March 31, 2011

AMERICAN IMPRESSIONS



One evening I was having dinner with two friends in a New York City high-rise apartment. My friends were naturalized Americans, meaning they had been immigrants, and I was a foreign student then. For some reason, our conversation turned to America. And all of us came to the conclusion – that Americans are for the most part kind people – not only to their own kind.  

February 24, 2011

Media Coverage in the Middle East

As a journalist, I commiserate with the dangerous work of covering demonstrations happening this month in volatile places like the Middle East.


The Georgia Straight, a Vancouver newspaper published in their web site Straight.Com my take on media coverage of a mob, particularly in Egypt and Bahrain. Please download the link below:

http://www.straight.com/article-376162/vancouver/joseph-lopez-media-mob-and-middle-east-protests

LIVING IN AN OLYMPIC CITY

It has been a year this February since the 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver. The Athletes Village - a complex of a thousand flats – most of which remain unsold, is a ghost town. Walking midday in what should be a frenetic downtown space, the village streets were empty, and there was only one person in sight, a city sanitation worker who remarked, “It’s good, not much garbage to pick up.” The sleek three-story fitness centre, used by the athletes during the games, had four office staff, and two ladies working out in the weight room. Just like the outside, the whole building was very quiet.