The United States and the Philippines have been intertwined since before the turn of the 19th century and have a colorful history. From the Philippines being a colony of Spain, to a colony of the United States, to now a independent nation and close ally of the United States. Now the Philippines and the United States singed a 10 year agreement to have United States military bases back in the Philippines.
The United States had bases in the Philippines up to 1991, when the Philippine government voted to have the bases removed. But now tensions are heating up in the South Pacific. Over the past couple years the China and Philippines have had increased tensions between each other over the territorial sea dispute, with islands that may be oil and gas rich. The two have had small skirmish, and tension is high. Any body could tell you if the war to actually break out over the islands that China would annihilate any Philippine military resistance. Because of the recent build up of tension, the Philippines is letting the United States Military bases to come back for 10 years. This is being done to deter China from the Philippines, because the last thing China would want is a war with the United States.
China of course is in opposition to this and has the told the United States to stay out of Asian affairs. But American military forces haven't been gone completely after 1991. Hundreds of American troops have been stationed in the Philippines since 2002, to fight Al-Qaeda sponsored groups in the south Philippines.
American troops in the Philippines has been a sensitive issue, because of the history of Philippines being an American colony, especially with the horrible events that took place during the Philippine–American War. After that war the country became a colony of the United States.
Many Americans would argue why should we send troops to the Philippines and possible get involved in something that does not concern us. This feeling has definitely increased after the United States' involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, but I feel that is a different case.
Even though for many years the United States occupied the Philippines, today most Filipinos see the United States as close allies and liberators after the United States ended Japanese occupation in World War II. Also there is the colony factor. American troops did terrible things during the Philippine-American War, and had occupied the country till 1935, and it is only the right thing to do is to help defend the former colony they ask for help. The United Kingdom would most likely step in help India or South Africa, if they asked for it, and why shouldn't the United States do the same. Granted I probably have a biased view, as my mom is from the Philippines.
If all things go well nothing of significance will happen during these next 10 years between the Philippines and China, and the the United States will not have to get involved further than what it is now.
More Info
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_PHILIPPINES_US_MILITARY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-04-27-02-16-37
http://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2013/10/27/south-china-sea/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine%E2%80%93American_War
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Unitary vs Federal
Through the many nations that inhabit earth, there are two types of government structures that have become dominate in the world. A nation today will either be structured as a unitary state or a federation. The two have different ways on how the power of the government is structured.
Unitary states have most of the power of the in one central government, while smaller administrative regions will rule according to what the central government. Most nations of the world today are structured in as a unitary state. Most of Africa, Asia, Europe are structured this way, same with most countries in Latin America. Not all unitary states require their regions to be completely submissive. Most unitary states tend to have a similar ethnicity among the people, like Japan. For example before Crimea was annexed by Russia, it was an autonomous government that was part of Ukraine, which is a unitary state. Another example is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom is composed of 4 different regions, England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland and each region has some degree of autonomy, but over all have to follow what the central government passes.
The other type of government structure is a federation, which here in the US we should be familiar with. These include countries like the United States, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Russia, Ethiopia, Somalia, India, Malaysia, and much more. This type of government structure have the power split between local governments and the central government or the Federal government. The two governments have to balance each other. Most federations tend to have a wide range of ethnicity within them like India, and the US.
As time continues it can be easy to say that more and more nations might be moving to federations to run for their government structure. This is because people in certain regions that feel like they do not fit with the rest of the nation and want more autonomy and to make their own decisions. But the degree on how much power local governments have in a federation can be debated. For example looking at United States history, it can be seen that over time the federal government received more power.
More Info
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
On 12 June the World Cup will kick off in Brazil and the all of the world will watch their teams compete to win it all, but before that can happen the Brazilian government has problem to tackle so that the players and fans can enjoy the beautiful country that is Brazil. The host country has been facing an increasing outbreak of Dengue fever.
Dengue fever is a very dangerous illness that is transported by mosquitoes to humans and is very common in tropical countries like Brazil. Dengue is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The mosquito has become resistant to insecticides, lives in homes and is most active during the day, which will makes bed nets useless.
To fight these bugs the Brazilian government has decided to use the mosquito against itself, by starting a two year trail of releasing genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild population. These genetically modified mosquitoes have gene that causes them to die young. The government sends pick trucks full of the short lived male mosquitoes with the hopes that they will mate with the female mosquito, which is the one that bites and transfers Dengue fever, and after they mate their offspring will have a short live and help control the spread of the disease.
The Florida Keys is also conducting a similar trail to get rid of Dengue fever and control the mosquito population by using a similar method, but with some slight differences. The Florida Keys is using the The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), which can be best described as birth control for insects. These Genetically modified mosquitoes are born infertile. They release the infertile male mosquitoes into the wild and the males will compete with the wild males to mate. The hope is that the infertile male mosquitoes will kill the wild male mosquitoes and mate with the female mosquitoes and they won't be able to reproduce.
However many ecologist agree that if we were to kill of the mosquito, that it would not be missed. Many have looked at the environmental impact of killing of the mosquito, because as many might think, killing off entire species could cause some significant damage to the environment. But the mosquito has been shown to only have little impact if it were to disappear. Bird and bats hardly rely on the mosquito as prey, as shown that only 2% of a bat's diet consist of mosquito. And the pollination that many insects contribute in, if the mosquito were to disappear, then something else will step up to the task.
Who knows if getting rid of the mosquito will not be damaging, but controlling it won't be.
Sources and More info
http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-04-25/brazilians-welcome-genetically-modified-mosquito-help-fight-dengue-fever
http://keysmosquito.org/modified-mosquito-release/
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100721/full/466432a.html
Dengue fever is a very dangerous illness that is transported by mosquitoes to humans and is very common in tropical countries like Brazil. Dengue is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The mosquito has become resistant to insecticides, lives in homes and is most active during the day, which will makes bed nets useless.
To fight these bugs the Brazilian government has decided to use the mosquito against itself, by starting a two year trail of releasing genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild population. These genetically modified mosquitoes have gene that causes them to die young. The government sends pick trucks full of the short lived male mosquitoes with the hopes that they will mate with the female mosquito, which is the one that bites and transfers Dengue fever, and after they mate their offspring will have a short live and help control the spread of the disease.
The Florida Keys is also conducting a similar trail to get rid of Dengue fever and control the mosquito population by using a similar method, but with some slight differences. The Florida Keys is using the The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), which can be best described as birth control for insects. These Genetically modified mosquitoes are born infertile. They release the infertile male mosquitoes into the wild and the males will compete with the wild males to mate. The hope is that the infertile male mosquitoes will kill the wild male mosquitoes and mate with the female mosquitoes and they won't be able to reproduce.
However many ecologist agree that if we were to kill of the mosquito, that it would not be missed. Many have looked at the environmental impact of killing of the mosquito, because as many might think, killing off entire species could cause some significant damage to the environment. But the mosquito has been shown to only have little impact if it were to disappear. Bird and bats hardly rely on the mosquito as prey, as shown that only 2% of a bat's diet consist of mosquito. And the pollination that many insects contribute in, if the mosquito were to disappear, then something else will step up to the task.
Who knows if getting rid of the mosquito will not be damaging, but controlling it won't be.
Sources and More info
http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-04-25/brazilians-welcome-genetically-modified-mosquito-help-fight-dengue-fever
http://keysmosquito.org/modified-mosquito-release/
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100721/full/466432a.html
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Down with the Ship
The ship's hull breached. Water pouring in and the crew struggles to keep the water out. Passengers are taking life rafts, life savers, and any thing that can help them keep afloat in the ocean. And the captain stays at the helm trying to keep the ship stable and make sure every one gets out alive, and no matter what happens to him or the ship, he goes down with the ship. Well, that's how it should be.
On April 16th, a South Korean ferry sank and has left at least 29 dead and hundreds of others missing. The captain however left the ship on a rescue boat, while hundreds of other passengers on board were still left. The captain left a junior officer in charge who had one year of expedience to take control of the wheel. Since the accident of the 475 on board only 179 have been rescued, many of the passengers were high school students. And the former captain has been arrested for his actions by the police. The captain will have a hard time wining the respect of his peers. There are codes that should be never be broken and the captain going down with the ship is one of them.
After seeing the story that happened in South Korea, I remembered the cruise ship that sank off the coast of Italy, back in January 13th of 2012. And a similar thing happened, the captain of the ship abandoned it while it went down. The captain was arrested and put on trial for 32 charges of manslaughter, for leaving his sinking vessel while others were on board.
But what has happened to the captain going down with the ship. Captain Edward Smith, the captain of the most famous ship disaster in history, over 100 years ago, went down with the RMS Titanic. And because of his honor and loyalty to the ship, he has gone down into history, and even has his own statue made in his honor because of his actions.
I just find it weird that the most recent ship disasters, that the captain has broke his code to look out for himself.
Patriotism
Americans have received the stereotype of begin very patriotic compared to any other nationality. Patriotism is seen in our culture almost every day, commercials, at sporting events, schools, and almost any public place. There is nothing wrong with patriotism, but why is it that the United States seems to have higher amounts of patriotism compared to other countries around the world.
Patriotism is being proud of ones country and proud of being citizen, and that is clear to see in the United States that feeling is widespread. When Comparing the United States, to lets say France, it can be said that United States overall celebrates its nationality more than France. Nations can be united by many things like common, ethnicity, religion, language, history, and ideals, and looking at that list the United States at most has history and ideals, down, while a country like France has more on that list. The United States has many different races, religions, and languages mixed into it, it would be impossible to unite under these banners. There is no official language in the United States, even would like there to be. Many Americans can get behind a common history of immigrating to the States and believing in freedom and democracy. But if you look at France they have more things to unite under. Most French citizens have had that citizenship passed down from their parents, who had it passed down from their parents and so on. For many years France has followed the Catholic church and French, to no surprise it the official language of France.
Since many Americans can't unite under race, language, or religion, that leaves national pride and patriotism is the force to unite under. There is no American ethnicity, all Americans can trace their ancestry from a different nation, whether it be American Indian tribe, from Europe, Asia, or Africa, they all come some other nation. Comparing it to France, most French can trace their ancestry to France and at most Europe as a whole.
Another thing I have noticed when it comes to national pride in the United States is the act of becoming a citizen. Becoming an American citizen is in my opinion a highly celebrated act, parties are held, tears are shed, and they want to share that they are now a citizen of the United States of America. My Grandmother became a citizen years ago and when she was done, she cried because now she was a citizen.
Americans' national pride is the one thing that keeps the nation together, and it doesn't matter if your part black, white, or Asian, you are full American.
Patriotism is being proud of ones country and proud of being citizen, and that is clear to see in the United States that feeling is widespread. When Comparing the United States, to lets say France, it can be said that United States overall celebrates its nationality more than France. Nations can be united by many things like common, ethnicity, religion, language, history, and ideals, and looking at that list the United States at most has history and ideals, down, while a country like France has more on that list. The United States has many different races, religions, and languages mixed into it, it would be impossible to unite under these banners. There is no official language in the United States, even would like there to be. Many Americans can get behind a common history of immigrating to the States and believing in freedom and democracy. But if you look at France they have more things to unite under. Most French citizens have had that citizenship passed down from their parents, who had it passed down from their parents and so on. For many years France has followed the Catholic church and French, to no surprise it the official language of France.
Since many Americans can't unite under race, language, or religion, that leaves national pride and patriotism is the force to unite under. There is no American ethnicity, all Americans can trace their ancestry from a different nation, whether it be American Indian tribe, from Europe, Asia, or Africa, they all come some other nation. Comparing it to France, most French can trace their ancestry to France and at most Europe as a whole.
Another thing I have noticed when it comes to national pride in the United States is the act of becoming a citizen. Becoming an American citizen is in my opinion a highly celebrated act, parties are held, tears are shed, and they want to share that they are now a citizen of the United States of America. My Grandmother became a citizen years ago and when she was done, she cried because now she was a citizen.
Americans' national pride is the one thing that keeps the nation together, and it doesn't matter if your part black, white, or Asian, you are full American.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Putin denying Spying on their Citiznes
Edward Snowden leaked information about the United States' intelligence agency in June of 2013 and reveled that the NSA collects data on all Americans. Snowden fled the United States and went to seek asylum in a different country, one option was Venezuela, but Snowden got trapped in the Moscow airport when he was switching planes and the United States revoked his passport. Since then he has been granted one year of temporary asylum in Russia, but it is not the ideal place for a whistle blower to be staying at.
Russia, under Vladimir Putin, president of Russia and his administration are notorious for using internet and telephone networks to spy on their own citizens.
Every year Putin holds a call-in meeting with, where the nation gets to ask the president of Russia their questions. The meeting happened this year on the 17th of April and a special guest popped up to ask the president a question. Edward Snowden called in to ask Putin if the Russian government collects the communication data of its citizens, like the United States does. Putin quickly dined the accusation, by saying that their special services are restricted by law and that Russia does not have to money to conduct these operations, like the United States does.
These statements are not true, as pointed out by Andrei Soldatov, a investigative journalist and an expert on Russia's security services. According to Soldatov, Russia has had a program like PRISM, since 1995, called SORM. Putin said that the FSB, the successor to the KGB, needs a warrant from the court in order to preform surveillance, but the warrants don't need to be shown and internet and phone providers can not view the warrants.
Putin does a very good job of keeping up his persona of a cold and cut throat man, but he is not the best at hiding the things his government does when asked the tough questions.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/edward-snowden-asks-vladimir-putin-about-russian-spying-on-its-citizens/2014/04/17/bdbdcbdc-c62b-11e3-9f37-7ce307c56815_story.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/04/17/putin-told-edward-snowden-that-russia-doesnt-use-mass-surveillance-on-its-citizens-heres-a-reality-check/
Russia, under Vladimir Putin, president of Russia and his administration are notorious for using internet and telephone networks to spy on their own citizens.
Every year Putin holds a call-in meeting with, where the nation gets to ask the president of Russia their questions. The meeting happened this year on the 17th of April and a special guest popped up to ask the president a question. Edward Snowden called in to ask Putin if the Russian government collects the communication data of its citizens, like the United States does. Putin quickly dined the accusation, by saying that their special services are restricted by law and that Russia does not have to money to conduct these operations, like the United States does.
These statements are not true, as pointed out by Andrei Soldatov, a investigative journalist and an expert on Russia's security services. According to Soldatov, Russia has had a program like PRISM, since 1995, called SORM. Putin said that the FSB, the successor to the KGB, needs a warrant from the court in order to preform surveillance, but the warrants don't need to be shown and internet and phone providers can not view the warrants.
Putin does a very good job of keeping up his persona of a cold and cut throat man, but he is not the best at hiding the things his government does when asked the tough questions.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/edward-snowden-asks-vladimir-putin-about-russian-spying-on-its-citizens/2014/04/17/bdbdcbdc-c62b-11e3-9f37-7ce307c56815_story.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/04/17/putin-told-edward-snowden-that-russia-doesnt-use-mass-surveillance-on-its-citizens-heres-a-reality-check/
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Vaccines
Do to medical advances we have been able to wipe entire diseases like small pox and soon enough polio. But because of misinformation across the world it becomes hard to wipe out these dangerous diseases. This misinformation is from ignorance to learn what the vaccines do. From groups that believe that vaccines cause other disabilities, like autism, or that people believe that the vaccines would taint them. Many groups in the world believe we should not use vaccines, from small villages in India to even celebrities like Jenny McCarthy here in the United States. Because of people spreading misinformation like Jenny McCarthy or people not educated about vaccines. Many countries across the world require that school children are vaccinated before enrolling into the school. Vaccinate young so that it can be stopped sooner and to stop of what ever disease it is.
Recently in Western Canada has been facing an outbreak of measles, which is a illness that can be prevented by getting a vaccination. The school board has asked more than 100 students and a few teachers to stay home because they have not received the measles shot. Because they have not received the measles vaccine they are very vulnerable to catching measles. If everyone was vaccinated there wouldn't need to worry about people catching an easily avoidable illness.
Making sure the world is vaccinated to preventable diseases is goal that should be easy to achieve. Children who are vaccinated have a 90% to 100% chance of acquiring immunity to the disease. The measles vaccine was listened in 1962 and since then the number of cases in the United States has dropped from 400,000 cases a year in 1962 to below one thousand in 2007.
Polio has almost been eradicated in the world do to the hard work of many organizations informing people and providing help like the WHO (World Health Organization). And we need to continue to this effort to on many other diseases so that they can go the way of smallpox and no longer be a threat to humanity.
Jenny McCarthy on Vaccines
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/03/17/3414061/vaccine-truthers-autism/
Vaccination Policy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccination_policy
Measles in Canada
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/04/07/measles-calgary_n_5094004.html?1396889949
Vaccines
http://www.vaccines.gov/basics/effectiveness/
Recently in Western Canada has been facing an outbreak of measles, which is a illness that can be prevented by getting a vaccination. The school board has asked more than 100 students and a few teachers to stay home because they have not received the measles shot. Because they have not received the measles vaccine they are very vulnerable to catching measles. If everyone was vaccinated there wouldn't need to worry about people catching an easily avoidable illness.
Making sure the world is vaccinated to preventable diseases is goal that should be easy to achieve. Children who are vaccinated have a 90% to 100% chance of acquiring immunity to the disease. The measles vaccine was listened in 1962 and since then the number of cases in the United States has dropped from 400,000 cases a year in 1962 to below one thousand in 2007.
Polio has almost been eradicated in the world do to the hard work of many organizations informing people and providing help like the WHO (World Health Organization). And we need to continue to this effort to on many other diseases so that they can go the way of smallpox and no longer be a threat to humanity.
Jenny McCarthy on Vaccines
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/03/17/3414061/vaccine-truthers-autism/
Vaccination Policy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccination_policy
Measles in Canada
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/04/07/measles-calgary_n_5094004.html?1396889949
Vaccines
http://www.vaccines.gov/basics/effectiveness/
Who are the Bad Guys?
When watching action movies or playing a video game with its setting in modern times there needs to be a bad guy for our heroes to compete with. An American movie or video game set in the Second World War will have our heroes facing the Nazis and Imperial Japan. Move into the cold war and the arch villain of the hero will be the Soviet Union. Now in post-9-11 America the primary enemies in movies and games are terrorist organizations. But are these movies and games reflective of who are actually are enemies or do they just re enforce that idea.
It is not a question that Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, the Soviet Union, and terrorists organizations were and are enemies to the United States. The Soviet Union and Russians in general have been used in numerous games, movies, and books as the arch enemy of the United States even after the fall of the Soviet Union. Most military video games today use Russia as the counter to the United States. Many might see Russia as the bad guy today, especially with the chaos happening in Ukraine. But entertainment has been using Russia as the villain years before this event. I have personally don't see the United States and Russia going to war, but because of the movies and games I have experienced that take place in our modern world, I can't imagine any other generic bad guy to use.
There is another generic bad guy that is rising, China. If the Russia is used in a game or movie as the villain, the next candidate is China. Tensions between China and the United States have had some strong tensions in the past and in recent times, but act more like competitors then arch enemies. Many are fascinated by China's large army and aggressive attitude toward their neighbors and outside influence from the internet and it makes them easy to paint as the main aggressor staring the United States in a game or movie.
The last main enemy of our nation that many movies or games use are terrorists organizations. The heroes of the story fight these groups all across the globe and try to stop the spread of fear in the world. These groups will be found in some developing nation that most people don't know where they are on the map.
Looking at the generic video game and movie bad guys of one nations entertainment, it is interesting, and you can see what a majority of a population sees as our "enemies" and what they might be in the future.
It is not a question that Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, the Soviet Union, and terrorists organizations were and are enemies to the United States. The Soviet Union and Russians in general have been used in numerous games, movies, and books as the arch enemy of the United States even after the fall of the Soviet Union. Most military video games today use Russia as the counter to the United States. Many might see Russia as the bad guy today, especially with the chaos happening in Ukraine. But entertainment has been using Russia as the villain years before this event. I have personally don't see the United States and Russia going to war, but because of the movies and games I have experienced that take place in our modern world, I can't imagine any other generic bad guy to use.
There is another generic bad guy that is rising, China. If the Russia is used in a game or movie as the villain, the next candidate is China. Tensions between China and the United States have had some strong tensions in the past and in recent times, but act more like competitors then arch enemies. Many are fascinated by China's large army and aggressive attitude toward their neighbors and outside influence from the internet and it makes them easy to paint as the main aggressor staring the United States in a game or movie.
The last main enemy of our nation that many movies or games use are terrorists organizations. The heroes of the story fight these groups all across the globe and try to stop the spread of fear in the world. These groups will be found in some developing nation that most people don't know where they are on the map.
Looking at the generic video game and movie bad guys of one nations entertainment, it is interesting, and you can see what a majority of a population sees as our "enemies" and what they might be in the future.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Overlooked News
Following the news is how people keep up with current events happening in our local community, in the country and around the world. But a lot news tends to get overlooked by the media here in the US if it doesn't concern the country directly. Last year the Syrian Civil War was a hot topic in the US, because of the possibility of chemical weapons being used and the news outlets in the US were constantly reporting on it. Stories from witness and the UN investigators. When the investigators were done, most of the news outlets switched to other hot topics and would barely mention the civil war happening in Syria, which still is going on to this day. Another example is Ukraine and Thailand. For the past couple months the world has been watching if Russia and Ukraine will exchange blows over the Russian occupation of Crimea, but at the same time the nation of Thailand is split between those who want to expel the current prime minster and those who want to hold and election instead. Most know of the situation in Ukraine, but it seems the news here has covered very little on the situation in Thailand. News outlets like CNN right now are hopping all over the report about the missing Malaysian airplane, but what about the various civil wars happening around the world.
I'm not saying that we need to be constantly getting news everyday about the civil war in Syria, or cover every corner of the world in popular news, because that would be very hard task to accomplish. But it does seem that the news tends to jump all over one subject while, also important issues get ignored. There is also an effect if you only have a few sources of news. After the chemical weapons issue in Syria disappeared from the news, and no major news outlet continued reporting, it felt as if the war in Syria was over.
Important events are always happening around the world and since we are not there it has little relevance to us.
Important events are always happening around the world and since we are not there it has little relevance to us.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Maintenance to Live
Living in 21st century United States of America costs a lot of money to maintain an decent life. Most people would agree to live comfortably you need food, water, shelter, clothes and some other basic hygiene products, but now to live to most peoples standard of being comfortable you will need much more. Getting running water is essential to most Americans, but since the 20th century electricity has also entered the mix. Most of us would not be able to live with out electricity in our homes and has become another thing we must pay for in order live well.
Most American houses will have 2 big ticket items that are considered essential. First is the home, this is undisputed, and any one is okay with paying monthly rent or payment till it is payed off in order to have shelter. The second is the car. Most American homes will at least have one car, that they use to get work, school, or just to go out. We pay for our cars monthly too, but on top of that we have gas to worry about.
Products and goods have also entered in our sphere of items we need in order to live comfortably. Many Americas own a TV to watch shows and the news and many would consider it an essential item in the home. You could just keep the basic 2,7,9 channels but that is not the way to live. You need more channels, the sport channels, the dramas, the reality TV, and now this adds up to what we need to live our definition of well. Computers have also entered the scene, as most Americans need them to work, for school or to entertain themselves. Having no internet or TV means being disconnected to what is going on in the news and what is popular, so we are willing to pay for these monthly in order live well.
We pay for many physical things in order live comfortable, but there is also the things we pay for monthly for things that are not right in front of us. We pay for insurance on many things. We insure our homes and cars, just in case something bad were to happen to them, even though we don't if any thing were to happen to them, but we still protect them. We have to pay for life insurance, to help our families if we die.
As time as gone on, we need to spend more money in order to live what is considered well and comfortable in America. And who knows what other things we will pay for in the future in order to live well, that will add to our maintenance to live.
Uniting Korea
For over 50 years Korea has been divided and the North and South are drastically different politically, socially, and to some degree culturally. South Korea is highly advanced compared to North Korea and the standard of living in the south is incredibly high when compared to the north. For many they would like to see these two nations come together and finally end the reign of North Korea's crazy dictatorship. But reuniting these two nations will be a very difficult to do.
First off if the two come together, who becomes the leader, most people in the international community would agree that South Korea's government would become the nation's leader, but these would not go over well for the current leaders in North Korea and to much of the international community and South Korea, having North Korea's government take control of a united Korea is unacceptable. Having a combined leadership would also cause problems, because both sides would clash consistently.
On top of choosing who leads the new united nation, there is the problem of what to do with a more important issue, what about the people. South Korea is highly advanced, the people are fed well and make more money, while in North Korea the people are improvised and starving. A goal of uniting Korea, would be getting the north to the standard of living of the south. These would be an insanely hard and long process to get the north up to the south's standard. Another problem would be that the people in North Korea do not have the same skills that the people of South Korea would have. The newly integrated North Koreans would have a difficulty of finding jobs and would end up finding cheap work, while South Koreans would be on the top and could create a social divide among North and South Koreans.
There are many other problems that come at when considering a united Korea. A united Korea may be difficult to achieve, but not impossible. Not long ago Germany was divided between east and west and when they united they faced similar problems, but now they have one of the strongest economies in the world, all it takes is determined people in charge to have the two become one again.
First off if the two come together, who becomes the leader, most people in the international community would agree that South Korea's government would become the nation's leader, but these would not go over well for the current leaders in North Korea and to much of the international community and South Korea, having North Korea's government take control of a united Korea is unacceptable. Having a combined leadership would also cause problems, because both sides would clash consistently.
On top of choosing who leads the new united nation, there is the problem of what to do with a more important issue, what about the people. South Korea is highly advanced, the people are fed well and make more money, while in North Korea the people are improvised and starving. A goal of uniting Korea, would be getting the north to the standard of living of the south. These would be an insanely hard and long process to get the north up to the south's standard. Another problem would be that the people in North Korea do not have the same skills that the people of South Korea would have. The newly integrated North Koreans would have a difficulty of finding jobs and would end up finding cheap work, while South Koreans would be on the top and could create a social divide among North and South Koreans.
There are many other problems that come at when considering a united Korea. A united Korea may be difficult to achieve, but not impossible. Not long ago Germany was divided between east and west and when they united they faced similar problems, but now they have one of the strongest economies in the world, all it takes is determined people in charge to have the two become one again.
International Laws don't Matter
If look you look at the news, you will see many people say that the Russia's actions in Crimea are breaching international law. The US and tons of other counties have also been accused of breaching international laws. But if all of these nations break these laws, and there is little to no punishment for breaking them, then what is the point of having them in place.
There is no authority that can enforce these laws on of the nations of the world. Even in warfare there is no one authority that can enforce the laws of war the Geneva Convention. People can call out the actions of governments all they want, but the governments or people in the government will not be punished until the most powerful nations step in and punish them. But the most powerful nations can not act as the authority of international law either.
If the most power or influence nations in the world were the head authority of international law, they could exempt them selves from having to follow international laws. These can be seen by how nations follow the Geneva Convention. It has been in war, what ever nations that wins does not have answer to the war crimes they had committed during the war, while the loser of the war has face trials. A great example is the Second World War. Both the Allied and Axis powers committed war crimes and atrocities during the intense fight, but Axis powers, mostly Germany had to answer to the crimes they had committed, while the United States and the Soviet Union, who also committed war crimes, did not have to answer to war crimes, because to many they were seen as the good guys and what they did was justifiable.
So if no one can enforce international law and people are willing break them many times for their advantage, then do they actually matter. The UN or any other international organization can set up an authority that will look over these laws and try governments that break them, but will they be able to enforce them. For some people might equals right, and they won't listen to people that have less firepower then, because they are not a threat.
The only easy fix is that when it comes to international law is that people in governments are are more loyal to the law then they are to their own nation.
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