The white and uneducated Canadian Parliament. China orders officials to smoke local cigarettes. Sex-ed through cellphone texts. These are the top stories gaining attention around the world.
One of DigitalJournal.com’s busiest reporters went political this week, publishing several “special reports” revolving around political mandates. KJ Mullins tackled Ontario’s decision use of “special drug-dispensing machines to speed up the lines at pharmacies.” That means people could get drugs through vending machines, a practise definitely out of the ordinary for Canada. KJ spoke to the health minister’s spokesperson to find out more, and also interviewed a doctor involved in the technology’s trial run.
KJ also dissected a recent study that found Canadian members of Parliament (MP) to be less educated and whiter (if that’s possible) than their counterparts in the U.S. She didn’t just report the study’s findings; she discussed the results with a political science prof about his insight into the role of non-ethnic politicians.
Our Mexican correspondent Donald Appel followed up last week’s news on the swine flu pandemic affecting the country with another excellent article on Mexico City’s recovery. He gave details on Finance Secretary Augustin Carstens saying the government would “offer assistance totaling 27.4 billion pesos to companies effected by the epidemic.” Plus, he interviewed some residents to find out how they are coping with the swine flu hysteria.
Many other major stories are popular on DigitalJournal.com, including:
• China orders officials: Smoke or be fined: Digital Journalist Subhabrata Das brought us this unusual story about Chinese officials ordered to smoke thousands of cigarettes in order to stimulate the local economy. Never mind that China is the most smoke-filled country in this world and its 350 million smokers comprise a third of the world’s total. It almost sounds like a parent demanding a child smoke packs of cigarettes in order to finally detest smoking. Well, sort of.
• First U.S. face transplant recipient revealed: It is an inspiring story — a woman with a serious facial injury has received the first full face transplant in the U.S. The accompanying photo might make you uncomfortable, but this important article demonstrates breakthrough medical advances and the will to keep strong in the face of adversity.
• Majority Of Americans Want Pot Legalized: Zogby Poll: Around 52 percent of Americans are in favor of marijuana legalization, reports Digital Journalist Bob Ewing. The poll is indicative of a sweeping trend across the U.S., as more states begin to offer medicinal marijuana programs and consider decriminalizing the herb. Do you think pot should be legal in your community?
• Psychic Patricia Putt failed the test for the JREF prize today: So a psychic wanted to win the $1 million prize awarded by the James Randi Educational Foundation. Patricia Putt took this test to verify her psychic abilities and she failed. But the article notes, “It is important to note that this test does not prove that psychic powers do not exist. It does not even prove that Patricia Putt has no psychic powers. All it shows is that Patricia putt failed utterly to pass a test… this time.” We have a feeling we’ll hear Putt’s name in the near future…in fact, we predict it!
• Should Teens Learn About Sex Through Texting on Cellphones? The Birds and the Bees Text Line — it sounds like a joke but it’s a serious effort in North Carolina where teens can anonymously text questions about sex. M Dee Dubroff writes, “In North Carolina, where educators up to now have been like ostriches hiding their head in the sand, an abstinence-until-marriage curriculum has been taught in the schools as an answer to sexual problems. This one-size-fits-all mentality not only doesn’t work…” And yes, you have to read the article to find out the writer’s full opinion on the issue.
• FDA posts recall of Hydroxycut products following reported death: Liver damage as a consequence of using dietary pills? It’s ugly news when a widespread product gets recalled — Hydroxycut products are being pulled from shelves after some of their goods gave people serious liver damage. Nothing like Bob Ewing on top of recall news on DigitalJournal.com
• Is White Tea the Solution to The Obesity Epidemic?: We’ve all heard about the benefits of drinking tea. But now white tea is in the news for helping curb obesity. Researchers write, “We’ve shown that white tea may be an ideal natural source of slimming substances,” which should prompt you to reach for the tea bag instead of the coffee cup.
• New Doubts Raised by Defense in Casey Anthony Case: Carol Forsloff pens a comprehensive article on some new wrinkles in the Casey Anthony trial. She wonders if the mother of Caylee Anthony can get a fair trial in the area of Florida where she lives. The media coverage has been biased, the defense attorneys claim. This story won’t be going away anytime soon.
• Manny Pacquiao Finished Ricky Hatton in Second Round: It was the second-round knockout punch heard about the world. Pacquiao beat Hatton in a much-hyped fight, prompting boxing observers to label Manny one of the best in the world. Leo Reyes reported on his favourite topic, adding some newsworthy quotes from Hatton (“never saw the punch coming”) and a little-known fact about Pacquiao (he’s seeking a congressional seat in the Phillipines?).
• Like Father Like Son, Mayweathers Are On The Run: The Pacquiao match wasn’t the only major boxing story winning love on DigitalJournal.com. Edwin Ladaga describes the Mayweather father-and-son boxing team, describing why Floyd Jr. is “avoiding fighters”. It’s a contentious argument, and we are interested in hearing what you think about the Mayweathers.
TopFinds Awards
The honourees of this week’s TopFinds Awards attracted impressive attention and widest readership. Digital Journal thanks the following Digital Journalists with Awards for their passion for covering the top issues of the day: Subhabrata Das, Chris V. Thangam, Bob Ewing, Adriana Stuijt, Bart B. Van Bockstaele, M Dee Dubroff, Michael Cosgrove, Donald Appel, Edwin Ladaga, Leo Reyes, Nikki Weingartner, Sandy Sand,Carol Forsloff,and KJ Mullins.
The Top Blog Post of the Week goes to Christina Lucas for publishing a gorgeous travel piece about Sydney, Australia. Sidekicked with original photos, the blog post gave us a nuanced overview of this beach-friendly city. In this piece of writing, she profiled Redleaf Pool and made us Canadians quite jealous of all the sunshine those Australians enjoy. No worries — we’ll live vicariously through Christina’s sunny descriptions.
The Top Comment of the Week is awarded to Adriana Stuijt for her insight into Christopher Szabo‘s article on the new hairstyle the Ukrainian PM is sporting. Adriana explained the significance of Yulia Tymoshenko’s braid (or recent lack thereof) and said, “Doing away with her braid and replacing it with the style displayed by a Greek goddess, is an interesting development and not at all superficial.” She also had some kinds word for Szabo and his perspective on world news.
