Moonhowlings

 Huffingtonpost.com:

Tatyana Limanova, one of Russia’s most popular and respected newscasters, has been fired from her job at REN TV, after a video of her appearing to give President Barack Obama the middle finger on live TV went viral on the internet.

The incident occurred on Nov. 14, during a segment about Russian President Dmitry Medvedev assuming the chairmanship of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. Obama had held the position previously, and Limanova raised her middle finger as she read Obama’s name.

Limanova said that the incident was an embarrassing misunderstanding — she did not know that she was on camera and was directing the gesture at studio technicians. “I thought I was out of shot,” she said, according to The Telegraph.

The TV station, however, decided to remove her from her position on air. “This does not diminish her guilt and cannot be considered an excuse. The REN TV management views this action as the gravest violation of on-air discipline and a demonstration of unprofessionalism,” the channel said, according to RIA.

“A decision has been taken that T Limanova cannot and will not continue to work on the REN TV channel as a presenter,” the station said in a statement, according to The Daily Mail.

 Before becoming a blog mistress, I wouldn’t have even asked what I consider the obvious–should Tatyana Limanova  have been fired.  Obviously yes.  Now remember, I was a child of the 50′s. I grew up on a good cultural dose of hating the commie pinko bastards.  It was everywhere.  I knew that they wanted to kill us all in the worst imaginable way (Forget that we wanted to do the same to them.).  I remember somewhere along the line Premier Nikita Khrushchev removing his shoe and banging it on the table in the UN during someone’s speech.  So giving someone the finger, in my mind, even today, barely gets noticed.  Fingers, shoes, whatever. 

 An Iraqi  reporter threw a shoe at our sitting president, George Bush during a visit to Iraq.  That was rude and the shoe-thrower  was wrestled to the ground, stood trial, and Lord knows where he is now.  I was outraged.  Although not a Bush fan, he was OUR president.  He was treated disrespectfully.

Enough setting the stage, enough editorializing, Mistress Moon, ask the question.  Should the Russian newscaster have been fired, reprimanded etc and if yes or no, why?  Russia just seems like it is becoming a problem again.