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Gatsby
Joined: 09 Feb 2007
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 Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 5:05 am Post subject: We are not alone. The world is watching -- the election! |
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We are not alone.
Thanks to the Web, people around the world are hooked on the American Presidential election.
I had wondered about this. The election is better than any reality TV. Oliver Stone couldn't make a better movie than this. I don't know whether it is a comedy or a tragedy, though. Stay tuned.
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The Election That Has the Whole World Blogging
By Jose Antonio Vargas
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 28, 2008; C01
Martin Perez lives in Para�aque, a suburb of Manila, an ocean and a few time zones from the United States. But when he gets up at 5 a.m. to get ready for work, the high school teacher goes online to read the latest news in the U.S. presidential race, study poll numbers, watch YouTube videos -- and blog about the McCain-Obama showdown.
"It's official. This US Election matters to me more than it should," Perez wrote shortly after the first presidential debate. His two-year-old blog, Ako Mismo, or "I, Myself" in Tagalog, is written mostly in English, with some Tagalog mixed in. In a phone interview, the 25-year-old says following the White House race has been "like a religion."
The Web is flat, especially when it comes to this marathon campaign. Every twist and turn, every new character, not only unfolds stateside in real time, endlessly commented on by the blogosphere, but also keeps the rest of the world on its collective mouse, with bloggers from countries as disparate as the Philippines, South Africa and Brazil glued to the historic race.
Differing time zones aren't considered barriers on the Web, where different languages can be easily translated on Google. Sure, many foreigners have paid attention to America's presidential elections through newspapers and television in the past. But the continued mainstreaming of the Internet, online experts say, has given non-Americans access to more information than ever before -- and, through blogging, an interactive platform to express their views. David Sifry, founder of the search engine Technorati, says: "As the tools have gotten simpler and easier to use, there's been an absolute explosion in the number of bloggers outside of the U.S., and one of the subjects they blog about is politics."
And right now, American politics.... |
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/27/AR2008102702725.html?hpid=topnews
Anyone know Koreans who are following the election -- in English on American websites?
I gather they are reading about it in the Korean media, but that isn't the same, is it?
What are the Koreans saying?
They must think Americans are nuts! |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 6:08 am Post subject: |
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What are the Koreans saying?
They must think Americans are nuts! |
I dont know if Korean would really pick up on the nuttiness of American politics. As an example of why not, 25% of the population here(by conserative estimates) follow some sort of American-style evangelical Christianity, much of which goes quite off the deep end. So someone like Sarah Palin, for example, might not seem all that odd to Koreans, even the ones not directly involved in such religions.
Furthermore, GOP-style red-baiting was a regular feaure of government rhetoric under the dictators, and probably continues among much of the Grand National Party. Im guessng that the whole Bill Ayers smear campaign would be kinda old hat to a lot of Koreans.
And these comments are referring only, of course, to those Koreans who are paying close attention. I would guess that a lot of them arent, beyond knowing who Obama is and why he is somewhat unique among presidential candidates. |
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caniff
Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Location: All over the map
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| Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 6:59 am Post subject: |
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My students seem to know quite a bit (they sometimes bring up the subject), but I haven't asked where they get their news. Naver or Daum, I suppose (those carry the major twists and turns of the campaign), but maybe from other sites.
That's a good question. I'll ask them when I meet them again. |
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Joo Rip Gwa Rhhee
Joined: 25 May 2003
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| Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:32 am Post subject: |
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It is not cause they wish the US well.
most of the world was on the Soviet side during the cold war.
Since the end of the cold war much if not most of the world has been hoping to see the US get cut down to size. |
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agentX
Joined: 12 Oct 2007
Location: Jeolla province
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| Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 8:11 am Post subject: Re: We are not alone. The world is watching -- the election! |
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I get asked all the time who I'm voting for. It's not a problem, though I do find myself at a loss for words to describe how screwed up things are. I give my co-teachers details on the election process and where Obama stands on issues. They ask about McCain, but since McCrazy can't hold a position for more than 1 week, I don't even bother talking about his plans anymore.
Some have been to America already so they already know how racist it can get, so I'll forgo the Palin videos, though I must say they are amusing.
This week I'll talk to them about election rigging both here, stateside and abroad for our weekly meetings. I'm sure they'll enjoy the "Simpsons" clip from last month. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 2:00 pm Post subject: |
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| My students are required (not by me) to watch CNN every morning before class. They have ended up knowing far more about this election and the Electoral College than they care to. They said they were only mildly interested but their Korean teacher thinks they should be watching news and CNN is on the cable service at school. |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 5:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
| My students are required (not by me) to watch CNN every morning before class. They have ended up knowing far more about this election and the Electoral College than they care to. They said they were only mildly interested but their Korean teacher thinks they should be watching news and CNN is on the cable service at school. |
Ya-ta,
I think this is a great idea, even though they may not be totally enthusastic about it. I believe you said you teach high school somewhere else on the forum, but I can't remember for sure. Anyway, watching to CNN is good to sharpen their listening skills and gives them an idea what's going on outside Korea. Too often these students are taught that Korea is the center of the world and don't care much about what goes on outside of their own country. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Milwaukiedave wrote: |
| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
| My students are required (not by me) to watch CNN every morning before class. They have ended up knowing far more about this election and the Electoral College than they care to. They said they were only mildly interested but their Korean teacher thinks they should be watching news and CNN is on the cable service at school. |
Ya-ta,
I think this is a great idea, even though they may not be totally enthusastic about it. I believe you said you teach high school somewhere else on the forum, but I can't remember for sure. Anyway, watching to CNN is good to sharpen their listening skills and gives them an idea what's going on outside Korea. Too often these students are taught that Korea is the center of the world and don't care much about what goes on outside of their own country. |
I think it could be a good idea, but they're required to come in 30 minutes early just to watch TV. No one is there to help them understand what is being said. No transcripts are available for the broadcasts. In June when they started the course, they couldn't catch much at all, but they're doing much better now.
Your point about broadening their exposure is bang on.
(I'm back teaching adults. High school only lasted 1 year and 1 semester.) |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:32 pm Post subject: |
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True, transcripts would help. I use clips of CNN and look the transcripts up online. The only downside is you have to use older stuff, not current events. I'm not sure how quickly they get transcripts online. Also sometimes it is hard to find the transcripts (first I usually select the video and then go looking for transcripts).
Getting college students to think outside about what is going on outside their country is sometimes like talking to a brick wall. So of it is laziness, but some of it is just pure conditioning from being taugh in Korean Public schools.
I have a group of adults (much older adults) who have traveled abroad several times (and who studied in the US) and they can see how what is going on in the world outside of Korea matters. |
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Gatsby
Joined: 09 Feb 2007
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Gatsby
Joined: 09 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 6:30 am Post subject: |
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Britain's view of America, via Wasilla:
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Sarah Palin's home town haunts
Did the Republican pitbull's home town make her? Shane Shanks searches Wasilla for clues
Shane Shanks
ITS MOST famous daughter tottered before the judges in a swimsuit, heels and sash. But if there were beauty contests for small towns, Wasilla would really need to shine in the talent section.
The home town of Republican pitbull Sarah Palin looks like a giant strip mall, although one blessed with snow-licked peaks and nearby glaciers. People move here for the beauty of the surroundings, not the town.
As I drive along the main drag 45 miles from Anchorage, I wonder: did this commuter town of 7,000 really forge America's most controversial politician and launch the country's hottest hairstyle?
Bars and fast-food joints rub shoulders with big-box stores such as Home Depot. And, perhaps not surprising in Caribou Barbie country, Wasilla has multiple taxidermy shops and the outdoor megastore Sportsman's Warehouse. This is more like it.
I'm engulfed by an endless row of guns and �only-in-Alaska� DVD hits such as the genre classic Advanced Wild Game Processing, Vol. 2: Jerky. But I'm nervous about pervy-sounding Whitetail Freaks 1 and Burly Bucks 2. Can I get these in a plain brown wrapper?
Across the highway there is the International House of Pancakes. It's not just carb heaven, it's comedy gold. This, the joke goes, is where Palin gained her foreign affairs experience - from the French toast.
Wasilla is proud of Palin - everyone tells me so - but there is little outward enthusiasm beyond a rickety- looking �Good Luck� on the town's only cinema, which doubles as a church on Sundays.... |
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/destinations/usa/article5049125.ece
Say, what's the difference between Britain and Great Britain? |
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wannago
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 7:31 am Post subject: |
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| Gatsby wrote: |
http://images.ucomics.com/comics/db/2008/db081029.gif
Who knows? Maybe we won't be so embarrassed to say we are Americans. |
You're embarrassed to say you are an American? That's really funny, because we're embarrassed to say you're an American too.  |
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