7. “Harvard says 125 Students May Have Cheated on a Final Exam”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/31/education/harvard-says-125-students-may-have-cheated-on-exam.html?_r=1&ref=us

Richard Perez-Pena and Jess Bidgood wrote an article on the shooting news that possibly 125 Harvard students could have cheated on a final exam. Over half of the undergraduate class was under investigation for plagiarism or cheating. If caught, they could get suspended for a year. We are unaware of the names of these students as Perez-Pena and Bidgood says. Harvard is trying to protect the students by not giving out this information. The professor by the name of Matthew B. Platt gave the students a take home final exam for their government class and said it was strictly to be done individually. However, when he graded the exams he noticed similarities in answers which could have been from working in groups and doing the test together. Harvard took action immediately. The Harvard administrative board reviewed over all the exams and noticed several signs of group collaboration. Harvard plans to teach their students more about academic integrity. These students will be addressed this news when they return for school on Tuesday.

The authors purpose for this article is to inform its readers how easy access to the internet with answers for anything possible and how cheating does not seem as bad for many college students today. Many things have changed past years. Students no longer feel the need to do everything by themselves as the professor instructed. Plagiarism has become a big part in the students today. Harvard is trying to teach their students differently however. Perez-Pena and Bidgood do a good job of telling the readers that. Cheating is still not allowed at all in Harvard and they are going to fix this problem.

7.Severe Diet Doesn’t Prolong Life, at Least in Monkeys

during 25 years rhesus monkeys were kept under the observation of a  low calorie diet. they were kept semi starved lean and hungry. the male monkeys' weight were so low it equivalated to 120 to 130 pounds . During this observation there was a certain hope that these on low calorie diet monkeys would survive longer and live a healthier life by eating less and that humans, the monkeys evolutionary cousins would too. This study began in the years of 1987 and the results were finally in .
it turned out to be that the skinny monekys did not end up living longer than the normally fed monkeys the lab test results only improved for the monkeys that were put on diet when older . but the factors that contributed to deaths, heart attacks, cancer etc remained equal for the normally fed and unfed monkeys. the lab test results showed that the monkeys who started the diet during old age had lower levels of cholesterol and blood sugar , but not for females. Males and females that were put on the diet when they were old had lower levels of triglycerides, which are linked to heart disease risks. but on the other hand , the monkeys that went under this diet when they were young or middle aged, did not receive the same benefits or the same results. but in conclusion the monkeys that ate less did not live any longer than the ones that ate normally.

The autors purpose in this article is to inform about the scientific observations of health of others organisms that might help our to improve. the autor gives us the information of what kind of observations were observed on the monkeys and what kind of results came out of this observation, suggesting to us that maybe diets isn't the way to live a longer or healthier life, the author gives us the option to be able to think and look at this article in dept.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/30/science/low-calorie-diet-doesnt-prolong-life-study-of-monkeys-finds.html?ref=health

2. Bye-Bye, Boomers: This Is the Age of the Baby Bust-ers

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/08/bye-bye-boomers-this-is-the-age-of-the-baby-bust-ers/261424/

In the United States there is a recession. This has had an impact on many aspects of people’s lives. Normally people would get married in mid to late 20s and spend a lot of money on a wedding. Then they would proceed to find a house and other necessities with a loan. Eventually the couple would have a kid. Now, however, people have begun to change. Couples have begun to marry at a different age and married couples buy houses later. Also, couples have begun to delay having kids because of the economy. Births have fallen to a low number leading to “the smallest population gain since World War II.”

Derek Thompson, the writer of this article, is informing people with this article. He begins by talking about how a couple usually starts out then he contrasts it with how couples are doing things now. He talks about the worsening economy and why people have held off having kids. However, he does say that the lack of children being born can be a negative thing.

1. 7 Years After Katrina, New Orleans Is Overrun by Wild Dogs

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/08/7-years-after-katrina-new-orleans-is-overrun-by-wild-dogs/261530/   

Seven years after hurricane Katrina, New Orleans still has many problems in recovering. Many people still do not have much to come back to. When people left back in 2005 to flee the hurricane, many animals were left behind. Even today much of the city looks like it has not been touched since 2005. Many of the animals died but some lived. Over the years the number of wild dogs has increased. Dogs stay in abandoned houses, eating bad food, carrying diseases, and posing as a health hazard to people who get near them. With female dogs being able to have so many puppies, the number of wild dogs increases and only in a few months new dog packs are formed. Ana Zorilla the executive director of New Orleans SPCA says, “You have entire blocks of the cities where there is no one living," she says. No one but stray dogs.” The police have a lot on their plate trying to control the increasing crime rate and the dog packs. However, many people are empathetic to the dogs. Residents and visitors alike feel bad for the dogs and help them on occasion.

The author, Wendi Jonassen, begins the article by telling the story of an Animal Control Officer. She eventually tells a sad story about a dying pit-bull with a large tumor. Jonassen’s purpose is to inform that there are still places in New Orleans that have not recovered since the hurricane. She attempts to persuade  the reader into action by telling about the sad state stray dogs are in and the increasing crime.

2. Heavy Women May Be More Likely to See Breast Cancer Recur

http://healthland.time.com/2012/08/27/heavy-women-may-be-more-likely-to-see-their-breast-cancer-come-back/?iid=hl-main-lede

                Studies have shown that, out of many, women who are overweight are more likely to have reoccurring breast cancer than others.  Women, who are not insanely overweight, have died from this epidemic more than most other, less over weight, women.  Many women were tested, having almost every element (normal heart, kidney, liver, and bone marrow function) the same except for their weight.  The heavier women showed more result leaning toward breast cancer.  Dr. Joseph Sparano of the Albert Einstein College stated, “We found that obesity at diagnosis of breast cancer is associated with about a 30 percent higher risk of recurrence and a nearly 50 percent higher risk of death despite optimal treatment.”

                This article, written by Alexandria Sifferlin, does a good job of supporting its main idea.  Sifferlin brings up statistics and other resources to support her evidence.  The article is not boringly long, but states what is necessary.  The message is a cautionary one, to save the lives of women who potentially face this threat.  The article is nice and not biased; it has plenty of support for the length of it over all.  Sifferlin even has quotes from a doctor regarding the touchy subject.  The article is very interesting as it discusses the issue of obesity and its connection to breast cancer.

6.My illegal abortion

http://www.salon.com/2012/08/27/my_illegal_abortion/

Jan Wilberg, writer for The Salon, tells the story of how she illegally had an abortion on 1967. She starst the article by telling the readers how the abortion occured and how the procedure followed: in a cheap hotel room, for $250, a wire was inserted to the cervix and the doctor afirmed that would be enough. Wilberg then describes what she felt after the abortion, remiscing the grief and guilt felt daily, extravasated in quiet showers, as tears stremed down her face. She tells the situations and circumstances that led to her decision, such as her young age and lack of courage to tell her parents. A bit further, she explains how she forgave herself later on, understading she did what she had to, since she was stuck with that situation and there was not much she could do about it. The author then tells how what she had to was abominable, putting herself in extremely risky, unsafe situations in order to be able to do what she thought was appropriate for life in that situation. Wilberg also talks a little bit about how anti-abortionists create chaos for women who are already in a terrible position and facing extremely harsh conditions, and how their snide remarks on the issue would only hurt them and cause even more anguish in their lives.

Wilberg's purpose with this article is to clearly take a stand on the abortion issue, persuading the reader to think the same way she does. In order to do that, she appeals to pathos, using her own personal experience to touch the reader and make them see the other side of the story and reflect on the issue. In the end of the article, she is clear and transparent, criticizing politicians and the government as a whole, and how they're making more women go through the same thing she did instead of giving them assistance to make their own choices to control their own bodies.

6. These Days, It’s Back to School, Then Shopping

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/27/business/economy/later-back-to-school-shopping-changes-retailers-plans.html?_r=1&hpw

New York Times retail reporter Stephanie Clifford wrote an article discussing the shift of people's consumption of goods during the back-to-school season, and the reasons behind this delay. The author introduced the topic talking about a teenager, Samantha, who decided to wait until she got back to school to buy the items that were "in fashion." Following this example, the author explained the reasons why students, especially teenagers ended up "delaying their school purchases" - in addition to the unsually hot weather, the delay is caused because children and others like wait until they go to school before buying any of the "in fashion" items. The next section of the article explained the consequences this delay in consumption could lead to - they would be bad news and the unbalanced economy could complicate how the stores stock and sell their items, many of which "have been on the shelves for almost two months." The article concluded by going back to young Samantha's story, who was introduced in the beginning. She said that though she could see the fashion trends online, "that was not enough to get her into stores before classes started."

Stephanie Clifford's article is mainly directed to the public, with the purpose of informing people about the change when people buy their back-to-school items. Not only does it inform, but also "warns" people about the consequences that could follow from this delay. Furthermore, Clifford supported her claim about the delay in people's purchases to be true by quoting sayings from big company (Wal-Mart, Office Depot, and J. C. Penney) officers and retailers, as well as analyzing a survey made by the National Retail Federation regarding students' back to school shopping time. The article was organized in such a way that it was united because it started and ended talking about Samantha's reason for delaying her back to school purchases.

6. Gangnam Style, Dissected: The Subversive Message Within South Korea's Music Video Sensation

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/08/gangnam-style-dissected-the-subversive-message-within-south-koreas-music-video-sensation/261462/

Max Fisher states that there is more to the hilarious scenes and catchy rhythm to the sensational new Korean music video, "Gangnam Style"; Park Jaesang (Psy) attempt to demonstrate the true reality of the admired lifestyles of those inhabiting the wealthy towns such as in Gangnam, Seoul. Fisher illustrates Psy's huge success with the sixth album with the opening track called Gangnam Style, even though Psy was rather unpopular in the previous years due to his unpleasant reputation as a K-pop star. His success reached America, having the music video "Gangnam Style" acknowledged as one of the must-see videos by people such as the rapper T-pain, Justin Bieber's manager and the Wall Street Journal editor. Fisher refers to two Korean observers who helped him to recognize the "subversive message about class and wealth in contemporary South Korean society," in stating that the music video has more to it than its cheerfulness. Fisher also quotes Adrian Hong, a Korean-American consultant who implies that Gangnam is the symbol of the aspect of Korean culture in which the people rely heavily on credit and are encouraged toward aspirationalism and nationalism to improve the economy. "Gangnam Style" music constantly displays images of the seemingly luxurious hollow lifestyles. Psy's sensational music video is "a satire about Gangnam itself but also about how people outside Gangnam pursue their dream to be one of those Gangnam residents without realizing" that it could just mean to "crimp on essentials to over-spend on conspicuous luxuries."  The behind-the-scenes-video of the making of "Gangnam Style" displayed the intentions of Psy to reveal the hollowness of the materialism and pathetic luxuries desired by many people.

Fisher dissects this music video to demonstrate that America can relate to the subversive message being sent by Psy. He relates the message that "pursuit of form over function" can be worthless, with the societies other than of South Korea, Gangnam. He implies that people need to find something else to move forward than the hollow luxuries, such as in "the ostentatiously rich that just might resonate in today's America."

6. The Moral Decline in the Words We Use

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2012/08/moral-decline-words-we-use/56142/

Researchers Pelin and Selin Kesebir analyzed the words “related to moral excellence and virtue” from 1901 to 2000. If the books are correct then it is possible there is a moral decline. They told The Atlantic Wire, "The words in a book reflect what is salient in the minds of a culture’s members, and simultaneously make these words even more salient. It’s a feedback cycle whereby people make cultural products and the cultural products make people…It would be a stretch from data to say that our findings reflect an actual moral decline in the U.S.—that people are less moral now. But we believe that even if not outright moral decline, a moral confusion would be an unsurprising consequence of this downward trend in the cultural salience of morality concepts." Analyzing words in books is a way to highlight the cultures consciousness. The Kesebirs twins say that people do not care about morality or virtue as much anymore. "These young people said, for example, that they would refrain from judging anyone who has cheated in an exam or stolen something, because everyone is entitled to their own moral opinion…We think that this extreme moral individualism and relativism can be partly explained by our findings—these young people have not been socialized into a shared moral framework, and they simply lack the vocabulary for it." They say that more virtue words, like honesty, selflessness and so on, have been somewhat replaced with individualism as a major factor. Words like unique, personalize, self, all about me, I am special, and I'm the best have been used more in American books between the years of 1960 and 2008. The Kesebirs say the findings are “disconcerting.” "Our findings fit in this broad cultural picture in which individual achievement and fulfillment are valued above almost everything else, and definitely above communal values.

The writer of the article, Jen Doll, uses this article to inform. The writer talks about the research done by the Kesebir twins. The writer also uses a bit of humor at the end despite the rather sad thought of American morality going downward. The writer ends with, “On the bright, moral-positive side: Knowing what we do and why we do it is necessary in order to improve ... or so we'd hope. Hope, that's a good word, right?”

6. Turn Off the Phone (and the Tension)

     Jenna Wortham, the technology reporter for the New York Times writes about the serious problem that people are having nowadays, which is the fact that they cannot live without their smartphones even for a little time. She starts out the article by drawing the reader's attention through a personal experience that she had, in which she had to spend time in the pool without her smartphone. It was prohibited to enter the pool with any electronic device, and at first she was frustrated since she couldn't use her phone, but later she realized how good it is to spend some time just with her friends. She goes on by explaining how this situation should seem silly to those who do not use their smartphones all the time, but how for most of the people, it is hard since they feel JOMO, the feeling of missing out. Then she ends her article by saying that these people that cannot stay away from their phones are like adolescents, and that they need to use it less, and use it grow up and mature.

    The purpose of this article by Wortham, is obviously to purchase people to spend more time with people and nature, than reading and looking what people are doing in social networks. She says it is impossible to notice the beauty of spending time with people and interacting with each other. Nowadays, it is not only the adolescents that are addicted to them, but the adults do not stay away from their phones. The writer thinks that this problem shouldn't be adults' problems, and this should be changed. 

6. ON THE GROUND: SHOTS

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2012/09/03/120903ta_talk_widdicombe1

The New Yorker writer Lizzie Widdicombe wrote an article to inform the audience about the shooting in the Empire State building. Also to emphasize that the two people who want to be president; Obama and Mitt Romney, should do something about the guns that are out to the public. Widdicombe starts the article by showing that the killing at the Empire State Building, happened after the Killing of Aurora and the killing of nineteen people in Chicago the night before. She states that it’s absurd that a man can kill so many people just because he was fired. Widdicombe provides many evidences of people who were, in or out of the Empire State Building at the time of the shooting. She also shows that Mayor Bloomberg was very concerned with what has been going on and said, "I ask everyone to keep the victims in their thoughts and prayers." Finally she ends her article stating how the Mayor criticized both President Obama and Mitt Romney because they have the gun problem out of control. She clearly shows how she agrees with the WOR radio, when she shows a very good point made by them saying, "Maybe it's time that the two people who want to be President of the United States stand up and tell us what they are going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the country."

In this article Widdicombe not only wants’ to inform readers that people operating guns and the killings are out of control, but she also wants’ to enlighten the readers, showing that two people who want to be President of the United States aren't doing anything about this, but should begin. Lastly in this article Widdicombe wants’ to construe in a very concerned tone, saying that know a day’s killing has become more often than ever, and it needs to stop.

6. U.S Foreign Arms Sales

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/27/world/middleeast/us-foreign-arms-sales-reach-66-3-billion-in-2011.html?_r=1&hp

           Thom Shanker, the author of the article "U.S Foreign Arms Sales Reach $66.3 Billion in 2011," predominantly uses statistical facts all throughout his article. The title itself is a statistical fact and there are even more used by Shanker: U.S weapon sales tripled in 2011, the U.S totals 78% of global arms market which values at $85.3 billion, and Russia come second in the list with $4.8 billion. In 2010, U.S arms sales totaled $21.4 billion. Shanker proposes a rather interesting reason for such an increase in the global arms market: increasing tensions in countries like Iran and Persian Gulf nations ultimately forced Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Oman to buy weapons from the U.S.
          Thom Shanker uses a lot of statistical facts and names of institutions, countries, and weaponry to help persuade the reader and at the same time inform the reader about the reasons to why global arms sales have dramatically increased last year. The author uses a lot of monetary and currency mentioning and also presents a list of weaponry names that Saudi Arabia has purchased from the U.S such as missiles and aircrafts. Shanker also gives other reference statistical facts which help progress the author's purpose: the United States has tripled its weaponry sales over the last year compared to 2010 and compared to all other nation such as Russia, the United States is leading global arms market and most of the valued total sales of weapons have come from the U.S. The author tries to convince the reader that the U.S has a big role in the global arms sales.

6. "Made ‘Giant Leap’ as First Man to Step on Moon"

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/science/space/neil-armstrong-dies-first-man-on-moon.html?pagewanted=1&hp

In John Noble Wilford's article's "Made ‘Giant Leap’ as First Man to Step on Moon", he honors Neil Armstrong's great achievement during his lifetime and retells the story of the astronaut's first step on the moon. Wilford starts the article by stating how Armstrong died. He continues by talks about Armstrong's personality and interest in aviation. Armstrong was not just an astronaut, but also professor who taught about space. In the article, the author is always complimenting the great astronaut and how he was a man to be respected.“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Armstrong wanted something for all mankind and not just fame. Wilford states that Armstrong retired in a farm where he could live with his family in peace and sometimes makes speeches for people to listen. The article's concluding paragraph decribes how Armstrong was chosen as one of the representative of America to go to the moon.


The purpose of this article is not just telling the story to people to read, it is also to remember this hero of mankind. To remind people of his great achievements to the future science. The astronaut passed away and this article is to reveal to all types of people of Armstrong's success. Wilford wrote this article to not only the Americans, since Armstrong was United State's representative, but to the whole world. This way everyone will know that men will be able to take many other steps. This article is in honor of the first astronaut who stepped on the moon and for mankind to take another "giant leap."

6. China Is Said to Be Bolstering Missile Capabilities

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/25/world/asia/chinas-missile-advances-aimed-at-thwarting-us-defenses-analysts-say.html?_r=3&smid=tw-nytimesglobal&seid=auto

On August 24th, Keith Bradsher wrote about China’s quick development in the nuclear warhead industry. These advances have improved their abilities to launch large nuclear attacks against their enemies and have made many Americans worried. The author reassures the reader that both countries are trying to keep a good and peaceful relationship with each other. He continues describing how China has been able to improve their military power and says they have only done so because of the military progression in other countries and because their economy has increased their budget. Bradsher ends saying how the United States has some military defense systems against nuclear warheads and that they are intended to destroy any enemy missile, especially North Korea’s if they fire any. However, this causes China to want to do the same in case the United States tries to do anything.

The author's purpose in writing this article is to inform his readers (mostly Americans) about how China has been developing better nuclear weapons, and in addition giving an update on the United States' own nuclear projects. Bradsher uses many short paragraphs with less than a few sentences to keep his readers interested and with an urge to keep reading. Just as in many other articles, he provides the reader with many quotes and their references to transmit the information he wants to instead of telling it himself, similar to what dialogue does in a narrative. He uses some allusions, giving reference to the Cold War and to a treaty signed by China in 1996 (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty), allowing the reader to make connections to past events and thus facilitating the comprehension of what the author is saying. The way Bradsher ends his essay keeps the readers wanting to know more about the issue and expecting more to come about it.

2. "Tropical Storm Isaac Lashes Haiti, Still Crippled by Earthquake"

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/25/world/americas/tropical-storm-isaac-unleashes-heavy-rain-over-haiti.html?ref=world

On August 24, 2012 Randal Archibold and Elisabeth Malkin joined together to write an aritcle about a tropical storm, by the name of Issac, that will probaly cause even more problems in Haiti. On Friday the strom brought heavy rains to Haiti creating a higher possibility of floods and mudslides. As Archibold and Malkin said, this would be a tragedy for them because the people of Haiti are still trying to recover from the 2010 earthquake that killed many. The storm is predicted to travel northwest and then if returned to Haiti, the expected amount of precepitation can cause life threatning conditions for the thousands of homeless people in Haiti. The 400,000 survivors from last years earthquake are not prepared for even a little amount of heavy rain. Most people live in tents made from wood sheets so even normal amount of rain can destroy the only kind of shelter they have. Red Cross is trying to help out by warning everyone. However, as Mrs. Hurtubise said "we cannot force them to leave, we can only make sure that they have the best protection."

The main reason Archibold and Malkin wrote this article is to avise the readers another tragedy that can possibly happen in a couple of days to Haiti. Not only are they trying to warn us to, but also to inform those who normally give donations for tragedy´s like this. The article mainly focuses on Haiti even though the storm will hit other places as well. Haiti is the country that has been through a lot so they are, in a way, encourgaing the readers to help out.

6. What Women Can Learn from Rosie O’Donnell’s Heart Attack

http://healthland.time.com/2012/08/22/what-women-can-learn-from-rosie-odonnells-heart-attack/

     “…women are twice as likely to die in the first weeks after having a heart attack than men.”  The symptoms of a heart attack in women are different and much less pronounced than men.  Men have chest pains and tingling arms, while women solely suffer a minimum amount of pain in their back.

     Rosie O’Donnell, a comedian who went a whole day without knowing she had a heart attack, wrote about her experience in her blog.  She made a quick little poem to describe it:

Know the symptoms ladies
listen to the voice inside
the one we all so easily ignore
CALL 911

save urself

     Yes, very short and a tad bit unprofessional, but the words stated are important.  Many women could go a long time not knowing they had a heart attack because of the vague symptoms involved.  Many doctors are not trained to recognize these symptoms even.

     The author of this article, Alice Park, does stress the importance of knowing the symptoms when they show.  She brings up evidence to support not only her message, but Rosie O’Donnell’s message to all women.

1. Q: Are Americans Ready for a Bible-Based Quiz Show? A: Not So Much

http://entertainment.time.com/2012/08/23/q-are-americans-ready-for-a-bible-based-quiz-show-a-not-so-much/

     Who wants to be a millionaire? In a Christian sense, of course.

     With a new Bible Quiz show, which aired on August 23, 2012, the many self proclaimed, American Christians can demonstrate their knowledge on the subject.  How many people will actually tune in to watch it though?  Over 70% of people in the United States claim to be Christians, but over half of them cannot correctly tell the first five books in the Bible.  Statistics have shown that the number of people who have not actually read the bible, in the United States, has gotten bigger, from “21% in 1999 to 25% in 2011.”  This is a bit disappointing, and the show has questions that may prove difficult for a lot of people, even Christians, to answer.

     Olivia B. Waxman, the author of this article, does not seem to really take the side of the Bible Quiz show.  Simply, it seems, because of how it is lacking in modern American culture.  Waxman brings up many different numbers and statistics to show how the population of Christians in the US, who would be able to answer the questions presented, has gotten smaller.  She does mention that she thinks that the people running the show are over confident.  This article is not hateful, but it has a sort of sarcastic tone to it, bringing up many biblical references to support the main idea.

6. "A Run on Bug Spray Amid Fears of West Nile Virus"

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/25/us/in-dallas-precautions-amid-fears-of-west-nile-virus.html?_r=1&ref=us

On August 24th of 2012, Manny Fernandez wrote an article on the importance of the West Nile virus occurring in Dallas, Texas. This virus is an infection transmitted by mosquitos. Even though most of the time it only leads to sickness, some have been known to die from this virus. The popular repelant OFF! has been one of the most purchased items in Dallas. Fernandez even states that a pharmacy in a rich neighborhood in Dallas had sold 87 of the 88 bottles of OFF! Applying repellent has practically become a must before leaving the house. Fernandez uses information from the state health officials saying that 640 people have been infected with the virus and of those 640 people, 23 have died, 12 being from Dallas. The mayor of Dallas even took action to try to prevent the virus by using low-flying airplanes containing an aerial pesticide while trucks spraying the ground. As Fernandez mentions, this virus has many people worried. The Texas Poisen Center Network received 716 calls dealing with the West Nile. Fernandez makes it clear that many people are concerned about this virus, however she also informs the reader that unfortunately, some Texans think this situation is being blown out of proportion. In Dallas it is extremely rare to find someone who has a friend who does not know someone that has not gotten this virus.

The purpose of this article was to inform the readers, especially from Texas, how serious this virus really is, even causing death. Fernandez uses several point of views from her interviews, being from people not caring to others applying the repellent everyday. Towards the end of the article Fernandez uses Mrs. DeVille´s story to show her readers the symptoms of the West Nile virus and how dangerous it can become if it is not handled properly.

6. Eleven People Shot at Empire State Building

This morning on the sidewalks in midtown Manhattan, was full of people going to work and many tourists coming to visit one of the world's most famous buildings when a 58 year old man wearing a suit and carrying a .45 caliber semiautomatic handgun when he made the move when he saw  Steven Ercolino, a sales executive at the company who was on his way to work. Mr Johnson the 58 old year man was a office rival of Mr. Erconio’s who the police said held Mr. Ercolino responsible for the loss of his job, which gave him to reason to fire the handgun. after shooting Mr. Erconio , Mr johnson calmly put his gun down and tries to blend into the crowd when the police officers at the fifth avenue were alerted by the construction workers about the shooting . When the police officers confronted with Mr.Johnson they opened fire and about 16 rounds Mr johnson was killed and 9 bystanders were wounded all by the police bullets. Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Ercolino,  had a long history of hate. They had scuffled in an elevator in April 2011, after Mr. Johnson lost his job at the company and took their grievance to the Midtown South police station, arriving within 15 minutes of each other, Mr. Browne said. He said that Mr. Johnson claimed Mr. Ercolino had threatened him and that Mr. Ercolino claimed Mr. Johnson had threatened him. a eye witness even said that while he tried to help Mr.Ercolino without know he had got shot said,  “A guy with a briefcase just came and just stood right over him and just kept shooting him — boom, boom, boom,” and “He looked right at me,” he said, but never turned the gun on him. “He wanted every bullet for that guy.”

The Authors purpose for the article is to inform what of the greatest events that happened in one of  the busiest place of this world and informing people of the latest news, the author explains the whole reasoning behind this action performed by Mr.Johnson . informs us where it happened and when . This author keeps us updated .

1. "Father's Age Linked to Autism and Schizophrenia"

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/23/health/fathers-age-is-linked-to-risk-of-autism-and-schizophrenia.html?_r=1&ref=health

Benedict Carey wrote this article on how older men are more likely to have autistic or schizophrenic children than young men are. Carey mentions that this problem does not happen with women no matter how old they are. However, the amount of risk of this happening is only two percent. Carey tells his readers that the surging rate of autistic children is now 20 to 30 perfect due to the increase of older fathers having children. On the other side, Carey uses a quote from Evan E. Eichler raising a question if men should have have children at an early age because of these possibilities. Eichler said that there are many older guys who have children no disabilities. So in no way is he trying to discourage older parent hood. Carey is trying to warn his readers so they know what can possibly happen to the child if the father meets the qualifications of an older age.

Carey uses several quotes from scientists dealing with this experiment. He also uses data including percentages to show his readers how it is not a high risk of turing out. Carey provides the reader from different point of views, one being the Icelandic firm Decode Genetics. The reader is given much information from different people who think a lot showing the possibility of a father with no medical issue giving birth to an autistic child. He finishes off with an important quote trying not to discourage other fathers from wanting to have children.

5. "Lawyers From Suits Against Big Tobacco Target Food Makers"

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/business/lawyers-of-big-tobacco-lawsuits-take-aim-at-food-industry.html?ref=health

Stephanie Strom wrote an article on August 18th talking about the law suits against false information food companies are giving the buyers. Strom shows the reader that you can not trust everything in labels. Many food companies lie about the ingredients that is contained in the food to make it seem healthy or better for the buyer to eat. Strom begins the article by stating the fact that after the lawyers took made a lost of money from the Tobacco law suits, they decided to go after the food companies. The lawyers keep trying to say that food makers are misleading consumers and violating federal regulations by labeling the products wrong as said by Strom. However, Strom also shows the reader the other said of the law suit, from the food companies. They say that the drive for all of these suits are just for money and not actual care for the misleading ingredients possibly killing someone. And as Strom said, you can not just fill these kinds of law suits anywhere. Most law suits have been filed in California where  consumers tend to join the lawyers side instead of the food companies. 

The purpose Strom wrote this article was not only to inform the reader about the law suits against the food companies but also to tell the reader that they can not trust everything about the food from reading the back of the package. Strom goes back and forth stating different points of views allowing the reader to choose a side if he chose to. Strom ends the article by a quote from Mr. Gore, giving the article a little of playfulness to change the serious tone the article had throughout the story.  

5. Is the Internet making us blue?

http://www.salon.com/2012/08/17/our_telling_online_habits_salpart/

        

        On Friday, August 17th, Adrian F. Ward and Piercarlo Valcarlo wrote about the effects that the internet have on people. They starts off by asking numerous of what appears to be, random questions. Then they explain how they connect and have only one answer, that being, the internet is a bad influence in many people's life. They state that the time spent on the computer, isolates people, make them addicted to blog and certain sites and end up consuming all their social life. The majority of the people that are getting a negative outcome of the internet are teens, most teens spend hours and even days locked to a screen, watching movies and looking at different sites. The worst and most common effect internet can have on people is depression. 80% of the population that has depression count internet as huge part of it. 

        The authors wrote this article to make people aware of the enormous effect internet can have on people. They are not trying to persuade people but to make them acknowledge that it is proven, through research that obsession to media devices can cause depression.

5.Skilled Work, Without the Worker

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/science/space/mars-looks-quite-familiar-if-only-on-the-surface.html?ref=space

In the article written by Kenneth Chang, the landing of the Curiosity rover is discussed. The author focuses on the surprising pictures taken by Curiosity that were sent to NASA. The scientists were surprised because the the landscape of Mars looks strikingly similar to that of the Southwestern USA. Even John P. Grotzinger, a professor of geology at the California Institute of Technology who serves as the mission’s project scientist noted that “You would really be forgiven for thinking that NASA was trying to pull a fast one on you,” he said, “and we actually put a rover out in the Mojave Desert and took a picture — a little L.A. smog coming in there.” Most of the rest of the article talks about the specifics of the landing and the ground operations. This new achievement is very exciting. President Obama congratulated the Curiosity team. “You guys are examples of American know-how and ingenuity,” he said. “It’s really an amazing accomplishment.”

5. What Animals Are Most Likely To Make You Sick?

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2012/08/hantavirus_in_yosemite_what_animals_cause_the_most_disease_.html

On August 18th, Slate Magazine contributor Brian Palmer wrote an article regarding the various zoonotic diseases and how they affect humans. The author started his article talking about a case where two campers were infected with the hantavirus, carried by mice, causing one of them to die. He then asked an interest arousing question saying, "What animals cause the most human disease?" The next paragraph explained some different types of "animal-borne illnesses" and their various effects on people. Palmer explained how illnesses caused by infected animal products were ten times higher than people getting infected by malaria (despite the fact that malaria kills more victims). He gave credibility to this statement and reinforced it by supporting it with results from a recent study made in July. Based on the results, he affirmed that livestock "are the most disease-bearing animals from a human perspective." The following two paragraphs gave a brief overview of some types of animal-borne diseases such as malaria (from mosquitoes), hatavirus (from rodents), leptospirosis (from livestock), and others. Not only does Palmer informed the public about animal-borne diseases, but also about possible avian influenzas and primate diseases. He said that though avian influenza did not have a significant impact on humans nor do humans have a close contact with primate species, it is an issue to be aware of, especially if such diseases mutate into different forms which can be disastrous for humans.

Palmer's primary purpose in writing this article is to inform people how animal-borne diseases are an important case to be aware of, which is even more serious than malaria. He supports his claim using evidence from studies, but also explains a little about the different types of diseases. Using an unbiased tone, the article is directed to mainly the public, and help them be aware of this topic.

5. Todd Akin: “Legitimate rape” stops pregnancy

http://www.salon.com/2012/08/19/todd_akin_legitimate_rape_stops_pregnancy/

On August the 19th, Irin Carmon presents the Salon's readers with a polemic topic on politics and women's rights. Opening with Todd Akin's shocking statement regarding abortion rights to victims of rape, where he claims that the female body has natural instincts against pregnancy in a rape situation. Carmon goes on comparing Akin's Republican perspective with McCaskill's Democratic one, exposing their thoughts and future political plans concerning abortion laws. She also shows their opinions on which cases they think deserve an exemption from the prohibition of abortion practices. After arguing with both politicians, the author presents some evidence proving Akin's statement is nonsense and has no scientific basis. The article wraps up with Carmon telling the reader how Akin was unfortunate to claim such a statement in a decisive moment of the electoral campaign and defends him a bit by mentioning what other governor's and politically involved individuals have claimed about the issues discussed.

Iris Carmon's intention when writing this article is to criticize Todd Akin's statement and point of view regarding abortion and women's rights. This becomes evident as the reader constantly reads the author's remarks on his view and on his personal opinions, defining the senator's statement as a political "gaffe," and writing "Aking is free to 'think' anything he wants, but he's wrong on the science - just as he was with his ideas about 'legitimate rape'." Carmon also uses sarcasm and exaggerations to prove her point and show the politician's stament was ludicrous.

5. Say Yes to a Different Dress

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2012/05/strapless_wedding_gowns_they_re_unflattering_why_are_they_so_popular_section_doublex.html

Today there is a trend in strapless wedding gowns. Many brides tend to choose strapless gowns which the writer says are usually unflattering. Nearly 75 percent of wedding gowns are strapless. The editor of WeddingWire says that the “standard for wedding dresses…won’t change anytime soon.” The writer brings up the question why strapless dresses are so common. A design director for David’s Bridal, Dan Rentillo, says that women think more conservative gowns make them look older and more old fashioned. They want to wow everyone on their wedding day Rentillo hypothesizes. However there are other factors to the strapless dress. Strapless dresses are easier to make. “Adding different necklines and sleeves lead to more design challenges. It’s easy for [fashion designers] to design strapless gowns all day long.” Kate Berry states. Strapless dresses are also hard to pull off no matter what body type. Visible tan lines, skin that bunches up around the armpits, and many other things cause the dress to be very unflattering.

The writer begins by chronicling her adventures to find a wedding dress. She ended up finding a dress she liked but it turned out to be a bridesmaid’s dress. She goes on to question why such uniform and unflattering dresses are being made. Basically, it is to save time and make more money without working too hard on the design. The purpose of this article is more of the author’s thoughts and opinions on a certain style. She started the story by telling of her personal experience. The author does inform a bit on why there are so many dresses of this style.

5. The Health Benefits of Mustaches

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/08/the-health-benefits-of-moustaches/260737/

James Hamblin, editor at The Atlantic, argues that men attain health benefits through growing out their mustaches. He asserts that the mustache brings decreased risk of cancer because the facial hair provides protection from UV radiation which can cause cancer. He also claims that mustaches and beards cause foster trust and increase in attractiveness thereby allowing greater confidence and  ability to "earn more money, which buys them access to health care." He argues that growing out the facial hair decreases the risk of cutting the face which can possibly cause death, too. Earning money through a possible act of tax refunds to mustached Americans, protecting the vocal apparatus by preventing inflammatory actions of exposed delicate throat organ tissues to open air, and eliminating boring conversations by talking about the mustache apparently all contribute to better health. Hamblin also asserts that growing the mustache will decrease cosmetic costs, adding to a step away from poverty and decreasing "stress and risk of obesity." To conclude his article, he adds his hopes of a future plan to open a pancake shop that gives free pancakes to men with great mustaches. 

Hamblin's purpose of publishing this article is to encourage men to feel free to grow their facial hair, and to advocate to all other audiences, the importance of confidence and freedom from stress for maintenance of good health. By listing the possible positive effects of growing mustaches, he provides contrary to the stereotypical idea of a mustache being unsanitary, and hopes to bring a better image to men with facial hair. Meanwhile, he also constantly concludes to his evidence that the ultimate factor to a better health is maintaining a healthy mental state by having confidence in oneself and keeping away from stress and anxiety.

5. How Palestinian Bloggers Cover Protests in Their Own Villages

http://world.time.com/2012/08/14/how-palestinian-bloggers-cover-protests-in-their-own-villages/?iid=gs-main-lede

                Leeor Kaufman has obviously spent some time in the Middle East, taking pictures and learning of the troubles there.  This article describes an even that seemed important to him in his latest visit.  It talks of a man who ran into a cloud of tear gas and how blogging in the Middle East has become so big.  It is how people communicate what they are going through to the world.  Kaufman kept this article really short, but its message is strong.  He asks questions, as if to the reader, about how he could possibly make his articles better.  Because so many people over there use blogs to reach out, he wants to know if when he does measures up to what they do.  It is almost challenging, reading his questions.  It makes the reader feel more connected to the article, making it stand out more.  He also talks of a cycle regarding all that’s happening and the publicity that it gets, which is very interesting to read about.  Kaufman wants to know why there needs to be people like him going out and getting the pictures when there are so many bloggers already doing what he’s doing.  Their media outlet is very detailed and contains a lot of information, and they do it for free.  They don’t get paid to blog; they just do it because they need help.

                Kaufman quotes people there that he’s talked to, and describes instances with contacts and friends.  This makes the article seem more personal.  The evidence that Kaufman uses makes it reliable and supports his main idea about the people in Palestine.  A very interesting piece of news.

5. India Opens a Door to Private Education

A leading columnist associated with The Indian Express, Gayatri Rangachari Shah, writes about the private schools that are being opened in India. She starts out the article by giving an example of an Indian child that has changed by attending to a private school, and this draws the reader's attention. She goes on by continuing the child's family's story. She explains how the child's parents are pleased and saw the difference between the private schools and the public schools. The public schools suffer from teacher absences, poor infrastructure, gender discrimination, and lack of facilities. However, in the public schools students receive individual attention from motivated teachers. Due to the angry wealthier families that didn't want to admit the low income families in the private schools, the Supreme Court enacted the 25 percent quotas. Only those children that have a parent or sponsor with the tenacy to process the application can get in private schools, and the rest has to receive poor education in public schools. Then the writer ends the article by explaining how the act is trying to solve these problems, and how much the government has to help financially to do that. 

The purpose of the writer is to be to inform the readers about the education problems that huge number of the Indian people suffer, due to financial problems, and how public schools are better than public schools. To prove his point, he does not only compare the public schools and private schools in India (he lists public schools' problems that private schools don't have), but he also gives an example of a child that has gained self confidence and self esteem by attending to private school. 

5. iTV ≠ iPod: Why Apple's TV Won't Be Nearly as Disruptive as You Hope

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/08/itv-ipod-why-apples-tv-wont-be-nearly-as-disruptive-as-you-hope/261270/

Senior editor at The Atlantic Derek Thompson writes an article informing his readers on how Apple is not satisfied with what they have and want more. He explains that they now want to be in everyones living room and houses. Very concerned he explains that if this happened, apple will be in command of all the screens in people's daily life. Possibility of domination over all screen and the technology business is the only reason Apple wants to invest in these programs, Thompson adds that apple want's the video business to change for the better just like the music industry changed for them 12 years ago, but what they are not understanding is that we are not in 2000 anymore, we are now in 2012, so the iTV won't be anything like iPod. He shows a graphic and explains that in 2000 Apple debuted iTunes and iPod at the right moment, which made it grow extensively and progressively. Thompson throughout the rest of the article, in a bit of criticizing tone, said that Apple thinks that they will transform TV-watching to TV-video business. One thing that he shows in a mad or concerned tone is when he explains that Apple has been showing that they gave up on license content because its just to expensive. Thompson finalizes his article with a very stunning and persuasive point by saying that Apple doesn't need to beat Comcast and FiOS to be in peoples living room, the only thing apple has to do is join them.

Thompson writes this article to not only show readers that apple is somewhat wrong but also to inform and show that Apple does not need to beat anyone to be the main screen in everyones living room, the only thing they have to do is join the other networks. He also shows a very stung point while presenting that the iTV is very different from the iPod era because the iPod was launched in a era where it was something that teens and many people where in need and was very necessary, but now a days it isn't the same, Thompson express this by saying "The video business in 2012 is nothing like the music business in 2000. So the iTV will be nothing like the iPod." 

5. "A Proud Day for School Vending Machine Bans"

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/08/a-proud-day-for-school-vending-machine-bans/261072/

In Lindsay Abrams's article, "A Proud Day for School Vending Machine Bans", she proves that banning vending machine during middle school helps the children to have a better health when they get older. Abrams starts the article by talking about a personal experience when she was in middle school. She was part of the newspaper club and would constantly write about the negative effects the vending machine made to the students. For this reason, the school removed the vending machines.Then, she continues the article by discussing about studies which proves that she was right about banning the vending machines and how it harms children. "Children in the study... gained less weight from fifth through eighth grades if they lived in states with strong, consistent laws versus no laws governing snacks available in schools." Abrams states that children should be allowed to eat junk food, but they should not exaggerate. There should be strict laws to avoid unhealthy foods to the young ones in middle school. She concludes by showing how her action in middle school was right, even though it was a little bit too cautious.

Abrams purpose in writing this article is to show people that having vending machines in school can hurt children. The children who are allowed to use the vending machines have higher rates of having obesity and become sick. Abrams proves her point by showing studies that supports her opinion. This article is directed to the government, parents, and schools. She wishes that these people would take action and help avoid children's obesity problems. They could control the children during middle school and later on let them learn what is good for themselves. 

5. Dry and Dead Horses

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/us/horses-fall-victim-to-hard-times-and-dry-times-on-the-range.html?hp

          Fernanda Santos, the author of the New York Times article "Horses Fall Victim to Hard Times and Dry Times on the Range," gives the readers an idea of how many horses suffered or died because of bad conditions. She starts out the article by giving a description of fields with withering plants and lonely horses that fend for themselves. Santos uses a series of expressions to emphasize the problem: "they have been dropping dead" and "they have been found stumbling." The reason for such a problem was simple; ranchers lacked the resources like money and water to take care of the horses. She lists a number of places where such occurrences are taking place: Navajo reservation, Missouri, Illinois, and Texas. She also gives a statistical fact: drought conditions are affecting 87% of land for corn, 63% for hay, and 72% for cattle.
         Santos uses different methods for her purpose which is to inform the reader about the incidents of horses dying and suffering because of a lack of resources and the necessary conditions. She uses a good attention getter in the first part of her article by giving vivid descriptions of fields and portraying the problem. Then she explicitly states the main idea of the article: horses are dying because people don't have money and there is no water and the weather is just too hot. She gives examples of places where these problems were seen and she supports her view with statistical facts and gives estimates from credential organizations like the Unwanted Horse Coalition and Four Corners Equine Rescue. She uses mostly subjective statements and a mix of both informal expressions and statistical facts.

5. How "Policy By Panic" Can Backfire for Environmentalists

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/project_syndicate/2012/08/lomborg_paul_krugman_is_wrong_to_say_that_climate_change_causes_extreme_weather_.html

On August 17th, Bjørn Lomborg wrote about how many people focus on the small problems in our world’s climate and make a big deal out of them without looking at the larger picture, and that this “leads to public distrust and disengagement.” He starts his essay by giving an example of this happening today, saying how health writers and respected institutions (such as Gatorade and the British National Health Service) imply that people should drink water even when they are not thirsty, but there is no scientific evidence of this, according to Heinz Valtin, and this recommendation may be harmful. Lomborg says how the media do this exaggeration to attract more readers and he gives another example to support his point using an article about the droughts in America. The author of this article claims that these droughts are the direct result of global warming and that they could cause a global food crisis. To show how this author is exaggerating, Lomborg provides plenty of evidence against this affirmation. He still gives examples of writers stretching the truth, and this time about wild fires and hurricanes. Lomborg ends by saying that these exaggerations, when proved wrong, make the people turn away from the issue and not care about the larger, real problem. He agrees that global warming is indeed something to worry about and that “there are real health problems—and many of them. But focusing on the wrong ones—like drinking a lot of water—diverts our attention from more important issues. Telling tall tales may benefit those with a stake in the telling [the media], but it leaves us all worse off.”

The purpose of the author in writing this article was to inform his readers to be aware of the way some people stretch the truth and that by doing that, their public becomes disinterested in the issue they talk about. He wants his readers to know that some things that seem important aren’t and that we should look at the problem with a broader view to confront it in a better way. Lomborg uses clear transition words such as “when”, “now”, “but”, “and”, “finally” to indicate a change of subject. He uses many examples and evidence against them, providing their sources as well, to support his view. He has a strong conclusion, returning to the initial subject and summarizing his ideas well, which make the essay’s message easy to grasp.

5. How spoiled are our children? no simple answer

Many parents these days have many questions in mind in evaluating if they are spoiling they're baby. A mother asked if feeding her crying baby was considered spoiling. It is proven that the recent generation of children do not even know how to tie their shoes by themselves, and parents protect them from every disappoinment they face instead of letting their children learn to stand up for themselves, because what doesn't kill you makes your stronger. It is important to be responsive and responsible but it is never fine to just whim the child.  As the child gets older it is clearly challenging to set expectations and sets rules for them, but the parents' job is to teach them patterns, routines and definetely regularity.

The author has brought up something that many parents struggle with and has given some advice for the parents to read, that it is more that necessary to meet the child's need but to be careful to not exaggerate on the care for the child, by letting the child do what he is capable of doing by himself by not just securing him, but to let him loose in order to understand things by himself. the author is clearly exposing the trouble parents are dealing with and informing them with solution that meets theses problems.

http://www.nytimes.com/

4.What's That Tape Every Olympian Wears? Should It Be Banned?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/five_ring_circus/2012/08/11/kinesio_tape_what_s_the_deal_with_that_tape_every_olympian_wears_should_it_be_banned_.html

Daniel Lametti wrote an article on August 11th about the use of the strange colorful tapes athletes have been wearing during the London Olympic Games. The article's first paragraph talked about where these tapes have been used a lot recently, as well as their function, which was to "facilitate the body's natural healing process" according to the company (Kinesio) that made them. Surprisingly, he explained that these tapes were just like any other, and they did not really have anything to make them special. However, Lametti explained that the tapes had a placebo effect- "the idea that medically inert substances that people believe to have a beneficial effect can, in fact, have a beneficial effect." The paragraph ended with proof from studies showing that placebo did result in better performance. The following two paragraphs gave examples to support placebo to be something good. A cyclist said felt better after having "taken" 9mg of caffeine, and an experiment showed placebo had a positive effect on people with pain- those that "took" morphine endured pain more than those who did not.

Lametti's purpose of writing this article is to inform how these Kinesio tapes have a placebo effect on the athletes to give a better performance during the games, and question whether these tapes should be banned or not. Though it is not clear if he supports the use of these tapes, it is evident he is not against them as well. In the second paragraph, Lametti says, "But this doesn’t mean athletes shouldn’t use it...," and in the last paragraph, he gives his opinion "But this argument, I think, is weak," and later on says, "It would be ridiculous to ban any of these things, much less all of them. So let’s put Kinesio tape in the same category as a playoff beard: a potential performance enhancer that adds some color to our favorite sports."

4. Korea Policing the Net. Twist? It’s South Korea.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/world/asia/critics-see-south-korea-internet-curbs-as-censorship.html?ref=world

Choe Sang-hoe published an article about a new government crackdown on internet freedom in South Korea. Because the internet allows people to openly criticize government officials and policy, the government has been censoring it more than ever. To illustrate this, the author lists a few examples on this new censoring policy: A critic who called the president a curse word on Twitter had his account  blocked and a judge who criticize the president's censoring policy was soon fired. For South Korea, an exemplary democratic country, to act this way seems surprising. The author even compared  South Korea's crackdown on internet freedom to China's. The author explains that this is do to South Korea wanting to embrace the web as a valuable source to compete with other economies while keeping its "patriarchal and somewhat puritanical past." Activists such as Chang Yeo-kyung highly criticize the governments censoring. He says that "The government wants to create a chilling effect to prevent the spread of critical views.

The purpose of the author was to describe South Korea's new crackdown on internet freedom and illustrate how it can be damaging to society. 

4. "Wed and Tortured at 13, Afghan Girl Finds Rare Justice"

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/world/asia/wed-and-tortured-at-13-afghan-girl-finds-rare-justice.html?pagewanted=2&ref=world

        On August 11th, Graham Bowley wrote an article about a girl abused and tortured that was recently found in a "dirty, windowless cellar". He starts off by listing all the horrible things Sahar Gul so that the readers get into her story. He then talks about how her story got the attention of many including the President Hamid Karzai and the media all through the world and how they are doing the best they can to prevent that from happening in other places to other people. He continues by sharing the whole story, he talks about her father's death, about how badly her stepmother treated her, about how she was sold to a man who abused her and he talked about how no one payed attention to her wounds and to her behavior. Six months after being beaten up and raped officials found her at a cellar, and after expectations, the people who did that to her, were to be kept in prison for the rest of their lives.

        After all the suffering she has been through, Sahar Gul, is now recovering emotionally and physically from the wounds and still aspires to be a politician one day and make justice to people how have been dealing with the same issues she dealt with. Bowley wrote this article to make people aware of horrible types of crimes and tortures like that. He also did that to spread an awareness to such things. 

4.Steinbecks: Leave Lennie alone

http://www.salon.com/2012/08/08/steinbecks_leave_lennie_alone/

Rania Khalek analyzes an important issue on August 8th: is Texas right in using Steinbeck's fictional character Lennie as a standard to determine whether one should be exempted from execution? The article starts with the narrative of the verdict faced by Marvin Wilson, who was executed days before. Khalek explains a bit of Texas' history and constitution, how it has been labeled for its inclination toward capital punishment, and how it exempts those diagnosed with mental retardation from execution. After pointing out those aspects about the state, she gives the reader an insight on Wilson's case and on the inequity faced by him, since he was diagnosed with mental retardation by a neuropsychologist but still would not fit the "Briseño factors" adopted by Texas in order to determine a person's degree of ability to critically think and act. Khalek argues against this policy by stating Lee Kovarsky, the defendant in the case, who points out that "not a single clinician or scientific body uses or even recognizes the “Briseño factors” as valid." She then dives deeper in the "Briseño factors," explaining how they were based on Steinbeck's fictional character Lennie, from his book "Of mice & men." Some arguments from Steinbeck's son Thomas follows, defending Wilson and the idea that a whole policy coming off of his father's fictional book is outrageous and also stating: "I am certain that if my father, John Steinbeck, were here, he would be deeply angry and ashamed to see his work used in this way.” Further information is presented on the last paragraphs of the article, making an analogy between Wilson's  and Chester v. Thaler's. Khalek closes her article through the impacting statement made by Thaler's lawyer regarding the Briseño factors, which consisted of the idea that this method was based on "false stereotypes about mental retardation that effectively exclude all but the most severely incapacitated.”

Rania Khalek's intention through this article is to expose this problem occuring in Texas and presenting its system's failures. She opens the article recounting Wilson's fate and his conditions, already capturing the reader's attention and sympathy toward the cause. Her intentions and inclination become clear as she presents several arguments against the Briseño factors through logical argumentation, quotes from Steinbeck's son and from the defendant attorneys as well. An argument against Wilson's execution and the method which allowed it to occur present at the article's last paragraph also show Khalek's position toward this problem and impact the reader, who is now shocked with this ludicrous system and eager to make a change.

4. Iceland: Superlative Happiness on a Cold Little Rock

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/08/iceland-superlative-happiness-on-a-cold-little-rock/261005/

Following a brief introduction of the happiness of Iceland, Robert Layne implies that such well-being of a community was quite unexpected due to the long periods of gloomy weather, frequent natural disasters and financial crisis. Layne reveals the outstanding overall happiness of Icelanders by reporting first-hand observations of the friendly, family-like attitudes of the people. He also poses the database indicating Iceland as one of the most happy countries in the world, along with statistics displaying extremely low crime-rates. Difficulties faced by Icelanders are also presented, such as disasters like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the lasting winter darkness, and the economic problems. These periods of crisis had made almost no difference on their happiness measures. Layne also introduces the research demonstrated on this unexpected happiness, by Eric Weiner. Icelanders are suspected to be less vulnerable to a depressed mood or Seasonal Affective Disorder, (SAD), because of the healthy amount of vitamin-D and omega-3 fatty acids, and the hereditary resistance in their genes. Good social relationships and cooperation among the locals as well as the clean, unpolluted environment allows the people to live in happiness and healthiness, even through difficulties. 

Robert Layne presents this article to inform the readers of the other parts of the world in which such a happiness is less redundant, that a well-being of a community of people does not come from an easy-going life without environmental or economical hardships. He speaks through this article to inform us that happiness can be attained through cooperation, interdependence, and a positive attitude with "the refusal to live in a box."

4. "The Prideful, Arrogant President of Chick-fil-A"

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/08/chick_fil_a_controversy_why_dan_cathy_s_statements_are_dangerous_.3.html

On August 6th, Jesse Bering wrote an article on the beliefs of Chick-fil-A towards gays. This article mentions about Dan Cathy, who is the presider of Chick-fil-A, and his strong opinion on the traditional marriage. The gays began a protest and created the "same-sex kiss day" where all of the gays go to Chick-fil-A and kiss. Unfortunately, this is what the world has come to. Cathy even has a "charital endeavor" as stated by Bering. It is a place where they try to cutter anti-gay causes. However there is still freedom of speech and no matter how bad Cathy's charity may be (the things they do at the charity), he still has the right to do whatever he desires with his money. Cathy is trying to use his popular fast food restaurant to bring a christian world view to the people who do not know it. He is trying to show the difference between what he believes is right and what he believes is wrong. Twitter has been a huge area in which the people that agree with Cathy state their opinion. As Bering stated, many of the tweets use a variety of bad vocabulary and a lot of ignorance towards gays. There is even a day called Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day where many people from all over eat Chick-fil-A to show their support with Cathy's opinion.

Jesse Bering's purpose for doing this article is to mainly show the reader what this world has come to. Bering compares the two different groups, the gays and the ones that follow Cathy's lead. The most important part of this article is to show the reader everything that Cathy has been doing against gays. The author also used quotes by Cathy to show the reader exactly how he feels. Bering even said an important sentence that stood out which was "the problem is that he is being a real american in another sense, one that is not compliment to our nation." She ends the article by saying how she does not agree with the way many people, like Cathy, are trying to handle these kinds of situations.

4. In Its Efforts To Fight Fake Accounts, Facebook Should Target Malware, Not Pseudonyms

Facebook’s latest filing with SEC, or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company estimated 83 million fake users did not file under a real legal name. Facebook estimated that as of December 31 2011 5 percent to 6 percent of users were fake. However, Facebook says that these are only estimates and the real number could be higher or lower. There are many different types of these fake active users. About 4.8 percent are duplicates, 2.4 percent are user-misclassified in which the user uses a pseudonym, and 1.5 percent are used to basically spread links to spam or malware which violates the terms of service. The terms of service of Facebook states that people are at risk of being deactivated for not using their real name on an account and if the account is shut down, the user must ask Facebook for permission to create a new account. It is important for Facebook to eliminate fake accounts because the false accounts make it difficult for the company to sell advertising. Also, some of the false accounts create a security hazard for the network.

The author of the article informs and also offers a suggestion to what Facebook should do. The author says that many fake or pseudonym accounts are in nations such as Egypt and Turkey where frees speech is not doing well. The author points out the significance of Facebook in “We Are All Khaled Said” revolution. The author states that eliminating all the false accounts could hurt activists and that Facebook should focus on eliminated the spam accounts.

4. Single Motherhood

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/opinion/sunday/in-defense-of-single-motherhood.html?_r=1&hp

          In her article "In Defense of Single Motherhood," Katie Roiphe starts out by stating a statistical fact: almost 7 out of 10 Americans believe single mothers are bad. She then continues by stating how both conservatives and liberals all worry about moral decline and the lack of meaning of what parenthood and what family is. Roiphe presents another statistical fact: in America, 53% of babies born to mothers under 30 are actually born to unmarried mothers (a.k.a single mothers). Roiphe then gives her own example of her household and how she has children from different fathers and how her family structure is somewhat different and "messy." She then argues how people say single mothers are irresponsible and how studies seem to point to that but how she actually doesn't believe in studies because they are mostly number-based and not experience-based. In other words, Roiphe believes single mothers are not actually bad mothers.
           Katie Roiphe uses various techniques to write her article. She uses statistical facts and cites studies from professors and Pew Research Center poll. She gives a short description of what people who are against single motherhood believe. The rest of her article she writes about her personal experience of being a mother and gives a short description of her household and even uses a bit of humor by saying it is messy and bohemian. From then on, she writes mostly on her personal opinion on the idea that single motherhood is bad. She writes that she is against this idea and studies that show point out to it. Roiphe is in defense of single motherhood.

4. "The Bullying Culture of Medical School"

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/09/the-bullying-culture-of-medical-school/?ref=health

In Pauline W. Chen's article, "The Bullying Culture of Medical School", states that medical students are often mistreated by younger doctors, who are teaching them. Chen starts the article by describing how a medical student feels when they see their "teacher" and how they feel very oppressed by them. "Like frightened little mice, we endured the treatment as an inevitable part of medical training, fearful that doing otherwise could result in a career-destroying evaluation or grade." She also says that the younger doctors would call the students "stupid" and "useless". The medical students would also feel that they are becoming more like the younger doctors in character and attitude. This made them feel very weird. Chen continues the article by saying how this kind of mistreatment must be stopped and how some medical schools are starting to take actions.

The author's purpose for this article is to inform people about what medical students need to endure during their years of training. Chen wants this kind of abuse to end. She wishes that medical students could go to school without worrying about their actions toward their "teacher" and how it could affect their own carrier. Chen wants that people would take action and stop this kind of treatment that the students receive. She is able to end the article with an example of a medical school who took action and were able to get some positive results. This article is meant to all types of people, but mainly the "teachers" of the medical students and the leader of medical school, so that they could change. Medical students needs to go through a lot so that they can finish their studies as a doctor, and people should support them with all they have. 

4. Is the God of Muhammad the Father of Jesus?

On April 2nd, Timothy George, the dean of Beeson Divinity School, wrote about the questions that many people have: is the God of Muhammad the father of Jesus? He draws the reader's attention in her introduction by announcing that the Muslim religion is getting bigger as the time passes, and it is already one of the biggest and most influential religions in the world. She goes on by comparing many religions with Islam including Christianity. He points out several similarities between the two religions, including that they believe that Moses was God's prophet and that Jesus was God's friend . However, he talks about the Muslims' belief that when Jesus told the disciples that he was going to send someone to remind them about everything that he had told them, He was talking about Muhammad. 

George's purpose on this article is not only to compare and contrast the current biggest religions in the world, but it is also to show the readers how a little, tiny difference in the belief can make a huge difference. A huge part of the article is comparing the both religions, and only a little part is about their differences, however, they are two separate religions, and while Christians are saved Muslims are not. Another purpose that the writer has on writing the article, seems to be to inform the readers how huge amount of people in the world are becoming Muslims and how the problem is getting more serious as the time passes 

4. Google's Self-Driving Cars: 300,000 Miles Logged, Not a Single Accident Under Computer Control

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/08/googles-self-driving-cars-300-000-miles-logged-not-a-single-accident-under-computer-control/260926/

On August 9th, Rebecca J. Ronsen, an associate editor at The Atlantic, posted an article about the development of Google's automated cars in becoming the ultimate safety car. Ronsen starts out by saying that Google's intentions when designing the car were to create a car that goes "beyond the capabilities of human-piloted vehicles, cars that are much, much safer" and to decrease the number of deaths due to road traffic accidents. She goes on presenting the numbers which indicate that Google's cars have been doing better than "your average American," however she also says how they have not been tested in unusual conditions such as harsh weather and need to learn what to do in tricky situations and without any human control. Although the ratio of accident and miles traveled is good, there still is a long way to go to surpass the ratio of fatal accidents and miles traveled.

The purpose of this post is to inform the readers about the progress of Google's automated car project and how it's still on its early stages. The author introduces with a quote on Google's ambitious intentions which attracts readers, rousing some interest in them about the subject. Ronsen uses compares and contrast Google's results with numbers from recent studies using many quotes and statistics from reliable sources (such as the WHO, the Census Bureau, and many people from trustworthy departments) to ensure credibility of her information and to keep her readers interested. She also gives references to her sources and past articles to provide the reader with additional resources related to both the projects progress and to the statistics. Ronsen ends her essay with thought provoking ethical "questions about safety standards for autonomous machines." The overall language used by the author is adequate (not too formal and not too informal) and the tone she uses is relaxed and assuring, suggesting her optimistic view towards Google's project.