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Jodie deVries

North Korea blasts US nuclear policy, vows to bolster atomic arsenal - 2 views

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NorthKorea NuclearPolicy academic onefile

shared by Jodie deVries on 15 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • SEOUL, April 9 (Yonhap) - North Korea lashed out at the new US nuclear policy
  • SEOUL, April 9 (
  • North Korea lashed out at the new US nuclear policy
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • SEOUL, April 9 (Yonhap)
  • the administration of US President Barack Obama renounced the use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states,
  • but it left open all options, including a nuclear attack, on countries such as North Korea or Iran that defy international nuclear nonproliferation obligations.
  • The statement came after Obama warned the North of isolation because of its nuclear defiance.
  • signal to countries that are not abiding by their Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations, that they will be isolated," Obama said
  • Pyongyang has claimed that Washington's "hostile policy" towards it forced the regime to develop atomic bombs, and that the country cannot give up nuclear weapons unless the US nuclear threat is removed.
  • "As long as the US nuclear threat persists, the DPRK will increase and update various type nuclear weapons as its deterrent in such a manner as it deems necessary in the days ahead."
  • North Korea has been under mounting pressure to return to the negotiating table, but the regime is demanding the removal of UN sanctions, which were imposed for its atomic bomb test last year, as well as the start of separate talks with Washington for a peace treaty.
  • Jodie deVries on 15 Feb 11
     
    What is North Korea's Nuclear Policy and what effects does it have on the Korean People?  "North Korea blasts US nuclear policy, vows to bolster atomic arsenal." BBC Monitoring International Reports 9 Apr. 2010. Academic OneFile. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T004&prodId=AONE&docId=A223588700&source=gale&srcprod=AONE&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&version=1.0 Summery: North Korea became angry and "lashed out" at the United States new nuclear policy which says that Barak Obama and his administration "renounced the use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states, but it left open all options, including a nuclear attack, on countries such as North Korea or Iran that defy international nuclear nonproliferation obligations." In other words the US says no nuclear activity against any non-nuclear country but they are willing to attack North Korea because it is unwilling to adhere to the nonproliferation obligations. Obana also warned North Korea that failure to comply could lead to an isolation of North Korea. However, Pyongayng says that this is a "hostile policy" and that North Korea will continue to make and develop atomic weapons until the United State are no longer a nuclear threat.
Matt Mulder

North Korea willing to talk about uranium program - World news - Asia-Pacific - North K... - 1 views

www.msnbc.msn.com/42082685

northkorea Nuclear peacetalks

shared by Matt Mulder on 15 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • North Korea told a Russian envoy it is willing to discuss a recently disclosed uranium enrichment program if long-stalled nuclear disarmament talks resume
  • North Korea has carried out two nuclear tests, in 2006 and 2009, and is believed to be working toward mounting a bomb on a long-range missile.
  • Pyongyang officials told Russia's top nuclear envoy, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin, that North Korea "is not opposed" to discussion of its uranium-enrichment program as part of nuclear talks
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • A Russian delegation headed by Borodavkin visited North Korea from Friday to Monday, the spokesman said.
  • North Korea responded by saying it was willing to return to the six-party talks without preconditions, and that other Russian requests could also be discussed
  • The U.S. has 28,500 troops in the South to guard against aggression — a presence that Pyongyang cites as a main factor behind its need to build a nuclear program.
  • Seoul came to a halt for 15 minutes as South Koreans pulled their cars by the side of the road and scrambled under desks and into subway stations as part of regular drills to prepare for a potential attack from the North.
  • Matt Mulder on 15 Mar 11
     
    Summary: north korean officials told the russians that they would be willing to discuss their recently discovered uranium facility in nuke disarmament talks resume. also, south korea is doing regular drills for an attack from their counterparts in the north reflection: i think it's great the the north is willing to actually talk about some of their nuclear program with other nations instead of keeping to themselves and leaving the rest of us wondering. maybe they can be convinced that they don't need to go nuclear questions: why all this transparency all of the sudden? why does NK think that they need nukes just b/c there are US soldiers in the south? could the north be convinced to drop their nuclear program?
  • Jessica Ruthsatz on 22 Mar 11
     
    Matt, You have quite a few punctuation and grammatical errors. As this is a formal submission, you need to take more care in capitalization.
Jodie deVries

Shift on North Korea - 1 views

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NorthKorea NuclearPolicy academic onefile

shared by Jodie deVries on 15 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • rospects for the resum
  • Prospects for the resumption of talks on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons drive remain clouded.
  • The United States is unlikely to soften its policy toward nuclear-armed North Korea
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • Six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons drive among the United States, Russia, China, the two Koreas and Japan have been frozen since December 2008.
  • Prospects for renewed negotiations have been clouded by South Korean and U.S. accusations that the North torpedoed one of Seoul's warships in March, a charge it denies.
  • "There's very little optimism within the administration that North Korea will now ever give up its nuclear weapons, and therefore there is little push for using the limited political capital the president has on what would be seen as sort of a lost cause,"
  • two preconditions for talks on North Korea's weapons program to resume.
  • The first, he said, would be for North Korea to fulfill commitments it has already made.
  • The second, Klingner said, would be the "satisfaction" of South Korea's concerns over the North's sinking of the South Korean warship the Cheonan earlier this year.
  • North Korea is unlikely to make progress on either of those two preconditions, and because both Washington and Seoul express no intention of lowering the bar on those preconditions, we're unlikely to see a return to the six-party talks,"
  • "The U.S. position, as affirmed in a pre-presidential trip briefing, is that it needs to see actions-not words-by North Korea."
  • "My understanding is that the incoming chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee has expressed an interest in this issue and is likely to take a more active role in finding ways to criticize the DPRK [North Korea] for its failures."
  • outside experts who had euphoric expectations that the change in U.S. leadership from Bush to Obama would lead to a breakthrough with North Korea-with North Korea no longer feeling 'threatened' by Bush-
  • those outside analysts are now shifting over to the more skeptical, pessimistic view."
  • Jodie deVries on 15 Feb 11
     
    What is North Korea's Nuclear Policy and what effects does it have on the Korean People?  "NO SHIFT ON NORTH KOREA." States News Service 10 Nov. 2010. Academic OneFile. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T004&prodId=AONE&docId=CJ241804370&source=gale&srcprod=AONE&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&version=1.0 Summery: President Obama took another trip to North Korea in November of 2010 to try and persuade North Korea to re-enter the six-party talks. He also discussed the future of North Korea. Unfortunately the outlook is still bleak. The six-party talks, which were to discus the nuclear weapons drive between the United States, Russia, both Korea's and Japan, have been halted since December 2008. Prospects for a renewal of these bleak after accusations by South Korea and the US that North Korea torpedoed one of Seoul's warships. In order for the US and others to be willing to resume talks there would be two preconditions: the invitation of of an International Atomic Energy Agency inspector to look over North Korean dismantlement procedures and the resolution of the concerns held by South Korea over the sinking of the South Korean's warship. Unfortunately North Korea is unlikely to follow either of these preconditions so the likely hood of the six-party talks continuing is slim. 
  • Jessica Ruthsatz on 28 Feb 11
     
    Jodie, great job overall but you are missing the questions section for each posting.
Jessica Ruthsatz

BBC News - EU's Lady Ashton given 'cover-up' in Iran press - 0 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...world-europe-12289080

Iran Dress Code Nuclear

shared by Jessica Ruthsatz on 27 Jan 11 - No Cached
  • Asriran.com showed Iranian press pictures of Lady Ashton next to Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, with her black top raised higher than in the original.
  • Cyrus Amini, who worked in Iranian print media in 1998-2003, said the practice was "quite usual and understandable" because of the differences between Western and Iranian culture
  • some Muslim clerics in Iran were even objecting to pictures showing a woman's exposed head and neck.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • authorities could file away such alleged infringements for future use, and u
  • five UN Security Council permanent members - the UK, China, France, Russia and the US - plus Germany
  • Western powers suspect Iran of trying to build a nuclear weapon. Tehran insists that it is only trying to develop nuclear power for civilian needs.
  • Jessica Ruthsatz on 27 Jan 11
     
    BBC News: EU's lady Ashton Given "Cover Up" IN Iran presshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12289080 Summary:This Article was about a photograph of the EU Foreign Policy Chief named Lady Ashton.    She was recently in "Brushed up" in the Iranian press picture of her meeting with Mr. Jalili in Istanbul, Turkey concerning the UN talks with iran over nuclear policy. Apparently her black undershirt was considered too revealing for Iranian culture.  Some muslim clerics also object to showing a woman's head and neck, so the Iranian news agencies often retouch images they find improper.   Reflection: I know that Muslim societies are very very conservative, but I didn't know that it extended to print media as well.  I think it is a bit insulting to a foreign dignitary to change her outfit to fit your cultures standards.  What would happen if an American paper put a suit on the Ayatollah Khomeini?  I guess If I were an Iranian I would not feel like I could trust the news media because they clearly admit altering things that don't fit the current government's views.  This fits into my research because it speaks to women's rights in Iran.  Obviously, there are rigid restrictions on dress for women. If they are willing to change a picture from another country, what will they do to violators in their own nation.   Questions:1) Are there posted laws for women's clothing?2)  Are there posted laws for Men's clothing?3) How did Lady Ashton react?4) Must journalist comply with retouching?  and what happens if they don't?
Matt Mulder

BBC News - North Korea 'ready for sacred war' with the South - 1 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...world-asia-pacific-12067735

NorthKorea bbc war Nuclear

shared by Matt Mulder on 17 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • North Korea is ready for a "sacred war of justice" using a nuclear deterrent, its armed forces minister has said.
  • Kim Yong-chun accused South Korea of making preparations for war
  • come a month after North Korea shelled a Southern island
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • South Korean President
  • promised immediate retaliation to any further Northern attack.
  • the drill was aimed to display its firepower.
  • Despite possessing enough plutonium to create a bomb, the North is not thought to have succeeded in building a nuclear weapon.
  • US officials too are privately expressing their concern about Seoul's new, more aggressive stance
  • North Korea walked out of the six-party talks in April 2009 and expelled UN nuclear inspectors from the country.
  • Matt Mulder on 17 Feb 11
     
    BBC News - North Korea 'ready for sacred war' with the South http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12067735 Summary: North Korea says that they are prepared to use nuclear force against the South if provoked (they say the provocation is what the South did when they did war exercises after the bombing of an island). The South has taken a similar stance, only they don't use nukes. China wants to get North Korea back in peace talks, but that probably won't happen, seeing as they won't let the UN into their country. Reflection: i think that the North Koreans are just being paranoid. Also, (as seen in an annotation above) we don't know if they actually have a nuke. They could just be bluffing. The South only has taken their new stance and has done the war demonstrations because THEY were provoked by the North, not vice-versa. I really think that the North is being immature. Questions: 1. Does the North actually have a bomb or not? 2. Will both North and South follow through on their promises of war if provoked? 3. if so, what would we do about it?
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. 
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • 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?
Jodie deVries

BBC News - Charities warn of food shortages in North Korea - 1 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...world-asia-pacific-12563670

northkorea starvation food bbc

shared by Jodie deVries on 10 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • they saw evidence of looming food shortages and alarming malnutrition, including people picking wild grasses to eat.
  • North Korea has suffered major food shortages in the past.
  • A famine in the 1990s saw hundreds of thousands of people - perhaps as many as two million - die of starvation.
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • It is well documented that during food shortages in the North, people will forage for weeds, herbs and wild grasses to supplement their meagre diet.
  • The charity workers
  • spent a week in North Korea earlier this month, invited by the government
  • 50% and 80% of the wheat and barley planted for harvesting in the spring has been killed by the extreme cold of the past two months, as well as potato seedlings.
  • ncrease in malnutrition over the past six months
  • acute cases
  • last vegetable harvest was much poorer than expected.
  • North Korea's embassies have been asking foreign countries to provide aid.
  • One concern of America, which until 2009 was one of North Korea's biggest food donors, is whether food reaches those in need or is given to the military and political elite.
  • Aid from South Korea was stopped too - apart from one small shipment last year - in protest at the lack of progress on denuclearisation.
  • The current issue of possible humanitarian need is set against difficult political relations after a military confrontation last year in which the North shelled a South Korean island near their disputed sea border.
  • Jodie deVries on 10 Mar 11
     
    How does North Korea's communist government and nuclear technology influence the lives of its people? Ravenscroft, Nick. "Charities warn of food shortages in North Korea." BBC News. BBC, 24 Feb. 2011. Web. 9 Mar. 2011. .Summery: Recently a group of Humanitarians went into North Korea as invited by the Government. They discovered that North Korea is in a desperate situation. They are quickly running out of food and their people are malnourished. The harvest of wheat and barley has been mostly killed by a severe cold and their veggie harvests have been low. Some people are resorting to eating wild grasses. In 1990 North Korea faced a similar situation and millions of their people died. Now North Korea is pleading for help but because of their past actions people are hesitant to give it. The US, South Korea and the UN are afraid that food they may give to North Korea will only go to serve the government elite and the military. They are also holding this over North Korea to change Nuclear policy. Reflection: I want to simply say North Korea brought this upon itself, which is somewhat true, but I can't because the people who are starving are not the people who have caused the problems. It is extremely unfair that the people who have done nothing wrong are being starved because of the actions of their government. I wish there was a simple solution but unfortunately there just isn't. Questions: 1) What options do the US, South Korea and the UN have to get people in North Korea food?2) If the North Korean government is pleading for help, will they be willing to compromise for it?3) How is the North Korean government going to deal with the issues they have created for themselves?
Matt Mulder

Gates to North Korea: End belligerent acts - CNN.com - 1 views

www.cnn.com/...index.html

Nuclear NorthKorea CNN

shared by Matt Mulder on 01 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • urged North Korea to end its belligerent acts and take concrete steps to meet expectations of the international community.
  • diplomatic engagement is possible
  • how cause to believe that negotiations can be productive and conducted in good faith, then we could see a return to the six-party talks,"
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • it had grown more "lethal" and "destabilizing," not only for the Korean Peninsula but also for the Pacific Rim
  • North's shelling of the South's Yeonpyeong Island in November, as well as the March sinking of a South Korean warship -- allegedly by a North Korean torpedo
  • Tensions between the Koreas escalated
  • that it is enriching uranium for nuclear weapons.
  • North Korea has denied sinking the warship.
  • aken a tough stance against the North
  • Seoul
  • Washington has been concerned about North Korea's efforts to develop its nuclear program.
  • Matt Mulder on 01 Mar 11
     
    Source: CNN News: Gates to North Korea: End Belligerent Acts http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/01/14/south.korea.gates/index.html Summary: This article talks about how Defense Secretary Gates told the North to stop their war-provoking acts when he was touring southeast Asia. Gates also encouraged them to take steps towards negotiation actions and get back in the six-party peace talks. Gates says that the actions performed by the north are increasingly dangerous for the world. Reflection: I thought this was a pretty good article, as it give some insight as to what happens in the world of politics when dealing with -ahem- troublesome countries. I like it how Gates is taking the initiative and telling North Korea to cut it out. It's good because somebody has to. Their government is like a bad child. If you don't tell the child to stop and behave, that child will grow up to be a real pest and/or threat to you. Questions: Why does the North think that they need Nukes? Why can't we somehow take out the government? Why isn't the North willing to talk with other nations about this?
Matt Mulder

BBC News - Seoul sends warning of 'strong response' to North Korea - 0 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...world-asia-pacific-12108638

NorthKorea Nuclear bbc war

shared by Matt Mulder on 17 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • South Korean president has warned that any military aggression by North Korea would be met with a 'strong and stern' response.
  • added that the door to dialogue remains open
  • North called for an end to confrontation with the South following one of the most violent years
  • Matt Mulder on 17 Feb 11
     
    BBC News: Seoul sends warning of 'strong response' to North Korea http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12108638 Summary: The video on this article's page talks about how the North Korean officials have said that the main focus of their government in 2011 will be economic related, though they didn't talk about their bad relationship with the South. The South is trying to get it through the North's head that they won't be messed with, though there are fears of the North and their nukes. An expert thinks that one of the few reasons as to why there isn't a war there is because of the US troops stationed in the South. Reflection: I really think that the North Korean officials don't really know what they're doing, because they keep threatening South Korea with military action. also, i think that it's a bit scary to think that these crazy people have their hands on some nukes. Questions: 1. What really is the North Korean Nuclear Policy? 2. How much of a threat to the world is North Korea? 3. Is there any way to get peace in the Koran peninsula?
  • Jessica Ruthsatz on 28 Feb 11
     
    Hi Matt, While both are great sources as per the directions you may only use BBC once as a source for RJ's. As a result this posting will not count towards your grade.
Matt Mulder

Food for thought in North Korea - Opinion - Al Jazeera English - 1 views

english.aljazeera.net/...201134131836876620.html

NorthKorea Aljazeera food

shared by Matt Mulder on 08 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • The past 12 months have seen some of the most outrageous North Korean behaviour in decades.
  • proudly unveiled a modern, high-tech uranium-enrichment facility.
  • When asked why they failed to include this facility in their declaration of nuclear programs
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • officials responded cheerfully – and absurdly – that it had been built from scratch
  • after
  • negotiations in 2008.
  • North Koreans lied
  • ot only to the United States
  • but also to China, Russia, Japan, and South Korea
  • For South Koreans, whether to care for hungry North Koreans, who are both kith and kin, will be a much tougher decision than for others
  • South Korea's government will confront one of the toughest choices that any government can face: whether the short-term cost in human lives is worth the potential long-term benefits - also in terms of human lives - that a famine-induced collapse of North Korea could bring.
  • Matt Mulder on 08 Mar 11
     
    Research Question: What is North Korea's Nuclear policy and how does it affect the people of North Korea? Source: AlJazeera Summary: the south koreans are trying to figure out whether or not they should start not allowing food to go to the north or not. if they do, they would probably bring down the regime much faster, but at the same time, they would be starving the people that they consider to be their kin. Or, they could not use food as a weapon, but then the regime would continue as it is. This is an especially pressing issue b/c the north recently unveiled a high-tech uranium enriching facility, which they 'build from scratch' after the negotiations on 2008. Reflection: I think that it's quite sad that the cold war between the north and south has come to this. no country should have to choose between starving their kin and taking down an evil regime. I also think that it's really stupid the the north tried to lie to the world and say that they somehow built a high-tech facility in three years, and all the while their people are starving. Questions: 1. why are the officials in the government so stupid? 2. why don't/can't the people of the north rise up? 3. should the south withhold food or not?
Jodie deVries

Escaping North Korea - National Geographic Magazine - 1 views

ngm.nationalgeographic.com/...1

northkorea escaping defector

shared by Jodie deVries on 09 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • Jodie deVries on 09 Mar 11
     
    How does North Korea's communist government and nuclear technology influence the lives of its people? O'Neill, Tom. "Escaping North Korea." National Geographic Feb. 2009. Web. 9 Mar. 2011. .Summery:This article talks about the lives of people who defect from North Korea. It is a reporter who follows 3 people as he meets them in China and follows them on their journey to South Korea. To escape the awfulness of North Korea is hard and dangerous. The people who escape face punishment by North Korea if they are caught (labor/prison camps). As well as being tricked by the people they hire to help them. Red and White were tricked into the sex trade. There are people, usually Christians and humanitarians in China who help these trapped Defectors get back into South Korea where they can live in safety. These people also face huge risks in the work they do. Once in South Korea the defectors face a hard time acclimatizing into society. They have almost no training or skills and have never faced such freedoms. Response:I am glad that there are people who are helping these Defectors. It reminds me of the people who come into the US escaping Mexico but these people are escaping a much worse situation. I am amazed by the efforts put forth by South Korea to help these people, they spend a lot of money assisting the North Korean Defectors. It is a bitter sweet situation. I think this article will be very very helpful in our presentation. 
Jodie deVries

North Korea's 'Currency Reforms' Hurt Thousands : NPR - 1 views

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

northkorea casestudy people communism

shared by Jodie deVries on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • July 19, 2010
  • You might think it would be hard to make life more miserable for North Koreans, but their government did just that last fall when it tossed out its old currency and introduced a new one.
  • middle-class
  • ...23 more annotations...
  • means that she was not starving.
  • Her father was an iron miner
  • Her mother was selling socks.
  • eking by an existence
  • she considered herself extremely privileged because she would occasionally get an egg to eat.
  • these people, again, managed to raise themselves up. They were hit terribly hard by a currency devaluation that the government brought about last fall.
  • Overnight, basically, all their money was wiped out.
  • We're talking about people who had maybe $100, $200 in savings
  • But by a North Korean standard, that was what was going to give them a future.
  • even though education is nominally free in North Korea, you have to buy books, you have to give gifts of cash to your teachers who are themselves not paid.
  • the tragedy that all of the hard work that they had done to bring themselves up from that despair was lost overnight.
  • people having heart attacks and sort of nervous breakdowns when this happened because it was so sudden and, even by North Korean standards, so cruel.
  • People were told in most towns about noon on a Monday that
  • And they had usually till the end of the day to turn in their money. And they would get new money dispensed that would be worth a dollar or two. It wasn't really clear what the value was.
  • henceforth, all their money would be basically garbage, just paper.
  • They killed themselves. They swore against the regime. Things like this had never happened.
  • From the perspective of the North Korean government, they saw the very notion of money, currency, as sort of antithetical to the socialist way of doing things. This is a very undiluted brand of communism, and you're supposed to be handed your house, your clothing, your food. You're not supposed to buy things for yourself. And the government hated the fact that people were working privately on the markets, buying their own food and having that level of economic freedom. And that's what they wanted to wipe out.
  • by destroying the money supply, the government can print new money and use it for its own purposes.
  • the net effect was confiscating everybody's money.
  • think this is the sixth time they've done it. This is what a North Korean economist told me. But this time, they faltered.
  • being a totalitarian regime means never having to say you're sorry.
  • But in this case, it went so bad, they said they were sorry.
  • Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
  • Jodie deVries on 14 Apr 11
     
    North Korea's 'Currency Reforms' Hurt Thousands How does North Korea's communist government and nuclear technology influence the lives of its people?  Demick, Barbra. Interview by Renee Montagne. "North Korea's 'Currency Reforms' Hurt Th." Morning Edition. NPR, 19 July 2010. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. . Summary: The Communist North Korean government decided to change the currency of their country abruptly which destroyed the savings of many of its people. The government felt that the people having money was anti communist. In the article there is a case study on a 17 year old girl who grew up in a middle class household which meant that she wasn't starving. The other reason it is believed that the government chose to change currency was to "confiscate" the money of the people to gain money to make a celebration for Kim Jong Ilk's birthday.  Responce: How terrible for a country to be able to so easily destroy the hopes and dreams of its people! This article is so directly an answer to our research question because in a democratic government this could have never happened. This is a good article to have read because the case study will be very advantageous for our presentation. Questions: 1) How can a government do that to it's people? 2) What are the continuing effects of this currency change? 3) What are some other case studies like the 17 year old girl? (i will be checking the book this is based off out of the library.)
Matt Mulder

North Korea assembly meets, new post likely for leader's son | Reuters - 1 views

www.reuters.com/...rliament-idUSTRE7351WB20110406

northkorea government reuters

shared by Matt Mulder on 08 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • The Supreme People's Assembly is one of the country's three main governing bodies
  • top lieutenant on the commission died last year after a long illness, leaving the post vacant.
  • Jong-un, the ailing leader's youngest known son believed to be in his late 20s, was officially anointed as the reclusive state's leader-in-waiting last year when he was named a four-star general and given a key post in the ruling Workers' Party.
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  • North Korea is believed to be pushing ahead with work at its nuclear site for a possible third test, which could come as early as this spring, analysts have said.
  • Matt Mulder on 09 Apr 11
     
    Research Question: How does North Korea's communist government and nuclear technology influence the lives of its people? Source: Reuters.com Summary: North Korean officials were to meet this past thursday, and there are rumors that Kim Jong Il's son will be given a high position in the party. The 2nd in command position in the North Korean government has been empty for quite some time after the last guy died. This is the first meeting of the North Korean brass since the bombings in South Korea last year. Reflection: I think that this article gives a fairly nice insight into how the North Korean government works, albeit a tad slowly. Part of me wonders why it is that the government officials haven't gotten together since the bombing, which doesn't really do anything to help my theory that the North Korean government is full of idiots. Questions: 1. Why is it that the North Korean government seems to run so slowly and inefficiently at times? 2. Will Kim Jong-un become the next dictator? 3. What will happen if he does?
Bryce Lutke

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com - 0 views

www.cnn.com/video

Cuba

shared by Bryce Lutke on 11 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Bryce Lutke on 11 Apr 11
     
    Quotes: The Communist economic modle he introduced after his revolution has in someways failed Jeffery Goldburg Published part of those conversations on a Blog Fidel Castro's over riding fear that the world is on the brink of a nuclear war "The Cuban Model doesn't even work for us any more" Fidel Castro He (raul Castro) has insisted on numerous occasions that changes needed to be made to the economy he has introduced some modest reforms to farmers barbers and even taxies Fidel Castro has completely avoided domestic issues Darlington, Shasta. CNN. CNN, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. . Summary: Fidel Castro seems to realize that the empire that he dreamed of has very little chance of succeeding and that changes need to be made he is supporting some of the steps that his brother Raul Castro has made to change the way that the Cuban Government is run and is now coming out of a media nonexistence to speak of such subjects  Response: I think it is is a good thing that Fidel is realizing that the plans he made for the nation of Cuba are not turing out as well as he had planned and that changes need to be made to how their nation is run. I think it is a good sign that he is supporting his successor in the steps he is taking to make changes to the economy of Cuba.  Questions: What are some of the other things that he is changing? Are they working? What are some ongoing changes right now?
Laurel Ackerman

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Effects on Israel - 0 views

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Israel Decline Society

shared by Laurel Ackerman on 16 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • Avoidable because there was a reasonable chance that the conflict might have been resolved long ago, had the Israelis acknowledged the inevitable harms done to the Palestinians by the creation of Israel as well as the subsequent expulsion of some 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and villages, and resolved to do everything possible to make up for these injustices in any manner possible, short of abandoning the Jewish state in one part of the land of Palestine
  • he real goal of Israeli policy has been, at a minimum, to unilaterally annex some 40 percent of the West Bank, including the most productive lands and most of the water resources of the area. Beyond that, Olmert is continuing the process of what Reinhart openly calls "ethnic cleansing" that began with the expulsion of some 750,000 Palestinians in 1948.
  • The tactics used to achieve this goal include the killing of more than two thousand innocent Palestinians as the result of Israel's indiscriminate attacks on "militants" or "terrorists" via bombs, missiles, artillery fire, and the like.
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  • Beyond even that, other measures seek to destroy the Palestinian economy and ordinary life, including the destruction of Gaza's main electrical power plant; the severe restrictions placed on Palestinian drinking and agricultural water; the daily humiliations and often severe hardships imposed by draconic Israeli laws against the free movement of Palestinians throughout the West Bank; the disruption of the private and public health systems--and more.
  • Reinhart focuses primarily on the Israeli treatment of the Palestinians. She might well have added that the Occupation and repression have had devastating direct and indirect effects on Israeli institutions, society, and quality of life.
  • The judiciary in general, and the Supreme Court in particular, have largely abandoned their imperative role of upholding law and human rights against widespread governmental abuses, so long as the government cites "security needs" as its justification. Not surprisingly, the power of the military and security services in Israel are greater than in any other Western democracy.
  • There are many Israeli commentaries about the radical decline of values and ordinary moral norms and constraints. Among the consequences are the growth of (1) class and intra-Jewish ethnic and religious conflict; (2) organized and unorganized crime, including routine intra-Jewish violence; (3) anti-Arab sentiments and other forms of racism; and (4) the abuse of women, including white slavery. As academics like Aviad Klein-berg and journalists such as Tom Segev have concluded, "interest in human rights has never been so negligible," and Israeli society, gripped by "moral and political paralysis," is "gradually coming undone."
  • Israel has completely abandoned its earlier goal of creating a democratic socialism in favor of "rampant capitalism." Consequently, while some Israelis grow fabulously wealthy, other sectors of the society suffer through high unemployment rates, high inflation, and continuously widening income inequalities.
  • Sharon and his successors has created an environment in which academic freedom is under severe attack, Israel's intellectuals are increasingly regarded with scorn, and the education system as a whole has radically declined, becoming increasingly government-controlled, politicized, and ineffective
  • As Rein-hart puts it, Israel is a "small Jewish state ... surrounded by two hundred million Arabs," and it "is making itself the enemy of the whole Muslim world. There is no guarantee that such a state can survive. Saving the Palestinians also means saving Israel." Sooner or later the most fanatical of the Islamic fundamentalists by one means or another are likely to acquire nuclear weapons--and they may very well use them against Israeli cities, regardless of the obvious consequences to the Muslim world from Israeli retaliation. And that will be the end of Israel, and much of the Middle East.
  • Laurel Ackerman on 16 Feb 11
     
    How does the conflict in Israel affect the futures of Palestinian children compared to Israeli children? Slater, Jerome. "The need not to know: the American Jewish community and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.(The Road Map to Nowhere: Israel/Palestine since 2003)(Book review)." Tikkun Jan.-Feb. 2007: 65+. Student Edition. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. Student Edition Infotrack searched "Israel Palestine Conflict" http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=STOM&docId=A156555584&source=gale&srcprod=STOM&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&version=1.0 Summary: The conflict between Israel and Palestine does not only negatively affect the Palestinians, but it also negatively affects the Israelis. The Israeli Democracy, Human Rights, Economic Justice, Education, and Culture are all declining leading Israel to a future where it is the enemy of the whole Muslim world. This may lead to some cities being blown up and the future for the Israelis is very grim if things do not change.  Reflection: What we've been learning in class is all about how the Palestinians have no future, but here, it actually talks about how the Israelis also do not have too much of a future. More research on each thing that Slater says needs to be furthered in my research because we could use them as negative aspects of the Israeli children's futures.  Questions: What are specific things that are on the decline for the Israeli children's future? What are positive things? Do the Israeli negatives affect the Palestinians?
Nicki Pifer

Obama Opens Trade and Travel Relations With Communist Cuba - 0 views

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embargo trade Cuba travel

shared by Nicki Pifer on 01 Mar 11 - Cached
  • Nicki Pifer on 01 Mar 11
     
    On Friday, January 14 President Obama announced that he plans on easing trade and travel relations with Communist Cuba, including making it easier for U.S. citizens to travel directly to the island from American airports. The President added that he had instructed the relevant government departments to allow religious groups and students to travel to the communist-run island. For almost half a century, the debate has been raging over the United States' policy towards Cuba, which has been communist since Fidel Castro's coupe de etat in 1959. Free travel from the U.S. to Cuba was halted in 1963 under President John F. Kennedy. The explanation at the time for why Americans could visit the Soviet Union but not Cuba was that the communist government in Moscow was permanent but that Fidel Castro was temporary. In 1977, with Cuba still unchanged, President Jimmy Carter relaxed the travel ban. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan restored it. n 1998, with the Soviet Union "gone," Clinton loosened it and in 2004, with Cuba still unchanged, President George W. Bush tightened it again. Now President Obama is going back to the Clinton policy, which will make it easier for churches and universities to sponsor trips to the communist state. Obama's announcement calls for changes in policy at the Departments of State, Treasury, and Homeland Security, as both travel and remittances are involved in the changes, and the new regulations will be promulgated as modifications of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations and the Customs and Border Protection Regulations. The new policies call for the following reforms to Cuba-United States relations. According to the BBC, Obama's new proposals: * Allow religious organizations to sponsor religious travel to Cuba under a general license; * Allow accredited institutions of higher education to sponsor travel to Cuba; * Allow any U.S. person to send remittances (up to $500 per quarter) to non-family members in Cuba to support private e
Joy Merlino

Israel's Neighborhood Watch | Foreign Affairs - 0 views

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Israel Conflict Palestine

shared by Joy Merlino on 08 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • Until a decade ago, every Israeli government, left and right, was committed to a security doctrine that precluded the establishment of potential bases of terrorism on Israel’s borders.
  • That doctrine has since unraveled. In May 2000, Israel's unilateral withdrawal from southern Lebanon led to the formation of a Hezbollah-dominated region on Israel’s northern border. Then, in August 2005, Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza led to the rise of Hamas on Israel’s southern border.
  • As a result, two enclaves controlled by Islamist movements now possess the ability to launch missile attacks against any population center in Israel. And Iran, through its proxies, is now effectively pressing against Israel's borders.
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  • For Israel's policymakers, the nightmare scenario of the recent Egyptian upheaval is that Islamists will eventually assume control
  • Until now, the Muslim Brotherhood has faced a sworn enemy in the Mubarak regime. But if it were to take control in Egypt, then Hamas, the Brotherhood's descendant within the Palestinian national movement, would suddenly have an ally in Cairo. Hamas has significance for the Arab world: it is the first Sunni Islamist movement to align with Shiite Iran. So far, Hamas has been an aberration in this regard. But it could be a harbinger of an Egyptian-Iranian alliance that would create an almost complete encirclement of Israel by Iranian allies or proxies.
  • At the very least, Egypt’s instability will reinforce the urgency of Israeli demands for security guarantees as part of a deal on a Palestinian state. Those demands will include a demilitarized Palestine, Israel’s right to respond to terror attacks, and an Israeli military presence along the Jordan River.
  • The Israeli centrist majority views a Palestinian state with deep ambivalence.
  • On the other hand, centrists see a Palestinian state as an existential threat to Israel. An unstable Palestinian state on the West Bank could fall to Hamas, just as Palestinian Authority–led Gaza did in 2007. Israel would then find itself “sharing” Jerusalem with an Islamist government, turning the city into a war zone.
  • In that balance between existential necessity and existential threat, Egypt’s unrest only heightens Israeli anxieties of a Palestinian state.
  • Even a relatively more benign outcome -- such as the Turkish model of incremental Islamist control, with the government maintaining ties to the West -- would mean the end of Israel’s sense of security along its long southern border. And this uncertainty will certainly adversely affect the Israeli public’s willingness to relinquish the West Bank anytime soon.
  • Contrary to much of the public reaction in other Western nations, President Barack Obama's instant abandonment of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the United States’ closest ally in the Arab world, is being cited by Israeli commentators on the left and right as a warning against trusting the administration.
  • The Obama administration, along with much of the international community, has been motivated in its approach to the Middle East by two assumptions -- both of which have been proven wrong in recent days. The first is that the key to solving the Middle East's problems begins with solving the Palestinian problem. The second is that the key to solving the Palestinian problem is resolving the issues of the West Bank settlements and the status of Jerusalem.
  • The first premise was undone in the streets of Cairo.
  • Even if the Palestinian issue were to be somehow settled, the Arab world would still be caught in the shameful paradox of being one of the world's wealthiest regions and one of its least developed.
  • Moreover, as the WikiLeaks documents revealed, Arab leaders are far more concerned about the prospect of a nuclear Iran than about ending the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.
  • The second premise -- that settlements and Jerusalem are the main obstacles to an agremeent -- has been disproven by leaked documents from the Palestinian Authority published by Al Jazeera and The Guardian. Those documents reveal that on the future of Jerusalem's Jewish and Arab neighborhoods, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were largely in agreement
  • Instead, the main obstacle remains what it has been all along: the Palestinian insistence on the "right of return" -- that is, the mass immigration to the Jewish state of the descendants of Palestinian refugees.
  • Olmert also rejected Palestinian demands that Israel accept blame for creating the refugee problem -- given that the 1948 war that led to the refugee tragedy was launched by Arab countries. And so Olmert's offer to withdraw from more than 99 percent of the territory was, in the end, a nonstarter, with the disagreements between the two sides about the refugee issue remaining irreconcilable.
  • All of which only underscores for Israelis the grim logic of developments in the region. With peace with Egypt suddenly in doubt -- a peace for which Israel withdrew from territory more than three times its size -- I
  • sraelis are wondering about the wisdom of risking further withdrawals for agreements that could be abrogated with a change of regime. Such a dilemma is all the more pressing when the territory in question borders Israel's population centers.
  • For Israelis, this is a time of watching and waiting. Despite conventional wisdom in the West that a Palestinian state needs to be created to contain the Islamist threat, Israelis believe the reverse to be true. Only in a Middle East able to contain the Iranian contagion can Israel afford to take the risk of entrusting its eastern border to a sovereign Palestine.
  • Joy Merlino on 08 Mar 11
     
    How does the conflict in Israel affect the future of Israeli children compared to Palestinian children? Halevi, Yossi K. Foreign Affairs. N.p., 1 Feb. 2011. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. . Summary: With the Muslim Brotherhood poised to gain control in Egypt, Israel sees itself as almost completely encircled by hostile forces. Is an Egyptian-Iranian alliance a possibility -- and where would this leave the future of a sovereign Palestinian state.  Reflection: This article has everything to do with the future generation of Palestinians & Israelis. Everything in the Middle East is changing and uncertain at the moment. The current state of Israel & the focus of its conflict is bound to change with these new developments. Especially given the actions of Iran after Mubarak's regime was dismantled. Israel, I am sure, is on high alert at the present, and we will have to wait and see if these new developments have an affect on Israel's borders and their status as an independent state. 
Matt Mulder

North Korea parliament praises progress on economy - FoxNews.com - 1 views

www.foxnews.com/...lation-nkorea-parliament-meets

northkorea foxnews people

shared by Matt Mulder on 09 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • parliament praised progress in building the economy
  • but state media made no mention of a major promotion for the son of leader Kim Jong Il
  • Kim Jong Un would be elected to the powerful National Defense Commission — a move that would further solidify the young man's standing as North Korea's next leader.
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  • parliament typically meets once or twice a year
  • outsiders scrutinize the sessions for clues to changes to the tightly controlled country's economic policies and power structure.
  • election to the National Defense Commission, which formulates key state and military policies, would be the next step in the path to formally naming him as successor.
  • The country has made it a key goal to build up the economy by 2012, the 100th anniversary of the birth of national founder Kim Il Sung.
  • built a new steel factory, increased coal industrial capacity and built hydropower stations
  • "It actively encourages the struggle for the improvement of the people's living standards, marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of our fatherly leader Kim Il Sung in 2012, next year,"
  • Matt Mulder on 09 Apr 11
     
    Research Question: How does North Korea's communist government and nuclear technology influence the lives of its people? Source: Foxnews.com Summary: The leaders of North Korea's government met on thursday, and there were rumors that Kim Jong Il's son would be appointed to a higher position in the government to secure his place as next in line for the leadership of North Korea. However, there weren't any reports of that happening this time. Apparently, the top officials in the government meet once or twice a year to pass bills, appoint new leaders, etc. The government has been making significant progress over the past decade or so to be more self-sufficient as a country, which should greatly improve the standard of living for the average North Korean citizen. Reflection: I really think it's great that the people of North Korea might finally be able to have a better life, oppressed though it may be. I think that once the people have a better standard of living, they might also get to doing some thinking for themselves, and maybe have some interesting ideas about how their government is doing things. Yes, I know, that's a best-case scenario, but it could still happen. Questions: 1. What will happen once the people get better lives? 2. Is an overthrow possible? 3. What will Kim Jong Un be like as a ruler?
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