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!!!!