Digital Journal — Business news, health stories and entertainment topics caught the eye of most Citizen Journalists this week on DigitalJournal.com, although a nice sprinkling of world and sci-tech news also freckled the site. No matter your interests, there was news you can use.
Health
Starting with an unexpected story in health news, GotTheScoop reported on New York senior centres receiving condoms and HIV brochures. Looks like grey hairs doesn’t mean a sunset on sexual activity, especially with the popularity of a certain blue pill. You go, Grand-dad!
Other news in this very busy category included: medicinal marijuana going legal in New Mexico, according to shoyu; an allergy cure could be coming soon to a doctor’s office near you, permafrog found; pink grapefruit contains 50 times more antioxidants than the white variety, MDee discovered in Medicinal Food News; and Brandigal offered a few tips for keeping dogs hydrated and cool in the hot summer months. But where’s the advice to keep my two-year-old boa constrictor happy in the sun? (Just kidding).
One of the health stories that sparked an interesting discussion was CatLover‘s mini-rant against the Food and Drug Administration. She writes: “Look at your medicine cabinet and you will see drugs that sneaked through shoddy clinical trials.”
Coming to the defense of the FDA was Bart B. Van Bockstaele, who insightfully laid down his position by saying we have to deal with many aspects of freedom in North America: If the government has to test every single oyster you put in your mouth, open every bag and sniff every sock that comes in the country… we will be in the most unpleasant world of all: a totalitarian prison camp.
Science
Wanderlaugh hustled to pen many science stories this week, two of which deserve a second mention: From Big Bang to Big Bounce: Are we living in a recycled universe? gave our brains a workout with a piece on a new quantum physics theory on the beginning of the universe. My cerebrals are still trying to recover. But Wanderlaugh went a bit lighter to explain how cats can be traced to one feline ancestral species. Originating in the Middle East 130,000 years ago, cats spread to many continents, giving old spinsters all over the world companions for many lonely nights.
Last week she won the TopScience Award and this week franklin followed up nicely by penning four intriguing science stories. Among the standouts was news about the Mars Rovers losing power amidst strong dust storms. The piece had clear explanations and helpful quotes, but didn’t answer one key question: Was the dust storm a natural occurrence or were they caused by…Transformers! Because there’s more than meets the eye! (Sorry, I can get excited by awesome action flicks).
Environment
Your weekly global warming news is brought to you by katangel88 (a relatively new face). Learn why 6,000-year-old Arctic ponds are disappearing and why this sounds like a scene from the movie The Day After Tomorrow. I’m sure enviro-watchers will be focusing on these freaky occurrences as if their lives depended on it. Which it does.
A nifty video post came courtesy of momentsintime, who linked to a YouTube vid about the importance of buying local food. With the video’s impacting message and stats, how can anyone resist visiting the local farmer’s market?
Finally in environmental news, malan reported on a story that could be filed in the Department of Horribly Bad Ideas: in the 1970s, Florida fishermen wanted to help sea life by creating an artificial coral reef, so they dumped two million tires off the coast of Fort Lauderdale. Now, the U.S. Army, Navy and Coast Guard are trying to clean up a 34-acre mess. Oh, 1970s fishermen, when will you ever learn?
Technology
What’s this? An iPhone story NOT written by cgull? Bart B. Van Bockstaele kept us posted on the hottest gadget this summer with a story cited from New Scientist — it looks like the iPhone is annoying some users with technical glitches. Bart sums up what many people are thinking with the statement: “…The fact that one needs a computer and special software to activate the iPhone, would be a serious indication that the iPhone is not as user-friendly as it was claimed to be.” Agriculture enthusiasts and robot nerds can now have technology topic to socialize over: the “Hortibot,” a self-propelled, weed-pulling robot that can pick, spray or kill Nature’s nasties with flames or a laser, as malan wrote.
So, first robots save wounded soldiers and now they save farmland from weeds? Let’s hope no one invents a robot to replace journalists. Oh wait, that’s already happening.
One of the most intriguing, but buried, tech stories of the week came from the talented pen of unusualsuspect, who alerted us to research done to harness the power of human brain cycles. He writes how enough networked minds can “…translate foreign texts into English without any need for language experts, create a database of images that can be searched by their attractiveness, or label sounds by the emotions they arouse as well as by what they sound like.” It sounds like science fiction to this sceptical editor, but if enough R&D is poured into this area, the only limit would be set by the boundaries of the human mind, and who knows what those are?
Business
Enough business stories peppered DigitalJournal.com to give Forbes a run for its money. Highlights included saran81kid91‘s report on Canadian auto plants outpacing their American counterparts in productivity. Footnoted with some nice economic insight, the article gave anyone interested in the auto industry a solid reminder of where Canada and the U.S. stand in this competitive market. Good job, saran.
Still with Canadian news, Posthappy informed Canucks about the rise in prices at the local Tim Horton’s donut shop. Post said the price hike won’t affect her since she’ll fork over the extra cents no problem. But this cash grab is bound to affect the dedicated coffee junkies who frequent this Canadian establishment like it’s a site of holy congregation. There should be some better justification here — is there more custard in the Boston Cream donut?
Causing a flurry of a debate, Wanderlaugh’s piece on China driving a commodities boom gave readers a worldly perspective on China’s economic impact. Lightening was compelled to wonder: “So doesn’t it frighten you to think [China is] on its way to becoming a world superpower?” No, scorpions and email viruses frighten me, but maybe I should start getting a tad paranoid about what Earth will look like with China stepping up to the plate.
On the weirder side of business, permafrog wrote about a California town up for sale on eBay. The village needs some work done on its infrastructure, so it could be like buying a used car that breaks down every two weeks. Buyer beware.
Crime
Blurring the lines between a business and crime story, museinspiredart provided us with a whopper of a story: Wal-mart Took Secret Life Insurance Policies Out On Employees, Collected After Death. The headline said it all, and muse encapsulated collective resentment when he wrote, What the hell Wal-mart…Like we don’t have enough reasons to hate you? Thanks for yet another one.
Ouch. That burns. I can already hear the damage control from Wal-Mart head office start to spin its wheels.
Another newsworthy crime story came from China, where slave labour trials have begun. As Lightening reports, the scandal got attention when 400 parents of slave children started an online campaign to raise awareness to this oft-ignored travesty. Those in the West might think slavery is a relic best forgotten, but it looks like slavery is sadly alive and well in undemocratic nations.
World
Turning to news from across the globe, many stories gave us a good overview of the week’s current affairs: Planet Janet kept us posted on what her home country is encountering in light of the recent terrorist threats, writing this time on how Internet chat rooms played a role in assisting the attackers; the good-news story of the week came from gohomelaker and her article on BBC journalist Alan Johnston being finally released from his captors in Gaza; permafrog wrote a brief piece on Venezuela and Iran getting closer by launching a petrochemical plant together; and Germany is home to a unique zebra-horse animal that carries genes from both equines. Definitely check out the embedded video (thanks, geozone) to witness a freak of natural wonder.
Entertainment
A sincere kudos goes to Wanderlaugh for showcasing a book about the relevance of classical music today. Rarely has the site seen such a spirited love letter to a musical genre that is often relegated to bargain bins at record stores. The survival of classical music gets a spirited defense that should make Mozart smile in his grave.
Also finding a home in the entertainment section were the following noteworthy pieces: cruiseroo reported on the pop-music catfight between Avril Lavigne and Chantal Kraviazuk; Posthappy let us know what artist she adores with her article on Prince giving away free copies of his new CD to subscribers of U.K.’s Daily Mail; kylalynn updated us on the recent winner of Britain’s Got Talent and his new record deal; and late in the week mirrorwarp summarized the buzz and talent bursting from the upcoming Simpsons movie. Guess who’ll be dressing up as Comic Book Guy at the Toronto premiere? (Um, not me, of course).
TopFinds Awards
Once again, it’s that time of the week to honour those Citizen Journalists who went above and beyond to dish out spectacular articles worth re-reading. Drum roll, please…
We’ve noticed one writer who has consistently posted fascinating environmental and science news that give readers food for thoughtful evenings. Taking home his first ever TopJournalism Award is permafrog for his piece on the link between urban growth and rainfall patterns. Finding this story from an overlooked source — the Stanford University news service — permafrog described how researchers discovered a correlation between rapid city growth and a decrease in rainfall. If this relationship is indeed causal, the consequences are a clear indication of an ecosystem’s fragile survival when weather patterns change quickly. If it weren’t for this article, the ensuing comments on urbanization might have never materialized on the site. Excellent article, permafrog, and we look forward to more insightful articles.
Pop quiz: Name the 1,400-word op-ed article featuring analysis of a recent oil law in Iraq, a thorough overview of the region’s political factions and an emotional plea to end the war in Iraq. Yes, you guessed it, winning this week’s TopEd Award is the brilliant post titled Is Iraq’s New Hydrocarbon Law a War on Terror, or Oil Control? Going beyond simply reporting the news of the day, Lightening offered readers an all-encompassing glimpse into the terrorism-or-oil debate raging in poli-science corridors in the most hallowed halls of academia. Strengthened by in-depth research (and even sub-heads! I’m easily excited), the op-ed was a wonderful standout this week for any political junkie looking to bone up on recent Iraq news.
DigitalJournal.com tends to honour writers in certain genres, so this week we’re introducing our first ever TopSports Award. The winner here is pretty easy to guess, since his name says it all — SportsAndTheCity. This week, he covered NHL free agent prospects and Toronto FC’s road win, but it was his intelligent probe into recent moves made by Toronto Maple Leafs that grabbed our eyeballs and upvotes. Backed by scoring stats and salary numbers, the post could’ve found a home on ESPN.com or Sports Illustrated. That’s how impressive this sports writer has been to the site. Keep on giving us the goods in all the major sports, SATC!
And finally, we’d like to give a shout-out to those rib-ticklin’ headlines worth a second look. Sit back and enjoy another round of the TopThree Headline Award.
– Two All Beef Patties, Special Sauce, Lettuce, Cheese…on a Biodiesel Delivery Truck (by museinspiredart)
– Manhoods Get A Kick In The Pants Over Oz Speeding Campaign (by Planet Janet)
– Coke to purchase Snapple? Coca-Crapple? (by museinspiredart)
In case you missed the announcement, DigitalJournal.com just introduced a section for U.S. Presidential candidates to talk directly to you, the reader. We welcome Republican candidate Mike Huckabee to the site and we encourage you to check out his first post, and to continue to monitor what these White House hopefuls blog about between now and the all-important election in 2008.
And don’t forget to check out our sexily-themed video this week (above), filled with pizza porn, 18 couples getting’ in on within 44 seconds and a boob or two. Quick tip: Keep watching right through the credit for some bonus outtakes.
