We all read, watch or hear news every day. It is not surprising that that news discusses issues that are important to many people. In other words, the news tends to talk about topics that matter to people, although not every topic is equally important to everyone, nor are all of the issues that do make the news of equal importance.
- What important issues have you read about or heard on the news recently?
- Why are they important?
- To whom are they important? To whom should they be important?
- Who? When? Where? What? How? (These are just some prompts to help you get ideas for your comments.)
- Does your initial idea suggest broader or narrower issues?
First, think of one issue you have seen or heard discussed in the news recently. In a new comment, tell us what the issue is, and why you think it is important. Should we also think it is important? Then publish your comment.
Repeat this to write two more comments on issues that you have seen talked about in the news recently.
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Reference
One issue that I saw in the news recently is the closure of public libraries. Actually, I saw it on the BBC News website yesterday, and it reminded me of the many happy hours I had spent in the public library of my local town.
ReplyDeleteThis is an issue for some people not only because they worry about the reduced access to books that it will lead to, but for other possibly bad effects on local communities, such as having less places for people to meet and chat, or simply to be together as members of a community.
I kind of think that, with the internet, books and libraries are of less importance than they have been for many centuries, but this news story made realise that there might be more issues here than I'd previously thought of.
Another issue that I see in the news all the time crime. A bit more narrowly, drug crimes. In fact, maybe gambling is a better example with the World Cup now underway. Several times over the past week or so, the local Thai papers, the Bangkok Post and the Nation, and I'm sure all the Thai language press, have had reports on gambling.
ReplyDeleteWhether we think gambling should be legal or illegal, it is clearly an issue for many people, or at least for interfering government officials who love to control everyone's personal and private lives. (Am I revealing my opinion too clearly?)
A third example of an issue in the news that occurs to me is obesity. In the news over the weekend, I saw that the EU is considering making this an illness. But I didn't read the article, just the headline, so I'm not sure of the details. I guess it means that they want to make obesity a medical condition that will attract the same treatment from the state as other illness - free health care, and other other assistance. I'm not sure that I agree with this. Certainly obesity can be a cause of health issues, and it certainly causes a range of other problems, but is that enough to make it an actual illness like the flu, cancer or an anxiety disorder? Perhaps I think the issue here is the medicalization of things that are really behavioural or social problems, not really medical problems.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm also worried about government assistance, such as free films, rice and oil price controls and so on.
One issue that I've just heard is about Thai Democracy. Thailand has recently changes in Political Power. Now, as you can obviously see from all television channels and local newspaper, Thailand is moving to the next step of drafting a new Constitutions and ,for now, we are governed by military.
ReplyDeleteThis news effect our daily living since the military control the press and limit the curfew time. They also ordered a new rules for the whole country. So, Thai people ,especially Bangkokian, need to adapted themself for those new rules.
The recently issue that I just heard is about the cancelling of the curfew. It is the very important issue for Thai because the military just declared to take over the government in order to stop the conflict in Thailand. And they set up the curfew that people should be followed. Then, the situation is better, so they cancel the curfew. The effect of the curfew to Thai people is very much, such as some people work at the curfew time, especially the tourism.
ReplyDeleteOne issue that I saw in the news recently is the World Cup 2014. I saw it on CNN channel two days ago. It is about the result of the football match between Spain and Holland. The Holland won the Spain in score of 5-1. I think this issue is important because football is a well-known sport in the world. It is not only important to the sport lover, but it is also affected to the business. As I saw the advertisement of one mobile phone company, it hires the famous football players to be presenters and launched this advertisement on the first day of football match.
ReplyDeleteOne issue that I saw in the new recently is the accident occurring between children and the teacher who was sick when driving a car, and there was four children died at this event. This is important to everybody to think security on driving a car. You should make sure that your health don't have any problem. Otherwise, there will make another life not safe anymore. I suggest that for everyone who drive a car, you should check your health and drive in safe.
ReplyDeleteOne issue that I heard recently is the gas collection bomb in Rayong. It is very important to people living around that areas and also to other people in our country because this bomb means to the loss of energy resources. The following concerns from the news are about how to clear that area and how it effect the pollution and health of people. Moreover this news leads us think about the safety control of IRPC as well.
ReplyDeleteImportant issue I've heard recently is about the campaign to promote Bangkok as a world book capital. Actually this news has issued several months ago but the campaign still remain in Bangkok. There are a lot of advertisement that promote this campaign such as at the entrance of the National Art Gallery or at the space in public transportation like bus.
ReplyDeleteThis news is very important because it seems to make books more reachable for people who is lack of opportunity to read books, especially children.
One issue that I saw is the news recently is free tickets of movies " Naresuan King". Actually, I saw that yesterday on every TV chanels in Thailand. The tickets are gived to thai people to see this movies free, they had to go to the department store to recieve the ticket yesterday. I saw that many people want to have free tickets. This is important for others who want to see another movies that they should go to the movies later, or for people who want to see free movies should go earlier to get free tickets.Lastly, some who want to go shopping at the same places should avoid going to movies floor.
ReplyDeleteOne issue that I saw in the news recently is the free tickets for King Naraesuan movies. I saw the news on the TV yesterday and it reminds me of how thai people value the free things in the market. The government implemented this action to encourage people to go watch the Thai history, but people take it seriously.
ReplyDeleteThis issue is important to all Thai people because we all should look at the purpose of the action, not only on getting the free tickets. People should realize on how this movie is great and why do we need to watch it. It is not we watch it because it is free.
One issue that I heard from radio podcast is Thai children's education is decreasing quality. There was a new rate of children can read and write. They said that the rate are lower than the past. This reflect the way of studying. Modern life is effected to education. Children always pay attention to technology
ReplyDeleteOne issue that I saw in the news recently is an increasing rate of teenage pregnancy. I read this news last week. From my point of view, There are a lot of effects on health, babies and especially forming family structure.
ReplyDeleteThis is an issue about unrealized teenagers having unsafe sex. Consequencely, it can cause several problems. For example, rate of low level education will increase because teenager cannot continue their university.
One issue that I heard from News is Jobs. I saws its on newspaper everyday, and it reminded me of time when I find the job after graduated from the university.
ReplyDeleteThis is an issue for some people who find the jobs. Because newspaper have various type of job.
One issue that i heard from the morning news is the gambling, The rate of gambling has been increasing due to the world cup football which started last week. Most of gamblers who lost the gambling came out and stole the motorcycle. They were in need of money to pay for the gambling. Every time the season of the world cup football comes, the gambling and the crime happens on street. It clearly shows that the standard of living in Thailand is still horrible. Thai people are in need of money to be survive in each day. So they run into the gambler like an insects to the fire.
ReplyDeleteOne of the issues I've seen recently is the increase of gambling in Thailand. As World Cup is under way, of course, the gambling rate among people is increasing.
ReplyDeleteFor the past week, I came across with the news which said that these days the casino owners are trying to take this World Cup opportunity to persuade more people to do gambling -- including children. This means gambling is only aimed at the adults anymore, but the children are among the target group as well. So the parents, during this time, should be more aware of their children who love watching football...
One issue that i saw in the news 2- times in the past couples of week is the campus rape. This is a very important issue because, according to the news from CNN, the campus rape rate is pretty high in the United states.
ReplyDeleteThe university zone should be the safe for the students but in fact, it not. Most of the victims are asian girls. Importantly, the rapist is the person that you might not think for example the classmate or close friend. Moreover, the police said that the victims usually did not report this crime because they were worried about the buzz and shied.
As a asian students, I'd like to share this news to all of my friends to concern about the crime that might happen in the campus.
One issue that I recently saw on the news is that the decreasing on supporting budget for the university in the US. The supporting money is very important for the universities because the universities can use it to improve and invest in research and technology so that can interest more students and increase the number of students entering the school. This decreasing on supporting the school money effect on the works and researches that they are working on.
ReplyDeleteOne issue that I have just seen in the new is the requirement from the soccer teams in the World cup. I think there are some strange requirement that I do not hope to see. For example, the Germany team asks for the land to construct their own exercise building and they will leave this complex for the needy people in Brazil when the world cup finish.
ReplyDeleteI think the act of the people can express their value system like the sincerity and optimism. On the other hand some countries may be varied and have several aspects for their purposes.
DeleteAnother issue that raise my interest about the world cup is the nationalism. In football game, you will see people came from different countries in the world just only to give the powerheart to their team. They overlook the fact that this act may be cause a lot of money. You will see the people keep trying to sing a song to their players even if they are going to be a looser.
DeleteAnother issue that I saw in newspaper is solving the problem of corruption in Thailand. After the riot situation in Thailand, the officers attempt to organize system of Thai government. They announce that Thailand have a lot of corruption and others problem that have to solve immediately.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue that I heard from the radio is Traffic jam that heard in everyday. It's important to people who used car for daily life. such as driving car for work, or hang out with their friend.
ReplyDeleteAnother big news is the drama between Mark Prin and Mint Chalida's mother. It is controversial in society that what happened between them and what drove Mark angry and splashed the rude words to Mint online. People are divided into two groups to support each. This news is important because it occupied the first page of every newspaper. Plus, both Mark and Mint have many young fans who might follow their footsteps. So people tend to support Mint's mother more than Mark due to his impolite manner regardless of the fact of what really happened.
ReplyDeleteAnother news I have heard recently is the protest of the football world cup 2014 in Brazil. The news reported that Brazilians do not agree to put lots amount of money to set this event because most people in the country are still scarce to standard of living and security. So they think the government should spend those large amount of money to help people in their country instead.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue that I saw in television yesterday is thai people can see the football match of worldcup 2014 in free TV. It make me surprised because in the past the people who want to enjoy football match should pay for see some matches but now they can see these in every match, and absolutely free.
ReplyDeleteOne issue that I read from the newspaper is Cambodia labors tend to go back their country because they fear that they will caught by the military during this period. This is also affect to Thai people that is the employer to them.
ReplyDeleteAnother news I saw recently is the Kentucky horse racing on the CNN channel as well. I saw it yesterday evening. Kentucky horse racing is one of famous sports in USA. I saw one competitor from California who was the champion in the last year commented on his performance.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue that I saw is the hard rain in many area in Thailand. Somewhere it caused damage house, and somewhere it cause an accident in the street. I think we must prepare ourselves to face with the raining season.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue that I see in the news is no more curfews in all regions of Thailand especially in Bangkok. People can start to have the daily life same as they have before. This news is important to all Thai people especially in the region that curfew applies. This was because curfew has much effect on how people can plan to do things in each day. It limited us to do some things in life.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue that I've recently heard is about the gossiping of Miss Thailand Universe. This quite a big topic in social media and was discussed for several weeks. many ones said that the lasted Miss Thailand universe was acting unappropriated by using rude words for her own social network. Moreover some said that she's too fat to be Miss Thailand Universe and it's a shame for her to representing Thailand in the world stage.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue I've seen lately, which is related to my first issue, is the Forced World Cup Matches by Military junta. RS recently was forced by the Military Junta to broadcast every World Cup match via free tv. This has given all thai people access to World Cup regardless of the TV system they use.
ReplyDeleteAnother important issue that I recently heard from the NPR news is the issue of mental health in university student.
ReplyDeleteIn a last couple of weeks, there are 2 university gun shooting in the university. Both of them are in the Washington state. The shooters are both a students who has a mental illness.
I think american lawyer or law legislator should pay more attention on the gun law in american. They should enact the new bill that prevent some kinds of people from having a gun.
One issue that is very important right now is Coup D'etat in Bangkok by the military. This Coup happens last months by the order of the general Prayuth Chanosha. Coup made some people annoyed while some people praised the army as the hero who bring back happiness and peace to their daily life.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue that I recently saw in the news is the increasing number of the unemployment rate. This is important to the student that are going to graduate this year. The more unemployment rate, the more fear students have. Because everybody need to live their life, they need jobs.
ReplyDeleteOne issue that I just have seen in the news paper is the rocket of the Stock exchange of Thailand. It is clear that yesterday (June 15, 2014) the stock Index increase more than 20 points, nonetheless the moment tum still exists in the half of this day (June 16, 2014). In particular, the SET rose 6 point in the morning
ReplyDeleteI saw the issue about rate of murder is increasing from television. In the present time, people are more concern about their living. Money is the important thing that people need for living. While there are not enough resources.
ReplyDeleteThe recent controversial issue in society was the interference of National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission into the world cup licensing. RS promotion, a private company bought the license to broadcast World Cup football. People are worried about the intervention of freedom of occupation and fair competition.
ReplyDeleteThe last issue that I saw in the news yesterday is rainning in the many areas of thailand today. It's very important to plan to go working, studying or shopping today.The people know that it's rain in Bangkok today morning, including me, I do not forget to bring an umbrella that make me happy and go to the school on time with no soaking.
ReplyDeleteEven though I am not a foot ball fans, I have to say that Football World Cup is now the hot issue for all channels' today. Waking up in every morning i will at least hear one of reporting score football and the journal comment and criticized of football situation. While hearing the World Cup football news, I wondering when Thai team can go play in the international competition.
ReplyDeleteThe Third issue of news that I saw in TV yesterday is football world cup in Brazil that important to football fan. They can watch a HD football matches from the TV and the news report about the result of all matches in this world cup 2014.
ReplyDeleteThe last issue that I saw in news recently is football world cup 2014. It has both advantage and disadvantage. For the advantage, it is time to relax and cheer for the favorite football team. However, somebody may do the bad thing that they don't only watch but also pay money for the team that they think it will be win in the match.
ReplyDeleteThe third news is cancellation of curfew in Bangkok areas. It is a good news for Bangkokian because we have get our own night life back again. Moreover it can be implied that the political severity in our country is become better which is good for our economic and society in others countries views.
ReplyDeleteThe another interesting topic is the illness of Luis surzes, the top score of English premier league. The news told that his knee will relief in next few day.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue that I heard from the news is the protest in Brazil. Some group of people disagreed to organize the World cup football in Brazil. The issue is important because almost every people in the world watch the Football Fifa World Cup, and eventhough it does not affect us directly but it affects the organizing committee directly. With the hard work in organizing world cup event, they also need to respond to this group of people as well.
ReplyDeleteThe third issue that I saw from the internet yesterday is the Bankokians went to the theater to see the free movie "King Naresuan". Some people destroyed the windows of the theater and others were not in queue. I was disappointed to hear this news because it represent how mental poor of Bankokians is.
ReplyDeleteThe third issue I heard form the Television yesterday is about General Prayuth Chanosha cancel the curfew for people in Thailand. According to the Coup D'etat, There was a curfew for people to go back to their residence before 11PM. This curfew is cancelled yesterday. This is a good news for people who love hanging out or has to work at night
ReplyDeleteThe world football competition is the one issue that Thai people pay attention. There are some problem to watch the competition in Thailand because RS company buy the right to play the football game in their own cable but Thai people want them to also show in the free television. However, Thai people can watch the game on the free channel.
ReplyDeleteThe last issue that I would like to share is "Make Thailand Smile" project proposed by Military junta. One part of the project is to give people free entry to the movie "Na-rae-suan". It turns out that from this project all the cinemas across the country was flooded by swarm of Thai people, showing the interest of Thai in their movie.
ReplyDeleteOne another issue that went viral on the social media this week is that the US government will release the leaders of terrorist in exchange with the american people.
ReplyDeleteOn the Facebook, this is very controversial among people. Some people think it's not a good idea to do that because they might ruin the US in the future. Moreover, the sister of one american navy who died in Afganistan think that her brother's life is for US.
Another issue that I heard from the television is decreasing rate of readers in Thailand. In my opinion, it is a big issue for Thai people and it reflect an education system in Thailand. Why does the problem occur? Most Thai students study at least primary schools and they can read Thai language.
ReplyDeleteOne important issue I heard about recently is that the increasing number of conflict in political views among Thai people leads to many unpeaceful situations in Thai society.
ReplyDeleteFor me, this issue is important to all Thai citizens because it means that Thai people don't listen to each other's opinion especially the opposing opinion. As Thai people claim themselves to be democrats, they should always keep in their minds that in democratic world everyone has his own right to do anything he wants, provided that his action doesn't disturb public order. In order to be a real democratic society, we need to correct our misunderstanding about the concept of democracy first. We had better start from the smallest point, listen to others' opinions no matter you agree or disagree with them.
If Thai people begin listening more to each other, I'm sure that severe situations will gradually disappear from the society as well.
One issue that I heard recently is that train staff in France has been holding a strike during the last week. They protest against the government plan to merge two train operating companies, because they are afraid to lose jobs. This event affects many French people,especially who commute within or between Paris and other provinces around the capital.
ReplyDeleteThis issue is apparently important to French people who are affected and people from other countries who are going to France. They can make or rearrage their travel plan. In addition, I think this event can be a case study for Thailand's infrastructure development plan . This problem wil most likely occur in the future when Thailand manages to construct a bigger rail system. It's better to prepare dealing with operator structure and human resources.
One issue that I have read about recently is nuclear program. The issue regarding nuclear program is that nuclear power cannot only be used as a source of clean power but also can become a powerful weapon. This issue has a long history and there were many negotiations and discussions in many countries that wanted to establish nuclear program. I became more aware about this issue when I read about US and Iran's negotiation on Iran's nuclear program today on CNN website.
ReplyDeleteAs a person who have studied environmental engineering, I think that nuclear power is a good solution on energy problem because the source of nuclear power is Uranium which we can find in several places of the world and it has more reserves than oil which indicate that it has good supply security. In addition, nuclear power plant is a low carbon power plant. Therefore, we can say that nuclear power is clean and environmental friendly which is extremely important in present day.
However, nuclear power plant also produce high-radioactive waste which if not contained can contaminate the surrounding environment and can be hazardous to human and other living things. Moreover, if the chain reaction in the fission reaction is not controlled or if someone lets the chain reaction happen on purpose, the nuclear power can easily be turned into an atomic bomb. From these explanation, you can see why the negotiation and discussion are needed.
I think this is the issue that everyone should pay attention to because it affects all of us regarding the safety and risk of having nuclear program. It concerns everyone whether our neighboring countries or our own country or any country in the world establish nuclear program or not because the technology can be used in peace and war which is like two sides of a coin.
Wow! very complicated !!!
DeleteYeah. But I think it is interesting^^
DeleteAnother issue that I heard recently is climate change. Climate change is the effect of global warming and one of the global environmental problems. I actually have experienced this issue when I was in Tokyo in March. In March, Tokyo's weather normally gets warmer but when I was there it was almost as cold as winter.
ReplyDeleteI think this issue also deserves everyone's attention because we cannot change the environment that we live in and it greatly affects us on the way of our living and ecological system. Everyone should be aware of the consequences of climate change and give cooperation with the government in reducing the cause of climate change.
The third issue that I have heard recently is the decline in jobs for new graduates. The job opportunities for new graduates is declining because the economics is not good and there are more graduates than the number of job itself.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a problem for new graduates but it also can be thought as society's problem because if there are less job, then there are less income for people in society and if there are less income, then the money flow in the society will become less and this also is the cause of bad economics. As you can see that, this issue is like a cycle of bad economics because it is the result of bad economics and it is also the cause of bad economics (at least in my opinion).
I wasn't going to write up any more interesting issues in the news, but I few minutes ago I came across "Big Brother at work may be no bad thing" on the BBC News.
ReplyDeleteThe issue of Big Brother type surveillance has been much in the news recently, and "Big Brother at work may be no bad thing" presents a different perspective on this, arguing that more of the Big Brother stuff might be desirable in work places. It's given me something to think about, any way.
If you would like to add a link to your comments, see my notes at "Comments - italics, bold, links, ¶."
DeleteThe second issue I heard in the news recently, but maybe a little earlier that the French strike, is that a rape and murder of two teenager girls in India emphasizes how caste system and sexual inequality affect Indian people, especially women. If I remember it right, the two girls went missing, then their parents reported to the police but were rejected because they belonged to the lowest caste. Even after finding the bodies at which the traces of rape were found hang up to the trees, the local police didn't take this case seriously. People in the village had to protest on the street, then the police started the investigation. One day after that, the police claimed that they found one out of five possible suspects. It's as far as I know.
ReplyDeleteTo my knowledge, this kind of issues have been repeating in India times and times again. It's sad and irritating for me to know that Indian women are abused and have little chance to live in peace. This issue is important to Indian people, both women and men, to reconsider how they think about the abuse. It's also important to the world that other countries should lend a hands in the name of humanity.
One important issue that I have heard on the National Geographic Channel recently is about global warming. The reason why it is important is because it has a significant impact on our planet. For example, rising temperature will cause melting of the polar ice caps. Subsequently, sea levels will rise. Moreover, we will face with more extreme weather conditions. Flooding and droughts may become more common.
ReplyDeleteThis is an issue not just only for some groups of people but for everyone in the world. As we have already known that rising in global temperature mostly is due to human activity or industrial factory. Everyone should find the appropriate solutions to global warming problem
I have heard about an issue about deforestation in the nothern part of Thailand. This issue is very important because forest is a major food resource for every living. So, everyone should cooperate to conserve the forests. I think some people smuggle to cut down trees because they see just the temporary advantanges but they do not know that the forests are essential to human being and other lives. Significantly, we should share the knowledge about the value of forests and the importance to all lives in the world by creating some campaign such as advertising on TV or Internet.
ReplyDeleteAs for my third issue in news, let's talk about one that related to our home country and a neighbor. Over 100,000 Cambodian workers are fleeing Thailand, according to CNN International. It's because they are fear of a crackdown on undocumented workers by Thai military. They are also afraid that the crackdown will use forces and killings. However, the Thai officials says there is no crackdown or any use of violence as such.
ReplyDeleteIt's important to Thai people as it concerns our society, economy, and foreign relation with Cambodia. The issue of undocumented foreign workers has risen (again) and should be given more attention and attenuate the problems about abuse of Human Rights. Undocumented workers are willing to do low-paying jobs and suffer exploitation and discrimination. In addition, because these undocumented workforce keep coming to Thailand so much that Thai authorities are too calm that this situation continues forever, which is least likely to be true. There a research that a country can depend on low-paying jobs with less skilled workforce only at the beginning of its economic development phase. Then the country has to be industrialized--improve their production to be sold with higher price by using innovation, which requires more skilled workforce who're entitled to higher salary. Thailand's situation is serious. It has boosted itself with industrialization about forty years ago, but it's still unable to become a innovation-oriented country. Most of its workforce are in agricultural sector (but earning less money that other sector that use less workforce such as tourism) which depends heavily on low-paying jobs. The country's income is in the middle, not too low and not too high, which can be described that Thailand is stuck in "middle income trap".
Another issue is about green tea beverage in Thailand. Many researches claim that drinking green tea can benefit to health; however, it seem to be incorrect for green tea beverage in Thailand. The reason why I raise this issue is because green tea beverage in Thailand contains a lot of sugar. If we drink it too much, it could bring about the negative effect rather than the positive effect to health.
ReplyDeleteThe issue that I read recently is that there is the Green Light Rail opening ceremony in Minneapolis, USA. The light rail will connect people from Minneapolis and St.paul which give people more choice to get around between these busy cities.
ReplyDeleteFor me I think this is good news for people in town because they don't have to get stuck in traffic when snow storms or heavy raining take places. Therefore,the government should make this service accessible to everyone not just for ones who can afford the fares. To illustrate, the underground and BTS system in Thailand are giving people more choices to go around BKK easily. However, the services are not accessible for everyone as lots of people can't afford to pay the ride. I think providing public service to everyone is one of the challenge government has to encounter with.
The issue that I recently read from Discovery magazine in AUA library is that how the plant escapes from their enemy? This article is talking about the chemical substance from snail which induces the synthesis of toxic in plants that are their food. In my opinion, this research has a lot of benefit to our scientific and agricultural studies because we can use this knowledge as a model to study the arm race evolution not only in animal but also in plant.
ReplyDeleteOne important issue on the recent news that interests me the most is the abduction of almost 300 girls from their boarding school in Nigeria by Boko Haram. This is important because it shows how serious the problem of insurgency in Nigeria is. They have been kidnapped for over a month and the government is not even close to negotiation with the kidnapper. Of course, this issue is important to the families of the abducted girls and the people of Nigeria. However, it is actually important to all of us.
ReplyDeleteI think my initial idea suggests broader issues, for example, the insurgency in Nigeria, Boko Haram, islamic insurgency all over the world, etc.
#BringBackOurGirls
Delete#BringBackOurฺBoy
Another issue that interested me is about the closing of upper gulf of Thailand for mackerel conservation. The government announces that they will close the upper gulf of Thailand for 3 month because the effect of global warming, climate change and others factor such as oil spill lead to the extinction of mackerel which will affect to fishery of Thailand and economic.This topic is also important to fisherman, government and ourself because we, as a people who eat fish all day, will get a directly effect from the extinction of mackerel.
ReplyDeleteThe issue I heard on TV the other day is about poor non-formal and Informal Education for secondary education in Thailand as shown that less than 10% of non-formal and informal education students can pass standardized test. This issue urgently needs to be researched on what has gone wrong about the education system since this kind of education is flexible and enable lots of people who can not attend the school to have an opportunity to be educated.
ReplyDeleteI think the government can not only consider improving quality of Thai education in normal school, but has to stress more attention on this optional education system as well.
Another issue that interests me is the returning of Cambodian migrant workers to their home country. This is caused by the rumor that they will be all deported after the political changes in Thailand. This issue is important because it affects a number of people, both Cambodian migrant workers and the Thai people. My only hope is that most Thai people would have a little more knowledge on how much Thailand relies on these migrant workers. All conditions for them in this country are very permanent, but the Thai government has no intention in giving them any security or in telling its people that they plan to have them in the country for a very long time.
ReplyDeleteI think my initial idea again suggests broader issues, for example, migrant workers in Thailand, their rights, conditions, and security.
One issue I am interested at this time is the 2014 FIFA world cup. Football is a very popular sport which played in many place around the world and so many people love to watch football. There are so many cups played in many countries but this is the cup played by every nations. If your country are playing in these 64 matches broadcasted, you will feel a lot excited and hope your country to win. In 2014, the hose is Brazil who are the 5th times winner of world cup and is expected to win this year. I also cheer for Brazil because Thailand do not participate in any world cup before.
ReplyDeleteThe issue in news that amazed me recently was the event that a principle had bumped his car to students in a school. This accident cause 5 students to death and a number of injury. Later, it found out that the principle had got a epilepsy while he was driving. Thus, he could not control the direction of the car. Finally, he was guilty for careless driving and causing death to other people.
ReplyDeleteThis event has shocked me as the video recorded after the crash shown. There was blood everywhere. Other students, also teachers, were all in panic. The hospitality came a bit late. Besides, the first aid was not applied properly. For me, this is very important. Schools should be a place for safety. But careless accident still caused a huge loss. Moreover, even there were plenty of people in the event, the help took time to reach. Then, this one of the most important issues that we need to reconsider the "safety in school"
I have heard about hundreds of fish dead in the temple in Pranburi. This event obviously caused troubles for monks, nun and people who went to make merit at the temple. Nun needed to bring these fish out of temple's pool. Stink of these fish spreaded around temple area.
ReplyDeleteNuns said that some people threw a lot of moldy bread into the water in order to feed these fish but it caused waste water that killed these fish.
This news is important because Thai people normally feed fish in temple's pool with mercy. In this case, lack of awareness can clause a serious problem. So when we do anything we should think of advantages and disadvantages.
Another issue I read recently is about the Food security in National Geographic magazine. It's so important to look forward in the next 40 years(at least) when so many factors will do limit the supply of agricultural products which will be served as people's meal. The climate change causes the shortage of resources require to do agriculture. This is the supply-side factor. The dramatic increase of world population also contributes to the world demand of food; this is the demand-side factor. So, demand is rising but supply is shorter. In the future, we will have a problem in food security.
ReplyDeleteAnother news that interested me is deforestation in the northeastern region. I watch TV and see news about people cut down valuable trees illegally at least once a month. The problem still not be solved.
ReplyDeleteThis event have an effect on both of wildlife and human. We are already know that deforestation means the destruction of wildlife's habitation and sources of food. It also cause many negative affects to human especially poor people in rural area that need to rely on environment around them. Drought, flood and other natural disaster that are the result from deforestation can cause loss of properties and lifes.
I think some influential persons still concern about their own money more than the survival of other people. Unfortunately, the authorities in Thailand are not powerful enough to reduce the outlaws' strength.
I've just finished my preparation for tomorrow, and checking your homework sent so far, and have realised that another modern issue is the lack of sleep, or the difficulty in getting enough sleep.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I would be better off if I got at least one more hour every night, and the reports I've read in the news and journals over the last year or more all stress that it's important to get enough sleep.
When I came home this afternoon, I had a late lunch, and then crashed for an hour or so.
Now I can relex. I should probably go straight to bed .... but a bit of mindless relaxation is calling. A DVD, or some old stuff from YouTube? Maybe a classic SHerlock Holmes starring Basil Rathbone, or the equally excellent and not quite so classic Jeremy Brett versions of Conan Doyle's famous detective.
I'll check any later homework when I wake refreshed for tomorrow after not quite enough sleep, again.
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ReplyDeleteAnother issue that grasped my interest this afternoon is the "lottery". For Thailand, the lottery announced by the first and the sixteenth of every month. And today is June, 16. Thus, when I walked home, I heard people were having a serious conversation about the lottery. Mostly, the topics were about how close of his/her number and the prizing number was and how much they lost for this gambling.
ReplyDeleteThis was not the first time I received those kinds of message. But, today, it had come an argument in my mind that why people still buy lottery. According to statistics, if you ask people who are lottery's fans about their balance sheet investing in lottery, it usually occurs a loss. Then, looking at the probability, there is a very small chance to win the prize. And the expected value of keeping money in your hand is higher than using that money to buy a lottery.
Therefore, if they save that money every month and invest the money in the form of deposit or bond, the average benefit is much more. May this considered those people are not rational? I do not think so. But there need a deep study how to convince them to change their mind. This is very important because people's saving in the system can generate investment. A gathering of many small parts could bring a significant improvement in country development much more than we expect.
Have you won the lottery today?
One issue that I have heard about recently is related to the tax reform in Thailand. This issue involves directly to the military coup d' etat in Thailand that took place last month. The junta who governs the nation now is able to move country's fiscal policy forward. As a result, many tax policies are now reconsidered to enhance country's competitiveness as well as improving income equality of people. There are many tax issues raised such as personal income tax and VAT. However, tax reform is a big deal for the nation since it would affect everyone in country. The policies, therefore, require both public and private sectors to work this issue out and to find the solutions that would be a benefit for all.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue that I see in news is about the discovery of many planets that show the possibility of supporting life. It's been century that human starts to explore the space and the search for the life supported planet still goes on. There are actually many arguments related to this issue in term of a real purpose of searching for new planet that could hold life. One side believes that this is solely for science and to develop our knowledge about space to the next level. However, some people see that this is just an excuse of human for the resource exploitation which begins to show us a side effect in a form of global warming.
DeleteLast but not least, I also see the news about the U.S and its slow economic recovery. The U.S. economy seems to be constant and slow down due to harsh winter weather and the high long-term unemployment. These factors have caused the U.S. to possibly impose the policies such as guarantee wage and earned income tax credit as suggested by the IMF.
DeleteOne issue that I've heard about is Electrical car. It is important to everyone because this thing is one of the solutions to solve the global warming problem. The global warming is one of the major concern which is regarded the same level as famine and energy crisis.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue is about a new treatment to cancer which is call quadrapeutics. This method compose of using lasers, X-ray, Gold nanoparticles and conventional cancer drugs. This news is important to researchers more than patients due to this method is not on the clinical trial yet but it's really promising.
ReplyDeleteOne of the recent issues that I find interesting was about a large number of Cambodians leaving Thailand. This is a very important issue since it affects Thailand's economy. A lot of Cambodians who decided to leave Thailand used to work in the construction sector and this reduction in labor force will cause problems to other related sector. Moreover, the declining number of Cambodians also leads to less household spending. Both examples that I just mentioned will lead to the contraction of Thailand's economy. If this happens, it will affect everyone. This is why we need to raise more concern about this issue.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue thai I find interesting was the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. The plane lost contact with air traffic control in less than an hour after takeoff. It was later reported missing by the Malaysia Airlines. The worst part is that it is still missing up until now. Families of those onboard the missing jet had turned to the gods because they have nothing else to rely on. I find this rather sad because this means that they are starting to lose faith in officials. My only advice for the officials would be for them to work harder and do their best in searching for the plane. If they succeed, it might restore the confidence of the people towards officials.
ReplyDeleteOn the news recently, an important issue that I have read is Cambodian labor in Thailand. Since now the military of Thailand clarify Thailand's policy regarding alien labor, illegal Cambodian labors in Thailand flee to their homes. From this issue, we can see that Thailand is changing better, yet illegal foreign labor is still a problem in Thailand which lead to humanitarian crisis and other obstacles of country. Labor is an important root to develop the country. Then, Thai people should concern about the illegal foreign and collaborate with the State to reduce illegal foreign labor.
ReplyDeleteAn another important issue which I have read is the perils facing the world's ocean. Heads of government and state from 80 countries gathered with experts and researchers from the fishing, plastics and farming industries for conference at the State department. In this conference, it is stated that there were already 500 "dead zones" around the world where marine life can no longer be sustained and it is also discussed that we are not going to meet the challenge unless the community of nations come together around a single comprehensive, global ocean strategy. I think that Oceans is very important to humans and animals because it is food source, home of sea animals, and so on. Especially, Oceans influence to people who live nearby. For countries, they support economy and travelling. Therefore, everyone should concern about this issue and preserve the oceans.
ReplyDelete