Global
Earlier this year I had the great pleasure to visit South Africa. Compared to most Americans, the passing of Nelson Mandela brought tears to my eyes many times as I recalled being in many of the places being shown on countless news shows.
In particular, I was fortunate in spending significant time with several black elderly South Africans who knew Mandela and were prisoners also, and who spoke in considerable detail about the horrors of living in the apartheid society. Nothing I have seen and heard on many news outlets has presented the true horrors of what life was like for not only blacks but also other people of color in the apartheid society. There were virtually no freedoms whatsoever for nonwhites and the blacks suffered the most. I recall listening to these apartheid experts and feeling absolutely bewildered that the apartheid government and society could actually have been created and prospered for so many decades.
In particular, I was fortunate in spending significant time with several black elderly South Africans who knew Mandela and were prisoners also, and who spoke in considerable detail about the horrors of living in the apartheid society. Nothing I have seen and heard on many news outlets has presented the true horrors of what life was like for not only blacks but also other people of color in the apartheid society. There were virtually no freedoms whatsoever for nonwhites and the blacks suffered the most. I recall listening to these apartheid experts and feeling absolutely bewildered that the apartheid government and society could actually have been created and prospered for so many decades.
As Nelson Mandela’s body is laid to rest, the leaders from across the world who came to pay tribute to him leave with shared perspectives. They see the fruits of the remarkable triumphs of Mandela and the African National Congress — the defeat of apartheid, the transition of power from the oppressive minority to the newly empowered majority, the creation of a great democracy. And they see the continued inequality that scars South Africa, the gulf between the wealthy and the impoverished, still largely reflecting a color line.
We see the same in this country. We celebrate, as we should, the remarkable triumphs of Dr. Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement: the end of apartheid in the South, the passage of the Voting Rights Act, the legal prohibition of racial discrimination in employment and education.
Yet we also see the gulf between rich and poor, a gulf still often tracing a color line in many of our cities and regions.
We see the same in this country. We celebrate, as we should, the remarkable triumphs of Dr. Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement: the end of apartheid in the South, the passage of the Voting Rights Act, the legal prohibition of racial discrimination in employment and education.
Yet we also see the gulf between rich and poor, a gulf still often tracing a color line in many of our cities and regions.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- A court on Thursday (Dec. 12) indicted former
prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva for alleged murders, but his deputy
did not arrive for the same indictment because he was whipping up a
right-wing "people's revolution" which cut off the prime minister's
electricity and water to force her resignation.
The murder charges date back to 2010 and are echoing in Bangkok's current month-long "insurrection" which is fueled mostly by urban-based royalists and military officers, plus middle and upper classes who favor dictatorial, appointed officials instead of popularly elected politicians.
In the latest twist, a man standing in the street on Thursday (Dec. 12) afternoon used a lengthy pole to disconnect overhead electric cables leading to Interim Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's now-vacant Government House office, while a curious crowd watched.
Others cut the water supply and some barbed wire protecting the building.
Ms. Yingluck refuses to resign and now uses police and army buildings as her office.
The murder charges date back to 2010 and are echoing in Bangkok's current month-long "insurrection" which is fueled mostly by urban-based royalists and military officers, plus middle and upper classes who favor dictatorial, appointed officials instead of popularly elected politicians.
In the latest twist, a man standing in the street on Thursday (Dec. 12) afternoon used a lengthy pole to disconnect overhead electric cables leading to Interim Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's now-vacant Government House office, while a curious crowd watched.
Others cut the water supply and some barbed wire protecting the building.
Ms. Yingluck refuses to resign and now uses police and army buildings as her office.
Iran! So long our enemy-in-waiting, just asking for it, y’know?
No wonder Americans are confused about the idea of maybe not going to war with that country one of these days, at least according to USA Today, which reported: “The White House and Iran face an uphill selling job to convince Americans to embrace the interim nuclear pact negotiated with Tehran last month.”
Two out of three Americans who have actually heard something about the accord don’t trust it, the paper explains, because, in essence, Iran took American hostages that one time (for no reason) and have been uncooperative toward our interests ever since. Thus, however hopeful or problematic the Geneva agreement between Iran and the P5 + 1 nations (the U.S., Russia, China, France, U.K. and Germany) may be, here in the land of all-that-is-exceptional, pop culture and superficial opinion polls rule and cynical ignorance counts as news.
No wonder Americans are confused about the idea of maybe not going to war with that country one of these days, at least according to USA Today, which reported: “The White House and Iran face an uphill selling job to convince Americans to embrace the interim nuclear pact negotiated with Tehran last month.”
Two out of three Americans who have actually heard something about the accord don’t trust it, the paper explains, because, in essence, Iran took American hostages that one time (for no reason) and have been uncooperative toward our interests ever since. Thus, however hopeful or problematic the Geneva agreement between Iran and the P5 + 1 nations (the U.S., Russia, China, France, U.K. and Germany) may be, here in the land of all-that-is-exceptional, pop culture and superficial opinion polls rule and cynical ignorance counts as news.
As with any popular deal formulated in Washington, the singing that stems from both sides of the aisle urges politicians to rush to the table. Compromise is the key above all else, and the table is where real consensus-building can take place. In any negotiating scenario the situation practically describes itself. Two sides in opposition come together in harmony and hash out an agreement. But what happens when both sides already agree on the main points?
There have been spurious movements over the past several years in the U.S. to create viable third parties to disrupt a transparently broken political system. While Perot made the most headway, momentum has continued to grow against the stream of D.C. politics in small doses every election year. The problem, of course, is that before we begin to consult the possibility of a third party in this country a second party must arise.
There have been spurious movements over the past several years in the U.S. to create viable third parties to disrupt a transparently broken political system. While Perot made the most headway, momentum has continued to grow against the stream of D.C. politics in small doses every election year. The problem, of course, is that before we begin to consult the possibility of a third party in this country a second party must arise.
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Mary Corbett discovered something she hates more than losing this season. And that’s waiting on the sidelines. After breaking her wrist in a preseason practice, the 5-foot-7 guard had to watch from the bench as the Otterbein women’s basketball team started the season 0-2 overall.
Corbett responded by averaging 9.6 points a game in her first five games since being cleared to play. She had double digit performances against Wittenberg (11 points in a 72-62 win Nov. 25), Catholic University (11 in a 71-59 win Nov. 29) and Colorado College (15 in an 88-80 win Nov. 30).
“Mary’s very competitive,” says Otterbein coach Connie Richardson, whose team is 3-4 overall after losing to Muskingum 74-62 on Dec. 7. “She loves the game of basketball. She doesn’t like to lose. She’s not going to accept losing.”
“Sitting on the bench was definitely difficult for me,” says the Upper Arlington High School graduate who transferred to Otterbein from Ohio Wesleyan University in the offseason. “I wanted to be out there with my team but I knew I might mess up my wrist even more.
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Unless you’re a game developer yourself you probably didn’t know that Central Ohio is home to several independent game studios. At the Ohio Game Developer Expo, held December 7th at the Ohio Union building on the Ohio State University campus, these developers got to show off established, new and upcoming games made right here at home.
The popularity of Apple’s iPhone and iPad and devices running Google’s Android operating system has opened up an entirely new realm of opportunities for people looking to publish games without the backing of a major company like Activision or EA Games. Online distribution through the Steam platform has also made publishing accessible to those who never could have gotten their games out to a wider audience even a decade ago. It also means developers don’t have to be in Silicon Valley to get attention.
The Ohio natives at Soulfire Software have chosen to stay right here at home. They were at the Expo with an iPad and an early build of their iOS game Thieves’ Plummet, a 3D action game where you guide your character on a controlled descent through a cavern lined with jewels.
Michael Connell, the Bush family and Karl Rove’s IT guru, was heading home from Washington D.C. to attend his company’s Christmas party on Friday, December 19th in 2008. An accomplished pilot, he was flying from the College Park, Maryland airport to the Akron-Canton airport in Ohio under unremarkable weather conditions. Yet his Piper Saratoga plane suddenly dove to the ground between two houses in an upscale neighborhood, when he was just 2.5 miles from the airport. The site was roped off, cleaned up within two hours at night against protocol, and the next day his wife found his omniscient Blackberry missing from his still intact knapsack.
Fukushima continues to spew out radiation. The quantities seem to be rising, as do the impacts.
The site has been infiltrated by organized crime. There are horrifying signs of ecological disaster in the Pacific and human health impacts in the United States.
But within Japan, a new State Secrets Act makes such talk punishable by up to ten years in prison.
Taro Yamamoto, a Japanese legislator, says the law “represents a coup d’etat” leading to “the recreation of a fascist state.” The powerful Asahi Shimbun newspaper compares it to “conspiracy” laws passed by totalitarian Japan in the lead-up to Pearl Harbor, and warns it could end independent reporting on Fukushima.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been leading Japan in an increasingly militaristic direction. Tensions have increased with China. Massive demonstrations have been renounced with talk of “treason.”
But it’s Fukushima that hangs most heavily over the nation and the world.
The site has been infiltrated by organized crime. There are horrifying signs of ecological disaster in the Pacific and human health impacts in the United States.
But within Japan, a new State Secrets Act makes such talk punishable by up to ten years in prison.
Taro Yamamoto, a Japanese legislator, says the law “represents a coup d’etat” leading to “the recreation of a fascist state.” The powerful Asahi Shimbun newspaper compares it to “conspiracy” laws passed by totalitarian Japan in the lead-up to Pearl Harbor, and warns it could end independent reporting on Fukushima.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been leading Japan in an increasingly militaristic direction. Tensions have increased with China. Massive demonstrations have been renounced with talk of “treason.”
But it’s Fukushima that hangs most heavily over the nation and the world.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Vietnam erased online news by the British
Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) and other media about protesters toppling a
Vladimir Lenin statue in Ukraine, because it "struck a nerve" among
Vietnam's communist regime amid possible concerns about statues of Ho
Chi Minh, the BBC said.
Meanwhile, Lenin statues and busts in Seattle, Antarctica, London, Italy and elsewhere in Ukraine survive unmolested.
During Lenin's life from 1870-1924, he led the 1917 Russian Revolution and used Marxist ideology to create a Bolshevik system after ousting Russia's last emperor, Czar Nicholas II.
Lenin became the first prime minister of the Soviet Union and was revered by many communists around the world.
On Sunday (Dec. 8), protesters destroyed the Lenin statue in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, during an anti-government demonstration about a free trade deal with the European Union (EU).
"As Lenin's statue was toppled in Kiev, the authorities in Vietnam developed cold feet," the BBC's website reported on Tuesday (Dec. 10).
Meanwhile, Lenin statues and busts in Seattle, Antarctica, London, Italy and elsewhere in Ukraine survive unmolested.
During Lenin's life from 1870-1924, he led the 1917 Russian Revolution and used Marxist ideology to create a Bolshevik system after ousting Russia's last emperor, Czar Nicholas II.
Lenin became the first prime minister of the Soviet Union and was revered by many communists around the world.
On Sunday (Dec. 8), protesters destroyed the Lenin statue in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, during an anti-government demonstration about a free trade deal with the European Union (EU).
"As Lenin's statue was toppled in Kiev, the authorities in Vietnam developed cold feet," the BBC's website reported on Tuesday (Dec. 10).