Tempers Over Super Bowl Abortion Ad

America’s CBS television network has caused tempers to flare in this year’s Super Bowl. Its decision to broadcast a 30-second anti-abortion advertisement during the football game has attracted nearly as much attention as the game itself. CBS will air an advert paid for by an anti-abortion Christian group called Focus On The Family. The ad‘s title is ‘Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life’. It features the story of Tim Tebow, a champion quarterback, who is alive today because his mother ignored medical advice to have an abortion. She had complications during her pregnancy in 1987. Tim’s story and the anti-abortion message will reach around 100 million people. The Super Bowl is the most watched event on US television.

A spokesman for Focus On The Family, Gary Schneeberger, explained his group’s reason for the ad: He said: "We're not trying to sell the American people a car or a soft drink. We're celebrating families." He added his organization hoped to influence couples having problems with their marriage. The ad has its opponents. Women’s groups are putting pressure on CBS to drop the ad. They argue it is not the job of television channels to "dictate morality." Others are accusing CBS of double standards. The network is airing the anti-abortion ad but reject an ad for a gay dating service called Man Crunch. By the way, blink and you’ll miss the ad - the Super Bowl is between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts.

7.‘Occupy’ Protests Go Global

The “Occupy Wall Street” protests that began in New York on September the 17th have now moved around the world. Demonstrations have spread to more than 60 major cities worldwide. Protesters were out in force at the weekend in Tokyo, Rome, London, Buenos Aires, Helsinki and other capitals and financial centres. Protests in the Italian capital saw battles between protestors and police in which dozens were injured, shop windows smashed and cars torched. The protests are against corporate greed and corruption, government cuts, and social inequality. In Japan, protestors marched behind “Occupy Tokyo" banners and protested outside the headquarters of the owner of the Fukushima nuclear power plants.

Occupy Wall Street was started in New York by the Canadian activist group Adbusters. The movement is now being compared to the Tahrir Square protests in Cairo earlier this year and the Arab Spring. Jesse LaGreca, a leader of Occupy Wall Street, spoke on U.S. television about the spread of the protests around the world. He said: "We are seeing our future stolen away from us while the wealthiest one percent get richer and richer, and I'm glad people are taking a role and participating in their democracy." He added: “The growth is happening very organically. There is communication among protesters worldwide through Twitter, through Facebook, through social media, and just through friends who are concerned about each other."

Date: 2015-02-03; view: 1090