"Peace will happen because it must"

I. “Peace will happen because it must”
The Jerusalem Post
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1212041432424&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

II. Elie Wiesel believes that it is impossible for a second Holocaust to occur. Although this is a good thought, anti-Semitism is still occurring in the world today. Wiesel blames the Intra-Palestinian issues for the delay of peace. He feels that it could have occurred already despite the conflict. He is also trying to prove to those who feel that the Holocaust was fiction that it really did occur.

III.
-This article relates to the theme, “Systems of social structure and gender structure.” This is a problem that is affecting the world socially because the Jews are being discriminated against.
-The Holocaust is what triggered this issue today. People are trying to stop the fear that something terrible that happened in the past will happen again today.
-Hilary Leila Krieger wrote this article. She is a female and an outsider because she is not Jerusalem experiencing this issue.
-I especially picked up on the point of view of Elie Wiesel. He is so certain that peace is near and that everything will be okay with the Jews, and that another holocaust will never happen again, but it seems as though he may just be in fear of it happening again because he is a Jew himself. He wouldn’t want another holocaust to happen. It is not to say that it will happen, but Wiesel may show some bias.
-I would like to hear from someone who is anti-semmetic. I would like to know if they are ready to make peace. Hopefully, they would be.
-I feel that the Jews have been discriminated against for too long and that the holocaust was an actual occurrence in history. Although, I would love to see peace, Wiesel does not seem to have a major plan to get there. He just states that it needs to happen.

Russia army suicides cause alarm

I. Citation

Russia army suicides cause alarm
May 29, 2008
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7425694.stm

II. Summary

This article is about the large number of suicides in the Russian army. A total of 341 Russian soldiers, almost an entire battalion committed suicide in 2007, and although this is a 15% decrease from the previous year, it is still extremely worrying to Russia’s deputy prosecutor general, Sergei Fridinsky. It has been speculated that these suicides was due to extreme and often violent bullying. This might not necessarily be true though, as most suicides were committed by higher ranking soldiers who would not be prone to the bullying. It was also suspected that this issue was due to the extremely harsh conditions that Russian soldiers face during training and combat. Fridinsky suggested that the only way to get over this is to “use the experience of the US in Iraq and Afghanistan to help their troops deal with the psychological trauma of combat” that may be causing these deaths.

III. Reflection

Ø This article relates to the AP theme of “impact of interaction among and within major societies” because part of the problem is how the soldiers are being treated internally.
Ø This issue has gone back many years. The Russian army is known to be harsh and strict and these suicides have always been common, just not in the quantities that they are in today.
Ø Although a name is not given, you can assume that the author is an outsider.
Ø The writer definitely feels that the Russian army needs reform and feels that they are at fault.
Ø I would like to hear from a Russian military official to hear if the conditions are improving or if they are doing anything to help matters.
Ø I feel that the Russian government is definitely to blame. They treat the soldiers terribly and force all men to serve for at least one year in these horrible conditions. Even if nothing happens while they are on duty, the trauma might be so bad that something happens later in life.

World 'failing' on Human Rights

World ‘failing’ on Human Rights
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7422528.stm
Wednesday, May 28

Summary: This article is about human rights violations. The UN has adopted a Universal Declaration for Humans Rights over 60 years ago, but people are still being ill treated in about 80 countries –maybe even more. Most nations know of the act, but not many are doing anything about it. China is being asked to end “re-education through labor”, Russia to show a greater tolerance, and the United States to give criminals fairer trials, officially ban all sorts of torture in prisons and such, and to shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention center.

Reactions:

A) The AP World topic this relates to is Impact of interaction among and within major societies, because the nations of the world are being asked to try and contribute to more human rights.

B) In 1948, the UN adopted a human rights policy called the Universal Declaration for Human Rights. However, people are still being tortured and mistreated.

C) I do not know who is writing the article, but it sounds like an insider, because they know a lot about what seems to be going on.

D) The author’s point of view could be skewed in that he points a finger at the United States a lot, saying that we’re constantly violating human rights.

E) I would like to hear from someone who has had his rights as a human violated. Everyone always says that this is a bad thing, and I know it is, but if we heard from someone who’s actually witnessed himself or has been the victim of a human rights violation, maybe it will push more people to act.

F) I’m disgusted that so many people in so many places can still be cruel to one another. Every person has the right to be treated fairly and with respect, but people still go on torturing and harming people anyway.

Iran warns it won't cooperate with IAEA

I. Citation: March 28, 2008. The Jerusalem Post. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1211872834143

II. Summary: On Wednesday Teheran announces that because of the negative report they got from the UN nuclear watchdog they warned that they wouldn’t cooperate. Ali Larijani said that if a new report came out from IAEA than there might be a deplorable act of violence. Iran could be hiding information about their nuclear weapons. There have been restrictions made by UN Security Council and Germany to stop the enriching of uranium, which is associated with the developing of nuclear weapons. After Larijani spoke there were chants such as “Death to America” and “God is great”. Iran used to cooperative with the IAEA but as of Wednesday it refuses to cooperate. Why the sudden change? In the NPT it states that Iran does not have to allow short notice inspections of its nuclear facilities. Iran is no longer answering questions from western Intelligent Agencies.

III. Reactions:

A) The AP World History theme this article relates to is Development and Interaction of cultures because Iran is not cooperation with IAEA and UN Security Council.
B) Iran and IAEA have been very cooperative as of Wednesday. Iran has let IAEA perform the necessary inspections. Now it warns that it no longer cooperate with IAEA.
C) This article was written by the associated press from the Jerusalem Press. They would most likely be Israeli and their gender would vary.
D) You might want to approach this document with caution because the author might have been exaggerating the statement stated by Ali Larijani. You don’t know what the IAEA have done for Iran to warn them about their cooperation.
E) It would be nice to hear from an Iranian military officer who would have access to the nuclear facilities to better understand why they had to warn the IAEA.
F) I think Iran is hiding something from leaking out to the press and the other nations of the world. If they did not have something to hide than they would continue to cooperate with IAEA. There is no telling what they are hiding or if it is a nuclear weapon. I think we should press this issue and demand to know what it is that they are hiding.

By Dylan Senft

Olmert Aide Puts New Pressure on Him to Quit

I. Citation:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/world/middleeast/30israel.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin
By Isabel Kershiner and Graham Bowley
May 29, 2008

II. Summary:
Ehud Olmert was pressured to step down his leadership skills. from the office when Tzipi Livini, his foreign minister, wanted preperations for new elections. Minister Ehud Barak told Olmert to step down because of the outcome of the corruption investigation. Ms. Livine didn't specifically say that she wanted Olmert to step down, like Barak did. Her comments affect the decision, since she was the first senior member of Olmert's party to start questioning his leadership skills. A Long Island business man gave Olmert $15,000 in cash mostly in envelopes. He said this was for campaign finances and personal expenses. “This is not just a legal matter and it does not pertain solely to the prime minister as a private person — these are questions that are related to the values and norms that we want to instill and their effect on the public’s trust in Israeli politics,” Ms. Livine said. “There are those who believe that the launching of any investigation demands a resignation, but I don’t adhere to this notion and I will not step down.” Olmert said. Mr. Olmert said that if he is charged, he will resign.

III. Reactions:
A) This article relates to the ap world theme, impact of interaction amongst a society. This is because, Mr. Olmert was charged with something that can make him resign from office, that would effect the society.
B) Olmert used to talk about Talansky as his "dear old friend". But, Talansky is also the banker and is the greatest contributer to Olmert.
C) The author is an american woman who is an outsider on this information.
D) This article should be read with caution, because it is saying more bad things than good things about Olmert. The author has talked to his employees and they all said negative things about Olmert.
E) The point of view that's missing from the article is from a member of the community. That will help me understand the situation better, because they are living there and have to deal with this everyday.
F)I think that if he is guilty, he should definetly resign. It will show that he isn't a good leader and isn't honest to everyone.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is Repaired ! ! ! ! !

Magda K.

I. Citation
“Pisa's leaning tower stabilised”
BBC NEWS
5/28/08
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7423957.stm

II. Summary
This tower existed for 800 years in Italy. The Leaning Tower of Pisa got its name because it kept bending towards the ground. People who lived in the 12th century realized that it was tipping gradually, but their repairs didn’t make it any better. Now, they stabilized the tower upright and it should stay like this for another two centuries. This process took about 10 years to do. Did it lose its true name though?

III. Reactions
1) This article relates to the AP World Theme: Impact of technology, economics, and demography on people and the environment. It relates to this theme because this building is affecting people who are surrounded by it. Advanced technology helped to fix this tower so it won’t collapse.

2) This tower is located in Italy. It’s about 800 years old now. Each year, the tower curves toward the ground by inches. That’s how its name originated.

3) The article is written by Mark Duff. He is a male BBC reporter from Milan. He is an insider on this issue because he lives in Italy.

4) I believe there is no form of bias in this article. Although, there are arguments about whether or not the tower is losing its name.

5) A worker’s point of view is missing from this article. I would like to hear from an Italian worker (who was helping to reconstruct the tower’s position) in order to gain a full understanding of the issue.

6) I believe that it’s good that they fixed the tower, but I feel that the tower is losing its significance. The tower was famous because it existed for a long period of time and it was basically bending more and more each year. Although, I am glad that the tower will be standing much longer!

Religion, Rights & How we speak outtt.

I. Al Qaeda Warrior Uses Internet to Rally Women, May 28^th 2008, New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/world/europe/28terror.html?ref=europe

II. This article is on a 48-year-old Belgian women in Europe named El Aroud. She is using the internet as a source to become a prominent internet jihadist. She wore regular clothes but believed she was like a female warrior of AL Qadea trying to use her words to spread her religion by getting other Muslim men to go out and fight while she yearns for the women to rally together and help the cause she is fighting for.

III. Reactions:

A) This article mostly relates the AP World theme of Systems of social structure and gender structure. I would say that this has the closest relation because the article talks about a woman dedicated to her religion and it is known that women weren’t looked upon as highly as men back in these time periods. She still takes the stand to find a way so that as a woman she can really be heard throughout her religion and speak to both the men and women of Europe.

B) The historical background of the issue is based on how the Muslims use to speak out to others and how this lady, El Aroud decides that she won’t follow her follow people of her religion and use her words instead of weapons and force to help. She may tell others to go and fight but she isn’t bombing cities or being irrational. She is simply just using another way to speak without force. Also, the idea of women’s rights are being reinforced and its speaking on how women now have the chance to really say what they want and have their own opinions is most society’s.

C) This article is written by a New York Times journalist. They have information from researchers in Paris but the actual article was written by an undefined gender, most likely American. You can tell it’s from an outsider’s point of view considering they weren’t in Europe of interviewing the suspect at the scene but only reporting the evidence.

D) The author’s point of view impacts the issue being reported by all the different ideals they go throughout this topic. The author is focused on showing how its better how women’s rights are changing. It makes the article seem more positive because it doesn’t talk about many negative aspects. They are mostly speaking about how things are improving in the society and that the more voices heard the better chance any area has of improving their society.

E) I feel a point of view missing within the article is one from a woman in another country facing the problem of having no rights as a woman. I feel I could have a better understanding of this topic with hearing this point of view because it could really show me what other women are going through and what an accomplishment these societies are having with improving how they treat their people and women these days.

F) I feel this article is very informational. I never really realized that women are looking for various ways such as the internet in other country’s just so they could help those who they care for and fight for what they believe in. It shows how hard some people have to work to earn their respect and have to really take a stand to prove a point as where in America we usually use our connections and status to get us around instead of finding more and more ways to really speak out to others when we need too the most. Overall, I thought this article was very good and I enjoyed reading and learning about this woman El Aroud and the right of women elsewhere from here today.