I was about to write up how construction of the new football stadium in Ljubljana is progressing, but was instead irked by a youtube video posted today on Facebook by Jernej Pavlin, former press secretary to Janša’s government (who resigned after it was discovered that he ordered his staff to curb or cut-off communication with Mladina weekly). The video (below) is a remnant of 2008 parliamentary election campaign and is aimed at editors of several more or less prominent print and electronic media, “exposing” them for not having a degree and insinuating that they are unqualified for their jobs.
Now, pengovsky is the first one to admit that there is shit to be shovelled out of Slovene journalism. Indeed, the only other place where will find such level of naiveté, lack of imagination and unfounded ambition is in 1970s porn movies (gee, mister, you mean that the time machine works only of I take off all of my clothes?). And yes, education or lack thereof can be a problem. But more on that in one of the future posts (I still have an itch to scratch regarding the bomb in the studio).
What irked me is the fact that the video was dug out after it was proven to partly incorrect. Namely, Jani Sever, one of the people named and editor of Vest.si does have a degree. I mean, if you do have to resort to ad hominem attacks on journalists, at least do it correctly.
But verifying information seems to be even more of a challenge to SDS than to Slovene journalists. Dnevnik newspaper (whose editor-in-chief Miran Lesjak is among the degree-less editors named in the video) ran a series of stories in the last couple of days exposing how at least two SDS MPs have problems with their education. The newspaper claims that Branko Marinič, who ironically heads the committee for oversight of the anticorruption commission, tried to pass an written exam in German language by having someone else take the exam in his name at the Faculty of Organisational Sciencies in Kranj (also affectionately known as The Kranj Sorbone, where some professors were reputed to be not above bending the rules given enough stimulation).
While Marinič already denied the allegations, his party colleague and fellow MP Marjan Bezjak could not, simply because he was found to have provided false data on his education, both on his website (the site has already been taken down) as well as to the State Election Commission prior to elections and has – in fact – mislead voters about his education.
Branko Marinič and Marjan Bezjak have an education problem too (source: www.sds.si)
Now, the problem with both journalism and politics is that you don’t need a degree to dabble in either of the two. That’s why every almost every twat in this country thinks he can do both. But what we have here is a party which (knowingly or otherwise) harbours people who lie about their education and has the balls to go after specific journalists for that very same reason, being fully aware that education and competence are not necessarily related in either of the two professions. But what does Jernej Pavlin do when his party is caught with its pants down? He “pulls a Branko Grims” and goes back to the original story (video), which was already proven to be false, and starts all over again. Just like pengovsky is sure Branko Grims (expected to be member of the Golobič Committee) will do for the next three and a half years
Sad and unimaginative, if you ask me…