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It is scary that there is an increasing amount of support of political violence in this country.

Interesting analysis of the Jan 6 riot. There's a really in depth video on Violence and Protest by Abigail Thorne on the Philosophy Tube youtube channel that I liked. I would recommend checking it out if you're looking for more information on the subject.

I think this is a really scary insight into how people justify political violence. Hopefully, this widespread attitude starts to change soon.

I chose this article about the Israel-Palestine conflict because it talks about how this conflict is not an isolated battle between Israel and Palestine. The Op-Ed columnist David Brooks writes that because of all the conflict in the Middle East each country, group, or "political contour" that is striving for power influences the actions of either the Palestinian or Israeli parties. For example, Brooks mentions how Egypt blocked 95% of the tunnels that connected Egypt to Gaza, which costed Hamas $460 million a year. Hamas could not attack Egypt, so they attacked Israel instead. The public dissatisfaction caused Egypt to end the blockade. Thus, the external parties in the Middle East have a large effect on the Israel-Palestine conflict, and Brooks says that the conflict should therefore be analyzed from a different perspective: "It, like every conflict in the region, has to be seen as a piece of the larger 30 Years' War" (Brooks). This article shows us that we need to think a little more broadly when analyzing certain conflicts.

I think it's interesting that these outside countries are involving themselves by using all the deaths of the Israelis and Palestinians as leverage to get what they want. The violence in Gaza negatively influences all of its surrounding regions. Violence only brings more violence.

This article was a great way to clear the air on many misconceptions that have been floating around that make the Israel-Palestine conflict seem like a very straightforward conflict. This makes it clear that many of the warfare between Israel and Palestine isn't related to conflict between these two nations, rather in some cases it is attempts by Palestinian states and Muslim rebels to show dominance to other Middle Eastern countries and sects in order to make political and economic moves. With so much intertwining of conflict with the Egypt and the Islamists at the Arab Spring and the closing of the 95% of the tunnels being closed between Egypt and Gaza. The Brotherhood, ISIS, and other militant groups are vying for power throughout the Middle East and flexing their muscle on anybody and everybody to establish political dominance.

Thousands of criminals have been killed under the Philippine president, Duterte, due to a corrupt judicial system that leads citizens to feel unsafe. Therefore, these citizens search for short-term security in terms of murder.

I think it's interesting how this article on the Israel-Palestine conflict puts the conflict into perspective, especially for young readers. The article explains the cycles of revenge that continue to give the violence in the Middle East ammunition. However, the details of the revenge prove relevance because it is about the purposeless murders of teenagers who have nothing to do with the conflict whatsoever. It is also interesting how the writer mentions the irony of all of the immoral killings occurring in a place that has been called "The Holy Land". The article begins with a quote from the Israeli prime minister explaining that Israel is a state of laws. The writer boldly disagrees with this, stating, "This is not what happens in a state of laws". He also accuses Israel's "democracy" as being undemocratically oppressive. Essentially, he is critiquing the leaders on both sides of the conflict and assigning them responsibility for the senseless acts of the killing of innocent youth in the name of revenge.

This article is both intriguing and thought provoking, however, I do agree that it was written in an anti-Israeli tone. This may be do to the fact that the author failed to touch upon the militancy and violence in Palestine. However, it did shed an interesting light on the "state of laws" and how both nations have seemingly become numb to the constant violence.

Sometimes it seems like people forget what they are fighting for

For an influential group of advanced thinkers, violence is a type of backwardness. In the most modern parts of the world, these thinkers tell us, war has practically disappeared.

Wow, that's quite a blog post. I used to like Steven Pinker's writing--on the human brain, for example. But this new book seems like a hypothesis in search of biased evidence.

While Mexico is democratic and civil society is prevalent, corruption in the government and the danger posed by cartels mean big problems for activist who oppose either. Lacking government sovereignty has made it much easier for the country's cartels to carry out murders and corrupt judges have made the possibility of consequence slim.

Important article, Matteo. I'm not clear what you mean by "Lacking government sovereignty." I think you are referencing the fact that the cartels have more firepower than the police, so they can strong arm what they want? And corruption, of course, is rampant, in and out of government. How might a country with these problems return to a rule of law? It's an important question for the US as well, in the area of gun violence. Countries that have substantially lower levels of gun violence than the US have all sorts of (not necessarily the same) measures in place to keep gun violence down. Is there something about the political culture of the US that makes this impossible? Or is there a way to change the culture?

this article provides both historical context and present day circumstances without losing the reader with too much detail. I believe that the willingness of palestinians to risk their lives to rebel (but not in an organized fashion) really shows how chaotic and dire their situation is.

This article explains how a country of high autonomy and capacity asserts itself in an attempt to control a territory that has long been embroiled by violence perpetuated by different ethnic populations. The conflict in the Xinjiang region is also a good example of how ethnic minorities become discontent when the government supports the larger ethnic group in order to gain control of the region.

In light of the recent shooting in Oregon, I think it's important to reflect on our gun control policies in comparison to those of other developed countries.

Great image detailing the death in recent conflict between Israel and Syria. As tensions build, it is interesting the attempts at diplomacy between the two countries and how it affects their allies.

Gang violence, particularly kidnappings and ransom demands, has become another threat to public safety in Haiti, along with natural disaster, political upheaval, and and crippling poverty. Now, gangs are targeting the church, as seen through the kidnapping of 17 American missionaries. The church has long been a pillar of support in Haiti throughout its impoverishment. Breaking this taboo is a sign of how bad the crime and violence has become.

A new hotline has opened in Bogota, named the Calm Line, aimed to fight the machismo culture in Colombia. Unlike other methods to prevent violence against women, the Calm Line takes calls from men, and pushes men to examine how their long-time attitudes of machismo harm their lives and the lives of others. Latin America, notably Argentina and Mexico, have had recent movements related to women's rights and well-being, including legalizing abortion and femicide. Interesting to see a new method of challenging the culture and machismo.

I'd never thought about this approach to domestic violence/machismo culture.Patriarchy extends in both directions, and attacking one side helps defeat the effects on the other. The've said that a dozen people call in per day, and I'm interested to see if the Calm Line becomes more widely used in the coming years. It certainly is a unique solution.

I hope my annotations saved

Great use of Diigo annotation tool, Anay!

This article poses the important question of how the Muslim world would react to a strike on Iran, either from Israel or the United States. The article points out that given the recent hostility towards the West from the Innocence of Muslims film, most violence would be directed to the US. It is important to consider the way that Muslims outside of Iran would react to a strike on the nation.

I find the idea that should a physical threat be made against Iran that other Muslim occupied countries would unite to be quite accurate and terrifying. As alluded to in the Clash of Civilizations, I believe there to be a great possibility of an impending war based on religious beliefs. The Islamic community was already infuriated, especially with the U.S., by the Mohammed film. Any further attack (whether theoretical or physical) by the United States or by its allies could result in a quite dangerous situation.

Is Django historically accurate?  This is an insightful film review.

Turkish foreign minister Davutoglu announces that Turkey will stop sending weapons to Syria. Businessmen who support Assad's regime will have their assets frozen in Turkey. Turkey is hoping that these sanctions will persuade Assad to stop the violent crackdowns

A deep "insider's view" into the civil war occurring in Syria. Reveals the brutal crimes against humanity that the Syrian government is inflicting upon its citizens including murder rape, and unprecedented violence.

It is really interesting to read an article from the point of view of a person in Syria. The author is clearly begging for help for Syria. I think the last line is incredibly powerful, where the author says that Syria is part of the world and the world needs to help. Unfortunately for the author, not every other country agrees.

This is an interesting perspective on what is going on in Syria. I found it pretty accurate how the author described western powers as masking their "political inertia with empty rhetoric about a 'political solution'". I had no idea that over 7 million people (1/3 of the Syrian population) were IDPs as a result of this conflict. It's truly a horrible story. It's also interesting how the author describes the western powers' switch from being against the rebels to seeing their actions as justified.