had at the movies.(after the concert we saw the band  at Joe's crab shack. we told  them that we saw there house on cribs and it was spicy! is that weird to say? in the same place as the movies is a place with restaurants and some huge building and... a fountain. so after the concert we walked over to the fountain... we were just sitting there waiting for our ride but then i got the best idea ever! we rolled up our pants and jumped in! then people started coming so we hopped out and scram "grab the rangers!" (the rangers our my super vintage power rangers back pack i have had for like ever!) so the next week at lacrosse practice we noticed that beautiful, beautiful fountain. so we walked down the street and jumped in. as we were having a jolly good time playing in the fountain the security guard rolled up on his segway and asked us to pleas get out of the fountain. even tho we got in trouble it was a great time. i even got to cross off two things off my bucket list, meet a celebrity and swim in a fountain. one good day! :)

                      xoxoneatospeedoxoxo

is blogging journalism?

                                          is blogging journalism? ya i think so... it depends because some people just blog about stupid pointless things (like me) but some people blog about the news and what they think. personally i would rather read stupid things because its entertaining and i learn what not to do. unless its something like the news shows on comedy central because it's informational but its funny. i want to watch it. unlike channel 13 news they are so monotone. i don't like it. but at 15 we really don't care what goes on.

The Beibe's

Justin Bieber. Ya 'nuff said. but so his movie comes out Friday and i am so freaking excited! i mean come on he's a babe! and his music is cool too... i think he's popular because of how cute he is, i mean look at his hair... don't you just want to pet it!?! it looks so soft and silky and.... i could go on forever about his beautiful, lushes hair. but like if he was ugly he would have no fans or adoring girls. i mean if he looked like that ugly guy up there he would have no one... it's creeping me out just looking at him. i know that's mean but if you go to a Justin bieber concert and your freaking out to see the biebes and this guy came out wouldn't you cry? i would,  i want Justin he's a hot piece of action! just kidding that  was uncalled for. and if your like, "i don't care what her looks like as long as he's a good person."  well that's good on you. but i might care a bit..

                                  WORD OF THE DAY

daedal

\ DEE-duhl \  , adjective;

1.

Complex or ingenious in form or function; intricate.

2.

Skillful; artistic; ingenious.

3.

Rich; adorned with many things.