WEEK 15: Tensions Between U.S. and Russia Growing With Venezuela Standoff

Source/Original Article HERE

     A short article with huge implications... The Venezuela crisis is expanding day by day and there's always something new to discuss. Recently Guaido held a very near military coup, a huge change and total 180 from when Maduro had absolute military support and held coups as he pleased, especially when he took whatever control of the government that he could. So, Guaido having naturally held a coup himself is going to cause change because it's something new and unseen. With the opposition's (Guaido's) action, he was additionally planning to remove Maduro from the country in his push for true and constitutionally legitimate control, as he holds the top position in the National Assembly, meaning that he is, constitutionally, supposed to be the president.

      So, as a result of Guaido's desire to remove Maduro from Venezuela, Russia has been accused of apparently interfering and attempting to keep Maduro in Venezuela with the intent to bolster and support his attempts and desires. The U.S. reacted to this and responded to Russia, warning them to avoid involving themselves and forcing an outcome. Then Russia reminds the U.S. not to involve itself and there's constant back and forth, especially more recently, where both governments and nations are letting themselves get more involved and there's bigger and bigger change. America is also tempting military action, or at least according to Pompeo despite officials' desire to at least give a strong attempt at ending the conflict peacefully.

 

     I personally think that this conflict is looking really dangerous and has major potential to go wrong as it progresses. A Maduro takeover is not looking quite as likely even as it might have just a week or a few days ago, and other outcomes are increasing in chance. At this point the chance of a Guaido takeover is looking to be very high. It appears that Guaido is achieving greater military influence than he might've had in the recent past as well. And with that military influence he can more easily go forth and take the first steps to taking beginning control with his popularity among the population and form something closer to democracy. Maybe Guaido would take a negative turn and just abuse the control that the people trust him with, and that's not as unlikely as it might seem. However, right now it seems apparent that change has to take place and something needs to happen or keep happening. With this change of upper hand it's also increasing the chance of more significant 3rd party interference. With the U.S. and Russia disagreeing more and who's really involving themselves and intervening, it's possible that the issue could erupt and cause war, a terrifying outcome if it indeed happens. A terrifying outcome, because it means that U.S.-Russia tensions will decline even further and possibly even U.S.-China relations due to the amount of money that China's invested into supporting Maduro.

This connects to our studies in CWS because we recently completed our short studies on the current issues in Venezuela and their implications.

Questions:

1. What do you think about the possibility is of a Guaido takeover at this point in time and what convinces you of that?

2. How about the likelihood of very significant US and Russia intervention and what might we see if that happens?

3. How do you think the conflict and crisis may play out in the next few weeks or even just days, and what long-term implications could that have going forward?

Week 15: Synagogue Shooting in San Diego Leaves One Dead and Others Injured

                 https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/28/us/san-diego-synagogue-sunday/index.html

                                     
In Poway, north of San Diego, at a synagogue, a 19-year-old man carried out a shooting up the last day of Passover. One person died in the shooting and several others were injured at what can only be called a "hate crime" says the Poway Mayor, Steve Vaus. The Palomor Medical Center received four patients from the shooting. One was a 60-year-old woman who died at the hospital. Two others, a 34-year-old man and a girl were issued into the hospital with shrapnel injuries. And the fourth person was a 57-year-old Rabbi who suffered what seems to be defensive wounds to both index fingers. The doctor says the man is likely to lose his right index finger. Through all of the chaos, the Rabbi called for peace and unity. Even after being the hit, the he kept praying says an eye
                                       
witness.  The alleged shooter, John Earnest made a post before the shooting, summarizing his inspirations for is action. In the post, it talks about hating of Jewish people and killing of Jewish people. There were also multiple references to other attacks on houses of worship, including the attacks on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and the ChristChurch mosque shooting in New Zealand. This shooting is seen as a anti-Semitic attack, shown through the copycat like posts made that are very similar to the ones made about the Anti-Semitic shooting in New Zealand. In response to this devastation, President Trump made a formal announcement at the White House, condemning this attack.  Other groups spoke up against the attack, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League spoke, talking about the attacks on these sacred places representing the violation on peoples values as Americans. Whether it's a church, a synagogue or a mosque, its takes working together to prevent Anti-Semitism.


Reaction: When I first heard about the shooting I didn't know what to think. It felt like there was just several shootings occurring recently, nothing more to look into. But when I started researching it didn't occur to me how horrifying these attacks are and how much correlation they have with each other. As I dug deeper, these attacks seem to become worse and worse with every piece of information gathered. It was said that these attacks just played out a show basically for the audience online who seem to agree with the actions of the attackers. Never would I wish this on anyone.


Connection: This article connects to World War 2 and the Holocaust were Anti-Semitism was used against the Jewish people. Especially highlighting the "Night of Broken Glass" or Kristallnacht when Nazi ransacked Jewish business and killed Jewish people. Like Kristallnacht this shooting clearly demonstrates the idea of Anti-Semitism against the Jewish community as the man shot up the synagogue and killing people.


Questions:
If the government acts on this attack what might they do?

What could social media companies do to prevent message like this?

Why hasn't the US invoked stricter laws surrounding gun control?

Week 14: Saudi Arabia executes 37 people, crucifying one, for terror related crimes

"Death penalty given to 37 men convicted of terror-related crimes"

Original Article

Summary: Saudi Arabia has one of the highest death penalty rates in the world. In January of 2016, one of the largest mass executions was carried out when 47 people were put to death. The executed prisoners were accused of terrorism and having an extremist ideology. Executions have seen an increase since Prince Mohammed bin Salman first emerged onto the kingdoms political scene in 2015. This comes as no surprise as bin Salman began his political career as a defense minister, overseeing an intensified crackdown on dissent. After beginning his career as a defense minister, he was elevated to Crown Prince in 2017, where he has commanded the rounding up of scores of activists, high profile clerics, analysts, businessmen, and princes, as well as women's rights defenders.

A statement was released by the SPA stating that the death penalty was given to these people because they had adopted extremist terrorist ideology's and formed terrorist cells. The statement listed the names of the 37 men killed while also denying any use of torture. Of the 37 executed, 11 men where convicted of spying for Iran, while 14 of them were convicted of violent offenses related to anti-government protests.
While Saudi Arabia has said that the event was a case of "justice being served", many people believe that the execution, which was made up of mostly Shia men, was a sham that actually got confessions through torture. While huge question marks remain over if torture was used to force these men into confessing, there remains lots of questions over the use of crucifixion on one of the executed men. Crucifixion in Saudi Arabia means that the body of an executed man is strung up and used as a deterrent. While it is true that the man is already dead, this is still a pretty disgusting way to use the body of a dead man, especially in public.

A meeting between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman 

An official from the US State Department has reportedly urged the kingdom to "ensure fair trial guarantees". The US has stated that they have many concerns about Human Rights in Saudi Arabia and how the government is handling situations like these. There is much skepticism about freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia and whether that has to do with any of these trials. While no action has been taken, the US has stated that they have "spoken out publicly" and will continue to do so.

Reaction: While I do not agree with mass execution and the death penalty being given out so frequently, I can understand where they are coming from. Terrorism is a very challenging problem to approach and in the Middle East especially, they seem to be surrounded by it at many times. This no tolerance policy that bin Salman has adopted seems to be successful in uncovering people with intentions of terrorism, if thats what they truly are. While I do not agree with any parts of crucifixion, the big red flag for me is the questions about whether or not these trials are fair and are not trying to target a certain religion. If in fact these people are being tortured in order to confess, this is a huge human rights violation and is something that countries like the US, need to look into immediately and seek out ways to bring an end to it.

Connection: This article draws a connection to when Stalin was the leader of Russia and the show trials that went on. For example, the Moscow Trials acted almost like a purge of Stalins opposition, with the goal of elimination opposition to Stalin and people that he didn't like. And while it has not been proven that any of these trials have been corrupt and wrong, some people have come out and released statements saying that they were tortured in order to try and get them to confess. These trials also are made up of mostly Shia men, so like the Moscow Trials, it seems to be targeting a specific group of people and trying to eliminate some of them.

Questions:
1. Do you believe that these trials are fairly eliminating people with terrorist ideas or targeting a certain religion?

2. Do you believe that it is ok for Saudi Arabia to be executing and giving the death penalty so frequently and willingly?

3. Should countries like the US take a closer look into this situation and whether it is a human rights violation? 

Week 14: Sri Lanka timeline: How eight explosions wrought devastation on Easter Sunday

Sri Lanka timeline: How eight explosions wrought devastation on Easter Sunday

Link to Original Article

Summary:

    On Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka, a catastrophe occurred. From about 8:45 to 9:30 am on Easter Sunday, bombers from luxury hotels and Christian Churches rigged and detonated explosives. Then at about five hours later, two more bombs went off near Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, one in a cheap and inexpensive hotel and the other in a residential area. About 300 people are reported dead and over 500 people are reported injured in the attacks.

The aftermath of one of the bombings

One bombing site was inside St. Anthony's Shrine which is a popular tourist location/landmark and has the largest Roman Catholic Congression in Sri Lanka's capital. According to witnesses, the bomb went off at around 9:00 am and was "So violent that nearby buildings shook,". Then 25 miles north in Negombo, a Catholic-majority town, another explosion was reported. The explosion in Negombo killed about 100 people and injured just as many. Then at just about 10 am the Associated Press reported the first two explosions but then reported that St. Anthony's and St. Sebastian had been attacked and that the explosions rocked three Colombo hotels and a Church on Sri Lanka's east coast.

Outside St. Anthony's Shrine

Reaction:

   In my opinion, this catastrophe that has taken place in Sri Lanka this weekend could be a serious attack directed towards Christianity. I believe this is a possibility because the major attacks were at churches and shrines on a holy day, Easter, for Christians which was the day Jesus Christ was resurrected. Sri Lanka may suffer from this attack in many different ways for example rebuilding will cost money and resources but also it will affect people's minds because this event to occur on Easter at holy and religious hot spots and furthermore all the deaths that have occurred as well. This may be the attacker's purpose and with Sri Lanka having a lower-income with a GDP  per capita of 4,073 USD they may be targeting Sri Lanka as a whole or only religion. 

Connection:

   This article's topic connects to our current unit because of the attacks whoever the attacks were caused by maybe because they want a change just like South Africa and apartheid but, instead of starting off peacefully, like in South Africa, they started with terror attacks to weaken the mindsets of the people so they can easily fight for their cause whatever it may be. 

Questions:

1. Who do you think is really behind these Bombings and what motives do you think they have?

2. Do you think this was for religious affairs or do you believe there was something else that would drive a group of people to cause such a disaster?

3. What do you think the government plans  to do first after this tragic catastrophe?

   

Week 14: Reporter or Hacker? The Fate of Julian Assange

Week 14: Reporter or Hacker? The Fate of Julian Assange

Original Article

Summary: Julian Assange was arrested by the British police from the Ecuadorian Embassy due to an extradition from the US. While Mr. Assange was on good terms with the Ecuadorian leader Rafael Correa when he first fled from the US, the new leader of Ecuador revoked Mr. Assange's asylum due to his "discourteous and aggressive behaviour," "the hostile and threatening declarations of his allied organization against Ecuador" and "the transgression of international treaties."

The US government first tried to arrest Mr. Assange due to his activites with WikiLeaks, releasing classified information such as military documents concerning operations in Afghanistan. Now that he's been arrested by the UK authorities, he will be held in custody for up to 12 months in prison and has his extradition hearing on May 2, but will still remain in custody until then. The former Ecuadorian president stated that he is shocked by the revocation of Mr. Assange's asylum, stating that it goes against their constitution.

Mr. Assange has also released a statement in reaction to his arrest, stating that "it will be a sad day for democracy if the UK and Ecuadorean governments are willing to act as accomplices to the Trump administration's determination to prosecute a publisher for publishing truthful information." The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry denied the rumors in a statement, calling them "fake news" and adding that the allegation of a deal with the UK "misrepresents reality."



Reaction: I think the extradition of Mr. Assange has deep implications for the rest of the world and whether to treat people such as him as reporters or as hackers. In the past, the US has criticized other countries for executing reporters and journalists for spreading information about the flaws of their government. Depending on how Mr. Assange and his lawyers frame this, the US could be faced with similar scrutiny from countries it has criticized in the past. WikiLeaks, represented by Mr. Assange, has spread classified secrets that are true, as any reporter would. However, the extra wrinkle of obtaining this information through illegal means. But does that change the fact that the organization is just doing that - reporting facts? While this issue may seem to only affect the US, it sets the stage for how the free world handles its own criticism and how it treats those who criticize it. The US now has the opportunity to show the world how they should deal with its citizens who disagree with them - not with covert assassinations and executions, but rather with a fair trial that exposes the truth, and the whole truth of the matter for better or worse.

Connection to MWS:

 This connects to the Nuremberg and Tokyo Trials, where the US similarly set the stage for a fair treatment of the Germans and Japanese who committed war crimes throughout WW2. Instead of executing the criminals for their heinous crimes, the Allies chose to set up the trials to show the world that they are fair and treat their enemies respectfully. This allowed the Allies to create the narrative that as the "good guys," they chose to treat the Germans and Japanese justly, demonstrating their power to do good. In the case of Mr. Assange, the US has an opportunity to do the same. Holding a fair, public trial will demonstrate to the world the righteousness of the US by treating Mr. Assange fairly. While it may not produce the outcome that either the Democrats or the Republicans want concerning Russia's interference with the election, it will set an example and allow the US to maintain the image of being a fair country, even to its citizens that don't necessarily agree. It will also help shake the image of hypocrisy that other countries that the US has criticized in the past for jailing those who speak out against the government may develop from this whole exchange.

Questions to Consider:

How should the US handle Mr. Assange?

What are other possible implications of his case outside of the US?

Was it right for the US government to arrest Mr. Assange?

Week 14: Alan Garcia: Peru's former president kills himself ahead of arrest

Original Article

Summary:
A former Peruvian President, Alan Garcia shot himself in his home when police arrived to arrest him for having a connection with a corruption scandal. When police arrived at his home to arrest Garcia, he asked to make a phone call in his room. A few minutes later, a shot rang out and officers found Garcia sitting on a chair with a bullet wound to his head. Garcia had four to five weapons that he received from the military, and one was used to shoot himself. He was rushed to the emergency for surgery but could not be saved.

Alan Garcia had been accused of taking bribes form Brazilian firm Odebrecht

Garcia was the president of Peru from 1985 to 1990, and 2006 to 2011. He was balmed for taking bribes from Odebrecht and committing financial crime during his second term in office: even though he denied taking the money. Garcia also said he was the victim of political persecution and that there were no clues that accused him of being guilty. Odebrecht is a Brazilian construction company that pays electoral candidates from countries in Latin America bribes in exchange for profit making building contracts. The company admitted to paying almost $30 million in bribes to Peru since 2004 and financing many political campaigns for candidates. Now, five of the most recent presidents of Peru are being investigated for being involved with this company.

Supporters gathered outside the hospital to grieve

Reaction:
In my opinion, I think Garcia's decision to end his life was a hasty decision. I think it was really sad to hear that he would jump to suicide instead of facing time in jail. I feel bad for the citizens in Peru as well as the other countries who might be connected to Odebrecht because it is scary to live in a place when leaders of your country or candidates are not being honest. Suicide is also a common cause of death and in this case, it just reminds us that we should do anything to help people avoid going to this solution. He should of never been involved with this scandal from the very beginning, because this resulted to his death.

Connection:
This article connects to the totalitarian unit when we learned about Stalin because they both made illegal actions when they were in control. Alan Garcia was taking bribes from this major company to make profit. Stalin used his role as general secretary to massively gain power by appointing regional district city and town party secretaries. Stalin also gained power by using terror to ensure that people still supported him. This relates to each other because Garcia and Alan both used their position to take advantage of people who supported them.


Questions:
1. Why do you think Garcia was involved in this scandal?

2. Should people living in other Latin America countries be fearful of having a connection with Odebrecht?

3. What should the government undertake to solve this issue?

WEEK 13: Tens of thousands infected in measles in Madagascar

"Tens of thousands infected in measles in Madagascar"

Read the Original Article Here!

Madagascar, the island nation off the coast of East Africa, has been hammered by its worst measles epidemic in decades.

Summary:
Many families in Madagascar are currently being affected by what’s considered the "worst measles epidemic in decades." Although it is commonly misconceived as a small cough to begin with, it has extreme complications and dangers. Parents are traveling up to 24 hours to get medical attention and receive the vaccination, but when they finally arrive, find out it's too late and has already hit their children. It is highly contagious towards anyone who is not immune to it.

Three of Hasina Raharimandimby's children died of the measles. "You cannot always prevent death," she says, "but mothers should do all they can to protect their children."

The first effective measles vaccine was developed in the early 1960s, so this outbreak hit by surprise. Recently, though, countries like the US and France have gained a lack of understanding about measles and the rise of anti-vaccination beliefs based on phony science and social-media fueled conspiracy theories. Because of this, the vaccination coverage is decreasing worldwide. It was at less than 50% in Madagascar at the start of this outbreak, and for herd immunity to work, they believe it needs to be at around 95%. The disease has hit all over the East African country, with already over 50,000 infected and more than 300 dead since October 2018. Companies including UNICEF and the World Health Organization are beginning to reach out and make efforts to stop children from getting infected. They have set up vaccination drives to educate people on why they’re necessary and to raise the percentage of coverage. There needs to be a spread of awareness, especially in a poor country like this, that lacks education.

Reaction:
Considering that the measles outbreak can be preventable, it's shocking and upsetting to hear about such a tragedy. When reading this article, it occured to me that people need to be more educated on vaccines. Immunization rates have been dropping heavily for years now, which comes to show that people are forgetting the importance of them. And while this article focuses on the outbreak in Madagascar, it has also hit hard in other areas around the world (including a recent case in the silicon valley).

Connection to World History and/or International Relations:
This article’s topic of measles connects to our China and the Silk Road Unit when we discussed the spread of the Black Death. As we know, goods and technology were the main things carried along the silk road, but they weren't the only things. Merchants and traders also traveled with infectious diseases, such as the plague, which were spread through human interaction. Additionally, the plague resulted in an estimated 75 to 200 million deaths. The same thing is happening today in Madagascar. Measles is a highly contagious virus and spreads easily from person to person. The virus has been rapidly spreading throughout this East African country since October 2018, and there have been more than 50,00 infected and more than 300 deaths.

Questions to Consider: 
1. Do you think the rise in unvaccinated children could put the public at risk?

2. What are necessary steps to prevent these outbreaks from happening? 

3. Do you think the government should compel childhood vaccinations? Why or why not?