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World News Once a Week |
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| Published Thursday, July 10, 2008 |
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| Reuters/Mihai Barbu: People watch fireworks in Bucharest, Romania. |
Issue 107
What will you be doing in 2050? While most of today's world leaders may be comfortably resting six feet under, some of us
will be struggling to make good on the promises made at this week's G8 conference. Though Bush, Brown and Merkel made the progress sound good on paper, the actual deal they cooked up shunts the heavy lifting
of climate change onto the next generation. Perhaps they were distracted by more immediate clouds brewing in places such as
Iran. On Wednesday, Tehran tested a ballistic missile in a fiery display of defensive posturing. Meanwhile, Pakistan and India squalled after fighting in Kashmir and a bombing at the Indian embassy in Kabul ratcheted up regional tensions.
Daytrippers in the blogosphere will notice that one topic always spawns a comment frenzy: sexism in politics. We dug in with
blogger Courtney E. Martin, from the smart and popular site Feministing.com, in this week's Q&A. Finally, we are proud to announce the winners of our Journalism Lives! photo contest. Our top shutterbugs come from all corners of the Earth, and they truly inspire us
to stay activated.
- Catherine New |
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 A Note on Our Sources |
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| The Activate Q&A |
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Bringing back the F word
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Hillary Clinton's recent run for the Democratic presidential nomination has awakened powerful feelings in many Americans,
not least of which is outrage at the thinly veiled sexism that permeated the coverage of her campaign. This outcry has fostered
a positive flipside — in the face of bias, a recent spate of op-eds and articles rushed to declare feminism relevant and necessary, and a renewed interest in feminist thought has emerged among the general
public.
None of this is news to the denizens of the feminist blogosphere, a booming network of websites that offers daily analysis
of news, politics, and popular culture from an avowedly and enthusiastically feminist perspective. Courtney E. Martin, author of Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters, joined the staff of the trailblazing blog Feministing.com this year as its politics editor. We spoke with her about how political blogging affects mainstream media news, feminism
in the Internet age, and life after "Hillary '08."
AT: How does feminist blogging fit into feminism at large?
CM: Feminist blogs like [Feministing.com] serve as great recruiting tools. Jessica Valenti, our founder, explains that so many
of our readers come from Google searches. A girl in Iowa types in "Jessica Simpson's dad" and ends up reading a post we've
written about his creepiness, and, all of a sudden, she's thinking, "This is feminism? This is kind of cool."
Blogs can also be a touchstone for self-identified feminists. If you work in a sexist environment, you can log on to our site
and remember who you are, gain strength from the information and the tone that we give you, and maybe change what's going
on in your life.
Keep reading the Q&A »
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| Top Stories |
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Hostages freed from fractured FARC
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After Colombian forces dramatically rescued 15 FARC hostages last week — including former presidential candidate Íngrid Betancourt — politicians and commentators questioned
the strength and stability of the long-standing rebel group. The daring operation boosted the popularity of Colombian president Álvaro Uribe and focused attention on FARC's accelerating internal disorganization. The militia's
founder and its second-in-command both died in March, and the group is reportedly rife with informants.
Betancourt, who plans to write a play about her captivity, added a conciliatory endnote to the media coverage's bravura tone.
While Uribe applauded Colombia's military, which he has strengthened through US government support, Betancourt urged Bogotá to open lines of communication with her captors. (BH)
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Riots topple Jammu and Kashmir coalition
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Deadly protests in the contentious Jammu and Kashmir border region of India have forced the collapse of the state's coalition government. The unrest stems from weeks of angry
clashes between Muslims and Hindus over an attempt to transfer public land to a Hindu religious authority. In Kashmir, thousands
of Muslims took to the streets, prompting the government to cancel the transfer — which then elicited violence from Hindus in neighboring Jammu.
Control of the northernmost Indian state has been disputed by Pakistan since India's independence in 1947. Several wars have been fought over the land, including the ongoing internal struggle between Indian nationalists and Islamic militants.
The conflict has led to accusations of human-rights abuses on both sides. (ED)
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| Newswire |
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| Politics |
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Kabul attack spotlights regional tensions
In the Afghan capital's deadliest attack since 2001, a massive suicide bombing rocked Kabul's Indian embassy, killing 41 diplomats and civilians. The Indian government
has hinted at involvement by Pakistani elements; the rivalrous neighbors have long competed for influence in Afghanistan. (BH)
| TIME | The Australian |
UAE cancels billions in Iraqi debt
The United Arab Emirates has agreed to forgive Iraq's multibillion-dollar debt, in a gesture of solidarity as Baghdad struggles with reconstruction. Analysts say the deal leads the way for further rapprochement
between the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government and its Sunni Arab neighbors. (ED)
| Los Angeles Times | Gulf News |
G8's empty climate-change accord
G8 leaders convened in Japan this week and emerged from their annual meeting pledging to halve worldwide carbon emissions by 2050. Critics trashed the vague agreement, noting that no base year, binding targets, or clear midterm benchmarks were set. (CN)
| Times, UK | Der Spiegel |
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| Science & Technology |
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Big Brother is streaming you
A judge ordered Google to relinquish 12 terabytes of YouTube user-viewing data to media behemoth Viacom, which is suing the company for copyright infringement. While user identities may be kept anonymous, the ruling sounded alarms among privacy
advocates and tech observers. (BH)
| Washington Post | CNET |
Microwave mind control?
A California company is developing a sci-fi-esque gadget that uses microwave pulses to create sounds only audible inside a target's skull. Apart
from the obvious military application for crowd control, the project's lead scientist touts other dubious uses, such as subliminal advertising. (CN)
| New Scientist | WIRED |
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| Blogosphere |
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Fighting dogs play nice
Many pit bulls recovered from disgraced NFL quarterback Michael Vick's dog-fighting kennel are being successfully rehabilitated as pets, according to a Washington Post story. Such anecdotal success contradicts the commonly held fear that some breeds cannot overcome their aggressive behavior. (CN)
| ScienceBlogs | Slog |
A candidate looks left and right
Barack Obama addressed critics that contend he has shifted rightward in advance of November's election. He claims that his support of the death penalty, government surveillance, and faith-based programs are consistent with his core beliefs — not political pandering. Many observers reacted positively to his explanation. (BH)
| Open Left | Carpetbagger Report |
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| The Week in Pictures |
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Click to see the full-size image and caption.
 Reuters/Ints Kalnins
 Reuters/Andres Forza
 Reuters/Mick Tsikas
 Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko
 Reuters/Robert Galbraith
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*Unless otherwise noted, all photos are courtesy of Reuters.
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| Local Stories |
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Dark days for mountain gorillas
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| Reuters/Altor Musema |
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Conservationists warn that Central Africa's Virunga National Park — and its resident gorillas — face an unprecedented threat of ecological decimation. The fragile ape population's habitat has suffered from a thriving
charcoal industry, and a recent wave of senseless gorilla slayings has prompted local outrage. (ED)
| National Geographic | NPR |
Church rift grows over women bishops
The Church of England, mothership for Anglicans worldwide, has voted to approve the ordination of female bishops. Already mired in controversy
over the appointment of gay clergy, the Anglican Communion is facing a growing schism between liberal and traditionalist constituencies. (CN)
| New York Times | Telegraph |
Führer furor: wax Hitler decapitated
The second-ever visitor to Madame Tussauds' new museum in Berlin shoved aside security guards and ripped the head off a wax figure of Adolf Hitler. Subsequent praise
for the vandal underscores the sensitivity among Germans to the legacy of Nazism. (BH)
| Der Spiegel | Guardian |
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| Masthead |
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Editors
Anna Balkrishna
Jennifer Chen
Eli Dvorkin
Benjamin Hart
Doug Levy
Catherine New
Contributors
Mark Mangan
Gabrielle Moss
Production
Morgan Croney
Andrew Steinmetz
Design
Nicholas Feldman
Jessica Bauer-Greene
Jonathan Rahmani
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A Note on Our Sources
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We try to provide as many varied and quality sources as we can in order to present you with the full story.
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About Us
Activate is an independent-thinking weekly news round-up produced by Flavorpill, a digital publishing company that filters cultural stimuli of all kinds.
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