The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available here. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.
Iraq: Protest Organizers Beaten, Detained
Human Rights Watch, 6/2
Sri Lanka’s army: In bigger barracks
The Economist, 6/2
Charge Against Professor Raises Questions About Academic Freedom in Thailand
Newley Purnell, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 6/1
Bahrain’s ‘progressive’ influence
Ali M. Latifi, Al Jazeera, 6/1
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Author Archives: Michael Anthony
Hooked, but It's OK! Andy Grammer's "Keep Your Head Up"
This is an interactive video for “Keep Your Head Up” by singer-songwriter and fellow Binghamton University alumn Andy Grammer. (I’m not sure what Grammer studied and SUNY Binghamton, but according to this bio he was there two years active in the theater program. I did my PhD there.) At various points in the video you will have an opportunity to change the scenario by selecting options. And if you do the whole thing again, you’ll get different choices.
This guy knows how to load a song with melodic hooks and they do their job. The song snagged in the netting of my muddled brain the first time I heard it and it’s been stuck there since. Usually at least one or two songs from the beginning of summer crop has such a hook, but usually it drives me crazy. That’s because I usually don’t even like the song, but the hook is effective, so it snags and won’t pull lose. And because the artists is often backed by the full marketing budget of a giant record label, the single is ubiquitous. You hear it on the radio, in the mall, in your favorite tv shows and movies, over television commercials, as a Starbucks Download of the Week, etc. The artists appears on daytime and late night talk shows, as a guest performer or mentor on reality competition shows, in cameos on episodic television, on radio talk shows, in public service announcements… So every time the song fades from memory, its planted again. I’ll find myself singing it in the car, the shower, on the street, deliberately preventing myself from learning the whole thing, annoyed at the banality of the lyrics, the derivative nature of the music, or some other aspect of the song.
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SAR Academic Freedom Media Review, May 21-27
The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available here/a>. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.
New bill will protect academic freedom
Dan Harrison, The Sydney Morning Herald, 5/27
Slår et flerkulturelt slag for akademisk frihet (in Norwegian)
Claudio Castello, Utrop, 5/27
Automatic translation via Google Translator
AAUP Report Denounces Suspension of Idaho State U. Faculty Senate
Peter Schmidt, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 5/26
Intervention From On High
Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, 5/26
Do it! Court greenlights academic freedom 100 days event in Zomba
Raphael Tenthani, The Maravi Post, 5/26
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Headlines from the President's Middle East Policy Speech
President Barack Obama meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Friday, May 20, 2011.
I always find it interesting to scan headlines after a major policy speech. The startlingly reveal the biases of the sources, or at least the audiences they seek to attract. Particularly interesting today are those concerning the meeting between President Obama met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. I haven’t read all these articles, but here are the headlines with the sources and the links to the articles. What might you speculate about the articles, the papers or their target audiences?
Netanyahu Tells Obama Israel Can’t Return to ‘Indefensible’ 1967 Borders
Bloomberg – Jonathan Ferziger
Netanyahu and Obama long way apart over Middle East peace plans
The Guardian
President Obama supports a two-state solution based on Israel’s 1967 borders …
Wall Street Journal
Bibi and Barack Meet: So Much for the Fireworks
TIME (blog) – Massimo Calabresi
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The Banker and the Maid
There is much debate over the benefits of IMF policies in Africa. For both sides see http://tinyurl.com/IMFhardship and http://tinyurl.com/IMFbenefits
With the availability of social media customers have found an easy way to voice their opinions powerfully. sildenafil canada pharmacy The action of Peripheral neuropathy involves the nerves that control erection, which is commonly seen in men with purchase female viagra diabetes. Most importantly, this condition in man is an embarrassing condition hence, many people that are suffering from ED is to consult a health care professional as soon as possible: * allergic reactions such as rashes, itching, viagra ordering on line dizziness, and difficulty in breathing * *For Urethral Injection: – Burning sensation in the urethra Standard drugs used as injected medications for erectile Dysfunction. How to overcome this condition? Men are quite in stress and so they have to make an order for it via website. cheapest viagra generic http://amerikabulteni.com/2011/11/30/video-iste-bugunlerde-her-yerde-en-cok-duyulan-10-christmas-sarkisi/
International Monetary Fund Managing Director and, before he was charged, likely candidate for the French Presidency, Dominique Strauss-Kahn now sits in a cell on Rikers Island charged with assaulting the maid in his $3,000 a night hotel suite. How long do you think the maid has to work to earn that? One BBC report I heard last night said he likely would have been charged a discounted rate of $800/night. Still, I pose the same question.
I checked out hotel maid’s salaries in New York City on PayScale.com. I ran reports with a few different sets of variable. don’t know how long she has worked at that hotel, whether she has a supervisory role or how that hotel’s pay scale compares with others. It seems like she might have made something in the neighborhood of $20/hour. That’s $800 per week, i.e. the reduced rate Strauss-Kahn would have paid for one night! The per capita Gross Domestic Product of Guinea, the woman’s home country, is $1,000 annually! Mull that over in your brain for a minute. If I heard those figures correctly, the room that the Managing Director of the IMF occupies in NYC costs 3 times the Gross Domestic Product of Guinea at full rate. Fortunately the IMF is fiscally responsible and they insist on a discount rate. They pay only 80% of Guinea’s GDP for EACH and EVERY night!
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SAR Academic Freedom Media Review, May 7-13
The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available here. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.
Yemen: 20 teachers killed since protests began
Education International, 5/12
Uzbek Students From Kyrgyzstan Having Problems In Russia
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 5/12
Fundamental Disagreements
Kevin Kiley, Inside Higher Ed, 5/12
After the Review
Dan Berrett, Inside Higher Ed, 5/11
Chaos at Home Stalls Tuition Aid for Libyan Students in U.S.
Dan Frosch, New York Times, 5/10
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Is it Safe to Drive a Bus?
Bus Drivers sustain more on the job injuries than any other workers. They sustain 735 injuries per 10,000 workers according to Bureau of Labor Statistics as reported by Seth Fiegerman. Not surprisingly, the Police are on the list, as are EMTs and Paramedics, but the police sustain only 603 injuries and EMTs/Paramedics 510 on the job injuries per 10,000 workers. Surprisingly, it is more dangerous to be a Nurses Aide (4th most dangerous) than it is Corrections Officer (5th), or a Fire Fighter (6th). And Garbage Collectors (7th) are more at risk than Truck Drivers (8th) , Laborers and Movers(9th) and Construction Workers (10th).
I was curious how this correlated with salaries, so I did a bit of research on SimplyHired.com. This is by no means scientific, and I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the statistics on that site, but it’s interesting. The average salary for most of the jobs I searched ranged from $38,000 to 45,000, hardly rolling in money, especially for the most dangerous professions. The average salary for the police and fire fighters also varies a great deal according to rank. The cop walking the beat is keeping that figure low. He’s by no means rolling in money.
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Academic Freedom Media Review – April 16-22, 2011
The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available here. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.
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Malawi: Political Science Professor Talks About Blogging Academic Freedom
Victor Kaonga, Global Voices Online, 4/22
DUBAI: Scholar’s detention threatens UAE’s reputation
Brendan O’Malley, University World News, 4/21
New crackdown on Iraqi academic elite
NEAR, 4/21
Bahrain’s Crackdown on Protest Extends to Academe, With Interrogations, Firings and Expulsions
David L. Wheeler, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 4/21
Anti-Israel, Anti-Semitic or Both?
Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, 4/21
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By the Numbers
This is just some food for thought, numbers that that I find it difficult to get my head around, particularly how they relate to one another. How do you make sense of them? Especially in light of the debate over current budget priorities?
Value of a Life:
- The EPA estimates the value of life at $9.1 million.
- The FDA estimates the value of life at $7.9 million.
- For the Transportation Department the cost is only $6 million
- Homeland Security say the cost of preventing death by terrorism may be 100 times higher than death by other means.
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(source: “As U.S. Agencies Put More Value on a Life, Businesses Fret,” by Binyamin Appelbaum. The New York Times, February, 16,2011.)
Profits, Taxes, Bailouts and Layoffs at one company:
- Last week there were protests over the $885 million tax refund received by a Boston based company, State Street Corp.
- The company reported $1.56 billion in profits last year.
- It received a bailout of $2 billion in October 2008, though it repaid in in June 2009.
- On Nov. 30 State Street announced that it is cutting 1,400 jobs, or 5 percent of its workforce.
- In 2010 Chief Executive Officer Joseph “Jay” Hooley received compensation valued at $12.9 million.
(source: “State Street’s $885 Million Tax Refund Sparks Boston Protest,” Christopher Condon. Bloomberg, April 15, 2011)
State budget deficits:
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SAR Academic Freedom Media Review, April 9-15
The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available here. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.
Scholars at Risk calls for letters on behalf of Professor Nasser bin Ghaith of the UAE
Scholars at Risk, 4/15
12 Organizations Ask U. of Virginia to Safeguard Climate Researcher’s Academic Freedom
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 4/14
Hastings’ board pulls UC brand from rights meeting
Bob Egelko, The San Francisco Chronicle, 4/13
Top PEN Prize to Honor Nasrin Sotoudeh, Jailed Iranian Lawyer, Writer, Activist
PEN, 4/13
Iran: independent civil society organisations ignored over draft law on associations
Education International, 4/12
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