RIP

Peter Gadiel, a Kent, Connecticut native, died on September 11th while working on the 103rd floor of the World Trade Center. Now his hometown wants to erect a memorial for him near the town hall. Deliberations hit a roadblock, however, with insistence by Peter’s father that any memorial to his son include the phrase “murdered by Muslim terrorists”. He wants to ensure that people remember exactly how, and by whose hands, his son died.
Is the inclusion of such material necessary to ensure the historical accuracy of the events of September 11th ? Or do such words incite further discrimination? Should the memorial include this phrase?

Farrakhan and H1N1

Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan told a group of followers on Sunday that the H1N1 virus was developed to curb the world’s growing population. “The Earth can't take 6.5 billion people. We just can't feed that many. So what are you going to do? Kill as many as you can. We have to develop a science that kills them and makes it look as though they died from some disease." He further indicated that wise people should not take the vaccine.
While one can easily dismiss his claims as sensationalistic, they do bring up an underlying concern. Recent surveys show that over 40% of the US population, and one-third of the Canadian population, will not be taking the vaccine this fall. With the threat constantly in the media of the global swine flu pandemic, have people simply become overburdened with information? Essentially, has the media made this global health concern a non-issue?

2010 Census

Senator David Vitter (R-La.) is proposing that the 2010 round of the U.S. census include an 11th question: “Are you an American citizen?”
Given that State’s apportionment to Congress is determined by population, should illegal immigrants be counted towards the overall population? In essence, should the census ask this 11th question?

Naval rewards

Michael Toussaint, a Naval commanding officer, has been forced to retire after allegations emerged linking him with hazing and abuse in his units. This comes after suspicions he contributed to the suicide of Jennifer Valdivia, as well as the abuse he perpetrated on gay officer Joseph Rocha. An internal investigation found Toussaint’s actions not in keeping with Navy ethics and principles. Navy spokesperson Elissa Smith indicated a letter of censure will be issued, which will “…become part of Toussaint’s permanent military record. Toussaint, now a senior chief petty officer, will be reassigned to Naval Special Warfare Group 2, where he will perform administrative duties until his retirement in January."

This means that after his misgivings Toussaint has received a promotion. In addition, he will be allowed to keep his pension and benefits after retirement. What are the possible ramifications of such privileges being awarded to Toussaint? Is this decision fair or in keeping with Naval standards, or should he have had some form of punishment for his actions?

The opiate of religion

A new ad campaign in New York City subways states that “A million New Yorkers are without God…are you?” The campaign, funded anonymously, is being sponsored by the Coalition of Reason, an atheist group, in an effort to get the word out to non-believers that they are not alone. Figures are based on the most recent round of the American Religious Identification Survey, where 15 per cent of respondents listed no religion. Approximately 15 per cent of the City’s population is one million.

Many are up in arms over this, going as far as to claim that the ads discredit parents who are trying to instill morality into their children’s lives. The Coalition claims that they “…want to show New Yorkers there is a community out there where you can find like-minded people.” How can we reconcile these opposing feelings with the obvious caveat of freedom of religion? Do the ads go too far, or is it time that secularism begin getting equal attention to monotheistic religion?

Making money on the dead

WNEM-TV in Saginaw, Michigan has come up with a new way to increase revenue for the station. Producers have decided to include obituary announcements during news broadcasts, in response to a decrease in announcements in local print press. Noting that some print obituary announcements can cost up to $1000, the station is offering a two-minute segment for only $100. The popularity of the service can be seen in the over 700 broadcasts since inception in August. Other affiliates are also considering rolling out the program in the coming months.
In these trying economic times, is the new obituary broadcast service simply a revenue generating machine done in poor taste? Or are the proverbial gloves off when it comes to ensuring that one’s business remains afloat?

Illegal alien celebrates Halloween?

Citizens and activist groups in Los Angeles are outraged at the sale of a Halloween costume depicting an extraterrestrial in orange jumpers holding a green card in his hand. The costume, an “illegal alien”, has been removed from Target’s website after numerous complaints about the apparent distasteful nature of the outfit.

In follow-up to Friday’s topic on sensitivity with virtual media campaigns, does the Target costume go too far, or are we being too sensitive with this? Remember that costumes of Native Americans, holy figures and the like are quite popular, but could be considered equally offensive

IPhone sensitivity training

A new IPhone application, to promote Pepsi’s Amp energy drink, gives men pick up lines for 24 stereotypical types of women. The app has women like the political girl, foreign exchange student and cougar, as well as a conquest brag list that can be uploaded to social media sites. Some women’s groups are calling it “…crass advertising…”, while others are calling it cute.


In the wake of several viral advertising campaigns gone awry, including the shaken baby IPhone app, are we becoming too sensitive as a culture? Or should the companies represented be more cognizant of the specific sticking points of societal groups?

U.S. Chamber of Commerce-asaurus?

Just a little over a year after the worst economic shock to hit the United States since the Great Depression, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is getting ready to launch its new, grassroots “free-enterprise campaign”. This campaign, the Chamber says, would encourage job growth and free market values in the “…face of growing government interference in the economy.” They cite such interference as the administration’s monitoring of home mortgages, financial products and credit cards.


Given that one of the principle factors leading to the economic collapse was the notion of free enterprise without restrictions, are the policies of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce slowly going the way of the dinosaur? Couple this policy with news last week that Apple, and 4 other major companies, left the Chamber over disagreement with its opposition to green legislation. What are the benefits of being part of an organization that continues to hold onto antiquated values?

A Separate Afrikaners State?

Apartheid mastermind Eugene Terre’Blanche has resurfaced, calling for the unification of South Africa’s Afrikaners political parties to form what he feels is a necessary Afrikaners State. Due to the perceived threat to the approximately 2 million South African’s of Dutch decent, of which 2,000 have been killed since the end of apartheid, Terre’Blanche plans to lobby the International Court of Justice for a white-only territory. This threat, in addition to land title deeds still legally held by most Afrikaners, could present quite a headache to the Court.


Two questions then pose themselves: (a) is the idea of a separate white State realistic, as the perceived threat and title deeds can legally form a basis for ICJ involvement; and (b) how does this affect the rainbow nation image of South Africa in the lead-up to next year’s World Cup?

Pink Ribbon Backlash

As breast cancer awareness campaigns go into full swing this month, and stores are awash in pink packaging, have product companies gone too far in using the cause to promote themselves? Daily Finance poses the question of figuring out which products actually benefit cancer research. I ask whether or not breast cancer research advocacy, and that of disease advocacy campaigns everywhere, is being tarnished by an overabundance of information.

UN Communications chief claims that the Organization is “…the talk of the town…”

“Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, said ‘the United Nations was the talk of the town everywhere in the world’ during the week of the high-level segment of the General Assembly’s annual debate.”


He claims that this substantiates the unrivalled nature of the United Nations to affect international diplomacy and peacekeeping. But with the week long parade of high-level world leaders coming to New York, does the UN become more of a sound-bite on news radio than a long-term interest of the general public?

Pro 2nd amendment PA woman shot dead by husband

How should this incident be taken into consideration in the shifting paradigm of gun control laws?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/09/gun.soccer.mom.dead/index.html

Obama's winning the Nobel Peace Prize

Was the President winning the Peace Prize a laudit of the things he has done/plans to do, or a rebuke of the policies of the Bush Administration?