Germany seeks UN protection for historic beer purity law

By Vanilla

Germany plans to apply for intangible cultural heritage for their beer purity law.They hope that the beer purity law can be protected by UN agency like the Great Wall of China,the Grand Canyon and Egypt's pyramids.In the beer purity law,it stipulates that only four ingredients can be contained in beer including water, malt, hops, and yeast. This law also spread to its neighbor  Austria and Switzerland and some former colony in South Africa.Because of the law,beer produced in Germany has special process and tastes good and diverse.

The definition of intangible cultural heritage is like "traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts."The German Brewers Association expects that UNESCO will approve their apply by the end of 2015.

From my point of view,it is an interesting and fantastic thing.It is not like other intangible cultural heritage such as some famous and protective sites.But it also needs protection and to be taken over by the descendants.Every meaningful culture in the world is worth being protected.It is benefit for us and our
 descendants to understand the culture and history of human beings and nature.Hope that it will be approved soon. 

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/04/21737707-prost-germany-seeks-un-protection-for-historic-beer-purity-law?lite

The Conflict between the United States and Venezuela

By Vanilla,

Relations were strong under conservative neoliberal governments of Rafael Caldera.Since Chavez became the president of Venezuela,tensions between countries becameto deteriorate continually.In the terms of politics,after ruling,Chavez fight against the view of “neoliberal” and he also opposed the initiative of “FTAA”which was proposed by the U.S.In addition,Chavez’s attitude which showed public friendship and significant trade relationship with Cuba and its leader Fidel Castro destroyed the U.S. policy of isolating Cuba.Venezuela sold crude to Cuba at a low price while Cuba also sent many doctors to go to Venezuela.The U.S thought that the Chavez government’s behavior of contacting to Cuba,Iran and Libya intimately possibly could threaten the security of the U.S.

From the perspective of economic,before the railing of Chavez,the United States and Venezuelan state-owned oil company signed an agreement that the U.S was permitted to freely exploit the oil in Venezuela.As everyone knows,oil is a nonrenewable resource,but the U.S mined a large amount of oil and only paid a little tax to the oil country.After Chavez had power,he issued a decree to deprive the state-owned oil company’s right to sign a contract with other nations that intend to exploit the oil in Venezuela freely.Besides,he greatly increased the royalty to 49 percent and stipulated that government should hold the share of the stateowned oil company no less than 51 percent.The release of these measures had harmed the interest of the U.S.Thus tension between the two nations was getting worse during the Chavez administration. He once cut off the diplomatic relations with the United States.

 In my perspective,the conflict between two nations can be resolved in the long run.But USVenezuela relations can not be easily improved in the short term.These two nations must adapt to each other and keep running this relation for some time until in post-Chavez era people gradually get out of the shadow of anti-

American sentiment. That was in accord with the common desire of the peoples of two countries.

Iran invites UN inspectors to Arak heavy water reactor summary

by Bahareh Shirzad

For the first time in two years Iran has invited the nuclear watchdog agency, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), too visit the Arak heavy water plant. Outsiders are unsure of what the plants capabilities are. The scheduled Dec. 8^th visit should shed more light on the plant.

                This visit comes in wake of recent agreements made in Geneva between, Iran, The U.S., Russia, Germany, UK, France and China, to work out differences over Iran’s nuclear program. The agreements included Iran reducing its nuclear advances for 6 months in exchange for reductions on the nation’s sanctions, which have damaged Iran’s economy. The IAEA will try to determine if Iran is fulfilling its part of the deal.

                The increase on the IAEA’s responsibilities means it will likely need to find ways to expand its operations. The director general, Yukiya Amano, told the board the expansions will require more funding and staffers. Amano told the board he will consult them after analyzing the situation, but stated this will take a significant amount of man power and money, which he does not believe the IAEA can cover with their budget.

                Many western nations believe Iran is developing nuclear weapon technology that could lead to the construction of an atomic bomb. Iran has continued to deny these charges stating their nuclear program is strictly for peaceful and medical purposes.

Source: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/131128/iran-invites-un-inspectors-arak-heavy-water-reactor

Despite Ukraine triumph, Russia's relations with its neighbors are under strain summary

by Bahareh Shirzad

Russia’s success in getting Ukraine to pull back from signing an agreement with the E.U. obscures a deeper trend. Moscow’s relations with its neighboring countries have been steadily declining and it does not appear to be improving. Since Putin returned as president in 2012 ties with E.U. members have been strained.

                The deterioration is clearer closer to Russia, despite the countries effort to restore its influences in the former Soviet space. In the opinion of some Putin’s vision of Russia is counterproductive and the country overstates their leverage, which leads to straining foreign ties.

                Ukraine is not the only country Russia targets for punishment using restrictions and bans on weapons; they attempt to punish anyone who disagrees with their policies. These threats have not stopped the countries of Moldova and Georgia from making agreements with the E.U.

                Georgia is friendlier with Russia then in the past, but that will not prevent them from expanding their European ties, which offer far more potential in their markets. Russia has wielded trade bans for these countries and will continue to do so; this was one of their main tactics against the Ukraine.

                As Russia tried to force its will on the former Soviet Union it appears to be suffering from a “Little England” phase. Russia is trying to find its place after the fall of their empire and this leads to growing pains.

                The Ukraine is right in the middle of Russia and the E.U. and will not sign with the E.U. due to Russian threats. This has strained the countries relationships and made the Ukraine very weary of entering any Russian agreements and their Customs union.  Belarus, which is a member of the union, still has disputes with Russia, and they jailed a Russian business executive. Belarus felt Ukraine’s deal with the E.U. would make it easier for them to trade with Europe.

                Some Russians are not sure the triumph of Ukraine’s policy is worth it, because Europe is very upset at Russia’s economic threats and frustrations of the E.U.’s “Eastern Partnerships”. Russia threatened Ukraine even though they trade with the E.U. and its other former Soviet countries, far more according to the IMEMO (Institute of World Economy and International Relations). Russia has spoiled their European relations.

                The IMEMO doesn’t feel the Ukraine’s decision on signing an E.U. agreement is as high stakes as the country claims it to be. They feel the Ukraine was playing the decision for all it was worth. The IMEMO feel Ukraine is playing the game, and with Ukraine’s weak economy they are unsure why Europe is so interested.

The Customs Union, which consists of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, was simply designed as a trade bloc. Russian pressure forced Armenia to ask to join the Union, after they were unable to agree with the E.U. Putin wants to create a Slavic league that would be apart from Western Europe, in hopes of modernizing the members’ economies, but this has failed.

                Putin was encouraged to engage in these ideas by President Obama’s dialing back U.S. involvement in Russia’s neighbors, in order to strengthen relations with Moscow.  Putin thought this gave him a freer hand but he neglected the E.U. and calculations of neighboring countries. Putin views all foreign policy in a Russia-U.S. relation light, which has prevented him from seeing complications closer to home. Central Asian countries are trading more and more frequently with China.

                Russia has been organizing their military to assist Tajikistan in anticipations of NATO withdrawing from Afghanistan, and this has alarmed many critics. The worry may not be needed though because the Russian military remains very inefficient and suffers from manpower shortages and corruption. A recent reform program has been halted.

                Russia tends to have an adversarial stance when dealing with nations, which leads victories to be painful for the other side, and leads to resentment. Viktor Kremenyuk, of the Institute for the USA and Canada believes Russia needs to realize they are no longer in a hostile world and should change their polices to reflect this.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/despite-ukraine-triumph-russias-relations-with-its-neighbors-are-under-strain/2013/11/28/337a834c-576e-11e3-bdbf-097ab2a3dc2b_story.html 

                

Ukraine:whether getting close to the EU or not?

By Vanilla Tang,

Ukrainians opposite to their President Viktor's decision which do not negotiate with the EU,but continue to improve the relations with Russia.However,the people think that it is better to get close to the European Union.So why the president still pay more attention to the relations with Russia?

Dating back to the history of Russia and Ukraine,they have similar history and their economics are related.The president also plans to change his policy in the future to corperate with the EU.But,he was worried that now it is not a proper opportunity to get rid of Russia suddenly.In addition,in recent five years,Ukraine's economic recession makes it depend more on import from Russia.For Ukraine's future,obviously,the EU has a dominant role and can help Ukraine become more promising.If the conditions can be accepted,Ukraine will consider to get an agreement in terms of EU criteria.Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko · began an indefinite hunger strike to force the Ukrainian government to sign a historic trade agreement with the EU.Her release from the jail is a key condition for Europe and Ukraine signing the trade agreements.But this condition was denied by the EU.She persuaded people to give up the Prerequisites

Russia still can give favor to Ukraine with respect to gas and energy.It seems that Ukraine lost the chance to get closer to the EU,but in the future,it will have another opportunity.

In my point of view,Russia and Ukraine has the same background,so it is not easy for Ukraine to get rid of some limitation from Russia.But,Ukraine still has opportunity to get the benefit from the EU if both of them are satisfied with the agreement.But it's a bad thing to Russia.Russia does not want Ukraine to join the EU, so that the basic EU and Russia formed a semi-Lo encircling, on Russia who will feel certainly unhappy.Economically, Ukraine grounds on their own advantages so long to join the EU energy issues.It will have negative influence on Russian energy exports.

Afghanistan and the US are playing tennis

by Corentin

Hamid Karzai, the Afghan President has refused to sign a security deal with the US. They will probably leave the country next year.

The reason why Karzai disagreed with the deal are the Americans raids on Afghan homes. Furthermore, they ask to give back them detainees from Guantanamo.

This problem raises an issue, what must the US or NATO do? Do they have to stay or or to leave? The threat from Taliban is always here. The decision will be probably taken in 2014, after the Afghan election.

But Karzai asked the US some compensations. He wants Americans stop to kill Afghan, he wants the US send back Afghan detainees and finally he wants the US don't support any candidate in the election.
And now how he said, the ball is in the American court.



http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/11/26/karzai-lays-out-conditionsforhissignatureonussecuritypact.html

Somali pirates convicted of attacking Spanish warship by Ryosuke

These days, piracy around the sea near Somalia happen a lot of time, and it is said that it is related to the circumstance in this country. Somalia has no actual government because it collapsed in 1991 when the civil war started; thus, the situation of this country is chaos. One of cases of piracy is about this article, which is that somali pirates were captured because they attacked a Spanish ship and fired toward the ship. The purpose of piracy is basically money because it is difficult for Somali to earn and lead satisfactory life. As for piracy, UN issued a report that says pirate attacks were at the lowest level because security became stricter. However, it is reported that the amount of money that Somali earned from piracy is approximately 40 million dollars. This issue is obviously an international problem, and it needs to solved with other countries' cooperation.

http:www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24751027

Israelis hard-nosed about Iran nuclear talks

By Lynn

Israelis hard-nosed about Iran nuclear talks

Israel's prime minister Bejamin Netanyahu has said a lot to suppress Iran's nuclear program in Geneva even though Israel may not be part of the talks.

Netanyahu warned the world powers negociating with Tehran not to surrender to the Iran's offense.
He said he wanted to end to all uranium enrichment in Iran and removal of all uranium stockpiles from the country. It demands demolition of the Iran's most sophiscated technology and stopping of plutonium enrichment.

If there is an agreement between Iran and the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany, it will most likely not meet those demands.

Iran already has agreed to halt advances in its nuclear program and submot to regular inspections, in return for some sanctions relief.

Israeli leader may frustrate the White House by utterly rejecting the deal, but he has some support in Congress and lots more at home. Over 2/3 of Israelis support their prime minister's criticism.


Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/21/21560885-israelis-hard-nosed-about-iran-nuclear-talks?lite

Russia in the Middle East

By Vanilla Tang

Recently,Russia paid more attention to the events in the Middle East.The activities of the U.S in Iraq and Libya cause these Russia's critical partners not easily to cooperate with Russia in fields of energy and arms sales.It may promote the US-Russian relations in some conflicts in problem of Syria and the Iran nuclear,even though for U.S there is no possible to stop Russia's intervention of the Middle East.Learnt from the recent news,Russia has offered Egypt some modern helicopters and help build air defense systems.These millitary aids are worth 2 million dollars.The transaction between Russia and Egypt refers to set up Russian navel bases in the Mediterranean. Russia also devotes itself to getting closer to Israel and selling weapons to Iraq.

We may think that Russia is preparing to return to the Middle East political affairs in the Middle East to reject the power of U.S. But in fact, Russia's approach is nothing more than a continuation of its past policy which is to avoid directly conflicting with the United States while their own forces have a chance to penetrate into the Middle East. In the past 10 years, Russia has identified several Middle Eastern countries with the complex foreign policy, such as Iran, Syria, Libya. And it also tried to provide a guarantee to Western countries: Russia has the ability to resolve the Middle East crisis, as long as Western countries to make more concessions to Russia, especially in economic. Meanwhile, Russia also pretend to put much pressure on the United States, in the front of  some Middle East countries like Iran and Syria.


http://www.thenation.com/blog/177239/russia-middle-east

Courtroom Cages Remain Common

by Lucy

Dmitrichenko, the star dancer charged with arranging an acid attack, is innocent until proven guilty. When Mr. Dmitrichenko was in court,he was locked in an iron cage and was guarded by security officers and sometimes, by a nasty-looking dog.

 In Cairo,a similar event happened this month. The Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, was corralled with other defendants in a metal cage. It was his first public appearance in four months. Mr. Morsi was defiant, refusing to wear the prison-issued white track suit. He demanded a microphone to speak from the pen and denounced the trial as illegitimate.

The way defendants are portrayed in court can influence judges, juries and global public options. Clever defendants like Mr. Morsi can also influence perception by turning the cage to their advantage.And he may use it to heighten the sense of an overly aggressive, politically motivated prosecution.

 A law professor at the London School of Economics says “As soon as you put somebody in a cage, you begin to make the process part of the punishment.” The European Court of Human Rights has issued several rulings criticizing the use of locked docks as degrading or inhumane. But the rulings did not bar docks entirely as a rights violation. Although there has been little research on the potential influence of locked docks on the verdicts reached by judges or juries, experts argue that defendants are clearly put at a disadvantage.

Reference:  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/world/europe/courtroom-cages-remain-common-despite-criticism.html?ref=world&_r=0

International Comission Against Death Penalty by Ryosuke

There is an organization whose name is ICDP (International Comission Against Death Penalty), which objective is to abolish the number of death penalty all over the world. Death penalty is being discussed whether it should be abolished or not in the world. This organization claims that death penalty should be abolished because of following reasons. At first, there is a possibility that innocent people are killed. Even though judicial system develop, judges are people, which means that since people make a dicision, some failures will occur unintentionally. Second, this organization claims that existing death penalty violates human rights and human dignity. They say that death penalty degrades our existence as human. Also, it is being discussed whether death penalty is effective to reduce crimes by many professionals of legislation. Those professionals state that even though there is death penalty, a number of cruel cases still happen; thus, according to them, it seems that death penalty is not effective. Their work is besically having a conference and make a report. In my opinion, death penalty is not effective because in my country, death penalty is only applied to very cruel cases as a murder of more than 2 or 3 people. I think that people who commit very cruel crimes don't care about laws because they tend to have resentment against something; thus, we can abolish death penalty if it is not strictly applied to many cases, but I think we should broaden the extent of application to many cruel cases.

Source: http://www.icomdp.org/arguments-against-the-death-penalty/

Japan backtracks on emissions levels

By Effie


   On 15 November in Warsaw, the Japanese government announced to the media to slash its greenhouse gas reduction target after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. It will cut 3.8% of greenhouse gases over 2005 levels by 2020.

   Before, Japan was committed to reduce emissions by 25% from 1990 levels. However, the new target represents a 3% rise over 1990s emissions levels.

    The European Union "expressed disappointment", while Ed Davey, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, said it was "deeply disappointing". China regarded the announcement as a “backward movement”.

    Japan's decision, announced in the wake of the devastating Typhoon Haiyan that hit the Philippines, led to wide criticism. Its dramatic backward movement makes those developing countries that are struggling with climate changes being derided.

  “I want to assure you my country is still ambitious on climate change.” The Japanese diplomat still tried to stress its ambition for future.

   As a third largest economic entity, Japan should take concerted action with State for Energy and Climate Change, reducing greenhouse gas. Lowering energy consumption and reducing pollutant discharge is a common goal. The pollution is caused by Japan itself, which cannot be used as an excuse being indolent.

Resource:
1.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24952155
2.http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-11-16/news/44138189_1_emission-reduction-reduction-target-fukushima

Typhoon Haiyan: Philippines president says death toll could be far lower than worst estimates

By Lynn

Typhoon Haiyan: Philippines president says death toll could be far lower than worst estimates

Typhoon Haiyan blew across the Pacific archipelago. The wind was more powerful than Hurricane Katrina. Nearly 2600 people have been injured from the storm and the death toll will probably be 2,000 to 2,500. It is far lower than the earlier estimate of 10,000. The president of Philippines said the earlier figures might have been influenced by "emotional drama".

Much of the aid is being sent to Manila which is the disaster zone. Brig. Gen. Paul Kennedy said the rest of the world needs to get mobilized. The U.S. has sent the aircraft carrier which carries 5,000 sailors and 80 aircraft, and 3 U.S. Navy warships. U.S. will also provide $20 million to help in relief efforts. The U.N. released $25 million for aid relief from the U.N. Central Emergency Response Fund.

The mayor of lloilo City said the storm "flattened" about 80% of the northern province. Buildings, churches, hospitals, and roads have all been destroyed. It makes hard to deliver food, medicine and other basic needs.


Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/12/21417940-typhoon-haiyan-philippines-president-says-death-toll-could-be-far-lower-than-worst-estimates?lite

China to Ease Longtime Policy of 1-Child Limit

 by Elaine

The Chinese government will ease its one-child family restrictions and abolish “re-education through labor” camps.

  The changes were announced in a party decision that also laid out broad and potentially far-reaching proposals to restructure the economy by encouraging greater private participation in finance, vowing market competition in several important parts of the economy, and promising farmers better property protection and compensation for confiscated land.

“We must certainly have the courage and conviction to renew ourselves,” he said in a statement accompanying the decision. Both were issued by the official news agency, Xinhua.

  For decades, most urban couples have been restricted to having one child. That has been changing fitfully, with rules on the books that couples can have two children if both parents are single children. But that policy will now be further relaxed nationwide. Many rural couples already have two children, and some have more.

  If the new policy carried through, the relaxation would be the first significant nationwide easing of family size restrictions that have been in place since the 1970s.

The one-child restrictions were introduced to deal with official fears that China’s population would devour too many resources and suffocate growth. But they have created public ire and international criticism over forced abortions, and have created a population of 1.34 billion, according to a 2010 census, that is aging relatively rapidly, even before China establishes a firm foothold in prosperity. Experts have for years urged some relaxation of the controls.

The party leaders also confirmed an announcement made earlier this year, and then abruptly retracted, that they intend to abolish re-education through labor, which since the 1950s has empowered police authorities to imprison people without any real judicial review. Experts and officials have debated whether to adjust or abolish the system of camps since the 1980s. Now abolition is closer.

Re-education through labor was introduced under Mao Zedong to lock away those considered political opponents, and it expanded into a system of incarceration holding more than 100,000 people, many of them working in prison factories and on farms. Sentences are determined by the police, and defendants have scant chance to appeal imprisonment that can last up to four years.

Resources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/16/world/asia/china-to-loosen-its-one-child-policy.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&hp

One week after Haiyan, it begins to be (a bit) better

by Corentin

     One week after typhoon Haiyan, aid is starting to arrive in the Philippines. However it will take a long time to repair this week of wait. People who survived, had almost no food and water during one week, they also will need time to recover a good health.
     Today in the city of Tacloban, victims of the disaster were waiting for help. A boy said, he was here because he has nothing to eat, but nothing happened. They hopped Navy give them what they need. But at noon, it was clear, nothing will come today. There, people are very desperate.
    Confirmed dead increased to 3621, but this figure will raise in next days.
Americans helped the first province which was destroyed, in Tacloban and Guiuan. They brought supplies to local population from an aircraft carrier. They are helping also to search missing people.
     According to Mar Roxas, the interior secretary of the Philippines, in a situation like that, not matter how fast help come, it's always too slow.
     Furthermore, destroyed roads and lack of gasoline caused a slowing down in the supply of provisions.

No matter where disaster takes place, it's always like that. Poor people loose everything, and very kind western countries (especially the US because they are always everywhere before the disaster happens) come to help them. Why do they act always after disasters and (almost) never before disasters? Maybe because of the cost, which will be higher.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/11/15/245365690/wait-continues-in-the-philippines-we-have-nothing-to-eat

Talks 'getting close' to deal with Iran on nuclear program

By Vanilla Tang

The U.S Secretary of State John Forbes Kerry recently said,it will be getting close to reach an agreement on Iran nuclear program.The different opinions of each country may not prohibit this agreement.

Countries so called P5+1 ,including five permanent members of the U.N.Security Council and Germany, negotiated with Iran last week in Geneva Conference.This conference lasted three days.Unfortunately, there was no progress on the agreement of Iran on nuclear program.Each country's diplomatists will arrange another meeting on November20.

It is almost 35 years that the United States and Iran have no dialogue with each other.They need some events to resolve their differences.

Iran said that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes, but world powers suspect that Iran is seeking a way to develop more nuclear weapons.Obama announced that if the agreement is made a deal that Iran stops to march towards  nuclear weapons, the economic penalties will not be happened. "If it turns out six months from now that they're not serious" about the agreement, "we can dial those sanctions right back up," Obama said, noting that the economic penalties have hurt Iran's economy.

Meanwhile, Iran and the IAEA on the country's nuclear program  reached an agreement. This agreement is benefit for the United Nations inspectors in Iran paving the way to have better access to  two key nuclear facilities.

Some experts believe that progress between Iran and the IAEA is the country's negotiations with major powers critical parallel lines.

In my perspective,most people are opposed to the existence of nuclear weapons.The fulfillment of this agreement may be good.However,some countries always suspect that some other countries have nuclear plan to threaten the safety of world.Something maybe true,while something maybe overstated.If we expect others to trust us,we also must learn to trust others first.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/15/world/meast/iran-nuclear-deal/index.html#disqus_thread

How Internet freedom continues to slide Summary

by Bahareh

How Internet freedom continues to slide Summary

            Recent revelations by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, regarding the U.S.’s secret surveillance activities, made news around the globe, but countries all over the world have been increasing their monitoring and censoring of internet activity. A new Freedom House study, which tracked internet censorship in 60 countries, showed internet freedom has been on a steady decline for the past 3 years.

            The most restrictive countries have been Iran, China, and Cuba. Iran and China have consistently used more advanced technology to monitor and block internet content, which has led to more and more arrests of users posting dissenting opinions online. Cuba requires permits for users to access the global internet, and these passes are only given to a very few select citizens; usually only employees of the government or employees of select professions.

            Even democratic countries have been constantly increasing internet monitoring and censorship over the past year. India has been blocking more and more websites, the U.S. has increased its monitoring of internet content and data, and Brazil has increased its restrictions on online speech, mostly related to the country’s political system.

            Overall most countries have been increasing their internet monitoring and restrictions over the past year. 35 of the 60 countries studied by Freedom House have either passed laws allowing more government monitoring authority or upgraded their government internet surveillance technology. This is particularly concerning to authoritarian countries such as Russia and Sudan; these countries use the government surveillance to track down human rights activists and dissidents.

            Along with more surveillance, numerous governments are passing more laws to control who can say what online; until recently many countries did not have any internet specific laws. Gambia and the United Arab Emirates have both recently passed laws allowing the government to jail any individuals that express anti government views online.

            Although many of the new laws and restrictions are meant to target political activists, an increasing number of ordinary users are running into legal troubles simply for posting opinions and jokes online. Numerous users, merely posting complaints on Facebook have been arrested, and in once case a woman in Mumbai was arrested for simply liking a post.

            With more and more countries looking to pass laws regulating the internet use, the next few years will be critical for the future of the internet. Supporters of internet freedom must act quickly to ensure the new laws are in guidance with our basic human rights of privacy, freedom of expression, and assembly. At the current rate the next generation of internet users may be facing a much more restrictive and censored network.

Source: http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/08/how-internet-freedom-continues-to-slide/ 

Terrorist Attacks 9/11 by Ryosuke

In 2011, on September 11, terrorists attacked two buildings in New York, which was the World Trade Center by using hijacked airplanes. The casualty of this incident is approximately 3,000. The World Trade Center played an important role in the global world, so the effect of this terrorism influenced nor only in the U.S. but also other countries in the world. US government identified some countries as sponsers of terrorism, which are Saudi Arabia, Cuba, North Korea, Syria and Iran. At that time, George Bush warned that countries that were involving and helping this terrorism would be seen as hostile regime. Also, UN acted against this terrorism, having been influenced by the U.S. that had terrorism in the country. Finally, UN led the solution, which is UN Security Council Resolution 1373. The resolution required 3 imposes on menber countries, which were (a) prevent and control the financing of terrorism; (b) criminalize collection of terrorist funds in state territory; (c) freeze assets of people who terrorize or plan to terrorize. To deal with problems of terrorisms, it is required that they make laws to prevent terrorisms, such as a law that stops suspicious money which is likely to be related to a terrorism.

Rejected Seat on U.N. Panel Is Considered by Saudi Arabia

By Vanilla Tang,

Due to the outrage to the United States,Saudi Arabia refused the nonpermanent United Nations Security Council seat. This seat was offered to keep two-year terms starting in January. The Saudis was one of five new candidates and had been elected a day earlier.Other four countries include Chad,Chile, Lithuania and Nigeria. It is a first country who refused the 10 nonpermanent Council seats. As we known,five permanent seats are held by Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.the These seats including the nonpermanent seats and permanent seats are all the most powerful and critical parts in the United Nations. 

 

The Saudi Arabia feel really unhappy over American policy in the Middle East especially in the Syrian conflict and the move toward rapprochement with Iran and their decision only can be ordered by King Abdullah. 

 

King Abdullah also was upset to American criticism of the Egyptian military takeover in July that overturn first Islamist freely elected president Mohamed Morsiand and American did not do their best to make the Israeli-Palestinian peace process better. 

 

Secretary of U.S John Kerry visited Saudi Arabia on Monday, seeking to improve the relationship between the Obama's government and Saudi Aradia about the problem of Middle East.

Saudi Arabia is one of few countries who dare to act against the United States.But I am confused that if this protest behavior will help solve some problems in the Middle East and prevent U.S government to intervene these affairs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/world/middleeast/rejected-seat-on-un-panel-is-considered-by-jordan.html?ref=todayspaper

India launched first mission to Mars

By Lynn

India launched first mission to Mars

 

 

On Tuesday, India launched its first spacecraft, Mangalyaan, which means "Mars craft" in Hindi, cound for Mars.

Many of people watched the rocket launching  from the east-coast island of Sriharikota on live TV.
India will become the 4th nation to visit Mars after the Soviet Union, the United States, and Europe if the mission is successful.

The Mangalyaan will travel 485 million miles over 300 days to reach an orbit around Mars next September. It will gather images and data that will help understand weather system and in Mars and whether there is water in Mars or not. It will also search for methane, a key chemical in life process.

Some have questioned the $1 billion space program in India where 1.2 billion people are still dealing with widespread hunger and poverty. However, the goverment defended the space mission by noting its importance in providing high-tech jobs for scientist and egineers and practical applications in solving probelms on Earth.
Raghu Kalra of the Amateur Astronomers Association Delhi said these missions are important because theu will give Indians happiness and bragging rights. He also said that even a poor person will feel a sense of pride for his country and will want to make it a better place for the fact that his country is sending a mission to Mars.

I agree with Kalra's idea. The missions cost a lot and it seems that there is no direct benefit for commom people. However, it would bring possitive atmosphere to the people in the country. The technology can also solve everyday problems like weather forecasting in the near future.



Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/11/05/india-mars-mission/3440267/

Obama's No-Show in Asia a Boost for China summary

By Bahareh

Obama's No-Show in Asia a Boost for China summary

Barack Obama’s decision to cancel his planned trip to Asia, due to the partial government shutdown, is another setback in the administrations pledge to strengthen the foreign policy in the Pacific region of the world. By canceling the trip it allows China, and their new leader Xi Jinping, to further strengthen their influence in this part of the world.  Obama will miss two Asian Summits; this is the third time since 2010 Obama has canceled trips due to domestic political crises. Secretary of State Jon Kerry will attend in his place.

                The White house felt it was important to cancel the trip to allow the President to stay in Washington and assist in ending the Government shutdown. Obama’s foreign policy still seems to shift heavily towards the Middle East portion of Asia and not the Pacific.  The current administration had made a vow to assert itself more in the Pacific region, by expanding diplomatic relations and strengthening economic ties, but the constant economic budget strains have hampered their plans.

                This situation is very helpful for China, who is rapidly improving their military and regional influence. Their leader, Xi Jinping, has been visiting multiple counties in the Pacific region, in order to improve China’s aggressive and territorial reputation, which has strained their ties with the Southeast Asia region. With the President not making an appearance it allows Xi to be a larger presence, and shows that the American government is currently not very functional.

                The White House press secretary Jay Carney did acknowledge the canceled trip and government shut down is setting back the ability to create jobs, and advance and interests in the largest emerging region in the world, but also the President will continue to push the foreign policy towards the Pacific region.

                This week Xi Jinping was welcomed by Indonesia lawmaker, where he called for greater cooperation between the two countries, and also signed economic deal worth billions of dollars. Xi also met with the leaders of Malaysia, and agreed to boost military cooperation and training to fight crime and terrorism in the region.

Source:  http://www.passfail.com/news/google/obamas-no-show-in-asia-a-boost-for-china-abc-news/obamas-no-show-in-asia-a-boost-for-china-abc-news-11518781.htm 

India's Mars probe aims to steal technological star status from China

by Lucy

On this Tuesday at 2.46pm local time, India will launch a rocket heading for Mars. This  mission  aims not just to gather information about the existence of creature on Mars nor simply to showcase Indian technology, but to steal an interplanetary march on its regional rival, China.

"In the last century the space race meant the US against the Soviets. In the 21st century it means India against China," said Pallava Bagla, one of India's best known science commentators. "There is a lot of national pride involved in this."

It is India's first attempt to reach the Mars. However, the huge expenditure is controversial. People doubt that the country where more than 40% of children are malnourished and half the population have no toilets, can afford the mission.

Indian government claims that for a government beset by charges of corruption and mismanagement, the Mars mission is one way to repair its battered image.

As is known to all, India is famous for its information technology. And  I think improving the country’s economy by developing science and technology is not a bad idea. Indian government may want  to increase its international status by Mars mission.  But I could not understand  why India showed  its purpose of  stealing  technological star status from China so openly. Now, I am curious about Chinese government’s response and other countries’  opinions about it.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/04/india-mars-probe-launch-space

Problems between two North Korean nuclear program opponents

by Corentin

Although Asian countries should work together against the nuclear program in North Korea, international relations are not the best between South Korea and Japan, two of the most powerful Asian countries.

According to the South Korea president, Park Geun-hye, a summit with the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, would be useless. The reason of this opinion is the Japanese refusal to admit and apologize for what they did. During the first half of the 20^th century, Japan colonized South Korea and treated very bad. Women worked as “comfort women”.

It’s why Park said it could be better to do not have a summit with Japan. If Japan keeps the same opinion about the history of the two countries, without excuses or resolutions, debates between them will stay difficult.

Recently, the US tried to help them to speak together, but without real progress.

The next hope to see better relations between them is the six-party talks, where they are both participants.

Last week, Park said she is open to a summit with Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/04/national/southkorean-president-says-japan-summit-would-be-pointless/#.Unc1cfkz2So

Destorying chemical weapons did not mean the end of Syria conflict

 

By Effie

                 Destorying chemical weapons did not mean the end of Syria conflict

According to the Joint Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the government of the Syrian Arab Republic has destroyed all the chemical weapons production and mixing/filling equipment on October 31, meeting the deadline set by the OPCW.

  The Joint OPCW-UN Mission has inspected 21 of the 23 sites in Syria, Due to safety and security concerns, there are two sites remained not to visited. But Syria declared that those sites are abandoned and they moved those chemical weapons to other declared sites, which were inspected.
Syria is believed to possess more than 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents and and 290 tonnes of chemical weapons. Now, the Joint OPCW-UN Mission is satisfied with what Syria has done. November 15 will be the next landmark of the mission, by which time the Executive Council must approve a detailed plan of destruction submitted by Syria to eliminate its stockpile of chemical weapons.

During two-and-a-half years, more than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria conflict. For different interests, a flow of various foreign forces into Syria, which made the situation more complicated.Threatened by US military action, the Syrian government agreed to join the OPCW and give up all its chemical weapons in September. Though Syria completed the mission, the war is not over. The UN and Arab League special envoy to Syria has told the BBC he is not sure the country's peace talks will take place as planned in three weeks' time. The destruction only gives Syria the chance to regain its reputation. It means that Syria conflict will last, and peace will take a lone time to be restored in this country.


Resource:
1.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24754460
2.http://www.opcw.org/news/article/syria-completes-destruction-activities-to-render-inoperable-chemical-weapons-production-facilities-a/

Syria chemical weapons equipment destroyed

By Lucy

Syria’s equipment  for  producing, mixing and filling chemical weapons has been destroyed. By doing so, Syria has met the deadline set by the OPCW (The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) Executive Council for “Complete as soon as possible and in any case not later than 1 November 2013, the destruction of chemical weapons production and mixing/filling equipment.”  

Now, since the weapons have been placed under seal and put beyond use, Syria still has to destroy the chemical weapons themselves by mid-2014.

"I hope those who have always thought of us negatively will change their minds and understand that Syria was, is, and will be always a constructive partner," Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mr. Mekdad said.

From his words, we can see the Syria government tries to be friendly to the rest of the world and rebuild a better image. It remains to be seen whether they will destroy the chemicals weapons by themselves.

  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24754460

Europe’s other debt crisis

By Lucy

In July 2012, Mario Draghi promised to keep the single currency. The yields on sovereign bonds have fallen which caused euro mess become chronic. Mr Draghi launched an inspection of the balance-sheets of the region’s 128 biggest banks this week. ECB officials and outside experts will peer into the banks’ balance-sheets and impose common standards for loan quality in order to find out which banks are viable now.

The origins of the euro disaster is more about excessive private borrowing than government profligacy. Most euro-zone countries have achieved less private-sector, for three reasons. First, the financial limitation imposed on Europe’s economies deepened their recessions, which made it harder to reduce private debts. Second, small banks did not want to recognise non-performing loans. So they make provisions for them. And third, European bankruptcy law is helpful for restructuring debt.

According to the IMF, the influence on Europe’s growth from private debt is larger than government debt. One necessity is for banks to recognise, and write down, non-performing loans. In addition, more honest assessment of banks’balance-sheets must translate into a willingness to sell or restructure mortgages and corporate loans.

Dealing with the private-debt trap should be a priority for Europe’s leaders.Mr Draghi is fighting to start clearing up.

http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21588366-its-not-just-sovereign-borrowing-there-are-too-many-zombie-firms-and-overindebted

North Korea to Release 6 South Korean Detainee

by Elaine
  North Korea announced Thursday that it would release six South Koreans it has been holding in detention.
  Recently, North Korea has alternated between harsh verbal attacks and conciliatory gestures. In mid-September, floods of South Korean vehicles began crossing the border as authority resumed at a cooperatively industrial park in the North Korean town of Kaesong. The factories had been shutdown since the North Korean withdrew all the workders amid tensions from the latest nuclear test.

  North Korea desires to expand the Kaesong complex, where its low-paid workers make textiles, shoes and other labor-intensive goods in South Korean-owned factories. The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, is determined to attract more foreign investment and to improve his people’s living standards.
  Still,the South has remained skeptical of the expansion until the two Koreas can agree on measures to prevent another politically motivated shutdown, like allowing non-Korean investment in the complex. Those negotiations made progress fitfully.
  However,the potential to absorb investors from other countries was suspended this month.

source:North Korea to Release 6 South Korean Detainees - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/25/world/asia/pyongyang-says-it-will-release-6-south-korean-detainees.html?ref=northkorea

UK's Manchester United apologizes for swastika-like logo, Nazi-style reference

By Lynn

UK's Manchester United apologizes for swastika-like logo, Nazi-style reference

English soccer team Manchester ,which is one of the richest and most popular teams in the world, apologized to fans for sending them letters with a design similar to swastika alongside the words "New Order". This slogan was used by Hitler's Nazi party.

The "New Order" headline was a reference to the Manchester band of same name.
The swastika has been used by many culutres, but it is most well known as a symbol og Nazi Germany. Adolf Hitler used this symbol to impose the European New Order after World War II.

Many fans of Manchester United were outraged by this headline and questioned how it had not been spotted.

Manchester United Head of Media said it was completely inappropriate and that internal action was being taken.

I think Manchester United made a completely wrong decision on making the symbol. Many people are very sensitive about this. I also wonder how does that get through sign off? Did they need any attentions?



Sources: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/28/21209271-uks-manchester-united-apologizes-for-swastika-like-logo-nazi-style-reference?lite

US protesters call for end to spying.

by Vanilla(Tang Min)
Since Edward Snowden,former CIA employee and NSA contractor in the U.S,publicly announced the top secret "Surveillance programmes" of United States and British government, this shocking news have been concerned by the world.Recently,a large number of protesters have marched to protest against the US government's behaviors in Washington.

The Protesters'aim is to urge Congress to reform the legal framework supporting the National Security Agency's secretive online data gathering.People took signs such as: "Stop Mass Spying," "Thank you, Edward Snowden" and "Unplug Big Brother" to demonstrate against the online surveillance.The event was organised by a coalition known as "Stop Watching Us" that consists of about 100 public advocacy groups and companies, including the American Civil Liberties Union, privacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation, Occupy Wall Street NYC and the Libertarian Party.

It is said that the U.S has tapped the information of Merkel's mobile phone for more than 10 years.Such behavior certainly caused great concern in Germany so that German spy chiefs plan to intervene this serious issue to demand the answers from the U.S.

When mentioned spying ,it is said that it's a war without smoke of gunpowder.Every country should respect others no matter the country is poor or rich.I think that spying is also a behavior to undermine the international relations and causes the crisis of confidence from other countries.I hope that government will consider the advice and insight of citizens.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/10/us-protesters-call-end-spying-2013102621619345970.html

The US is shrouded in the crisis of confidence

By Effie

           

                                       The US is shrouded in the crisis of confidence

  As Snowden vanished from the scene, people’s memory of the U.S. surveillance scandal is gradually fading away. However, recently the United States was criticized for the surveillance once again. On arrival at an EU summit in Brussels, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed anger about her mobile phone calls being spied on.She had told the US president Barack Obama that spying on friends is not acceptable and demanded a “complete explanation” of the claims.

  The United States and European countries have been on friendly terms, especially France and Germany. Two years ago, president Barack Obama even called France its strongest alley. In spite of that, it is reported that the United States has been spying on France over 70 years and the National Security Agency swept up 70.3 million French phone records in a 30-day period.Besides, the United States has been spying on Merkel's mobile phone since 2002.

  This kind of double-dealing behavior infuriated France and Germany, and these two countries declared they wanted the US to sign a no-spy deal by the end of the year.

  Expect for European countries, Austria, Japan, India and many other countries are also involved.

  Monitoring the populace’s phone records makes the anti-terrorism no more an excuse for the U.S surveillance. As countermeasures, every country begin to strength internet defense works. Hence, the United States should restrain itself. If it continues to do like that, it will finally be forsook by its allies.



Resource:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24647602

Can we trust the US?

by Corentin

The United States are accused to have bugged the German Chancellor's phone. And the bigest problem is this spying last for more than 10 years.
According to the german newspaper "Der Spiegel", Obama stopped this spying, when he knows it. Due to this problem, the americain ambassador in Germany was called for the first time ever.
The mobile telephone had been listed since 2002 by the NSA's Special Collection Service.
SCS would have a "not legally registered spying branch" in the embassy in Berlin like in 80 other places in the world including Paris, Rome, etc..
Even if it's not sure they recorded conversations or "only" connection data, this story could damage international relations with US.
Obama had to apologize, and Germany will send intelligence chiefs to the US to get answers about this problem.
This matter is not the first, the US already bugged European Union offices.
Furthermore the US have a huge power regarding reports from Google or Facebook they have.

Security is the freedom's enemy, so maybe the US go sometimes too far.
Why are they allowed informations about everybody in the World? Because they are the most powerful country in the World and affirm to the country of democracy and freedom? I'm not sure.


http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/26/21176401-us-spied-on-german-leader-merkels-phone-since-2002-report?lite

Chinese Tibet and Outsiders

By Elaine

When comes to question begin with letter “T”, China never gives a satisfactory answer. 

Recently, with the completion of Qinghai-Tibet Railway, a rapidly growing number of tourists rush into the plateau to appreciate its mystery, which constantly invigorates the local economy. It seems that everything is as peaceful as the idyllic landscapes in Tibet, but, as a matter of fact, many of the monastery’s resident monks are not calm about their lives and complain that “government intrusive policies to encourage tourism are strangling their culture and identity.” 

Since 2008, in the wake of violent protests that swept Tibet and self-immolations that followed, security forces have tightened their grip. There exists a largely unseen web of controls that nips the unrest in the bud: Surveillance cameras, paid informers and plainclothes security agents who hide in the busloads of tourists. Government is alert and keeps everything under the control to prevent the religious affairs from joining periphery power and threaten the regime. During 2008 Olympics torch relay, some aggressive protestor assaulted the torch bearer in attempt to destroy the relay procedure, which even influenced the relation between France and China. 

Still, many international organizations like International Campaign for Tibet call for more freedom for the religion. Chinese government acclaims that all Tibetan affairs should be and only can be solved domestically without any foreign power. 


sources:http://www.nytimes.com/index.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Cubans give muted welcome to end of 'convertible peso' dual currency system

By Lynn

Cubans give muted welcome to end of 'convertible peso' dual currency system

Cuba used to have dual currency system: domestic pesos (CUP) and "convertible" tourist pesos (CUC) which is 25 times more valuable and tied to the U.S. dollar. Tourist Pesos are used for forighn trade. The dual currency system existed since 1994, after the collapse of the Soviet Union ended profitable trade deals. And it forced Cuba to open its economy to tourism.
Many imported goods can only be bought in CUCs, and it divided society into ordinary Cubans and those who access to the much more valuable currency.

However, Cuba plans to phase out this system as part of reforms for the island's economy.
Many Cubans welcomes this change, because they beleive that it might improve their economies.
Workers are paid in domestic pesos, and it made profssionals like doctors and teachers to work at night as taxi drivers or private tutors to supplement their state salaries.

However, any changes bring the risk of high inflation. Juan Molina, 45, a gas station attendant said that he likes the idea that ordinary national currency will be used everywhere and that he doesn't have to change it into CUC to buy things. He also said that he supports the change, but he is worried that the prices might rise while wages remain as low as they are.

I heard that Cuba's centralized government has dominated all commerce on island and its economy is hampered hampered inefficiencies and a longlasting U.S. trade embargo. I hope this change will bring some positive effect to the economy of Cuba.


source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/22/21079591-cubans-give-muted-welcome-to-end-of-convertible-peso-dual-currency-system?lite

Pope speaks English publicly for the first time

By Bing Yuan

The Catholic churches own the largest number of people among all Christian churches around the world, about 1.13 billion, accounting for 17% of the total population in the world.

Recently, Pope Francis who is the leader of the world's Catholics addressed in an evangelization conference which was held in the Philippines. Since Philippines has many people are Catholic, like my homestay who come from the philippines they go to church every week to do prayer, and they can't speak and understand English well, but to my surprise Pope speak English at the end of his talking: "Please pray for me, I need it, I promise to pray for you." It shows Pope hope to bring modern thought into Catholics so that people who are Catholic know more about kindness, nice, friendly as well as modern development to keep peace better.  

Reference: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/18/21028427-let-jesus-be-known-pope-speaks-english-publicly-for-the-first-time?

Mayoral Race Threatens to Shake Up Tradition Where Jesus Grew Up

by Lucy

Ramiz Jaraisi has been the mayor of Nazareth, Israel for almost 20 years. Since 1975, the Nazareth Democratic Front has been running the city. “This is one of the most well-known cities in the world, the place where Christianity started,”said Mr. Jaraisi.

But citizens in Nazareth say it is time for change. Mr. Jaraisi has been elected mayor four times, with the votes of both Muslims and Christians. Now, he is facing a serious challenge. Ali Salam, Mr. Jaraisi’s former deputy, is one of four candidates running against him. Another strong contender is Haneen Zoabi, a Muslim woman and a firebrand member of the Israeli Parliament representing Balad. Mr. Jaraisi is hoping to draw at least 40 percent of the vote and win in the first round. If not, Mr. Abu Nassar said, he might face an alliance of opponents in a runoff.

Municipal elections are mostly affairs in Israel, but this time, a few of the races are gaining national attention. In Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, a rightist who has increased cultural activities and attracted numerous international events to West Jerusalem in the past few years, is being challenged by Moshe Lion, a former civil servant

Residents of Nazareth complain a lot about the infrastructure. More than 1,000 residents move out each year, even though the Jewish mayor insists on retaining its Jewish character to the point where he has refused to consider opening an Arabic-language school.

Both Mr. Jaraisi and Ms. Zoabi say many of the city’s problems are the result of decades of state discrimination against the Arab citizens, who make up about 20 percent of Israel’s population of eight million.

Mr. Jaraisi is promising to build new neighborhoods and said construction on a cultural center with an auditorium, will begin in 2014. Ms. Zoabi’s campaign brochure complains that Mr. Jaraisi and the Democratic Front have been promising to build the cultural center for the past 10 years.

Reference:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/21/world/middleeast/mayoral-race-threatens-stability-in-jesus-childhood-home.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&ref=world

Resolutions on U.S. military bases overseas

by Lucy

WHEREAS, the official number of U.S. military bases overseas is 865. It is the largest one in the world; and

WHEREAS, the military bases overseas cost a lot and may affect the American economy to some degree. U.S. was ranked NO.1 in military expenditure in the world with 650 billion dollars in 2008; and

WHEREAS, the number of injured and dead soldiers is large; and

WHEREAS, it will waste huge amount of natural resources for unnecessary uses, and have bad effect on environment; and

WHEREAS, criminous U.S. military soldiers will not be punished by the local police, instead they will be sent back to America. So the number will enlarge; and

WHEREAS, it will influence the host countries’ authorities and interfere the politics.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE TO RESOLVED, cut the expenditure in U.S. military cost; cut down the number of soldiers for military bases overseas;   let more United Union armies help the poor countries  that need  help.     

              

Lucy&Effie

Problems in Fukushima are never ending

by Corentin Sunday, several tank areas at the plant have overflowed. It’s the first time it’s happened.We don’t know yet how many water overflowed, but probably radioactive water went to the sea. Furthermore, some tank where the radioactivity was above the limit, leaked into more than the half of the plant’s 23 tank areas. To resolve the problem, the utility is renewing today water in to decrease radiation levels, and get an acceptable rate. In April radioactive water leaks from reservoirs were already discovered, so they stopped using them. It was in preparation for the typhoon Wipha, last week. The biggest radioactivity is 29.000 becquerels, air in Fukushima is about 4 million times more radioactive than courant air. The end of this story is still far. There is no real solution to this problem. We don’t control the nuclear power and its consequences. All the Pacific Ocean is paying for this disaster. A lot of countries which are on this ocean risk to suffer from that, Japan in first. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/21/national/rainwater-flows-over-tank-barriers-at-fukushima-no-1/#.UmTAsPl7KSo

China's Censorship Rule and China

By Elaine

1979,Chinese economic reform (literally "Reform and Opening up") ushered a new era of Chinese development, the outcome of which not merely opened its door for the sake of further economic development as well as decreased the government’s engagement in national economy, but also rebuilt friendly bridges into outside world as a means of absorbing beneficial information. So how does China define the world beneficial？This is where the problem lies nowadays.

  

 From the sources, the author whose works describing sex explicitly or attempting to explain China’s complex politics and glamorous history will unexpectedly be faced with the “egregious” censorship machine that has no appreciation of literary masterpieces nor is pursuing the goal of enriching the spiritual world. The censors seem to have endless passion in from removing several chapters that tarnish the communist party to finding tiny adjective which unsuitable for Chairman Mao; from hiding the name of the city to revising the translation of the title. From an objective perspective, it ruins the original ideas of the author and sounds like a child clumsily tried to hide his mistake from their families. Indeed it is, and many western authors get indignant when their coherent ideas become pieces as a consequence of being carved to Chinese market place. Some authors prefer to abandon Chinese lucrative market rather than bend to their principles being accuracy. It is a fact that a quite number of novels are not allowed to put on Chinese shelves and a larger number of books Chinese people read are “purified” by their considerate government. In other word, the press is strictly controlled by the government and serves its responsibility to protect the image of the communist and refuse outside viewpoints giving explanations to Chinese political events and history.

However, compared with the time they blocked the access to the world, now they permit a world of information rushing to its land, though there exist unpleasant but necessary bargains, most information there available is better than none. Changes began thirty years ago, which is not a long time, in fact, a short time for a big country whose history never has a time being “open” as today is .

It requires some time to go through those necessary phases: from being obstinate to acknowledge the infallibility to admit the previous political incorrectness. Let us put it this way, give those communists time to be mature, and they will understand the first step to solve a problem is to realize where it is, the real Titan never dares to speak out their faults, and a strong nation can hold integrity not merely the different ethnic groups but also envelope the ideology which even in opposite side. 

source:Authors Accept Censors’ Rules to Sell in China - NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/world/asia/authors-accept-censors-rules-to-sell-in-china.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp&

Abduction by North Korea by Ryosuke

Abduction is a problem between Japan and North Korea. Abduction means that taking people away. In 1970s, North Korea's agents came to Japan by ships, and they abducted Japanese people to North Korea because North Korea wanted Japanese people as teachers of Japanese. The reason why they took Japanese people away is that they tried to dispatch agents who pretend they are from South Korea into South Korea; however, it turned out that it was difficult to dispatch agents who pretended they were South Korean. Thus, North Korea made a new strategy, which was that taking Japanese people into North Korea and having them teach Japanese and Japanese culture so that the agents from North Korea can get in South Korea. In fact, this strategy was conducted, and 17 Japanese people were abducted. A few of them could come back to Japan recently, but almost all of them are still in North Korea. However, it is also said that they already died because even North Korea doesn't have sure information. Now, Japanese government is still discussing this issue with North Korea, but it is difficult to resolve this problem. In my opinion, North Korea should listen to the world's opinion and have responsibility about what they did because the families that lost their children or relatives are still waiting for the abductees.

Source: http://www.rips.or.jp/research/RIPS_Policy_Perspectives_10.pdf
            http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2013/07/05/japan-north-korea-and-the-abduction-issue/

30 million people still live in slavery, human rights group says

By Lynn

The Global Slavery Index published by the Austrlia-based Walk Free Foundation reported that almost 30 million people in the world are living in modern-day slavery.
This index is supported by the former U.S Secretary Hillary clinton, former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

It says the African nation of Mauritania, Haiti, Pakistan and India have the highest number of slaves in proportion of the population.
Also, China and Russia are in the top list of countries with large number of slaves.

The index says, slavery includes domestic servitude, forced brgging, forced labor, human traffcking, the sale and exploitation of children and force marriage.

The U.S was ranked 134th, worse than Barbados (135), South Korea(137), Hong Kong (141), Costa Rica(146), and Cuba (149).
The reason why U.S is in low risk is that it is the destinations for human trafficking because of the demand for cheap labour.

The report said that the countries(U.K. , Ireland, Island) who got the best rankings still have people in modern-slavery, too which is estimated 4,200-4,600 people.

How can there still be slavery in this modern world?
Are they adopting an expedient?
This article reminds me of the history of Haiti.

Souce: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/17/21005059-30-million-people-still-live-in-slavery-human-rights-group-says?lite

Resolution for International Aid to Haiti

By  
Min Tang
Yilun  Liu

10/16/2013 

  

Whereas, in 1942, when Christopher Columbus arrived Haiti, he brought the slavery to native people in Haiti; and

Whereas, because of backward technology and geographic position in Haiti, people there always suffer inevitable natural disasters, recently  in 2010; and

Whereas, although Haiti became an independent nation, it was forced to pay war reparations to France unfairly which lead to the poverty of Haiti in some extent.

 

Now, therefore, be it resolved, that 
1. Invest money to help them rebuild the public services such as hospitals, transportations, police stations.
2. Improve the local education by sending and encouraging  volunteers to provide training in every field of professions.
3. Establish the  law  and  send  troops to  maintain the public safety.
4.Take a low  interest policy to solve their essential problemsincluding building new factories,new housing  and  satisfying  the survival needs.