CitizenSugar -- Breaking News, Together.

Has the Peace Sign Sold Out Its Meaning?

CitizenSugar — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 06:00:57 -0700

I remember drawing them on my notebook during the first Gulf War and not really knowing what they meant — and now the peace sign is turning the big 5-0. The famous symbol made its first official public appearance in 1958 to advocate nuclear disarmament, and has since been used to graphically support a range of efforts from economic justice to environmentalism. Nearly every altruistic group has used this iconic logo as a way to communicate the idea of universal brotherhood.

The designer of the symbol, Gerald Holtom, created the logo while in a big funk. He explains the symbol: “I was in despair. Deep despair. I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards . . .” (I never saw that until I read this, but now it makes sense!) Holtom died in 1985, and some say if he had lived this long, he might really understand the true meaning of the word “despair."

How has a simple symbol morphed from a cry for help to a price tag? To see how,

Should We Pick a New Word? Minorities to Be Majority by 2042

CitizenSugar — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:01:48 -0700

According to new Census Bureau projections, ethnic and racial minorities won't be that way for very long. The census calculates that by 2042, Americans who consider themselves a minority including Hispanic, black, and Asian will in combination outnumber non-Hispanic whites. Even earlier, minority children will be the majority by 2023.

The change happened quicker than previously expected, one reason being significantly higher birthrates among immigrants. Also projections of the growing influx of foreign-born immigrants show it's set to rise from 1.3 million per year now to 2 million per year by the mid-2000s, and the aging and dying of the less prolific whites. It's like a melting pot on speed; a demographer says, “no other country has experienced such rapid racial and ethnic change.”

To see what this means for the state of the population,

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon Proved Globally Via Text Messages

CitizenSugar — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 09:06:41 -0700

Hey, don't I know you from somewhere? According to this new study, chances are, yes. Using records of 30 billion electronic conversations from 180 million people the world over, researchers have concluded that on average, any two people are only separated by 6.6 degrees of separation — meaning they could be linked together by seven acquaintances.

Kevin Bacon eat your heart out.

The researchers say, "to our knowledge, this is the first time a planetary-scale social network has been available to validate the well-known '6 degrees of separation' finding by Travers and Milgram." Within the study two people were dubbed acquaintances if they had zapped one another a text message. They then calculated the minimum chain lengths it would take to connect 180 billion different pairs of users in the database, finding it to be 6.6 hops.

Is it a small world after all? To see the study that started the six-degrees game,

Could Sex Without a Condom Be the New Engagement Ring?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:30:46 -0700

Condom-free sex is the new engagement ring. As shocking and lurid as that sounds, the story behind the headline is actually kind of logical. As told in an NPR piece in conjunction with the Youth Radio organization, for young kids in physical relationships now, they've never known a time before the threat of HIV/AIDS. What they have known however, is the impermanence of marriage. A ring, as they say in the piece, is temporary — STDs are not.That's why the new engagement is sitting down with your partner, having a serious talk about commitment, and taking the plunge to get tested together. One of the teens interviewed said, "to have sex without a condom, it's like saying I love you." What it stands for is trust, a commitment, and a shared future together. Precautions are still taken to prevent pregnancy — it's not about that, it's about the trust that the other person won't stray or put your health in danger. Does this trend make sense? Is trusting your health to another, the truest form of commitment? Want more? You can listen to the whole three-minute piece. Source

Could Sex Without a Condom Be the New Engagement Ring?

Sure! Marriage isn't permanent at all — losing protection is really the ultimate bond.

I can see why it's happening, but it's a really dangerous trend. You can't divorce AIDS.

No! There's no commitment deeper than marriage. This is scary and makes no sense.

Other. I'll commit to leaving my opinion in the comments.

Progress? India Poised to Elect "Untouchable" Prime Minister?

CitizenSugar — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:00:02 -0700

While India reels from a new spate of bombings over the weekend, terrorist attacks like these have become more prevalent in recent years, unsettling the country. Officials say the attacks are attempts to incite violence between Hindus and Muslims, which so far have failed. Who could be the perfect person to unite and lead a country in unsettled times? Perhaps an icon of uniting within division itself — Dalit leader Mayawati Kumari.

Usually answering just to Mayawati, this icon of the Dalit or "untouchable" caste has emerged as a political force. Leading the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which represents the most people (160 million) with the fewest seats in parliament (17), Mayawati is broadening her political appeal to include upper-caste Hindus and Muslims, creating a masterful and uniting coalition within India's fractious society.

To see where she came from,

Ever Wondered Why Asians Seem Like Better Students?

CitizenSugar — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:00:28 -0700

A group of eight students at Lincoln High School in Los Angeles hunkered down in a room to talk about a touchy subject: What's behind the Asian math-whiz-valedictorian stereotype — and why do other ethnic backgrounds appear to come up short in the classroom?

Long thought to be traceable to socioeconomic backgrounds that theory no longer makes the grade. At Lincoln High School both the surrounding neighborhood and student body are 15 percent Asian — why then do Asian students make up 50 percent of the Advanced Placement classes, and teachers can’t remember the last time a Latino was valedictorian?

The students' talk about the difference was frank. When talking about a Hispanic student who was good at math one said, "I think Carlos is Asian at heart," and described one Asian student who didn't get good grades as, "Mexican at heart." The students squashed the economic background reasoning, agreeing that of their school, the Latino and Asian students came mostly from poor and working-class families.

Looking further at census data, 84 percent of the Asian and Latino families in the area earn below $50,000 — stumping the fact that the Science Bowl team is 90 percent Asian, as is the Academic Decathlon team.

To see possible reasons for this,

London Opera Gimmick to Bring Culture to Tabloid Masses

CitizenSugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:15:15 -0700

For a publicity stunt at London's Royal Opera House, the controversy may not be over 'til that fat lady, you know whats. It's elite vs. lowbrow, and it's hard to see who's in the right.

Here's the gimmick: the opera house limited tickets to a prestigious premiere to readers of The Sun, a tabloid newspaper, in a bid to attract a more diverse audience and upset the image that the opera is just for the elite. Ticket prices for good seats usually run $400 (that's a high note!) so the Sun deal reserves all 2,200 seats for readers at prices from $15 to $60. The head of the opera says, "we have so many opportunities to open up our doors to more people and I'm thrilled that we're able to invite those who have never been to the Opera House before to experience a first-night performance."

Nice right? Who can find fault with that? To find out,

Olympics Emergency Air Plan: Is Wearing a Mask an Insult?

CitizenSugar — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:00:26 -0700

Traffic restrictions started in Beijing over the weekend in a frantic effort to try and improve the city's air quality before the start of the Games. By only allowing vehicles with odd-numbered license plates into the city on alternating days with evens, officials hope the halving of traffic will take 60 percent of the city's 3.3 million cars off the roads and reduce emissions by two-thirds.

Though the atmospheric throat-clearing is all about getting gussied up for company, locals are loving the effect. One mom said, "it's great — today there are far fewer cars on the road and the air quality is so nice. This is good for the children." With 1,000 new cars hitting Beijing streets every day the measures are herculean in one of the world's most congested cities.

Not limited to cars, construction and factories have also been quashed, making it clear that the bid for cleaner air is wholly temporary — once the rings come down, it's business as usual. For now, an extra 4 million people are expected to smush their way onto public transportation — claustrophobes, stay out of China.

Though the plan seems to be helping a little, all of this effort still might not be enough — and the stars of the show, the athletes, are grappling with a crisis of manners over performance. To see how,

Peace, Wigs, and Happiness: Love Parade Draws 1.5 Million

CitizenSugar — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:00:06 -0700

A record crowd of 1.5 million dancing, happy revelers celebrated at Germany's Love Parade held Saturday in Dortmund, Germany. A Summer tradition held for the first time in Berlin in 1989 just after the wall came down, it started as an expression of a changing Europe and was originally a political demonstration for peace and global understanding through music.

That music thumped this weekend from 37 floats and 250 DJs as the wildly costumed participants kept the peace demonstration, peaceful. Almost a dozen international cities have spin-offs of the event, including Mexico City, Cape Town, and Rio de Janeiro. Next year's event is set for Bochum, Germany — get your tickets (and/or green wigs) now!

Source

Barack Obama: Is America Ready for an Un-Funny President?

LibertySugar — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:00:50 -0700

George W. Bush may have his critics, but comedians should not be among those eager to have him leave the public stage, especially if the un-funny Obama becomes President.

Bill Clinton's womanizing, Al Gore's monotone persona, and George W. Bush's trouble with words define them in "funny" terms. But no one can seem to pin down what defining characteristic makes Obama funny. Jon Stewart shared what his team has come up with: “Our take is that he’s positioning himself to be on a coin.” Um, ha ha?

Others think political correctness has killed America's sense of humor, along with the candidate's. Rumor has it that Obama told Maureen Dowd of the NY Times that he is hypersensitive to remarks about his ears. And of course there is the "race factor" — white writers and comedians tend to stay away from that subject.

Perhaps comedians have gotten lazy over the last eight years. After all you just have to roll a tape of Bush talking to, or dancing with, a foreign leader to get outbursts of laughter. You might remember the 2004 lampoon of Bush and Kerry by the Jib Jab team — the parody of This Land is Your Land? Well, they're baaa-a-ck! Check it out and see if this is the way to funny up '08.

Source

One Is the Loneliest Number: 100 Million Chinese Are "Onelies"

CitizenSugar — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:00:06 -0700

For someone who puts a fair amount of stock in how astrology and birth order affects a personality, this news released yesterday by China's state media is chilling: there are now 100 million only children running around. China's famed one-child policy began in the late 1970 and continues to limit couples to one child per household has resulted in 100 million people with no one to fight with, share with, relate to — and the shrinking family is becoming permanent. In 1982, the average Chinese household was 4.4 people. In 2005, it dropped to 3.1.

In a nation that currently has about 1.3 billion people, this law has prevented an estimated 400 million additional births from occurring. It's prevented the population equivalent of the United States. As China created the law to ensure better health care and education, it's possible they've succeeded, though not without its trade-offs. To see how,

Merriam-Webster Unveils New Dictionary Words

CitizenSugar — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:10:29 -0700

Merriam-Webster Unveils New Dictionary Words
Merriam-Webster Inc. has added more than 100 new words. Is it acceptable to serve edamame to a dinner guest who's a pescatarian? Should you pour prosecco or soju for the winner of the Texas Hold 'em game you're planning near the infinity pool? And what's that wing nut in the corner saying about dirty bombs and nasty Noroviruses? These and about 100 other words that have taken root in the American lexicon — and the dictionary.

What Motivates Female Suicide Bombers?

LibertySugar — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:00:13 -0700

Last week's terrorist bombing in Iraq, carried out by a woman, made many of you question the logic behind suicide bombings. While men are still far more likely to be suicide bombers than women, more and more women are ready to die and ready to kill. Male or female, the endgame is always the same, but what leads them to a crowded square with a bomb strapped on is not.

Time magazine tells the story of Hasna Maryi, a suicide bomber who found her calling after her brother died en route to his mission when a fellow jihadis's belt prematurely exploded. She was devastated: he would never be a martyr. His only path to salvation, she decided, was for her to complete his mission. Religion was not her motive (she hardly cracked the Koran growing up), but redemption was.

Hasna's story is not an anomaly. Research findings reported in Studies in Conflict and Terrorism found female suicide terrorists were more motivated by personal reasons and more likely to be recruited through peer influence, exploitation, and self-promotion than men, who found their fury in religion and nationalism and were recruited through religious persuasion.

In eJournal USA (as in paid for by the US government, just a disclosure . . .) the article "Women As Victims and Victimizers" examines the complicated question of why? To find out,

Powersuit of Tradition: Sworn Virgins In Albania Are Dwindling

CitizenSugar — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:05:57 -0700

In Albania, gender equality has a literal meaning — and a less modern, more traditional translation that your 9 to 5 or Working Girl tropes. For centuries, sworn virginity has allowed woman to live as men, with all the responsibilities and rights that accompany the role in a conservative society.

In closed-off rural northern Albania, the practice of swapping genders was a practical solution motivated by social necessity, for a family with a shortage of men. One woman decided to make the change after her father was killed leaving no male heir. The custom she chose requires a vow of lifetime virginity — in exchange for living as a man with all the authority the gender commands — including the obligation to avenge her father’s death. Though she says she wouldn't necessarily do it now, then it was an easy decision:

Back then, it was better to be a man because before a woman and an animal were considered the same thing. Now, Albanian women have equal rights with men, and are even more powerful. I think today it would be fun to be a woman.

With sexual equality and modern trappings seeping into Albania (including MTV which popped in after the fall of the Berlin Wall) the tradition is fading. Not needing to make the vow to own property, move freely, or avoid an arranged marriage, now there are only about 40 sworn virgins remaining. The decision not only created equality in life, it created equality in worth. A woman is worth is half that of a man, but a virgin is worth the same as a man — 12 oxen.

The changes of modern times don't sit well with all the sworn virgins. To see why,

Pale and Persecuted: Albinos Hunted, Terrorized in Tanzania

CitizenSugar — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:00:27 -0700

Living in sub-Saharan Africa isn't an easy existence for anyone — but for albino people living in one of Earth’s hottest areas has intense challenges. Their total lack of pigmentation, which affects 1 in 3,000, is excruciating under the glaring African sun — they are predisposed to severe skin burns and often die of skin cancer before the age of 30.

Though lately, the weather is the least of their problems. Tanzanian officials claim that witch doctors are promoting the sale of albino skin, bones and hair as ingredients in spells to create prosperity. In the past year, 19 albinos including children have been killed or mutilated. Police are creating lists of albinos throughout their nation in an effort to better protect them including escorts for albino children to get to and from school. I absorb a lot of news, but this story is almost unimaginably horrific. To see how,

Air India Attendants Too Fat (Ugly) to Fly? Court Says A-OK

CitizenSugar — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 10:00:23 -0700

India's state-owned airline, Air India, has just won the right to prevent attendants from taking flight for carrying on extra weight. The Delhi high court ruled on a case filed by five flight attendants protesting the fact that they'd been grounded by the airline for being too fat to fly. They're expected to appeal.

The judges sided with the airlines, saying a chubby crew presents a safety hazard — but then there's this addition to the judgment — in the highly competitive airline industry, flight attendant's physical condition and appearance play an important role in her overall personality. (Emphasis, mine.) How can someone's appearance dictate her personality? I buy that flight attendants have to be in a physical condition good enough to save people from a burning plane, but the beauty factor of the ruling is not so pretty.

The government-run airline is up against private airlines who don't clothe their employees in traditional saris, opting for Western get-ups, and they've pinpointed the crux of being competitive with their employees' looks. At a recent recruitment drive the airline refused applicants with acne or bad teeth.

Can a court rule that the attractiveness of an employee has business ramifications? OK, some industries — modeling, and the like — depend on appearance, but maintaining safety on an aircraft? Is the ruling fair justice, or just pretty ugly?

Source

World Wide Web of Justice: People's Court RAW

CitizenSugar — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:15:14 -0700

I'll admit, in my youth I abused TV courtroom dramas. Hey, I was young, it was summertime, and the talkshow/reality TV circuit was in its nascent stages. That's why to this day I can recite the whole opening to The People's Court. You know, "both parties have agreed to dismiss their court cases and have their disputes settled here, in our forum, The People's Court.

You can imagine my excitement about this: People's Court Raw. It takes the court concept and smashes it into YouTube, letting bickering parties upload videos of their side of the argument, and letting the Internet community decide who wins. This is why the Internet was invented — so we can all be Judge Wapner. It's so brilliant, it just might work.

Cases on the docket now and open for voting: "Why do we need 4,000 giant dog beds?" and "Do you think it's OK if guys show emotion and cry?" That's it folks, you won't hear another peep from me today, I'm going to being playing bailiff on this site.

Would you submit a case for adjudication by a jury of your Internet peers? What question would you like settled? Is it even worth it without Doug Llewelyn asking the tough questions in the lobby?

Greece Grants Gay Marriages, Japan Awards Gender Rights

CitizenSugar — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:00:41 -0700

With a Greek mayor who presided over outlawed gay marriages yesterday saying, "The laws on marriage simply do not specify any genders. To me, therefore, if something is not banned by law it is not illegal," now facing jail time for his actions, Japan's government is actually moving toward broader gender ideas.

Japan’s House of Councillors (like the US Senate) has unanimously passed legislation which will allow people with gender identity disorder to officially change their sex, giving Gender Identity Disordered (GID) people the ability to change the way the world perceives them — on paper. To see how,

Meet the Happiest Place on Earth — and the Scariest Place

CitizenSugar — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 08:00:07 -0700

The South Pacific isle of Vanuatu has been voted the happiest place on Earth. Is it a luxurious island paradise of sipping Mai-Tais on the beach, being fanned by tanned studs? Hardly. The blissful residents of Vanuatu have embraced the old Janis Joplin refrain, "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose," and it's made them delightfully content.

Vanuatuans live without all the things we usually associate with happiness: running water, electricity, a house — most people live in basic thatched huts. But the real key to the smiles seems to be the utter lack of money. With the island providing all of a family's food — coconuts, yam, and manioc and a sea full of fish — and entire leisurely days to gather grub, simplicity has earned them the crown. When money is come by, families don't turn it into a Nintendo Wii — they buy soap powder and kerosene for their lamps.

When asked the true secret of happiness one resident replied immediately, "not having to worry about money." For an unblinkingly honest romp of life near Vanuatu, check out The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific by J. Maatren Troost. It's an outstanding beach read.

If Vanuatu is the happiest place, where's the scariest? To find out,

Condoleezza Rice Commands Kiss Army, Rocks All Nite Long

CitizenSugar — Fri, 30 May 2008 08:00:40 -0700

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has a new job: Commander in Chief of Rock and Roll. Sort of. Rice was in Stockholm, Sweden yesterday for a conference on Iraq — and KISS just happened to be there to play a sold-out concert. Who knew Condi was a secret member of the KISS Army? Her favorite song might make her the perfect candidate for a 3 a.m. call — she loves "Rock and Roll All Nite."

Her day job comes with perks — Rice got her own late-night encounter with KISS frontman Gene Simmons and bandmates Paul Stanley, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer in the executive lounge of the Sheraton Hotel. The rockers signed autographs and handed out backstage passes and T-shirts to her staff. Condi's reaction? "I was thrilled! It was really fun to meet Kiss and Gene Simmons." Rice is no stranger to music, she's a classically trained pianist, has claimed eclectic favorites ranging from Beethoven to Bruce Springsteen.

As big a thrill as her KISS run-in was, Rice conceded she has never seen the band in concert. She could fix that this summer when the band plays Lake Tahoe August 30. It might just be "Hotter than Hell."

Source

Miami's Spanish-Speaking Population Outnumber English Speakers

CitizenSugar — Thu, 29 May 2008 07:56:27 -0700

Miami's Spanish-Speaking Population Outnumber English Speakers According to the AP: In many areas of Miami, Spanish has become the predominant language, replacing English in everyday life. Anyone from Latin America could feel at home on the streets, without having to pronounce a single word in English. But this situation, so pleasing to Latin American immigrants, makes some English speakers feel marginalized. In the 1950s, it's estimated that more than 80 percent of Miami-Dade County residents were non-Hispanic whites. But in 2006, the Census Bureau estimates that number was only 18.5 percent, and in 2015 it is forecast to be 14 percent. Hispanics now make up about 60 percent. According to the Census, 58.5 percent of the county's 2.4 million residents speak Spanish.

Childhood Obesity Tipped Top of Scale — Are We Winning?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 28 May 2008 12:15:19 -0700

A new survey out today shows that childhood obesity, after rising for more than two decades, appears to have hit a plateau. The data gathered from 1999 to 2006 by the federal Centers For Disease Control and Prevention is being greeted carefully.It is not yet clear if the pause in kids' weight gain is permanent or even if the small success is the result of public antiobesity efforts to limit junk food and increase physical activity in schools. Even if the trend holds up, 32 percent of American schoolchildren are overweight or obeseThe director of the childhood obesity program at Children’s Hospital in Boston says, “After 25 years of extraordinarily bad news about childhood obesity, this study provides a glimmer of hope. But it’s much too soon to know whether this is a true plateau in prevalence or just a temporary lull.”In the study, the number of children who fall into the obese category decreased from 17.1 percent to 15.5 percent between the 2003 and 2006 surveys — though the decline is not statistically significant.Are state programs, like the one in Arkansas, to eliminate vending machines in elementary schools, and adding a half hour of daily physical activity to the school curriculum — or the one in Somerville, MA, that included doubling the amount of fruit served for school lunch, painting crosswalks to encourage walks to school, and increasing physical activity in after-school programs the cause of this trend? Has education and outreach worked? Are we winning the childhood battle of the bulge?Source

Childhood Obesity Tipped Top of Scale — Are We Winning?

Yes! It's about time and there's work left, but education looks like it's winning!

More attention in schools can't hurt, but it's too early for a cookie reward on this one.

Not buying it. A lull is one thing, but kids are still too far from having healthy habits.

Other. I'll weigh in in the comments.

Lights, Camera, Action on Saudi Arabia's First Film Festival

CitizenSugar — Thu, 22 May 2008 10:00:58 -0700

I can see the trailer now. . . "In a world ruled by a strict theocratic monarchy . . . where the freedoms we enjoy are a distant concept . . . where everything you know is not as it seems . . . one man stands alone. . . "

OK, it’s not that dramatic, but it is pretty exciting. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is now holding its first ever film festival. The four-day affair is taking place in the eastern city of Damman — though roll up the racy red carpet — it will adhere to all Muslim rules: women and men will be separated during screenings, the festivities begin with a recitation of Quranic verse, and no alcohol will be served during the festival. Though the usual trademarks of a Sundance-y atmosphere are there — baseball caps and t-shirts with the festival’s logo were offered to everyone at the screenings. To see why this is such a huge leap,

Want to Be Alone? Six Micronations Where That's Possible

CitizenSugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 03:00:27 -0700

I can't for the life of me remember which thread we started talking about Petoria (cabaker27? You were there. . . any ideas?) But! The universe was listening! I just came across this roundup of micronations, just like our good friend Peter turned his house into on The Family Guy.

Sealand: Is located about six miles from the coast of Suffolk, England in international waters. It has its own national anthem, flag, currency and passports.The heads of Sealand (formerly a WWII fort) call themselves the Prince and Princess of Sealand.
Kugelmugel: Perhaps the most like Petoria, Kugelmugel is located in Vienna and when an artist and Austrian authorities began feuding over building permits for his house. Independence was declared.

There's more, and they just get weirder. To see them,

Feeling Walled In? India's Untouchables Actually Are

CitizenSugar — Tue, 20 May 2008 12:15:04 -0700

It's been a while since I've Netflixed Gandhi, but this story snagged my attention: The caste system in India is still alive and well. Studies have shown that shunning members of society and labeling them "untouchables" — behaviors like banning them from temples and bathing areas, refusing to share drinking glasses or barbers with those of the lowest class — are still very common. In fact, 45 different forms of "untouchability" are still being carried out by the upper caste of Hindus on the Dalits.

How serious are they about restricting contact with the untouchables? In Tamil Nadu (the most developed part of India that prides itself on being politically progressive and educationally advanced) they built a wall keeping the Dalit out of the main part of the village. To see why,

Afghan Women Fleeing Abuse Often Wind up in Jail

CitizenSugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 06:00:24 -0700

When the Taliban fell six years ago, it was thought that a new government would offer women in Afghanistan a greater freedom since their rights are now guaranteed in the new Afghani constitution. The women of Afghanistan can now go to school and find employment, yet except for a small number of wealthy, urbanites, a woman who escapes a setting of domestic horror can end up in jail.

The reality for most women parts of Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan is less than free: a woman who runs away from home is usually assumed to have taken a lover and can be prosecuted for adultery. Simply leaving her house without her family's permission may be deemed a jailable offense. To see what's happening,

Flirting in Saudi Arabia Earns State-Sanctioned SuperCut

CitizenSugar — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:45:00 -0700

In a crazy twist on a sort of Samson and Delilah-esque story, a governor in northern Saudi Arabia recently issued an order promoting the issuance of forced hair cuts as punishment for young men caught pestering women. This decree will be enforced by Saudi Arabia’s Commission For the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice who are assigned the task of carrying out the punishment at “the scene of the infraction.”

This decision is the result of Prince Fahd bin Badr, governor of the northern al-Jof region, seeing a group of long-haired young men bothering female students leaving their school. Saudi Arabia is renown for its strict imposition of Islamic religious tenets, chief among them that women and men are to be segregated in public. This new law will not apply to all long-haired men, but only those who are caught flirting or harassing women in public. Luckily for the long locked who behave themselves, "the decision doesn't include men who spend their free time in public places without hurting anyone."

Would you approve of immediate punishment for on-the-street harassment? Do more rules and stricter societies actually improve quality of life? Are liberties overrated?

Source

Keeping Baby Gender a Secret Could Save Girls in India

CitizenSugar — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00:48 -0700

India’s prime minster, Manmohan Singh is calling for stricter enforcement on laws designed to hide the sex of the fetus from their parents until birth. She described the rampant aborting of female fetuses as a “national shame.”

The decline in female births can be attributed to two factors. First is money. A family with a female is required to scrape together a dowry to their son-in-law — this can be a very heavy financial burden and bury the parents in crushing debt. The wealthier regions of India suffered the most acute imbalance in female to male birth ratio where a male heir is of particular importance and the access to the surprising high-tech reason #2 is much easier. To see what it is,

Is YouTube Out of Control? Should We Just Hit Pause?

CitizenSugar — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:49:32 -0700

Two Arizona teens have been critically injured as a result of a catastrophic car accident while filming what was intended to be a car stunt for the YouTube video-sharing website. The 16-year-old driver of the car remains in the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The teens were trying to capture a video of the car with all four wheels off the ground. They failed to get any of the incident on tape before the crash.

This incident is the latest in a string of more-shocking-than-the-last calamities befalling "film" makers angling to get their 15 minutes of YouTube fame. Is this growing trend a signal that the anything-goes culture of "Broadcast[ing] Yourself" needs some rules?

The latest Arizona stunt follows the savage 30-minute beating doled out to a Florida cheerleader two weeks ago that went on to become one of the most-watched clips on YouTube.com. As a result of the straight-to-video stunt, the teen suffered a concussion, bruising, and damage to her left eye and ear. The girl has just spoken out for the first time since the incident. To see what she said, and to see the story behind the woman in the clip above,

Should We Preserve Individual Cultures in a Globalizing World?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:00:19 -0700

American Idol has never seen this kind of philosophical debate! In the European song contest, Eurovision (the same contest that launched ABBA) the French are un peu mad that their candidate will be representing the country singing a song that's mostly English.

In response, the head of a group dedicated to preserving French against the growing use of English said, "a song represents the soul of a country. It appears logical that a song representing France be a French song sung in French." Making his argument he went on to denounce cultural "uniformity" and the "hegemony" of the English language in the modern world. But statistics show contest preference to English language songs — they've won 22 times since 1956. Perhaps proving the encroachment, this year more than half of the contestants—25—will sing in English.

The debate raises an important question. To see the conflict,

Are the Rights of the Polygamy Mothers Being Violated?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:45:52 -0700

In an interesting twist on the polygamy story out of Texas, the mothers are speaking out against being separated from their children by Child Protective Services. CPS made the decision to separate at least 57 women from more than a fourth of the 416 children taken into custody. Of the 416 children, nearly 300 are four years of age and younger.

Get Flash to see this player.

The mothers who were removed from their children were given a choice: They could return home or seek refuge in a safe house. Only six of the women opted for the safe house and 51 returned to the ranch. One of the mothers said, “the world has been so prejudiced against us. They have a false image.” A CPS spokeswoman says,
"We believe that children who are victims of abuse or neglect, and particularly victims at the hands of their own parents, certainly are going to feel safer to tell their story when they don't have a parent there that's coaching them with how to respond."

The women's reaction to the CPS decision crystalizes a conundrum. Saying, "I never thought this would happen in America" and "They [the children] haven't seen abuse until this experience" calls into question the righteousness of the state's action. If all but six of the women returned to the compound and the girl who made the initial call identifying abuse hasn't been identified yet, are we imposing prejudiced ideas of how children should be raised? A hearing for the children begins tomorrow. Is this an act of justice on behalf of the children, or a gross violation of the notion that it "takes a village"? Are we too prejudiced about alternate lifestyles? Are the women within their rights as mothers to choose the environment in which to raise their children as long as they're not suffering abuse? Does compound living in itself constitute abuse?

Are the Rights of the Polygamy Mothers Being Violated?

Yes. Parents choose how to raise kids. If the mothers say there's no abuse, this is unfair.

It's almost impossible to say given what we know, but I think the mothers have a point.

Not a chance. Polygamy is illegal, and CPS took the kids because that in itself is abuse.

Other. I'll tell you in the comments.

Are We Just Too Darned Obsessed With Rules?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:00:06 -0700

I fear we might be heading into a grave age: The Death of Common Sense. Perhaps I've suspected for a while that we're living in too-touchy times, where a sensible or proportional response is lost without bells, whistles, and six or seven exclamation points, but I think it's entirely possible that we've begun deferring personal judgment and common sense in favor of an arsenal of black and white all-or-nothing rules.

See what you think. In this month alone:

Robyn Hooker, principal of Kent Gardens Elementary School in Virginia, has ruled that students can no longer play tag during recess. Hooker determined that the game of chasing, dodging and yelling "You're it!" had gotten out of hand, and had in fact become a game of "of intense aggression," much more intense than the tag she remembers. One parent said of the ruling, "We are regulating the fun out of normal childhood activity. In our effort to be so overprotective, we are not letting children be children."

At Cove High School in Texas (a school where half the students have at least one parent deployed) suspended a student for answering a call from his father — who is serving in and calling from Iraq — saying the student had violated the school's no-cell-phone policy.

In Colorado, an eight-year-old received a three-day suspension for sniffing a Sharpie marker. The principal says that she didn't want to see the event escalate and assumed the boy was "huffing" or inhaling dangerous fumes from the marker.

Are these instances where rules were necessary and rightfully enforced? Are we walking the balance between discipline and discretion? Source

Are We Just Too Darned Obsessed With Rules?

Yessiree. We've become so scared of lawsuits that we'd rather create rules than think.

Rules are important but only work in tandem with thoughtful enforcement.

Nope! We live in more complicated times that require more rules to keep people safe.

Other. May I please have permission to leave my opinion in the comments?

Are "Greening" Businesses Really in It for the Green Backs?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:00:01 -0700

Earth Day swings around on April 22. That bastion of reducing, reusing, and recycling is galloping toward becoming a shopping holiday that barely resembles the grass-roots event founded in 1970.

According to Advertising Age in honor of the planet friendly holiday, shoppers can consume even more goods. They can:

shop at Banana Republic, where 1% of sales from April 22 through April 27 benefit the Trust for Public Land. Or they can participate in Macy's "Turn Over A New Leaf" campaign by making a $5 donation to the National Park Foundation. In exchange, customers receive 10% or 20% off most merchandise the weekend of April 26.

I'm not advocating a hemp-based existence but something about this plan seems amiss. Shopping for new goods to cure the planet? Is this eco-madness? You know it's getting out of control when even Barbie has a green-accessories collection for sale. To see who's fighting back,

Are We All Just Too Easily Offended?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:00:40 -0700

I don't know if it's just me, but every news story I read today is another tale of people getting bent out of shape. Have we built a culture of super sensitivity, or are there just so many things to object to nowadays? To the evidence!

Barack Obama's campaign has just persuaded a delegate to step down after she was ticketed for describing her neighbor's children's behavior using the word, "monkeys." The kids were playing in the tree next door to her house. According to police, the woman "came outside and told the children to quit playing in the tree like monkeys." The woman says she didn't want the children to get hurt, and she even calls her own grandchildren "monkeys." Why the ticket and her banishment as a delegate? The children were African American. Obama's campaign called her use of the word monkey "divisive and unacceptable."

There's more offensive evidence if you'll just

Is Fatism the New Racism? Do We Need a Law Against It?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:00:56 -0700

Federal laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race — but no such protection exists for the larger people. A new study from Yale University shows that weight discrimination is ballooning out of control. The study shows that overweight women are twice as vulnerable as men, and discrimination strikes much earlier in their lives.The author of the study alleges that our culture has made it clear that judging someone based on race or culture is wrong, but the same societal pressure is missing for the differently sized. She says,
"we live in a culture where we obviously place a premium on fitness, and fitness has come to symbolize very important values in our culture, like hard work and discipline and ambition. Unfortunately, if a person is not thin, or is overweight or obese, then they must lack self-discipline, have poor willpower, etc., and as a result they get blamed and stigmatized."

The main reason for this is the belief that a person has control over their size, which isn't always true given factors like genetics and economics. It's cheap to eat badly. Fatism therefore, can affect employment with no legal recourse. Given this information, should the government step in?Source

Is Fatism the New Racism? Do We Need a Law Against It?

Yes! Anyone facing discrimination deserves government protection

No. Size is more controllable than race, and can affect job performance.

This is a big issue. I'll tell you my opinion in the comments.

Somali Women in the US Join Together for Business Success

CitizenSugar — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:00:32 -0700

Somali women living in Minneapolis, one of the nation's largest concentration of Somali immigrants, are using a custom of home to great business success. Though the women have owned small shops for years, they're pooling their money and moving on up. Relying on a collective model used in Somalia — plus two years of planning — 21 women have socked away $500 apiece. Adding donations of two business groups of $20,000 they're ready to develop their very own mall of shops.

Their mall will be the first such women's Somali cooperative in the country, according to people involved in the enterprise. It gets even more impressive, just

Indians Text Their Way Around Strict Dating Rules

CitizenSugar — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:00:37 -0700

Conservative culture that frowns on flirtation got you down? Swinging singles in India are using their thumbs — and technology — to sneak around stuffy old ideas about courtship. The textual revolution is creating a romantic suitor who's emboldened by the freedom of flirting through emoticon, but who still faces cultural roadblocks when trying to take the relationship further.

This phenomenon is especially key for rural Indians (about two-thirds of the population) who lack places for approved social outings complicated by the fact most Indians in their 20s still live at home, puts a real kibosh wooing. Add to this the fact that Indian women aren't trained not to respond to advances in anyway, a well-timed might do wonders to advance a relationship. Did you know calling a girl, "fat" is a compliment? Oh, yes, just

Map It! Which Country Gets the Most Media Attention?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:00:52 -0700

As a nice little companion to Liberty's look at the most stable nations, a French media website, L'observatoire des Medias, has tracked major media outlets' coverage of each country. The brilliantly colored map of media hotspots indicates the corresponding attention we likely give each country in our media-drunk stupor.

This image shows the results of the New York Times. Is it surprising that the Southern Hemisphere is given scant attention? The lack of print on South America and Africa motivates me to be more vigilante about finding out what's going on for myself. You can click through the different publications they studied and watch the map change — the results from Slate and The Economist are quite different.

Good media criticism just makes us better stewards of information. I think I might enjoy most that they sneakily call the Times "The Former Paper of Record," in the key to the map. Hmm . . . I guess they slipped that one on through.

Are you surprised by this map? Does it make you wonder what info you've been missing?

Source

The Reviews Are In! Foreign Press Mixed on McCain

CitizenSugar — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 06:00:22 -0700

John McCain has just wrapped up his semester abroad (OK, Congressional delegation tour of the Middle East and Europe — but Graham and Lieberman look like they could be the backpacking/hostel types — right?) The foreign press followed his every move, and the resulting clippings make for a pretty mixed bag of reviews. But if the media is any reflection of their readership, this front page fodder is fascinating.

See if you can match the statement with the country.

“The rebel who dreams of the White House,” and “Sénateur Hothead.”
“If Iraq is Better, It’s Because of John McCain,” “old dog,” and he “looks older than his 71 years and every bit as tired as he should be, having just dragged his campaign from the grave to achieve an improbable victory over half a dozen younger rivals for the Republican nomination," finally, “John McCain, veteran war hero: yes. But a descendant of Robert the Bruce? Baloney.'’
“McCain, 71, is not a young man, which is by no means a sin, a fault, nor something that should disqualify him from serving as president of the United States," and "His answers are not of the rapid-fire variety; they are slower, more methodical.'’

To see which country said what,

What Is Going on at the Japanese Foreign Ministry?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:05:17 -0700

Japan got a new ambassador. Really. (And yes, it's news! I can't make this stuff up!)

Take a guess a what's happening in this wacky pic and to find out if you're right