Another New Way to Get the News

Introducing OZY, a "daily digital magazine" that provides you with the news. It uses high-quality images, videos, and infographics to do so. As stated on its homepage, OZY does the job by "bringing you up to speed on what happened in the last 24 hours in bite-sized original articles that are intelligent, compelling, and stylish." 

Personally, I think that there are pros and cons to this news service, though I like it. First and foremost, it's a fascinating website. You can click on anything and instantly find yourself immersed in interesting stories. This aspect of the site is a double-edged sword. OZY can be a bit dizzying, with its kaleidoscopic spread of graphics and videos. Dizzying as it may be, I do appreciate the selection and diversity of topics. Headlines range from "A Window Into Life Under Kim Jong Un" to "Birth of Big Box Stores" to "Maple Water: the Latest Trend in Water." The site is as schizophrenic as the pace of today's technological world, where information comes at you from every angle at every moment. OZY also offers a "Presidential Daily Brief" email which is basically a daily rundown on major national news in the last 24 hours. To me, the email is more readily digestible than the website, though substantially less flashy and captivating.

Have you tried OZY? What do you think? Do you like it? Let me know!

US Supreme Court: Police Need Warrants to Search Cellphones

Say what? Yesterday the United States Supreme Court ruled that police must now have a warrant to search a cellphone. Read about it here.

A Fresh New Way to Get Your Dose of Daily News: theSkimm

I am a new subscriber and fan of theSkimm, a daily email newsletter that gives you a run-down on national and international news. (Note that this is indeed an American-based media source, so the national news pertains to the United States.) I like this service a lot because I can get updated on daily news while I drink my cup of morning coffee. Plus, it's funny and gently sarcastic, which I like. Check it out at theSkimm.com.

Nelson Mandela: Desmond Tutu Pays Tribute

Nelson Mandela: July 1918-December 2013. South African revolutionary figure, anti-apartheid leader, politician, and philanthropist. What would the world be without this man? He accepted the imperfections of human beings while striving for justice, and dedicated his life to the liberation of the oppressed.

As a tribute to Mandela, Desmond Tutu wrote a piece for allAfrica.com. The retired Anglican bishop and fellow South African reflects on Mandela's early days and greater influence on humanity. Read it here: http://allafrica.com/stories/201312051793.html 

Nelson Mandela. Image sourced from: http://www.lite929.com/files/nelson-mandela.jpeg

 

Mercy, Mercy, Me: A 21st-Century Guide to Becoming Informed About Syria & the World

By Anja Wade

Syria. A world away from our world. At least that’s what it seems like for most twenty-something Americans. For most Americans, really. The headlines are deeply upsetting and worrisome. Where do we begin to understand this conflict? What is really true in the media and what is not? These days, the task of being well-informed about world events feels daunting. We carry our mobile devices everywhere and plug our computers in at cafés, we log onto Facebook and watch YouTube videos regularly. The onslaught of information is overwhelming and far from pleasurable or entertaining. It’s certainly anxiety-provoking and confusing.

It feels insufficient to simply read one newspaper or watch one news program on TV at night. The task of being well-informed seems to require much more than just one source. It feels as though we should have six laptops in front of us at once, each with a different news source on the screen, as well as several live streams and podcasts going on in the background. How are we to know what’s really going on globally if we can barely wrap our heads around the amount of information we are faced with locally?

Our eyes and ears take in more information than ever before. Some of it is relevant, some of it is trivial. What matters is that the sheer amount of information we take in is tremendous. It is our job to develop strategies for filtering this information. We need to figure out how to navigate our world in a way that makes sense. In other words, we need to learn how to make sense of our world.

The situation in Syria is complex and demands our attention. Many people confess to me that they feel like the situation is out of their control or beyond the scope of their day-to-day life. I propose that instead of succumbing to these feelings, we agree collectively to listen to or read a different news source for ten minutes a day each week. We don’t have to understand the Syrian conflict immediately but we do need to be immediately accountable for being well-informed. There is a practical way to do this. Just ten minutes a day. And that goes for any major world event. Start small. Choose one headline and focus on it ten minutes a day for a week. Limit yourself to just this headline for one week. Research it, investigate different opinions on it, and learn how you feel about it.

By learning about one major event in the world, you will begin to ask questions about other events in the world. This will lead to greater knowledge of the world in general. We must participate in the daily happenings of our globe. We must do so actively rather than passively.

Need to Know News: Mall Siege In Kenya

• What/when? Saturday September 21st: Islamist militants from the group al-Shabaab (or al-Shabab, meaning “the Youth”) attacked Westgate Mall, a shopping center in Nairobi, Kenya, holding hostages.
• Why? al-Shabaab and affiliated Islamist groups once controlled a significant portion of Somalia. In recent years, the Kenyan government sought to overthrow al-Shabaab from its seat of power in Somalia, through military force.
• Who? Al-Shabaab allegedly targeted non-Muslims, though casualties included citizens of Nairobi as well as international citizens. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya, has called for unity of Kenyans in response to the attack, which ended with defeat of the militants and the building’s partial collapse.

Learn more here: http://world.time.com/2013/09/21/terror-in-nairobi-behind-al-shabaabs-war-with-kenya/
and here: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2013/09/what-is-al-shabaab.html

Image sourced from Google maps.

Website of the Day

This is a useful website for staying informed about Africa. Check it out.

http://allafrica.com/

Bashar al Assad Interviewed by Charlie Rose

This interview with Syrian President Bashar al Assad is about a week old now, but it’s still important.

Watch it.

Because a worldly woman is a well-informed woman.

 Click here: Bashar al Assad Interviewed by Charlie Rose