Beat update Week of Oct.12

http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20091009/NEWS01/910090332/1002/NEWS01/Lt.-Gov.-Landrieu-touts-economic-value-of-Louisiana-s-culture
This article is from a central Louisiana newspaper. It addresses the issue, as presented by the state's Lt. Gov., that culture is a big money maker for Louisiana. He says that tourism and the arts are big financial gains and says "culture means money." This is important because it shows how my beat is closely connected to the economy of our country.

http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2009/me_iran0794_10_12.asp
This is an interesting article that addresses cultural and religious issues in Iran. It brings up the idea that there is a clash between Arab culture and the religion of Islam. This is important to my beat because I feel that the differences between these two ideas are not well known to Americans but is important to understanding the conflicts in that country - which is a country that is closely tied to our national defense, military actions, etc.