Mid-East Peace Conference

A Middle East peace conference regarding the extended conflict between Israelis and the Palestinians will be launched in this coming month, December 12 in Annapolis, Maryland. The two leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had agreed to engage in negotiation. This negotiation is expected to lead the two sides to come to an agreement before the end of 2008. It is certainly a very important chance for these two neighbors to discuss all the outstanding issues that have been dividing their territory. The question is: Will all the citizens of both countries agree on the future output of this conference? For instance, Mahmoud Abbas stated, “East Jerusalem should be the capital of the New Palestinian state.” This statement has created tension to most of the Israelis attention, who regard Jerusalem “as part of their capital.” Neither Israelis nor Palestinians are willing to give up something that they feel they have connection with. This conference will be an enormous task for the leaders of both countries, Israel and Palestine.

Evil Education

For a long time I was not able to comprehend people who could not admit past events that to me seemed historical. For example, my two Turkish friends differ in a fundamental way: the other one acknowledges the Armenian genocide, and the other one does not. I have always had a really hard time understanding the friend who does not recognize the events of the 1910’s as a genocide, because to me, according to what I have been taught, it is clear as day and night what the acts should be called. However, I read an article awhile back that discusses the issue and talked with my friends, and it really made me think about the topic a lot more and realize that the situation really is not as simple as I might have presumed it to be; maybe there is a reason, other than just ignorance, why it is still so hard for my friend to admit the Armenian genocide. I have come to realize that this reason might be education. School and what is taught in it play a big role in building and reforming one’s believes. I bet you still remember when you were taught that the Nazi Germans were bad, and that Albert Einstein was a great man. More importantly, to this date, you have probably not even thought of questioning these statements. But, did you know that Einstein cheated on his wife and was commonly known as a “ladies’ man?” I am sure you did not, because contradicting what you have learnt at an early age is challenging and almost impossible for most of the people; as it must be for Turks with the Armenian genocide. That is why it is important for people to be critical in not only what they are taught, but also what they have been taught before. As a Finn, for instance, I can look back to my elementary education and see if something I took as the ultimate truth was actually biased. Maybe Russia was discussed in a too bad light in my history classes? Maybe the national heroes were not really that amazing and all-in-all fine people?

Whether it is positive or negative, the environment we grew in has had a significant impact on all of us. It is time to realize the huge effect education has on people, and insist changes in it rather than judge people influenced by it.

Death Toll

Possibly the sadest aspect of seeing people's lack of willingness to help is when we see news sources, who are supposed to be our link to what is happening in the world, burying the topic so heavily that when ten people die, it doesn't even make the list of highlights on CNN's list of highlights on their opening page. Has death truly become so monotonous? Or is it just that we've been hearing about death for so long in the region that it's no longer surprising or newsworthy? After all several stories are featured that reveal a much lower death toll, 8 People killed by a typhoon in the Philippines, One person shot to death as the result of a noise complaint, and many other examples. Maybe we have just become too accustomed to death continuing to plague Darfur that hearing about one more event that ended the lives of multiple people, no longer does any good.

China in Darfur

The article in the Contra Costa Times deals with the involvement of China in Darfur. Amit Arora, the writer of the article says that the continuation of the genocide in Darfur is mainly due to the actions of China. Presently, China is the biggest importer of oil from Sudan. To be more specific, 60 percent of the oil yield in Sudan is imported by China. It thus, provides the Sudanese government with the necessary capital to fuel their genocide. The incoming money is used by the government of Sudan to buy weapons. The most astonishing fact is that most of the weapons used in Sudan are from China., which had been bought before the genocide and, Chinese weapons are still being funneled into Darfur. This is still going on, violating the arms embargo of the UN. China should be made aware of its actions and their consequences by the international community. They should be made to stop such financial agreements with Sudan, at least until the end of the genocide. The international community should voice their concern over China’s role in the genocide and do something about it.

Islamic Threat Rising

Are we in the midst of the beginning of a potential genocide? In the Middle East, the Islamic fundamentalists are steadily rising. A Fundamentalist is "a political individual" in search of a "more original Islam." Islamic fundamentalism has replaced communism as the today’s enemy. Their mission is to kill all "infidels" in defense of Islam. The fundamentalists will stop at nothing to accomplish their goals. An increase in funding and personnel can lead to larger and more destructive terrorist acts. If they gain more followers what will the world be facing? Some scholars argue that the United States must shift its focus from trying to crush radical Islamic movements militarily to pursing policies that discourage their development. Other scholars concur that U.S. policy is aggravating rather than minimizing conflict with Islamic extremism. Across the board it is agreed that something must be done about this rising threat.

Justice At Last

Although it is quite rare to see powerful dictators actually put on trial after their regime loses power of whatever region they were oppressing, it does happen occasionally and Monday Cambodia received the justice it's been hoping for since the late 1970s when the brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge brutalized its' citizens. On Monday Leng Sary, the brother in law of famed dictator Pol Pot and his wife were arrested and delivered to a special tribunal of Cambodian and foreign judges initiated to punnish former Khmer Rouge members for the atrocities they commited against the Cambodian people. Although it's taken years to finally happen, it's never too late for justice and responsibility.

What is a Terrorist?

How do u define a terrorist? One man’s terrorist is another mans freedom fighter. For example, Al Qaeda attacked America because they feel America is trying to destroy Islam so they feel like they are acting in self-defense. However we just see it as terrorism. In the movie, paradise now we saw how the other side views terrorist acts. The friends viewed there killing as “God’s Will” and a way to fight against oppression they felt. Their goal was of more than just killing people they wanted to send a message. This movie gave me some insight into how a terrorist thinks. Terrorist organizations aren’t brutal men only out to kill. They are doing what they believe is the only way to fight against oppression.

A Different Type of Victim

It is hard enough to try to get the average citizen interested in helping citizens of other countries living in poverty or worse, but the struggle takes on an entirely new meaning when something along the lines of what the article Losing Faith in Charity: Is There Any Hope For NGO's talks about. In the region of Chad, where the tragedy struck, even major organizations such as UNICEF, and the Red Cross were unable to prevent such an event from taking place. Although this is a region that is plagued with much worse, the events that took place this week that left these children used and abandoned is nothing to be made light of and deserves our careful consideration as we consder what kind of world we live in where this is not the worse possible situation for a child.

Diffusion and dispalcement of responsibility

The diffusion and displacement of responsibility for actions is what has been plaguing us, and also, is responsible for countless deaths.

Soldiers are puppets to the higher authoritative powers. They are voiceless and follow orders no matter how repulsive they maybe. The system is set up in such a way that soldiers, even if they are against their orders, can do nothing about its. The punishments range from court marshals to even death, depending on the country. So they follow the orders and commit heinous acts no matter what. The only way to justify their actions is to say that some higher power commanded them to do so. The higher power has the authority to say that some even higher power ordered him to do so. So, the blame and responsibility is diffused till it no longer exists.

The lack of responsibility by its displacement even leads to an increase in inhumane acts as people simply follow what they are told to do. This is where the group mentality comes into play. They are a part of a group and the group is responsible for their actions. The group, in turn is commanded by higher ranking officials, and so forth. So, responsibility is simply diffused and people don’t get the sense of personal involvement.

Define terrorism - Easier said than done

The first chapter of "Understanding Terrorism" discusses the definition of terrorism. Much like genocide, it is difficult to draw the line of terrorism. But what makes it so difficult? Each nation or group has a different history of terrorism. Past events that are considered acts of terrorism pose as pictures and models for the future. Also, each group or nation has a very different culture from another on the other side of the world. In the United States, we consider suicide unacceptable. Some cultures use suicide as a weapon. They are brought up to believe that this is an acceptable and worth while act. One person's terrorist is another person's freedom fighter.

Enemy

Enemy. One who feels hatred toward, intends injury to, or opposes the interests of another. In times of war, it is easier to think of the enemy as a faceless group instead of a person just like us. This is made easier through the use of political cartoons. Artists play into the harshest stereotypes, which makes it easier for us to accept these clichés. These stereotypes only further divide nations. Instead of trying to hate the opposition we should work towards understanding each other.