Scientists
have debated for years whether or not there is water on the red planet,
Mars. They have determined that it is
possible for water to have existed on the planet because they have discovered
brines, highly concentrated salt water deposits. This poses the question if
Mars now or has ever before been able to sustain life. Could these brines suggest
that life could have existed on Mars just as the Earth today? Or is this just
another misconception?
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Group 3-NASA Spacecraft Data Suggest Water Flowing on Mars
GROUP3-----
NASA Spacecraft Data Suggest Water Flowing on Mars
August 04, 2011
PASADENA, Calif. -- Observations from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed possible flowing water during the warmest months on Mars.
"NASA's Mars Exploration Program keeps bringing us closer to determining whether the Red Planet could harbor life in some form," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said, "and it reaffirms Mars as an important future destination for human exploration."
Dark, finger-like features appear and extend down some Martian slopes during late spring through summer, fade in winter, and return during the next spring. Repeated observations have tracked the seasonal changes in these recurring features on several steep slopes in the middle latitudes of Mars' southern hemisphere.
"The best explanation for these observations so far is the flow of briny water," said Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona, Tucson. McEwen is the principal investigator for the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) and lead author of a report about the recurring flows published in Thursday's edition of the journal Science.
Some aspects of the observations still puzzle researchers, but flows of liquid brine fit the features' characteristics better than alternate hypotheses. Saltiness lowers the freezing temperature of water. Sites with active flows get warm enough, even in the shallow subsurface, to sustain liquid water that is about as salty as Earth's oceans, while pure water would freeze at the observed temperatures.
"These dark lineations are different from other types of features on Martian slopes," said Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project Scientist Richard Zurek of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Repeated observations show they extend ever farther downhill with time during the warm season."
The features imaged are only about 0.5 to 5 yards or meters wide, with lengths up to hundreds of yards. The width is much narrower than previously reported gullies on Martian slopes. However, some of those locations display more than 1,000 individual flows. Also, while gullies are abundant on cold, pole-facing slopes, these dark flows are on warmer, equator-facing slopes.
The images show flows lengthen and darken on rocky equator-facing slopes from late spring to early fall. The seasonality, latitude distribution and brightness changes suggest a volatile material is involved, but there is no direct detection of one. The settings are too warm for carbon-dioxide frost and, at some sites, too cold for pure water. This suggests the action of brines, which have lower freezing points. Salt deposits over much of Mars indicate brines were abundant in Mars' past. These recent observations suggest brines still may form near the surface today in limited times and places.
When researchers checked flow-marked slopes with the orbiter's Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), no sign of water appeared. The features may quickly dry on the surface or could be shallow subsurface flows.
"The flows are not dark because of being wet," McEwen said. "They are dark for some other reason."
A flow initiated by briny water could rearrange grains or change surface roughness in a way that darkens the appearance. How the features brighten again when temperatures drop is harder to explain.
"It's a mystery now, but I think it's a solvable mystery with further observations and laboratory experiments," McEwen said.
These results are the closest scientists have come to finding evidence of liquid water on the planet's surface today. Frozen water, however has been detected near the surface in many middle to high-latitude regions. Fresh-looking gullies suggest slope movements in geologically recent times, perhaps aided by water. Purported droplets of brine also appeared on struts of the Phoenix Mars Lander. If further study of the recurring dark flows supports evidence of brines, these could be the first known Martian locations with liquid water.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory operates HiRISE. The camera was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., provided and operates CRISM. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
For more information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mro andhttp://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/ .
"NASA's Mars Exploration Program keeps bringing us closer to determining whether the Red Planet could harbor life in some form," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said, "and it reaffirms Mars as an important future destination for human exploration."
Dark, finger-like features appear and extend down some Martian slopes during late spring through summer, fade in winter, and return during the next spring. Repeated observations have tracked the seasonal changes in these recurring features on several steep slopes in the middle latitudes of Mars' southern hemisphere.
"The best explanation for these observations so far is the flow of briny water," said Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona, Tucson. McEwen is the principal investigator for the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) and lead author of a report about the recurring flows published in Thursday's edition of the journal Science.
Some aspects of the observations still puzzle researchers, but flows of liquid brine fit the features' characteristics better than alternate hypotheses. Saltiness lowers the freezing temperature of water. Sites with active flows get warm enough, even in the shallow subsurface, to sustain liquid water that is about as salty as Earth's oceans, while pure water would freeze at the observed temperatures.
"These dark lineations are different from other types of features on Martian slopes," said Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project Scientist Richard Zurek of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Repeated observations show they extend ever farther downhill with time during the warm season."
The features imaged are only about 0.5 to 5 yards or meters wide, with lengths up to hundreds of yards. The width is much narrower than previously reported gullies on Martian slopes. However, some of those locations display more than 1,000 individual flows. Also, while gullies are abundant on cold, pole-facing slopes, these dark flows are on warmer, equator-facing slopes.
The images show flows lengthen and darken on rocky equator-facing slopes from late spring to early fall. The seasonality, latitude distribution and brightness changes suggest a volatile material is involved, but there is no direct detection of one. The settings are too warm for carbon-dioxide frost and, at some sites, too cold for pure water. This suggests the action of brines, which have lower freezing points. Salt deposits over much of Mars indicate brines were abundant in Mars' past. These recent observations suggest brines still may form near the surface today in limited times and places.
When researchers checked flow-marked slopes with the orbiter's Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), no sign of water appeared. The features may quickly dry on the surface or could be shallow subsurface flows.
"The flows are not dark because of being wet," McEwen said. "They are dark for some other reason."
A flow initiated by briny water could rearrange grains or change surface roughness in a way that darkens the appearance. How the features brighten again when temperatures drop is harder to explain.
"It's a mystery now, but I think it's a solvable mystery with further observations and laboratory experiments," McEwen said.
These results are the closest scientists have come to finding evidence of liquid water on the planet's surface today. Frozen water, however has been detected near the surface in many middle to high-latitude regions. Fresh-looking gullies suggest slope movements in geologically recent times, perhaps aided by water. Purported droplets of brine also appeared on struts of the Phoenix Mars Lander. If further study of the recurring dark flows supports evidence of brines, these could be the first known Martian locations with liquid water.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory operates HiRISE. The camera was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., provided and operates CRISM. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
For more information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mro andhttp://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/ .
Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov
Steve Cole 202-358-0918
NASA Headquarters, Washington
stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov
Daniel Stolte 520-626-4402
University of Arizona, Tucson
stolte@email.arizona.edu
2011-242
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov
Steve Cole 202-358-0918
NASA Headquarters, Washington
stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov
Daniel Stolte 520-626-4402
University of Arizona, Tucson
stolte@email.arizona.edu
2011-242
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Group 2 - Joe Paterno
Joe Paterno's Legacy Should Reflect Both His Victories & Mistakes
Posted by Maressa Brown on January 22, 2012 at 11:37 AM
Comments (65)
Likes (17)
False reports of Joe Paterno's death were swirling last night, but this morning, the former Penn State football coach's family confirmed his passing from complications related to lung cancer. In the statement, they say Paterno "died as he lived ... fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been."
Although we could see it coming -- especially given all the stress 85-year-old Paterno had been under in the past few months -- this is certainly a serious blow to Penn State fans and fans of college football everywhere. Of course, many people respected Paterno for his life's work and want to honor and pay tribute to his achievements. Still, the coach's death shouldn't mean the man gets to become a saint overnight.
You know what I'm talking about, because it happens all the time! Celebrity or public figure lives a charmed life, is beloved by many, but makes some questionable judgment calls (aka screws up royally) ... But when they die, sometimes, it's like reality gets distorted in a flash. Suddenly, that poor judgment or serious misstep is brushed under the rug, and we end up putting the deceased idol on a pedestal. Even if we were distraught by the guy's actions only a couple of months ago, his death triggers slews of sappy "RIP JoePa" status updates on Facebook. It's all sorts of wrong, because passing away shouldn't get anyone "off the hook" from the life they lead or the mistakes they made.
How Joe Paterno handled the Jerry Sandusky scandal should alter his legacy as a famous, beloved, winning football coach known for his integrity. Not that he should be remembered as villain or only for his failure to prevent Sandusky from allegedly molesting young boys, but let's just be honest, real, and fair with his legacy. Let's remember JoePa as a three-dimensional human being who had grand accomplishments ... as well as a huge unforgettable, unforgivable slip-up. It's fine if he goes down as "the greatest football coach in the history of the game" ... as long as we don't forget that he was also a flawed man.
Summary: People mourn the death of Joe Paterno because, as we all know, Joe Pa had a huge impact on sports fans all over America. This article is emphasizing the controversy of how public figures should be remembered considering their accomplishments and mistakes.
How do you think Joe Paterno should be remembered?
What should be the main focus after a person's passing: the good or bad aspects of their life?
(Group Members: Rachel Dorrian, Hallie Keselman, Sam Thompson, Alyssa Winner)
Posted by Maressa Brown on January 22, 2012 at 11:37 AM
Comments (65)
Likes (17)
False reports of Joe Paterno's death were swirling last night, but this morning, the former Penn State football coach's family confirmed his passing from complications related to lung cancer. In the statement, they say Paterno "died as he lived ... fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been."
Although we could see it coming -- especially given all the stress 85-year-old Paterno had been under in the past few months -- this is certainly a serious blow to Penn State fans and fans of college football everywhere. Of course, many people respected Paterno for his life's work and want to honor and pay tribute to his achievements. Still, the coach's death shouldn't mean the man gets to become a saint overnight.
You know what I'm talking about, because it happens all the time! Celebrity or public figure lives a charmed life, is beloved by many, but makes some questionable judgment calls (aka screws up royally) ... But when they die, sometimes, it's like reality gets distorted in a flash. Suddenly, that poor judgment or serious misstep is brushed under the rug, and we end up putting the deceased idol on a pedestal. Even if we were distraught by the guy's actions only a couple of months ago, his death triggers slews of sappy "RIP JoePa" status updates on Facebook. It's all sorts of wrong, because passing away shouldn't get anyone "off the hook" from the life they lead or the mistakes they made.
How Joe Paterno handled the Jerry Sandusky scandal should alter his legacy as a famous, beloved, winning football coach known for his integrity. Not that he should be remembered as villain or only for his failure to prevent Sandusky from allegedly molesting young boys, but let's just be honest, real, and fair with his legacy. Let's remember JoePa as a three-dimensional human being who had grand accomplishments ... as well as a huge unforgettable, unforgivable slip-up. It's fine if he goes down as "the greatest football coach in the history of the game" ... as long as we don't forget that he was also a flawed man.
Summary: People mourn the death of Joe Paterno because, as we all know, Joe Pa had a huge impact on sports fans all over America. This article is emphasizing the controversy of how public figures should be remembered considering their accomplishments and mistakes.
How do you think Joe Paterno should be remembered?
What should be the main focus after a person's passing: the good or bad aspects of their life?
(Group Members: Rachel Dorrian, Hallie Keselman, Sam Thompson, Alyssa Winner)
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Coastguard begged Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino to return to ship after crash, recording shows
Coastguard begged Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino to return to ship after crash, recording shows
Jan 17, 2012 – 8:15 AM ET | Last Updated: Jan 17, 2012 11:55 AM ET
ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images
Rescuers place explosive charges on the emerged side of the cruise liner Costa Concordia prior to entering on January 17, 2012. The Costa Concordia grounded in front of the harbour of Isola del Giglio after hitting underwater rocks on January 13. Rescuers searched for 29 people still unaccounted for from the wreck of a luxury liner off the coast as the arrested captain faced a hearing with investigators.
Update: Rescue workers found five bodies on Tuesday in the submerged part of the Italian cruise liner that capsized off Italy’s west coast, bringing the death toll to 11.
Corriere della Sera put the tape, which it said was recorded by the coast guard, on its website.
It conforms with reports that have leaked out in the past few days since the Costa Concordia hit a rock on Friday night. Six people were killed and 29 are still missing.
Captain Francesco Schettino is in jail, accused of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship, and was due to appear before magistrates for questioning on Tuesday morning.
The recording says in part:
Coastguard to captain (who has already left the ship):
“There are people who are coming down the ladder on the bow. Go back in the opposite direction, get back on the ship, and tell me how many people there are and what they have on board.
“Tell me if there are children, women and what type of help they need. And you tell me the number of each of these categories. Is that clear?!
“Listen Schettino, perhaps you have saved yourself from the sea but I will make you look very bad. I will make you pay for this. Dammit, go back on board!”
Captain to Coastguard: “Please ….”
Coastguard to captain: “There is no please about it. Go back on board. Assure me you are going back on board!”
RESCUE EFFORTS
Rescue squads used controlled explosions on Tuesday to enter the stricken Italian cruise liner in the increasingly despairing hunt for survivors as authorities almost doubled their estimate of the number missing on the huge vessel to 29 people.
The Costa Concordia’s owners accused their captain of causing Friday’s disaster by veering the ship too close to shore, where it hit a rock, in a bravura “salute” to residents of a Tuscan island off Italy’s Mediterranean coast.
The three explosions were carried out early on Tuesday morning to allow firefighters and scuba divers to enter and leave parts of the ship that they had not yet been able to search.
“Now we will have better access to the gathering points on the ship, where it seems there might be more chance of finding someone, dead or alive,” said firefighters’ spokesman Luca Cari.”
“They will take micro-cameras in there, and we will be simultaneously looking at the few remaining dry areas and also the wet areas,” he said.
The weather improved slightly from Monday but seas were still choppy.
The giant cruise liner slid a little on Monday, threatening to plunge 2,300 tonnes of fuel below the Mediterranean waters of the surrounding nature reserve.
The slippage forced rescuers to suspend efforts to find anyone still alive after three days in the capsized hull, resting on a jagged slope outside the picturesque harbor on the island of Giglio. Six bodies have been found. Most of the 4,200 passengers and crew survived, despite hours of chaos.
An Italian coastguard official told Reuters late on Monday that the number of people missing had been revised up to 29 — 25 passengers and four members of staff — from 16, showing how much uncertainty still surrounded the disaster.
Another maritime official said later that 10 Germans were thought to be among the missing passengers.
The 114,500-tonne ship, one of the biggest passenger vessels ever to be wrecked, foundered after striking a rock just as dinner was being served on Friday night. It quickly rolled on its side, revealing a long gouge below the waterline.
Cari said there were still small movements of the vessel but they were not considered dangerous. Searches were suspended overnight before resuming on Tuesday morning.
Another senior firefighter, Luciano Roncalli, told Reuters that all the unsubmerged areas of the liner had been searched, indicating there was faint hope of finding more survivors in the flooded and upturned maze of luxurious state rooms and tennis courts, bars and spas now submerged beneath the sea.
Environment Minister Corrado Clini said he would declare a state of emergency because of the risk that the ship’s fuel would leak into the pristine Tuscan Archipelago National Park. No fuel spillage has been detected so far, he said on Italian television on Monday evening.
Clini said on Tuesday morning he had given the salvage company until Wednesday to come up with a plan to remove the fuel and 10 days with a plan to remove the ship.
Should rougher seas dislodge the wreck and cause it to sink or break up, that could scupper any hopes for the owners, a unit of Florida’s Carnival Corp., of salvaging a liner which cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build just six years ago.
“SALUTE” TO SHORE
Investigators say the ship was much too close to the shore and its owners, Costa Cruises, said the captain had carried out the rash manoeuvre to “make a bow” to people on Giglio island, who included a retired Italian admiral.
Schettino denies charges of manslaughter.
“You don’t have to be a Nobel prize winner to understand that a ship of that size should stay far from the coast,” Clini, the environment minister, said on television on Tuesday morning.
His lawyer issued a statement saying the skipper was “broken up, troubled and saddened by the loss of life.” But he believed he had saved many lives by carrying out a difficult emergency maneuver with anchors after the accident, which turned the ship closer to the shore.
The father of the ship’s head waiter told Reuters that his son had telephoned him before the accident to say the crew would salute him by blowing the ship’s whistle as they passed close by Giglio, where both the waiter, Antonello Tievoli, and his 82-year-old father Giuseppe live.
Costa Cruises chief executive Pier Luigi Foschi on Monday blamed errors by Schettino for the disaster. He told a news conference the company would provide its captain with any assistance he required. “But we need to acknowledge the facts and we cannot deny human error,” he added.
Foschi said company vessels were forbidden to come closer than 500 metres to the Giglio coast. Investigators say the liner, designed as a floating pleasure palace for over 3,000 customers, was about 150 metres offshore when it hit the rocks that tore a long gouge in its thousand-foot hull.
Schettino denies being too close to the coast and says the rock he hit was not marked on charts.
The calm weather which since Friday has aided the search of the wreck, by some estimates the biggest passenger vessel ever to founder, took a turn for the worse on Monday with rougher seas and a light drizzle falling. Forecasters said it would get worse.
The ship is resting in about 20 metres of water but could go down by as much as 130 metres if it shifts free from the rocks.
Carnival Corp, the ship’s Miami-based parent company, said it estimated the impact on its 2012 earnings for loss of use alone to be around US$90-million. Its share price closed down around 16 percent on the London market.
With files from Antonio Denti and Gavin Jones
© Thomson Reuters 2012
***
The Italian coastguard pleaded in vain for the captain of the capsized Italian cruise ship the Costa Concordia to return on board to oversee the evacuation but he refused, according to what a leading Italian newspaper said was a recording of the conversation.Corriere della Sera put the tape, which it said was recorded by the coast guard, on its website.
It conforms with reports that have leaked out in the past few days since the Costa Concordia hit a rock on Friday night. Six people were killed and 29 are still missing.
Captain Francesco Schettino is in jail, accused of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship, and was due to appear before magistrates for questioning on Tuesday morning.
The recording says in part:
Coastguard to captain (who has already left the ship):
“There are people who are coming down the ladder on the bow. Go back in the opposite direction, get back on the ship, and tell me how many people there are and what they have on board.
“Tell me if there are children, women and what type of help they need. And you tell me the number of each of these categories. Is that clear?!
“Listen Schettino, perhaps you have saved yourself from the sea but I will make you look very bad. I will make you pay for this. Dammit, go back on board!”
Captain to Coastguard: “Please ….”
Coastguard to captain: “There is no please about it. Go back on board. Assure me you are going back on board!”
Laura Lezza/Getty Images
The cruise ship Costa Concordia lies stricken off the shore of the island of Giglio, on January 17, 2012 in Giglio Porto, Italy.
Rescue squads used controlled explosions on Tuesday to enter the stricken Italian cruise liner in the increasingly despairing hunt for survivors as authorities almost doubled their estimate of the number missing on the huge vessel to 29 people.
The Costa Concordia’s owners accused their captain of causing Friday’s disaster by veering the ship too close to shore, where it hit a rock, in a bravura “salute” to residents of a Tuscan island off Italy’s Mediterranean coast.
The three explosions were carried out early on Tuesday morning to allow firefighters and scuba divers to enter and leave parts of the ship that they had not yet been able to search.
“Now we will have better access to the gathering points on the ship, where it seems there might be more chance of finding someone, dead or alive,” said firefighters’ spokesman Luca Cari.”
“They will take micro-cameras in there, and we will be simultaneously looking at the few remaining dry areas and also the wet areas,” he said.
The weather improved slightly from Monday but seas were still choppy.
The giant cruise liner slid a little on Monday, threatening to plunge 2,300 tonnes of fuel below the Mediterranean waters of the surrounding nature reserve.
The slippage forced rescuers to suspend efforts to find anyone still alive after three days in the capsized hull, resting on a jagged slope outside the picturesque harbor on the island of Giglio. Six bodies have been found. Most of the 4,200 passengers and crew survived, despite hours of chaos.
REUTERS/Guardia Costiera/Handout
A part of the Costa Concordia cruise ship is seen underwater after it ran aground off the west coast of Italy, at Giglio island in this photo released on January 16, 2012.
Another maritime official said later that 10 Germans were thought to be among the missing passengers.
CLICK TO ENLARGE
The Costa Concordia's final hours.
Cari said there were still small movements of the vessel but they were not considered dangerous. Searches were suspended overnight before resuming on Tuesday morning.
Another senior firefighter, Luciano Roncalli, told Reuters that all the unsubmerged areas of the liner had been searched, indicating there was faint hope of finding more survivors in the flooded and upturned maze of luxurious state rooms and tennis courts, bars and spas now submerged beneath the sea.
Environment Minister Corrado Clini said he would declare a state of emergency because of the risk that the ship’s fuel would leak into the pristine Tuscan Archipelago National Park. No fuel spillage has been detected so far, he said on Italian television on Monday evening.
Clini said on Tuesday morning he had given the salvage company until Wednesday to come up with a plan to remove the fuel and 10 days with a plan to remove the ship.
Should rougher seas dislodge the wreck and cause it to sink or break up, that could scupper any hopes for the owners, a unit of Florida’s Carnival Corp., of salvaging a liner which cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build just six years ago.
“SALUTE” TO SHORE
Investigators say the ship was much too close to the shore and its owners, Costa Cruises, said the captain had carried out the rash manoeuvre to “make a bow” to people on Giglio island, who included a retired Italian admiral.
Schettino denies charges of manslaughter.
“You don’t have to be a Nobel prize winner to understand that a ship of that size should stay far from the coast,” Clini, the environment minister, said on television on Tuesday morning.
His lawyer issued a statement saying the skipper was “broken up, troubled and saddened by the loss of life.” But he believed he had saved many lives by carrying out a difficult emergency maneuver with anchors after the accident, which turned the ship closer to the shore.
The father of the ship’s head waiter told Reuters that his son had telephoned him before the accident to say the crew would salute him by blowing the ship’s whistle as they passed close by Giglio, where both the waiter, Antonello Tievoli, and his 82-year-old father Giuseppe live.
Laura Lezza/Getty Images
A hole in the ship created by micro explosions allows divers in to search the stricken cruise ship Costa Concordia off the shore of the island of Giglio, on January 17, 2012 in Giglio Porto, Italy.
Foschi said company vessels were forbidden to come closer than 500 metres to the Giglio coast. Investigators say the liner, designed as a floating pleasure palace for over 3,000 customers, was about 150 metres offshore when it hit the rocks that tore a long gouge in its thousand-foot hull.
Schettino denies being too close to the coast and says the rock he hit was not marked on charts.
The calm weather which since Friday has aided the search of the wreck, by some estimates the biggest passenger vessel ever to founder, took a turn for the worse on Monday with rougher seas and a light drizzle falling. Forecasters said it would get worse.
The ship is resting in about 20 metres of water but could go down by as much as 130 metres if it shifts free from the rocks.
Carnival Corp, the ship’s Miami-based parent company, said it estimated the impact on its 2012 earnings for loss of use alone to be around US$90-million. Its share price closed down around 16 percent on the London market.
With files from Antonio Denti and Gavin Jones
© Thomson Reuters 2012
This is an article about the Italian cruise ship that sunk near the island of Giglio off the west coast of Italy. The argument in question is whether or not the captain of the ship should be punished for abandoning the ship before all of the crew and passengers were evacuated. What do you think they should do with him?
Monday, January 9, 2012
Sample Blog
This post includes a an example of the blog posts from my class last quarter. I thought it would be helpful for you to see some of the different ideas people were interested in.
________________________________________________________________________________
Eden Wood Interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n81tnK3q-w0&feature=related
The Youtube video above is about a young child star, Eden Wood, who has appeared on the TLC show, “Toddlers and Tiaras.” It is an interview about her titles as a child pageant star and her life off the stage. The video clip also contains finished pictures of Eden in her costumes. We have selected some of the viewer comments as shown above. What issue are the commenters arguing against or for? Is there agreement or discord among the commenters? Which, if any, of the commenters make the strongest argument? What about their argument makes it compelling? Who do you think the video clip is geared towards? Of the arguments that are bad, what are they lacking? Do you think any of the comments are rude or inappropriate? If so, why?
______________________________________________________________________________
JesusWeen!
http://jesusween.com/about
JesusWeen is a non profit organization also known as JesusWin. We are focused on helping people live better lives through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. JesusWeen is a God-given vision which was born as an answer to the cry of many every October 31st. The dictionary meaning of Ween is to expect, believe or think. We therefore see October 31st as a day to expect a gift of salvation and re-think receiving Jesus.
Every year, the world and its system have a day set aside (October 31st) to celebrate ungodly images and evil characters while Christians all over the world participate, hide or just stay quiet on Halloween day. Being a day that is widely acceptable to solicit and knock on doors, God inspired us to encourage Christians to use this day as an opportunity to spread the gospel. The days of hiding are over and we choose to take a stand for Jesus. “Evil prevails when good people do nothing”. JesusWeen is expected to become the most effective Christian outreach day ever and that is why we also call it” World Evangelism Day”.
________________________________________________________________
JesusWeen is a nonprofit organization, that promotes Christianity and strives to better the lives of people through Jesus Christ. The people of this organization perceive Halloween to be evil and ungodly, perhaps to an extreme level. They seek to fix the problem of Halloween's unholiness by inventing an alternate holiday described as JesusWeen, or "JesusWin." The way the organization describes the purpose of this holiday, as a rallying call for all devoted Christians to announce the evil incorporated into Halloween. JesusWeen thinks of themselves and their mission as better than the people who choose to celebrate the traditional Halloween. Instead of making JesusWeen a holiday for individual reflection and appreciation of Jesus, they seem to be creating this holiday with the purpose of recruiting more believers to support there cause. Is this holiday Christian propaganda or an alternate religious option to Halloween. Is it the church's responsibility to change an innocent holiday apart from something sinister and evil into something more moral based? What audience is this targeting? Is this a new wave of religious paranoia? Do we need to re-evaluate the underlying themes of Halloween and children's involvement in such a holiday?
http://www.toddlersfairycostume.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/pink-tulip-fairy-big.jpg
Pure Evil?
________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday, October 20, 2011Controversial Billboards Aimed at Overweight Kids
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xi6qom_controversial-billboards-aimed-at-overweight-kids_news
After viewing the news clip, what are your initial reactions about the billboards? Who do you believe the billboard is trying to reach out to? Is this billboard positively or negatively influencing our society? Will this ad actually benefit the obesity rate in America? Is this a credible source?
________________________________________________________________________________
Eden Wood Interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n81tnK3q-w0&feature=related
The Youtube video above is about a young child star, Eden Wood, who has appeared on the TLC show, “Toddlers and Tiaras.” It is an interview about her titles as a child pageant star and her life off the stage. The video clip also contains finished pictures of Eden in her costumes. We have selected some of the viewer comments as shown above. What issue are the commenters arguing against or for? Is there agreement or discord among the commenters? Which, if any, of the commenters make the strongest argument? What about their argument makes it compelling? Who do you think the video clip is geared towards? Of the arguments that are bad, what are they lacking? Do you think any of the comments are rude or inappropriate? If so, why?
______________________________________________________________________________
JesusWeen!
http://jesusween.com/about
JesusWeen is a non profit organization also known as JesusWin. We are focused on helping people live better lives through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. JesusWeen is a God-given vision which was born as an answer to the cry of many every October 31st. The dictionary meaning of Ween is to expect, believe or think. We therefore see October 31st as a day to expect a gift of salvation and re-think receiving Jesus.
Every year, the world and its system have a day set aside (October 31st) to celebrate ungodly images and evil characters while Christians all over the world participate, hide or just stay quiet on Halloween day. Being a day that is widely acceptable to solicit and knock on doors, God inspired us to encourage Christians to use this day as an opportunity to spread the gospel. The days of hiding are over and we choose to take a stand for Jesus. “Evil prevails when good people do nothing”. JesusWeen is expected to become the most effective Christian outreach day ever and that is why we also call it” World Evangelism Day”.
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JesusWeen is a nonprofit organization, that promotes Christianity and strives to better the lives of people through Jesus Christ. The people of this organization perceive Halloween to be evil and ungodly, perhaps to an extreme level. They seek to fix the problem of Halloween's unholiness by inventing an alternate holiday described as JesusWeen, or "JesusWin." The way the organization describes the purpose of this holiday, as a rallying call for all devoted Christians to announce the evil incorporated into Halloween. JesusWeen thinks of themselves and their mission as better than the people who choose to celebrate the traditional Halloween. Instead of making JesusWeen a holiday for individual reflection and appreciation of Jesus, they seem to be creating this holiday with the purpose of recruiting more believers to support there cause. Is this holiday Christian propaganda or an alternate religious option to Halloween. Is it the church's responsibility to change an innocent holiday apart from something sinister and evil into something more moral based? What audience is this targeting? Is this a new wave of religious paranoia? Do we need to re-evaluate the underlying themes of Halloween and children's involvement in such a holiday?
http://www.toddlersfairycostume.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/pink-tulip-fairy-big.jpg
Pure Evil?
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Thursday, October 20, 2011Controversial Billboards Aimed at Overweight Kids
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xi6qom_controversial-billboards-aimed-at-overweight-kids_news
After viewing the news clip, what are your initial reactions about the billboards? Who do you believe the billboard is trying to reach out to? Is this billboard positively or negatively influencing our society? Will this ad actually benefit the obesity rate in America? Is this a credible source?
Friday, January 6, 2012
Welcome to the Winter Blog
This quarter, we will be using this blog to look at and analyze popular news stories, web sites, etc.
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