Burn Calories Not Quran’s

During the recent media coverage of little known American Pastor Terry Jones who plans to burn copies of the Islamic holy book Quran we have learned that the practice of burning books is not new.  Pastor Jones is stirring up global media for planning to use September 11^th as “Burn A Koran” day in reaction to incorrect naming of the “Ground Zero mosque” further feeding into many Americans “Islamophobia” over the recent months.

It started recently when the proposed building for Park51 Islamic community center in lower Manhattan just two blocks away from the fallen Twin Tower location was met with emotional opposition by Christian conservatives and relatives of the victims of 9/11 attacks.  The nation has been focused on the location of the mosque that is simply practicing its “freedom of religion” choice rather than a not awaited memorial for the victims of 9/11.  Since 2001 not a single memorial tree, bench or wall has been placed at Ground Zero to commemorate the 2,976 lives lost at the location.  So why attack the legal construction of the Islamic community center now?  United States President Obama has cited the Declaration of Independence in his recent comments that  “One of those inalienable rights is to practice their religion freely.  “And what that means is that if you could build a church on a site, you could build a synagogue on a site, if you could build a Hindu temple on a site, then you should be able to build a mosque on the site.”

Another reason why this planned burning of the Quran is a dangerous protest is because of the insulting message it sends to over 1.5 billion Muslims across the world.  Then the other side is many people feel that this is the season for ridiculous media coverage that everyone who disagree with the protest should ignore it.  In the social media world a facebook fan page was created to support the burning with 16,000 fans while opponents of the burning reached fans in the hundreds of thousands.  On Twitter there is a trending topic that is getting updates every second but the most relevant one that I found was from Hip Hop artist Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest that read “Americans should be burning calories instead of Qurans.”

For a insightful point of view on this topic check out: Quran row feeds media frenzy

Twitter trending topic: Quran burning

[Book Review] The Green Collar Economy

Book Review

The Green Collar Economy

by Van Jones

Foreword by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

This year has been a tough year for the planet ecologically and Mother Nature continues to heal itself over time.  In this very practical and clearly written manifesto on “green jobs” and how to fix the two of the biggest crisis effecting the world.  Environmental activist and former White House counselor on green economy Van Jones presents a ambitious agenda to clean up the “oil spill” of socioeconomic inequality and rampant environmental destruction.

He provides a blue print for everyone who wishes to make a change on planet earth for cleaner and renewable future.  He questions “how can we make this effort inclusive, ennobling, and empowering to people who were disrespected in the old economy”?  An award winning human rights and environmental  leader Jones puts his experiences with organizing activist, businesses and local governments to pen and paper presenting a serious and critical analysis of how we treat each other and the planet we live on.

Durban International Film Festival (Nice Video)

South Africa Breaks the Chains to Host World Cup 2010

When I first heard about South Africa hosting the World Cup a few
years ago I was happy that for the first time an African nation will
be the host country of the world’s most popular sporting event. The
excitement throughout Africa grew from the first day of the
announcement to the last game on July 11th. I recently had the
opportunity to go to Johannesburg and Durban, South Africa to document
the historic event, and find out for myself what this truly meant for
Africa and its people.

I landed in Johannesburg just two days after the kick off celebrations
in Soccer City where they started with an international all
star-studded concert featuring local artists; as well as
world-renowned American superstars the Black Eyed Peas. There was
also warm welcome delivered from Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop
Desmond Tutu. Watching the celebration weeks later still ignites
emotion-filled chills sparked by how much attention was given to
Africa in such a positive way.

The World Came To Africa Episode 3 {Video}

Africa- China Summits Focuses On Development

Recent African heads of state and the Chinese Premier meet in Egypt for a China- Africa summit discussing both regions ever growing relationship. China is Africa’s second largest trade partner and as been investing billions toward African nations infrastructure and going so far as to announce they will cancel Africa’s national debt.

The question many activist, journalist and economist wonder is whether or not China’s intentions are build Africa a stronger independent continent or plunder its natural resources?

This short video is a discussion on Al-Jazeera with a Chines specialist and a Ghanaian newspaper editor.

Jamaican Druglord Fights Police Force

The End of Poverty?- Documentary trailer

The End of Poverty?

Unrated
In English, Spanish, Portuguese and French with subtitles.
Running time: 106 minutes
Studio: Cinema Libre Studio

TEDxSeattle

Fiona Lee & David Edelstein – Innovation in Information Access: Harnessing the Potential of the Mobile Phone

My Experience At SXSW 2010 and What I Learned

Every year, thousands of bands, bloggers, filmmakers, social media gurus and entrepreneurs come to the South By Southwest Music, Film and Interactive festival in Austin, Texas, bringing three major industries under one roof together. When I joined the MCDM program in 2008, I heard about SXSW and started to work on plans to participate in a strategic way. For the past two years, I have been filming a documentary on legendary blues singer Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter while studying from the University of Washington’s Masters of Communication in Digital Media program and using the MCDM program where applicable, as a testing ground for the documentary’s online marketing and digital distribution strategies. The opportunity to participate in SXSW came sooner than expected, and I got to spend a week soaking in the latest in digital media while merging entertainment, Southern hospitality and genuine networking. Attending SXSW was well worth the lessons, networking contacts and, sometimes, the free food.