Bear Pit: now the sole domicile of politics at LuLa

[digitaldog]

"Bear Pit: now the sole domicile of politics at LuLa" doesn't sound like a photographer's forum to most reasonable people. And your reaction time really is going down the tubes.

Now don't get started endeavoring to sound reasonable here, Frans. That's been a pretty obvious failure to nearly everyone on this forum, as many of your readers have demonstrated; your right to be heard doesn't automatically translate into your right to be seen as reasonable. 🤔
And your reaction time really is going down the tubes as well.

[digitaldog]

Trump’s retribution campaign is going poorly — and could backfire
It’s so rare for a federal grand jury to reject an indictment that it happened just five times in the fiscal year 2013, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Five times. Nationwide. Out of more than 165,000 cases.
That’s 1 out of every 33,000 cases. In percentage terms, it’s 0.003%.
Yet President Donald Trump and his Justice Department have now managed to achieve this remarkable feat in both of his signature attempts at exacting legal retribution against his foes.
Imagine if the most significant charges to come from this effort are against the investigators themselves.
At some point, one has to wonder whether the Justice Department will fear this leading to a succession of embarrassments for it and the administration. Because that’s the trajectory this is on.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/05/politics/trump-retribution-campaign-backfire

[Frans Waterlander]

Trump’s retribution campaign is going poorly — and could backfire
It’s so rare for a federal grand jury to reject an indictment that it happened just five times in the fiscal year 2013, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Five times. Nationwide. Out of more than 165,000 cases.
That’s 1 out of every 33,000 cases. In percentage terms, it’s 0.003%.
Yet President Donald Trump and his Justice Department have now managed to achieve this remarkable feat in both of his signature attempts at exacting legal retribution against his foes.
Imagine if the most significant charges to come from this effort are against the investigators themselves.
At some point, one has to wonder whether the Justice Department will fear this leading to a succession of embarrassments for it and the administration. Because that’s the trajectory this is on.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/05/politics/trump-retribution-campaign-backfire

If all else fails, get the CNN opinions.

[digitaldog]

If all else fails, get the CNN opinions.

At least the CNN news piece had facts from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
If all else fails, get Frans' failed opinions.

[digitaldog]

Not for unreasonable humor-impaired sycophants:

[Rob C]

I hate to break the news, Rob, but you are on the social media platform right here.

Not in my interpretation of social media, which is restricted to places like Instagram, X, Facebook and the like. LuLa, on the other hand, is an educational medium with provision for comment on things photographic, with only one slot (where we are right now) that will accept political commentary.

I think it’s the photographic/educational quality that has given LuLa both its peak and its lesser audience figures: in its peak period there was so very much to learn about digital photography, and here we were able to find people who could explain, to those like me with no digital experience at that time, how the darn stuff worked.

Today, most of us here have probably reached our ‘need to know” level of digital photography knowledge, and further sweating of blood brings no realistically better returns. On top of that, the recent elephant in the room has turned into a mammoth called smartphone. I believe that traditional cameras are not going to be around much longer.

Rob

[Robert Roaldi]

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Today, most of us here have probably reached our ‘need to know” level of digital photography knowledge, and further sweating of blood brings no realistically better returns. On top of that, the recent elephant in the room has turned into a mammoth called smartphone. I believe that traditional cameras are not going to be around much longer.

Rob

That may be unduly pessimistic. My guess would be that the vast majority of film SLRS/rangefinders and DSLRS from the past ended up unused in people's dresser drawers anyways. How else can you explain the large used market of good quality gear today (that people like me rely on). We live in affluent cultures and for all the angst about getting the best bang for our buck, we buy all kinds of things that we end not using much, including several generations of cameras and lenses. Thankfully, the high volume of cameras sold is what keeps the prices reasonable, except for the very top end but their buying criteria are different.

Remember the clamour not many years ago for full-frame DSLRs so people could re-use all the lenses that they had bought for their film SLRs. But then we bought newer lenses anyway. And then mirrorless. Have you noticed the incredible deals on late stage high quality DSLRs and lenses? They essentially used the same sensors as 1st and 2nd generation mirrorless cameras.

I think that in the old days, people bought SLRs and a couple of lenses because that's what we were expected to do. But then they also bought point & shoots to actually take photos with. Mobile phones destroyed the point & shoot business. If camera sales are lower than they use to be, it might be because people already own cameras that they don't use. I am not 100% convinced of that though, I thought we reached saturation on pick-up trucks sales long ago.

There are a couple of used camera stores here in Canada, one west of Ottawa and one in Vancouver and their prices for both digital point & shoots and especially film era point & shoots are higher than older DLSRs. I'm not talking about cult point & shoots like the Yashica T4 or similar, even lesser known models are surprisingly expensive.

When manufacturers and retailers complain about low sales, I always take it with a grain of salt. The graphs' lines go up and down and that looks meaningful but unit sales numbers are in the millions, hard to believe that's a failing industry. Canon managed to have 4 versions of digital EF mount camers, the original EF, EF-M and EF-S and have now moved on to RF. How many RF buyers have EF gear in their dresser drawers? That doesn't sound like imminent disaster to me. What business ever admits to be doing well.

[Robert Roaldi]

FIFA gives out peace awards?

[Robert Roaldi]

They sunk another "drug" boat. I wonder if the cartels are now just sending out random boats as some sort of click bait to distract Hegseth and Trump. It would be a good way for them to get rid of people they don't want around anymore.

I saw a clip or read a quote (not sure anymore which) of Hegseth praising the brave actions of the military. Isn't that a bit over the top? Is sinking a small boat really something worth bragging about.

[digitaldog]

Trump administration alters national parks' free-entry days, cutting MLK Day and Juneteenth
The change is part of a broader shift in the National Park Service's free-entry day schedule, which includes adding President Donald Trump's birthday.
But don't call him a racist. 

[Robert Roaldi]

Trump administration alters national parks' free-entry days, cutting MLK Day and Juneteenth
The change is part of a broader shift in the National Park Service's free-entry day schedule, which includes adding President Donald Trump's birthday.
But don't call him a racist. 

He's an interesting combo of ignorance and arrogance. There is a similar toxic narcissist in my extended family. It is jaw-dropping to hear someone assert the craziest shit solely on the basis that it was their idea, despite the evidence of a lifetime of spectacular errors.

I never thought that Trump was the sharpest knife but his recent actions are a cause for real worry. It is not even close to normal behaviour for the POTUS to lose many nights' sleep so he can post repetitive gibberish on social media. My gut tells me that there must be an army of caretakers shielding him from real life, and what we see is probably not the worst of it. It is all a spectacular failure to face reality on the part of many people. There is no upside to this and way too many people who should know better are drinking the kool-aid.

In case Americans haven't noticed, the rest of the world is moving to shield itself from the US. It was very dumb to not have foreseen that. Aside from the bizarre politics, the rest of us are scratching our heads wondering why you are destroying your scientific advantage and making health care worse. Why do that, it makes no sense.

[Rob C]

I suppose it’s the same thing that happened in Germany prior to WW2: people who knew better still followed Hitler, for the same reasons that I guess they follow Trump: fear of holding their heads above the parapet and being different, just in case the rabid ones bite off those heads. There's also an element of laziness: it can be too much bother doing anything, other than leaving it up to somebody else, which is the perfect scenario for the rabid activists to come out, vote, and thus win the numbers game.

[Rob C]

When manufacturers and retailers complain about low sales, I always take it with a grain of salt. The graphs' lines go up and down and that looks meaningful but unit sales numbers are in the millions, hard to believe that's a failing industry. Canon managed to have 4 versions of digital EF mount camers, the original EF, EF-M and EF-S and have now moved on to RF. How many RF buyers have EF gear in their dresser drawers? That doesn't sound like imminent disaster to me. What business ever admits to be doing well.

If you doubt the logical end, take a peep at the bythom site, the news part, where he posts about the camera sales figures from Japan. Sales have fallen off a cliff compared with just a few years ago.

I believe that photography, as distinct from cellphone snapping, is losing the interest of the public. Why else would LuLa be reflecting the same collapse in viewing numbers?

[Robert Roaldi]

If you doubt the logical end, take a peep at the bythom site, the news part, where he posts about the camera sales figures from Japan. Sales have fallen off a cliff compared with just a few years ago.

I believe that photography, as distinct from cellphone snapping, is losing the interest of the public. Why else would LuLa be reflecting the same collapse in viewing numbers?

I'm more than ready to admit that I'm wrong about this. I'm sure bythom knows much more than I do. Not just bythom.

The end result of that decline would be that photography, that part of it where people like to make images for visual pleasure, may end up being a niche pursuit. But maybe it always was. There's no law that requires there to exist affordable cameras for us. Luckily there is a lot of perfectly functional used gear out there at the moment, though it may not be so easy to maintain as in earlier times. I am not sure that the current tech leads to long-lasting cameras nor the ability to maintain them.

It's too bad about the expensive pursuit of more and more features. For example, I would like to see Pentax release a low-end digital body, not weather-sealed, not video ready, with half the menus gone, but that could use all those inexpensive K-mount lenses out there. It won't be state of the technical art, but what does that have to do with artistic pursuits. As an aside, I don't understand why Pentax'es recent bodies are so well-sealed against the elements when not many of their lenses are. Anyway, being niche, I don't see what Pentax has to lose by doing this, they're not going to compete with modern lenses and body requirements anyway, so they should stop fighting in that arena. Nikon could do the same in F mount, but that might cannibalize Z mount sales, whereas Pentax has no such worries. Anyway, that's my worthless 2 cents worth on that.

I'm not bothered about new camera sales declining. It may be a bad sign for the future of commercial photography, but that has been changing radically for a while now, we should be used to it by now. I never made my living from photography so I will necessarily not see things the way you do. I'm confident that products will be around for the visual amateur niche. I mean, they're still making and processing film.

[digitaldog]

Dec. 7, 2025, 10:29 AM MST
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump criticized Rep. Henry Cuellar for “a lack of loyalty” for running as a Democrat after receiving a presidential pardon.
“Such a lack of LOYALTY, something that Texas Voters, and Henry’s daughters, will not like,” Trump said in a Sunday post to Truth Social. “Oh’ well, next time, no more Mr. Nice guy!”Trump criticized Cuellar, saying that by running as a Democrat, he was “continuing to work with the same Radical Left Scum that just weeks before wanted him and his wife to spend the rest of their lives in Prison — And probably still do!”

Maybe this will work for Marjorie Taylor Greene. 

[degrub]

Perhaps it is a population issue in addition. The West's post war baby boom generation is winding down numbers and those left are becoming more limited in many ways. The Asia market was always a different set of tastes and needs. The population boom and enrichment of China has peaked further limiting the market. Plus a stronger preference for phone based photography instead of ILCs.

[Rob C]

I'm not bothered about new camera sales declining. It may be a bad sign for the future of commercial photography, but that has been changing radically for a while now, we should be used to it by now. I never made my living from photography so I will necessarily not see things the way you do. I'm confident that products will be around for the visual amateur niche. I mean, they're still making and processing film.

I think that the top-end amateur market may just manage to continue with both film and digital camera production. I base that on the belief that you need a good deal of disposable income to indulge in film photography these days. I have an almost unused Nikon F3, but I'm afraid it remains locked away for two main reasons: firstly, the cost of film makes no sense to me for the rubbish I find delight in doing. I have zero interest in printing any of it; if one isn't going to do the whole number, process and wet print, then it's kinda self-defeating to send it off to a lab - which has no idea or interest in how you expose, so you learn nothing about that side of it. Secondly, if you are going to reduce your film negs to files, why not cut out the middleman and start with a digital camera in the first place?

I wandered along the seafront today - it's a holiday - and saw a single person with a real camera: a young woman. I was quite intrigued, and would have loved to have stopped and chatted and asked why she was into cameras, but in today's atmosphere, not the smartest move. I let the moment slide away.

[Jonathan Cross]

I wandered along the seafront today - it's a holiday - and saw a single person with a real camera: a young woman. I was quite intrigued, and would have loved to have stopped and chatted and asked why she was into cameras, but in today's atmosphere, not the smartest move. I let the moment slide away.

Get a dog, Rob! If I walk in the woods near me and meet a female on a horse, we go round each other at a safe distance without a word.  If I am walking with a neighbour's dog, then it's a cheerful hello from the rider.

Jonathan

[digitaldog]

Get a dog, Rob!

+1
Or better, multiple cute dogs. They do work at this task.

[Rob C]

Alas, our last dog is long gone. I would love another, an Alsatian, but am too aware of the responsibility that implies. The fact remains that big dogs, should they be orphaned, are least likely to find or fit new homes, and the older they get the greater their problem. In my late 80s, it wouldn’t be fair to any animal to be subjected to such a risk.

I have no time for little dogs; the only time I got bitten by a dog was by a very small one that just shot towards me, passed our large dog, and tasted my ankle. Mother.

Regarding conversation starting: mostly, I’m now perfectly happy dropping into the local bar, chatting with some of the local guys there (mostly pensioners like me), and then retreating to the peace and quiet of my apartment. There, of course, I find perpetual memories of my late beloved, so she and I chat a lot; I do wish she’d speak up a bit more, though. ;-)