Han,+Derek

 January 29, 2010


 * North Korea Holds Missile Tests**

On Tuesday, officials of Seoul said they were going to hold a talk with South Korea. This was due to a flash flood that was caused when North Korea let a dam release water across the border of North and South Korea, the flash flood killed 6 South Koreans. South Korea is demanding an apology from the North Koreans. North Korea has declared a naval exclusion zone off its west coast, indicating it may be preparing to test launch some of its missiles. In that same week the North Koreans launched 5 short-ranged missiles. The Red Cross, on the other hand, is still trying to are both going to meet from both sides to discuss the family separations in the 1950-1953 war between the two countries. The two countries are technically still at war because their war ended with a truce and not a peace treaty.

Al Jazeera: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/01/20101269175540407.html ** Ny Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/world/asia/13north.html?_r=2
 * Sources

I think that this situation is very crazy because since the two countries are technically still at war and North Korea is launching missile, if they make the decision to attack they will probably win because they are ready to play offense and they know that South Korea isn't expecting it. About the flash flood situation, i think that North Korea did a horrible thing because they didn't alert any of the towns or villages that would be in the way of the flowing water. North Korea should do something to pay back for the deaths, like helping build back the villages that were flooded because I'm pretty sure that there was a lot of damage.
 * Opinion

One difference that is pretty obvious is that in the Al Jazeera article it has a picture of some missiles and it also is a lot shorter than the NY Times article. They are both similar because they both talk about the war of 1950-1953, but the NY Times article talks more in-depth about that war and what the Red Cross is doing to help it. And also the NY Times article talks about the flash flood that was caused by North Korea releasing water from the overflowing dam. Both articles talked about the missile launchings that North Korea was preparing for or already fired. The NY Times article gave more info overall, it also talked about the missile launch it had on monday.
 * Similarities and Differences

-dth ** **

January 23, 2010

China Internet Hackers

Google has threatened to pull out of China due to the Chinese hackers who are targeting google and 34 other companies. On Friday China fired back and stated that," the United States is damaging ties between the countries by highlighting cyber attacks alleged by Google". U.S Senator Hillary Clinton urged the Chinese government to investigate the cyber attacks against Google's email, Gmail. But they quickly turned around in their point of view and is now saying this dispute is against two companies and shouldn't effect any ties that the U.S and China have. About 5 years ago Google agreed to have some censorship by China in exchange for the right to operate in that country's massive emerging technology market, but after the hacking towards Google they are reconsidering the censorship. China has many laws that go against these types of crimes.

Sources Washington Post: [] CNN: []

Compare and Contrast Both articles state that U.S Senator Hillary Clinton was involved with trying to find a solution to the problem. The CNN article has a picture of a "Google" poster with flowers and a miniature chinese calender. Both articles claim that google was one of the many targets that the criminals hacked, but only the CNN articles talks about Google's e-mailing system being hacked and tells that google wasn't the only website being hacked, " The search-engine giant has threatened to pull out of China, saying that Chinese hackers have targeted Google and up to 34 other companies. (CNN)" One thing that the Washingtonpost article has that the CNN doesn't is the talk about freedom of speech and the actions that they can do under their rights.

Opinion I think that Google shouldn't pull out of China because China is one of the most high tech places on the earth and taking that part of the world out wouldn't help them in anyway, but they should try to find the hackers and bring them to justice by throwing them in jail for a long while because they have messed with Google and 34 other companies, which is horrible. They should still have their freedom over the internet but it should be monitored because hacking into gmail is very large, but if they ever get ahold of a banks information, database, and that sort of stuff they can steal peoples SS# and maybe even rob the bank from their own home. They need to do something about it because pulling out of China won't do any good to the 34+ other countries that get hacked.

-Dth 

December 10, 2009


 * Assassination attempt on Guinea's President**

Captain Moussa Dadis Camara was shot on thursday by Abubakar "Toumba" Diakite. Captain Camara was shot in the head, but isn't dead. He is believed to be in serious condition. He was shot in a military camp called "Camp Koundara", which houses hundreds of men that are under Toumba's control. He went to the camp because he wanted to confront Toubma about him releasing the officers that Camara wanted to be arrested. Over 60 people have been arrested, but they are still searching for more. Among the many that haven't been caught is Toumba, he is still at large with some of his men. Camara isn't the only one being targeted. Imams are at risk too because they are being attack due to their opposition of the military rule. Also, many properties are being looted and destroyed by Toumba's men. But these attacks aren't only going one way, soldiers have targeted a local traditional healer because he is being accused of using magic to help Toumba.

NYDailyNews- http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009/12/04/2009-12-04_guinea_president_moussa_dadis_camara_flown_to_morocco_for_treatment_after_assass.html

BBC- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8402129.stm

Both of these articles, NYDailyNews and BBC, have confirmed that Toumba was the attacker in this assassination attempt. He is still at large. The BBC says that "Imams are at risk too because they are being attack due to their opposition of the military rule. Also, many properties are being looted and destroyed by Toumba's men." Both of these articles have pictures, the NYDailyNews has photograph of a man wearing a red beret and a pair of sunglasses (don't know who it is because there isn't a caption) and the BBC has a drawing of the same man.

I think this whole situation is crazy because i think this all happened because Toumba released some officers that Camara wanted to be arrested, he really didn't need to confront Toumba at his OWN base about this situation. Letting some officers go that were suppose to be arrested doesn't have to end with a gunshot wound to the head. If i were Camara i wouldn't have went to Toumba's camp to confront him because if something happens (which it did) the whole entire camp is behind Toumba and it would be like 1 (Camara) vs 100+. To me this assassination attempt shouldn't have even happened. Both articles were good. NYDailyNews gave a lot of information about the topic and the BBC talked about who else would be in danger. And both have great quotes from people that tell the whole story, from beginning to end.

-dth

December 2, 2009


 * 73 People Die After Boating Accident****

On Wednesday a boat sank in a lake west of the Democratic Republic of Congo. There are 272 survivors and about 73 dead so far, there are still people missing and they don't know that exact number of people on the boat at the time of the accident. The logging boat was unauthorized to take passengers, but it did and sank during bad weather. Dominique Lutula, the country director, said that there are many people missing and the bodies could be stuck in the barges, which went down. There are about 200 Red Cross rescue workers out along the shore searching and recovering bodies. Many of the bodies that have already been found have been buried.

Al Jazeera English- http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/11/200911281659264336.html SMH- http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/some-73-dead-in-dr-congo-boat-accident-20091129-jy8c.html

Both articles confirmed that he event happened on Wednesday. In the Al Jazeera article there was a picture of a man pushing a wooden boat with a stick and it said that there were 272 survivors. The SMH article only had text and it said that there were 276 survivors. Both text talked about some past events that have occurred that can relate to this situation. Both articles did also confirm that there were 73 people dead and they explain how the Red Cross is involved in helping recover the bodies. I think this is a horrible accident because 73 people died due to a boating accident and there are still many people missing, which could add up to a lot more than 73. The boating trip was risky because they were not authorized to have passengers in the first place, but they still did have passengers. Bad weather was the one to blame here, the bad weather sank the boat causing all of these deaths. If i could change this event, I would probably block off the boat from sailing and maybe even bringing them back to shore so i know that they cant have an accident, but the weather is very unpredictable and it would be hard to call that. Both articles were great, but the information was kind of off. I have used Al Jazeera before and I knew what to expect, but i never used SMH before so this one was new and it had really important facts.

-dth __ November 27, 2009 **


 * Hostages Freed after 15 months in Somalia**


 * The two hostages, Amanda Lindhout (Canadian freelancer) and Nigel Brennan (Australian photojournalist), we captured 15 months ago on August 23, 2008. They were not the only ones captured, a Somali reporter and two drivers were released after 177 days of captivity. The two had been tortured in many forms, pistol-whipped and isolated from one another. During that long 15 month period they tried to escape in May. They got as far as a refugee camp and had been recaptured. For their punishment they were separated from each other for 10 months. Chained up in a room that has barely any sunlight, if any. They couldn't do simple things like exercise or communicate. The kidnappers demanded a 2.5 million dollar ransom, but by January they only demanded 100,000 dollars. After the ransom had been paid, 1 million dollars, they were released on Wednesday to a hotel, still confused. And on thursday they were flown out of the country in a private plane.

Al Jazeera English- http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/11/20091125195343870385.html Yahoo- http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091126/wl_africa_afp/somaliaunrestkidnapmediacanadaaustralia

In both of these articles, Al Jazeera and Yahoo, they had pictures. The Jazeera article had a picture of Nigel Brenna and the other of Amanda Lindhout. Both of the articles had information about the ransom "The kidnappers demanded a 2.5 million dollar ransom...". And they also both the time period of the hostage "15 month period". In both articles it had quotes from the two hostages. In the Yahoo article it talked about the time line of the whole event, when they escaped and other things that happened.

I am glad that the two hostages got out safely. I hope that those kidnappers get caught because i think that they won't stop just because they got what they wanted. They will just crave more and this situation will happen all over again. I can't imagine what would happen if i, or anyone i know, had been kidnapped for 15 month. This article was crazy to me when i read it because i have heard of kidnappings in the middle east, but nothing like this. Both articles were packed full of information and good pictures to go along with it. These resources were very reliable.

-dth _ November 19, 2009 **


 * Woman Stoned to Death**


 * This week in Somalia, a woman, 20-years-old, was stoned to death for having sex with an unmarried man, 29-years-old. She was a divorcee, but that didn't give her the right to have sex with an unmarried man. The judge's reason was adultery. She gave birth to the child. The 20-year-old divorced Somali was buried in the ground, about waste high, and was stoned. The woman was killed near Wajid and their was about a crowd of 200 watching the execution. The "boyfriend" doesn't get off so easy either, he was lashed 100 times, which isn't as big as the punishment of the stoning. A man was stoned to death for being accused of adultery last week and in November 2008, a 13-year-old rape victim, girl, was executed for being accused of adultery. There has been about 4 more of these types of executions due to adultery in the past year, half of them were women being killed.

Al Jazeera English- http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/11/20091119112014611167.html Daily Mail-  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1228956/Somali-woman-20-stoned-death-Islamic-militants-admitting-affair-boyfriend.html  In both articles they had a picture, but the Daily Mail had a picture of what the execution would look like and the Al Jazeera English article only had a pictures of the rebels. Both articles talked about why the woman was stoned to death, "The judge's reason was adultery". And how man people were in the crowd to watch the execution, "... their was a crowd of 200 watching the execution." In the Daily Mail article, it gave the information and ratio of the executions in the past year, "There has been about 4 more of these types of executions due to adultery in the past year, half of them were women being killed." In the Al Jazeera English article, it has told us about the past executions, "A man was stoned to death for being accused of adultery last week and in November 2008, a 13-year-old rape victim, girl, was executed for being accused of adultery."

I think that this situation is crazy because I guess they don't have as much freedom as we do. To me, the execution style is horrible because they bury the body half way and just stone the person until they are dead. What do they do with the body then? Do they let it sit and rot? Do they let the birds and other animals eat it? This just makes me really mad because even if they have to kill the person, at least give them a proper burial ceremony or something. They deserve some form of respect, even if they have broken the law. Both articles were very good. This is the first time i have used Daily Mail, but it won't be the last because it is packed with information. I like how the Daily Mail article has a picture of what it would look like if we witnessed it. I will use these articles again in the future.

-dth  _

November 12, 2009

** Gold Mine Disaster in Ghana


 * On November 10, 2009, (11-10-09), an illegal gold mine caved in and killed 15 people, 13 of which were women. Luckily about 15 of the miners escaped unharmed. Officials report that this is THE worst mining accident that has ever happened in Ghana. Police say that they are "... looking into the possibility of criminal negligence...", but the owner of the mine was one of the 15 people killed in the mines. This mine was illegal because since Ghana has a large gold reserve, many people dig deep into the earth and hope to strike gold themselves. Men usually dig out the mines and the women are the ones that filter the soil to see if they strike any gold. In Africa, the West African nation is one of the largest gold exporters of the continent.

BBC News: [] Seattle Times News: []

Both of these articles, BBC News and Seattle Times News, have the exact same deaths and how many of them are women, "... 15 people, 13 of which were women." Both also have sayings about an investigation, but the BBC News article goes more in-depth about the investigation. While the Seattle Times News article talks about how "... about 15 of the miners escaped unharmed." In the BBC News article it points out that this is THE "... worst mining accident that has ever happened in Ghana.", and it is also the only article that has a picture in it. The Seattle Times article doesn't really go in-depth about any detail, it just scrapes the surface and reveals just a little information.

I think that this disaster is horrible because 15 miners were trying their luck for a pot of gold, when all they got was death. I understand why they would do this because if there was resources that you could sell to make a big profit, which are right underneath your feet, wouldn't you dig for it? Both of these sources were great, i wish they had a little more information about what they are going to do in the future to prevent these kind of things, but they might not have that information yet. I will for sure use these resources in the future because they tell me the situation, who is in it, why this happened, where and when it happened, and how it happened.

-dth

November 5, 2009**

Malaria Vaccine Trails in Africa

The Malaria Vaccine is named Mosquirix, this vaccine is a result of a partnership between GlaxoSmithKline, the British drug manufacturer, and US-based Path Malaria Vaccine Initiative, which is funded by Bill and Melinda Gates. It has been developed through 2 decades of research. About 5,000 children have been through the preliminary trials since 2003. The trails show that the vaccine is 50-55% effective, but it could take about another half decade before it will be licensed and put into work. If the vaccine is safe and goes into the market, it would be the first ever vaccine against a human parasite. So far there has been $500 million dollars spent on this vaccine, which is funded by GlaxoSmithKline and Path Malaria Vaccine Initiative. If this vaccine works out and it is licensed and ready for use, it could save millions and millions of people through out Africa and the world.

Al Jazeera: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/11/200911341029993119.html Seattle Times: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2010190185_apafafricamalariavaccine.html

In both articles, Al Jazeera and Seattle Times, it talks about the Mosquirix vaccine and its progress in development. They also both give the same statistics about the vaccine, "The trials show that the vaccine is 50-55% effective..." and they also talk about how long the development is, "it has been developed through 2 decades of research." There are differences too. In the Al Jazeera article it talks more about the research and the process of the development, but in the Seattle Times it talks a lot about the funding of it and it has direct quotes from doctors. The Al Jazeera article has a picture of a mosquito and the Seattle Times doesn't have any picture.

I think that the Mosquirix Vaccine will be very important because it can save millions of people in Africa and around the world. To me this is one of the biggest things in science that has happened in the past year or so because this breakthrough will have a huge impact in every single country in the world, especially Africa. Right now the vaccine is 50% effective, many people say that isn't enough and i agree with them, but 50% is like saving half a million people from dying this year of malaria, 500,000 people. This is one of the biggest things that has happened, in my perspective, because it will save millions of lives and it will be the first ever vaccine against a human parasite. The Al Jazeera article was really good because it was short and it was packed with information about this and it didn't have many quotes, which I liked because the quotes are just other peoples opinions on the topic, and I wanted facts, which i got. The Seattle Times article was also good because it talked about who was involved in it and who was funding it and also some history about these kinds of vaccines. I will for sure use those two sources again because they are packed with information that will help me understand the topic and situation.

-dth

Firestone Pollution in Liberia  ** Thirty miles south of the Liberia border lies a plant, called Firestone, which is the 2nd largest rubber producer in Africa with about 14,000 Liberian employees. On June 4th 2009 parliamentarians called on the head of the Environmental Protection Agency to ask why the agency has not yet published their results of the EPA investigation from May 22. A three month investigation took place and they, the government in Liberia, found out that the Firestone plant is responsible for high levels of orthophosphate in creeks that tens of thousands of villagers use, the testing of the water was done in the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and also in Liberia itself. The villagers claim that they get skin rashes when they venture into the creek and some of their residents even died from it, “We can’t drink it any longer. Some of our people have already died from this.", but the Firestone plant denies that they are at fault because they say, "water treatment system was working as designed and intended." There have been 3 deaths due to the water pollution because the Firestone plant has been dumping toxic water into the creeks surrounding it and the villagers have been drinking it, which gets them poisoned with orthophosphate.
 * October 29, 2009

In the BBC NEWS article it has a lot of facts and it isn't very lengthy, but in the IRIN Africa article it has a lot of quotes from the villagers and it is very lengthy. Both articles talk about how the villagers are affected by the water and how some are dying. Some other differences is that in the IRIN Africa article it introduces the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and about them asking why they haven't published their results from May 22, but in the BBC NEWS they talk about the investigation, an example is testing the water. Both articles have pictures, but the BBC NEWS has an employee scrapping sap out of a tree and the IRIN Africa article just has a forest.

BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8332851.stm IRIN Africa: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=84712

I think that the Firestone plant should do something about this because they are harming the environment and the people around them. And they should also take full responsibility of the pollution because they are the only one pouring gallons and gallons of toxic waste into the creeks which is causing a lot of problems. I think that it isn't to build a plant and make problems with the natives that have been living their longer than the plant has been up. I think that the BBC NEWS article and IRIN Africa article are really good because it helped me understand the situation and gave me many perspectives of it too, like quotes from the villagers and quotes from the plant. The IRIN Africa article introduced the EPA to me and i think that the EPA will come up again in another article. I will surely use these two sources in the future.

-dth <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">