Discussion Post: Week 16

It’s been a great semester, everyone! One last time, if you missed one or two blog posts during the semester, this is your chance to make up one of those weeks. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into the thick of things!

The political scene is a worthy starting point this week. After several years of controversy, President Barack Obama attempted to end the “birther” debate by turning over a copy of his birth certificate to prove that he was, in fact, born in the United States. (If you’re unfamiliar with the controversy, according to Article Two of the U.S. Constitution, only natural-born U.S. citizens are eligible to be elected president.) The argument has since shifted, with some accusing Obama’s detractors of racism, while members of the GOP said that the timing of Obama’s birth certificate release only serves as “a distraction from the nation’s real concerns.” A number of individuals, though, are still questioning Obama’s legitimacy to serve in the White House, among them billionaire real estate tycoon and presidential candidate Donald Trump, who questioned the authenticity of Obama’s birth certificate and also asked why a number of other records from Obama’s past, such as his school records, financial statements, and passport, have not been released to the public. Consequently, Trump has been the biggest target of racism accusations in recent days. In the meantime, others on the right have fired back at liberals for “playing the race card” in order to deflect attention from the debate.

The racism debate is hardly the only political controversy surrounding Trump over the past few days. In an aggressive April 28 speech, he ubiquitously called U.S. political leadership “stupid” in the middle of a variety of other words not suitable for this blog. Mitt Romney, who many see as the top Republican candidate, has also seen some early attacks in the 2012 campaign cycle. And, in the odd political headline of the week, reports indicate that White House staff threatened to remove a San Francisco reporter from the Bay area press pool “for using now-standard multimedia tools to gather the news.” Somehow, none of this seems too surprising in today’s political scene. What do these developments mean to you? What are your thoughts on the political environment in which modern politicians operate? How about the “birther” and other records controversies, as well as the backlash in the form of racism accusations? For that matter, what trends do you see developing in the presidential election itself? With Obama almost certain to run for re-election, who do you think will challenge him, and what do you think the candidates’ chances will be?

The economy has also been a major concern as of late, with growth falling to 1.8%. The White House says that faster gross domestic product (GDP) growth is needed. Some analysts say this can be fostered through increased consumer spending, but the Obama administration has chosen instead to boost government funds by taxing the highest earners. At present, the dollar is still sliding, although officials don’t seem overly concerned about it, as stocks are climbing despite other shaky economic indicators. The oil industry appears to be one of the largest beneficiaries of the stock increases, as high gas prices have sent profits skyward. Both political parties are actively fighting over policies for the oil companies, although traders see little impact from the rhetoric. How do you feel about the economic situation, the actions that policy leaders are taking, and what needs to be done in the future?

While we’re on this political track, let’s take one last look at the big global issues. First, a number of conflicts have continued across the Middle East over the past few weeks. Fighting intensified in northwestern Libya within the district of Misrata, and a geographic error further west led to a number of Moammar Gadhafi’s troops being captured. As loyalists to Gadhafi attempted to retake an area near the border, the conflict progressed into neighboring nation Tunisia. The loyalists were subsequently captured by Tunisian forces after a 90-minute skirmish. Elsewhere, reports indicate Gadhafi’s soldiers have begun using child rape as a weapon to instill fear into their enemies. Aid workers told Daily Mail reporters that some children were held hostage for several days and, upon returning, were too traumatized to speak. The workers were especially concerned, however, about children in regions held by loyalist forces, such as Misrata, who might be facing prolonged abuse. In Syria, the bloodshed is only increasing, with a recent fight resulting in dozens of deaths. Death toll estimates are varied, but most estimates are giving number of at least 40 killed in government protest crackdowns. The crackdowns have not stopped thousands from voicing their anger with the government, ruled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family for 40 years, but the rising death toll on what has been called Syria’s “day of rage” is certainly stomach-churning. Not all of this news in the area is quite so graphic — the Palestinian factions of Hamas and Fatah agreed to a peace deal that some believe was a necessary precursor to any serious negotiations with Israel — but at the same time, Taliban forces struck against Pakistani security, and violence has also escalated in Uganda. I know that most of the comments on this subject have subsided over the past few weeks, so to keep this somewhat brief, what do you think about the ongoing battles being fought across the globe?

On a very different international subject, the Kate Middleton and Prince William of England became husband and wife on Friday. In order to keep her arrival “lower-key,” Middleton went to Westminster Abbey in a Rolls Royce instead of the traditional carriage. (I never would have expected to use “Rolls Royce” and “lower-key” in the same sentence, but hey.) At this point, just about every aspect of the event has been thoroughly analyzed, whether reviewers are constrating its charm with its lack of passion, poring over the many short kisses (viewable in 3D!), critiquing the eight-tiered cake and the dress — possibly the item which underwent the most scrutiny, alongside other wedding fashion headlines like sister Pippa’s white dress, Kate’s reception attire, and all those hats — as well as less-obvious highlights like the royal matchmaker, the reception’s disco balls, and the cartwheeling verger. All that, of course, is apart from the withdrawal of Syria’s invitation, the private comments (subsequently lip-read and posted for the world to see), the 56 arrests, the record-breaking viewership, the distinct lack of sponsorship deals to take advantage of those viewers, and the tributes to the late Princess Diana.

Did the size of that paragraph terrify you? If so, then it did its job. Obviously, there’s no shortage of media coverage for this event, which has some viewers delighted and others infuriated. How do you feel about the media attention that this marriage has received? Is it an important enough event to monopolize multiple television channels (not just BBC) for more than a day, or is it just dramatically over-hyped?

Locally, much of the U.S. has been dealing with fierce storms over the last week. Not that I need to remind you of that. With the death toll nearing 300, searchers are still looking for tornado victims amongst the wreckage. Obama and his family recently visited the aftermath in Alabama and, shocked by the devastation, promised to help rebuild the region. The Red Cross is working here in Indiana, as well, and they’re calling for volunteers in their efforts. I doubt I need to pose questions on this topic, since you sat through the storms as they blew through the area, so just tell us what you think.

As you may have gathered, I happen to enjoy my share of sports from time to time. It’s still unclear whether we’ll see the NFL this year, though, as the order to lift the labor lockout has been held by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. This means that the lockout, which was set to be lifted on Friday, remains very much in place. It looks like the plans of the NFL and its players will have to wait, at least for the time being, even as the annual draft proceeds as scheduled. What are your thoughts about this court battle and its effects on all those affiliated with the league? If the lockout continues through the season, how will it affect the overall entertainment market? And what are the ramifications for the economy, given how much consumer and corporate spending (think: buffalo wings and million-dollar commercials) would otherwise be driven by Super Bowl XLVI?

Apple seems to have hit the jackpot as of late with leaping profits and projections, and they’ve now moved into third place among U.S. mobile phone brands. Meanwhile, Apple’s competition is suffering — Blackberry’s forecasts are poor; Nokia’s troubles forced them to cut 7,000 jobs; Verizon’s 4G network is dissatisfying customers and the Droid Charge release has been delayed; and Microsoft’s sales and weak projections, which were much weaker than Apple’s, have caused its sharpest stock drop since 2009. The recent purchase of iCloud.com, which Apple made to host its new cloud computing service, already has fans discussing what form it should take. The white iPhone 4 has also been selling well despite its chunkier shape, and some are already looking all the way ahead to the iPhone 6. Some are still concerned about the privacy issues we highlighted in last week’s post, especially given Apple’s apparent negligence in the matter, but a bit of insecurity with location data suddenly seems far less serious than the Sony crisis.

Oh yes, you knew we’d return to this. Sure, it seemed bad enough when the PlayStation Network was down for days on end with no explanation — some of us paid good money for that system! — but now that we know it was caused by a data breach that many are believe to be the largest of all time, everyone’s paying much closer attention. That includes multiple national governments — Congress has been questioning Sony about it, and Canada is conducting its own investigation — and since Sony actively hid the breach, it looks all the worse to the public. George Hotz, who hacked Sony several weeks back and was subsequently sued over it, blames Sony itself for the intrusion, saying that angering the hacker base was the surest route to being targeted. The story only gets worse, though. Some experts are now claiming that users’ credit card information was stolen along with their personal data and that the full database is up for sale. That amounts to several million accounts. There are still some questions about the incident, of course, including whether all the claims on hacker websites are legitimate and, much more frighteningly, whether similar havoc could be wreaked through Xbox Live. What do you believe actually transpired? If your information was on Sony’s systems, are you planning to take action to protect yourself? What can Sony and other organizations do to prevent future intrusions, and what can Sony do to make up for this, if anything? Are there any broader implications for electronic data transfers as a whole? How does this relate to Amazon’s own problems with their cloud computing network? How do you compare Amazon’s multi-day outage, and the way the organization subsequently explained and apologized for it, with how Sony handled its own incident?

Finally, I was going to talk about Friday’s Endeavour shuttle launch, as it represents the final trip for the “baby of the fleet.” Even Obama planned to be in attendance, demonstrating the significance of the event, but a problem with an auxiliary power unit heater forced a delay until Monday, at the earliest. Still, it remained an important day: House Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who suffered a near-fatal gunshot wound to the head on January 8, flew to Cape Canaveral to watch her husband, Mark E. Kelly, command the shuttle. She has amazed doctors with the pace of her recovery after a shooting that killed six and wounded 12 others. While the delay deprived her of the chance to watch the launch, Giffords ability to attend the near-event still proved how far she has come. In any case, here’s one last chance to talk about the event, including the future of space travel and where research will go from here. And for that matter, with SETI shutting down as well, how are we going to find aliens now?

We’ve covered quite a few big stories this week, but as always, if none of the above suit you, you’re perfectly welcome to comment on one of the below links or make a new post on a different subject. You’re also more than welcome to discuss what you’ve learned over the course of the semester and where you see yourself using those skills in the future — I always like hearing about the impact of this, so feel free! In any case, it’s been a pleasure seeing your contributions throughout the term. I can’t wait to see what you have to say during this final week of the COM 315 blog!

UPDATE: Given the timing, I’d be a fool not to add one last story to the list. According to a speech by Obama late Sunday evening, Osama bin Laden is dead. As CNN reported, “Osama bin Laden — the longtime leader of al Qaeda — was killed by U.S. forces in a mansion outside the Pakistani capital of Islamabad along with other family members.” By all means, feel free to use this as the topic of your comments this week. No matter how you look at it, no story this week is more significant.

Other articles of interest:
Yahoo says 1M users affected by email outage
Yahoo Finds Delicious Buyer
Hulu Plus hits Xbox Live April 29, free for a week
Three Foxconn workers arrested for leaking iPad 2 design
Sleep Can Wait. The Birds Are Angry.
Apple Rejects Immigrant ‘Smuggle Truck’ Game
Indiana Senate narrowly OKs ban on texting while driving
RIM shares hit in Toronto after profit warning
Barnes & Noble Accuses Microsoft of Patent Abuse
New Federal Guidelines Regulate Junk Food Ads for Kids
Advertisers Fire Back At Government Over Proposed Food Marketing Guidelines
Banning Barbie
Does Drinking With Parents Help Teens Drink More Responsibly? Not Really
5-Minute Screen for Signs of Autism Works in 1-Year-Olds
Homeless child enrolled in wrong school: What should happen to him?
8-Year-Old Sells Loaded Gun for $3 at Queens School: Police
Teaching turning into a rest stop on the MBA highway
Friendster to Erase Early Posts and Old Photos
Cuomo: NY law sheds 24,000 sex offenders from Web
South Africa photographer honored for Soweto photo
China’s One-Child Policy Brings the Challenge of an Aging Population
Obama’s Silence on Boeing Is Unacceptable
Civility on the Way Out? Add Dogs to That List
The new rules of sun safety
ER Visits Keep Increasing, Survey Finds
Manny Ramirez might play winter ball
MLB: 10,955 drug tests since ’07-08
Frank McCourt blasts Bud Selig, MLB
Dutch club VVV-Venlo sign 1-year-old child

Discussion Post: Week 15

Well, we’re reaching the end of the semester. I’ll be sorry to see you go when class ends for the last time, but at the same time, I’ve been delighted to see the skills you’ve showcased throughout the term. Remember, if you’re speaking in the last week, be sure to submit your outline to the SafeAssign link on Blackboard at least 48 hours before your scheduled presentation date.

Let’s jump right in! Earlier this week, a number of web servers connected to Amazon.com ceased to function, resulting in outages for a wide range of sites that were hosted by Amazon. Even popular sites like Reddit and Quora were negatively affected. Does this call into question the viability of a cloud computing infrastructure, or is this an isolated incident that could have been just as bad, or worse, under another framework? Do you think that this will affect Amazon’s credibility moving forward?

Apple’s winning big in the mobile phone market, as the company passed Nokia in the first quarter of this year to become the world’s largest mobile phone retailer in terms of earnings. It doesn’t seem to matter what carrier the phones use, whether it’s Verizon or AT&T. Apple phones just sell, regardless of carrier or even country. That success bodes well for the iPhone 5, slated to begin production this summer. Not that all the news is positive — recent reports revealed that a set of hidden files on iPhones record detailed information about the user’s location, store it on the device without any encryption and transmit that data to Apple as well as any other device with which the iPhone is synced (such as, for instance, a computer with iTunes). It is believed that the location tracking file is a bug that could be fixed in a future update. Curiously, law enforcement has been using the location data in criminal investigations for quite some time, but news of the tracking files has angered lawmakers who believe that the tracking function may represent an invasion of privacy and a personal security risk. What do you think about Apple in terms of its success as well as this new controversy? How did the company’s phones become so popular? What qualities of the phones, the company, or the marketing strategy attract customers? Do you think that the location-tracking revelation will dampen consumer trust in the Apple brand and allow competitors like the upcoming Droid Charge to gain ground, or will customers ultimately ignore such concerns? Has Apple committed any wrongdoing here? What are the ramifications for public policy? How about other privacy breaches and questions about other services, such as security flaws in the Android phone, Facebook’s ever-changing privacy policy or Dropbox’s ambiguous terms of service? For that matter, should we even be worried about our whereabouts or other personal information being monitored?

Jeff Immelt, who was appointed the U.S. “jobs czar” in January, has come under fire due to the unflinching unemployment rate and growing offshoring trend. With the value of the dollar falling and gas prices jumping, some analysts are saying that capitalism as a whole isn’t working for the middle class on the new global economic stage. The government has been having plenty of fiscal problems as well, but many deficit proposals continue to face fierce opposition from voters. President Obama has targeted the GOP in the midst of the crisis, apologizing to voters for compromising with Republicans on the issue and calling the GOP’s proposed budget “radical, not courageous.” In the meantime, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s changed its outlook on the U.S. economy from “stable” to “negative” for the first time in the group’s history, sending stocks spiraling downward. However, some analysts are hesitant to trust the S&P report given past conflicts of interest, as they may have skewed reports preceding the current recession. What are your thoughts on the ongoing economic calamity, challenges for both employees and the unemployed, and the way in which administrators are handling the situation? What does it mean for the upcoming elections and legislation in the near future? How will the crisis ultimately end (if, in fact, it is brought to a close)?

Expanding our gaze for a bit, Libyan rebels are fighting back and moving into territory long held by Moammar Gadhafi’s regime despite the relative lack of direct U.S. involvement in the conflict. While NATO has perhaps played the largest role in assisting rebel forces, President Obama has ordered the deployment of armed drones to assist in the battle, a development welcomed by Libyan opposition forces. The support won’t restore the lives of those who have fallen, including prominent photographers Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros who were killed during a Wednesday skirmish, but rebel forces hope that overthrowing Gadhafi will restore some peace to the bloodied region and prevent similar tragedies in the future. Little has stabilized elsewhere; From Syria to Yemen, Turkey to Belarus, and Pakistan to Egypt, national unrest is leaving its mark on the international community this year. And, of course, Japan is still dealing with plenty of problems of its own. The latest nuclear recovery plan? Air conditioning. Contrast that with Kyrgyzstan’s leaders, who sacrificed seven rams before their Thursday morning meeting in order to banish “evil spirits,” and… well, you can decide for yourself how you feel about that.

Let’s lighten things up a bit. How would you like a singer called “Sweet Micky” running your country? Well, that’s who Haiti’s getting. In a landslide election, Michel Martelly won the presidency with 67.6% of the votes, handily defeating the country’s former first lady Mirlande Manigat. Having lost two of every three voters to the pop star, Manigat declined to contest the results. Do you think that Martelly will make a strong statesman, looked upon in the same way that some Americans remember former president Ronald Reagan, and aggressively tackle the challenges his country is facing? Or does this whole affair remind you more of the old Snickers “President” commercial? I’m not sure even that can beat North Las Vegas’ recent “high card wins” city council primary that was decided casino style.

Earlier this semester we spoke quite a bit about the space shuttle Discovery, so it’s only fitting that as we near the end of the term, we consider Endeavour’s last launch, scheduled for next Friday. The first family will be in attendance to watch the start of NASA’s second-to-last manned mission. How do you look upon the event? Now that you’ve had more time to think about it, what are your thoughts on the end of NASA’s manned spaceflights? What does it mean to you that the program will end 30 years after NASA’s original projection for a Mars mission? Do you think that such lofty goals are important in this day and age, or would we be better off to explore newly discovered lands on our own planet for awhile longer or just view the cosmos from afar? In light of the great difficulties in reaching Mars, does it make sense to seek alternative means of reaching that goal, such as corporate sponsorship?

Finally, given that the long-celebrated wedding between Britain’s Prince William and Kate Middleton will also be on the 29th, it’s about time it earned a place in our course blog. The nuptials have garnered tremendous media attention, whether viewers are scrutinizing Middleton’s dress or hats, the couple’s honeymoon or three wedding receptions, or the future princess’ vows and the prince’s quest for normalcy. Some are chatting about it every ten seconds, some wish that William would get to kiss the bride (it’s forbidden), some are scrutinizing Middleton’s inheritance rights, some are stunned by the $163,000 wedding bill handed to the Middleton family, some think that Middleton should have accepted the multimillion-dollar tabloid offers following the couple’s brief split three years back, and some are more interested in the broader trend of royal-commoner marriages. Perhaps most divisive, though, is that some see this as “the party for a generation,” filled with soon-to-be priceless merchandise (well, maybe not), while others just want the media frenzy to stop. What are your thoughts on the wedding? Is this as significant an occasion as the media coverage would indicate? What does all this mean for the future of Great Britain and the international community?

You know the drill by now — you can comment on any of the stories in this post, or make a post of your own. Until next time!

Other articles of interest:
A Soccer Ball That Can Kick Start Your Cell Phone
Video: Watch Philadelphia’s baseball robot deliver the first pitch
The Psychology of Cheating
Indiana high court rules in favor of NCAA in Final Four ticket case
Yahoo! Sports Minute: NFL prospect’s hair color an issue
Bud Selig: Baseball playoffs likely to expand to 10 teams in 2012
New Tiger, old Tiger, they both sound the same
Man runs 99 miles home after completing London Marathon
Paralyzed Bride Jennifer Darmon Walks at Wedding
Sony blames ‘external intrusion’ for PlayStation Network outage
PlayStation Network Goes Down, Anonymous Is Not Responsible
Report: Sony, Microsoft Aren’t Launching New Consoles Until 2014
Wii 2 controller sports 6.2-inch touchscreen?
PCs Are Adopting Features from Tablets Like iPad
Quantum Teleportation Breakthrough May Pave the Way for Quantum Computing
For AP Students, a New Classroom Is Online
Amazon Kindle Library Lending to Roll Out This Year
Bergdorf Goodman Invites Consumers To Design Fendi Bag on Facebook
Greenpeace Criticizes Apple, Twitter, Facebook for ‘Dirty’ Data Centers
BP oil spill: Forgotten but not gone
CDC: Entire U.S. Will Have Non-Smoking Laws by 2020
DOT Requires Taxes, Fees Be Included in Advertised Prices
Blagojevich watches jury selection for corruption trial
Would U.S. voters tell Trump, ‘You’re hired’?
Army, Navy add citizenship option to boot camp
FBI investigating after pipe bomb found on Columbine anniversary
Lower IQ in children linked to banned insecticide
You Know Your Blood Type. What About Your Gut Bug Type?
Check out the world’s most advanced … toilet?
CIA Cover-Up Alleged in JFK’s ‘Secret UFO Inquiry’
McDonald’s Lawsuit is Three Fries Short of a Happy Meal
Taco Bell asks litigious critics: Would it kill you to say you’re sorry?
Russian leader dances to “American Boy”
Lady Gaga’s Ears Are Broken
Frey, Glass, and Blair: Where are they now?

Discussion Post: Week 14

Hello once again! Our class is almost done, with only Persuasive Presentation II remaining. Please remember, as before, to submit your outline via SafeAssign at least 48 hours before your scheduled presentation date.

Let’s jump right into the deep water this week and review the world stage. Moammar Gadhafi is still fighting back against the rebellion, as the regime’s military has been using cluster bombs against civilians in Misrata, the last town held by rebel forces. Civilians lashed out at NATO for failing to protect them from the deadly assault, while NATO, in turn, attacked Gadhafi’s hometown of Sirte. U.S. President Barack Obama argued that the military battle has reached a stalemate which will ultimately end in Gadhafi’s departure, but some analysts speculate that the battle cannot be won without an influx of ground troops to combat a possible al-Qaida role, which would represent a classic case of mission creep. Elsewhere, the Syrian government is coping with its largest wave of protests yet. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad promised on Saturday to lift emergency laws that have stood for 48 years and to make further reforms to rectify corruption in his government, although that promise has done little to placate protesters angered by his mixed messages of reform alongside further violence and control. Yemen’s protests have remained peaceful for the time being, Nigeria held its first peaceful elections in over a decade — although there have been reports of voting irregularities — but the Ivory Coast is investigating its own ministers in blood crimes. Radioactivity is sharply increasing in seawater around the crippled nuclear plant in Fukushima, and the parties bidding to conduct the cleanup have projected that it may take anywhere from 10-30 years. There’s enough here that, if you’re interested in these issues and have been keeping up with the events as they’ve unfolded and we’ve discussed them here, you’ll be able to find something to discuss, so I’ll just let you decide on the important questions instead of suggesting them myself.

Apple is facing a class-action lawsuit from a father of two Pennsylvania girls over unauthorized in-app purchases. The lawsuit alleges that the 15-minute window between entering a password and making purchases allows anyone who gets the device within that time period — whether or not they’re the actual owners — to freely purchase whatever they want. In the case of Garen Meguerian, his nine-year-old daughter purchased around $200 in games. Apple has since changed its policy to require a password for in-app purchases, but Meguerian argues that the company has already pocketed millions in unauthorized purchases, that the system was tantamount to “child exploitation,” and that even the new password system is insufficient. What are your thoughts on this, and what are the implications for other online communications? Should other retailers tighten their policies as well? Do you see the problem of electronic identity verification extending to other domains besides sales?

The House passed a $5.8 trillion spending cut on Friday that has immediately divided Republicans and Democrats, as every Democrat voted against the bill. The showdown could have implications on the 2012 Presidential Election, especially since Obama was caught on tape bashing the GOP on the budget issue when he didn’t realize he was being recorded. The Republicans have not been free of criticism, either, as some analysts believe that the proposed changes will generate other budget and policy problems. Where do you stand on the issue? What do you think about the divided political scene and the recording of Obama? How will this bill and the caustic political climate affect our government and nation in the future?

In a stunning move, the FBI shut down the three largest online poker sites, PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker, on Friday, a “bold move that brings serious question to the law.” All three sites have been charged with bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling. Restraining orders were also issued against over 75 bank accounts used by the sites. There have long been concerns that internet gambling might be considered illegal based on current laws — some have speculated that allowing prominent sites to remain active would prevent difficult-to-track underground rings from surfacing — but “Online Poker’s Black Friday” will certainly test the legislation. It’s also unclear what will happen to players’ money now that the accounts have been frozen. What do you think about the legal action taken here? Do you think that it was appropriate or justified? What are the consequences of shutting down these sites, both for online poker and for other industries?

Finally, recently leaked E-mails appear to reveal that, during last year’s Gulf oil crisis, BP officials tried to control what scientists said about it. At the time, BP announced a $500 million pledge to research the impact of the oil spill, but new reports suggest that both the company and the White House were working to control the dialogue. Do you see any similar influential forces in your work or field? How does this affect the nature of science and its ability to improve society as large? Can scientists effective navigate these tensions to ensure that their work can have its intended impact?

Just as always, feel free to comment on any of the above or below stories, or make a post of your own. I’ll see you in class!

Other articles of interest:
Barry Bonds verdict shames the game
Scenes from what might be the final Sacramento Kings game ever
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones Saves The Day… Again
Buffalo taxpayers will be paying the Bills to not play football
NFL, players complete second day of mediated negotiations
Why BYU has asked Jimmer Fredette to stop attending classes
Video: Carson Wiggs hits a 67-yard field goal in Purdue’s spring game. Seriously.
Chicago school bans homemade lunches, the latest in national food fight
Another air traffic controller suspended for sleeping
The Most Dangerous Thing You’ll Do All Day
Just how much are those space shuttles worth?
NASA Space Shuttle Contractor Announces Layoffs for 2,800 Workers
Kepler satellite and citizen planet hunters
UFOs in FBI’s Vault
A taxpayer receipt: Calculate exactly where your tax dollars go
Mom on Facebook sentenced in son’s drowning death
Royal wedding watch: Jelly beans, rings and German cars
Techie Toilet Ships in April
Jerry Lawson, Inventor of Modern Game Console, Dies at 70
‘Wii 2’ Codenamed ‘Project Cafe’
Lack of 3DS Sellouts Not Due to Modest Demand
Apple Is Said to Ready White IPhone Following 10-Month Wait
Post office uses Vegas Liberty statue for stamp by accident
World’s oldest man dies in Montana at 114
Drug-resistant staph in meat — and what consumers need to keep in mind

Discussion Post: Week 10

Hello again, everyone! I’m looking forward to Persuasive Presentation I, which will begin this week. Please remember that you need to upload your typed, full-sentence outline to SafeAssign at least 48 hours before the class period in which you’re scheduled to present — for those of you who will be presenting Tuesday of this week, that means your outline should be submitted by 4:30 p.m. today, so be sure you get it done!

Also, I noticed that there have still been few replies to last week’s spring break post. However, that post will remain open until midnight tonight, so you can still add your contribution if you hurry.

We’ll start this week where we ended the last one: the NCAA basketball tournament. Let’s continue to delve a little deeper into the subject than just Purdue’s chances. A large part of public speaking is being able to draw and retain your audience’s attention, and every year, “March Madness” captivates a substantial portion of the nation. What do you think is the reason for this fascination? Do you think that we’re more or less drawn to the big dance than we are to other similar sporting events, such as the College World Series? What do you see as the reason for any disparity in our interest?

One possibility is that we love the thrill of the upset, when the underdog triumphs over the dominant favorite. We had some big upsets in the round of 64, but nothing quite as shocking, for instance, as Coppin State’s 1997 win over South Carolina, Villanova’s 1985 championship, or George Mason’s 2006 Final Four run. However, some believe that upsets aren’t really a surprise based on performance forecasting models like AccuScore, and others claim that the phenomenon has lost its luster over the years. (To reference the latter article, two of my own brackets correctly predicted the Richmond upset. I’m not telling how many brackets I have, but it’s fewer than 2⁶³.) What do you think about our perspective on upsets? How about other unique statistics, like Michigan piling up the all-time largest margin of victory in an 8-9 matchup and becoming the first team to win an NCAA tournament game without making any free throws?

On a much different note, considering that the tournament takes up a significant part of the academic semester and is given great importance by the public as well as participating universities (which tend to receive more alumni donations following a successful tournament appearance), how do you think that the players juggle their athletics as well as their studies? For that matter, how do student-athletes of any sport handle the competing obligations? Do you think that participating in college athletics is detrimental to academic performance, or alternatively, does life as a student-athlete foster added knowledge and skills? What about other students, or employees in the workforce?

As an aside, are there any other Comcast customers among those of you watching the tournament? If so, whether you love Comcast or hate it, you have to at least be thankful that they carry TruTV. I suppose that’s another topic of interest — what do you think of the new 14-year agreement that will split tournament games between CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV? Are you happy to be able to watch all the tournament games live instead of being subject to one network’s whim of which game is most exciting at any given moment? Or is it a hassle having to find lesser-used channels and actively determine which game you should be watching at any given moment?

Keeping with the sports theme for now, an NFL lockout looks increasingly likely from week to week. In the wake of the NFLPA’s decertification, Goodell is taking the risky step of directly contacting players, circumventing the organization that he is implying no longer has any authority in this matter. It’s possible that this will be enough to connect both parties and start moving toward a mutual agreement. It’s also possible, as Farrar noted in the above linked article, that this might destroy any trust that remains between the players and owners. Do you think this was a good move by Goodell, or was it a mistake that he’ll later regret? What do you think will happen as the negotiations (or lack thereof) continue? For that matter, how does all of this affect third parties such as NFL employees and even video game developers?

Let’s look back to the big ongoing world events. Japan’s nuclear crisis has grown to frightening proportions, with its government trying to restore but also considering burying the affected plan to limit the immediate danger. Traces of the fallout have already reached California, although it is believed that it is too minor to cause harm stateside. Nonetheless, the Air Quality Management District is now offering daily radiation level updates, just in case. More substantive local effects from this crisis include higher oil and technology prices (Apple’s also facing a possible shortage of iPad 2 components), overall economic instability, and even early challenges for President Obama’s re-election campaign. Before-and-after images of Japan are rather astonishing, although it’s rather hard to beat the revelation that the country’s coastline moved eight feet as a result of the earthquake that started this catastrophe. The quake even made St. Louis shake. What should world leaders doabout the continuing disaster, and why? Should we be donating to relief efforts, as Ichiro Suzuki did in spades on Friday, or would we be wise to save our money? Do you see this changing future policies relating to building construction, coastline restrictions, nuclear power, or anything else?

In a dramatic turn of events, on Thursday the U.N. authorized military strikes against Libyan forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. Shortly thereafter, the Libyan government declared a ceasefire, but rebel forces quickly disputed the claim, protesting that the attacks only continued. I’ll spare you extensive explanation of the situation, as we’ve already discussed the background over the past several weeks, but what are your thoughts on these most recent developments? Do you trust Libya’s ceasefire claim, or is it just political posturing by Gadhafi and his forces? How do you see international intervention, if any, proceeding? What are your thoughts on Obama’s Friday address to the nation? What do you think about his approach to Libya? How will the possible commitment of military forces to the region affect governmental support for Japan? Is Libya ultimately headed toward civil war, as some in our class have previously suggested? Will a ceasefire or international pressure defuse the situation? Or will bringing more nations into the conflict only push it to a regional or global scale?

It’s also becoming increasingly difficult to ignore Yemen, as its government has declared a state of emergency after at least 30 people were killed in a Friday crackdown on anti-government protests. This might be less disturbing if they had been mere consequences of chaotic clashes between protesters and officers, but the deaths instead appear to have been coordinated, strategic sniper killings. Where do you see the Yemen crisis moving? Can the violence be curtailed and a peaceful solution found, or is escalating violence inevitable? Bringing it all together, what do you see in all these overlapping world crises (and, in particular, the violence)? Is this largely a case of one revolution inspiring another in turn, or is there some common cause that is inspiring unrest throughout the Middle East? Will all of these coalesce into one major war, or will they remain as separate intranational conflicts? As a worst-case scenario — the question has to be asked — do you see all of these things as a beginning stage preceding an apocalyptic event, such as that which some believe will come in 2012?

(Yes, I just cited Wikipedia. It’s a blog; different standards apply. Feel free to discuss that conjecture, as well!)

Okay, we need to close on a lighter note this week. Reporter Ben Higgins was covering San Diego State’s first-ever NCAA tournament victory Thursday night when an SUV almost hit him.

What? I said almost. It’s still a light note.

It’s not yet clear what the driver was thinking. As you can tell from the video, it’s hard to imagine that the driver didn’t see Higgins, especially given the pace at which the SUV was moving and the fact that one would generally at least glance backward when reversing a vehicle. Nonetheless, as blogger Chris Chase aptly noted, “He finished the report! The guy was just saved from an over-sized SUV and managed to finish his sentence and barely breaks a stride.”

Truly, anything can happen when you’re giving a presentation. There will be time to dwell on it afterward. In the moment, the best thing you can do is forget about it and keep on moving forward. If you can deal with external interference as serious as this and still finish the job without a hitch, like Higgins did here, you’ll just look awesome.

Other articles of interest:
Netflix Watch Instantly: A Sea Change for TV
PS3 jailbreaker claims Sony is misleading the courts
Optometrists: Nintendo 3DS could ID vision issues
3DS review hardware: why the 3D slider is the best thing ever
Gene therapy ‘treats’ Parkinson’s disease
Reality TV and the SAT: Did students miss the point of the essay question?
‘American Idol’ ratings fall to season low: What’s to blame?
How Did 50 Female Celebrities Get Hacked?
Diet Coke Wins Battle in Cola Wars
Fed Completes Stress Tests
Oops! Wrong prince appears on royal wedding souvenir
Newt Gingrich cries foul over Obama’s NCAA tournament picks
Luis Salazar loses eye, but Braves say he still has a job waiting
Rare double disqualification leaves national event without champion

Discussion Post: Week 6

Some big headline-grabbing pieces of news have been winding down over the past few weeks, from Egypt’s ousting of (now ex-) president Hosni Mubarak to the triumph of machine over man on Jeopardy! That’s not to say that either of these events are truly over — Egypt still has to undergo major transitions in its government, and the fallout could affect other nations throughout the Middle East and in the global community (see, for example, Bahrain and Benghazi), while Watson’s victory on Jeopardy! is perhaps only the beginning of a push toward machines that can comprehend and respond to natural human language (perhaps a physician’s assistant is next?) — but they’re transition points, at the very least. We, ourselves, are about to transition to our second presentation. I can’t wait to see what you have to offer later this week!

As a last reminder, be sure to submit your outline to the SafeAssign link on Blackboard at least 48 hours before the class in which you’re scheduled to present. If you present on Tuesday, that means it should be submitted by 4:30 p.m. Sunday; if you’re scheduled for Thursday, send in your outline by the beginning of Tuesday’s class. Even if we’re forced to delay a few presentations to the following class period, as we discussed in class, you still need to be ready to present on the day for which you’re scheduled.

Anyway, let’s get to the real stuff! NASA’s Discovery shuttle is set to be launched this Thursday as one of the very last missions before the fleet is retired. Do you think the shuttle will get off the ground this time this time, after the delay of its original November 5 launch date? What does the end of the fleet mean for the broader realm of space exploration? Do you think that other organizations will be able to pick up the slack for the canceled Constellation program, or will the risks of private endeavors be too great?

Los Angeles reporter Serene Branson recently suffered from the effects of a painfully visible migraine during a live broadcast at the Grammys, and she’s not the first on-air reporter to combat one. What lessons can we take from this? What would you do if you had to give a presentation under less-than-optimal conditions (which is very often the case)? What, if anything, can we do to cope with a distraction of the highest order like this? To take a different perspective, how do we or should we react to things like this, as viewers? Are we as caring and concerned as some say we should be, or have we lost our empathy? How, then, does this compare with incidents like Jim Gray’s recent on-air confrontation with a caddy or James Corden’s fake flirtation with 16-year-old Justin Bieber?

In other television news, American Idol is scoring high ratings for FOX this season. Wait, what? AI is still on TV? I thought it was supposed to be in its grave now, with all but one the original judges jumping for the lifeboats and many fans and critics claiming that the yearly winners have grown consistently weaker since Carrie Underwood’s 2005 victory. The show certainly hasn’t implemented the sort of major changes that one would expect to redefine it, so what does it mean that a series that many people thought was past its expiration date is rebounding? How is it retaining more viewers now than it has in the last five years? What do you think?

Other articles of interest:
FBI: 100 Percent Chance of WMD Attack
One-third of U.S. households lack broadband Web access
Apple’s taking 30 percent of app store subscriptions is an unkind cut
Second language protects against Alzheimer’s
California School District Uses GPS to Keep Students From Cutting Class
Auto-corrected text leads to killing
The Geek Squad Explains What the End of the Internet Means to You
iPad 3 with Retina display, new device sized between iPad and iPod in Apple’s pipeline
Redbox plans to take on Netflix with video streaming service
US Videogame Market Sales Fall In January
Wind-powered car sets records in a 3,100-mile road test