Kazuo Kawasaki is smart.
He's not stomping around and demanding that Sarah Palin stop wearing the glasses he designed, like some spoiled celebrities whine about the McCain-Palin campaign using their music at rallies.
He's not that stupid. Kawasaki knows that Palin's choice of glasses doesn't mean he endorses her as a candidate.
TOKYO -- The Japanese designer of the clear-rim glasses worn by Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is grateful for the attention she is drawing to his creation, yet he remains politically neutral.
"She is very good-looking. She would look good in any glasses," Kazuo Kawasaki said Wednesday while visiting a Tokyo store for Masunaga Optical Manufacturing Co., which makes the glasses.
Kawasaki says he shares what he sees as some common political sentiments with Palin, Republican John McCain's running mate. "I am quite right-wing," he says.
At the same time, Kawasaki admits to an affinity with McCain's Democratic rival, Barack Obama. Kawasaki's former students at workshops for local governments and other regional groups are among the residents of central Japan's Fukui Prefecture, which has a city called Obama. They have started a community movement supporting the Democrat, although none of them can vote in the U.S. election.
"Whether it becomes Mr. Obama or Mr. McCain, I want to ask him to build peace in the international order," Kawasaki says.
The clear-rim MP-704 glasses, made of super-light and non-allergenic metal called titanium, have become all the rage for their high-profile visibility atop the 44-year-old Alaska governor's nose.
Masunaga Optical Manufacturing, based in Fukui, usually makes 12,000 MP-704 glasses in a year and a half. Thanks to Palin, it has already received 9,000 global orders, mostly from the U.S., in the last 10 days, says Masunaga store chief Akira Nagayama.
...Kawasaki has seen his glasses on celebrities before, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell and actress Whoopi Goldberg. But he has never gotten the stunning reception he has enjoyed since Palin started wearing the glasses.
"I want to say, 'Thank you,' to Ms. Palin," he said with a smile. "I want people to realize how fantastic Made in Japan technology can be."
Sarah Palin is doing well on the international scene, building solid relationships with citizens of the world.
2 comments:
Um, using a copyrighted song for commercial/political purposes without permission or paying royalties is theft. Wearing glasses purchased at a store is commerce. The designer is happy because someone bought his glasses and he got paid. The songwriters are unhappy because McCain stole their song and they didn't get paid. Big difference.
That, and they probably don't like McCain, either.
Hypothetical - Suppose for a moment that you worked hard and wrote a song and then Planned Parenthood started using it in ads for abortion clinincs. Would you be a spoiled whiner if you asked them to stop using it, or would you be standing by your principles as a pro-lifer? (I sense a double standard lurking in the distance).
From Politico:
What do all the cease-and-desist letters and testy calls amount to legally, though? Not much, if the songwriters licensed the public performance rights to their music to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers or Broadcast Music Inc. And the vast majority of artists, including Heart, have done that. Buying an ASCAP or BMI license allows a venue (or a campaign, if it purchases a traveling blanket license) to play any of about 8 million songs during their events. Though it might be a nice courtesy, the licensees are not obligated to call the artist to discuss.
The McCain-Palin campaign told Politico that in 2007 it purchased both ASCAP and BMI licenses that cover the use of tunes for all public events. Campaign spokesman Ben Porritt said, “Our campaign respects copyrights and obtains licenses whenever the law requires, and any suggestion otherwise is flat wrong.”
Don't accuse McCain of STEALING songs.
Good grief.
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