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jeni bouwman

Small bomb explodes near Egypt's pyramids, injuring 3; officials blame leftover munitio... - 0 views

www.washingtonpost.com/...AFcIXOpC_story.html

shared by jeni bouwman on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • CAIRO — A small bomb exploded near Egypt’s iconic pyramids on Wednesday, badly injuring three peddlers of tourist trinkets that police said were trying to open the casing of the old abandoned munition.
  • he peddlers saw the edge of the device sticking out of the sand and began hitting it with iron sticks under the impression there
  • were valuables inside, said security officials.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • The three men were seriously wounded, the officials added, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
  • Millions of tourists visit the site annually and take camel and horseback rides around the grounds of the 4,500 year old monuments.
  • Egypt was the site of titanic tank battles during World War II, but these were confined to the deserts around the northern coast and the later wars with neighboring Israel were focused around the Suez Canal and the Sinai Peninsula, far to the east.
  • rime and lawlessness have been on the rise in the once tightly controlled country, with police reluctant to head back to their posts.
  • jeni bouwman on 14 Apr 11
     
    SUmmary: In Cairo, Egypt a bomb exploded by the iconic pyramids. The impact was surveyor it injured three peddlers. The peddlers said they saw the edge of the bomb sticking out from the sand and began hitting it with iron sticks, because they thought there would be valuables inside. This site was were millions of tourists would come and visit.  Response: I thought this was very shocking that peddlers set of the bomb thinking there would be valuables underneath it. Shockingly get blown up instead that would be a very scary surprise.  Questions: 1. Why did they put the bomb so close to a very beautiful place? 2. Why did they think it was something valuable?  3. Who set up the bomb? 4. Why are tourist staying away from the country because President Hosni Mubarak was overthrew? 
Laurel Ackerman

Israel Marks 60 Years Since Palestine Split - International News | News of the World | ... - 0 views

www.foxnews.com/...0,2933,314105,00.html

Israel Palestine History Choices Partition

shared by Laurel Ackerman on 26 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Three full-scale wars and two bloody Palestinian uprisings
  • Three full-scale wars and two bloody Palestinian uprisings have failed either to change the two-state formula or bring it much closer to reality
  • Violence has marked the process from the outset. When the General Assembly voted to partition the land on Nov. 29, 1947, it was clear it would set off a war between Jews and Arabs.
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  • The day of the vote is legendary in Israel. Its 600,000 Jewish inhabitants huddled around their radios to listen to the live broadcast from the United Nations.
  • d, the partition was approved, 33 to 13, with 10 abstentions.
  • With the end of the British mandate on May 14, 1948, Israel declared its independence, and Arab armies invaded from three directions.
  • Local Arabs, charging that the Zionists stole their land, responded to the 1947 vote with violence, launching a series of attacks that left dozens of Jews dead. Nov. 29 is considered a day of sadness by Palestinians, and they mark May 14 as the "day of catastrophe," because about 700,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes during the war that followed.
  • Today about 1 million Arabs are Israeli citizens, another 4 million live under Israeli control in the West Bank and Gaza, and hundreds of thousands still languish in refugee camps in neighboring countries.
  • Forty years passed before the main Palestinian organization, the PLO, recognized Israel and abandoned its stated goal of destroying the Jewish state. In 1993, Israel and the Palestinians signed their first interim accord, setting out a formula for peace talks to resolve the conflict.
  • Laurel Ackerman on 26 Apr 11
     
    How does the internal conflict between Israel and Palestine as well as the social, political, and geographical tensions of the region affect the political status of Palestine?  Associated Press. "Israel Marks 60 Years Since Palestine Split." Fox News. Fox News, 30 Nov. 2007. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. Summary: This article gives a brief explanation of the history between Britain, Israel, and Palestine and it gives an insight into the Palestinian view on what has happened with the partition. This article also gives a few statistics on deaths, percentages, refugees, and dates.  Reflection:
lane rottschafer

opium/taliban - 0 views

en.wikipedia.org/...Taliban

shared by lane rottschafer on 21 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • In 2000 Afghanistan's opium production accounted for 75% of the world's supply
  • On July 27, 2000, the Taliban issued a decree banning cultivation
  • 2001, production had reportedly been reduced from 12,600 acres (51 km2) to only 17 acres
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Opium production was reportedly cut back by the Taliban not to prevent its use, but to increase its price, and thus increase the income of Afghan poppy farmers and tax revenue
lane rottschafer

Opium Def. - 0 views

en.wikipedia.org/Opium

shared by lane rottschafer on 21 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Opium (poppy tears,
  • is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy
  • contains up to 12% morphine
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin
  • The traditional method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ("score") the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off the fruit.
Andrew Kuper

Wong Sees 'Tough Budget' for Australia on Floods, Currency - Businessweek - 0 views

www.businessweek.com/...tralia-on-floods-currency.html

Australia Flood Economy Financial

shared by Andrew Kuper on 15 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • We got some short term softness -- that’s as a result of a number of factors, the floods, the cyclone, but also a cautious consumer and a strong Aussie dollar
  • The Australian dollar has risen to a record versus its U.S. counterpart
  • The government expects a A$3 billion decline in company tax revenue and a drop of A$1 billion in income tax intake, Wong said today.
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  • Economists have estimated the damage from the floods may reach $20 billion, or about 1.5 percent of Australia’s $1.3 trillion economy, while the cost of rebuilding after Cyclone Yasi may be more than A$2 billion.
  • In addition, Japan’s strongest earthquake in history on March 11 is estimated to have dented demand for Australia’s bulk commodities by almost A$2 billion in this fiscal year, shaving less than one-fourth of a percentage point from GDP, according to the Treasury.
  • Andrew Kuper on 15 Apr 11
     
    What are the effects of the Australian Floods? Citation:"Wong Sees 'Tough Budget' for Australia on Floods, Currency" http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-04-09/wong-sees-tough-budget-for-australia-on-floods-currency.html Summary: This article talks about how Australia will be affected financially following the floods. It mentioned that the total cost of the damages are equal to roughly 1.5% of the country's A$1.3 trillion economy. It also talked about how Japan's earthquake affected Australia, because they receive many Japanese imports.Questions:1. What exactly does Japan have to do with this?2. How will the people rebuild and finance all this damage? 3. Are these figures in American dollars or Australian dollars? *Edit: Reposting because I forgot to share to WC group. Old post deleted.
Andrew Kuper

Australian flooding - The Big Picture - Boston.com - 0 views

www.boston.com/...australian_flooding.html

Australia Flood

shared by Andrew Kuper on 15 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Cyclone Tasha
  • Hundreds of thousands of people in an area the size of France and Germany combined are now affected
  • at least nine people have been killed so far
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  • the water level is expected to continue rising over the next two days and 38 regions were declared natural disaster areas.
  • Andrew Kuper on 15 Apr 11
     
    What are the effects of the Australian Floods? Citation:"Australia flooding" http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/01/australian_flooding.html Summary: The flooding seems to have gotten worse, the number of people affected seems to have gone up. What's worse is that the water level is still going up, so things are still getting worse. Questions:1. Is this new information or old?2. when will the water go down? 3. What all is being done to help those affected? *Edit: reposting after I forgot to share to WC group, old posts deleted
Joy Merlino

Palestinians to hold elections by September - USATODAY.com - 0 views

www.usatoday.com/...12-palestinian-elections_N.htm

palestinians Elections Hamas

shared by Joy Merlino on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • The Palestinian leadership in the West Bank on Saturday promised to hold long-overdue general elections by September, a surprise move spurred by political unrest rocking the Arab world and embarrassing TV leaks about peace talks with Israel.
  • In principle, elections could help end the deep political split between West Bank-based President Mahmoud Abbas and the Islamic militant Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, the other territory the Palestinians want for their state.
  • Still, it c
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  • uld become difficult for Hamas to reject elections at a time of growing calls for democracy throughout the Middle East. Hamas itself has praised the downfall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as a victory for the Egyptian people.
  • The call for elections came a day after Mubarak stepped down, forced out by mass protests against his ironfisted 30-year rule. The Egyptian uprising and another successful revolt in Tunisia a month earlier have inspired calls for democratic reform throughout the region.
  • Abbas aide Yasser Abed Rabbo said Saturday that preparations were underway for legislative and presidential elections later this year. "We call on parties to put aside all of their differences and to focus on conducting the elections by September at the latest,"
  • The announcement appeared to be an act of desperation by an embattled government that has been weakened by the standstill in peace efforts with Israel, its rivalry with Hamas and the loss of its key Arab ally in Egypt. Mubarak had served as an important mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, and rallied Arab support for Abbas when needed.
  • The documents showed that in 2008 Abbas agreed to major concessions toward Israel by dropping claims to parts of east Jerusalem, the hoped-for Palestinian capital, and acknowledging that most Palestinian refugees would never return to the lost properties in what is now Israel.
  • With the call for elections, Abbas is trying to signal that he is attentive to his people's demands. By putting his job on the line, he can portray himself as a leader committed to democracy. It was not clear whether Abbas, who has said he would step down after his current term, would seek re-election. But the move is a gamble. With peace talks on hold, Abbas and his Fatah party will have no major accomplishment to present to voters.
  • And Hamas, which seized Gaza from Abbas' forces in 2007, said it would not participate in the elections. Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, called the election "illegitimate."
  • September is shaping u
  • At that time, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad expects to complete a two-year process of building the state from the ground up. The Palestinians have also signaled they will ask the U.N. Security Council, whose decisions are legally binding, to formally recognize an independent Palestine at that time.
  • Israeli officials have dismissed the Palestinian tactics, saying unilateral recognitions will not change the situation on the ground and that there is no replacement for direct negotiations. However, Netanyahu's hardline government, already reluctant to making deep concessions to the Palestinians, appears unlikely to make any bold offers while the Egyptian situation remains fluid.
  • Joy Merlino on 14 Apr 11
     
    Research Question: How does the conflict in Israel affect the future of Israeli children compared to Palestinian children? Summary: This article states that the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank is planning on holding general elections by September. This has been brought about as a response to the TV leaks, and the unrest in the surrounding Arab countries. This is an attempt to end the conflict between the Hamas and the West Bank. However, this article does not think that the Hamas will respond favorably to this call for democracy. But with the unrest in the surrounding nations, they might be pushed into cooperation.  Reflection: If these elections do in fact take place, this would mean a dramatic change for the future generation of Palestinians and Israelis alike. If Palestine could become an independent state, this would mean that there would hopefully be an end to the conflict that is associated with the borders. However, this is not certain. The Palestinians best hope would be to get the recognition of the UN. Unfortunately, this could be a challenge due to the relations held between the US and Israel, and the veto power that the US holds. This would also have an effect on the future generation of Israeli citizens. As the conflict would almost certainly dissolve to an extent or reach a boiling point that would inevitably lead to military action. The occurrence of these elections -- or lack thereof -- has the potential to entirely reshape the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. 
ni iang

Eco-Luxury - - 0 views

www.time.com/...0,9171,995191-2,00.html

What are the effects of ecological conservation in Costa Rica.

shared by ni iang on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Matthew Cook, executive director of the Association for the Conservation of the Mono Titi (ASCOMOTI), a nonprofit dedicated to saving the endangered Costa Rican red-backed squirrel monkey, says an industry-wide drive is needed to prevent further environmental destruction. In Manuel Antonio, the organization has the support of 28 businesses that fund conservation and reforestation programs. Thanks to the efforts of some forward-thinking hoteliers, for travelers who relish a cocktail by the pool, conservation could not get any easier.
  • ni iang on 14 Apr 11
     
    Miranda, Carolina A. "Eco-Luxury." Time 20 Sept. 2004: 5 pars. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. . Summery  This article talks about that some of the Hotel in Costa Rica are trying to help the environment by doing little thing that will help the environment.  Costa Rica has  been grappling with new challenges to their environment and it has growen well, all the natural beauty has attracted  millions of visitors.  But hotels and businesses increase their businesses into untouched areas.   New hotel in Costa Rica called the Four Seasons Resort has supported the environment by planting grass that can live on 50% of ocean water and 70% of the land will  remain in its natural state.  Another hotel Hacienda Pinilla also try to help environment.  The 4500 acre resort which is in the untouched area of the  Nicoya Peninsula, will maintain main areas of undeveloped land.  El Remanso hotel on the Pacific Coast have used fallen wood to build their cabins.  And also another association for the conservation of the Mono Titi, nonprofit, said that the industries need to prevent further environmental damage.  This organization support 28 businesses that work for conservation and reforestation programs. 
ni iang

Eco-Luxury - 0 views

www.time.com/...0,9171,995191-1,00.html

What are the effects of ecological conservation in Costa Rica.

shared by ni iang on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Costa Rica is coming of age--and grappling with new challenges to the environment that has fueled its growth. As word about its staggering natural beauty has slipped out, the country has become one of the world's leading eco-destinations, attracting a million visitors a year
  • With this boom, upscale resorts are establishing beachheads up and down the Pacific Coast, offering championship golf courses, world-class restaurants and plenty of spas. But as hotels and other tourism businesses increasingly set up shop in remote and pristine areas, the government--which lacks the resources for effective enforcement--is facing issues such as deforestation and waste disposal.
  • They have begun to work on ways to protect the environment. The newly opened Four Seasons Resort fourseasons.com/costarica on the Papagayo Peninsula sacrifices nothing in the way of luxury.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • In a similar nod to the eco-ethic, Hacienda Pinilla haciendapinilla.com) a 4,500-acre resort and residential community on the Nicoya Peninsula, will maintain extensive tracts of its terrain undeveloped.
  • There are tennis courts, pools and a golf course. The hotel has made concessions to the environment too: 70% of its land area will remain in its natural state, and the golf course uses a type of grass that can be irrigated with a 50% ocean-water mix, conserving valuable freshwater.
  • Hidden in the heart of cattle country--Costa Rica's Wild West--this tropical dry forest is inhabited by dense populations of howler monkeys, iguanas and birds
  • Smaller boutique hotels, such as El Remanso elremanso.com on the Pacific Coast, have found ways to be environmentally conscious from the ground up. Fallen wood was used to build El Remanso's roomy cabins, so no rare hardwood trees were logged. Each unit is surrounded by a moat of moving water that keeps ants out of the rooms, eliminating the need for pesticides.
  • ni iang on 14 Apr 11
     
    Miranda, Carolina A. "Eco-Luxury." Time 20 Sept. 2004: 5 pars. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. . Summery  This article talks about that some of the Hotel in Costa Rica are trying to help the environment by doing little thing that will help the environment.  Costa Rica has  been grappling with new challenges to their environment and it has growen well, all the natural beauty has attracted  millions of visitors.  But hotels and businesses increase their businesses into untouched areas.   New hotel in Costa Rica called the Four Seasons Resort has supported the environment by planting grass that can live on 50% of ocean water and 70% of the land will  remain in its natural state.  Another hotel Hacienda Pinilla also try to help environment.  The 4500 acre resort which is in the untouched area of the  Nicoya Peninsula, will maintain main areas of undeveloped land.  El Remanso hotel on the Pacific Coast have used fallen wood to build their cabins.  And also another association for the conservation of the Mono Titi, nonprofit, said that the industries need to prevent further environmental damage.  This organization support 28 businesses that work for conservation and reforestation programs.    
jeni bouwman

Hosni Mubarak News - The New York Times - 0 views

topics.nytimes.com/...index.html

shared by jeni bouwman on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • For close to 30 years, Hosni Mubarak was Egypt's modern pharoah, as he was often called. He became president in 1981 after Anwar el-Sadat was slain as Mr. Mubarak stood beside him.
  • ar el-
  • after 18 days of massive public protests against his rule, he resigned and turned power over to the military.
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • In the face of a mass movement inspired by the revolution in Tunisia in January, Mr. Mubarak tried violence and lost the support of his military, which promised to protect the demonstrators.
  • of any Egyptian president since the ouster of the king in the 1950s — longer tha
  • n that of Gamal Abdel Nasser, a pioneer of Arab nationalism, and longer than that of Mr. Sadat, who was slain after making peace with Israel.
  • He maintained peace with Israel and close ties to America
  • position parties and rigged elections. Under a veneer of public apathy, anger grew as the cou
  • y's economy crumbled.
  • rak’s three-decade rule. The detention was a breathtaking reversal for Mr. Mubarak, whose grip on the country had seemed so unshakable just three months ago that some thought he could hand over power directly to his son Gamal, who is now being held along with his brother, Alaa, in Tora Prison in Ca
  • month had ended the 23-year-reign of Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, who, like Mr. Mubarak was a former military man turned autocratic ruler. The
  • rotesters in Egypt spoke of the same deep-seated frustrations of an enduring, repressive government that drove Tunisians to revolt: rampant corruption, injustice, high unemployment and the simple lack of dignity accorded them by the state.
  • chief, as the country’s new vice president. It is a post once occupied by Mr. Mubarak and not filled since he took power.
  • he Egyptian Army announced on Jan. 31 for the first time that it would not fire on protesters, even as tens of thousands of people gathered in central Tahrir (Liberation) Square for a seventh day to shout for Mr. Mubarak's ouster
  • In the wake of Mr. Sadat's death, Mr. Mubarak -- who was at Mr. Sadat's side -- continued a policy of maintaining ties with Israel, and cracked down on Islamic militants. His support for Israel won him the support of the West and a continuation of hefty annual aid from the United States.
  • Egypt has long been a leader of the Arab world, and Mr. Mubarak, successfully negotiated the complicated issues of regional security, solidifying a relationship with Washington, maintaining cool but correct ties with Israel and sharply suppressing Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism.
  • jeni bouwman on 14 Apr 11
     
    Summary: Hosni Mubarak has been Egypt's modern pharoah for close to 30 years now. Mr. Mubarak stood by his side. Hosni Mubarak now resigned and he turned his powers over to the military. When president Mubarak tried violence he lost a lot of his support from his military. Mr. Mubarak coming into be the president, thought he had grip on the country but found out he was very shaky- and he thought he could just hand over his power to his son Gamal who is now in prison in Cairo. Response: I thought this article was very interesting because it shows how easy the president thought it was going to be going into it with his head all high and nothing could break. But found out everyone is protesting against him and no one is happy with him being the president.  Questions: 1. Why did he turn his power over to the military? 2. Why would president Mubarak want to keep fighting to e president if he's doing such a bad job? 3. How is he loosing grip so fast? 4. Why is he trying to hide from his people when Obama was there? 
ni iang

Campaign to plant 5 million trees in Central America - 0 views

www.ticotimes.net/...l-America_Monday-April-11-2011

Campaign to Plant 5 Million Trees in Central America. Tico Times 11 Apr. 2011. Web. 13 .

shared by ni iang on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • A youth organization in Costa Rica announced Wednesday that it will plant at least five million native trees throughout Central America in June, with the goal of reforesting the region and mitigating climate change.
  • The organizations have the goal of not only planting trees, but also monitoring their growth. The Union for the Conservation of Nature supports the initiative.
  • The campaign “Reforestando Centroamérica” ("Reforesting Central America") involves social and environmental organizations and businesses from Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.
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  • A youth organization in Costa Rica announced Wednesday that it will plant at least five million native trees throughout Central America in June, with the goal of reforesting the region and mitigating climate change.
  • Guatemala accomplished a similar project last year through the work of 10,000 youth volunteers.
  • In Costa Rica, the initiative hopes to plant at least 5,000 trees in mangrove areas in towns in the Caribbean and Pacific as well as metropolitan areas. The main day for planting the trees will be June 25.
  • ni iang on 14 Apr 11
     
    "Campaign to Plant 5 Million Trees in Central America." Tico Times 11 Apr. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. . Summary  In Costa Rica, a youth organization is planning to plant five million trees throughout central America to support the environment.  And also not just planting them, they are planning to continue to take care of all those trees and make sure that they grow well.  The group also is going to plant at least five thousand trees in the City in Costa Rica but also bigger areas of their neighbor's land like Caribbean and Pacific as well.  They announced that the big planting day will on on the 25th June.   Reflection  I think this plan is really good plan because iit s not hard to plant a tree, but it will help a lot of the environment as long as they take care of them as they plan.   They seem very serious about this plan because they are even going to plant to their neighbor's land, which shows that they really care for the environment.  Since this plan is coming soon, I'm excited to learn about how it will go.  This makes me think that if the rest of the world will  care like them, our world would be so much healthier than today.  How old are the  youth  who volunteer?How would the neighbor's country respond? How much will it help the environment from this many tres being planted and how long will it take to grow?
Nick Mast

Egypt News - Mubarak: I authorize Egypt FM to detect my assets, family abroad - 0 views

news.egypt.com/...-assets-and-family-abroad.html

shared by Nick Mast on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Al Arabiya satellite channel Sunday broadcasts an audio tape of Egypt's ex-president Hosni Mubarak, as his first since his resignation 
  • Egypt's Ex-president Mubarak said that "I hurt a lot - and still do - because which I faced and my family of unjust campaigns and false allegations aimed at harming my reputation and appeal in my integrity and my attitude and historical military and political, who worked hard for which Egypt and its people .. War and peace .."
  • Mubarak is denying that he abused his authority to amass wealth and property in his first speech since his ouster.
  • Nick Mast on 14 Apr 11
     
    Mubarak: I authorize Egypt FM to detect my assets, family abroad By:Egypt News  Summary: On a Al Arabiya channel this past sunday Mubarak said his first words since his resignation. In his statement summed up, he said because of of the false allegations aimed at hurting my name and integrity has harmed me and my family. Also adding i gave up my position as president by taking in what he thought the people of Egypt wanted. In this statement he also denies any abuse of power or authority to amass more money.  Reflection: After reading this i think that it is a good thing that he came out and said something to clear the air, although not many people cared to listen to what he said because they still don't believe him, but he had to say something. And i also found it interesting that he keeps bringing up what he didn't do to harm the nation, i think he should have not said anything about that seeing how it is in the past, and that most people in the world have a forgive fast or forget things fast and that people probably don't care as much because they are trying to move on as a nation.  Questions:Is he telling the truth? How badly is him and his family hurt from this whole thing? Is there a way he can improve his public image? Why did he wait this long to say something?
Nick Mast

Egypt's counter-revolutionary bogeyman | Osama Diab | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk - 0 views

www.guardian.co.uk/...counter-revolutionary-bogeyman

shared by Nick Mast on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Egyptian hopes for a more democratic future were crushed on Friday
  • The army blamed counter-revolutionary elements
  • The attacks on protesters came two we
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • for provoking the clashes and denied responsibility for the bloodshed.
  • Political stability is always something to aspire to, but the best means of achieving it is still up for debate. What Egypt needs now is genuine stability driven by social equality, political freedom and a fair enforcement of law, rather than a fake sta
  • With a new military regime in place, signs of similar Mubarak tactics are starting to emerge. This time, Islamists, last season's scare tactic, are replaced wi
  • the remnants of the previous regime – Egypt's new bogeyman.
  • ks after the recently appointed cabinet passed a law restricting protests
  • a fair
  • n a fake sta
  • ility im
  • ressive laws and the heavy hand of brutal security
  • ed by opp
  • bility
  • Nick Mast on 14 Apr 11
     
    Egypt's counter-revolutionary bogeyman  By: Osama Diab  Summary: In the Tahrir Square in Cairo a protest turned violent when the military came and ended up arresting 41 people and leaving 2 dead. This attack came two weeks the Egyptian parliament passed a law banning protests.  The law states that participating in protests and strikes that hinder the work of public institutions or authorities during a state of emergency illegal.  The new military that has been is placed is showing very similar signs to the leadership of Mubarak. And the signs of a new democratic future coming in place are coming in really slow if they are even making progress.  Reflection: After reading this and hearing that more people and deaths have happened from the protest has been disappointing. They made good progress in getting rid of there old government and now to hear that the government is not taking the right steps into becoming democratic. From what i read and heard in this the Egyptian government still has a long way in becoming a stable government and until then there are just going to be problems and protests and more people getting killed, hurt, and arrested.  Questions:Why would the parliament pass a no protest law? How are the people going to show there frustration with the government now? How many people are going to get arrested for just protesting? How is the parliament going to react to the angry outbursts by the people?
Troy Rietsma

Attack Shuts Down Nigeria Oil Platform - CBS News - 0 views

www.cbsnews.com/...main4193600.shtml

oil rig attack

shared by Troy Rietsma on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • The most powerful militant group in Nigeria said it launched a rare attack against an offshore oil installation Thursday, and Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it shut down production from the area after the violence.
  • But they were not able to enter a computer control room they had hoped to destroy.
  • He said production had been stopped at the field, which normally produces about 200,000 barrels of crude per day.
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  • That accounts for about 10 percent of Nigeria's current daily output of about 2 million barrels per day - already significantly down from the amount produced before years of militant attacks on oil infrastructure.
  • The militant leader said the militants were considering using the kidnapped American as a bargaining chip in their effort to free a militant leader who is in prison on charges of arms dealing and terrorism.
  • Attacks against offshore facilities are exceedingly rare.
  • Militant attacks on oil infrastructure have reduced by about a quarter the total oil production in Nigeria, which is Africa's biggest producer and a member of OPEC.
  • Despite being the home of almost all of Nigeria's petroleum reserves, the country's south is as desperately poor as the rest of Nigeria, Africa's most populous country with 140 million people.
  • Troy Rietsma on 14 Apr 11
     
    Source: "Attack Shuts Down Nigeria Oil Platform." CBS News. CBS, 19 June 2008. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. . 2. Summary: The most powerful militant group in Nigeria launched an attack on an offshore oil rig. The militant group was unable to destroy a computer control room. The rig produces 200,000 barrels a day, and production was shut down for a period of time. This rig accounts for about 10% of Nigeria's output of oil. 3. Reaction: I think this article helps confirm the severity of the oil industry in Africa. When we think of oil, we think of middle eastern countries. But we don't realize that a lot of fighting and turmoil occur in Africa over oil as well. And the strive to be the top oil producer brings a lot of corruption, as we can see. 4. Questions: Have any attacks like this occurred since this one? Has this attack had a lasting effect on the Nigerian economy? How did the Nigerian people react?
Joy Merlino

Impatient Palestinians Eye Arab World In Flux : NPR - 0 views

www.npr.org/...story.php

Palestinian Middle East Uprising

shared by Joy Merlino on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Could the Arab Spring pass over the Palestinians?
  • With the peace process going nowhere, the threat of new violence increasing and the Palestinians badly divided, people in the West Bank and Gaza are surveying the rapid changes in the rest of the Arab world — and growing impatient with stagnation at home.
  • In Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, officials are quietly working on a plan: Going for statehood without agreement with Israel, bypassing the moribund peace process.
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  • Although revolt seems unlikely for now, the crowded coastal strip has experienced a series of demonstrations with youths calling for national reconciliation between the two Palestinian territories.
  • "I believe that change is coming to our part of the world. We need as Palestinians to catch the moment," said Saed Issac, a 22-year-old law student in Gaza. "It's time for national unity first, to elect new leaders, and to work hard to achieve our task to end the occupation."
  • Issac was referring to Israel's control over Palestinians' lives — which Palestinians feel applies not only to the West Bank, where power is shared in a complex arrangement dating back to the 1990 autonomy accords, but also in besieged Gaza, even though Israeli settlers and soldiers pulled out five years ago.
  • In Israel, many eye the changes in the Arab world warily, fearing freedom could unleash more hostility — and that is doubly true when it comes to the Palestinians.
  • the Palestinians were influenced by "the trauma of Hamas' rise in the Gaza Strip, relative prosperity in the West Bank" and the expectation of statehood materializing within months. If that expectation is disappointed "a political tsunami" will result, he predicted.
  • A paradoxical challenge results: Hamas won elections but rules Gaza in authoritarian fashion, while Fatah, despite canceling recent elections, has made strides in convincing the world community that in the West Bank it is genuinely laying the foundations of a functioning independent state.
  • The picture that emerges from interviews with top Palestinian Authority officials, most off the record, marks a break from past policies that ranged from negotiations to violence and terror attacks. It combines what seems like genuine commitment to nonviolence with utter impatience with more talks with Israel.
  • "Negotiations have hit a dead end, and the U.S. administration is not willing to pressure Israel. Therefore, we have no other option except taking our case to the international community," said Palestinian negotiator Mohammed Ishtayeh.
  • Abbas' prime minister, Salam Fayyad, has long cited September 2011 as the moment his people will be ready for independence, after a two-year program of rehabilitating courts, police and other institutions. It also coincides with the annual meeting of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly.
  • The Palestinians say 120 of the 192 countries in the General Assembly have already granted full diplomatic recognition to Palestine, including a recent string of Latin American nations. Many have said the state should be based along the pre-1967 boundary between Israel and the West Bank — effectively taking the Palestinians' side on the border question, since Israel hopes to keep parts of the West Bank under a future deal.
  • Israel had previously dismissed the General Assembly as toothless, but that is starting to change.
  • In an interview with the Jerusalem Post Friday, former Israeli U.N. Ambassador Gabriela Shalev warned that a General Assembly resolution might be meaningful if passed under the auspices of so-called Resolution 377, a little-used device dating back to the Korean War that permits the body to recommend measures ranging from sanctions to the use of force in cases where the Security Council members cannot reach unanimity and peace is imperiled. "This would seek to impose on us some kind of Palestinian state," Shalev was quoted as saying.
  • Although a General Assembly declaration might not force immediate change on the ground, the Palestinians see it as a major step that would "give us new political, moral and legal standing against the Israeli occupation," Ishtayeh said.
  • Inspired by the unrest elsewhere in the region, the Palestinians are also considering backing the diplomatic offensive with peaceful — and photogenic — mass marches and sit-ins across the West Bank, confronting Israeli checkpoints and settlements.
  • One senior Palestinian official said the strategy, following the successful uprisings that ousted leaders in Egypt and Tunisia, would be meant to push the U.S. to take action.
  • A Facebook group called "Let's End the Occupation" has already sprouted up, saying it is preparing demonstrations near the Beit El settlement near Jerusalem later this year.
  • If all else fails Palestinians warn they might disband the Palestinian Authority — a move that would saddle Israel with responsibility for civil and security affairs in the West Bank, huge expenses and a public relations nightmare.
  • As long as peace talks were an option, Abbas could not afford to alienate Israel by embracing its archenemy this way. But the equation changes now that hardly a single Palestinian official can be found who believes in peace talks anymore: World recognition demands a unified front. And because the new strategy does not actually require the Palestinians to offer Israel formal peace, Hamas could be more likely to go along.
  • But there is a certain foment growing from within. Its scale is difficult to gauge, because fear is still widespread, but recent weeks have seen repeated popular protests, which Hamas has alternately supported and violently dispersed.
  • "Hamas needs to listen to the young generation's demands," Fahmi said. "The whole world is changing. You can feel it. So can Hamas."
  • Joy Merlino on 14 Apr 11
     
    How does the conflict in Israel affect the future of Israeli children compared to Palestinian children? Summary: This article is discussing whether or not the uprisings in the Middle East will spread to the palestinian lands. Given the fact that the leaders in the Palestinian lands no longer believe in the effectiveness of Israeli peace talks, the thought is that the spirit of the riots being held in neighboring countries will be caught by the Palestinian people. The attempt is to become recognized as a sovereign state; before this was to be attempted through peace talks, now the thought of many is to forgo the peace talks and deal directly with the international community.  Reflection: Our research question was focused mainly on the Israeli conflict alone; however, with the current rebellions and unrest in the rest of the MIddle East, it makes logical sense to explore their effect on this conflict as well. It is very true that these uprisings may lead to a want for an expedited statehood. We will just have to see how this all plays out.  
Laurel Ackerman

Israel Delays Approval Of East Jerusalem Housing : NPR - 0 views

www.npr.org/...story.php

Israel Palestine Peace talks East Jerusalem Housing

shared by Laurel Ackerman on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked a government panel to put off final approval of 2,500 new apartments in east Jerusalem, an official said Monday
  • Negotiations with Netanyahu never got off the ground because he refuses to commit to an internationally mandated settlement freeze, and Palestinians say they won't negotiate without one.
  • Israel's controversial foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, voiced concerns that any lull would merely allow Hamas to strengthen and regroup. He told Israel Radio that restraint was "a grave mistake" and that Israel's main objective should be "the toppling of the Hamas regime."
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  • no confirmation Monday that cease-fire conditions had been nailed down
  • The easing of tensions along the Gaza border came as the Palestinian Authority moved forward with plans to gain international recognition for an independent state. The Palestinians hope to take their case to the United Nations in September and sidestep talks with Israel
  • Amid reports of an unofficial, foreign-mediated cease-fire, Palestinian militants appeared to be stilling their rocket and mortar fire Monday, and Israel was refraining from retaliating for previous attacks.
  • The Palestinians plan to tell a conference of donor countries this week that they are ready for statehood.
  • Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has been laying the groundwork with a series of developments and reforms.
  • Ali Jarbawi, the Palestinian minister of planning, said Monday that the Palestinian government has reduced its dependence on foreign aid by 35 percent in the past two years
  • One added that Netanyahu's office had asked the Interior Ministry to delay the discussion of the project, citing pressure from the Quartet of international peacemakers — the U.S., European Union, United Nations and Russia
  • Netanyahu on Monday accused the international community — "people with good intentions," he called them — of putting peace even further out of reach by telling the Palestinians they don't have to negotiate.
  • Laurel Ackerman on 14 Apr 11
     
    How does the conflict in Israel affect the futures of Palestinian children compared to Israeli children?   "Israel Delays Approval Of East Jerusalem Housing ." National Public Radio. NPR, 11 Apr. 2011. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. . Summary: Israel is building in East Jerusalem, a part of Jerusalem under Palestinian control. Along with that, Israel and Palestinians have been fighting; however, they are trying to get a cease-fire. Even with an unofficial cease-fire, Israel is delaying the East Jerusalem housing project because of pressure from the Quartet although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is against the settlement freeze. But, Palestine will not negotiate an official cease-fire without one. 
lane rottschafer

Can Afghan Farmers Move Beyond Opium? - 0 views

www.time.com/...0,8599,1991283,00.html

opium crops profit

shared by lane rottschafer on 14 Apr 11 - Cached
  • Don Dwyer, a longtime expert in international agricultural development
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture has also dispatched 60 advisers to boost the efforts of Afghanistan's Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock
  • The first thing Rahimi did in his post was put together a viable new national agriculture plan focusing on four components: natural-resource management, production, postharvest handling and marketing
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  • What makes products like pomegranates, almonds and especially grapes so exciting, experts say, is that a plot of these legal gems can be five times more profitable than an equivalent-size plot of poppies.
  • The drawback, however, is start-up time.
  • Poppies, which are cultivated to produce opium, are an annually harvested crop. The establishment of a grape vineyard could take three to five years
  • the production cycle is only part of the problem
  • Saffron is also a high-value crop: one kilogram can fetch $2,000 to $3,000 in the local market
  • That compares to just over $90 a kilogram for poppies
  • The farmer's problem is processing, development, getting a brand and entering the international market ...
  • it's more practical to focus on enhancing the production of crops that farmers are already growing — like wheat and corn.
  • "Getting a farmer to try something new is very, very difficult. So we're trying to get them to take what they're doing now and just do it better,"
  • there has been significant progress. Over 1,000 new orchards have been planted, 30,000 tons of improved wheat seeds were distributed and ministry officials in provincial centers are working with foreign counterparts on development projects including aid programs to wean farmers off poppy
  • many complain that government involvement at the local level remains minimal to nonexistent.
  • "Agricultural production in Afghanistan needs long-term commitments and investments
  • lane rottschafer on 14 Apr 11
     
    http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1991283,00.html Can Afghan Farmers Move Beyond Opium? What are the effects of opium sales on Afghanistan? Summary: People are trying really hard to get them to grow other crops but its jut not working. They could make even more money than with the poppy if they just wait the period of time it takes to start a new crop Response: I think that this article shows that its pretty obvious things could change. It is hard to say to people, "stop what your doing and stop making money, but in the long hall you will make more money." I don't even know how many people here in america would take that chance. Questions: 1) what are the main foods that they could grow? 2) Why are those foods so fresh and tasty there? 3) They have the best ground for some of these crops, why aren't they using it? 4) What are all the crops that they could grow that would make them even more of a profit if they just wait? Citation: HAUSLOHNER, ABIGAIL. "Can Afghan Farmers Move Beyond Opium?." TIME. Ed. Kabul. N.p., 24 May 2010. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. .
Troy Rietsma

Cable: Leaders, military behind Nigeria oil thefts - World news - Africa - msnbc.com - 0 views

www.msnbc.msn.com/42531798

oil thieves politicians leaders

shared by Troy Rietsma on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Politicians and military leaders — not militants — are responsible for the majority of oil thefts in Nigeria's crude-rich southern delta, according to a U.S. diplomatic cable quoting a Nigerian official and released by WikiLeaks.
  • A member of a government panel on troubles in nation's Niger Delta implicated Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, a general whose brother became president, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as being the biggest forces behind the thefts, the cable claims
  • Those thefts also fuel arms sales to the restive region while causing environmental damage and cutting production in a nation crucial to U.S. oil supplies.
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  • The diplomatic cable quotes Uranta as blaming "no more than 15 percent" of oil thefts on militants operating in the delta, a tropical maze of creeks and waterways about the size of South Carolina. Instead, politicians, retired admirals and generals and others in the country's elite profit from the thefts. Typically, thieves solder or cut into oil pipelines running through the mangrove swamps of the delta. Some refine the crude into kerosene or diesel in crude refineries, while other oil sails out to foreign ports for sale.
  • The large-scale theft, compounded by anger over unceasing poverty and pollution in the delta despite 50 years of oil production, led to an uprising of militants in the region beginning in 2006. Military-grade weapons funneled into the region, turning gunrunners into militant leaders who espoused political ideas — but kept their eyes on the profits from stolen oil.
  • Troy Rietsma on 14 Apr 11
     
    Research Question: What effect does the competition of oil have on the people of Nigeria? 1. Source: Gambrell, Jon. "Leaders, military behind Nigeria oil thefts." MSNBC.com. MSN, 11 Apr. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. . 2. Summary: The oil bandits that I mentioned in an earlier post have an unsuspected force behind them. That force is allegedly the politicians and military leaders who lead the country. One of them was Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, a general whose brother became president.They allegedly supported the thieves who cut production of oil that is crucial to our own supplies. 3. Reaction I think this article is really going to give us a lead on our research question. Although we don't see exactly why these leaders would do this so clearly, we do see the corruption around the oil. It's hard to believe that leaders would do this; we take it for granted that although our leaders aren't perfect, we still have relatively loyal people leading our country. 4. Questions: How have the people of the country reacted? Are the people going to be pressed with charges? What kind of actions will follow such a find?
Jodie deVries

About Nothing To Envy | Nothing to Envy - 0 views

nothingtoenvy.com/about-nothing-to-envy

northkorea people nothingtoenvy

shared by Jodie deVries on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • In NOTHING TO ENVY, Demick follows the lives of six people: a couple of teenaged lovers courting in secret, an idealistic woman doctor,  a homeless boy, a model factory worker who loves Kim Il Sung more than her own family and her rebellious daughter.
  • six years painstakakingly reconstructing life in a city off-limits to outsiders through interviews with defectors, smuggled photographs and videos.
  • While many books focus on the North Korean nuclear threat, NOTHING TO ENVY is one of the few that dwells on what everyday life is like for ordinary citizens. 
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  • Demick brings to life what it means to be living under the most repressive totalitarian regime in the world today.  She gives a portrait as vivid as walking oneself through the darkened streets of North Korea.
  • Jodie deVries on 14 Apr 11
     
    How does North Korea's communist government and nuclear technology influence the lives of its people? Summery: This book is about the lives of people living in North Korea. It is written by a woman who interviewed defectors  and looked at smuggled photos and videos. It is one of the few books written about the lives of people rather than the government or nuclear threat.  Response: This is simply an "about" for the book. I have a copy of it at home and I am reading it. I am about 40 pages in and have already learned so much about the horrors and hopes of the people living in North Korea. It is a book that so directly ties into our research question that I will read the entire book before world cultures night.  Questions: At this point many of the questions I would ask I hope will be answered by the book but I will put some of the questions I hope to have answered here. 1) What is the life of an average citizen? 2) How extreme is the control of the government on the average person? 3) Is there any hope for the North Korean People?
lane rottschafer

Unknown disease wipes out half of Afghan opium crop. - 0 views

AcademicOneFile

Opium damaged crop

shared by lane rottschafer on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • lane rottschafer on 14 Apr 11
     
    http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/retrieve.do?contentSet=IAC-Documents&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&qrySerId=Locale(en,,):FQE%3D(K0,None,23)opium+afghanistan++crop:And:FQE%3D(TX,None,22)opium+afghanistan+crop:And:FQE%3D(TX,None,23)opium+afghanistan++crop$&sgHitCountType=None&inPS=true&sort=DateDescend&searchType=BasicSearchForm&tabID=T004&prodId=AONE&searchId=R7&currentPosition=2&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&docId=CJ236030044&docType=IAC What are the effects of opium sales on Afghanistan ? Summary: in 2010 there was a huge dieses that swept over around 50 percent of all the poppy plants. They didn't know exactly what was causing it, they were wanting to blame British and U.S troops, but there was no way to prove anything. They thought it could be bugs but no way of knowing for sure. Reflection: I think that its interesting that there is a HUGE brake out with the plants and around 50% of them were killed and no one knows how?? That seems incredible to me that no one would no how to figure out what happened to them? Questions: 1) Why doesn't anyone know what happened? 2) Is there a reason that we don't know, why this happened? 3) How did this effect the sales? 4) How was this effected money wise? Citation: What are the effects of opium sales on Afghanistan
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