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JAMES TARANTO: David Frum Is Silly: Does he really think Dan Rather was the liberal Andrew Breitbart?

Are we to believe that Ben Jealous thought Breitbart was what Dan Rather, before his fall, claimed to be–an impartial and reliable purveyor of facts? In the unlikely event that the answer to that question is yes, doesn’t his failure to know better reflect a stunning incompetence?

No, you can’t cheat an honest man. Breitbart set a trap for the NAACP, and the NAACP walked right into it. He was able to do so because he correctly identified the organization’s moral weakness. Confronted by a video showing apparent racism at an NAACP function, its leaders appear to have panicked and made a snap decision to denounce one of their own so as to pre-empt the charge of employing a double standard.

It was a very effective bit of Alinskyite political theater, and in a way more so for Breitbart’s having gotten the story wrong. As it turned out, the NAACP condemned Shirley Sherrod based on a false, secondhand accusation of racism. Members of the Tea Party movement know just how she feels.

And when the Tea Party was facing false accusations David Frum joined the pile-on. So spare me the notion that he’s a voice for journalistic ethics.

Beating Back Wildlife? More Old Media #FAIL!

Posted at Blue Virginia - Front Page - Blue Virginia

Courtesy of USA Today , here's today's hilarious example of old media #FAIL. These are the folks who are supposed to have quality control, as opposed to the evil and unprofessional blogosphere? Ha. Seriously, the old media can't tell the difference half the time between millions and billions, gallons and barrels, "wildlife" and a "wildfire." On the other hand, they ARE very good at reporting endlessly about the latest shark attack/missing white girl/phony right-wing-fever-dream-created "scandal" (aka, "climategate").

Read more from the original source:
Beating Back Wildlife? More Old Media #FAIL!

First, don't forget you still have a few days to vote in the Total Politics Awards. It's not to be taken too seriously but it's always good to see progressive, lefty, green types do well compared to the buggers of the right. Sorry, that should be bloggers of the right, the buggers.

You need to vote for at least five blogs (or should that be four other blogs?) so if you lack inspiration as to who else to vote for you can check out my list of Green blogs here, and my short list of lefty blogs in the right hand column which includes the likes of AVPS, F-Word, Third Estate, HarpyMarx and Dave's Part - who would all be worth a punt as well.

The second reminder is for Green Party members who I'd like to remind that the GPEx (Green Party Executive) nominations are still open and are, currently, massively skewed towards London residents.

I personally believe it is very important that these elections are all contested so that the party actually gets a choice as to who sits on the executive rather than simply getting lumbered with whoever has a big enough head to put themselves forwards... or to put it another way I think the executive should be decided by more than just who is capable of filling in a form.

I certainly will be voting for most of the seven people who've put their names in the hat so far, it's not their fault others have not put themselves forward - but it's very unhealthy that the party will have so little say over our exec. which essentially eliminates one of the largest mechanisms we have for holding the exec. to account.

It can't be right that the national chair, for example, is an uncontested position when we're in such a new period for the party. Do let me know if you need help or advise about these elections.

Lastly, it was announced today that the police officer who struck Ian Tomlinson from behind,leaving him dead, is to face disciplinary charges for his actions. No one could accuse the Met of rushing into that decision could they?

I mean most employers would probably be irresponsible and immediately discipline a member of staff who assaulted and killed someone while on duty - but the Met is more considered when it comes to this sort of thing and no one should assume that this announcement is in anyway connected to the outrage at the CPS's decision that a jury will not be allowed to judge whether this was murder.

This Friday, the 30th July, there is a lunchtime protest outside the Office of Department of Public Prosecution (Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge, SE1 9HS). It starts at noon and it would be a very good thing if we could ensure the DPP is not allowed to forget the public's disgust at their decision.

You may also wish to donate to The Ian Tomlinson Family Campaign. Incidentally this piece by Unity on Liberal Conspiracy is a must read when assessing the gross injustice of the DPP's decision.

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:27:09 -0400 Posted in cult mac blog

photo blogs women nud

Laurie says:

Sociological Images linked to art historian John Berger in the BBC documentary Ways of Seeing.

…perspective on the objectification of women in European art and advertising, starting with paintings of nude women. “To be naked,” he argues, “is to be oneself. To be nude is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognized for oneself. A nude has to be seen as an object in order to be a nude… they are there to feed an appetite, not to have any of their own.”

I didn’t note until after I played it that it was from 1972, so his oracular voice and uncomplicated perspective grated a bit. I kept wanting to make the conversation more nuanced and complex. And that oracular male voice giving us truth undercuts his point a bit. But in the context of 1972, it’s groundbreaking and brilliant, and unfortunately still true enough. These images occur over and over in contemporary advertising and art and we are mostly oblivious to their long history.

Obviously, I’ve thought a lot about images of the nude in art. Before I began Women En Large I spent a lot of time looking at historical nudes. I wanted to be clear enough, so that I was aware of the classic cliches of specific poses and postures. One of the most anatomically striking is “the nude with the broken back.”

I did the same for the male nude when I did Familiar Men. Although, of course (unsurprisingly) there were far, far fewer images to look at.

I was always looking for pictures that were true portraits rather then objectified pictures of unreal women. Berger says that historically there are only 20 or 30 of them. If so, I’m surprised that I had seem most of them when I was doing my research. My favorite in the video is Titian’s portrait of his young wife hugging her breasts.

For me the best thing about it is not the commentary, but the changing vision of the female nude through time. The European art that is shown from Medieval times to Impressionism really illustrates differences in beauty standards. And the images he chose illustrate it superbly.

These are very well worth watching. As is the third part, a discussion by a panel of women on his talk. Be patient with the introduction in the first one. The painting discussion and images happen fairly quickly

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