"Obscenity: I Know It When I See It"

Damaso

Damaso

Photojournalist
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http://thenewinquiry.com/blogs/zunguzungu/obscenity-i-know-it-when-i-see-it/

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The photo was taken by photojournalist Katie Falkenberg, who gave it this caption:
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Erica and Rully Urias must bathe their daughter, Makayla, age 5, in contaminated water that is the color of tea. Their water has been tested and contains high levels of arsenic. The family attributes this water problem primarily to the blasting which they believe has disrupted the water table and cracked the casing in their well, allowing seepage of heavy metals into their water, and also to the runoff from the mountaintop removal sites surrounding their home. The coal company that mines the land around their home has never admitted to causing this problem, but they do supply the family with bottled water for drinking and cooking. Contaminated and colored water in has occurred in other coalfield communities as well where mountaintop mining is practiced.
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Now, that photo of Makayla Urias is a photograph of a naked child, a child exactly as naked as nine-year-old Kim Phuc was when, forty years ago, an Associated Press photographer snapped a picture of her, while she was running and crying from American napalm. You’ve probably seen that photo. It’s iconic. The photographer got a Pulitzer prize for taking it.
Yesterday, on the other hand, Maria was told that she would not be allowed to show that photo. It was not appropriate. She had the blessing of the child’s parents, but Republicans on the subcommittee alerted the capitol police (according to Spencer Pederson, a spokesman for GOP panel members), and after the hearing, the capitol police took Maria aside for questioning about “child pornography.”
 
Damaso,
There was already a thread on this yesterday which somehow morphed from exposing dirty little men with dirty little minds to the question of whether industry controls the Republicans, the Democrats, or both.
 
Those in power will use their power to silence anyone who threatens their position, even at the expense of a child in Pike County, Kentucky.
 
Peter^ said:
Damaso,
There was already a thread on this yesterday which somehow morphed from exposing dirty little men with dirty little minds to the question of whether industry controls the Republicans, the Democrats, or both.
Click to expand...

The consensus was "both", and it is a pertinent angle to bring up. Another recent case had a reporter at a press forum cutoff in mid-sentence by congressional aides when he asked a challenging question of a corporate CEO (a supported of Obama, for those of you keeping score). He was momentarily sequestered in a room by aides of the CEO, and is pressing charges of false imprisonment.

The only thing the Republicans really found offensive in the compelling image of the little girl in the ****ty-looking water was the damage it might do in the court of public opinion to their corporate masters . I have no doubt the "pornography" charge was just a cynical tactic.

Be prepared for a crescendo of this sort of tactic in the years ahead - up until they drop the pretenses and people just start to disappear. Again, for those of you keeping track, it is the Obama administration that is working very hard to make that "legal".

Randy
 
jsrockit said:
I feel like I'm at CNN looking at the comments section.
Click to expand...

It is nearly impossible to extricate politics from an issue like this, which is why I frame it as a question of power inequity. There is an undeniable emotional power in the image that was not allowed to be shown in Congress, and that power was met with an ethically dishonest actual power—in this case an elected official prohibited the inclusion of the image, flagging it with an incredibly loaded term, "child pornography." Not satisfied with this, Lamborn invoked the state's power, by way of a specious complaint to law enforcement, who are required to look into the complaint, thereby giving it weight, regardless of actual substance.
 
It just so happens that I am currently doing research with Nathan Hitt (U, S. Geological Survey) and Michael Hendryx (West Virginia Medical) who published last year a peer reviewed article on stream pollution and associations with cancers and proximity to coal mines in West Virginia.

I repeated their work with spatial statistics, and I identified the same locations for significantly higher cancer rates in WV. We are now putting together a manuscript with several co-authors, including people from the National Cancer Institute.

We use a Stream Condition Index, which measures how well a stream is doing.
I did the same for Florida, and we will contrast FL with WV.

This findings are what they are.
 
Peter^ said:
Damaso,
There was already a thread on this yesterday which somehow morphed from exposing dirty little men with dirty little minds to the question of whether industry controls the Republicans, the Democrats, or both.
Click to expand...


I think there's truth to the first part of that comment. First, this is an example of what I call "prurient Puritanism" , which seems to be rather common in America--usually among right-wing religious types. Second, by focusing on what's essentially a red herring, the politicians involved wee able to evade having to face up to the issue of the harm done by the interests which have bought them and their vote.

I think of that line from Lawrence of Arabia: "You could go into politics." "It's a low calling." Certainly seems that way...
 
I think of that line from Lawrence of Arabia: "You could go into politics." "It's a low calling." Certainly seems that way...
Click to expand...

In these discussions, I always think of the often quoted assertion that "power corrupts". In my opinion, it is rather the case that only the corrupt seek power.
 
raid said:
It just so happens that I am currently doing research with Nathan Hitts (U, S. Geological Survey) and Michael Hendryx (West Virginia Medical) who published last year a peer reviewed article on stream pollution and associations with cancers and proximity to coal mines in West Virginia.

I repeated their work with spatial statistics, and I identified the same locations for significantly higher cancer rates in WV. We are now putting together a manuscript with several co-authors, including people from the National Cancer Institute.

We use a Stream Condition Index, which measures how well a stream is doing.
I did the same for Florida, and we will contrast FL with WV.

This findings are what they are.
Click to expand...

Public health scientists rock. Thanks for doing what you do, Raid.
 
semilog said:
Public health scientists rock. Thanks for doing what you do, Raid.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

I think that I have the statistical knowledge, and I know how to make people work together in highly effective teams. They may not know as well as I do how to use statistics, and I do not know about stream conditions or cancer epidemiology, so teaming up makes lots of sense. The US Geological Survey is part of the Federal Government, and so is the National Cancer Instiitute, which makes our project (hopefully) a scientific project without any political agendas.

I work also with some researchers on Low Weight Babies in Texas to figure why they have some problems there. We consider data from the EPA on air pollution, and demographic data on the people there. Statistics can shed some light on what needs to be studied in more detail by health agencies.
 
It is my opinion the congressman was wrong with the action he took.

Having an opinion about a member of congress automatically associates you with a label that you are from another party and you better watch out for what they are doing.

This country has been spoon fed "us against them" for so long that I believe the majority of individuals can no longer come to a conclusion or voice an opinion based on a single incident from an individual.

Two threads started about a congressman and a citizen making a presentation to congress and not being allowed to show a photograph and it can quickly get off course.

If someone believes that this picture is Child Pornography and should not be allowed to be used in a public presentation then please defend the congressman.
 
raid said:
Thanks.

I think that I have the statistical knowledge, and I know how to make people work together in highly effective teams. They may not know as well as I do how to use statistics, and I do not know about stream conditions or cancer epidemiology, so teaming up makes lots of sense. The US Geological Survey is part of the Federal Government, and so is the National Cancer Instiitute, which makes our project (hopefully) a scientific project without any political agendas.

I work also with some researchers on Low Weight Babies in Texas to figure why they have some problems there. We consider data from the EPA on air pollution, and demographic data on the people there. Statistics can shed some light on what needs to be studied in more detail by health agencies.
Click to expand...

Raid, would appreciate it if you could make a preprint available when ready.

Agree with the comments above regarding the high value of your work, I wish you the best of luck in your efforts.

Randy
 
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