Already? & What’s That Got to Do with Christmas Anyway?

Peace on Earth, Good will to AllIt’s the Holiday Season again. Until recently I’ve had very warm and fuzzy feelings toward Christmas, including all the usual associations of friends and family gathered, good food, gifts, and music. As a very earnest, religious child, I truly believed in a Spirit of Christmas that could surround the world once a year.  I didn’t know anything about non-Christians then, but even when I learned of them, I just knew in my heart that Christmas was a time when you showed generosity and magnanimity toward everyone, and they too would feel cheer joy. I truly believed in the greeting of the angels to the shepherds in the fields, “Peace on Earth, good will to all.” The story of a humble child born in a manger that would save all of humanity for sin, remains compelling even today, but Christmas has definitely lost it’s luster.

In fact, I have come to dread the season. Christmas music invades the malls, radio and television as early as October, so that long before December 25 that it by the time the holiday actually rolls around the music I’ve loved since I was a child starts to seem like the music military units incessantly blast into surrounded compounds in order to get those inside to surrender. The bombardment of advertising that starts even earlier makes me tense about the financial pinch so many of us are in this year. And then there’s the traffic and crowds to content with.  I could go on, but you get my point.  It’s stressful.

There seems to be so little joy and merriment left in the season. In fact there’s an ugliness to it, stoked by rantings about an imagined “War on Christmas” and a siege mentality many people seem to genuinely feel, though I can’t discern any  any credible cause. I’ve already gotten my first Facebook message denouncing the White House for not having a Christmas Tree because they are accused of calling it a “Holiday Tree.” My heart sank when I saw the message. Are we really starting this again? Don’t we have enough to deal with as a country that we don’t need to pile this issue on?

First off, let’s be clear about the veracity of the rumor. It’s essentially the same email/Facebook status message that circulated last year and the year before, just with the dates changed.  It is FALSE! NOT TRUE! It was false in 09.  It was false in 2010, and its false now. President and First Lady Obama had two little girls and will celebrate Christmas in ways that are pretty much like every other Christian, American family, except with a lot of extra security and much less privacy.  Check out the pictures from last year.  They are almost too perfect, just like White House Christmas photos generally have been, ought to be, and probably how you want your family photos to be.

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The Internet Blacklist Bill and International Studies

Today, Congress held hearings on the PROTECT IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). There’s probably not too many reading this that would argue with the goals laid out in the titles of those two bills, but don’t be deceived. It’s not the objective of the bills we object to, but rather the means. As the Vimeo blog today notes, both bills

would give the power to the government and content owners to censor and block websites that host even just one piece of content that allegedly infringes a copyright…a much more severe House bill was just introduced and is set up to pass soon if we don’t take action NOW. These bills threaten the very essence of the web and the communities that have risen from it.

As an area studies scholar and someone who believes that in general open and free communications between cultures around the world is a good thing, I’d like to point out another objection to this law. It has the potential to greatly complicate my research and the free flow of knowledge by throwing up barriers to information that the internet only recently opened. My research delves into constructions of identity through literature, popular culture and the performing arts, and it always a great relief when I find useful research materials online. The internet has made music videos, movies, the popular press, and so much more available to me online from my living room or wherever my computer is.
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Scholars at Risk Academic Freedom Media Review, October 28-November 4, 2011

The 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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TURKEY 11/3/11: Ragip Zarakolu releases public letter from prison
PEN, 11/3

Russian Terror Law Has Unlikely Targets
Sophia Kishkovksy, The New York Times, 11/3

Climate change scientist Michael Mann fends off sceptic group’s raid on emails
Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian, 11/2
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Academic Freedom Media Review-October 8 – 14, 2011

Here, with my apologies, is a delayed reposting of the Scholars at Risk Academic Freedom Media Review.  It is published every Friday, this one on Friday, October 14.  

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 online. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.

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IRAQ: Sweeping higher education reforms planned
Wagdy Sawahel, University World News

EGYPT: Elections reinstate some university leaders
Ashraf Khaled, University World News

Myanmar prisoner amnesty prompts call for all political detainees to be freed, not just 10 pct
Associated Press, Washington Post, 10/13

Pressure Builds Over Chen
Grace Kei Lai-see, Radio Free Asia, 10/13

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SAR Academic Freedom Media Review – October 1-7, 2011

The following is the Scholars at Risk Academic Freedom Media Review, re-published here regularly, as received. For more information on SAR, visit their site.
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.

Assuring Civility or Curbing Criticism?
Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, 10/7

One year on: Nobel winner Liu Xiaobo still in jail
Michael Bristow, BBC News, 10/6

Chen Campaigners Detained
Luisetta Mudie, Radio Free Asia, 10/6

Scholars at Risk calls for letters on behalf of Mr. Yassin Ziadeh of Syria
Scholars at Risk, 10/6

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Academic Freedom Media Review – August 6-12, 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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TOGO: Government yields to student pressure
Tunde Fatunde, University World News, 8/12

Conditions of Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei’s Detention Emerge
Keith Bradsher, The New York Times, 8/12

Ccasu Says not yet contacted by Commission
Frank Namangale, The Nation, 8/12

AAUP Says U. of Virginia Is Giving Group Too Much Access to Climate Researchers’ Documents
Peter Schmidt, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 8/11

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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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Academic Freedom Media Review-June 11-17, 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 at http://scholarsatrisk.nyu.edu/Events-News/Academic-Freedom-News.php. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.

Possible Setback for Program Integrity Rules
Libby A. Nelson, Inside Higher Ed, 6/16

When Presidents Exit the Public Square
Jeffrey Selingo, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 6/16

Student Freedom of Speech and Dissent Under Siege: The Irvine 11
John L. Esposito, The Huffington Post, 6/16

News in Brief
Times Higher Education, 6/16

UAE: End Trial of Democracy Petitioners
Human Rights Watch, 6/15
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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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