Monthly Archives: April 2013

Sources: Fox News, WSJ, Huff Post, NYTimes, ABC News

With the recent news of the “Monsanto Protection Act” and supermarket chain Whole Foods announcing their push to display transparent food labels, there has been some debate about genetically modified foods.

On March 26th, President Obama signed into law H.R. 933, the “Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013,”  which includes the Agricultural Appropriations Bill, and will expire on September 30th, 2013. Many food activists have protested and called the provision the Monstanto Protection Act. They have found that it protects biotech companies against lawsuits, even if there is a need to stop GMO distribution because of possible public health issues. Also, Whole Foods has decided to require the labeling of GMOs from suppliers. This makes the supermarket chain the first in the nation to mandate this type of labeling.

While an op-ed in Wall Street Journal presented GMOs as more of a benefit to the public, an op-ed in the New York Times discussed the dangers of allowing companies the freedom to produce GMOs. THe WSJ piece explained why people should not be too concerned with genetically modified food because the FDA and various researchers claim there are no harmful risks. It also describes how it can help poorer nations that need modified supplements  The NYTimes piece discusses that GMOs can have the potential to become hazardous. I found it interesting that Fox News used a photo from 2008 depicting signs from Greenpeace activists that showed “angry or “evil” corn. In the article, they discuss the disapproval of President Obama signing the spending bill. A story in ABC News discusses the controversy over GMOs. The report explains how scientists are developing hypo-allergenic apples. They present a mostly unbiased story, which states both sides of the issue.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/30/obama-signs-bill-that-protects-makers-genetically-engineered-crops-from-federal/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324105204578380872639718046.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/scientists-developing-hypo-allergenic-apples/story?id=18782570#.UW9ukCt34eE

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/02/monsanto-protection-act-tea-party-partiots_n_3000073.html

How would you say coverage on the war in Vietnamn differs from coverage in the Middle East? Do you feel that technology has a factor? Do you feel that location has a factor?

Do you feel that coverage on war is as accurate from writers that have not been involved in a war prior, or do you feel that veterans such as yourself can better cover war?

At the end of your paper you address the existence of posttraumatic stress. What exactly is “the damage, and the danger, lie in wait,” that is not being addressed by the military and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are failing to address?

You mention The Iliad as being “the greatest work of art centering on war,” Do you still feel this way? What are some tactics you suggest writers take to accurately cover war?

1) Your essay mostly recalls the horror and negative aspects of the Vietnam War. This made me think of how I have heard many current Military men called their service time as some of the best times of their lives. Do you agree with this at all? Could this possibly be a recruiting tactic?

2) If given the chance, would you ever go back to see Vietnam today?

-James Kelly

In your paper Everyday Danger, you clearly highlighted the many negative daily aspects of war.

1) Is there one positive experience you can recall from your time out there on the carriers?

2) Also what was your greatest takeaway from your time spent in Vietnam?

Sophia Williams

The threats from North Korea have kept coming in and appearing in the news a lot lately. Even though, there are some sources that keep stating there aren’t any nuclear testing going on in North Korea, other sources state that there has been and are still occurring.

At the BBC news, there is an article that states that in fact North Korea is has not carried out any nuclear testing. This news is coming from sources within South Korea. However, the North has said it is withdrawing all its workers from the shared Kaesong industrial complex. The Minister from South Korea, is the source that had earlier said that North Korea is doing nuclear testing.

According to NPR news “North Korea’s regime is skilled at making threats. And fortunately, the most ominous of those threats have not been followed by action in recent decades.” South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin says North Korea has moved a missile with considerable range to its east coast. Kim told the South Korean parliament Thursday that the North Korean missile however is not capable of hitting the United States. Kim suspects that the missile could have been moved for testing drills. According to this article there is no sign of military movement that could suggest for a conflict between North Korea, South Korea & the U.S. At least in this source there is sign of nuclear movement even though the threats still are not in full effect.

In both sources there is an agreement that North Korea has said it may shut down a joint industrial zone it has with South Korea. This is where companies from the South get some goods produced. Currently, South Koreans have been blocked from entering the Kaesong industrial zone.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/04/04/176213479/north-korea-moves-missile-threatens-to-close-factories-used-by-south

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22061377

With gun control laws being enacted more often than before, some people wonder if these regulations will actually work. As of January 25 2013, an article on the Huffington Post states    “An Associated Press analysis found that there are thousands of laws, rules and regulations at the local, county, state and federal levels. The laws and rules vary by state, and even within states, according to a 2011 compilation of state gun laws by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. These laws and regulations govern who can carry a firearm, what kind of firearm is legal, the size of ammunition magazines and more. In some places, a person can buy as many guns as desired.” In fact, this maze of gun control laws makes it more difficult for the government to maximize protection against gun related crimes to the extent of what they can at this current time.

Last month, President Barack Obama started to draw attention to the new gun laws and regulations recently passed by the state of Colorado which he believes will help him put public pressure in order to enact similar federal measures. Another article on the Huffington Post stated that “Obama was traveling to the Denver suburbs Wednesday, stepping up his call for universal background checks for gun buyers as well as his demands for Congress to at least vote on an assault weapons ban and limits on large-capacity ammunition magazines.” This would definitely help regulate the use of guns as well as protect the safety of innocents who abide by the law.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/25/gun-control-efforts_n_2549830.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/03/president-obama-colorado-gun-control-aurora_n_3004168.html

Vanessa Vasquez

The most interesting article I read about Chinese cyber attacks was a piece in the Wall Street Journal questioning why the United States waited so long to make these attacks publics, as there has been evidence of this happening for a long period of time. It almost seems as if the Chinese does not fear America will do anything about it.

China Daily posted an article about China looking for more cybercooperation, interestingly slanting their story to make China look better than other publications have. China Daily also wrote an article about how it is not a good idea for US and Chinese relations if the US continues to ban Chinese IT systems. Overall, China Daily continues to always give more of a pro-China perspective than the other publications.

With the Supreme Court looking at the Defense of Marriage Act this week, there was a lot in the news about gay rights, and everyone had their own take. I was surprised because at first, I thought that any bias in journalism would just be about word choice, and actually showing an opinion one way or another. I’ve come to learn, however, that media outlets are much more crafty than this. I have found that it is not the word choice that differs so much as it is the actual topics that these sources write about. Lets take the Defense of Marriage Act. Both the Washington Times and the San Francisco Chronicle published articles about it. In both cases, a short overview of the issue was given, but then each source went in a completely different direction, and didn’t even focus on the issue, deciding to find their own “sub-issues” to tell the public about. The Washington Times, conservative, came away with the headline “Obama Administration under fire in gay marriage arguments”, focusing only on the fact that the administration has not defended the law, but still enforces it. There were a lot of snippets from the hearing of justices questioning whether or not the federal government should be the ones to regulate marriage, but it does not specify their actual opinions. On the flip side, the San Francisco Chronicle decided to focus on the fact that tax payer money is being spent by House Republicans to defend DOMA, and costs have reached 3 million. The headline is “DEMs criticize GOP support of fed marriage act” and it has as little to do with the real issue as the Washington Times piece did. As with the other sources like Red State, they are less reputable sources and can be way more openly opinionated, especially if they are a blog. I have posted a few articles that show a disparity.

SF Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Dems-criticize-GOP-support-of-fed-marriage-act-4392387.php

Washington Times:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/27/supreme-court-hears-second-day-gay-marriage-argume/

Red State:
http://www.redstate.com/2013/03/28/same-sex-marriage-is-not-the-same-as-opposite-sex-marriage/