When I read this article, I was really shocked at the punishment that one can receive in France for “public insult toward a member of the ministry." An $18,000 seems excessive to me. Also, all Dominique Broueilh did was call politician Nadine Morano a lier. Don't most people assume politicians lie part of the time anyway?
Also, being called a lier is the least of Morano's problems. There is video online (click here) of her dancing rather inappropriately with young male supporters to a Black Eyed Peas song.
It seems to me that politicians in general, specifically French ones in this case, do not want to take responsibility for their actions and poor choices. It's a good thing that the Internet is making it necessary that they will have to start.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Fashion Blogging
I generally make it a rule not to read fashion blogs (the closest I come is my guilty obsession with Perez Hilton), so after I read the New York Times article "Bloggers Crash Fashion’s Front Row," I did some research on Tavi, the blogger mentioned in the article. I went to her blog, and from what I read, it seems like members of the fashion industry have been really critical of her. However, based on my limited knowledge of her, I have respect for her... or as much respect as I can possibly have for a fashion reporter of any kind. Personally, I find writing about clothes and fashion to be so ridiculously frivolous when there are so much more important issues to worry about. And, not to stereotype, but those involved in the "fashion community" generally seem to all resemble Meryl Streeps' character Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada-self absorbed with an overly inflated opinion of one's importance and contribution to the world. Tavi seems different.
However, with that being said, Tavi seems like a fairly down-to-earth teenager that started a blog purely for the personal enjoyment and satisfaction that comes from it. And then, industry leaders like the editor of Elle are personally attacking some poor 13 year old girl? Really? I mean, I don't doubt that she has a fairly loudly heard "voice" on the Internet, but she's 13. It seems to me that the staff of magazines like Vogue and Elle are more threatened by her than they let on.
I think Kelly Cutrone, known for her work at People's Revolution and for her new reality show on Bravo! said it best: "Do I think, as a publicist, that I now have to have my eye on some kid who’s writing a blog in Oklahoma as much as I do on an editor from Vogue? Absolutely. Because once they write something on the Internet, it’s never coming down. And it’s the first thing a designer is going to see.”
However, with that being said, Tavi seems like a fairly down-to-earth teenager that started a blog purely for the personal enjoyment and satisfaction that comes from it. And then, industry leaders like the editor of Elle are personally attacking some poor 13 year old girl? Really? I mean, I don't doubt that she has a fairly loudly heard "voice" on the Internet, but she's 13. It seems to me that the staff of magazines like Vogue and Elle are more threatened by her than they let on.
I think Kelly Cutrone, known for her work at People's Revolution and for her new reality show on Bravo! said it best: "Do I think, as a publicist, that I now have to have my eye on some kid who’s writing a blog in Oklahoma as much as I do on an editor from Vogue? Absolutely. Because once they write something on the Internet, it’s never coming down. And it’s the first thing a designer is going to see.”
Sunday, January 31, 2010
UConn Coach v. The Blogger
I should probably preface this blog entry by saying that I am a huge sports fan (hey, I'm from Buffalo... it's required!) and I have the upmost respect for professional and college athletes, coaches and staff. However, I also think that most sports stars are grossly overpaid.
The UConn men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun exploded at blogger Ken Krayeske at a press conference last year. Krayeske asked Calhoun about the fact that he is the highest paid state employee in Connecticut when state employees are being forced to take pay cuts due to the failing economy. Calhoun's arrogant and insensitive answer really bothered me. In the time of an economic recession, shouldn't someone who is earning millions of dollars take a little pay cut so that those less fortunate have an opportunity to make a living? I don't deny that he's successful and works hard, but so do people with lower profile jobs. I found Calhoun's explanation that he "wants to retire" to be especially troubling. Lately, fewer and fewer people are able to have that luxury. There are people starving to death and living in poverty around the world. For him to imply that he needs millions of dollars to have a comfortable retirement is sickening and insensitive.
I respect the fact that Krayeske had the ambition and nerve to ask a question that quite frankly needed to be asked. While he enjoys a freedom that mainstream journalists don't have, he probably should have gone about asking his question in a different way. Personally, I think that I am less confrontational than Krayeske is, so I absolutely would have worded the question differently. I would have said something like, "In a time when there are budget cuts all over the state and many are struggling financially, do you think that your salary also should have taken a cut like others' have?" And then I would have expanded on there based on what he said. However, based on the Youtube clip of Calhoun that I saw (I don't really know anything else about him- I'm not a UConn fan), I don't really think that there was a way that you could ask him that question without him exploding and acting like a pompous jerk. He seemed to have a very arrogant and confrontational personality so there probably was no way to ask the question without him getting upset.
However, it was a question that needed to be asked. I think other sports figures need to answer the same question.
The UConn men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun exploded at blogger Ken Krayeske at a press conference last year. Krayeske asked Calhoun about the fact that he is the highest paid state employee in Connecticut when state employees are being forced to take pay cuts due to the failing economy. Calhoun's arrogant and insensitive answer really bothered me. In the time of an economic recession, shouldn't someone who is earning millions of dollars take a little pay cut so that those less fortunate have an opportunity to make a living? I don't deny that he's successful and works hard, but so do people with lower profile jobs. I found Calhoun's explanation that he "wants to retire" to be especially troubling. Lately, fewer and fewer people are able to have that luxury. There are people starving to death and living in poverty around the world. For him to imply that he needs millions of dollars to have a comfortable retirement is sickening and insensitive.
I respect the fact that Krayeske had the ambition and nerve to ask a question that quite frankly needed to be asked. While he enjoys a freedom that mainstream journalists don't have, he probably should have gone about asking his question in a different way. Personally, I think that I am less confrontational than Krayeske is, so I absolutely would have worded the question differently. I would have said something like, "In a time when there are budget cuts all over the state and many are struggling financially, do you think that your salary also should have taken a cut like others' have?" And then I would have expanded on there based on what he said. However, based on the Youtube clip of Calhoun that I saw (I don't really know anything else about him- I'm not a UConn fan), I don't really think that there was a way that you could ask him that question without him exploding and acting like a pompous jerk. He seemed to have a very arrogant and confrontational personality so there probably was no way to ask the question without him getting upset.
However, it was a question that needed to be asked. I think other sports figures need to answer the same question.
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