Five Little Headlines #1 · 5:38am Nov 2nd, 2013
I make it a point to visit BBC and ABC's news portals at least every other day. I read quite a volume of material, but my retention rate is pretty poor. This is a new initiative I'm taking up - every time I collect five headlines I thought were particularly interesting, I'll do a blog about them, and so expand my horizons just a little bit more! Present Perfect has made a small industry out of sharing the stuff he reads; while I won't be half as consistent as he is (the timestamps for this round will illustrate that), it's my hope that you, too, may find these interesting. Think of it as the olive dip-and-cracker to the standard afternoon meal of your poniponiponi.
Heinz was recently (if you can still call it that) bought over by the duo of Warren Buffett and investment company 3G Capital, that also owns Burger King. This is probably the reason why McD decided to give the McKick to its long-running business partner of pretty much forever. Cue forever never lasts ever joke?
Nope.
What the headlines don't really mention is why 3G went and made the buyover in the first place, because who cares? Heinz is really one of those companies you take for granted as a massive, plodding, generally quiet company in a market of big, mouthy stars like McD itself, Coca-Cola, and the slew of Aussie mining companies who are getting their bubbles popped one by one now that China's heat is fading. This article on Heinz as a tagret for investment, which took me all of 1 minute to find and 3 minutes to read, suggests that it's because Heinz is precisely that - massive and plodding, in that it's one of the least volatile targets around and has consistently solid yields. So really, it's just like the Don said. Just a bit of - ha ha - food for thought.
On a side note, I tried to look up stock data for Heinz to see the immediate effects of the announcement, to no avail. The long term stocks for last fiscal year looked really good, though.
Burger King Boasts of Burgeoning Killings
I swear, not all of the titles are going to be as horrible as that.
There's not too much to say about this one. Basically, while McD warns of flat profits, BK has made a tentative swipe at the crown. At 16% growth for the past 12 months, that's not unsubstantiated. For reference, my Aussie bank, ANZ, gives a rate of 4% interest for a 12-month fixed deposit. People like Robert Kiyosaki, the Rich Dad Turned Bankrupt Dad, have been touting this kind of investment strategy for as long as it has been cool to get rich quick. Whether or not they're trustworthy is as big a gamble as their proposals... But hey, multinationals are pretty strong bulwarks to hide a bit of money in. At least until Asia ceases to become a source of growth. Then it's all eyes to Africa. This is Casca, and you heard it first on FLH.
Eucalyptus Trees Elicit Eureka (And Something About Gold)
As you can see, the reporters are way ahead of ya. Not too much in this one either, just the revelation that the iconic Australian trees have been found to absorb gold from underground deposits. This brings the dual revelation that gum trees have some seriously deep roots, and the term "gold leaf" may be less of a misnomer than previously thought.
Pakistani Taliban "Open" to "Talks"
First off, I'm not American - I'm Malaysian, where Muslims are a less-than-two-thirds majority. Secondly, I'm Christian. This gives you a bit of idea about what angle I'm approaching this from. Thirdly, for those of you who normally skip the video with these kinds of dual-media articles, it's worth watching. As a final aside, it's quite easy to glaze over the issue of Islamic terrorism without actually seeing it, and I recommend giving this a read to better understand it just a bit more.
A key line I wish to highlight is this:
However, when asked about the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan at the end of next year, he said: "America is one of the two reasons we have to conduct a jihad against Pakistan. The other reason is that Pakistan's system is un-Islamic, and we want it replaced with an Islamic system.
"This demand and this desire will continue even after the American withdrawal."
In the eyes of this completely unqualified author, Sharia law is decidedly harsh at best and downright brutal at worst, depending on the extent of said law going beyond the boundaries of crime and punishment and into lifestyle. Back home, pork is forbidden for Muslims, and so is alcohol - on paper, at least. Stoning, dismemberment and public lashings are the most controversial of punishments. I'm staying clear of the issue of women treatment, because I do know that modern Islam has adapted to raise their status above that of the desert-wandering days.
Does the Taliban practice modern Islam? The Malala incident says otherwise.
The Internet Is Now Good For Learning
As hard as it is to believe, the Internet may actually improve education, despite the vast quantity of cat videos, Facebook items, and Zombo.com.
Researchers suggest that monitoring a student's activities on learning portals can help to tailor courses to fit their needs. This is, in a word, awesome. I mean, who wouldn't want that? A structure that learns how you learn so that you can not only learn but also learn about you learning?
The biggest downfall is that this assumes an ideal situation where students aren't browsing Youtube or playing LoL during lecture times. Then again, the people who hit up Moocs are the ones who want to, or so it seems, rather than the ones who do it because of parents and obligations. Motivation, as it has always been, is a key factor, and while this is a great step forward for learning, encouraging students to tap into motivation is, imho, the higher option.
And that's it for the first ever Five Little Headlines! Stay tuned, and stay awesome.
Also leave comments about how this is spam and you hate it so I never do this again ;_;
I liked this! Though I don't have anything intelligent to say about these topics... which, actually, makes them more interesting to read about. Keep this up!
I mean... if you want to, that is
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Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Thank you! I would like to keep it going, because I myself find the idea pretty novel, and this was surprisingly fun to write. I do plan on doing one every time my list hits five, and try to stick to it since I need to beat discipline into my writing.
The video on the Taliban leader was much easier to comprehend and digest than its accompanying article.
I'd never heard of MOOCs before. Fascinating. These will be useful to me.