THIS BLOG IS AN ARCHIVE OF A PAST ENGLISH COMPOSITION CLASS.

THIS BLOG IS AN ARCHIVE OF A PAST ENGLISH COMPOSITION CLASS.

For any questions, please email: scheney   at  collin  dot   edu

Friend or foe? In light of the recent summit with North Korea we have more questions about the Asian country than we had before the summit. The biggest questions are bringing skepticism to the surface. Can we trust them? “The change follows an internal logic: if talks with the South and the US are being reported as the beginning of possible future co-operation then the two former adversaries have to be displayed in a more neutral and less threatening way.” Some would argue that the ease of tensions was too easy. I agree that we should still be cautious as we continue to engage. Who knows what the future holds?

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44557818

Double standards exist all around us. One of the most significant examples of right for one and wrong for another is the use of the “N” word. Nobody knows this better than the recently let go executive at Netflix. He used it in a context that would be designed to prevent is derogatory use. The problem is that he may have gotten away with it if he had said it just once. However, he decided to use the term a second team just weeks later. This proved to be too much, and he was recently ousted. “His descriptive use of the N-word on at least two occasions at work showed unacceptably low racial awareness and sensitivity,” the note to all staff read.” The question posed is should the word be used by anyone in any context with out consequence? I say no. Even a rap star can make his or her point without the reference. I think it is safe to say that former Netflix Executive Jonathan Friedland would agree.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-44585072

Based on the recent story of the capture of the Golden State killer, DNA searches have become more fascinating to us as crime fighting and mystery solving tool. In 2002 a 76-year-old (which is not up for debate) Cleveland resident made a rash and mysterious decision one hot summer day. “Joseph Newton Chandler III locked the doors and windows in his apartment outside Cleveland. He turned off the air conditioning and marked the date on his calendar. Then he went into his bathroom and took his own life.” After discovering that his identity was faked, and he had posed as a deceased 8-year-old, the plot thickened. After some detective work, DNA samples provided by the imposter lead to his true identity through a commercial database. The true mystery lies with why he wanted to hide his identity for the last half of his life? Only time may tell if we may have found another notorious killer or just a disturbed old man who just wished to be left alone

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https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/22/us/mystery-veteran-stolen-identity-trnd/index.html

There has been a lot of unneeded badgering of the first lady as of late. There was a period that she did not appear in public following a medical procedure. I wasn’t concerned about it, were you? Trump’s recent fashion choice has lead to more ridiculous attention. Is the jacket she wears really that news worthy? “Responding to the outcry over the curious fashion choice, her spokesperson said there was "no hidden message" behind the jacket. Hours later, President Trump offered another view on Twitter, saying that it was directed at the "fake news media” The message could have been interpreted in so many ways that everyone just made assumptions about the meaning. When Mrs. Obama was in office there was seldom a mention of what she wore or what she didn’t say. I feel that our first lady is just as much as a victim of fake news as her husband.

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http://insider.foxnews.com/2018/06/22/melania-trump-wears-dont-care-jacket-visit-migrant-detention-center

In an interesting twist in the world of fake news, Jennifer Lopez posts inaccurate information on social media. In the hopes of causing further awareness/backlash (depending on which camp you reside in) Lopez posts an image of a small child crying while a woman is engaging with a Border Patrol agent. Her pleas are as follows “This is about basic human rights and decency. If you care about children, have concern for the lack of transparency about this disastrous display, in full view to the world in general, I encourage you first to get caught up on the situation.” The post suggests another child being torn from parents as they illegally enter the U.S. Later it is discovered that the El Salvadoran family was never actually separated. What makes this post even more compelling is that Time Magazine uses the little girl on the cover of it’s latest issue with a title of “Welcome to America” Fake news works both ways, and this is a prime example

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www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/06/22/jennifer-lopez-shares-fake-photo-about-border-separation.html

New Mobile App Helps to Detect Fake News

At Indiana University a grad student may have just an app that everybody potentially needs on their phone. Graduate engineering student, Mihai Avram, developed an app called Fakey, that detects fake news for any article online. Indiana University stated,  “the news literacy game places users in a simulated social media environment where they can share, "like" or fact-check articles. Users are given feedback for their actions and earn points if they share stories from legitimate new sources, or if they fact-check articles from false or misleading reports or other types of misinformation.” Avram decided to started thinking about this app two years ago and he is excited for the world to use it. The app is now available on Android and iOS. [1 image, 1 link, 1 quote, 123 words]