Anti-gay sentiments in Africa

Mar 122012
 
 March 12, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with: , ,
Anti-gay sentiments in Africa

Every time I read an article about the growing anti-gay sentiments in Africa, I shudder in horror at the pain and violence inflicted on my fellow Africans by my fellow Africans simply because of their sexual orientations. I grew up in a homophobic society, but articles in the newspapers of violent acts against gays and lesbians weren’t as frequent as they are today. What are the reasons behind this sudden rise in anti-gay movements across Africa? One credible reason might be that people are increasingly being open about their sexual orientation. This situation is compounded by the explosion in telecommunication technology which has made it possible for events happening in one continent to quickly spread to other continents. This increase in awareness of what is happening in other continents makes More…

Eagle Dad and Tiger Mom

Mar 072012
 
 March 7, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with: , ,
Eagle Dad and Tiger Mom

A video showing a Chinese dad forcing his son to run essentially naked in the snow has gone viral recently. The boy cried for his dad to hug him and instead his father told him to do pushups in the snow. It is a “training regimen,” the self-proclaimed “Eagle Dad” told the media, for his pre-maturely born son and that he has cleared this Navy SEAL-like routine with the doctors beforehand. Quite a regimen for a crying four-year-old. I’m sure this immediately reminded many of the Tiger Mom, the Yale professor who published a memoir of her controversial Chinese parenting style,* she used to teach at Duke, too. I would be terrified to have her as a professor. In fact, though it is a small sample size and certainly biased (remember, More…

Made in America: Competitive Consumerism

Feb 292012
 
 February 29, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with: ,
Made in America: Competitive Consumerism

It’s undeniable: here in America, we take our shopping seriously. Even in the face of the most serious economic recession in decades, people still love shopping for anything they can, or even can’t, afford. In fact, “love” might not really begin to fully explain the obsessive-compulsive relationship many American consumers have with their favorite brands, product lines and gadgets. This kind of overzealous customer loyalty can lead to restless, pushy, and sometimes even violent crowds. It is not surprising that as part of the kick-off to the holiday season, the oh-so-American passion for gluttony, self-indulgence and vigorous over-spending expands not just in the kitchen but in the wallet and out into the public sphere. The incident from this past Black Friday demonstrates just how willing some consumers are to do whatever More…

Sure Wyoming, go ahead. I dare you. Buy an aircraft carrier.

Feb 282012
 
 February 28, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with: ,
Sure Wyoming, go ahead. I dare you. Buy an aircraft carrier.

  Oh, Wyoming. Comical in so many ways. Its squarish little shape, its hilariously small population, its desire to own (or at least maybe use) aircraft carriers… WHAT? That’s right. Wyoming, a landlocked state with no international borders that is 0.07% water by area, wants to have aircraft carriers. Well, you know, if the government can’t defend Wyoming, then maybe Wyoming should be able to defend itself. Makes sense, I suppose (apart from the fact that Wyoming has a national guard to do exactly that). And that’s why a bill was introduced to the Wyoming state legislature to create a task force designed to figure out what to do with Wyoming should some type of disaster should strike. But why was this amendment (scroll to the very bottom) added? It states: More…

Bioterrorism 1, U.S Censorship 0?

Feb 242012
 
 February 24, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with: , ,
Bioterrorism 1, U.S Censorship 0?

Media censorship is always a contentious issue, but recently, the battleground has moved to scientific research. According to an Economist article, “Influenza and its Complications,” the U.S’s National Scientific Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) asked the world’s two leading scientific journals, Science and Nature, to censor research on the H5N1 flu virus. Ron Fouchier of the Erasmus Medical Centre, in Rotterdam, and Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin-Madison have been working on a strain of the avian flu that can be transmitted person-to-person and were on the verge of publishing their results. Fearing that the details of their work may be used as a bioterrorism blueprint, the NSABB asked for a moratorium on the publication of this work. As a result, the World Health Organization met earlier this month More…

Dad Flips over Facebook Comments

Feb 212012
 
 February 21, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with: , ,
Dad Flips over Facebook Comments

Watching this video of a dad chastising her daughter online and then finally shooting her laptop because of what she posted on Facebook, I couldn’t help but grin at the absurdity of the whole episode. The absurdity is not about the fact that the daughter aired her disagreements with her parents to the public, nor is it about the fact that she refused to do what to me would appear to be very trivial chores. It is the fact that the father is doing exactly what his daughter did; going public with his grievances about his daughter. Yes, like daughter, like father. An act he might have intended to be a tough lesson seems to have morphed into an act of retribution. This video prompts a lot of questions that More…

Is it Ethical to Force Morality?

Feb 162012
 
 February 16, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with: ,
Is it Ethical to Force Morality?

Throughout history, there have been many infamous instances of people failing to act to help others. Most recently, in Foshan, China, a 2-year old little girl was run over by a truck driver who did not stop.  Before she was finally pulled off the road, more than a dozen people walked by her body and another car drove over it. This tragic scene was captured by a nearby traffic camera (Note: content is extremely graphic): The murder of Kitty Genovese and Zimbardo’s Stanford  Prison Experiment similarly showcase the puzzling nature of human apathy. What makes some people intervene and others look away?  What makes some people act morally or courageously and others apathetically? An opinion column in the New York Times by Princeton Professor, Peter Singer, buys into the idea More…

Hail Mrs. Muhammad!

Feb 042012
 
 February 4, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with: ,
Hail Mrs. Muhammad!

Tim Tebow. I’m sure starting this piece of writing with his name just ensured many people’s attention. After all, his overtime victory over the Steelers (I repeat, the Steelers!) blew America away. His unconventional style of play and his “shove-Christianity-in-your-face” attitude has won him just as many lovers as critics. One thing that is for sure: he is becoming a household name. In fact, I have just added the word “Tebow” to my Microsoft Word dictionary. High school students have been suspended for “Tebowing,” Pro-Choice supporters have started a fundraiser that encourages $10 donations for every Tebow touchdown, and, since it’s 2012, Rick Perry has compared himself to Tebow in Iowa (did Tebow forget the third part of the Holy Trinity? I don’t think so. Bad comparison Governor Perry). As the More…

iSlave

Feb 022012
 
 February 2, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with: ,
iSlave

“Shifts ran 24 hours a day, and the factory was always bright. At any moment, there were thousands of workers standing on assembly lines or sitting in backless chairs, crouching next to large machinery, or jogging between loading bays. Some workers’ legs swelled so much they waddled.  “It’s hard to stand all day,” said Zhao Sheng, a plant worker.” Reading this excerpt, save for the word ‘bright’, one would think that they were reading about the horrible working conditions that existed in factories in Western Europe during the Industrial Revolution. But lo and behold, this is an excerpt from the article “In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad” that ran in the New York Times on January 25th 2012 detailing the horrible working conditions in a Foxconn factory in More…

Fight “Fat” with Fear

Jan 262012
 
 January 26, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with: , , ,
Fight “Fat” with Fear

“It’s no fun being a kid when you’re fat.” “It’s hard being a little girl when you’re not.” This is the rhetoric used by the Strong4Life Obesity Campaign recently launched in Georgia.  According an  ABC news article, the campaign uses negative portrayals of obese children to “scare” parents into awareness about the issue. To view the campaign propaganda, check out the following videos. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaFhB1fu31k With childhood obesity on the rise, it seems that Strong4Life is attempting a new angle.  Instead of promulgating positive messages of healthy eating and exercise, the campaign is instead relying on negativity and shame to galvanize parents into action. In one video, an obese boy looks into the camera and asks, “Mom, why am I fat?”  Such images are startling and heartbreaking…as intended by the campaign More…

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