Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Hail Piles Up 4 Inches Deep in Denver
Upto 4 inches in of hail in Denver, Colorado. Regardless of all the 'happy-slappy' commercial television media, life ain't all that for most Americans.
May 28, 2007
Round Rock, Texas
Photographer states :: More flash flooding - The Memorial Day holiday brought sustained heavy rains to Central Texas, bringing more flooding and flash flooding to the area. At least six Texans lost their lives over this period of sustained rainfall, most if not all from attempting to cross flooded roadways. These photos show water cresting the low water bridge at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock. The Round Rock Police were notified before these photos were taken and the gates to this crossing were then locked, preventing any problems as the water continued to rise. Remember, when faced with water over the roadway, "turn around, don't drown."
DENVER -- A strong cold front nosed into northern Colorado early Tuesday, bringing with it much cooler temperatures, gusty north winds, rain, hail and tornado warnings.
Residents in Denver were startled by grape-sized hail on Tuesday.
Small, pea-sized hail fell so fast in places that storm drains became clogged, prompting minor street-flooding. The hail made it seem as if a fresh blanket of snow had fallen in the area.
Brazil Redd was outside when the rain and hail began to fall. She said, "It hurt. I probably got bruises. It was huge."
Motorists scurried under bridges or into garages and pedestrians scrambled for cover to avoid being pelted. Up to 4 inches of hail fell at an area amusement park.
Heavy rain also soaked the Plains states from Colorado up to Minnesota on Tuesday, causing minor flooding in some places.
The National Weather Service has issued tornado warnings for areas southeast of Denver and for parts of Nebraska.
Residents in Denver were startled by grape-sized hail on Tuesday.
Small, pea-sized hail fell so fast in places that storm drains became clogged, prompting minor street-flooding. The hail made it seem as if a fresh blanket of snow had fallen in the area.
Brazil Redd was outside when the rain and hail began to fall. She said, "It hurt. I probably got bruises. It was huge."
Motorists scurried under bridges or into garages and pedestrians scrambled for cover to avoid being pelted. Up to 4 inches of hail fell at an area amusement park.
Heavy rain also soaked the Plains states from Colorado up to Minnesota on Tuesday, causing minor flooding in some places.
The National Weather Service has issued tornado warnings for areas southeast of Denver and for parts of Nebraska.
They're back. Click here for 12 hour loop. The 'chronic' vortices that were noted at lower latitudes a week or so ago are back in 'maximum.'
May 30, 2007
0030z
UNISYS water vapor 'north' and 'east' hemisphere satellite
May 30, 2007
1130z
UNISYS water vapor 'north' and 'west' hemisphere satellite
The sun is traversing north and the 'air dynamics' of the troposphere is somewhat 'fixed.' The small vortices that were 'fixed' in the lower latitudes in small diameter circulation are reaching maximum with higher heat content. The 'weather' pattern is somewhat the same only worse over North America. Noted are small vortices over the Atlantic, east of the Carribean, these may manifest into hurricanes. That potential is matched with systems within the equatorial air over the Pacific. THAT combination always spelled hurricane potential in the past three years.
So much for Homeland Security ! (click here for WHO link)
The administration in DC is again scrambling to 'find a way' to handle an exposure issue with Multi-Drug Resistant TB. It's amazing.
The airlines don't have contact information on the people on the flights?
Yeah they do.
They don't have police force across the USA that can locate the folks that may have been exposed?
Yeah they do.
I suppose announcing it over the airwaves is marginally effective, but, I would think there would be a far more EFFECTIVE Homeland Security mechanism for an exposure such as this. What would prevent a jihadist from entering the USA with a highly contageous disease such as this and expose the nation to that danger?
NOTHING.
Is there? NO !
Bush wants one hundred billion dollars (US) for war but has absolutely no way of protecting the USA from a simple exposure of a seriously significant disease.
People are actually voting Republican?
WHY?
The year was 1993. I was an Registered Nurse at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. I was the 'Union Rep' to the unit I-Blue. I reported on to work and began to receive 'report' from an off going RN. We had received a female patient, age 45 years old. Nice lady. The diagnosis was new to me, but, that was never unusual at UMDNJ. We received all kinds of disease issues on this cutting edge cardiac telemetry/step-down/medical/surgical floor. We received the first two cases of that Mouse Virus in New Jersey, it was a retrovirus. The virus was so virulent it was killing people in NYC and this was a man with a high rate tachycardia due to the virus and fever. We got him through it. His daughter was on Peds and she survived it as well. He stated, there was a mouse in the apartment the day before and it must have been in the kitchen.
But, that day in 1993, the patient was a woman and the diagnosis was Multi-Drug Resistant TB. I looked at the reporting nurse and said, what? MTB he said. Multi-Drug Resistance TB. She was in a room without negative pressure and the diagnosis alone required a 'stand' by the floor's Union Rep. Evidently, the admitting physicians saw no reason to place her in an Anti-Room where there were several layers of isolation. I didn't waste time and called the Vice President of Nursing and simply stated, we had a serious TB case and there was insufficient mechanism to protect the staff. She personally got up from her desk as this was the hospital's first extremely resistant TB case, and went to Unit H-Yellow taking one of their 'micro' filtration machines. It was a large square unit that provided a filtration of viruses as well as a negative pressure. She gowned and gloved and put it in the room herself and started the filtrations. It was her responsiblity to protect the staff and it was my place to make sure it happened. That's all.
This bacteria is well known to the medical profession. It is a serious form of TB, very difficult to treat but it is somewhat treatable if the patient takes all their medications, but, in some instances the medicines are as bad as the bacteria if there are co-morbid issues. I remember assessing this woman's lungs. There were irreversible cavities in her lungs because of the bacteria. She sounded cavernous when she breathed.
Yep.
1993. This bacteria is NOT that unknown to the USA. Rare? Depends the city you live. It was not that rare in Newark after we discovered the first case. Oh, well, that is the Bush World of the Culture of Fear.
I guess Bush is trying to prove he knows more about 'health threats' to the American people than those revealed in "Sicko." Ah, but, Georgie, what do you care?
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Our Peace Rose - We look forward to her future influence...
... while healing her own wounds.
Gold Star Families for Peace lives on (click here). The speech by Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey spoke well for the peace movers and shakers. Her support is hardly a defeat to the movement.
Monday, May 28, 2007
May 29, 2007 at 0121 gmt, West Pacific Satellite. The heat intensity here is diminished from past weeks because of the sun's northern traverse. The transfer is still divided between north and south hemispheres.
May 29, 2007 at 0033 gmt, Pacific Global Satellite. Heat transfer from the Equator noted with diminished intensity.
May 29, 2007, 0109 gmt, South Pole Satellite. Heat transfer systems at 3 o'clock and 6 o'clock and 11:30 o'clock.
May 28, 2007
1800 gmt
Jet stream. Turbulence compared to last week. There is still some distribution of heat but with the shortening daylight the temperatures are still cold.
24 hour loop - the only views are 3PM on May 26 and 6AM on May 25, 2007. I'll probably revisit it tomorrow.
Casey on May 28, 2007 at 9:40 AM at -12.9 C with wind at 17 km/h
Casey on May 29,2007 at 9:40 AM with -5.7 C with wind of 56 km/h ENE. 56, that was 56 km/h. 56. At Casey today. It was 17 yesterday.
Mawson Station May 28, 2007 at 7:36 PM with -11.g C and wind 39 km/h SE
It's cold in every area of Antartica today. Not as cold as it has been, but, cold just the same. The 24 hour loop is somewhat more interesting than this view, but, it reveals a continent that is cold in all areas in at least two views.
The coldest areas:
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica
Time :: 6:00 AM NZST
Elevation :: 9285 ft / 2830 m
Temperature :: -67 °F / -55 °C
Conditions :: Snow
Wind :: 20 mph / 32 km/h / from the NNE
Wind Gust :: -
Pressure :: in / hPa (Rising)
Visibility :: 1.0 miles / 1.2 kilometers
UV :: 0 out of 16
Clouds :: Overcast 6890 ft / 2100 m
(Above Ground Level)
Flight Rule :: IFR ()
Wind Speed :: 20 mph / 32 km/h /
Wind Dir :: 20° (NNE)
Ceiling :: 6900 ft / 2100 m
Vostok, Antarctica
Time :: 12:00 AM VOST
Elevation :: 11220 ft / 3420 m
Temperature :: -66 °F / -55 °C
Conditions :: Clear
Humidity :: 43%
Dew Point :: -73 °F / -58 °C
Wind :: 12 mph / 18 km/h / from the South
Wind Gust :: -
Pressure :: in / hPa (Rising)
Visibility :: 12.0 miles / 20.0 kilometers
Flight Rule :: VFR ()
Wind Speed :: 12 mph / 18 km/h /
Wind Dir :: 170° (South)
Ceiling :: 100000 ft / 100000 m
The warmest area:
Base San Martin, Antarctica
9:00 PM GMT
Elevation :: 13 ft / 4 m
Temperature :: 32 °F / 0 °C
Conditions :: Overcast
Humidity :: 87%
Dew Point :: 30 °F / -1 °C
Wind :: Calm
Wind Gust :: -
Pressure :: 29.81 in / 1009 hPa (Falling)
Visibility :: 12.0 miles / 20.0 kilometers
UV :: 0 out of 16
Clouds :: Overcast 1969 ft / 600 m
(Above Ground Level)
The coldest areas:
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica
Time :: 6:00 AM NZST
Elevation :: 9285 ft / 2830 m
Temperature :: -67 °F / -55 °C
Conditions :: Snow
Wind :: 20 mph / 32 km/h / from the NNE
Wind Gust :: -
Pressure :: in / hPa (Rising)
Visibility :: 1.0 miles / 1.2 kilometers
UV :: 0 out of 16
Clouds :: Overcast 6890 ft / 2100 m
(Above Ground Level)
Flight Rule :: IFR ()
Wind Speed :: 20 mph / 32 km/h /
Wind Dir :: 20° (NNE)
Ceiling :: 6900 ft / 2100 m
Vostok, Antarctica
Time :: 12:00 AM VOST
Elevation :: 11220 ft / 3420 m
Temperature :: -66 °F / -55 °C
Conditions :: Clear
Humidity :: 43%
Dew Point :: -73 °F / -58 °C
Wind :: 12 mph / 18 km/h / from the South
Wind Gust :: -
Pressure :: in / hPa (Rising)
Visibility :: 12.0 miles / 20.0 kilometers
Flight Rule :: VFR ()
Wind Speed :: 12 mph / 18 km/h /
Wind Dir :: 170° (South)
Ceiling :: 100000 ft / 100000 m
The warmest area:
Base San Martin, Antarctica
9:00 PM GMT
Elevation :: 13 ft / 4 m
Temperature :: 32 °F / 0 °C
Conditions :: Overcast
Humidity :: 87%
Dew Point :: 30 °F / -1 °C
Wind :: Calm
Wind Gust :: -
Pressure :: 29.81 in / 1009 hPa (Falling)
Visibility :: 12.0 miles / 20.0 kilometers
UV :: 0 out of 16
Clouds :: Overcast 1969 ft / 600 m
(Above Ground Level)
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
Meso-tornadic clouds over what's left of Glacier Bay National Park.
The last Sea Otter Study (click on title) available on the internet was 2001. Why?
Elevation :: 33 ft / 10 m
Temperature :: 52 °F / 11 °C
Conditions :: Mostly Cloudy
Humidity :: 54%
Dew Point :: 36 °F / 2 °C
Wind :: 6 mph / 9 km/h / 2.6 m/s from the ESE
Pressure :: 30.20 in / 1023 hPa (Steady)
Visibility :: 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
UV :: 4 out of 16
Clouds:
Mostly Cloudy 3800 ft / 1158 m
Mostly Cloudy 4700 ft / 1432 m
(Above Ground Level)
Americus, Georgia suffered a tornado three months ago.
Eye Clinic across the street from Sumter Regional Hospital after three months
May 27, 2007
Americus, Georgia
Photographer states :: Closed Emergency Room on NorthEastern corner of Sumter Regional Hospital shows damage that occurred nearly three months ago
"AMERICUS, Ga., March 2 — The tornado that ripped through this southwest Georgia town Thursday not only left a trail of death and devastation, it also stripped bare the only major medical facilities for thousands of people in a sprawling rural community.
The storm, which killed two people here, tore apart buildings and unearthed 100-year-old oak trees, left this town of nearly 17,000 and the outlying area without a hospital or clinic that could handle emergencies...."
TORNADO 5...UPDATED (click here)
TRACKED ACROSS WEBSTER...SUMTER...AND MACON COUNTIES...FROMCHAMBLISS TO ABOUT 17 MILES NORTHEAST OF AMERICUS. RATED EF3. PATHLENGTH APPROXIMATELY 38 MILES AND MAXIMUM WIDTH OF ONE MILE INAMERICUS. HEAVIEST DAMAGE WAS IN THE CITY OF AMERICUS AROUND THESUMTER REGIONAL HOSPITAL. THE HOSPITAL WAS EVACUATED AND IS NOTBEING USED. HUNDREDS OF HOMES...BUSINESSES AND VEHICLES WEREAFFECTED WITH SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OR TOTALLY DESTROYED. TWO CONFIRMEDDEATHS AND NUMEROUS INJURIES WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STORM INAMERICUS. THREE INJURIES ALSO OCCURRED NORTHEAST OF CHAMBLISS ONEAST CENTERPOINT ROAD WHEN A CONCRETE BLOCK HOUSE AND TWO MACHINESHOPS WERE TOTALLY DESTROYED. THE ROAD IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE HAD 25FEET OF ASPHALT RIPPED OUT. FIVE COWS WERE KILLED IN THE SAME AREA.A TRACTOR TRAILER WAS OVERTURNED AND BURNED AT THE INTERSECTION OFHIGHWAY 520 AND TV TOWER ROAD IN SOUTH WEBSTER COUNTY. ONE PERSONWAS INJURED. THE 1096 FOOT GEORGIA PUBLIC TELEVISION TOWER IN THESAME AREA WAS SNAPPED OFF WITH ONLY 150 FEET STILL STANDING.
I am not impressed. Bush is demented. Has to be or he is playing politics with lives. Seriously. Playing politics with lives.
This is today in Iraq. The president of the USA needs to see a doctor. No doubt. His statements about Americans agreeing with him is dangerously demented. He is currently Commander and Chief, putting troops in harm ways, causing escalations in the conflict without end and he states he is 'actually' supported in his focus of Iraq by the American people. Not from what I can note.
Above
Iraqis inspect the area surrounding Abdul-Qadir al-Gailani mosque, the biggest Sunni mosque in Iraq, after a suicide car bomber blew himself up in the busy commercial district in central Baghdad on Monday, May 28, 2007, killing at least 21 people and wounding 66, police and hospital officials said.
I wanted to read the account of this rescue mission from "The Army Times." I simply cannot believe how ludicrous the military describes the 'loyalty' of the civilians within this incident.
42 captives freed from al-Qaida hide-out (click here)
By Ravi Nessman - The Associated PressPosted : Monday May 28, 2007 13:56:26 EDT
BAGHDAD — American forces freed 42 kidnapped Iraqis — some of whom had been hung from ceilings and tortured for months — in a raid Sunday on an al-Qaida hideout north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
Military officials said the operation, launched on tips from residents, showed that Iraqis in the turbulent Diyala province were turning against Sunni insurgents and beginning to trust U.S. troops.
“The people in Diyala are speaking up against al-Qaida,” said Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq.
That is a lie. The general, as Bush, is playing politics with lives. The USA is reporting this 'camp' was there for months. You mean to tell me that the USA gets a phone call AFTER THE FACT. After the people have been tortured by some 'entity' the USA is calling al Qaeda. After this 'group' extracted their information from this hostages. And I am to believe this was a 'good thing?' All of a sudden "The people of Diyala are speaking up against al-Qaida,"
The general must believe the American people are brainless idiots without the ability to discern 'nonsense' over fact. The people of that village didn't dare speak up against the hostage takers. They called the USA military because they knew they would come to free the hostages whom might even be sabotaged with trip wires and bombs ready to explode when attempts were made to free them. The people of the neighborhood wanted the hostages saved but were unable to carry out their rescue for of untold dangers.
That is NOT '...speaking up against al Qaeda...." That is simply survival and knowing whom would carry out the rescue. That is all that is. This is NOT a trend. This is just another day in Iraq. That's all it is. The rescue of 42 captives is not PROOF of a change in the direction of the war.
This incident proves the USA is completely outside 'the loop.' I suppose this is another learning experience, huh? I found it completely horrifying to hear a retired general state we have to 'keep at it in Iraq' because we learn more and more everyday about the fighting tactics we use against this enemy. THIS IS NOT A TRAINING GROUND !!!!! Bush invaded that country illegally. GET OUT OF IRAQ ! Now ! The reality of this 'dicotomy regarding the difference in views by the gross majority of the people of the USA and the USA military institution is scary. Completely. There is no 'reality' in the belief system of the USA military leadership. Amazing.
If the citizens called the USA military while the hostage takers were still at the camp those citizens and the hostages would have been killed. Either due to the fight between the soldiers and hostage takers or out of revenge for calling the USA military in the first place. There is 'no confidence' in the USA military in Iraq. Everyone takes their chances with the militias. At least with the militias, if people behave they are still alive. A better chance that they will be alive when the militias are around rather than the USA miltiary.
Elsewhere in Diyala, a U.S. soldier was killed when an explosion hit his vehicle and a second soldier was killed in an explosion in Baghdad, the military said. The deaths brought the number of troops killed this month to at least 102, putting May on pace to become the deadliest month for Americans here in more than 2½ years.
In other violence, a barrage of mortar rounds struck houses in a Shiite village just northeast of Baghdad, killing three women and a child and wounding seven other children, Baghdad police said.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
I'll end it here for tonight.
Journalology, the New Science
Charles D. Johnson
Social Forces, Vol. 6, No. 3 (Mar., 1928), pp. 382-385
In my opinion, the profession needs to clearly define it's history that is recorded from about the 1920s-30s, it's mission and it's purpose. It needs clear parameters in promoting journalistic expertise in other nations allowing it's practice without providing for impetus to revolution. The profession needs to be seen by international agencies such as the United Nations and Amnesty International as an enhancement to their missions. Through advocacy and not insistance there can be a better and safer practice that promotes knowledge of a populous. One of the best success stories of a country that moved toward democratic reform is Brazil. It didnt' happen overnight but it did happen. Progressive education of qualified journalism schools in countries that long for higher practice of expertise working in conjuction with State Departments and Foreign ministries will prevent tragic loss of life and keep promising journalists at their typewriters rather than behind bars.
Journalism can 'enhance' the movement of a society toward better quality of life, but, it can't create a government by insistance. The knowledge people have to move a society forward will bring about change, not the inspiration of violence. In my opinion, profits as a support to the profession has caused a bit of crisis. It needs to be addressed. The USA does not need it's own 'media outlets,' it needs to support those in private 'status' insuring they continue to do it autonomously and well.
From here an exploration of journalism's history and how it can better define itself in autonomy of a profession rather than a popularity contest for profits.
Good night.
Charles D. Johnson
Social Forces, Vol. 6, No. 3 (Mar., 1928), pp. 382-385
In my opinion, the profession needs to clearly define it's history that is recorded from about the 1920s-30s, it's mission and it's purpose. It needs clear parameters in promoting journalistic expertise in other nations allowing it's practice without providing for impetus to revolution. The profession needs to be seen by international agencies such as the United Nations and Amnesty International as an enhancement to their missions. Through advocacy and not insistance there can be a better and safer practice that promotes knowledge of a populous. One of the best success stories of a country that moved toward democratic reform is Brazil. It didnt' happen overnight but it did happen. Progressive education of qualified journalism schools in countries that long for higher practice of expertise working in conjuction with State Departments and Foreign ministries will prevent tragic loss of life and keep promising journalists at their typewriters rather than behind bars.
Journalism can 'enhance' the movement of a society toward better quality of life, but, it can't create a government by insistance. The knowledge people have to move a society forward will bring about change, not the inspiration of violence. In my opinion, profits as a support to the profession has caused a bit of crisis. It needs to be addressed. The USA does not need it's own 'media outlets,' it needs to support those in private 'status' insuring they continue to do it autonomously and well.
From here an exploration of journalism's history and how it can better define itself in autonomy of a profession rather than a popularity contest for profits.
Good night.
Ever hear of Farmland Preservation - New Jersey has it. Very successful program.
Statistics compiled by the American Farmland Trust, which seeks to protect farmland from non-farm development, show this about New Jersey:
While it is the fourth smallest state in area, it has spent more money than any other to buy development rights from farmers and permanently deed-restrict farm property against development. Since 1985, the state has spent $465 million in public funds and another $237 million from non-public funding sources on purchase of development rights (PDRs). It has another $137 million in the bank earmarked for spending. That is more than a quarter of all PDR spending nationally.
I propose this. A similar program to preserve 'the power of the ? hm ?' and insure our heritage is untouched except for those private 'insitutions' that have proven to be superior in it's patriotism and loyalty to the country. I like The New York Times. So, let's put it this way. What if the stockholders of The New York Times were treated as a preservation policy no different than precious New Jersey Farmland and the owners could literally sell the 'corporate' rights, as if airspace over a New York Property for 99 years. How does that sound. A profession so important to the USA that is needs preservation efforts while allowing complete freedom of the profession to thrive and do it's work as it has all these years. I think it's great idea. It can be a state program, but, I would like to see a federal program that maintains the private operations of these institutions. At the same time, journalism offices should have tax reductions no different than the fertile soils of the USA. Intellectual property rights that require tax cuts to preserves and guarantees the smooth operations of our newspapers. This could be extrapolated to media services as well should there be the desire of the profession to take it in that direction.
While it is the fourth smallest state in area, it has spent more money than any other to buy development rights from farmers and permanently deed-restrict farm property against development. Since 1985, the state has spent $465 million in public funds and another $237 million from non-public funding sources on purchase of development rights (PDRs). It has another $137 million in the bank earmarked for spending. That is more than a quarter of all PDR spending nationally.
I propose this. A similar program to preserve 'the power of the ? hm ?' and insure our heritage is untouched except for those private 'insitutions' that have proven to be superior in it's patriotism and loyalty to the country. I like The New York Times. So, let's put it this way. What if the stockholders of The New York Times were treated as a preservation policy no different than precious New Jersey Farmland and the owners could literally sell the 'corporate' rights, as if airspace over a New York Property for 99 years. How does that sound. A profession so important to the USA that is needs preservation efforts while allowing complete freedom of the profession to thrive and do it's work as it has all these years. I think it's great idea. It can be a state program, but, I would like to see a federal program that maintains the private operations of these institutions. At the same time, journalism offices should have tax reductions no different than the fertile soils of the USA. Intellectual property rights that require tax cuts to preserves and guarantees the smooth operations of our newspapers. This could be extrapolated to media services as well should there be the desire of the profession to take it in that direction.
Journalists are very powerful people. They 'handle' a process of thought that 'creates' change.
The power of the "hm?"
Model for Reflective Thinking
The foundation of higher order thinking should not be limited in focus to one's task-based performance, just as it should not be limited to a post-task activity. The foundation should have a broader range that is concerned with one's ability to rely on the operations of the mind in all circumstances to create an understanding through one's experience and knowledge when one cannot access some absolute meaning. Focus on a specific task may be the best way to learn the thinking process, and reflection on a task after it is complete is an important facet of reflective thinking practices. However, good reflective thinking, is a more encompassing process whereby an individual--aware of her own knowledge and the gaps in her knowledge, assumptions, and past experiences
-determines what information is needed for understanding the issue at hand
-accesses and gathers the available information
-gathers the opinions of reliable sources in related fields
-synthesizes the information and opinions
-considers the synthesis from all perspectives and frames of reference
-finally, creates some plausible temporary meaning that may be reconsidered and modified as she/he learns more relevant information and opinions
Model for Reflective Thinking
The foundation of higher order thinking should not be limited in focus to one's task-based performance, just as it should not be limited to a post-task activity. The foundation should have a broader range that is concerned with one's ability to rely on the operations of the mind in all circumstances to create an understanding through one's experience and knowledge when one cannot access some absolute meaning. Focus on a specific task may be the best way to learn the thinking process, and reflection on a task after it is complete is an important facet of reflective thinking practices. However, good reflective thinking, is a more encompassing process whereby an individual--aware of her own knowledge and the gaps in her knowledge, assumptions, and past experiences
-determines what information is needed for understanding the issue at hand
-accesses and gathers the available information
-gathers the opinions of reliable sources in related fields
-synthesizes the information and opinions
-considers the synthesis from all perspectives and frames of reference
-finally, creates some plausible temporary meaning that may be reconsidered and modified as she/he learns more relevant information and opinions
Journalism has to 'get past' the idea of 'Breaking News' to enhance the profession.
"We have learned that, in order to participate fully in democratic civil life, individuals must be culturally grounded, confident of their own voices, and certain of the value of their contributions. Art and culture give us this grounding.”
— Graciela Sanchez, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center
Selling newspapers should be guaranteed to any long standing publication with a reputation of providing good service to the people of this country. At every turn there are mergers, sales and chronic change within the profession. I believe the 'honest' news media is under seige. What is being done? Is the profession being wittled away by corporate takeover with faux fronts to political priorities that will come to endanger the democracy of The West? I think so.
There has to be an appreciation of the profession of journalism by the government with guarantees that some aspects of the profession will never change. It is generational reassurance that transends this country when one can point to the archives of companies like The New York Times to provide continuity of whom we are as people.
When Hurricane Katrina struck, The Times Picayune was in danger of losing it's archives. What would we do if those archives were in danger of slipping away from public assess through the sale of that paper? Where would our generational 'truths' come from? There is a part of the profession of journalism that is more than a corporate 'dream' of value. There is the value of patriotism, history and a social record that is never recorded in government. A private institution that makes government accountable to it's people. An INSTITUTION, a private institution with legislative permanence realizing the applications of law translates sometimes in embarrassing ways and needs fine tuning or elimination depending on how it affects the populous of the USA.
Reading the newspaper is reassuring to many people in the USA and I imagine the EU as well. It is reassuring to know the world is 'with us' and 'we are with them.' That cannot be truncated. If 'the truth' demanded by a professional journalistic corp were ever to end, the people that would 'control' social content reading could literally change the course of history by rewriting it. We as a country cannot allow that to happen. Journalism is the 'fourth estate' of the USA Constitution. Quite frankly, I see the 'corporate' treatment of journalism ruining the profession. I don't believe 'the truth' can be a marketable commodity so much as an awakening. Journalism is as much a part of the social structure of a populous in similar content of 'a job.' It's necessary and the life blood of an lifestyle, but, it's can't be a corporate authority that 'dictates' it's outcome.
Fears of Corporate Colonization in Journalism (click here)
This article examines almost a decade of reporting on public journalism published in the two largest and most widely read US journalism reviews: Columbia Journalism Review and American Journalism Review . It argues that instead of examining its historical underpinnings, theoretical claims, and practical manifestations, these two publications treated public journalism at best as just another manifestation of the increasing profit orientation of news media. At worst, it was scapegoated for the failings of all news organizations, including pandering to local communities and other practices that put immediate market interests ahead of democratic processes. While this description finds little support in the empirical research literature on public journalism, it may reflect mainstream journalists' increasing fears of a corporate colonization of journalism. Critics used the introduction of public journalism into newsrooms as an opportunity to express anxiety about how extra-journalistic (primarily economic) forces are encroaching upon journalists' professional autonomy and undermining the quality of news coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
— Graciela Sanchez, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center
Selling newspapers should be guaranteed to any long standing publication with a reputation of providing good service to the people of this country. At every turn there are mergers, sales and chronic change within the profession. I believe the 'honest' news media is under seige. What is being done? Is the profession being wittled away by corporate takeover with faux fronts to political priorities that will come to endanger the democracy of The West? I think so.
There has to be an appreciation of the profession of journalism by the government with guarantees that some aspects of the profession will never change. It is generational reassurance that transends this country when one can point to the archives of companies like The New York Times to provide continuity of whom we are as people.
When Hurricane Katrina struck, The Times Picayune was in danger of losing it's archives. What would we do if those archives were in danger of slipping away from public assess through the sale of that paper? Where would our generational 'truths' come from? There is a part of the profession of journalism that is more than a corporate 'dream' of value. There is the value of patriotism, history and a social record that is never recorded in government. A private institution that makes government accountable to it's people. An INSTITUTION, a private institution with legislative permanence realizing the applications of law translates sometimes in embarrassing ways and needs fine tuning or elimination depending on how it affects the populous of the USA.
Reading the newspaper is reassuring to many people in the USA and I imagine the EU as well. It is reassuring to know the world is 'with us' and 'we are with them.' That cannot be truncated. If 'the truth' demanded by a professional journalistic corp were ever to end, the people that would 'control' social content reading could literally change the course of history by rewriting it. We as a country cannot allow that to happen. Journalism is the 'fourth estate' of the USA Constitution. Quite frankly, I see the 'corporate' treatment of journalism ruining the profession. I don't believe 'the truth' can be a marketable commodity so much as an awakening. Journalism is as much a part of the social structure of a populous in similar content of 'a job.' It's necessary and the life blood of an lifestyle, but, it's can't be a corporate authority that 'dictates' it's outcome.
Fears of Corporate Colonization in Journalism (click here)
This article examines almost a decade of reporting on public journalism published in the two largest and most widely read US journalism reviews: Columbia Journalism Review and American Journalism Review . It argues that instead of examining its historical underpinnings, theoretical claims, and practical manifestations, these two publications treated public journalism at best as just another manifestation of the increasing profit orientation of news media. At worst, it was scapegoated for the failings of all news organizations, including pandering to local communities and other practices that put immediate market interests ahead of democratic processes. While this description finds little support in the empirical research literature on public journalism, it may reflect mainstream journalists' increasing fears of a corporate colonization of journalism. Critics used the introduction of public journalism into newsrooms as an opportunity to express anxiety about how extra-journalistic (primarily economic) forces are encroaching upon journalists' professional autonomy and undermining the quality of news coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
The NO spin zone. Permanently a no spin zone. No endangering people or their journalists.
China is a country of a billion people. So is India. It is skeptical as to whether those populous will ever achieve the quality of life of the USA. I find this demonstration which took on a violent 'tone' leading to endangering the participants unfortunate. The journalists that are part of China's 'news corp' can add to the quality of life by working within political directives. It is upto the profession in other nations that enjoy a somewhat 'higer standard/rating' to seek legislation that 'brings on' the issue of journalism internationally for a professional result that adds incentive for change in any country as it can be accommodated by the authorities there.
The State Departments, Ministeries of nations able to facilitate a 'FREER press' in countries capable of providing it have to provide guidelines for the practice. The Safe Practice. Promoting unrest recklessly without good alternatives in government can lead to anarchy and with a population of one billion people that is a lot hardship. Responsible journalism that brings the issues of the populous to the attention of authority without risk of disrupting the society so much that it can't care of it's people is the only way a professional standard can be developed. This isn't pity. It is knowing the power of knowledge, the power of information, the power of motivation and applying it responsibly.
Countries with different structure than the USA, the EU, Australia and the like need to ALLOW a transcendence of the 'authority' of journalism that provides quality of life. In the USA the politics are the 'release' for the change people seek. In countries like China, respect of authority while bring people closer to that authority and will move mountains without victimizing the professionals that seek a better life for the towns, city, hamlets and villages. Countries like China and Russia get such a bad rap from the press in countries they trade with that it causes a deterioration of the quality of life within it's borders. These countries don't need diminishment of their poeple, they need a higher dignity placed on them.
Bridging the professional gap between journalism and government while promoting positive experiences of press corps internationally will make the journalistic experience more fulfilling for all people. I have yet to see 'on the ground' promotion of the 2008 Olympics from Chinese journalists that can provide insight and interviews from the 'workers' in China that took pride in their efforts to make it all possible. Why?
During riots
Tiananmen incident ... workers clean the picture of Chairman Mao at the entrance to the Forbidden City in Beijing.
On Saturday, May 12, an unemployed Xinjiang man lobbed an incendiary device at the iconic portrait of Mao Zedong that hangs over the entrance to the Forbidden City (or the Palace Museum as the Chinese call it). Here's a photograph, taken on a mobile phone camera, of Mao's portrait burning. The witness who took the photograph was driving by moments after the painting caught alight and said he saw flames coming from the bottom of the portrait, then some sort of foam shooting upwards, presumably from the fire brigade, to extinguish the fire, then just the smoke.
In the south-west, villagers have been rioting over oppressive enforcement of China's one-child policy. Coverage of both events was censored within China, but footage of the rioting in Guangxi has been widely posted on blogs accessible in Hong Kong, which although returned to Chinese rule in 1997, under the one country, two systems deal worked out with the British, enjoys a greater deal of press and other freedoms for the first 50 years of its post-colonial life.
International media such as CNN have also broadcast footage of the aftermath of the rioting, but predictably whenever the story was promoted as ''coming up next'', or the footage shown, the television screen went blank, although technical glitches meant mainland viewers still got the announced headline of the story. Such clumsy censorship is common on any stories considered sensitive by the Government, despite satellite or cable stations such as CNN and BBC (the BBC website is banned in China, although the broadcast station is not) being ostensibly only permitted in diplomatic compounds, residential areas where foreigners live, big hotels etc, far away from the eyes of most ordinary Chinese. But of course this is China, and anyone who wants satellite television can simply pay for a dish ... hence the need to censor sensitive topics in case such events - as rioting villagers fed up with corrupt or overzealous bureaucrats - gets too widely disseminated and creates flow-on social unrest, ie. gives people ideas.
The Government's justification for censorship is that its overriding interest is to maintain social order. In the case of the attack on Mao's portrait, many Chinese, who still respect and even revere the late paramount leader who, for all his subsequent mistakes, restored China's pride after a century of humiliation at the hands of Western powers, would be outraged. And many people understand and accept, even if they don't like, the Government's one-child policy because as people are wont to say ''it is for the good of the nation''. The issue in Guangxi appears to be not so much the policy as such but the corrupt and brutal way the authorities chose to enforce and collect fines. So why can't the Chinese public be allowed to know of and debate such issues?
The State Departments, Ministeries of nations able to facilitate a 'FREER press' in countries capable of providing it have to provide guidelines for the practice. The Safe Practice. Promoting unrest recklessly without good alternatives in government can lead to anarchy and with a population of one billion people that is a lot hardship. Responsible journalism that brings the issues of the populous to the attention of authority without risk of disrupting the society so much that it can't care of it's people is the only way a professional standard can be developed. This isn't pity. It is knowing the power of knowledge, the power of information, the power of motivation and applying it responsibly.
Countries with different structure than the USA, the EU, Australia and the like need to ALLOW a transcendence of the 'authority' of journalism that provides quality of life. In the USA the politics are the 'release' for the change people seek. In countries like China, respect of authority while bring people closer to that authority and will move mountains without victimizing the professionals that seek a better life for the towns, city, hamlets and villages. Countries like China and Russia get such a bad rap from the press in countries they trade with that it causes a deterioration of the quality of life within it's borders. These countries don't need diminishment of their poeple, they need a higher dignity placed on them.
Bridging the professional gap between journalism and government while promoting positive experiences of press corps internationally will make the journalistic experience more fulfilling for all people. I have yet to see 'on the ground' promotion of the 2008 Olympics from Chinese journalists that can provide insight and interviews from the 'workers' in China that took pride in their efforts to make it all possible. Why?
During riots
Tiananmen incident ... workers clean the picture of Chairman Mao at the entrance to the Forbidden City in Beijing.
On Saturday, May 12, an unemployed Xinjiang man lobbed an incendiary device at the iconic portrait of Mao Zedong that hangs over the entrance to the Forbidden City (or the Palace Museum as the Chinese call it). Here's a photograph, taken on a mobile phone camera, of Mao's portrait burning. The witness who took the photograph was driving by moments after the painting caught alight and said he saw flames coming from the bottom of the portrait, then some sort of foam shooting upwards, presumably from the fire brigade, to extinguish the fire, then just the smoke.
In the south-west, villagers have been rioting over oppressive enforcement of China's one-child policy. Coverage of both events was censored within China, but footage of the rioting in Guangxi has been widely posted on blogs accessible in Hong Kong, which although returned to Chinese rule in 1997, under the one country, two systems deal worked out with the British, enjoys a greater deal of press and other freedoms for the first 50 years of its post-colonial life.
International media such as CNN have also broadcast footage of the aftermath of the rioting, but predictably whenever the story was promoted as ''coming up next'', or the footage shown, the television screen went blank, although technical glitches meant mainland viewers still got the announced headline of the story. Such clumsy censorship is common on any stories considered sensitive by the Government, despite satellite or cable stations such as CNN and BBC (the BBC website is banned in China, although the broadcast station is not) being ostensibly only permitted in diplomatic compounds, residential areas where foreigners live, big hotels etc, far away from the eyes of most ordinary Chinese. But of course this is China, and anyone who wants satellite television can simply pay for a dish ... hence the need to censor sensitive topics in case such events - as rioting villagers fed up with corrupt or overzealous bureaucrats - gets too widely disseminated and creates flow-on social unrest, ie. gives people ideas.
The Government's justification for censorship is that its overriding interest is to maintain social order. In the case of the attack on Mao's portrait, many Chinese, who still respect and even revere the late paramount leader who, for all his subsequent mistakes, restored China's pride after a century of humiliation at the hands of Western powers, would be outraged. And many people understand and accept, even if they don't like, the Government's one-child policy because as people are wont to say ''it is for the good of the nation''. The issue in Guangxi appears to be not so much the policy as such but the corrupt and brutal way the authorities chose to enforce and collect fines. So why can't the Chinese public be allowed to know of and debate such issues?
Title: INTERNAL FRAGMENTATION OF THE NEWS.
Any profession has to have control over their standards and expertise in order to maintain them. How can the profession of journalism 'pass on' the necessary requirements in other venues of other countries if it hasn't maintained a standard 'thread' throughout the profession. There is a huge difference between daily news and tabloids, yet they are all lumped together under one umbrella of journalism. I don't consider "Lad Mags" a professional journal, BUT, there is nothing saying they cannot have profound articles and well paid professionals writing investigative journalism to 'bring up' the profession across the board. "Specializing" in entertainment has it's benefit, but, there has to be a way of translating that enjoyment into a serious tone that connects to a profession of excellance within the content of such publications and broadcasts. Professionalism has to be a part of Playgirl and a lead to an enthusiam that brings the readership to the front pages of The New York Times other than once a month. It's a form of outreach to benefit the profession as well as the circulation of magazines. Respect the reader and they will thrive under the professional standards that are enforced through ethics. Quality newsprint in every venue, audio rendition and visual media. A QUALITY that international authorities can recognize and strive to meet.
Ben-Porath, Eran N.
Source:
Journalism Studies; Aug2007, Vol. 8 Issue 3, p414-431, 18p
Unlike the edited news package, which dominates network and local news in America, the cable news channels recount the day's news predominantly through conversation, a format dubbed here dialogical news. At the center of this article is the concept of internal fragmentation, a consequence of the turn to conversation-based reporting, and its central implications: (1) the authority of the news reporter diminishes; (2) question-asking replaces fact-checking; (3) news organizations relinquish their accountability for news content; and (4) the news audience assumes the role of witness or participant rather than receiver. As dialogical news becomes prominent in the repertoire of viewers, short- and long-term prospects are suggested here. In the short-run, journalists are losing their battle to control their sources and maintain their gatekeeping function. In the long run, journalism might lose its significance as society's reflexive storyteller, reverting instead to its former role as a partisan instrument, a source of entertainment or a bit of both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Ben-Porath, Eran N.
Source:
Journalism Studies; Aug2007, Vol. 8 Issue 3, p414-431, 18p
Unlike the edited news package, which dominates network and local news in America, the cable news channels recount the day's news predominantly through conversation, a format dubbed here dialogical news. At the center of this article is the concept of internal fragmentation, a consequence of the turn to conversation-based reporting, and its central implications: (1) the authority of the news reporter diminishes; (2) question-asking replaces fact-checking; (3) news organizations relinquish their accountability for news content; and (4) the news audience assumes the role of witness or participant rather than receiver. As dialogical news becomes prominent in the repertoire of viewers, short- and long-term prospects are suggested here. In the short-run, journalists are losing their battle to control their sources and maintain their gatekeeping function. In the long run, journalism might lose its significance as society's reflexive storyteller, reverting instead to its former role as a partisan instrument, a source of entertainment or a bit of both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
EMERGING MODELS OF JOURNALISTIC AUTHORITY IN MTV'S COVERAGE OF THE 2004 US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
Somehow the Founding Father's of Journalism didn't imagine MTV as an authority. I realize in order to 'stimulate' voters to go to the polls it can be a 'trendy' issue. Rock the vote and all that, but, in all honesty whom is going to host this 'walk on the wild side' for journalism. It is a concern that 'trends' can 'take authority' in a profession so vital to connecting people to their own authority in expressing their vote. There needs to be a moderator capacity of the profession for new venues to maintain a 'standard.'
During the 2004 US presidential campaign, MTV produced an intriguing series of news reports, documentaries, and other programming designed to educate its youthful audience about the presidential election and democratic politics. The Choose or Lose series was an unlikely discursive blend, mixing MTV's usual fare of music, celebrity, and style, with serious information, issue coverage, and social advocacy. It also experimented with the parameters of journalistic authority, combining elements drawn from a traditional paradigm of professional journalism with a variety of alternative, emergent claims to credibility, in the hope of reaching a demographic that largely has "tuned out" from news and politics. To explore the changing nature of journalistic authority as articulated on MTV News, this study first develops a theory of discursive integration - the blending of once-distinct discursive domains, standards, and styles. It then identifies five potential models of journalistic authority constructed in the Choose or Lose series. It concludes by considering the implications of discursive integration and the ongoing re-conceptualization of journalistic authority for young people's engagement with broadcast journalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
I looked through some professional journals to define the profession
It was diffuse. The profession has been very fluid and I am not sure it for the better or it's survival.
I believe practicing in multi-media is fine, it reaches readership. But, the fluidity of the profession in the year 2007 has brought a casualness to it that I believe falls outside the practice. Accepted. Sure, but, is it really journalism or the dumming down of the profession.
Are there ethical reviews of journalists as in the practice of law? There probably should be with an increase and not decrease in the specialty of 'investigative' journalism. It's disturbing to find the profession is moving away from the venue.
Journalism requires honesty and good faith (click on title)
By ROSEMARY MCLEODIt's no surprise that Kevin McNeil, son of murdered Tokoroa teacher Lois Dear, would get death threats. We like to crush people who speak out.
McNeil has had malicious calls since his mother's death, he revealed last week. Such bullying would have silenced many people, but he refused to tone down his victim impact statement at the killer's sentencing in spite of them.
Admittedly his initial outbursts were a bit rugged. He said he wanted the killer to "swing off the nearest tree". But by the time he made the statement that really mattered, time had passed, and he'd become more reasonable.
Who are the people who make furtive calls like this? I suspect they come from the same pool as people who write mean-spirited letters to newspapers, and to journalists. The late great Frank Haden used to insist that they all live in boarding houses, taking pen (red biro) to paper on wet Sundays when they have nothing to do but brood. The most virulent usually don't sign their offerings, and write in capital letters. Now that they have the internet to rant on, you rather miss that red ink. It gave fair warning.
The casual malice of such mail still gets to me sometimes; it can overpower kind and reasonable correspondence on a bad day. I always imagine its authors' families, postmen, neighbours, and the local body politicians they surely harass over easement disputes and stray cats. Why don't they take up something useful, like canasta, and give us all a break?
Last week I confessed in this column that I'd wept over an unpleasant magazine article targeting people I knew.
I believe practicing in multi-media is fine, it reaches readership. But, the fluidity of the profession in the year 2007 has brought a casualness to it that I believe falls outside the practice. Accepted. Sure, but, is it really journalism or the dumming down of the profession.
Are there ethical reviews of journalists as in the practice of law? There probably should be with an increase and not decrease in the specialty of 'investigative' journalism. It's disturbing to find the profession is moving away from the venue.
Journalism requires honesty and good faith (click on title)
By ROSEMARY MCLEODIt's no surprise that Kevin McNeil, son of murdered Tokoroa teacher Lois Dear, would get death threats. We like to crush people who speak out.
McNeil has had malicious calls since his mother's death, he revealed last week. Such bullying would have silenced many people, but he refused to tone down his victim impact statement at the killer's sentencing in spite of them.
Admittedly his initial outbursts were a bit rugged. He said he wanted the killer to "swing off the nearest tree". But by the time he made the statement that really mattered, time had passed, and he'd become more reasonable.
Who are the people who make furtive calls like this? I suspect they come from the same pool as people who write mean-spirited letters to newspapers, and to journalists. The late great Frank Haden used to insist that they all live in boarding houses, taking pen (red biro) to paper on wet Sundays when they have nothing to do but brood. The most virulent usually don't sign their offerings, and write in capital letters. Now that they have the internet to rant on, you rather miss that red ink. It gave fair warning.
The casual malice of such mail still gets to me sometimes; it can overpower kind and reasonable correspondence on a bad day. I always imagine its authors' families, postmen, neighbours, and the local body politicians they surely harass over easement disputes and stray cats. Why don't they take up something useful, like canasta, and give us all a break?
Last week I confessed in this column that I'd wept over an unpleasant magazine article targeting people I knew.
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