From the Amazon Kindle eBook reader to marijuana slowing the growth of breast cancer to a huge stem-cell breakthrough, these are the top stories from around the world. Learn about condom recycling, Internet boot camp, and Apple’s dirty little secret.
Technology & Internet
The death of email. The headline alone was strong enough to catch attention, and cgull‘s article on the decrease in email usage was an intriguing read for anyone who sends and replies. Will instant-messaging and Facebook messages eventually trump email?
One of the biggest stories from the tech world this week involved Amazon and their first released product: the innovative eBook reader, Kindle. clixy123 described the gadget succinctly: “…it is to books and magazines what iPods are to music: slim, handheld and no problems with downloads entire works of over 200 pages within seconds.”
Other newsworthy stories in this category included: Apple may be snooping on iPhone users, malan reported (what are they worried about, people not loving their phone enough?); Web surfers will hand over personal information if they trust the organization they’re dealing with, a study found (the article’s author even admitted “I only buy with PayPal online. If they don’t use PayPal, then I don’t buy”); Old Media better catch up to the fast-paced digital newbies in the journalism industry, Wanderlaugh wrote; and Korea launched a boot camp to help cure Web junkies afflicted with Internet addiction. Could you live without logging on for two weeks? Not sure I could survive without AddictingGames.com.
Politics
Albert Einstein once said: “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” To that effect, the U.S. Congress could be insane for letting their approval ratings slip and sitting idly by, as Susan Duclos explained in a great op-ed. She is “waiting with bated breath” to see how the Democrats will react to the Iraq war, if at all.
Several other political stories of interest were: George Bush will welcome Al Gore to the White House for a Nobel Laureate ceremony, cgull discovered (talk about awkward handshakes); Senator Clinton is jumping on the let’s-attack-Iran bandwagon, too many months too late, omnithought reported; and an investigative article by SportsAndTheCity on the U.S. government’s true cost of fighting overseas wars prompted a deluge of discussion worth revisiting.
Science & Health
Need another reason to hit the bong, Cheech & Chong lovers? New research has found that cannabis can help prevent the growth of breast cancer, Nathalie C reported. Ringwraith summed up many commenters’ sentiments by quoting: “It’s got a thousand uses, so no more excuses.”
Other science and health article of interest included: kids’ storage racks are the latest dangerous products being recalled en masse, skyangel5402 wrote; the discovery of fossilized remains of an eight-foot sea scorpion sparked a flurry of articles on Digital Journal, here and here and even here. And China is raising eyebrows by allowing condom recycling — some retailers are selling reused rubbers as hair bands, momentsintime said. Let’s hope they wash them first.
TopFinds Awards
You never get a second chance to make a good impression. So when a DJ newcomer impresses the vets with an incredible debut article, everyone takes notice. The award for DJ New User of the Week goes to msierra for his hard-hitting Pentagon Demands Remaining Bonus From Wounded Soldiers. He wrote about an injured U.S. soldier who was asked by the feds for $3,000 of his $10,000 sign-on bonus. The travesty has given rise to the introduction of an act that would secure a soldier’s bonus, whether he’s wounded in combat or not. And msierra’s article gave rise to several emotional comments, chiefly one from a retired U.S. officer. Well done, msierra, and we anticipate great things in your time here on DigitalJournal.com.
The numbers don’t lie. We’ve heard it all before, but sometimes the number aren’t lying — the number-crunchers might be mistaken. So says the winner of the Top OpEd Award — Wanderlaugh questioned the United Nation’s revised statistic of AIDS sufferers in the world, now pegged at 33 million (compared to the 2006 estimate of 40 million). Here was Citizen Journalism at its boldest — questioning the authorities and the methods of their statistical analysis, offering solutions to a mathematical issue that has become highly politicized lately. There’s nothing more encouraging than seeing a news reader take matter into his own hands and speculate about the veracity of an article many other people take for granted.
It’s not enough to simply know that Middle East peace talks are taking place next week in Annapolis. Rather, you should learn about what each side wants from whom. Giving us the straight goods on the very important conference is clixy123, honoured with the TopPolitics Award for thoroughly reviewing the intentions of major players. Israel, Hamas, Syria and the U.S. were under clixy123’s microscope as this knowledgeable CJ provided a comprehensive overview of the Annapolis talks. Beat that, New York Times.
The naive consumer may wonder: No, not everything is made in China. It’s obvious that consumer didn’t read the article awarding momentsintime with the TopBusiness Award. Looking at crucifixes made by Chinese workers in sweatshop conditions, the article exposed another labour shame making headlines. momentsintime expressed disgust that many buyers of crucifixes were content to shield their eyes from the truth. As she wrote:
When it comes down to the ethics of that pretty little cross around your neck, it seems that if one doesn’t know the price of the blood that made it then close your eyes and it’s just fine.
If you read the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, then you’d know how an exhaustive study found that climate change could lead to wars and population decline. Or you could check out the DigitalJournal.com article on the topic, courtesy of permafrog, who takes home this week’s TopEnvironment Award. The article didn’t mince words, explaining the potential crisis looming over planet Earth in light of climate change, and how previous global warming periods caused wars and decreases in population. permafrog made sure to cite the relevant years affected by climate change, and offer evidence to support the study’s theory. Another excellent environmental article from a passionate Citizen Journalist.
Finally, a monumental stem-cell breakthrough was reported across the world, making front-page news in both print and online publications. Credit omnithought, the winner of this week’s TopScience Award, for bringing the discovery to DigitalJournal.com: scientists have found a way to turn human cells into stem cells, which could provide a boon to medical research focused on cancer, Parkinson’s, diabetes and other maladies. As one scientist espouses: “Not only does this discovery enable more research, it offers a new pathway to apply the benefits of stem cells to human disease.” For highlighting a breakthrough that could forever change stem-cell research, we give a tip of our lab goggles to omnithought.
