Another Teenage Murder, Another Somali Suspect! Lord have mercy

[Castro]

Originally posted by Tahliil:

i don't get it...the inventors of this medium, the holywood spinners, the law-makers on the hill and the doctors all together are ganging up on TeleVision...recomanding restrictions and parental guidance.

It's true that all of this is happening and TV is really not good for you in North America. Television here is an absolute disaster of commercials selling cars, beer, junk food and sex. And so are the shows and the "news" programs. Everything and everyone is selling something and almost always they're using a naked person to do it. Even kids shows have 30-40% commercials and much of it has nudity and/or other questionable material. To let your kids watch that unsupervised for extended periods of time is basically throwing them to the wolves. Ngonge may be speaking of British TV.

 

Since I cut cable in January, we've had nothing but PBS and a few other "free" channels (mostly church related). My kids went into severe withdrawal symptoms but they've recovered from that now. I'll tell you what though, TV is the lazy parents way out. I miss it sometimes since I have to make sure the kids don't fall over from boredom. So reading, talking, playing and all that stuff along with many DVD's of Sponge Bob, Dora and Blue's Clues for when you feel like letting someone else do the parenting. Burn out is always in the shadows.

 

So no to American TV for all it raises are stubidh and fat children.

[Animal Farm]

So no to American TV for all it raises are stubidh and fat children.

TV is not the bad guy – the US educational system is to blame. I hear they don’t use red ink to mark test anymore or x’s for that matter. There are more private schools than there are public ones – and majority of students, the economically advantaged ones attend private school.

 

In his fourth book, Everything Bad Is Good for You, iconoclastic science writer Steven Johnson (who used himself as a test subject for the latest neurological technology in his last book, Mind Wide Open) takes on one of the most widely held preconceptions of the postmodern world--the belief that video games, television shows, and other forms of popular entertainment are detrimental to Americans' cognitive and moral development. Everything Good builds a case to the contrary that is engaging, thorough, and ultimately convincing.

The heart of Johnson's argument is something called the Sleeper Curve--a universe of popular entertainment that trends, intellectually speaking, ever upward, so that today's pop-culture consumer has to do more "cognitive work"--making snap decisions and coming up with long-term strategies in role-playing video games, for example, or mastering new virtual environments on the Internet-- than ever before. Johnson makes a compelling case that even today's least nutritional TV junk food–the Joe Millionaires and Survivors so commonly derided as evidence of America's cultural decline--is more complex and stimulating, in terms of plot complexity and the amount of external information viewers need to understand them, than the Love Boats and I Love Lucys that preceded it. When it comes to television, even (perhaps especially) crappy television, Johnson argues, "the content is less interesting than the cognitive work the show elicits from your mind." 
Johnson's work has been controversial, as befits a writer willing to challenge wisdom so conventional it has ossified into accepted truth. But even the most skeptical readers should be captivated by the intriguing questions Johnson raises, whether or not they choose to accept his answers. --Erica C. Barnett

[NGONGE]

No. No. I’m talking about Somali TV. I wouldn’t at all recommend British Television (well, not most of it anyway). My point was that Television is a reflection of a culture. Just as American TV showcases American culture (good and bad) a Somali TV that does that would be a great help to parents. I put a lot of emphasis on TV because, right now, it does not exist. Most parents already do their best to talk to their children and make sure they’re not going off the rails. TV will merely complement that.

 

You see, the reading of stories and asking of clever questions would work fine up to the age of ten (maybe twelve) but after that the child will start pulling away from their parents and attempting to assert their own personality. That personality (for most teenagers) is anything that is different to what their ‘un-cool’ parents have.

[N.O.R.F]

A Somali TV station relevant to kids in the west?

 

I can see a late afternoon slot - barnaamajki dalinyaraha loo talagalay,,,

[Animal Farm]

I think Amin Amir was trying to do a cartoon show for children, or was it a childrens book --- children's media is a huge industry especially when its educational.

[NGONGE]

^^^That would have been a great project. He’s a very talented and imaginative individual.

[Tahliil]

Whatever replaced that good old physical activity which in my days was used to be called S. P. O. R. T. S...? Soccer tournaments have been all we've lived for when I was a youngster and still am...whatever happened to that notion!!! Of encouraging kids to go out and play, and play and play more with their pals and neighbors and participate in tournaments.

 

Think of a scenario where a kid in school is being asked what he's done over the weekend? The kid replies I was watching Sponge Bob shoot flames out of his mouth all day long Saturday and on Sunday, I switched to Sponge Bob II where Spongy was shooting bigger flames out of his mouth this time... And then think in another scenario in your head where a kid is being asked the same question and this kid proudly replies that he was playing the finals for the Flying Eagles and they won The Ahmed Gurey Soccer Tournament yesterday three goals to one against the feared and fierce Ciyaal Calinley…yea..tell me honestly whose self-esteem is better? Superior here? The spongy boy or the Flying eagle kid who’s displaying his trophy around the school…?

 

Frankly...I don't think a fatty little coach potato kid has any chance to stand...against a flying eagle who just won Ahmed Gurey's price of soccer yesterday against the revered Calinyal kids…while the Sponge Bob kid was getting fatter on his buttocks and memorizing sponge bobs famous line “give me…g’ve me..gime thatâ€...

 

My point being that I think sports can do wonders for these kids specially in cities and places like Minneapolis or Seattle or London or Gothenburg where the number of Somali kids can easily exceed thousands...kids build a good social life in that way and they get involved in doing something constructive and positive…Provided mentors and coaches like Ngone of course, who I am sure will volunteer his time to coach the kids, I think we can give other alternatives to kids other than torture in their living rooms…

[N.O.R.F]

Cameron attacks Radio 1's hip-hop

 

BBC Radio 1 has been accused of encouraging knife and gun crime by Conservative leader David Cameron.

Mr Cameron singled out the station's Saturday night schedules which feature DJ Tim Westwood's hip-hop show.

 

Radio 1 strongly denied Mr Cameron's accusation, saying it took its responsibilities "very seriously" and followed strict producer guidelines.

 

It said hip-hop was a "vibrant" genre which sometimes reflected the "harsher realities of people's lives".

 

The Conservative leader made his comments on Tuesday evening at a British Society of Magazine Editors event.

 

"I would say to Radio 1, do you realise that some of the stuff you play on Saturday nights encourages people to carry guns and knives?", said Mr Cameron.

 

'Courage'

 

He was responding to a question from June Walton, the editor of Good Housekeeping, about how the Conservatives would tackle the growing problem of knife crime.

 

Mr Cameron said his remarks were an example of him having "the courage to speak up when you see something that is wrong" despite the fact that "you will get a lot of bricks thrown at you".

 

Mr Cameron's comments about knife crime follow a string of high profile cases in recent weeks.

 

A spokesman for BBC Radio 1 said: "Radio 1 strongly refutes any suggestion that the station condones or encourages knife or gun culture.

 

"The station takes its responsibilities very seriously and has strict producer guidelines that govern all of the output.

 

"Hip-hop is a huge international genre with a vibrant UK scene and that music reflects the sometimes harsher realities of people's lives and cultures."

 

'Apalling' lyrics

 

Only five months ago the Tory leader appeared on Radio 1, in what was widely seen as a bid to demonstrate his youth credentials.

 

Interviewed by presenters Colin Murray and Edith Bowman, he said he was a fan of The Smiths, Radiohead and Pulp, and selected Cheryl Tweedy when asked which of the Girls Aloud group he thought most attractive.

 

The Tory leader is not the first politician to link song lyrics to violent crime.

 

In 2003, then home secretary David Blunkett dubbed so-called gangster rap lyrics "appalling" and vowed to speak to music producers and community leaders in a bid to curb them.

 

And former culture minister Kim Howells attacked some rap artists for creating a culture "where killing is almost a fashion accessory".

 

In July 1999, clergyman's son Tim Westwood was himself injured in a drive-by shooting in south London.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/5055724.stm