Sunday, February 27, 2011

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?

Monday, February 21, 2011

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.

Friday, February 18, 2011

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

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

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.