We've Upgraded

Hello everyone!!

I'm happy to see that we've upgraded our blog and moved it to Wordpress, where we will continue to post it.  We also now have a Facebook page, linked directly from the new blog.  For those of you following us on Google+, we will continue to post regular updates on Google+.

Access the new blog here:
http://itstomorrowsnews.wordpress.com/

Thanks for all your support so far and we hope you'll join us at the new blog!

There Isn't Even an Option

We've all heard of the breakthrough on the Olympics stage for women, as women's ski jumping became an event, where women had been barred from the event since the inaugural ski jump of the modern Olympics in the 1920s.  German ski-jumper Carina Vogt became the first gold medalist, in what seemed like a victory for female athletes and women's rights advocates everywhere.  Well, maybe almost.

While it was true that women were allowed to do the ski jump, men were also allowed to jump from a larger hill, and women are still barred from this particular jump.  A 95 meter hill is the norm for ski jumping, but men are also allowed to jump off a 125 meter hill.  So, we will all remember this as a monumental movement for women's Olympic events, but as is the usual case, there is much work to be done.  Deedee Corradini, president of Women's Ski Jumping USA, shared similar sentiments: "Now we have to work on 2018 getting women on the large hill and a team event."

But, that may prove to be difficult, as IOC sports director Christophe Dubi is using the exact same reason for a lack of equality in events that his IOC used in Vancouver in 2006, when female athletes filed a lawsuit against the Vancouver Organizing Committee for a discrepancy in events for men and women.  There simply was not enough entries to make the competition... well, competitive, apparently.  And, this makes perfect sense, considering that there has never been a women's ski jumping event, so why would Olympic athletes be trained for an event that never existed?

But Christophe Dubi was rather frustrated with all the questions regarding an inclusion of a higher ski jump for women.  "You remember the debate regarding women's ski jumping and at the time it was considered that we didn't have the depth and number of jumpers for Vancouver. We don't need to go back to these arguments," he said.  Well, apparently, it does still need to happen, because although the aforementioned lawsuit against the Vancouver Organizing Committee was unsuccessful, women's ski jump became an event in 2014.  It's reasonable to think that this lawsuit, successful or not, attracted more attention to the event.

The only other event women can't participate in is the Nordic Combine, which is a ski jump followed by a 10 kilometer cross-country race.  So, once that becomes a female event, and once women can jump from the same heights, we're good, right?  Well, these discrepancies are seen across the board, in all actuality.  For example, in biathlon: "The women compete in a 7.5K sprint, a 10K individual pursuit, a 15K individual race, a 12.5K mass start and a 4x6K relay. The men's distances for the same races are 10K, 12.5K, 20K, 15K and 4x7.5K." Cross country is no different: "the men's races are anywhere from 50% to 100% longer than the women's. The longest women's race is 30K. The men go 50."  Finally, in long-track speedskating, "the men's longest race is 10,000 meters. The women's is 5,000. In short track, the men skate a 5,000-meter relay; the women go 3,000."

I am one of the people that thinks we need more positive stories in the news cycle and more news on the campaigns for equal rights from around the country and the globe.  The inclusion of women's ski jumping is a monumental milestone and is certainly newsworthy, but the media as a whole only goes half the distance.  Or perhaps, 3000 meters as opposed to the full 5000 meters, or a 95 meter jump as opposed to a 125 meter jump.  Either way, the media needs to go the full distance, and our female Olympics athletes need to be allowed to.  Some light should be shed on what lies behind the shroud of equal rights that the media has created, in the Olympics as well as many other facets of society, which is a plethora of short changings for half of our population.

Rainbows for Sochi

Russia's anti-gay laws were under scrutiny even before any athletes traveled to Sochi for the 2014 games.  We live in a time when gay rights are not only a national issue, but an international issue.  Fifteen countries in 2013 approved same sex marriage, from Argentina, to Brazil, to Canada, to France, to South Africa.  But whether you live in one of these countries, or you live in the state of Ohio of the United States, where a gay marriage can only be recognized on a death certificate, we all have our stances on the issue.

Last summer, Russia warned that Olympic athletes could be arrested for violating their anti-gay laws.  I and my fellow Greek-American buddies were huddled around our TV ready to watch Greece lead the Parade of Nations, as they do during every Olympics (there's got to be some perk for creating the Olympics, right?) when we saw Greek athletes walk in with..... rainbow gloves??  Some of us watching were shocked, "are you trying to get arrested, my fellow Greek brethren?"  Needless to say, they did not hear the outcries.  There were only seven Greek athletes, and Greece hasn't even legalized gay marriage, so I thought it was an extremely bold and courageous move.  The gloves, pictured above, did resemble a rainbow if you saw them from a distance... I guess.

Only they turned out to be the theme colors for the Olympics, and the gloves that were provided to them to wear if they need them.  It may have seemed like Greeks being courageous like Alke (Ἀλκή), the spirit of prowess and courage (and yes, I did look it up, and no, Greeks don't still worship Greek gods).  No, the Greek athletes were just freezing and a little homesick from the 60 degree weather they were missing out on.

So maybe this was a neat coincidence for LGBTQ activists, but some media giants from around the world did in fact change their logos towards a LGBTQ friendly one, at least temporarily.  A Guardian article compiled some of the best ones:

They chose the Google Doodle as one of their faves, a great choice if I do say so myself.  It also featured a quote from the Olympic Charter on equality and the spirit of the Olympics:

Another one of their faves, their own logo:

#sawitatthetopofthearticlewebpage

And even... the NBC logo!  Wait, isn't that just the normal NBC logo...?

So, maybe the Greeks, the Sochi Olympic planners in general, and NBC weren't meaning to advocate for LGBTQ rights through their gloves and logos, but alas, they did.  Maybe, just maybe, a discussion about fashion or gossip, that we see all too often on the front page of CNN and the like, will lead to a serious discussion about the rights of LGBTQ in places where rights are non-existent.  I think I know a good place to start the discussion.

Putin is so dashing.

Image credit

No News Isn't Good Enough

People say that no news is good news, but sometimes it's hard not to notice that there is no good news. At least, it's not easy to find. Among all the stories that shock, terrify, disgust, and sadden us, there are very few that give us something to smile about. Every now and then there is that one joyful headline that breaks through the angry noise surrounding it, but there are so many other beautiful and uplifting things that happen in the world that aren't heard. In fact, there are so many stories in general, happy or unhappy, shocking or comforting, that never reach the front pages of newspapers, the most popular TV shows, or the websites people visit every day. There are voices and stories that go unheard everyday, and I believe they ought to be brought where people can see them.

You might wonder why these stories need to be heard. Well, the reason differs from story to story, but it comes down to this: you never know. You never know what story might inspire someone to do good. You never know what story might spark an idea, begin a train of thought, turn a bad day into a good one, or  change a mind. Our news is incredibly revealing about our society. What we choose to say, and not to say. Why the most popular stories on CNN.com are the shocking ones or the ones that play to us like advertisements. Why it is hard to find news that portrays events with integrity, or editorials that dissect issues with less snark and more thought.

So here’s to finding the stories that our society ignores, to reshape what we are saying through our media!

A Not So Brief Intro

I like being optimistic.  It's so much more fun than being a downer, don't you agree?  So, why are we constantly flooded with negative messages in the media from negative and degrading portrayal of ourselves in pop culture to news items that are just downright depressing?  Okay, never mind, who knows why?  But one thing's for certain - it continues to be the norm because we allow it to happen, because we buy into it, because it's still profitable.  For now, at least.  

How many positive news stories have you heard?  For almost everyone, the answer is probably something along the lines of, "OH, I remember that time when there was that uplifting news story!"  It's a feeling of nostalgia, we have to think back and remember a positive story.  What if we were surrounded by more positive stories?  While it's important to know some important headlines and pertinent news items, why should we subject ourselves to the negative messages that the media pumps out on what seems to be an assembly line?  

The media would say it's to inspire change or invoke emotion - but can't uplifting stories do the same, and perhaps, much more effectively?  And what about the stories that are seldom covered?  These are mostly domestic issues, from problems of inner cities to a lack of news coverage for the disturbing gender roles that we hold in our society.

My past is really what has inspired me to create a website such as this, where we can discuss the news topics and themes that are seldom covered - which includes uplifting stories.  I am from Baltimore, Maryland and have also grown up in a time where gender roles are extremely ingrained, where fear is constantly in the news cycle, and where the problems of cities are literally never covered by national news companies. Like never. Never ever.

I think my past there and seeing how broken the media is (in terms of portraying the wrong subjects, like negative, gossipy stories) made me want to pursue journalism and communication and bring attention not only to the problems that plague Baltimore, but the issues not being brought up in the media enough.  Perhaps, through a website such as this, we can begin to show others how these aforementioned topics deserved to be covered as well, that perhaps, they're more important than some of the gossip (isn't that a radical idea?!?).  

I enjoy writing and want to pursue Journalism or Communication, so this seems like a natural first step.  Like I said, I like being optimistic.  I know there are many other people out there, many young, who are fed up with the way the media works.  Well, it's time for a change, a paradigm shift.  And those words aren't strong enough - it's time to turn the media world as we know it upside down, inside out, outside down with uplifting and pertinent stories that makes us empowered, enlightened, educated, and enthusiastic about our future.  As I said earlier, I like being optimistic.  Hopefully someday, I’ll be able to call myself a realist, as well.