Editorial #5-"The future of flight"

This editorial discusses the Next Generation Air Transportation System known as NextGen. The Federal government is spending billions of dollars to equip the nation's airports with this satellite-based technology that is said will make air travel faster, safer and greener. According to the author the system will allow air traffic controllers to know the precise locations of an aircraft, and it will allow more takeoffs and landings and more direct routes. The reduced congestion, fuel use and pollution will eventually improve air carrier profitability. The problem with this system however is that it costs between $25 billion and $30 billion, and many airlines are not happy with having to pay their share of the price.

In my opinion it is a very good decision to bring this new technology into air travel, after all "The global positioning system in your car -- even your Wii -- is infinitely more advanced than the 1950s-era radar system used to guide planes in and out of the nation's airports." I do however understand that as many of the airlines are already struggling as a result of the poor economy, so this type of spending might not be something they want. I think it would be a good compromise to have this new technology put into planes that are being made, and then rather then installing it in all old planes, gradually grandfather in the new planes and get rid of the old planes as they are no longer needed or useful. This plan would take longer, but it would update the technology while limiting the amount of money airlines have to pay.

Editorial #4- Iraq Counts Votes

This editorial is about the elections that were held in Iraq last Sunday. According to the author although the election started out violently it ended well with a better voter turnout than past elections, and even the last U.S. presidential election. So far it looks like it is a close race between the Shiite coalition of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a second Shiite alliance and a nationalist and secular ticket that received heavy support in Sunni areas. The author also expressed that keeping competition among rival blocs confined to the vote count and the negotiations to form a new ruling coalition would be a huge feat for Iraq, in staying away from the sectarian violence that they often have problems with. According to the author of this editorial Mr. Maliki and nationalist leader Ayad Allwai have the best chance of winning the election and leading the new government as opposed to candidates from Iran. Mr. Maliki signed a strategic framework with the Bush administration and has already demonstrated his capacity to resist Iranian influence. Mr. Allawi is even more interested in an alliance with Washington and has good relations with Arab Sunni governments that have shunned Mr. Maliki's administration.

I agree with this editorial in that it seems like so far the election in Iraq is pretty successful. While there is talk about fraud because of the close results, it seems that the turnout, and limited amount of violence involved in the election are good signs for the direction in which Iraq is headed. I think it would be a very good thing if either Mr. Maliki or Mr. Allawi were elected, because they both seem to be working in the right direction for helping to develop a more stable government in Iraq. Also I think either of these candidates would be a good choice because both seem interested in keeping on good terms with the American government, which is a very good thing in my opinion!

Editorial #3- The Blogging Storm Over Recalls

This editorial addressed the recent recalls seen by Americans, and the effect modern day technology has had on the media's coverage f these recalls. The recalls brought up in the article, included the Toyota recalls, as well as girl scout cookies, and other food products. A large portion of this editorial was devoted to talking about how new technologies such as blogging and twitter have allowed consumers to cause the large amount of media coverage that these recalls have been getting. As the author put it, "What journalist could resist chasing a story where the outraged victims neatly line up before his eyes?" The author of this editorial seemed to give the opinion that theses recalls are not that important but that they get so much media coverage simply because of all the outlets and resources journalists have for finding angry consumers of the products being recalled. The editorial then continues to analyze different "myths that have been obliterated by the social-media-inspired public relations crisis." These myths include: the public won't care about it if it's old news, responding to bad news only spreads more bad news, and if mainstream news media tires of the story so too will the bloggers.

I agree with the author of this editorial that blogging and other social networking sites definitely result in an increase in the coverage of certain events. If the public shows obvious concern for something (which is easily done through blogs and twitter), then the media will want to focus on covering those topics, because their goalis to cover what the public will be most interested in. I am not sure however how much I agree with his opinion that the events covered as a result of it being an interest to public are not actually things the public needs to hear that much about. Sure the girl scout cookie recall is not all that important, after making sure people get rid of these cookies, not much else needs to be said about it, but when it comes to the Toyota recall, I think it deserved the amount of news coverage it got, considering the severity of the problem being recalled. I do agree with the author's proposed myths. The public tends to dwell on subjects and events that bring harm to them at the fault of someone else, so it is true they they will continue to focus on the issue after the media has finished with it, and it definitely does not makes things worse to make apublic apology, the people want to hear the makers acknowledged their mistakes, and apologize for them.