Saturday, March 1, 2008

The Interpretation of Cuban Leader Changing in the US and China

On February 19, 2008, Cuban leader Fidel Castro announced that he decided to resign, and would not accept a new term as president or commander-in-chief. On February 24, 2008, Raul Castro, Fidel Castro’s younger brother, was elected as the new president of Cuba, ending Fidel Castro’s near half century rule. As the special relationship between Cuba and America, the Cuban leader changing has brought up some attention to the American media, and Chinese media have been reporting Fidel Castro’s resignation as well.

American media mainly focus on Castro’s quitting, the new regime of Cuba, making prediction about the future relationship between the US and Cuba, which has just ushered a new leader. New York Times, for instance, published an article
Castro Quits One Role, but May Not Be Done Yet that indicated the if Raul was elected to be the new leader, the power would still be remained to the Castros, which means Cuba was actually not so eager to seek a change either of itself nor with Washington. Two articles on New York Times and Washington Post paid attention to the action Raul took on human rights in Cuba just a few days after he became the president of this country, reviewing that Raul’s policy implied he would like to improve Cuba’s current state of human rights rather than his brother Fidel, of course in the condition of himself being in charge of the country.

In the meantime, with regard to Cuban leader’s changing, Chinese media report more about Fidel Castro himself, and his achievements as a great leader of a communist country. Words like “icon” and “legend” are commonly used in the reports. They generally emphasize that as the new president of Cuba, Raul will lead the country wisely as his brother did, while Fidel will still be the spiritual leader of Cuba. Some of the reports, but not too many, talked about the change of international relation (basically with the US) that Cuban leader changing would bring, and these views are usually mentioned in the special columns that demonstrate Fidel himself.

I understand the difference between the reports from China and America. From American perspective, the US has been imposing embargo against Cuba since February 1962, both the American government and media are paying attention on Cuban leader changing, and are looking on the changes it might bring to the Cuba-US relationship. China is a communist government leading country as well as Cuba, and these two countries have always had a “friendship” like most of the Chinese media say, therefore, China does not pay attention much on a “change”, but on Fidel himself. The American and Chinese different attitudes and points of view on Cuban leader changing actually reflect the difference of their media system and social system.





Sources:

New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/world/americas/20cuba.html?pagewanted=2&sq=Castro&st=cse&scp=4

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/25/world/americas/25cuba.html?st=cse&sq=Castro&scp=5

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/01/world/americas/01cuba.html?st=cse&sq=Castro&scp=1

Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/01/AR2008030100491.html?sub=AR

ChinaNews.com:

http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gj/gjxqdb/news/2008/02-28/1176745.shtml

xinhuanet.com (the official Website of Xinhua Agency):

http://www.xinhuanet.com/world/kasiteluo.htm

The Comparison between Chinese and American Media on Reporting the Independence of Kosovo

Kosovo announced its independence to the whole world on February 17th, 2007. Kosovo, once an autonomous province of former Yugoslav Republic of the Union of Serbia, started fighting for independence since 1980th. Since then, discussion on this issue in United Nation has always had no results and the confliction in that area has never stopped. Consequently, Kosovo’s announcement was like a bomb which attracted all countries’ attention. It became the headline of every media’s news on that day. Here I just want to make a comparison between Chinese media and American media on this issue. The source I use is basically from CNN’s news on website, peoplle.com.cn and Phoenix TV’s news on website.

First of all, after browsed all these websites, the first impression I got was that Chinese media seemed to pay more attention on this issue. All of these three media especially set a column for it but Chinese media made more specifically report. In people.com.cn and Phoenix TV’s website, we can see there are different categories which are latest news update, background information, professional view, reaction all over the world and related pictures and videos. On the other hand, in the CNN’s website, although there are different categories, the content is not as rich as Chinese ones. For example, there is not so much deep analysis from experts and there are also not so many related pictures reports in the website.

Secondly, the angle of the reports in Chinese and America media is different from each other. In CNN’s website, we can see reports about the refugees, Yugoslavia’s future, military campaign and peace settlement, which focus more on the Kosovo and Yugoslavia themselves. In Chinese media website, however, what we can see is reports about the reaction of other countries, the effect of Kosovo’s independence and the analysis about the inside of its independence, which focus more on the whole world. Certainly, it does not mean that the more international angle the reports are, the better they will be. In my opinion, the media has its right to choose how to report an event. I also believe that the choice will be affected by culture, as well as official political views.

The other aspect I want to mention is that, in these two Chinese media websites, both of them talked about the news that Kosovo claimed that the government would not accept the admission from TaiWan government while the CNN’s website did not mention it at all. I think it reflected that the media in China speaks for the government. It is plain to see that the government wanted to use this piece of news to say to the whole country or to TaiWan government that there is no hope for TaiWan to be independent because no countries in the world will support TaiWan’s independence even a brand new country. I can understand that it may be natural for to connect this two issues together in China. But I still think that the media gave too much to this piece of news, which made this issue like a political tool for Chinese government. As media, what they should do I think is to focus on the issue itself to report more the situation now happening in Kosovo. On the other hand, I think it may be not fair to push all responsibility to media because the model of Chinese media system and the relation between media and government also decide what media can do.

The main purpose of this comparison is not to find out which one did a better job in this issue. The difference can not only show us the distinction of the reports themselves, but also reflect the distinction of media environment and culture.

In Oil-Rich Mid-east, Shades of the Ivy League

There was an interesting article on New York Times which talks about the American education in the mid-east. Education City, the largest enclave of American universities overseas, has quick become the elite of Qatari education, sort of local Ivy League. There are already five universities have brought programs to Doha, the capital of Qatar, and more are on their way. Cornell’s medical school will graduate the first Qatar-trained physicians this spring; Virginia Commonwealth University brought its art and design program to Qatari women few years ago and began admitting men this year; Carnegie Mellon provides computer and business programs. Also, the largest of the Education City schools, Texas A&M, offers engineering programs. The latest arrival is Georgetown’s foreign service school, and soon, Northwestern University’s journalism program will join in.

Globalization makes all these happen. Living in this global village, now we have a new “global classroom” in mid-east. There are definitely some good sides of Education City in Doha: Women have more opportunities to get higher learning in a nation where many parents do not allow their daughters to travel overseas for advanced study or to mix casually with men; young people have chance to broaden their horizons, thinking critically of some issues such as faith and religion; and students are able to visit the American home campus for a semester or a few weeks, fulfilling the experience of studying abroad.

However, some drawbacks are inevitably revealed in this system. While The Education City is proud of its endeavor to provide the so-called “real American education”, this island of American-style open debate in what remains an Islamic monarchy. Because Education City graduates will be broadly educated elites who have had extended contact with American professors and American ways of thinking, this consequence also makes some parents worried about their traditional values and way of life. In addition, whether the job market will view Education City graduates the same as American graduates of the same schools is not yet clear, since these graduates will be the first batch, and no one can guarantee how well they will do. There are also some potential problems from the faculty. According to Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., dean of Weill Cornell Medical School in New York, there are about 15 percent of lectures are through videoconferencing. Although the new technology allows both instructors and students in Education City have a convenient way to interact and to communicate via screen, the quality of the lectures raises some concerns. Another question is, even with free housing, bonus pay and big tax advantages, and still few professors want to move to Qatar. “You get a lot of people at the end of their careers. Coming to Qatar, where you don’t have graduate students and research grants, does you no good for getting tenure.” Said one computer-science professor at Carnegie Mellon.

People outside of the U.S. see or hear about American education from different sources, one of the important sources is electronic media. From the TV programs, Hollywood movies, and the “omnipotent” Internet, the different learning atmosphere presented on the media allures bunch of people coming here to study. No matter the media portrayed education in the U.S. in a partial or an oversimplified way, there must be some reasons that many countries in the world recognize the overall concept of American education. I believe that to many international students, one of the most precious characteristics in American education, meanwhile the most different one comparing to the philosophy of education in their own countries, is that students are encouraged to share their own opinions with others, and are welcomed to have alternative voices as well. Especially in Asian countries, students are taught to be “happy-mediums”, according to the golden mean of Confucius school. Harmony and modesty are the basic principles that most of Asian people shared. There is no right or wrong since cultures and customs vary from nation to nation. But I do think that a person’s intellect needs to be stimulated. Just like the dean of Carnegie Mellon in Qatar explains that American education is a very big change for many of their students, who had no experience with questions like “What do you think the author meant by that?” or “Do you agree or disagree?”

Overall, I think Education City is a successful example of bringing more diversity and creating more opportunities for people in Qatar. But at the same time, the dilemma between maintaining the traditional values and being a more globalized person by adopting American education exists in every student’s minds at Education City. Professor Gary Wasserman, who taught “U.S. Political System” course at Georgetown branch in Doha, mentioned that students came up with questions he had never thought of. “You can see how much they want to be a part of a globalized world, but you also can see that they don’t want to have to give up their faith, their family, their traditions. And why should they?”

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Fred Thompson Airs Political Face-Slap During Youtube Debates

The Republican YouTube debates were held on Wednesday, November 28, 2007. This highly-publicized debate featured (nearly) all of the main Republican candidates for president in the 2008 election. This debate mirrored the Democratic YouTube debates, held about 1-2 months prior. Each candidate was allowed a 30-second advertisement to be aired during the commercials. Fred Thompson made headlines by choosing to air an ad which attacked two of his rivals. Although aggressive campaign ads are certainly nothing new, Fred Thompson took the concept of media and ethics to a new level, by bringing a heightened level of interactivity to the debates. It is my opinion that regulation should be put in place for media manipulations such as this one.

Fred Thompson's 30-second spot discusses Romney's record of support for Roe vs. Wade, despite his anti-abortion stance. The commercial also dogged Huckabee for raising taxes as governor of Arkansas. When the live debate returned, Huckabee and Romney were forced to confront the issues brought up by this commercial. In the eyes of many critics, both candidates handled the razzing admirably. Romney said, "on abortion, I was wrong," and explained how he had transitioned to a pro-life stance since the Roe vs. Wade decision. Huckabee pointed out several tax cuts he had overseen as governor.

One might argue that this is not a new occurence. Political ads have aired during televised debates for many years. However, I believe that this incident is unique, due to the availability of Internet. In response, both Huckabee and Romney gave succinct quips, which may have even resulted in an improvement in their status in the eyes of viewers. Yet, when the Internet community replays the clip of Fred Thompson's ad, they won't see the responses unless they are watching the entire debate. Combined with the fact that Thompson's ad has made headlines, it can be expected that many more people will see Thompson's ad than will see Romney and Huckabee's responses. This is unique for modern times- in the past, such selective replays were entirely unavailable.

Despite the smooth handling of the situation by Huckabee and Romney, it should definitely be examined whether Fred Thompson's actions can be considered "ethical." On the one hand, an unexpectedly aggressive political commercial can certainly become an unexpected curveball to the candidates upon which it focuses. This could be considered a "low" tactic, since it is used as a surprise trick to throw off candidate. However, the purpose of these debates is to discuss controversial actions- if Thompson had aired a softer campaign commercial, then(when the live debate returned) simply stated his accusations against Huckabee and Romney, there would be no discussion of whether he violated morals, as his entire actions were within the normal frame of a debate. So, there's definitely a solid argument for both sides.

This definitely seems to indicate that technology will only make the U.S. Presidential race more "backhanded". So, should ads such as Fred Thompson's be banned from live debates? I am certain that I do not know the answer- both sides have strong and cohesive arguments. However, the potential for damage is there, so I strongly feel that a panel should be selected to review the laws governing political advertisements, with the goal of updating them for modern technology.

Source:http://music.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2206460,00.html

Prince Sues Three Fansites for Distributing His Image

Recording artist mogul Prince moved to sue three popular websites which distribute pictures and video clips of him. Although these websites are technically distributing unlicensed images of him, they are doing so for no profit, and are "fan sites" which exist solely to praise and promote Prince. Naturally, there are two sides to this argument, and both sides are significantly extensive.

First, one issue to consider is a matter of ownership. Prince legally owns the rights to copyrighted photos and videos. Is this right? To argue on Prince's behalf, he invested a significant amount of effort into creating these photos. Not only did he pose or perform, but he also arranged for the cameraman to film, and orchestrated the entire production. In a sense, most of these images can be thought of as products, since they are available for purchase at Prince's official website. So, it is a natural argument that Prince should own the rights to his own
product.

However, to play devil's advocate, there needs to be something said for the rights of the fans to enjoy Prince. If I wish to make a website to celebrate Prince's life and his music, it would be quite barebones if I had to display only pictures I took, myself. Therefore, I would conclude that it is right for Prince to own the rights to his own works, however, it is wrong for Prince to have 100% control over the distribution of these works, especially in the case of not-for-profit transactions.

Moving on, another issue which can be brought up for debate is that of restricting public access to the media. Prince went so far as to sue fan websites for displaying pictures of Prince-oriented tattoos and Prince-oriented license plates. This brings up an interesting concept- if one can outlaw the unrestricted printing of one's logo, anywhere, then how is fair media reporting, possible? Conceivably, Prince could walk around wearing a giant sign of his logo, and then sue the paparazzi for taking and publishing his picture. Naturally, that is a ridiculous notion, so one must ponder exactly where to draw the line.

At this point in time, I can only suggest possible solutions for this conundrum. Perhaps it would be best to treat a logo in a similar manner in which the law treats recorded songs. In other words, restrict the direct sharing of the logo, but allow a drawing of that logo to be shared, not unlike how cover songs are considered legal to record and perfom. Though this might work, the best solution is undoubtedly a full aand regular review of the way copyright law is viewed in regards to the Internet. Naturally, it is easy to see how copyright law can be fully outdated, despite efforts to keep up with the constantly dynamic Internet.

If Prince's goal was to anger millions of fans, then he certainly succeeded. This may be a horrible career move from the gentleman who already purposefully alienated himself from his record company and his distributors. However, if Prince was attempting to show the world the faultiness of modern logo protection, and chose to do this by playing the "bad guy," then his experiment could be considered a success, as the courts are now paying ample attention to his case.

http://music.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2206460,00.html

Monday, December 17, 2007

Are you my mother?: Weaning kids off technology’s breast milk.

Darren Waters writes an article on the “$100 laptop could sell to public” on the BBC website. Darren later attaches a blog apologizing for the “misspoken statement” made by the executive of OLPC organization (One Laptop Per Child) to sell the computer to the public. PR at OLPC said the executive misspoke and that it was only a possibility, not a guarantee, to sell the laptop to the public.

Who cares about a silly mishap with words…why aren’t we commenting on the quote made by chief connectivity officer Michalis Bletsas, that his hope is “that the laptop project would help children enrich their lives to the extent that one day they could become consumers of they will one day become consumers of the types of technologies on display in Las Vegas.”

So the goal of the OLPC organization is to produce young consumers who will eventually buy more stuff? What happened to the idea of “enriching their lives” and the educational impact on these children in developing countries? If this organization stands for expanding education in developing countries, they sure have a consumerist way of showing it.

Mr. Bletsas also comments that “it will stimulate their interest in looking further- not waiting for some teacher or adult.” Mr. Bletsas completely downplays the role of the parent, giving the child full reign with their new $176 dollar laptop. Bletsas wants them to look further, look further into what? How will they know what to look for without the direction of a teacher or role model to influence their decision making? I am arguing to give children all the answers to the quiz, but adults need to be there to provide the right scantron to take the quiz. Nor am I arguing that all parents are geniuses, but I think that the participation of parents, teachers and role models should not be undermined when it comes to technology.

These children who are “connected” will have a lot of information at their fingertips, their brains are vulnerable, alive, and bright, but it is up to us as the “adult” to guide children.

It’s not about whether children have the technology or not but it is about what they do with that technology; how do they truly use it as a resource. A child could have all the technology in the world, but if you use it on gaming and chatting, are you truly “enriching your life?” Parents of the internet addicted teens would disagree.

I’m sure Mr. Bletsas would have a difficult time using the same argument in relation to the kids at the South Korean internet addicted boot camp.

This is where the parents come in. any medium can be constructive and educational for kids, but it is how the parent shapes that learning that is important. Take TV, would Mr. Bletsas make the same comments about TV “stimulating their interest to look further”? Without the parent’s involvement and participation, we don’t know what that kid could be watching. It’s the same idea with internet, it’s about participating in their learning.

Martin Flacker writes about a boot camp in Korea for internet addicted teens in the New York Times article titled “In Korea, a Boot Camp Cure for Web Obsession.” He writes about the boot camp “Jump Up Internet Rescue School” where young teenage boys in South Korea go to beat their internet addiction. “One participant, Lee Chang-hoon, 15, began using the computer to pass the time while his parents were working and he was home alone. He said he quickly came to prefer the virtual world, where he seemed to enjoy more success and popularity than in the real one. He spent 17 hours a day online, mostly looking at Japanese comics and playing a combat role-playing game called Sudden Attack. He played all night, and skipped school two or three times a week to catch up on sleep.” The children get no sense of participation and involvement of the parents. This article begs the question: Where are the parents? There is a lack of parental responsibility going on. They are living in their parent’s home, and at no time did the parent say, “No, you don’t get to use the computer because you have been on it all day” or “I’m worried about your physical activity.”

The theme of these articles is very simple: the importance of parental involvement or lack thereof. Technology can advance at the speed of light, but technology alone is not going to enrich children’s lives, I think it still takes a village for that.

References:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/07/intels-approach-to-laptops-for-poor-children/

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/technology/18rehab.html?pagewanted=2&bl&ei=5087&en=7857a1f63763a21e&ex=1195707600

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6246989.stm

“Can I get a non fat grande novel with no whip please?!”

While some people may argue the timeline that books have, the reality is that books will not go away because of the technology we have. Books gratify a different need then a computer screen, books can be categorized as a leisure activity. While a computer screen could be argued to be a leisure activity, the elements of the computer are not the same as a book. William Powers tells “On the Media” that a book requires the reader to use their hands more, “the hands are telling the brain where you are, how much further you have to go, and so forth.” According to Powers, paper- based, or close to it, is here to stay.

People are still reading books, they are just not going through the traditional way of the library or bookstore, but they are fusing two mediums, the Internet and books, in order to be more effective and convenient.


The invention of the car comes to mind: did people stop walking when Ford came around? No, people do both, it is just another addition to the repertoire.

Sara Nelson argues her point on NPR that there are too many books. But isn't that the point of digitizing, to have a lot of information available to you? Can there be such a thing as too many books? I think so, but we have to filter out what we can to find what we need.

Jonathon band, a professor at Georgetown Univ. Law center does make a strong point that Google allows for those books that are hidden in a huge school library to make it easier to access these diamonds in the ruff for students on a search for resources and references. The sampling debate rises out of this example and makes a case where sampling can be viewed in a positive light. The sampling does not show the entire book, but just enough to either help you in your research or to go out and buy a fresh paper copy yourself. Sampling in the case of books, drives the sales of books so that the reader will want to buy it at their local Borders.

The small bookstores are few and far between, being taken over by media conglomerates. While it may seem unfair to the small bookstore owner, technology is making books more readily accessible.

Jonathon bland claims that Google’s library search will make books more relevant or relative, a book is only worth anything if it is on Google library or Oprah’s book club. Our society is at the point where we don’t take the time to search ourselves, we just take what’s popular from Google and Oprah; what these media conglomerates are telling us we should read. If we go to back to Sara Nelson’s argument on the overabundance of books, then these popular filters perpetuate the ideas in our culture, because this is the book critic we use when deciding what to read.

Some authors claim that Google should have to pay for the books that they use in their library. With this debate, we fall back into copyright, but being that the library falls under “fair use” doctrine, Lessig discusses this type of use of the Internet media. It is used as a promotional tool for that book, and if the person wants more information, they have to buy the entire book. People may not necessarily settle for an electronic copy if they are interested in the book. Books are a collection of who you are, and downloading it to your favorites is not the same as collecting the books you love.

We are a culture of speed and convenience, and the new digital book called Kindle creates a light and accessible way to read something that is “book-like.” Bob Garfield interviews the vice president of research for E-ink, Michael McCreary who says that this new E book will have a real pigment of ink and actual books. The product is called the Kindle and it is a digital book. The digital memory can hold numerous books, and the battery life can last as long as five hours.

New technology, like the Espresso Book Machine is advancing the print of books and the speed of printing. Out of print books is no longer an option with this machine that can print any book in seconds.

As our new technology continues to progress forward, books still find a way to hold on to the coat tails of technological advances.