Flickr Yanks Image of Obama As Joker

An anonymous reader writes "An interesting article yesterday about the unmasking of the recent creator of the controversial and iconic Obama/Joker image that has been popping up around Los Angeles with the word Socialism under it. The Los Angeles Times has identified the images' creator as Firas Alkhateeb. Even more interesting though is the fact that after getting over 20,000 hits on the image at Flickr, Flickr removed the image from Alkateeb's photostream, citing 'copyright' concerns. The image in question is clearly both an independent derivative work and unquestionably a parody of the President and Time Magazine which would be covered under fair use. It has appeared on many other sites without issue on the Internet." According to the same reader, "Flickr also recently nuked a user's entire photostream over negative comments on President Obama's official photostream."

Hmm...

[Anonymous Coward]

Why is flicker taking this issue so seriously?

Re:Hmmm...

[cellurl]

Agreed. The Black man will not have equality until open ridicule is permissible. I bet BO contacts them to put it back up.

Re:Free speech and democracy?

[L4t3r4lu5]

Hey, winkydink! Stop thinking so hard! Can't you just show the same level of blind and ignorant hatred as the rest of us? We wanted to have a rant about how corporate America was stripping away our freedoms, how we were losing our rights, and how the Gooberment was full of totalitarian assholes!

Now we'll have to kick some puppies to vent our frustrations. Thanks a lot, puppy hater.

Re:Free speech and democracy?

[Feyshtey]

The cool thing is that its so true and you have the right to say so.

Wait...

Re:Free speech and democracy?

[The Ultimate Fartkno]

I want MY America back! This isn't Nazi Germany!

Re:Hmmm...

[CannonballHead]

I know if it had happened to Bush, the neocons would have had pitchforks in hand.

If? We all know that when Bush was in office, no negative pictures or parodies of him circulated the internet. *blinks*

Re:Free speech and democracy?

[Captain Splendid]

They don't seem to have a problem with the photoshopped Sarah Palin porn

To be fair, nobody has a problem with Palin Porn. Pelosi Porn, on the other hand...ugh.

So...

[denzacar]

They should have used a photo of Noam Chomsky instead?

But... Where would they find one of him without glasses?
And if they did - how would we know it was him?

Re:Free speech and democracy?

[Itninja]

Read the bill! READ the bill! READ THE bill!

Wanted all caps but /. lameness filter oppressed me.

Re:Free speech and democracy?

[LandDolphin]

Better yet, start up a Flickr competitor, only with hookers and blackjack.

You know what, forget the picture hosting and the blackjack.

Re:Hmmm...

[Carewolf]

Yes, because it's not like we experience that kind of politcal bias here on Slashdot all the time where people get modded down because someone of the other party had mod points......

By the "other party" you are refering to the Apple party, right?

Re:Hmmm...

[H0p313ss]

There you go again, bringing reality into it. This is Slashdot man! SLASHDOT... Reality has no value here!