Disqus - Latest Comments for Michael_1984

Re: GrubHub gets smacked down - John Pletz Technology Blog - Crain's Chicago Business

Michael_1984 — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 18:17:06 -0000

2.4 percent is far from a smack down...but overall trend is definitely down.

Re: Don't Drink and Drive. In This Powerful Ad, It Really Does Sound Like a Broken Record

Michael_1984 — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 11:04:04 -0000

Good post and find from France. Only correction would be the spelling of "la méme chanson" to "la même chanson"
(different accent)

Re: Construction Workers Yell Messages of Empowerment to Women in Snickers Stunt

Michael_1984 — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 12:10:08 -0000

Relax.
They're not saying blue collar workers or men are not naturally polite.
They're just saying that the stereotypical catcallers are not
themselves when they're being polite. That's why it's a great stunt.
Well done, Clemenger BBDO

Re: This guy’s resumé in the style of Super Mario World is probably the best you’ll see in a long time

Michael_1984 — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 12:08:06 -0000

A French job candidate did something similar this past February: http://www.advergame.fr/vei...

http://www.jeregalliot.fr/c...

Re: The 20 Biggest Brand Fails of 2012

Michael_1984 — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 17:08:47 -0000

The La Redoute one was on purpose.. and CLM BBDO Paris won an award....

Re: Is Larry Page the Consummate Anti-Social CEO?

Michael_1984 — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 05:26:23 -0000

You can see more about him here
http://www.google.com/intl/...

Re: From Copenhagen, The Road to Clean Energy

Michael_1984 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:48:21 -0000

an inspiring story..if one boy can change his community, perhaps countries could change the world? Yes. It's just a matter of will:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/...

Re: From Copenhagen, The Road to Clean Energy

Michael_1984 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:46:04 -0000

Interesting article on renewable energies in Denmark:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009...

Re: From Copenhagen, The Road to Clean Energy

Michael_1984 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:43:42 -0000

interesting article on renewable energies in Denmark:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009...

Re: Making Media Partisanship Work

Michael_1984 — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:28:14 -0000

Interesting piece, and it's very true that French newspapers and magazines have a known bias. Although I'd have to say there's a fair share of US newspapers, magazines and of course TV stations with known bias. Just look at the op-ed pages of the New York Times, and then the Wall Street Journal. It can be very different.

But in France, the divide between the gauche (left) and the droit (right) is so pronounced that even in the smallest villages you usually can find a cafe that is more left-leaning and another that is more rightist. It's not just a battle for power or the political spotlight - it runs much deeper, to the fundamental beliefs and viewpoints of those voicing their support for a specific political party.

But unlike the US, where the idea of bipartisanship still exists - even if it seems to be suffering a lot at the moment - a Socialist working hand-in-hand with a UMP member (conservative party of Sarkozy) would make most French laugh and/or vomit. In fact, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, co-founder of Doctors without Borders, is a former Socialist and as soon as he joined Sarkozy's government, he was excommunicated from the Socialist party. There are many more political parties than just Socialist and UMP, and that's perhaps why it's so hard for them to work together. When they do work together, it's usually by necessity - a coalition to win more votes. More on French political parties:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Also, one more thing. Sarkozy has close friends in a lot of business circles, but especially in the media. This is one major reason he gets a lot of coverage, almost tabloid-like (and some French speculate his marriage to Carla Bruni was indeed for the media hype...but I'm not sure he needed her for extra attention). Indeed, they've inspired a play in Spain: http://www.google.com/hoste...

More on Sarko's media friends:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/...
http://www.csmonitor.com/20...

Re: Yes “Oui” Can? Informing the Healthcare Debate: The French Example

Michael_1984 — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:21:53 -0000

An excellent Washington Post guide to health care reform in the US:
http://www.washingtonpost.c...

Re: Yes “Oui” Can? Informing the Healthcare Debate: The French Example

Michael_1984 — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:19:20 -0000

Also, a clarification: one can also get their medicines and medical visits reimbursed (at least partially) by filling out specific sheets ("feuilles de soins"), which are then sent to the "Assurance Maladie" organization to be analyzed. The Carte Vitale just simplifies this process.

Re: Yes “Oui” Can? Informing the Healthcare Debate: The French Example

Michael_1984 — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:43:06 -0000

Correction: in paragraph 5, I made a typo:

"...These are reaped not only individually but also economically. Indeed, the French social safety net played a role in bringing France officially of the recession.."

I neglected to include the word "out" , so it should say "..in bringing France officially OUT of the recession."

Apologies. - MB

Re: Yes “Oui” Can? Informing the Healthcare Debate: The French Example

Michael_1984 — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:03:53 -0000

Great piece in the New York Times about the ideological warfare for health care in the US:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009...

Re: Unveiled: Obama’s Speech Sparks Debate over Muslim Headscarves

Michael_1984 — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:13:42 -0000

Yet another piece of news regarding the burka in France:

http://www.expatica.com/fr/...

French minister calls for full ban on burka
A ban on wearing the all covering burka in France would stem the spread of what French minister Fadela Amara called the "cancer" of radical Islam.

London - A ban on wearing the all covering burka in France would stem the spread of what French minister Fadela Amara called the "cancer" of radical Islam, a report quoted her as saying Saturday.

The Muslim minister for urban regeneration told the Financial Times newspaper that the head-to-toe body covering and veil represented the "oppression of women, their enslavement, their humiliation."

Amara, who is of Algerian descent, said France was a beacon for an enlightened Islam at ease with modernity, so it was necessary to fight the "gangrene, the cancer of radical Islam which completely distorts the message of Islam."

"The vast majority of Muslims are against the burka. It is obvious why," Amara told the newspaper.

"Those who have struggled for women's rights back home in their own countries -- I'm thinking particularly of Algeria -- we know what it represents and what the obscurantist political project is that lies behind it, to confiscate the most fundamental of liberties," she said.

The comments came as French lawmakers conduct hearings on whether to ban the burka after President Nicolas Sarkozy said it was "not welcome" in secular France, home to Europe's biggest Muslim minority.

AFP / Expatica

Re: Unveiled: Obama’s Speech Sparks Debate over Muslim Headscarves

Michael_1984 — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:03:26 -0000

New update on burka controversy:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/...
French pool bans 'burkini' swim

French officials have banned a Muslim woman from swimming in a public pool while wearing a swimsuit that covers her entire body.The woman had swum in July in the pool in Emerainville, east of Paris, in the "burkini" - a loose-fitting garment resembling a wetsuit with a hood.But staff stopped her from swimming in August, citing hygiene concerns. It comes as the government examines ways to limit burka use after the president said they reduced dignity. France is home to Western Europe's largest population of Muslims, with about 5 million living there.

At the pool, staff "reminded [the woman] of the rules that apply in all (public) swimming pools which forbid swimming while clothed," pool management official Daniel Guillaume was quoted by AFP as saying.
The woman was a French convert to Islam, and had bought the swimsuit in Dubai so that she would not have to uncover herself to go swimming."Quite simply, this is segregation," she said, according to Le Parisien newspaper, which identified her only as Carole."I will fight to try to change things. And if I see that the battle is lost, I cannot rule out leaving France." Emerainville Mayor Alain Kelyor said "all this has nothing to do with Islam", adding that the swimsuit was "not an Islamic swimsuit" and that "that type of suit does not exist in the Koran".

'Prisoners behind netting'

In June the French National Assembly appointed 32 MPs to a six-month fact-finding mission to look at ways of restricting burka use.In a major policy speech that month, President Nicolas Sarkozy said the burka - a garment covering women from head to toe - reduced them to servitude and undermined their dignity."We cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity," Mr Sarkozy told a special session of parliament in Versailles.In 2004, France banned the Islamic headscarves in its state schools.

Re: Meeting the World, Part 3: Obama Tries to Make Good with the Muslim World

Michael_1984 — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 06:23:02 -0000

Reality check: Just like "Meeting the World" Parts 1 and 2, and since I'm the one who lived in France and wrote this article, THIS SHOULD BE UNDER MY NAME.

Re: Taxes = Terrorism, Apparently

Michael_1984 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:14:31 -0000

Amen.

Re: Meeting the World: Obama’s Eurotrip Continues to Impress Allies

Michael_1984 — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:19:57 -0000

Your comment would be more respectable if you refrained from the needless "Osama Oh I mean Hussein Obama". What is that supposed to mean? Is he a secret Muslim terrorist? Please. That rumor died with McCain's defeat, and it's unfounded. And, to dare to ask, what IF he were a Muslim? So what. The grand majority of Muslims do not support terrorism and are moderates. The problem is that most Americans just don't know Muslims and those they see are terrorists on TV, which is unfortunate. Obama understands Muslim culture and wants to reach out, but he's also a realist and won't give into Iran if they're not willing to show change on their side. Striking interview with Iran's President:
http://www.spiegel.de/inter...

As for the "local guys on the ship"..I'm sorry to hear that, I really am. I hope they are OK. But I wouldn't go so far as to say that this were Obama's fault. Far from it. The world is full of non-state actors seeking to mess up the world order, be they extremists, pirates, drug gangs, sex traffickers..etc.. it's the state of how things are. We can't fix everything, but where we can, I'd give Obama a chance to see what he can do. It's quite early to judge his administration, and as for judging George W. Bush... well, most people know how that turned out.

Re: Meeting the World: Obama’s Eurotrip Continues to Impress Allies

Michael_1984 — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:48:56 -0000

I don't see how your comment has to do with the subject of this article. This is usually a forum for intelligent commentary on the article at hand. If you have a beef with Alexander (which I don't), you'd be better off writing to him than posting it here. Also, you may want to spell check. I didn't see "practive" in the dictionary.