http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/09/27/nato-forces-carry-airstrikes-pakistan-killing-insurgents/
http://afghanistan.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/27/nato-helicopters-cross-into-pakistan-chasing-insurgents/?iref=allsearch
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39376671
When I was looking at stories about the war in Afghanistan, I came across a story today about two NATO Helicopters based in Afghanistan that carried out two air strikes in Pakistan, killing about 50 people. In all three sources, the media is calling the attack self-defense, saying that they NATO justified the attacks on "the right of self defense." It seems that at the beginning of the articles, they state that more than 50 militants were killed, then toward the end it says exactly 49 were killed, which I found interesting since all of them sort of contradict themselves.
The article in CNN fails to mention the second attack, in which a helicopter returned to the area of the border and were fired upon by smaller arms. This attack killed 4 more people. The CNN also defends Pakistan in a way mentioning how it was "a clear violation of breach" for the United Nations. MSNBC claimed a third strike was carried out but the other sources fail to mention this event taking place.
I do believe this is a story we should all be concerned about. The United States media is saying that this is a "self-defense" operation, but I'm sure it says otherwise in newspapers in the Middle East. The fact that 49 people were killed raises a big issue on whether the strike was self defense or not. It is a big loss that I feel probably could have been avoided.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Imitating Television
I came across something recently that was very interesting to me recently. I'm not sure how many of you guys watch the show Dexter on Showtime, but I have just started watching the show on DVD. Dexter is a show about a serial killer, but his father raised him to only use his urges of killing for good, so he kills men and women who are killers themselves and rids the world of their evil crimes.
I found a story where 17 year old Andrew Conley from Ohio killed his ten year old brother because he "wanted to be like Dexter." This crime will have him either serve life without parole or a 65 year sentence, but also could have him out by the age of 40. Conley never denied killing his little brother. He was asked why he did it, and he stated, ""maybe I was thinking about going in there and just stabbing my Dad in the throat, but I didn't do it." He then went over to his Dad's house, and instead of stabbing his father, he strangled his 10 year old brother. After doing this he says he was being something he thought he was going to be all along...a monster.
After he committed his crime, he went over to his girlfriends house to watch a movie, and gave her a promise ring, saying they would be together forever. She said, "it was the happiest I've seen him in a long time." After his arrest, his girlfriend said that Andrew idolized Dexter. As I was looking at pictures of Conley, I saw he looked almost exactly like him, maybe trying to cut his hair and sideburns like him. He probably dressed like his as well. This isn't the first time someone has murdered idolizing Dexter and this post was just to show how television criminals (although Dexter is pictured as a good guy) can have a good impact on those watching.
I found a story where 17 year old Andrew Conley from Ohio killed his ten year old brother because he "wanted to be like Dexter." This crime will have him either serve life without parole or a 65 year sentence, but also could have him out by the age of 40. Conley never denied killing his little brother. He was asked why he did it, and he stated, ""maybe I was thinking about going in there and just stabbing my Dad in the throat, but I didn't do it." He then went over to his Dad's house, and instead of stabbing his father, he strangled his 10 year old brother. After doing this he says he was being something he thought he was going to be all along...a monster.
After he committed his crime, he went over to his girlfriends house to watch a movie, and gave her a promise ring, saying they would be together forever. She said, "it was the happiest I've seen him in a long time." After his arrest, his girlfriend said that Andrew idolized Dexter. As I was looking at pictures of Conley, I saw he looked almost exactly like him, maybe trying to cut his hair and sideburns like him. He probably dressed like his as well. This isn't the first time someone has murdered idolizing Dexter and this post was just to show how television criminals (although Dexter is pictured as a good guy) can have a good impact on those watching.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Serial Killer in Michigan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/26/AR2010082605949.html
The most popular serial killer recently appears to be a man by the name of Elias Abuelazam, who is suspected of attacking 18 men, 5 of which were fatal. Abuelazam attacked in the areas of Virginia, Michigan, and Ohio and is currently looking at life in prison without parole.
This article focuses more on the case rather than the serial killer. It talks about the facts of the case, goes into detail where and when the crimes were committed, and how the prosecution will be handled. Not much background is given about Abuelazam, but I am curious to find out what kind of person he really is. They do say that he is an Israeli citizen who has ties to Virginia in Leesburg, where he committed three of his attacks. He also worked in the same area, helping troubled children in two different locations. Although many facts about the case were mentioned, nothing about serial killers in general were said. The article is strictly about the case at hand.
The only law enforcement agency listed in the article was the Leesburg police, which I found surprising considering that this is not only a big case, but it took place in three different states. A prosecutor in Michigan seems to be the one taking care of putting Abuelazam in jail, but no authorities from the other two states or even the FBI are mentioned. When looking at the victims in this case, no names were given, just locations of the attacks and some details about their age and what they were doing during the time of their attack.
The communities where the serial killer operated were places that he lived and worked, but that is the only sort of detail given. He worked at a liquor store in Michigan and as I mentioned before, he worked with troubled children in Leesburg. Some facts I found a little interesting with the case is how he got his victims. He did not have any sort of strategy. For example, he came up and stabbed a person jogging, stabbed an older man on his porch, and also lured someone by saying he needed help with his car. One thing the victims all have in common are they were darker in race and authorities believe it was a racial crime.
The most popular serial killer recently appears to be a man by the name of Elias Abuelazam, who is suspected of attacking 18 men, 5 of which were fatal. Abuelazam attacked in the areas of Virginia, Michigan, and Ohio and is currently looking at life in prison without parole.
This article focuses more on the case rather than the serial killer. It talks about the facts of the case, goes into detail where and when the crimes were committed, and how the prosecution will be handled. Not much background is given about Abuelazam, but I am curious to find out what kind of person he really is. They do say that he is an Israeli citizen who has ties to Virginia in Leesburg, where he committed three of his attacks. He also worked in the same area, helping troubled children in two different locations. Although many facts about the case were mentioned, nothing about serial killers in general were said. The article is strictly about the case at hand.
The only law enforcement agency listed in the article was the Leesburg police, which I found surprising considering that this is not only a big case, but it took place in three different states. A prosecutor in Michigan seems to be the one taking care of putting Abuelazam in jail, but no authorities from the other two states or even the FBI are mentioned. When looking at the victims in this case, no names were given, just locations of the attacks and some details about their age and what they were doing during the time of their attack.
The communities where the serial killer operated were places that he lived and worked, but that is the only sort of detail given. He worked at a liquor store in Michigan and as I mentioned before, he worked with troubled children in Leesburg. Some facts I found a little interesting with the case is how he got his victims. He did not have any sort of strategy. For example, he came up and stabbed a person jogging, stabbed an older man on his porch, and also lured someone by saying he needed help with his car. One thing the victims all have in common are they were darker in race and authorities believe it was a racial crime.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Women In NFL Locker Room
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/15/AR2010091504653.html
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/13/new-york-jets-kicks-off-season-facing-harassment-claim/
http://www.newser.com/story/100666/ines-sainz-controversy-shouldnt-be-one.html
Recently there has been a story about a female reporter, Ines Sainz, who entered the New York Jets' locker room after their game and was verbally harassed by members of the team. Redskins fans may have heard Clinton Portis' comments on this saying things like she "wants it" or "you put a woman and you give her a choice of 53 athletes, somebody got to be appealing to her," But my focus for this post is generally about the debate of the harassment in the locker room.
When looking at The Wshington Post, CNN, and a source called Newser, it looked as if the stories were very similar. There was a lot of focus on the Jets' players behavior opposed to the actual charge of sexual harassment itself. The recent story has turned away from harassment and into the debate of whether or not women should be allowed in the men's locker room. CNN's post talked about an apology by Jets' owner and she said, "not to worry, but she did feel uncomfortable in the locker room." The Washington Post focuses more on what kind of outfits Sainz wears while reporting and whether or not they are appropriate for the news. The news source Newser likes to raise the point that this whole argument should have ended after Jets' owner apologized, but when you add football, a female reporter, and sexual harassment, the media definitely wants more.
So all sources focus on the same story, but they all take three different angles on it. Some are in support of Sainz, some want this controversy to be over, and some think Sainz needs a new wardrobe for work. Either way, the main focus on this story seems to be the rights of women, whether being allowed in mens' locker rooms or how they should be treated.
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/13/new-york-jets-kicks-off-season-facing-harassment-claim/
http://www.newser.com/story/100666/ines-sainz-controversy-shouldnt-be-one.html
Recently there has been a story about a female reporter, Ines Sainz, who entered the New York Jets' locker room after their game and was verbally harassed by members of the team. Redskins fans may have heard Clinton Portis' comments on this saying things like she "wants it" or "you put a woman and you give her a choice of 53 athletes, somebody got to be appealing to her," But my focus for this post is generally about the debate of the harassment in the locker room.
When looking at The Wshington Post, CNN, and a source called Newser, it looked as if the stories were very similar. There was a lot of focus on the Jets' players behavior opposed to the actual charge of sexual harassment itself. The recent story has turned away from harassment and into the debate of whether or not women should be allowed in the men's locker room. CNN's post talked about an apology by Jets' owner and she said, "not to worry, but she did feel uncomfortable in the locker room." The Washington Post focuses more on what kind of outfits Sainz wears while reporting and whether or not they are appropriate for the news. The news source Newser likes to raise the point that this whole argument should have ended after Jets' owner apologized, but when you add football, a female reporter, and sexual harassment, the media definitely wants more.
So all sources focus on the same story, but they all take three different angles on it. Some are in support of Sainz, some want this controversy to be over, and some think Sainz needs a new wardrobe for work. Either way, the main focus on this story seems to be the rights of women, whether being allowed in mens' locker rooms or how they should be treated.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Deviant Behavior
http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/
Deviant behavior is defined by Mosby's Medical Dictionary as actions that exceed the usual limits of accepted behavior and involve failure to comply with the social norm of the group. So the topic I decided to focus on was eating disorders. I have a few personal relations with people that I am not going to mention, but they suffer from eating disorders. They use different behavior such as vomiting and going days without eating to lose weight and look healthy that steer away from accepted norms in our society. The National Eating Disorders Association is a support group and states right on the front of the website that the NEDA "supports individuals and families affected by eating disorders, and serves as a catalyst for prevention, cures and access to quality care."
There are main tabs on the top of the website that provide a variety of information including Programs and Events, Information and Resources, Research Efforts, and even stories in the news about eating disorders. I personally believe that eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia are deviant behaviors because they are looked down upon by society. It also falls into the category of harming yourself because it is a very unhealthy way to lose weight. We see actresses and model celebrities showing how society should look so younger women in society try to "cheat" their way into losing weight but just end up hurting themselves. I have seen friends and family of mine doing this and want to change.
Deviant behavior is defined by Mosby's Medical Dictionary as actions that exceed the usual limits of accepted behavior and involve failure to comply with the social norm of the group. So the topic I decided to focus on was eating disorders. I have a few personal relations with people that I am not going to mention, but they suffer from eating disorders. They use different behavior such as vomiting and going days without eating to lose weight and look healthy that steer away from accepted norms in our society. The National Eating Disorders Association is a support group and states right on the front of the website that the NEDA "supports individuals and families affected by eating disorders, and serves as a catalyst for prevention, cures and access to quality care."
There are main tabs on the top of the website that provide a variety of information including Programs and Events, Information and Resources, Research Efforts, and even stories in the news about eating disorders. I personally believe that eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia are deviant behaviors because they are looked down upon by society. It also falls into the category of harming yourself because it is a very unhealthy way to lose weight. We see actresses and model celebrities showing how society should look so younger women in society try to "cheat" their way into losing weight but just end up hurting themselves. I have seen friends and family of mine doing this and want to change.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Iranian Media Says First Lady Deserves Death
This is a day late, but there was some "Error 503" thing going on last night when I tried a new post. Anyways, here it is...
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/europe/Iranian-Media-Says-French-First-Lady-Deserves-Death-101884398.html
This article focuses on Sakineh Mohammad Ashtiani, who in 2006, was accused of committing adultery and murdering her husband in Iran. France and Italy are currently trying to get Ashtiani a sentence lighter than the "stoning to death" that she received for her adultery charge. The main point of this article was that Iranian media claimed that the First Lady of France, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, deserves to die for saying Ashtiani should not be put to death and signing a petition for her release. Bruni-Sarkozy was labeled a "prostitute" by Iranian television and also was called "immoral." There are many more human rights and women's rights issues floating around the topic, but for this post, it is not very relevant.
The criticism in this article refers to the Iranian media in how they go to extreme measures in going against the First Lady. From what I remember from a previous class, this sort of statement is not very moral in the Islam religion, which also makes for a critique. If looked in detail, the article refers to the rights of humans and women as well, but then the media goes on ahead and bashing another human with the word "prostitute" and "immoral" which seems very contradictory in my opinion.
This article does not exactly contradict their own media, but i found that the idea of Iranian media contradicting themselves within this article seemed relevant. I find that this is a good critique of the Iranian media because they themselves are acting immoral while making these sort of statements and they have quite a religious point of view. Not too many suggestions are being made about this case, but there are those in Iran protesting the rights of Ashtiani hoping to improve the law system. Hopefully this will all end peacefully.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/europe/Iranian-Media-Says-French-First-Lady-Deserves-Death-101884398.html
This article focuses on Sakineh Mohammad Ashtiani, who in 2006, was accused of committing adultery and murdering her husband in Iran. France and Italy are currently trying to get Ashtiani a sentence lighter than the "stoning to death" that she received for her adultery charge. The main point of this article was that Iranian media claimed that the First Lady of France, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, deserves to die for saying Ashtiani should not be put to death and signing a petition for her release. Bruni-Sarkozy was labeled a "prostitute" by Iranian television and also was called "immoral." There are many more human rights and women's rights issues floating around the topic, but for this post, it is not very relevant.
The criticism in this article refers to the Iranian media in how they go to extreme measures in going against the First Lady. From what I remember from a previous class, this sort of statement is not very moral in the Islam religion, which also makes for a critique. If looked in detail, the article refers to the rights of humans and women as well, but then the media goes on ahead and bashing another human with the word "prostitute" and "immoral" which seems very contradictory in my opinion.
This article does not exactly contradict their own media, but i found that the idea of Iranian media contradicting themselves within this article seemed relevant. I find that this is a good critique of the Iranian media because they themselves are acting immoral while making these sort of statements and they have quite a religious point of view. Not too many suggestions are being made about this case, but there are those in Iran protesting the rights of Ashtiani hoping to improve the law system. Hopefully this will all end peacefully.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Media Log
Yesterday I decided to log how much media I used. I wasn't really surprised with how much I used but here was my day...
I woke up around 10 or so and the first thing I did was went on the computer to check out my e-mail and my Facebook. I surf around a couple other sites and check some times for when the football games were going on for the NCAA. I text a few people to see what the plans are for tailgating the JMU football game. My brother decided to come down to see one of our friends play on the girls field hockey team at 11:30 so I talk to him on the phone to give him directions to my apartment. After he arrives, we go to the game and I text about tailgating plans. I get home to realize that tailgating was awful, so we decided to do a little football pregaming at my place.
Other than the TV playing a couple football games in the background, I used a decent amount of media like the occasional text, call, and checking my computer a couple times during the pregame but kept myself occupied with other things most of the time. We played some games outside and inside and then I went to the JMU football game for the first half. When we got back, my brother and I played about an hour and a half of video games, then we went out for the night where it was a lot of texting and calling finding out what other people were doing that night. I get home a little later and watch a movie as I fall asleep. Pretty typical weekend day.
LOG:
Texts: 64 (Mostly my girlfriend. She's a texting fiend)
Calls: 20
TV: A couple hours when the games were on.
Movie: 1
Video Games: 1.5 hours
Computer: About 2 hours.
I woke up around 10 or so and the first thing I did was went on the computer to check out my e-mail and my Facebook. I surf around a couple other sites and check some times for when the football games were going on for the NCAA. I text a few people to see what the plans are for tailgating the JMU football game. My brother decided to come down to see one of our friends play on the girls field hockey team at 11:30 so I talk to him on the phone to give him directions to my apartment. After he arrives, we go to the game and I text about tailgating plans. I get home to realize that tailgating was awful, so we decided to do a little football pregaming at my place.
Other than the TV playing a couple football games in the background, I used a decent amount of media like the occasional text, call, and checking my computer a couple times during the pregame but kept myself occupied with other things most of the time. We played some games outside and inside and then I went to the JMU football game for the first half. When we got back, my brother and I played about an hour and a half of video games, then we went out for the night where it was a lot of texting and calling finding out what other people were doing that night. I get home a little later and watch a movie as I fall asleep. Pretty typical weekend day.
LOG:
Texts: 64 (Mostly my girlfriend. She's a texting fiend)
Calls: 20
TV: A couple hours when the games were on.
Movie: 1
Video Games: 1.5 hours
Computer: About 2 hours.
Friday, September 3, 2010
A Day Without Media
I chose to go without using any sort of media this previous Wednesday, September 1st. The reason I decided to choose that day is because I had a very busy day so I wouldn't be too bored and tempted to watch TV or use the computer. I did have my cell phone with me in case of an emergency of some sort.
Waking up at 8:00 A.M. I did the usual shower, breakfast, brush my teeth, and took a shower. No problem there. Went to my 9:05 class with Dr. Tammy, which was a real thrill. As soon as I get out of class, an emergency comes where my roommate texts me saying he is locked out of the apartment with class in an hour. So I guess I already failed the media blackout test.
After this, the day wasn't so hard. My older brother came down and we played 9 holes of golf. I had class from 2:30 until 4:45, went to the gym, ate dinner with a friend, got ahead on some reading for class, and eventually went to bed around eleven. It was kind of early for me but I guess golf and the gym wore me out. So the day wasn't that rough, but I feel like if I wasn't as busy, then I would easily crave television, the computer, and of course my cell phone.
Waking up at 8:00 A.M. I did the usual shower, breakfast, brush my teeth, and took a shower. No problem there. Went to my 9:05 class with Dr. Tammy, which was a real thrill. As soon as I get out of class, an emergency comes where my roommate texts me saying he is locked out of the apartment with class in an hour. So I guess I already failed the media blackout test.
After this, the day wasn't so hard. My older brother came down and we played 9 holes of golf. I had class from 2:30 until 4:45, went to the gym, ate dinner with a friend, got ahead on some reading for class, and eventually went to bed around eleven. It was kind of early for me but I guess golf and the gym wore me out. So the day wasn't that rough, but I feel like if I wasn't as busy, then I would easily crave television, the computer, and of course my cell phone.
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