The top biodiesel countries. The benefits of afternoon naps. A look inside Microsoft’s iPhone clone. Learn about these stories and more in another weekly round-up of the top news items of the week.
Internet & Technology
Al Gore might be winning attention for snagging the Nobel Peace Prize last week, but he’s also well-known for starting an online TV venture called Current TV, as S.H. Mills informs us. It allows members to post videos that “matter to them” and “vote for items they find relevant and valuable.” Hmm, sounds awfully familiar.
Other tech and Net stories making headlines this week included: Best Buy is stopping production of analogue televisions, Ashley.woods4 reported (it’s been nice knowing and owning you, CRT sets!); Amway filed a subpoena to find out who’s posting disparaging remarks about the company on blogs, pbrite found out; and some versions of Adobe Acrobat and Reader contain critical vulnerabilities that can be prevented, if you follow the advice posted by Bart B. Van Bockstaele.
Now my PDF anxiety only revolves around loading times.
Crime
Highlighting hypocritical laws is always the duty of determined journalists, and this week TheRationalAnarchist pointed out why police can kill pets, but even threatening a police dog could land you with jail time. The article recounted several horrifying stories about cops killing dogs that didn’t even attack the officers. Chilling stuff.
Two other crime stories stood out this week. Planet Janet wrote about a mind-blowing police blunder in the UK: a notorious rapist has been living freely because investigators didn’t process DNA evidence correctly. Although the criminal is now behind bars, Planet Janet lamented about how long it took UK police to finally convict the rapist.
Also, high school shooting sprees were the topic in an article by JOE’SDAFILMMAN, which analyzed how a Columbine-like tragedy was averted because a student alerted authorities about another kid’s violent plan. Although this story had a happy ending, high school violence is still a systemic problem. As skyangel5402 commented:
I don’t know if we’ll ever see the day when these things won’t happen anymore.
Health
Humans are one of the few species who need sleep to feel healthy. But even anticipating an afternoon nap can lower blood pressure, as permafrog informed us this week. The hard-working Citizen Journalist wrote:
…people who regularly took siestas had a 37% reduction in coronary mortality compared to those who never nap.
permafrog was also busy penning an article about the health benefits of living on a farm, in light of a study that found farmer kids have a lower risk of getting asthma compared to urban residents. And I’m sure avoiding rush hour, street crime and incessant advertising helps as well.
Other health stories worth another look included: another study proves why consuming garlic improves cardiovascular health, as Bart V. Van Bockstaele wrote. And on the opposite end of the spectrum, cgull told us about Hardee’s 920-calorie breakfast burrito, filled with sausage, bacon, diced ham, cheddar cheese and the sweat of the Cleveland Indians. Doesn’t North American society want to combat obesity instead of celebrate it for $3 a burrito?
World
Two excellent op-eds immediately leaped off the page, er, screen this week in world news. Wanderlaugh dove deep into the mystery surrounding an Israeli air strike on a Syrian nuclear reactor, piecing together evidence and offering up some scathing remarks on how the “world’s media has dropped the ball on this one.”
Also, momentsintime turned to an aspect of the Burma controversy rarely explored: the plight of Burmese poets and writers. She concludes the stirring piece with a powerful question posed to all writers:
If your home was replaced by a cell, your pen crushed in front of you, your keyboard tossed away, would you still write?
Our writers spanned the globe this week, and a couple key stories are worth rereading. Nathalie C enlightened us to an Indonesian volcano threatening to erupt, causing the evacuation of 100,000 locals. And permafrog updated us on Uganda’s political struggles, writing about the government’s request for $600 million US to reconstruct the war-torn North. Will the world’s leaders show resolve and assist another poverty-stricken African country?
TopFinds Awards
It’s always encouraging to welcome a rookie writer with a penchant for world news. It’s like having our own foreign correspondent. Taking home the trophy for the New User of the Week Award is TFactor, whose high-quality news coverage is already throwing his name on the leader board. This Citizen Journalist “travelled” across the world, writing about rapping Sudanese soldiers to the French President divorcing his wife to sea pirates increasing their attacks. The articles were written professionally and clearly, often crowned with a powerful headline to draw the reader’s attention. We look forward to seeing more impressive work from TFactor.
Speaking of impressive, there was an opinion piece that flew below the radar but deserves to be absorbed by anyone interested in pollution and market powers intending to promote renewable energy. The winner of the Top OpEd Award is Wanderlaugh for his well-written article on carbon credit trading. The Australian idea isn’t all it is cracked up to be, Wanderlaugh told us, and he argues why the scheme suffers from several drawbacks. For a model article on writing an op-ed, check this one out to learn from a pro. Congrats, Wanderlaugh.
Alternative energy will constantly be in the news cycle but it’s not everyday we get a clear explanation of which countries are best suited to take advantage of them. Coming to the rescue is the CJ taking home the TopBusiness Award. Kudos to permafrog for penning a piece titled Global Potential to Produce Biodiesel Examined. permafrog gave insight into a study that pointed out the countries best suited to use biofuels in their markets. Who knew the U.S. and Ghana and Uruguay would crack the top of the list? The article didn’t just regurgitate the study in a news brief format, but offered a thorough report on why some countries are best suited for biofuels and how this study can mitigate problems in the future.
Finally, the TopTech Award goes to cgull for his breaking news piece on Microsoft on the brink of creating an iPhone clone. Not only did cgull quote from the patent directly, but he also illustrated the article with excellent side-by-side photos comparing Microsoft’s device to Apple’s iPhone. So if and when Microsoft releases a touchscreen phone filled with iPhone-like applications, you can say you saw it first on DigitalJournal.com.
