Zhu,+Phillip

Phillip Zhu Period 5. History October 29, 2009


 * Zimbabwe deports UN investigator visit to country/ Zimbabwe Deports U.N. Investigator**

Summary: A torture investigator from U.N. was blocked from the country. The torture investigator believe that this happened because of Zimbabwe's president. This could "... further isolate the struggling nation". Manfred Nowak planned to investigate attacks on Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's supporters. Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party is being blamed for these for "trampling" on human rights and democracy.

Source: Article 1: [] Article 2: []

Both of these articles were very much the same. Article 1 had the same quotes as article 2, such as, There are certainly some parts of the government who do not want me to assess the current conditions of torture, and "There are strong indications that this was not just done by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs without at least the knowledge or instruction by President Mugabe,". They both pretty much had the same words also. The only thing different was that Article 2 had much more information and quotes than article 1. Article 2 included quotes such as, We had no option but to send (Nowak) back because we had informed him that his services were no longer needed here,Bimha said, and We are surprised that he was detained last night at Harare International Airport, Maridadi said.

This article really makes me question the president of Zimbabwe. If the president really did detain Manfred Nowak, why did he do it? What's there to hide? This could be the start of an international incident. I think that the president actually did have something to do with the detainment of Manfred, I think this because there wouldn't be a good reason to detain him if Mugabe wasn't doing anything to do with the attacks on Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's supporters. Mugabe might be threatened by Prime Minister Morgan, that'd probably be a good reason why Mugabe's ZANU-PF party would attack Prime Minister Morgan's supporters, or maybe Mugabe thinks he might benefit from this economically.

MLA SOURCE:

Article 1: Bryson, Donna. "Zimbabwe Blocks UN Investigator Visit to Country." //ABC News// (2009): 1. Web. 29 Oct 2009. .

Article 2: "Zimbabwe Deports U.N. Investigator ." //New York Times// (2009): 1. Web. 29 Oct 2009. .

Phillip Zhu Period 5. History November 5, 2009


 * World's largest Malaria vaccine trial underway in Africa/Africa trial for Malaria vaccine**

Summary: The world's largest Malaria vaccination(RTS,S) trial are beginning in Africa. The trial is going to involve 16,000 children in total, there are already 5,000 children enrolled in this vaccination trial. The tests will be happening in Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. 1,500 malaria experts are going to be at a conference in Nairobi next week.

Source: Article 1: [] Article 2: []

These articles were very different, but one thing that was the same was that they both included statistics on how well the vaccine actually worked. Article 1 said "Findings from a Phase II trial initiated in 2002 and conducted with more than 2,000 children in southern Mozambique, published in the medical journal The Lancet in 2004 and 2005, showed that RTS,S was efficacious for at least 18 months in reducing clinical malaria by 35 percent, and severe malaria by 49 percent." Article 2 said, "Data from earlier trials of the vaccine suggest that it is 50-55 per cent effective, but is likely to take another three to five years before it is licensed and put into use if it works." Some differences on the articles were that Article 1 had a lot more information and a lot more quotes than Article 2. Also, Article 2 focused a lot on the price issue for the vaccine. Article 2 had quotes like, "We are not going to let price get in the way of access for malaria vaccines," Andrew Witty, the company's chief executive, told reporters last week", and "We will be extremely responsible about the way we price this vaccine." Article 1 mostly focused on the vaccine's ability to effect malaria, they had quotes like, "We need to continue with the research and may be the second generation vaccine which may come up in five to six years may have a higher efficacy rate of about 80-90 percent," Sodiomon said.

I really think that this vaccine will benefit the whole world, considering that the price of the vaccine will stay low, low income families will be able to afford this vaccine. They will be able to protect themselves from the dangers of malaria. Some vaccines are very expensive, making low income families to have some health failures. This vaccine is able to benefit a lot of children, children that come from very poor families. For them to make this vaccine so unexpensive, they're really including, not only the rich families, but also the poor families, the vaccine suppliers believe that the vaccine should be distributed evenly and so do I. I support them because I think all people should have an equal chance of getting, not only this vaccine, but all vaccines.

Phillip Zhu Period 5. History November 12, 2009


 * Judge Shot Dead in Somalia**

Summary: A judge named Sheikh Mohamed Abdi was shot dead outside of a mosque in Bossaso, Somalia, a place where pirates operate strategically in the Horn of Africa. Judge Sheikh was known for jailing four pirates and Islamists before his death. The pirates and Islamists he jailed were apart of the al-Shabab group, which fight Somalia's UN-backed government.

Source: Article 1: [] Article 2: []

These two articles were pretty different, Article 1 had quotes such as, "He sentenced hundreds of pirates, people-smugglers and members of al-Shabab during his work in Bossaso," said a cousin, Abdulahi Jama, and, "These gangs hate him for his justice. We suspect one of them may have something to do with his assassination." Article 2 had quotes from police men instead of close relatives, such as,"Mohamed Abdi Aware was shot several times in the head and chest by two masked men as he left a mosque, the police said on Thursday." Both of these articles talk about the al-Shabab group that is fighting with the UN-backed government of Somalia. From Article 2,"Targeted killings are rarer in Puntland than in south central Somalia, where the embattled UN-backed government is fighting al-Shabab, a powerful group of fighters with suspected links to al-Qaeda." From Article 1, "Mr Aware had recently sent to jail four members of the Islamist al-Shabab group, which is fighting Somalia's UN-backed government." Also, Article 2 talks about some statistics on how many people have been killed and forced out of their homes by these pirates and Islamists, "About 19,000 civilians have been killed in fighting since the start of 2007 while another 1.5 million have been forced out of their homes." Article 1 did not provide statistics such as these.

I really think that the coverage from Article 1 was better than Article 2, I think this because Article 1 had quotes from close relatives of the judge that was killed, instead of quotes from some police men. I think that the most reliable information is from the people closest to the person murdered in cases like this. I also think that the murder of the judge was just plain wrong. The pirates and Islamists clearly did something illegal, they're pirates, they do illegal things. If you do something illegal I think that you should just serve your sentence and leave. There shouldn't be such a big deal about serving your time in the slammer. The pirates and Islamists should've just waited it out in jail and not have made this into such a big situation. What was a small jailing turned into a big crime. Having a group of people murder a judge just because you went to jail for doing something you know was illegal isn't right. I think that the pirate life is rage-filled and violent.

MLA SOURCES:

Article 1: "Gunmen kill Somalia pirate judge ." //BBC// (2009): 1. Web. 12 Nov 2009. <[]>. Article 2: "Judge shot dead in Somalia ." //Al Jazeera// (2009): 1. Web. 12 Nov 2009. <[]>.

Phillip Zhu Period 5. History November 19, 2009


 * Zimbabwe troops 'leaving Marange diamond field'/Zimbabwe Says It Has Started Pulling Out Troops From Controversial Diamond Fields**

Summary: Zimbabwe will be pulling out soldiers from the diamond mines. The diamond mines are located in the eastern region of the country. Activists want to suspend Zimbabwe from the mines. Activists are also saying that the soldiers have been carrying out "widespread attrocities" at the Marange field. They are also saying that all the profits from the diamonds are going straight to President Mugabe and his cronies. The government denies these allegations towards them.

Source: Article 1: [] Article 2: []

These two articles were actually pretty similar. They were similar because they were both the same size and provided most of the same information. Both articles 1 & 2 have quotes from the Herald Newspaper, from Article 1, "The Herald newspaper quoted Mr Mpofu as saying the government had achieved a lot in its attempts to comply with the Kimberley Process, which regulates trade in so-called blood diamonds", from Article 2, "Mines Minister Obert Mpofu told the state-run Herald newspaper that soldiers and police have started leaving the diamond fields in eastern Manicaland province to meet Kimberly conditions to avoid an export ban." But, as you can see, the quotes of each from the Herald Newspaper are very different. They probably used different sections of the Herald Newspaper. These two articles are also pretty different, Article 1 includes some statistics while Article 2 has none. Article one states things such as, "Mines Minister Obert Mpofu told state-run media Zimbabwe had complied with 90% of demands made by trade watchdog the Kimberley Process group this month.", and, "Activists had wanted the group to suspend Zimbabwe, saying troops had killed 200 people at the Marange field." Also, Article 2 had a bit more of their own information from their own sources, saying this, "Kimberly Process Chairman Bernard Esau told VOA Studio 7 reporter Sandra Nyaira that the watchdog organization will have to send its own monitors to verify government assertions the field is being demilitarized."

I think that the coverage from Article 1 was a bit better than Article 2, even though they were just about the same size. Although Article 2 had their own "special" information. Article 1 had actual statistics. I think that statistics are the most efficient way to report something because it shows the cold hard facts. I also think that the Activists have every right to blame the government on these killings, and that Zimbabwe should be suspended from these mines. The soldiers were killing mine workers, that's no way to show your dominance, if they were trying to show it. These abuses are wrong, and this action that the Activists are taking is the best way to solve this. The abuses are conflicting with others' human rights. These abuses must be stopped.

MLA SOURCE: Article 1: "Zimbabwe troops 'leaving Marange diamond field'." //BBC// (2009): 1. Web. 19 Nov 2009. . Article 2: Nyaira, Sandra. "Zimbabwe Says It Has Started Pulling Out Troops From Controversial Diamond Fields." //VOA// (2009): 1. Web. 19 Nov 2009. .

Phillip Zhu Period 5. World History 11/27/09


 * Freed in Somalia, 2 Journalists Arrive in Kenya/Somali gunmen free two journalists**

Summary: Journalists Nigel Brennan and Amanda Lindhout have been captured for 15 months, being captured in August of 2008. They were both freed on the night of Wednesday, November 25th, 2009. They spent the night in a hotel while guarded by police. There was also a ransom. It is unsure that the amount of 1 million dollars(not yet confirmed), for their ransom was paid or not paid. Brennan claimed that he was tortured through out his capture, he also tried to escape, but his attempt at escaping failed. After the failed attempt, he was chained and kept away from Lindhout for 10 months.

Source: Article 1: [] Article 2: []

These two articles were pretty different, for one Article 1 was much longer than Article 2 was. Also, Article 1 also had quotes, while Article 2 had none. Article 1 had quotes such as, “As you were suffering in a part of the capital controlled by the insurgents, we were worried about you in our part of the capital,” and, "Ms. Lindhout has been through an extremely difficult time,”. Article 1 also had much more detail about Brennan's torture. Article 1 said,"...Mr. Brennan said he had been pistol-whipped and locked in chains for months while held hostage." Article 2 just simply stated that he was tortured. Article 2 said, "Brennan told Reuters by phone from the hotel that he had been tortured physically and mentally." Article 2 had somethings that Article 1 didn't have, such as the information of the comfirmation of the 1 million dollar ransom. Article 2 said, "There is an unconfirmed report that a ransom of $1million had been paid to the hostage-takers for the two journalists." Article 2 also provided the amount of months that Brennan was tortured throughout his capture, Article 2 said, "He said that after a failed attempt to escape, he was kept in chains and had been totally isolated from Lindhout for the past 10 months."

I think that the coverage from Article 1 was much better than Article 2. Article 1 was much longer and provided more information than Article 2. Article 1 also had actual quotes. This really played a key role in my opinion of which coverage was better. I felt that I could rely on the coverage of Article 1 more because they had quotes, I feel that quotes make articles more reliable because they are from actual people that were a part of this situation. I think what happened to those two journalists were just tragic. These two journalists didn't deserve what happened to them, especially Brennan. I understand why they would torture him though, he did try to escape, I understand why the Somali gunmen would be mad. But, I do think that torturing him was taking it a bit too far. Being captive is punishment enough. He shouldn't have to endure more punishment after the humiliation of a failed attempt. I feel that Brennan was brave for trying to escape, but he was also kind of foolish. I don't think he planned out all of his methods of escape, if he did, I don't think he would've failed because where they were kept, probably wasn't a really organized place.

MLA SOURCE: Article 1: "Freed in Somalia, 2 Journalists Arrive in Kenya." //New York Times// (2009): 1. Web. 26 Nov 2009. . Article 2: "Somali gunmen free two journalists." //Press TV// (2009): 1. Web. 25 Nov 2009. .

Phillip Zhu Period 5. World History 12/3/09


 * Many dead in DR Congo boat accident/Some 73 dead in DR Congo boat accident**

Summary: On Wednesday, November 25, two linked barges(boat) sank into the lake towards the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo. These two linked barges were found on Sunday, November 29. The boat was found in Mai-Ndombe lake in the western Bandundu province. The boat was said to be unauthorized and there was also horrible weather on the day it sank, DR Congo's Red Cross said that this is why the boat sank on Wednesday. There are around 272 survivors and 73 deaths that were caused by the sinking of the boat. Dominic Lutula said that there are still missing people, but they are unsure of how many because the ship did not have a manifest. There were bodies discovered floating around the lake's edge.

Source: Article 1: [] Article 2: []

These two articles were similar length wise, but the information given was pretty different. Although both the articles had quotes from Lutula, the quotes were very different, the quotes were similar but not the same. Both Article 1 and 2 gave Lutula's information on how many survivors and deaths there were. Article 1 said, "We are at 272 survivors and 73 dead. These are bodies that we have found along the shores of the lake," Dominic Lutula, president of the Congolese Red Cross told the Reuters news agency. Article 2 said, "Up to Friday night, we had counted 73 dead and 276 who escaped," its country director Dominique Lutula told AFP. "There are probably more bodies trapped inside the barges that went down." As you can see, Article 1 and Article 2 both had different information on how many people survived. Article 1 was constructed mostly of facts, Article 2 had one more quote than Article 1 did. Article 1 also provided a picture, Article 2 didn't have any visual elements at all.

I think that the coverage of Article 2 was much better than Article 1. Article 2 had more quotes, this played a really big role in choosing which one had better coverage because I think that the more quotes you could have on a situation, the more likely that you'll have more accurate information. If the quotes are from someone that is honest of course. I also think that what happened to the people on the boat was very tragic, but they kind of had it coming. They should've noticed right away, that the weather was terrible, as stated in the articles. I guess they didn't. They also should've gotten authorized first, get everything checked, get everything ready. This was what made their downfall, authorization is really important because you never know what you're going into, they should've checked ahead of time if the weather was all right, or if their boat could withstand such harsh conditions.

MLA SOURCE: Article 1: "Many dead in DR Congo boat accident ." //Al Jazeera// (2009): 1. Web. 29 Nov 2009. . Article 2: "Some 73 dead in DR Congo boat accident." //Sydney Morning Herald// (2009): 1. Web. 29 Nov 2009. [].

Phillip Zhu Period 5. World History 12/11/09

=Guinea junta arrests 60 for 'trying to kill Camara'/Shot Guinea junta head stable= = = Summary: On Thursday December 3, 2009 the leader of Guinea's junta, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara was shot in the head while he was in his aide de camp. He is currently in Morocco recovering from his wound. The military has decided to track down alleged plotters that may have been involved in the assasination attempt against Camara. There have been 60 arrests, so far. Junta officials are now saying that they know who was behind the attack against Camara, Lt. Aboubacar "Toumba" Diakite.

Article 1: [] Article 2: []

Article 1 was very different from Article 2. Article 1 focused more on the alleged plotters and Article 2 focused more on the healing of Camara's wound. Article 1 and 2 both had quotes from Idrissa Cherif, but as I said before Article 1 is focused more on the plotters and Article 2 more on the healing of Camara. Article 1 had quotes from Cherif such as, " 'One of the brains behind the attack has been arrested just this morning,' Mr Cherif told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme." and, " 'They are hunting them down in their hideouts. Altogether more than 60 people have been arrested.' " Article 2 had quotes from Cherif such as, " 'He is very well,' Idrissa Cherif told AFP in Dakar by telephone from Conakry." and, " 'We have spoken on the telephone, there are no problems and his condition is stable.'" As you can see, Article 1 was able to get their information directly from Cherif, face to face during the "Focus on Africa programme". Article 2 was only able to get information from Cherif by telephone call. Article 1 also had more direct information on who allegedly carried out the attack. Article 1 said, "Junta officials say Lt Aboubacar "Toumba" Diakite, head of the presidential guard, carried out the attack on Capt Camara. He has not been caught." Article 2 had information on this that was more implied. Article 2 said, "In a separate telephone call, Lieutenant Aboubacar Sidiki Diakite refused to discuss the attack on Camara, saying he was waiting to see how matters developed." Both articles had visual elements, in Article 1 they had a drawing of Camara. In Article 2 they had an actual picture.

I think that the coverage from Article 1 was much better than Article 2. For one, Article 1 focused more on the alleged plotters which may have been involved in the attack. Article 2 just focused on Camara's recovery phases. Also, Article 1 had information on Toumba that wasn't hard to understand. It was very straight forward. Article 2 had information on Toumba that was more implied in what they said. Article 1 said, "Junta officials say Lt Aboubacar "Toumba" Diakite, head of the presidential guard, carried out the attack on Capt Camara. He has not been caught." Article 2 said, "In a separate telephone call, Lieutenant Aboubacar Sidiki Diakite refused to discuss the attack on Camara, saying he was waiting to see how matters developed." The information of Toumba in Article 2 really made me think a bit more, he might have not talked about the attack on Camara for different reasons other than he's the one who did it(possibly). I also think that the military is going way to far with all these arrests. I really don't think that this many people could've been involved in the attempt to assisinate the junta's captain, Camara. If this many people were actually involved, the "secret" about this attempt would surely be leaked out somewhere into the public. Camara didn't see the attack coming, so he must've not found out about it. That means that this many people weren't involved. This makes me worry because the military could be harming innocent people. Those innocent people don't deserve what they're possibly getting. They could be being tortured, even when they know nothing on the attempted assasination.

MLA SOURCE:

Article 1: "Guinea junta arrests 60 for 'trying to kill Camara'." //BBC// (2009): 1. Web. 8 Dec 2009. . Article 2: "Shot Guinea junta head stable." //Himalayan Times// (2009): 1. Web. 5 Dec 2009. [].

Phillip Zhu Period 5. World History 1/22/10 =Hong Kong alarm as China jails Tiananmen dissident/Chinese democracy leader Zhou Yongjun jailed for fraud=

A Chinese democracy leader named Zhou Yongjun has been sentenced to jail for nine years. He was sentenced to jail because of alleged fraud. This arrest was taken place in Hong Kong. Police sent him to China's mainland government afterwards. The police in Hong Kong sent him to China's mainland because Hong Kong and China have different government systems, but Hong Kong is still a part of China. Yongjun tried to escape into the former British colony from the U.S., he tried to enter on a fake Malaysian passport. Yongjun is known very well for when he and two other students knelt at the Great Hall of People next to Tainanmen Square to plead the end of government corruption and to reform. Yongjun will be appealing on his case.

Article 1: [] Article 2: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6994862.ece

Both Article 1 and 2 are quite similar to one another. Both of the articles give background information about him as an activist and what he did in 1989. Article 1, for Yongjun's background information, said that, "Zhou Yongjun famously knelt with two other students on the steps of the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989 demanding political reform." Article 2 said, "The former activist won global attention in 1989 when he and two other students knelt on the steps of the Great Hall of the People next to Tiananmen Square to plead with Communist leaders to acknowledge their calls for political reforms and an end to corruption." Both of the articles also included an image of Yongjun's wife. Both articles also include information about Yongjun's wife campaigning his release. Some differences are that the Times Online article provided more details about Yongjun's previous happenings and background information than the BBC article did.

I think that what happened to Yongjun was wrong. He was just trying to go back into the country and see his old parents. For a person to be jailed just for wanting to visit their parents really makes me think about how unhumane government systems really are in the world. I liked the Times Online article much more than the BBC article. The Times Online article provides more background information, it really let me get a good idea of who this guy really is. BBC had a bit of detail on him, I couldn't really get a good idea of who he was on this article. The Times Online article also had said that, "Mr Zhou has denied the charges and will appeal.", giving the point of view of Yongjun. BBC did not give Yongjun's point of view.

Sources: BBC: "Hong Kong alarm as China jails Tiananmen dissident." //BBC News//. 21 Jan 2010. BBC News, Web. 22 Jan 2010. <[]>.

Times Online: "Chinese democracy leader Zhou Yongjun jailed for fraud." //Times Online//. 21 Jan 2010. Times Newspapers, Web. 22 Jan 2010. <[]>.

Phillip Zhu Period 5. World History 1/31/10


 * Hong Kong acid attacker at large/Hong Kong acid attacker remains at large**

On the evening of Saturday, January 9, 2010, a man was arrested for, supposedly, throwing acid filled bottles to civilians that were on the streets. 30 people were injured during this attack. Later on, the authorities figured out that the man was innocent and that he had no connection to the crime what-so-ever. After this man's arrest another man was arrested. The second man to be arrested was described to be a chinese man in his 30's. Police officers had found him on top of a building. This man also wasn't the culprit they were looking for, but this man was still arrested because he was skipping on court dates.

Article 1: []

Article 2: []

Both Article 1 and 2 were very similar to each other. Articles 1 and 2 both stated that 30 people had been injured during this acid attacker incident. Article 1 said, "At least 30 people were injured in the acid attack on Saturday night, the latest in a string of unsolved attacks that has terrorised the city." Article 2 said, "About 30 people, including some children, were injured in Saturday's attack when two bottles of acid were thrown at shoppers on Temple Street, a busy outdoor market that is a favorite of tourists and locals." Some differences of these two articles is that Article 1 actually had quotes about the second person to be falsely arrested. Article 1 said " 'He skipped a court date - that was why he was arrested. It just happened that there was an acid attack on that day in the same area.' " Another difference is that Article 2 had information about the surveillance system that the government of Hong Kong had put up, "Authorities in [|Hong Kong] have set up a 24-hour hotline for information on the incidents and the government has installed a surveillance camera system in the area of the attacks, worth 1.7 million Hong Kong dollars ($219,000). "

I liked Article 1 more than Article 2. I think this because Article 1 provided actual quotes from authorities. This really makes me think that this article has more credibility because they're able to recieve information directly from people and quote them about it rather than just use information they get in their own words and call it a day. I thought these two situations were pretty funny, not the injury part of course, but where the two men were falsely arrested. Just thinking about them sitting in a small jail cell moping and doing nothing really makes me laugh. The second situation made me laugh even more, the fact that he was hiding on a roof to get away from court is really funny to me. I mean, who hides on a roof to avoid things like that?

Sources: "Hong Kong acid attacker at large." //Al Jazeera// (2010): n. pag. Web. 31 Jan 2010. .

"Hong Kong acid attacker remains at large." //CNN// (2010): n. pag. Web. 31 Jan 2010. .