Chang, Kenneth. “Is the Sun Missing Its Spots?” The New York Times. 20 July 2009. 20 July 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/science/space/21sunspot.html? _r=1&ref=science&pagewanted=all>
This article is written in response to the recent oddities in our Sun’s solar cycle. “266 days with not a single sunspot visible from Earth. Then in the first four months of 2009, the Sun became even more blank,” Chang writes. The bare appearance of our solar systems energy source is concerning many scientists such as Dr. Henrik Svensmark. Dr. Svensmark and his team are currently studying the link between the Sun’s sunspots and global climate. Even though “from solar maximum to solar minimum, the Sun’s energy output drops a minuscule 0.1 percent,” Svensmark says this change can be linked to the Little Ice Age of the 17th and 18th centuries. Svensmark predicts a “cataclysmic storm” similar to the Storm of 1859 (the largest storm ever), but no one can say for sure what the future holds.
Goldberg, Jonah. “Obama’s Choice Is Not to Choose on Iran.” The National Review Online. 17 June 2009. 17 June 2009. <http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NTI4OThjNDYwOTllYjBiNDE4OWRlY2Y2NWY5ZDMyODE=>
In this opinion article, Jonah Goldberg addresses President Obama’s choice to let the Iranian people decide how to manage the results of their recent election. According to Goldberg, the “landslide victory” that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won over Mir Hossein Mousavi, is evidence of obvious foul play. He continues to refer to the Iranian election as a “sham” and urges for President Obama to step in. Goldberg brings Obama to the stand when he says, “Do it, President Obama, please. Take the side of democracy.” I believe that Goldberg voided the validity of his article by saying this. Democracy, by definition, is letting the people decide for themselves who is to lead their nation. President Obama is not a citizen of Iran, and by letting the Iranian people dictate how to adequately deal with the results of their election, he is promoting democracy, not “choosing the wrong side” by not picking at all. All of the power in Goldberg’s piece vanished when he chose to use an “Anti-Democracy” approach to attempt at proving his point.
Judson, Olivia. “On Fire.” The New York Times. 7 July 2009. 8 July 2009. <http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/on-fire/?ref=science>
Olivia Judson writes this opinion article in response to her recent trip to Australia. Here, she makes some very interesting observations about flammable and non-flammable plants and their impact on the starting and building of wildfires. Judson believes that non-flammable plants, such as eucalyptus trees, aid in “murdering the competition” with fire, whilst creating an opportune area for their seeds to sprout. They can do this by keeping their dead branches, which easily burn, allowing flames to grow. She has named this the “torch-me hypothesis.” Her hypothesis is extremely intriguing and presents an uncommon point of view. However, based on only the evidence she has presented, her hypothesis will remain just that, a hypothesis.
Herszenhorn, David. “On Health Care, Congress Races Against Recess Deadlines.” The New York Times. 27 July 2009. 27 July 2009. <http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/on-health-care-congress-races-against-recess-deadlines/>
During the last few weeks of session before the summer recess, Congress is battling to resolve a number of issues, including that of the proposed heath care legislation. This proposal is being backed by Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. The proposed bill would place a tax on companies who issue large private health care policies, passing the burden on to the wealthier citizens who buy them, instead of the middle or lower class. Congress is not expected to vote on this policy quite yet, for it still requires some revision, but progress is expected to be made before they adjourn for the summer.
Koch, Ed. “The Governor’s Best Man.” The New York Times. 17 July 2009. 19 July 2009. < http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/opinion/18koch.html >
In regards to the recent appointment of Richard Ravitch, Ed Koch writes this opinion article to explain why Governor David Patterson of New York has the right to make the appointment. Gov. Patterson’s many republican opponents are challenging the appointment in court, but according to Koch it does have “sound legal basis.” Koch cites the Constitution of New York and clearly proves that the appointment of Mr. Ravitch to Lieutenant Governor was not only constitutional, but a step in the right direction and will help to “navigate the state through fiscal crisis.”
Mufson, Steven. “Oil Markets Stay Calm, Despite Political Unrest in Iran.” The Washington Post. 26 June 2009. 27 June 2009. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/25/AR2009062504257.html>
This article by Steven Mufson addresses the influence Iranian politics may or may not have on the prices of oil in The United States. According to Mufson, during the 1978 Iranian revolution, oil and gas prices were greatly disturbed. In contrast, the oil market is not expected to feel any significant changes due to the uprising in Iran this time. Mufson argues that because Iran only accounts for 2 million barrels of oil per day, and “the world has 6 million barrels a day of spare capacity” we will not notice any large changes in oil prices here in America.
Shanker, Tom. “U.S. Pilot’s Remains Found in Iraq After 18 Years.” The New York Times. 2 August 2009. 2 August 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/world/middleeast/03speicher.html?hp>
Navy pilot Capitan Michael Scott Speicher’s remains were identified on August 2nd through examination of his dental records. Capitan Speicher, who was promoted to Lieutenant Commander while missing, was the only soldier missing in action from the Gulf War. Despite several disturbing stories about the pilot’s imprisonment, it appears from the remains that Lieutenant Commander Speicher that he was killed in the crash of his F/A-18. Further DNA tests are being preformed on the remains, but Speicher’s family is happy to be “bringing him home.”
Spiegel, Jan Ellen. “Where Art Meets Social Networking Sites.” The New York Times. 2 July 2009. 2 July 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/nyregion/05artsct.html?ref=design>
Technology is advancing at an alarming rate and drastically changing countless aspects of the world around us. The countless social networking sites on the world-wide-web such as Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter have recently become a new sensation not only in the communication world, but also in the art community. This article examines the new “Status Update” Exhibit located at Haskins Laboratories in New Haven. This Exhibit features “Nearly 50 works from more than a dozen artists” and is entirely themed around the information age and the social networking websites that connect people and artists alike.
