Bushfires take an unprecedented toll on Australia. Expats once excited about Dubai’s fortunes are now fleeing the city. And satellites crash into each other high above Siberia. These are the top stories are making news around the world.
It isn’t a good time to be a fan of peanut butter, Australian forests, Dutch MP Geert Wilders or retirement in Dubai. All are under threat by various calamities reported on DigitalJournal.com. And you can’t forget the major news-maker winning attention — the sudden plane crash in suburban Buffalo.
Amidst the doom and gloom shone a few stunning examples of stellar citizen journalism. Adriana Stuijt endured an “exploding” chicken fillet and wrote about the Dutch meat industry. She wrote: “Large-scale wholesale meat-packagers… sell their water-and-blood-injected, dripping products to people they never meet and don’t care ever about.” She is also endeavouring to find out more about the strange meat product she bought, so looks like this story might develop further.
Also worth a kudos is a video game review courtesy of Shaun Conlin, a tech junkie who knows his stuff. He reviewed Ditti & Dotto Preschool: Mother Nature’s Visit, an “edutainment” title for tykes. He picked apart the positives and negatives in this thorough review, giving parents a heads-up on whether this title is worth their recessionary dollars.
Many other stories are popular right now, including:
• 65 dead in Australian bushfires, military called in: Our Australian correspondent Paul Wallis was quick to report on the Australian fires ravaging Victoria and beyond. He outlined all the evacuations and military responses to the crisis, while also updating readers on the death toll. We commend Paul on his comprehensive article and we hope Australia recovers from this disaster.
• Love Blooms Among Badly Burned Koala Bears: One of the most heart-breaking videos coming from the Australian bushfires looked at a heroic koala rescue 90 miles southeast of Melbourne. A must-see for anyone with a penchant for furry pets and compassionate firemen.
• Satellite Collision in space over Siberia: It sounds like a Michael Bay film: two satellites slammed into each other 500 miles over Siberia. As we learned, “While NASA is monitoring the situation, currently, they believe there is little risk to the International Space Station or its three astronauts.” We smell a TV movie of the week.
• Over 200 Peanut-related Products Recalled: Looks like sandwiches will just be jelly and bread, hold the peanut butter. Bob Ewing alerted us to the major recall of 200 peanut products in Canada due to the salmonella outbreak affecting parts of the U.S. Another fine job from our recall master.
• Hate Group Schedules Protest at Memorial of Caylee Tomorrow: The Caylee Anthony news continues to be popular on DigitalJournal.com, with Carol Forsloff penning an article on the Westboro Baptist Church planning a protest of the late child’s memorial. Belinda commented on the church’s leader Fred Phelps, saying, “He is determined to hurt people.”
• Layoffs causing massive data and intellectual property thefts: “There’s a very ready market for stolen data.” So declared an article detailing another sordid side effect of the economic downturn — widespread intellectual property theft. Readers got a sense of the crisis while also learning about ethics, the value of stolen data and how organized crime may be involved.
• Anti-jihadist Dutch MP expelled from UK: Rabble-rousing Dutch MP Geert Wilders has been denied entry to the UK, Adriana Stujit reported. Issues of freedom of speech and artistic rights are popping up in this controversial move, so stay tuned for a saga that won’t end anytime soon.
• Saudi gang-rape victim sentenced to 100 lashes, one year jail: A depressing story out of Saudi Arabia related the case of a woman who was gang-raped because of her alleged adultery. She was raped by five men, became pregnant and attempted to abort the child. After getting caught, a judge sentenced her to one year in prison and flogging. Excuse me, I’m going to lie down and cry for a little bit.
• Hatton May Use Shoulders and Elbows Against Pacquiao: This boxing story got a lot of love because it touched on a contentious issue — using body parts other than fists to gain an advantage over an opponent. Ricky Hatton may use “borderline illegal moves” against Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao during their May 2 battle, Leo Reyes wrote. We look forward to more intimate coverage of this seminal fight.
• Christian Bale’s abusive rant captured on tape: And in entertainment news, actor Christian Bale made headlines for all the wrong reasons — his on-set expletive-filled rant made George Carlin look like a Muppet. Spreading across the Net, his tirade has also been remixed into a techno song. So will more people check out Bale’s upcoming Terminator flick to catch some unrestrained anger?
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: Bob Ewing, Kesavan Unnikrishnan, Leo Reyes, Naved Akhtar, Adriana Stujit, Nikki Weingartner, Paul Wallis, Thespian, M Dee Dubroff, and Carol Forsloff.
The Top Comment of the Week goes to Adriana Stuijt, who elegantly explained Dutch bureaucracy in a comment on M Dee’s post. “Our bureaucrats are so meticulous that it drives the average citizen crazy whenever they have to fill in yet another of the country’s millions of forms required for even the most basic thing.” It’s always fascinating to learn about another country’s political bunglings straight from someone on the ground, unfiltered, uncensored.
