Jesse Jackson’s desire to rip off Barack Obama’s testicles. Why Canada had problems with iPhone 3G payment plans. A stunning video of a woman surviving a lightning strike. These are the top stories making headlines around the world.
Technology & Internet
As expected, the iPhone 3G furor reached a feverish pitch this week. Available on July 11, the remodeled iPhone stirred controversy in Canada, where wireless provider Rogers unveiled expensive monthly rates for the smartphone, causing mass protests online. But Rogers soon caved in and lowered their plans before the release date, as Chris V. reported. Chris was also on top of the Apple App Store news, reminding us about the 500 apps available for iPhone 3G. And Kesavan Unnikrishnan gave us a glimpse of the first lucky iPhone 3G owner in New Zealand. Look out for more iPhone news next week when early adopters comment on the new iPhone’s benefits…or downfalls.
What other tech and Net stories won attention this week? Paul Wallis broke down the genesis and effectiveness of viral marketing ads spread over the Web; Helpareporter.com connects sources to journalists, and the site has grown to 10,000 members, Tom Johansmeyer told us; Google launched a tool to create 3-D virtual “rooms”, as Kesavan Unnikrishnan explained; British researchers designed a robot that can mosh during rock shows, Lenny Stoute found (but robo-stage diving could be uncomfortable for the humans underneath); Canadian cellphone consumers are fuming after some telcos decided to charge for incoming text messages, Sykos Masters reported; and Sue D. warned us about a Trojan virus masquerading as a video showing a supposed attack on Iran by U.S. forces. Many commenters said the info was useful, with Debra Myers offering her email rule: I don’t trust anything that I don’t know who’s it’s from.
And the latest DigitalJournal TV segment features a review of the impressive Flip Ultra camcorder. This simple device doesn’t clutter the hardware with too many buttons, allowing for high-quality shooting in a pocket-sized gadget.
Science & Health
Here’s a warning for all you workaholics out there: a Japanese man died from logging too many hours as a car engineer, Don Gerig reported. The deceased was working more than 80 hours overtime per month, proving yet again why slacking off a bit can do wonders for your health.
Several other science and health stories should be bookmarked: a woman was struck by lightning, survived and recorded her incident with a camcorder, Thespian wrote; as people age, they should keep up the exercise in order to boost their mental prowess, Nikki W. wrote; scientists said they want to combat malaria by targeting specific genes and preventing red blood cells from infecting the body, KJ wrote; Stephen Hawking is looking for the “Einsteins of Africa” to step forward, Chris V. posted; and eating while watching TV overrides a kid’s ability to stop scarfing down food, Bob Ewing reported. The study found that children “who watched TV consumed an average of 228 extra calories at lunch.”
The Top Blog Post of the Week goes to Ssozi Javie for his powerfully melancholic piece about forced circumcision in Uganda. Since Ssozi is from the region and has witnessed the travesty first-hand, readers got an intimate framing of a government policy gone insane. If you agree with the writer that this “seems to be primitivism of the highest order”, offer a comment in this blog.
World
Russia doesn’t like playing nice. Well, at least when it comes to the controversial U.S. military deal in Czech Republic, they don’t. Check out Can Tran‘s piece on how Europe’s stability can be threated by the missile deal and why Russia is threatening military action if their objections aren’t carefully considered.
To get a good sense of news around the world, read these timely stories: a Japanese woman called the police to end a 30-hour conversation she endured with a depressed thief, Chris V. wrote; the Pentagon plans on making “safer” cluster bombs, KJ reported (isn’t that hovering in oxymoron territory?); bazillionaire Warren Buffet will donate 10 million shares from his company to the Gates Foundation, Saikat Basu found; the U.S. brought back the 4th Naval Fleet for Latin America, which had been discontinued in 1950, Knight Shield posted; Iran said it will protect itself if attacked, Spolitics discovered (no surprises there); and young environmentalists presented their proposals for global development at the G8 Summit in Japan, Bob Ewing wrote, saying one of the ideas included evaluating products based on “Green Indexes” such as energy efficiency and waste management. This is definitely one time adults should be listening to kids.
TopFinds Awards
Speaking of hypocrisy, Sykos Masters takes home the TopInternet Award for surveying the online banking industry in Canada. It was a great overall portrait of a rising online trend, but with a twist: Sykos wondered why user fees are rising if in-person banking is waning. He’s not certain that fees will change in light of online banking. But as he concluded: What is clear is that online usage has dramatically changed the landscape of how Canadians and their banks do business.
Security is on the minds of organizers of World Youth Day 2008, taking place in Sydney, Australia. This story would have passed us by if it weren’t for the astute eye of Michael Squires, who offered a detailed overview of security issues and plans. The TopWorld Award-winning article was written concisely with supplemental quotes in order to give us an idea of how Sydney will deal with the biggest mass event it has seen since the 2000 Olympics.
It takes a very special type of person to talk about ripping off a presidential candidate’s testicles while mic’ed up at a TV network. You are either very gutsy or a complete idiot. Sue D. wins this week’s TopPolitics Award for her report on Jesse Jackson’s ballsy comment about dismembering Barack Obama’s, err, boys. Jackson issued an apology for the statement (complete with nut-ripping hand gesture — you have to watch the video!) which, as expected, was too much for the pubic to swallow. Jackson apologized, saying:
For any harm or hurt that this hot mic private conversation may have caused, I apologize. My support for Senator Obama’s campaign is wide, deep and unequivocal. I cherish this redemptive and historical moment.
With the public still testy over Jackson’s comments, we expect to see a whole sack of gonad jokes to bounce around in the next few weeks.
Nerdy basketball fans will appreciate Spolitics‘ excellent opinion piece dissecting the draft eligibility rule barring high school phenoms from entering the NBA. He explained the origin of the rule, how coaches have reacted to it and what it has done to NCAA freshmen who want to rush through one year of college in order to get into the NBA. Winning the TopSports Award, Spolitics contended that if 18-year-old kids can vote and enlist in the military, why can’t they play ball against LeBron and Kobe? A must-read for NBA and NCAA junkies.
DigitalJournal.com Citizen Journalist Bob Ewing is starting to be known as Dr. Chow in our offices because there seems to be nothing about food this guy doesn’t cover. Ewing wins this week’s TopFood Award for his article on how safe farming practices could stop tainted-food incidents. Ewing used a recent tomato salmonella outbreak as a jumping point into a fascinating article about how a lack of food-safety regulations for farms can lead to microbial contamination in fruits and vegetables. Check out the article for an in-depth look at how restaurants, grocery stores and fresh-cut processors want to force suppliers to adhere to stricter guidelines. Bon Appetit!
When you can find a way to say “cow farts” in a headline, you are automatically entered into the TopFinds Award nominee list. If you can produce an article that reeks with scientific wonder, you get more love. This week’s TopOffbeat Award winner is Mr. Garibaldi for his report on scientists studying the greenhouse gas effects of cattle flatulence. No joke. Garibaldi covered a hilarious story about scientists who are strapping backpacks to Argentinian cattle to capture farts and burps to measure the amount of methane and carbon dioxide produced when the cattle eat certain feeds. Check out the article and supplied video for a good laugh. We’re still chuckling over the idea of a board meeting where someone actually had the guts to pitch the idea of capturing animal bum-toots.
