• 0 Posts
  • 23 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
Cake day: August 3rd, 2023
  • flyboy_146@lemmy.worldtoWorld News@lemmy.world•Macron invites Xi to favourite Pyrenees holiday destinationEnglish
    52·
    6 months ago

    Hopefully, this doesn’t break rule one and/or two too much. If so, let me know and I’ll delete.

    I think I know a little more than you about French president Macron, but if so, not by much. So here’s the blind arguing with the blind!

    Full disclaimer, this is a copypasta of the answer I got from an AI assistant:

    Certainly! Let’s explore both perspectives on French President Emmanuel Macron:

    1. Positive Perspective: Emmanuel Macron, as the French President, has made significant strides in positioning Europe as a more assertive global power. His vision for a united Europe, especially during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, demonstrates his commitment to international stability and cooperation. Macron’s close cooperation with other world leaders, such as United States President Joe Biden, highlights his dedication to addressing global challenges, including climate change and defending democracy. Furthermore, his efforts to rejuvenate France and prepare it for crises underscore his determination to lead effectively on the world stage. Macron’s energy, international presence, and rhetorical vision have garnered him support both domestically and internationally.
    1. Critical Perspective: However, Macron’s presidency has not been without controversy. His perceived elitism, stemming from his background in finance and top universities, has alienated some segments of French society. His centralization of power and occasional gaffes, like telling an unemployed gardener to “cross the road” to find a job, have fueled class-based resentment. Additionally, his polarizing effect during the “yellow vest” protests and the visceral rejection he faces from part of the population mirror the challenges he encounters as a leader. While Macron scores well in polls on competency and presidential stature, his presidency remains divisive.

    In summary, Macron’s impact on the world stage is multifaceted, with supporters praising his global vision and critics highlighting his perceived elitism and class-based tensions. Ultimately, whether he is a good president for the world depends on individual perspectives and priorities.

    That’s what I used to help myself determine if you were a little too harsh on him. I thought it could be beneficial to share, but like I started this response with, if this is frowned upon, I’ll happily remove this!

  • flyboy_146@lemmy.worldtoFormula 1@lemmy.world•Albon worried about Williams F1 spares "before I even hit the wall"
    4·
    7 months ago

    It really is unfortunate. 🫤

    When asked for his view of what happened, Albon said he was trying to back off once he realised he was in Ricciardo’s blind spot, but couldn’t help avoiding the contact. “I had a grip advantage [on soft tyres], kind of surprised [with] the grip I had out of [Turn] 2, and was able to pull underneath him and have a good run into 3,” Albon explained. "More about just trying to get him a little bit off line [at Turn] 3 and try and find a way for 4, 5, 6, 7 - to see if I could upset his line a little bit. "Obviously just one of them. He didn’t see me, clearly. I tried to back out of it last minute. "There was a moment where I realised he hadn’t seen me here, the way he’s pulling across, so I hit the brakes and tried to get out of it.

    “But I was almost too far alongside him and he still was coming across, I couldn’t avoid it.” With no spare car available until Miami, Williams is continuing to walk on eggshells while its pool of spare parts dwindles. “It’s no secret that we are having a tough time with it at the moment with the parts we’ve got,” Albon acknowledged. This is going to hurt us for sure."

  • flyboy_146@lemmy.worldtoWorld News@lemmy.world•L.A. Times Executive Editor Steps Down Amid Disagreements With Owner on Israel-Hamas War CoverageEnglish
    8·
    10 months ago

    The Los Angeles Times executive editor resigned last week amid sharp disagreements with the newspaper’s owner over coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.

    Billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who owns the newspaper, criticized the editor’s decision to limit coverage of the war in Gaza by journalists who signed a harsh statement of condemnation against Israel.

    The editor, Kevin Merida (67), was appointed by Soon-Shiong in May 2021, a physician and biotechnologist who bought the paper in 2018 for half a billion dollars. Merida resigned five months before the end of his contract, giving prior warning to his senior deputies in the newspaper but not to the owner.

    Likud minister formulates regulations to imprison citizens who ‘harm national morale’ Memorandum of Shin Bet law will enable Israel’s security agency to spy on journalists Number of journalists killed in Israel-Gaza war unparalleled, new report shows Merida decided in November that more than 30 journalists from the paper’s news department, who signed a statement describing Israel as an apartheid state committing genocide in Gaza, would be barred from covering the war for three months (until mid-February).

    The statement was signed by more than 1,400 journalists worldwide. Merida consulted with his deputies, and sent a refresher on journalism ethics and the paper’s fairness policy to the staff, emphasizing that readers “should not identify private opinions in news coverage or feel that the organization is promoting an agenda.”

    According to entertainment and media news website TheWrap, senior editors agreed that the decision to temporarily bar these journalists was crucial to guarantee the paper’s integrity in covering the conflict, even if there were few opponents.

    New York Times reporter Jazmine Hughes, who signed a similar letter, resigned after her editor circulated a staff-wide statement saying it was a clear violation of the paper’s public protest policy.

    However, Los Angeles Times owner Soon-Shiong and his daughter Nika Soon-Shiong, whose social network profile expresses pro-Palestinian opinions, opposed to Merida’s decision – though they did not demand that he change it – which intensified tensions between them. Soon-Shiong denied the connection between these events and Merida’s resignation in an interview with an L.A. Times reporter last week, but commented that he was “disappointed” that he had not been made aware of the decision ahead of time, hinting that he might have acted to prevent it. “We mutually agreed that he perhaps was not the right fit,” he said of the circumstances of Merida’s departure.

    TheWrap revealed that the relationship between Soon-Shiong and Merida was never close, but in recent months, the owners’ interventions in news decisions and lack of support for the editorship’s independence had increased, joining other problems such as economic losses without an apparent rehabilitation plan.

    Soon-Shiong also disputed some of the newspaper’s coverage in on health and science, which are his fields of research. L.A Times spokesperson Hillary Manning said the owner did not engage in editorial intervention and told TheWrap: “You will never find anyone credible to dispute that.”

    Merida, on the other hand, told the LA Times last week: “I came to my decision based on a number of factors, including differences of opinion about the role of an executive editor, how journalism should be practiced and strategy going forward.” He did not give further detail. Last year, the Los Angeles Times fired dozens of workers – 13 percent of staff, including editors, proofreaders, photographers and video editors – which made Merida’s management of the newspaper harder.

    He had previously run the Culture and Sports Unit on ESPN News and served as senior vice president of the network. Prior to that, he worked for 22 years at the Washington Post, where he rose to staff coordinator.

    Los Angeles Times staff members told TheWrap that they valued Merida and were shocked by his departure; that they worry about the newspaper’s future, and are concerned that it would be difficult to recruit his replacement.

    “If you don’t listen to your executive editor then there’s no point for the executive editor to be there,” a staff member said, criticizing the owner who, for the time being, claims he intends to remain in possession of the paper.