17 January
2003
16 January
2003
United States Terrorism
Written by Crystal Tenty
In our post September 11th political climate, the culture of terrorism has been given a new role and has come to be viewed very differently by the U.S. and the world at large. We are now fighting a highly subsidized war on terrorism and having been told by the CIA that another attack on the U.S. is eminent, many people have a new heightened sense of fear at what atrocities the future might hold. The attacks on the world trade center and the Pentagon were the first large scale attacks to occur on American soil and the people were no where near prepared. Many mixed feelings and emotions arose. People across the country waved flags from their homes and vehicles in a collective call to demonstrate “patriotism” and the word “terrorism” became a part of everyday vocabulary for most people.
2 January
2003
Greenwashing
Greenwashing by Emily Pollard Strangechord
Cue to an aerial shot – a large bird in flight over a beautiful turf of water foaming with waves. The text below reads “Shell is making waves for cleaner engines.” Shell? Shell Oil? Yes indeed; the ad text goes on to describe the specially formulated cleaner grade gasoline Shell has developed, ending with the sentence, “Experience the waves of change at Shell.” (Shell, 2002) Ahhh, you say, now I get it. And you set the magazine page down feeling reassured and even hopeful…maybe these oil companies aren’t so bad after all.
If this experience sounds familiar, you and millions of others the world over have been duped. Each year oil companies pour vast amounts of PR money into creating ad campaigns aimed at painting an environmentally friendly picture of their company. In this world of slick media, these corporations realize that the ad is mightier than the deed when it comes to shaping public perception. This mass manipulation is referred to as greenwashing.
27 December
2002
Rite of Passage
By Christine May 12/02
How does one describe a “rite of passage”, what does that look like? For a young boy, it might be getting his first ‘real’ haircut as a two year old or for a Jewish youth at the age of thirteen having a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, to usher them into adulthood, may be their first rite of passage. For young girls, it is typically the purchase of her first bra, or the onset of her menstrual cycle. In the West at least, along with many other examples, all of these would be considered normal rites of passage. But in Africa and parts of Asia there is a ‘rite of passage’ that is greatly misunderstood, has been sensationalized by the media, and condemned by feminists around the world. It is called, female genital mutilation or FGM, and for most of the West, it defies comprehension.
2 December
2002
Miranda Rights Update
Here is some info on Miranda rights from Erika
The issue about the Miranda rights has reached the Supreme Court. The fact that it’s even being considered whether or not we should continue having the Miranda makes my stomach turn. It’s just hard ot believe there’s any controversy here, but there is and its very creepy.
“The blanket requirement for a Miranda warning to all suspects that they have the right to remain silent could end up in the rubbish bin of legal history if the court concludes police were justified in aggressively questioning the gravely wounded Martinez while he screamed in agony.”
“A ruling that minimizes defendants’ rights would be useful to the Bush administration, which supports Oxnard’s appeal, in its questioning of terrorism suspects, experts said.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-2213121,00.html