Tim Abbott

Body Image - 1

By now you've probably seen this image and the story behind it circulating on the web.

It is, allegedly, a Ralph Lauren ad featuring a ridiculously photoshopped model, Fillippa Hamilton. (Here she is on the Ralph Lauren web site looking relatively normal) As the image started circulating Lauren started issuing DMCA takedown notices to offenders (will they be calling here I wonder?)

Boing Boing has a full rundown of events.

Going after companies who posted the image inevitably invokes the Streisand Effect whereby an attempt to censor stimulates the multiplication of the information across the internet. Lauren subsequently admitted that they were indeed responsible for the "poor imaging and retouching" and that they have "addressed the problem".

There are a whole lot of unanswered questions, like, Who did the original artwork? and, Who signed off this image for publication? Surely no fashion house with the resources of RL would allow an image like this out by mistake. And no one seems to have been able to come up with the original ad in print or on the web. All of which makes me wonder what's really going on...


UPDATE, 15 Oct
Well, it seems the original of this ad was a display poster for a Japanese department store. But no matter, Fillippa Hamilton has now been sacked by Ralph Lauren "as a result of her inability to meet the obligations under her contract with us" which apparently means she was too fat. Hamilton is a UK size 8. More details from The Times

Sunday influences

Today...

This made me angry
The woman who is standing up to feral thugs

This made me sad
Niki Made Her Choice and, Apparently, So Did We

This inspired me
How to think, what to think, and thinking outside the box
(though note the story is fictional)

And this made me smile
Dave, exploring the meaning of sabbath in a whole new way (and I'm slightly jealous!)

Rounded the day off by joining with friends at Pub Church, but as this is still something of an underground movement I can't say any more than that!

Photography is not a crime

Photography is not a crime

is a new campaign from the British Journal of Photography  in response to some overzealous policing that leads to things like this  and this.

Ghurka War Memorial at Batasia Loop

Ghorka War Memorial at Batasia Loop, originally uploaded by timabbott.

Justice at last for former Ghurka service personnel

(PS - a note about spelling. 'Ghorka' is the correct spelling in northern India, in the UK the word is spelt Ghurka.)

Tragedy, judgement and Jesus

Are the Bush Fires the Judgment of God?  Mark Conner responds to self appointed prophets invoking God's judgement on the state of Victoria as the reason behind the devastating bush fires. Very wise words.

Chinese Government meets underground church leaders

A secret meeting between Chinese officials and leaders of the banned underground Protestant Church has marked the first significant step towards reconciliation in decades.

In what would seem to be a massive change of official policy the Chinese Government seems to be "...anxious to work out the way to go forward. They have understood that the Protestant Church is not an opposition force but a force for stability and harmony.” The number of Christians is estimated by officials to be about 130 million, compared to just 74 million members of the Communist Party.
If this is true, the words 'tipping point' and 'miraculous' would not be out of place.

However, if reports here and here from less than two weeks ago are anything to go by, it might take a while for any change of policy to work its way down through the system.

Keep praying for China, its government, its people and its churches.

Photography in public - your rights

Taking photographs in public can sometimes attract the unwarranted attention of the Police, Special Constables, security guards, PCSOs or even people in yellow vests.

This article takes a look at what might be a bit of a current trend to sometimes treat photographers as suspects. There are some helpful links to sites that set out the legal position regarding photography in public places.

In response to reports of overzealous demands by police for photographers to delete images or hand over memory cards, the Nottinghamshire Police guidelines state:
Police officers do not have the authority to prevent a person taking a photograph or to confiscate cameras or film, and such conduct could result in criminal, civil or diciplinary action.

There's an excellent 'print your own' guide to UK photographers rights here.

Not my voice

My colleague, Tom, has had an interesting email correspondence with Stephen Green, national director of Christian Voice, the organisation that's taking the BBC (and others) to court over "Jerry Springer, The Opera". He's included Stephen's reply, which you will probably find revealing, or interesting or even downright frustrating.

I'm no particular fan of either Jerry Springer's show, or "Jerry Springer, The Opera", which I watched so that I would know what all the fuss was about. But I worry about the real and lasting impact of pursuing a gagging order through the courts all the way up to the House of Lords in the name of Christianity. There's an excellent article about the whole sorry affair in The Herald.

I am not prepared to question Stephen's Christan commitment, or the right of Christan Voice to exercise freedom of speech, but as a fellow Christian I just want to make it absolutely clear that they do not speak for me, and, I suspect, many others.

Is that the sound of resounding gongs and clashing cymbals I hear?

UPDATE: the story continues here

Imagine - no religion

Connecticut Valley Atheists, fed up with so many Christian displays at Christmas, have responded with their own thought for Christmas. Their three sided billboard in the town park of Vernon has a picture of the Twin Towers with the message, "Imagine, no religion".

See the full story here.

Tricky, this one. 'People of faith', both Christian and Muslim, are sensing persecution. But I'm inclined towards the view that this is simply freedom of speech and tells us about the views of Connecticut Valley Atheists. It's foolish to try to pretend that any of our traditions, Christian, Muslim or atheist are innocent of wrongdoing and atrocity. I'm getting a little tired of the ongoing gainsaying about whether Christianity or atheism is responsible for the worst wrongs against humanity, as if winning this argument will somehow prove that our way is right. Really all that's happening is that we're trying to show we're the least bad!

Supposedly in the name of Christ people have done terrible things. They were wrong, even if sincerely wrong - no excuses. Perhaps we need to say sorry sooner, more often, a bit more readily, and more clearly. Real people of faith do. Those with political agendas in religious wrappers don't.

Over at Christians confess you'll find that it's quite possible for Christians to say sorry.

Bibles and Beijing 2008

Thinking of going to the Olympics in Beijing?

According to this page on the official Beijing 2008 web site:

Note: Each travel is recommended to take no more than one Bible into China.

This is because:

Any printed material, film, tapes that are 'detrimental to China's politics, economy, culture and ethics' are also forbidden to bring into China.

So now you know. But just in case you have any suspicions, you'll be relieved to know that:

China is a country with religious freedom and respects every religion.

according to information on this page. As Sir Humphrey used to say on Yes Minister, "Some might say that. I couldn't possibly comment."

In an interesting twist of irony, the 70 Bibles we recently purchased for a local secondary school on behalf of four local churches were printed in China, as you can see on the sides of the boxes in this picture.