Similterra

A wall on America’s southwest border would without a doubt reduce illegal immigration. And until we build this wall, or otherwise take control of the border, we are wasting our time and our money trying to solve the problems that are created by the approximately ten million illegal immigrants that are already in the United States. The problem is a moving target. We have to fix the break in the dike before we can start pumping out the water and repairing the damage done by the flood.

Apathy and ignorance play an important role in stopping a border project. Ask the next person you pass on the street (if they speak English) how many illegal immigrants cross our border every day. Two hundred? Five hundred? A THOUSAND! Actually the number is closer to ten thousand. Roughly one third of those are caught, so just to be conservative I’ll use 5000 per day. Think about that number for a minute. In ten days that’s more than enough people to fill the average college football stadium. In one year, that’s 36 full stadiums. Of course we would make sure that they all had a free ticket, two hotdogs and a coke. I’ll be upper deck, last row, eating burritos. Might as well. I can’t see the game from up here.

The US Government tells us that we cannot afford a border fortification. I do not know which government official was assigned the task of announcing that to an interviewer’s camera, but I’ll bet he had to practice saying it all night to keep a straight face. No matter what the wall would cost to construct, we can afford it. And if you want to pick a rough number and say that it’s going to cost one billion dollars per year to maintain this operation with dogs, razor wire, and ten thousand soldiers (that’s one every thousand feet), we can afford it.

But believe me, just because we can, I’m under no illusion that we will. There are too many frightened politicians, too many “Save The World” Liberals, and too many people that just don’t care.

The Russian public are taking part in a national exercise campaign – a pointless exercise where the only person expected to remain fighting fit at the end is Vlad Putin.

Yes, it’s the Russian elections, and millions have voted in a poll expected to confirm President Putin’s popularity, but blighted by claims of fraud.

In one of the biggest shocks of the year, independent monitors say their attempts to observe the poll have been hampered.

Casting his vote at a polling station in Moscow, Mr Putin said that people should “vote for those people that you can trust”.

In other words, “you shouldn’t vote for me, but if you don’t, then you’ll go the same way as Litvinenko”.

Moving off the pointless exercise now, and onto the campaign trail. It would seem the Democrat party have been failed to be convinced by Hilary, and don’t want to be “barracked” by Obama.

Forget New Hampshire and Iowa, the first presidential primary, for Democrats anyway, is being waged among hundreds of party insiders – superdelegates who could play a big part in selecting the nominee at next summer’s national convention.

The AP apparently contacted around 90% of the 765 superdelegates, mostly elected officials and other party officers, who are free to support anyone they choose at the convention, and whilst Hilary leads Obama by 2-1, 365 superdelegates said they haven’t settled on a choice.

Superdelegates tend to support the front-runner, according to David Rohde, a political scientist at Duke University. “They want to be on the winning side”, he said.

So it’s a shoe-in for Clinton, then. We can all pack up and go home.

“They are still concerned about her ability to win the general election”, Rohde added.

Or perhaps the thought of Bill being the “first man” is beyond the Democrats.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, there’s trouble for a Republican candidate – when isn’t that the case – as Mike Huckabee, who threatens to overtake Mitt Romney in Iowa’s Republican presidential caucuses, defended his record as Arkansas governor.

Romney, reflecting Huckabee’s rise in Iowa polls, is citing his background as a business leader and has begun to portray Huckabee, who also is a Southern Baptist minister, as a lifelong politician.

In a swipe at Romney’s career as a business executive for all but the four years he was governor of Massachusetts, Huckabee said his experiences were “pretty good preparation to lead a country where people ought to come first before the paperwork”.

Unconfirmed reports suggest Huckabee hasn’t seen the in-tray of his old pal Mr. Bush because he is a lifelong minister.

To end today’s news, writers are trying to find out why today in particular has been a painfully slow news day. Sunday was initially blamed for this state of affairs, however, as far as Midwest America was concerned, news would be occurring slower than normal, with snowstorms over the region.

A few light flurries lingered over Nebraska, Iowa and south-eastern Minnesota on Sunday as the core of the storm was sliding through the Northeast.

After the New Jersey Turnpike Authority salted its roads on Sunday, a spokesman for the authority, Joe Orlando, said rather ominously: “It’s not a bad way to start the season”.

Newspapers, magazines, and news organizations alike all have one think in common. They are all great at disguising brilliantly devised advertisements as “news”. If you research into some of these news organizations you would probably not be so shocked to see that no negative article or segment could be found about these organization’s sponsors. Think about it. Cigarette companies, years ago, paid millions and millions of dollars to weasel their products into the movies as means of subliminal promotion. The FCC controls what we are watching on the television. This means that the government is telling us what we are allowed to watch on T.V. They are saying that we can see this, but it would be in our “best interest” if we were denied access to that. The news medias are the biggest front for what I see as the government blatantly and flagrantly denying us of our freedom of information. They are also silencing those who speak against what they consider the nation’s “best interest”. Did you know that the government can come into your house and incarcerate you for no reason at all!? Did you know that they can hold you for an unlimited amount of time, with no charges at all! They can also seize all of your property. For no reason at all! Imagine if you happened to hold an opinion which opposed this mighty power. If this opposing opinion happened to make it to the airwaves, thousands, if not millions of people may just share this same opinion and decide to act upon it. The government knows that it can’t allow something like this to happen. As a matter of fact, the government is merely a puppet on strings being pulled by banks and large publicly traded businesses. Now why would a news organization, who’s sponsors are these large publicly traded businesses, want to bad mouth the hand that feeds them virtually millions if not billions of dollars. Bottom line is that the newspaper, magazine, and news organizations are in operation for one thing. To give us the partial bit of news we are allowed to receive entwined with brilliantly disguised product promotions so that the we, as a whole, are ignorant to the important facts that hide the corruption and fraud engulfing large publicly traded businesses these days.

For years now mass media producers have been fatten their bank accounts off the fears of this great countries people. You cannot come home at dinner without hearing about the horrors that are going on across the country, unless you don’t turn the TV, radio on, or pick up the daily mass media paper. I have not watched the nightly news for years now, for just that reason. You work all day to come home and relax, not get hit with all the doom and gloom this money maker mass media has for you and your family.

You see the more grand the horror the more people are attracted to it and the media knows this all to well. Lets look at it on a small scale, a road side car accident with what looks like two cars parked with people talking will slow people down to take a look. A two car pile up with emergency personnel will slow traffic on both sides of the highway. We all know this and the big money media companies know this all to well. The local girl scout troop that raised $1,500 for their troop to go on trips and outings should be in your local community news but its not. Girl Scouts don’t sell papers, they sell cookies. The days of good news in the newspapers is just as much a fairytale as little red riding hood.

This is the problem, the scare tactics sell, people stay glued to their TV when areas are being shown from media helicopters. These helicopters show people being trapped on top of houses in massive floods. Large fires with people stuck on roof tops. Why, scare tactics sell papers and TV ads. We allow the media to use it against us. We need to shut off the TV and put down the big media papers and walk away. Thats right walk away. Now, since I made this statement there will be some big media writer who will down grade my article because of this, but I am will to take that chance. We need to find our own good news, we know the bad news will be forced upon every direction of conventional media.

We all need to go for that walk and see the signs in our areas that show a public pool that was closed down due to budget cuts was reopened for a pool party free to the community, thanks to the kind people who donated and business in the area that donated monies to make it possible. The scare tactic media have said, all summer that all the pools were going to be closed early because of a lack of funding due to budget cuts. Now, if you had not went for a walk or just slowed down to read that sign, that said, free pool party you never would have heard about it. You would have heard about how many pools never opened at all. We need to find our own good news and share it with others.

Good news is slowly being spread through the use of the Internet and blogs. I know again here the media has said, how bad and unregulated the bad Internet is. Its true just like anything else, you have to safe guard yourself and your family. Would you take your family into a burning building to play, no, you would keep your family safe and away from the fire. The same is true for the Internet. You need to monitor where your family goes. There are so many good sites for people to explore and learn from. More writers need to join together and find all the good things to write about. There are alot of good people who write for big media and they are told what they will right about and if they don’t, well you can figure that out. Remember for them scare tactics sells and selling means big money.

I have waited for years just to be able to write a article such as this one. Just for the hope that one person would get to read it. Would go for that walk and find the good news that is all around us each and everyday.

If anybody believes that their personal information is safe with the government or private businesses they are naive. Both government and business has consistently compromised our personal information.

One only need to look at the headlines in newspapers and watch the evening news. Every month you will here of hackers stealing information from private business and government computers. You will also hear of computers with Social Security numbers disappearing. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes.

Even more disturbing is the lack of security that government and private organizations place on your personal data. Paperwork is often just thrown out as opposed to shredded. It is simply a matter of a thief going through the trash and recovering Social Security numbers. Once they have your Social Security number the rest is easy.

Employees who have access to your data are not properly screened and investigated before being hired. Security policies are not existent or not properly enforced. It is still common for Social Security numbers to be printed on check stubs. Have you ever thrown out a check stub?

Any one with a credit card and an Internet connection can buy your personal information.

What is scary is the fact that most of this crime does not make the headlines or news. For every news story about identity theft there is hundreds if not thousands of victims. It is not profitable for organizations to publicize this information. So is is often covered up and not reported.

It is the individual person who is victimized by this crime. Government and business are rarely held responsible. How many settlements have you heard where individuals get settlements in courts for government or business being careless with personal information?

Because of all these things it is in the best interest of people to assume that government and business are not protecting our information. So we need to understand the risks and monitor our credit.

News of the Day

(Or how I see it…)

1. Ingrid Marie Rivera won the Puerto Rico’s 2008 Miss Universe contest,

despite applying makeup and wearing evening gowns that had been coated

with pepper spray. Would you say that she had a case of assault with pepper?

2. Trent Lott planned on stepping down from office before the end of the year.

This will make him eligible for one of the plethora of pardons GW Bush will sign

before he leaves office.

3. GW Bush’s list of friends who need who will need pardons when he leaves

office only rivals that of Santa’s list. But instead of coal, those on GW’s

naughty list will be released from prison or their liabilities. They can keep

all the money they have stole from their companies, constituents, share holders

or employees. And they are free from any culpability of ratting out a political

opponent or business partner for their own financial or political gain. ‘Tis

the season!

4. There is a bald, un-telegenic man, sweaty fat man who has some great ideas for

this country and how to direct America into the future. He has plans to create

world peace through communications and understanding. He will also describe the

steps to fiscal responsibility. And next election… he will not be elected.

5. Keeping the number one or two ranking in college football this year has been

like Britney Spears trying to keep her children. Both sound pretty good in theory.

6. Hulk Hogan’s wife filed for divorce. She definitely wanted out of the “ring”

with him.

While professional print and broadcast news media journalist still exist, technology enables the average person to gather news on a camera and video equipped cell phone to submit to television news media programs like CNN’s, News To Me and be aired internationally. Combine everyday people gathering news with our thirst to receive news as close to real time as possible and now it becomes understandable how different types of news media have been successful at keeping us coming back for more and more often.

Traditionally, newspapers delivered the news in print format to read all about it with text and photographs to home delivery subscribers or sold from machines, corner stores, or newsstands. Radio reporters read the news and listeners can call in with their eyewitness accounts of local news so we can hear the story for free in our car, at home, or anywhere else we can receive the radio signal. Television added a video image to the news, first in black and white and then in color. While television may be free with an antenna and rabbit ears, cable and dish network companies are turning a profit from our desire to pay for more than our local channels. In 2009, all television signals will go digital and the old fashioned rabbit ears will be obsolete and replaced with digital converter boxes. You can get more information on this news at the following site: https://www.dtv2009.gov/

The Internet brought more types of (digital) media to distribute news quickly to many people at a time, such as:

– Email

– Social Networking Sites (MySpace, Facebook, etc.)

– Video Sharing Sites (YouTube)

– Blog Sites (Blogger)

– Entertainment News Sites (TMZ)

– Search Engines to Search for News (Google, Yahoo, MSN, and more)

And of course, the traditional news media: newspapers, radio, and television all have Internet sites too. Many of them even offer to send you an email alert when news happens.

Add all of the above to the high use and accessibility of the Internet through wireless technology and now not only can you get news faster than waiting for the delivery of your morning paper, but you can also enjoy your coffee at Starbucks or while eating a cheeseburger meal at McDonalds. More and more public places make Internet access a benefit to you as an added value for your business. Even though some news may be easier to digest on an empty stomach.

Nunatsiaq News is a small territorial newspaper. It is one of the few newspapers in the world where a reader can read the Inuktitut syllabics. Inuktitut is the language of the Eskimo or Inuit. This language though to close to the Algonquian family of languages is written in a system called syllabics.

Nunatsiaq news has a website called nunatsiaqnew.com. Nunatsiaq published once a week in English and Inuktitut. Nunatsiaq is the main newspaper of Nunavut, the relatively new territory of northern Canada. Nunavut is one of the homeland of the Inuit. Inuit or Eskimos inhabit the circumpolar regions of Russia, Alaska, Canada, and Greenland.

Nunatsiaq News is one of the websites I wait for every week. The news are published on the net on Fridays. It is one of the things I look forward to, sometimes with trepidation. Not all news is good news as we all know. Nunatsiaq news is a no nonsense kind of paper. It can include swear words, in quotations of course. It can also give gorge, graphic descriptions. Nunatsiaq News gives court and criminal coverage. It also deals with environmental and climate change issues.

In addition, being a responsible citizen and a media outlet it has the political mainstay. That includes international, national (Canada), territorial, or local politics. Nunatsiaq News has been around since 1973 and has been for political information. Nunatsiaq News is older than the Nunavut territory which was created in April 1999. Nunatsiaq News head-quarters is in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

Before the creation of Nunavut (“our land” in Inuktitut), the regional was known as Nunatsiaq for many decades. Nunatsiaq means the beautiful land.

Nunatsiaq News does not disclose it’s circulation but it is available in all the communities or Nunavut and Nunavik, Quebec. One of the features of Nunatsiaq News, I appreciate is the historical column by Ken Harper called Taissumani. Ken Harper is a business man, amateur historian, and columnist who lives in Iqaluit. Iqaluit is the smallest capital in Canada, but it is a booming government town. Taissumani means “back then (when).” The Taissumani column is one of the few places where you can find fresh historical information about Inuit from the contact with Europeans period. Written material about Inuit before then is nil.

You can lean a lot about the Canadian arctic from Nunatsiaq News. There are the classifieds that you would find in regular newspaper and some of the greatest letters to the editors. The north is a large territory with a small population, so many letters tend to be anonymous. All published letters have to be signed by the author, but the paper can publish them as name withheld by request.

The Nunatsiaq News also features irregular columnists and editorials in addition to the readers letters.

In addition, readers can write the website and newspaper on the discussion board forum. This has had limited success due to the rant nature of web surfers and the relative anonymous protection the www gives.

Nonsense News as some sarcastic readers like to call it is one of the last pioneer newspapers. Nunatasiaq News is available on-line anywhere close to earth and is published by Nortext Publishing Corporation. You can check out the archives and read some of the more in-depth features at www.nunatsiaqnews.com

Reading the newspaper, reading news magazines and watching news broadcasts are some of the only ways that the common person can know what is going on in the world around them. Journalists are the keys to current events, without them no one would have any idea of what is going on around the world, or even in their city. This domination of the news leads to many moral issues including honesty, fairness and meticulous research.

Journalists should report on issues without bias and without stretching the truth, unfortunately many do just that, they twist the truth to make the event or person seem more appealing and therefore they get better ratings. Reporters should cover the facts of a story without embellishing. They should be practicing truth and honesty.

According to Marianne Jennings, The American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Society of Professional Journalists have both created professional codes of ethics. Jennings has read these and feels that these conducts focus more on the right to report, rather than the responsibility of the media. This is not too surprising considering the current unethical actions of the press. Integrity really needs to be brought to the journalism profession, which is lost in the pool of ratings and sales.

Fairness to all people, organizations and events is also important. Many journalists choose events or people they value, and therefore cannot show both sides of the issue. This also needs to be changed, because the common person will side with the reporter because he or she does not know the opposing sides of the issue. All sides of a story should be carefully researched and included.

Slander and libel are two words important to journalists; these describe what they have done when they misrepresent a person, organization or event. Producing the wrong facts is a pretty big mistake in the business, which has caused many reporters to lose their jobs. Journalists should do their own investigations of leads and information; they should not always believe what someone else says. Some of the best reporters get their stories by painstakingly checking, and often rechecking the facts to make sure the story is correct.

Dan Rather’s remark on CBS News about President Bush not meeting military standards when he served in the Air Force in the 1970’s is a good example of slander. The documents that showed the alleged procedures were forged, according to CNN. If Dan Rather had done a little more research he would have found the documents to be fake because they didn’t resemble any of the other Air Force documents created during that time. Rather almost lost his job and journalism as a whole lost some of its credibility. Reporters in the future need to step up and make sure their information is correct before it is presented.

Journalism is a very necessary profession, without someone reporting the news our society wouldn’t be able to function. Journalists need to have some discretion in what they report and also the ability to see, and report, all sides of an issue. Reporters need to be honest and seek out the truth, because this is one career field that needs to get back its dignity.

I’ve stopped watching the news.

That’s right, I haven’t watched the news for at least a week. At first it was hard – especially at breakfast, when the staple television program was the Today Show’, Good Morning America’ or, in the case of my father, Bloomberg Business News’. It was hard not to be caught up on all the madness around the nation, much less the world.

When you begin to look at the television programs that have showcased themselves as news broadcasts’, one seems to find that they look less and less like informational presentations and more like entertainment shows for the masses. With local news becoming available at least 9-10 hours a day, and 24-hour-news channels cropping up all over cable and satellite networks, the media looks to be saturating the market and the masses with non-stop transmission of information.

Can you say information overload’?

However important it may be, the facts and figures we get 24 hours a day, seven days a week are not as important as what is going on in our own lives. Yet for most of us, going without watching the news is like going without television – why watch if you’re not wanting to stay current on the issues of the day?

Of course, the news wouldn’t be so divisive if it weren’t transmitting what some call depressive reports and stories. Some even go so far as to say that the media has some sort of bias that turns the bulk of the reporters to pessimistic beats.

However, the reason why the news is never good is not about a reporter’s bias, or about the tone of the news broad casted throughout the air. The problem lies not only in ourselves, but in our elected officials, network CEOs, and prominent celebrities, artists and entrepreneurs.

Think for a second; what is the news, anyway? When you realize just what the news is, and who does (and doesn’t) run it, you begin to understand the critical underpinnings that shape and mold the news features showing today. Without viewers, the news would not exist – and neither would their advertisements. In order to pull a large audience, the news of today has to adapt to the changing marketplace of cable and satellite TV – intense graphics, forceful background music and multiple visualizations on-screen are all part of a concentrated campaign to attract more younger, diverse viewers.

Of course, all one has to do is recall the saying of old when it comes to news broadcasts –

“If it bleeds, it leads.”

This is truer among larger national news networks, of whom small, pointless idyllic stories that balance out the grim, horrendous headliners just don’t seem to make the cut when it comes to prime-time. Only on a slow news day do we hear what some people would call “good news” from these channels.

Let’s also look at the society we live in. If the world were full of good news and good events, that’s probably what would be covered. Bad news is cheap, easy, and attracts more attention among our society than good news.

Until we find a way around this, the news will ultimately be “Murphy’s Law”; whatever it is, it’s sure to be bad.