Tag Archives: scandal

Talent is not a Panacea against Stupidity, see former Dior’s John Galliano

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From a  seemingly  remote event, located  in the fashion world, without apparent bloodshed and no crude oil, we get another reminder about good old Europe, reminder  created by John Galliano, Dior’s well know  fashion genius .

In a virulent antisemitic tirade, he says “I love Hitler” see the video below.

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.See below another video..

..He could have said  “The Truth in Hate: I hate Hitler”. But no, he is a fashion genius…working for Dior. He has the right to be stupid. For him it is of good  fashion to be antisemitic. Perhaps this is his  “Truth in Fashion”..(paraphrased on Derrida’s book ‘The Truth in Painting’).

But for the Dior perfume and clothing  empire it was bad and suicidal to employ an antisemitic design genius . The name of the game was to maintain her immaculate reputation, so came the immediate retaliation, the sacking of John Galliano, aiming to ‘kill’ at once the erupting scandal.

But how far away from today’s Galliano’s love of Hitler – the bloodshed and cruelties embodied in the Nazi’s  genocides, are only apparently veiled  by the years, I quote this comment from ‘the London Evening Standard’:

“I am in my eighties and served and with the American 8th Army Air force in England from 1943 to 1946. What John Galliano had to say about his “Love for Hitler” is not a Jewish issue but rather an English issue. Is their no one left in England that remembers the V-2 rocket bombing of London. The destruction of Coventry by Hitler’s bombers. The tens of thousands of civilians killed in these raids. What Galliano had to say was a slap in the face of all the Englishmen and women that died fighting Hitler.
– Larry, Florida, USA, 02/03/2011 08:26 For more see here on ‘the London Evening Standard’  “.

So is there any moral in Galliano’s antisemitic fashion catwalk?

Well, I don’t think so.  People will continue to buy Dior fashion. Galliano’s talent  of love for Hitler has surely many friends awaiting a ‘New Fashion’ wave leader.

The story is that  talent is not a panacea against stupidity. After Galliano disarmed himself of his creative assets not much remained.

Hamas ‘Freeing’ Gaza from Porn Sites

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Is it not an impossible request to ban pornography, sex and voyeurism by simply issuing a ban? Even in Gaza ruled by the Hamas,not every one will welcome the ban. A part of Gaza’s population is basically similar to the West Bank population. A town like Ramallah, more open to the world, can be considered by many Gazans as an example of how a better life is possible, and among other things, a free internet is maintained and available. Will bans, of any sort, not induce ‘hackers’ to bypass them? Only if the Hamas will threatened surfers with unsupportable penalties have they a chance to succeed. But for the more ‘Western’ inclined Gazans, perhaps ’emigrating’ to the Western Bank..is not an impossible solution, reminding me of “The escape from LA” movie, starring Kurt Russel.
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Here is the ban news:
…” ‘Islamist group Hamas has told the main Palestinian telecoms company to block access to pornographic Internet sites in the Gaza Strip, a Hamas government official said on Monday.”….The aim of the move is to protect the Palestinian community from cultural pollution and to protect the young generations from the misuse of the Internet through viewing pornographic sites,’ Hamas government spokesman Taher al-Nono said…’An Internet provider in the Gaza Strip, which Hamas seized in June after routing President Mahmoud Abbas’s secular Fatah forces, estimated that about 400,000 Gazans surf the Web and said almost half of them were aged 18-35.’…’Attacks against video stores and Internet cafes have increased over the past two years. Some of the attacks had been claimed by radical Muslim groups who say such places run contrary to Islamic values.’ “…see more.
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It turns out that issuing a ban in Gaza has no influence on the Israeli internet providers.
Israeli owners of sex sites report, I quote..” The Israeli-Palestinian conflict apparently does not disturb and even encourages Arab internet users from consuming kosher Hebrew porn. Operators of a number of porn sites report that between two and 10% of their users arrive from Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Jordan, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority. Some websites even go as far as offering services in Arabic.”….” The most popular video clip among Arabs, ‘Code name: Deep investigation,’ is described as ‘a parody dealing with the Vanunu affair with agents investigating the affair using erotic means’. “…” Nothing seems to stop the porn-consuming Saudi, not even technical difficulties: ‘In many places Israel is blocked, at times the entire suffix ‘.co.il’ is blocked. Users connect through proxy servers and reach us that way,’ he said”…see here the full article.
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So Gazans know how to satisfy themselves not only with the “Sex, lies and videotape” movie. Maintaining myself a blog, (not porno or any related subject), I see every day entries from the Gaza strip and the West Bank on my blog.
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Now if the Hamas ban will succeed, what shall be with the fate of private porno sex and future sex extortions in Gaza? From a “Jerusalem Post” article “Fatah-Hamas mired in tawdry accusations”, Hamas and Fatah are accusing each other of sex scandals homosexual relations, sex orgies etc.
Here are a few quotes,..”The alleged “sex scandals” are said to have occurred in the Gaza Strip, which fell into Hamas’s hands in June.”…” Some of them had individual sex, while others preferred group sex. Some of them paid money for sex, while others performed sexual intercourse with males in front of their wives.”….” The sex allegedly took place in hotels, clinics and private homes – in some cases with a picture of Yasser Arafat hanging overhead.”..
And here a few Fatah accusations against the Hamas sex scandalls, I quote ..”According to Fatah, a Hamas imam was recently caught having sex with a male minor in a mosque basement. In another incident, according to Fatah, a senior member of Hamas’s armed wing, Izaddin Kassam, was expelled from his refugee camp after he was caught having sex with a male colleague in a vehicle. And according to a report on a Fatah-controlled Web site, a Hamas man was caught naked together with his neighbor’s wife in her bedroom”…see here for the full article.
Now, as always, a ban, even in Gaza, has his pros and cons. Each reader can decide for himself what are his preferences.
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Nazi Propaganda in Misleading Paris Occupation Photos

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Via my Internet subscription to the french newspaper “Le Figaro” I found an article named “Cette exposition est tout à fait légitime”. Seeking an English written article on the same subject I found one on “FRANCE24″ named “German occupation photo exhibit causes scandal” . The opening lines describes in a few words what it’s all about “A controversial new photography exhibit entitled, ‘Parisians Under Occupation’ shows scenes of daily life that contrast sharply with the reality of the German occupation from 1940 to 1945″. (Photography exhibition, “Parisians Under Occupation” at the City Hall Library in Paris features 250 color photographs by French photographer André Zucca taken for the Nazi propaganda daily).
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Paris 1940-45
 
  Looking at the exhibition’s video clips reminded me of the same years in Brussels, where as a kid, I was living and hiding from the Nazis, with my family.The architectural resemblance between Paris and Brussels are striking; the same houses, streets., the same fashion, the false Idyllic look of a good living world. And all this, only a propaganda veil hiding the atrocities of the Nazi regime all over Europe.
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What ignite the fire of scandal was , I quote, that… “These unedited images, taken by a 24/36 Leica, were taken between 1942 to 1945, the height of the German occupation. The absence of any explanation about the propaganda element in the exhibit is striking…
 
  ..Most of the photos contrast sharply with the history books recalling the Vel d’hiver roundup and deportation in July 1942. Where are the snaking lines outside food stores? Where are the witnesses of the occupation? Rare are the photos where a yellow star sewn on coat lapels is seen on passers-by. This unexpected take on “German France” does not leave one indifferent.”…see here.
  
Here are more photos:
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I extracted the photos from  “France 24″ here and from ”Le Figaro” here.
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Meanwhile the scandal continue,  I quote,..”WIthout questioning their beauty, the photos are disturbing. Even worse, the very title of the exhibit is rather shocking, due to its inaccuracy. Christophe Girard, the Parisian deputy mayor in charge of culture, is quite clear.”… “We should stop this exhibit!” ……”Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoë says the incident was “badly managed”, and is trying to put things right. He preferred not to ban the exhibit to avoid accusations of censorship, but removed the posters advertising the show. Organisers are also planning a debate titled “Is the camera an objective witness?” in a last-minute attempt to correct their early mistakes”..see more.
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 Well, I was a witness of those past days. What I remember are photos like these  from the “..’round-up’ or ‘raid’ of the Velodrome d’Hiver’,(see here), mirroring similar photos of Nazis raids in Brussels.
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I published this story on NowPublic and add here the comments by  NowPublic editors and contributing members.
 

 

 

 

 jordan  at 14:14 on April 26th, 2008
 
good stuff:For me, the only way to take those exhibited images beyond revisionism/propaganda would be to show them alongside documentary counterparts: the image and the reality… sort of like what you did in the story above!

 
korzac korzac  at 16:01 on April 26th, 2008

jordan thanks for the comment and the GS.

The curators of the exhibition trayed to minimize their mistakes, “..A large excerpt from the preface to the exhibition catalogue (Ed Gallimard / Paris Library), prepared by Jean-Pierre Azema, a specialist historian of this period is included in the exhibition since its opening and also recalls the historical context in which these photographs were taken, for more see here ..

…A weak palliative for bad conscience.

Barry Artiste news wrangler Barry Artiste  at 16:08 on April 26th, 2008
 
good stuff:korzac, I like this story. It’s good stuff. Excellent story and coverage Korzac
 
korzac korzac  at 17:12 on April 26th, 2008

Barry Artiste, thanks for the comment and the GS.

Karen Hatter top favorite editor Karen Hatter  at 17:08 on April 26th, 2008
 
good stuff:One must always guard against revisionist history. 
 
korzac korzac  at 17:35 on April 26th, 2008

Karen Hatter, the exhibition is a form of visual deceit under the decent patronage of ‘culture’. But the french living witnesses of those years denounced the fraud..

Thanks for the comment and the GS.

matte news wrangler matte  at 18:14 on April 26th, 2008

I think all governments contribute propeganda to their citizens.

History reveals many things, sometimes it takes a while to come out. Many Germans, I believe, had no idea what was happening far away.

Of course they would prfer to be thinking of good things happening from their nations actions, just as we all are wishing to belive good things are happening from current conflict zones.

korzac korzac  at 16:37 on April 27th, 2008

Matte, about your..”Many Germans, I believe, had no idea what was happening far away”..

Look at this ..”In a seminal study published thirty-five years ago, The Destruction of the European Jews, Raul Hilberg observed that the perpetrators of the Nazi holocaust were “not different in their moral makeup from the rest of the population…. [T]he machinery of destruction was a remarkable cross-section of the German population.”..see here.

Or look at this ..”To think that the Germans were unaware of the genocide is ignorant and absurd. The Germans saw as well as the Jews did what was going on. Why do you think so many Jews fled the country? They knew that death awaited them in the hands of the Nazis. The Germans saw the Jews being humiliated, corralled through the city, loaded up in trains and sent off to die horrible deaths in the concentration camps.’.. see here.

And look at the link with the title ..’The Genocide Generals: secret recordings explode the myth they knew nothing about the Holocaust“…see here.

Barry Artiste news wrangler Barry Artiste  at 18:59 on April 27th, 2008

I think Matte perhaps is stating that German civilians and soldiers far away from the conflict of the cities, perhaps the countryside and soldiers stationed outside of Germany may not have known about the concentration camps. Though I am sure rumours circulated, and perhaps even the rumours were infathomable to believe that humans could do that to humans.

matte news wrangler matte at 03:08 on April 28th, 2008

Propeganda means different things to different people, and people belive what they want to believe. A study after a war cannot accuratly deduce what was going on inside people’s heads at the time. Yes people were being taken away – but at the time I belive NO ONE knew to where or for what fate.

People belive until they know otherwise, as has happened with the Iraq situation – people are fed propeganda and lies, until the truth is finally revealed. There is no blame for this on the part of the population, they just belive what they are told.

Just as in the Seconf World War the Japanese being portrayed as devils….but they were only following their leaders and fighting their war the way they were told, as is the US military, the Chinese military etc.

korzac korzac  at 07:42 on April 28th, 2008

Matte about your “Yes people were being taken away – but at the time I believe NO ONE knew to where or for what fate.” What I most liked in this sentence is the irrevocable absoluteness of “..NO One knew..”

 Well, by ‘my what I where told by myself’  I know that SOME know what where the fate of the people taken away…

For example, the Belgian Benedictine priest, Reverend Henry Reynders  who saved my life and the life of  many other children from deportation, he and the whole Belgian rescues organisations knew perfectly well what would be our fate..see here  So,It would be very comforting that you indulge yourself in upgrading your knowledge from ‘No One knew’ to Some knew. The remaining question  will then be: how many is some.. 

 

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