Selfie, Samsung et Obama: on commercialise le Président?

Je suis tombé dans le piège comme bien des gens qui trouvaient le selfie du Président avec David Ortiz plutôt sympathique. Un geste spontané de la vedette des Red Sox? Pas du tout! Sous contrat avec Samsung, le cogneur aurait un peu "coincé" Barack Obama pour servir les intérêts de la compagnie. Je ne vais pas commencer à acheter des produits Samsung pour autant, mais je suis un peu déçu qu'il y ait de moins en moins de ces réjouissances un naïves et "fraîches".

 "It was an undeniably cute moment -- until it was revealed the whole thing was a commercial for Samsung's Galaxy Note 3. (NOTE: Spontaneity truly is dead.) White House press secretary Jay Carney confirmed the president was unaware that Ortiz -- who signed a new deal with the cellphone company on Monday -- was being paid for his photography skills.

 The thing that likely bothered Obama the most, however, was that he fell victim to the same selfie corruption that he condemned talk show host Ellen DeGeneres for mere weeks ago. When he went on her show to promote Obamacare on March 20, they also discussed the Oscar Twitter photo (since we have reached the cap on using the word that describes photos taken by cellphone photographers of themselves in this post, we will resort to using well-worn newspaper techniques for avoiding curse words for the duration of this story) that finally broke the retweet record that Obama set on election night in 2012. “I heard about that," he said. "I thought it was a pretty cheap stunt myself." Alas! His innocence could not last! He probably shouldn't have expected it to either, given his family's history of sending people off to stores in droves after products have been linked up with the Obama brand.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/04/03/samsung-selfies-and-the-branding-of-barack-obama/?hpid=z5

Poutine appelle Sarah Palin! Jimmy Fallon frappe encore

Bill Clinton et l'implication des jeunes en politique

Bill Clinton et Rob Ford: le maire de Toronto est un "stereotype Buster"

Harvard: un viol ignoré par l'administration? "Dear Harvard you win"

Le Washington post de ce matin mentionne un article du Harvard Crimson à l'intérieur duquel on retrouve le texte d'une étudiante qui y raconte le viol dont elle a été victime. Comme l'indique le titre "Dear Harvard: you win", elle abandonne la démarche qu'elle menait auprès de l'administration pour que son agresseur ne se retrouve plus dans la même résidence qu'elle...

 "But when she reported the incident to college officials, they tried to dissuade her from pressing charges. The alleged assailant, they said, may not have violated the letter of a two-decade-old sexual assault policy in the student handbook, which defines “indecent assault and battery” as anything involving “unwanted touching or fondling of a sexual nature that is accompanied by physical force or threat of bodily injury.” If the alleged victim went forward with an Administration Board case, these officials told her, he’d likely be cleared. On the other hand, the school could not take action against the accused student without a full investigative process. Moving him to a different House in the absence of an Admin Board verdict would be unjust. What they could do was pluck the letter writer out of her residential support system, as if she were to blame, and install her in a new dorm."

  https://trove.com/me/content/5PZTa?chid=138459&_p=trending&utm_source=wp&utm_medium=Widgets&utm_campaign=wpsrTrendingExternal-1-opt

"Je ne mérite pas d'être violée": campagne de sensibilisation au Brésil (Washington Post)

Le petit graphique qui coiffe ce billet révèle des chiffres inquiétants. cet article du Post s'intéresse à une importante campagne de sensibilisation autour de la croissance du nombre de viols au Brésil. La tenue vestimentaire des femmes justifie-t-elle le viol?

 "There are few statistics more jarring than this one: According to a survey released late last week, 65.1 percent of Brazilians think if a woman is “dressed provocatively” she deserves to be “attacked and raped.” Here’s another one: 59 percent of the 3,810 respondents across 212 cities said if a Brazilian woman “knew how to behave” there would be fewer rapes."

  http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/04/03/i-dont-deserve-to-be-raped-campaign-responds-to-shocking-brazilian-survey/?tid=hp_mm&hpid=z3

We’re Not No. 1! We’re Not No. 1! Les États-Unis au seizième rang mondial (New York Times)

Selon le Social Progress Index, les États-Unis se classent au seizième rang mondial. Nicholas Kristof élabore sur le sujet dans son article de ce matin sur le site du New York Times.

 "In the Social Progress Index, the United States excels in access to advanced education but ranks 70th in health, 69th in ecosystem sustainability, 39th in basic education, 34th in access to water and sanitation and 31st in personal safety. Even in access to cellphones and the Internet, the United States ranks a disappointing 23rd, partly because one American in five lacks Internet access.

 “It’s astonishing that for a country that has Silicon Valley, lack of access to information is a red flag,” notes Michael Green, executive director of the Social Progress Imperative, which oversees the index. The United States has done better at investing in drones than in children, and cuts in social services could fray the social fabric further.

 This Social Progress Index ranks New Zealand No. 1, followed by Switzerland, Iceland and the Netherlands. All are somewhat poorer than America per capita, yet they appear to do a better job of meeting the needs of their people.

The Social Progress Index is a brainchild of Michael E. Porter, the eminent Harvard business professor who earlier helped develop the Global Competitiveness Report. Porter is a Republican whose work, until now, has focused on economic metrics.

 “This is kind of a journey for me,” Porter told me. He said that he became increasingly aware that social factors support economic growth: tax policy and regulations affect economic prospects, but so do schooling, health and a society’s inclusiveness.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/03/opinion/were-not-no-1-were-not-no-1.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0

Fort Hood: 4 morts et 16 blessés

De tristes retombées des problèmes psychologiques qui affectaient un vétéran de la guerre en Irak...

 "The shooter apparently walked into a building and began firing a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol that had been purchased recently. He then got into a vehicle and continued firing before entering another building and kept shooting.

He was eventually confronted by military police in a parking lot. As he came within 20 feet of an officer, the gunman put his hands up but then reached under his jacket and pulled out his gun. The officer drew her own weapon, and the suspect put his gun to his head and pulled the trigger a final time.

 The gunman, who was married and served in Iraq for four months in 2011, had sought help for depression, anxiety and other problems. Before the attack, he had been undergoing an assessment to determine whether he had post-traumatic stress disorder, according to Lt. Gen. Mark A. Milley, the senior officer on the base.

 http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fort-hood-4-dead

Caricature Cour suprême et financement électoral: pas d'entraves à "la liberté"...

Caricature de BILL DAY, CAGLE CARTOONS

 La Cour suprême a fait sauter le plafond des contributions financières dans sa décision d'hier.

Caricature Ségolène Royal et François Hollande réunis

Caricature de TAYLOR JONES, POLITICALCARTOONS.COM

 Ségolène Royal effectue un retour et devient ministre.

Fort Hood: Obama a le "coeur brisé" par la fusillade

Ce n'est pas la première fois que Fort Hood est le théâtre d'une fusillade meurtrière, en 2009 treize personnes étaient décédées.

 "“Any shooting is troubling. Obviously this reopened pain of what happened at Fort Hood five years ago,” he said. “We know these families, we know the service to their country and the sacrifices that they make. Obviously our thoughts and prayers are with the entire community and we are going to do everything we can to make the community of Fort Hood has what it needs to deal with a tough situation but also any potential aftermath.”

“We’re heartbroken that something like this might have happened again,” he added. Obama held off making more comments before learning more about the incident, but said it was particularly disturbing to see yet another mass shooting at a military facility.

 http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/fort-hood-obama-heartbroken-105324.html?hp=l1