Mess Media.

The below GOOD video came up on my Twitter timeline via Thought Bubble the other day and I feel it is an ample demonstration of how bad the mainstream "mass" media has gotten. This is a topic I have briefly written about before so I figured I'd share the video with you here:

I'd like you to watch the video for yourselves first so to develop your own opinion as to why this is being put forth as an example of how bad news outlets are at doing their job (i.e. journalism - reporting on what matters and is important to you, the consumer of news and information). Then I'd like you to head on over to GOOD's article about the video and give it a read (it's a short couple paragraphs) as I feel they sum up the issue quite nicely. 

Germany to be nuclear free.

This week it was reported that Germany plans to shut down all its nuclear production facilities by 2022. I have not seen any coverage of this story by North American news outlets, and that's a real shame because I think it's really important.

This pledge is the first of its kind made by a major industrial power, and it means that Germany will have to look for other energy sources to fill the 22% of energy the country currently gets through nuclear means. According to Al Jazeera it is, "the government's aim to move towards complete reliance on renewable energy" and I applaud Germany - or at least Angela Merkel's administration - for these efforts. I am in no way the most steadfast environmentalist, however I do feel that not enough attention is given by governments as to how we can seriously change our current energy consumption methods so to make our lifestyles on this planet more sustainable and environmentally friendly. News that a major power like Germany is taking the lead in such endeavours brings me hope that other nations may potentially follow suit.

While I am not an expert on nuclear power, it as an energy source has always been in that proverbial 'grey-area' as to if it is safe or really viable. Nuclear power is by far the cleanest - in terms of direct environmental damage - source of energy employed en masse today. It is also potentially very dangerous should it escape our control and containment - as demonstrated by the damage done to Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant this past March. The production, material, and waste of nuclear power can be very hazardous to humans and the environment and although many nations do their best to ensure that nuclear energy is as safe as it can be, anything that is made by man risks fallibility and these risks can arguably outweigh the benefits had by nuclear power. Not to mention the potentiality for states to use their nuclear energy resources for nefarious purposes - like the development of nuclear weapons.

The Germans seem to be developing their capacity for wind-power as a replacement for their nuclear power plants. While wind power is a great renewable source, there are some limitations as it is costly, somewhat cumbersome, and not entirely reliable as a sufficient energy source - or at least not yet as compared to our current energy sources. Again, the very fact that Germany has made a pledge to rely exclusively on renewable energy in the future means that the country will 'put its best foot forward' in the research and development of different energy sources and how to best utilize these sources. The very fact that these first steps are being made by a major industrial power should be celebrated.

May 1, 2011.

I was 11 years old on September 11, 2001. I remember my Grade 6 teacher, Ms. MacDonald, being visibly shaken on that morning, and soon enough the Principal made an announcement that something important was going on in New York City. I remember coming home from school that day to find my mother crying as she watched CNN, with the images of the World Trade Center towers being hit by commercial jets replaying over and over again.

On that tragic day roughly 3000 Americans lost their lives in a terrorist attack and the world was forever changed as the United States - and its allies - responded to the situation. Many more have died in the years that followed, and unfortunately I fear that this trend will continue in the years to come.

While I don't think I fully comprehended the situation at the time, over the years - as I matured and began to understand the world in which I lived - 9/11 - as it was called - became a central focus for me. Developing into an individual who follows, analyzes, and studies current affairs - and has a specific interest in world politics - it became impossible to analyze anything regarding modern politics without reference - implicitly or explicitly - to that fateful September day.

Today, 10 days prior to my 21st birthday, Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda - the group that perpetrated the 9/11 attacks - and the face of international terrorism for the past decade, is reported - and is confirmed - to have been killed.

May 1, 2011. A new day to be forever etched in history.