Talkin' Bout My Generation

After searching the blogosphere, we've stumbled across some pretty amazing things happening, particularly from today's youth. We've found aspiring writers, photographers, entrepreneurs; the list goes on and on.

It came as a bit of a surprise, really. There's been a lot of talk lately targeting our generation as one of apathy, an unmotivated bunch. Surfing the Blogger realm, we encountered an untapped collection of bright, passionate youth, who maintain blogs about subject matter ranging from personal journals, to spaces where they can share their works of writing with a network of potential critics.

The first blog we'd like to note, comes from a 13 year old who is crazy about books.

He writes:

"My blog is a place where we discuss books (mainly fiction, 12+) and
share or recommend books to each other to read. You can also send in
reviews and I will place them on the blog. At Pizza's Book Discussion
you can vote on the polls or even suggest new ideas for me as the blog
is still relatively new.

-Pizza"

Check out: www.pizzasbookdiscussion.blogspot.com

If you're a kid who has done some pretty neat things with their blog, or know of someone who has, post a comment or e-mail us at mmovements@gmail.com!

Drawing the Line

We are very pleased that so many people took the time out of their busy schedules to view our blog. An even bigger thanks to those who took the time to contribute their thoughts. We'd like to share with you an excerpt from an e-mail we received from a Mr. Eugene Grubb (Ret. USMC):

"I served in Vietnam and I have heard horrific stories of torture in Vietnam from my fellow veterans. I saw the artwork by the gentleman on your website and tears came to my eyes. I love America and support the government but the torture of these men at Abu Ghraib was unacceptable. No innocent man should be humiliated and subjected to torture. But I do believe that torture for the safety of your country is necessary. If a terrorist knows where his master's are keeping the American troops hostage, or if he knows where a bomb is I believe that it is a good idea to torture the information out of him to keep our country safe."

This quote sheds light on a very interesting moral predicament that most people find themselves in. We believe it is wrong to torture other innocent human beings, but a part of us feels that in some instances, mainly when we believe an individual is guilty, it is necessary for the greater good.

The question is, where do we draw the line? When can torture be considered necessary, if at all? President Obama has stated that the United States does not torture, and therefore plans on closing Guantanamo Bay. Is this a wise move?

Tell us what you think by posting a comment, or e-mailing at mmovements@gmail.com

Violence on the Door Step

As you may know, the drug cartels of Northern Mexico have been more open and actively violent. The death toll in the past two months alone has reach over 350 people. The deaths have been becoming increasingly gruesome and the severity of the situation continues to escalate. KPBS has created a great site which displays trends in the deaths that have occurred in the past few months in an interactive map . This interactive map shows where the bodies were found each week and other information related to the drug wars raging just over the border. We recommend visiting this site through the links above as it is extremely illuminating and very informative on this pertinent issue.

We the People (may contain graphic images)

Contemporary photographer Chris Jordan recently opened a very fascinating exhibit:

Running the Numbers
An American Self-Portrait

The photographs each represent a certain statistic pertaining to society. Most are related to American consumption, while some touch on ethical issues such as torture, and the tobacco industry.

Here is a piece Jordan calls Constitution, 2008:



Upon further investigation at a closer range, you can see that it is composed of 83,000 photographs, all depicting prisoners at Abu Gharib. This number is, "...equal to the number of people who have been arrested and held at US-run detention facilities with no trial or other due process of law, during the Bush Administration's war on terror." (Jordan, http://www.chrisjordan.com/)

Here is a partial zoom of the photo. We would like to preface it by saying some people may find this image disturbing:




Tell us what you think about torture, contemporary photography, or anything related.
If you have any artists you'd like to recommend, or artwork of your own you'd like to submit, please don't hesitate to e-mail us at mmovements@gmail.com