TopFinds: From the Idiocy of Drilling Offshore to a Solar-Powered Tie

Buy an ad on DigitalJournal.com

Why offshore drilling won't benefit Americans. Professors arguing to lower the drinking age to 18. Plus, inside the art collections of Michael Jordan and Madonna. These are the top stories from around the world.

Tech & Internet

If you use Gmail, you might have been frustrated recently. As reported by Kesavan Unnikrishnan, Gmail suffered its second outage within the week, lasting a couple hours. Come on, Google, you make more money than some small countries. This isn't the type of publicity you want.

A nice smattering of tech and Net stories made headlines this week: video games can actually help surgeons do their job, Chris V. found; a solar-powered necktie could be coming to a pinstripe suit near you, Vinay Chand wrote; a Brazilian man infected 10,000 computers with malicious software, Sue D. reported, and he was caught and could face up to five years in the slammer; Toshiba is dusting itself off after losing the next-gen DVD war by releasing a player that supposedly improves the resolution of DVDs on high-definition TVs, Chris V. said; and an Xbox 360 showcase previewed games such as Gears of War 2 and Rock Band 2. As impressive as these games are, hopefully the gaming market won't rely on sequels to draw fans, a la Hollywood.

In the latest Digital Journal TV episode, editor Chris Hogg tested the BlackBerry Bold, hot off the assembly line. Check out the video to see if the Bold can stand up against Apple's iPhone 3G:

Politics

Illustration by Erlanger Barack Obama & John McCain image:42733:6::0

One of the bigger revelations of the week were admissions of moral failure from the two presidential candidates. In the Saddleback Church forum, Kesavan Unnikrishnan wrote, Barack Obama admitted he used drugs and booze as a teen (he did inhale) and John McCain lamented the failure of his first marriage. skeptikool doesn't think honesty is a good idea:

In a vengeful America self-deprecatory statements will bite you in the arse.

Several other political stories won our attention: with the Democratic National Convention looming, Denver security is already fearing the worst and created cages for unruly protesters, Samantha A. Torrence wrote; Obama is taking a hit at recent polls, Sue D. found (an anti-Obama piece from Sue, no shocker there); McCain said he doesn't know how many houses he owns, prompting the Obama camp to retaliate with an attack ad, Chris V. posted; the U.S. and Iraq are working towards a final security agreement, Maggie M. Thornton reported; Jewish comedian Jackie Mason is backing conservative talk show host Jennifer Horn running for Congress, Dave G. wrote; according to MSNBC, Joe Biden is the frontrunner for Obama's VP choice, Sue D. discovered; and Paul Wallis wondered if Musharraf's resignation as Pakistani president is a positive or negative step towards winning the war on terror. Wallis warned:

If the Taliban style Islamists were to take over Pakistan, the whole region could become a nuclear war zone, if any of their rhetoric ever came true.

Lifestyle

by feastoffools A variety of vodka bottles image:42778:2::0

On to more lighter news...sort of. American college professors want to lower the drinking age to 18, Samantha A. Torrence reported. Why? Under-age kids are being pressured to use fake IDs and break the law, which "causes a disrespect for the law altogether." If you got an opinion on whether 18 year olds should legally swig back whiskey, post a comment in Sam's article.

Several other interesting lifestyle stories are worth your time: two German cops were mistaken for male strippers, MDee wrote; Barack Obama's half-brother was found in Kenya, living on less than a dollar a month, Sue D. penned; adolescents are once again turning to glue-sniffing to get their cheap high, Varun B. Krishnan wrote in his debut article; and a TV ad campaign promoting gay marriage in California ignored the imminent debate over a proposition aimed at banning queer unions, KJ said. Perhaps the ad was wishful thinking?

TopFinds Awards

by dans le grand bleu An offshore oil rig off the Boa Barge, near Norway image:42005:7::0

Part essay and part treatise, G. Robert M. Miller's thorough probe into the myths of offshore drilling's benefits is the surefire winner of the TopOpinion Award. He framed the issue clearly and then discussed what he views as a nonsensical idea, something that should be ignored because "the solution to this problem isn’t more oil, but rather, new energy sources." It was a fine opinion piece because Miller explained the many sources of oil available already (Canada, Iraq) and he proved once again how adept his pen (er, keyboard) can be when analyzing important issues of the day.

Andrew Boggs doesn't mess around. When he writes articles for DigitalJournal.com, he goes long form and offers us incredible details on his subject. Winning the TopTechnology Award, Boggs wrote about the switch to digital transmissions in the U.S. and how to prepare for HDTV ubiquity. He not only provided a mountain of HDTV history but also described the devices an American would need to make the easy transition. This article acted as a solid journalistic example of blending advice with timely news. We can't wait to see your next mega-post, Andrew.

Can Google Maps get hacked? That's the issue the Big G is currently investigating in light of some supposedly Photoshopped images in its Maps app, Sue D. reported in a TopInternet Award-winning article. An image of cloned trees in the Netherlands prompted a Google rep to claim the image is an "anomaly". This news is of particular importance to anyone concerned about privacy protection and Google Maps accuracy. And as Sue wondered at the end of the piece:

If the third parties supplying Google with imagery are photoshopping trees and Google is putting those images on their site, what else is being photoshopped?

Online protests surrounding Canada's revamped copyright bill is gaining more momentum this summer, Bob Ewing found. In his TopPolitics Award-winning piece, he detailed how a "video contest on YouTube invited Canadians to give their thoughts on Bill C-61 in 61 seconds." Bob added some poignant quotes from critic Michael Geist and provided context to adequately describe the controversy surrounding this upcoming legislation.

A tragic story struck Spain this week, and KJ was quick to alert DigitalJournal.com readers to the deadly plane accident. The downed plane in Madrid killed 150 people and injured several other passengers, but KJ didn't stop at just reporting the main news. She earned her TopBreakingNews Award by following up her initial post with an explanation of how the problematic plane was known to have mechanical issues. Kudos to KJ for giving us all the facts on a story bound to be in our attention for awhile.

What leader "confused the hell out of the West"? If you consistently read posts by Michael Squires, you'll know he's talking about Vladimir Putin. His article on Putin's political maneuvering -- which wins the TopWorld Award -- dissected Putin's motivation to invade Georgia and how his decision is another move on the political chess board. He pointed out the many strong-arm tactics Putin has made recently, offering his own opinion on whether Putin will be successful in cultivating fear and uncertainty around the world.

Another quiz: What do Madonna, Jack Nicholson and Michael Jordan have in common? Besides being so wealthy they use $20 bills as toilet paper, these celebs are all art collectors, a fact made known to us thanks to an eye-opening article by Nicholas Forrest. He guided us through the various celebrities and what fine art they collect, from Victoria Beckham enjoying a fair share of Damien Hirst to Gianni Versace amassing some Andy Warhol. If this isn't one of the most exhaustive lists of celeb art collectors, we don't know what is. Congrats on the TopArts Award, Nicholas.

Another memorable article was headlined Swedish Medal Winner Kicked Out Of Games For Temper Tantrum During Medal Ceremony. This not only wins the TopSports Award, but it was in contention for TopVideo. Nikki W. complemented her post on Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian's rage-filled medal toss with a great video showing the tantrum. Nikki offered some nice context to Ara getting booted from the Olympics, telling us about the other athletes "uninvited" by the IOC. And who said the Olympics didn't have any podium drama?

by Digital Journal Topfinds award winners for the week ending Aug. 22, 2008. image:42779:1::0