2013-03-21 No news is GOOD news!

Tonight, we talked about some fun news and some serious topics as well.

Lucas shared his presentation about the future of the smart phones and tablet computers. He provided us some clear pictures of the new coming types of models of cell phones and computers. One of his favorites is the one with a transparent touch screen! He told us it would be interesting to manage all of the functions and modify the pictures or videos on it!

Then, Barrett stepped on the stage to share something really technical and offered us a powerpoint file with lots of useful information about the alternative recourse - Shale oil. He reminded us of last week's topic we talked about - Are there any alternative powers which can replace nuclear power? He did a profound research on the shale oil and gave us some positive thoughts about the declining resources we rely on nowadays. According to Barrett's report, the costs of the shale oil are lower than any other type of energy we produce now. He also mentioned that the technology of the extraction of shale gas/oil was created by George P. Mitchell, who is an American businessman from Texas.

Barrett also predicted some upcoming trends of the global economy. By the time of 2020, the US oil production will exceed Saudi Arabia. In 2035, the US will become o oil importer and the manufacturing industry will return to the US. The greenback will be strong again and the price of gold and oil will be steady and lower.

Jerry brought up a very interesting piece of news right after the break. He said the news is more or less related to everyone. In Taiwan on March 19, Women's group urged the government to abolish an article in the Criminal Code that punishes adultery because it is unfavorable to women and unhelpful in repairing marriages. The DPP legislator Yu-Mei-Nu said that according to statistics, 50 percent of women who sue their husbands for adultery will eventually drop charges, but only 23 percent of men will drop charges against their wives, resulting in a higher conviction rate among women. Jerry told us the law should be amended to provide more protection for women and hopefully it can bring more justice and equality.

Everything changes day by day and everyone get influenced by the things happening around them. We have the right and power to make the world different once we believe that we can! Every class, we learn from each other and we'll always keep this way.

Before we said good-bye tonight, our teacher, Abbie helped us brainstorm some ideas about the content of good news and bad news. Here are the ideas we shared:

What types of news we consider "Good News":
sympathy, uplifting, inspiring, compassionate, affectionate,charity, positive

What types of news we consider "Bad News":
discrimination, too personal, invasion of privacy, disasters, tragedy, cruelty, murder, violence, war, politics, suicide, negative

Moreover, the ways reporters report the news affect our feelings to define it's good news or bad news.

When the news is about justice, something justifiable, objective, responsible, logical, rational or true, we would think of the news "Good news."

However, when we see some news with the words of biased, subjective, sensational, based on rumors, repetitive, too private, threats, and prejudiced, then we would consider it "Bad news."

What a great night! Many thanks to our teacher, Abbie, who is always hardworking and devoting, and to those classmates who spoke out to share their thoughts and feelings. Our CI class wouldn't be so fun without your participation. Thanks again and wish you all a great weekend, and see you all really soon at the same time at the same place!