Julian Assange and WikiLeaks Essay -- Politics Current Events

WikiLeaks is more than just a website. It is one of the fastest growing, nonprofit news organizations in the twenty first century. With millions of documents posted, WikiLeaks has recently released over 250,000 documents related to US Embassy message traffic; a majority of which are either Secret NOFORN (No Foreign Nationals) or Classified. The disclosure of these documents has seriously impeded diplomatic relations between various countries, with the US being the primary target. In these various â€Å"cables†, as they’re commonly referred to, the internal thoughts and opinions of several high ranking United States officials is laid bare for anyone with internet access to observe. Many would claim that this is an extreme exercise in Freedom of Speech; simply keeping open the lines of communication between our government and its people. This is a righteous faà §ade of the truth. The reality is this: WikiLeaks is damaging. It is damaging to our country’s ability to present a coherent and clear diplomatic embrace to our friends and allies alike. The people releasing the material don’t seem to share the same assertion of the consequences of their actions. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claims: â€Å"Since 2006, we have been working along this philosophy that organizations which are abusive and need to be [in] the public eye. If their behavior is revealed to the public, they have one of two choices: one is to reform in such a way that they can be proud of their endeavors, and proud to display them to the public. Or the other is to lock down internally and to balkanize, and as a result, of course, cease to be as efficient as they were.† (TIME) In theory this sounds fine, but the context has to be set properly for this argument to ... ...for it. Works Cited Stengel, Richard. "Transcript: TIME Interview with WikiLeaks' Julian Assange - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews. 30 Nov. 2010. Web. 01 Dec. 2010. . "A Breakdown of the 251,287 Diplomatic Cables and Their Potential Fallout." Washington Post – Politics, National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines WASHINGTON POST, 30 Nov. 2010. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. . Condon, Stephanie. "Poll: Americans Concerned WikiLeaks Dump Will Hurt the U.S. - Political Hotsheet - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News. 03 Dec. 2010. Web. 03 Dec. 2010. .

Poverty Porn Essay

Fundraising is a noble and selfless deed. However, an ethical issue has risen concerning the process of raising funds for poverty-stricken communities. Often, visuals of the harsh lives people in poverty face are portrayed when raising funds. The exploitation of such visuals to increase donations or support a cause is known as poverty pornography (Collin, 2009). Poverty pornography is effective in raising funds but it is incorrect due to the unethical way it is carried out that degrades the poverty-stricken communities. Poverty pornography is widely used by charitable organisations because it is an effective method of collecting donations. Research has shown that negative stimuli which evoke emotion can easily capture an individual’s attention (Murphy, Hill, Ramponi, Calder & Barnard, 2010). Images of children as well as those which bring about negative emotions also tend to generate more donations (Burt & Strongman, 2005). Thus, the disturbing visuals of dying children and women as well as their harsh living conditions portrayed in poverty pornography is effective in grabbing attention and generating feelings of sympathy. These feelings are then converted into actions whereby donations are increased. Therefore, poverty pornography plays a role in helping poverty-stricken communities as it easily grabs people’s attention and encourages them to increase their donations. However, its method of exploiting visuals that degrade the poverty-stricken communities makes poverty pornography unethical. The exploitation of biased visuals depicts poverty-stricken communities in a negative manner. Common examples are severely malnourished African children staring at the camera, waiting to be â€Å"saved† (Osa, 2010). While it is true that there are malnourished children, there are healthier children too. However, poverty pornography is biased as it does not represent this side of poverty-stricken communities. Although taken for a good cause, a distorted image of them is painted (Opoku-Owusu, 2003). This is unethical as the partial representation degrades them, leaving the impression that they are helpless individuals, waiting for their lives to be taken away and unable to do anything. On the other hand, some charitable organisations try to incorporate positive images into their advertisements by showing the after-effects of our donations. For example, they may show visuals of happy, smiling children as a result of our aid. However, such images indirectly degrade the communities as it gives us the impression that without our assistance, they are unable to survive. In 2001, a poll conducted in United Kingdom discovered that 74% thought that â€Å"Developing countries depend on the money and knowledge of the West to progress† (Voluntary Service Overseas, 2002). From this, we can deduce that many have the perception that poverty-stricken communities are weak and vulnerable as they are highly dependent on our help. However, this may not be true because in reality, they are the most â€Å"strongest willed, most tenacious people one could hope to meet† (Cowdroy & Evans, 2010). Thus, the misrepresentation creates a false impression that poverty-stricken communities are weak and cannot survive without our aid. This false impression may also create an environment of self-pity which may lead to self-fulfilling prophecies. The self-fulfilling prophecy, introduced by Merton (1948), refers to circumstances whereby an initial false claim later turns into reality. The exploitation of negative visuals pertaining to the lives of poverty-stricken communities has led to a stereotype that they are â€Å"uneducated, incapable of freeing themselves from poverty, lacking in competence, and miserable† (Clark, 2004). This stereotype may cause people to hold negative expectations on the poverty-stricken communities (Madon, Jussim, Eccles, 1997). Although these negative expectations may not be true initially, the poverty-stricken communities might adhere to them thus leading to a self-fulfilled prophecy. Therefore, the use of poverty pornography to assist them may backfire as incorrect claims can become true. Nevertheless, many organizations unremittingly use poverty pornography. Does this make poverty pornography a necessary evil? Poverty pornography is definitely not a necessary evil. It is unethical to degrade or stereotype the poverty-stricken communities, even if it is for a noble cause. Moreover, poverty pornography can instead contribute to the  poverty cycle as the negative assumptions about the poverty-stricken communities may become self-fulfilling prophecies. Thus, instead of eradicating poverty, it may worsen the conditions of poverty-stricken communities. However what other methods can we adopt to increase awareness on the needs of the poverty-stricken communities without degrading them? Instead of exploiting biased images that generate feelings of sympathy, programmes that create feelings of empathy and responsibility can be created. One such event is the inaugural 30 Hour Famine Camp in Singapore held by World Vision. In this camp, youths are given a feel of life in poverty by taking part in activities that simulates lives of children in poverty. The youths also make a stand to end global poverty by fasting for thirty hours. This camp generates empathy which encourages youths to not only donate but also to think of more ways to assist by allowing them to realise that they have the ability and responsibility to help end poverty. To portray full representation of their lives, some have embarked on projects like ‘Perspectives of Poverty’ which â€Å"expose[s] this bias [poverty pornography] and present people in a light of dignity† (McNiholl, n.d). Even though it may not help in raising funds, by presenting poverty-stricken in a better light, it balances off how degrading poverty pornography has been and slowly alters people’s perception on poverty-stricken communities. This can help remove stereotypes on them thus avoid self-fulfilling prophecies. Poverty pornography has proven to be effective. However, its unethical methods have undermined the usefulness of helping poverty-stricken communities. Instead of assisting, it strips them of their dignity, their ability to help themselves and contribute to the poverty cycle. Even though poverty pornography cannot be eradicated in the near future as it is widely used, the two methods presented above are examples of how we can slowly break away from poverty pornography. People in poverty are human beings too. Thus, in the process of assisting them, we must create a full representation of them and treat them as dignified human beings. To achieve this, poverty pornography must be eradicated. REFERENCES Burt, CDB. & Strongman, K. Use Of Images In Charity Advertising: Improving Donations and Compliance Rates. International Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 8(8) 1, Retrieved from http://www.usq.edu.au/extrafiles/business/journals/HRMJournal/InternationalArticles/Volume%208/Burt%20Vol%208%20no%208.pdf Clark, D. J. (2004). The production of a contemporary famine image: The image economy, indigenous photographers and the case of Mekanic Philipos. Journal of International Development, 16, 693–704. DOI: 10.1002/jid.112 Collin, M. (2009). What is ‘poverty porn’ and why does it matter for development? Retrieved 16 July 2011 from Aid Thoughts website: http://aidthoughts.org/?p=69 Cowdroy, J. & Evans, H. (2005), Poverty Pornography. Retrieved 16 July, 2011 from The Global Poverty Project website: http://www.globalpovertyproject.com/blog/view/238 Madon, S., Jussim, L., Eccles, J. (1997). In search of the powerful self-fulfilling prophecy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(4), 791-809. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.72.4.791 Merton, R.K. (1948). The self-fulfilling prophecy. The Antioch Review, 8(2), 193-210. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Murphy, F. C., Hill, E. L., Ramponi, C. C., Calder, A. J., & Barnard, P. J. (2010). Paying attention to emotional images with impact. Emotion, 10(5), 605-614. DOI: 10.1037/a0019681 Opoku-Owusu, S. A. S. (2003). What can the African diaspora do to challenge distorted media perceptions about Africa? London: AFFORD. Osa, E. (2010). The starving baby syndrome is hurting Africa’s image. New African, (501), 72-73. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Scale E. (2010), WaterAid UK And Poverty Porn. Retrieved 16 July, 2011 from The Global Poverty Project website http://www.globalpovertyproject.com/blogs/view/262 Voluntary Service Overseas, (2002). The Live Aid legacy: The developing world through British eyes – A research report. London, UK: Voluntary Service Overseas.

A Critique of Tess Onwuemes Tell It to Women - 1023 Words

In Tess Onwueme’s play Tell It To Women, we travel back to a Nigerian village in postcolonial Africa. The story enlightens the audience about the dichotomy of traditionalism versus modernism and the ways in which different cultures interact. It ends by revealing the true meaning of culture; the real quality in a society that arises from a passion for what is excellent in arts, manners, and customs. Overall, the play discusses the role of women within this Nigerian village and largely examines the conflict of whether it is better to advance with the rest of the world, or to hold on to the traditions that truly make a society independent and beautiful. The play begins with Yemoja, the most important woman in the village, in a house with†¦show more content†¦It becomes clear to Yemoja at that point that western culture is not for them. Daisy and Ruth’s superior arrives to enlighten the women about her ideas of feminism. She is the one that will decide whether or n ot the movement has succeeded or not. When it is time for Yemoja to perform the dance, however, she and Sherifat perform one of the Idu rituals instead. Bose even joins in the dancing. Ruth falls and becomes extremely injured while Daisy is thrust into the middle of the action. The play ends here in a beautifully tragic scene as Ruth chokes to death while the rest of the villagers celebrate having revitalized their culture. Tess Onwueme’s play was delightfully written and captivating to any audience. The story was intriguing and definitely matched it’s title. Now I see that, Tell It To Women, is a statement on how the women of the village are always being told to do or be something. Whether it is by Daisy and Ruth or by their husbands, the women never really find their own voice until the very end. We see in the first movement, Sherifat telling the chorus of women that being a wife is â€Å"meaning that a wife deserves to be treated like a daughter and not something that you possess.† Yet, throughout much of the story, we see the women being treated like servants and as subhuman to Daisy and Ruth, the village men, and western civilization as a whole. However, I believe that even as a woman, the author was at times, very