What the world is reading

With China blacking out all news about the Nobel peace prize ceremony for dissident Liu Xiaobo in Oslo,Karl Taro Greenfield writes about how the nation,when faced with any crisis,has the tendency to hide behind its great wall. Greenfield writes about being a journalist in Beijing in 2003,when the SARS virus exploded out of southern China,infecting thousands,and the censors were intent on hiding as much about the deadly virus as was possible,keeping it either away from all headlines altogether or merely dismissing it as a rumour. Chinas response to SARS offered a guidebook to the elements of its closed nature,marked by its refusal to own up to domestic problems,acknowledge the human rights of its citizens or deal openly with the media.

Guernica

Murder Music

Jamaicas traditional dancehall music is a beat-heavy,lyrically dense,energetic,and synthesizer-driven music that has much in common with American hip-hop. Also called murder music,it is now being blamed for the countrys violence against homosexuals. In fact,in May 2008,in an interview on BBC,Jamaicas prime minister,Bruce Golding,said he would exclude homosexuals from his cabinet. Writing in the online magazine,Ilan Greenberg talks about dancehall,which,with lyrics like You should know that Capleton burns homosexuals/The same fire applies to lesbians/Say I burn everything as long as I know that theyre homosexual/All homosexuals and sodomites should be killed is also the battle cry of a changing Jamaica,where music is a critical component of national identity. But with a phenomenon among performers to bleach white their faces,necks,and arms,many Jamaicans are wondering how the nations youth feel about their black skin.

The Huffington Post

The Pope,PETA and Overpopulation

In the wake of the Popes controversial comment that condom use may be acceptable if used to check HIV,PETA president Ingrid Newkirk says the organisation is using the opportunity to draw attention to the inability of dogs and cats to use contraceptives,leading to their overpopulation. Beginning at the Vatican and soon moving on to cathedrals and churches across the US,PETA members are going to be handing out leaflets featuring an image of the Pope holding a condom and the message Dogs amp; Cats Cant Use Condoms. We Are in the Midst of an Unholy Animal Overpopulation Crisis. Spay or Neuter Today. Newkirk writes about how the result of this unprotected sex among dogs and cats is as deadly for them as the HIV virus is for us. Every year,up to 8 million animals end up in shelters across the US,and about half of them end up at the incinerator or city dump because there arent enough good homes for them.

The Guardian

The J D Salinger I knew

American author J D Salinger,91,died on January 27 this year. His old friend and writer for The New Yorker,Lillian Ross,writes about the generous author,who,she says,always had her laughing. Salinger could keep me on the phone for hours,laughing into exhaustion,covering everything and everybody around us. Salinger loved the people he created and was protective of them until the day he died. He gave us Holden Caulfield Catcher in the Rye. He gave us the Glass family. So why would some literary critics take such a censorious tone about Salingers personal life? She shares a story of when Salinger,whom Ernest Hemingway described as a god damned fine writer,first met her son,only a few months old,he sent her a letter,titled Notes on your son,with bullet points about the babys eyes,sleeping position and even his courtly manners. He was always giving you something with love,and it outlasted his lifetime.