Miss Kolka

Back on track... and straight into the Sarko-world! I wasn't actually working today, which is strange because every time there is a Sarkozy news conference I seem to be working. Maybe there are just so many. It didn't stop me from listening to two hours of Mr Le President. And it made me think. about alot of things.

Many areas were covered by Nico Sarko; education, health, enviroment and plans for 2008. The overall theme being that France had to change because THAT was what he had been elected to do - and quickly too. He said he was against the 35 hour work week France is so notoriously known for (except that its not really applied, people that have to work more just collect off-days instead of being paid extra.. like this doctor I saw yesterday, he has already collected 100 days in overtime but he can't take them because there isn't enough staff to cover the shifts ...)  So it is probable to see the implementation of Sarkozy's "work-more-to-earn-more" policy in 2008. The problem is not that people that actually work, work little but their work seems not to be recognised as such - and the wages are way too low as well. A woman I met working in a supermarket gets 690 euros for her month's work. My rent is 850 euros, and I live in 33 squaremeters and not on the Champs Elysées I'll have you note. How can that be right?

It might be right though that french workers do not work as much in neighbouring countries.  But I don't think that is the main problem here. It is the mentality and the way of seeing work as a negative force in your life - saying you like your job was actually taboo for a long time in French society. The answer is not necessarily to work longer hours. (most of the people I know work 8-10 hours a day). Shouldn't we all rather try to be more effective? To be more practical and try to make things easier for everyone instead of complicating everything with paper work and hiararchy that cannot been shuffled?  Use modern technology and computers instead of paper folders that still are very common in the french office. Its time to modernise and its only a question of being organised. Oh and also of trust. Why should employees care about the progress of their company if they are not trusted with any responsability? Especially if they wont benefit from the possible success either? One of the things addressed by the French President - of course employees should also benefit if their company is successful and not only the shareholders. It sure sounds good, I would have liked him to be more precise on how he was going to implement that in french companies. Something more concrete than just words.

Words, stupid words. And so also words about my own company and the merger decision we have been waiting for. France 24, Radio France Internationale, and Television station TV5 should all be combined under a new name "France Monde". How that is going to be done still remains unclear.. Although the president was clear about one thing: "We want to distribute French values around the world and that can only be done in French, not on english and not in arabic." Very bad news for France 24 indeed. How is that possible? Its ridiculous to assume that other countries will watch an international news station only in French or with subtitles in their language! If the president understood how a news station works he would see that is practically impossible to subtitle live events. And what a joke - The french president's proposition for a global channel to be subtitled is even the more absurd as the French don't know the concept of subtitles. Have you EVER seen subtitled programs on a French tv station (ARTE being the exception since its a franco-german project)? What makes you think, Mr President that since you and your fellow countrymen dont have the patience to read subtitles, other countries will?? The more I think about it, the more it makes me mad.

It also means I might be out of a job in a year from now.

Hello, my name is Kolka and Im a News junkie.

"Hello Kolka"

I come before you because I am aware of my addiction, and I want to try to control it.

My case is not so uncommun. For instance yesterday I looked at the clock anxiously every 2 minutes for half an hour and waited for the time to be "off-news- o'clock" so I could finally turn on the television. I will admit it wasn't easy.. What about the three FARC hostages in Colombia, had they been released??? And What about the violence in Kenya? Would the opposition just take the more-than-probably rigged election results without a fight? I wanted to know so badly... so I turned on CNN "only for research purposes". And spent the next 12 hours glued to the screen.

Oh how bad it is, I know..

It is therefore with great regret that I announce that I will go on a one week news-cure trip in a land far far away. With no Tv, Radio (I will ask for a car specially without it) and especially no internet. Thank god my fellow and favourite news junkie is joining me on this trip... I hope we will find some kind of amuzement, some way of not being bored to death or falling back into habit on the Island of beauty... I hear they have goats and wild pigs.. only if I could record a newsworthy attack of one of these creatures and send it to the observers website or I-report.. no no.. Lets hope that the Island trip  offers more than beautiful landscapes, gorgeous food, interesting locations, great company and a perfect rest from all that is happening on the world stage. Its going to be sooo hard...

 

Farewell my lovely news.. 

So Benazir Bhutto has been assasinated. Did she get too close to her own people? Perhaps it was bound to happen. A woman fighting for democracy in a muslim country who already escaped attacks two months ago when she returned from exile and where 140 of her supporters died. Bhutto was not perfect but she didnt deserve to die for her beliefs. No one does. Not long time ago she was asked if she wasn't scared for her own life in Pakistan's deadly politics. She answered:

"I dont believe a true muslim will attack me, I believe Islam forbids suicide bombings ... " Well someone did get her in the end, but certainly not a martyr going to paradise to meet the 72 virgins.

How sad it all is, her father hanged, her two brothers killed and now the "icon of Democracy" gunned down at a rally, just a week before the highly contested elections. Leaving behind a mourning husband, 3 children and a country in chaos.

What a mess.

Oh and merry christmas, gleðileg jól, et Joyeux Noel

I have figured out the difference between a journalist and a editorialist (the latter should actually include the former but its not necessary to go in the other direction). I never actually wanted to be a journalist - how can the information of Presidential elections in Uzbekistan where the President is elected once again, and in a fake democratic election even, be useful to my overall knowledge? All we seem to talk about on international channels are elections, vote rigging, arrest and attacks. Oh, and more elections. Then Israelis decide to build more settlements just on the eve of the second round of peace talks with the Palestinians and we are just suppose to say - "Oh, this could be a problem" - well you can be damn sure it is a problem and against international law. All this on the same day as Mr famous writer decides to die. You haven't heard about it? What, that Julien Gracq is dead? Oh, you don't know who Im talking about? Well neither did I but it seemed crucial to announce the death of the 97 year old on the channel today - well for one part because he was the director's favourite writer. "but," as I tried to reason with my senior producer " he is not that of an international figure you know - even though he might have been known by all the french intellegentsia of course.." didn't matter - why do I even try, Im not listened to anyway.

Rambling on just as Rageh Omaar witnesses some flip floppers from Africa...

To get back to my first point - A journalist who is dictated by wires is not a true editorialist. Someone who doesn't have any personal input is not a editorialist. An editorialist gives an opinion - it can be a protested opinion - it should be protested even ... and at least I imagine, An editorialist goes back home and has had a interesting conversation out of the day. Not some stupid quarrels about figures and statistics - repeated from a computer screen. What's the point? Why to even pretend? Im not a journalist, and I bloody will voice my opinions... no matter the angle

• Who's Anatomy? | 24-11-2009
• Here we go again. | 19-11-2009
• Of Sex, Violence and Bad men | 08-10-2009
• of Bloggers and other creatures | 05-09-2009
• swineflu - what are we to think? | 13-08-2009
• Was it for an underwater Rock concert? | 11-08-2009
• The city of the Happy People | 04-08-2009
• Felix meets Loulou | 21-07-2009
• This is Iceland! | 13-07-2009
• Popularity! | 22-06-2009
• Aurevoir..mais pas Adieu! About Burqas, Sarkozy and all that | 22-06-2009
• ... | 18-06-2009
• What's happening? | 18-06-2009
• Reminder | 15-06-2009
• What can Europe do? | 08-06-2009