Weekly News

WOMEN IN NEW ZEALAND FIGHT TO FREE THE NIPPLE BUT SAY THEIR BEACH RALLY RECEIVED UNWANTED SEXUAL ATTENTION (daily mail)

About 40 men and women campaigned on Auckland's Mission Bay to 'free the nipple'. However, they feel as if the campaign backfired as tourists and other locals were taking pictures of them in a sexual manner.

Grace, the leader of the campaign, has said "some were definitely taking photos in a sexual way".

It was also said that it was good that the group gained a lot of attention because it created a greater awareness of their cause, but the responses were not all positive.

The movement of this was inspired by the male nipple liberation movement in the 1930's.

(I didn't put an actual picture from the campaign because I'm not sure if it's too inappropriate?!!??)

I think that women and men should have equal rights, if men are allowed to walk around topless then so should women. The way the media and men portray women's bodies is horrible. If it is a social norm for men to walk around without a top on then why shouldn't it be the same for females? It is not women's fault that men will sexualise them and make a massive deal out of it.  This represents gender issues and issues of men sexualising women.

weekly news

" 'Really British' shop owner selling souvenirs accused of racism by the public " (Evening Standard)

Shopkeeper, Chris Ostwald (aged 54), said his 'Really British' store in Muswell Hill Broadway has received a large amount of complaints from the locals since it opened on November 26th 2016. Mr Ostwald said "It is mad that I am facing such criticism as the shop is a British themed shop celebrating British products."

It has been said that some of the locals threatened to stage boycotts and organise protests against the items he sells in his shop. These include nick-nacks painted with Union Jacks, Kinks memorabilia and also socks favoured by Prince Charles.

"People in Muswell Hill are a bit liberal and they are taking it far too seriously. There is nothing political about this. I was asked when i opening if it was a 'Ukip shop' or a 'Brexit shop' but we aww just a British themed shopped celebrating products made here. We've had Greek shoppers and Pakistanis in and they love it. They seem to be more proud of Britain then we are."

Personally I think this has gone out of hand. There are hundreds of British souvenir stores in London and across England, so I don't see what is wrong with his store. Politics shouldn't have been involved with this situation because all the man wants to do is sell British products to anyone without getting the abuse.  

weekly news

The Guardian: "Colombia plane crash: 71 dead and 6 survivors on flight carrying Chapecoense football team."

A plane carrying a Brazilian first division football team crashed near Medellin while they were on their way to the finals of a regional tournament against Atletico Nacional. The crash killed 71 people and 6 managed to survive. The plane departed from Santa Cruz and the airline declared an emergency as they lost radar contact due to an electrical failure just before 10pm on Monday (0300 GMT).

"What was supposed to be a celebration has turned into a tragedy" - Medellin mayor, Federico Gutierrez. The club said in a brief message on it's Facebook page that "may God accompany our athletes, officials, journalists and the guests travelling with our delegation".

Dozens of rescuers worked through the night were glad to have pulled out the remaining survivors although they were severely hurt. However, there was heavy rainfall and low visibility made it complicated to reach the crash in the mountains. Among the survivors there were 2 goal keepers, Marcos Danilo and Jackson Follman, a member of the teams delegation and a flight attendant. Unfortunately, Marcos Danilo died a short time later.

One of the other members killed was Tiago de Rocha Viera. A week before the crash, a video was posted online where he found out his wife, Graziele, was pregnant with their first child.

"This morning I said goodbye to them and they told me they were going after the dream, turning that dream into reality" said a board member of the team.

This is such a tragic story and it almost has me speechless and definitely in tears. This unfortunate event has left friends, family and fans in mourning. Atletico has called for Chapecoense to win the Copa Sudamericana.

CRASH

Crash is a Crime/Drama film made in (2004) which was written and directed by Paul Haggis. All the characters have multicultural differences however they are living in the same society. It represents issues of racism, stereotypes, prejudice, and hate. The film included individual perspectives of different races and harsh realities that occur in some peoples day to day life.

It includes African American people, Hispanic people, Persian people, Caucasian people and Asian people. All these people have different lives and lifestyles but they end up colliding into each others lives.

RACISM AND STEREOTYPES
The google definition of racism is "The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races."
The google definition of stereotypes is "a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing."

In the film we see racism and stereotypes when…
-An Iranian is thought to be Arab, although Iranians are Persians
-Both the Iranian man and white woman assume a Mexican-American locksmith is a gang member
-A black cop has an affair with his Latina partner but he never gets where she is from correct
-A white cop thinks a light skinned black woman is white so he sexually assaults her
-When a white producer tells a black TV director that a black character doesn't sound black enough

There are many other scenes and situations where there is racism and stereotypes, it is an ongoing theme throughout the film.

weekly news

Sex abuse: Football Association (FA) to investigate allegations (BBC News)


Former football players have been coming forward to say they were sexually abused as youth players. The NSPCC set up a hotline for them to call and it has already received more than 100 calls. It is to be expected that many more ex footballers will follow and call up, which may damage the reputation of football in the UK.

Four ex professionals have spoken to the media about what they had experienced in the past, while two former youth players who left the game due to abuse have also come forward.

Who has spoken out?

16th November: Former Bury and Sheffield United player Andy Woodward (aged 43) told the Guardian he was sexually abused by convicted paedophile and former football coach, Barry Bennell, while at Crewe Alexandra between the ages of 11 and 15.

22nd November: Steve Walters (aged 44) also claimed to have been sexually abused by Barry Bennell while at Crewe Alexandra.

23rd November: Former England and Tottenham footballer Paul Stewart (aged 52), told the Mirror he was sexually abused as a youth player. He began his professional career with Blackpool and he also played for Manchester City and Liverpool, claims an unnamed coach, not Barry Bennell, abused him daily for four years.

23rd November: Ex-Manchester City player David White (aged 49), claims he was also sexually abused by Barry Bennell in the late 1970's and early 1980's, while playing for Whitehall FC.

24th November: An anonymous ex-footballer contacted police to say he was a victim of George Ormond, a former Newcastle United youth coach.

What have the ex footballers said?

Andy Woodward: "It was his way of finding out which players were the weaker ones or the softer ones. It started within a few weeks. Initially it was sexually touching but it rapidly got worse and he raped me. I don't want to put a number on how many times it happened, but it was over a four-year period."

Steve Walters: "I just had to pretend it never happened and block it out. I knew it could never come out and I was absolutely petrified because I thought that if it did ever come out that would be it for my career - finished. All these years, I've had this secret inside me. It's been unbearable but, just from reading the article from Andy, it already feels like a massive burden off my shoulders. I have to do this, and I just hope it will help bring more people forward, too."

Paul Stewart: "One day, ­travelling in the car, he started to touch me. It frightened me to death, I did not know what to do. It progressed to sexually abusing me. He said he would kill my mother, my father, my two brothers if I breathed a word about it. The mental scars led me into other ­problems with drink and drugs. The level of abuse got worse and worse. I was always under threat, if I was not playing well, he would threaten me with violence as well as sexual abuse. He was a monster."

David White: "While I believe throughout my football career I have come to terms with what had happened, I now realise the effects of Bennell's actions were much more far-reaching than I knew then. I have come to terms with the fact Bennell's actions influenced almost every event and relationship in my life."

Who is Barry Bennell?

-He was a youth coach at Crewe Alexandra
-He has been jailed three times for sex abuse
-He was jailed most recently in 2015 for two years for a sexual offence committed against a 12 year old boy
-He permanently remains suspended from football

I think that it is good that these footballers are coming out and telling the news what has happened to them previously as it is  not an easy topic to talk about. It is said that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18. However, because child sex abuse is very secretive, many of the cases will never be reported. It is disgusting how someone will happily ruin a child's life like that. 

weekly news

Pascal the puppy is left for dead after cruel children covered him in industrial glue and dragged him through mud in Turkey (Mail Online)

Pascal is a puppy who is only 4 months old and when he was found, he could hardly move. He was found by an industrial estate in Istanbul.

The children had put so much glue on him, it was almost as strong as cement and one of his ears became necrotic because there was not enough blood getting to it. His skin was also extremely damaged from the strong chemicals in the glue. He had to go through many medical baths to help him recover. It was said that Pascal was very scared and traumatised, he would turn away when he saw doctors and nurses so he could hide his face.

Thankfully, he is being treated and cared for. Hopefully he will be able to return back to his normal self. 

I think is is horrible that someone could just leave him on his own as he was only 4 months old. Also, how disturbed these children must be to let a dog suffer like that. As I have a dog myself, stories like this really hurt me as I know that all dogs do is love their owners. Although you hear stories of dogs killing people or seriously injuring them, its because the owners have taught the dog to act that way. It is never the dogs fault. No dog should ever have to go through such a traumatising experience, especially as they don't know whats going on. It is so cruel how someone can abandon a dog, let alone watch it suffer.

Pascal is on the way to recovery and he has made a friend along his journey.

analysing print and audio visuals

PRINT

This film poster is for 1 of 26 James Bond movies. The central image is of James Bond himself, dressed in a smart suit which suggests he is wealthy and is either in the middle class or upper class. The colours black and white contrast with each other as black suggests danger and death whereas white suggests purity and innocence; however, both colours suggest power and authority. They've used a direct mode of address as James Bond is looking straight into the camera, showing eye contact. The image of the skull behind him could have a few meanings. James Bond could be in front of it because he is a more important character in the film. It could also be behind him as it may be his enemy creeping up behind him, or it could show a split personality. This would make the audience want to see the film because it will make them want to know what the skull figure is doing and it shows mystery.

VIDEO

This video is from a song called Formation by Beyonce, which was also performed at The Superbowl. The lyrics talk about issues of race, class, gender and cultures which is why I chose to show this. In the video, you see black man dressed up in suits looking very smart standing outside a large house. The children in the house are dressed very nicely which suggests they are middle class or upper class, and very privileged. This goes against the stereotypical view of black people and their social standing. There are also scenes of Beyonce standing on a police car which could be linked to the stories of american police officers shooting innocent black people. She looks into the camera a lot which shows how she is a strong, powerful and independent woman.