earlier this year, the global taxi service uber got some bad press (publicity) after a conversation during an uber ride between then ceo travis kalanick and driver fawzi kamel ended uneasily and was released as a video online.
ex-uber ceo travis kalanick and driver fawzi kamel couldn’t find common ground during their widely publicized argument in february.
timothy b. lee at vox.com reports
at the end of the ride, kalanick and the driver get into an argument about uber’s falling fares. kalanick says he didn’t have any choice about the fare cuts…..referring to fierce competition from rival lyft.
fare is used when talking about the price for various forms of public transportation. fierce means aggressive, savage.
kermit never told his driver fozzy (different spelling) to take care of his own shit.
the firecest comment kalinick made was
some people don’t like to take responsibility for their own shit. they blame everything in their life on somebody else.
blame is assigning responsibility for a negative occurence. shit in this context represents personal problems.
former uber ceo travis kalanick
the argument added to kalanick’s already negative image. lee explained
while many customers appreciate uber for bringing more competition to the taxi industry, kalanick’s swagger and his win-at-any-cost philosophy has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
swagger is confidence or arrogance. rub the wrong way means annoy, irritate. johnny gill flipped the idea (made it the opposite) at the beginning of the 90s with his new jack swing track rub u the right way
fun esl practice 
richyrocks english on youtube
the same day, a different article by lee had this headline
Uber’s CEO admits he needs to “grow up”
grow up means mature or go from child to adult.
the man responsible for uber’s amazing growth admitted he needs to grow up
in a written apology, kalinick said
my job as your leader is to lead…and that starts with behaving in a way that makes us all proud. that is not what i did, and it cannot be explained away. it’s clear this video is a reflection of me—and the criticism we’ve received is a stark reminder that i must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up. this is the first time i’ve been willing to admit that i need leadership help and i intend to get it.
check out the difference between leader (a person), lead (the action) and leadership (a characteristic). explain away means solve a problem by talking about it extensively. stark means raw, severe. a reminder helps or forces u to remember. willing means ready, disposed to do it.
ned stark and tony stark are two more reminders of the word stark
despite kalanick’s apologetic words, he was forced to resign as ceo last month. in the media he is associated with uber scandals involving sexual harrassment, a toxic work environment and a lawsuit with google over the technology of self-driving cars. investors worried his presence was putting their profits ($$) at risk.
top cat attempting to explain away changes in the appearance of the alley to officer dibble
do u use the uber app? does travis kalanick’s swagger affect your decision to order an uber? share your opinion under leave a reply
