SAR Academic Freedom Media Review–July 23-29, 2011

Compiled by Scholars at Risk

The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available here. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.

Iranian scientist’s death ‘probably the work of western security agencies
The Guardian, 7/28

Unruly humanities scholars threaten the discipline, event hears
Matthew Reisz, Times Higher Education, 7/28

Scholars at Risk calls for letters: Vietnamese professor to face trial
Scholars at Risk, 7/27

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The Rhetoric of Hate v. Forgiveness

A short, but respectable analysis of an aspect of conservative media’s responses the tragic bombing and shootings in Norway came across my screen today.  In “Norway’s Sorrow: Why Is It So Hard For The Religious Right To Denounce Evil?,” Kurt Ostrow argues that a certain segment of the media is unable to simply denounce the attacks and leave it there. They condemn the actions of Anders Behring Breivik, who claimed responsibility for the attack, but then go on to ask if there aren’t real causes for concern that set him off. Ostrow points out that is is part of a very real trend, and provides some excellent examples to support his case, both from Europe and the United States.

He then goes on to make an excellent point.

Right-wing politicians and pundits everywhere have decided it politically prudent to conflate Islamic (of or relating to Islam) with Islamist (of or relating to Islamic militancy or fundamentalism). Or worse: they actually believe this misdirected, misinformed hate.

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Academic Freedom Media Review-July 2 – July 8, 2011

The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available here. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.

From where I sit – Digging deep to survive terrorism
Ruth Young, Times Higher Education, 7/7

Oral History, Unprotected
Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, 7/5

Throwing Out a State Vote
Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, 7/5

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SAR Academic Freedom Media Review, June 25 – July 1, 2011

The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available here. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.

MALAWI: Closed campuses set to open
University World News, 7/1

Oxford academic wins right to read UEA climate data
Fred Pearce, The Guardian, 7/1

Sowing seeds of freedom in the ‘Arab Spring’
Paul Jump, Times Higher Education, 6/30

There’s no good reason for this inequality
Liz Schafer, Times Higher Education, 6/30

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SAR Academic Freedom Media Review: 18-24 June 2011

The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available here .  The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.

American U. in Cairo Professor Is Killed in Baghdad
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 6/24

Scholars at Risk welcomes the release of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, Iranian scholar Emadeddin Baghi
Scholars at Risk, 6/23

Outspoken Chinese artist is free but has to stay quiet
CNN, 6/23

8 Bahrain Activists Get Life Sentences
Lara El Gibaly and David Jolly, The New York Times, 6/22

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Scholars at Risk Academic Freedom Media Review, June 4 – 10, 2011

Scholars at Risk would like to draw attention to the killing of Dr. Maksud I. Sadikov, Rector of the Institute of Theology and International Relations in Russia. According to media reports Mr. Sadikov was shot to death in a car in Makhachkala, the capital of the Dagestan region, on Tuesday, June 7, 2011. The motives for this apparent assassination are not clear at this time but seem to relate to Dr. Sadikov’s efforts to promote moderate religious education in the region to counter terrorism and extremism in the Caucasus. Please see the following two articles for additional information relating to the killing of Dr. Sadikov:

Rector at Muslim University in Russia Is Shot to Death
Andrew E. Kramer, The New York Times, 6/7

Senior Dagestani Muslim Killed in a Hail of Bullets
Natalya Krainova, The Moscow Times, 6/8

Please find below a compilation of articles in the news media addressing academic freedom issues over the past week.

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The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available here.  The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.

BC asks for Irish project secrecy
Kevin Cullen, Boston Globe, 6/9

Annual Report 2011 of the Network of Concerned Historians
Antoon De Baets, Network of Concerned Historians, 6/8

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SAR Academic Freedom Media Review, May 28-June, 2011

The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available here. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.

Iraq: Protest Organizers Beaten, Detained
Human Rights Watch, 6/2

Sri Lanka’s army: In bigger barracks
The Economist, 6/2

Charge Against Professor Raises Questions About Academic Freedom in Thailand
Newley Purnell, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 6/1

Bahrain’s ‘progressive’ influence
Ali M. Latifi, Al Jazeera, 6/1

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SAR Academic Freedom Media Review, May 21-27

The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available here/a>. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.

New bill will protect academic freedom
Dan Harrison, The Sydney Morning Herald, 5/27

Slår et flerkulturelt slag for akademisk frihet (in Norwegian)
Claudio Castello, Utrop, 5/27
Automatic translation via Google Translator

AAUP Report Denounces Suspension of Idaho State U. Faculty Senate
Peter Schmidt, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 5/26

Intervention From On High
Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, 5/26

Do it! Court greenlights academic freedom 100 days event in Zomba
Raphael Tenthani, The Maravi Post, 5/26

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The Banker and the Maid

 

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There is much debate over the benefits of IMF policies in Africa. For both sides see http://tinyurl.com/IMFhardship and http://tinyurl.com/IMFbenefits

International Monetary Fund Managing Director and, before he was charged, likely candidate for the French Presidency, Dominique Strauss-Kahn now sits in a cell on Rikers Island charged with assaulting the maid in his $3,000 a night hotel suite.  How long do you think the maid has to work to earn that?  One BBC report I heard last night said he likely would have been charged a discounted rate of  $800/night.  Still, I pose the same question.

I checked out hotel maid’s salaries in New York City on PayScale.com.  I ran reports with a few different sets of variable.  don’t know how long she has worked at that hotel, whether she has a supervisory role or how that hotel’s pay scale compares with others.  It seems like she might have made something in the neighborhood of $20/hour.  That’s $800 per week, i.e. the reduced rate Strauss-Kahn would have paid for one night!  The per capita Gross Domestic Product of Guinea, the woman’s home country, is $1,000 annually!  Mull that over in your brain for a minute.  If I heard those figures correctly, the room that the Managing Director of the IMF occupies in NYC costs 3 times the Gross Domestic Product of Guinea at full rate.  Fortunately the IMF is fiscally responsible and they insist on a discount rate.  They pay only 80% of Guinea’s GDP for EACH and EVERY night!

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Academic Freedom Media Review – April 16-22, 2011

The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available here.  The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.

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Malawi: Political Science Professor Talks About Blogging Academic Freedom
Victor Kaonga, Global Voices Online, 4/22

DUBAI: Scholar’s detention threatens UAE’s reputation
Brendan O’Malley, University World News, 4/21

New crackdown on Iraqi academic elite
NEAR, 4/21

Bahrain’s Crackdown on Protest Extends to Academe, With Interrogations, Firings and Expulsions
David L. Wheeler, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 4/21

Anti-Israel, Anti-Semitic or Both?
Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, 4/21

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