Microsoft eyeing a Facebook acquisition. An exclusive interview with a lawyer for FLDS children. The British government cracking down on psychics. These are the top stories making headlines around the world.
Technology & Internet
When news hit the Web about the failed Yahoo-Microsoft merger, breaking news of a different sort followed soon after: Microsoft is hinting that it may want to buy Facebook, Maverick reported. The talks are only in the “feeling-out” stage but will we soon see Microbook taking over the Web?
Several other tech and Net stories are worth a close look: Hackers flooded the Epilepsy Foundation’s website with rapid flashing pictures in a display of mean-spirited stupidity, momentsintime wrote; the Jaguar XF concept car won’t be rolling out on assembly lines anytime soon, Nikki W told us; McAfee warned users about a Trojan virus infecting a media download file, Paul Wallis said; and MySpace announced a new project to let members share profile data across other websites, including Yahoo, eBay and Twitter. This announcement didn’t please Orange, who wrote:
I may just cancel my MySpace account altogether.
Crime
The United Nations is under fire for possibly covering up overseas trafficking in gold and weapons, S.D. informed us. She also listed the various allegations levelled at the UN over the years, from the oil-for-food scam to its failings in the Rwandan genocide.
What other crime stories should you bookmark? Journalists risk their lives in combat zones, and the most dangerous countries include Iraq, Sierra Leone and Somalia, momentsintime said; the Austrian sicko Josef Fritzl raped his daughter in front of their own children, cgull reported; a rivalry between fans of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees turned fatal for one baseball fan, jxtra found out; prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the conviction of two men accusing and raping nine-year-old Rowan Ford, Gar Swaffar reported; and Philadelphia police officials insist race wasn’t an issue when Philly cops were recently caught on tape beating and stomping on three suspects, Brant David McLaughlin wrote. Is this Rodney King all over again?
World
The newspaper of the future is going to be free. It wasn’t just the eye-catching headline but the body that should be required reading for any online news junkie. Maverick wrote about a recent survey of newspaper editors who admitted digital services should be implemented in press offices. Also, as the Citizen Journalist wrote:
56 percent of respondents believed that the majority of news, be it print or online, would be free in the future.
To fulfill your hunger for world news, digest these timely stories: the Fiji government raised the income tax threshold, Brant David McLaughlin wrote; an erupting volcano prompted the evacuation of a Chilean town, jxtra posted; an outbreak of hand-foot-mouth disease in China threatens the good PR Beijing is hoping for the upcoming Olympics, Can Tran wrote; more than 4,000 people (and counting) have died from the Burma cyclone, mirrorwarp said; and in Japan, cgull discovered that pets are more popular than children: As he wrote, “there are an estimated 23 million more pets (cats and dogs) than children under 15.”
TopFinds Awards
It was the biggest “get” of the week: S.D. spoke to one of the lawyers representing several children from the FLDS polygamist compound. She earns the TopInterview Award for talking to Natalie Malonis about her concerns for the children, visitation rights, and the legality of calling the compound one “household” in order to remove the kids. Rarely do we get such candid answers about this important news story, and S.D. offered us a thorough overview of how lawyers are approaching the FLDS controversy.
Mr Garibaldi isn’t shy about expressing his opinion about climate change. He spent 1,200 words explaining why he doesn’t buy the argument on “man-made global warming” and the possibility of global cooling. There was no shortage of evidence to back up his insight, breaking down his opinion in a very easy-to-understand manner. The TopOpEd Award-winner also touched on the changing role of science today: The research process has become so dependent upon government and industrial funding that scientists are often left at the mercy of political or commercial agenda and real findings are not presented in their final reports.
You don’t see foxes traipsing around Toronto every day. When an adventurous photojournalist captures these sly creatures slinking around urban parks, it’s hard not to be impressed by the quiet beauty of the animals. Bart B. Van Bockstaele takes home his second honour this week with the TopPhotography Award for his article titled Foxes Sighted in Toronto. Twelve photos showcased Bart’s photo skills and determination to catch the foxes at every angle, and readers were impressed by the Citizen Journalist’s up close and personal approach. Jaguar, by way of Cynthia, suggested Bart should publish a book of photography and we at DJ couldn’t agree more. Just remember the lil’ people when your book tour begins, Bart.
Don’t you hate it when it takes awhile for your computer to boot up? A new electronic component is hoping to shorten that delay, and thanks to Bart B. Van Bockstaele‘s report, we now know a bit more about the memristor. Taking home the TopTech Award, the article explained how this prototype “memory resistor” remembers the state the PC was in before power was cut off. The memristor might not be a flashy invention but it has the potential to overhaul how PCs are made and how quick they respond to user requests. Introducing this technology to the world will only herald more advances in smaller components, Bart wrote, and that miniaturization will surely benefit anyone who owns a PC.
“Illegal drugs have financed organized crime, turning it from a nuisance to a global plague, infecting society and business like social malaria.” It’s one of the lines that sparks Paul Wallis‘s argument for controlled distribution of illegal drugs, winning him the TopHealth Award for passionately and logically laying down his points on the benefits of selling cannabis directly to consumers, legally. He raised another important insight: “If controlled distribution works, it could be the first real blow against the revenue which has been driving organized crime.” Agree or disagree, it’s still hard to rule out the potential good that can come from legalizing drugs and ending this never-ending “drug war.” As Paul pointed out, future governments need to find solutions they haven’t explored before.
Poor psychics. They’re getting no love in the U.K., where the British government is hoping to legislate regulations to “safeguard against fraudulent activity” in the spiritualist community. The story was brought to our attention thanks to ocean, who earns the TopWorld Award for intelligently explaining the ins and outs of the British proposal. It was great to read different viewpoints on the issue, from healers to skeptics. The top comment goes to Mr. Garibaldi who quipped: “Didn’t the psychics see this coming?”
The TopLocal Award is given to mirrorwarp for a quirky story written in a lively style. The Citizen Journalist told us about a Tim Horton’s employee who gave her daughter a free donut, and was then promptly fired from the London, Ont. coffee shop. It’s always worth knowing about a corporation’s foolish missteps. And as mirrorwarp wrote, “Most folks with a few neurons to rub together would recognise the glint of TV commercial gold in a story about a caring employee handing a cranky bay a Timbit and calming it down.”
There’s no shortage of news about rising obesity rates, but the winner of the TopFood Award went a step further to find out what’s causing the bulge of the American belly. Cynthia T dug deep into fast-food chain menus to discover the true calorie and fat content of goodies such as chicken salads, burgers and smoothies. She told us about low-fat chicken quesadillas housing 742 calories in each order. And she ruined our future brunches by informing us about IHOP’s Omelette Feast and its 35 grams of saturated fat. It might have been a depressing article for fast-food junkies but it gave health-conscious Netizens good reason to scour restaurant websites to learn more about the calories they’re buying.
