(TV) Seth Meyer: Seth Meyer on Uber Controversy

Comedian Seth Meyer talks about a "couple things" about the latest controversy surrounding the Silicon Valley car hailing company.

Lib Dem Scandal: The Week From Hell for the Lib Dems

If losing Chris Huhne (one of the better political operators in the party)  over the self inflicted speeding points scandal and almost endless stream of personal revelations borne from it wasn't bad enough for the Liberal Democrats, one of their veteran MP's being accused of sexual assault has to be a cherry on top of a very nasty cake Lib Dems have forced to digest.

Portsmouth South MP Mike Hancock, according to the guardian, was accused of fondling a constituent and was reported to have "exposing himself and kissed her on many occasions without consent". It is a sad irony that we always accuse our representatives for not being responsive the needs of their constituents and when they do, it is always for more than we bargained for, certainly in the case of the victim who sought help dealing with "noisy Neighbours" and instead got, allegedly, a  "inappropriate relationship" that lasted nearly a year.

The story only gets worse as the woman involved has "a borderline personality disorder and is registered as a vulnerable adult". the power disparity between the MP and his constituent is further brought to light due to her claim of abuse being  hampered by the police and the parliamentary authorities. 

According the guardian, the woman's legal counsel investigation were been hampered by local authorities as "the woman complained to the police in 2010 but the inquiry was dropped". A message was clearly sent the woman  when the parliamentary commissioner for standards, incredibly, "told the woman's legal team in October 2011 that he  did not have the remit to examine Hancock's behaviour" and the party chose not to investigate as in light of the police withdrawing their interest in the case and "parliamentary authorities" avoiding responsibility, they had "no case to answer".

The local council also do not come out of this case smelling of roses as they, incredibly let Hancock shut down council hearing that "was due to hear the woman complaint last Friday but the meeting was suspended the day before because Hancock presented a certificate of illness".

The plot thickens further due the fact that Hancock has previous.  A former employee of Hancock claimed that she "had a four year affair with him" and Hancock, in court revealed that "he had a  "close and affectionate relationship with a 17-year-old girl who had worked in his office, but insisted it has not gone beyond kissing and cuddling". While it is never wise to come to conclusions about people you don't know let alone people you hear about in news reports, it isn't much of a stretch to say that a man who has previous in stepping out of his marriage on two separate occasions is clearly not beyond a third.      

In sum it has been hell for the Liberal Democrats but a hell inflicted by senior members in their party, one with a clear ambition to be party leader (which are now in ruins) and another with a well documented weakness for the opposite sex. 

(News) 'Ex Gay' Christian Blogger Controversy: Busted!!!

(Video) Candy Crowley 'truth' controversy: When the truth is inconvenient

(Video) Danny T. Cathy: shaking your fist at god

The Young Turks give their take on chick-fil-a president and chief operating officer Dan T. Cathy controversial comments.

(Opinion) Chick-fil-a controversy: Much a chick about nothing

While the comments of Chick-fil-a  president and chief operating officer Dan T, Cathy about gay marriage were ill advised, he does have the right to say it and people boycotting the store have all the rights in the world to hate it. It should be no surprise he made such comment as the store is open in its traditional stance on the family. his comments are anti gay marriage but this no controversy as the company was founded by a baptist preacher so expect a ham-fisted comment about gay rights or two. 

This is great example of fake controversy as he didn't say he 'those gays should be damned to hell cos my god says so' or 'if i had my way, ill shoot those sissies and let god sort 'em out' or put 'no queers here' signs outside chick-fil-a stores across the nation. While it does set a serious precedent that a head of a corporation takes a strident stance on a issue that literally split the country down the middle, he does have the right to take such a stance nonetheless. 

Regular customers also have the right to boycott or take their business elsewhere if they don't like the stance of the corporation on any issue they hold to be right or true as it is their right to choose where they spent their money elsewhere and/or boycott the store. The controversy is not really over free speech as there is no question he has the right to say what he did, but what he doesn't have a right to is to tell anybody who disagrees with him how they should feel or react to his comments.

Only in America can such a issue cause such a furor as other nations do not make national and global news due the stance of a company on a issue that barely penetrates the nation conscious and almost nobody (unless they are part of congregation) bats an eyelid. 

In sum, while he shouldn't have said it he right the right to say it nonetheless and boycotters also have the right take their business elsewhere or to take protest outside branches of Chick-fil-a. this controversy is not a debate about free speech or even about gay marriage but of choice and sooner all parties involved realize that they all have the right to choice, the quicker the debate dies down.

(Opinion) Celebrities: Watch your tweets!

With the news of a Greek medal hopeful being kicked off the Olympic team hours before the open ceremony  because of controversial tweets on her personal account, public figures must realize their tweets don't exist in a digital vacuum where free speech is unfettered.

From the controversies of the 'choc ice' tweets to the poorly executed attempts at humor by  premiership footballers and Hollywood actors, public figures have not grasped that there are responsibilities as well as rights when comes to free speech and careless tweets are cannon fodder for news coverage. Unless public figures realize this , they will be subject to controversy likely to affect their careers and the public perception of them.

However this is bound to happen as the twitter format doesn't exactly encourage thoughtful debate. It's quite difficult to clearly articulate  your position on a given issue in 140 characters. it serves as a reason why most twitters seek to be clever rather than succinct as they only have a limited amount of words to express themselves. It encourages the skills needed to write good ad copy rather than reasoned debate when addressing the public.

In sum, Public figures end up in controversy as they see twitter as a just social forum when it more than that. Twitter however, doesn't encourage reasoned debate as public figures need more than 140 characters to articulate their positions on any given event.

It encourages skills required for ad copy than addressing the public explaining why most controversies on twitter have come from public figures poorly executed attempts to be ironic. Public figures have rights to free speech, but in an age where the words they speak are under scrutiny by the media and wider public alike, their responsibilities with regard to free speech are just as important.