http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/washington/27prexy.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
This article is about the Israel-Palestenian peace talks and Bush's intervention.
I love Bush's quote: "The United States cannot impose our vision."
The article discusses the planned discussions over the next week or so and is kind of dry. I just liked his quote.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Television rules the nation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNzyrvq08ok
There are two great parts in this video. The first scene with the reporter and about half way through when the model "gets her face put on." I keep thinking about this song by Daft Punk and the video and how TV distracts and distorts us from the truth. Unfortunately when most people think of journalism, they think of the nightly local news. Even my parents still watch the news, and I yell at them every time I come home and catch them doing it. They, like everyone else, watch it for entertainment. It is like watching CSI or any other action/crime show during prime time, but people see the news and believe that what is shown is important and IS an issue. We're distracted by car crashes and local bake sales while we're kept in a state of fear by murderers escaped from jail and "terrorists" filling postage with anthrax. My favorite part about Good Night and Good Luck was Murrow's opening speech about television being the opiate of the masses.
There are two great parts in this video. The first scene with the reporter and about half way through when the model "gets her face put on." I keep thinking about this song by Daft Punk and the video and how TV distracts and distorts us from the truth. Unfortunately when most people think of journalism, they think of the nightly local news. Even my parents still watch the news, and I yell at them every time I come home and catch them doing it. They, like everyone else, watch it for entertainment. It is like watching CSI or any other action/crime show during prime time, but people see the news and believe that what is shown is important and IS an issue. We're distracted by car crashes and local bake sales while we're kept in a state of fear by murderers escaped from jail and "terrorists" filling postage with anthrax. My favorite part about Good Night and Good Luck was Murrow's opening speech about television being the opiate of the masses.
Monday, November 19, 2007
2 scenes of the Whitaker
Kennett Peterson
2 scenes of the Whitaker
A big, dark brown barn style house overlooks a lush yard in the Whitaker neighborhood on Madison Street in Eugene. The two-story house is filled with large windows, through which potted plants inside suck in sunlight. In front of the house lies a vegetable garden so massive, it takes up the entire front yard. A concrete path runs in and around the vegetable garden to a white front door, newly painted. The neighbor’s fat white and orange cat meanders through the garden and across the path to the side of the house, which is wrapped in grape vines. The cat sniffs something on the ground and disappears behind a wooden castle fortress, designed for the homeowner’s kids to play in. The scene’s backdrop is a tree and house filled skyline, and while currently the house is bathed in sunlight, a dark, ominous rain cloud is approaching from the west.
If you were to turn around 90 degrees to the south, a different picture would stand before you. The wet street, void of cars but full of decomposing brown and yellow leaves, goes straight off into the distance to the base of a tall, ugly cement structure. The structure is a factory, with a few broken, dirty windows scattered around on its smooth gray surface. It is multiple stories high, and is the only thing in view that breaks the natural skyline of trees. On top of the factory sits a mess of tangled pipes and vents, spewing steam and smoke into the sky. The yellow pipes surround an American flag, as if mimicking the domination that corporate America has on the 50 states. Temporarily, the factory sits under a blue patch of sky, sun shining down on it as if blessed. But to the west, like the barn house, a dark black mountain of rain clouds are moving in quickly. A drop of rain comes down to the earth.
2 scenes of the Whitaker
A big, dark brown barn style house overlooks a lush yard in the Whitaker neighborhood on Madison Street in Eugene. The two-story house is filled with large windows, through which potted plants inside suck in sunlight. In front of the house lies a vegetable garden so massive, it takes up the entire front yard. A concrete path runs in and around the vegetable garden to a white front door, newly painted. The neighbor’s fat white and orange cat meanders through the garden and across the path to the side of the house, which is wrapped in grape vines. The cat sniffs something on the ground and disappears behind a wooden castle fortress, designed for the homeowner’s kids to play in. The scene’s backdrop is a tree and house filled skyline, and while currently the house is bathed in sunlight, a dark, ominous rain cloud is approaching from the west.
If you were to turn around 90 degrees to the south, a different picture would stand before you. The wet street, void of cars but full of decomposing brown and yellow leaves, goes straight off into the distance to the base of a tall, ugly cement structure. The structure is a factory, with a few broken, dirty windows scattered around on its smooth gray surface. It is multiple stories high, and is the only thing in view that breaks the natural skyline of trees. On top of the factory sits a mess of tangled pipes and vents, spewing steam and smoke into the sky. The yellow pipes surround an American flag, as if mimicking the domination that corporate America has on the 50 states. Temporarily, the factory sits under a blue patch of sky, sun shining down on it as if blessed. But to the west, like the barn house, a dark black mountain of rain clouds are moving in quickly. A drop of rain comes down to the earth.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
More Iraq stuff
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/world/middleeast/14blackwater.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
This is another article about Blackwater security. Finally, at first glance, it looks like the company might be held responsible for some of their murders. But, it turns out that whatever legislation gets passed (and it still has to go through senate) that law won't be applied to the shootings on sept. 16th and before. The FBI has confirmed that the shootings were unjust and unnecessary, and yet the "guards" walk free. They are protected by lawyers and a government that doesn't care about casualties of oil. Today I read an opinion article in the Emerald by Nik Antovich titled, "Enjoy freedom? Thank the United States Armed Forces." First of all, who in their right mind spells Nick without a "c?" Seriously, come on. I read the title and prepared myself to be disgusted, and I wasn't let down. I could only read about half of it until I was just too pissed to read anymore. Nik pulled out all the stops; he compared Hitler to Sadam, said that we were in Iraq for just causes, and that war accomplishes great things: like ending slavery. This is my favorite quote from his article: "When reflecting on the wars America has participated in, the first thought that comes to mind is: America is not much of an antagonist, more a reactive country concerning warfare." Later on he goes to say, "Wars have predominately been initiated by irrational leaders."
I think that as long as people continue to believe this crap about being heroes bringing freedom to the savages, while we continue to get away with murder in Iraq, journalism has failed.
This is another article about Blackwater security. Finally, at first glance, it looks like the company might be held responsible for some of their murders. But, it turns out that whatever legislation gets passed (and it still has to go through senate) that law won't be applied to the shootings on sept. 16th and before. The FBI has confirmed that the shootings were unjust and unnecessary, and yet the "guards" walk free. They are protected by lawyers and a government that doesn't care about casualties of oil. Today I read an opinion article in the Emerald by Nik Antovich titled, "Enjoy freedom? Thank the United States Armed Forces." First of all, who in their right mind spells Nick without a "c?" Seriously, come on. I read the title and prepared myself to be disgusted, and I wasn't let down. I could only read about half of it until I was just too pissed to read anymore. Nik pulled out all the stops; he compared Hitler to Sadam, said that we were in Iraq for just causes, and that war accomplishes great things: like ending slavery. This is my favorite quote from his article: "When reflecting on the wars America has participated in, the first thought that comes to mind is: America is not much of an antagonist, more a reactive country concerning warfare." Later on he goes to say, "Wars have predominately been initiated by irrational leaders."
I think that as long as people continue to believe this crap about being heroes bringing freedom to the savages, while we continue to get away with murder in Iraq, journalism has failed.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
polluting athletes' lungs
http://www.wired.com/science/planetearth/magazine/15-08/ff_pollution
Beijing, the chosen grounds for the summer 2008 olympics, is filled with smog and pollution. It isn't uncommon for the air to be so polluted that citizens are warned not to go outside without face masks. The very young and old are warned of going outside into the smog even with masks. This article sums up the problem: Beijing was chosen under the pretense that it would change its ways and become an ecological city. yeah right. A few of the new stadiums and facilities employ green energy systems: rain-catching systems and solar panels, but it's all just for show. As skyscrapers go up on every street corner and thousands of cars are put on the street everyday, carbon emissions are continuing to skyrocket. What a terrible place for the olympics. It may have been a good idea in 2002, when Beijing was decided to be the location. Who knows, maybe it could have sparked an interest in the people and government there to change their ways (not that it would have changed ours) but it didn't. It failed, and now thousands of athletes are going to be running, cycling, and swimming in pollution. I guess we had better get used to the idea of breathing in smog, most "liberal" and "green" people I know aren't willing to make any changes in their lives either. Driving a car is too convenient and remembering to turn the house lights off is too much of an inconvenience.
Beijing, the chosen grounds for the summer 2008 olympics, is filled with smog and pollution. It isn't uncommon for the air to be so polluted that citizens are warned not to go outside without face masks. The very young and old are warned of going outside into the smog even with masks. This article sums up the problem: Beijing was chosen under the pretense that it would change its ways and become an ecological city. yeah right. A few of the new stadiums and facilities employ green energy systems: rain-catching systems and solar panels, but it's all just for show. As skyscrapers go up on every street corner and thousands of cars are put on the street everyday, carbon emissions are continuing to skyrocket. What a terrible place for the olympics. It may have been a good idea in 2002, when Beijing was decided to be the location. Who knows, maybe it could have sparked an interest in the people and government there to change their ways (not that it would have changed ours) but it didn't. It failed, and now thousands of athletes are going to be running, cycling, and swimming in pollution. I guess we had better get used to the idea of breathing in smog, most "liberal" and "green" people I know aren't willing to make any changes in their lives either. Driving a car is too convenient and remembering to turn the house lights off is too much of an inconvenience.
1.2 million murdered
http://www.opinion.co.uk/Newsroom_details.aspx?NewsId=78
This isn't a new article, but I came across it while searching for the number of Iraqi casualties. I was and still am shocked at the number. I thought the number killed was reaching 1 million, maybe 800 or 900 thousand. According to this study, the number may be even higher, at 1.4 million. I think it is inhuman when US media only covers US deaths. What is 3 or 4 thousand compared to this?
This isn't a new article, but I came across it while searching for the number of Iraqi casualties. I was and still am shocked at the number. I thought the number killed was reaching 1 million, maybe 800 or 900 thousand. According to this study, the number may be even higher, at 1.4 million. I think it is inhuman when US media only covers US deaths. What is 3 or 4 thousand compared to this?
stressed out students
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/education/29stress.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
The principle of Needham High School, Paul Richards, has been getting heat in the form of hate mail and mockery for trying to reduce the stress of his students. After four Needham students committed suicide, the school district began its search for reducing stress. The Stress Reduction Committee isn't lowering expectations for students, it is finding healthy, realistic opportunities and goals for students to aim for. Instead of packing on an unhealthy schedule of strictly AP classes, sports teams, and student groups, the committee is aiming to reduce the workload of struggling students. The school isn't publishing where seniors are going to college in the yearbook because it has caused students in the past to lie, ashamed at the state schools they were about to attend. Yoga and relaxation classes are being taught as well.
The principle of Needham High School, Paul Richards, has been getting heat in the form of hate mail and mockery for trying to reduce the stress of his students. After four Needham students committed suicide, the school district began its search for reducing stress. The Stress Reduction Committee isn't lowering expectations for students, it is finding healthy, realistic opportunities and goals for students to aim for. Instead of packing on an unhealthy schedule of strictly AP classes, sports teams, and student groups, the committee is aiming to reduce the workload of struggling students. The school isn't publishing where seniors are going to college in the yearbook because it has caused students in the past to lie, ashamed at the state schools they were about to attend. Yoga and relaxation classes are being taught as well.
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