The Current Event Blog

The Assignment: Bi-weekly—on even weeks—you will post 1 blog post consisting of at least 300 words (75 assessment of news source, 75 summary, 100 analysis, 50 opinion). There is a lot going on in our world, and it is important to be informed; however, we often only read news from a certain kind of source, which often skews our perspectives. With this in mind, you will only select sources on key issues every other week. Each blog will be due on the first day of class that week, and we will discuss them in class and digitally that week. Each article must be current, and you must be able to account for its validity as a new source. You must be able to identify the leanings of the news source, who funds it, and why that bias matters. True story: NO NEWS IS COMPLETELY OBJECTIVE. Fact check if you are not sure. Fake news is a huge societal problem, and identifying it is the first step to ending its circulation.  Think about what is important about an article and assess it. Approach your analysis of the news source and the article through the engagement of ethos, pathos, and logos as well as interrogating logical fallacies.

The Purpose: The current atmosphere of our society politically, and otherwise, has called into question the validity of news and the problematic circulation of false information, logical fallacies, and scare tactics that force journalists into situations that make us, as readers, question their choices. What is news? What is ignored? Why is it ignored? Who says? What do we fixate on? What matters locally, nationally, globally? How has social media affected these things? Who is the authority? Why are we so quick to believe what we read on the internet?  The circulation of false information is a huge problem; therefore, cultivating a critical eye for reading news and understanding the effects of positionality is incredibly important. Developing these awarenesses enable you to be a better contributor to society while also reinforcing the value of some of our constitutional rights and freedoms (particularly freedom of speech and the press).

Article Selection: The range of articles will help you become informed on topics that are affecting the US and the world. While you have free reign on article selection, please select articles that come from “news based” sources (BBC, NPR, NY Times, Washington Post, USA Today, CNN, Fox, NBC, etc.) as opposed to entertainment (E! Huffington Post (sometimes), tabloids, popular magazine—sports illustrated, cosmo, vogue, etc. espn.com). You can access many news based sources through their websites.

Location of Current Event Blogs: We will be using www.Wordpress.com for our blogging platform. Instead of curating your own blog, you will create a wordpress username and be an author on our shared blog.  Although this places you in potentially public writing situations, it is valuable to explore the blog within the context of an actual functioning blog that has all of the genre constraints and affordances. It takes a bit of time to set up (and some trial and error), but I find it to be easier to navigate and use overall.  The help functions on the site are also useful and accessible.

*A note about positionality: All news is subjective (even when it tries to be objective). All news has a particular angle. I suggest exploring multiple news sources throughout the semester so that you have a well-rounded understanding of current events (it is kind of a big year). Part of your job as a reader and blogger is to explore these positions and assess value and validity of information (or, why everything we read on the internet is not true…facts and fact checking are important). Part of my job as your teacher is to challenge you to experience things both inside and outside of your comfort zone while helping you validate your existing positions in new ways with different kinds of information, and potentially re-position yourself (although this is never the goal). None of us in this room know everything; all of us can benefit from perspectives that are not our own.

**A note about opinions: I fully support your right to embrace your own opinions and positions. At no time will I inflict my own perspectives upon you; however, I will ask that you critically assess and consider the information that you are reading so that you are becoming critical of the information that you take in and do not simply accept information as “true” at face value. We will cover a huge range of topics—politics, race, religion, gender, athletics, etc., and we cannot expect one another to always agree, but we can expect one another to be respectful. Being asked why you think/feel/believe something is not a judgement of your intellect or your person, but a chance to understand how and why you have arrived at that position.

 

“It is the mark of an educated person to be able to entertain and idea without accepting it” ~Aristotle

 

Michelle Obama Rises Above Racist Jabs To Empower Women

This article, which can be found on CNN, is meant to explain how Michelle Obama has overcome some racial and gender slanders against her. According to the article, someone apparently called her an “ape” soon after her husband took office. when asked how she felt about such a comment, she responded by showing her level of pain felt, “Knowing that after eight years of working really hard for this country, there are still people who won’t see me for what I am because of my skin color.” Then she goes on to discuss how women and minorities should not be view so harshly because they are people too and deserve respect. This is a great story even though it does show some clear biases towards her and the fact that she is a liberal. In the eyes off CNN, Michelle Obama can do no wrong. But all in all,  this was a very powerful and uplifting piece.

China fires back at US accusations over aerial encounter

On Tuesday, China denied accusations that its fighter jets acted dangerously when they came in contact with an American surveillance plane in international airspace. The American pilot was reported to having swerved out of the way to avoid collision. This statement was reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution which is a major news website in the southeast. China Spokesman Ren Guoqiang said that American needs to stop such unsafe and unfriendly military activities. He also stated that their military actions were completely legal, necessary, and professional.

Last orca calf born in captivity at a SeaWorld park dies

my new source is fox new travel . they are known as a right winged news souse. they are not much biased in the paper haveing to do with right wingedness , other than the fact that they are not very concerned with the whole ” stop in breeding”, #free the orcas, yeah this paper doesn’t care per say . they just relay the information to the public.

in the article, it talks about how after an 18-month pregnancies, and a 3 month life the baby orca died.  3-month-old Kyara was loved by all who saw her. she was apart of the last generation of breeding at sea world. by 2019 the orca shows will end due to the”SeaWorld also has decided to phase out its world-famous killer whale performances by 2019, after public opinion turned against keeping orcas, dolphins and other animals in captivity for entertainment. The backlash intensified after the 2013 release of “Blackfish,” a documentary critical of SeaWorld’s orca care. It focused on the orca Tilikum, which killed trainer Dawn Brancheau in Orlando in 2010 by dragging her into the pool before shocked visitors after a “Dine with Shamu” show.”

this article goes to pathos, making people sad that cute baby animals are dying. I’m, not an a big animal fan so it didn’t really make me sad but i understand how it could make the public sad .

I think this article is informative if you want to go to sea world to see the killer whales. because they won’t be there for much longer. I have been to Seaworld and love seeing the whales but that just me. there is in humane treatment of the whales but we could change that .

Report From The Wall Street Journal

 

A report from the wall street journal shows that the number of tort lawsuits filled in the passed two decades has gone down. This means a lot to the the American public since in previous years like 1993; the number of lawsuits filed was 10 to every thousand Americans. In the year of 2016 that went down to about 2 to every thousand Americans, and that is incredible. The lawsuits most filed is that of insurance, and small claims court. Even though those seem meager to some big court cases; we might hear about. If Americans continue down this path of owning their own actions, or not being so spiteful. We will have a very bright future for everyone, and will make it so the national debt or bailout clause will decrease. Politicians have also begun to make a statement about how the american public is growing, and have begun a steady up rise to a better American. The article was written in a clean, and protective manor that makes it feel like praising the public for their growth, and mature nature. I really appreciated the article for its sense of foreboding at the begging about the actions of Americans, but the ending brings to light a great reality that we as a whole are growing.

 

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/we-wont-see-you-in-court-the-era-of-tort-lawsuits-is-waning-1500930572?mod=e2tw

Father of teen driver who live-streamed fatal crash speaks out: ‘She killed her own sister’

This article is written by the Washington Post. It is about a teen driver, Obdulia Sanchez, who was live streaming when she suddenly got off the road, resulting in having her younger sister getting thrown out the car since she did not have a seat belt on. After crashing, her sister gets out of the car and goes up to her sister’s body saying, “Hey, everybody, if I go to f—– jail for life, you already know why” while moving the camera to show her sister being motionless and bleeding from the head.

This article mainly uses pathos, since it talks about the tragic death of Obdulia’s younger sister and how her older sister, instead of calling for help, kept recording her sister’s motionless body. Jacqueline Sanchez, Obdulia’s younger sister, was also supposed to celebrate her quinceanera on Sunday, making it an even sadder story.

This article doesn’t have much biased in it except for the fact that it talks about how social media and technology has caused problems like these where people use it recklessly. This is biased because although the Washington Post get popularity online, it also has its own newspaper. If technology were to completely go down, then people would end up resulting in them buying Washington Post’s newspapers, meaning they would get more money in turn.

Personally I think that this story is very sad because it shows how Obdulia cared more about her ‘social fame’ than her younger sister. It seemed like she didn’t care much about her regardless of what she said. Obdulia was taken to Merced County Jail on Monday and I personally think that she deserves it, even though she did it unintentionally. It also states that she was under the influence of either alcohol or drugs, or both.

Click here for article.

CARTEL IN GERMANY??? Not so fast whippersnapper

Article:

Antitrust officials confirmed Saturday that they are investigating claims that the country’s major carmakers may have been operating a cartel since the 1990s, colluding on everything from vehicle development and engines, to suppliers and diesel emissions systems. “The European Commission and the Bundeskartellamt [German cartel office] have received information on this matter, which is currently being assessed by the commission,” the European Commission said in a statement. “It is premature at this stage to speculate further.” The automotive industry accounts for about 20% of total industry revenue in Germany, and employs about 800,000 people in the country. The commission is the top antitrust agency in the European Union, responsible for working with national authorities to ensure that business plays fair in the European market, which spans 500 million people. It has the power to fine companies billions of euros and force them to change the way they do business. News of the probe was broken by German news magazine Der Spiegel on Friday. It reported that hundreds of executives from Volkswagen (and its subsidiaries Audi and Porsche); Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler and BMW had participated in 60 industry working groups.

The car industry is still struggling to repair the damage to its reputation caused by Volkswagen’s admission in 2015 that it cheated diesel emissions tests. Millions of its diesel cars pumped much more nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere than the manufacturer claimed.

That scandal has already cost the company billions in euros in fines and settlements, and the shock waves continue.

Plane Lands on Highway

Article

A small plane landed on Georgia Highway 316 the other day because of some major complications. The plane is rather old and was not high enough to make it back to the airport. Pilot John Meyer said, “I pulled up in a vertical and the engine just stopped. It just stopped just like that…”  The FAA is going to conduct an investigation on why the plane failed.

This article is a rare one, WSB usually does well on reporting local events and reporting them thoroughly. The came at this article with a logos and an ethos approach and made the article very enjoyable to read. hopefully soon they will report back soon on why the plane failed.

Construction in China’s ‘skyscraper capital’ shows little sign of slowing

In this article it talks about China’s rapid construction on skyscrapers. It goes on to talk about how many cities in China since the 1980’s have looked at growing up word instead of outward. They wanted to replace their farm lands with an economic metropolis that consists of skyscrapers and a new technology industry. This meant that farmers would suffer from less regulations for the environment. The problem with China’s skyscrapers is over building and having many empty buildings and skyscrapers. Architects have admitted that they might have to slow down and focus on filling in the building instead of building more. In this article I think that the writer spins almost a negative view on how China’s skyscrapers are growing but not progressing after being built. They include that China ignores regulations for the environment and also mimic cities in the U.S like Manhattan. It gives information on how China does not show signs of slowing down even though their cities are being left empty after construction. With a rapidly growing economy one would think China would focus on decreasing their office vacancy rate instead of growing empty skyscrapers. This article shows logos in their writing because they use logic to make their point, it makes sense to stop the building of skyscrapers to fill in the empty cities across cities in China.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/23/architecture/shenzhen-skyscraper/index.html

Sean Spicer Resigns

Sean Spicer Resigns

The article is about the recent resignation of the white house press secretary Sean Spicer.  Apparently President Trump had the new hire, Anthony Saramucci, in mind for the job for a while.  Though, to me it looks like Trump simply wanted to be rid of Spicer due to his displays of less-than-acceptable-intelligence; saying things like Hitler didn’t use chemical weapons during World War 2 and various other nonsensical things.  The article does come from CNN, and per usual they are tough on the conservative administration and its decisions; taking up a critical tone throughout the article.  The article is written well, holding up to CNN’s standards, but the left leaning bias is apparent.  Personally, I’m a little wary of the fact that many important people who President Trump have assigned positions in the government are those who have given him big campaign fund donations in the past, and the new press secretary is no exception.

Orca Dead at SeaWorld

Link Text
Assessment: My news source came from conservative minded Fox News which usually does not go along with left thinking animal rights activists. The news station somehow had an article up about an orca dying while talking about the healthcare bill all around it on the home page. Although, other news sites as well have the article up too. The news site is not going to be one to call out SeaWorld as an evil place either and will instead state the facts only in a situation like this.

Summary: This article was written about the death of the most recently born killer whale born in captivity by SeaWorld. The writing talked about the closure of the breeding program at SeaWorld, the cause for the end of the shows at SeaWorld, and the research program’s continued existence at SeaWorld. The article also uses an official statement by one of the trainer’s at SeaWorld. The report also lets readers know there has not been an official cause of death until the post-mortem exam is completed.

Analysis: The article is one that is very cut and dry. There is no feeling whatsoever put into it about how the writer feels about the SeaWorld programs that were under such intense fire four years ago after the release of the video where a trainer was killed. The writer does however use a personal statement by a trainer to show that these animals are not cared for by mean greedy people but by those that care deeply for these animals. I do feel Fox kept to the facts very well and explained how a baby orca born after the close of the breeding program was born by saying gestation for orca’s last 18 months and that the baby had already been conceived.

Opinion: To me, the end of the breeding program at SeaWorld is not necessary. The article even uses the fact SeaWorld has not taken an orca from the wild in forty years, these are not wild animals anymore. To me there is no difference between keeping them in a zoo and keeping other animals in zoos too.