Reader Response 3

In a Zimbabwe Jail: A Reporter’s Ordeal

In the article about the reporter in Zimbabwe I found it interesting how they were treated. It is amazing what we take for granted here in America. I really enjoyed the description that he used in the article, it really gave me a visual of the state of the jail and the country. His experience seems like it could have been much worse and it is good that it wasn’t. I think that the citizens of the country probably don’t get the treatment that the two reporters do, which was obvious by the food they received everyday, the lawyer they were given and the blankets that they got. I think they’re treatment was probably based around the assumption that they had money and the police knew that. In all, I believe that this article tells a good story of what the countries normal citizens go through, and what they have to deal with in everyday life, the state of their government and how it is a slow and painful process to get rid of a bad leader. 

Elizabeth Edwards

I believe in most of what this article has to say. I think that is obvious that the media spends more times making thing news, which probably don’t deserve to be, than talking about the things that are really important. But this is two sided, because I believe that the public is somewhat to blame for this. The public are the ones who are interested in the weird things that celebrities do, the news has went from what people believe in and what they are going to change, to what did this person have for dinner, or what is their weird hobby they do in their free time. I think that the media has an obligation to make things news that is important for us to know, as well as entertaining. Another thing that I think is interesting about this article is it talks about the Internet having the articles about the candidate’s views, but you can’t find it anywhere else. I think that should be flip-flopped. The print and television media should be the ones with the important news and the news about the candidate’s views and ideas. And the Internet should be the one with the other weird entertaining articles.

Athletes and Prosthetics

I got inspiration this week after I read an article in ESPN the Magazine about athletes and prosthetics. The article told about the advances in artificial body parts and told the stories of several athletes around the world making strides to become active in sports. 
After reading the article I went online to find more on the advances of individuals with prosthetics and found some interesting stories. Many of the stories have to do with war veterans who lost arms or legs in combat and are now trying to incorporate there old lifestyles in with their changed body. I found it interesting that in almost all the stories there are people becoming extremely skilled with their prosthetics and are pressuring sports, such as running, skiing and golf, to let them participate competitively. 
The ESPN story went into detail about how and why athletes with prosthetics are not being allowed to compete. The advances in technology are now so great that in one case where a sprinter wanted to compete in the Olympics was denied because a committee believed they would have an advantage over the others. This looks to be a case that will become more of an issue as technology continues to develop at a faster rate then evolution. 
The great thing about the technology as it has given people another chance to enjoy the things they love to do. Every year there is a veterans event held in the mountains of Colorado where all kinds of veterans with disabilities get a chance to ski using new and improved forms of skiing technology.