Jack's Daily Update

Violent clashes between Poly U protestors and Hong Kong police continue to escalate, as students prepare themselves for a siege of the University by the armed police force. Mike Ives and Katherine Li of the New York Times examine the ever growing tensions in Hong Kong, and the alleged reason for the storming of the national university.  Beginning in March, residents have taken to the streets over a controversial extradition bill, one that protestors believe is another attack on their freedoms as citizens of Hong Kong. Since then, the protests have evolved to include "broader demands for democracy and police accountability," in regards to the fair treatment of Hong Kong citizens. As the protests extend into the latter months of the year, China has began to crack down on the sources of unrest. The Hong Kong police force now looks to take control of the university, as The Times reported that police were spotted "spraying tear gas at an entrance of Hong Kong Polytechnic Un...

Blog Post #6 - Human Errors continue to come to light in Boeing 737 Max Crashes After multiple crashes of the new Boeing 737 Max aircraft, an exchange between upper level employees revealed that Boeing was aware of the fatal error that has grounded the planes until thanksgiving. In the article, Michael Laris of the Washington Post examines the truth behind the flaw in the automated system, and the discussion on the ongoing investigation of the company.  The piece starts off with headlining news, where it was reported that "the company was aware of major problems with an automated feature on the 737 Max jet. It was uncovered from texts that the automated feature in question, "known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, that investigators say...forced down the noses of planes that crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia, killing 346 people."  While Laris does stay fairly neutral through the whole piece, it is hard for Boeing to avo...

Daily Update #5 - Race to Contain LA Area Fire  As 100,000 people race to evacuate the  Sylmar community in the San Fernando Valley, firefighters continued to fight the nearly 7,500 acre blaze throughout the night, in order to prevent further damage to property and houses. NBC news takes an in-depth look at the circumstances that fueled both the Saddle-ridge and Sandalwood area fires, and what efforts are being taken on the contain them. Phil Hesel composes a robust piece of journalism by reporting the information of wildfires in a concise, neutral way that allows the reader to synthesize as much of the story as possible. He starts off with an overall summary of the story, informing the reader the ongoing fire was " fueled by high winds swelled in size Friday as more than 1,000 firefighters worked to try to contain the blaze". After helping the reader build a base of the situation, Hesel then goes into the more specific details of the report by referencing hard eviden...

Investigations into the Trump presidency continued this week, after it was revealed in a phone call that the President had been pushing Ukraine to investigate the son of Joe Biden, in attempt to use dirt to create an edge in the upcoming election. The Washington Post explores the truth behind the situation, and how both sides of the political spectrum are reacting to a new round of Trump scandals. In a July phone call with President Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump asked "about eight times to work with Rudy Giuliani on a probe that could hamper Mr. Trump’s potential 2020 opponent." The plan was to find reveling dirt on the son of Joe, Hunter Biden. President Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani "suggested Mr. Biden’s pressure on Ukraine to fight corruption had to do with an investigation of a gas company for which his son was a director". However, after further investigation it was found that there is "no evidence of wrongdoing by Mr. Biden or his s...

Daily Update #2 - "Is lab-grown meat the next frontier in ethical eating?" With the fight against climate change slowly becoming a rising issue, more and more people are looking to do their part in cutting down their carbon footprint. CBC News takes a look into the new frontier of lab grown meat, and if the product is able to be more sustainable and efficient than regular grown meat. Stephanie Hogan is able to successfully craft her argument by presenting multiple sources that show how the growth of meat in labs can lead to less CO2 and methane production across the cattle industry. Referred to as “clean” or “cultured” meat, Hogan believes in “the potential [of clean meat] to be better for both the environment and your health,”  (CBC). To dig more into the topic, Stephanie interviewed Amy Rowat, an associate professor and cultured meat scientist, who put the lab growing process into simpler terms. Rowat described the procedure where “stem cells are taken from an anim...

As the intentions and politics behind the recent fires surging across the Amazon rain forest continue to come to the surface, a report by The Washington Post examines the motives behind why Brazilian settlers are actively burning it down, and the difficulty of preventing it further. In the article, Marina Lopes dives into the evidence for why the fires continue to burn, and boils her main points down to the,“long-standing traditions, practices, [and] laws” of Brazil.  Lopes points out that Bolsonaro “has issued 29.4 percent fewer fines for violations, including illegal burning and deforestation...and through July, deforestation was up 40 percent.” She uses this evidence to support her position that a part of the reason behind the wildfires is due to the political party in power currently, which has allowed Brazilians to once again burn land in a time of deregulation. The culprit behind the fires is still up in the air, as Marina first points out using a quote from Marcos da...