MEGAPOST – HSBC “local knowledge” ads – culture, socialization, norms

Parallel parking in Germany vs. France.

Muslim students forced to pray outside

Published on Feb 22, 2013
No prayer room for Muslims. That’s a prospect that could take place at a university in London. These are Muslim students signing a petition against the university’s policies to restrict their access to prayer facilities on campus. Muslim students here feel discriminated against, and want a room to congregate for Friday prayers. Previously they had to find empty classrooms to pray together, but now they are making an open stand.

“Weird” Al Yankovic – Amish Paradise (1996)

Palestinian Youth from Around the World Visit Jerusalem

Published on Feb 17, 2013
A program known as “Know Thy Heritage” brings young Muslim and Christian Palestinians to Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. Linda Gradstein reports for The Media Line.

3,500 marry in South Korea mass wedding

Published on Feb 17, 2013
The Unification Church, whose followers are often called Moonies after the group’s late founder, has held a mass wedding in South Korea, the first such group nuptials since Reverend Sun Myung Moon died last year. Some 3,500 couples from 70 nations tied the knot at the Korean wedding and an additional 12,000 couples from 149 countries were also said to be attending the ceremony via satellite links.

MEGAPOST: German-Jewish Heritage Around the Globe

Jewish Artists – The Influence of Exiles | Arts 21

Uploaded on Nov 13, 2011
It’s well known that many Jewish scientists and artists fled Nazi Germany. Less well known is their cultural influence in the countries that took them in. A major study by the Moses Mendelssohn Center in Potsdam focuses on just that. We spoke with the Center’s Director, Julius H. Schoeps.

Breaking Polygamy

Published by ABCNews on Nov 23, 2012

• Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints — not mainstream Mormons
• Warren Jeffs
• Homeschooling in Utah

Secrets of the Sect

Part 1: ABC News’ Amy Robach goes inside the FLDS, which has been called “the American Taliban.”

The Reeducation of Willie Steed

Part 2: Steed, 18 and starting a new life, found his FLDS education had left him unable to read.

A Haircut Equals Freedom

Part 3: “I want bangs!” Nellie Steed, 6, said, breaking with her strict FLDS upbringing.

Confronting ‘The God Squad’

Part 4: Police harassment of former FLDS led the Department of Justice to file a civil rights suit.

Pulled Back to the Fold

Part 5: Suzette Steed gets some news and must decide between her past and her daughters’ future.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Same Love ft. Mary Lambert (2012)

In support of marriage equality. Follows a gay male couple.

SAME LOVE – MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS (PARADISE FEARS COVER)

Lyrics from Rap Genius:

[Verse 1: Macklemore]
When I was in the 3rd grade
I thought that I was gay
Cause I could draw, my uncle was
And I kept my room straight
I told my mom, tears rushing down my face
She’s like, “Ben you’ve loved girls since before pre-K”
Trippin’, yeah, I guess she had a point, didn’t she
A bunch of stereotypes all in my head
I remember doing the math like
“Yeah, I’m good a little league”
A pre-conceived idea of what it all meant
For those that like the same sex had the characteristics
The right-wing conservatives think its a decision
And you can be cured with some treatment and religion
Man-made, rewiring of a pre-disposition
Playing God
Ahh nah, here we go
America the brave
Still fears what we don’t know
And God loves all his children it’s somehow forgotten
But we paraphrase a book written
3,500 years ago
I don’t know

[Hook: Mary Lambert]
And I can’t change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
And I can’t change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
My love, my love, my love
She keeps me warm [x4]

[Verse 2: Macklemore]
If I was gay
I would think hip-hop hates me
Have you read the YouTube comments lately
“Man that’s gay”
Gets dropped on the daily
We’ve become so numb to what we’re sayin’
Our culture founded from oppression
Yeah, we don’t have acceptance for ‘em
Call each other faggots
Behind the keys of a message board
A word rooted in hate
Yet our genre still ignores it
Gay is synonymous with the lesser
It’s the same hate that’s caused wars from religion
Gender to skin color
Complexion of your pigment
The same fight that lead people to walk-outs and sit-ins
Human rights for everybody
There is no difference
Live on! And be yourself!
When I was in church
They taught me something else
If you preach hate at the service
Those words aren’t anointed
And that Holy Water
That you soak in
Is then poisoned
When everyone else
Is more comfortable
Remaining voiceless
Rather than fighting for humans
That have had their rights stolen
I might not be the same
But that’s not important
No freedom ’til we’re equal
Damn right I support it
[Trombone]
I don’t know

[Hook: Mary Lambert]

[Verse 3: Macklemore]
We press play
Don’t press pause
Progress, march on!
With a veil over our eyes
We turn our back on the cause
‘Till the day
That my uncles can be united by law
Kids are walkin’ around the hallway
Plagued by pain in their heart
A world so hateful
Some would rather die
Than be who they are
And a certificate on paper
Isn’t gonna solve it all
But it’s a damn good place to start
No law’s gonna change us
We have to change us
Whatever god you believe in
We come from the same one
Strip away the fear
Underneath it’s all the same love
About time that we raised up

[Hook: Mary Lambert]

[Outro: Mary Lambert]
Love is patient, love is kind
Love is patient (not cryin’ on Sundays)
Love is kind (not crying on Sundays) [x5]

Man Eat Dog World: VC2 – Vietnam, culture, food

In some countries there are firm social taboos against eating the same animals that are commonly kept as pets, such as cats and dogs. But in dozens of other countries around the world, if you can catch it, you can eat it. Chris Tran goes for lunch in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and learns that eating fried dog, green dragon and cobra heart supposedly do wonders for a man’s virility. Taste is another matter entirely.

Pakistani Family Fights Tradition of ‘Swara’ – women’s rights, honor killings

Published on Dec 6, 2012 by VOAvideo
In recent years Pakistan has passed laws protecting women against having acid thrown on their faces or being killed to satisfy the honor of a family. Despite being legally banned, abuses against women continue. However, there are stories of individuals who stand up when the law fails them. Sharon Behn reports from Peshawar on one family whose father died trying to prevent their daughter from being given away to settle a dispute.

Why Do British Singers Sound American, Like Adele on “Skyfall”? – culture, language

Published on Nov 30, 2012 by slatester
For the newest James Bond movie, “Skyfall,” English singer Adele recorded the title song. Adele speaks with a strong English accent (her speaking?) but her singing voice sounds more American than British (her singing?). Why do British vocalists often sound American when they sing?

Because that’s the way everyone expects pop and rock musicians to sound. British pop singers have been imitating American pronunciations since the Beatles and the Rolling Stones began recording in the 1960s. These musicians were largely influenced by the African-American Vernacular English of American blues and rock and roll singers like Chuck Berry. Imitating an American accent involved both the adoption of American vowel sounds and “rhoticity”: the pronunciation of Rs wherever they appear in a word.

Linguist Peter Trudgill tracked rhoticity in British rock music over the years and found that the Beatles’ pronunciation of Rs decreased over the course of the 1960s. The trend also went in the opposite direction as new genres developed: American pop-punk vocalists like Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day took on a British-tinged accent to sound more like seminal artists such as Joe Strummer of the Clash.

Contemporary singers tend to adopt accents according to their genre: Keith Urban, who is Australian, sings country music with a marked Southern accent.

Even when singers aren’t trying to imitate a particular vocal style, regional dialects tend to get lost in song: Intonation gets overtaken by melody and vocal cadences by a song’s rhythm. Which makes the British Invasion seem a little more American.

Mexicans seek spiritual solace amid chaos

Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on Mar 7, 2011
As Mexico’s drug-related violence continues, some are finding comfort in spirituality.

It is a mainly Catholic nation, but as Al Jazeera’s Franc Contreras reports from Mexico City, many are turning to religious figures rooted in Mexico’s indigenous past.

One alternative is the saint of death, also known as Santa Muerte.

Totally Biased: The Kwanzaa Bonanzaa

Published on Nov 30, 2012 by TotallyBiasedFX
Let’s face it: Kwanzaa is nowhere near the most popular winter holiday and it probably never will be. A word to any well-intentioned whites who want to help by spreading the Kwanzaa joy: don’t.

Diwali: Festival of Lights

Published on Nov 12, 2012 by NationalGeographic
In India, one of the most significant festivals is Diwali, or the Festival of Lights. It’s a five-day celebration that includes good food, fireworks, colored sand, and special candles and lamps.

Funeral Strippers in Taiwan

Published on Oct 31, 2012 by NationalGeographic
In Taiwan, respect for the recently deceased includes a lavish funeral complete with exotic dancers.