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Brielle DeFrell

Online NewsHour: Tension and Violence Arise Over Oil Drilling in Nigeria -- August 25, ... - 0 views

  • Tensions and violence have been rising in Nigeria as Shell Oil has sought the rights to drill more widely for more oil in the Niger River Delta region
  • oil at 67 bucks a barrel,
  • A lot of money is flowing to Nigeria; a lot of money is flowing to oil companies -- not just Shell - but Chevron, Exxon/Mobile, and a number of others that are drilling there.
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  • last several decades violence has been building off and on in the Niger River Delta
  • lucrative industry, which is living right next to very, very poor people and there is been a lot of conflict over time, a lot of mistrust built up between residents and the companies.
  • People feel that they have been cheated; people feel that their rights have been violated; they end up protesting against the companies or in some cases attacking the companies. The companies end up -- have to be protected by the military.
  • RAY SUAREZ: Not gaining but also feeling themselves burdened -- don't they -- by environmental concerns, fouling of the groundwater, that kind of thing?
  • t money paid to Nigeria's government in taxes - and the Nigerian Government will admit this -- a lot of the money over the years has been stolen.
  • Nigeria has a tremendous corruption problem, and the money that's disappeared is probably in the billions -- not the millions -- over the years -- perhaps the tens of billions
  • don't really have much of a functioning government
  • There aren't any roads in many areas; there aren't good schools in many areas; many places don't even have electricity; many places don't have telephone lines, although cell phones are now spreading through independent companies.
  • oil companies will say first off that they don't employ that many people
  • Shell acknowledged more than 200 oil spills last year alone. Thousands of barrels of oil were spilled in the water and there have been many oil spills over the years. And that has contributed, by many people's accounts, to environmental degradation there.
  • the face of the government to many people is a police officer or a soldier or sailor who is there fundamentally to guard an oil installation and not to help the people, or protect the people.
  • a feeling that the government has taken sides in this triangle and it's with the companies and not with the people who live there?
  • various ethnic groups in the Delta and tribal groups and different villages and individuals, many, many different groups, and it is often felt that the oil companies have taken sides, that they have gone about a divide and rule practice as some people will call it.
  • when they get frustrated, when there is an ethnic militia or an ethnic group that is going to engage in violence, they'll often turn it against oil companies, which they will see as perfectly justified, even though the oil companies will find it an outrageous disruption;
  • We get 1.2 million barrels a day from Nigeria; it's the fifth largest supplier of oil to the United States
  • Every day there is some more than 100,000 barrels, 140,000 from one company, as a matter of fact, that doesn't get out of Nigeria because of violence over the last couple of years and some days that's a much higher number.
  • in some cases you simply have people who live next to an oil facility, who feel they have been cheated, who feel that they're actually worse off for the facility being there because of pollution and other problems - who feel they're not benefiting and they go and they protest.
  • terminal in 2002 and again in 2005 was invaded by residents from nearby villages who simply felt that they were not gaining anything from Chevron.
  • They invade the terminal; they shut it down; Chevron makes promises; people feel the promises aren't kept; they come back again. That's one way that there's violence.
  • ethnic conflicts; there was a major one in 2003 revolving around elections
  • one group that felt that another group was having the election rigged in their favor and so they struck out. And they battled with Nigeria's military to some degree and they also attacked oil facilities because that was a way that they could strike back at the government.
  • disputed who owned a bit of oil land. The question who was got paid a little bit of money for the oil that was discovered on that land. They ended up fighting over it; a number of people were murdered.
  • military came in and essentially, by some people's account, settled matters by burning one of the villages. The military denies that the burning was intentional but, in any event, we went and visited -- a great number of buildings were destroyed, a number of people were killed.
  • no evidence of the government in many of these places. Does the oil company become -- in effect -- the government, and how do they respond to these challenges? What did they tell you about what they're trying to do in that part of Nigeria?
  • oil companies will have showcase instances in which they provided some community development.
  • instances in which oil companies have to acknowledge they have made promises that haven't been kept.
  • They will promise, for example -- in a village near the Chevron Terminal there is erosion of the land, which is blamed on the way that Chevron has managed its land. Whether that's fair or not, Chevron has promised to fix it by building some new housing on some new land. It hasn't been done yet, and Chevron has its own reasons why that hasn't been done -- they'll say because the situation is too unstable and there's been too much violence.
  • So each company is trying to do something but the question is: Are they doing something that's just public relations or that's too small to make a regional difference in a region of millions of people, or are they really going to do something that could change the situation?
    • Brielle DeFrell
       
      Summary: Tensions between oil companies and the Nigerian people have been escalating for decades. The violence has increased as the years have gone by and the promises the oil companies have said they would do have not been fulfilled. As the oil companies don't have the jobs to give to the Nigerian people, they feel like they don't get any benefit out of the oil companies being there. The people feel like they have been cheated and lied to constantly, although sometimes the oil companies have kept their promises. The environmental issues have continued in the area, but also social issues have risen up too. The government is so corrupt that the people are living on the "outside" of the world. There aren't roads, not many good schools, many don't have electricity or telephone lines. They know there is so much more out there because of the oil rigs they see next to them, but they aren't able to experience it. The people have risen up many times against their "government", also known as our oil companies, that we don't get up to 100,000 barrels of oil a day. Invasions have happened at oil companies and people have been murdered because of the problems here. 
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    Research question: What are the effects of the competition with oil in Nigeria?  Lehrer, Jim. "Tension and Violence Arise Over Oil Drilling in Nigeria." Online NewsHour. PBS, 25 Aug. 2005. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. . Reflection: Wow, never before did I realize all the problems that Nigeria has. Not only has the oil companies caused many environmental problems, but they have also caused the people to not trust them and the promises they throw at them like candy. I understand that is one of our major places to get oil from, but I really think we need to look into what the companies are causing the Nigerian people to do to not just us, but each other. To think that our oil companies is pretty much their only government, that is really scary. Question: *Is there a way to set up a REAL way to help with environmental issues here? *If companies start to keep companies will people settle down? *Can we help Nigeria set up a functioning, uncorrupt, government?
Kyleah Vander Klok

HEART OF DARKNESS.(AIDS and HIV in Zambia). - 0 views

  • The country is 17 years into an HIV/AIDS pandemic.
  • One in four of the 9.5 million population is infected, according to experts in Zambia, and in some areas it's risen to one in three.
  • 1.5 million children in Zambia have lost one or both parents to AIDS
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  • Zambians are reluctant to accept that HJV is the cause of all the dying. The stigma of AIDS is so enormous here, survivors prefer to say that family members died from tuberculosis or meningitis, common AIDS-related conditions.
  • a baby who manages to avoid contracting HIV in utero or during delivery has about a one in three chance of getting the virus from breast-feeding
  • We have 45 orphans in our extended family already
  • This disease has become a wa
  • One generation has been wiped out due to AIDS, says Salvation Army social worker Thebisa Ghaava. "The next one will be lost due to a lack of schooling," she says.
  • Zambia has little in the way of a national HIV/AIDS education program
  • Life expectancy has dropped from 56 years to 37 in recent years, and observers believe it could reach as low as 30 within the next decade.
  • For 19-year-old Rachel Musonda, who lives in the Copperbelt mining region in the north of the country, the past four years have been a nightmare, as first her father, then her mother, and then her three older siblings died of AIDS. With each new casualty, Musonda, who was forced to drop out of high school to nurse her parents and who has no skills or financial means, has been left with more children to raise. At 15, she had no choice but to become mother and father to her six younger siblings, then aged from 13 down to one year. With the subsequent deaths of her two older sisters and brother, and their spouses, she had to take on three more children, bringing the total to nine, because there was nowhere else for them to go.
  • Anti-AIDS medications cost $10,000 to $15,000 a year, more than the vast majority of Africans earn in a lifetime.
  • Consequently, the country's budget for health care is a pitiful $6 to $8 per person per year, and that sum includes the cost of hospitals and treating other rampant health problems such as malaria.
  • And even the discounted price of $2000 a year per patient is still a fantastical sum for Zambians, representing as it does an average of nearly seven years' income for the 40 percent who are fortunate enough to be employed.
  • medications must be taken on a strictly observed schedule around meals. In Zambia, the reality is that many people can eat only when food is available. And that is increasingly becoming only once every several days.
  • 50 percent of children are chronically malnourished.
  • In spite of Christianity's wide reach, traditional beliefs still run deep, and AIDS is often attributed to witchcraft
  • Another growing factor in the spread of AIDS is the legion of street kids, often AIDS orphans, many of whom must turn to prostitution to survive, as the country has only a handful of orphanages. About 750,000 children, some as young as four, have already been forced onto the streets.
  • In 1991, they underestimated the number of infections in the year 2000 by 40 percent. Already, 17 million have died, and today there are more than 25 million infected.
  • n the capital, the HIV rate among pregnant 15-to 19-year olds is beginning to drop for the first time
  • Twenty-five percent of our population is positive," she says but that means 75 percent is negative. Three out of four of us have the means to turn the situation around. But to do that Zambians need to take control of their lives."
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    What are the effects of HIV/AIDS in Zambia? 1.Harper's Bazaar: GOODWIN, JAN. "HEART OF DARKNESS." Harper's Bazaar Mar. 2001: 450. Student Edition. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=STOM&docId=A72411528&source=gale&srcprod=STOM&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&version=1.0 2. This document is about how so many people are orphaned because of AIDS. People do not want to hear about AIDs and they pass it off for witchcraft or other Viruses.The lifespan of the people has dropped significantly over the years.People are trying to help by letting themselves be open to the youth and be models. 3. It is terrible the effects of the virus, so many have died because the don't know or they can't do anything about it. Those poor children having to raise other kids when they themselves are still to young and have no way to support any of them.  4. WHat can be done to help kids stay off the street and not to sell their bodies to feed their family? Where can the people turn to to know what is happening and what is better for them? 
Luke Terpstra

EUobserver / Cablegate: France bullied Poland over Georgia war - 0 views

  • France threatened to harm a flagship EU policy for post-Soviet countries shortly after the Russia-Georgia war unless the Union forgave Russia for its invasion
  • a Swedish diplomat, told US charge d'affairs Robert Silverman that France pressured Poland and Sweden into lifting the Union's only post-war sanction on Russia.
  • France threatened to stall the Eastern Partnership initiative if the Swedes and others opposed to 'business as usual' with Moscow refused to resume EU-Russia talks
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  • "Once the decision on talks on the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement [with Russia] was made, Sweden and Poland, co-drafters of the [Eastern Partnership] initiative, were given a green light to 'move ahead'."
  • The French support for Russia came at a time when Russian troops were still parked in Georgia proper in violation of a French-brokered peace agreement.
  • Previously leaked cables on the 2008 war show that France, Germany and Italy tried to soften the EU's reaction at every step of the conflict.
  • France later cemented relations with Russia by buying a stake in its Nord Stream gas pipeline and selling it two state-of-the-art warships.
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    Rettman, Andrew. "Cablegate: France bullied Poland over Georgia war." EU Observer 8 Mar. 2011 [Brussels] . Web. 8 Mar. 2011. .  Summary:       The new found source of info the E.U. Observer has obtained contains proof that France bullied Sweden and Poland, so to speak, about keeping out of if not supporting the war between Russia & Georgia. They did this so they could 'keep relations' good with Russia. It is also found that Italy and Germany didn't want big reactions to this either. Reflections:       I think that it shows that it does not think much of Georgia and its interests. If I was a pobig political figure in america or any of those E.U. so called 'american allies' I would give them a peace of my mind , if not Russia a chunk of my fist, and say "Hey do you actually respect NATO, America, peace, and the friends we have now? If you keep on acting like Georgia is just Russia's play thing, I'll make sure you don't stay in office!" or something of that nature. This is just getting to out of hand.  Questions:  1. Why would France or any other E.U. country want to dull reactions to the conflict?  2. Why would countries like Sweden or Poland give into this kind of persuasion?  3. What would you do if you were a political leader in the E.U.? Explain?
Hojin Choi

Will Islam divide or unite Iraq?(Opinion)(Viewpoint essay). - 0 views

  • Will Islam divide or unite Iraq?
  • American combat troops have officially left Iraq, but religious factions there continue to jostle for power in the still-unformed government seven months after the March election failed to elect new leaders.
  • Sunni, Shiite, Sadrist, and Kurdish political leaders are struggling to negotiate a coalition government.
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  • When religion goes wrong
  • When religion goes wrong, it goes very wrong.
  • Archbishop William Temple
  • When people slaughter the innocent believing that they are doing it in God's name, the effects are catastrophic.
  • If 9/11 showed us the power of religion to cause tragedy on an epic scale, the aftermath should teach us something else. When religion is at the heart of the problems in a country, religion also needs to be at the heart of the solution.
  • Relationships of trust
  • I first visited as a peace negotiator in 1998. My commitment to Iraq over such a long period has enabled me to develop relationships of trust with nearly all of the most senior religious leaders.
  • Through religious leader engagement, we have been able to negotiate the release of many hostages, both expat and Iraqi.
  • Making
  • ake war
  • hose who m
  • peace with t
  • This work has been difficult.
  • Members of my church have been kidnapped or killed. I have lost many friends. But if you want to work for peace, you need to be willing to work with people who make war. Nice people don't cause conflict.
  • the warmakers need to be encouraged to become peacemakers.
  • Peacebuilding requires relationships.
  • A Sunni/Shiite fatwa against violence
  • Long-term commitment
  • This is religious reconciliation at a grassroots level, and gives standing to negotiate at the highest level.
  • raq needs this religious reconciliation if it is to survive. And so we remain committed to a long term, relational program of religious leader engagement.
  • Andrew White, an Anglican reverend and canon, is president of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East.
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    Research question: Is Islam a religion of peace or invitation to violence? Citation:White, Andrew. "Will Islam divide or unite Iraq?" Christian Science Monitor 20 Oct. 2010. Student Edition. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T004&prodId=STOM&docId=CJ239979945&source=gale&srcprod=STOM&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&version=1.0 Summary:This article about the perspective of Andrew White, the president of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East. He discussed about the Islam after the Iraq War; although there are some political leaders attempt to negotiate a government, the Islam still have a power at the government during seven months. The author quotes Archbishop William Temple saying that " When religion goes wrong, it goes wrong." He suggests 4 different solutions to prevent for abusing the islam: 'Relationship of trust', 'Making peace with those who make war','A Sunni/Shiite fatwa against violence', and 'Long- term commitment'. 
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    You are missing your questions and reflection sections
megan lemmen

Drug Trafficking, Violence and Mexico's Economic Future - 0 views

  • In August, the bodies of 72 migrants were found in northern Mexico. They had been shot after refusing to work for a drug gang. Days later, a prosecutor and police officer investigating the crime disappeared.
  • Its largest market, the U.S., sources 90% of its cocaine from Mexico.
  • Drug trafficking is a lucrative activity for the Mexican cartels, generating estimated annual revenues of US$35 billion to US$45 billion for Mexico, with a profit margin of approximately 80%.
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  • Currently, seven powerful drug-trafficking organizations occupy different regions of Mexico -- La Familia Michoacán, the Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas, the Beltrán-Leyva Organization, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Tijuana Cartel, and the Juárez Cartel.
  • For example, the Mexican government is working to improve the effectiveness of its federal police force, planning to hire 8,000 additional police investigators during 2010, while at the same time trying to purge the force of corruption.
  • In August 2010, nearly 10% of the federal police were fired for failing lie detector, drug, or other tests that form the "trust control exams" designed to identify officers with ties to organized crime.
  • In addition, Plataforma México, a recent reform related to information management, aims to create real-time interconnectivity within Mexico's police force by developing a national crime database to facilitate tracking drug criminals.
  • More importantly, the government is taking the punishment of convicted drug criminals seriously and has increased extraditions to the U.S.
  • An estimated 7,000 people died in Mexico in 2009 as a result of the drug war -- significantly more than the 1,300 people who are believed to have died in 2005 before the war began. There were also an estimated 1,200 kidnappings in 2009.
  • Pemex, the state-owned petroleum company, has been a repeated target of the cartels. In 2010, the company experienced multiple kidnappings and theft by the cartels and corrupt employees. Reuters estimates that Pemex loses "US$750 million of fuel and oil from its pipelines each year" along with "valuable spare parts and equipment."
  • In August 2010, the far-reaching impact of Mexico's drug-related violence prompted Calderón to open debate on legalizing drugs.
  • For the past two years, American Chamber Mexico (AmCham) has conducted a survey of its members -- foreign and national managers -- to gauge their sentiment regarding corporate and personal security: 75% say their businesses have been affected by the country's insecurity.
  • Nearly 60% of the respondents felt less secure on a personal level in 2009 than in 2008; but the same respondents were equally divided as to whether their respective companies were more, less, or equally secure across the same period.
  • Of the third of the respondents who viewed their companies as being less secure than the year before, the most commonly noted contributing factors were the strengthening of organized crime activity, impunity in the judicial process, and activities associated with drug trafficking. Among those who felt their companies were more secure, 25% credited the work of the Mexican authorities, while 75% attributed the improvement to the results of efforts within their own companies.
  • As previously noted, vehicle armoring is a principal offering of the security industry, and it is not surprising that the growth of the market is most visible in this subsector. In Latin America, the armoring market has increased by 850% in the last eight years, and Mexico is now the second largest market after Brazil. Since 2008, the number of armored cars has increased by 25% in Mexico City and by 60% in the rest of the country. This market is expected to grow by 20% in 2011. Businesses have responded to this need: There are now 70 registered providers of armoring, compared to only three 15 years ago.
  • Kroll estimates the direct cost of insecurity to the government, businesses, and citizens to be US$65 billion, or 8% of GDP.
  • focuses
    • megan lemmen
       
      Reflection: There is no possible way to completely eliminate corruption, even in the United States; the fact that Mexico realizes, however, that there is a problem is a step in the right direction. While it's great that Mexico is making efforts to decrease corruption in the police force and government, it's a task that will take a long time to complete. It's horrifying to think that a birthday party-a normal, friendly activity-could be so terribly interrupted by the drug cartel. As to legalizing the drugs, I think that it would cause more problems than it would solve. Yes, it would decrease the price of drugs and decrease the demand from drug cartel, but then how would they get their money? They would go to other means of earning a living; men who can be violent like this would have no problem getting money through other horrifying crimes. Questions:1) What are all of the positive and negative effects of legalizing drugs?2) Is there a better way to screen government and police officials in order to decrease corruption?3) What are other safety measures that the typical citizen can go through to be more safe?4) What else can be done to decrease the drug cartels?
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    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
Mark De Haan

The Future of Lebanon - 0 views

  • Hezbollah ended up in a full-scale war, in which it won some battlefield victories and popularity in the Arab and Muslim world but which devastated its Lebanese Shiite constituency and narrowed its tactical and political options.
  • srael, despite unleashing massive airpower on Hezbollah strongholds, failed to knock out the organization or even to stop its missile attacks, while the setbacks suffered by Israel's ground invasion had the effect of puncturing the aura of invincibility long projected by the Israel Defense Forces.
  • When Israeli forces withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah claimed a historic victory. At the time, many argued that it was time for Hezbollah to give up its arms and cede its territory to the Lebanese army.
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  • Tehran reaped some benefit from Hezbollah's increased popularity and perhaps can point to the organization's robust performance as a warning to those considering military action against Iran, but this war wasted much of the deterrent power that it had vested in Hezbollah for its own hour of need
  • But instead, Hezbollah managed to put itself at the center of Lebanese politics, leading an anti-American coalition against the anti-Syrian March 14 coalition.
  • As the guns fell silent and the dust began to settle onto a scene of extensive devastation, many Lebanese were initially preoccupied with the debate about who had "won" or "lost" the war. Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader, rushed to declare a "divine victory": the war had not ended with triumph for Israel (as all other Arab- Israeli wars have)
  • Hezbollah fighters had routed Israeli armored columns and elite brigades, and Hezbollah had continued to launch missiles and inflict heavy losses on Israeli troops throughout the war.
  • Hezbollah's victory was trumpeted throughout the Arab and Muslim world.
  • But it also became clear that Lebanon, and particularly the Shiite areas in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, had paid an enormous human and economic price. Some 1,200 civilians (almost a third of them children) died, 4,000 were wounded, and a million were displaced. Some 130,000 housing units, thousands of small businesses, hundreds of roads, 300 factories, 80 bridges, dozens of schools and hospitals, and the country's electricity network were destroyed or damaged. This was the costliest Arab-Israeli war in Lebanon's history - - more devastating even than Israel's 1982 invasion. Economic losses were initially estimated at around $7 billion, or 30 percent of GDP. For a country still paying for a decade of laborious reconstruction and with a debt burden equal to 180 percent of GDP, the war dealt a staggering blow.
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    The Future of Lebanon Foreign Affairs - Paul Salem Salem, Paul. "The Future of Lebanon." Foreign Affairs 85.6 (2006): 13. Student Edition. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. Summary: This article talks about what the future holds for Lebanon and Hezbollah after the 34 Day War between Hezbollah and Israel. After all the fighting had ceased, Hezbollah was quick to claim themselves victorious. They were able to break Israli amored columns and Israel's elite brigades.  Reflection: Although Hezbollah has often been a nuisance to Israel, as well as a constant pain to the IDF and UN forces attempting to make peace, what is often lost in all this is the impact that Hezbollah has had on Lebanon. The 34 Day War between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 was the cause of death for 1,200 civilian, the displacement of a million, and destruction of 130,000 housing units. Economic losses were estimated at $7 billion. Hezbollah, through their resistance toward Israel, has not only been a pain to Israel, but also to Lebanon, to some extent. Questions: 1. Has Hezbollah gained strength or have they weakened since the 34 Day War? 2. Has Lebanon recovered from the disaster of this war? 3. Have there been any other large exchanges of warfare between Hezbollah and Israel since this incident?
Hojin Choi

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Tribal leader killed in Pakistan - 0 views

  • A tribal leader who opposed the head of the Taliban in Pakistan has been shot dead in the north-western Pakistani town of Dera Ismail Khan, police said.
  • Qari Zainuddin
  • Baitullah Mehsud, was killed by a gunman in his office early on Tuesday.
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  • South Waziristan.
  • Zainuddin hit out at Mehsud for recent attacks in which civilians have been killed.
  • The fresh violence comes as the Pakistani army is preparing to launch a new offensive against Taliban fighters under Mehsud's command.
  • Zainuddin was taken to the hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.
  • Not a jihad'Earlier this month, Zainuddin criticised Mehsud after an attack on a mosque which killed 33 people.
  • "Islam stands for peace, not for terrorism,"
  • Mehsud is thought to head the most powerful group of militants in the country, with a network of alliances with other militants.
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    Research question: Is Islam a religion of peace or invitation to violence? Citation:Tribal leader killed in Pakistan. BBC, 23 June 2009. Web. 16 Feb. 2011.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8114104.stm Summary: This article announced about the Pakistan. A trivial leader, Qari Zainuddin, 26,  who opposed the Taliban; as a result, he was assassinated in the north-western Pakistani town. He usually blamed Baitullah Mehsud who was the head of Taliban, and also most powerful group of militants in the county. Recently, Zainuddin attacked to the Mehsud; therefore, a guard who was under controlled by Mehsud entered the room at Zainuddin's office and fired.   Reflection:This article is what I want for my research question. For the reason, this is the evidence or reference to show people that Islam refer to maintain violence than peace. Since I have known the Pakistanis' violence, I recognize that it is worst than what I guess before. I can realize why they killed  between Pakistani and Taliban, but I need to consider about the initiation of the conflicts; it should be demarcation dispute of the Islam. According the article said,  "the Islam stands for peace, not for terrorism"; however, having many happenings between two sides don't make any sense of the Islam purpose.  Questions:1) What is the initiation of the conflicts between them?2) How can we solve sensitive problems?3) What is the Islam main purpose?4) Was Zainuddin's behavior for the Islam or just his authority? 
Ji-Yoon Jeon

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

  • 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."
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  • 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.
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    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

  • 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.
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  • There are tens of thousands of AIDS orphans
  • 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 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
       
      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.
  •  
    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?
Brielle DeFrell

Nigeria and Oil - Global Issues - 0 views

  • 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
  •  
    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?
Leah Hop

Mexican Drug Trafficking - 0 views

  • 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.
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  • 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
  •  
    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?
Mallory Huizenga

"Tourist and Turtles: Searching for a Balance in Tortuguero, Costa Rica" - 0 views

  • can be used to (1) raise awareness about sea turtles, (2) provide funding for conservation and management, and (3) create 'alternative livelihoods' and revenues for communities who engage(d) in direct consumption or sale of sea turtle products.
    • Mallory Huizenga
       
      Reflection: This article was helpful because it took me one step deeper into the efforts Costa Rica is taking to better their ecological conservation. Many articles that I come across only cover the surface of what Costa Rica is doing. In this article I was able to get an up close look at one of the things Costa Rica is doing: protecting sea turtles. Costa Rica is working with resources, such as tourism, to improve their conservation efforts. It was also nice to get a solid definition of ecotourism in Costa Rica. Questions: 1) What are other organization doing to promote conservation efforts? 2) How many other organizations use tourism to raise awareness? 3) What other steps is Costa Rica taking to protect sea turtles? 4) What other research studies are taking place on sea turtles?
  • In this paper, we focus on tourist perceptions of turtle tours in Tortuguero, Costa Rica, home to Tortuguero National Park
  • In 2004, the tour system was changed to mitigate potential negative impacts of tourist activity on nesting turtles.
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  • Sea turtle conservation organisations promote tourism as a way to 'save turtles', and reconcile conservation and development near nesting beaches.
  • Turtles and tourism are now so inextricably linked in some places that potential turtle losses represent tourism revenue losses (BBC News 2004).
  • Since the 1990s, ecotourism has become part of the tourism mainstream, especially in places like Costa Rica, where 'softer' ecotourism dominates. It is largely composed of nature-based tourism that includes some 'green' aspects but also offers easier tourist outings and more comforts of home
  • While ecotourism, including ecotourism in Tortuguero, once attracted mostly 'harder' or more rugged and/or environmentally conscious tourists than most nature-based or wildlife-viewing tourism (Place 1991), such distinctions are now less clear
  • As ecotourism grows, and infrastructure and services are added, the destination becomes less attractive to harder ecotourists.
  • ecotourists were portrayed as alternative tourists looking for environmentally focused educational trips.
  • (Eco)tourism's promise for conservation Ecotourism is seen as part of a 'mutually beneficial triumvirate', alongside conservation and biology, by many in the conservation world (Brightsmith et al. 2008).
  • Some conservationists see tourism, especially ecotourism, as an important driver of conservation
  • Tortuguero village, Tortuguero National Park and tourism Tortuguero's [Figure 1] nesting beach is used by green, leatherback, hawksbill, and loggerhead sea turtles.
  • Tourist traffic on the beach also has the potential to disturb turtles as they search for a place to nest, sending them back into the water without completing the nesting process.
  • Tourist roles in Tortuguero Tourists play key roles in turtle conservation success in Tortuguero
  • Conservation efforts are also co-dependently intertwined with tourism.
  • We have suggested that tourism in Tortuguero appears to have switched to a softer, more mass tourism-like form of 'ecotourism'.
  • Striving for this delicate balance will not be easy, but gaining a better and ongoing understanding of tourist perceptions is integral to designing more sustainable or less unsustainable turtle tourism options for the future.
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    Research Journal #3: Article One Research Question: How is ecological conservation effecting Costa Rica? Source: Mel.org: "Tourist and Turtles: Searching for a Balance in Tortuguero, Costa Rica" by Zoe Meletis and Emma Harrison  Citation: Meletis, Zoe, and Emma Harrison. "Tourists and turtles: Searching for a balance in Tortuguero, Costa Rica." Conservation and Society 8.1 (2010): 26. Academic OneFile. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. Summary: This article takes an inside look at the sea turtle population and how tourism has affected the turtle population. The article is filled with information, observations, and facts. The article also displays a study that took place to measure the affects of tourism on the sea turtle population. One of the top things the article talks about is how tourism is raising conservation awareness for the turtle. Through tourism, conservation organizations are able to spread awareness. Another aspect that the article talks about is ecotourism. It talks about the difference between ecotourism and tourism. Costa Rica is becoming known for their ecotourism. The article defines ecotourism as "largely composed of nature-based tourism that includes some 'green' aspects but also offers easier tourist outings and more comforts of home". This article glorifies the efforts Costa Rica is taking to deepen their ecological conservation.  Reflection and Questions on Sticky Note
Troy Rietsma

The Punch:: Demand for Nigerian oil rises as Libyan crisis persists - 0 views

  • There is growing concern in the United States and Europe that the ongoing Libyan crisis may negatively affect oil prices globally, forcing major oil consumers in Europe and US to look up to Nigeria and other African oil producers to up their production levels
  • Specifically, the Saudi Arabia government is said to have assured Western oil interests that Nigeria and Angola oil supplies would take care of whatever loss is recorded in oil supply from Libya.
  • What is not clear, according to informed sources, however, is Nigeria’s readiness to close the supply gap.
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  • Libya holds around 44 billion barrels of oil reserves, the largest in Africa.”
  • The sudden change in Libya, a fallout of the democratic fervour blowing across North Africa and the Middle East, now meant that Libya oil supplies are in jeopardy, pushing the supply pressure on Nigeria and Angola.
  • Comments :   Now Nigerians,Africans & all the world can see the reason why IMF wants SANUSI TO DEVALUE NIGERIAN NAIRA so that the WESTERN WORLD will gain.SANUSI MAY THE GOD ALMITHY continue to strenghten u $ MR PRESIDENT never to listen to those animal impersonators.They thought u wiil be like IBB & others. Posted by: wyclef kojak , on Sunday, February 27, 2011 Report this comment This is a great opportunity for our country to make profits and use them for infrastructural development. I hope our government has the right sense to invest and appropriate this. Instead of diverting them for selfish and political purposes. Posted by: OgaFatai , on Saturday, February 26, 2011 Report this comment
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    "Demand for Nigerian oil rises as Libyan crisis persists." The Punch. N.p., 27 Feb. 2011. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. . 2. SUMMARY: The United States and Europe are starting to become worried that oil prices will rise because of the crisis in Libya. Because of this, they are starting to look to other sources, Nigeria being one of them. Nigeria is not sure if they can supply the oil; Libya is the largest producer in Africa, holding 44 billion barrels of oil reserves. 3. RESPONSE: This may either help or hurt those who work for the oil industries. The oil industries in Nigeria have two choices if they can supply the oil: they can treat their workers better with the extra salaries, or they can splurge with it themselves and continue to oppress the oil workers. 4. QUESTIONS:          1. How do the Nigerian people feel about this change?          2. Will Nigeria be able to provide the oil?          3. Will Nigeria be able to help out its people with this investment?
Matt Mulder

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

  • 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
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  • 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.
  •  
    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?
Troy Rietsma

Nigeria fights oil bandits - UPI.com - 0 views

  • Nigerian forces destroyed what they believed were illegal oil refineries in the Niger Delta area as part of an effort to curb vandalism, a spokesman said. The illegal refineries were shoddy facilities where operators were distilling crude oil to sell on the black market.
  • soldiers destroyed 500 illegal refineries in the oil-rich Niger Delta.
  • "The operators, we believe, were those that break into the vast network of pipelines in the Niger Delta to steal crude oil which they refine, and sometimes they damage wellheads in the process," he was quoted as saying.
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  • thieves have cost Nigeria an average of around 100,000 ba
  • rrels of crude oil per day.
  • Financial analysts, meanwhile, said that Nigeria is benefiting from the rising price of crude oil.
  • Oil prices are at two-year highs in part because of the civil war raging in Libya, Africa's top oil producer.
  • Officials at the Nigerian Financial Derivatives Co. told Nigerian newspaper Next that tensions in the Middle East were a "blessing" for Nigeria.
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    Research Question: What effect does the Nigerian Blood Oil have on the people there? "Nigeria fights oil bandits." UPI.com. UPI, 8 Mar. 2011. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. . 1. Summary The Nigerian government sent troops out to destroy illegal oil refineries. Nigerian security forces spokesman Timothy Antigha said that soldiers destroyed roughly 500 refineries. Authorities believe that those who were in charge of these illegal refineries were tapping in to and stealing from the pipelines of the Niger Delta. An estimated 100,000 barrels of crude oil was being stolen every day. 2. Reflection At first I wondered why Nigerian authorities would want to destroy oil refineries. With rising oil prices and the crisis in Libya, you would think that the Nigerians would want to get their hands on any oil they could. But I read on and saw that the oil was being stolen from the main lines and sold on the black market. I think Nigeria did the right thing, and hopefully this well help the whole oil conflict. 3. Questions:  Will destroying these illegal refineries help or hurt the Nigerian people? and who will it help or hurt? Will destroying these refineries help Nigeria's legal production, thus helping the Libya crisis? According to financial analysts, Nigeria is benefiting from rising oil prices. How is Nigeria benefiting from it?
Kyleah Vander Klok

Raising the compassion bar: how 575 suburban teens underwrote a medical clinic, schoolh... - 0 views

  • $75,000 to build a medical clinic in Zambia to combat HIV/AIDS.
  • raised nearly 5250,000 for HIV/AIDS relief in Africa.
  • a student body whose members encourage each other to forgo movies, Starbucks runs, and even Christmas presents and prom dresses in order to use that money to provide Zambian peers with education and food.
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  • The students were dismayed by opinion polls revealing that American evangelicals put a low priority on ministry to people with HIV/AIDS.
  • Zambia has more than 630,000 children orphaned due to HIV/AIDS. About 1.1 million are infected with the virus.
  • some were strongly opposed to this big ministry dream. Some students felt this new "God-sized" goal was sudden, unreasonable, and driven by guilt. Others asked why their resources should go to Africa, and especially to fighting a sexually transmitted disease like AIDS. D
  • The One Life program offered a catalog showing ways students could assist an African village by raising money. Opportunities ranging from an $8 chicken to a $53,000 schoolhouse were included
  • Each of us committed to pray every single day about it
  • ose prayers changed not only their attitudes of fear and doubt toward the project, but also attitudes within the entire school--students, teachers, and administrators. The arguments ceased and a potent passion for Zambia ignited as hundreds of students mobilized to raise funds.
  • Zambia, all of Africa, and the AIDS pandemic became urgent concerns for Wheaton Academy's students
  • pictures from Zambia as daily reminders of what life is like for children in Kakolo
  • For the 2005-06 school year, Wheaton Academy students have launched AIDS Student Network (www.aidsstudentnetwork.org), aiming to recruit 1,000 American high schools in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa
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    1.Christianity today:Raising the compassion bar by jeremy weber http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=STOM&docId=A134816038&source=gale&srcprod=STOM&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&version=1.0 2. A school in chicago raise money for food for the people in Africa. They sacrificed movies and other things like that to donate. At first there was a lot of controversy and doubt about the project but they were soon able to buy all the items out of the world vision catalog. 3. People do not understand what is going on or even believe it and if that they do not know what to do about it. For a couple o dollars that we spend on coffee we could buy something like a chicken or some kind of animal that will help these people, who have been orphaned and can barely survive, actually rise from the life of poverty and give them a small amount of hope. It seems like we can not give up something we can live without to help give something that someone else can't live without. I have done things for 30 hour famine that I think is a part of world vision I really enjoyed what I did and it didn't  harm me any and I got to experience what a child there must experience. 4. What can our students sacrifice for others and what have we sacrificed? If staff and students prayed everyday about an issue what would happen? Why do we let our selfishness and fear control our mind?
Hojin Choi

Boy in Pakistan tells police of school for suicide bombing - 0 views

  • A sorrowful Pakistani teen suspected of collaborating in this week's deadly suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine is claiming to police that scores of his young peers at a camp in the nation's perilous tribal region are being trained to stage attacks.
  • Fidai was arrested alive after the suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine on Sunday killed at least 41 people and wounded more than 100
  • he got suicide bombing lessons for six months, including training to use pistols, grenades and a suicide jacket.
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  • Ahmed Mubarak, the police chief of the Dera Ghazi Khan district, said the teen told police that more than 300 boys between ages 12 and 17 are being trained in North Waziristan's Mir Ali area to stage suicide bombings.
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    Research question: Is Islam a religion of peace or invitation to violence? CItation:Habblb, Nasir. Boy in Pakistan tells police of school for suicide bombing. CNN, Apr. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2011http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/04/08/pakistan.teen.bomber/index.html?iref=allsearch Summary:The Pakistani teenager suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine with his young peers at a camp.Fidai was arrested alive even though he tried to suicide bombing himself.On sunday, at least 41 people and wounded more than 100 at a Sufi shrine because of Fidai. In his interview, he had been trained in order to use the pistol, suicide jacket and grenades lesson for six months, but he said that he never miss his family because Qaru Zafar who is the Taliban leader persuade him that Fidai would go to heaven if he suicide for the Taliban. Reflection:This article show how extreme Islamists are stupid. Unfortunately I can not understand that why Islamists have chosen the young people to suicide bombing for their authority. I believe that they will know their reaction bringing the violence image to the Islam. My research topic is Is Islam a religion of peace or invitation to violence? I found my answer for this article. During I research the paper for the Islam, I barely find the article about the peace of Islam. The violence reactions of Islam news are dominated in Newspaper. According this facts, the extreme Islamists need to convert their image for the peaceful Islamist. Question:1) Why the extreme Islamist  use young people to suicide bombing?2) Why Islamist hardly try to covert their image?3) How many people scarified for Islam?4) Why people easily believe that they can go heaven instead of their life?
Leah Hop

Mexican car wash massacre: rehab centers latest target in drug war. - 0 views

  •  
    Research Question: What is the cause of all the violence associated with the Mexican drug trade?  Source: The Christian Science Monitor Source Citation: Kurczy, Stephen. "Mexican car wash massacre: rehab centers latest target in drug war." Christian Science Monitor 27 Oct. 2010. Student Edition. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. Summary: In Mexico, within less than seven days, there have been three massacres taking at least 41 lives of young people who used to take part in the drug trade. This shows that the drug lords will do anything to keep information from authorities. The main target are those who are in clinics or drug rehabilitation, and overall the ones targeted are young people. These killings have spread across the country of Mexico and have resulted in more than 28,000 deaths since December 2006. Reflection: I am saddened when I read about how so many younger people are being killed, especially those that are trying to overcome their involvement with drugs. Also, experts say that youths are turning to a life of organized crime due to a lack of job opportunities or lack of an education.  Questions: 1) Is anything being done to stop further random shootings at drug rehab centers? 2) Are there other ways Mexico can decrease youth involvement with the drug trade? 3) Are drug lords doing this just to prevent former addicts from giving information? What are their motives behind such brutal shootings?
Cindy Son

Hezbollah accuses Israel of Hariri murder - 0 views

  • Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday openly accused Israel of the 2005 assassination of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri and said he would unveil proof to that effect at a news conference next week.
  • Nasrallah in July had revealed he was aware the UN-backed tribunal probing the Hariri murder was likely to indict members of his militant party, slamming the court as biased and part of an Israeli plot.
  • Hariri and 22 others were killed in a massive bombing on the Beirut seafront on February 14, 2005.
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  • The Hariri murder has been widely blamed on Syria, a main backer of Hezbollah along with Iran.
  • Damascus has consistently denied involvement.
  •  
    What are the effects of Hezbollah on Israel? "Hezbollah accuses Israel of Hariri murder." Khaleej Times. N.p., Aug. Web. 4 Apr. 2010. Summary : The chief of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, accused Israel of Hariri murder, and stated that he has some evidences to prove his claim. Hariri and other 22 people were murdered on February 14, 2005. And Syria has been blamed of Hariri murder; however, Syria denied involvement of this situation. The reason Hezbollah is claiming of their innocence is because the UN-backed tribunal said that the Hariri murder was likely to indict members of Hezbollah.  Reflection : Hezbollah is blaming Israel of Hariri murder. However, Israel has nothing to do with this. Why would Israel murder Hariri? I think Hezbollah is making false accusation to get away from the trouble that they made in 2005 assassination; there are so many evidences that we can easily see that Hezbollah murdered Hariri because conflict between Hariri and Hezbollah has been going on for many years, especially after Hezbollah-backed Mikati became the new Prime Minister of Lebanon. Only because Hezbollah has a lot of conflict with Israel, Hezbollah is just trying to accuse Israel with no reason. Therefore, unfortunately, either UN or Israel needs to prove Israel's innocence to get away from this situation, and prove that Hezbollah actually murdered Hariri. Questions : 1) What is the Israel's reaction upon this accusation?  2) What is the exact evidence does Hezbollah chief has? 3) Is UN or Israel going to strongly claim that Hezbollah has wrong evidences?
Joy Merlino

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

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