Beats and Sweeps

Capoeira swept the University of Arizona Student Recreation Center on Saturday, April 25 as masters and students from all over the world converged to test and promote their art.


Bongos thumped and the crowd clapped and joined in the chants as students "played" or fought instructors and masters in order to receive a new belt representing a greater responsibility to the group and an advancement of knowledge.



Instructor Luar do Sertao, aka Anne Pollack had to play multiple masters consecutively to get promoted to a junior master level. Pollack, still physically sore, later that evening briefly explained, the history of Capoeira to me over the phone.


"It started as secretive training for slaves to disguise martial arts and (an upcoming) rebellion against their Brazilian masters as singing and dancing," Pollack said. That's why fighting or sparing is referred to as playing, to hide its roots as an uprising Pollack explained.


Masters from Israel, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa were flown in and hosted in students homes to promote intercultural exchange beyond the "roda" or human circle that surrounds participants when they are playing.


Today Capoeira is the second most popular sport in Brasil and its appeal as a musical, spiritual, aerobic martial art is fast growing in the U.S.

The specific form demonstrated, called capoeira mandinga is unique in that includes trickery in the training. Mandinga, translated from Portuguese means magic and in this sub-style, it values a sense of humor, ability to mesmerize and distract an opponent while demonstrating maturity and respect according to www.madinga.org.

The three day long called capoeira batizado or baptism, included workshops, arts and crafts and a party with Brazilian food.

The organization offers four classes per week depending on age and ability level at the Student Recreation Center.

Media Bias Punishing Gays

HONG KONG-AAA's and BBBB's are raining in as final grades are coming in and graduation is fast approaching, I'm shifting my focus to graduate research at the University of Hong Kong. I'm trying to bridge my two worlds of journalism and human rights activism by stepping back and studying how they work. Take a peak

Letters are not the goal. But they are the focus of my study. Letters when sculpted, teleprompted, printed or posted in the mass media are too important to overlook and yet are produced at such a rapid pace that they are nearly impossible to monitor. Media are struggling to survive and space that was once occupied by lucrative advertisements now must be filled with content. It must be produced with greater speed, accuracy and depth in order to keep up with up to the second, online, in your pocket, ever-expanding citizen journalism and wire reports. Pressure is mounting. The responsibility lingers.

The ocean is rising, over a million are dead in Iraq and Russia, by stopping an oil lifeline, can freeze all of Europe. The world is constantly in crisis and in flux. The media’s role is to bring the government official in Istanbul, the activist in San Francisco and the businesswoman in Lagos together with information that affects the present, reflects on the past and illuminates the future.


Presentation is critical. The San Diego Union Tribune, on Febuary 4, 2008 posted a death toll stating 3,235 U.S solders have died in Iraq. San Diego hosts numerous air force, navy and marine bases. It made no mention of the estimated 1.150 million Iraqis that have died since the U.S. invaded in 2003. Al Jazera’s English website, the same day ran a death toll estimating all of the dead Iraqis . Al Jazera is based out of Doha and is the most influential Middle Eastern News satellite network. Both omit a vital perspective and both reports are slanted to cater to and or shape the opinion of their unique audiences. However pleasing the media aims to be, both of their audiences are poorly informed, lack historical context and are less prepared to make decisions that directly affect the conflict in issue.

My area of particular interest is not as popular, or rather unpopular as the War in Iraq, but it affects more people globally in every country, city and village.


Between 10 and 12 percent of the population is queer. Every society handles homosexuality differently but, globally they are a marginalized people. The level of marginalization, I hypothesis is directly influenced by the news media’s conscious and unconscious depiction of homosexual issues.


The effects can be measured by public perception surveys, antidiscrimination laws protecting gays, hate crimes and government funded LGBT health services available.


The media’s representation of homosexual issues will have to be scrupulously studied down to the letter in order to study its effects. I will study one daily newspaper each from Taiwan (China's renegade province) and Hong Kong (China's puppet state) with the greatest number of paid subscribers and their respected communities to understand how the daily newspaper influences LGBT people’s freedom and acceptance.


I’m choosing the most widely circulated Daily newspaper in Taiwan and Hong Kong because print media is the basis of all other forms of news media. Broadcast, radio and Internet news sources, both mainstream and alternative base a majority of their stories on what they read in the most circulated paper. Often they will read from the paper verbatim. Therefor the journalistic and ethical obligations of the highest order, rest with the newspaper.

Four internship/ job opportunities if you share the same interests
Human Rights Advocacy PR
http://www.amnesty.org/en/jobs
Human Rights Advocacy- PR
http://www.hrw.org/en/about/jobs
PR- social/ medical issues
http://doctorswithoutborders.org/work/office/internships.cfm
PR HIV/AIDS prevention
http://www.aidsconcern.org.hk/eng/index2.html

Mother Africa

In my pursuit to push Tucsonians out of their comfort controlled America-centric bubbles I'm interviewing eight African exchange students to heighten our critical consciousness on to a global level. Human rights, economic and environmental issues in Africa effect us all directly and indirectly.


Chiedza Mutsaka: Zimbabwe

On Economy and student immigration:
"Obviously you need to get accepted to the school- but you have to show you can pay for a full year before you can even apply.
"Then you go for your visa interview."


I couldn't sleep the night before. "You don't know what questions they are going to ask you and everything is on the line.


"You go in to the U.S Embassy, hand in your forms and they give you a slip to come two weeks later. I showed up three hours ahead of time- waited five hours then got grilled on your intentions. I don't force relationships and my relationship with the U.S is not working. Since President Robert Mugabe decided to redistribute land to implement a Zimbabwean version of affirmative action where white families farming and exporting tobacco, wheat and vegetables successfully were replaced with urban black Zimbabweans. They brought pigs and chickens on to the land, started killing dairy cows for meat-they destroyed our food security and eventually our economy as its heavily dependent on agricultural exports.

"The national Bank of Zimbabwe locked down all foreign currency and started billing increasing larger Zimbabwean notes which only raised the inflation."


"My parents, though they still had money to pay my tuition couldn't transfer money to the U.S and i got kicked out of school one semester shy of graduation." "I pleaded my story to everyone including President Shelton and they said nothing could be done. No money no school they told me. I can't take out any student loans because they need someone in the U.S with assets to cosign."

"I'm just going to have to let the U.S go."




Henry Marquis: Ghana
On Democracy

"Everywhere Ghanaians are we stand out to represent in a way that brings honor to our country."


"Independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked to the total liberation of African continent."

"Regardless of how stable we are-if injustice, war or genocide our place and our stability is still in jeopardy."

"I love being able to to lead a group of students from other African countries to represent my country"

"Africans for once, are welcoming what true democracy means peace and prosperity- after our elections in December 27, 2008 went completely peacefully, Africa and the rest of the world know the way."

Voice of Africa

53 countries house over one billion people in Africa and politics, economics, war and peace are constantly in flux. Africans in the greater world, represent the largest diaspora of all time and are representative in nearly every country.


At the University of Arizona, the African Student Association gathers weekly to discuss issues at home, problems faced in Tucson and ways to bridge the two worlds while providing a home way from home for the students, President Henry Marquis said.


Last Week was African Cultural Week and to honor it the African Student Association held a different event each day. I caught up with the club on Thursday as they hosted Ask About Africa Day in the Gallagher Theater in the Student Memorial Union.


Chideza Mutsaka from Zimbabwe tried to explain the economic claps of her country and unparalleled inflation. “In Mugabe’s plan to redistribute the land back to the people, city people started raising pigs on tobacco farms and killing dairy cows for their meat on others,” Mutsaka said. “Where we once were producing enough food to feed all of Africa, kids are now dying on the street of starvation because of this colossal misappropriation.”


Kaya Belknap, from Kenya tried to put her country’s assassinations of human rights activists into terms Tucsonans could digest. “Business, namely gangs dealing with arms and drugs that yield influence in every aspect of Kenya need to silence people that threaten their interests,” Belknap said. “Everyone seeking peace and accountability looses and the thugs are still leading.”


In an upcoming feature on Borderbeat.net, I will be interviewing students representing eight African nations.

Dry

The faucet continues to drip just as the Colorado continues to run dry. The average household in Tucson looses seven percent of their monthly water usage to leaks just as the Central Arizona Project, delivering water from the Colorado River to Tucson looses seven percent of the total water delivered to evaporation according to Tucson Water Department’s Public Information Officer, Mitchell Basefsky.


The worsening water shortage and increasing demands, represent a distant concern for those of us with the luxury to draw a bath without ever having to think were the water originates. To our neighbors in Mexico and South East Asia that fetch water themselves from sources that are dependent on rivers originating in the U.S and China, don’t have the luxury of ignorance.

“Now that the Mekong Mega Dams are online, 60 million people living in 5 nations beneath China, along the Mekong, are now at her mercy for food and clean water,” founder of Mekong Descent Foundation and the first person to Kayak the Mekong from Source to Sea, Mick O’Shea said.

Seven U.S states and Mexico are battling for shrinking amounts of water originating from lake Powell and Lake Havasu and transported along the Colorado River. Mexico was promised 1.5 million-acre feet per year in 1944, when the river had an irregularly high flow and the U.S has not since been able to keep that promise.

“Access to clean water isn’t a privilege, everyone needs it to live and we are petitioning to have it included in the International Human Rights Declaration,” University of Arizona’s Social Justice League President, Hali Nurnberg said.

Bunker Hill

Homo Hill- Iteawon-Seoul

Thick black circular glasses are continuously sliding down his narrow nose with every sip of the orange cocktail. Talking to his friend dressed like Waldo in a red and white striped tank top, it seems like just another night, in the Seoul’s most prominent gay enclave.


But this is Sun’s last night of freedom. Monday morning he is reporting for compulsory military service. For two years he will be training and serving in the South Korean army even though he is gay and the South Korean military carries a reputation for violently harassing gay servicemen.


He is not out to his parents- as is common practice here as parents support children through university and early adulthood and divulging his sexuality would likely sever this relationship. Admitting his sexuality to his army advisors would however likely grant him an automatic discharge.


Pressure to protect his country against North Korea and honor his family overpowers his own fear and personal objection to joining an institution that doesn’t tolerate his sexuality. But he doesn’t have much of a choice. If he refuses, he will not only shame his family, he will go to jail, he will go to jail as did another man that was in his situation according to advocate.com

The Korean military isn’t all that different from the U.S where soldiers are discharged if their sexuality is exposed. The U.S. congress, in a progressive stance introduced legislation that would void “the don’t ask don’t’ tell” policies on March 3 according to a NBC report. Obama has also allegedly met with his top defense advisors in order to destroy “the don’t ask don’t tell” policies.

The U.K and Israel have ant-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation and are viewed as the most equitable in the world.

South Korean army officials have medical doctors that evaluate soldiers claiming or accused of being gay. In one incident a man claiming to be gay was ordered to take and show the doctor photos of him having sex according to
Amnesty International.

Sun, after four drinks and 45 minutes of conversation refused to divulge his family name for fear of his family, or his military advisors finding out.

Pushing up his glasses once more he slides to the LED lighted dance floor with his friend. Though this well lit bar, called Queen, displays a small rainbow sticker on the front door and is located in an area commonly called Homo Hill, homosexuality not nearly as open or accepted according to Chingusai Korean Gay Men’s Human Rights Group, Director, Won Yu Lee said.

“Its an impossible and unnatural decision to have to decide between defending Korea, yourself and your family,” Lee said referencing Sun’s situation. “We help support their fight but the fight is always changing,” Lee said suggesting that this is a global question that very few can answer.

Misty Korea

Broken, brown beaten shrubs line the highway. Trees tower bare along a silty Han River and camouflaged pillboxes buried into the ground house board anxious teens wearing helmets and black boots. Nothing is in motion except our bus heading north to the DMZ.


A continuous border fence that makes the US Mexico border security look haphazard, protects us from defecting North Koreans that could theoretically float down the river directly into Seoul. But no one has been discovered trying to cross the DMZ since 1972 and since North/South Relations farther deteriorated last week as N Korea announced it will be launching a civilian satellite (U.S believes it to be a long range missile test) and the U.S and South Korean armed forces are starting a massive counter invasion war game this week, the only thing living thing in between the fences are geese.

The train stopped. The one trade link connecting the two Koreas was closed in December 2008. The final South Korean station sits barren. Except for posing South Korean soldiers and the station manager who is happy not to have the stress of real international passengers. The government however would like to expand its rail trade by tapping into the Transsiberian Railway to expedite its trade to china, Russia and Europe.


Along the way to the DMZ we stopped at the Unification Park were pink and baby blue windmills, flags and amusement park rides remain unused. Embracing statues made out of concrete and bronze receive little attention except from Japanese tourists and South Korean families praying on special holidays, for their separated families in the North.


Playful worm and Saguaro statutes rest right next to retired tanks and fighter planes in a confused, clustered juxtaposition of hope and reality. And signs warned us not to talk to the Soldiers on guard.




One soldier then yelled my way from his olive green watch post. In perfect Canadian English he said he has eight months left of mandatory military service and that he misses Canadian Ganja that he can’t get in Korea.


All South Korean men at the age of 18 are required to serve two years in the armed forces. They are then classified as reservists for the rest of their lives.In addition to a compulsory 10 years of service N Korean Men and Women can be called in for serve at any time and for any duration to continuously build and maintain their 1.1 million-man army. South Korea’s armed forces total approximately 650,000.

Both line the 2 kilometer wide DMZ waiting.