Why Happy People are Voting for Angry Parties

In this article from The Economist, there is a conclusion drawn that there is a connection between the happiness of the people on a given democracy and how they vote in local elections. They call this the satisfaction paradox; which means that happiness matters because it influences whether politicians are elected or not. There was a study done at Massachusetts Institute of Technology by George Ward that confirmed there is a "political significance of happiness"; his findings state that people with satisfying lives were more likely to vote for the incumbent than those who were less or not at all satisfied with their lives. In the end, the author suggests that happiness plays a key role in the politician's proximate goal of reelection.

Chloe Hart

https://www.economist.com/international/2019/07/11/why-are-happy-people-voting-for-angry-parties

It'll take superpowers to unseat Boris Johnson. This comic book fan says he's got them

Ali Milani is a 25 year old member of the labor party in London. He was born in Iran and has been living in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency since he was five. He is also the front runner for the next election for the spot in parliament, which also happens to be prime minster Borris Johnson’s spot. An election is speculated to take place before the end of the year and this would be the first time ever that a prime ministers spot has been taken. Experts are saying that this is likely though. As the area is gaining more and more youth voters, the tide is going from right to left. Milani believes that he is the perfect candidate for the spot, as he has lived there is whole life, while Johnson has barley set foot in the district. This will be an exciting election to keep an eye on, and if Milani wins it will shape British politics for the future to come.

-Michael Gargano

https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/08/30/europe/ali-milani-boris-johnson-uxbridge-gbr-intl/index.html

President Trump Tweets Sensitive Surveillance Image of Iran

President Trump Tweets Sensitive Surveillance Image of Iran

On August 30th, President Trump tweeted a picture involving an Iranian space launch site catastrophe. This image, however, is incredibly detailed. Much more detailed than could come from a commercial satellite. This has caused people to speculate that it was taken by a classified drone or satellite. In tweeting this high-resolution image, President Trump is, sort of, flexing his muscles to other foreign powers and showing them what we can see them do.

https://www.npr.org/2019/08/30/755994591/president-trump-tweets-sensitive-surveillance-image-of-iran

Griff Inskeep

Pakistan Brought to a Standstill for 'Kashmir hour' demonstrations - Alex Eberhardt

The article mentioned was writing by Jennifer Hauser and Bianca Britton for CNN.

Pakistan, on Augsust 30th around 12:00PM (their time) had a nationwide standstill for the people of Kashmir. The Pakistani's were trying to show their support for the disputed stated of Kashmir. Many Pakistani officials saying they stood with Indian Occupied Kashmir while calling the Indian government fascist and calling the occupation a war crime under the Geneva convention. 

In my opinion, this is just another tactic in the nearly 70 year long on-and-off war over Kashmir between India and Pakistan.  The conflict in Kashmir has largely been due to a clash between the people and government in old Kashmir. Kashmir had a hindu leader but a majority muslim people. Because of the muslim population, Pakistan said they had claim to the region but the government of Kashmir at the time wanted to stay neutral in the conflict. There have been 4 indo-pakistani wars over the territory. The Indian portion of the area has been particularly violent. The Indian government sent troops into the area to try and physically take it over which led to a large loss in life of unarmed Kashmir civilians. 

India recently changed the status of their portion of Kashmir to no longer be an autonomous state. It historically was completely in charge of itself except when it came to defense and foreign affairs. The Kashmir people overall were not supportive of this decision. Protesting and violence occured, including the bombing of an indian troop transport that killed over 30 indian soldiers. 

China does control around 15% of the region. China as decided to, essentially, be neutral in the conflict. Pakistan was asking China for military support however China refused. China's official statement to Pakistan was essentially telling them to resolve the conflict peacefully. 

By Alex Eberhardt

Bolsonaro bans use of fire for clearing fires in Amazon for 60 days

The President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has banned the use of fire to clear the Amazon Rain Forest. He did this after scientists told him that the fires could be devastating to the fight against climate change. The Amazon Rain Forest is the largest forest in the world and it would be awful for the environment to burn it down for farmland. The forest creates "almost 20% of the world's oxygen" and it puts a lot of water into the atmosphere. However, Bolsonaro doesn't want any of the blame for the fires even though "he is known to be a pro-business president." To aid with the fire, he has "sent 43,000 troops to combat it" which will hopefully help bring the burn to a halt.

Ben Williams
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/29/americas/brazil-amazon-bolsonaro-fire-ban-intl/index.html

China hiding oil tankers

China's supertankers have been deactivating the tracker. Noticed in June, this trend appears to have been happening for some time now. Similar to what we have studied in this class, the International Maritime Organisation [sic] (IMO) doesn't have real power to police this problem. With no leverage, this is a case of anarchy. This whole ordeal is important because of trade sanctions. The President's administration is trying to find out more as this apparent trade goes against our sanctions with Tehran.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/29/why-is-china-hiding-its-oil-tankers-from-us-trackers

jackson frank

Chinese military's rotation to Hong Kong raises alarm

https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/29/asia/hong-kong-pla-china-intl-hnk/index.html
Allison Gammons

The Chinese military rotated a new group of troops to Hong Kong. Amid protests, this rotation caused concern, but China claims that it was normal and the troops would continue to "safeguard Hong Kong's prosperity." China hopes a buildup of military forces will show that they are in control. The troops in Hong Kong are available to assist the city in maintaining public order, but they are yet to be called upon.

Lebanon president describes Israel drone attack as a declaration of war

Last Sunday night, Israeli forces attacked in the Bekaa region on the Syrian-Lebanese border.
The incident happened hours after Syria's air defence intercepted Israeli "hostile targets" in the Damascus sky. The Israeli Army confirmed that the attack was carried out by its Air Force, which bombarded several Iranian targets on Syrian territory. In response, Iranian presidential spokesman Ali Rabiei said that "Israel will pay a high price for its actions" and that "its blatant acts of aggression will not go unanswered.
A powerful bloc in the Iraqi parliament also responded to the recent escalation of Israeli aggression after a series of air strikes last week by Tel Aviv against Shiite militias allied with Iran.

José Luis Villarreal

Zoo trade in baby elephants banned internationally - Cortney Ferretti

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Zoo trade in baby elephants banned internationally - BBC News

This past Tuesday, a near-total ban was placed on the trade of baby African elephants taken from the wild and sold to zoos. The European Union backed up the ban, however, Zimbabwe and the United States voted against the protection of the baby elephants.  In 2012, over 100 baby elephants were exported to Chinese zoos. After this near-total ban, these animals can only be taken from the wild for placement in “captive facilities” or exceptional circumstances. This ban does not eliminate every elephant from being captured and sold, but it helps prevent mass amounts of elephant exports.

The Humane Society International referred to this ban as a “momentous win”. While elephants are known to be highly sociable animals, this will eliminate many traumatizing instances of separation. During the convention, some African nations pushed for the re-opening of the ivory trade. Their reasoning behind this was to sell existing stock from the confiscated poachers or already-dead animals. Claims were made that the money from the currently stocked ivory could be used for conservation.  The re-opening of ivory trade concerns me because I believe it would open more space for illegal activity. People could kill elephants and claim that it was already in stock. 

Overall, I think the near-total ban of trading baby elephants is a step in the right direction. The elephant population needs to be conserved and respected. While this ban may hurt certain economies, I think the lives of elephants should be respected in a humane way. 

Devastating Fires in the Amazon Rainforest

The world's largest rainforest has been on fire for weeks now, and the United Nations have provided minimal amounts of money to try and stop these fires from continuing. The country's president, Blair Bolsonsaro, appears to not care very much about the devastating fires around him or the effects this fire is having on the people of Brazil. The smoke is causing the airports to be shut down because of poor visibility, civilians have to worry about respiratory and other health problems, and many species of animals are in harms way because of these fires. The Amazon rainforest provides the entire world with 20% of its oxygen, so leaving the fire to burn is going to be detrimental to our own species on top of many others who depend on oxygen to live. This story has caused a large stir in society, as people around the world are shocked that these fires continue to burn down the forestry areas and yet the president of Brazil seems to have better things to do on his agenda. To try and combat the negative comments that have been fluttering around about the president, he sent in 44,000 troops to try and tackle the fires but to so many it seemed far too late. Bolsonaro was in fact a contributor to the increase in fires over this past year, as he had workers cutting down trees and replacing the area with farms, ranches, etc. A man named, Antonio de Jesus, spoke out and said, "Nature shouldn't be killed off like that." I strongly agree that this story is saddening and heartbreaking. Many of the nature lovers around the world know the consequences that these fires are going to bring upon our environment. Although seemingly uncontrollable, I hope to see a magical turn around with these fires before our rainforest no longer exists. 



https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/brazils-bolsonaro-global-outrage-amazon-fires-65188537?cid=clicksource_76_null_headlines_hed
By: Nicole Bellino

Japan and South Korea Continue To Disagree As Tensions Rise

Having disputes between Japan and South Korea is not atypical, as a result from past mistreatment of South Korea’s people. Recently, Japan has imposed restrictions on exporting specific materials to South Korea. These chemical materials are necessary for crafting modern electronics, such as smart phone displays. Without being able to get these chemical exports from Japan, who South Korea has been dependent on for the exportation, it is predicted that the production of these electronic products will decrease unless a compromise is met. These restrictions state that exporters must have licenses to sell to South Korea, specifically in the case of these chemicals. It is not entirely known why Japan has decided to do this, but it may be a result from tensions faced in the past. Abe claims that it is due to carelessness of South Korea, but this can be a coverup for a hidden motive. So far, other international powers have not acknowledged what is happening in South Korea and Japan, or have taken sides on the issue.

Katherine Staniszewski

http://shingetsunewsagency.com/2019/07/26/the-world-leaves-japan-and-south-korea-to-slug-it-out/

US and Venezuela confirm 'secret' talks

      Last Tuesday, President Trump confirmed he has been communicating with representative's within the Maduro administration in Venezuela. Later that day, Maduro also confirmed the communication between the two regimes saying that for months there have been secret exchanges with the goal of normalizing the dispute with the United States.
      The unrest in Venezuela has been caused by catastrophic hyperinflation which has led to a quarter of its people in need of some type of aid. Millions are fleeing the country which has led to political unrest. The main political conflict was ignited in January when President Nicolas Maduro was controversially elected to a second term. Shortly after, Juan Guaido, leader of Venezuela's National Assembly, proclaimed himself acting president. Guaido is backed by the United States and over 50 other countries whereas Maduro is backed by China, Russia, and other socialist-minded countries.
      Venezuela's current state is an opportunity for global powers to assert themselves and their ideologies upon a state struggling to keep its head above water. Russia, China, and the like see this as a potential ally geographically close to United States borders. That is why democratic countries are pushing for Maduro to step down because the U.S and several others don't want the players on the other team to gain more power and thresholds that could possibly give them a better political hand.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/venezuela-confirm-secret-talks-190821053816849.html

Trump says Russia should be readmitted to G7

Donald Trump said that he would favorably react if  Russia readmitted to the G7 summit.
Russia was expelled from the G8 after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Therefore, this statement could split the G7 into two parts, despite the fact that this is an informal as
sociation that no longer plays the same role as it did a few years ago.

• Trump's statement looks logical against the background of his common policy in Europe: he supports Britain’s exit from the EU, opposes the creation of a united European army etc. 

• Germany did not support this statement; nevertheless, Germany connects Nord Stream-2 with Russia, which Germany stubbornly continues to call a non-political project. 

• Great Britain did not support either, in their opinion, the Russian Federation used chemical weapons on their territory, the new Prime Minister Boris Johnson then compared Putin to Hitler, but Johnson’s course on a tough option to leave the EU makes Britain dependent on US assistance. 

• Macron also actually denied any agreement on the possibility of rebuilding Russia, but more recently, Macron met with Putin, described the meeting as warm and immediately after that between Ukraine and Russia preparations began for an exchange of prisoners. 

• Japan has not made any statements, but it is closely connected with Russia by the theme of the Kuril Islands. 

• Some Italian leaders have already proposed ending sanctions against Russia, for example, vice prime minister Mateo Salvini.

 Despite the fact that today the G7 is more a matter of prestige on the world stage, the restoration of Russia can be a serious step in changing the current international situation. In addition, Trump could do this personally by inviting Putin to the next summit, because it will be held in the United States.

Anaita Andikkhou

Putin tried to smash the opposition. Instead protests have spiraled

Russian protestors are rising and becoming a problem in the eyes of president Putin. Over 50,000 people rallied last week calling for fair local elections. These protests were lead by familiar faces in the Russian Protesting scene: Alexei Navany and Lyubov Sobol. These protests are int he wake of upcoming election on September 8th and are trying to bring to light the political repression being exerted by local authorities. Russian riot police are beginning to get violent with these protesters and president Putin eventually responded to these events saying, "Neither the authorities nor any groups of citizens have the right to violate the law and carry the situation to the point of absurdity or cause scuffles with the authorities... This is against the law, and all who committed these violations have to be held accountable under the Russian law."

https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/25/europe/russian-street-protests-leaders-intl/index.html

-Michael Gargano

The Amazon rainforest fires are still burning- Cortney Ferretti

          While the infamous fires in Brazil continue to burn, foreign leaders continue to join the public in using their voice to put an end to the blaze. The burning of the forest is happening at an 83% increase from last year. According to NASA, July and August are typically the region’s driest months. Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonario, stated that NGOS (non-governmental organizations) set the fires in retaliation to funding cuts. The public was skeptical of this claim without evidence and later Bolsonario stated that he never made any accusations toward certain groups. While studied over time, forest fires and climate change have a strong correlation. Green house gas emissions go up and the planets temperature rises, leading to extreme patterns of weather. 

            The Amazon is said to be the “lungs of the planet” and generate more than 20% of the world’s oxygen. Not only is the loss of greenery affecting the world, but the pollutants and gasses hurt the atmosphere. NASA reported seeing smoke from space as the fires have continues to burn. In only two days, there were more than 2,500 active fires in the rainforest. The city of Sao Paulo was covered in black smoke for an hour this past Monday as it traveled about 1,700 miles away. Bolsonaro has reportedly sent the Brazilian army and planes to put out as much of the fires as possible. The public is accusing him of encouraging logging and farming, while he did not take action quick enough in this event.

            On Twitter, the hashtag “#ActForTheAmazon” has been trending on Twitter.  Protests were reported in Zurich as people joined together in front of the Braziliian Consulate. Dublin, Barcelona, Paris, London, Madrid, and Copenhagen have all shown support through various forms of protests. 

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/the-amazon-rainforest-fires-are-still-burning-whats-happening-and-how-you-can-help/

https://cnet.co/2MBFpTq

South Korea Launches Military Exercise for Islets Also Claimed by Japan

Amidst rising tensions between South Korea and Japan, South Korea conducted its biannual military exercise to demonstrate control over a set of islets near Japan. These exercises came just three days after South Korea terminated a military intelligence sharing deal with Japan to retaliate against Japan for ending trade deals. The Islets referred to as Dokdo by South Korea has been under the country's jurisdiction since the 1950s however Japan believes that they are the rightful owners of the volcanic outcroppings. This dispute has also demonstrated the failure of Washington to unite its' allies as South Korea was forced to fire warning shots at Russian and Chinese planes who flew too close to the Islets. Japan's refusal to help in this scenario demonstrates how high the tensions between these two countries really are.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/25/world/asia/south-korea-japan-islands.html


Griffin Curran

Trumps Breakfast Meeting with Prime Minister Johnson was the highlight of the G7 for Trumps agenda

President Donald Trump expressed that the G7 Summit went well despite his counterparts claiming otherwise. Leaders almost unanimously opposed Trumps tariffs which are commonly believed to be the reason why economies are declining around the world. Although Trump stated through Twitter, “We are having very good meetings, the Leaders are getting along very well, and our Country, economically, is doing great”. Later reports claimed that Trump aims to not only sustain the current tariffs placed, but also increase them by roughly thirty percent. Early Sunday morning, President Trump met with newly appointed Prime Minster Boris Johnson which Trump backs up and said, “He’s going to be a fantastic Prime Minister”. Trump views Johnson as a natural ally and has finally connected with another Leader that is considered an US ally. The rest of the leaders continue to lobby against the tariffs, but Trump has insisted the tariffs are working and must remain in place.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/25/politics/trump-g7-boris-johnson-emmanuel-macron/index.html

Ghana promises action after CNN child slavery report

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/02/africa/ghana-child-slaves-intl/

In this article, CNN states that around 20,000 children work as slaves in Lake Volta, Ghana. Poor parents in Ghana are desperate enough to sell their kids to human traffickers for as little as 250 dollars. Reading those two sentences shocked me because it never came across to me that one would sell their kid to human traffickers to make money or to sustain life. Turriff stated that humans have no price, which I strongly believe as well. I can't believe they would make their kid work all day and night just to support their own family, but against their own will or not given a choice to do so or not. They are poorly fed and these kids are enslaved by fishermen that poorly treat them. Turriff also says that many of the kids drown while fishing on the lake which saddens me. Ghana's minister, Kojo Oppong Nkurmah has promise actions of rescuing the kids, rehabilitating them, and reintegrating them in to society. He also wants the people who are responsible to pay for their actions. I strongly believe this would not occur if they were not is such bad poverty. I hope Ghana can do something to reverse that.

Nelle Scranton

Protest turn violent in Hong Kong

https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/25/asia/hong-kong-protest-aug-25-intl-hnk/index.html

With protest starting in late May of 2019 citizens of Hong Kong have been very active and vocal about their right to independent democracy from China. Recently with the increased amount of citizens vocalizing their opinions, Police forces have been forced to use more harmful ways of stopping the protesters. With the conflict becoming more violent and more deadly as it goes on the world watches to see what happens.

Italy's Political Chaos

Right now there is a scramble to form a govenrment in Italy to avoid early elections. The dispute comes after the coalition between the leftwing populist at the 5 Star Movement and the right wing party League (formerly known as Northern League) fell apart. Currently the 5 Star Movement is attempting to form a coalition with the Democratic Party the main left wing party in Italy. Though the 5 Star Movement ran directly against the Democratic Party in the latest national elections. Further a major hurtle that must be hashed out in an attempt to form a government is the naming of a Prime Minister which must be approved by the Italian President (a member of the Democratic Party). Members of the 5 Star Movement wish for the outgoing Prime Minister Conte to stay as Prime Minister while the Democratic Party and Conte himself has opposed. The deadline to form a new government is Tuesday the 27th of August. There is also the possibility that the 5 Star Movement and League may indeed reform their coalition, as the leader of League and current Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, has made a number of statements saying that he would not be opposed to reforming the government so long as "things get done". If the parties are unable to form a coalition or reform a coalition the Italian President will have no choice but to call a snap election. In this case the election will be held either in October or November.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/25/italy-parties-scramble-to-form-government-by-tuesday-deadline

Tom Pancione

Ecuador will require visas for Venezuelans from August 26

Following similar moves by Chile and Peru, Ecuador (located 1,600 km away from Venezuela) will implement visa requirements. The political situation in Venezuela continues unsteable. Juan Guaidó, who has been recognized as the president of the country since the last 23rd January for a great number of American and European countries, is not able to stop the migration process that occur in his country from the last few years. Continuos blackouts and food shortages, as the political tension between Juan Guaidó and Nicolás Maduro, are responsible for this situation.

José Luis Villarreal

Greenlanders on Trump wanting to buy their island

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49436197

Greenlanders respond to President Trump's offer to buy Greenland from Denmark. They are worried about the U.S. seizing property and building more military bases in the area. Greenlanders already feel sour towards the U.S. due to the presence of old military buildings that could expose the country to nuclear waste. They are also worried about mistreatment of native Inughuits. Trump was criticized for wanting to purchase Greenland from Denmark, even though Greenland was granted the right to self-determination.

Allison Gammons

Hong Kong Protests Turn Violent

As discussed in class, protests have been occurring in Hong Kong over a controversial legislation that would send criminals back to mainland China for their trial. This is deeply based on how China operates on a non-democratic agenda compared to Hong Kong which could lead to unfair trials. The protests have remained relatively peaceful for the past 2 months, but Saturday ruined that streak with local police using tear gas on protesters who blocked roadways and tore down smart street lamps. It is amazing that such a large scale protest has remained peaceful for that long, as if something to this size happened in the U.S it would have gotten violent weeks ago.

posted by Jared Weaver

https://www.npr.org/2019/08/24/754000173/violence-returns-to-hong-kong-as-police-fire-tear-gas-and-protesters-fight-back

North Korea launches two more 'short-range ballistic missiles' into sea

North Korea launches two more 'short-range ballistic missiles' into sea

According to South Korea, North Korea shot two projectiles that were suspected to be short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan. Even though the missiles did not land in Japanese waters, Japan is still upset. It seems as though the launches were in response to United States/South Korea military exercises that North Korea saw as rehearsals for war.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49455689

Griff Inskeep

"Hong Kong protesters form human chain across city"

Protests in Hong Kong have been ongoing for some time now. The most recent development was a thirty mile human chain . Starting at 8pm local time, or 8 am ET on August 23, the protestors have made chains along subway lines. This protest pays homage to a human chain peaceful protest that happened thirty years ago today. The chain was filled with handholding, peaceful chants, and signs of democracy. The goal of this protest is "an iconic move that reinforces Hong Kong's solidarity and determination in hope of making our voices heard on the international stage." The goal was not to disrupt traffic or public transit. The Hong Kong protests have brought out 1.7 million people in a show of democratic will. This is significant because it is a quarter of the population. If a twenty-five percent of all Americans showed up for a protest, that would be 90 million people. This would be like all of California, Texas, Illinois, and Ohio showing up in one city.


https://www.cnn.com/asia/live-news/hong-kong-chain-dle-intl-hnk/index.html

jackson frank

The Amazon is burning because the world eats so much meat

With the recent news of the Amazon fire expanding and this informative article, the future of the earth is beginning to look more dangerous than we initially thought. Brazil is known as the largest producer of exporting meat, which has created a higher demand making cattle ranchers set fires in order to access more farming land. Because of the growth of this industry, one way to "save the world" is to eat less meat. The greenhouse gas emitted from cattle is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide and has everlasting affects. It is predicted that global production of beef will continue to increase about 16% 10 years from now. Personally, if eating less meat is what it takes to help our planet, everyone should be happy to hear that climate change can be prevented by this simple aspect; eating less meat.

By: Chloe Erickson


https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/23/americas/brazil-beef-amazon-rainforest-fire-intl/index.html