What a month to be alive. Two US political conventions, new BoJack Horseman, and mayhem in British politics. We sifted through the internet for some of the news that’s making us think — now share yours with us in the comments!
‘Sierra Leone Is Much More Than Just Ebola‘ (Pacific Standard)
What happens after the media leaves and the life of a country goes on? Sierra Leone, like everywhere else on Earth, is a lush, complex, fascinating place with loads of things happening, but the media’s only interested when something is going horribly wrong. Can we reframe the way we cover places like Sierra Leone?
The scars of Ebola run deep. Victims are still reeling from the epidemic. In a phone interview, Idrissa Funna of Freetown, said that Ebola survivors are still discriminated against for fear of transmission. Funna also noted the slowdown of normal cultural practices like traditional burials, multi-generational homes, and close contact are minimized even in the aftermath. The country is still struggling financially. Big changes require funds and, so far, Sierra Leone is strapped for cash. With a decrease in exports, pull-out from investors, and stigmatization, the country has major obstacles to overcome. But there are still people surviving and thriving in Sierra Leone. They are so far from helpless. Although there are people still feeling the effects of Ebola, most in the country are looking to the future. Unlike Americans, they only make Western headlines when those headlines disingenuously read that they, as a country and as a people, were crippled.
‘What’s a ‘Democrat’ Anymore?‘ (Politico)
What happens when you get six party players to sit down and discuss the shape of the Democratic party?
Where does the Democratic Party go from here, and what will it look like years from now? Can it win back the white working class? Should the party even try to—or is it better off embracing diversity in a country on its way to being majority-minority? These are just some of the questions Politico Editor Susan B. Glasser and chief political correspondent Glenn Thrush asked the six smart thinkers we called together last month—Democratic campaign veterans, writers and one sitting Cabinet member—for a spirited conversation about the future of their party.
‘Election Update: Trump Gets Convention Bounce, Drawing Polls To Dead Heat‘ (FiveThirtyEight)
Many Americans (and some of our overseas friends) are panicked this morning by the news that Donald Trump appears to be leading Secretary Hillary Clinton in the polls. However, he’s experiencing the ‘convention bounce,’ a known and understood phenomenon. It doesn’t mean the race isn’t close, but it should be taken with a grain of salt.
On the one hand, the conventions are not a particularly good time to sweat every tick in the polls. Instead, they tend to be one of the less accurate times for polling. Historically, it’s unusual for candidates not to at least pull into a rough tie after their party convention — John McCain and Sarah Palin did so in 2008, for example, and even Walter Mondale led a couple of polls in 1984. But those bounces do not always turn out to be predictive.
‘Major media hosted anti-climate events at RNC — and Big Oil paid for it‘ (Grist)
The media are allegedly impartial, focused on reporting the news accurately and effectively. In recent years, that myth has crumbled, and events at the RNC demonstrated that, with numerous publications hosting ritzy events sponsored by big oil, which meant that tough questions on fossil fuels and climate were off the table.
Evidence of human-made climate change is so conclusive that it’s wrong for journalists to treat its denial like a reasonable point of view. But it is a new low for major media groups to sell their brand to lobbyists and let climate truthers go unchallenged.
‘Bradford woman’s death in Pakistan investigated after ‘honour’ killing claims‘ (The Guardian)
When a British woman mysteriously died while overseas, her husband grew concerned — because her family had condemned her for marrying an ‘outsider,’ and it seemed more than a little odd that a healthy woman should suddenly expire. He, and the British government, are pushing for an investigation to see if she’s really yet another woman murdered by her family for daring to go against their dictates.
Shahid was due to return last Thursday but Kazam said he received a call on Wednesday from one of Shahid’s cousins saying she had had a heart attack and died. He told the Guardian he did not believe his otherwise healthy wife would have died suddenly, and he flew to Pakistan to force the police to investigate.
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Photo: Delphine Savat/Creative Commons