Sunday, September 30, 2012

11.Russian court will hear Pussy Riot appeal

http://www.salon.com/2012/09/30/russian_court_will_here_pussy_riot_appeal/

Natasha Lennard writes about the process of the polemic issue of the Pussy Riot's members imprisionment after their guerilla performance on February. She opens the article informing the reader about the court appearance that will happen next Monday. Lennard then informs the reader with some background of the women's arrest. Following the background information is the perspective of the world toward this imprisionment: "as a symbol of repression and authoritarianism in Putin’s Russia." She closes the article with a hopeless tone, mentioning one of the women's father and his opinion and expectations for Monday's trial.

Lennard's intentions with this article are to inform the reader not only about the court appearence the Pussy Riot members will attend on the first of October, but also to call attention to these antique, non-democratic Russian way to deal with modern issues. Although the author doesn't explicitly shares her opinion on the author, the hopeless, critical tone along with testimonials from the victim's parents and the sharing of the world's "not-so-positive" wordlview show her disapproval of the Russian government's attitudes. 

11. Real-Life 'Law and Order' Move: 'Innocence of Muslims' Filmmaker Arrested for Violating Probation



After the infamous Innocence of Muslims went viral, the questions of who the creator of the film is might be revealed. Some people believe that the charges on Nikoula Basseley Nakoula, as the film maker is being called, will not stand in court. However, Nakoula’s legal record is being looked at and it is possible he has violated probation on an earlier bank fraud conviction by posting the video and using a fake name. Around September 27 law enforcement officials arrested him. Now he is awaiting trial.
The writer, Emily Chertoff, gives a timeline of the incident starting from the trailer becoming more popular around July 2012 to September 27 when the man was arrested. The purpose of this article is to give a re-run on the events of this story and to inform on the latest happenings. Chertoff also tells some about how the events have been rather tricky since doing anything to the man could be seen as suppressing freedom of speech. She also uses

11. As Apple’s Maps Stumbles, AOL’s MapQuest Flourishes

In this article, the technology reporter Jenna Wortham talks about the problem faced by the new Iphone 5. It is the Map application that had problems with its inaccuracy and shortcomings. It brought frustration of numerous of people, however, at the same time it brought benefits for another GPS application called Mapquest. As the consumers of Iphone 5 increased, number of people using Mapquest also increased into 17 millions. In addition to that, many of Android users also use this application. The writer says that it is a unlikely victory of the comapany, since there are so many other companies. Then she ends the article how people use this application: print for parents, to drive to a party, to drive to some other places, etc...

The purpose of this article is not only to inform that the Iphone 5 is having this problem that is increasing the usage of other applications especially the Mapquest, but the author is also trying to make the readers notice the huge effect that apple is having on all of the technology markets, by showing how one application that is not working in the Iphone 5 can increase the usage of another application in a huge scale. 

11. Debates Can Help Turn The Table

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/01/us/politics/using-debates-to-turn-electoral-tide-difficult-but-not-impossible.html?hp&_r=0

          In his political memo "Debates Can Shift a Race's Outcome, but It's Not Easy," John Harwood basically tries to say that using electoral debates can help win the race. He starts out his article by saying how in presidential debates, the candidates show their skills of putting down their opponents while trying to better their own reputation and self-image. He then states a specific example: Mitt Romney vs. Barack Obama. He then presents another example: in 2004, John Kerry had dented George Bush's campaign by claiming that Saddam Hussein had not attacked the Americans but actually Osama Bin Laden. In 1980, Ronald Reagan had accused Jimmy Carter of being an extremist and that helped the race tilt towards his victory. 
           The author in this story uses a series of ways to show how debates have had an impact in the outcome of races. He uses specific times in which debates have helped one candidate to win. The strongest of these examples was when John F. Kennedy's cool appearance contrasted with Richard M. Nixon's haggard appearance. Also, A debate in Texas with George W. Bush against Al Gore really changed the outcome of the race after voters saw Gore's impatient and unprepared image. Voters basically thought he lost in the debates and that was what basically turned the table in the elections and made Bush win. 

11. Green Buildings: Boost Business and Neighborhoods


http://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/bank-of-america/archive/2012/08/green-buildings-boost-business-and-neighborhoods/261011

David Winzelberg wrote to the Atlantic on August 14th about the positive aspects of green technology not only to the environment but to the economy as well. Winzelberg uses a statistic of the “total footprint of commercial projects certified under its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building program” to illustrate his point that more people are starting to use eco-friendly technology. He then gives examples of these new technologies used to decrease costs such as “roof gardens, systems that recycle a building's heat and water, solar panels.” He explains how this improves the economy by saying that companies that manufacture or install these sustainable energy devices have increased production. Green building has also provided many more jobs (nearly 8 million) and has contributed to the U.S. GDP by 554 billion dollars. It has also has decreased the numbers of “absenteeism” by improving the workspace of many people and thus increasing productivity in companies. Winzelberg ends saying that the LEED has expanded development to whole communities from individual buildings.

The author’s purpose in the article was to inform his readers that green technologies have improved businesses from large to small scales. Simply by writing about the positive effects of ecological ideas, the author seems to be promoting the adoption of such measures to protect the environment as well as to boost the economy. Winzelberg writes in short paragraphs and alternates with long and short sentences making the essay easy to read. He divides each positive in their own paragraph and uses clear transition words to indicate change of topic. The tone seems formal without any contractions, personal pronouns, slang or expressions and the text is straightforward except for the end where it advertises for the Bank of America by saying its donation for the LEED program.

11. When Should Aging Drivers Hand Over the Keys?




               Aged men a women, no matter how nice, do not like being told went to stop driving.  They tend to protest.  There are many wrecks that occur because of senior citizens behind the wheel; usually they are the one at fault concerning the wreck.  Even so, these people do not want to lose this right to drive, saying things like “I have never had a wreck” and other things.  They cannot fathom how they would endure without driving.

                Doctors, usually, do not know whether their patient is physically, or more mentally, able to drive.  As people age, their reflexes become feeble.  Doctors, many of them at least, do not usually run tests to see where their patient is mentally.

                This is a very interesting article, written by Associated Press.  It focuses on procedures used by doctors to tell if their patient should be driving and the risks of over-aged drivers.  It brings up statistics and has quotes used to support its idea, should old people drive?

                I found this very interesting due to my own grandparents, who are well up in age, driving.  It always scares me to think about it.  This brought up some interesting things to think about, personally and solely educationally.  It is an article with a strong message and purpose.

11. Is Anorexia a Cultural Disease?

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2012/09/what_causes_anorexia_and_bulimia_new_eating_disorder_research_says_it_s_not_a_cultural_disease_.html


On September 27, Slate Magazine's freelance science writer Carrie Arnold wrote about anorexia explained whether or not it was a cultural disease. She introduced the article by talking about her own experience with anorexia, how it affected her, and why she refused to eat- simply because she "wanted to feel better." As she lay in the hospital bed, hooked onto IV treatments, Arnold studied anorexia and eventually wrote a book that talked about anorexia was,  and what were the causes of it. Next, she included results from a surveys made in 2000 and in 2006. These showed that eating disorders were caused by genetics, environmental factors, infections, and other factors unique to individuals.

Carrie's purpose in her article was to inform readers eating disorders were not solely caused by the culture- they were also caused by individuals' own desire and ambition to feel and look better. Midway through the article, she put in her own viewpoints about the media, and what she thought about it when she said "Frankly, I think the Barney's creation of Skinny Minnie and her newly svelte compatriots is ridiculous. They look absurd and freakish. I think we should be aware of and speak out against the thin body ideal..." Furthermore, to prove her point that culture was not the main cause of anorexia in individuals, she included evidence from studies made in 2000 and in 2006. In the last paragraph, she restated her thesis, and said eating disorders were "illnesses that ruin lives."