A citizen journalist attends a rally in Georgia co-starring Sarah Palin. Another reporter interviews a bishop in Harare about Zimbabwe. And several stories about the suspension of the Canadian parliament. These are the top stories making news right now.
Digital Journal — On DigitalJournal.com, readers got their share of on-the-ground reporting: citizen journalist Sherri Reese attended the important rally for Republican Saxby Chambliss, who returned to office after beating Democrat Jim Martin. She was able to include some great photos of Sarah Palin throwing her weight behind Chambliss, as well as a deadly-cute pic of a kid hugging a cardboard cutout of the Alaskan senator.
We were also treated to an exclusive interview with the Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Harare, Dr. Sebastian Bakare. Michael Squires did an excellent job in finding out the state of poverty in Zimbabwe, the educational system in the region and Bakare’s perspective on President Mugabe. A fascinating read.
Interested in water policy? In corporate involvement in “aquanomics?” Then look no further than David Zetland‘s report on a meeting between water activists in San Francisco. He not only outlined the speakers’ arguments but also offered thorough analysis on “water cartels” and how to end the water crisis.
Also worthy of a TopFinds mention is a well-written opinion piece about the imploding newspaper business. With a sharp pen, Paul Wallis broke down the broken business models of media conglomerates struggling to recover from dismal ad sales. Our favourite line? “Old media needs to realize that if the world’s investors are being told to avoid them, it’s time to hold the wake and shut down the buggy whip factory.”
Several other article caught our eye. Many intriguing stories are making news right now, including:
• Workers and Shoppers Trampled at Wal-Mart: Nothing says disgraceful like consumerism run amok — so much so, staffers die because of rampaging shoppers. This article showed us how holiday sales can make rabid animals out of normal people. A store clerk was trampled to death at a Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, NY, reminding us where to stock our priorities the next time LCD TV prices are slashed by 30 per cent.
• ‘Upskirting’ Photography Creating Legal Controversy: Another sign of deplorable times is the “upskirting” phenom: men slide cellphone cameras under a woman’s skirt, and then post the groin shots online. Some politicians in the U.S. are creating bills to criminalize this behaviour and some bold women are fighting back by posting pics of the harrassing men on a site called HollaBack NYC. You go, girls!
• Venus and Jupiter to Align With Moon, Not Visible Again For Another 44 Years: Cosmo nerds, this one’s for you. In a rare night sky event, Venus and Jupiter aligned with the moon on Dec. 1, labelled by researchers as a “head-turner.” The article detailed why this occurrence is so unique and offered advice on how to best enjoy the sight. Thanks to Debra Myers to including some photos after the event.
• Bush finally apologizes for the economic crisis: It was the apology everyone was anticipating. In an interview with Charlie Gibson, President Bush admitted wrongdoing in miring the U.S. in an economic downturn, “I’m sorry it’s happening, of course.” And his biggest regret of his presidency? Going to war with Iraq with incorrect intelligence about Saddam Hussein. Well, hindsight is 20/20, right?
• Prime Minister Harper Will Address Canadians Tonight: Who knew Canadian politics could be so riveting? Prime Minister Stephen Harper fought back against the coalition government bent on unseating him by addressing Canadians in a nation-wide address. While it was big on PR and short on substance, it was a huge draw and spurred the Great White North to get the debate going on how the country can pull itself out of an economic mess.
• After an historic decision, Canadian parliament has been prorogued until 2009: The day after the PM’s address to the nation, he convinced the Governer-General to suspend Parliament, effectively avoiding a motion that would may have had him booted out of the PM chair. We think we know where this Citizen Journalist’s opinion lies, as he wrote: “We can now expect a major propaganda campaign from the Conservative Party in order to convince the country that they should be allowed to continue after the parliamentary recess.”
• Mumbai Hostages Were Tortured: One of the most popular articles on DigitalJournal.com looked at the Mumbai massacre and how some of the hostages were tortured at the hands of their sadistic attackers. We were spared the details but knowledge about such suffering was still heart-breaking. A healthy debate bookends the article, which may be of interest to anyone curious about the attackers’ motives and origins.
• Bill Clinton Will Disclose List of Donors: The Clinton name won’t be leaving our headlines anytime soon. This time, Bill Clinton won media attention for revealing his list of financial donors, paving the way for his wife to become Secretary of State. All this disclosure proves the Clintons are serious about holding administration positions that will give them a shot at making substantial impact on American policy.
TopFinds Awards
The honourees of this week’s TopFinds Awards attracted impressive attention and widest readership. Digital Journal thanks the following Citizen Journalists with Awards for their passion for covering the top issues of the day: Sherri Reese, Michael Squires, David Zetland, Paul Wallis, Sadiq Green, Debra Myers, Nikki Weingartner, Chris V. Thangham, Bob Ewing, Bart B. Van Bockstaele, Carolyn E. Price, and Barbara Sowell.
The Top Blog Post of the Week goes to H. Lewis Smith for his thought-provoking and timely piece on how Proposition 8 created a massive rift between the gay and black communities in California. He offered his opinion not only on gay marriage but how bickering and tension has provoked unnecessary anger between the two groups. One of his most telling sentences? “The gay community assumed the black community would empathize with their struggles and fully support them in this effort.”
