Thomas,+Lee

__Tigers Die in China Zoo__

Summary: Eleven Siberian tigers died in Shenyang Forest Wild Animal Zoo in the last three months. The tigers died of malnutrition. Zoo officials claim that they died of infectious diseases, however the tigers were kept in small cages and were only fed cheap chicken bones. The tigers were kept in small cages because last year, two tigers mauled a zoo worker. They were likely hungry and in need of food. The zoo, Shanyang Forest Wild Animal Zoo which is in China is currently closed.

Opinion: I think this is ridiculous. The tigers should have been treated better, especially because they are the rare Siberian tigers. Feeding them chicken bones not only malnutritions them, but it also doesn't fulfill their hunger. It's no wonder they attacked the zoo worker. Honestly, he probably deserved it.

Compare and Contrast: The BBC News article and the China National News article were both very informative. The BBC News article gave many details in their information which was very helpful, but the China National News article gave the information in a simpler way, thus making it easier to understand. Also, the China National News article provided information about a wider range of events occuring around this incident, and i appriciated this because it was easier to make sense of the whole thing, knowing it hadn't been a recent incident. For example, the BBC didn't even mention the worker being mauled, unlike the China National News. They both quoted the same person and provided no picture.

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__Refused Visa for Dalai Lama's Sister__

Summary: The Dalai Lama's sister, Jetsun Pema was due to make a speech at a cultural show in Bangkok, Thailand called. However, Thailand was worried about angering China, so she was denied a visa and will not be in attendance. Her speech was supposed to be about Buddhist educated for Tibetan exiles. Thailand was worried that having her at the cultural show would seem like a "political statement." Also, the trade between Beijing and Bangkok is growing, so it's possible that Thailand didn't want to create any conflicts there because the industry could lose much of it's income.

Opinion: I think that Jutsen Pema should have been allowed to make her speech at the cultural show. She probably had a lot of interesting things to say. However, I understand where Thailand is coming from. They have an industry which China invests in, and if China stops investing then they could lose a considerable amount of money. I think however, that a simple cultural show isn't a big deal, so Thailand should see if there are any more "relevant" reasons for denying her a visa.

Compare and Contrast: The BBC News article was pretty informative, the the Asia One News article had more details, making it easier to understand. The articles didn't have the same quotes, and the BBC News article provided a picture. I think it's important to include a picture so that you can see who you're reading about. Both of the articles were good, but I think the Asia One article was slightly better.

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Toyota__ __Recall__

Summary: Next week, Aiko Toyoda, the global president of the Toyota car company will speak to congress about the recalls on millions of Toyota vehicles. Toyoda originally wanted to remain in Japan to head the recall, but he changed his mind after the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee asked him to. He is going to clarify the problem in the vehicles and how the recall will work. The problems with some of the vehicles have been sticky gas pedals, and there have been brake problems in the Japanese company’s Prius models.

Opinion: I think it is good the Mr. Toyoda is going to explain the recalls to the American congress and people. 6 million of the 8.5 million vehicles recalled were in the US, so I think it’s especially important that the American’s know about it. I don’t however, see why he had to come to the US to head the recall. I think it would have been fine to let him remain in Japan. I am also very happy about the recall because I know several people who drive Toyotas and I would be very sad if they were hurt or killed because faulty brakes or a sticky gas pedal.

Compare and Contrast: The BBC article was more helpful to me than the Al Jazeera one because it was more to-the-point. The Al Jazeera had a lot of extra information that could have been summarized or wasn’t needed. They both provided the picture of Aiko Toyoda and their quotes were the same or similar.

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Obama to Meet With Dalai Lama

Summary: Even thought China is strongly opposed, President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama will meet in the White House Map Room on January 18th. China claimed that this meeting would harm relations between them and the US. Relations between China and the US have been strained because of the Google issue and the fact that the US sold $6.4 bn worth of weapons to Taiwan. Robert Gibbs, a spokesman said “The Dalai Lama is an internationally respected religious leader. He’s a spokesman for Tibetan rights. The president looks forward to an engaging and constructive meeting.”

Opinion: I’m happy that the president and the Dalai Lama are planning a meeting. I look up to them both and I find them both to be incredibly inspirational people. I know that China doesn’t like the Dalai Lama, but I think he has really good ideas and he and Obama would make some really good decisions for our world. I also don’t think that the Dalai Lama is a bad guy, even though many people in China do. He was a true inspiration to us all when he came here two years ago.

Compare and Contrast: I liked the Al Jazeera article a lot more than I liked the BBC one. It was a lot more organized and easy to understand than the BBC article. The BBC article had a lot of good information two. They both used the same quotes and they both had pictures of the Dalai Lama. The Al Jazeera article said pretty much what the BBC said, but in a way that was easier to understand.

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Chinese Tiger Farms Summary: According to the BBC, "For every one wild tiger alive in the world today, there may be three 'farmed' tigers in China." Tiger farms can be found in China, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. The tigers are kept in cages. They chase chickens and cows for people who pay to come and see them. The tiger bones are used in wine and some believe that eating certain parts of a tiger can give you "strength and vitality." The Chinese government banned the trade of tiger parts in 1993, but it still happens. Some people think these farms cause the practice to still continue.

Opinion: I don't like the idea of tiger farms. They sound really inhumane. It reminded me of how big companies like Mcdonalds keep their animals in cages so small that they can't move. The articles both quoted Keshav Varma, who works for World Bank as saying "Our position is that tiger farms as an animal practice are cruel. They fan the potential use of tiger parts." I'm no vegetarian, but i believe that animals should be treated fairly and humanly, and these tiger farms don't seem to be doing that.

Compare and Contrast: The articles were both very interesting and informative. I'd never heard of a tiger farm before. They used the same quote from Keshav Varma, and they both had pictures of tigers, although not the same ones. However, The Huffington Post had a definite opinion on the tiger farms, while the BBC just seemed to be reporting what happened. I liked that the BBC didn't exactly chose a side because it allowed the reader to make up their own mind about it. Although I agree with The Huffington Post, it would have been nice if they had just remained neutral.

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__Google Cyber Attacks in China__

Summary: Barack Obama wants "some answers" about the cyber attacks via Google. Google claims that hackers tried to breach their security coding. These attacks originated in China, where there are many internet restrictions. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claims that these restrictions are harming relations. Soon, Google will decide whether or not to continue operating in China, where it currently has 1/3 or the search engine market. Google is now considering operating an "unfiltered search engine" within Chinese law.

Opinion: I think that the people who tried to hack Google should be punished. Hacking is not a good thing and although Google isn't the leading search engine in China, it's still important to have there. The articles didn't say why people wanted to breach the security, but whatever the reason, they should have spoken to Google about it in a classy way and not resorted to doing something illegal.

Compare and Contrast: The BBC News article was a lot more informative than the Angola Press one. The Angola Press article appeared to just be summarizing what the BBC said. This made it easy for quick references, but the BBC was lot better when looking for specific details. Also, the BBC article had pictures, videos quotes and the Angola News article didn't. The quotes made it easier to understand all sides of the issue.

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__New Governor in Tibet__

Summary: Padma Choling has been appointed the new government of Tibet. He is 58 years old and is the first military man to be appointed as governor thirty years. Choling's predecessor unexpectedly quit his job. He was the governor in 2008 when a lot of deadly riots broke out. Choling served in China's military for 17 years before becoming part of the government. He became vice-governor in 2003.

Opinion: I think that change is good when it comes to government. Hopefully he will bring some new ideas to the table and make Tibet more fair and just after the riots two years ago.

Compare and Contrast: The BBC News article had more information about Padma Choling and the CBS News article had more information about Tibet and the riots and such. I think that the BBC article was easier to understand, so that was the more helpful article. The BBC article had a picture, but it wasn't very helpful because it was only of a building and a garden and didn't have anything to do with the article. The CBS News article didn't have a picture. It would have been nice to see a picture of Padma Choling so that I knew who i was reading about.

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United Kingdom Bans At Least 20 Kenyans__

Summary: Over 20 Kenyan citizens have been banned from traveling to or through the UK. All of these citizens have been accused of corruption. Kenya is the most corrupt country in East Africa. The US has also banned some Kenyan citizens and accused them of "blocking political reform" which was needed after post-election violence last year. When President Mwai Kibaki was elected in 2002, he pledged to end corruption. But now there are doubts as to whether or not his government has the political will to do so.

Opinion: I think the fact the Kenya was ranked as the most corrupt country in East Africa means that they are in need of serious reform. I also wonder why the government didnt reform after the post-election violence, because that was definetly a sign that something was wrong. I think it was wrong of President Kibaki to say that he would end corruption seven years later, still have his country be the most corrupt one. That just seems wrong to me.

Compare and Contrast: The BBC News article didn't have as many details as the Elombah one, so it was harder to understand. I think the BBC was just a quick summary of what happnened. The Elombah article said the same thing as the BBC one, but it also had more details. This made the whole story much more easy to understand and it was more helpful. Both articles were a reasonable length (not too long or too short). The BBC article had a picture and the Elombah on didn't.

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__Guinea's Military Leader Shot__

Summary: On December 3rd, Guinea's Military Leader, Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara, was shot. He wasn't killed. He's currently in Morracco for medical treatment, which is probably the first time he's left Guinea since taking power a year ago. The attempted assasination was motivated by the killing of 150+ demonstrators this past September. Capt. Carama was shot by Aboubacar "Toumba" Diakite, who was head of the presidential guard and who was also Carama's military aide. There are many different reports, but Carama's condition doesn't seem to be serious, although he was flown out of the country for tests in Morracco.

Opinion: I don't think this is good at all. Assasinations can shake whole countries (such as with JFK). I'm really glad that Capt. Carama wasn't killed, but that doesn't mean that what Diakite did wasn't bad. I'm guessing that his sentence will be really severe.

Compare and Contrast: I think the Guardian article was more helpful than the BBC one becuase it was organized better and easier to understand and read. The BBC article had a lot of extra information that I didn't need. They used the same picture, but it was bigger on the Guardian website.

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__Congo Boat Sinking__

Summary: At least seventy-three people died when two barges connected together sank on Lake Mai-Ndombe in DR Congo. The "boat" wasn't authorized to carry passengers. 270 people survived, and there are still people missing. It is suspected that there are still bodies trapped inside the barges. Accidents tend to occur on Lake Mai-Ndombe because the boats aren't well maintained and the lake gets crowded.

Opinion: I think it's really sad that all of these people were killed, but they should have known not to get aboard a boat that wasn't authorized to hold passengers. It's good that so many people survived though. I feel like the captain of the ship should be held responsible for allowing people to board. The captain has the final say, he could have done something that would have saved these people's lives.

Compare and Contrast: I think that the articles were equally helpful. They both pretty much gave the same amount of information. The articles both provided the same picture which was helpful, but the picture was only a map. It would have been interesting to see an actual picture of the barges to get a better understanding of the kind of vessel that the people were on.

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__Somali Divorcee Stoned to Death__

Summary: A Somali woman was stoned to death because she was accused of commiting adultry. She was 20, he was 29. She was divorced, but the law in Somalia states that if anyone has ever been married, they can still be excecuted for having an affair. Before she was stoned, she was buried up to her waist. She was killed in front of over 200 people. Her boyfriend was only given 100 lashes from a whip.

Opinion: I think that this is terrible. I completely think that cheating and adultry is wrong, but this isn't fait because a) she wasn't even married and b) she didn't deserve death for having a boyfriend. Neither the BBC or the Al Jazeera websites said if she was in the affair while she was still married or not, but either way it isn't a reason to kill someone. Also, it's very unfair that her boyfriend only got whipped while she got stoned to death. That is incredibly sexist.

Compare and Contrast: They were both really detailed. The BBC article was a little bit easier to understnad, but the Al Jazeera article was organized better. I would have liked it if they had more details such as explaining the details about when the affair started. That would have made it a little bit easier to understand.

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__Congo Ninja Leader Dies__

Summary: Bernard Kolelas, the former leader of Congo’s Ninja militia, has died. He was seventy-six years old. He was a popular politician in Brazzaville (Congo’s capitol) and he was the mayor in the mid-1990s. He was the prime minister of Congo for a little while, but he was removed from power. He left the Congo when a man named Dennis Sassou-Nguesso declared himself president. While he was away, he was found to have committed war crimes. He was pardoned in 2005. Kolelas’s Ninja militia used to fight Sassou-Nguesso’s Cobra militia.

Opinion: In my opinion, it’s very sad when someone dies, but he was old and it was probably his time. From what I’ve read he had a very eventful and exciting life and I’m glad he was able to live it to the fullest.

Compare and Contrast: The BBC source was much more informative than the Topix one. The Topix one was only two or three sentences. I couldn’t find any articles besides the BBC one that were longer than that. I would have liked it if Topix included a bit more information. Neither of them used quotes, which would have been interesting.

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__Agreement Between Madagascar Rivals__


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__A Charging Elephant Kills 38 Year Old Man__

Summary: While filming a CBBC series in Tanzania called Serious Explorers, a man named Anton Turner was killed by a charging elephant. He was only 38 years old. He was treated by a doctor at the scene of the incident, but he died soon after. Three childern were with the film crew, but they were airlifted from the area and are currently safe. A BBC representative said "As is usual with a serious accident an immediate and thorough BBC investigation into the circumstances of this incident has already begun."

Opinion: I think that this is really sad but there isn't a whole lot that people can do besides learn from it and be better prepared. The sources didn't say why the elephant charged at him. For all we know it could have been that the elephant was provoked or Turner was protecting one of the children. I think it's good that the BBC is investigating why this happened so that other people who might get into Turner's situation will know how to react.

Compare and Contrast: The BBC article was much more thorough and detailed than the National Post article. I got most of my information from the BBC and i think the National Post article was just summerizing it. They both used the same quote from the same BBC representitive. I would have liked it if they had included the reasons for the elephant charging at Turner, but I doubt that they are available.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8335045.stm

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