so much has happened

I hope to blog about a specific occurrence or idea later but i am really just in complete shock about how much news there is. and how quickly news changes. every few minutes the world changes and there are new updates. some stories stick but in general there is so much turnover. this week osama bin laden is the flavor of the week. to be continued soon...

Celebrities

As I was reading the news and deciding about all the worthy topics of discussion I for some reason I can't explain had an image of the Obama "yes we can song" go through my head. As I saw the image and thought about the effect that the music video had on some of my classmates and millions around the country it also occurred to me how ridiculous the video is. I don't mean to say that the video wasn't effective or well done-- because it was both, but I think it's so ridiculous that the video has celebrities in it. At least for me when I saw Scarlett Johanson I felt that the video must be more important, and will probably affect more people. What on earth made me think that? I don't really understand why celebrity endorsements mean anything. Charlie Sheen makes me laugh and feel sorry for him, so why are others being affected by what he tells them he thinks of politics. The guy is a nut. Paris Hilton is at least in my opinion a ditzy blonde why does she have such a strong effect on teens. Why does a celebrity endorsement make something more powerful?

I would much rather hear analysis by scholars than hear "this is one of Goldie Hawn/John Travolta/Nicholas cage/Lindsay Lohan/Ashton Kutchers" big projects.

What is it that makes their name so important? why is a product with their stamp so coveted and accepted?

I don't know why I think this, maybe I'm completely wrong, I know many actors are very intelligent (James Franco is apparently pursuing 2 degrees from 2 different Ivy's, Natalie Portman graduated Harvard, Emma Watson is at Yale... and many others have similiar stories, yet when I think of celebrities  I think of characters like Phoebe and Joey from friends. I dont generally think that celebrities are particularly intelligent. So why is it that the fight against aids is always being endorsed by a celebrities, that bills in congress are often represented by celebrities? 

Is it because Reagan was a celebrity? (I'm kidding I don't actually mean that Because a president was also a movie star that it gives actors credibility.) I just really do not get it. What makes an actor-- who many people probably stereotype as "dumb" have any effect on a product or bill at all????

DrudgeReport

Until this week I had no idea that the drudgereport.com was considered a blog. According to the wikipedia entry a blog  = Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order.


the drudgereport.com is news outlet. it may not pull the best stories, but it gives its readers headlines of current news stories. Unlike a blog there is no place to leave comments, and the entries all link to newspaper stories, never as far I know have any of the links been to other blogs.


Today the Drudgereport is promoting/displaying many of the same stories that are on Cnn.com, Foxnews.com, and the NYtimes.com. 
They all have up stories about the potential government shutdown, the oil crisis, the first family vacation, the wars and rebellions going on across the arab world. Unlike the NYTimes and other media outlets the drudgereport.com also have up an article about Israel's irondome and the mortar and katyusha's falling left and right in Israel's south.
In a way I am thankful to Monica Lewinsky for putting this site on the radar, and enabling curious news followers a broader variety of news subjects. 
Why exactly is it considered a blog? I don't really understand the classification!?!

There are things the media shouldn't share

I think the media often does more harm than good. I also think that often the media shares information that just frightens people, and has no positive affect. I think some stories are silly, and some of the emphasis put on certain stories is ridiculous. Tonight I read about how Richard Goldstone retracted his comments, I thought the story was a waste of time. His damage was done and the only thing he shared with the media is that he felt bad, and he said what he said because Israel wasn't cooperating. another story that i found to be useless to the average citizen is that Ron Paul is raising a lot of money. In a media and politics class it is important to understand campaign finance and success, but what are the chances that your average American cares who is winning the "exploratory campaign"? I also find it very unhelpful that the media is tracking, (and quite frankly frightening people all across the nation about) where radiation and nuclear activity is being found. If I lived in Illinois, there's a chance I'd be too scared to leave my house. One other story that I found unhelpful and probably economically damaging to the airline industry, was about a plane in Phoenix that had a large hole, that made an emergency landing. I never want to get on a plane again. It seems to me that these stories are unnecessary and don't do anything for the media anyways.
There are so many important stories! The world especially now is full of breaking news and crucial events. Journalists should be covering important stories, or acting like watch dogs and exposing vital information to the public. The New York Times should not have college basketball as their front page when people on the ivory coast and in Libya and Afghanistan are being murdered. The country should not care what Michelle Obama wore in Rio when innocent Israelis are being blown up and slaughtered to death.
Where and What are the media's priorities?????

Where was the media this week?

I know that there are revolutions and rebellions going on all over the place, and I realize there was a tsunami and an earthquake that has left Japan devastated. I know that a soldier testified that he murdered three Afghan citizens, and that Lindsay Lohan is not taking a plea deal. I also read about Hilary Clinton pushing for jobs in Tunisia, and how tired she is. I know that Katie Couric is being let go, and that Warren Buffett is investing...
I try and read the news every day at ten.
This week at the end of my first class on wednesday, my teacher took off 5 minutes and we prayed for the victims of the terror attack in Israel. I thought it was really nice, to still have the Fogel family on our minds and in our prayers, but then someone said "50 people were hurt", I was shocked. I had just read the news, and yet had not heard anything about the terror attack in Israel. Where was the media on that story?

on wednesday night I was checking my email when I saw a friends of mine had sent me a message titled What?!?!?! the content was  Family in Los Angeles murdered in their sleep by terrorists. bomb explodes on # 2 train in NYC injuring dozens and killing at least one; over 80 missiles fired into Washinton, DC. 


Needless to say i was completely shocked! I realized they were talking about Israel, and how crazy it is that that the media hardly covered these stories. 


Why is that acceptable? why should I be informed of every little thing in Japan, but terror goes unnoticed?

indian point

chernobyl was one of the largest disasters that ever was. people are still dying there all the time, and the levels of radiation that chernobyl residents are exposed to is very far above the normal, its somewhere in the lethal exposure. now in japan the country is in tremendous danger, plants are failing to fast. sea water is not cooling fast enough, and the scientists working to shut down the plants are being called "suicide mission workers" the levels of radiation are 10 times higher than the accepted maximum. a nuclear cloud is supposed to drift all the way across the ocean and hit california tomorrow. hawaii is on a tsunami watch. the nuclear plants in america are at risk.
in japan the evacuation zone is 25 miles wide from the plants. if anything were to happen at indian point- we are only about 20 miles away.
should we maybe consider shutting down indian point? and moving the plant to a deserted area- where there are no cities within at least 50 miles?
i just read on the drudgereport that texans are hoping the country will approve more texas plants. i think if they want the risk- fantastic let texas have the plant, and close indian point which is too close and too susceptible to danger.
i think the media should raise this question in ny, and allow citizens to educate themselves about the risk of a nuclear plant so close

reading the news is depressing...but it doesn't have to be

the world is such a scary place. and media just can't get enough bad. everyday reading the news and listening to the radio makes me feel sorry for the whole world. i wonder if news channels wouldn't be successful if they had one show a week that was positive. i don't think people are so bad hungry that they would mind it. i think if news channels were to broadcast positive news it would have a tremendous impact on society.
tal ben shachar a professor at harvard who teaches positive psychology tried to get news networks to broadcast good news. the networks wouldnt even hear him out.
i think it's time to share the good.
i am sick of hearing about fiscal problems, and unemployment. it just makes me feel helpless and sad when i read about people who are suffering because i cant really do anything to help them. i dont want to hear about wars and scandals because it just desensitizes me. i dont want to see images of refineries on fire in japan. or about all the murders that are being committed.
i want positive news. i think if people saw positive news, it would make them positive. and the more positive you become, the more positive your outlook. and that will trickle into everything. maybe if everyone realized how great and beautiful the world is and not scary and dangerous it can be then they (the people) would appreciate the world better. maybe there would even be world peace. governments would get along and no-one would want to fight and put our beautiful in danger.
i hope soon, i wish tomorrow, that news channels will start to broadcast good deeds, and that there will be a sort of pay it forward system amongst people.
if we do have to continue to read about awful and tragic events, there should be a humanitarian option mentioned at the bottom of each story.