Islamist Rebels in Mali

http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-islamist-rebels-mali-20130110,0,3192867.story

Last Spring, in an attempt to overthrow the president, Malian military forces threw a coup against the government. Although the coup effectively seized power of the country, the newly instituted democracy was too weak to defend the country from the Tuareg rebels in northern Mali, who were allied with al Qaeda, and these rebels were able to take over that region, conquering nearly half of the country. This past week, the al Qaeda-led rebels began battling to expand into central Mali. Malian government forces were unable to remain in control of these cities, and were again defeated, allowing the Islamists to gain more territory. The crisis is so severe that the U.N. is attempting to put an international coalition together to bail out Mali, and the recent expansion of the rebel groups could force the U.N. to act quickly. I think that it is necessary for the U.N. to act soon, despite the concern expressed by some that they will be insufficiently prepared if this happens. Otherwise, Mali may be completely overthrown by the Islamist groups, who are gaining momentum by the day. Without foreign military aid, I doubt that Mali has any chance of avoiding a total collapse, and if so, the country would at least be permanently split into two territories− northern Mali controlled by the rebels, and southern Mali controlled by the unstable government. Do you believe that the U.N. should send military forces to defend Mali against the quickly advancing rebels? If not, do you think that Mali would be able to protect itself from an absolute defeat?

Extreme Climate Changes

In recent years, the factor of climate change has been an increasing aspect of our society. Although when people hear the words climate change, they probably refer to increasing heat conditions. But in certain parts of the world, the weather has gone in the opposite direction. For example, China is going through its most brutal and cold winter in 30 years, and Russia is to the point that traffic lights stopped working in the city of Yakutsk. In addition to these all time lows, the factor of increasing heat still remains as another addition to the changing climate. Australia recently received a record-breaking heat wave causing bush fires. These disasters occurring around the world are just some of the insane natural outbreaks happening, and at our current rate of damage being dealt towards Earth, it will most likely only get worse. This shows that people need to start paying more attention to how their actions may affect the environment, because if they don't start trying to make a difference, future disasters will be even more outrageous than these ones

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/science/earth/extreme-weather-grows-in-frequency-and-intensity-around-world.html?ref=world&_r=0

Syria's Civil War Despair

            In March of 2011, Syrian civilians staged a protest against the current government, the socialist Ba'aath party.  Days later, to quench the apparent dissent within the country, Syrian armed forces were instructed by the government to open fire on any civilian protests opposing the government.  A bloody civil war ensued.  To this day, countless anti-government revolutionaries are giving their lives to change the corruption within the Syrian government, innocent civilians are being massively taken and the Syrian government is becoming even more morally depraved.  As of January 2013, the minimum national civilian death count is 60,000 lives.  Forces loyal to president Bashar al- Assad are acting radically to stop the uprising, but the Syrian people are so passionate about their liberty that the government's actions are to no avail.  Heart-wrenching stories about the suffering of victims including babies and children are prevalent throughout news coverage.  No one in Syria is being spared the danger from this oppressive government.  World Rights activists are advocating for change within Syria, and the condition is "absolutely dire."

            I linked an article about the Syrian Revolution, which includes a slideshow of photographs visually displaying the despair within the country.

            Personally, how do you feel about the violation of basic human rights to the civilians of Syria? What could you do to take a stand on this issue, broaden your knowledge on the topic or help others to understand the direness of the situation?

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/02/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html?iref=allsearch

115 killed and nearly 300 wounded in suicide bombing in Pakistan

Sadly these bombing are not an isolated event as they are connected to a series of suicide bombings that have occurred in the buildup to the Pakistani Elections.  The connection is due to the fact that  they were brought about by the tension of the upcoming election. In addition, this event is connected to many other suicide bombings in the Middle East because of the fact that both are a result of extremist Muslims. I predict that such violence and bombings will continue up to and through the elections. I also expect that whoever is voted into power will be helpless to fight against these terrorists. This notion urges me to ask first "what can/ will be done to stop such a tragedy from reoccurring?" and second "what drives people to commit such atrocities". Many terrorists use religion as a scapegoat for their actions, but I do not understand what goal they seek to active through such actions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/world/asia/pakistan-blast-quetta-swat-valley-elections.html?hp&_r=0

With Chavez still in Cuba, Venezuelans rally

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/10/world/americas/venezuela-chavez/index.html

This article talks about Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's current president for thirteen years. Chavez went to Cuba for another round of cancer treatment last month and there have been complications in his surgery. Because he is still in Cuba for medical treatment now, he was not able to attend his own inauguration in Caracas today. His political adversaries say that delaying Chavez’s swearing in will leave no one in charge of Venezuela once his term ends. I think that because he was elected again for the fourth time, then he should be considered president - the swearing in part is just a formality. What is your opinion on this? Is it okay for Chavez not to be present at his own inauguration ceremony? Can he still be considered the president of Venezuela if he is not sworn in?

The relationship between the United States and Venezuela has remained rocky because of Chavez’s anti-American stance. The US is also unhappy about Chavez’s public friendship with Fidel Castro and their significant trade relationship with Cuba, as the United States wants to isolate Cuba. However, now that Chavez’s health and future appears uncertain, the United States has expressed willingness to improve the ties with Venezuela. If a new leader replaces Chavez and a new government is formed, their policy toward US may change and the relationship between these two countries may change for the better. Do you think this will happen?

Chavez is very popular among the poor and his policies have benefited many of the poor citizens in his country. If his health continues to deteriorate and he exits from the political scene, instability may follow and there may not be another strongman that could hold Venezuela together. What do you think may happen if Chavez dies? Will Venezuela enter a period of chaos?

growing gender imbalance in asia

http://www.americanhumanist.org/hnn/archives/index.php?id=281&article=1

There is a shocking gender imbalance in many parts of Asia. Many families want to have a son to continue the family name and be able to support them financially. That along with the law that families should have no more than one child sparked this worsening issue. This article imediately made me think of the two sides of our presidential campaign. here we face the debate of weather or not abortion is morally just; however Asia is affected by this debate much differently. while reading this article i tried to think of a way to stop this problem from getting worse because it is predicted that "By 2020, 30 million Chinese men may find themselves single, whether they like it or not." Here people who argue against abortion do it because there own religious or moral judgement urges them to advocate for those who cannot speak up for themselves. In Asia many men grow up to find themselves unmarried because of this imbalance. Abortion does not just affect that one person, weather it can be considered alive or not, it affects the future of all the baby boys born as well. While I am pro- choice reading this made me think about how much the choices affect the nation. Is there a solution? I cannot seem to think of any other solutions to preventing this issue to grow than to make some law against abortion or aborting girls.

Syria Fires Ballistic Missile at Rebels

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20970866

The war in Syria has been violent and destructive since its start in almost 2 years ago in March of 2011. The war seems to be escalating even furthur. This ballistic strike by the Syrian government against the rebels show just how much the government disregards the well-being of the Syrian people. The rebel forces that are fighting against the government have been making progress and gaining territory. This fact is reinforced by the missile strike today by the Syrian government, because it shows the lengths that Syria will go to in order to defeat the rebels. The fight for the freedom of the Syrian people from this tyrannous government has come at a huge cost, as cities are decimated and over 60,000 people have been killed in total.

This war can be connected to what we have been learning in class. We have been studying the causes of revolutions in history, and the fight in Syria could be considered an attempt at a revolution. Like many other past rebellions, like the American Revolution and French Revolution, the revolution in Syria is based on the necessity for the rights of the people. In Syria, the people feel they have been oppressed by their president Bashar al-Assad. This is the reason why they are seeking their freedom from his reign.