Kabbalah

http://www.kabbalah.com/about/kabbalah-centre

I found a website on Kabbalah, a religion that was a fad amongst celebrities a few years ago. Its most famous follower is Madonna, who is known for wearing a piece of red string around her wrist which is the sign of a follower. It is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the mythical aspect of Judaism. The website claims that in order to study Kabbalah you do not have to change your faith; it is more about the well being and finding happiness.

The website states,
"Kabbalah is an ancient yet entirely new paradigm for living. It teaches that all of the branches of our lives—health, relationships, business—emanate from the same trunk and the same root. It’s the technology of how the universe works at the core level. It’s a whole new way of looking at the world that can connect you to the kind of permanent fulfillment you may be seeking.
The bottom line in Kabbalah is - the proof is in the pudding. The knowledge kabbalah.com imparts, the information we provide for you, and the tools we share must have practical results in your life, results you can feel"

Kabbalah centers are found in over 50 locations across the US. They are describes as places with a supportive community where followers can learn in an environment that allows them to grow spiritually.
There has been much controversy about Kabbalah, as many people say it is more of a fashion statement than an actual belief. It is also been called a money making con due to the high prices of the courses at Kabbalah centers, as well as myths that stars such as Madonna would only drink “Kabbalah” water that was sold through the centers.

The Snake Handlers

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/04/0407_030407_snakehandlers.html

I found this article while looking for religions in America and I thought it would be interesting to look at, the snake handlers are only a small group and try to take the bible to a literal sense and it mentions that other churches do also but tend to skip certain bits when it becomes to literal for them. Snake handling was dwindling down however they mention that the only reason that it still survives is becuase of the powerfull families that keep it alive.
It is also mentioned that unless you think you are anointed by a holy ghost then they should stay away, giving the sense of the american identity that only chosen people can become members of the church as long as they are willing to accept the punishments that God gives them and take it as obidience. it is also not a religion that is really publicised though the media as deaths and injuries have occured from the practices. However it is said that they do not handle snakes all the time and without that they look just like a pentecoastal group.

Religion and Faith

http://www.christianandamerican.com/

I found this website called 'Christian and American', and it is clear straight away from the title that it is putting together two things that are important to Americans, religion and national identity. It represents faith and American identity well as the site had topics and issues to do with their faith, then in a separate column issues to do with American culture and politics. But also how the two combine, for example one issue is Obama's plan for his abortion agenda, and the fact that there are 5 Christians in the Supreme Court who will determine the decision, so it discusses the issue in terms of faith and American identity and politics together. The website has the American flag as the background of the title showing that they are proud of their country and that they think Christianity should be the primary religion associated with America. The site says that its aim to to present the American news from a Christian point of view, showing that Christianity is important to Americans.

Religious and interest groups (Amish)

http://amishamerica.com/?s=so+you+want+to+join+the+amish

The Amish religion can be seen by many americans to be straight and taking to the extreme which I can see in a way how this view came about. Amish as a religion usually live in community only containing people who are party of the faith, they live in villages that are based around farms and the living off the land that god has given them and they do not believe in modern technology they still use fire to heat food and horse and cart to get from a to b.

The interest group on the Amish religion I found on the a web site called Amish America talks about how Amish communities all over America are being joined by outsiders for the wrong reasons. The reasons being people like the idea of the way of life or even if an outsider falls in love with a member of the amish community and are not also then inclined to be won over by god as well which I feel the amish based the lives and existence around.

This page represents faith as part of American identity through the strong and almost never failing belief in god as they base there whole lives around the idea of church, faith, work and family. Through living their lives in this way I feel that the Amish show one side of the American identity in the form of the number of people who believe in god and faith but believe in there own ways and religions and that to be in a religion you must fully believe to be a member as such.

Crash

It was my first time seeing Crash in the lecture. Crash is released in 2004 directed by Paul Haggis. I thought it is a good film and I liked it.
This film covers the racial prejudice problem against different races of whites, blacks, Latinos, Koreans, and Iranians.
I agreed with Ebert view than with Foundas. Ebert says that this film is a considerable movie and I think so too. However I have not been to Los Angeles so I am not sure if everything are like the film or not.

I liked the two police part that one behave like a racist to the other racial citizens but taking care of his father, and one is having doubts in his partner's behaviour and fed up being with the partner but when he shot black man accidentally he throw black man's dead body and left. I had a doubt between the contradiction with these two police's actions, but I also able to understand both of their action as well.

"Crash" review

After watching the film Crash I felt that the view of LA was only one sided as, as a viewer we are only shown what was wrong with LA and not the good side also. As a viewer there were strong themes of racism, a class system, stereotyping, and crime. The idea that people in LA do not come in contract with one another until they crash into one another is very dominate through the car crashes, the gun crime, the human trafficking, and the racial discrimination between all races, not just white against all. During the course of the film there is a sense of that all the acts that happen are to benefit the character and that they all need each other to realise what needs to can in their own life's. This can be shown through the character of the racist cop who is racist to anyone who is not white like the doctor who could help his farther get better and the TV producers white were he feels her up after pulling them over because he feels he can. This representation of the LAPD is realistic as they are know as being riot police in every situation the are in. The film over all can be seen to be good as it shows a lot of problems that America still need to work on and it also shows that it does not matter who you are, where you come from, what you do, and the colour of your skin you are the same as everyone else and we can all help each other to become better versions of are self's. This idea can be shown in the scene were the little latino girl jumps in front of a blank for her farther and the Prussian character sees this act as an act of god seeing her as his angle.

Review of Crash

I enjoyed the veiwing of Crash as I thought that it was a very moving and thought-provoking film. It was particularly interesting to see the rising issues of Stereotyping and how it can effect different peoples lives. It was also very emotional through the film for example when Thandie Newton was stopped by the cop only to be helped by him in the end and shooting of the little girl with blanks. However the more I watched the more I began to realize that people in America suffer from this kind of abuse everyday because they are outside of the norm and the American identity. You could easily see the tensions between the characters because of the situations that they were in. I would recommend that American's should watch this film in great detail so that some of them can see the wrongs that they are commiting.

Crash

Even though i mamanged to walk in 45 minutes late and everyone has told me since the its the best part of the film i mamanged to catchup up with the film and even though i missed the introuduction of the charctes i felt that i knew them come the end. however i did feel it lived up to all the hype surrounding it. Even though it is all based on accientals events that 'crash' these people together it seemed like the believeability of these coincidences is a little to far fetched for me, L.A. is a big state and the chances for example of the racist cop who was sexually harrsing the woman manage to be the cop the cop passing by and help out at the car crash is a little hard to believe, and if you dont believe that one then its going to be harder to believe that the rookie was 1 of the 2 cars that stopped the woman who got harrssed's husband. Why were to patrol cars going around the same area. the film also portrays white people in a bad way. Matt dillins character is a racist cop and Sandra Bollocks Character is viewed as a woman who sterotypes all people before getting to know them she has a attitude of what a eldly person has in todays world, someone from a different generation.

however even though i do not think that the film should be film of the year i also disargee that the film is worst of the year. the film is very good at drawing people in and for the viewer to get feelings for the characters. its just its attempted to suggest that all these stories relate to each other through "crashing" it seems like all the characters are placed in these situations a sort of domino effect.

'Crash' Review

I think the 'Crash' was a very good film, and i really enjoyed it. I think it was a very powerful film which illustrated many controversial issues in America today, such as racism, gun crime and immigration. It showed the racism that is underlying in everyone, and how different groups are given different prejudices and stereotypes for no reason. For example, the Latino locksmith who looked like a gang member because he was Latino and had a shave head, Sandra Bullock's character assumed he was a gang member and that he would bring his other gang members to her house and rob it, so she insisted to change the locks again. I think the film was good because it was shocking and was filled with tension, such as when the Persian man shot the Latinos daughter, but it was actually with blanks. I really liked how the film followed lots of different characters in their own lives, but then these all linked with each other to bring the film together at the end.

Present Native American Tribes

www.cherokeesofsouthcarolina.com

The first website i found was this one for the united tribes in Carolina. from the very top of the website you can tell that these tribes have been doing what ever it takes to keep there head up above water it terms of surviving in today's America. You can see from the top the projects and activities such as the film festival they have been holding for the past 10 years. however while appealing to tourists like much other tribes websites i have found this website provides allot of information about there hertiage and history. Carolina Indians seem very loyal to the blood and there land and it mentions how they have been on that land since 300 A.D.
Another aspect of the website if you click the link for volunteers it takes you to a page where you cant apply for jobs there rather they ask for you to donate money to the tribe.
However seeming what all the Indians tribes have been through since the first settlers and what the American government did to there decedents at the bottom of the page it says "Thank you for your support and God bless you and God bless America!" which i found interesting.

www.narragansett-tribe.org

The other website i found seemed a bit more orientated around progressing the tribe and bringing it into the modern making money and becoming a business but it also seems to be trying to keep its heritage maybe to cover up there ways which would be viewed as very different from what the ancestors where like but in today's world there is no room for the nomadic Indians that once lived on the American soil. They have kept this hertiage with traditional Native American music playing in the background while you view the website also on the homepage there is a slide show if you go on to the directory link it shows you all members of the tribe and you can tell by the names how the whole tribe has been Americanised with all very western names. The web page does provide a small section about the tribes history however it is not much seeming these people are meant to be proud of there hertiage. maybe they feel it has held them back in life?

Two Native American Nations

http://www.mashantucket.com/

This site shows the Native American Nation of the Mashantucket-Pequot.They are the people who lived and stilled do in Southern Connecticut and have seen hardship such as in the Pequot war were many were killed or taken into slavery by other tribes, but then in 1651 they were given some land in the western part of Mashantucket called the Noank. also in the mid-1970s, tribal members had embarked on a series of economic ventures, in addition to instituting legal action to recover illegally seized land.With the assistance of the Native American Rights Fund and the Indian Rights Association, the Tribe filed suit in 1976 against neighboring landowners to recover land that had been sold by the State of Connecticut. The end result was that the tribe wasgranted the Tribe federal recognition, enabling it to repurchase and place in trust the land covered in the Settlement Act. Currently, the reservation is 1,250 acres.

This information shows that this particular tribe values the highs and lows that they have had to suffer to get to the position in American they are today. It also connotes the idea that by suffering in the pass can make a nation stronger and more willing to success in this case to get back land and make it legal. By having found this success they are now the owners of one of the biggest resort casinos in the world, the tribe is know to be the largest tax payer and as being the largest employer in Connecticut. As well as having success financially they have also achieve by having their own tribal council.

http://hopi.org/

This is the website of the Hopi native american nation who are from Northern Arizona and still reside there today this day. This tribes homepage in different to the one above as it dose not talk about their history through their hardships and success as the one above, but about how they came about, where they first lived and about their way of life in the past and now in 2010. There are sections about their craft, religion, the landscape they live in, and their etiquette (objects that hold meaning to the tribe).

The tribe now are know as Americans oldest culture who depend on organisations to help by providing funds and labor to repair homes and build additions for the elderly and for those who genuinely do not have financial means to better their living conditions. This is accomplished through a joint effort with the Hopi families. This includes acts such as repairing roofs, give the tribe handicap access to certain part of the villages, and just building and restoring.

Native American tribes

http://www.jicarillaonline.com
This website is about Jicarilla Apache nation. It is located in the northern New Mexico. They were migrated from Canada sometime between A.D. 1300 and 1500.
'Jicarilla' came from Spanish word which means little basket maker. The website says that Jicarillas are flexible and adaptable people by the nature and by circumstance. Today, they become important participants in the economic growth of northern New Mexico and the American Southwest.

http://www.mohawktribe.com/default.htm
Next website is about Mohawk tribes. Mohawk tribes are original people of New York state. They are known as Kanien'kehake which means people of the flint. They also reffered to as the Haudenosaunee which means people of the longhouse because they lived in a long rectangulae house. It can lived in up to sixty people.

Navajo and Blackfeet Tribes.

http://www.navajo.org/index.htm

The first website I found was for the Navajo tribes. The title of the site is “Welcome to the Navajo nation government!” I found it interesting how the natives refer to themselves as nations apposed to minorities. It talks of their fight to sustain a viable economy to help their population which has come to around 250,000 people. The government was originally set up in 1923 to deal with the increasing desire for the Navajo land to be leased to oil companies for exploration. The site is full of interesting facts about the Navajo tribe, such as their language was used to create a secret code when in battle with the Japanese.

It keeps people informed of the events of the Navajo government, as well as upcoming events in the government. There also interestingly is a section titled jobs, which has links to services in the reserves.

http://www.blackfeetnation.com

The second website I found was for the Blackfeet tribe. What I found particularly interesting about this site was a quote on the top of the page which says, “The Blackfeet are, perhaps, the most powerful tribe of Indians on the continent.” The site has a section specifically for tribal members, which has different current issues on it. There is also a section about their government, which was created under the 1934 Indian Reorganisation Act. It contains amendments made to the constitution that are relevant to the tribe.

This website looks a lot more in dept at the tribe’s history, with resources such as a timeline and a page titled interesting facts. It states that the Blackfeet tribe are one of six nations out of 564 that still live on their ancestral land.

Two Native American Tribes

http://www.semtribe.com/

The site I have chosen is the site for the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the first quote that I came across was "The Seminole Tribe of Florida is a Federally Recognized Indian Tribe, the only tribe in America who never signed a peace treaty." They seem to take pride in the fact that they are the only tribe that did not sign the treaty. While looking through the site there are links that lead you to finding out about their culture and their history. The history consists of a time scale but dates have been picked out showing different times which were important to the tribe. For the present day situation the website consists of different links for a numerous set of activities, they present many shows and viewings so it could be seen that the tribes survival has depended on the tourist faction.

http://www.shawnee-tribe.com/

The other site that I found was for the Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, while looking through this site I found that the site was more formal than the Seminole site, it consists of different links looking at different aspects of the Shawnee community. For the history view the Shawnee tribe it is placed in order with pictures to accompany, it does not have a timeline like Seminole tribe and it is very detailed viewings. Also for the present situation it is mentioned what is happening to improve the Shawnee community tribe such as the recycling and composting project. It could be said that the Shawnee tribe is more informative about the tribe and could be seen as not trying to reach a full tourist attention

Native Americans

http://www.cherokee.org/Culture/57/Page/default.aspx
This website shows the Cherokee Tribe's history. It says how their tribe has always been the most advanced, and it was a spirit of survival and perseverance that kept them strong in the past and today. It explains how they were 'removed' by the White Settlers who found gold in 1830's and how many died on the 1000 mile journey to Oklahoma or Indian Territory. After the Trail of Tears it says they soon rebuilt a democracy with schools, churches and newspapers. It says it's the second largest Indian Tribe and today its the leader in education, housing and economic development. In the 21st century it became self-governed and has its own courts and judicial systems and it is a success. The Cherokee Tribe portray their history and present day situation in a positive way and are proud of their success.

http://www.chickasaw.net/history_culture/index_670.htm
This is the official Chickasaw website, it shows a 'proud history as fierce warriors' and it says that they are the 'unconquered and unconquerable nation' and call themselves the 'Spartans of the Mississippi'. All these show how strong and proud a nation they were and still are. They lived in 'highly sophisticated town houses' with their own laws and religion. They also were 'removed' and relocated to Oklahoma where they broke from the Choctaw Tribe to become independent. The Chickasaw's allied with the South in the Civil War and raised troops to fight with the Confederacy. Today many are successful farmers and ranchers and they built some of the first schools and businesses in Indian territory. In 1983 they got a new Chickasaw Constitution and are thriving as a result of this.

Pro and Against Illegal Immigration

For my postings this week I have chosen two different websites set up by very different groups of me people set out to either help illegal immigrants or keep them out of the USA. I found both these websites very interesting to read with all the information and the active participation that the viewer of the website can do. On the Borderangels website you are able to leave donations to the cause and also gives a lot of information about the work they do on the border for all. The web page itself offers a lot of information about all aspects of the the organisation. It is a Mexican based group that is why the website is in Spanish so maybe it could be viewed as biased because it is Mexicans helping out fellow Mexicans. But non the less it is still a group designed to help prevent the unnecessary deaths of the people trying to make it too America due to dehydration and starvation. The border angels help feed and clothe the people on the long journey across the border.

The other website I have chosen shows a list of all the anti illegal immigration groups in America today and for example of some of the web pages that website can take you to I have chosen the mothers against illegal aliens which and the top depicts and typical looking mother holding her baby against the American flag as the background. This shows what they think they are doing is patriotic. The website goes on to show a few videos about the matter. Another website is the group called weneedafencse which views the illegal immigrants in a very negative light talking about how they are costing the tax payers billions. Similar to the borderangels website this page also has a box which allows you to donate money to there 'mission'. Also the website gives into detail about the 'problem' and also on a separate page about what the solution will be. and place to leave comments and also put in blog posts which means that this web page has created a community around its self.


http://www.borderangels.org/

http://migranttrail.wordpress.com/anti-illegal-immigration-organizations/ (http://www.mothersagainstillegalaliens.org/?cat=3) (http://www.weneedafence.com/)

South West Border Immigration

http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/why-hispanic-immigration-not-threat-american-identity-12910.html

I have chosen this site for my Pro because it talks about research that political scientists have done which has come to the conclusion that Hispanic immigration is not a threat to American Identity. It explains how this is true by describing within their research the Latino culture are adapting to the American way of life. I did notice however that someone left a remark on their page telling them that they should all grow up.

http://www.topix.com/forum/news/immigration/T3EIFQMM3MT7DDP8

Im not sure if we can use this for the Anti but Ichose this because it is real Americans arguing with some Mexicans about the fact that they are basically sick of looking after Mexicans. While reading this forum I found that there was a lot of anger and insults directed to Mexicans, many about Latino birth rates and about how Mexico is strict about their policy of illegal immigrants but how they turn the other way when it is one of their own people sneaking into America.

Hispanic Immigration

Anti-Hispanic Immigration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhb5gU0aQqs&feature=related

This is a video Glenn Beck talking about the Law that was passed in Arizona making it illegal for businesses to hire illegal Hispanic immigrants. It is clear that Glenn Beck is against Hispanic immigration and he is happy with the law as he wants America to stay American and not become Spanish. He tells Hispanics to get their own country in order and "stop leeching off ours" and he says that they are "bleeding us dry". He says that Mexico said that it wouldn't be able to handle the amount of people in school, jobs and hospitals if they were deported back to Mexico, he says America can't handle that either. He criticises the Hispanics for making statements to the press over this issue in Spanish.


Pro-Hispanic Immigration
http://today.ttu.edu/2009/03/hispanic-immigration-facts-versus-fallacies-clarifying-americas-opportunity/

This website talks about two Professors from Texas who have written a book about the misconceptions of Hispanic immigration. They state for it is good that immigrants are willing to work the low paid jobs in order to work their way up to the higher paid job, achieving their American Dream. It says that 42 million Hispanics represent $3 trillion in economic activity showing that they are essential for making money for America. They say that the immigrants are willing to risk their life for the better opportunity of living in America, and the country should be flattered by this. However, they do say that Hispanics should learn English as it is the language of their country.

South- West Border immigration issues

Pro immigration http://immigrationcounters.com/

This website shows illegal immigrates in different categories and how the numbers have gone up or down over the years, to show Americans how their country is being affected and used by these people. The website immigration counter refers to illegal immigrations as illegal aliens which make them seem like they are not people or that they have nothing in common to Americans or someone who is a legal immigrate. By using the word alien they are make these people seem like they are from another planet and something to fear and be scared of, which is a unfair category to put all illegal immigrates as some will be unpleasant as they will be criminals etc but not all will be, so could be people desperate for a chance at a better life. The focus of this website is to give Americans facts and figure that show them how illegal immigrates are bad for most part of the country and also it provides them with information to stop illegal immigration and how to tell someone about someone you think might be in America illegally.

Anti Latino immigration http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2007/winter/immigration-backlash

This website ( the southern poverty law centre) talks about how in America there has been a debate about immigration for awhile but now it has become more. This as it is no longer just white Americans but also 'brown skinned immigrants' that are now becoming common among the anti-immigration activists. Like the above website some of the activists are starting to refer to the immigration coming across the border as 'criminal aliens' and 'cockroaches' make them seem inhuman and not worth any respect or sympathy. It then goes onto that the activists have started to become more more physical and psychological violent towards Latinos, and then list some personal experiences. This shows that the views are not changing but becoming stronger on this particular subject and in my opinion it shows that security during these protest towards Latinos maybe should be greater.

Hurricane Katrina's influence on the American American community.

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=658

The website I chose provides facts on the victims of Hurricane Katrina. I thought this website was significant and more helpful than others I had found as it made a point of comparing the statistics of African Americans that were affected to the other races affected. It also emphasised the fact that three of the states that were worst hit – Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi – were some of the most poverty stricken states in America. It compares the poverty rate of these states with that of the US. The US has a poverty rate of 13%, where as Mississippi has a poverty rate of 21.6%.

It also states that one in three of the victims of Hurricane Katrina were African American. This point is contrasted with the fact that one in every eight Americans are African American.

Hurricane Katrina

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4210648.stm
I chose a BBC website about Hurricane Katrina. It is about New Orleans which two-thirds of its residents are black. Also more than a quarter live in poverty.
This place was 10 times to national murder rate and 21% of households has no access to a car. This article was posted just after the Hurricane Katrina attacked.

The anger of African-Americans who lives in New Orleans were that just this place was left behind when others escaping. Also, one says that 'television is creating a sympathetic image of white people fleeing, and black people caught up in a shoplifting orgy.'

Hurricane Katrina and African Americans

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/09/03/katrina/main814623.shtml

This American news article from CBSNEWS is based around the idea of the views of white American towards African American after the disaster of Hurricane Katrina. The first line that shows these feelings is 'CBS Radio News reports that New Orleans City Councilman Oliver Thomas said people are too afraid of black people to go in and save them’. This statement only shows one stereotype as it is saying that all African Americans at the time in New Orleans where to scary to go in and save which could have been true so some of the African Americans that that articles then goes on to say where ‘rumoured of shootings and riots and making people afraid to take in people who are being portrayed as thugs and thieves. ‘ This view of the African American people should not be put on all African American people as these actions being described where not preformed by all but only by sum. The rest of the article goes on to say that the help for the people that where hit by the hurricane was so slow in coming maybe becomes a large amount of the people in need where poor and black. But then there is the side of members of president bush’s party like secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who is said to have downplayed the situation by saying "That Americans would somehow in a color-affected way decide who to help and who not to help, I, I just don't believe it," she said. "The African-American community has obviously been very heavily affected. But people are doing what they can for Americans. Nobody wants to see any American suffer." Which show a different said of the argument that it was not because the people in need where black but because people would and did decided for themselves but not based on the colour of someone’s skin if they would help or not and how quickly they would.

The Devestating Effects of Hurricane Katrina on African Americans

http://www.jbhe.com/features/49_hurrican_katrina.html

I have chosen this site for my discussion because it mentions about the higher education of many African Americans and the devestating effects that hurricane Katrina had on this and also effecting the African Americans as a whole. It mentions that racism is very strong in Lousianna and New Orleans as there is a quote strongly referred to this.

"This became most apparent when three days after the hurricane, armed police from the predominantly white blue-collar community of Gretna prevented a large group of black pedestrians who were stranded in New Orleans from crossing a bridge into their city. "We were concerned about life and property," said Gretna mayor Ronnie C. Harris. "It was quite evident that a criminal element was contained in a crowd of probably mainly decent people."

This also shocked me as it said probably mainly decent people. Another thing and perhaps a very crucial issue that could have provoked African American communities is that of a rumour that the dikes were breached by white people. It is very strong that even though they are considered American and were eventually helped issues can still be seen within America's nation.

Hurricane Katrina

http://www.workers.org/2005/us/hurricane-0922/

This is an article on the impact of Hurricane Katrina and the racist undertones in the way it was handled by the US Government. It says how in the hardest hit areas of New Orleans 98% of people who lived there were Black. The Government's slow reaction was also seen in Hurricane Floyd in North Carolina, where there's a predominant Black community. This signifies that "the value of Black and working class life is subordinate to capitalist property and profits." The article shows the difference in wording in race when applied to the taking of food in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. They said that Black people "looted" and White people were "finders". The police were ordered to stop looking for survivors to stop the lawlessness. This suggests that stopping Black people from looting in order to get food to survive is more important than finding survivors, which wouldn't happen if the community was White. It also says how the slow evacuation was blamed on the Black people, as they said they refused to leave their homes, when it was actually because of poverty, unemployment and low wages that were the reasons they couldn't leave, showing the racist attitudes of the media and Government.

"George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People" Hurricane Katrina Issues

http://stuffblackpeopledontlike.blogspot.com/2009/06/11-george-w-bush.html

I found this issue and task very enjoyable this week the issues because i remember when the natural disaster first happened i remember the massive amount of controversy surrounding the events which seemed to sparked off during the fund raiser with Mike Myers and Kanye West said out of the blue that "George Bush doesn't care about black people". which people started to believe with the lack of help sent out to help the victims there. i have picked this website to show how this opinion how now spread and people started to believe this. the website i have picked is called things black people don't like and George bush is listed in here because of this and the video is amusing to watch as well because the other faces involved with the fund raiser were not expected it and the reaction of Mike Myers and Chris Tucker is very entertaining to watch. On the website there is allot about the issue and there are also people placing there opinions and thoughts on the page which is another interesting read.

K12 immigration

http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/courses/ed311/kafai/team%204/immigration

I chose this website because it seems like a informal and useful website , the website has sub categories which gives brief explanations then go on to give links to other websites to give the reader more information about what they are looking up.
This website is dedicated to Irish immigration which a one point was the back bone of the American population when people were starting to come across. the website has pictures to help give details about the Irish and there hertiage. this website contains allot of information about the Irish and there are certain styles which are used which show it is designed for younger children. They standout bright font against a darkish background also the size of the font and the sub categories are short paragraphs to get across to the younger generation.

It also gives tasks that you can do by yourself or in a group to test wheat her the information has been taken in or not this website is good for teaching kids and is very insightful.

Immigration in Schools.

http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/immigration_debate/

I have chosen this website as it begins by explaining how immigration is affecting students of America today. It states that, “The angst and emotion involved in the conflict are spilling over into schools and classrooms as students stage walkouts and engage in shouting matches.”

The website has a series of links to websites useful for the curriculum for the subject of immigration, as well as useful points for students to work on, as well as how to deal with the controversy and debate of this emotionally charged issue.

I found this website particulary interesting as it allows you to look into the subject further and also recognises that it is important for students to learn about current affairs that are affecting them and that they may feel quite passionate about.

Immigration

http://www.42explore2.com/migration.htm
I chose this website. This website links to many websites from different kind of sources about the history of American immigration for students.

This website also have an activity to do after understanding about immigrant like answering the question, writing an emigrant story, ask own family about their history, creating a immigration timeline, making an immigration procedures list, and so on.

The good point of this website is that shows the website by student for student. There are many website linked at this website so that student can search from here about immigration easily and save their time.

Immigration K-12

http://americanhistory.mrdonn.org/immigration.html

I have chosen this website because it shows the lesson plans and activities for Ellis Island and then it also has different activities for kids. I thought this was very good showing the history if America because for one of the activities called America: Land of Opportunity, the kids can help the immigrants find jobs making America strong and answering questions allow the children to see how the immigrants help. It also has teachers lesson plans in which we can see what teachers use as their sources and activities, showing different sites that are linked to different sites of immigration.

It shows immigration to be a big part of American history as there is much detail that has been put into this site with all the links and activities, it is as though people do not want their children to forget from where they may have come from and remember their heritage and for others it could be seen as a reminder that the immigrants helped to make America great.

K-12 and how it presents immigration

http://scout.wisc.edu/Projects/PastProjects/NH/96-03/96-03-14/0012.html

This website is based on the K-12 and how in an American school how 7th- 8th graders learn about the history of American Immigration. This site talks about in this particular American high school Immigration is taught in more than one subject area which shows the importance of this part of history. The subject area's that it falls into are Social Studies, Language Arts, Computer Science, Reading and Family Consumer Science. Within these subject area Immigration is learnt through time lines, and projects that cover important questions such as 'why immigrants left Europe, Asia, and the Southern Hemisphere for the United States?' but also to recognised the different elements that an immigrant had to deal with when leave their homes behind and starting again in the new world of America. This particular High School page cover who they were, where they were from, the hardships and difficulties they would have come up against, and how once lived and how they adapted to their new American lives. All of these areas of study are gone over by the students through research paper, poetry writing, short story writing, small work in historical fiction, Family Trees. To make sure that the students are aware of their countries history and also that they have taken in the information proved by their teachers.

Immigration

http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/immigration/

This website is from a High School in America. It starts by outlining the statistics of immigration from the 1770's to the present day, and moves on to showing the shifts in where the immigrants come from. It then goes on to criticising America's policy on immigration saying it's brought many problems, such as language barriers, hostilities between ethnic groups and their inability to assimilate quick enough to American culture. It says how in the economic downturn Americans can't be expected to find employment for all the immigrants when some Americans themselves don't even have jobs. The website calls for a change in policy asking whether America should change to a 'closed-door policy' and limit the number of immigrants coming into the country. It is clear from this site that there are fears of immigrants coming and taking jobs at this difficult time where unemployment is at 10% in America. However, teaching this to school children could cause hostilities between ethnic groups as it could persuade Americans that immigrants are taking their jobs and money, causing tensions amongst Americans and the immigrants.

Women through the decades.

http://www.jstor.org/pss/190468

I chose an abstract from an article for my item on women in the 1980s. I found this particularly interesting as it suggests that the “backlash” towards feminism in the 1980s was not as dominant as it has been portrayed to be. This theory arose after examining data from the Opinion Research Center’s General Social Survey. The data showed that amongst men as well as women, there was a significant increase in pro-feminist views of the wife and mother roles.

http://www.unification.net/misc/21-women.html

For my item on women I this century, I found a speech entitled “Role of Women in the 21st Century” by Josette S. Shiner, an editor of the Washington Times. Shiner begins her speech by talking about the bond women have, and the significant part they play in the human race. This thoughtfully represents women in their more historical role of the mother. She continues by talking about women in the 21st century, and the message women of power are putting across. It is seen as one of anger and how to compete with men. Shiner doesn’t believe this should be the way forward; she puts across the idea that women should embrace their womanhood and femininity, and use it to their advantage, and to the world’s advantages instead of trying to be more like men. I think the points she puts across are important, as women seem to be gaining more power, women such as Hillary Clinton. Her ideas that women shouldn’t have to act like men to get to the top should be taken onboard.

Women in work (1980's and Present day)

http://www.picassopavers.com/2009%20Picasso%20Pavers%20Website/Images/extremehomemakeover/design-team-extreme-makeover-home-edition.jpg

This image is from the American television show called Extrem Home Makeover where they go to different states to help families in need and build them new house in around 3 days. I have picked this particular image as i thought in was an interesting representation of a women in a male dominated proffesion. This is as the woman in the pink tool belt Paige hemmis is part of the carpentry side of them team which is normal seen as a male industry. This image shows that times have moved on and that women can been seen to work along side men in an industrial job and have been seen to be able to work at the same high standard. If you have seen the show it can be said that yes she has been accepted into a male indudtary but she is mostly seen making the little girl in the families rooms and not the boys or the partens which are mostly given to the male members of the team. I think that this image shows how women have succeded but not on a large scal and not without being seen to still have some feminime ways for example paiges signature pink toolbelt boots and t shirt.

http://feministing.com/imageStorage/womenworkers.JPG

This image is of two american women working on a form of transport which has been seen to be a style of work that a man should do and not a women as she was said to be to sweet, emotional and not strong enough to undertake this style of work. But this image shows a different representaion, which is that women are not these stereotypes but are just as capable as men. That they can handle hard long hours and hard labouring work and getting dirty if the need to. This image shows women and men that women can still be women and work, that they can look, dress and act like women and still carry out the same tasks as men and to the same standard or even to a higher standard.

Boys To Men: Media Messages About Masculinity

The idea of Masculinity in America now in the present is diffrent from how it would have be seen and presented in the past. This article from the Mediate.com website talks about this change. The article talks about how the media plays a big role in how males and their Masculinity are seen to be represented today to children who are the onces that are consuming the majority of the media. It is said that the children have started to see men as being violent and angry, and not as strong, supportive and the provider as they have been seen as in the past. These ideas have come from television shows and movies as the artical says that about 74% of the males that appear in these fomrs of media are shown as being anti-social, ridiculing, lying, aggressive or defiant acts.

Boys in America in the present time only have this image of men and how they should be and strive to be. This image shows them that the way to sort out a probrlm is to get angry and violent and then it will be solve. But this ideas that they are been shown are not the right onces as theycould be what is said to be leading so many young men the crime, as they no longer have a majority influence from thier farthers and coachs. The influence, advie, and live skills boys use to learn form their farther and coaches has been lost and replaced with the representations they see and learn from video games, television shows, movies and music. These froms of media can be seen to make young American men feel trapped "Our culture puts boys in a gender straitjacket, channeling their full range of healthy emotions into narrow forms of expression, often aggressive ones. Media legitimates these constraints at a time when we desperately need to reinvent manhood in America." Dr. William Pollack.

http://www.mediate.com/articles/children.cfm

- I picked this image to sum up what the sterotypical woman would be viewed as in the 80's, even though women by this time were starting to get more involed with the workplace women were still thought as that there onl job should be looking after the house and the kitchen was there workplace. Even though the responsibility's of the parents should be even between the Mother and the Father if the Father has a job it is not viewed as his responsabilty to look after the kids and if the Woman has a job she still has to fit in taking care of her kids aswell. Even though women had by this time smartened up and realised this was not right men could not see it from there point of view and just expected there wifes to do whatever they wished and would be the perfect housewife and put aside there wants and needs for the sake of there family while the man would continue with his life.


http://www.ehow.com/facts_5456456_womens-rights-presentday-america.html - For my website I chose this one which sum's up womens rights in America today which men would of had for century's it goes over such simple things which men take heavily for granted these sorts of rights given to women are still fairely recent and there are still prejdice views from men to women in the workplace and there is still discrimination in the workplace today. Women that are pregnant would be denied promotions because of it because it is viewed as a hinderence with days off work so it would not be good for the company however a woman can not lose her job over being pregnant.

Women In the Workplace

For this task it was intresting looking different articles and imges with both women and work.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.vancouversun.com/1798502.bin%3Fsize%3D620x400&imgrefurl=http://www.vancouversun.com/story_print.html%3Fid%3D1798262%26sponsor%3D&usg=__-_IE01ylIlgQeDJ_hKAKQmoMcTM=&h=400&w=620&sz=39&hl=en&start=10&itbs=1&tbnid=6Uz7zmhlk8DoJM:&tbnh=88&tbnw=136&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwomen%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bworkplace%2B1980%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den

For my first article I came across an article from Vancouver Sun and it is a article of female dock workers and the sexual harrasment that is involved. To begin with dock working would have orginally been a man's workplace, somewhere where they could have probably relaxed and a place that would have made them feel more masculine, however since the introduction of women into the workforce there has been the constant rivialry between men and women an the result of sexual harrassment.

"We're doing everything we can do to tell these guys they can't behave like that any more," Smith said. He said foremen are given sensitivity training and graffiti is painted over as soon as it's spotted.

From this quote we can see the immediate effect that women would have had on the workplace, it is as if they are saying men are not allowed to be masculine anymore they have to go through sensitivity training diminshing their manhood.

For my 1980's article I looked at a womens history timeline.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/timeline/1980.shtml

I noticed that when I moved the timeline to the 80's there are a lot of cases in which women are becoming the first women to do a task. for example Vigdis Finnbogadottir becomes the president of Iceland and Baroness Young becomes the first woman to lead the House of Lords. Through this massive boom of women gaining workplacements, it is easy to see why maculinity would have been diminished and how women gain places within society.

Women and Work

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://z.about.com/d/womenshistory/1/0/l/e/2/first-women-astronauts-2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://womenshistory.about.com/od/aviationspace/ig/Women-Astronauts/First-Six-Women-Astronauts.htm&usg=__Eqfp5RsWp69wOftvmA69-BWMO4E=&h=995&w=1000&sz=239&hl=en&start=10&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=rbojo60Lp8CF0M:&tbnh=148&tbnw=149&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwomen%2B1980%26ndsp%3D21%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1R2GGLL_enGB345%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1
I found this image of the women astronauts in America who were training in 1980. These women were the first six women to train to go into space. In 1983 one of them became the first American woman to go into space. I thought this picture showed that even though lots of women were discriminated against in 1980's there were some which went against the norm and did jobs that were typically male jobs, such as being an astronaut. This could be used to argue against the idea that women can't do powerful or masculine jobs as it shows that they are just as capable, and do the jobs just as well as men can.

http://www.womenemployed.org/index.php?id=19
This is a website set up to build awareness about the problem of low-wage jobs in America for women. It states how 60% of low-wage workers are women, and a third of jobs for women are low-wage jobs. It shows how its not because of lack of education as it says that 40% of people in low-wage work have a high-school diploma. This website has a vision to ensure every woman who works full time earns enough to afford the basics and support their family. This would start to reduce the inequality that is still seen between men and women in the workplace.

Masculinity in America

http://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=psar.054d.0053a

When looking for an article that expresses about the contemptory issues within American Culture, it is very hard to find the right sort of site to inform you. However I found this site called PEP web which is a digital archive of classic psychoanalytic texts and I found a small review of From Hero to Robot by Ralph A. Luce, Jr. It deals with the changing relationships of the 20th century sexes and gives reasons for why this is, it mentions that since these changes we can see the rise of women and the diminishing power of the father figures. It also mentions the issues of growing up and establishing identies and notes that in particiular young boys because of sexual confusion within todays societies.

It cuts off half-way because of suscribing for the particular archives but it mentions about boys whose primary influence is their mothers. It could be seen that when a boys primary influence is their mother this could make them more feminine therefore diminishing the power of masculinity whereas boys raised by their fathers would become more masculine.

Metrosexual Masculinity

http://www.mynippon.com/MYNIPPON0707/story129.htm



The website i choose goes into detail to describing the new trend of Masculinity in todays America, This new way of defining what the typical views of what masculinity is. while some old views such as the lumber jack which is a very roughed man whos out there providing for his family and working with his hands, also another common link between the old definiions is they all seemed to be working orinated, supporting there families and working hard, which are also key characteristics of the American dream while this Metrosexuality views men taking care of there apperance more and looking after themself and not always having a family. while Masculinity could be measured by a man hairy chest this new Metrosexual man may have chosen to shave his chest for whatever reason.

It has also been a sort of liberation this new lifestyle because it allows people to open up more to the general public has allowed supressed social groups become more obviously known to strangers on the street for example the gay community were allowed to come out and not feel ashamed for there way of life without judgement from others it has also allowed men which were sterotypically not allowed to show there femine side because of also fear of judegement from other men which may be little them it has allowed them to be viewed as softer.

It is a sort of freedom from the norm and allowed characters to be themself rather than to be what society wants them to be

Masculinity

http://masculineheart.blogspot.com/2008/06/masculinity-and-violence-in-america.html

I found a blog titled “Masculinity and Violence in America.” It focuses on a video called “Tough Guise” by Jackson Katz, who is referred to in the blog as Jason Katz.

Jackson Katz is on of America’s leading anti-sexist male activists. His work is in the field of gender violence prevention education with men and boys. Katz also founded the Mentors in Violence Prevention Program. This program is aimed at student athletes and student leaders to raise awareness about the level of men’s violence against women.

In “Tough Guise”, Katz picks up on the key points of what is to blame in this crisis that appears to be plaguing masculinity in America. Men of about college age are asked what do they think a real man is. Words such as “physical”, “independent”, “intimidating”, “tough”, were some of the words mentioned. Physical and intimidating were the most concerning definitions.

But where is this image arising from? Katz mentions the influence of parents and communities. However the most significant influence is the media. A key issue that is presented is that of the media’s constant bombardment of images of masculinity being about dominance, power, and control. This is particularly apparent amongst ethnic groups with the lack of diversity the media presents for African Americans, who are seen as gangsters. As well as Asians who are presented as either violent people through martial arts, or wealthy and violent criminals. These defining images are making violent masculinity the norm in America.

Statistics are used as a way of linking violent masculinity with serious crimes. It lists that 99.8% of rape is carried out by men, 95% of domestic violence, and 85% of murder is carried out by men. It was also pointed out that the 15% of murders committed by women are often when they are defending themselves from a violent male. This is linked in with the families influence on violent masculinity as it is pointed out that 81% of these violent males were brought up in abusive households.

What I find most interesting about this website and video is that a solution is offered on how to reduce this vision of masculinity as being about violence. Katz suggests that it is not simply about men being more reflective when making lifestyle choices, but that women and the media have a role to play to. Women should value men that reject the tough guy persona and show that they want more than a bad boy. While Katz believes that the media should not be just run by rich white men who dictate society with these images.

Masculinity

http://www.newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin279.htm

This is an article from a Pastor who believes that America has lost its masculinity thanks to Hollywood and films which "praise and promote the homosexual lifestyle". He says how men today are not being taught masculine values because of the lack of male influence at home, church and school teachers at a young age. He defines masculinity as physical toughness, honesty, abiding by rules, being able to look after his children, and fearing God. To rebuild this manliness he thinks all schools should teach boxing and wrestling, and be taught to be independent and assertive (traits which he says are considered "evil" today). He says if masculinity vanishes America will lose what helped build the country and make it great. He is saying that the men of today are inadequate in terms of masculinity compared to years ago when men were considered gentlemen.

This blog is now for William's AM1212 group

Review of Postings.

I felt my blog on Hispanic Americans was my best. The websites I chose were eye opening in different ways. For example, the webpage that had a list of the 10 best cities for Hispanics to live in was interesting as it showed that despite them wanting to feel part of America, and the increase of the Hispanic population rising, that they in fact chose to stick to parts where they would live amongst their culture. I also found my other webpage for this blog interesting and useful as it made many points of the Hispanic populations contributions to wars America has fought in.

The blog I felt I did not do so well in was the one about Guns. I found it hard to find website that provided me with the information and views I was looking for. It seemed that pro gun sites did not explain their want and need for guns in any other way than by saying freedom and quoting the second commandment. I expected to find many webpages against guns and expected to see their views put across in an effective way. I did not find this, however it is much simpler for people who are for guns to explain their reasons than for people who are against them as the issue of banning guns is far more complex. I also found this blog hard to do as I found it hard to sympathise and understand people’s reasons for wanting to own guns. In my opinion they have taken the second amendment out of context completely. It does not state that you should keep a gun to fight the government; it states that you should have the right to own a gun to fight off foreign power who may take over.
Overall I have enjoyed using the blogs, and found them interesting and helpful in finding resources and information to further my knowledge and understanding of the United States of America.

Glenn Beck

Glenn beck vs South park; Snf; John stuart - is the name of the video i have chosen


While looking for videos on each of these people the one that stuck out to me was the Glenn beck when he is confronting all his recent critisms over the past few weeks, from jon stuart, SNL and south park. i have chosen this video because south park is a show i hold in high regard and find very entertaining and i liked to see Glenn's response to this episode because it was alll related to him and i would reconmend seeing the episode it is seris 13 and it is called dancses with smurf's. While each three of Glenns critics seem to all pick up on the same thing it is all done in a very entertainging way. Glenn handles himself very well in the video and how he finishs it off i thought was very good and related to what many people would be thinking about american politction. He stands his ground and defends his points aw well and does not back down in after these 3 shows have been on the air. at the start it seems Glenn takes these pokes at him in jest but towards the end within the last minute or so yyou can see him becoming more passinate about what he has said.

The Good, The Bad and the Postings?

The blog i thought i did the best on...
Was outside the American norm i really enjoyed researching for this post because i like the whole idea of the love generation and some of my most like bands come out of this noticion in the 60's i thouht the website i found was very good at summing up the hippies and what they stood for and i felt personally that i did well with what i was talking about aswell. I quiet like the idea of being out the norm aswell and hippies symbolis this way of life not being what is expected, being in indiviual, standing out in a crowd. there was alot i have missed out, i wish i did speak more about the hippie comunity and how they helped each other out and also i should of mentioned what happened to them and where they are now in the modern day world. i wish i went on in more detail about the differences between them and what was expected from the American norm also.

The blog i did not do the best in...

There was too blogs i have chosen for this. one was the one that was set in lectures which i still havnt done because i still don't understand and will get done as soon as.

but the other is the one with meeting the native's, i really struggled with this post i was un able to find any good source to relate with the post and i also lost the link to the site which really let me down, i tried for hours trying to find any information between the first settlers and the natives but it the end i found a sort of story describing what happened, which has to be taken with a pinch of salt because it was a secondary source so not fully reliable and does not give a true account of the first meeting between the two parties. There was alot i could of done better in this post now after being at the small group and what we talked about that day that is usefull now. what i could of done better is found a more realiable source to use (and also saved the link)


Overall this blog task has been one of the most enojoyable tasks i have done since being in education ( which has been along time now) i really enjoyed the freedom to talk about whatever we felt was needed to relate to the title. It really helped me to understand a America more because i did not to it as a A level and came in with no previous knowledge it really helped me get started. and i hope it continues after Christmas.

Oreo Cookies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkNRSNB9gE4

First I found an advert for Oreo cookies that aired in America. What I noticed about the other adverts I watched for the same product was that they all contained the same “traditional” way of eating an Oreo cookie. The slogan at the end is “Milk’s favourite cookie”. The advert is a father and son both eating an Oreo cookie with milk, but later on in the commercial we see that they are talking over webcam online. I chose this advert as I feel it plays on the American family values that are embedded in their society.

Gap Clothing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r34YLs9DuzY

I chose this advert as it is typical of Gap. Gap always produce bright, colourful adverts, with music playing a key part in its advertisement. From the writing at the beginning and the style of clothes it is quite obvious that it is a Gap advert. Although it is not such a big store here anymore, it is still a popular make and well known shop in America. I feel this advert is a prime example of a product being able to sell itself by being well known and people familiarising themselves with its style.

Material Culture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdaKNHWi1SQ&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Looking for adverts found that the easiest one was for Levi there is a great number of choice when it comes to this brand, the one that I have chosen stars Brad Pitt leaving prison and the security keeping his jeans, when he is released a girl turns up with a car and extra jeans, they leave the security man stunned. I chose this one because jeans were always associated with rebels and bad boys, so the irony is that Brad Pitt comes out of prison to have his jeans stolen and still get the girl. The value behind this would be that if men wore Levi jeans they would then be considered to be rebellious and sexy with the idea that any girl will fall them if they are wearing them and will be able to spite other men.

I watched a few more of these and was often left wondering what are they actually selling because hardly any of the advert is mentioned on the product they are selling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SflqNzpCj3c

I also decided to look for food adverts and came across one for Burger King starring Jason Biggs, for this advert they were eating Burger King and it was compared to McDonalds and then shown that you get more for your money, it was then interesting that they said back to work and put McDonalds caps on. Firstly the reason that I chose this is because they are making Burger King special by comparing them with McDonalds and also Jason Biggs was working in McDonalds. So overall I was left wondering why a star would work in Burger King and if he would even know what he is selling, because there is the possibilty that the star has never been to Burger King. This becomes the new selling method putting stars and supermodels in fast food places.

Material Culture

Search in youtube Levi 501 jeans - Great deal (1990) The original Work the biker

The link did will not work for the Advert i picked but i chose one of the original Levi 1990's adverts which we highly popular in america, the advert itself shows a busy office with when a hansome man on a motobike rides in in his Levi jeans and his boots, he gets a mixed reaction of looks from the peole in the office the women seem to love him from the start while the men look at him in anger or jealousy. This advert seems to have hiden meaning because of the office being linked to somewhere you are tied down to and trapped in and the motobike representing freedom. This could mean the Levi is trying to tie its self in with this idea of freedom.

as far as the Vaules go regarding its use value it is used for clothing and was at first linked to workers. because of its wearability. this made the make of jeans very popular and a house hold name in todays work. the raw material it relies on is of course denim.

however because of its increasing populartiy in todays world as well as the 90's this has lead on to increase the price of the Levi's jeans to roughly £70 for jeans in the uk alone, i do not know the average price in america, however the Levi brand is still associted with good quility jeans and is looked upon in the modern day as it was about 10 years ago, and the adverts have seemed to stay the same with a modern twist a more 21st century look, with a more typically good looking chap for the year would be different from the man on the bike in the 90's.

The levi symbol stands today for good make of jeans which has been made highly famous with its quility as well as it adverts in the early years portraying women and men and sex objects so this idea of good looking men and women wre continued with the jeans,

For and Against Heathcare reform

http://www.prohealthcare.org/wellness/health-news/general-wellness/health-care-reform.aspx

This is an obvious choice for a pro website backing Obamas new helthcare plan. even the link to the website is called pro healthcare this website shows the positive side of the healthcare reform and presents it as a very good thing to happen in America on the webpage it self it shows an ideal imaage of Obama wish the whitehouse in the background to give off this ideal presidentual image of him in a sort of light which is meant to say what he is doing is what is best for America to state the obvious this is a pretty one sided web page does not show the arguements of reforming healthcare gives off alot of statics regarding surveys to gain people opinion on healthcare. and these high figures indicate that healthcare reform is what everyone wants. "While economic recovery is far-and-away their top concern (73 percent), 43 percent said reforming health care reform should be a top priority, after fighting terrorism (48 percent)."

"There really is an historic wind of opportunity for health reform,"


http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/08/05/peterson-health-care/

This webpage is more from a against political view rather than just the stright forward no answer which then leads to slagging off their oppent. this website shows the negitive side of the reform and even shows democrates against their presidents new bill. the group known as the blue dogs stand against the new bill because they view it as problamatic. this shows how the democratic party is divided and the lack of faith they have in their leader.

Healthcare.

http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/health-reform/10-reasons-to-support-reform.pdf

I chose this as my pro-healthcare reforms website. Firstly it states what the healthcare reforms aim to provide for the people of America. It then goes onto explain in more detail about each of the 10 points. It explains what is in the bill, and why exactly that change is needed. I think the way that this page is set out is an easy and simple way to get the message across to people who may not exactly know what the healthcare reforms put forward by Obama include.

http://www.obamacaretruth.org

I chose this website for my anti-healthcare reforms. The website attacks the “liberal” media for not telling the complete “truth” about the reforms. It then goes on to make a list of statements, each with links that discuss the issue further. Further down the page, the points are put into sections such as “cost to taxpayers” and “threats to patients/healthcare consumers.” I found that this website played on the worries of Americans, especially as the page ends with a “fighting back” category. As well as this the website claims that the Democrats are lying about the number of uninsured Americans. Surely, no matter how many million, all these Americans deserve some sort of healthcare, and not to be refused coverage from insurers. This is not something the Republicans seem to believe in.

The Obama Administration - For or Against

http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/health-care-reform-impact/

I have chosen this site because it is for the Obama Administration by explaining to people what the reform is there for, it can be suggested that people may not know what the reform is about or what it could do for them, by explaining it through this people may be convinced to accept the Obama Administration. In a way it can be seen as propaganda because even I began to feel quite influenced for the Obama Administration.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/08/chuck_grassley_fundraises_agai.html

I have used this one as my against because Chuck Grassley fundraises against the reforms of Health care, it does not really say why he is against this, the quite that is given is "the simple truth is that I am and always have been opposed to the Obama administration's plan to nationalize health care. Period."
it is said that he will have a difficult challenge ahead of him and I find this to be true because there are many Americans with out health care right now that the reform could benefit.

it will be interesting to find out which two emerge as the successor of this fight for or against the reform because there will be a high number of views coming from both sides of this.

Jon Stewart

I chose to look at clips of Jon Stewart on the Daily Show. I feel that while interviewing political figures on top political talking points, he brings a humorous side to serious topics in the way he reacts to the people he is interviewing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa69puS7J0Q

First, I chose his interview with Bill Kristol, a political analyst and a conservative. Jon Stewart plays on the fact that Kristol admits that the government run a good health care system for soldiers, which is better than private health care. Kristol says that he soldiers, which is better than private health care. Kristol says that the soldiers deserve the better health care. Stewart puts this into a blunt term of "the government can provide the best health care service for Americans, but it is too costly, so they should have private health care."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEkOanOj8GM

In the second video, Jon Stewart interviews Governor Betsy McCaughey about health care in my second link. I found this interesting as he talks of the "mis-information" produced and spread around about the health care reforms. He makes a joke of the Governor who refuses to see his points and simply dismisses him as wrong.

Popular Political Pundits

This was a really interesting blog task and highly amusing in some places. The person that I finally decided to watch more videos for was Rachel Maddow, the reason why I have chosen this is because even though she is a professional and is telling the news of the tea baggers protest even she can not help but laugh at that connations that tea baggers has gained.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLsKt4O4Yw8

It is mentioned in this video that people sent tea bags to the White House and then invited people to tea bag Obama. However even though there is humour in there, she still manages to get the point across, she mentions about the tea parties and that Chairman Steele requested to go to one, this was permitted but he is not allowed to talk as it will give people a chance to say what they want and that he will listen to them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19jfGsvk40A&feature=related

In this video it is also mentioned about Chairman Steele appearing but not speaking, however when told to the press Chairman Steele denies even asking to speak. Also a dozen other republican members of public have also asked to attend to the tea parties. Throughout this video she also mentions about previous tea bagging events and mentioned that other themes have emerged such as down with Obama.

I feel that Rachel Maddow thinks that the situation is a bit silly otherwise she would not be so humourous with the situation of the tea baggers.

Gun Control

Anti-Gun

http://www.csgv.org/site/c.pmL5JnO7KzE/b.3509297/k.7F98/Guns_Democracy_and_Freedom.htm

I found a website for the CSGV – The Coalition to stop gun violence. Using methods such as “research, strategic engagement, and effective policy advocacy”, they hope to be free from guns.

I found their page on issues and campaigns particularly interesting. Their article on “Guns, Democracy, and Freedom”, talks of the National Rifle Associations view on gun control, saying their theory comes from “insurrection”, which means they oppose having a strong, activist government.
It explains how this notion has resulted in more gun crime throughout the US.

Pro-Gun

http://dataservices.nranews.com/svc/nra_classic

I looked up the NRA to contrast it with my anti-gun website. The home page states that people are “more concerned about pushing for gun control than they are about reducing violence”. Here I feel they are trying to ignore the fact that the relaxed gun control laws in America play a part in the amount of gun violence there is throughout the country.

A link on the website labelled “ring of freedom” opens up to a page about securing freedoms for Americans. This conflicts with the previous website who believes that a country with more gun control would provide more freedom for its citizens.

Pro gun and Anti gun

I found the same site that was mentioned within another blog and decided to take a look, most of them do not describe their purpose for wanting to keep guns within America. However I did come across an article that was talking about the US Supreme Court thinking about restricting gun laws even further

http://www.examiner.com/x-5103-Wisconsin-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m10d6-America-does-not-want-stricter-gun-control-laws

As you can see from the title of the article that America does not want stricter gun rules and looking at the data 50% of people say that they do not need even stricter gun rules and those that do believe that they need stricter rules have decreased from 43% to 39%. But what strikes me as interesting is that 11% of the people are not sure, this makes it seem that people within their own country do not know whether or not they need guns or the stricter rules.

http://www.bradycampaign.org/about/

I chose this as my anti gun control because when I was looking at the "about" page I noticed that at the end they ask you to join their campaign to get stronger gun rules
Thousands upon thousands of people will continue to die and be injured needlessly each year without stronger, sensible gun laws.
For me this highlighted the urgency for stonger gun laws because when it is mention that thousands upon thousands would die it made me think about how many of this would be within a year or a couple of months and I can understand where the Brady Campaign are coming from and why they want people to join

pro and anti gun websites

http://www.saf.org/

this website is obviously pro gun website saf stands for second amendment foundation. the point in this website is show reasons why guns are okay in American society. This website has loads of information on it and is presented very well this shows how much this means to people out there, the web page it self contains lot of information, for example recent issues regarding guns, sponsors they website has, related links down the left hand side. the main feed seems to be regarding political issues regarding anti gun and pro gun and people 'standing in the way of the right to bear arms' as some people may see it. there is a clear line in the sand about this on going issue in America. Some people want guns others do not. there are of course positive and negatives with guns. and this gun focus on the positive things guns provide such as protection from attackers etc. i choice this website because it is a window into the minds of the people who support the second amendment and protect what it stands for daily without a second thought on the matter.


http://www.cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/Economist_Articles/home-on-the-range.html

i was unable to being a page like i did for pro gun because anti gun groups don't seem to create web pages showing their hatred for the gun but i did find this page listing details on gun control in the united states of America in a biased way. portraying it in a negative light just saying how easy it is for any man and or woman in any mental state OR age to get there hands on a fire arm. which is a major problem in America with all its shootings that have happened in recent years. Gun control was meant to change under Clinton but while some of the laws did change enough change has not happened and still anyone can still get a gun the only difference is they may have to wait a day or two before they can play god.

Hispanic Americans.

http://www.neta.com/~1stbooks/content.htm

I chose this first website as my historical choice as it has many pages about the Hispanic community’s active role in the making of America. Approximately 300,000 Spaniards emigrated to the “New World” and went on to discover different parts of America.
What I found most interesting on this site was its comment on the revolutionary war of 1775-1783. It states that Spain was a crucial ally of America, which few realise as Americas most famous ally in the war was France. It also mentions the financial funding provided by the women in Havana, Cuba.
As well as this, the website reveals the statistic of the number of Hispanic casualties during the Vietnam War. Hispanics accounted for 25% of casualties during the war.


http://www.hispaniconline.com/HispanicMag/2008_08/Feature-Cities.html

For my contemporary website, I chose a page from Hispanics magazine. It has an article on the top 10 cities for Hispanics to live in, considering the current economic climate. It talks of what Hispanics look for in a place to live.

It states,
“It should come as no surprise that Hispanics look for the same things that most Americans do.”

I feel here, that they are considering themselves as Americans who are a part of America, instead of just considering themselves as a separate group of Americans.

Although, it goes on to say,
“But to add to those things factors that are a little less quantifiable, such as a culture of inclusion where Hispanics are highly represented.”

To me, this shows that Hispanics do separate themselves, and feel like others compared to Americans. However it shows that they don’t like to be on their own in this sense and would rather live in a Hispanic community so they are surrounded by people of their culture.

The American Others

http://www.josephsmith.com/

I have chosen this site as my historical site becuase Joseph Smith was the founder of the Mormon Church and was considered to be a true prophet, he was murdered by both his religious and political foes. He was murdered along with his brother Hyrum while they were spending time in jail after giving themselves up to the governer Thomas Ford's accusations that they were dangerous men. I thought that this was a good website becuase when I looked at other websites Joseph Smith was baptising different people throughout Illinois and this would have been considered in that time to be against the work of God and therefore creating both his religious and political foes. His religious foes becuase he was turning people towards a new religion and his political foes becuase he was turning more people to support and trust him that the political party could have seen this as a threat that they could be overrun. He would have gained many foes very quickly becuase what Jospeh believed in was against the normalilty of what people knew and believed.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/assault/billyjack/

I have chosen this for my contempory website becuase this website is about the death of Billy Jack Gaither, he was a thirty-year-old gay man who was brutally beaten to death for talking about "queer stuff". This goes to show that America still has not got over the idea of there being gay communities living amoung them, however some more accepting than others the people who murdered Billy Jack knew what they were doing and then owned up to the murder. It is as if they wanted people to know about what they did as a statement that being gay was outside the normality of the life they knew. There was also the question raised about what was the signifcance in this killing. as I was reading the report I could see that the signficance behind the killing was a hate crime. If they were just murderers then they could have targeted anyone that they chose, however the killers confessed to killing this man with a small sense of pride.

Whereas some people have become more accepting of the fact that there are Mormons living amoung them the idea of being gay still aggravates people to take action against them becuase of them being homophobic and the fact that it is still out of the norm.

Outside the American norm

http://americanrevwar.homestead.com/files/civwar/slavery.html - i used this website because i couldn't really find a group and African Americans and i thought i would show where it began.

Since they first got kidnapped and brought over to America and even in some parts of current America. The Africans have been seen as below white people of the ladder of social order, The first Africans became slaves and were sold and passed between wealthy white Americans like they were more like objects then people. this way of life went on for a very long time. They were seen outside the normal for various reasons. first would be because they came from a far less developed country then the first Americans so the Americans saw this as they were better than them and thought gave them the right to take them from there and brand them and sell them on to the highest bidder. and once slavery ended there was still more racism in America. The black people were kept away from white people like they had an infection or something. African Americans were forced to sit at the back of the bus, they were not allowed in restaurants these are just few examples of how they were treated.

They were seen so far out of the circle of norm America That violent racist groups were created who wanted to 'remove the black problem'.

http://users.rowan.edu/~lindman/hippieintro.html

A more recent group of people outside the American norm was the hippie generation in the 1960s - 1970s. this group of people were seen so out of the American norm with their lifestyle. the clothing, there attitude. while the American attitude at this time was the sort of 2.4 kids working dad and house-wife. and this image of American was inbeded in the minds of all. and when the hippie movement began and sort of rebelled against this way of life it was seen as such a culture shock. What was ironic about this generation was that often is hippies often came from middle-class homes. so this showed insted of starting off outside the norm they were in the norm and wanted to break away. there attitudes were completely different from the American traditional way of life. flegrent drug use. lack of a steady job, having sex with more than just one person. constant revolt against 'the man' (American government mainly) and the peace attitude which rivaled the government because during the love generation the Vietnam war was going on.

Hence the famous image of the riffle with the flower in it.