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!