37% of South African Men Guilty of Rape

Just in case people are still following the blog, I wanted to share this shocking story. A study was done that showed that 37.4% of South African men confessed to having raped another person and 23.5% of women having confessed they were victims of rape. This shocking numbers are new a break through in accurately portraying the amount of rape that is occurring in not only South Africa but other countries that struggle with so many cases of rape. The article goes into detail about how familial power relations may contribute to the man's sense of entitlement that leads to rape. "What we see here is a set of attitudes reflecting men's views that they are legitimate in the use of violence against women, and women in many respects acquiescing to this." The study also shows that 53.9% and 29.8% of men and women respectively agree "that a man should have the final say in all family matters." It is insane to see how numbers reflect the violence of men and in some cases submissiveness of women. This stigma need to be removed. Women need to be educated in their rights and gain knowledge how to protect themselves and their bodies.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/25/south-african-rape-survey

North and South Korea TODAY

This was the first thing I heard about when I woke up this morning and am a little surprised no one else has already posted about it. After reviewing a variety of articles I found the BBC article, which includes a clip of Barbara Walters interviewing Obama, particularly interesting. The clip begins with Walters asking Obama if an attack on South Korea is an attack on the US. Obama responds by calling S. Korea our ally, affirming the US commitment to defend them and does not disclose military action as he wants to talk with S. Korea' President Lee. The article that follows uses quotes from Obama, information about today's event, and quotes from the UN towards the beginning. Only once you scroll down do you see information coming from N. Korea. Another article I looked at included quotes from North Korea before almost everything else. I thought this was an interesting case of framing as the two sources chose different information to put at the forefront of the articles.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11825445

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/11/23

airport searches, Saudi Arabia, and pornographic material

After reading the post about Mariah Carey albums, and in light of the new search regulations at airport, I remembered an interesting thing I found out about Saudi Arabia. Pornography is against the law in Saudi Arabia. Porn is covered by an array of items. When entering the country a person should be aware of what kind of images they are carrying in books, magazines, etc. If they show a scantily clad women (Cosmo for example), it could be classes under the category of porn. The item will either be confiscated or the images torn out. A site I found said people even cover up cereal boxes in the supermarket donning a piece of naked flesh using a black marker. What makes this even more interesting comes from and article I found in BBC

BBC says 70% of files exchanged between Saudi teenagers contains pornography. This brings up questions of censorship and how the government is able to monitor cell phone activity in detail. This reminds me of the article about media in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia enforces a strict interpretation of Islamic law and morality, which could be viewed as their parental role in limiting what is allowed.

Newmont's Halo

This is the New York Times article I had mentioned in class earlier in the quarter, regarding coverage of the Newmont mining situation in Peru: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/25/international/americas/25GOLD.html. The article is long and seems to be well-researched, but starts to feel a little funny near the end. It uses a lot of quotes from Newmont folks, and states that Newmont has become something of a surrogate government in the absence of the Peruvian government's ability to address the persistent poverty in the Cajamarca region. The article reports, "[Newmont] is contributing money for schools and clinics and building some small water treatment plants in the villages. In all, the company says it will spend nearly $20 million this year on social programs." A Newmont manager is quoted, "Modern mining can coexist with cattle, agriculture and tourism. Today we begin a new history for communities around here." The article goes on to say that Newmont is committed to long-term treatment, clean-up and community support--that it promises to set aside funds for such long-term treatment, even though it has yet to do so. After having finished the article, I felt that Newmont came out sounding not all that bad, and wondered how this portrayal would be understood by Mirtha and other activists working against the mining corporation's ongoing human rights abuses.

Ethnic Language Preservation in Vietnam

A thought on the "Communication for Development: Targeting the Untargeted" article we read on how the use of the Vietnamese language for development projects among ethnic minorities in Vietnam is actually contributing to the country's poverty gaps:

I agree with the author's contention that a more bottom-up participatory development model should be employed to target struggling minorities in rural areas, and that the establishment of community media is key to development process. But I would like to add to this and stress the importance of not only creating spaces and opportunities for local languages to play a greater development role, but also more fundamental efforts to preserve local languages in the first place. Community radio is great so long as there are listeners that understand what is being said - ! Many of the ethnic languages spoken in Vietnam are kept alive only among a very small population, and are constantly under threat by the dominant language.

A friend of mine, Binh, is an ethnolinguist at the Institute for Linguistics in Hanoi. He is currently working toward linguistic preservation of Bhnong, a language spoken in the Central Highlands of Vietnam that has only 15,000 native speakers. Binh lived in Quang Nam for years to learn Bhnong, and has since worked with community members to compile a dictionary, grammar books, and other elementary teaching aids that previously did not exist. He is working now on opening a Bhnong language center in Quang Nam (including teacher training of local community leaders) in order to preserve the language for future generations. I believe his work is very valuable, and hope that other similar preservation projects are being undertaken in Vietnam.

Found in Translation

I read this NYTimes article a while ago and really enjoyed its insight into meaning, creation, the written word, translation and understanding. The author of the article--also the author of The Hours--contends that readers of literature translated into different languages are in fact engaged in a translation of a translation of a translation (yes, 3 "translations" :P). For him, the writer of a novel is only able to achieve on paper a vague resemblance of the story in his mind, while the (literal) translator is faced with the challenge of preserving the meaning and music of the original words in his/her translation but in doing so, invariably transforms the original work further. Finally, the reader, influenced by his/her own expectations and experiences, translates the work into something that has personal meaning--a meaning which may differ significantly from that intended by the translator and the author. Considering how this entire process of creation, intention, perception and negotiation operates within the arts is a refreshing change of scenery from only focusing on how such processes affect domination/subjugation in a political context. Enjoy: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/opinion/03cunningham.html

Laurent Nkunda and Politics in the Congo

I was very interested in Laurent Nkunda and politics in the congo after reading earlier blog posts about it and the articles for the exam. This article that I am posting is a quick summary that really contextualizes political figures, including Laurent Nkunda, in the history of the region and the political sphere.
Link to the article: http://www.crikey.com.au/2008/12/02/crikey-clarifier-dumb-questions-for-smart-people-the-congo/

The conflict in the Congo grows right out of the conflict in Rwanda. Also, before we are finished with this class I HIGHLY encourage you to read the book Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder over break...the story of a man who escaped from Rwanda and eventually became a doctor in the US. Have a great break everyone!!!!

Escape from the Taliban, a 7 part story.

Here is the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/world/asia/18hostage.html


This is a story about a reporter who was held hostage by the taliban for a little over 7 months, for trying to get the taliban's side of the story for a book. The news story about his capture and escape, in its online form, features interview video, maps, as well as text. This story also gives insight into the Taliban, in terms of the reporters interactions with them. His escape is heroic to say the least.

The story is in 7 parts, but I very much encourage you to take a look at it.
Here is the link to the intro video:
http://projects.nytimes.com/held-by-the-taliban/#intro


It relates back to the coverage of the DR Congo,and how because Laurent Nkunda makes himself so available, his side of the story dominates coverage. It is hard for reporters to get the other side of the story, which is what David Rohde was essentially trying to do with the Tabliban, which lead to his capture.

Positivity...False Advertising?

Sort of to go off of my last post, I flew home to Pittsburgh the other day, and at my family's house we have newspapers and magazines in paper form, not online, (whoo, yes!). And one thing that I noticed when I got back was the cover of a readers digest (August issue). The headline or major story reads- "AMAZING PETS, A surfing pug, a hero cat, and more..." The others include "One man's story, Who killed my son?", "7 sure signs of a rip off" and "Tap your body's healing power." None of these stories are typically sensational, and few are about the major media interests: disaster, conflict, politics, celebrity, economy, or crime.The story about the death of the mans son- even from the title- is about the man's story, not a 500 word story about who was killed where, when, how and why found in most newspapers. There are many things that I love about Reader's Digest, including the short funny stories that readers send in and vocabulary related challenges, but I have to say, the story about someone's super pet doesn't encourage me to open up the issue.


Upon opening it, I find the story "The secrets of Sobibor, an oral history" about a revolt at a Nazi death camp in Poland. The site has since been burned and buried. HELLO!!! super pet is on the front and the forgotten death camp is something might happen to find??

This is an example of a source of media selling positive stories, but quite honestly I feel decieved. People should know about Sobibor, even if its not a pretty story, it matters to the world more than someone's pet who does circus tricks. Any thoughts on this media selling tactic?? Would you pick up this issue based on the cover story? And how would you feel upon finding the story about the death camp inside with no mention on the cover?? I am very interested in your opinions!!

Here is the link to the death camp story: http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/the-secrets-of-the-sobibor-death-camp/article183235.html

Here is the link to the cover story about amazing pets: http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/6-amazing-pets/article183193-1.html

"Books take too long..."

Hello all,

We had a number of dicussions this quarter about how technology is a huge component of globalization and the changing face of communication. I got a facebook in college. At orientation for my undergrad, we were all excited to get our college email in order to make a facebook account. Now, as we know, everyone from little brothers to moms have facebook. Additionaly, when I write papers, I am frustrated when I see that the relevant title is an "online source." This means that I will have the source, immediately.. but it also means that I am going to have to juggle multiple windows on my desktop and be generally frustrated. I now have a "smart phone" which allows me to read my email, get directions, and a million other things I haven't even tried out. However, sometimes being constantly connected drives me nuts. I wonder what it i like for the generartion younger than myself- if they are learning to multi task or training themselves in a way that makes them have attention disorders. This article sheds some light on the issues.



http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/technology/21brain.html?_r=1&hpw

Farmer who fed ducks cannabis escapes jail

LINK TO ARTICLE
A French duck farmer has been given a one-month suspended sentence and fined 500 euros after feeding cannabis to his birds saying it was an excellent dewormer.

The farmer from the village of Gripperie-Saint-Symphorien on France's Atlantic coast admitted that he smoked some of the drug himself but said most of it was given to his 150 ducks for medicinal purposes.

"There's no better worming substance for them, a specialist advised me to do it," the farmer, Michel Rouyer, said, without being able to identify the specialist in question.

"This is for real, not one (duck) has worms and they're all in excellent health," said Rouyer's lawyer, Jean Piot, in an effort to convince the court.

Well, does cannabis act as a dewormer? At first I said "NO WAY is weed a dewormer"....then I said, "Is it?"

Apparently, according to http://en.citizendium.org/ it is!

Here is an excerpt from the marijuana page:

Marijuana is product of plants of the Cannabis family, including C. sativa and C. indica. It has been cultivated from 2800 BC onward in China. Even though largely cultivated for hemp fibers (ma in Chinese) for the production of rope, the Chinese use it also as a medicine for virtually anything: the flowers (ma-po) were used for the treatment of open wounds; the skin of the seeds (ma-len) and resin residue for the stimulation of the nervous system; the seeds themselves (ma-jen) against infections and skinrashes, being generally regarded as stimulant, restorative, laxative, and an excellent dewormer of babies and dogs. The oil (ma-yu) is used as a hair lotion and as an antidote for sulphur poisoning. The freshly pressed leaves were deemed to help against scorpion stings; and even the ash of the burnt plant has a use, improving the functioning of fireworks.

If it can serve as a dewormer for dogs and infants.....then why not ducks?!?

Does it go against Scottish Culture to wear underwear under your kilt?

The Scottish Tartans Authority has decreed that refusing to put on underwear beneath a kilt is "childish and unhygienic".

It also warned that "going commando" flies in the face of decency.

Tartans Authority director Brian Wilton said kilt wearers should have the "common sense" to realize they should wear underwear beneath their country's national dress.

This organization says the only reason their ancestors did not wear underwear was because it was not invented yet and that in today's world it is completely inappropriate to put on traditional Scottish attire without wearing underwear.

Does this go against traditional Scottish values or do you think as time changes so should tradition?

Article

The Global South and Poverty Solutions

There is an expo currently taking place in Geneva, in which over 40 countries are meeting to discuss solutions to poverty that have worked in developing countries. The purpose of this expo is for developing countries along with their developing partners, such as donor organizations, the U.N. and the private sector to demonstrate the development programs and projects that have proven to be successful in their respective countries, and thus, could be adapted in other developing countries as well. The expo is focusing on six areas of development: Social Protection and Decent Work, Food Security, Climate Change and Environment, HIV/AIDS, Global Health, and Education. There have been several countries in the Global South that have achieved major successes in terms of their development goals. Therefore, these countries can share their knowledge with other countries that are struggling and help them to find solutions and meet their goals.

This article reminded me of the participatory model of development communication, which focuses on empowering the people and seeking social justice and equity. The people in the developing world know what they need, therefore, the Global North should not be going into these countries and imposing the changes they see fit, without even having consulted with the local population. This expo is demonstrating that developing countries don't need to depend on the western world to solve their problems. They are creating and implementing development solutions themselves.

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=53638

Haiti's Cholera Epidemic

Cholera Protests in Haiti

As we heard when we had the guest speaker who worked out of Haiti, the Haitian people are outraged by the way they are being treated. After everything the country has gone through, Haiti has been infected with Cholera and over 1,100 people have died from a treatable disease. The help and money that was supposed to have come from the United States has been very criticized because they are still people dying everyday and families living in tent cities under unbearable conditions.

It is so sad that US citizens donated to so many different causes to help Haiti and the funds have not been used properly...

Mexican Revolution's Goals Are Elusive

Mexican Revolution's Goals Are Elusive

On November 20th, Mexico celebrated its 100th years since the revolution occurred. Many people are very critical of really how much Mexico has grown in the past years and say that they are seriously lagging behind in comparison to what they expected after the revolution occurred.

This article goes along with the case study about the Mexican drug cartels but is also very interesting to hear how the people of Mexico feel about their government.

Noone killed Jessica

I decided to make this post because I recently saw the promo of a Hindi movie called 'Noone killed Jessica'. This movie is based on the murder of a barmaid called Jessica Lall in 1999 in New Delhi, India. She was murdered by a man named Manu Sharma, who was the son of an extremely powerful politician. He shot her because she refused to serve him a drink. He offered to pay her Rs. 1000 ($20) for a drink (way over what you would normally have paid in 1999 for a drink) but she refused anyway. That is when he shot her at point-blank range - twice. Jessica Lall was survived by her parents and her sister, Sabrina. The murder took place in a really posh crowded socialite party, yet the murder had no witnesses. There were wealthy socialities, actors, fashion designers and industrialists at the party and despite this, noone wanted to testify against Manu Sharma because of the power equation he belonged to. Over the next seven years after the murder of Jessica Lall, Sabrina Lall went running from pillar to post asking for justice. A lower court had already acquitted all the nine accused earlier, including Manu Sharma - this was because nearly ALL the witnesses for the case had turned hostile. Following this, a huge public uproar took place - I remember this being called as 'trial by media' - media forces mobilized and under intense public pressure the government entered an appeal in a higher court where Manu Sharma was convicted and awarded life imprisonment in 2006.
I posted this case because I remember still being in undergrad at the time. This case was the subject of many class discussions because it was the urban, educated class that was appalled at Manu Sharma's acquittal. Over 200,000 text messages were sent in support of Sabrina Lall's fight for justice. Candle marches were organized and also something called 'Middle Finger Protests' organized by a group called Human Rights Protection Group in North India. It was the media that got the message out - emails were sent, petitions signed online and ALL OF THAT was submitted to the government.
The trailer of the movie is a mixture of Hindi and English but the background of the case should ensure that you understand it. It was the Jessica Lall case that accurately reflects the power of the media - it can truly move mountains. This movie is an excellent representation of the failure of the judicial system in India. I would really, really love to show this movie for the 'Bollywood' night when it releases - there are many other more entertaining movies that I could choose to show you but I want to show this one. Please watch the trailer on Youtube - the critics are hailing the performances of both the women actors in this movie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzGZ9oL9Lv0
For a background on the case, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Jessica_Lall#Acquittal_by_Lower_Court

Tijuana Police Chief Battles Corruption, Cartels

Tijuana Police Chief Battles Corruption

Tijuana's police chief, Julian Leyzaola, is known for his tough stance on corrupt police officers and his fight against the drug cartel. Since 2008, he has fired more than 600 officers who were believed to have been corrupt. He has really turned the face of his police force around.

But now human rights groups are criticizing him because of rumor that he has used torture methods to get information about corrupt cops and in battling the drug cartel. I thought this was a very interesting story to go along with the case study about the drug war.

Pedophilia - Italian Priest's Trial Shine Some Light

Pedophelia

The Vitican recently invited all cardinals to attend a special meeting that addressed very tough issues affecting the church including the handling of the sex crimes that have stained the church's reputation. This summit has shed light on yet another potential sex offender who just happens to also be a priest. His name is Ruggero Conti and he is being charged with molesting 7 boys. It is rumored that Conti would have the boys spend the night and that is when the molestation would occur.

It should be interesting how the church handles yet another case of pedophilia.

Breasts and Protests

Femen, a feminist group in the Ukraine, uses some shocking tactics to draw attention to their cause. These young women having been staging protests for the past few years to draw attention to a number of issues, particularly the thriving sex industry in Ukraine. While this group has been heavily critcized for their employment of nudity, a great deal of attention is being directed their way. Do you think that these tactics hurt or harm their cause?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/19/AR2010111901968.html

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/11/ukraines-topless-protesters-gain-fame/1

http://www.torontosun.com/news/weird/2010/11/15/16165636.html

Hi everyone,
I was looking at my Facebook newsfeed today and something interesting caught my attention. One of India's most well-known journalists, known as Barkha Dutt, is in a controversy because she is accusing a very popular news and current affairs magazine of running a 'smear' campaign against her. The magazine is called Open magazine and has a reputation for doing excellent news features of issues around the world.
So the article they wrote is linked on their website and is called the "The X tapes - Inside the network of lobbyists and power brokers that dictate how this country (India) is run"
To make this short, the article has published transcripts as well as soundclips of Barkha Dutt, and one other journalist known as Vir Sanghavi, who essentially set the agenda and direct the tone and slant of the stories they write. Since they are associated with a popular English channel as well as various print media including The Times of India, they can really influence the way the masses think about certain political groups and individuals etc. To explain this in detail would require me to go into details about the political system in India and the various dynamics associated with it.
Barkha Dutt is obviously going out on an offensive and demanding that Open magazine should verify its facts before publishing things like this. Open magazine on the other hand is holding its own and refusing to back down.
I have heard most of those tapes and it is appalling how easily they can control which direction they can take in a news story. Vir Sanghavi, a prominent journalist as well as social commentator is also embroiled in this controversy. In those tapes, he categorically asks corporate lobbyist Nira Radia, 'what kind of a story do you want?', so then proceeds to tell him how he should potray who as a villian and who as a hero as well how what certain companies are doing is against national interest. And that is, of course, not true. They also seem to be suggesting to have a 'trial run' of an interview, that is, apparently, from what I'm guessing, supposed to be a live interview with a corporate industrialist from India called Mukesh Ambani. They wish to essentially "stage" a live interview.
This expose, as its now being called, is not unusual in India. A few years ago, there was a this sudden trend of "sting operations" where journalists would hide cameras in their clothes/bag and try to bribe politicians and other government officials. Some channels went to the extent of using young women as bait and executed this idea with prominent film directors and producers and then calling this entire phenomenon - "The Casting Couch".
Coming back to this latest issue, since we often talk about the role of the corporations exercising an enormous control over the news, this article corroborates that. Here it's not coporations but one corporate lobbyist who is doing the controlling. Interestingly, none of the newspapers or news channels to which both of these journalists are attached to have covered this issue. Clearly, news and audience attention are both commodities that can be bought and sold.
Here is the link to the article: http://www.openthemagazine.com/
All the taped conversations are in English as well as the transcripts. If you're interested in knowing more about the political dynamics in India and understanding this better, please let me know!

Signing Petition to stop GMOs from penetrating community gardens

Hi everyone,

At this point in the quarter I'm no longer posting for a grade. I'm posting because I'm disturbed, alarmed, and making a call for activism. Please sign this petition. The Monsanto's of the world are winning and we cannot let them take away our very choice to have organic foods be, at the very least, an option. This is for Danielle and the group that did their research on Monsanto. Please sign the electronic petition. I did!

Anaa Mansouri

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/joininghandsinhealth/thank-you

Globalization and Language

This article fits in nicely with our conversation the other day about language and the hegemony of English. In this article, several different experts on language weigh in on their thoughts about globalization and how it is affecting languages. I find this to be an interesting topic because it seems like there are pros and cons to the domination of the English language. I know that for native English speakers, it makes things a lot easier for us when traveling or conducting business with people from different countries, but it is also interesting to consider how non-natives feel about having to learn English. I taught English in South Korea for a year to kindergarten and elementary school students and I witnessed first hand the emphasis that their parents put on learning English. I was treated with a great deal of respect because I was a native English speaker, and thus, viewed as more powerful. For a small country like Korea, English is an essential component to the education system because it is necessary for conducting business abroad. I have to admit that after living there for a year, I only learned a few words and phrases in Korean but whenever I spoke these, people were so impressed with an American trying to learn Korean. This experience really made me realize the dominance of the English language and I was amazed at the respect I was given just for simply speaking my native tongue.

The experts in this article make some interesting points as well. One comment that was made was that the internet is actually preventing the domination of the English language, which I thought was interesting because we read an article that discussed how the largest percentage of internet users are English speakers and that the U.S. was described as "the nucleus of Internet traffic" (Barnett &Rosen). I'd be interested in seeing some of the research that backs up the idea that the internet is preventing the hegemony of English because that does not necessarily seem to be the case.

Another interesting point made in this article was that it has been estimated that a language becomes extinct every two weeks. This statistic makes me think that the world is heading toward a globalization of languages, which does not necessarily mean that English will be the hegemonic language, but that at least there will only be a few dominant languages left in the world. I also think that culture has so much to do with language and so I see the loss of languages leading to more and more loss of cultures. It's such an interesting topic and there are so many factors to consider... check out the article for some interesting opinions.

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/what-will-globalization-do-to-languages-a-freakonomics-quorum/

English Accents

Hey Class...

Here is a youtube video of a high school aged British boy performing over 20 different English language accents. Though not very educational, it is a good representation of how there are many different types of English. Pay attention to the slang words used, the actual accents, and the content spoken about in each accent. It's a funny video and also a little bit of an eye opener as to how many forms of English there actually are. (Warning: there are curse words used in the video so be aware.)

Enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dABo_DCIdpM

Languages Cut from NY State University

This morning on my drive to work, I heard this story on NPR. It is about the budget cuts facing NY State University Albany and how many of the suspended programs are language programs. In light of yesterday's class discussion, I think these cuts are a clear demonstration of the priority of language learning in America's public schools. If language learning isn't a priority even at the level of university study, how can it be incorporated into secondary and elementary schools? Cutting language programs will certainly reduce the number of foreign language teachers. The student reactions do demonstrate some hope.

http://www.npr.org/2010/11/15/131336270/cuts-to-university-s-humanities-program-draw-outcry

Cocoa and Copyrights

The Mars candy company, IBM, and a host of researchers recently completed a project completely mapping the genomic sequence of the cocoa plant. They put out a press release this week saying that they had made the genome available in the public domain, ostensibly for the benefit of millions of poor farmers around the world who could make their businesses more productive and robust with healthier and more robust cocoa plants. But there's a catch. To use the information, you first have to agree to a license. The uses of the information that are allowed under the agreement are listed, but that list does not include commercial use. This means that farmers can't sell the crops they grow using the information.

This topic immediately brings to mind the subversive practices of Monsanto and its use of patents and licensing to force farmers to buy its seeds. Is Mars trying to run good PR while still screwing farmers? What do you think about patenting genetic info anyway? Is it fair for a company to be able to copyright something that occurs naturally?

BBC - Cocoa genome 'will save chocolate industry'

Blog questioning whether the info is really in public domain

Another blog with bad writing, but good quotes & links

Info from Mars' website

There's a lot happening in Myanmar

After spending 15 of the last 21 years under house arrest, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi was released Saturday to a cheering crowd. Suu Kyi has been advocating publicly for years against the current rule of Myanmar's military junta, which is accused of numerous human rights violations. Her release this weekend was unconditional, but she has been released before only to be re-arrested shortly after. Suu Kyi has already resumed her advocacy for change in the government of Myanmar.

Suu Kyi tells supporters to work with her for change

Her release comes the same weekend that Myanmar held its first elections in 20 years. Many speculated that Suu Kyi would be held under arrest until after the elections in order to prevent her from running in them. The elections have been widely criticized as a facade of democracy designed to maintain the ruling military junta's legitimacy. In fact, fighting broke out this weekend in a Myanmar town bordering Thailand after the military there was accused of forcing citizens who were boycotting the elections to vote at gunpoint. Over 10,000 people fleed the fighting by crossing the border into Thailand. Opposition parties, many of which boycotted the elections, were limited as to which candidates they could enter into the elections, and the junta did not allow international observers to follow the elections. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon denounced the voting conditions.

Elections bring suspicion, violence to Myanmar

Despite its reputation for corruption and human rights violations, the leader of Myanmar's military junta was welcomed by the Indian government in July. India and many other neighbors of Myanmar have positive diplomatic relations with the country, but are being pressured by the UN and others to pressure the junta to change its ways.

India gives red carpet welcome to Myanmar's military junta leader

What are your thoughts on this? Are Myanmar's neighbors wrong for not pushing harder to change the internal politics of the nation? What do you think can be done to prevent countries like Myanmar from using elections as as front to continue dominance of the ruling party?



One more interesting note: below is an article where Bono of U2 talks about Suu Kyi's release this weekend. From a critical theory perspective, I was struck by the way that the Asian Nobel laureate was not allowed to speak for herself at all in the article, but that a popular white Western European spoke for her. The article is basically about Bono's support of her, while it gives hardly any mention to what Suu Kyi has actually been working for. I was a little disgusted by the way Bono's thoughts on the matter completely eclipsed those of Suu Kyi herself or any substantive details about her struggle.

Look how great Bono is

Inspiration: The one dollar a day project

I came across this video and I had to share. I think I'll leave this blog on a happy one. I was so inspired. The men doing this reminded me of John Pierre with his activism. People asked, is water boarding torture? John Pierre experimented on himself. These men are doing the same thing. They realized most of the world lives on a dollar a day. They asked, can we live on a dollar a day ourselves? Let's find out. So, they are documenting their eight week experiment and I was inspired and awed.

http://onedollaraday.weebly.com/

Check them out. It made me feel fuzzy/good inside. I think this would be an example of International activism communicated on the internet. The communication is itself the activism. Also, putting your own body, a body Westerners can relate to on the line, and documenting that is inspiring.

In joy!

Our Banana Republic

Nicholas Kristof is an op-ed writer for the New York Times. I really like him because I feel that although he writes for a mainstream media outlet, he often writes about things the mainstream media typically wouldn't cover.

This is his column from November 6. It talks about how the richest 1 percent of Americans takes home almost 24 percent of income. He points out that "the United States now arguably has a more unequal distribution of wealth than traditional banana republics like Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Guyana."

We are so often referred to as the place of opportunity where anyone can come and make it to the top, but it's starting to seem that only applies to a small percentage of people. I've mentored refugee families who come here and work harder than anyone else I've known and they still can't move up in the system. What do you think? Do you think it's still possible to achieve the "American Dream"? Is that dream open to everyone to achieve or just a few?

Alternative media is really interesting to me. On some level, I feel it reassures me that there are other avenues that I can explore for a more independent and realistic take on news. So when I hit upon this website http://www.inthesetimes.com/, I got really excited. But the excitement was shortlived. The articles are on the website are fantastic but admittedly, I got slightly cheesed off when the top of the website urges me to 'help independent journalism survive...'.
So what happens to them if a transnational corporation helps them survive 'in these times'? Do they suddenly change loyalties and become mainstream media? Does alternative media remain alternative when they do things like this?
I would love to hear your ideas/opinions.

Your Take on Nation Branding?

I think we all were intrigued by Nadia’s research in class on Monday. I was especially interested because I was in Eastern Europe this summer and while I didn’t see the logos she showed us, I couldn’t help but think how damaging these are to the culture of a country. While traveling, I unexpectedly fell in love with Budapest because it struck me as a city that, despite its rough past were able to embrace and celebrate how far they’ve come since the Communist era. I didn’t once get the feeling the city was reinventing itself. Now, I realize I may not be the kind of tourist Hungary would most like to attract (my five days there were tightly budgeted) but my experience has to account for one approach to tourism.

I looked into the idea a little more and came across an article in The New York Times that talks about that handful of individuals profiting from nation branding. One of those people is Simon Anholt, a British branding expert whose agency Placebrands, works by one clear goal: “to help countries develop themselves as brands, with a carefully managed international identity, as recognizable as any consumer product.”

He adds that marketing is at the heart of what makes rich countries rich. Anholt said that he doesn’t recommend advertising for countries who want to improve tourism and development because this can take up to 20 years, instead he says schools should teach English, Spanish, and other core languages so that people working within the tourism industry will be able to greet and communicate easily with tourists. In my opinion, this is where the problems being. I agree that marketing campaigns are effective, but in the cases of shoes and hair products. Campaigns lack the complexity to communicate what an entire nation stands for and I think attempting to make compact versions of a country encourage stereotypes. To fit an entire country into a 30 second commercial or 2 inch logo discounts the people and what makes them unique.

I encourage you all to read the article it is really interesting and provides examples nation branding success and failures.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/23/business/business-when-nations-need-a-little-marketing.html?pagewanted=4

Google Maps causes territory disputes

Trying to map a complex world with a straightforward and neutral approach is challenging, and is bound to result in some local disputes. Google Maps has wrongly documented territory ownership in two separate cases lately. The omniscience and omnipotence of google is so pervasive that it can cause/fuel geopolitical debate? Wow.


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131240747

should Amazon continue to avoid censorship?

The top article today on BBC was about Amazon and the controversy over selling a book titled "Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Childlover's Code of Conduct."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11731928

This is beyond disturbing. What is next The Rapist's Guide to Sexual Violence or The Terrorist's Guide to Insighting Fear. Amazon say they don't promote criminal acts but work to avoid censorship. Is selling this type of book not in fact promoting criminal activity?

An article from Fox says this is not the first time Amazon has sold books that endorse illegal behavior. The are accepting pre-orders for a book titled "I Am the Market: How to Smuggle Cocaine by the Ton, in Five Easy Lessons." Before they also sold a video game in which the player stalks and rapes a mother and her child. They later removed it after being scrutinized in the media and by the public.

Since Amazon is offering advice on how to smuggle drugs, guides on how to molest innocent children and once selling a game where the user can be and feel the the rapist, will there be a rise in these types of illegal activity Amazon claims they do not support? Or will one who has he pedophile guide and drug smuggling guide get better at their criminal activity that these case are even more undetected?

There are already several Facebook groups/pages that ask people to boycott amazon, but I wonder what, if anything, it will do to hinder their advocating these types of publications.

More failures of US media to report

There is an interesting story developing on the border of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan army has moved onto a piece of land that Costa Rica claims as theirs, but that Nicaragua also claims as theirs. The Costa Rican government is currently taking its case to the UN and the International Court of Justice to force Nicaragua to move its troops off the territory.

This story struck me because while it states that Costa Rica does not have an army (though it does have a police force that is supposedly armed better than some of Nicaragua's soldiers), it fails to mention the very relevant fact that there is a very well-equipped army within Costa Rica's borders: ours. Given the video we watched about the lack of US media coverage of the military's operations in Panama, this article set of bells in my head because here again we have evidence of the media's continuing failure to report about the thousands of US troops sent to Costa Rica this summer. I still haven't read a single article on the deployment on a mainstream news site, but have found some reports on it on independent websites. BBC does not have any stories either. Given our shady history in Latin America, it makes me a little nervous that major military operations are going completely unnoticed by our media. If this conflict does escalate, how will the US troops there react?

Also of interest, Google is involved in this dispute. Google Maps' depiction of the area in dispute is being contested by Costa Rica. Apparently, Google redrew the border according to"new data from the U.S. State Department." So the federal government apparently has been changing its maps too. What is going on down there?

Costa Rica goes to higher powers

Google Maps changes the border

A second article on Google's role

Obama's War by Michael Hastings

Hi all,

After tonight's discussion, I thought I'd post this great article about the war on the ground.

The war in many ways is now a test of will, which the media plays a huge role in, as we discussed. (That's why the picture of the American's raising the flag at Iwo Jima was publicized on day 5...of a 35 day battle.) Frankly, Americans don't have the will in the Middle East. Think about it.. Iraq and Afghanistan are entirely devoted to the war, whereas America is spending about 1% of our GDP. It's not the same nature of commitment. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, they didn't think for a second that they'd lose. But they did. And we can lose too. We are losing.


No matter what your stance on the war, people are fighting and experiencing horrible things on both ends. Some of the most valuable journalism are perceptively written (not gratuitously exploited, for a certain goal) articles, like this one.

Read this article! You'll be glad you did.
Lynn

http://www.gq.com/news-politics/big-issues/200904/obama-afghanistan-iraq-war-troops

US media propeganda in Iraq

Taylor's article, '"They" Shocked, "We" Saw' was a difficult read. Its hard to read the US media message propeganda. I didn't want to be reminded of how horrific the events that unfolded in Iraq lead to the reality we have today. As an Arab, the propeganda's contents always disturb me. There is never a good way to warn people with falling pamphlet's that your going to invade their country, contaminate it with depleted uranian, create complete unstability and that it's justified. No amount of reaching out to the people would change the bottom line, or the reality behind the words.

Iraqis are human beings. They are intellegent and competent enough to understand falling pamphlets are a very very bad sign. In this vein I've attached an Iraqi blogger's postings. If you scroll to the last post there is an image of a woman/man's face. He basically sights just another one example of US propeganda. Again, I find the image, and the message disturbing. So many assumptions are made, Shi'aa and Sunni don't get along, and they never have. It's because these people are barbaric. Women and men don't get along, and they never have, so we send messages of a 'one unified Iraq' and we forget to be remotely self reflexive. Though that is not on the US agenda in War I suppose.

Enjoy the post.

http://salampax.wordpress.com/

Speaking of Women as Victims

This article, published a few days ago in the New York Times, tells a horrifying tale of women in Afghanistan forced into marriages with abusive husbands or humiliated by in laws who light themselves on fire as a last ditch attempt at suicide. The article is alarming, and for an American audience it reaffirms the belief that Afghan (and for many, by association, Muslim) culture is barbaric and that something must be done to help these women from their situation. I think the article, as our readings for class today outline, serves to reinforce the American government's position and the American military's image as savior and hero with regard to the occupation of Afghanistan. The point of view of this story emphasizes the women's systemic and seemingly unavoidable victimhood. What the reader is forced to take away from this story is that the women have no way of getting out or helping themselves and their only option is to light themselves on fire (subtext=thankfully we have soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan who are fighting to free these women from their enslavement). At one point in the story there is a hint at an opportunity for self empowerment of these women with the passing comment that

"For a very few of the women who survive burnings, whether self-inflicted or done by relatives, the experience is a kind of Rubicon that helps them change their lives. Some work with lawyers who are recommended by the hospital and request a divorce. Most do not."

This is an interesting part of the article, but the topic is dropped in the next sentence that goes on to explicate the trials and horrors of the various sad victims of burning in the hospital. Such a structure says to me that we are not here to discuss the Afghan women who stand up for themselves and work against this oppression, we are only willing to view them as victims.

I have no doubt that the situation of these women is horrific and for most there is no good way out, but the framing of the article serves more to reinforce western stereotypes of women, Muslims and Afghan people than to educate and inform.

Argentina: "Show drives home reality of obesity"

Cultural imperialism or edu-tainment?  Or something in between (eg Varan's cultural erosion typology)...


"Cuestion de Peso" (Question of weight)

Iran's education restrictions

Education officials in Iran have decided to put restrictions on twelve social sciences at the university. They will prevent school from forming departments in certain subjects and the government will be reconsidering and altering the content of porgrams currently in place. The say this is because they are based on Western though and are not compatible with Islamic teachings. They will be restricting women's studies, law, political science, management, human rights and philosophy. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme leader had concerns about these teaching because he thought they would lead to religious doubt. The majority of protests involve students. This might be a way the government is trying to reduce dissent from what they think is 'right' or that doesn't appear to doubt religion (and I would assume squash what goes against political, governmental wishes.) I wonder if this censorship of knowledge will only bring about more protest? They already 'sent into retirement' (which is a nice way of saying firing or pushing them out of their jobs because the don't agree with their teachings) of many professors thought to be liberal or secular. This was followed by student protest, which is why I would think the government further limiting the knowledge accessible at universities in Iranians will spur more debate and protest.


http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2027288,00.html

Peru - Curse of Inca Gold

Frontline World - Peru, Curse of Inca Gold

I stumbled upon this very interesting YouTube video series. It is centered on the gold mines in Peru. These gold mines are ran by Newmont Mining Corporation. I find it very upsetting that Newmont has donated so much money to the University of Denver and they are so celebrated for it. Where are the ethics of the University of Denver? Being that DU is a in the business of educating people and making money, its not much of a surprise to me that they happily accepted the gifts from Newmont, but on the student level I am extremely disappointed.

I feel as if being a college student, undergraduate and graduate, means you are learning about issues around the world that you have never been exposed to before. Many times this exposure can turn a student into an activist. This was not the case when DU's Business School assisted Newmont in fixing their image. I just don't understand how the students and the professors in that department can work with an organization that has such a controversial reputation that deals with important issues such as HUMAN RIGHTS.

US Rejects UN Call to Abolish the Death Penatly

US Rejects UN Call to Abolish the Death Penatly

Washington's human rights policies have recently come under fire by the UN. On Tuesday, the UN requested that the United States abolish the death penalty and give them a detailed list of ways they could improve their human rights policies.

The recommendation came from 228 other countries who disagree with the death penalty. I think it would be very interesting if the United States did a survey of how many people within the US agree or disagree with the death penalty.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo director lashes out at US remake

I saw this article today in The Guardian and couldn’t help but share it here. The article talks about how the director of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has questioned the need for the Hollywood remake. He also expressed anger to cast an American actress to play Lisbeth Salander.

The article talks about “however critically garlanded a film is, if an English-speaking audience has to read subtitles, it will automatically reduce the film's chances at the box office, and confine it to the status of art film, whatever its content.” I experienced this first hand when I called my friend who has read the books to tell her to see the movies and she said she would just wait for the Hollywood version because then she wouldn’t have to read subtitles.

I totally agree with the director. I’ve now seen all three movies in the series (the last just came out in theaters at the end of October), and I thought they were phenomenal. I’m dreading the Hollywood version because I just can’t see how they can top what’s already been done. It’s a shame that Americans won’t consider a movie until Hollywood has re-made it.

What's Monsanto Been Up to Lately?

 Wow.  What a partnership. Veterans Today, a military veterans and foreign affairs journal, writes that former Monsanto executive Michael Taylor has become the Obama administration's new food czar. As Monsanto's chief attorney and lobbyist he pushed the rBGH into milk production.  It then became illegal for dairies to advertise that they weren't using Bovine Growth Hormone in their milk. Taylor obviously has had some past experience with the USDA and FDA.

Monsanto also has a new acquisition: Xe Intelligence Services. Monsanto recently purchased the former Blackwater security firm. The mercenary group changed its name to Xe after their illegal activities in Iraq were exposed.

Finally, philanthropist Bill Gates purchased $23 million in Monsanto stock. The Gates foundation funds the distribution of genetically modified seeds and vaccines to developing countries.
Wow.


Click on the horsemen to read the full article.

Language lost...

Again with the article of 'International Advertising and Global Consumer Culture"... The section of homogenization of values really stuck a cord with me. After reading how ad agencies are trying to make one campaign for the global public the issue of language and how different cultures communicate brings up many problems. Even subtleties can make a difference in how someone might feel towards an image or message. As the article stated the issue of whether a culture is high or low context plays a role in what they expect from communication. These companies who are creating ads are trying to create a message, or even a linguistic universal to communicate a message and to ultimately sell a product or idea. However, this can be problematic. I read another article in the Wall Street Journal that elaborated on how cultural differences, like relations to space, time, causality, patterns. The article shows how using one universal language to address the world's population is not necessarily effective. These companies may be saving money on the ads, but one could argue in sending the wrong message they are losing money in people who will not consume their product.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467304575383131592767868.html

El problema con COLGATE

While I was reading the article for today's class 'International Advertising and Global Consumer Culture' I was reminded of a text I received a few months ago. My Spanish friend sent me a message asking me if I knew why Colgate had a hard time selling its product and advertising in Spanish-speaking countries. I thought about it and realized "cólgate" in Spanish means, "Go hang yourself!" I found a chat site of people talking about the subject and a few debated whether this is true.


http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question67409.html

This search led me to this site, which gives examples of marketing mistakes in a cross-cultural setting. Some of them are hilarious.

http://www.i18nguy.com/translations.html

Then I found another site with a post from someone claiming who works writing brand names for international markets. They talk about how important it is to run a translation by a native speaker before making the campaign public. Also, quite comical!

http://colgatetoothpaste.tuainspiron.com/tag/mistakes/

I thought this were not only funny but relevant to the article. If companies are going to save money and time by making one campaign for a product they still need to take consideration of cultural and language differences. Not only the ads they run, but in the very names of a product itself (as seen with the case of Colgate toothpaste.) The artical said international ad campaigns can have a 'truly universal appeal' that is 'effective in any market.' The sites I have posted show this is not always true.

Olympics and the Branding of a Nation

Here is a great article about the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the branding of China. The article goes into detail the games could "help to create a message that China has arrived as a major power in the international arena." It presents the idea of globalization in the world of economics and the global perceptions of China. The article also details out how China has struggled and risen to the top to become the second largest economy. With a brief history lesson on China the article lays out how important it was for the nation to secure the bid to host the games. "China's desire is to integrate itself and its culture into the rest of the world. CHina's ambition to host the Olympic Games is the culmination of a 100-year-old national dream. In 1908, China set three goals: to send Olympic athletes to the games, to win the first gold medal, and to host the games." The first two goals were accomplished in 1932 and 1984 respectively but what better way to achieve the last goal then to also revamp their stained world image, with the issue of human rights being the largest, at the same time.

China used the Olympics to gain acceptance from the international community. They focused on three main issues: lack of human right, low quality manufacturing of other country's goods, and poor record of environmental awareness. In order to conquer these images in the public eye by branding the new nation of China, the olympic committee strategized and came up with solutions. By drawing attention to the Chinese people's heritage over thousands of years, others would get a better understanding of China's take on human rights and how they have improved drastically. In order to draw attention to China's quest to provide better quality manufacturing, they built their own stadium and other competition venues from materials that all came straight from China, that were not imported as they normally would be, to feature how well they could produce high-quality structures. Lastly, the Chinese made strides to make their Olympic games and their city of Beijing earth friendly. Making the switch from coal reliant gas to natural gas for heating and building their largest city park ever, the "Olympic Forest Park." All these brought an image of a people-caring, quality manufacturing, green nation. The efforts re-introduced China to the world as a leading world power that was there to stay.

It is a bit lengthy of an article and is from an academic source so if you want to just read a portion of it scroll down to the heading "Building the Brand of a Nation." It gives a great outline of the key terms in how to brand a nation and then goes into how they apply to China while they hosted the 2008 summer games. Very interesting and very in tune with what Nadia spoke about tonight in class.

http://www.palgrave-journals.com/pb/journal/v3/n2/full/6000059a.html

UAE: lack of media transparency

Sheik Saqr bin Mohammed al Qassimi was a founding father of the United Arab Emirates and the world's oldest reigning monarch. He was the governor of Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven emirates that comprise the country. In 1992, his eldest son burned the American flag in public in a protest of the Gulf War. This upset the sheik and the son left to live in Oman. There is speculation of whether the father banished him from their country or he had brought shame upon himself, the family, and the country and left on his own accord. After the son had done this the sheik decided he would not be the crown prince and instead his second eldest son would be. The sheik died a few weeks ago and the eldest son claims his father told him he had changed his mind and was going to again give him the crown back in 2004. When his father died, he reentered the UAE and, either brought with him or had waiting for him, a small army and tanks in order to wage war against his younger brother for the crown and power. The governors of the other emirates all came together to solve the problem and the second eldest son is now the governor of Ras Al Khaimah.

What is interesting about this is that I have been unable to find any media coverage on the issue. I searched major media outlets, including Al Jazeera, and on the internet for both the flag burning and the son trying to wage war. I found NOTHING. The only reason I found out about this was because my bf and his friends found out from other people talking about it. I asked him why I was unable to locate any information regarding this and he said the media has little to no transparency in UAE. He said the don't mention it in the press, the only know about it bc people talk and it spreads. They do not want people to know about it and would rather solve their own problems. Which is precisely why I was not able to find out more about it unless I talked to someone and why I don't know exact details, nor do they. Finding out about all this brought me back to the article we read for class about media in the middle east and the parental role they play in letting information out of countries.

Is this something that should be covered in the international media? Or it is good for a country to keep these incidents underwraps?

I would LOVE to see if anyone is able to find a published article about this.

Colombia, the only risk is wanting to stay

After talking about national branding in class today, I thought about an ad that I saw in Mexico City this past summer for Colombia. I remembered the ad because their tagline for tourism is “Colombia, the only risk is wanting to stay.” I found this somewhat funny, but also interesting because by having that tagline, it actually made me think of all the reasons I wouldn’t feel safe going to Colombia. I’m sure they wanted to portray the image of a safe country, but it had the opposite effect on me. What do you think? Do you think it’s an effective tagline?

I looked up the ad to see what the rest of it included since all I could remember was the tagline, and I found a two-minute version on YouTube. I’m posting the English version, but they also have it in Spanish. I noticed that they included very brief snippets of the people/culture by showing traditional dancers and some food, but a majority of the commercial was the same as all the commercials we watched today in class...beaches, historic buildings, boats on rivers, etc. There are multiple versions of the commercial on Youtube, but most of them show the same images and are just edited differently and have different voice overs.

From a PR and tourism standpoint, it is a very effective ad because it appeals to what tourists want to do/see. However, from a Colombian standpoint, it doesn’t really show the people or the culture at all. Even the somewhat traditional parts and people included look contrived and set up. It’s amazing to me that a commercial from Colombia is pretty much exactly the same as those from Eastern Europe.

Here is the commercial.

Obama in India

I decided to post the information about Obama in India regarding a visit to the Golden Temple, since no one had heard about this incident. A few weeks ago various media outlets published articles about Obama's visit to India and why he would be avoiding a visit to the Golden Temple, which is one of India's top attractions. Why do people from the Sikh tradition wear a turban?

"When a Sikh man or woman dons a turban, the turban ceases to be just a piece of cloth and becomes one and the same with the Sikh's head. The turban as well as the other articles of faith worn by Sikhs have an immense spiritual as well as temporal significance. The symbolisms of wearing a turban are many from it being regarded as a symbol of sovereignty, dedication, self-respect, courage and piety but the reason all practicing Sikhs wear the turban is just one - out of love and obedience of the wishes of the founders of their faith."

A turban is required to enter the temple. The Obama administration had concerns that if he was to don one and enter the temple, it would further the misconception that Obama is a practicing Muslim. 1 out of 5 Americans believe Obama is in fact Muslim. The Golden Temple is a Sikh monument, not a Muslim one, which makes this even more interesting. Do they think Americans are so ignorant that they would see him in a turban and the statistic of how many people think he is Muslim would rise? Or that they would be offended by it? A spokesman for the White House and Obama, Robert Gibbs, did not address this issue and instead claimed Obama would not be visiting the monument because he hadn't finalized his plans and had alot to accomplish in his short visit.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/us/politics/22turban.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20020247-503544.html

Today an article was released about Obama's visit to India. He states that he will visit the temple during his next visit, by saying he did not go because of time constraints. This led me to an article that I found interesting in light of our discussion today about nation branding. The article titled, "Obama selling America to India," reminds me of how a nation works to sell not only their country as a vacation place, but selling an image of their economic and political power.

http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-11-09/obama-usa-india-economy.html

I'm wondering how everyone feels about Obama not visiting the temple. Do you think he should have? Do you think he will really visit the Golden Temple in his next visit or will they find another excuse for why is won't (besides admitting that it is because of being portrayed as a Muslim)? How do you feel about our president 'selling' America to other people and nations?

To go back a few classes, we've spoken about the control on the media many times over. And I have been a staunch advocate about how there should be no control on what the media broadcasts, primarily, because I believe that the costs of not-knowing are more than being bombarded with information from various media sources. However, I recently came across something that made me want to revaluate my position on this. Recently, a channel in the UK, known as the Islam Channel was censored by OfCom media (an independant regulator and competition authority on the communications industry in the UK) because five programmes broadcasted on the channel broke the broadcasting code by advocating rape, marital violence against women and describing women who wore perfume outside their homes as 'prostitutes.'
Of course, this is appalling on many, many levels. The channel was fined roughly $48,000 for this violation and for also, broadcasting one-sided coverage of the Middle East conflict.
While there are several questions in my mind about this article, I'm going to ask everyone a few of those:
1. A part of me thinks that some amount of control on the media is necessary, especially if no control on the media will make them broadcast things like this. The Islam channel is very popular among the British muslims and it makes me think that if programs distribute values like this, what would it do the perception of a culture in the outside world?
2. Is censorship always bad? Also, this channel has been reprimanded in the past for similar/worse violations. This time it has been fined. If the ideology of the channel is the way the article says, isn't a fine too small a price to pay? Should the channel be taken off air? If so, what will happen to the voices of British Muslims?
3. I did not see any comment or mention of what activists think about this. It makes me think that because they are a minority voice, they were either effectively silenced or they are victims of the Spiral of Silence.
I really want to know what you guys think about this.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/nov/08/islam-channel-ofcom

International "Twitter Diplomacy"

Hi all! I copied and pasted this article from the Foreign Policy Passport blog because the direct link was broken. It is about the use of Twitter by heads of state and the diplomatic underpinnings of who's following who. It's not only an interesting look at the political power of social media, but also an interesting showcase of the influence of "soft power." The more Twitter followers a leader has, the more charismatic he is perceived as being, and the more charismatic he is perceived as being, the more Twitter followers he gains! Clearly the application of good public relations skills by leaders of state are essential for building "soft power." I wonder who polices these Twitters, or if the leaders actually post them...?

Obama still winning in Twitter power - By Andrew Swift

by Andrew Swift

2 people liked this

President Barack Obama may be hurting from midterm electoral defeats, but he should take solace that he is, in international relations Twitter circles, by far the most popular kid on the block. In fact, for International Relations Twitter Theorists, Obama's global influence is in fact understated.

Eleven leaders among the G-20 countries -- the cool kids lunchtable, if you will -- are on Twitter. Matthias Lüfkens, the "social media architect at the World Economic Forum," first noticed the relevance of Twitter ties between respective world leaders. Techcrunch first posted his findings here, but it remains to be seen whether the G-20 meetings prove the accuracy of his work.

Not surprisingly, Obama is top dog. With 5.5 million Twitter followers, it's clear that the general public adores him. (Note: that number is for Obama's campaign/Organizing for America account; the official White House account is hereafter the Obama account referenced.) But the circle of world leaders that follow him is explanatory too. Want evidence of the Russian reset? Obama and the official account of Russian PresidentDmitry Medvedev mutually follow each other. (Both mutually follow another world leader, British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron.) Indeed, Obama jokingly referred to his Twitter relationship with Medvedev, saying in June, "I have one [an account] as well, so we may be able to finally throw away those 'red phones' that have been sitting around for so long."

(Medvedev also recently engaged in a little Twitter provocation by commenting on his trip to the disputed Kuril Islands, which Japan also claims.)

Twitter follows also indicate that the French may still be hesitant about the new defense pact they signed with Britain: While Cameron's Twitter account followed the official account of French President Nicolas Sarkozy during the Nov. 2 joint summit, Elysee has yet to reciprocate. In fact, @Elysee does not follow a single user, breaking virtually every rule, either written or un-written, in Twitter diplomacy.

Need more evidence of Twitter power's existence? The account of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is followed by Cameron and Medvedev -- but not by Obama. Twitter watchers could therefore have predicted beforehand that Canada would fail to retain its seat on the United Nations Security Council, since it clearly is not cool enough to hang with the U.S.

But in another part of the Twittersphere, with over 1,000,000 followers, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is clearly the most popular global alternative to Obama's hegemony. And while both the Mexican and Russian presidents tweeted their congratulations at Brazilian president-elect Dilma Rousseff's victory, Chavez demonstrated his shrewd diplo-Twitter skills by following Rousseff, clearly trying to establish good relations with the new kid on the block.

WASTE LAND

I saw a preview for this documentary today, and thought it was a really cool story.

WASTE LAND follows artist Vik Muniz as he goes to Jardim Gramacho (the world’s largest garbage dump) in Brazil. Hs objective was to paint the catadores (self-designated pickers of recyclable materials) with garbage.

I think this is a great example of alternative media. Stories about Jardim Gramacho and the catadores aren’t covered in our mainstream media, but this documentary has won many awards at film festivals and has just started touring the world. Through this documentary, (hopefully) many more people will become informed about and interested in the subject of catadores. I really like how Vik Muniz used his artistic talent to bring attention to this situation.

As an FYI, the movie will be coming to the Landmark Chez Artiste theater on November 19.

Elections in Myannmar

Elections are being held in Myanmar today for the first time in 20 years. However, these elections are not expected to be free and fair and are largely being controlled by the military. The military are using tactics such as marking ballots for voters, advertising the military-backed party at a polling place, and ballot boxes that have been stuffed or tampered with. There were also reports that people were being threatened that they would lose their jobs if they did not go and vote. The last election, which took place in 1990, resulted in the victory of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy, but this vote was overruled by the generals and since that time Aung San Suu Kyi has remained under house arrest. The military has taken steps to ensure that the parties they support win by controlling the media and restricting the campaigns of other candidates through high candidacy fees and censorship of their political statements. Most of the opposition candidates are in prison or under house arrest. The critical theory framework could be used to analyze the military's control over the media and how they are using their power over the media to promote their own agenda and ensure victory for their candidates. In addition to controlling the media, the threats and other scare tactics they are using are forcing people to vote for the candidates they are promoting or to not vote at all out of fear. Despite the fact that these elections will not be fair or viewed as legitimate by the international community, some US political elites have stated that it might create "new players, new power relationships, new structures inside the country" that might be important for the future of Myanmar.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/world/asia/08myanmar.html?pagewanted=1&ref=world