Article 1 -
Palmer, Alex W. "The Fall of China’s Hedge-Fund King." The New York Times. The New York Times, 02 Apr. 2016. Web. 03 Apr. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/03/magazine/the-fall-of-chinas-hedge-fund-king.html?_r=0>.
In November 2015, Xu Xiang, a self-taught stock market trader and founder of a lucrative Chinese hedge fund, Zexi Investment, was arrested by local officials when he tried to flee his grandmother’s house during her 100th birthday party. He was making millions in profits with his funds while the stock market was crashing. He was seen as having great luck and timing in protecting his investments, and the public grew suspicious of his unbelievable success and thought he was cheating. His anonymity, access to secret information, connections to government officials, and investments for rich clients who were the second generation of the Communist Party, made him the scapegoat when the market crashed. His arrest for corruption was his downfall.
Based on this article, corruption is a big problem in China and needs to be stopped as it impacts their economy as well internationally. In order to stop corruption, strict laws must be created and enforced by non-corrupt government officials. Those who are found guilty of violating these laws need to be punished and made examples. Though this may be the ideal solution, it is ironic that it is the greedy government officials themselves who will turn a blind eye to those laws in order to make money and make it difficult to stop corruption.
Article 2 -
Smith, Alex D. "Polish Prime Minister Favours Total Ban on Abortion." The Guardian. The Guardian, 31 Mar. 2016. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.
Poland's prime minister, Beata Szydlo, supports a total ban on abortion which is in line with the Roman Catholic Churches. This will be taken to the Warsaw Parliament for a vote. The current limited abortion law allows women to abort a pregnancy before 25 weeks only under the conditions that the woman's life is in danger, the pregnancy is due to rape or incest, or if the fetus is seriously deformed. Monika Platek, a member of Poland’s Women’s Congress, claims this act clearly illustrates the influence of the Catholic Church on the government by using religious beliefs to control laws.
This campaign is disgraceful and limits the freedom of choice for women.
It is ironic that a female prime minister would support a campaign that would take away women’s rights. The church’s influence on state laws is out of control and needs to be separated so people can make their own choices. Prime Minister Szydlo has no choice but to follow the Church’s demands or lose their support, and subsequently, the people’s support because they are deeply committed to the Church.
Mcneil, Donald G., Catherine Saint Louis, and Nicholas St. "Short Answers to Hard Questions About Zika Virus." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Jan. 2016. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/health/what-is-zika-virus.html>
On February 1 2016, the World Health Organization declared the Zika virus a public health emergency because it has been spreading rapidly across the Western hemisphere over the past year and can cause serious birth defects, specifically microcephaly, if a pregnant woman contracts it. This is an informative article that provides questions and answers surrounding the Zika virus, its affects, how it spreads and places to avoid.
If the Zika virus continues to spread, it could potentially have a big effect on babies born to infected mothers. We may experience a generation of babies with major birth defects, causing a large financial impact on society. This includes increased health care costs to take care of these children, funds to provide additional support in schools and research money to find a cure. To prevent the spread, pregnant women should avoid travel to impacted areas or avoid getting pregnant if they need to travel there.
No comments:
Post a Comment