IR Blog Post3-Barack Obama makes the sale

Link: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46527.html

3 Facts:

1. Most representatives at the House are Democrats.

2. The past two weeks have been an exercise in salesmanship and compromise at the White House.

3. There's at least the possibility that Obama will achieve two other victories with the cooperation of the GOP.

2 Questions:

1. I wonder how large the stress could be for Obama.

2. Does Obama have a specific plan with what he's doing or is he listening to what the people want him to do?

1 Opinion:

I had trouble reading this article because I'm not good with politics.. But I think I can only imagine how great the stress would be for Obama right now.

link:http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13350

Vocab:

capitulation: the document containing the terms of a surrender.

befall: to happen or occur

IR Blog Post3-The Hacker and the Hack

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/books/review/Kamp-t.html

3 Facts:

1. Larsson was a Swedish journalist who edited a magazine called expo.

2. "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" is the 3rd installment of the trilogy.

3. Larsson was a cerebral, high minded activist and self proclaimed feminist.

2 Questions:

1. What does most people think about the book? Is it popular?

2. Who inspired the author to write this novel?

1 Opinion:

I think this book is really artsy and very long... I wouldn't really enjoy reading this.

The movie would be ok! :)

link: www.imdb.com/title/tt1343097/

IR Blog Post3-Carine Roitfeld Resigns From French Vogue

Link: http://runway.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/carine-roitfeld-resigns-from-french-vogue/?ref=fashion

3facts

1.Carine Roitfeld said she will resign from the editor in chief of French Vogue at the end of January.

2. She worked for about 10 years as the editor.

3. She doesn't have specific future plans.

2 Questions

1. Why is she leaving all of a sudden? Wouldn't she miss her job?

2. Although she's not sure of her plans, what are some of the possibilities?

1 Opinion

I think it's good that she's giving other people to be at the position she has been and I think it's great that she's trying to achieve more diverse things.

This reminds me of the movie the Devil wears Prada.

Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458352/

IR Blog Post 2-White House hosts Hanukkah party

White House hosts Hanukkah party

Link: http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/1210/festival_of_lights_6a0eaac5-9d95-4019-8531-a9c9ea108061.html

3 Facts:

1) Joe Biden, the First lady, and the President held a party on Thursday evening, celebrating the holiday.

2) Obama offered condolences to those who have died in a forest fire in northern Israel.

3) The party featured a menorah from Congregation Beth Israel in New Orleans.

2 Questions:

1) Was this truly all party? Or was there some other important conversation going on as well?

2) Why did Obama celebrate Hanukkah?

1 Opinion:

Well, I think it was nice that Obama was celebrating the holidays. Hopefully he finds a way to all the problems that he is going through. Also, I like the fact that Obama is humble to consolidate many people who went through very hard times.

link: http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/2636598/posts

Vocab:

1) menorah: the candle

IR Blog Post 2-The Sound of Two Hands Texting

The Sound of Two Hands Texting

link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/fashion/05Social.html?ref=fashion

Three Facts:

1) Some guy was annoyed in the bus because the woman next to him was texting and he asked to stop texting in a polite way.

2) The responser to this situation thought that it was wrong for him to say something like that because texting is way more less annoying than talking.

3) A strained relationship between people are hard to restore if both of them doesn't try.

2 Questions:

1) Why would the guy in the bus think the texting sound was annoying? It's such a common thing.

2) What would have the woman thought of the man when he asked her to stop texting?

1 Opinion:

I totally agree with the responser to the guy's question. He seemed a little odd. I mean, is texting really that annoying, especially when you're in a bus crowded with people? Hmm..

link: www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20101030/OPINION/.../UPDATE

Vocab:

1) onslaught: a fierce attack

2) bonhomie: cheerful friendliness

IR Blog Post 2-The Confession

The Confession-

Morality Tales as Horror and Suspense

link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/books/08book.html

Three Facts:

1) Mr. Grisham usually writes his novels in full length novels.

2) The Conviction is a book about a wrongly convicted man on death row in Texas.

3) This novel is slightly different from all his other novels because it doesn't contain much suspense and it teaches interesting moments over nail biting moments.

2 Questions:

1) Why did Mr. Grisham decide to try a different style of his usual novels?

2) Was this novel successful among the readers?

Opinion:

I personally like suspense, mystery style of books so I think I will enjoy reading about this.

Here's a link that I thought was also interesting that supports my opinion.

link: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/nov/11/entertainment/la-et-book-20101111

Vocab:

1) verve: vigor and spirit of enthusiasm

2) unencumbered: not loaded to excess or impeded by a heavy load