Group items tagged

Research question: Is Islam a religion of peace or invitation to violence? BBC News: US Muslims seek to change on-screen http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12856708 Summary:Muslims who lives in US, is trying to change their stereotype characters that are portrayed by the media. Muslims and Islam religion itself has been portrayed in lots of negative ways; violent, terrorist, and extremists. And this gave Muslim's a stereotype to other people. Muslims in US also complained about their disadvantages they get just because of that view toward Muslim. At the job interview, they only sees that they're the Muslims and not trying to see what is in their heart. But, now Hollywood is trying to show real Muslim's life on the screen. One student said that "The Muslims that I know, the Arabs that I know in my life are not the people that I see on the screen. So right now, they are moving to change something as a universal story, not a typical Muslim story. Reflection: This article shows a great evidence to prove that Islam is a religion of peace, not violence. This is a real Muslim telling about their story. They have been misjudged by the people in US because of their false portrayed stereotype. It would be really bad if you are judged by someone negatively because of the few extremist in your group. We need to know that not all, and even most of the Muslims are not like we see them on screen. We really need to see what's in their mind. There are so many people who are just like us with their faithful belief. I also thin there needs to be something done to change this.  Questions: 1.What do 'real Muslims' think about 'Muslim extremists'? 2. What kinds of story can they share to prove that Islam is a religion of peace, not violence? 3. What does non Muslim think about the upcoming movie about Muslim? 4. What are some information gaps, or misinformations within muslim community?

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.

1. "The Council of Churches in Zambia is supporting the use of condoms in the fight against HIV/AIDS." The Christian Century 122.15 (2005): 17. Academic OneFile. Web. 13 Apr. 2011 2.The Churches are now supporting the use of condoms to help prevent the spread of HIV in Zambia. They want married couple to stay together even though the other has the disease. They want to be known for saving lives and not stoping the people from using a possible life saving product. 3.I think that this is a good thing but I do not know how a condom could prevent the disease. If this is a way to stop the disease from spreading then the church is doing the right thing changing their mind on the subject of use. I like that they still want people to remain married but I don't like that the are doing this so that they won't be blamed. 4. Will this make people thin k that sex is okay?  How has the church changed their opinions since the spread of this?  What has the church been doing to stop the spread of the disease? Is there more that the church can do for the people? 

Research Question: How does the Mexican drug war affect the government and people of Mexico? Source: "Introduction to Gangs: Opposing Viewpoints." Gangs. Ed. William Dudley and Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 2 Feb. 2011. Summary: Not only is the Mexican drug trade affecting Mexican citizens, but also those in America. The violence has crossed the borders and affected immigration patrol, gangs in the US, and other citizens. Mexico provides most of the cocaine and meth to the United States-about 90%. The expansion of the drug market has allowed for gangs to take higher risks for themselves, and thus higher risks for Mexicans and Americans. Because the United States is the main consumer of these drugs, we are fueling the violence. Politicians who were previously liberal on the border policy might become more conservative to protect their constituents. The US is giving money to Mexico to "help Mexico's military purchase weaponry and fund training" as well as "reform its judiciary system." Some believe that this money should actually be used to stop the government corruption instead. *the rest is on a sticky note on this page

Research Question: What is the cause of all the violence associated with the Mexican drug trade? Source: Caistor, Nick. "Mexico's drugs gang 'death squad' ." BBC News. N.p., 4 Sept. 2010. Web. 27 Jan. 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11189017 Summary: The Zeta drugs gang, formed around seven years ago, is known as the most ruthless and threatening death squad in Mexican history. Ten members of the Zetas are on the DEA's most-wanted list with rewards reaching $50m. As a result of the Zetas trying to take over more territory, there have been a rapid increase in murders of rival gang members. "President Felipe Calderon has drafted nearly 50,000 members of the security forces into the fight against the cartels, but is facing increasing criticism because of the surge in deadly violence throughout Mexico." Reflection: To be honest I didn't know a lot about the Mexican drug trade, and had never heard of the Zetas. It's unfortunate to see how influential and dangerous this group has become over the course of just seven years. It disgusts me to read about how ruthless this gang is; particularly for beheading their victims. Also, I read about what Mexico's president is trying to do, however he is being criticized because of the increase in violence. Thinking more about President Felipe Calderon makes me want to look more into what Mexico is trying to do to stop such violence. This article helped me understand more about the Zeta gang but didn't specifically help answer the cause of my research question. Questions: 1) What is the most effective way of trying to reduce violence throughout Mexico? 2) Are the Zetas targeting certain areas or specific gangs? 3) Why do the Zetas want to conquer more territory so badly? 4) Because the Zetas committed some murders in the US, is the US doing anything to stop this from happening?

BBC News - UN court rejects Georgia case against Russia over war http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12935149 Summary: The US court reject a case filed by Georgia because The ICJ in the Hague could not examine Georgia's complaint.  During the war, thousands of ethnic Georgian fled their land.  After voting 10-6 did not agree to examine Georgia's case because they did not tried to resolve the dispute through negotiations.  However Georgia government did not give up and tried to help US court but Us rejected. Reflection: When I saw this article, both Russia and Georgia had their own pain and they wanted to heal their own property and countries.  Especially, Georgia's case was rejected and it made me surprised because they needed to solve those problems.  However, I just understand some stuff that their case was not enough for examine their problems.   Question:1)Why Georgia's case was rejected by IJC? 2)Why US did not accept Georgia's case? 3)Why Georgia was not giving up?

Research Question: Still today, what are the social, economical, and political effects of the earthquake in Haiti? Citation Source: "SYSTEM WOULD HELP HAITI BUILD, MODIFY EARTHQUAKE-PRONE STRUCTURES." States News Service 19 Oct. 2010. Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. Summary: This Article is about engineers studying the effects of Haiti's terrible earthquake. They tell us that if the people had constructed their buildings differently, many would not have been destroyed so dramatically. The engineers have found a system to improve the earthquake resistance of buildings. Out of 170 damaged buildings surveyed in January, 40% were heavily damaged, and 90% of those buildings would have been vulnerable if the system was in place. The Article goes on to tell us that for a certain sized building, the smaller the columns and fewer the walls between the columns, the more damaged the building will be. They discovered that most homes in Haiti had these "captive columns." This is were a wall is attached to a column, but does not extend as tall as the column, leaving a portion unsupported. It tells us around 60% of the 170 buildings had captive columns. However, the engineers have decided to follow the system to help reinforced concrete buildings today. 

Research Question: How does the Mexican drug war affect the government and people of Mexico? Source: Valdez, Avelardo. "Failure to curb drug war exposes Mexico's weakness." Chron: Viewpoints, Outlook. N.p., 26 Jan. 2011. Web. 28 Jan. 2011. . Summary: More people have lost their lives in the drug war than in the war in Afghanistan; it's obvious that something is amiss here. Although many "famous" drug leaders have been caught, the problem still exists in Mexico. Again, we see that money is an issue; government officials are paid to help the criminals. The weak criminal justice system in Mexico allows for people to use their connections to avoid arrest, conviction, etc. President Calderon started this war even though it's obvious that they are incapable of winning under these circumstances. It may have been a political stunt to win votes for his campaign. The US should spend our money rebuilding the government instead of encouraging the government to become more corrupt. ***rest of info is on sticky note on this page

Why they hate us (Lebanese Shiites) - Stanley Reed The Nation Reed, Stanley. "Why they hate us." The Nation 244 (1987): 168+. Student Edition. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. Summary: This article is an editorial as to why Hezbollah and Muslim Shiites have such hatred for the United States. Most of it is in regards to Israel. The United States continues to back Israel, and Hezbollah as a group despises this. They see America as the root of all evil.  Reflection: Back in 1985, when this article was written, we seemed to be totally anti-Hezbollah. We supported the Christian government that had won office, we then supplied the Lebanese government with weapons which they used to oppress the Shiite Muslims in Beirut. This only created more and more hatred against the United States and Israel, as well as Western culture as a whole. Questions: 1. Where there any violent reactions from Hezbollah after the attacks by the Lebanese President in 1985? 2. Does Hezbollah's hate for Israel come from the Western culture or the opposing religion? 3. How much support does Hezbollah receive from Iran, and how much from Lebanon?

What are the effects of Costa Rica's ecological conservation, on their people, economy, environment, and food?  Source: Highlighted Summary: This article is discussing the United Nations law of the sea. It tells about the concerns they have for the low number of fish and other sea life. They are also pushing for this law in order for there to be a support system or larger more developed nations along with the newer smaller developing nations. Reflection: I think that what the United Nations was doing was a good idea. We always put a lot of pressure on protecting the earth, but less is done for the seas. Costa Rica is strongly green on land, and they seem to have been and still are taking steps to protect the sea. They are also protecting a good source of food for their country. Questions: 1) Does this article cover enough on green food sources to cover that section of our research question? 2) Should we rethink the "green" food part of our research question? 

Research Question: What is the cause of all the violence associated with the Mexican drug trade?  Source: The Economist (US) Source Citation: "Get Shorty; The Mexican drug trade." The Economist [US] 18 Sept. 2010: 105(US). Student Edition. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. Summary: At the top of the Sinaloa cartel is Joaquin Guzman Loera, also known as El Chapo meaning shorty. Despite growing up in a poor family working opium poppies, he has later been known as Mexico's most legendary escapee and was named 41 on the list of the world's most powerful people by Forbes magazine. He controls a lot of Mexico and although he tries to focus on business, it is still brutal. Reflection: Two parts of this article that really stuck out to me where that the Mexican drug cartels are the most powerful organized-crime group in the Western world, and that even if El Chapo were to fall, there will be plenty more where he came from. These two things really emphasize the power and enormity of the drug trade. Questions: 1) If the government is able to stop major drug lords, will this help stop the drug war? Or will more rise to power as a drug lord? 2) How does someone from such a poor background come to great amounts of power? 3) Is the only way to not let the cartels be the most powerful organized-crime group by stopping people like El Chapo?

Research Journal #1: Article Two Question: How is ecological conservation effecting Costa Rica? Source: MEL Database: "Costa Rica: Committed to Conservation" by Rene Castro Citation: Castro, Rene. "Costa Rica: committed to conservation." World and I Nov. 1998: 65+. Student Edition. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. Summary: This article talks mainly about what Costa Rica's government is doing to converse the land. The article emphasis how Costa Rica is implying their hopes and dreams into reality for the country. The author uses specific facts such as the percentage of wild-lands, the percentage of forests, the percentage of land used for agriculture. The articles also presents the measures that the government set in place in the mid-1990s to create a more sustainable ecology. The end of the articles discuss how Costa Rica is going to keep this "green" idea alive into the future. Reflection: I found this article helpful because it talks about the government side of the conservation, and what the government is doing to help provide and enforce conservation in Costa Rica. The articles makes great points, and is filled with a lot of facts about the country's ecology. I was glad to find an article that talked about the steps that were made to bring Costa Rica to the place where they are in ecological conservation.   Questions: 1) What is the government continuing to do? 2) How well have the guidelines been followed over the years. 3) What other steps outside of the government have been taken to enforce the conservation. 4) As a group we will need to include the starting point behind this push for conservation in our exhibit.

Research Question: How does the Mexican drug war affect the government and people of Mexico? Source: Duff, Devon, and Jen Rygler. "Drug Trafficking, Violence and Mexico's Economic Future."Knowledge @ Wharton. N.p., 26 Jan. 2011. Web. 28 Jan. 2011. . Summary: Mexico is making efforts to cleanse their police force by performing drug tests, lie detector tests, and other exams to make sure that the officers are being honest. There is also a new program called "Plataforma México" that will try to connect the police force better in order to catch criminals. Many Mexican businesses are suffering due to the violence; drug cartels are using theft or kidnapping to gain power or profit. A birthday party was even interrupted by the drug cartel-the violence is now affecting the citizens. Legalizing drugs has been considered as a means to decrease the price of drugs, and thus get rid of the drug cartels. Some think, though, that this will increase their violence in order to earn more of a profit. Private security has increased due to the lack of trust in Mexico's public security. Tourism has decreased, not only due to the violence but swine flu as well in 2009.  ***rest of info is sticky noted on this page

Source: Christian Science Monitor: Who is winning Afghanistan war? US officials increasingly disagree. Summary: This article does not exactly relate to my research question but it is a little bit about how we as a country are involved in afghanistan and how it is going. This article thinks that we are really not making much progress in the war. We have taken out quite a few high officials but it really isnt helping our case very much. Then at the end it mentions opium a little bit. It says that they realize there was a decrease in opium this year so what they did is raise the price on it. It also says despite all the hinting at stopping opium farmers will still plant in 2011. Reflection: Although this was not the most helpful article I have found I still got some use out of it. I also thought it was just interesting to see our progress in the war and be able to read up on it. Questions: What are we doing about our status in the war? Do we have any affect on poppy production?

Research Question: What are the effects of the oil competition in Nigeria? Okhomina, Osamede. "The Delta-our abused, neglected child: the troubled Niger Delta is the linchpin of Nigeria's economy and one of the world's most important sources of oil and gas. But the troubles continue to rumble on with no real solution in sight. Oilman Osamede Okhomina * warns of the dire consequences of a failure to find answers." African Business July 2008: 62+. Student Edition. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. Reflection: It's really hard to realize that the oil competition has actually brought down the morality of people that they can leave a girl with polio laying in a puddle.  Summary: The author of this article was in a taxi in Lagos during a rainy day. As he was being drove around he saw a girl submerged in water that was crippled from polio, no one stopping to help but splashing up the water on her. He believes that since the oil has become such a big part of Nigeria's economy that the morality of people has gone down.The people are getting more greedy. Nigeria also used to be a big agricultural sector, but since the oil growth the same crops they once exported are now being imported because they don't do it themselves. It's also causing the rest of the world to worry because if any crisis hits the Niger Delta, it will have an impact on the entire world. Questions: Is there a way to create a moral backbone again for Nigeria? Should we feel partially responsible for the loss of morals since they are supporting us with so much oil?

Research Question: What effect does Costa Rica's ecological conservation have on it's environment and economy? Source: "Costa Rica's citizens of conservation: in their newly adopted homes, enclaves of foreigners support their local communities by using sustainable methods to preserve the land and the environment." Americas [English Edition] July-Aug. 2010: 22+. Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. Summary: This article is about the success and help that people, not native to Costa Rica, have been able to bring to their "adopted land" in Costa Rica. They tell about what got them interested, what they did and how it has helped the country of Costa Rica. 

Llana, Sara Miller, and Matthew Clark. "Cuba Under Raul: Creeping Towards Capitalism?." Christian Science Monitor. 23 Jul 2008: n.p. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 08 Mar 2011. Summary: The article describes how Cuba has an underground free market economy that Raul Castro is allowing. They is a shortage of food and texans want to end the embargo to sell their cattle and crops. Reflection: Their people are hungry, hardly any food for their own people. So the U.S and Cuban should work together to get rid of the embargo because it would help both. Question:  1. How much will Fidel Castro let Raul making change? 2. How Cuban American fell about getting rid of embargo?

Barry, Ellen. "Georgia Poses Hurdle for U.S.-Russia Ties." The New York Times 7 Mar. 2011 [Moscow] . Web. 8 Mar. 2011. .  Summary:       The issue facing russia and the World Trade Organization, is the fact that Georgia is already a member. With Russia wanting to join the W.T.O., Georgia has the power to deny Russia's passage into the organization. Georgia is trying to use this as leverage to make deals with russia so it can get peace and get the russian troops out of it's borders. The rest of the World Trade Organization views this as annoying but expects it to be solved and done with.  Reflections:       The fact that Georgia is using this as leverage is great. If I was in control of America I would also block Russia from joining in. I probably would not give up my denial of Russia until I got recognition of Georgia as a NATO member, a country that owns itself, and  get protection from attacks from Russia. I also would think that the rest of the world, just like me, would see this stupid, unneeded, bloody conflict as completely one sided. Questions: 1. What do you think Georgia should negotiate for? 2. Do you think it is fair to Russia to be denied by a country they oppress? 3. Do you think America should support them? Explain? 4. Do you think georgia should be completely supported by  America and its allies.? Why or why not?   

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. 

Jodie, great job overall but you are missing the questions section for each posting.

Research Question: Still today, what are the social, economical, and political effects of the earthquake in Haiti? Citation Source: "Roundup: Long way to go for Haiti's reconstruction." Xinhua News Agency 12 Jan. 2011. Student Edition. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. Summary: This Article is about Haiti's struggle to reconstruct. It tells us that the earthquake has killed at least 250,000 and left 1.5 million homeless. Only 5% of the rubble has been removed in a year since the tragedy. However, Haitians have learned to live with  the destruction and used the collapsed buildings to even become their homes. Because the reconstruction is taking so long, many families have begun to reconstruct themselves. Nevertheless, many organizations around the world have been helping Haiti. The (UNICEF) U.N Children's Fund has vaccinated 2 million children, helped more than 720,000 children go to school, set up 369 centers for activities for nearly 95,000 children. The Haitian government has launched reconstruction for water facilities, electricity, common repair, and homed more then 300,000. More than half of the population lives on less than a dollar a day and access to education and heath sanitation. Above all, reconstruction is not an easy task as shown.