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Written by prmart07 on Jun 3, 2008

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is located in Eastern Asia. For the past five decades, Myanmar has suffered from political and economic crisis, which has left it distant from the international community and made it one of the least developed nations in the world. In fact, the Myanmar Country Profile states, “according to the Human Development Index (HDI), Myanmar ranks 32 among a list of 50 least developed nations surveyed by the UN." Most people in Myanmar are part of the one sixth of humanity that lives in extreme poverty.

The inadequate infrastructure within the country leads to a lack of access of resources, such as healthcare and educational services, which affects millions of people living in the country. On top of Myanmar’s infrastructural problems, the nation has also faced...

Desperate Clinton Compares FLA Primary to Zimbabwe

Written by Guest on May 23, 2008

In yet another display of her resilience, the diehard Hillary Clinton has invoked the ongoing electoral impasse in Zimbabwe in an attempt to demonstrate the miscarriage of democracy that has resulted from the Democratic Party's disregarding of the Fla. and Michigan primaries. Addressing an audience of senior citizens in south Florida, Clinton remarked:

We’re seeing that right now in Zimbabwe. Tragically, an election was held, the president lost, they refused to abide by the will of the people...

So we can never take for granted our precious right to vote. It is the single most important, privilege and right any of us have, because in that ballot box we are all equal. You’re equal to a billionaire. You’re equal to the president, every single one of us.
Source:...

Gaza: Still Forgotten?

Written by johncollins on May 19, 2008

When George W. Bush recently spoke to the Israeli Knesset on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Israel's founding, many commentators noted that the President made no reference to the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people. Nowhere is this suffering more acute than in Gaza, where the population continues to deal with the crushing effects of an Israeli blockade.

Perhaps the President should take a look at Clancy Chassay's series of short films on life in Gaza, featured this week on the website of the Guardian (UK). In his...

Perez Hilton: News Worthy?

Written by Seanedwardwatkins on May 5, 2008

I have been a reader of Perez Hilton for several months now. I figured that since I was now a popular culture student, I should at least be somewhat aware of "popular" culture type activities.

I would prefer that we thought of Popular Culture in terms of the tension between high and low culture...which is how Stuart Hall defines it, but it seems that most people think that all I do is study Paris Hilton.

Importantly, I think that we need to respect all forms of popular culture, but I tend to stick with news analysis and media literacy. I do not watch much tv...

Blackwater at the Border

Written by johncollins on May 3, 2008

The private military company Blackwater, Inc., best known for its role as a US-backed mercenary force in Iraq, is now being accused of secretly setting up a new training base along the US-Mexico border.

Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! made the story public yesterday, reporting from southern California on the growing opposition to Blackwater's presence in the region.

This is an issue that the Weave has been covering for some time. Blackwater's role in the privatization of war was one of the original underreported stories we addressed beginning in early 2007. More recently, one of our regular contributors completed a major undergraduate research project on the privatization of...

Conflicting News: More US Airstrikes in Somalia

Written by awball04 on May 1, 2008

It is always suprising to log onto www.nytimes.com and find a story from Africa as the top story. What is not suprising is the subject matter, whether corrupt elections, bloody civil wars or terrorists. In this case, the headline reads, "Key Militant in Somalia Killed in U.S. Attack". The article goes on to mention how Aden Hashi Aryo is one of "Al-Qaeda's top operatives in Iraq" and is one of the most terrible men in Somalia and how he is responsible for various terrorist acts justifying and hiding the fact that the US airstrikes on Dusamareeb on Wednesday by "three US AC-130 aircraft slowly flying" did not just kill Aryo but destroyed part of a town and killed...

Sexual Violence in Darfur

Written by prmart07 on Apr 30, 2008

“Sexual violence” is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as: “any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work.” Over the past five years of the violent conflict in the Darfur region, women and girls living in refugee camps, and rural areas have been exposed to a plague of sexual violence.

Men from the Sudanese Armed Forces, the militia or the Janjaweed,...

Excremental politics

Written by johncollins on Apr 28, 2008

Colonization takes many forms, including land confiscation, expulsion, murder, torture, and the systematic assault on indigenous identity. And then there is this. As Israel prepares to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its founding, people in Gaza are literally drowning in shit.

The subtitle of Johann Hari's column in The Independent this morning says it all: "How did a Jewish state founded 60 years ago end up throwing filth at cowering Palestinians?"

Hari, mind you, is no anti-Israel crusader--far from it. As he makes clear in his column, he is well aware of the need to move beyond the usual polemical attacks and defenses that characterize so much discourse on Israel. He wants to be fair:

I would love to be able to crash the birthday party with words of reassurance. Israel has given us great novelists like Amos Oz and A.B....

Take Action! Help in the Fight to End Extreme Poverty

Written by prmart07 on Apr 28, 2008

Poverty, hunger, and disease affect nearly one sixth of the world's
population. Author, economist, and scholar, Jeffrey Sachs, suggests in
his book, The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for our Time,
"Our generation's challenge is to help the poorest of the poor to
escape the misery of extreme poverty so that they may begin their own
ascent up the ladder of economic development."

Sachs, who may often be seen educating some of the world's biggest stars, like Angelina Jolie and U2's, Bono, believes that every human is entitled to "basic standards of nutrition, health, water and sanitation, shelter, and other minimum needs for survival, well-being, and participation in society." He believes that rich countries, like the United States need to do more to...

Sexual Violence Awareness: The World Health Organization in Bangladesh

Written by prmart07 on Apr 27, 2008

Gender-based violence is a major health and human
rights problem throughout the world. Between 2002 and 2003, The World
Health Organization (WHO) led The Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women,
which collected data from over 24,000 women in Bangladesh, Brazil,
Ethiopia, Japan, Namibia, Peru, Samoa, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand,
and the United Republic of Tanzania. The Study gathered information on
women’s experiences of violence using an effective cross-cultural
survey with a particular focus on violence by intimate partners. There
is also data on non-partner violence, sexual abuse during childhood and
forced first sexual experiences.

In Bangladesh,...

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