A radio essay.
I explore how ISIS have changed the face of terror from their inception to their present.
– Natasha Reis
Tag: Natasha Reis
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Opinion – Russell Brand is dangerous
photo by – Eva Rinaldi, Flickr I would like to begin by stating something that might shock you. Perhaps it will dismay you, or cause some of you to feel anger towards me or the words I write.
Russell Brand is dangerous.
More importantly he is dangerous in the worst possible way. When I was a teenager I had a huge crush on Russell Brand. This is not what makes him dangerous, although this might add to it. Those were days when the words that spouted out of his gregarious mouth were bible. How eloquent, I would think, he wrote a book called Booky Wook, how hilarious. That’ll show those conformist adults!
I have an issue now. Maybe it is because I am more aware, and maybe it is because I am no longer blinded by messy hair and a handsome face.
It is very easy to not take Russell Brand seriously. But there is a danger in that, precisely because Brand remains attractive and influential. Too often I see someone post on Facebook a video he has done for The Trews, alongside some caption passionately commending Brand for his stylish rants on current issues.
The Trews
For those who do not know, The Trews is a vodcast on YouTube where Brand talks about current issues. The name is a portmanteau of ‘true’ and ‘news’, the implication being that his presentation of opinions about news events is perhaps more valid than what we normally see.
Take for example this video. about the shooting dead by Los Angeles police of a homeless man.
Brand has missed a number of vital points in understanding the events of the shooting. For example, you can hear the officer saying that the man is grabbing the officer’s gun. This is vital because it is lawful for a police officer to use lethal force if an individual is acting in a way which might endanger others or the officer himself. Brand repeatedly uses the word murder to describe this, when the video suggests otherwise.
Brand implies that the problem is that certain police forces are out of control in America, and that they treat certain members of the public as less than human. He claims with a surplus of weapons that the attitude is ‘to start shooting people that don’t show up on statistics or who don’t have any relevance.’
Now I would not be so high and mighty to declare everything Brand has to say is useless and dangerous. He is intelligent, that much is clear. At times he even has some valid points. Of course self-expression needs to be encouraged as we live in a democratic state and simply because freedom of expression is a human right.
The danger lies in the fact that people trust media. Perhaps sometimes a little too quickly. Brand for one, is a huge icon, especially in Britain. His reaches millions of people and has more than one million subscribers to his Youtube channel.
This is where the danger lies. When his version of events becomes fact. When his self-assured expression becomes undeniable proof that what he is saying is valid and infallible.
When someone names their channel The Trews it opens up a world of ethical and moral practice that should be adhered to.
The irony of Brand is that he is quick to attack news organisations for faulty news coverage, and yet there are a plethora of times that Brand’s own version of the news omits vital information.
– Natasha Reis
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Advice from Lola
photo by – digitalpimp, Flickr “There is this old belief that the monster hides in the shadow at the end of the alley way, but in reality they can be anywhere, and hurt you in anyway.”
“How would you describe yourself?” I ask her. “What words come to mind?”
She spoons sugar in to her tea and stirs. “I’m probably very irrational. Funny sometimes, quite intelligent, I think. Quite ordinary really. There’s nothing extraordinary or unordinary about me.”
“Why have you spoken to me today?”
“If they are anything like me, then they would blame themselves.” Lola (not her real name) embodies the attitude of some who are victims of sexual assault. “That took a long time for me to shake. Even five years later I still have days I think like that.”
“I never told anyone.” Lola says. “I felt ashamed. I went to the doctor the next day and told her I had lost my virginity, and I that needed the morning-after pill.” She takes a large breath. “And that’s when she asked me if I had been sexually assaulted. I remember there was a big gap in time where no one said anything. That’s then I told her no, I hadn’t. That’s probably one of my biggest regrets to this day.”
Many victims of sexual assault do not report their crimes, sometimes out of fear that they will not be believed, or even that telling anyone will not do any good. For some, like Lola, the fear becomes regret.
Superintendent John Ferris, who leads the Garda sexual assault division, recommends that those who experience sexual assault should “firstly seek medical advice”. Secondly, he says, victims should “contact the gardaí, report the matter to gardaí or report it to the Rape Crisis Centre, one of those people – but most definitely to report it. It’s part of the therapy of getting over these traumas: the fact of keeping it a secret it doesn’t aid recovery.”
Sexual assault has become a hot topic for many media outlets across the globe. The gang rape and murder of Delhi intern Jyoti Singh Pandey sparked global outrage, and she has since become a symbol of the need for public support of rape victims.
“I hate seeing the term ‘alleged rape’. I see it all the time, in newspapers, online,” Lola says. “The media are very careful, and sometimes I think it alienates people from coming forward. It’s alleged right, not a fact, it’s my word and to you this could possibly be made up. But this is my reality, you know? When I see ‘alleged’ I see ‘but could be lying’.”
The issue with reporting sexual assault, or even all crimes, is that it is technically an alleged crime until it is gone through the court system and provide otherwise. There is of course an awareness, especially in the media, as to how words can impact readers. Sexual assault is such a sensitive matter that the word ‘alleged’ might seem derogatory at times.
The term ‘rape culture’ is growing more and more prevalent. The main concern is the trend of ‘victim blaming’. In 2013, the Rape Crisis Centre in Ireland surveyed 571 sexual abuse victims who went to the Garda. Of that 571, 57% who filed the complaint with gardaí felt as though they were treated with sensitivity; 29% felt that they received neutral treatment; and the remaining 14% felt as though gardaí treated them in an insensitive manner.
This means as many as 80 victims felt that they were treated insensitively in 2013.
https://spritesapp.com/view/embed/25910
Lola took a moment to compose herself, and described her ordeal. “I was very drunk. I said no but that was about all I was able to do. At that time the definition of rape was widely seen as a fully conscious refusal, that could have even got violent. So I brushed this away as my fault. Next time don’t get so drunk, I would say to myself.” Even now Lola seemed a bit defeated with this statement, as though the words were a physical weight on her shoulders.
The Criminal Law (Rape) Amendment Act 1990 states that the person “guilty of rape under section 4 shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life”. The Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981 defines rape: “he has unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman who at the time of the intercourse does not consent to it” or “at that time he knows that she does not consent to the intercourse or he is reckless as to whether she does or does not consent to it”.
For Lola the gardaí were never involved. To this day only a couple of her closest friends and her boyfriend know. It took Lola a few years to tell anyone at all. “I didn’t want to upset my mum. She would have taken this the hardest. I never spoke about it, I had my mourning period, I thought I was okay. My logic was this: if I get upset about it, let it ruin my life, then he has won.
“And I didn’t want him to win, so I chose to brush it under the carpet.”
Advice from Lola
Support is available all around Ireland for those who have experienced sexual assault of any kind or degree. The Rape Crisis Centre has a hotline open 24 hours a day, and can provide help and information.
Lola wants to use her experience to help others. “I want to tell people to get help. I think admitting it took place and then working from that would have been the healthiest thing to do. And I know I sound like a hypocrite, but don’t hide it, it’s not healthy. My own mother doesn’t know this about me, and sometimes all I want to do is tell her now. Just remember you are strong, this is just one event in your life, don’t let it ruin your future.”
– Natasha Reis
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What are your thoughts on the marriage referendum?
On May 22nd, Ireland might be the first country in the world to pass same-sex marriage by popular vote, but will Ireland make history?
I spoke to a few people to see how they felt!
– Natasha Reis
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The legalities of watching someone die
There is a forum thread on the site Reddit called Watch People Die. Although the nature of this thread seems self-explanatory, many questions remain on the ethical and legal side of sites such as these.
The forum in itself comprises of various videos uploaded by users of people’s deaths. It is assumed that these are real videos. Some are shot by mobiles, CCTV or even official footage. Most are graphic and gruesome in nature.
There is a section where you can search for certain types of videos, clearly laid out for your viewing pleasure.
What is perhaps more harrowing are the strict guidelines and rules for video submissions. The first rule is that ‘there must be a person – not an animal – actually dying in the link.’ The moderators can and will remove posts which do not fit their guidelines.
What are the current implications for viewers in Ireland?
“European directives and regulations transposed into Irish law require that Internet access services are provided without any monitoring of what people are accessing by ISPs,” says Paul Durrant, chief executive of the Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland. ”This also applies to state authorities, who require a valid court order or warrant relating to specific subscriber connections to access user records or system logs.”
So content such as this forum are not currently illegal. Should it be?
“There are only two types of content where the content is, in itself, illegal, and users should not deliberately engage with or try to find such material online,” Durrant explains. “These are child pornography, which is illegal to knowingly obtain and possess, and incitement to hatred, which is only illegal to publish or distribute.”
Legality aside, then, what exactly are the intentions of a forum such as this, and more importantly the purposes of those who view the content? While it is in human nature to be curious, some requests for certain videos posted by users often leave a sense of bewilderment: Why on earth would someone, for example, request a video containing flaying?
One wonders whether there is an extreme sexual fetish at play with some users. Considering that some videos feature children it then brings us to the question of whether this forum at times crosses the line into an extreme version of child pornography.
Niall Colgan from Hotline.ie, a site where users can report illegal material on the internet, explains, unsurprisingly, that the net ‘is extremely difficult to regulate’. As technology advances, this difficulty multiplies.
What is left is then the idea of our rights to expression, and freedom to search whatever we feel fitting on the internet. The reddit site is a well-known one, but the forum might not be. There is a warning before you enter the forum asking if you are over eighteen years old, explicitly stating that it has ‘adult content’.
Should sites like these stay untouched or should we be actively trying to take them down?
– Natasha Reis
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The Oscars – who will win?
81st Academy Awards Presentations, Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, 2009. (Wikipedia) With the highly anticipated Oscar’s premiering this weekend, I went around and asked Dublin who they thought would win!
By Natasha Reis
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Valentines and Whips
Whips and handcuffs in Dublin sex-shop, Glamworld. Photo by Natasha Reis The release of Fifty Shades of Grey has finally come, whether you like it or not. The novels stormed best seller lists and become a topical subject and recognised globally.
Many are flocking to the cinemas in exhilaration while others to quench a morbid curiosity. One thing is sure, Fifty Shades of Grey has a marmite effect on its audience.
It is no surprise that some shops which sell Fifty Shades memorabilia are getting sick of hearing about the franchise. When mentioning to an Ann Summers employee Fifty Shades of Grey her sneer spoke wonders for her growing impatience for the topic.
Tim McDonald who works at one of Dublin’s sex shop Glamworld, explains the Fifty Shades of Grey effect: ‘after the first release of the books there was a global increase of sales of the likes of the jiggle balls, that really took off about 600% increase in sales globally.’
With the movie release a day before valentines sales for shops like Glamword and Ann Summers are expected to reach an all-time high. McDonald explained that ‘you might find when they run out of ideas they might come to us as a last result.’
So if you are one of the many men struggling to find a gift for your loved one perhaps take a trip down Dublin’s lanes and go for something a little different?
Glamworld sex-shop, Dublin. Photo by Natasha Reis The London Fire Brigade has hilariously took to Twitter to start their own hashtag ‘#fiftyshadesofred’ tweeting stories of Fifty Shades of Lovin’ that have gone wrong.
By Natasha Reis
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It is February and here are some reasons you have failed your New Year’s resolutions
Picure by Tanvir Alam By Natasha Reis
It begins like any other day. The alarm rings ten decimals higher than you’d like, the noise searing through your eardrums and peeling your eyelids open far too prematurely. It is insanely early by anyone’s standards and yet you have embarked on a mission so great that 6am is a necessary time to be alive and kicking.
You have of course promised yourself that this year would be different. That this year your love handles would be a thing of the past. You would wear your best frock, sip fancy cocktails and laugh about the times your stomach jiggled. Best frock? You would hiss, no. You are slim and attractive; you will become a nudist and consequently show everyone else the levels of fitness they are missing out on.
Except that it is 6am and you are sorely regretting this decision as it is only two weeks in and you have slipped up at least twice on your diet (the number is far greater but only you need to know the true figure).
You choose this time because during a rush of determination and stupidity the number 6 was imprinted in your mind with the connotations of health and fitness. Doesn’t everyone wake up this early? Is this not the first step to washboard abs? The problem is how are you supposed to do those 6am workouts when you are fast asleep and have snoozed your alarm 10 times already?
You have heard sleep is good for you so perhaps it is better to stay in bed.
By about 12 noon your stomach begins to rumble, you are at work. Hush now, you whisper. At this point you wonder if chocolate is truly that bad for you. There is a slim lady in your office and she is currently munching on a Cadbury bar: this seems too great a coincidence. But alas the salad you so painfully slaved over last night is sat on your desk begging for your attention. You even went to three different stores just to find natural beetroot. You cannot tarnish the sanctity of the salad with a chocolate bar. And yet the countless E numbers and preservatives are still calling your name.
At exactly 5:30pm you will finish work and at exactly 6pm you will arrive to your new second home; the gym. This is a wondrous place you tell yourself; you are in no way intimidated by those who use the machines with an expertise that suggests they are professionals. No matter you tell yourself, how hard can a treadmill be to use? Extremely. It is asking you to type in your weight and a strange paranoia washes over you. What if it relays this information out loud? At this point in your life you would rather it read out your bank details. Perhaps your balance would be a good weight goal for you? You wonder.
It has just turned 10pm and you are tucked up in bed replaying that gym session in your head. You wonder if you already look slimmer.
Six weeks of this daily routine has heavily dishevelled that determination you once held. The chocolate bar sits opened on your desk and the once ripe beetroot now rotting in your fridge.
Perhaps 2016 is the year. Until then you worry about whether you have put on more weight or not.
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American Sniper – a must see
Bradley cooper as Chris Kyle in American Sniper – photo by Sahil Khan
Chris Kyle is an American Sniper dubbed by Iraqi insurgents as the ‘devil of Ramadi’; he earned this nickname by being the deadliest sniper in American history with at least 160 confirmed kills. He was heralded by Americans as a deadly force on the ‘War on Terror’.
Clint Eastwood directed the film, based (rather loosely at times) on Kyle’s autobiography. The film is homage to the struggles that soldiers face when confronted by modern warfare. The first scene the audience is confronted with is the moral dilemma of whether Kyle’s character (played by Bradley Cooper) will shoot and kill a young child who carries a bomb. The fierce intrusion of this morally heinous situation draws the audience in to the darker sides of war.
Many have heralded American Sniper as glorifying war, and yet Eastwood shows a brutal and gripping account of war that leaves Cooper shaking and volatile from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that has earned him a nomination for best actor for the Golden Globe award.
American sniper will often leave you breathless, literally at the edge of your seat (or pinned down to it, depending on the type of person you are) watching a Marine live through war and attempting to heal from it after. It is likened to Saving Private Ryan for its unflinching portrayal of war. What one must do is separate American Sniper from Chris Kyle, the controversy that is embedded from his book and when you look at the movie as a standalone you are left with is one of the best films of the year.
By Natasha Reis
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Dutch Station held up by gun wielding man
Footage from Dutch TV station NOS shows a man who forced his way into its studios brandishing a fake gun. Armed police captured the man and no-one was injured.
Gun wielding Dutch man has stormed NOS studios in the Netherlands, demanding to be put on air. Police were at the scene not long after. No hostages were taken, and the building was evacuated.
Footage of the man, seen pacing up and down the studio in a suit is available online. He was holding a long slim line pistol with a suppressor while muttering “The things that are going to be said [pause] – those are very large world affairs. We were hired by the security service”.
The main evening news was disrupted. The channel broadcasted a message which read: “In connection with circumstances, no broadcast is available at this time”.
When police stormed the office the man is seen to put down his gun and surrender. It is not clear exactly what the motive was behind the act, but police did recover a list of demands.
Friday, 30th January. By Natasha Reis
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