Timbaland talks about his new album ‘Shock Value 2′ and gives Miley Cyrus a BIG compliment- saying she’s right up there next to Justin Timberlake?? [we don't know about that]
Check the interview below
Saturday, November 28, 2009
John Mayer Reveals Stories Behind 'Battle Studies'
I figured I’d post this because Battle studies is one of favorites to listen to right now.
John Mayer’s new album, the smart, sophisticated, and sweet ‘Battle Studies,’ has just been released. And no one is happier than Mayer himself. “I have no problem releasing it into the open and letting everybody have at it, poke the bear with sticks — and that’s the fun of it,” he told Popeater when we went to visit him at the Burbank, Calif., studio where he was rehearsing for an upcoming tour. Mayer, of course, is used to having every aspect of his life poked with a camera these days. He spoke with Popeater about why he can’t complain about that in song, how the whole music industry may one day be working for Taylor Swift and his epiphany moment with the new record.
His interview with Popeater.com is after the jump…
Congratulations on the album.
Thanks. I had my fun with those songs, so I’m happy to see them go out in the world and be consumed by others. The greatest times I have ever had making a record are driving home from the studio with the rough mix in the car. That’s my time with the record; it’s me getting to know the tunes. The more we rehearse these songs, the more I step into them as the performer, the less I want to hear them. When I get offstage, people go home and I’m still me, so I’ve had my fill of “Wow, look at what I can do” — probably for the rest of my life.
Isn’t that where other artists come in, though, having music to find and discover?
Totally, and I’m not sick of playing songs. I will have the time of my life playing these songs for people, watching them react and sharing them with them. But I’m not going to put it on in the car; I’ve never done that. I was in a restaurant about a week ago when ‘Vultures’ came on. I went, “Wow, I haven’t heard this song in, like, three years.”
So what’s on the travel pack right now, musically?
Pretty much my whole iTunes library, put it on shuffle; when you put 27 days of music on shuffle, it’s sort of fun. I’m trying to not take on any more pursuits than I already have taken on because I don’t have enough time in the day. When I go on tour, I think what I want to do is get in my room, set something up, some contraption, and work all night on some other thing. It just kills me every time. So I am going to put all my energy into playing, and unfortunately talking about playing, no more playing hotel-room ‘MacGyver,’ plugging things up and not going to bed. Recreational slumber is gonna be my new hobby. One of the worst feelings in the world is painful exhaustion; it’s a terrible, terrible feeling. So that’s what I’m gonna do: Get in my room, order room service, “That’s it, there’s nothing else to see here, please disperse.”
There’s a line I love in ‘Who Says’: “I don’t remember you looking any better/But then again, I don’t remember you.”
I know what the line means to me. I just think it’s sort of about laying it on a little thick with somebody when you first meet them, like meeting, greeting. That song is sort of the equivalent of the “back off and leave me alone” sort of song” without being a “back off and leave me alone” song, because when an artist does that I think they sort of show their hand a little too much. It becomes really defensive, and it’s not actually fun to listen to. There are two kinds of songs I don’t think have ever been successful, which is, “Why can’t you just leave me alone” in terms of the media and “Daddy, stop drinking.” Those two songs, I’ve never heard them work. Lindsay Lohan has a song, ‘Confessions of a Broken Heart (Daughter to Father).’ They all have the lyric, “Put the bottle down.” [But] it is an organic ideal that comes up in somebody who says, “I’m going to use my music to take back the power and say, ‘This is not for you, this is me. I am mine, I belong to me.’” And I just don’t think those are particularly good songs when they happen because they’re so self-indulgent, but there was something about ‘Who Says’ where I said, “Wow, this is that song for me personally.” But it’s not so literal that people are basically waiting for me to be done yapping about how hard I have it so they can get on to the next song.
Watch John Mayer’s ‘Who Says’ Video
I think that works for a lot of the record; it’s very personal as well. When you, meaning most artists, pull out the acoustic guitar, does it become confessional?
I don’t have any interest in writing something that’s not something that I feel and it’s gonna be a knot in my stomach unless I say it. It’s just always been my M.O. to try and explain something. I can explain something into the ground. I don’t think I would ever pick up an acoustic guitar and go to write a record and not try to find the ideas that are so planted in my heart because they’re real. I’m interested in the songs where I can go, “Yes, I got to explain that.” ‘Half of My Heart’ is lyrically one of the most fluorescent songs I’ve ever written. It’s basically all about indecisions, but it’s really about compassion to that idea of somebody going, “I don’t know which way I want to go. Don’t think I can do this much longer.” But it’s not sinister. I like approaching ideas that would otherwise be off-putting to people in a way that you sing it and play it in a very sweet way and they go, “I know what you’re saying. It happens to me.”
What songs are you most looking forward to seeing how people respond to them?
‘War of My Life’ is gonna be really interesting because I feel like that one just fuses into people’s life; it’s almost like a horoscope that’s designed to make everybody go, “Oh, my God, that’s freaky ’cause that’s my life.” It’s written in a way that’s like the most vague horoscope of all time because everybody feels like they’re in the war of their life, one way or another. ‘I’m excited about ‘Perfectly Lonely’ ’cause it sounds just like the record. That’s what’s cool about this record: Most of these songs we play them, they sound exactly like the record. I think fans like to see the elements of the songs they listen to so much on a record come to life onstage and be able to see the parts working and how it all goes together. That’s originally how music was designed to be, the sum being greater than the parts.
I was gonna say aren’t the parts always greater now, but there are a few singer-songwriters who’ve had success: Colbie Caillat — Taylor Swift is like that, too.
Taylor’s great. I don’t portend to know her all that well, but from what I know you can tell she’s fantastic. She’s sweet and she’s the complete package. I think if Taylor’s manager came down with the swine flu, Taylor could manage quite well for herself. If Taylor’s stylist came down with the swine flu, Taylor would put her own clothes on and be great. If Taylor’s PR rep were to have swine flu, Taylor would step right in there and do her own PR. If the marketing guy at the label had swine flu, she would just start making Web banners to send to people to put on their Web site, she’d just start charging ad money. She’s one of those artists that has such a grip on everything that we’re all gonna be working for her one day.
What do you take from the final version of your record?
I had a beautiful moment listening to this record; I’ll never forget it, and that’s probably the last time I’ll put it in to listen to it. I was in the pool in Palm Springs[, Calif.]; just burned the CD off what I had downloaded from mastering, pulled myself a margarita, jumped into a heated pool, stayed in there all night listening to the record twice and I went, “Wow, OK, it’s up to snuff.” I just care about up to snuff. I’ll let everyone else figure out what their favorite song is or did it go more this direction. But I just want to keep the general pedigree up to a certain point. And then we begin, not very long from now, having new ideas people haven’t heard yet.
I thought you were gonna let those gestate while you sleep.
Yeah, but you know what? People haven’t found a way to break into my brain yet, so I enjoy the solace of having a thought that no one else can see or hear. So I will probably start doing that in the next couple of weeks, going, “Wow, what would be the next idea I want to write?” But I won’t write it.
via Popeater.com
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Interview with a man who has cycled round the world
I asked my Uncle who has cycled round the world, a few questions about cycling.
Which country was the best for cycling in and why?
“Iran for hospitality – never felt so welcome in my life… and the dates from the city of Bam.
Italy for the food – Pomodoro tomotoes, Parmigiano-Reggiano and gnocchi.
Tibet for the scenery,
France for the roads.”
Which was the worst and why?
“Pakistan – nothing like having guns pointed at your head to encourage dislike of a country.
Albania – bad roads, scary people.
South China – fell off on an icy descent and smacked up my face.”
Do you like the law about compulsory helmets in New Zealand?
“Compulsory helmets… save lives.
Save one life and the law is worthwhile. In the UK the helmet excludes any tax so they are cheaper.
New Zealand should do the same (exclude GST) or subsidise helmets.
A helmet has saved my life twice… once when I was run over by a 4×4 and the other in a head own crash with a car.
Got my vote!”
Do you think bike lanes make it safer for biking?
“Anything that raises awareness of bicycles with other road users is a good thing.
So yes. In Netherlands if anyone hits a cyclist they are at fault. This law promotes awareness of cyclists… as does cycle lanes, so as long as they are on a safe part of the road and enforced like bus lanes (fines for motorcyclists and cars in the lane) this is a good thing.”
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Interview: Judd Apatow (Part Two)
Interview: Judd Apatow (Part Two)
Read Part One of this interview right here
When Judd Apatow’s latest film, Funny People, was announced, many critics and audiences hailed it – even before they saw it – not only as an evolution of the filmmaker’s style, but a return to the kind of drama-laced comedy that flourished in the 1980s and early ’90s thanks to folks like Cameron Crowe and James L. Brooks. When it was released, the film more than satisfied those expectations, offering an unflinching but frequently hilarious portrait of an A-list comedian rediscovering himself, but there seemed to be a sense that audiences knew themselves less well than they felt like they knew the film’s main character, resulting in a less enthusiastic response than perhaps even they expected.
The film arrives on Blu-ray this week, offering what is indisputably the most complete and comprehensive look behind the scenes at a comedy ever produced, and offers audiences a second chance to check out Apatow’s most meaningful and resonant work to date. Cinematical got a chance to catch up with the writer-director via telephone to discuss the contents of the expansive, 2-Disc Collector’s Edition; in the second part of our chat, Apatow talks about precisely what made the movie so personal for him, and offers a few insights about its place in his growing body of work, and its potential influence on his future films (including a Harry Pottermovie, maybe?).
Cinematical: With or without talking to you at the time of the film’s release, people seemed to assume that this was a very personal film, I think because it was more serious than your previous work. Was it really personal, and if so in what way or why?
Judd Apatow: Well, I find that things can be very personal without pointing out to people what is taken directly from your life. If I do it right, it shouldn’t feel like I’m just talking about personal experiences that happened to me or people in my world. So it’s good that it doesn’t seem – that you can’t track it (laughs). But the ideas are very intimate and they relate to a lot that’s happened to me over the decades, but it’s all thrown into a blender to make it more amusing or dramatic. But yes, it does feel very personal, to the point of being embarrassing, but it’s because it’s how you feel about the world that’s out there. It’s kind of showing one’s pleasant side and one’s crazy voices; I’m just better at hiding them in a character that can act them out. You make a movie and think, ah, this is about other people, but slowly you realize it’s all about you. It’s also about everyone who’s involved in the collaboration, but it surprises you when it’s done how much is based on things that you’re struggling with.
Cinematical: Given the sort of line-o-rama process by which you work when shooting scenes, how do you decide what ends up in a film or works best for it?
Apatow: Every joke is meant to illuminate something, whether it’s how funny someone is or a piece of their back story or how they’re feeling on that particular night. So there’s literally no punchline that wasn’t in there that wasn’t debated for hours and hours, but how I like to shoot it is to shoot Adam or Seth doing half an hour of material, not obsessing about what I will use when we’re shooting, and then decide what fits best after. But when you keep it loose and the comedians are really in character, other things happen on stage that are surprising and they do fit into what you need. People do subconsciously start living the story, so Adam one day said, “hey, tonight I’m going to improvise something on the piano,” and he just sits down and sings this mad song. The audience doesn’t know that he’s sick, but in a way it’s a strange goodbye to his audience, and it’s really sad and filthy. I never could have written that in a million years, and Adam did it off the top of his head; and because it’s improvised, it’s sloppy and emotionally raw in a way that’s very truthful. He just went there, and that’s why I try to create some extra space for those moments to happen.
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Cinematical: How much is there a degree of sort of self-satirization in this film, whether you’re taking direct jabs at your or Adam’s movies? Or, even if it’s not in the movie, how much do you guys sort of rib one another about the movies you make?
Apatow: Every time you make a movie, it’s a risk. It’s easy to take for granted the work of comedians, but it’s insanely hard to make people laugh out loud and be really happy for an hour and a half straight. And sometimes you do it with the silliest thing in the world and sometimes you do it in a more thoughtful way or emotional way, but it’s hard as hell (laughs). How I looked at that aspect of the movie was that this character valued being on top more than the quality of his movies, so he tried to make decent movies, but his ego made him try to hit a home run every time out. That being said, while we were making the movie, we kept saying, “we’d make Mer-Man right now!” There’s a funny version of Mer-Man, there’s a funny version of Redo. And it genuinely made us laugh; even though we knew we were goofing on movies like that, we also thought, we could probably do a good one of these!
But one thing I appreciated from Adam was that he never said, “oh don’t do that – people will think you’re goofing on me.” The truth is, I’m not goofing on Adam because Adam has a ridiculously wide range of movies he’s made. He’s just covered so much ground. Some are incredibly silly, some are truly experimental art films, and his level of success is so high he’s just been amazing for a very long time, and I don’t think George Simmons would have tried most of what Adam has tried to do. Again, there’s a subtle difference there, so it’s easy for people to say, “oh, you’re goofing on your own movies,” but I really thought what was more interesting to me was what happens when a shallow person gets sick? He doesn’t want to be thoughtful, so his movies can’t be thoughtful; he’s not making introspective comedies. When he gets sick, he doesn’t tell anybody, he doesn’t know how to talk about it – he’s not that kind of person. He’s more like a Rodney Dangerfield kind of person; he’s telling jokes and being silly.
Cinematical: What I think is one of the things he and the film communicates is that comedy is a way for someone to conceal their true feelings, and ultimately a prison that keeps them from being able to express them.
Apatow: Sometimes it’s easier to hide when you’re that famous. It was strange when Michael Jackson died and there were so many similarities to how we were presenting this fictionalized comedy star in our movie and what was coming out about Michael Jackson. The opening conversation about our movie is Adam having a conversation with his doctor about sleep medication. And all of these images of this rich guy alone in this giant house, never feeling satisfied with the amount of affection he’s getting from the world – which is an enormous amount of affection. A lot of times people want to make you laugh not because they want to make you happy but because they want to know if you like them. Your laugh signals “you’re okay” – and that’s a tough way to live. I think a lot of us as we get older think, is there a healthy way to do what we’re doing? We didn’t start this [for our] mental health, but can we spin it at some point and be creative for normal positive reasons?
Cinematical: Having done this movie which was so much more personal and serious than your other films, do you feel inclined to continue going in that direction?
Cinematical: Do you have any idea what the next thing is going to be for you?
Apatow: I really don’t. I’ve never had two ideas in my head. I mean, my brain is completely blank. I covered a lot of ground with these last two movies, so I may need something to happen to me in life before I can write again. But I don’t know – then something hits you out of the blue and it could happen in an eighth of a second; oh, it’s that! And then you’re off to the races.
Cinematical: Whether they’re conscious or not, do you see ongoing or repeated themes emerging in or from your growing body of work?
Apatow: I don’t think about it consciously, but there are certain ideas that recur and then you start thinking to yourself, well, should I make sure that never happens in Cinematical: How much is there a degree of sort of self-satirization in this film, whether you’re taking direct jabs at your or Adam’s movies? Or, even if it’s not in the movie, how much do you guys sort of rib one another about the movies you make?
Apatow: Every time you make a movie, it’s a risk. It’s easy to take for granted the work of comedians, but it’s insanely hard to make people laugh out loud and be really happy for an hour and a half straight. And sometimes you do it with the silliest thing in the world and sometimes you do it in a more thoughtful way or emotional way, but it’s hard as hell (laughs). How I looked at that aspect of the movie was that this character valued being on top more than the quality of his movies, so he tried to make decent movies, but his ego made him try to hit a home run every time out. That being said, while we were making the movie, we kept saying, “we’d make Mer-Man right now!” There’s a funny version of Mer-Man, there’s a funny version of Redo. And it genuinely made us laugh; even though we knew we were goofing on movies like that, we also thought, we could probably do a good one of these!
But one thing I appreciated from Adam was that he never said, “oh don’t do that – people will think you’re goofing on me.” The truth is, I’m not goofing on Adam because Adam has a ridiculously wide range of movies he’s made. He’s just covered so much ground. Some are incredibly silly, some are truly experimental art films, and his level of success is so high he’s just been amazing for a very long time, and I don’t think George Simmons would have tried most of what Adam has tried to do. Again, there’s a subtle difference there, so it’s easy for people to say, “oh, you’re goofing on your own movies,” but I really thought what was more interesting to me was what happens when a shallow person gets sick? He doesn’t want to be thoughtful, so his movies can’t be thoughtful; he’s not making introspective comedies. When he gets sick, he doesn’t tell anybody, he doesn’t know how to talk about it – he’s not that kind of person. He’s more like a Rodney Dangerfield kind of person; he’s telling jokes and being silly.
Cinematical: What I think is one of the things he and the film communicates is that comedy is a way for someone to conceal their true feelings, and ultimately a prison that keeps them from being able to express them.
Apatow: Sometimes it’s easier to hide when you’re that famous. It was strange when Michael Jackson died and there were so many similarities to how we were presenting this fictionalized comedy star in our movie and what was coming out about Michael Jackson. The opening conversation about our movie is Adam having a conversation with his doctor about sleep medication. And all of these images of this rich guy alone in this giant house, never feeling satisfied with the amount of affection he’s getting from the world – which is an enormous amount of affection. A lot of times people want to make you laugh not because they want to make you happy but because they want to know if you like them. Your laugh signals “you’re okay” – and that’s a tough way to live. I think a lot of us as we get older think, is there a healthy way to do what we’re doing? We didn’t start this [for our] mental health, but can we spin it at some point and be creative for normal positive reasons?
Cinematical: Having done this movie which was so much more personal and serious than your other films, do you feel inclined to continue going in that direction?
Cinematical: Do you have any idea what the next thing is going to be for you?
Apatow: I really don’t. I’ve never had two ideas in my head. I mean, my brain is completely blank. I covered a lot of ground with these last two movies, so I may need something to happen to me in life before I can write again. But I don’t know – then something hits you out of the blue and it could happen in an eighth of a second; oh, it’s that! And then you’re off to the races.
Cinematical: Whether they’re conscious or not, do you see ongoing or repeated themes emerging in or from your growing body of work?
Apatow: I don’t think about it consciously, but there are certain ideas that recur and then you start thinking to yourself, well, should I make sure that never happens in one of my movies again? For instance, I like when sad people find a way to get happy, even if it’s only for a moment; should I avoid that now that I’ve noticed that in a bunch of my
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movies? That’s an interesting question for me as I walk around the house. I can see the stitching on the ball now more than anybody, and then you start thinking about new terrain, but you also don’t want to suddenly make a movie about Icelandic people just because no one expects you to do that. I would like always to write about things that matter to me and I understand, but I was reading this graduation speech that Larry Gelbart delivered at UCLA a few years ago and a big hunk of it was about writing about things you don’t know anything about and how ultimately it will still become a personal story. I usually go against that, but I thought, well, if Mr. Gelbart says that then maybe my philosophy is wrong.
Cinematical: What was the thing that you took away from this experience that was maybe different than your other movies?
Apatow: Well, it’s much more challenging to make a movie that’s meant to be more than just fantasy fulfillment. It is hopefully a big, funny, enjoyable experience but it’s also kind of an independent movie, you know; it’s a character study, and it is a different world when you’re trying to have that relationship with the audience. A lot of people got to the movies just to numb themselves out from whatever other difficult things life is presenting to them, and I’m exactly like that; when a girl broke up with me, the first thing I did was run to see What About Bob? But this is the first time for me where I tried to share a more complicated experience with people. And you get a larger array of reactions to it – some people, it completely knocks them out, other people, you can tell that they emotionally shut down from thinking about any of this, and the movie is hard for them to tolerate. And that’s the point of it: it’s supposed to stick with you for a while. That’s all I thought about when we were ending it, and I hope people talk about this for a while. I hope it’s something that stays on people’s minds.
by Todd Gilchrist
Cheap Web Hosting Plans
Talking to Amber Hawk Swanson
Question: Tell me about “The Amber Doll“
In 2007, I commissioned the production of a life-like sex doll, a RealDoll, made of a possible PVC skeleton and silicone flesh, in my exact likeness. My doll, Amber Doll, began as a Styrofoam print-out of a digital scan of my head. Her face was then custom-sculpted and later combined with the doll manufacturer’s existing, “Body #8″ female doll mold. After completing, “The Making-Of Amber Doll” and “Las Vegas Wedding Ceremony” (both 2007), Amber Doll and I went on to disrupt wedding receptions, roller-skating rinks, football tailgating parties, theme parks, and adult industry conventions. In the resulting series, “To Have, To Hold, and To Violate: Amber and Doll,” ideas surrounding agency and objectification are questioned, as are ideas about the success or failure of negotiating power through one’s own participation in a cultural narrative that declares women as objects. My work with Amber Doll, herself a literal object, deals with such themes through an oftentimes-complicated feminist lens. Similar concerns emerge in my series, “The Feminism? Project” (2006). The script for each video in the series was generated from interviews with women across the state of Iowa on the subject of feminism.
To Have, Roller rink, 2007
In 2007, I commissioned the production of a life-like sex doll, a RealDoll, made of a possible PVC skeleton and silicone flesh, in my exact likeness. My doll, Amber Doll, began as a Styrofoam print-out of a digital scan of my head. Her face was then custom-sculpted and later combined with the doll manufacturer’s existing, “Body #8″ female doll mold. After completing, “The Making-Of Amber Doll” and “Las Vegas Wedding Ceremony” (both 2007), Amber Doll and I went on to disrupt wedding receptions, roller-skating rinks, football tailgating parties, theme parks, and adult industry conventions. In the resulting series, “To Have, To Hold, and To Violate: Amber and Doll,” ideas surrounding agency and objectification are questioned, as are ideas about the success or failure of negotiating power through one’s own participation in a cultural narrative that declares women as objects. My work with Amber Doll, herself a literal object, deals with such themes through an oftentimes-complicated feminist lens. Similar concerns emerge in my series, “The Feminism? Project” (2006). The script for each video in the series was generated from interviews with women across the state of Iowa on the subject of feminism.
To Have, Roller rink, 2007
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Pierre Vermeren : «Au Maroc, on fait de la politique fiction»
Pierre Vermeren,
historien français, spécialiste du Maghreb
R : Il y a beaucoup d’interrogations en France parce que la presse donne un compte-rendu de l’actualité marocaine très aseptisé. La censure du journal Le Monde n’a fait qu’accentuer la demande. Pourtant, le Maroc est un pays qui marche très bien dans l’actualité éditoriale en France, à la fois par intérêt, par amitié et aussi par volonté de comprendre ce qui se passe. Les Français ne sont pas que des touristes potentiels. Une partie de la population française essaye de mesurer la réalité des changements en cours au Maroc.
Q : Compte tenu des changements qui se sont opérés au Maroc depuis la parution de votre livre, auriez-vous envie d’y ajouter quelque chose ?
R : Je rajouterais un chapitre sur la manière dont la presse européenne a 
Q : Justement, que pensez-vous de ce phénomène ?
R : C’est une tentative de ressouder tous les partis politiques d’obédience royaliste qui ont été créés par l’administration depuis les années 60. On rassemble tous les héritiers de ces tendances, en construisant un attrape-tout idéologique. Reste la nécessité de déterminer une ou des oppositions. Il y a le choix entre une opposition très conservatrice liée au religieux et au nationalisme, et une opposition éventuelle de gauche. Je ne sais pas si le PAM a choisi son adversaire ou bien s’il préfère deux oppositions.
Q : Le PAM est-il une menace pour la démocratie ?
R : L’histoire le dira. On revient à une configuration très classique où il y a un grand parti qui est un parti de fidélité totale à l’appareil d’Etat et au roi, avec une opposition plus distancée. De ce point de vue, il y a incontestablement une clarification, et l’interrogation porte davantage sur l’opposition qui va se structurer.
Q : Quelles sont les conditions de renaissance de l’USFP ?
R : C’est certainement le passage à une nouvelle génération. Pour le moment, l’UFSP est dirigée par la génération de l’indépendance. La nouvelle génération doit être émancipée de l’histoire du nationalisme marocain pour être en prise avec les débats du monde contemporain liés à la mondialisation.
Q : Quel regard portez-vous sur les partis à tendance islamiste ?
R : La vraie question porte surtout sur l’absentéisme des Marocains aux élections. La scène politique actuelle montre que les islamistes ne représentent pas grand-chose. Si cette masse de la population décide un jour de voter, il y aura forcément une remise en cause des équilibres apparents. Or, on ne sait pas ce que pense la population qui ne vote pas. Peut-être qu’elle est plus éloignée qu’on ne le croit des préoccupations islamistes. Il est très difficile de le savoir, dans une société où il n’y a pas de sondage. On fait donc de la politique fiction. Mais il existe bien une force islamiste militante d’obédience confrérique, comme dans le cas du Cheikh Yassine.
Q : Est-ce que Al Adl Oual Ihassane constitue un danger pour la scène politique ?
Q : Et comment définiriez-vous le PJD (Parti Justice et Développement) ?
R : Ce parti a un certain nombre de propositions sur la société. Il fait partie intégrante du paysage politique, mais c’est probablement un parti qui est divisé : certains cadres veulent intégrer le champ politique pour faire carrière, et d’autres veulent rester purs. Si l’on compare le PJD à l’USFP, on voit que pendant des décennies, ce dernier est resté pur, puis qu’il a finalement intégré le jeu politique, et que cette intégration lui a coûté cher. Mais le Palais semble aujourd’hui dénier toute représentativité au PJD.
Q : Est-ce qu’il y a une régression de la liberté de la presse au Maroc ?
R : Il est évident qu’il y a des contradictions à l’intérieur de la scène politique marocaine qui produisent des tensions fortes à l’intérieur du pouvoir. Au Maroc, la presse ne possède qu’une partie du pouvoir qu’elle pourrait escompter. Le conflit se situe ici : accepte-t-on un partage de l’information ou veut-on revenir au monopole d’État ? Chaque pouvoir essaye de garder sa prééminence, d’où la confrontation en cours.
Q : Mais un journal a déjà fermé boutique et plusieurs autres pourraient lui emboîter le pas. Pendant que de nouveaux journaux voient le jour…
R : On a une centaine de journaux contrôlés par des groupes économiques qui portent un regard peu critique sur la société et encore moins sur l’État. Les journaux indépendants jouent un rôle politique, de sorte qu’un journal ne peut pas être remplacé par un autre journal. Avec quelques centaines de journaux, il y a une illusion de pluralisme.
Q : Peut-on donc parler de véritable transition démocratique ?
R : Il y a des aspirations à la transition d’une partie de la société. La question concerne moins la nécessité de la transition que ses implications. Est-ce que la transition doit conduire à un partage du pouvoir, ou à une nouvelle répartition des rôles ? Il y a des tensions fortes qui existent entre tous les pouvoirs, dont la presse qui est aussi un pouvoir. Pour le moment la transition a débouché sur un contrôle de l’information plus ouvert, mais si ce contrôle devait se re-monopoliser il y aurait une réelle régression dans la transition.
Q : Peut-on parler d’élite intellectuelle au Maroc ?
R : Dans mon domaine, c’est-à-dire l’histoire, il y a une élite intellectuelle. Le problème, c’est la relève. La génération qui monte est une génération mal considérée dans la société, qui n’a pas les moyens matériels de faire des études approfondies, de lire ce qui se passe à l’étranger, même dans le monde arabe. Il y a une élite intellectuelle, mais dans cinq ou dix ans, pourra-t-on en dire autant avec la relève des générations ?
Q : Et l’élite politique ?
R : La vie politique au Maroc ne s’est pas totalement émancipée du modèle confrérique, du modèle de la Zaouya. Le modèle du marabout (devenu chef de parti) interdit une vie démocratique et partisane normale. La permanence extrêmement longue des mêmes leaders aux postes de direction démontre que cette élite n’est pas sélectionnée selon des critères politiques ou intellectuels normaux, mais selon des critères inhabituels. Et c’est un élément de fragilisation de la vie politique.
Q : Globalement comment se situe le Maroc démocratiquement parlant par rapport à ses voisins maghrébins ?
R : En Tunisie, il n’y a pas d’espoir à ce stade. En Algérie, il a beaucoup de désespérance sur la nature du pouvoir et sur la structure des inégalités. Au Maroc, il y a un peu plus d’ouverture et d’espoir, mais avec des variations liées à la conjoncture. Le Maroc bénéficie d’une très bonne image en Europe et de la sollicitude de nombreux pays. Cette image positive aide le pays, mais ne peut pas tout résoudre.
Propos recueillis par Hicham Bennani
Le Journal Hebdomadaire, novembre 2009
BIO Pierre Vermeren
1966 : naissance à Verdun
1985 : découverte du Maroc
1996 : nommé professeur au Lycée Descartes de Rabat
2001 : récompensé par le prix Le Monde de la recherche universitaire.
2009 : publie Le Maroc de Mohammed VI. La transition inachevée.
researching mr e-president and co.
The following question was posed as part of the research module which forms part of my current studies:
Question: You are interested in how on-line environments are used by local and national governments. In particular you want to know whether the internet changes the way(s) the governments have been run.
Here I shall aim to consider the various methods that could be utilised to study this topic and the potential ethical issues surrounding this research question.
Data source & methods
In relation to this subject it would be possible to obtain data from a wide and diverse range of sources. These could include;
- Interviews – These could be undertaken with those working within local and/or national government to obtain first hand accounts of how they feel the internet has (or has not) changed the way they operate.
- Analysis of policy documents and media coverage – There is potential with this question to look at sources of information that have documented how governments have been run differently over a period of time. Examples of this would be to analyse government policy to track the changes and impacts of the internet. Alternatively it would be possible to look at the media portrayals of governments and their use of on-line environments.
- Analysis of on-line environments utilised by governments – As part of answering this research question it would also be important to look at the on-line environments themselves to see how they are being used by governments.
- Surveys – These could be used to collect data from the general public to see if they have seen any changes in how governments operate as a result of the web.
It is interesting to note that a previous study (Hands, 2005) that looked at the impact of the internet on encouraging local citizens to engage with local government employed a similar range of mixed methods. These were a review of policy, local government website analysis and questionnaires to local government employees.
Practical ties
In undertaking research on this subject there would be some practical issues that would need to be considered at the outset of the study. Firstly there maybe limited access to the internal documentation/policy that could be used for analysis. Also in relation to the possibility of interviewing government employees these individuals may not be willing to take part in the research.
The nature of the question is also very open and there are a variety of methods that could be utilised to collect data pertaining to this topic. Therefore to make the study practical and to obtain the ‘best results’ it would be advisable to focus on comparing national and local government within one country, limited to one element of governance.
Ethical issues
There are a number of ethical considerations in relation to researching the question posed. These include those surrounding the research subjects (interviewees, survey respondents and so on) and those surrounding the researcher.
In relation to the research subjects it would be important for them to remain anonymous. Their views regarding how the internet has changed how governments have been run may not be positive. For example if government workers were willing to be interviewed it could have an impact on their future employment.
The researcher would also need to consider the implications of the findings of the study on them and how the study maybe interpreted by the governments under the microscope.
Image c/o DavidErickson licensed under Creative Commons.
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