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Haley Luurtsema

RESEARCHERS FOCUS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL CARE FOR HAITI'S EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS. - 0 views

Part 2

Haiti Earthquake Effect

shared by Haley Luurtsema on 10 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • ritical to the long-term recovery of both individuals and communities.
  • ost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be experienced by any individual exposed to a traumatic event. Common symptoms include severe depression, severe anxiety, sub
  • Haley Luurtsema on 10 Apr 11
     
    Reflection: I believe that mental heath is  something that needs to be stressed more about. It effects both the individual and the community in many ways. I don't think people realize how after all the physical needs are met, people still go through terrible depression and PTSD like we are told. When an individual is mentally unhealthily, I believe it brings down the community and allows the negative effect to spread. That is why experts can stop the entire community from falling if they fix one individual problem.   Questions:1. What can we do about depression and PTSD?2. How can we help this not to spread through the community?3. How can Haiti work together and change as a community? 
Brielle DeFrell

Nigeria and Oil - Global Issues - 0 views

www.globalissues.org/...nigeria-and-oil

oil nigeria effects

shared by Brielle DeFrell on 11 Mar 11 - Cached
  • There is a symbiotic relationship between the military dictatorship and the multinational companies who grease the palms of those who rule….They are assassins in foreign lands. They drill and they kill in Nigeria.
  • Human Rights Activist Oronto Douglas
  • Niger Delta in Nigeria has been the attention of environmentalists, human rights activists and fair trade advocates around the world. The trial and hanging of environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other members of the Ogoni ethnic minority made world-wide attention. So too did the non-violent protests of the Og
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  • oni people
  • Ogoni, Ijaw and other people in the Niger Delta, those who have been worse affected for decades have been trying to stand up for themselves, their environment and their basic human and economic rights.
  • divide communities by paying off some members to disrupt non-violent protests.
  • threaten the livelihood of neighboring local communities. Due to the many forms of oil-generated environmental pollution evident throughout the region, farming and fishing have become impossible or extremely difficult in oil-affected areas, and even drinking water has become scarce. Malnourishment and disease appear common.
  • loss of property, price inflation, prostitution, and irresponsible fathering by expatriate oil workers.
  • Organized protest and activism by affected communities regularly meet with military repression, sometimes ending in the loss of life.
  • While the story told to consumers of Nigerian crude in the United States and the European Union—via ad campaigns and other public relations efforts—is that oil companies are a positive force in Nigeria, providing much needed economic development resources, the reality that confronted our delegation was quite the opposite
  • oil company operating in the Niger Delta employing inadequate environmental standards, public health standards, human rights standards, and relations with affected communities.
  • Far from being a positive force, these oil companies act as a destabilizing force, pitting one community against another, and acting as a catalyst—together with the military with whom they work closely—to some of the violence racking the region today.
  • Oil For Nothing: Multinational Corporations, Environmental Destruction, Death and Impunity in the Niger Delta, Essential Action and Global Exchange, January 25, 2000
  • in the killing of Ken Saro-Wiwa to Chevron-marked helicopters carrying Nigerian military that opened fire upon protestors,
  • The military have been accused of thousands of killings, house/village burnings, intimidating people, torture and so on.
  • oil companies have neglected the surrounding environment and health of the local communities
  • oil spills that are not cleaned up, blatant dumping of industrial waste and promises of development projects which are not followed through, have all added to the increasing environmental and health problems.
  • corruption and religious tensions between Muslims and Christians
  • into 2004
  • Shell companies have worsened fighting in the Niger Delta through payments for land use, environmental damage, corruption of company employees and reliance on Nigerian security forces.
  • Shell companies and their staff creates, feeds into, or exacerbates conflict.
  • Voilence in the Niger Delta kills some 1000 people each year,
  • With over 50 years of presence in Nigeria, it is reasonable to say that the Shell companies in Nigeria have become an integral part of the Niger Delta conflict
  • Human Rights Watch’s 2010 report. They note although free speech and independent media remain robust and there have been some anti-corruption efforts. However, this is overshadowed by religious and inter-communal violence that has seen Muslims and Christians killing each other and by Nigeria’s political leaders’ “near-total impunity for massive corruption and sponsoring political violence”.
  • latest escalation of violence began in early 2006, hundreds of people have been killed in clashes between rival armed groups vying for illicit patronage doled out by corrupt politicians, or between militants and government security forces. Armed gangs have carried out numerous attacks on oil facilities and kidnapped more than 500 oil workers and ordinary Nigerians for ransom during this period
  • June 2009, followed a major military offensive in May against militants in the creeks of Delta State, which left scores dead and thousands of residents displaced.
  • — Nigeria, World Report 2010, Human Rights Watch
  • Brielle DeFrell on 11 Mar 11
     
    Research question: What are the effects of the competition with oil in Nigeria?  Shah, Anup. "Nigeria and Oil." Global Issues, Updated: 10 Jun. 2010. Accessed: 10 Mar. 2011. Reflection: The more I research the problem the more I realize how big of a problem this really is. There are so many environmental issues and protests that have come with drilling in Nigeria.  Summary: The presence of oil companies have hurt many of the communities on the Niger Delta in Nigeria including environmental pollution, farming and fishing difficulties because of oil spills, drinking water is getting scarcer and scarcer, and malnourishment and disease is showing up more and more. Not only is it bring environmental issues, but economic and societal one too including loss of property, price inflation, prostitution, and bad fathering by oil company workers.Many people have lost their lives to the violence that goes on with both violent protests and non-violent ones. The government is corrupt and there are religious tensions going on between Muslims and Christians in the midst.  Questions:  *What would be best? To stay and get oil or to get out to stop the violence? *Is there a way to stop the violence? And should we take the step in doing so even though it may hurt us? *How many oil spills have happened in Nigeria?
Katie Feikema

Costa Rica's citizens of conservation: in their newly adopted homes, enclaves of foreig... - 0 views

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costa Rica environment

shared by Katie Feikema on 17 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • Historically, Costa Rica has been ecofriendly. It has set aside a higher percentage of land as national parks than any other nation in the Americas. Government programs assist landowners with reforestation, helping to bring land back to its natural state.
  • a number of examples exist where foreigners have become agents of change who add to the richness of Costa Rican fife. The Costa Rican government hopes to encourage such balanced exchanges.
  • Out of the Kyoto Protocols and through the World Bank, Costa Rica was selected to sell carbon credits. "They are paying people to produce oxygen,"
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  • Several times a year, they bring groups of university student volunteers to work in this small Costa Rican community. Last year, the volunteers renovated the school by painting it, sanding and varnishing the desks and chairs, and repairing windows. They also helped build an organic garden and learned about the value of growing their own foods.
  • The group also had a dream to create a library to serve the schools in the four communities of the Valle de Diamante. This past February the library opened right next to the freshly renovated school in La Florida.
  • The library, which serves the four community schools, will enhance the quality of education and create long-lasting opportunities for the areas children.
  • Villages are looking for a new ways to sustain themselves and their culture. This library, along with new skills related to farming organically, composting, using bio-fuels and alternative energy, and rehabilitating and reforesting land will bring greater financial abundance to the communities.
  • Their dream is to create a sustainable environment and a balanced ecology benefiting their region and the entire planet.
  • I see my role as making them aware of what's available through national programs and then facilitating the implementation." When he leaves after two years, the community will be more aware of the resources available to them and more able to fight for their own development.
  • Over time, Ewing's interest in cattle was replaced with an enthusiasm for the natural world of the Costa Rican forest. Little by little, he began thinking of the hacienda as a nature preserve.
  • Ewing allowed other parts of the hacienda to regenerate naturally. The rich, fertile, volcanic soil of the region, along with the vast seed bank of the primary forest and the average 150 inches of yearly rainfall, brought rapid reforestation.
  • In August of 1995, President José María Figueres signed a decree designating Hacienda Barú as a National Wildlife Refuge. The forest continues to regenerate.
  • Hacienda Barú's story is one of enormous success, and it is not just an ecological success, as spectacular as that is. Perhaps more importantly, the experience of Hacienda Barú has pioneered a way for others to follow.
  • Hacienda Barti National Wildlife Refuge. The densely forested 830 acres belie its previous incarnation as a cattle ranch and rice farm.
  • Source Citation"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.
    • Katie Feikema
      Katie Feikema on 17 Feb 11
       
      Reflection: I think that what these people did in Costa Rica seems to have been very beneficial to them and the native Costa Ricans. Through the experience they are able to serve and get close to nature which can be a very relaxing and rewarding experience. They are also able to improve the education, environment, and quality of life for the Costa Ricans. They are teaching them a bit about how to farm better as well wich will be a great asset to the natives as they build up their economy through better agriculture.Questions:1) I wonder how the natives feel about what American's are doing there. Do they give their full support? Or are they skeptical?    2) Is the impact they have made becoming more noticeable in the economy as well as the environment?3) Do they plan to slowly back out of the leadership positions and teach the natives how to carry on for themselves? 
  • Katie Feikema on 17 Feb 11
     
    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. 
Mackenzie Haveman

Student Edition  Document - 0 views

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Haiti earthquake solutions

shared by Mackenzie Haveman on 13 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • The International Telecommunication Union will help earthquake-stricken Haiti build wireless networks to re-establish reliable communications,
  • The 7.3 magnitude earthquake destroyed Haiti's telecommunication links, the reestablishment of which is critical in disaster management and post-quake rebuilding.
  • The ITU earlier sent 100 satellite terminals to Haiti, part of the 1 million U.S. dollars it has allocated to the devastated country.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • The ITU, the U.N.'s oldest agency, will partner with Singapore-based SmartBridges Solutions to provide equipment for 100 wireless hotspots in Port-au-Prince and other cities affected by the apocalyptic Jan. 12 earthquake that Haiti officials say killed as many as 230,000 people.
    • Mackenzie Haveman
      Mackenzie Haveman on 13 Apr 11
       
      Questions:1. Is the ITU donating and helping in different ways rather than just with the wireless hotspots?2. How needed are these connections?3. How affective is this help to the people and to the country?
  • Mackenzie Haveman on 13 Apr 11
     
    "ITU to help Haiti build wireless networks to re-establish communications." Xinhua News Agency 11 Feb. 2010. Student Edition. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. Summary:  This article is basically about providing equipment for better communications in Haiti. The International Telecommunication Union is building wireless networks to re-establish the reliable communications. There are 100 wireless hotspots being built in Port-au-Prince and other cities that have been affected by the earthquake. There have also been 100 satellite terminals to Haiti which are part of the 1 million United States dollars that they have attributed.  Response: I think that it is definitely very important for Haiti to have this wireless connections so that they can keep their communications--but I also think that there are much more needed things that should maybe be put ahead of this. There are still so many people that are suffering from this tragedy, and their lives have been changed dramatically--yet some of the help they are getting is for technologically, and wireless connections. My take is that they should definitely still do what they are doing, but not as extreme as they may be doing. They could make fewer hotspots, and then donate the money to a different cause within the country which may need more help, and which might help the people in a different way throughout the country. 
Haley Luurtsema

RESEARCHERS FOCUS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL CARE FOR HAITI'S EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS. - 0 views

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Haiti Earthquake Effect

shared by Haley Luurtsema on 10 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Haley Luurtsema on 10 Apr 11
     
    Reflection: I believe that mental heath is  something that needs to be stressed more about. It effects both the individual and the community in many ways. I don't think people realize how after all the physical needs are met, people still go through terrible depression and PTSD like we are told. When an individual is mentally unhealthily, I believe it brings down the community and allows the negative effect to spread. That is why experts can stop the entire community from falling if they fix one individual problem.   Questions:1. What can we do about depression and PTSD?2. How can we help this not to spread through the community?3. How can Haiti work together and change as a community? 
Haley Luurtsema

RESEARCHERS FOCUS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL CARE FOR HAITI'S EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS. Part 2 - 0 views

RESEARCHERS FOCUS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL CARE FOR HAITI'S EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS.

shared by Haley Luurtsema on 10 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Haley Luurtsema on 10 Apr 11
     
    Research Question: Still today, what are the social, economical, and political effects of the earthquake in Haiti? Citation Source: "RESEARCHERS FOCUS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL CARE FOR HAITI'S EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS." States News Service 24 Mar. 2010. Student Edition. Web. 10 Apr. 2011. Summary:This article is about the long term effects the earthquake has on the people. After addressing the physical needs such as medical care, food, and water, the long term effect is often forgotten. Weeks, months, and even years after, mental heath effects still prolong. That is why experts are stressing about long-term recovery for the person, and community. Things like PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and depression are diagnosed to 1 in every five people who survived a disaster. The article tells us, "Mental illness can be debilitating, and can delay both individual and community recovery--that's why paying attention to mental health issues after a disaster is extremely important." That is why experts want to look into this further and find positive lessons one can lean from the earthquake. 
Mackenzie Haveman

Academic OneFile  Document - 0 views

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Haiti earthquake effects

shared by Mackenzie Haveman on 17 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • in the weeks, months and sometimes years that follow, the mental health effects may linger well after physical wounds have healed
  • Attention to psychological and emotional well being, say experts from Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, is therefore critical to the long-term recovery of both individuals and communities.
  • have joined together to look at the mental health of Haiti's earthquake survivors and how they are coping.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be experienced by any individual exposed to a traumatic event. Common symptoms include severe depression, severe anxiety, substance abuse and hypervigilance, and extreme sensitivity to signs reminiscent of a potential threat, such as loud noise
  • roughly one in every five people who survive a disaster will experience PTSD or depression.
  • "There is a misconception that mental illness is not important in resource-poor areas, but it is, and [the world] has consistently underestimated its importance," said Galea
  • "Mental illness can be debilitating, and can delay both individual and community recovery--that's why paying attention to mental health issues after a disaster is extremely important."
  • Mackenzie Haveman on 17 Feb 11
     
    Research Question: Still today, what are the social, economical, and political effects of the earthquake in Haiti? Citation: "RESEARCHERS FOCUS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL CARE FOR HAITI'S EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS." States News Service 24 Mar. 2010. Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. Summery: This article is about researchers from Columbia University who look at the psychological conditions in Haiti's aftermath. These researchers talk about how the mental health effects may stick with the survivors, even though the physical effects may heal. Since there are many of the Haitians that have discovered these mental wounds, the communities is also greatly effected as a result--and it spreads. As a result of these mental illnesses-- Post-traumatic stress disorder falls into this category. This disorder can be experienced by anyone who has been exposed to a traumatic event in their lifetime. Some symptoms that this involves would be depression, anxiety, substance abuse, hyper vigilance, and extreme sensitivity to signs reminiscent of potential threat. About one in every five people who survive a traumatic event with experience this. Galea says, "Mental illness can be debilitating, and can delay both individual and community recovery--that's why paying attention to mental health issues after a disaster is extremely important."
Haley Luurtsema

Results for AdvancedSearch (ke (Haiti )) And (ke (earthquake )) And (ke (effects))LIMIT... - 0 views

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shared by Haley Luurtsema on 10 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • But in the weeks, months and sometimes years that follow, the mental health effects may linger well after physical wounds have healed.
  • critical to the long-term recovery of both individuals and communities.
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be experienced by any individual exposed to a traumatic event. Common symptoms include severe depression, severe anxiety, substance abuse and hypervigilance, and extreme sensitivity to signs reminiscent of a potential threat, such as loud noise
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • ne in every five people who survive a disaster will experience PTSD or depression.
  • "Mental illness can be debilitating, and can delay both individual and community recovery--that's why paying attention to mental health issues after a disaster is extremely important.
  • Haley Luurtsema on 10 Apr 11
     
    Research Question: Still today, what are the social, economical, and political effects of the earthquake in Haiti? Citation Source: "RESEARCHERS FOCUS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL CARE FOR HAITI'S EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS." States News Service 24 Mar. 2010. Student Edition. Web. 10 Apr. 2011. Summary:This article is about the long term effects the earthquake has on the people. After addressing the physical needs such as medical care, food, and water, the long term effect is often forgotten. Weeks, months, and even years after, mental heath effects still prolong. That is why experts are stressing about long-term recovery for the person, and community. Things like PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and depression are diagnosed to 1 in every five people who survived a disaster. The article tells us, "Mental illness can be debilitating, and can delay both individual and community recovery--that's why paying attention to mental health issues after a disaster is extremely important." That is why experts want to look into this further and find positive lessons one can lean from the earthquake. 
Nicki Pifer

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

www.thenewamerican.com/

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
Mallory Huizenga

"Costa Rica Expands Marine Protected Area Around Cocos Island" - 0 views

blogs.nationalgeographic.com/...-rica-expands-marine-prot.html

National Geographic

shared by Mallory Huizenga on 08 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • Costa Rica has just announced the creation of a large new marine protected area (MPA) around Cocos Island National Park.
    • Mallory Huizenga
      Mallory Huizenga on 08 Mar 11
       
      Reflection: I found this article very helpful. The articles shows that Costa Rica is stepping beyond, and is beginning to conserve the water as much as the land. Costa Rica is working towards accomplishing a goal of ecological conservation. In protecting the water, and the ocean life community they are getting one step closer to their goal. National Geographic writes a wonderful article. This article shows the positives this protection has created, but it also highlights what Costa Rica still needs to work towards. The articles ends by saying, "The protection of the seamounts south of Cocos Island, by contrast, is a very important step in preserving a sensitive habitat that previously had no protection at all in Costa Rica". Costa Rica is taking the steps that need to be taken, and they are continuing to take the steps that are need to conserve the environment. Questions: 1) Will Costa Rica ban fishing in the park? 2) What other steps is Costa Rica taking in the protection of their waters? 3) How do fisherman feel about the possibility of losing their fishing grounds? 4) If fishing is ban in these waters how will the life of Costa Rican dependent on fishing change? 5) How does this broaden the answers to our research question?
  • called the Seamounts Marine Management Area
  • 35 miles south of Cocos
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • after more than a year of discussions between the Costa Rican government and conservation organizations, including National Geographic
  • highest abundances of large ocean predators (such as sharks) found anywhere in the world.
  • The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, Fundación de Amigos de la Isla del Coco--recommended the creation of a no-take marine reserve covering 25,000 square kilometers around Cocos Island National Park.
  • The government of Costa Rica instead created a 9,640-square-kilometer MPA that excludes purse seining for tuna, but will allow long-lining for tuna in some of its waters.
  • This is great news for marine conservation, and a good first step for Costa Rica to fill its gaps in ocean protection.
  • I believe this will not be sufficient to accomplish the goal of protecting Cocos' extraordinary undersea communities, however, because long-line fishing--which already accounts for the largest amount of illegal fishing at Cocos--will be allowed in much of the new MPA.
  • The protection of the seamounts south of Cocos Island, by contrast, is a very important step in preserving a sensitive habitat that previously had no protection at all in Costa Rica
  • Mallory Huizenga on 08 Mar 11
     
    Research Journal # 2: Article One Question: How is ecological conservation effecting Costa Rica? Source: National Geographic: "Costa Rica Expands Marine Protected Area Around Cocos Island" by Enric Sala Citation: Sala, Enric. "Costa Rica Expands Marine Protected Area ." NatGeo Newswatch. National Geographic, 6 Mar. 2011. Web. 8 Mar. 2011.. Summary: This article focuses on how Costa Rica is expanding their conservation to the waters. Costa Rica "has created a huge new marine park". The waters are being protected around the Coco Island National Park. The water houses tuna, sharks and other large ocean predators. The area is called the Seamounts Marine Management Area. The Costa Rican government has been in discussion of this protected area for over a year. Studies show that the Coco Islands National Park has one of the "highest abundances of large ocean predators". One problems remains. Fishing is still allowed in the park. Until fishing is no longer allowed the goal will not be accomplished. Costa Rica has taken one step forward in protecting the ocean life community, but more steps still need to be made. Reflection & Questions located on Sticky Note
Leah Hop

Priests and parishes threatened by drug cartels - 0 views

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Mexico Drug Priests Cartel

shared by Leah Hop on 17 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • Mexican priests have suffered numerous threats of violence, kidnapping and extortion from the nation's narcotics-trafficking cartels.
  • a growing number of priests--mostly serving in remote and mountainous areas rife with illegal drug trade activities--have been transferred to other parishes, assigned other types of work or even moved to other parts of the country because of threats. Other priests, meanwhile, have been forced to raise up to $800 each week for extortion payments.
  • violence overflowing parts of Mexico has claimed at least 22,700 lives--a figure recently revised upward by the federal government--since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 and sent the army and federal police to crack down on the cartels.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • fear exists and the insecurity destroying the life of so many communities isolates them and exposes them to new expressions of violence
  • cartels and their affiliates have threatened to kidnap evangelical pastors and extorted churches and charity projects through protection rackets.
  • Rev. Manuel Corral, who initially denied similar threats against members of the Catholic clergy, but stories of aggression against priests and the church quickly surfaced.
  • In his region near Ciudad Juarez it has turned once-peaceful communities into ghost towns as frightened residents flee to Texas and cartel members burn down buildings thought to be affiliated with rivals.
  • Leah Hop on 17 Feb 11
     
    Research Question: What is the cause of all the violence associated with the Mexican drug trade? Source: "Priests and parishes threatened by drug cartels." America 3 May 2010: 6+. Student Edition. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/retrieve.do?contentSet=IAC-Documents&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&qrySerId=Locale(en,,):FQE%3D(ke,None,6)Mexico:And:FQE%3D(ke,None,10)drug+trade:And:FQE%3D(ke,None,8)violence:And:LQE%3D(AC,None,8)fulltext$&sgHitCountType=None&inPS=true&sort=DateDescend&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&tabID=T003&prodId=STOM&searchId=R1&currentPosition=1&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&docId=A226089688&docType=IAC Summary: This article is about Mexican priests that have faced threats of violence, kidnapping, and extortion from the cartels. Because of these threats many priests have to transfer to a different parish, take up different types of work, and even move to other parts of the country. On the other hand, other priests are forced to raise $800 a week for extortion payments. The violence created by the cartel has killed at least 22,700. This number has increased ever since Presiden Felipe Calderon stepped into office as President in 2006. Reflection: I was kind of surprised that priest are being threatened and that because of this many need to move to a different part of the country. It's sad to see that this violence is turning once peaceful communities into "ghost towns" where residents are feeing in complete terror. This article doesn't really help answer my research question, but it does help me understand what the cartel is doing, and who the violence is being inflicted upon. Questions: 1) What is the motive behind targeting/threatening priests? 2) How should the church respond to this violence? 3) What are Mexican police doing to stop this? 4) How do other cities in Mexico respond when they hear about the violence created by the cartels?
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.
  • ...20 more annotations...
  • 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.
  • "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.
  • 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.
  • 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.  
Ji-Yoon Jeon

Yes, He Is a Terrorist.(The Take; Religion)(Major Nidal Hasan ). - 1 views

find.galegroup.com/...retrieve.do

Islam Peace Violence

shared by Ji-Yoon Jeon on 17 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • Yet when under threat, real or imagined, we want religion to be definitive. Despite our intimacy with the heterogeneous nature of belief, we allow ourselves to be seduced by cartoon characterizations.
  • it's that there is no definitive religious interpretation.
  • The Quran does condone violence: "Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him We shall bestow a vast reward."
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • It also advocates peace: "Those who invoke not with God, or any other god, nor slay such life as God has made sacred in vain."
  • Muslims to see terrorism as a selfless and righteous act for the greater good of the global Muslim community.
  • Sixty percent of Americans believe that "there is a lot of discrimination" against Muslims, according to the Pew Forum. Thirty-eight percent say they think Islam is a violent religion,
  • while a small number of dangerous Islamic terrorists continue to wage war on the West, the majority of American Muslims are simply trying, like the rest of us, to get by.
  • Ji-Yoon Jeon on 17 Feb 11
     
    Research question: Is Islam a religion of peace or invitation to violence? Miller, Lisa. "Yes, He Is a Terrorist." Newsweek 23 Nov. 2009: 24. Student Edition. Web. 16 Feb. 2011.http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=STOM&docId=A212141335&source=gale&srcprod=STOM&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&version=1.0 Summary:This article was about Major Nidal Hasan, a Muslim, who murdered 13 people at the Army base in Fort Hood, Texas. It said that there is no definitive religious interpretation, but we try to limit our religion to be definitive, when under threat. Then, is Islam a religion of peace or invitation to violence? In the Quran it supports for both. It condone violence while it advocates peace. But for Hasan's case, the article says he might be suffered from PTSD, but was more awake of the idea of Jihad and convinced by the cleric who said the terrorism is selfless and righteous act for better Muslim community. On the other hand, as statistically, lot's of Americans believe that Islam is a violent religion, when the actual number of terrorist is small and majority of them are just trying to get by.
Kyleah Vander Klok

World Health HIV counseling and testing. (the effects of HIV/AIDS in Zambia). - 0 views

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Zambia effects of AIDS

shared by Kyleah Vander Klok on 17 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • When people know what their status is, they can cope better and make plans for their own and their family's future.
  • Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, has been severely affected by HIV. The seroprevalence among women, as shown by anonymous antenatal screening surveys, is around 30%, and recent community surveys indicate that 26% of both men and women aged 15 to 39 years are HIV-seropositive.
  • most households have to care for sick family members or for the children of relatives who have died.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Zambia's first VCT centre, the Kara Counseling and Training Trust, was established in November 1992 and offers a variety of support services outside the workplace or medical centre. These include a skills training programme for people with HIV
  • There are tens of thousands of AIDS orphans
  • there is still often great reluctance to be tested.
  • there is little medical help available for people with HIV
  • More than 20 million of the 30 million people estimated to be living with HIV at the end of 1997 live in sub-Saharan Africa. UNAIDS estimates that more than 90% of these are unaware of their infection.
    • Kyleah Vander Klok
      Kyleah Vander Klok on 17 Feb 11
       
      When people know what their status is, they can cope better and make plans for their own and their family's future. The seroprevalence among women, as shown by anonymous antenatal screening surveys, is around 30%, and recent community surveys indicate that 26% of both men and women aged 15 to 39 years are HIV-seropositive. most households have to care for sick family members or for the children of relatives who have died. tens of thousands of AIDS orphans here is still often great reluctance to be tested there is little medical help available for people with HIV More than 20 million of the 30 million people estimated to be living with HIV at the end of 1997 live in sub-Saharan Africa. UNAIDS estimates that more than 90% of these are unaware of their infection.
  • Kyleah Vander Klok on 17 Feb 11
     
    What are the effects of HIV/AIDS in Zambia? Ignatius Kayawe, Michael Kelly, and Rachel Baggaley. "HIV counselling and testing." World Health 51.6 (1998): 12. Student Edition. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=STOM&docId=A54902050&source=gale&srcprod=STOM&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&version=1.02. After a VCT test people can more easily prepare their life with or without the disease. They say how counseling and preparing for the future will be help the people and bring down the rate of people who get it. They examined why people do not what to take a test. The reasons they do not is because of fear of having it, and what others will say, the strong denial of it ever happening.3. I did not realize that there was so much fear that was behind having AIDS. I knew there probably was some but not in the want to get rid of it. I really like that people are at least trying to help people cope with having the virus and that people with the discovery are changing their lives against getting the virus. It is terrible to think that their are so many orphans living in Zambia and having to support themselves after their parents die.4. Do people realize how many kids live without parents? What can be done to encourage people to take the tests and get help? Is there research being done to eliminate the virus? How long can a person live with the virus?
Haley Luurtsema

Survey Highlights Haitians' Vulnerability; Access to food, shelter, healthcare less pre... - 0 views

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Haiti Earthquake effects

shared by Haley Luurtsema on 17 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • Haitians' lack of access to basic needs such as food, shelter, and healthcare, even relative to neighboring Dominicans.
  • The effects of a 7.0-magnitude
  • 60% of Haitians said there had been times in the past year when they didn't have enough money to purchase food that their families needed, while 51% said there were times when they could not afford adequate shelter.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • Haitians were far more likely than any other population in Central America or the Caribbean to say they have had trouble providing shelter
  • Haitian President Rene Preval said some hospitals have collapsed as a result of the quake, further handicapping a public healthcare system poorly equipped to handle a disaster of this proportion.
  • Fewer than one in four (22%) said they were satisfied with the availability of quality healthcare in their communities, and one in nine (11%) said healthcare is accessible to anyone in the country.
  • Poor sanitation and lack of access to clean water are likely to make cholera and other waterborne diseases a major problem
  • including roads and highways, and schools -- were decimated by the quake. These facilities too were already seen as insufficient by most Haitians polled a year ago. About one-third were satisfied with the roads and highways (31%) and the schools (35%) in their communities
  • n the wake of a disaster, friendships and family ties become lifelines, serving as conduits for material as well as emotional support.
  • 30% said they have no relatives or friends they can count on for help
  • foreign aid both to make the country more resilient to natural disasters, and to improve access to basic social services like healthcare
  • Haley Luurtsema on 17 Feb 11
     
    Research Question: Still today, what are the social, economical, and political effects of the earthquake in Haiti? Citation Source: "Survey Highlights Haitians' Vulnerability; Access to food, shelter, healthcare less prevalent than in neighboring countries." Gallup Poll News Service (2010). Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. Summary: This Article is about the Haitian people and their lack of basic needs such as food, shelter, and healthcare. The 7. magnitude earthquake effected manly lives of civilians in Haiti. Although, 60% of the people said that in the past year they didn't have enough money to even purchase food for their families needs. While 51% said that they could not afford a shelter. President Rene Preval said that hospitals having been destroyed, the public healthcare system is even more helpless. The Article tells us that less than 22% say that healthcare was fine to begin with in Haiti. Along with 11% that said healthcare was accessible to anyone in the country. Which leads to poor sanitation and lack of clean water in the area. In conclusion, Bill Clinton emphasized that foreign aid must make the country more resistant to natural disasters, and improved basic needs such as healthcare if people wish to survive. 
Katie Feikema

ENVIRONMENT-COSTA RICA: TOURISM TURNS INTO GREEN GOLD. - 2 views

find.galegroup.com.references.herrickdl.org/...retrieve.do

Costa Rica's environment

shared by Katie Feikema on 17 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • The success of eco-tourism is bringing about a change in the attitudes of rural communities in Costa Rica
  • begun to see the natural beauty surrounding them in a new light, and hopes for development have begun to encourage civil society and businesses to organize, while boosting conservation efforts and investment in green-friendly projects.
  • has begun to have an impact on the economy of this Central American nation of 3.5 million, which not only provides abundant natural beauty, but enjoys the advantage of being one of the safest and most politically stable countries in Latin America.
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • "We know that although there is still much to be done, tourism is an activity that can generate economic resources," Mayor Juan Flix Matute told IPS.
  • in recent years, lodges and inns promoting eco-tourism have begun to crop up in the tropical rainforest surrounding the town.
  • "We want to protect nature while promoting development in the area," the president of the local chamber of tourism, William Rodr[inverted exclamation mark]guez, told IPS.
  • The members of the local chamber of tourism are interested in making sustainable use of the area's historical heritage and biological wealth.
  • "We know nature is our livelihood, and that is why our mentality now is to take care of it. This is how businesses in the region see things today," said Rodr[inverted exclamation mark]guez, who pointed out that eco-tourism already provided steady jobs for 1,500 local residents.
  • In Sarapiqu[inverted exclamation mark], a chamber of tourism has been set up, local attractions are marketed over the Internet, and part of the tourism revenues are used to offer English and computer courses to the local community.
  • Tourism activity grew nine percent last year, compared to an average of between three and four percent worldwide,
  • Tourism is the main foreign exchange-earner in Costa Rica's services sector, with more than one million arrivals by foreign visitors last year, and $339 million in revenues in the first quarter of this year alone.
  • The biological wealth of the surrounding rainforest has also become a magnet for scientific projects set up by international organizations.
  • Visitors to the museum can see traditional graves of Huetar indigenous people, and can stay at a special villa designed to reproduce the lifestyle of local Indians in the 15th century, before the Spanish arrived.
  • "The money generated by this institute will be reinvested in the research carried out by the center," Knockaert explained.
  • Other scientific organizations are also active in the area, with their research centers open to the general public.
  • Among the attractions marketed on the local community's Internet website (www.sarapiquirainforest.com) are whitewater rafting, birdwatching, horseback riding, nature walks, tours of a butterfly garden and banana plantations, and an aerial tram, on which visitors can "fly through the rainforest canopy."
  • Katie Feikema on 17 Feb 11
     
    Research Question: What effect does Costa Rica's ecological conservation have on it's environment and economy? Source: Munoz, N. "ENVIRONMENT-COSTA RICA: TOURISM TURNS INTO GREEN GOLD." Environment Bulletin (2000): ITEM00151001. General OneFile. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. Summery: this article tells of the environment pulling in tourism and bringing to the economy. Reflection: The different things offered to tourists sounds amazing and like something that will be worth seeing for a long time. I don't think this resource will die. Questions: 1) how do they plan to expand this resource to bring in more economic growth? 2) Will the tourism business begin to ruin the environment?  
  • Jessica Ruthsatz on 28 Feb 11
     
    HI Katie, Nice job on the annotations. Please make sure that next time however that your Summary and reflection are a bit more comprehensive. Thanks:)
Haley Luurtsema

Roundup: Long way to go for Haiti's reconstruction. PART II - 0 views

Part II roundup

shared by Haley Luurtsema on 08 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • Haley Luurtsema on 08 Mar 11
     
    Reflection: When I read all of these statistics about homeless children and people living on a dollar a day, I'm struck at how blessed I really am. These people and their community have lost everything. Reconstruction is such a hard task because you don't know where to start. Piles of rubbish are everywhere and its hard to do it all. Stated in the article, even after 1 year there are still 94% of rubble still laying there. I know the world is trying to help, and they did put in an effort to help right after it happened. But after a year or so, people forget about Haiti and how much help it really needs yet. Questions: 1) What can I do to help now? 2) Why hasn't more been done? 3) Who's fault is it that there isn't more help from the world?  
Cindy Son

Protests as Hezbollah poised to form Lebanon government - 0 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...world-middle-east-12272483

Hezbollah lebanon protest

shared by Cindy Son on 08 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • Supporters of Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri have taken to the streets in protest at efforts by Hezbollah to form the next government.
  • Hezbollah and its allies earlier won the nomination of their candidate Najib Mikati as the next prime minister.
  • "The larger the role played by Hezbollah in this government the more problematic our relationship will be."
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • "Saad Hariri is the only man who represents the Sunni faith," Sheikh Arslan Malas, a local cleric, told the crowd. "We will not accept (Hezbollah leader) Hassan Nasrallah choosing our prime minister."
  • During consultations with President Michel Suleiman at the presidential palace on Monday Mr Mikati - a Sunni and US-educated billionaire businessman - won the support of 65 of the 128 members of the Chamber of Deputies.
  • However, Mr Hariri has already said he will refuse to join a Hezbollah-led coalition government. Hezbollah is backed by Iran.
  • Cindy Son on 08 Mar 11
     
    Research Question : What are the effects of Hezbollah on Israel? "Protests as Hezbollah poised to form Lebanon government." BBC News. BBC, 24 Jan. 2011. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. Summary : Najib Mikati, a U.S. educated billionaire businessman who gets support by Hezbollah, became the new Prime Minister of Lebanon. Because the majority of people in Lebanon believe in Sunni, most of the supporters of Saad Hariri think "Hariri is the only man who represents the Sunni faith." After the nomination, supporters of Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri are protesting in many cities. This nomination might affect the future relationship between Lebanon and Israel. Reflection : This nomination is significant to both Lebanon and Israel because Mikati becoming a new Prime Minister of Lebanon means Hezbollah actually took the power to control over the Lebanon government. So, it is clear that they will make another conflict between Israel and Lebanon. Lebanon civilians and the United States are very concerned about the actions that Mikati will make in the future toward Israel. This issue will not only affect Israel but also Lebanon itself;  more and more Lebanon civilians will not support or trust their government because of the Hezbollah-backed Prime Minister. Questions : 1) What is the future plan of the Lebanon after the nomination of new Prime MInister Najib Mikati? 2) How much this event will impact the Israel community? 3) Is Hezbollah actually going to directly dictate the Lebanon since they now have the actual power of the Lebanon government? 4) What is specific reactions of the Lebanon civilians who don't support neither Mikati nor Hariri?
Leah Hop

Mexican Drug Trafficking - 0 views

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

Mexico drug WC

shared by Leah Hop on 09 Mar 11 - Cached
  • government says more than 34,600 have been killed in the four years since President Felipe Calderón took office and threw the federal police and military at the cartels, with the toll for 2010, 15,237, the heaviest yet.
  • Mexican and American officials, crediting American training of the military and what they consider to be an increasingly professional federal police force, point out that more than half of the 37 most wanted crime bosses announced last year have been captured or killed.
  • A poll released Jan. 11 by Mexico’s national statistics institute found that more than 70 percent of respondents believed the country’s security had worsened since 2009.
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • Obama administration will face renewed scrutiny to account for the $1.4 billion, multiyear Merida Initiative, the cornerstone of American aid in Mexico’s drug fight.
  • in June 2010 a Justice Department report described a "high and increasing" availability of methamphetamine mainly because of large-scale drug production in Mexico.
  • In October 2010, the government announced that it was preparing a plan to radically alter the nation’s police forces, hoping not only to instill a trust the public has never had in them but also to choke off a critical source of manpower for organized crime. It would all but do away with the nation’s 2,200 local police departments and place their duties under a “unified command.”
  • the rising count of gruesome drug-related murders is evidence that the government's strategy has failed.
  • Mr. Calderon dismisses suggestions that Mexico is a failed state, he and his aides have spoken frankly of the cartels' attempts to set up a state within a state, levying taxes, throwing up roadblocks and enforcing their own perverse codes of behavior.
  • United States and Mexico set their counternarcotics strategy on a new course in March 2010 by refocusing their efforts on strengthening civilian law enforcement institutions and rebuilding communities crippled by poverty and crime.
  • The $331 million plan was at the center of a visit to Mexico in March
  • The revised strategy has many elements meant to expand on and improve programs already under way as part of the so-called Mérida Initiative that was started by the Bush administration including cooperation among American and Mexican intelligence agencies and American support for training Mexican police officers, judges, prosecutors and public defenders.
  • American and Mexican agencies would work together to refocus border enforcement efforts away from building a better wall to creating systems that would allow goods and people to be screened before they reach the crossing points. The plan would also provide support for Mexican programs intended to strengthen communities where socioeconomic hardships force many young people into crime.
  • The most striking difference between the old strategy and the new one is the shift away from military assistance. More than half of the $1.3 billion spent under Merida was used to buy aircraft, inspection equipment and information technology for the Mexican military and police. Next year's foreign aid budget provides for civilian police training, not equipment.
  • But Ciudad Juárez belongs in its own category, with thousands killed each yea
  • Leah Hop on 09 Mar 11
     
    Research Question: How does the Mexican drug war affect the government and people of Mexico?  Source: Hidalgo, Oscar. "Mexican Drug Trafficking." New York Times. N.p., 1 Feb. 2011. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. Summary: The U.S has been helping Mexico train their military to an increasingly professional federal police force, which have captured or killed more than half of the 37 most wanted crime bosses. However, the people of Mexico believe the country's security is getting worse. In October 2010, the government announced it was going to change it's national police forces in hope of gaining trust from the public. This strategy was later revised. Reflection: This article talks a lot about the relationship between the U.S and Mexico and how they are trying to end this drug war. However, it also talks about how the U.S and Mexico are trying to prove that they are making positive changes in Mexico's security. I think that if they are in this situation where they are trying to convince the public then this crisis is not on the right path to stopping. Questions: 1) Why does such a large portion of Mexicans believe that even after the U.S and Mexico's strategies, that the country's security is getting worse? 2) Are the billions of dollars the U.S is investing in this drug war helping or changing anything? 3) Has border enforcement and people screening at crossing points help decrease the amount of drug trade with the U.S?
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.)
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