Unity and Tragedies

Ever wonder why people come together when tragedies happen? I have noticed that whenever a tragedy happens whether it is a hurricane or a terrorist attack, Citizens unite and become one. The recent attacks on Mumbai were devastating and unfortunate. The Taj Mahal hotel owner said that he did receive a warning that there will be a terrorist attack, but believes that he did not prepare well for it. The security plan failed and around 183 people were killed. What did the owner have to say about this incident? According to a CNN article, "Tata (the hotel owner) was hopeful that the attacks would unite Indians behind a common goal of preventing a similar tragedy." It is a good thing that the owner believes that people will come together after this misfortunate event. 9/11 is another tragedy, which brought people together. Families helped other families heal; people were there for each other. What we can ask ourselves is why do we have to wait until tragedies happen in order to unite? Why can’t we all come together as one? If we all work together to form a strong nation, no one will be able to bring harm or cause distress to the nation. I believe that a country should not wait for tragedies in order to become one connected and close community. If the government has to interfere in any way and help increase common unity, so be it. People also come together in happy times, the 2008 elections is one good example. When Barack Obama won, people gathered around wherever they were able to in order to watch his speech. Here at Wheaton, a large group of students watched Obama's speech in an auditorium all-together as one.  A good sign that people are coming together and getting more involved with one another is the idea of having social networking sites. Facebook and Myspace are two social networking sites that have worked to help people meet and make new friends over the Internet around the world. Some people rely on social networking sites in order to make friends and become part of a community. 

Write or Remain Silent: Consquences of Serving our Country

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081129/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/soldier_stress;_ylt=At9c8iCb2QWrsMx40i1kdDuyFz4DWrite or Remain Silent: Consquences of Serving our Country

Consquences of Serving our Country

About time people are noticing that our soldiers are being harmed mentally. 15,000 soldiers are said to be coming back home in January, after many psychologist agreeing that soldiers are being unhealthy. Based on an article in Yahoo it stated that out of every 10 soldiers 4 have been deployed more than once. That is almost 50%. The significance is can we imagine seeing death and being in tension because you feel that someone is going to kill you at any moment. This is what are soldiers are facing, on top of sleep desperations. Psychologists are now trying to seek a time line where our soldiers should come home for their insanity. Some suggestion for help is to have psychologist to come to the bases and talk and interact with the soldiers. Now, we are improving for the first time every soldier that comes back is going to therapy for 90-120 days. Some effects that the soldiers might face when returning in January is headaches sleep disorders, memory loss, irritability, relationship strains, and other forms of stress disorders. I don’t care who you are, but people are not made to be in that stress environment for long. We are human beings and seeing people die in our faces and be in so much tension is detrimental to a person health and insanity. About 85% of soldiers will get better from these problems with help of psychologist help, but those 15% are going to need more help. I hope we can get our soldiers the proper help they deserve and need. My friend just got left to the army and one thing I am afraid of is never seeing him again. However, now that I know about the effects of going to war I am afraid that he will never be the same person I once met.

How much of a recession is it if people are killing each other to spend money?

On Friday morning, “black Friday”, one Wal-Mart employee was killed while trying to open the front door (Nieves).  The mob of 2000 people that had formed outside, arriving since Thursday evening, surged through the doors as they were unlocked and the stampede trampled the man (Nieves).   It took several minutes for people to stop the crow and give aid the man who was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead (Nieves).   A pregnant woman was taken to the hospital after the minor altercation is rumored to have had a miscarriage according the blogosphere (Finstock).

It takes a large desire to spend money to kill a man who stands between you and the perfect Christmas gift.  This overwhelming desire to spend is great for the economy.  It is true that the black Friday turn out wasn’t what many stores had hoped this year, but with people spraining ankles and trampling each other to get sweater vests and George Forman Grills at low prices shows the recession mind set has not settled in.  When the American people decide that it is time to stop spending all together then the American economy is in trouble.   The media’s constant babble of how badly the economy is doing would, it seems, denture people from spending their money, or at least be a bit more lack luster about doing so.  It is true that people were rushing through the doors to try and save money by getting good deals on products, but they still bough them.  My most sincere condolences to all people adversely affect by the shopping battle, but I am glad the American commercial machine hasn’t decide to call it a day, stay home and wait for the rain to stop.

 

Works Cited

Flinstock, Bobby. "If nobody died in the procurement of my gift I don’t want it." If nobody died in the procurement of my gift I don’t want it Pointless Banter. 28 Nov. 2008. Pointless Banter. 29 Nov. 2008 http://pointlessbanter.net/2008/11/28/if-nobody-died-in-the-procurement-of-my-gift-i-don’t-want-it/.

 

Nieves, Rosalina. "Wal-Mart worker dies in rush; two killed at toy store." Wal-Mart worker dies in rush; two killed at toy store - CNN.com. 28 Nov. 2008. CNN. 29 Nov. 2008 http://www.cnn.com/2008/us/11/28/black.friday.violence/index.html.

Obama's Cabinet

In the past few weeks, many of us have heard rumors on President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet choices, but haven't really taken a close look at these advisors. Obama has announced many of these positions, and "will have nearly named his entire Cabinet by Christmas." In this blog post I hope to introduce you to each of the announced Cabinet members, and give you a sense of who they are.

• Timothy Geithner (Democrat)- Treasury Secretary. Geithner is currently New York's ninth president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank. He joined the Dept. of Treasury in 1988 and has worked in various administrative positions. He was also the director of the Policy Development and Review Department at the International Monetary Fund from 2001-2003.

• Hillary Clinton (Democrat)- Secretary of State. Clinton is a Senator (since 2000), who won the support of many Americans in her run for the Democratic presidential nomination. Clinton would manage foreign affairs as secretary of state. The question has been raised in the constitutionality of this pick; article one, section six of the Constitution says elected officials may not take other government jobs if the salary was raised during their term. This would apply to Clinton. However, I imagine this technicality will be overlooked for the greater good of the American people. 

• Bill Richardson (Democrat) -Commerce Secretary. Richardson is New Mexico's Governor. Bill Clinton named him U.S. Secretary of Energy in 1998, and he is a UN ambassador, giving him lots of experience in the political field. He taught at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, became a member of the Inter-American Dialogue, became the first Hispanic to serve in a Cabinet level position, and served in New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District, and was reelected 8 times. He was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to free hostages in Burma, Cuba, Iraq, North Koea, and Sudan.

• Janet Napolitano (Democrat)- Homeland Security Secretary. Napolitano is the Governor of Arizona (elected originally in 2002). Named one of Time's top five governors in the US, many expected her to make a run for presidency in 2008.

• Tom Daschle (Democrat)- Health and Human Services Secretary. Daschle is a former Senator and Senate Majority Leader and Minority Leader (1986-2003). Post Senate, Daschle worked at a law firm, and invigorated his PAC for new leadership.

• Eric Holder (Democrat)- Attorney General. Holder is a former judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, US Attorney, and Deputy Attorney General. He has been a legal advisor to Obama throughout the campaign, and was one of Obama's top picks for VP. 

• Robert Gates (Republican)- Defense Secretary. Gates is the only Republican amongst this group, and served this particular position in the Bush presidency. Before joining Bush's Cabinet, he served 26 years in the CIA and the National Security Council and became the Director of Central Intelligence. 

Although this is an extremely partisan group (which could only be expected), I feel that Obama chose very bright, experienced officials. I am interested to get other peoples' reactions to the Cabinet choices. We will see how this group plays out in the coming months.

Fossil Record

            With the Obama administration coming into office many people are excited about change coming to Washington in the form of a younger generation, but just as the cold war dinosaurs are being put out to pasture the United States and Russia have developed differences in opinion over the placement of United States interceptor missile base in Poland and a radar array in the Czech Republic.  The United States placed the missile systems in the European countries to defend against the threat of missiles from Iran.  Russia felt threatened by the placement of U.S. Missile systems on their boarder and expresses their distaste to Washington, but also began testing new missile systems and preparing ways of defeating the new U.S. missile bases.

            On November 5, President Dmitry Medvedev stated that Russia intended on placing Iskander short-range missiles near the Polish boarder, and attempting to jam the missile system electronically.  Colonel-General Nikolai Solovtsov declared the nation’s intention to have a new, fully functional missile system 2020. 

            There have also been multiple tests on missile systems that Russia has been developing recently.  The Dmitry Donsky nuclear submarine launched a Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile Shorty after Colonel-General Solovtsov made his announcement conserving the new missile system for Russia.  Russia has also been testing the RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile a new missile, which, according to the Russian military cannot be stopped by any anti-missile system.  In 2009 the Russian military intends on performing 13 missile tests nearly twice as many as were done in 2008. 

            The combined arms build up on the Russian border, missile development, and conflict in Georgia earlier this year are more than slightly reminiscent of the cold war.  Because experience of events in the past are helpful for confronting current events that are almost impressively similar I hope that the regime change in Washington doesn’t lead to retirement party for the generation that lived thought the cold war.  Who else will be able teach us to duck and cover?

Sources:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE4AR3S120081128

Obama on Spending

For the last decade, our country has operated as if we have access to unlimited resources, and an endless economy. America seems to have taken on this personality that we can do anything, and as the great nation that we are, no measure can stop us. Unfortunately, this is merely facade. We have gotten ourselves into incredible debt, with the national deficit at $10,655,730,608,95s2.03 set to increase at a rate of 3.86 billion per day since September 28, 2007. Scared? You should be.

Now when Barack Obama becomes president, he has promised to make a substantial impact on the national deficit. And noble as this may be, I have trouble seeing how this can be done considering his platform. An article from the San Francisco Times sums up this dilemma, "President-elect Barack Obama set out on Tuesday to reassure Americans that he intends to restrain spending despite the staggering bills for financial rescues and emergency government spending that seem to mount by the day." President Obama is in a very difficult situation in that he will be faced with the biggest economic crisis of our generation, probably even our lifetime, while also having to satisfy his constituencies with his policies. So how will President Obama rein in spending? He plans to focus on efficiency within the budget, raise taxes on the wealthy, eliminate tax breaks for large corporations and oil companies, cut military spending, and make line-by-line revisions throughout the national budget (this is obviously not a complete list of all the economic changes President Obama intends to make). While these are all excellent ideas, and will help improve the situation, they cannot possibly reverse what has been done to the state of the economy. 

Obama has promised his constituents a new health are system in which the government will be forced to spend billions to systemically revamp the program. He has also endorsed investing in new sectors of alternative energy which will cost billions. He also must fund the War on Terror, clean up the Iraq War, and perhaps in his term will have to deal with the new sector of terrorists from the Middle East which looked to attack Westerners and many others in India. He has also promoted education and student payment reform, must maintain homeland security, among many other programs, and provide enormous emergency aid to the economy. And while I hate to be such a skeptic, all of these efforts will cost a lot of money that the United States isn't in a position to give right now. My hope is that Obama's stimulus packages and emergency aid will help get the economy back on track, his plans to cut spending will work, and Congress will be mindful of spending limitations. If not, this country will have to face much bigger problems.

Democratic Infighting

Since the election of Obama, the Democrats are beginning to experience a majority like they "haven't enjoyed in decades." However, this majority may not provide the sweeping reform it promises. This will be stalled by Democratic infighting on a wide range of issues including but not limited to "climate change, energy, health care, and social security." It seems because of regional divides, personal economic and social interests, and ideological differences of opinion within the majority, the Democrats will create their own grid-lock. This makes sense, the wider the majority, the more factions you are bound to have within it; more people means more opinions. This has been evidenced already through a fight over inclusion into a key committee for Obama's legislation.  

This infighting can be viewed in very different lights. It can be seen as a very positive aspect in that it will place a check on vast reform. Not only does it create a more non-partisan system, therefore making President Obama much more popular with the public as a whole, but it also means the legislative branch will be forced to send more time drafting and working out compromises in the bills in order for them to pass. Despite the increased amount of time and effort that would take, I would much prefer a thorough, well thought out bill, over one that is just super popular with the Democrats as a whole that immediately passes without much debate. This infighting can also be viewed as extremely negative due to the slowed legislation process and the fewer number of bills that will be passed on President Obama's agenda. This will likely appease moderates and conservatives who don't fully agree with the agenda in the first place. 

But whether infighting remains or not when Obama becomes our country's official president, reports indicate that he wishes to "hit the ground running" in the notable first 100 days (in which presidents typically introduce an enormous amount of legislation to the Congress). Congress will likely sacrifice their internal disputes to make way for Obama's new financial stimulus plan since this is a timely issue of great importance. This is key for a the majority of American families and businesses, and if successful, will greet Obama with an astounding approval rating as he begins in office.

Pardon?

            In a move that all to well exemplified how the presidential campaign went for her, Sarah Pailin stood on camera warring a Burberry scarf and sucking down a latté, or equally outlandishly priced Starbucks beverage, for an interview after pardoning a turkey.  What made this a particularly good representation of her contribution to the campaign was after saving a turkey’s, life behind her, seemingly unbeknownst to the former vice-presidential candidate, was the proprietor of the turkey farm killing turkeys.  Pailin spoke of the ups and downs of the presidential race, while behind her a man literally was slitting the throats of turkey’s.  The best line of the governor’s monologue was after describing how critical the press was of every move on the campaign trail she said “and someone will probably be critical of this too.”  Yes, yes they will.  But it seemed very fitting, and even a beautiful metaphor of the Katie Couric interview.  First Pailin proverbially “pardoned a turkey” by stating that it was possible to see Russia from some parts of Alaska, which is a good one liner totally useless and irrelevant, much like pardoning a turkey, but a decent bit of dirty yardage.  Then when she as intervened by Couric the Governor didn’t have the sense to look behind her and see the man sharpening the knife, so she started to talk.  By the time she had opened her mouth the turkey famer, or metaphorically the press, had grabbed a turkey, continuing the reference Republican Party, inserted it into a killing cone, slit its throat and let it bleed to death on camera.  The biggest difference is of course that the republican party too a little while longer to stop twitching. 

            The most likely out come of this interview is that Pailin will not disappear from the national media.  Think of it as a pilot episode for the coming season of  “life as the queen of Alaska” where our heroine talks her way further and further into political hades.  Next week what to ware that is function both in the state house and in the frozen tundra while you grip your hubby and zoom around on his supped up snow mobile performing drive by shootings on deer. 

A Comical Slap at Obama Supporters

This video is a light-hearted slap at Obama supporters. It mocks their extreme enthusiasm and their "pathetic" post-election lives. Even if you're an Obama supporter, you'll most likely still get a kick out of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bCuEXrU-yQ

More on the Mumbai attacks

To reiterate and expand on what Alysi said, Mumbai, India is currently a chaotic scene. With 125 dead, and over 327 wounded, two Mumbai hotels, the Oberoi and the Taj Mahal are surrounded with fear and panic. Officials are currently trying to seek out the remaining gunman and hostages still located in the hotels. Authorities were also able to find and secure 8 kilos of RDX, "one of the most powerful kinds of military explosives," suggesting that the gunman may have wanted a more dramatic ending to their terror spree. Gunmen also wreaked havoc in a building known as the Chabad House, where several Jewish families live ad the Cama Hospital for women and infants, though this fourth location has been secured and resolved.  

But who is responsible for such violence? Indian news outlets were contacted by a group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen. Analysts know very little about this group, and are not yet sure on whether it is a break-off from a current terrorist organization, or if it is completely new. Indian Prime Minister Singh has suggested that the attacks were conducted by people from outside the country, with subtle finger-pointing at Pakistan. But regardless of the location of the group's origination, intelligence organizations believe the group was also responsible for the two significant terrorist attacks on India in the past. 

But what is their motivation for such attacks? "The group has declared open war against India in retaliation for what it said were 60 years of Muslim persecution and the country's support of U.S. policies." The group even made an effort to pick out and kill Americans and British. When I read that a terrorist group is motivated to kill hundreds of people justified by India's support of the U.S., I get a little nervous. This emotion likely spawns from the next logical step- to attack to U.S. 

Both Bush and Obama have made statement condemning the terrorist acts, and Obama was quoted saying, "The United States must continue to strengthen our partnerships with India and nations around the world to root out and destroy terrorist networks. We stand with the people of India, who democracy will prove far more resilient than the hateful ideology that led to these attacks." It seems Bush has fully handed the reins over to Obama on this issue. Though Bush is still the official president until January 20, 2009, the news has certainly treated Obama as the man in charge. Obama's quote was right at the top of the page, with Bush's much further down and shorter. Also, when searching for the U.S.'s response to the India attacks, articles about Obama were plentiful, while statements of action or opinion by Bush were much more difficult to find. This makes sense, Bush is an extremely unpopular, lame duck president, who likely won't start any grand global expeditions in his last months of office. Thus, Obama is left the current co-president, and man of action. 

Attacks on India- Please no more battles!

Besides the United States facing terrorist problems so is India. Terrorist attacked two well known and famous hotels (Taj Mahal palace and Tower Hotel). With many Britons and Americans staying in the hotel people are wondering if there is a connection to Al Qaeda. They attack on Wednesday taking over the hotels with grenades, guns, and explosives. They first started to attack 10 specific sites and went on to the hotels. With about 119 people dead and 288 wounded it is becoming a battle that is unpredictable. Witness state that they are still plenty of people stuck in the hotel. President George Bush is being asked to help in the situation. I do not think that is a good idea. The U.S. is already facing problems and attacks from terrorist to become involved in something that is out of our hand. People are finding ways to escape without the help of the police officials, so this shows me the officials are not doing their job if people are finding ways to escape without being hurt or capture. The U.S. does not need to be another hero. We need to learn how to let other countries face their own battles. Yes, there are Americans and Britons in the hotels but here are Italian, Japanese, Australian and German. So why do the other countries not go and help. However, this is not the first time Mumbai is attacked. In 2006 a group of terrorist also attack people and killed 187 people. My condolence goes out to the people of India who are in danger but I am tired of hearing that the U.S. is involved in another countries business. I think our country should have learned the lesson that we need to mind our own business. Sometimes that is the only real help people can give.

Your Help is Needed!

In West Virginia, there is a beautiful, old-growth forest on a mountain that is in danger of being completely destroyed.  Coal River Mountain is being targeted by the Massey Energy Co., headed by CEO Don Blankenship, for mountaintop removal coal mining.

Now, who is Don Blankenship?  Only one of the most worst examples of corporate bribery and strong-arming for favors in the history of the United States.  Some examples:

1. He has spent millions to place a favorable judge on the West Virginia Supreme Court so he could end a lawsuit.
2. He has spent another couple million to buy another judge when he was caught in Monaco with the other  one.
3. He has spent millions on smear campaigns to get his guys elected to judgeships and other positions of power.
4. He has been named THE SCARIEST MAN IN AMERICA WHEN IT COMES TO THE ENVIRONMENT!!!!!
5. He was responsible for the deaths of the miners in the Aracoma mine, because of the hundreds of safety violations that were ignored.
6. He makes $15 million a year, and spends $9 million of it on bribes and strong-arm tactics to get his way.

Now, he wants to destroy an area that has been settled by farmers dating back to the Revolutionary War.  Not only will he destroy a historic community, he will ruin the environment.  Mountaintop removal mining is easily the most destructive form of mining, as it completely reduces everything around it to mounds of acidic rubble.

The area has already been studied as a possible wind farm - more jobs, longer-lasting energy benefits, and the environment would be preserved.  Now that Blankenship has his sights set, it is only too likely that he will force his mining through.  But we need to stand up against him, and his kind.  We voted Barack Obama into office, saying NO! to the Bush years of buddy rewards - let's not lose that ideal now.  You can start by SIGNING THE PETITION.  But you can also CALL WEST VIRGINIA GOVERNOR JOE MANCHIN at 1-888-438-2731.  Tell him not to let Blankenship have his way.  Tell him to put a hold on the mining permit.  Because we can't let this happen - it would be a repudiation of everything we voted for when we voted Obama inot office.

For more information, and links about the background of this issue and Blankenship, visit The Daily Kos.

Globalization= Global Citizenship

As I was analyzing the effects that globalization was having on the world we live in and trying to relate it to a paper I was writing I came to the realization that globalization is creating a heightened sense of global citizenship.

I was browsing through some Facebook groups earlier today and I found one called "Support Freedom of Media in Egypt" which is a group devoted to fighting censorship in the Egyptian media. I was interested to find that the group featured members from all across the U.S and the world. This didn't completely take me by surprise considering I had done some digging around on Facebook groups earlier this week and discovered some similar information, but it really got me thinking. This is a problem, that not too long ago would have been a problem that the Egyptians would have to solve on their own, but now, this problem that previously would have only affected Egyptians has now turned into a problem that affects EVERYONE.

This realization brought up a memory of someting I had learned in my International Politics class: that through globalization we are now witnessing the creation of a "global village" where the importance borders and cultural diffences are being muted and we are all coming together into one community. This "global village" works together to protect and work towards common goods that everyone can benefit from. This seems strikingly similar to what I witnessed within the group trying to prevent censorship in Egypt. First off, we are all coming together despite borders and cultural differences and working together. Secondly, we are all organized in an effort to protect a common good that is being encroached upon in Egypt: free media. To me this all sounds the bell that globalization is spreading and that the "global village" is more than just a theory devised by political scientists. I personally look forward to a world where we all work together as one and are all global citizens rather than citizens divided by national divides.