Under Attack for Expressing

Freedom of speech is an amendment that the media uses to its advantage. Implied in this line of thought is the idea that if it is not used in the favor of the audience, then it can be withdrawn. The idea, however, that we can have freedom of speech but only in certain areas seems paradoxical.
In politics, it is a very valuable commodity. But with every limitation that is placed upon it, the value is diminished. If there is but one thing that we cannot publish, put on television, or say freely in our community then it could be said that we do not in fact have freedom of speech at all - or is this a freedom that is being separated from the words of what one has said and the public?


After a concert in London, England on March 10, 2003 controversy aroused after Natalie Manes (lead singer of the Dixie Chicks) told the crowd, “Just so you know we are ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas”. They were critisized and ridiculed for those harsh words. Station managers said their decision to removing their music from the radio, were prompted by calls from irate listeners who thought criticism of the president was unpatriotic...
One station in Kansas City, Missouri held a Dixie "chicken toss" party, where people were encouraged to dump the group's tapes, CDs and concert tickets into trash cans.


Rather... when P!NK spoke out against President George Bush in her song Dear Mr President critics praised her for her honest words.

Why the difference?

P!NK is known for her unique appearance and her rough attitude. When this song hit the radio stations... though it was very anti-Bush... the song wasn't a surprise to the American public because they know her for being very honest about how she feels.
However, in The Dixie Chicks case, the citizens of America saw them as very wholesome young women. When Natalie Manes, "spoke her mind", it was a complete shocker to the country.

But was it really that bad what she said, or could there be worse things to say about your president?

After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Kanye West came on NBC with Micheal Myres dicussing the Hurricane Katrina fundraiser.
During this, West said, "George Bush does not care about black people."
Now, the media convered this for about 2 days. While the Dixie Chicks were critisized for months. Was this because of gender, colour, or simply just because there were more important things going on like, all the homeless people in New Orleans at that time?
I'm going to take a closer look...

If you look at the difference between the statements, Kanye West made a public claim (that wasn’t true) against George Bush’s reputation, while Natalie Maines made a personal opinion about how she feels about George Bush.
What doesn’t make sense is when Pink wrote a song called “Dear Mr. President” that was extremely controversial against the president she got praised from her fans.
Her songs usually do have a meaningful message behind them and that’s what makes her fans and parts of society not care about her choice of songs, which is why I think she got away with her song.

As you can tell all three situations were seen by the public very differently.When Natalie spoke out about Bush the media took it harsh on her and made it a big deal and their whole career almost ended just because of one group member who made this one comment. As for P!NK, the media doesn't real critisize her for speaking her mind, because that is what she is known for. And as for Kanye West, he is always complaining about one thing or another.
For all three cases, all of these artists have different audiences. Even though, Kanye's comment is harsher than Manes', you will never know if the the media will bend or break you. Even if your allowed to say what you want. Because you shouldn't be afraid.. it is a free country.. right.

John and WHO? plus 8

<You might know the show John and Kate Gosselin of TLC's docudrama Jon & Kate Plus 8, about their family life with two sets of multiples.

It seems... well according to the media that they are heading for divorce?
InTouchWeekly.com, claims that John has been spending long amounts of time away from home and partying with collage girls.
February 6 was the first incident John was supposedly caught, when he drove to a nearby hangout, Mimi's Martini Bar, in Huntington, Penn, where he then met with some girls from Juniata Collage who then invited him to a house party.

Is this the real John Gosselin? Or could this be a frame to break the couple from an almost perfect marriage?

As John proceeded to drink and dance he reportedly told one the girls, "We might be getting a divorce."
Star Magazine had earlier reported one witness' account:
"He was dirty dancing with several of them, making out, kissing them on their necks and mouths. I thought it was rather surprising for a father with his wife and so many kids at home to be acting like this. He was all over one girl, a long-haired blonde who's nearly 6 feet tall. He left with several of the girls, including her."



To beleive this or not to believe this that is the question?
Lets take a look a what John's statement was, as said through his rep:
"It is certainly hurtful for people to spread rumors and lies about us. It certainly makes me reluctant to live my life like the average person would. This has made it very clear that the simplest innocent gesture -— such as taking a picture with a fan, can be taken out of context. As you can see on the show, I am not perfect, but I am a part of a loving family and couple."

This story can go either way, and I am not about to come to a conclusion. The media can come to overexaggerate what celebrities do in their personal lives, but can maybe come to show some truth?

In conclusion, John and Kate have often bickered on camera, but that doesn't even come close to the amount of times they have had great times with their children.
An act? Maybe.
You can never tell what is going on behind a camera. Or behind the eyes of the ones infront of it.

Miley Cyrus Racist?

Personally I beleive that this controversy about Mileys racist photo is a waste of the media's time and should no longer be talked about.
I think about when I was a child I myself used to make myself do the Chinese eyes. Does that make me a racist child? Definatly not, it was simply just a goofy face that I just did for fun. I wasn't doing it to make fun of an ethnicity.
To that short extent, I am most postive that Miley just did a goofy face for a photo.
As she states in the article from ABC News, " I was simply making a goofy face. When did that become newsworthy? It seems someone is trying to make something out of nothing of me."
In no way do I believe she is lying. People all over the world do that face, and it never became controvertial until Miley made that face.
Most likely fans would not have seen this photo until it was posted on the internet and magazines for being racist.
She is not a bad example for these children she is simply just having fun. The media is making her look like a bad role model.

'Rape Law' In the Middle East

The law, passed last month, says a husband can demand sex with his wife every four days unless:
1) She is menstruating
2) The day is a holy day
3) She is ill
This is a clause that critics say legalizes marital rape. It also regulates when and for what reasons a wife may leave her home alone.
Women’s rights activists scheduled a protest on Wednesday attended by mostly young women. But the group was swamped by counter-protesters,both men and women, who shouted at them. Some picked up gravel and stones and threw them at the women, while others shouted “Death to the slaves of the Christians!” Female police held hands around the group to create a protective barrier.
The government has said the Shia(a certian type of religion) family law is being reviewed and will not be implemented in its current form. Even though the law would only apply to the Shia religion which it 10% - 20% of the Middle Eastern population it has created an uproar by people against it who say it marks a return of the Taliban-type group.

Miley shakes her Moneymaker

Pop star Miley Cyrus gave the paparazzi a show of her dance moves. The 16 year old did a rather provocative dance while at a beauty salon the other day. Here's the video to see for yourself.



Miley should be more careful has to how "sexy" she gets. She has many younger fans to be a role model to and dancing in provocative ways isn't something for 7 year old to see. I wonder what her Dad and Disney will approve of this scandal.

Britney Spears: Star Stellar Memories or Comeback Crash

Britney Spears has had a rise to fame since she was 8 years old on the Mickey Mouse Club. In 1998, at 17 her debut album Baby One More Time hit the charts and her music was attracting fans of all ages. Her once innocent teen look turned into a more sexual appeal once her Oops I did It Again album came into stores. This album sold over 10 million copies in the US, and fans everywhere had Britney as their role model. Less than five years later Britneys ever so innocent look and confidence came to a crash in 2004 when she married childhood friend in a marriage that lasted 55 hours in Las Vegas. Six months later Britney announced engagement to Kevin Federline, where it all started and where it almost ended for her career. From stories of being a bad mother, to crotch shots and mental diseases Britney was on a fall down ever since this marriage started till it ended. Now, she has been rising to reclaim her fame with her new album Circus which has sold 500,000 copies in less than 3 months. Britney has been building her self again after years of havoc.

In 2007 Britney appeared at the MTV Video Music Awards to ultimatly make a comeback with her album Blackout. When she came onto start wearing nothing more than a bra and panties people started to talk about her dancing, singing and of course her body. To my opinion I believe that this critisism was unfair towards her. Confient and prepared she came onto stage for a chance to redeem herself but all she got was hateful words. To have 2 children and have been through a divorce this was surprising of Britney to do this, but she still did and it shows she was still strong. Our society, if we don't see things at "perfect" we tend to critisize. We ourselves are not perfect but when we see stars who aren't we see them as targets to veer away from our own problems and body dislikes.

As Britney was already going through a difficult time with her marriage, children and juggling her career the paparazzi ultimatley made it a lot worse for her. Britney's every move was to be captured on camera. "The paparazzi's job is to know where she is and be on her 24/7", says famous photographer. A candid shot of Britney can be worth over $10,000, so to hit that jackpot you have to be where Britney is to get the shot. As each mistake Britney made and each time her like would slowly turn to the worst the paparazzi was there to capture it and everywhere around the world people knew about her life. All she needed was some privacy to deal with her problems, but all she got was people everywhere wanting to know more about her. I am a true believer that Britney is a victim of this frenzy. Although she does like to have a bit of fun with the paparazzi, she isn't allowing them to scoop in on her private life.

Celebrities are not taking enough action in order to protect their personal life from the worlds eye. Many celebrities just tend to stay away from certian locations, where they will get many paparazzi chasing them down. Being a celebrities is a duty of having pictures taken and having many interviews. When paparazzi push to get more deep information on certain celebs is going to far. For a celebrity to be going down to the grocery store to get food, should be a normal unphotographed event. There is no real reason to take pictures of them doing just hat. They need their quiet and their space. I believe that the crave for money has gotten to the paparazzi to the point that they have no respect of how they are affecting them emotionally.

The MTV video music awards was where Britney performed her comeback song. Many negative comments were made about this appearence. I beleive that it was wrong to critisize her, her body looked great for having two children, and her voice was fine as usual. To have that type of confidence to go onto stage after 2 -3 years is an amazing trait to have. For media coverage in th future I just that paparazzi cut down on the stalking of growing stars. We have seen the effect to Britney and they shouldn't push themselves more than they already have. When celebrities willingly give out information in interviews and TV is when we should publish big stories in magazines. It is the right way to do it.

Firstt

This is my firstt post. :)