the end of an era

As we all know by now, Osama (Usama) bin Ladin was killed on sunday.
I am feeling very conflicted about the whole thing. As was expressed in an article in the NYT, most of the American who are most excited are my contemporaries. September 11, 2001 was the very beginning of 6th grade for me, a month after my 11th birthday. I remember the principle coming into the lunch room while only the middle school was there, rationalizing that we were the oldest students in the school and only we the leaders could handle the shocking and emotional news. In reality, since we were in Worcester, MA many of us didnt know what the World Trade Centers were. The concept "twin towers" meant nothing to us. But as the article describes, bin Laden was the enemy of our generation. Its like hearing that Spider Man has killed the Green Goblin (?) and the world is now safe. But as is apparent from a poll on the NYT, readers have mixed emotion. There are responses that quote MLK Jr., all the way to those chanting "USA! USA!"
If you visit the Op-ed page of the website, the confusion continues. People dont know if its ok to be relieve or if we should be more scared now that we dont know who will take his place. Who will now be #1 on the top 10 most wanted?
It feels like a good thing, but if we are really Americans that believe in democracy, why was he killed on the spot, why was he not given a trial. If bin Laden were put on the stand, i'm confident it would be the biggest thing since the Nuremberg Trails post-WWII. If Americans are elated with this news, how much more so to hear the judge rule "guilty" after a long and grueling trial?
Also, just an op ed from yesterday (may 3, 2011) titled Bin Laden and Eichman i think it supports my point.

Beck Presents Obama's Passover Message

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4652860/beck-obamas-passover-message

The video is a clip from Glenn Beck. We know that he has not been Obama's biggest fan throughout his administration. In the video he seems to be completely offended by what Obama said in his passover message. He reads that Obama sees the Palestinians as slaves and the Israelis as their oppressors. It is scary to see the President, the leader of the free world, making such a statement over our holiday.

Oh Beiber, You Didn't...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/world/middleeast/13bieber.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

I have no words.
Meaning i have a million things to say, but why is Justin Beiber a young pop singer making the front page of the New York Times. There has got to be more interesting news. Or maybe this is just the kind of interesting news that the public craves? Politics meets pop culture?

1986 or 2011: When Chernobyl meets Japan

According to many news sources, (I am using the WSJ) the damage from the nuclear plants in Japan are reaching the levels of the horrors of Chernobyl. Something that everyone thought the modern world had moved far beyond. The earlier disaster happened in the Soviet Union, when the world was entrenched in the drama of the Cold War. A concept that we, the modern thinker, wants to think is now passe. Even though relations with Iran are shaky at best, they have yet to reach the level of Soviet relations. The Soviet union represents a low point in American diplomacy, when there was no end in sight and fear more than anything else perpetuated the relationship.
Today, however, Japan is in trouble. Their nuclear reactors are malfunctioning due to the earth quake and subsequent tsunami, they are damaged and are releasing large amounts of radio active material into the air.
As the WSJ says:
"It is quite different from Chernobyl," said Mr. Nishiyama. "First, the amount of released radiation is about a tenth of Chernobyl," he said, adding that while there were 29 deaths resulting from short-term exposure to high doses of radiation at Chernobyl, there were no such deaths at Fukushima. "At Chernobyl, the nuclear reactor itself exploded," he said, adding that at the Fukushima plant, the pressure vessel and the containment vessel were largely intact.

At the end of the day, the word is "scary." There is nothing that anyone can do to control what is going on and in a world where everyone feels like they control everything based on who wins a debate, who has the most money, who gets the most votes; this is foreign territory. 

see the article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703841904576256742249147126.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

facebook as "big brother"

This week, facebook took a big step in deciding to take down a page that called upon Palestinians to start a third intifada. Should facebook have that kind of power? Are we not encouraged on the site to tell people "what's on your mind"? On the one hand, i feel much more comfortable with the page gone. i cannot believe that someone would even make a page to encourage such an atrocity. the fact that the riots in egypt began due to communication on facebook, the website seems to have turned into a more powerful tool than anyone really thought. in my world, facebook is a place to waste time, catch up with old friends who i will never see and, of course, to look at pictures. but for those looking to make a change, it has become clear that facebook is a valuable tool to mobilize the public. it is therefore even more terrifying that one would make a page attempting to make more violence.

The world jewish congress wrote about what happened:

http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/10108

they are, naturally, in full support of facebook;s actions.

ny times on overload

If you sit on the nytimes homepage, just clicking refresh every five minutes the headlines will change... try it

10,000 Japanese dead

When i heard that people had used facebook in Egpyt as a tool to mobilize the nation, frankly, i found it astonishing. I have this stigma against facebook that if "it" happens on facebook, "it"either gains or loses legitimacy. For example: if someone is in a relationship on facebook= legit. If someone make an event on facebook or a group for a club that they are in= not legit. For some reason it is just not how my head works.
I was not on facebook until 12am (sat night/sunday morning) this weekend. I was amazing by how much poeple were really interacting on the site. They were posting news articles left and right (no pun intended) and having REAL discussions about them. It was not just another wedding album or a crazy yahoo news story that everyone smirks over and moves on. For once facebook, to me, seemed like a more legitimate forum for real, honest and serious conversation. While i certainly do NOT think that facebook can serve as a replacement to human interaction, there was something beautiful about hundreds (or thousands) of people coming together over one issue.
The New York Times apparently wrote an article that did not fully express the brutality and heartlessness of the crimes to the Fogel family in Itamar. After reading the article myself, i really didn't see the huge problem with it. Ok fine, they didn't show the bloody pictures that have now found their way into dozens of youtube videos. Ok, they didn't discuss how bloody the scene was. They still called culprits "killers" and expressed that it was an atrocity. Anyway, the point is not to review the article.

With all that is going on, that has happened over the weekend, i am reminded of agenda setting, a topic we discussed in class a few weeks ago. While i am looking for news relating to israel and this horrible massacre, the rest of the world is looking to hear of the 10,000 who died in the tsunami in Japan. Of the radiation and nuclear material that may have infected hundreds of people. It is so hard to grasp the death of 5 members of a family, how do i begin to relate to 10,000. I think that's the point though. While i am sitting here, listening to the news, reading articles and watching youtube videos about this family, it is possible to connect to them: i was once 12, i have parents and siblings (nevermind the fact that they are Jews and Israelis). It is so hard to go on the nytimes website and be smacked in the face with japan japan japan when all i want to hear about is Israel. I know it is important too, i don't mean to sound negative or like the rest of the world does not matter, but isn't there something to be said about have a connection with someone, with something so important. I can't control if there is going to be an earthquake that will cause a tsunami that will wipe out 10,000 people. I CAN control if i teach my family how to be proper members of society, that it is NOT ok go kill people, that every human life has value.
Why don't you try that next time nytimes?

King of His Castle

Ever heard of Peter King?
He's a replican rep from NY. He has become famous for forcing Muslim Americans to look at extremists within their faith and be realistic about what is actually happening in the world. While the moderate Muslims living in America might not have anything to do with their more radical brothers across the middle east and even in Europe, they are still technically members of the same religion. His case is not that Muslims all over the world have to take responsibility for what their brothers are doing, but rather come to terms with what is happening and to stop denying it.
I was reading this article in the Washington Post written by a Muslim woman in support of King's beliefs. She quotes the Quran saying:
Oh ye who believe!
Stand out firmly
For justice, as witnesses
To God, even if it may be against
Yourselves, or your parents
Or your kin
Proving that even the Quran challenges the Islamic community to be self-critical.
As Jews i think it's an important case to learn about. If there were injustices happening all over the world due to extremists in the Jewish community, we would not sit by and let it happen; getting defensive any time we were blamed for the atrocious events. They have to take responsibility for what is happening to a certain extent and i think that the Muslim world will only bennefit from this proactive stance.

War and Jobs?

This article inspired me to write the following, but i just found the article fascinating. (and yes, it's all about politics b/c it's about the economy which is as political as it gets...)

When a college graduate can't get a job, is it still considered an investment to pay for a college education? A couple of years ago, i heard my teachers advising current high school and college students to stay in school for as long as possible because a new graduate is not likely to get a job. But more recently i've been hearing a more negative sentiment, that there is no hope for jobs, so, boys, better to become a plumber, at least you can fix your own toilet.When America's economy was based on consumerism, what happens when the population no longer consumes? What about if there are enough doctors, lawyers, bankers and computers to keep the system going. It seems like the job market does not need new people. I used to think that this time is good for us college students, that now we'll all get tons of internships so when the economy decides to function properly again, we'll all have nicely padded resumes to send into corporate america. But what if the economy never really turns around. On the other hand, what if it turns around but not enough to support every college graduate? Will college graduates be willing to take the jobs of an unskilled worker just to make ends meet or will pride put me and my peers on the street. The future is supposed to be exciting, so why does it seem so bleak?

*disclaimer: i mean to talk about the american economy, not to sound hopeless for the future- i'm sure we'll all get jobs, especially with our snazzy YU diplomas :-)

The Country That Started it All...

OK, so remember that time that that guy in Tunisia set himself on fire which began riots? and then the riots spread to every other middle eastern country? right. guess what's happening now?!

 Tunisian Prime Minister Announces Resignation

k, just so we all know what's going on... does that mean that all the other countries will follow in the same footsteps?

Washington, welcome to facebook

After our discussion today in class, i was curious what the president's facebook looks like. Well, as it turns out, he has 18,417,231 likes, and on any given post there are thousands of likes and comments.  i can't imagine. he also likes his wife, michelle obama's page- i think it's a sign of a happy marriage.
it seemed that the facebook page was over all not so political. I think the best part of the page was the comment under one of the official white house pictures of  the president reading: "YOU ARE MY FAVORITE PRESIDENT IN THE WORLD. I WOSSH YOU GOOD APPORTUNITY DUE TO SERVE WORLD" (so proud of the american education...)

Another entertaining part of his page is where in a video that re-capped what the president did last week, it has a clip of him talking to Marc Zuckerberg- the creator of facebook- on facebook! so cool!


Facebook is a great way for the president to connect to the people, and he can present the issues that he wants the greater american public- not just those who are interested in politics- to be aware of.

Politics on Fire

In class this week, we discussed setting agendas in the news. Well, as it so happens, there is a prime example of agenda setting in the NY Times this week. Since the news in the middle east is exceedingly more interesting than the budget setting happening in Washington, the M.E. has taken over the home page and front page of the paper. If you go to the politics page, then you'll see tons of important stories about what's going on domestically, but who wants to read about fights in congress when people are setting themselves on fire on the other side of the world? I, for one, am more inclined to learn about people on fire, but that's just me. (or careless shootings, riots,  demonstrations...)
Is it wrong that the American papers are more concerned with the other side of the world? Is it expected or should we insist that they set priority to the local news?
Most recent M.E. drama

Egypt and the Internet

The internet in 2011 seems to just be a "thing." This "thing" that no one has control over, but just "is." It is everywhere, and is seen as a crime when coffee shops or hotels try to charge for it. With 3G networks, Blackberries and Iphones, people have their email and facebook everywhere. How then, was it possible for an entire country to shut down the internet? Furthermore, how were the people able to continue rioting even without this necessary tool?
Egypt Leaders Found ‘Off’ Switch for Internet- in this NY Times article, they try to explain what happened and how it happened. It just seems so interesting to me, with this blogging assignment, that if we were in Egypt, it would not be possible.