AL GORE

AL GORE. AL GORE. AL GORE. AL GORE. AL GORE. AL GORE. AL GORE. AL GORE. AL GORE. AL GORE. AL GORE. AL GORE. AL GORE. AL GORE.

Al gore al gore al gore?

Al. Gore al gore. Al gore Al gore Al gore Al gore Al gore. Al gore Al gore Al gore Al gore Al gore Al gore Al gore al gore al gore al gore al gore.

AAAAAAAAALLLLL GGGGGOOORRRREEEEEEE.

aaaallll gooore.

Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore.

AL GORE.

Al Gore. Al Gore.

AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE AL GORE. al gore!

al gore al gore al gore al gore al gore al gore al gore.

Child Labor increases every year in Southwestern China

There is nothing else that bothers me more than adults taking advantage of children, whether it’s theirs or not. In southwestern China, child labor rings are removing children from their schools to make them work 12-hour shifts in factories. Instead of being educated in their classrooms, Chinese kids are preoccupied producing much of the world’s toys, clothes, and electronics. Teachers such as Jin Ke Xiaoming are complaining that since the past year their student count has declined by 50 percent.

Southern Metropolis, a state-run newspaper, reported that as many as 1,000 school-age workers from the area were employed in manufacturing zones near Hong Kong. Still, Chinese officials deny this or downplay this scandal saying that there is little evidence of widespread violations of child labor laws. Is the government in this country twitching the news media and tricking their own citizens by saying child labor does not existent in China? Probably. This makes us, as Americans, appreciate the education provided to us, students.

If this news topic interested you, check out the New York Times article named “Chinese Factories, Flouting Labor Laws, Hire Children from Poor, Distant Villages.”

Media System in Cuba

Cuba is a communist country who has a very strict media system that prohibits any news publications that talk on government or social issues and especially any information that goes against any public officials. Despite the Cuban government having a strict ruling hand on the news coverage that permeates the island, the Cuban population has a very high literacy rate, which is suprising when it comes to Communist countries. Over the past couple of years there has been more freedom in the media although the government still dictates what is said about the government and what is not said about the government. Cuba is also ranked by Reporters without Borders as the second highest country behind China for having the most journalists being imprisoned. Although technology in Cuba is highly advanced the media and news coverage on the island is impaired because of the Communist government that rules the country and dictates the media.

Blackwater: Trying to be Aquitted of All Charges

Blackwater, which is an indivitual security contractor, that works for the United States government is being accused of killing 17 innocent Iraqi civilians a couple of months ago. In September of 2007 a number of Blackwater militants open fired on a number of unnarmed Iraqi civilians, killing 17 and injuring several others. The case is being investigated because after the incident occured the FBI was not able to investigate the crime scene until two weeks after and both the FBI and Blackwater gave two seperate reports on the incident. There are at least 40 witnesses that testified before the Grand Jury in the United States against Blackwater. Despite if the Blackwater officials are not proved guilty of this crime the coorporation is still going to experience trouble and problems after the case is closed.

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1739014,00.html

Curruption of the Former Zambian Government

The former president of Zambia, Frederick Chiluba, is currently facing charges of curruption for embezzeling over 60 million dollars in funds that were suppose to be used for upgrading local hospitals. The curruption was discovered because the money was being deposited and passed through bank accounts in London. The former president's fellow government officials were the ones who recovered the money that was being embezzeled by President Chiluba. BBC.com covered this story very breifly with not alot of information about particulars on the situation. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7392911.stm

Berlusconi owns most of Italy’s media!!!

Most of the print and broadcast media in Italy is owned by its former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. He, indeed, is the richest man of the country because he collects revenues from each and every medium. Berlusconi is the owner of three national TV networks, an advertising company, Italy’s largest media-buying firm, the country’s largest publishing house and second-biggest news magazine, a major newspaper, a film studio, a movie-distribution company and a host of Internet-related ventures. It is amazing how a single person can create such a monopoly in the country’s media system.

In addition, to all the power he is receiving because of his wealth and ex-political authority, he is winning over the Italian population. According to an article in the Columbia Journalism Review, his three T.V. networks and three state channels are brain-washing Italian citizens to believe he was the greatest leader to ever exist. It was studied that people who watched his television channels were more inclined to vote for him during Italy’s elections. This means that by Berlusconi mastering the media, he is shaping political affairs.

But do NOT get discouraged Italians! The present Prime Minister Romano Prodi is fighting to end Berlusconi’s hegemony over the country’s media with the help of famous industrialist, Rupert Murdoch. Prodi wants to bring more competition in diverse mediums to destabilize Berlusconi’s profits and heavy influence over Italian people.

An interesting article that I found related to Berlusconi’s media power is cjrarchives.org/issues/2006/5/Stille.asp
Also if you want to check out an example of a newspaper owned by Berlusconi, go to http://lastampa.it/redazione/default.asp

Disappearing Foreign Correspondents

James Rainey makes a great point in his article about the cyclone that devastated Myanmar. He wrote:

“Nearly a week after a cyclone ravaged Myanmar, food, medicine and fresh drinking water are not the only necessities in short supply. So are independent news accounts from the isolated and politically repressive nation.”

Most news sources have been left to rely on secondhand accounts and reports from correspondents who are only based in neighboring nations for information about the tragedy. The cyclone is said the have killed more than 20,000 now, yet there are so few journalists there to actually witness these accounts. The Los Angeles Times and New York Times are two of the few who have successfully dispatched correspondents and are producing firsthand accounts “from a nation whose military leaders disdain scrutiny.”

A former Washington Post foreign editor who is now a book publisher smartly stated, “There is no substitute for the correspondent on the ground.” <--I thought this was a great quote from the article and couldn't be truer.

The article was very interesting and reminded me of the discussions we had in many of our classes about how foreign correspondents are disappearing. Since media outlets feel it is too expensive and have booted foreign correspondents from their jobs, we are only getting second hand accounts from a small amount of journalists. This limits the diversity of the writing and a whole lot of “copy and pasting” journalism. There will be very little original reporting in our future because the number of correspondents actually traveling to the countries they report on only seems to be getting worse. I’m sure the dangers of the area and the threats from the government are other factors many journalists want to steer clear.

You can read the full article at: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-cyclone9-2008may09,0,2214617.story

By Rachel Poloski