No matter how long you laze in bed, it keeps turning.
Welcome back Cub Pubbers, Cubb Pubbetes, & Cub Pubians a like. Yes, break is over and that means you have to reset you’re sleep schedule and somehow break out of the habit of doing nothing everyday. We at the Cub Pub know that it can be hard readjusting to society after a week of nihilistic freedom, so let us help you get up to date. Here’s the low down:
- The CUCR Town Hall: The College republicans town hall was scheduled right before break with the goal of tying up any loose ends about the CUCR/Ahmadinejad scandal. The event was attended by mainly reporters and members of either Columbia repubs or dems and all and all was very low key. There were plenty off jokes and riffing between the slightly tipsy republicans and democrats (who boasted that they pregamed the town hall, AhmadinejaSHOTS!) and maybe a few politicalarguments. On a serious note, executive director Nashoba Santhanam admitted that in the past CUCR has been “deliberately controversial,” and that the new board wants to focus on poltical discussion on campus. The republicans announced that they will have three more speakers for this semester, although they were not ready to announce who.
- Obamabarnard Continues: It’s a story that’s been talked about on a national scale, from Spec to the New York Times. People are still talking about it though: Bwog recently released an interesting article breaking down the President’s motives for choosing to speak at Barnard. For people who want to look at new issues check out Spec’s CCSC Council Election Coverage!
- Conflict In Syria: Turning away from Columbia, the bloodshed in Syria continues to get little media coverage in the US or UK. If You haven’t heard, the fighting started last year during the Arab Spring. Syrians demanded the regination of President Bassar Al-Asad and the end of his party’s nearly 50 year long rule. In response Al-Asad turned his army on the protesters, killing thousands, and there has been conflict ever since. The most recent story out of Syria that has gained wide media attention is the hacking of Al-Assad’s email account, revealing that he enjoys iTunes, country music, and Harry Potter Movies. But while all this makes for good Jon Stuart bits, the reality of these leaked emails is that they reveal messy details of Al-Assad’s opressive regime.
- The Cub Pub has been silent on the whole Kony 2012 phenomenon. Chances are that you’ve heard it all before: Non profit group “Invisible Children” posted a 30 minute long video on youtube advocating more the arrest of Joseph Kony, an Ugandan warlord and leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army who uses child soldiers and a bunch of other nasty things. The video goes viral hitting over 80 million views and earns the group a cavalcade of new supporters and also critics (most of the facts presented in the film are at least 5 years out of date and Kony is no longer active in Uganda). The most recent news to come out of Invisible Children is that co-founder and the video’s director Jason Russel had a mental breakdown due to stress and ran around in only his underwear. While the drama at Invisible Children is entertaining, what’s going on in Uganda seems to have been overlooked. Recently there was a screening of the Kony 2012 film in Uganda itself and Ugandans were not very happy, even hurling rocks at the screen. They feel like the film trivializes their suffering. For a first hand take check out the video below:
A More Perfect Union: Views from the Left and Right 