Thursday, April 27, 2006

"Google This!"


In a move to counteract the continuation of apparent globalization of American products, values, and culture, French president Jacques Chirac has decided to put France back on the map of technological innovation and global influence.

Google and Yahoo! have essentially taken over the internet as the top search engines causing much ire in such foreign nationalists as Jacques Chirac. As a result, he has declared the beginning of a new Franco-German search engine called Quaero.

This new initiative could be seen as understandable through the eyes of Europeans as there is a growing consensus that the United States has assumed the role of world leader and there are currently no checks in place to counteract American power. However, it’s difficult to view the creation of a new search engine as anything more than childish nationalism at play. Whatever the motivations, though, it is clear that the growing American influence all around the world is of great concern to many nations, and as a consequence, states can be seen vying for their place in global power – much like a realist theorist would suggest.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

An Unlikely Spokesman


California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appears to be seeking reelection despite continuous sagging in approval ratings. Why is he doing it? How is he doing it? Well it appears as if he’s attempting to take on more progressive issues in an effort to re-court the Californian voters.

In recent interviews Gov. Schwarzenegger has made it quite clear that he thinks global warming is a threat and manmade. While global warming is not an issue the White House appears to pay much attention to, it’s clear that the governor views this as something that can possibly reelect him. Riding the coattails of this recent surge in global warming interest, Gov. Schwarzenegger might actually find himself in the spot light (and perhaps even a spokesperson) for this issue.

Countless amounts of advocacy groups exist that try to inform people about the dangers of global warming and get people on their side. As of now, the vast majority of supporters are liberal. But if they were able to get a Republican governor to begin preaching for their cause it is quite possible that support and interest would grow. In order issues like global warming to be addressed they can’t be viewed as partisan issues but rather general health and safety issues.

"With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility"


Who would have known that the advice Spiderman’s uncle gives him on his death would pertain to the United States Senate? For years now, the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan has escalated out of control and thousands more people are either killed or forced to leave from their homes. But somewhat surprisingly the international community has done very little to stop these atrocious acts from occurring.

There has been some debate on the issue of what should be done with the situation in Darfur, but in all honesty debate is the last thing that the people of Darfur need. Angelina Jolie has been a strong human rights advocate and has recently been calling upon the US Senate to finally do something about the purported genocide that is occurring in that region.

Many organizations and sites on the internet call for the international community to come together and prevent genocide from occurring in all regions of the world…however those with the most influence and power appear to be doing very little. In order for something to be done about this, SOMETHING MUST BE DONE! During the Rwandan genocide, the United Nations sent peacekeepers to the scene with the orders to protect foreign nationals. Obviously this did nothing to prevent the genocide which occurred. The United States must use its power and position in the world, and follow its ideals of championing human rights and actually send in forces (or at least support foreign forces) in stopping these atrocities from continuing in Darfur.

As the sole superpower and leading advocate of democracy in the world, the United States has an obligation to stop injustices around the world. At the moment the United States is accused of picking and choosing certain issues which only directly affect US interests. But in the case of Darfur, we must look past immediate self interests and towards what is right.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Humanizing the Problem – The Power of Images


The issue of global warming is one that is a highly controversial issue that some argue is not founded on any truths. However, many others loath this mentality and view it as detrimental to fighting “the greatest environmental threat this planet faces.” One such organization which has launched a campaign to raise awareness on the issue is FightGlobalWarming.com.

The area of focus I’d like to bring your attention to is the ads page. Much like An Inconvenient Truth this organization realizes the importance and potential of video and images. It’s one thing to simply discuss what is happening to the planet, but by adding images to this story impacts the audience in a much greater way. To fight global warming the first battle must we won against negligence.

What needs to be stressed (and An Inconvenient Truth and FGW understand this) is that for something to be done, the argument must be framed in a way that makes people care. Right now, people don’t see global warming as an immediate threat. As a result, the argument must be framed in a way that not only informs people of the immediacy of this problem but also makes people aware that if we don’t do anything now then future generations will have to deal with a problem far worse than what we are dealing with now - and quite possibly one that is irreversible.

A Convenient Soap Box?


Former US Vice President Al Gore has begun promoting his new documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth, about global warming. The environment has always been a key issue for Al Gore and now he is using this documentary (which received three standing ovations at the Sundance Film Festival) as a means of bringing attention to this issue and at times even attacking the current administration.

While on the surface this appears to be Al Gore using his status of power to garner attention, and perhaps possibly support, behind this cause, one cannot help but wonder about other possible motivations and goals behind this. It has been suggested that Al Gore may be seeking another run at the presidency, and if that is the case, what better way to make headlines than this?

Al Gore does deny claims that he is eyeing another run at the White House, but if he is he would be employing the use of technology in a novel way. This documentary could be used to gather vast amounts of support from around the country and put his face to an important and pressing issue. He’ll also no doubt be on countless covers of newspapers and magazines.

Ignoring all talk of whether he would do well in an election, it appears that he is learning how to connect with people nowadays. The documentary offers a more “hip” version of discussing an issue, and provides a means of reaching a greater audience. Showing images of the world’s climate taking a toll against mankind could just possibly frighten people enough into demanding for something to be done…and perhaps they’ll see Al Gore as the one who can best do it.