The Naked Grape

PTC NEWS: Supporting ruling party

sran89 — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:01:00 -0400

The audience has been a central concept in both in media and cultural studies for some considerable time, not least because there seems little point exploring forms of increasingly global communication in terms of their content if the targets of media messages are not also the focus of study. Perhaps the biggest challenge is to understand that, along with new media, we now have a new media audience - an increasingly different social formation, often eluding efforts to contain its actions within profitable corporate pathways. There are two key theoretical assumptions in this approach which we want to criticize here. First, the assumption that texts can mean whatever audiences interpret them to mean — and that they only have meaning with each new interpretation. Second, the assumption that the producer of a text can describe the world in an indefinite number of ways and that there is no recourse to an agreed reality to evaluate the description.

And yet … the world has changed. Many television programs can only be produced because of the revenue generated by viewer interactions through telephone or SMS voting. Games based on films generate more revenue than the films themselves. The music industry now depends on the transmission of songs via network media, either in their own right or as ring tunes for phones

Media word comes out as describing some independent and secular state. But even today, in the modern words, it hasn’t reached its peak. It focuses on the issues and matters in the society but not fully independently. In the recent elections in Punjab(India) ,the PTC channel focused on the ruling party (Akali Dal) only. There was broadcasting about the good works only rather than showing the other part – the lot of reforms were yet to done like the medical sector, education sector etc. Thus things had a similar impact as described in the book – “If I were watching Fox News, I wouldn’t vote for me” by Obama when he was antagonized by Fox News(Page 142). The Akali Dal won the elections, which was not being expected in Punjab. The media didn’t acted neutrally in order to get economic profit.

Case Study: World Food Programme

thecastielz — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 14:09:00 -0400

By: Sheetal Reddy

Two young refugees about to enjoy a meal provided by World Food Programme (World Food Programme photo)

Meet the World Food Programme (WFP), the “food arm” of the United Nations. The World Programme is one of the largest nonprofit organizations leading the fight against global hunger. They not only provide food during and after emergencies, the WFP also works to eliminate world hunger for the long term by assisting countries to better provide for their civilians.

Theodore Adorno argued that the medium/form that one uses doesn’t matter , and the importance lies within the message one is giving; however, the WFP is a great example of a organization which owes its success to the medium it is using to make itself known. This is so because the WFP runs entirely on voluntary donations. Therefore in order for the WFP to run, it is not only important that regular individual donors be able to access the agency easily by web, but also that the agency can attract new potential donors by making themselves available on the world wide web.

More organizations, businesses, and media outlets are realizing that their patrons (i.e. their audience) are becoming increasingly active in their consumption of media, especially online. This has led to the majority of these groups making themselves available on the Internet to keep up. In the case of WFP, they have created their own website and are also available of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.

It is safe to presume that if the WFP did not have its own website, it would not be as successful or as well known as it is today. As most charitable organizations receive more funding when they make themselves more accessible (due to being easier to find and the option of donating money through the Internet), charities with an obscure existence are not as established. Without an online presence, all that remains is the physical headquarters and limited methods of reaching volunteers and donors.

FreeRice.com is a different platform in which the WFP furthers its cause. The website hosts a small number of educational games in which ten grains of rice are donated through the WFP for every correct answer. Once more, WFP acknowledges its audience as the active.

Somewhere in the world, a person is eating rice that you helped provide. - FreerRice.com

FreeRice.com is unique in that donations are made with playing games, and that people don’t need to donate to make a difference. Once again, this method of making a difference and supporting a charity probably wouldn’t exist without the use of the Internet as medium.

Zombie Apocalypse! Canadians being "Canadians"

msterjitters — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 14:08:00 -0400

By: Oscar Chi

Today’s Canadian Political media is saturated with government sponsored materials. However, Canadian media takes only a small portion in the industry, whereas American media takes up the majority. Most people living within the urban areas do not notice the extent to which they are affected.

Vancouver is British Columbia’s most populated urbanized city, and many inhabitants speak with the American pronunciation of the language. As we begin to move further away from the urban area, we are exposed to more Canadianized forms of lingo. Certainly, most urban Canadians deny the American accusation of our hilarious “eh?” at the end of our sentences and the way we pronounce about as “aboot”. However, Canadians living outside of urban areas do possess these lingos. We are slowly but surely being brain washed by American media.

The extent of the partnership between America and Canada is huge, where three quarters of our exports goes solely to the United States. With this level of dependency, there is no reason to not suspect the extent Canada will bend for the U.S.

In the past, Canada has feared the concept of Americanization. However, we still see Canada jumping into unnecessary conflicts and difficulties with the U.S. For example, most Canadians were against the invasion of Iraq, yet the government still went through with the plan. We begin to wonder how much Canadian values that we still hold.

There is also the case of the Vancouver riot that took place during the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs. Even though the streets were cleaned up the day after by Vancouverites, we still cannot forget the fact that event did take place.

I would really like to see that we as an audience can have a say in media operations. Then again, advertisements are optimized for the average Canadian. Maybe we already had a say, and maybe we like things right now. We are free to think what we want, or is it…Do we really have full control of our consciousness in an heavily media based environment? From these examples, I make the argument that some of us are slowly turning into puppets.

Where Robin Hood Meets Julian Assange Meets Vicki Leekx

chrln — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 03:16:00 -0400

By: Charlene Algabre

(Warning: Some links and portions of video are NSFW and contain sensitive scenes and language.)

“If journalism is good, it is controversial by its nature. It is the role of good journalism to take on powerful abuses. And when powerful abuses are taken on, there is always a back-reaction.

—Julian Assange

Does anyone remember what news was like before WikiLeaks?

It’s actually hard for me to fathom how much was concealed to the average person before WikiLeaks’…leaks. Julian Assange just might be our century’s Robin Hood. Sharing the wealth that is knowledge and information on WikiLeaks from those rich and abundant authorities of our land and government, to the “poor”, often in this case people that are grossly misinformed about major issues in our world.

There it is, the presence of political economy rearing its head. WikiLeaks is integral in the uncovering of the former, not only revealing it through the weight of the information being passed from whistleblower to public, but also in its slaughtering of traditional media. The press and media industry have become an entity both brewing and running on political economy. One could say that the corporate world that surrounds our source of news is affecting what news we see and read too.

Remember when it was the government’s job to protect the average person from The Man and his corresponding large corporations and conglomerate? What better time than American election time to completely render that statement false.

WikiLeaks and its founder have gained ire in many places and with many people. Shouldn’t we mobilize said ire towards, you know, the conspiracies they uncovered and the heinous acts those employees and dignitaries we trusted committed? Assange, an Australian national, has never even committed a crime in the United States, and yet American politicians from multiple parties are allowed to incite his assassination and his staff’s illegal kidnapping on national television?

Or how about the first order of discussion in that Ted video: how in a handful of years WikiLeaks and its “handful of activists” have been able to release more global classified news than the entire world’s media combined?

And this was in 2010.

“It’s a worry, isn’t it?”

In that same video, Assange calls out the conventional news media of the world, saying that they’re doing “such a bad job”. Why is this the case? Assange and his team can’t be the only talented and hard-working journalists in the world. So why is WikiLeaks at the forefront of uncovering vital information by such a long shot? The only big difference between WikiLeaks and the average news source is WikiLeaks’ lack of ties to a large media conglomerate. This disconnect gives them the freedom to just share the news that’s important and accurate, not what will affect ratings or the bottom line or the philosophy of who’s paying your salary.

Can you think of any North American news channels that would air this in public?

Assange’s WikiLeaks is now back in the news after a brief hiatus, claiming that they have discovered a way to go around the banking ban issued on them for the past 18 months. Using France’s Visa affiliate, Carte Bleue, credit card juggernauts Visa and MasterCard are contractually disallowed “from directly cutting off merchants” and will be using this to mobilize funds with the hopes of continuing the work of WikiLeaks.

With all of the leaps and bounds of progress everyone continues to gush about when it comes to media, technology, information, and all the like, one would think that our sources and methods of gaining accountability for authority would become better as the time passed too. I shouldn’t have to draw similarities from 600-something year-old English folklore.

Addendum: On a comedic aside—as I wrote the blog, I was also listening to an M.I.A. mixtape released circa 2010, aptly titled Vicki-Leekx. Just like the similar-sounding site’s controversy, this mixtape is—if not to deliberately imitate it—also free media, available online by download.

The Media-Government-Complex

robertemanuelmd — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:57:00 -0400

“Of course I want him to win,” said Rupert Murdoch on twitter about Republican Presidential nominee, Mitt Romney. “Save us from socialism, etc”. Murdoch is of course the founder and current Chairman and CEO of the News Corporation, the multinational corporation whose holdings include highest rated American 24 hour news station Fox News, the largest newspaper in the United States the Wall Street Journal, and other news, music, books, films and media holdings. Basically, if you have eyes and ears, you’ve more than likely consumed something produced by News Corp. So to have the head of one of the largest media groups in the world unabashedly state his support for one of the candidates, and repeat the uneducated opinion, that Obama is a socialist, that is so prevalent in the organizations that he owns, is enough to make even the biggest optimist see the glass as half empty when it comes to modern day communication.

Because of people like Murdoch, and because of entities like News Corp. it is the government’s job to ensure that we aren’t subjected to interests of the wealthy elite, but in that regard they have failed at a level that we have never seen before. A 5-4 vote in the Supreme Court on the Citizens United v. The Federal Election Commission, has resulted in corporations and unions being allowed to spend unlimited amount of money on the selling of their messages. This has led to the birth of Super PACs, like Karl Rove’s American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, whose only existence is founded on the spending of monies to elect the people they want in office, such as the $70 million that Rove’s groups will spend on senate elections this year.

More money has been raised in the month of June during this election cycle($177 million) than was spent on by both parties in the entire 1980 election, and it is expected that both Obama and Romney will raise and spend in the excess of 1 billion dollars this election, further evidence that if you want to become President, you don’t necessarily need the best policies, you just need to be able to afford it.

A media-government-complex has been created and only the richest among us are allowed to partake in its benefits. The average American has to accept what the Murdochs, Roves, and political parties of America want us to hear. The free press has simply become too expensive for the rest of us.

Negative effects advertisers have on their targeted audience.

lauradenomy — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:20:00 -0400

By: Laura Denomy

Have advertisers gone too far with sexist ads? Sexist alcohol advertisements are invasive, and contribute to an environment that encourages violence against women. The general targeted demographic is men in their early to late 20’s, and alcohol companies are aware of this and are sending out a misinterpreted image of reality through gender stereotypes. Alcohol companies are only concerned about selling their products, and making big profit, and don’t have any morals about the detrimental effects that these advertisements are having on our on society.

The first images that young men interpret about drinking are usually through these sexist advertisements. Young men are the most vulnerable towards these kinds of advertisements, because they have become desensitized towards sexist advertisements and don’t know the subconscious effects it has on them. These advertisements portray over the top sexualized gender stereotypes; men are these laid back hot shots who are able to get these sexy women just by drinking a brand name, and women are portrayed as objects, they have no brain just a sexy body, their bodies are usually dissected, or they are owned by someone.

Sky Vodka is notorious for their over the top sexist advertisements. These advertisements are a perfect example of how alcohol advertisements degrade and dehumanize women. All of the advertisements below show the ‘ideal’ women through men’s eyes. These advertisements are sending out a message that women should look, and act this way to be desirable. Sky Vodka and others companies alike should be ashamed of themselves. Advertisements like these are the most dehumanizing, which is one of the top leading causes to abuse against women, because men just see women as an object, a possession, or a ‘thing’.

Yes, sex does sell, but what price are we willing to pay? Alcohol advertisers need to understand the serious repercussions that these advertisements are having on our society and the negative effect it has on both men and women, because media portrays false gender representations which shape the way we act, how we view people, the way we talk, our beliefs, and our culture. Women are constantly trying to change themselves to become these ‘perfect’ stereotypical women, but do these women actually exist?

Mass Media Giants: Crushing Democracy?

kswizzle29 — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 19:38:00 -0400

By Kristin Unger

News media conglomerates complicate a political news environment already widely considered to be biased. Conglomerates exist because staying profitable in the modern media environment means continuing to secure ad revenues while people get better options with technology, and no longer pay attention to commercials, asserts the Journal of Media Economics in an article entitled Diversification Strategy of Global Media Conglomerates. If more outlets come under one umbrella costs can be reduced, departments can be centralized and advertising packages can reach a wider audience in several targeted markets. Conglomerations make sense, when one considers the economic pitfalls a single company faces in the age of technological convergence.

However, conglomerations fail to impress when the ideas and bias of a single person or corporation are broadcast to the masses under the guise of separate entities. The owner of a newspaper, radio or television station delivers their dictate to staff who must all work within the constraint of the executive demand, or risk job termination. Some owners choose to pursue the all-mighty dollar in the form of political infotainment, sacrificing truly unbiased information in order to give viewers a slanted, entertaining view of political candidacy in an election, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research in an article entitled Media Bias. Instead of informing voters on candidate platforms, the focus is placed on poll results and small, heavily edited ‘sound bites’ from a favoured party candidate.

This selling of news as a form of entertainment over news as a form of truth seems antithetical to a democratic, unbiased ‘free press’. According to “Canadian Politics” by Rand Dyck: “The increased concentration of ownership of such sources of public information is not a healthy development in an y democracy… it tends to reduce the resources devoted to news and investigative reporting at the expense of profit-oriented entertainment.” Even in Canada where democracy is widely considered to be sacrosanct, we have vast news conglomerates who spin bias into their media outlets. As an example, the Province, Vancouver Sun, National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Leader-Post, the StarPhoenix, Ottawa Citizen, the Windsor Star, and the Montreal Gazette are all owned by Postmedia Network, whose owner Paul Godfrey has shown a decidedly right-wing conservative bias.

In the race for economic profit are media conglomerations simply the next logical step, or do these massive media giants under the control of one person or group herald a change for democracy?

Current Politics

sran89 — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 16:07:00 -0400

By: Pardeep Sran

Today, in the modern world there is in changing relation between time, space and speed in every work or field. The politics is also affected by the modernity and there have been number of changes in this field. The political field is having too much coverage by media; each and every activity is reaching the people in seconds. And everything is downloaded on the internet to review that. Thus, the time and space between the people (voters) and the politics has decreased to a great extent. Mobiles have helped people to get current updates regarding the every activity and functions of their party.

The development of voting machines in the era of politics has boosted the process of politics. Earlier people used the papers to vote and then folded the paper and put it in the voter box, but now the vote is transmitted just by one click on the electrical vote machine.

Another factor influencing politics is the involvement of music and lot of advertisement on TV and internet. The political parties are making song, showing the development done by them. The songs have the music similar to some hit songs.

Nowadays, there’s too much involvement of media and transport in the politics. The cameras are following politicians all the time and politicians are also going to people by using the updated transport mediums.

“Behind” Closed Doors: Canada and ACTA

msterjitters — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:57:00 -0400

By: Oscar Chi

Nothing says freedom like a good old fashioned Internet; the internet itself is a medium now we go to for our everyday uses. News can now be spread across the globe almost instantly. It brings great amusement to me to see authorities screw up and then later instantly “flamed” at for their misdemeanors.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement was originally struck down on July 4, 2012 fearing that it would hinder democracy’s Internet Freedom. ACTA would ban all pirating, which would milk more money from the poor and make the rich even richer, which is something that is frowned upon by the majority of us.

However, news quickly spread that the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) contained some direct copies from ACTA. CETA is now being discussed behind closed doors in Canada as citizens remain cautious. We are now the only backdoor to ACTA.

The internet has provided many with the power to intervene in public affairs, we are no longer the same predating the Internet; we can now sign online petitions to speed up the process, and even greatly affect election results. If the ACTA components that reside in CETA were somehow to be approved, I’m sure Canadians will quickly formulate plans to strike it down.

Politicians are more cautious of what they do on Television, and soon they will need to be careful of everything they do due to the Internet. I am actually quite appalled in the existence of behind closed doors discussions as they are “newbie” in this day and age. Since any rumors are spread almost instantly, there is almost going to be a direct backlash of resistance to anything that comes out of those doors. I hope they step up their game to better serve us, and not use greed as a basis to anything.

Finally, as the Internet has provided us with instant news coverage, we are still facing democratic apathy. Not many voters cast their votes, and in result, many of us look through the “present” looking glass. For example, the HST in Canada shows how many people were apathetic. When asked about how they felt about the HST their reply was “I should’ve voted” Or “I didn’t think food was going to be this expensive”. I just hope that with all the instant information that someday, people will actually do more than just watch.

The Global Village: Connecting or Disconnecting Canadians?

lauradenomy — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 00:53:00 -0400

By: Laura Denomy

Everyone has heard of the “good old days” when everyone had a great sense of their communities and who lived within them. Many Canadian’s now share the same feelings that we are disconnected from our communities, and don’t even know our own neighbors. Canadians have become so interconnected by the means of the “global village” that we have changed the way we work, travel and communicate.

In past years before the internet people came together for simple things like tea, picnics, went to the movies, and engaged with one another in person. Since the internet has become one of key means of communication, it has changed the way Canadians define “community”. In today’s society most people feel a sense of belonging to online communities such as facebook, twitter, youtube, blogs, linkedin, and even online journals and newspapers, rather than communities that involve the face-to-face interactions.

In some aspects the internet is taking away from our personal time with friends and loved ones, and is corrupting our children’s and youth’s development. In other ways however, it is actually giving us more time, and helping us reach new intellectual spaces. Because so many people can work from their homes, they are saving time commuting to and from work every day, which gives them more time to spend at home with their families. Children and youth do spend a lot of time on the internet, but if it is used properly the internet can enhance the development of children and youths physical, cognitive, and social skills. Children can get involved in things that they normally wouldn’t want to do, the internet is revolutionizing children and youths learning, communication, and play.

Although the internet has become a huge divider in Canadian society, altogether it has connected Canadians more then we could have ever known. It helps us feel connected to other parts of the country, and world by just a click of a button, and helps us bind spaces between communities, regions, and nations.

Consumer vs. Citizen: What comes first?

chrln — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 00:05:00 -0400

By: Charlene Algabre

“You cannot run a linear system on a finite planet indefinitely.”

Extraction, production, distribution, consumption, disposal. The materials economy. The cut-and-paste template of most, if not all, business manufacturing models is now running on the acid that is 21st century globalization/digital progress in the hopes of fostering speed to greater accelerate consumption.

As this medium explains in visually-appealing detail, there are lots of important details not being addressed in this process, as well as how this process is being achieved. The negative and info-blanketing ways media is used through commercials et al is addressed in the video too. It’s nice to see the same digital media being used to inform and not conceal.

There are many people who make this happen, but not everyone benefits equally in this process. The entire concept of Capitalism thrives on this pyramid scheme, where those who are set to profit the most are not necessarily the ones who contributed the most hours of labour.

The numbers and statistics offered up in this video is based on 2007 findings and yet most, if not all, are still just as relevant five years later (if not for the worse). A study released several months ago by WWF says that individuals are using 50 per cent more resources than what can be made in a sustainable way.

The truth? “We’re using too much stuff” and using way too much more of our share.

Now before one potentially cries “Propaganda!” or comments about how Communism’s better than Capitalism, what’s the point of this video? This video’s calling us, human beings, to re-assess our relationship with our environment, our ecosystem, our earth. Do people even consider this exchange a relationship? It’s true: it’s very difficult to take the time to consider the story of stuff when we are living lives that are not only expected to be productive, but to be done as efficiently and as quickly as possible. But we should. and we must.

So which one would you consider yourself to be in both philosophy and practice; a person first, consumer second? Or the other way around?

We need to sift through all of the dinosaur-pace decomposing plastic, high-fructose corn syrup, and genetic mutation-inducing toxic fumes and acknowledge that this earth is not man-made. It has an expiry date, and we have shaken the hourglass for way too long.

If we don’t, I’ve gotta say a little prayer to my future children. Maybe put an apology in there too.

c/o www.storyofstuff.org

The Holocaust and the Media

thecastielz — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 22:38:00 -0400

By: Sheetal Reddy

Liberated inmates of Buchenwald inside their barrack. This photo was taken a few days after U.S troops had freed the concentration camp. (AP Photo)

A common criticism of the media is that it works to help us forget the past. And although there has been instances where this has occured, such as the censorship of the Tiananmen Square Massacre in China, it can be argued that the media serves to keep most of the past alive rather than buried. The Holocaust is a popular example of history that is still kept alive by the countless books, movies, documentaries, and other forms of media to this day.

A particular example that comes to mind is that of Elie Wiesel and his memoir Night. Wiesel paints a vivid description of the events that had transpired during his experiences in the Nazi concentration camps. Night was written to bridge the gap between the survivors of the Holocaust and the rest of humanity. Wiesel wrote to not only enlighten us, but to also help us remember the past. Night wasn’t the only work produced by Wiesel, the Nobel laureate proceeded to write several more books about his experiences and views —all commentary to the central theme of Night.

Social media is a contemporary example of how media works to keep the Holocaust (and the rest of history) alive. By doing a quick search on Twitter, one can either join the discussion people are having about the topic or view institutions where they can learn more about the Holocaust such as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. A Facebook search of “the Holocaust” will introduce one to a number of groups including the official Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme which can also be found on Twitter. Groups such the UN Outreach program not only provide schorlarly discussion papers to the public, and they also continue to discuss the Holocaust to this day.

The media connected people to the concentration camps, to the times when others suffered before most of us even came into existence. As public was not fully aware of the genocide until after the war, the scope of the Holocaust is based on the first hand witness accounts of the survivors, and the soldiers who had rescued them. Although it believed that history is kept alive only by the “fragile personal memories of individuals”, its important to note all of history is developed throught the first hand accounts of people who have personally experienced the events now deemed as “history.”

With the creation of the Internet, the access to new and old media is greater than ever. Where in the past, old photographs and films could have easily been lost forever, most parts of the media is continuously archived online. I had picked the Holocaust because it was a good example of a historic event that continues to live today, but now when when we look at recent events such as the Arab Spring, it is likely that the revolution will also continue to be remembered future as it is well documented and that its documentation is preserved online.

Bridging The Gap: Democratizing Afghanistan

kswizzle29 — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 17:15:00 -0400

By Kristin Unger

Canadians enjoy democracy. It is something, one could surmise, that we take for granted, something that binds us together as a peaceful, egalitarian community. Democracy is guaranteed in our Constitution, touted by our mass media outlets as something of ultimate importance, and comes with such liberties as civic rights for all citizens, regardless of gender. Is it any wonder, then, that when we see countless negative images broadcast of a country such as Afghanistan, without the luxuries that we may take for granted, we feel the desire to help them achieve the seeming-Nirvana that we enjoy?

Afghanistan has long struggled with issues of inequality and civic unrest, according to the United Nations Human Development Report, 2002. This report also asserts that “democratic countries seem to enjoy a permanent peace among themselves.” While this is not entirely true (Quebec separatism), it can be seen that our standard of living, largely due to democracy, is much higher than that of our Afghanistan counterparts.

The reason it can be seen at all, though, is thanks to the mass media which pervade our everyday lives. We read the newspaper in the morning, with its shouting headlines of “NATO Scales Down Its Afghanistan Goals”, or so says the Globe and Mail on Friday, May 18, 2012. Next, we get in the car and drive to work. On the way, perhaps we listen to the radio, which fills us in on the latest terrorist attacks in Kabul. The land gap between ourselves and the victims of such tragedy shrinks with each new broadcast.

At work, the stories we’ve heard become fodder for the water cooler, bringing us together in our mutual concern for Afghanistan. At home, when we turn on the television set to watch the nightly news we are again bombarded with how dangerous living in Afghanistan is, and this time, media strengthens the bond we feel by inserting our own Canadian soldiers into the mix.

It has been said that media shapes our understanding of the changes in the world and instills in us the desire to make a change. In this case, media gives us the desire to democratize Afghanistan. Through the soldiers we send, and, in large part, through the money the Canadian government agrees to give to Afghanistan (with strings attached) we can affect change in a place that is half a world away, yet seems closer every day through the exposure mass media conveys.

Credit for Photo: The U.S. Army’s Photostream

#itsgettingbetter

robertemanuelmd — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 20:30:00 -0400

“We have observed a new boson with a mass of 125.3 plus or minus 0.6 GeV at 4.9 sigma standard deviation” CMS spokesperson, Joseph Incandela

I don’t know what that means. What I do know is that last week I was sitting in my room in Surrey, British Columbia, watching a live feed of scientists presenting their work in Geneva, Switzerland where they were announcing that they think they discovered the long elusive Higgs boson. Almost immediately, twitter and facebook feeds exploded with the news. Media outlets worldwide ran with the story that scientists found the “God Particle” and they were suddenly teaching physics 101 to millions of curious readers and watchers. What twenty years ago would have been relegated to academic journals, was within seconds hashtagged and spread to every corner of our global village.

A few days before, another story emerged out of an email between Anderson Cooper and Daily Beast blogger Andrew Sullivan that caused a similar reaction on the series of tubes. In the email, Anderson Cooper stated for the first time publicly that he is gay. Anderson Cooper’s sexuality has been one of the worst kept secrets in America, and it was always the belief that he never publicly admitted to his homosexuality because his job would take him into places where being gay was less than welcome. As his stature in American celebrity grew however, it was becoming apparent that the place that wasn’t welcoming to Mr. Cooper’s lifestyle was America itself.

Cooper’s announcement however was an important signifier on modern American culture. It is becoming clear that the America of the past, the one in which men and women like Cooper lived in silence, is one that is being left in the past. for the first time ever, a majority of Americans support gay marriage, and a sitting president publicly endorsed the notion that gay people deserve the same rights granted to everyone else, including marriage. Many mocked Vice President Joe Biden when he said a couple months back that “I think Will & Grace probably did more to educate the American public than almost anything anybody’s ever done so far,”.

But he was absolutely correct in his assessment. Gay people where no longer confined to New York or San Francisco, but they could also be in your living room in Topeka, Kansas or whatever other area of America where you would form opinions on people or groups without ever meeting them. The impact made by modern communication and all the avenues of dialogue that it has opened up has been immense, and America, and the rest of the world, are better for it.

We live in a much smaller world than we did in the last century. Whether it’s sharing groundbreaking scientific news instantaneously or gossiping about a news anchor’s love life, it all points to new more accepting, better time. A time that has been made possible thanks to fact that we can all talk to each other now.

Ideology and Discourse in Hiking Prices of Petroleum

sran89 — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 12:15:00 -0400

Posted by: Pardeep Sran

Ideology:

An ideology is a set of ideas that constitute one’s goals, expectation, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things as in several philosophical tendencies, or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to all members of this society. The main purpose behind an ideology is to offer either change in society, or adherence to a set of ideals where conformity already exists, through a normative thought process.

In hiking prices of petroleum, the ideology behind it is to save non-renewable energy. As non-renewable resources are limited in the nature , it is important to save them for the forth-coming generations. The energy available is only source to carry on the works in present as well in future. Thus saving energy means saving the world. And every step taken towards it saves the planet too. Its also a practical if there is a more demand for the thing that is available in scarcity, the price will go up.

Discourse: refers to a verbal or written explanation of the issue. The discourse here is to achieve sustainable development for the present and the future and to enhance the usage of public transport, which will also lessen the rush on the roads. The hiked prices will discourage the people to use the petroleum in excess and encourage them to use cheaper public transport or use them in an appropriate value. The rising price effects every factor around the globe .It hikes the prices of land, grocery, clothes etc . (every usable thing).The hiking prices directly hit the poor community as it hikes the price of daily basic used material.It doesn’t effect the rich people much as they have enough savings to be safe from all such things and they just worry about their fun and life rather than thinking about all the world and carry on the same life style.

Communication and Miscommunication in politics

sran89 — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 12:00:00 -0400

By: Pardeep Sran

Political communications is an interactive process concerning the transmission of information among politicians, the news media and the public. The process operates down-wards from governing institutions towards citizens, horizontally in linkages among political actors, and also upwards from public opinion towards authorities. Political communications has therefore always been central to the electoral and policymaking process but in the last decade certain important structural developments have fundamentally altered this process, particularly postwar trends in the mass media moving from the traditional world of newspapers, radio and television broadcasting towards the Internet. The turn towards the internet has made possible that actions in the each and every corner of the world are quickly and easily available for the people all around the globe.

Communication

In the above picture Mr. Obama and Mr. Chavez are shown as kissing each other. They are trying to promote to international stability and peace around the globe. It shows like acceptance of culture and brotherhood between both of them. May be in Chinese culture, it may be a tradition to welcome and honor a guest in this particular way. This picture shows the building up of good relations between two nations. They are looking for better tie- ups in the future so that the

Miscommunication

Miscommunication often takes place in the field of politics. The words said by the politicians are diverted towards different way. They are often objected of pointing some race, community or culture, even if they are not trying to say so. They are most criticized persons in the world. And this often results in misscommunication, means conflict between there sayings and interpretation by the other people.

On the other hand the actions in the picture can be misleading or misunderstood. The kissing scene was taken as promotion of homo-sexuality. They were believed to be supporting the particular people. It’s like encouraging normal people not to be ashamed of being a gay or a lesbian. It can be also be assumed as action taken to get the votes of Chinese community in America as the elections are nearby.

Delusion, or Truth?: The pejorative view on the Houla Massacre

msterjitters — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 03:18:00 -0400

By: Oscar Chi

Depiction by Emad Hajjaj, (In Arabic the word Houla, which is the name of the Syrian town where the massacre took place, also means cross-eyed)

As most of us would know, the Houla massacre that took place in Syria on May 25 will be another instance where justice, equality, and human rights are disregarded. Much like the Rwanda Genocide, this event has targeted innocent civilians.

So far, there are at least 108 people dead where children and women were the main targets. Where of course, the goal was to overthrow the existing government and to get NATO’s attention. For obvious reasons, much like the ones that will be introduced in this post, NATO simply does not want to get involved in such a complex matter.

Today, I will not be talking about why they did this, but rather, how misunderstood we are as bystanders to this event.

There are obviously deep historical and cultural tensions within Syria that we don’t understand. As most of us who were born within Canada, especially within the lower mainland of British Columbia, the exposure to multiculturalism is present in every corner. This exposure, at times poses serious problems, as such some peculiar behaviors carried out by other ethnicities is often regarded as culturally unacceptable; take bargaining for instance, have we all not put the label of being frugal onto Chinese and the Jewish community? Do we shun those who try to save a few pennies and call them cheap? Yes, but do we understand how frugality is a notion that is practiced commonly in their ethnicities? Yes, but how much do we know?

The western perspective has dominated the global political arena, and some would go to the extent to argue that globalization is really westernization in disguise. The use of terror upon children and women were common in the old ages. There was been rape, murder, and looting during times of war. Take the Rwanda Genocide for example, the conflict between the two sides involved actions to wipe each other out; the actions include raping the opposing side’s women to assimilate their race, and also the most renowned, was the violent and inhumane treatment of women and children during the conflict. This happened in 1994, a little less than two decades ago.

Do they see our ways as right? What is justice, Human Rights, and Equality? The weight of these notions differs across the globe. Even within our own land, these notions are often ambiguous. Do we have a right to offer our beliefs unto their country? I personally and obviously believe in human rights. However, my view could be hindered by my background, which is being raised within the Canadian soil. Negligence can lead to ignorance, and is why all voices need to be heard.

I do not wish to provide any media on this topic as I find it unnecessary. However here is a short clip from Matt Groening’s The Simpsons that carries a message that I’m trying to get across in this post.

Enjoy,

The Dry Run.

robertemanuelmd — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 00:58:00 -0400

By: Robert Emanuel

The Wisconsin recall election results were a very good thing for the Democrats. Obviously they would have preferred to have had Tom Barrett defeat Governor Walker and have Walker become only the third Governor to be recalled in American history, but having him become the first Governor to survive a recall election was the best thing that could have happened to the Democrats as far as the November general election is concerned.

The left has been a mess as of late. They’ve been too busy arguing about what Obama has not done. They’ve been busy arguing about military actions he has taken. They’ve been busy laughing at the ridiculousness of the Republican primaries to realize one thing; that the right is ready. They have their nominee, they have their donors(and the massive superpacs that come with them), and they have their base that will vote against Obama no matter what.

The Wisconsin recall election was the wake up call the Dems needed. With Walker outspending Barrett 7 to 1, it is clear that America is in the midst of a class warfare, and the voting booth is its battleground. Wall Street has abandoned Obama and joined Romney and his backers who plan to spend 1 billion dollars to buy the White House this November.

Everything from the Bush tax cuts, which do nothing else but help the rich who then fail to create the jobs they promise with all that money we’re helping them save, Obamacare, and the SCOTUS is on the line this November. The Republicans will raise and spend more money in the general election, as they did in Wisconsin. If the election comes down to who can spend the most money, Obama might as well write his concession speech today. But that doesn’t have to be the case. The American people can tell Wall Street and the 1% that democracy is not for sale.

The only way to do that is to stop arguing about what hope and change means and unite in support of the President and his policies. Because even if we disagree with what Obama’s change means for each of us, Romney’s is certainly one that we have seen and been hurt with before, and one that may put the United States on a path that it can not come back from.

Gender Identity and Expression

thecastielz — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 22:01:00 -0400

By: Sheetal Reddy

Activists protesting for transgender rights. Credit: wamu.org

In a world where transgender people are significantly discriminated, some countries are slowly but surely making progress to provide equal protection and rights to the transgender community. In Canada, although the issue of protecting transgender people has been around for a while, it all kicked off with the case of Jenna Tackalova. Controversy sparked when Ms.Tackalova was banned from the Miss Universe beauty pageant when the committee found out she was not naturally born female; however, Donald Trump, the owner of the organization, eventually overturned the ban. A federal bill is now making its way through the Canadian parliament. Bill C-279 will offer protection for the transsexual community by adding gender identity and gender expression as recognizable groups under the Criminal Code- meaning hate crimes against these groups will treated as a federal crime- and also offering the same two groups protection under the Human Rights Act. Passport Canada is also considering making passports genderless. Just recently,in Argentina a new law has liberated the transgender community by allowing them to legally change their name and gender on official documents without a diagnosis from a physician or a psychiatrist or the approval of a judge- a common requirement in other countries such as Canada and the United States.

The Ideology and Discourse Behind It All:

The ideology pertaining to gender identity held by pro-transgender communities, such as Canada, is simple: transgender people deserve the same treatment, protection and rights as any other person and should not be discriminated for their gender identity and/or sexual orientation. Discourses that apply to gender identity include the definition (of gender, and whether gender needs to be defined), and the terms “gender identity” and “gender expression”. Judith Butler, a well known gender theorist, proposes gender to more fluid rather than distinct. In other words, instead of being cast as either male or female, Butler believes that everyone has male and female characteristics depending on context and time. In the same manner, Butler suggests that gender identity is created through gender expression; ^i.e.the performance of a gender. Gender performances are believed to be influenced by cultural and social norms and expectations. Therefore, instead of believing that a person’s gender expression emanates from what they believe is their “core essence”, Butler suggests that people create their identity by performing a gender. Keeping this theory in mind, there is no question as to whether people perform a gender but a question to what happens when people create a gender identity which goes against the social norm. This where the transgender community comes in as they are the minority who create a gender identity by expressing their gender instinctively and regardless of their biological state.

History Repeating: The New Face of Slavery in Canada

chrln — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 21:35:00 -0400

By: Charlene Algabre

“Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews, right, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney, far left, and former minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway Stockwell Day announce a series of reforms to combat human smuggling in Delta, B.C., on Oct. 21, 2010. The freighter MV Ocean Lady, which was seized off the B.C. coast in 2009 with 76 illegal Tamil migrants aboard sits dockside behind them.” (Richard Lam/Reuters)

Canada’s federal government has just unveiled its national agenda to combat the rising issue of human trafficking, even so far as calling it a “modern-day version of slavery”.

Estimated as one of highest profiting worldwide criminal activities by the United Nations, human smuggling has become a thriving business, with Canada a formidable destination for all types of migrants and refugees, both legal and illegal. In Canada alone, while finding concrete data on illegal immigrant trade in Canada is difficult to obtain, the RCMP says that between the years 1997 and 2002, smugglers helped 12 per cent of 14,792 improperly documented migrants who were caught in Canada or on their way here.

Oftentimes, it is children who are the biggest victims. An International Labour Organization estimates that about 1.2 million children are trafficked for labour or sexual exploitation at any time. This is half of the people trafficked around the world.

The Harper government has had their eye on the issue of human trafficking for the past few years and have added a new private member’s bill to their arsenal of combating the issue.

Bill C-310 would allow Canada the power to prosecute Canadian citizens as well as permanent residents for offences regarding human trafficking outside the country. Conservative MP Joy Smith, also the submitter of this bill, says this is vital due to traffickers often doing their transactions in countries with weak judicial systems regarding these crimes.

Consisting of four pillars spanning over four years with a budget of $25M, the plan includes enhanced police training, border agents and other officials of law enforcement, collection of intelligence and integrated law enforcement between the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency.

Once an immigrant to this country from the Philippines, I am grateful to the openness of Canada’s immigration policies. My family escaped a life of impending difficulty due to a disparity of resources and riches for the rich and poor, criminal unrest, and political corruption. They have contributed their weight to this country; putting hours in legitimate employment, paying their taxes, abiding the law, and exercising their rights.

But there is also an ugly side to this country’s welcoming arms. With stories of genuine gratitude and dreams of upward mobility in the right way are those who exploit those same dreams in others. There are those who have made a significantly profitable business following both models of early European capitalism and slavery.

Policies such as this ensure that this nation doesn’t become a safe house for crimes like this.

Canada is nice, but we’re not stupid.

Sorry.