Aid or undue influence? Cuba sends Venezuela experts to train military, work on security

This article is about the growing alliance between Venezuela and Cuba. Not only is Cuba using educators and doctors from Venezuela, but now Cuba is sending Venezuelan troops to train their own troops. This article talks about what the alliance might do for the region and the possible worries it could cause the United States. Also the article discusses the state of the two countries individually, and how Venezuela might just be acting friendly so that they have power over Cuba.
I think this article is important because something like this usually might just go under the radar, but it might actually end up becoming a major conflict if nobody intervenes. I say that it might go under the radar because all the stuff going on in the middle east. But really they are just the problem of our era, its not like Cuba can't be just as dangerous and area one day. So we need to continue to keep an eye all around the globe so that Americans stay safe and so the whole world can at least be a little safer.

Israel Defends Self at U.N. Security Council Amidst Controversy Over Flotilla Raid

This is about the Israeli raid of the Flotilla of ships heading towards the Gaza strip with aid. Although this is a problem within itself, this article is about the relations between Turkey and Israel. The Turkish prime minister said the Israel lost all legitimacy after this event. But as made clear a many number of times, if Israel feels threatened, they are going to use force they feel necessary to keep their people safe. They said they are sorry for any innocent lives lost but they cannot compromise their own security. The ships were put together by a group that was supporters of terrorist groups like Hamas and Al Qaeda, and they refused Israeli requests to stop and allow them to check their load.
I think this is very important, probably one of the most important articles I have read out of my current events. Obviously Israel needs as many allies as it can get, but they also need to protect their much hated country to the best of their ability. So what do they have to do? Now they have lost an ally and are under a ton of speculation. Is it gonna take another war to prove to the people around this world that people hate Israel and seriously want it WIPED OFF THE FACE OF THE MAP? I think its pretty sad but I actually think that is what actually has to happen. Countries all around Europe are starting to view Israel as this big bully, but all they are doing is protecting themselves. This is an extremely tough position for Israel and Honestly I have no idea what they should do. Just another thing to add to this never ending problem.

Afghans to roll out peace strategy at national conference in Kabul

This article is about an upcoming conference in Pakistan. They will be discussing ways to make peace and how to take the wind out of the taliban's sails. One problem is that the Taliban refuse to send anyone to the conference, saying that it is just a "phony reconciliation process", and that they wont make any agreements until foreign troops are out of Pakistan. Also the current president Hamid Karzai who is putting this conference together is being questioned by some of the women of the country. Some of them think that he is just trying to get more funding for the southern pashtuns, which are a big part of the Taliban.
I think this article is very important because it shows to complexity of the situation but it also I think is a good thing that they are at least trying to talk some of these problems out. The big problem is that the group that they are trying to get rid of, wont talk and says that they will if basically American troops leave. If they actually are able to convince us to do that, I think it would be devastating to Pakistan because then they will finally have the breathing room to really start taking over the country. Either way it is just a huge problem and certain decisions with this problem are certainly life or death decisions for many Pakistanis

Apartheid in South Africa Response

After the Apartheid ended in 1994 in South Africa, Nelson Mandela became president. He did many crucial things in keeping South Africa as peaceful as possible, and one of those things was what he did with South African Rugby. One of the most important things he thought was to prove to the white people that he was not going to be what they feared he would be. One critical decision he made was when he called for a re-vote to not change the names of the spring-boks, the rugby team. He explained how this was extremely important to the white men and if they took it away, then they could never live in peace. He also stressed to those that wanted revenge that they need to forget the past, and work towards a peaceful future, for their children and their country. Even though he spent most of his life locked up in a prison, he knew that they right thing, the the easy thing, but the right thing to do was to forgive the people that had put him there so he could help his country. Rugby not only showed the whites that the new government was not going to be what they had thought, but it also gave something for the whole country to be behind. The blacks used to cheer for any team facing the Springboks, but now that Mandela has shown them what they should be doing, the whole country started to be behind them as they worked their way through the world cup. Also one of the most important things that allowed this to happen was the fact that the springboks started winning. Them winning allowed the blacks to loosen up to them, and gave the whole country pride.

Berlin Conference blog

I thought that Portugal won in our distribution of Africa. I would say the Britain one but I am not really sure what they would keep and what they would get rid of if they actually were required to use their assigned amount. I think Portugal won because they got exactly what they wanted. They control 3 of the major ports and rivers. And when they came to Africa in the first place they were just looking for trading partners, not resources. Plus they got two ports on both sides. Overall they did the best job with what they were given.

These effects of the Berlin Conference on Africa were monumental. It caused civil war, led to millions of deaths to both africans and white, and left the country in shambles. Today you can still see the effects when you see civil wars against tribes like the hotos and the tutsies. Also in north and south Nigeria. Also in the blood diamonds issue going on in Sierra Leone. But honestly I feel like if the Europeans never went in to Africa in the first place, and if we looked at what Africa would be like, it would be very similar. They would be greatly primitive to us, and although blood diamonds wouldn't be around, there still would have been civil war. How long can you blame the Europeans for the problems in Africa. They would not have been this great country that is striving in our modern world even if the Europeans never came. What they did to the people and their motives were horrible, but how different is the country of Africa today, then it would have been without Imperialism.

Palestinian Authority blocks sale of goods made at Israeli settlements

This article is about plans by the Palestinians to end their dependence on Israel on everything, including goods. Although they think they really need to become independent, it will be hard for them because not many Palestinians are sellers of goods. But they have seen how much money selling these goods has given the Israeli's, and they want that profit to go towards them to give them more legitimacy. Overall there a lot of problems with this plan, like 20,000 palestinians work in Jewish settlement in the WestBank, and now that would be considered illegal.
I think this plan could be either very good or very bad. If it ends up only causing conflict and doesn't actually help the Palestinians gain so independency, then it would really just be bad. It hard to imagine something like this working because how so many of the people producing the good in the West Bank are Israeli's, so I don't really believe that Palestinians could just pick up the trade and start raking in the profits like they expect to. Overall, I just think that it will be something that will end up failing, and they will probably believe that it is the Israeli's fault, so it will just add to the animosity. Good effort though, ya never know what could happen.

Belgium's lower house votes to ban burqa

This article is about a new law passed in Belgium that bans the use of Burkas by muslim women. The vote was unanimous in favor of the law. They say that everyone must show their faces in public, especially women because they say they have to protect their values, which they say is women rights. They also say that only 10% of muslim women wear the burka, and they are "radical". Amnesty International condemned the vote right away, and Muslim Rights activists warn that it may cause more muslim women to wear the burka.

This article is of global importance because its show how ridiculous and ethnocentric European nations, and nations all over the world are becoming. They say that they are doing this to support women's rights, but aren't they taking away their right to wear what ever they want. Why don't they just admit that they feel uncomfortable because of stereo typical views of muslims. Just the fact that the man who voted for it said that only the radical muslims wear burkas show how uneducated they really are about muslim tradition and culture. This is really a shame.

Clinton blasts Iran, Syria in appearance before Jewish group (Current Event)

This article is about Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama's recent opinions on some different issues going on in the Middle East, such as Iran, Syria, and the current status of Israel. The Iranian Prime Minister, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be coming to New York on Monday to talk with Obama's staff. In a speech, Hillary made it clear that the actions of Iran are caused instability all over the Middle East and the United States will not stand for it. Also she talked about the side that Syria has to take in this matter to be able to keep the peace. They have to stop suppling Hezbollah.
Obama talks about the rule of other nation's who don't support Iran's nuclear program, and asks them to please vote for sanctions on Iran.
This article is of global importance because it is about the most unstable region in the whole world. Any time that we try to make it better, and especially when Ahmadinejad comes to the United States, its a big deal. Anytime we talk to him we have to hope for the best. If any strides can be made to help stop nuclear weapons and any problems going on in the Middle East, it is a big deal. Its is good that the US is making there position clear in the matters going on in Iran and Syria. The only problem is that if we put sanctions on Iran, they can make us suffer. And guess why, Oil. Iran is a member of OPEC, and I think we could soon see a major jump in gas prices if we keep on pushing countries to go against Iran's nuclear program.

Tale of Takfaka

I think that this folklore is about learning to adapt to new things, and to except people even if they are different. Because they can end up helping you and making you better people. I think is to teach the people of the Sahara that they should except people no matter how different they are. This is a valuable lesson no matter you live, and there are many stories that resemble this same lesson. There is a short story called "one small blue bead" that teaches a similar lesson. I think this story shows also about an important part of all African folklore. It shows that we as human should be one with nature, cause it will benefit us in the long run.

Wonders of Africa

The first wonder I looked at was the Black Pharaohs. This first struck my eye because I thought it was an interesting topic, and I never really thought of Pharaohs as being black, so I know I could learn something interesting by reading it. I turns of that a black pharaoh did rule of not only Nubia, but Egypt as well because they had conquered it. He built marvelous temples and promoted renaissance in Egypt. He also started up the old tradition of using pyramids, which is why there are more in areas of Sudan then there are in Egypt. Nubia I am assuming is present day Sudan.
The second wonder I looked at was the island of Zanzibar. I knew that I recognized the name but I couldn't remember from what so I wanted to take a look to see what this island was all about. It turns out that this island was pretty important and influenced by a lot of other cultures, including those from asia, europe and the middle east. It was used as a port for Africa, and was a major exporter back in the day of one crop economies. Today Zanzibar is once again trying to compete as a major exporter, but are trying to adjust to a world where one-crop economies are obsolete.
The last wonder I read about was the Vodou religion. I thought it was funny when I started reading because I thought it was going to be about those dolls that people stick pins into, but as made clear in the article, this had nothing to do with the western fad of voodoo. This religion is about human trying to become more at one with spirits and nature. A big part of the religion is possession, but still nothing with controlling other people or putting hexes on people. It is a very peaceful religion that has been going strong in africa for hundreds of year. To bad though, I would have liked to read about voodoo.

Africa

When someone asks me what I think about africa some of the first things to come into my mind are poverty, aids, dessert, disease, and british influence. Another thing that I think about that doesn't relate to its people are all the different ecosystems that are there. I know there is the biggest river, the biggest desert, and huge rain forests. Its amazing how all the different climate types there are . But through schooling I have been trained to think that the british caused lots of problems in Africa, and are still influencing them today. Maybe some of the problems between villages and stuff wouldn't be around. But I am not sure how I really feel about that because schools seem to have a common theme of blaming things either on the US or Europe, sometimes for a good reason, but I feel like the people that the british encountered weren't so well off before the Europeans got there. Im not really sure how I feel but I hope to be able to get a better understanding after this unit.

Obsession-- Movie Thoughts

Overall I felt surprised by a lot of things and a lot of what I already thought was backed up. Some of the stuff that I was most surprised about was the correlation between Nazi Germany and the Jihad of radical muslims. I was also surprised about how many people I saw in some of the clips where the people were shouting death to America. The rap song especially surprised me because they were making jokes of it. At least most the time the people doing to radical acts seriously thought they were doing it for Allah and they were very serious about it. It scares me more to think they are just doing it for laughs or something of that nature. Another things that surprised me was that they were also focusing a lot of their terrorist propaganda towards Britain as well as the United States. I thought that it was almost all towards the United States. So of my prior thoughts that were backed up were that Michael Moore really has no idea what he is talking about, and that a lot of what Jihadist use to gain support is false advertising about the "evil " America. They can't even be honest with there reasons of hate, so how legitimate can they think there ideals really are? If they actually thought what they were doing was right, then why not show Amercica for what it really is? I also knew that there was a lot of similarities between the Nazis and the Radical Muslims, but I never knew they actually team up when Hitler and the Mufti agreed that they had a common goal to destroy all the jews, or extermination. It is a little bit scary how similar they are to Nazi Germany they Radicals Ismamic people are, because there are so many Islamic people, that if that became the way of most of the Islamic people, it would be a terribly hard task to try and defeat them. They are still gaining support and spreading their ideas of islam, which is also scary. Something needs to be done before their support grows to a level where it might be impossible to defeat them. I never thought that maybe one thing we can do instead of judge the muslims in our country, we should empower them so that they feel more comfortable in speaking about there peaceful view of islam.

War in Afghanistan and the Taliban

I think that we can win the war in Afghanistan against the taliban. But we have to be committed as a country to our plan. I think that the biggest enemy to our military right now is the people in our own country who don't want to use it. If we went in the Afghanistan and just said we not ever leaving, would the Taliban just sit back and hope that we are bluffing. The people in our country just think that we are fighting a war for nothing. But if we were able to set up a stable democracy in Afghanistan, or Iraq, it would enable us to reap major rewards. I don't think winning the war means killing all the Taliban, winning the war would really be having the Taliban be a non factor in Afghanistan by giving the people power, and confidence that they are in control. But in saying this I would have to say we can't win because the people in our country wont allow us to. They only look at how many American's have been killed, not what they were trying to accomplish and why. Even during WWII the people kept count of american deaths, but they also kept count of Enemy deaths. Now we keep track of American deaths, and also Afghanistan deaths. But do you know the Afghanistan deaths we keep track of? the civilians. Everything we do that has to do with our military is wrong, or at least thats what the majority of our people think.

Bush and Iraq article response

I think that although there are many raticles out there that think that we went into Iraq for a number of strange reason, Doherty I think is mostly correct in his arguments. Out of the three things that we mentioned for reasons of going into Iraq, I think that the most important one is oil. Oil drives almost everything we do in this country so why would it not be true for this case. It definitely has some influence on what we are doing in the Middle East, or why why else would we continue to stay there. Other countries like in Africa would like our help even more.
I agree with what he says about oil, but some of his other points i don't really understand.

US dependency on Oil

I think that the best option for the united states is to lose its dependency gradually over time, and eventually have no dependency what so ever. Of course it would cost a lot of money to work on alternative fuel sources, but it would save billions in the long run. Not only is it not economically beneficial for the US to get oil from the Middle East, but its not safe. If we are dependent on the Middle East for anything, they can control us. We shouldn't have to second guess ourselves when going into a middle eastern country, but instead we not only have to second guess ourselves, we actually don't because our fear of gas prices rising. Really i am wondering is it possible to win a war on terror while we are dependent on oil. Any time we are making progress they could shoot up oil prices. This is a scary thought if you ask me, which is why we need to become fully independent of oil and energy. As for the water situation, it would be devastating if the prices of water went up, because all that it would effect. The article said basically water is used to make everything we have and eat. But I think that water is less important because we aren't dependant on any other nation for our water, so if water prices go up, its not a result of our country trying to defeat terrorism in the middle east. It is just because of a shortage of water. And maybe if the world would stop being so dependant on the oil that the middle east produces, it wouldn't have to use all the water that it is usign now because the demand would be lowered by so much. Even if the US was the only country who became independent, that is still a huge chunk of OPEC's profit.

True Life Response

The person that most stuck out to me while watching this video was definitely Hajeeb. He stuck out to me the most because he seemed to be the least dramatic person in thevideo. He and te jewish teacher were the most accepting of the problem, and just did all that they could to get a better life, or the life that they wanted. I liked Hajeeb because he seemed to be the only person who realized that the real way out of the problems was to leave the country. And it wasn't easy but he fought for his family and himself to get them out. I felt really good for him when they showed him living in south caroline cause i thought he deserved to get out of the West Bank and Israel altogether. When they showed all the peoples everyday lives it almost uncomparable to ours. Most of the people there were having trouble just trying to get a to a certain destination. While here we complain if the ride is going to be kinda long. And also here it doesn't even enter our minds that we get the opportunity of education no matter where we live, and its free. For them, the whole education process is a struggle in itself, and they really want to go to school to learn, while we take advantage of our opportunity, instead of making the best out of it. The person i least liked was Hiba because it didn't seem like she was making any effort to make things better for her self. Yes she was going to college but it seemed to me that she was acting a lot and complaining. And she also was totally not understanding of the Jews. While most of the others could understand both sides of the situation.

Alleged neo-Nazis register for Peruvian elections

This article is about the upcoming Peru election and the candidate who is allowed to run. his name is Ricardo de Spirito Balbuena, and he is some times refer to as the Adolf Hitler of Tacna. Publicly he hasn't admitted that he is a Nazi but it is pretty much known. And sometimes he even wears a band with a "z" on it instead of the swastika.
This is very important because with the troubles going on today in the Holy Land and Israel, we don't need a Nazi gaining power anywhere. If he was elected it shows the hatred for Jews that still exists today, and how much we still need to change as a nation. I thinks that it is even ridiculous for Peru to allow this man to run. Anyone that makes their name through hatred does deserve to run for public official.I am very curious to see the outcome of this situation.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator heads to China

This article is about Iran's plan to influence sanctions Tehran. It discusses how the U.N and America have been trying to put sanctions up to try and roadblock what they believe is Iran's plan to build Nuclear weapons.
This article is of national importance because this is huge issue in it self with Iran becoming a nuclear power. And now China's importance in deciding what side they are going to take in the issue. This not only effects Iran's ability to make nuclear weapons, but it will also make America might challenge America even more if they decide to help out Iran. America is the stongest force against them making Nuclear Weapons but it might not make a difference if they are outnumbered.

Most Asian markets higher in early trading

This is a short article about today's Asian market and how its been on the rise for awhile now. It also compares the opening of the Japanese market versus the American market. I thought it was relevant because our talks in class about the asain powers rising as world powers.
This is of international importance because it is changing the economy around the world with America being in debt and the Asian markets growing higher and higher. The mind set is going to have to change in America if they are going to want to turn it around and contend with them. But until then, more and more countries are starting to depend on those Asian countries, including the United States.

Reflection on Imperialism in the Middle East

I think that imperialism caused nationalism in the Middle East and their hatred towards western ideals because before they had come in, their religion was their law, it was the way they lived their lives. And not only where they trying to make their country more secular, they were making their own people believe in their cause. I think that the conservative Muslims have every right to be as anger as they were. Basically Imperialism was making their own neighbors brake the law that they have lived by all their lives. The people that resisted were probably the ones that were most proud of their country already, so it was perfect breeding for a strong nationalist revolt in many countries.

If I had to chose one thing that is the real cause of their strong anti-west mindset I would have to say westernization. As I said earlier it was tearing their old belief system to shreds. Imperialism on the other hand was just countries trying to gain resources and set up colonies, I guess westernization probably came about because of the imperialism, but imperialism could have happened without the westernization. Basically whenever I think about these situations, that I my self are so unfamiliar too, I like to think of a modern day example that i could be in. When I was thinking about this issue I tries to think about a culture that is almost the exact opposite as ours. That when I thought of Amish people. If the Amish people came here and not only suggested we should not use electronics, but started forcing it on to us, I would be extremely mad. And when Zach starts helping their cause because he thinks its good for our people, am I mad at him? No, i am more mad at the Amish then I was before for turning my own, against me.

Thoughts on some pictures

When I encounter people in my everyday life wearing head masks like the ones shown in the picture, I usually look at them and try and hide my fascination with them. I have known that that is part of their culture, but because it is unknown to most people and very rare to see in america, I am curious. I don't think negatively of these people at all, usually I think that they are even more peaceful than anyone around. I can't really picture anyone dressed like that getting in a fight or arguing. Something about them is just so calm and peaceful. My opinion on the veil is that women should be able to wear something if it apart of their culture. Not seeing someone's face shouldn't matter as much as it sees to be mattering right now. Its like is if I moved to some country and they started to debate about whether its alright to wear my hat or not.

Not a Clash of Religions

The author of this article is basically trying to explain why everything that Jihad has been doing is justified because they are just returning the favor in a way back to the United States. He says the americans are trying to makes sects in the middle east, and they are just trying to end secularism in the United States.

I strongly disagree with his reasoning and logic in the thinking that their acts are justified. First of all, they have never come forward and said that they are trying to convert the people in the United States to Islam. Their acts are just out of anger, they are not trying to accomplish anything in the United States except fear and anger. We on the other hand have gone to their country, not just fly a plane into a building and leave. We have said that we are actually trying to help them create a democracy, we could care less what religion they are. If they wanted to end secularism in the States, then they should come over here and talk about why religion is so important to our everyday lives. If there true goal was to try and stop secularism, then how does flying a plane into a building do that. It just doesn't make any sense. The bottom line is that our motive over in the middle east is to better the people lives that are living there. And if Osama Binladen says that he was trying to help us by flying a plane in to our world trade buildings, that is just a lie. And he would never say that in the first place because he wants to cause the United States pain, not help them.

I do believe that they might believe that we should put religion more into our lives, and not worry so much about money. And I partially agree with that, but it is just not logical to expect to do that by anything else than talking and spreading knowledge about it. Like a missionary for example...that seems to be a little more useful and effective.

Who deserves the holy land?

I think that the Jews deserve the holy land, as I'm sure you realized in class. My three main reasons for this is because the land where Jerusalem stands now would not be holy for anyone if it wasn't for what the Jewish people did to develop it, who the land was holy for first, and who respects the land the most.

My first point is true because Christ wouldn't have been born in Bethlehem if his father wasn't a Jewish man celebrating something in the holy city. If the city was just some city, then the father and the mother wouldn't have been there in the first place. And also Muhammad wouldn't have been in the city of Jerusalem if it wasn't a holy city for the Jews. We was there because he agreed with the Jewish ideals of one god and they were people of the book. So if you really think about, the land wouldn't be holly to anyone if it wasn't holy to the Jews.

Jerusalem became the holy land for the jews around 1000 B.C when they build the temple on Mt. Zion. It was 1000 years later until anyone other group considered the it their holy land. And 1633 years until the muslims considered it holy. Its kinda like a situation i was in back in 4th grade. At recess there was a couple of 4 square courts. Nobody in my friend group ever wanted to play. Then one day the 5th graders started to play on it. Then we started to see how great is was so we wanted to play and eventually had it so the 5th graders were out numbered. Would it be right to then tell the 5th graders that they can play on it because it is funner for us?
My last point is about respect. Obviously the Christians respect the land the least because of the crusades, and how they were fine with bloodshed on the land. And the Muslims were very respectful on the Holy Land by not slaughtering the Christians, but they destroyed a sacred temple of the Jewish people on Mt. Zion. That is just disrespect to the people that build up this sacred city. The Jews have not killed people on that land, they could have destroyed the Mosque but didn't, and they are the most respectful to the land, which then shows me that they respect the land the most and care about it the most.

Fifty Tons of Dead Fish Wash Ashore in Rio Lagoon

This story is basically what the title says. Fifty tons of dead fish washed to shore, of many different species. It covered about 2 square miles of beach. Scientists believe that it is due to a new species of algae. The smell of the dead fish is almost unbearable all around the tourist populated city.

This article is of global importance because I have to believe that 50 tons of fish just dying will effect the ecosystem in a major way. I am very curios to see if this brings about any other events which animals are dying out. I know about the cycle of life and like how if all the bees in the world just died, theoretically the humans would only be able to survive 3 years. And I also wanted to get off the arab-israeli conflict for a little.

U.N. presses for more investigations into Israel-Gaza war

This article is about the UN's investigation between the Israel-Gaza conflict. Palestinians are saying that Israels acts were war-crimes and those involved should be brought to justice. This article talks about the Goldstone report which gives was a report taken from when the conflict was going on but is not impartial. The vote was 98-7 in favor of adding the Goldstone Report into the decision process.
This article seriously disgusts me. Israel has been conducting agreed upon impartial investigations on the conflict and there is no reason to stop that and just add in this bias piece of evidence. And second of all Israel went on the offensive because missiles were being shot at them, what the hell are they supposed to do. Asking politely doesn't work in this situation. Israel sent in a report justifying all of its actions. Israel asked "Or, in contrast, do we really believe that the terrorist Hamas organization will investigate its use of human shields, its appalling methods of targeting civilians, and its cynical use of schools, hospitals, and mosques as weapons of terror?" This is of global importance because it is dealing with one of the most tender topics. And the Un doesn't seem to understand that even if they do bring Israelis to justice. If Palestinians keep shooting rockets into Israel, they wont hesitate to retaliate, and they have no reason too.

Top Israeli official: A nuclear Iran would endanger world stability

This article is about The threat that Iran poses to not only Israel, but the whole region by being nuclear. The Israeli defense minister talks about what he thinks the situation is, and what threat is really being posed. He doesn't think that Iran is crazy enough to drop any bombs, but he does say that you never know. He doesn't like it because an "armed Iran could endanger the region, disrupt oil supplies and empower Iran's terrorist allies." He wants to work with the United States to put an economic sanction on Iran until they change the direct they are going. "Iran is not living up to its responsibilities and we are working with our partners in the international community to increase pressure on Iran to change course," said Hillary Clinton after her meeting with Israel's defense minister.
This article is of global importance because as we learned, the terrorist group Hezbollah gets its weaponry from Iran. If we allow Hezbollah to get its hands on nuclear weapons, I doubt they are just going to sit on their hands. Iran may not be crazy enough to shoot a nuke, but an extremist terrorists group on the other hand will not be so hesitant. I think that the most important thing to gaining some sort of peace in this world is just to make sure that another nuke is not used. We should do everything in our power to stop another one to be used because after it is, all hell will break loose.

Conflict in the Middle East

I think that the most important conflict that is going on the middle east is the Arab-Israeli conflict. Although this conflict goes back from times in the BC, the conflict though has been very predominant since Israel became the home land for the jewish people in 1947. Since then, 10 middle eastern countries have fought against Israel in 4 different wars. Now with nuclear power starting to come u with countries like Iran, Israel should be very worried for there future. Hatred is the simplest way to explain it. Groups from these countries just hate the Jews and really any infidels. The current president of Iran wants "To raze Israel to the ground, to batter down, to destroy, to annihilate, to liquidate, to erase Israel, to wipe it off the map". And now that they are a nuclear power, Israel is under constant pressure to try and make peace. But I think that the only way they can secure their safety is to scare the countries away from attacking them. Thats why their military is by far the strongest in the area. And now some people are misguided in their views of Israel because they seem to be the aggressor. But i believe everything they do is necessary.

Middle East

The middle east is the area around the eastern Mediterranean; from Turkey to northern Africa and eastward to Iran; the site of such ancient civilizations as Phoenicia and Babylon and Egypt and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity and Islam. The climate is very dry and baron.

This region of the world has been at the center of world conflict because it has the most oil in the world. And leading that is the country of Saudi Arabia, which is said to float on oil. It is also of much conflict because the holy land is located in the middle east. The religions that I mentioned above all believe they should have control over that land. And fighting has always occurred over it.

Video Response

After Gandhi attained independence form the Britain. He was not able to have any happiness because as soon as the too countries of India and Pakistan were created, they immediately began to fight. His goal was for the two groups to live in peace, but each group blamed the other for its problems. I believe that he was not able to live in peace at all because he wouldn't be happy until there was peace. He would alway try to be the change he wanted to see in the world. And the fighting that was going on was totally disgracing what he had been preaching. And I don't think that even if he wasn't assassinated that the civil war and the current relationship between india and pakistan would be avoided. Obviously at the time of this event, the people on both sides had intense pride for either hindus or muslims. And Gandhi obviously didn't have the same influence over the people. I think when you are trying to lead a beaten people, like he had before, you can give them pride, but when you are trying to stop a group that is on the rise and already has the pride, its a lot harder to have an effect. But at the same time, there was peace at the time near his death, and when he was killed, the fighting began again. Would the fighting have continued to halt if he lived? I don't think so but it a definite possibility.

Gandhi Interpretation

I think that he was able to gain the support of the people because he was doing what they all wished they had the confidence to do. He was being the change he wanted to see. And he had not only the passion, but he had the knowledge to make sure that he came out on top. He started off wearing a suite. But later he learns more of the clothing that the indian people wear so he could relate more to them. He also looks more like a preacher. And he got the support of the muslims and the lower class hindu's because he said that he doesn't want to just have the higher class hindu's to just reinstate there old policies. He wanted everyone to have freedom. Because the people's support he gained, he eventually got the attention of the government, and even the government wasn't all on the same page. By bringing fear into the government, they started to act which gave pride to the hindu and muslim people. And by using civil disobedience he showed that he wanted to put all his power into stopping the british. The Hindu's and muslims saw him taking a beating and felt bad and eventually joined his cause. By dressing in basically rags, he showed the people that they didn't need to have what the british have to offer. And he was able to give up his whole life and go to jail if it meant that it could rally the people for his cause and bring passion to his followers. The injustices made against the Hindu's and muslims just made the uprising stronger. And even some of the british saw the good in his cause. Even after the salt march, when the british put 90,000 to 100,000 were put into jail, they still did not use violence. Overall the one thing that Gandhi needed to gain support of the world. Because he embarrassed the british because they knew what they were doing was wrong and know the whole world new. The world will know put pressure on the the british to stop rule.

I believe that an unjust law is no law at all. Therefore I don't believe that one should not be content to obey that unjust laws in place. This is because unjust law can not be overcome by just waiting. And unjust laws is one of worst human rights violations that a state or region can impose on its people. And even if you disagree with these laws, to obey them is a way of supporting them in a way because that gives that law more power over the people. That is why I think that to transgress at once is the best choice in the matter. If you have enough people on your side, civil disobedience can over come many obstacles. There are many examples, such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Rosa Parks.

I think based on the wordle of Obama's speech you can see that he is focused on the life of individuals and families and small businesses. I think that in order to grow in these aspects of life he needed to talk more about the future and a plan of action. I think that it is good for the country that the main word he used was people. Because we are a nation of the people by the people and for the people. I think that we have a brighter future ahead based on his speech. The only negative I see is that it seems like he didn't bring up the war at all. I would think that that is a major topic is the minds of all these people he is talking about. I also don't see the word plan in there.

President Bush's wordle first strikes me with the word Congress in big letters. This strikes me because it seems like he might have been trying to avoid responsibility of what was going on in the nation. I also see the word trust, i think because the american people had lost their trust in the government. I do like that he talked about a future and he did talk a lot about iraq, but he didn't bring up the economy. Overall I think that Obama's was better because it seems like he was more focused on moving forward rather than staying in the past. Also he wasn't blaming congress for anything that might have been his fault. He actually wasn't saying it was anyones fault. I also think that Obama's words seem more positive. Bush talks to much about things that the everyday american isn't feeling, or doesn't understand. We know that al-Qaida is bad and terrorists are bad, there is nothing he could have talked about that we haven't already heard.