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

Parallel parking in Germany vs. France.

America, Iran Find Common Ground on the Wrestling Mat

Published on Feb 22, 2013
On the eve of nuclear talks, international athletes square off in friendly competition.

Documentary elicits changes in U.S. military

Published on Feb 22, 2013
CNN discusses how the Oscar-nominated documentary “The Invisible War” has helped address sexual abuse in the military.

100-Year-Old African American Sorority Leaves Its Mark

Published on Feb 22, 2013
February is Black History Month in the United States. It draws attention and pays tribute to people, organizations and events that have shaped the history of African Americans and their contributions to American society. VOA’s Chris Simkins reports on a black women’s organization that has fought for civil rights and has made a difference in the lives of many for more than a century.

Palestinians learn to survive in divided land

Published on Feb 16, 2013
Palestinians are building thousands of new apartments in part of Occupied East Jerusalem, without Israeli approval.

It’s thanks to a quirk in the layout of the Separation Wall which splits the city.

The wall cuts off an area called Kufr Aqab – putting it on the West Bank side.

That means Palestinians who live there can keep their East Jerusalem identity cards and still get access to services in Israel.

Al Jazeera’s Nicole Johnston reports from Kufr Aqab.

Palestinian Kids in East Jerusalem Face Poor School Conditions

Published on Feb 17, 2013
Palestinian schoolchildren struggle with insufficient educational facilities and textbook censorship in their East Jerusalem neighborhood, according to a new report. Some say Israel should let Palestine handle schooling in the area. Linda Gradstein reports for The Middle Line.

Sanctions hit life-saving drugs in Iran

Published on Feb 17, 2013
Despite the concerns of Israel, the U.S. and its Western allies, Iran denies it’s developing atomic arms under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. Meanwhile, the severe international sanctions are hitting the lives of everyday Iranians in need of medicine, as RT’s Maria Finoshina has found out.

MEGAPOST: China’s One Child Policy

Unhappiness Over China’s One Child Policy

February 15, 2012 – China’s one child policy prevents some elder care. CNN’s Matthew Chance reports.

Inside North Korea – VICE Travel

Published on Dec 19, 2011
Vice founder Shane Smith managed to get into North Korea after a year and half of trying and is witness to the craziness of this hermit nation.

Published on Dec 19, 2011
Shane visits the North Korean side of the De-militarized Zone (DMZ) and surprisingly finds that it’s more relaxed than the South however the propaganda and is out of control. North Korea is serious.

Published on Dec 19, 2011
The next stop on VICE’s tour of North Korean propaganda was The People’s Library, this place is weird and creepy – just like everywhere else in North Korea. The creep keeps on coming.

True Believers in Justice: A Young Public Defender’s Struggle in the South

Published on Jan 24, 2013
The filmmaker Dawn Porter follows Travis Williams, a young public defender in the Deep South, who struggles against long hours, low pay and staggering caseloads to bring justice to all.

Chinese ‘Apartheid’? Hukou System Comes Under Fire

Published on Feb 1, 2013
Hukou, China’s controversial household registration system, was originally designed to monitor the population and limit mass migration from the countryside to major cities. LinkAsia contributor Mark Dreyer reports that Chinese have taken to social media to voice their complaints about the injustice of the houkou system.

Watch more at http://linkasia.org.

IMAGE: Zhan Haite poses for a picture at home in Shanghai, December 21, 2012. Police broke up a small protest in Beijing on Saturday calling for reform of China’s divisive household registration system, an action prompted by a Shanghai schoolgirl’s widely publicized plea for equal access to the education system:

2012 – Russia’s Worst Year for Human Rights Since USSR Collapse

Published on Jan 31, 2013
Human Rights Watch releases 2012 annual report, warning of the steady decline in human rights in Russia after President Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency.

Full story:

A representative from Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that 2012 was the worst year for human rights in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia Division Deputy Director Rachel Denber spoke with journalists in Moscow.

She says Russia’s human rights last year was the worst she could remember in her 20 years of work in the former Soviet Union.

[Rachel Denber, Deputy Director, Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia Division]:
“After the return of Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin, and I would say even before then, not only was the cautious progress towards liberalization of the ‘Medvedev-era’ liquidated, but in these months, authoritarianism in Russia reached a level unseen in this country’s recent history. The foundation of this authoritarian turn was a package of laws adopted by the State Duma. I don’t think it’s necessary to describe them in detail now, but I will just list them: this is restrictions on the freedom of assembly, restrictions on Internet content, the return of criminal liability for slander—which had been cancelled by Medvedev in the previous months—and this, of course includes the law about so-called foreign agents.”

Last summer, shortly after Putin was sworn into office, Russia passed a series of laws branding many rights and campaign groups as “foreign agents”.

It’s a move opponents say was an attempt to stifle protests against Vladimir Putin.

Denber says the decline in Russia’s human rights situation has been steadily worsening.

[Rachel Denber, Deputy Director, Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia Division]:
“For a decade since the so-called ‘colour revolutions’, the Russian authorities have been attempting to marginalize, demonize, and discredit opposition politicians, human rights activists, civil society organizations, and the political opposition.”

Human rights organizations are voicing the rights issues against the fact that Russia is set to hold the Winter Olympics in February 2014.

[Rachel Denber, Deputy Director, Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia Division]:
“Soon, in almost one year, the Olympics will take place in Russia, in Sochi, and I want to say that this is, of course, a very joyful occasion. But I want to say that the attack on civil society and this excessive suspicion towards foreigners is simply not compatible with the role of Russia as an Olympic Games host country. This, in my opinion, contradicts the Olympic spirit.”

Human Rights Watch says they have noted abuses such as expropriation of property, linked to Russia’s preparations for the 2014 Olympic Games.

Other issues raised include the harassment of Kremlin critics and human rights activists, and the Russian legislation banning so-called ‘homosexual propaganda’.

Also raised were the failures of the Russian Ministry of Health and Social Development to meet World Health Organization standards.

Kenyan news outlet grapples with the word “gubernatorial”

‘Gubernatorial’: A mouthful and complicated word

Published on Jan 27, 2013

http://www.ntv.co.ke

Gubernatorial has become synonymous with the prime time news in Kenya, newspaper headlines to name but a few. But just what is this humongous word gubernatorial? NTV’s Pamela Asigi explores its origin and why giant media houses are grappling with its use.

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]