Flickring Embers Go Lower and Lower

Staying with a photo theme, I was half way through a post on a flame war I was having with a very strange Nazi sympathiser on Flickr, when I came across the Nazi Birthday Cake story. Both the Flickr argument and the cake name item seem to tread a line between laughter and contempt - a line I often walk along when dealing with Richard Barnbrook of the BNP.

The woman on Flickr, Rip_Li , who looks like Steve Irwin, was posting a plethora of images from Auschwitz and Buchenwald with comments making it plain that she supported the deaths at the camps and had a fixation with Nazi regalia. At best the comments ranged from the crass - 'Nazi men are so hot' to vitriolic 'Communists die'.

I know I shouldn't get into arguments with these people but sometimes I can't help having a go.

Her photos were - after a complaint from me - removed from the pool devoted to Auschwitz but the photos - which include pics of the person with snakes, a cat with a '?' on its coat and a Nazi skull - remain on the site. This sets an interesting poser over freedom of expression and speech. The person - who claims Germanic heritage - is not denying the Holocaust but wallowing in it. I referred the matter to the site itself and will be interested in what the stance is. I'm not saying the uploader should be thrown off but I did feel the comments were inappropriate.

One of the flaws of flickr, I feel, is that there is nothing to stop anyone uploading photos which are not their own. Obviously, if copyright is breached then action could be taken but I do feel it is one of the lazier aspects of the site. Horses for courses I suppose, and I'm hardly perfect when it comes to purloining public domain images (ahem).

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the Campbell family have been expressing a similar freedom. They were not happy with the results in using the popular Baby Name Wizard,

• 'The perfect baby name will speak to your heart, give your child a great start in life—and maybe even satisfy your relatives........it uses groundbreaking research and computer generated models

So they decided on uniqueness: they named their son Adolf Hitler Campbell 3 years ago. Now, obviously this little characteristic has been the talk of their town for some time. But the international media has picked up on an interesting development:

• A local supermarket refused to make a birthday cake with "Adolf Hitler" on it.

Surely, the parents are unaware of the connection with the Austrian guy, or maybe this is post-modern irony?

• The ShopRite in Greenwich Township has also refused to make a cake bearing the name of Campbell's daughter, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell, who turns 2 in February.

I see. Bit of a theme here. Any other kinder?

• Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell, a girl named for Schutzstaffel head Heinrich Himmler, turns 1 in April.

At least when they go to order that one, the shop'll think it's an April Fool jest. Oh you Campbells, you're just like that Mel Brookes.

• The Campbells said they wanted their children to have unique names and didn't expect the names to cause problems. Despite the cake refusal, the Campbells said they don't expect the names to cause problems later, such as when the children start school.

I blame it on celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Bob Geldof. Maybe it won't cause many problems down the Kindergarten as they play alongside little Benito, Augusto and Nick.

• The grocer offered to make a cake with enough room for the Campbells to write their own inscription. But the Campbells refused, saying they would have a cake made at the Wal-Mart in Lower Nazareth Township. The Campbells say Wal-Mart made cakes for Adolf's first two birthdays.

Obviously, the townsfolk of Lower Nazareth are a bit vague on historical connotations to names too. Whether the Campbells are that naive is another question. As the article continues:

• Heath Campbell, who said he has German ancestry and a relative who fought for the SS, took off boots he said were worn by a Nazi solider..............
• He laid them next to a skull with a swastika on its forehead, the first of dozens of swastikas seen by the Campbells' rare guests.

Hang on. Seems familiar. Let's breach someone's copyright.

Hopefully, after Christmas I'll have something other than Nazis to talk about. I'm getting worse than Channel 5.