Week 16

Hospital official: James Gandolfini probably died of a heart attack

CNN News
By Ben Brumfield and Livia Borghese
June 20, 2013
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/20/showbiz/gandolfini-main/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Summary:

According to the head of a Rome hospital's emergency department, James Gandolfini probably died of a heart attack. He was traveling in Rome, where he was on vacation and was scheduled to attend the Taormina Film Fest. Though ambulance staff tried to resuscitate him at the hotel, he was already dead when he arrived at the emergency room.

Opinion:

He was known as the actor with a great talent. Importantly, he treated everyone, no matter their title or position, with equal respect. I was so sad because he was a newly married and had a son. The son is too young to be fatherless. I understand how sorrowful and depressing it is to lose someone whom one loves. I feel sorry for his family and pray for them to forget bad things and to have strength to cope with the difficulties.

Week 15

North Korea Postpones Talks With South

The Wall Street Journal
By Jeyup S. Kwaak
June 11, 2013
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324634304578539022876105896.html

Summary:

Few days ago, North Korea surprisingly offered of talks with South, aiming at normalizing commercial projects and potentially reopening the jointly run Kaesung industrial zone. However, North Korea withdrew from talks for Wednesday. An official statement from the Communist North says its neighbor never intended the talks to occur and sought obstacles to cancel the dialogue.

Opinion:

I hoped that talks would help to relieve tensions between two countries; but it did not happen. If North Korea has an open mind to have a conversation, it would benefit North Korea both politically and economically. As I learned in Economics class, transitional countries, changing an economic system from a command economy to a market economy, benefit from the global economy and develop. I hope there will be another opportunity for a conversation.

Week 14

Cheating scandal: SAT canceled for all of South Korea

MSN News
By Michelle McGuinness
May 13, 2013
http://news.msn.com/world/cheating-scandal-sat-canceled-for-all-of-south-korea

Summary:

Some South Korean students who were looking forward to attending American colleges were very surprised because the College Board decided to cancel the scheduled May 4 session of the exam due to allegations of widespread cheating. It’s the first time the SAT test has been called off in an entire country.

Opinion:

Those cheaters shamed all Koreans. This is not the first incident of SAT cheating in South Korea. In 2007, some 900 students who took the exam in January of that year had their scores canceled after an investigation found an unknown number of students had seen at least part of the exam before the test was given. I am very disappointed that things had to turn out this way. I hope this incident will not affect our admission.

Week 13

Florida Shortens Yellow Lights, Red-Light Camera Tickets Surge

The Washington Post
By Richard Read
May 17, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/cars/florida-shortens-yellow-lights-red-light-camera-tickets-surge/2013/05/16/add4df08-be39-11e2-b537-ab47f0325f7c_story.html

Summary:

Florida used to have a law that stated yellow light times be based on the speed limit or the speed at which drivers were actually going, whichever was greater. 10 News found out that the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) removed “whichever was greater” from the language of the law, which lead to shorter yellow-light times. The Florida Department of Transportation says that it reaps no financial benefit from red-light cams and had no incentive to trim yellow-light times. red-light cameras generated $100 million for Florida last year, and they're on track to haul in $120 million in 2013.

Opinion:

The Florida Department of Transportation says that it reaps no financial benefit from red-light cams and had no incentive to trim yellow-light times. However, I agree that red-light cameras do make roads safer. It can also contribute to the government revenue. I personally think that curtailing yellow-light times can do just the opposite. Yellow-light actually allows people to be cautious the red-light beforehand.

Week 12

The Worst Unemployment Crisis In Modern History Is Unfolding Right Now

Business Insider
By Matthew Boesler
May 6, 2013
http://www.businessinsider.com/spanish-unemployment-crisis-2013-4#ixzz2Tjtrfm3I

Summary:

At 27.2%, Spain is suffering the worst unemployment rate in modern history. Spain is tied with Greece, and is worse than the approximately 25% unemployment rate that the U.S. saw during The Great Depression. The causes, by now, are familiar — the end of a massive, bubble-fueled construction boom in 2008 led to spiraling unemployment and a deep recession, wreaking havoc on the Spanish economy. And although the country managed to return to marginally positive economic growth in 2010 and 2011, it has since slipped back into recession, and the outlook isn't good.

Opinion: 

The problem is compounded by the fact that Spanish businesses are closing their doors at a record pace. In January, there were even two cases of men who set themselves on fire. At least one of them was reported to have lost his job and was facing financial issues. This is the environment from which those in Spain are actively attempting to escape. During the good years, Spain experienced a swelling population as immigrants came to fill the excess of employment opportunities caused by the Spanish construction boom. However, the population outflow isn't just former immigrants turning into emigrants. As we learned in economics class this week, unemployment brings lots of negative consequences. Spain should recover its economy to expansion.

Week 11

S. Korea's labor productivity growth slows steeply

Maeil Business Newspaper
May 6, 2013
http://vip.mk.co.kr/news/view/21/20/998847.html

Summary:

Labor productivity growth, which has driven the growth of the South Korean economy, has rapidly lost steam. In particular, labor productivity in the service sector has failed to close the gap with advanced economies, and thus the government urgently needs to implement policies to address the issue. Real per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) of Korea increased sevenfold from the level of 1970s to $27,157 ($21,482 in nominal terms) over 2010~2011, the report said. But per-capita GDP growth slowed to 4.4 percent, about one third of the level of 1970s. The report breaks GDP growth down into labor productivity, working hours, employment rate and working-age population growth.

Opinion:

Compared to the United States' labor productivity growth, that of the Korea across sectors averaged 6.0% between 2002 and 2007, below 7.9 percent of the US between 1978 and 1983. In the same comparison, Korea's service industry labor productivity growth showed a relatively smaller gap with Japan's. As I learned in Economics class, productivity plays a significant role in a country's economy. Especially, labor productivity greatly affects the economic growth in a nation. I hope Korea's labor productivity growth will be accelerated. Therefore, its economy can recover and thus rapidly develop.

Week 10

Meet your new $100 bill

CNN

By Emily Jan Fox
April 24, 2013

http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/24/news/economy/new-100-dollar-bill/

Summary:

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that a newly designed $100 bill would begin circulating in October, more than two years after the initial target date. The $100 bill, a prime target for counterfeiters, will in its new version feature advanced security features such as a blue 3-D ribbon running through the middle and a disappearing image of the Liberty Bell. Benjamin Franklin's face will still be printed off-center on the front of the bill.

Opinion:

This is the fourth time the $100 bill has been redesigned. The major reason why the Federal Reserve made this new $100 bill is to outwit counterfeiters with increasingly sophisticated designs. It improved counterfeiting technology. Korea as well first introduced 50,000 Won bill in 2009 with highly advanced technology to prevent from counterfeiting. Since $100 bill is a prime target for counterfeiters, it should be designed highly sophisticated and complicated. I hope this new $100 bill would decrease the number of counterfeit money.