China Essay Question 12-2-11

Though China has done some horrific things in the past, such as kill its own people in the Tiananmen Square Massacre, the fact that China exports so many things, as well as buys many products from the U.S., makes the statement, “U.S. relations with China is a necessary evil,” very true.
    In the video of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, it explains that the Communist party took control of China, at first making the economy boom, though limiting political freedom. When a small group of people put up signs demanding Democracy, they were jailed, which made the rules of government rule very clear for all. A few years afterwards, a group of students gathered in Tiananmen Square and demanded Democracy. The movement grew so large, that the government had soldiers and tanks shoot their way into the square, killing hundreds at least in the process.
    While this was a horrible act, and a terrible decision by the government of China, the U.S. still retained its link with China, though it was almost destroyed. There are many reasons for this, and most of them are completely logical. Because China is a member of the WTO (World Trade Organization), it has a major part in the trade of the modern world. If the U.S. were to somehow anger the government of China, they might become angry and break their ties with the WTO, and since China has a population of 1.3 billion people, the most populated country in the world, this would be a huge loss for the WTO, and it would operate less efficiently..
    At the same time, since China has such a large population, it is expected that it would have a large military force as well, in fact, it is the largest standing military force in the world. If the U.S. were to turn against China in some way, it is possible that war would break out amongst the two. With such a large military on both sides, it would be expected that such a war would cause not only major physical damage to both countries, but also many, many human casualties. And not just for China and the U.S., since other countries would most likely take sides in the war, even more destruction would come from it.
    Overall, the U.S. relation with China may not be supported by all, some of both Chinese and Americans reject the relationship between the two countries, but with it’s large population and standing as a world power, China’s relation with the U.S. still stands, and it shows no signs of breaking in the near future.

India's Caste System

The caste, or class, system in India, is the organization of people via their class, that is, their standing in society based on how much money they have and how they are born. The people who are on or near the top of the, metaphorical, social pyramid are the Brahmins, who are priests and academics, and the Kshatriyas, who are the soldiers and military of the country. Down lower on the pyramid are the Vaisyas, made up of the business community, and the Kshudras, who are the working class, or servants. Then, below the pyramid are the Dalits, or the Untouchables. They are the lowest class of the system and never move up the scale. They do all of the dirty work, such as disposing of dead bodies. The justification for this discrimination by the Brahmins? The caste system has always been in place, and many believe that God has made the Dalits what they are, and they cannot be changed. This goes for the other classes as well, a servant cannot become more than a servant, no matter what. The truly terrifying part is, some Dalits were brought up with these laws, and so they say things like, "I will corrupt them," as if that were part of normal life.

Middle East Film #2 Question

What sources of tension, new and old, in the Middle East are revealed by the film?

    Oil is a source of tension, and has been for a while. Lack of or too much US intervention is also a source of tension. Protesting is a cause, as people want economic and political reform in many countries, and many police forces react to these protests with violence. In countries like Bahrain, involvement of Middle Eastern countries in the affairs of other Middle Eastern countries is another source of tension.

Middle East Film Question

What sources of tension, new and old, in the Middle East are revealed by the film?


There are many sources of tension in the Middle East. Oil is a prime example of a source of tension. Another source of tension is religion. Imbalance of money and wealth is another example. They are also fighting over water, since that is rare in the Middle East. Yet another source of tension is rebellion of the people. Hate and alliance of the United States is another source of conflict. The sale of oil, not just the resource itself, is also a source of conflict, mainly around Libya. The productions of oil is also a source of conflict. I think that we should be intervening in the Libya conflict because Gaddafi has been too rough on the people, and his reign has gone on far too long. He won’t step down, and so the US must intervene in order to bring him down.

Comparing Three Major Religions

There are many causes of the Palestine/Israel conflict. One is the dispute of the city of Jerusalem, which is a holy site to both groups. For Israel, it is where Issac offered his son to God, and for Islam, it is where Muhammad rose to heaven. Another cause of the conflict is the debate over land. Israel is a large country, and it wants to expand it's land into Palestinian territory. Obviously, Palestine doesn't want this, and not only that, but it is also a small country (if you can call it that), and so wants more land form Israel. The last major source of conflict is the US support of Israel. The United States has supported Israel for a while, but since Palestine effectively hates Israel, that hate transfers over to the US as well.

I think that Jerusalem should be divided evenly between the two countries because it would seem unfair to give it to just one religious group.

"Why do they hate us?" Reading 3 questions. 9-20-11

1. What does it mean to be, 'politically correct'? I could find the answer by looking it up.

2. Most Muslims hate our support of Israel and other countries in Africa and the Middle East, like Egypt and Pakistan. If I needed more information, I could find it on a website.

3. Acknowledging that US policies are the cause of terrorist attacks would be bad because then, people who before allied with the US, might then see, think, and act otherwise.

4. There's been no progress on the Israeli and Palestinian agreement because there is a site that has religious significance to both Jewish and Muslims. If I needed more information, I could look it up.

5. The people of Gaza are suffering because the Israeli control where they live, and they loom over the people, both physically and economically. If I needed more information, I could look it up.

http://www.ikeepbookmarks.com/browse.asp?account=553230

"Why do they hate us?" Reading 2 questions. 9-15-11

1. My question is, why do Muslims hate Jewish people so much? I could find the answer by looking it up on the internet.

2. I think that President Bush was correct on his statements, considering that Osama has said that he doesn't care who he kills, as long as they are American. These people would want to overthrow governments and drive out Israel because of religious reasons, and because they don't believe in the government systems used by these countries. If I didn't know, I'd go look it up on the internet.

3. Osama's remarks about the US are still true, at least to a point. We still are allied with Israel and Saudi Arabia, and we still have some troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

4. According to Wright, young Arab men find martyrdom so attractive because the country they live in is policed, there's nothing to do, and there are no jobs. Therefor, this gives them an opportunity to do something that they think is useful with their lives.

5. Polls show that most people disapprove of Al Qaeda's methods. They disapprove because most people just don't like the slaughter of innocent civilians.

"Why do they hate us?" Reading 1 questions. 9-14-11

1. I have no questions about the reading. If I had any, they could be answered by finding the video of the conference and watching it.

2. Obama's answer is that Al Qaeda wishes to destroy Americans because they simply have a vision of death. Brennan's answer is very unclear, as he seems to almost avoid answering the question.

3. Thomas didn't like Brennan's answer because it was very vague and didn't answer her question very well. I don't think she'd like Obama's answer because while he does answer ti slightly better than Brennan, he still is quite vague about the answer.

4. Greenwald thinks it's important to know about motives because if we know the motive, and we think that the motive isn't a good one, then we can thereby detest the terrorist actions further. I agree because I hate terrorist acts just as much as anyone, and I want to understand their motives.

5. I would answer Thomas' question by saying that these people commit these acts against us because they don't agree with our American ideals. Not only this, but they also dislike our presence in parts of the Middle East. This, combined with other factors such as religion and our alliance with Israel, is why these people want to kill Americans. If I wanted more reliable information, I could go to a government website about terrorism to find out more.


Bookmarks Link: http://www.ikeepbookmarks.com/browse.asp?account=553230