In Myanmar, armored vehicles have appeared in several cities, because it's preparing a crackdown in opposition to the coup it carried out February 1st. Across the country, people continued to protest against the military for the ninth day in a row. All telecoms operators in Myanmar, have been told to shut off Internet services from 1 to 9 a.m. local time, Sunday into Monday. The Internet levels were at 14% of normal levels, after the order came into force. The military also made a curfew to not go outside between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. This puts doctors in trouble because they usually go to work or leave work around this time.
Sunday, February 14, 2021
Myanmar coup: Troops on the streets as internet cut off
Student Protests in Myanmar against China
In the ongoing coup in Myanmar that saw the arrest of Aung Kyi and her removal of power by the military. The Chinese government has been supportive of the military. The ties between the military junta and the Chinese Communist party goes back to the Cold War as Myanmar was the first non communist state to recognize the new Communist government in China. The modern day strategic benefits for China would be to gain favor with the new military junta and to establish better relations with a neighboring state, something China always struggles to do in the realm of geo-politics. Students in Myanmar are protesting such Chinese support as they see the military junta being a Chinese puppet. As the coup continues authoritarian states will continue to support the military such as Russia, and China while democratic ones will wish for the return of a democracy.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/shame-on-you-china-protest-outside-chinese-embassy-in-yangon-against-beijings-support-to-military-rule/articleshow/80910637.cms
US Deploying B-1 bombers to Norway to send a message to Russia
CNN reported on the development of escalating tensions between Russia and the United States. The B-1 bomber, which has also been used in Iraq and against Syrian troops in the past, is going to be deployed within the next several months off the coast of Norway in the Arctic Circle. By moving forces much closer to Russia’s border, the United States will be able to respond to potential Russian aggression sooner. In comparison to Donald Trump, President Joe Biden will be demonstrating a tougher approach to Putin and insuring that other allies are protected in the situation of an attack from Russia. The Defense Department has been becoming concerned with the number of Russia’s movements in an attempt to militarize the Arctic and its natural resources. The United States assumes that Russia needs access to the Arctic for its hydrocarbons and it is becoming vital to their continuation of a good GDP. I think that this article is important to this class because we were recently talking about Putin and how different the United States' relationship is going to be with Russia.
Hannah Kohl (Week 2 Blog)
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/08/politics/us-b-1-bombers-norway/index.html
President Trump Gets Aquitted
Former President Donald Trump was acquitted by the senate yesterday when discussing the impeachment. He has been accused of spewing lies and abusing his power, but was voted to not be impeached by his fellow republicans in the senate. It is stated by the democrats in the house and in the senate that these republican senate members can not own up to what Donald Trump did and are in denial. He did rally up a bunch of his supporters who then raided the capitol, and he did not scold them for it.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/14/politics/donald-trump-impeachment-republican-vote/index.html
Carly Nasman
How Brazil is fightning Covid-19
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/14/americas/brazil-hydroxychloroquine-evidence-intl/index.html
This article by CNN news goes over how Brazil has been fighting Covid-19. The president of Brzil Jair Bolsonaro has been using the drugs of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to fight the global pandemic even though research says they are not effective against the virus. The presdient even went so far to use emergency funds to get more of these drugs instead of purchasing a vaccine in the final stages of development. Just now Brazil is finally buying into a vaccine, but have only purchased 6.6 million which is 2.2 percent of the Brazil population. It will be interesting to see overtime if the effects of the chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine drugs help Brazil get past the covid-19 pandemic faster than other countries. Or will it all just be a futile moment in Brazil history which they will pay the price for down the line.
Matthew Rabick
Saturday, February 13, 2021
China Refuses to Give WHO Raw Data on Early Covid-19 Cases
As the pandemic continues to crumble countries on a global scale, the World Health Organization is still hard at work to learn more about the ongoing spread of COVID-19 and figure out where the root of the virus stemmed from. With this being said, China is making the investigation quite difficult by providing very vague information. This made for very heated exchanges between the organization members and China’s leadership since all the WHO desires is concrete and detailed answers. With this being said, I find it interesting that leadership from the WHO’s motive is to try to find out what and who they could point the finger at and place the blame on for the pandemic. Because of all lives lost paired with the economic struggle that this pandemic has caused, convicting someone or something would give the opportunity for justice. This is why I feel that China is being as vague as possible when reporting to the WHO about the root of the pandemic. They are terrified of being the country that is legitimately responsible because they may ultimately have to pay the price for the pandemic financially or through losing their reputation of being a rising power in the eyes of other world leaders. Because this is on a global scale rather than an issue confined to a single nation, China has the opportunity and leverage to beat around the bush in regards to giving world powers information while if this were a crime committed by a citizen within a governing nation, they would be thoroughly investigated for their wrongdoing because of their citizenship to the country in which they reside in.
Kaytlyn Tyler Blog Post #2
https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-refuses-to-give-who-raw-data-on-early-covid-19-cases-11613150580
Trump impeachment: Senate says trial is constitutional and can go ahead
Despite a push from former President Donald Trump's defense team that the impeachment trial was unconstitutional due to the former man in charge was no longer in office, the Senate posted a majority vote that it was indeed constitutional and would go on as scheduled. Despite the vote to go forward with the trial it does not seem likely for the trial to lead to conviction of the 45th president. The vote to go on with trial as constitutional only had six Republican votes leading to a 56-44 victory for those pushing for impeachment. However, the six Republican votes are well short of the 17 needed to find the former President guilty. This trial holds a lot of weight as we see the Republican Party more than adequately backing up the former president as can be expected because of the integrity of the Republican Party. With the trial now heading to closing arguments it will be interesting to see how many, if any, more Republicans flip on their votes.
Kolby #2
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56005458
The video of a protester's arrest Russian police 'leaked to scare people'
Following the arrest of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Russia has been dealing with protests against his arrest for the last few weeks. The Russian government has been determined to crack down on opposition leaders and protestors across the entire country. Just recently, the Russian police leaked a video of an interrogation of blogger and protestor, Gennady Shulga, in his home. In the video, Shulga is shown in a head lock, inches away from his dog's food bowl. Shulga is an influencer and blogger who simply livestreamed a protest in order to show truth and insight to what is going on in Russia, because of this action, his home was invaded and the interaction was leaked to the internet in order to cause fear across protestors. The capital, also known as the Kremlin, released a statement saying, "Holding unauthorized rallies causes concern, and shows that harsh police steps are justified". The Russian government is continuing to target oppositionists and crack down on the protests at any means necessary, even if that includes going after a blogger and influencer who lives 4,000 miles from the capital in Moscow.
Gall
7.3 Magnitude Earthquake Injures Dozens in Japan
A 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck Japan Saturday, around 11pm. The Japan Meteorology Agency did not issue a tsunami warning, the earthquake took place off the coast of Fukushima extending all the way out to Tokyo. Buildings were shook for some time after the earthquake had hit. One man on the 10th floor of hotel fell during the quake and hit his head on the door, all though he was still able to walk the man was rushed to the hospital. Television and other camera footage shows damage done to multiple shops throughout the area, with broken glass lining the shop fronts. Nearly 950,000 households were left with out power due to a massive blackout caused by the quake, blackouts were concentrated in North-Eastern Japan, and luckily left many power and nuclear plants in tact. Nearly 10 years ago, on March 11th a massive quake had triggered a tsunami leading to one of the world's worst nuclear crisis.
link: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-02-13/strong-quake-hits-off-japan-coast-triggering-blackouts
By: Tommy McClernon
Cuba's Private Sector Expansion
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/09/americas/cuba-private-work-analysis-oppmann-intl/index.html
Last weekend Cuba drastically expanded the private sector on the island. Prior to the expansion, Cubans were only able to work roughly 127 different job descriptions such as a barber, tire repairer, or tree trimmer. The expansions has added around 2000 new jobs to the list, creating more opportunity and innovation from the citizens of Cuba. There will be 124 privatized job restrictions still, most will probably revolve around the monopoly nationalized companies have (healthcare, telecommunications, media).
Hopefully, these decisions can move the United States to lift some embargos we have on the country as it is moving toward a more capitalist, and hopefully eventually a more democratic country. Cuba also seems to be taking an approach China has, having an authoritarian 'communist' government, with a mostly capitalist economic system, at least the economic freedoms are becoming more available to the Cuban people.
- Mason Meiring
Friday, February 12, 2021
The Struggle with Reopening Schools
President Biden said once he took once, that within 100 days they would reopen schools, however now he has downscaled it to just reopening kindergarten through eighth grade. Many politicians, including minority leader Mitch McConnell, are putting pressure on reopening school for students to return to in-person learning. He comments that they are falling behind and missing out on their education. There’s also some pushback on the democratic side about how they can’t reopen schools because of how the former President Trump’s handle on the pandemic. The problem of how Republicans have been losing votes by suburban white women has to lead to them choosing to focus on this issue specifically to gain more votes back to their party. And therefore it will hurt Democrats in the midterm elections. There is also the question of whether it is enough to vaccinate the teachers or to test everyone for Covid-19. it also brought about the definition of what constitutes opening the schools up. If it means just the lower levels of children.
Tahbata Zuniga Diaz
Citation: Hulse, C. (2021, February 12). Republicans seize on Shuttered schools as a political rallying cry. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/us/politics/school-reopenings-coronavirus.html
Israel’s Netanyahu Formally Pleads Not Guilty as Corruption Trial Resumes
In
this article, Lieber discusses the legal dilemma that Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu is currently in. There are over 300 witnesses, including
some that used to work very closely with him, that are set to testify against
him for corruption. There has been a great uproar from the Israeli people
demanding that he step down and that he is a threat to their democracy. This
case, along with the fact that he is currently running for office again, is
causing a major divide in the country with many not knowing what the correct or
ethical choice is for their leader. Regardless, the trial is expected to take
years according to Lieber and this could be a major detriment to the country as
a whole. Lieber does not get into the specific evidence of what he is being
prosecuted for, but from what I understand by reading the article is that
Netanyahu should definitely be found guilty. There has been many shady things
he has been involved. Also, the fact that there are 300 witnesses who claim to
have significant evidence against him is an absurd number. The probability that
they are all false accusations is minuscule, so I believe that the future does
not look good for the current Prime Minister.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/israels-netanyahu-formally-pleads-not-guilty-as-corruption-trial-resumes-11612795456
Jeremy Cardenas Blog Post #2
Chinese state media responds to British state media
There has been a BBC report of a woman named Tursunay Ziawudun, who claimed women in China's Uygur camps have been sterilized and also raped while detained. The Chinese Global Times responds to the accusation with information on Ziawudun. They say her claim that she was forced to be sterilized is untrue due to the fact that she has been infertile for a while, she was previously married, but her first marriage ended in divorce due to her infertility. They also refute her claims that women at these camps were forcefully sterilized with IUDs and other means, they state that there have been no such cases where that is true. They also provide other women at these camps who have had children since they have been there. The whole story that BBC published relied on her narrative, with no other evidence being provided. The Global Times claims that the BBC only tell the stories of these people that seek them out, while ignoring the stories of "ordinary Uygur women", which leads to great anti-Chinese sentiment, since they apparently have other motivations for telling this narrative.
The Global Times also brings up the fact that Tursunay Ziawudun has changed her story multiple times since she first told it in 2019. When she first told Radio Free Asia (which is literally funded by the US State Department) in October of 2019, she made no direct claim that she was raped in the camp. In February of 2020, when she was interviewed by Buzzfeed, she claimed that she was “terrified she might be raped,” but that she “wasn’t beaten or abused.” It was only this week that she claimed she was raped and abused at the camp.
While these two articles are from Chinese state media, the BBC article is also state media, they both have their agendas. Global Times also makes a point that there was no other investigations done by the BBC to back up these claims, so there might be something to learn from these articles. Since the fall of the Soviet Union there has been widespread Sinophobia in the "Western world" looking for a new enemy to fight. China just fits the character of the West's "enemy", nonwhite, not exactly capitalistic, and doesn't speak English. Do I believe the Chinese articles are 100% true, no, do I believe the BBC article is 100% true, also no. However, I will not buy into the hate of China without seeing more evidence than one flimsy narrative.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202102/1215491.shtml
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202102/1215146.shtml
Luke Kwiatkowski
Thursday, February 11, 2021
Puerto Rico's Women Have Been Heard - Finally
In this article by The Washington Post, written by Lizette Alvarez, Alvarez writes about how PR's new governor Pedro R. Pierluisi declared a state of emergency on gender-based violence. More specifically, Pierhuisu addressed the reality of the horrifying rate that PR women are murdered by PR men. Alvarez writes specifically that Pierluisi's executive mandate will help protect women with restraining orders, that it calls for the creation of a mobile app that will help women who feel threatened, and it funds a media campaign that brings awareness to domestic/gender-based violence. Alvarez also provides the disturbing report that 60 femicides - murders of women because they are women - occurred last year, in 2020.
Puerto Rico has been going through a lot in the past few years to say the very least. I think Puerto Rico gets neglected a lot and it's messed up. The people of PR are good people and PR is a territory of the United States. The US needs to stop treating them as second-class citizens. These people are our people as far as I'm concerned and they deserve to get the help they need. It is absolutely horrifying that the women in PR are abused and murdered but it's good to hear that something is FINALLY being done about it. I'm actually a week or so late to this story but I found this issue deeply important to talk about.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/02/03/puerto-rico-state-of-emergency-violence-women/
- Jake T. Domingo
Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Colombia Makes ‘Historic’ Decision to Grant Legal Status to 1.7 Million Venezuelan Migrants
Columbia's president Iván Duque took charge to help the almost 2 million Venezuelan migrants that fled from the terrible crisis in Venezuela. He stated that he would grant legal status to these migrants for 10 years, which would help to address and identify those who are in the shadows and desperately in need of help. While the people of Columbia were a bit upset about the new competition for jobs and whatnot, Duque reassured them that he has called for global aid. Overall, Duque has labeled this a humanitarian crisis and took leadership as a neighboring country of Venezuela. Although Duque's efforts are tremendous, this crisis is severely underfunded and calls for the help of other global powers.
Reese McMullen
Tuesday, February 9, 2021
Turkey Unveils Space Program Including 2023 Moon Mission
It was also revealed at this event that the mysterious monolith that appeared in a field in southeast Turkey was part of a publicity stunt for this event. The 10-foot tall metal slab was found in a field by a farmer, and disappeared days later. Inscribed on it, in ancient Turkish script, were the words, "Look at the sky, you will see the moon." An image of this monolith was projected onto the screen at this event, as Erdogan said: “I now present to you Turkey’s 10-year vision, strategy and aims and I say, ‘Look at the sky, you will see the moon.’”
Sarah Runchey
https://apnews.com/article/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-moon-spacex-europe-a763414e402eb70e78ae2c2a89134f33
Emirates Mars Mission: Hope spacecraft enters orbit-Blog Post #2
The United Arab Emirates is celebrating its first mission at Mars. A probe called "Hope" has successful orbited Mars becoming the fifth spacefaring entity to accomplish this following the U.S., the Soviet Union, Europe and India. The UAE scientists are looking forward to studying the planet's atmosphere. Their satellite is planning to observe how neutral atoms of hydrogen and oxygen (remnants from Mar's once abundance of water- leaked into space.
This article made me think of the famous Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States. Ever since then I feel like I haven't heard significant developments on space progress. Moreover, it is fascinating to me whether there will come a point in time when countries will be fighting for other planets. The biggest thing to determine if another planet can sustain life is if it has a source of water. And unfortunately at the rate our world is going we will run out of resources and succumb to climate change unless significant changes are made. The dynamics of how countries will fight for power and access to space is an interesting idea that this article has made me reflect on.
-Katie Huey Blog Post #2
Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-55998848
Biden Administration Plans to Bulldoze Judicial Nominations
On his fourth week in office, Biden is beginning to face many vacancies appearing throughout the judicial system. One of his recent actions was just blocked by a Trump appointed judge, so Biden's future nominations have become more of a talking point. With Trump appointing 234 judges during his time in office, Biden plans to follow that lead and pick up the pace for his nominations. It's looking vacancies will be filled rather quickly with a little bit inspiration from Trump's way of doing things. The Democrats have often tread carefully in the past, but it seems like they'll be taking far more action during the Biden presidency. This is definitely inspired by the bold plays Trump and the republicans took during his time in office. Trump's republicans were known for rule breaking and bulldozing through processes that would benefit their party, the Democrats have the same opportunity now, and it'd be wise to take it.
Kaitlyn Colvin
Link: https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/09/politics/judges-biden-democrats-trump/index.html
Monday, February 8, 2021
Columbia to Grant Many Undocumented Venezuelans With Legal Status
As Socialist Dictator, Nicolas Maduro, continues to deprive and torture the Venezuelan people; many have risked their lives by fleeing to neighboring countries. Colombian President, Ivan Duques has states today that he will now provide almost 1 million undocumented fleeing Venezuelans with legal protection. The economic catastrophe of the Maduro regime has only strained the Venezuelan people more as his power continues. 1.7 million Venezuelans are now being let in by the Columbia government but there are still millions of others fleeing Maduro's Regime. Estimates have shown that the number can be over 6 million which is more than the Syrian Refugee Crisis. At a news conference, the Columbian President mentioned how he wishes to see other Latin American Countries assist the Venezuelan migrants as he states that "We hope that other countries follow our example." The Colombian government cannot assist the growing number of migrants alone and wishes that others will step up as well. This effort to help these undocumented migrants has also seen some backlash by political opponents and other nations. This crisis has led to those who disapprove of allowing undocumented people in their countries because of the higher percentage of such migrants committing crimes more than its citizens. Peru has implemented the use of militarized vehicles to defect migrants from trying to enter their country. The controversy of undocumented immigrants has now put a strain on both international leaders and the people fleeing authoritarian governments. Many understand that the Venezuelan people are suffering but the sheer number of people entering their country illegally can see great economic/cultural effects. Will other nations step up and take the same steps as Columbia? Or will nations follow suit with Peru and protect its citizens from the undocumented? The people of Venezuela flee from a dictator that continues to hold power with an iron fist, if other nations do not step in to assist the Venezuelan people then a greater immigration crisis will occur. 6 Million fleeing Venezuelans is just the estimate, who knows how many are willing to flee. International governments must deal with Maduro's Regime for the safety of Venezuela and also its neighboring states.
Jesse Solis
The Wall Street Journal - Article written by Kejal Vyas (February 8, 2021 7:18pm ET)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/colombia-to-grant-many-undocumented-venezuelans-with-legal-status-11612829931
Serbian rape charges spur cross-region #MeToo-like response
In the Western Balkans, a #MeToo-like movement has swept across its countries after accounts of alleged rape and abuse at a high-end acting school in Serbia have come out. This has caused thousands of women to speak up, which is a huge step forward for the society of Balkan countries as sexual assault against women is rarely taken to court. A famous Serbian actress, Milena Radulovic, has led other actresses to report the atrocities they experienced at the acting school which has led to acting coaches being arrested. From these actresses speaking out, other women across countries that were a part of Yugoslavia have started a social movement of reporting their abusers, many of them being professors at universities. Activists in this movement, #NisiSama, want less strain put on victims and early education in schools.
Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/serbian-rape-charges-spur-cross-region-metoo-like-response/2021/02/05/87f70428-6787-11eb-bab8-707f8769d785_story.html
Sam Selakovich
Protests Continue In Support of Navalny
For the second week in a row thousands of Moscow residents gather to protest the injust arrest of Alexey Navalny by the Russian government. Over 5,000 arrests have been made spanning across 85 cities. In Moscow Alexey Navalny's wife Yulia was arrested briefly for participating in protests, but was soon released. Although Russia denies being involved in the poisoning of Navalny, the world believes the Putin administration to be responsible for the attempted murder. As of today, the capital is "more reminiscent of a besieged fortress than a modern city". Protests have been met with excessive force from police and citizens are beginning to detest Putin and his followers.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/31/europe/russia-navalny-protests-intl/index.html
Sydney Chmielewski
Sunday, February 7, 2021
United States to end Support for Operations Amidst Foreign Policy Reset (Kyle Remington)
Under the recent introduction of the Biden administration, there has been a promise to redesign the United States foreign policy. Most recently, we have seen in a statement that the US will halt the support of offensive operations, including the sale of precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. This comes after years of United States intervention in Yemen where the US has continuously backed a coalition led by Saudi Arabia since 2014. President Biden said in a statement that, "The war in Yemen must end,". This comes in unison with other statements where President Biden has vowed to reset the US foreign policy.
With this statement, there will be no affects on the current operations with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. What we do see changing is the face of the US foreign policy in which the Biden administration is trying to create a new image for especially in situations such as the relationship with foreign leaders like those in Russia and China. It will be interesting to say the least what the future will hold for the United States and foreign policy as we see a possibly large shift in a new direction.
Navalny Protests in Russia Face Heavy Policing
Amid a decline in incomes and increasing poverty in Russia, Alexei Navalny has stood out as one of the loudest critics of Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin. Last summer, Mr. Navalny accused Putin of trying to kill him with a nerve-agent poison. After recovering in Germany for 5 months, Navalny returned to Russia, facing immediate arrest upon his arrival. In response this, thousands in Russia have lined the streets in protest calling for his release. The protesters were met with riot police in black helmets, camouflage, and body armor. More than 5,000 people were detained across 85 cities.
In Moscow, protesters were encouraged by Navalny's team to stick together in large crowds, and were guided to the jail where Navalny was being held. The police pushed protesters into walls, breaking the crowd up into smaller groups to detain them. Among the protests rolling across Russia, no support can be seen within the government, Parliament, or big business. This show of force demonstrates the willingness of Putin to adopt a more authoritarian regime when presented with a threat to his power. The question facing the people of Russia now is if they will continue to actively protest Putin's regime facing extreme police brutality.
Beyond the people of Russia, this also raises tensions between the United States and Russia. American secretary of state, Antony Blinken, condemned the tactics used by the Russian government to quell these protests. In response to this, Russia's Foreign Ministry accused the United States of supporting the protests to attempt to contain Russia. The relationship between the United States and Russia has been deteriorating for many years now, and it will be interesting to see how this changes it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/31/world/europe/russia-protests-navalny-live-updates.html
Sarah Runchey
Amazon Rainforest lost area the size of Israel in 2020
According to a recent report from the region, it was estimated that the Amazon Rainforest lost about 5 million acres in 2020, mostly due to a combination of the fires and deforestation. Experts are warning that when deforestation goes unchecked, it could lead to devastating losses in the coming decades. Deforestation is accelerating- taking ecosystems and habitats in its path. Although the fires in 2019 were not favorable, the occurrences in 2020 were far worse, according to Amazon Conservation specialists. Of estimated 2,500 large fires that were recorded, a mere 88% took place in Brazil. And most of them were unfortunately caused by humans. Among other countries, some invasive species were also of concern, such as the coca leaf- the raw ingredient in cocaine, was found to have invaded several protected forested lands in Colombia. Scientists conducted some research in these areas, and found that the Amazon biome is not in a good place, and could soon reach a spot where rainfall is seldom, or not all; making the Amazon more of a dry desert, versus a wet rainforest. In order to help save the Amazon, some data is hopeful, as only 20-21% is under deforestation, which leaves around 80% left. Action still needs to be taken, so this does not get worse. Environmental groups and help from wealthy leaders can reverse this issue.
Michelle Boban- Blog Post 1
https://abcnews.go.com/International/amazon-rainforest-lost-area-size-israel-2020/story?id=75683477
The Myanmar Coup
In the ongoing coup d'état in Myanmar, the familiar site of military control returns to the country. The military has had control over Burma from 1963-2011. The first civilian government would reign after 2011 under Aung Kyi and the National Democratic Party. However following the coup, Aung Kyi was taken to prison and it was announced the general Min Hlaing has now taken over the country. The military cited voter fraud for their reason for the coup. The more likely cause however was the weakening of the military and the unlikely possibility for the government to democratic win power thus they turned to force.
While my overall knowledge of Myanmar or as it once was known Burma is limited. I have heard of the brutal massacres and genocide that the military have done against ethnic minorities. Even while under democratic control. The civilian government under Kyi is complicit in such actions and her Noble Peace Prize win is as much as a joke as the Saudi Arabia UN seat for women's rights. However replacing one blinded politician with a military junta will make the problem worse. I hope that bigger powers or the UN will learn the lessons from Rwanda and step in if the worse case scenario happens.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/06/asia/myanmar-coup-what-led-to-it-intl-hnk/index.html
Christopher Rauch
Chicago School Inch Closer to Strike Over Reopening Plan
Not only are the students subject to consequences when they are absent from school but teachers may also be at risk of professional repercussions if they do not show up to school in person during the midst of the pandemic. Leaders in Chicago have outlined a plan for students to return to in-person elementary school but many teachers are resisting this rush to get back in the classroom. Mayor Lightfoot and Dr. Jackson have been very adamant about pre-K and special-needs teachers reporting back to school so much so that if they choose to not be in attendance without special accommodation, they will be locked out of their online teaching software. Hearing this alarms me because I feel that this will cause a major strike from the teachers union. Not only do I feel that this will occur, but this also raises an opportunity for the teachers to sue the school district for forcing their health and safety to be pushed to the side when online schooling is a much safer alternative. The fact that the mayor is not interested in budging and is not willing to negotiate leads me to believe that this will only urge the educators to push forward with strikes and lawsuits with full force.
-Kaytlyn Tyler Blog Post #1
Link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/chicago-schools-inch-closer-to-strike-over-reopening-plan-11612141303?mod=searchresults_pos2&page=1
IS brutality returning to Syrian towns
The Islamic state, or better known to us as ISIS, has been targeting Syria for the last month with constant bombings, beheadings and terror. Most specifically, IS has been targeting Deir al-Zour, a largely desert province in Syria. To further explain, IS is typically categorized as a jihadist group. A jihadist group believes that, "violent struggle [is] necessary to eradicate obstacles to restore God's rule on Earth and defend the Muslim community against what they consider to be infidels and apostates" according to the BBC. Typically, these attacks have been happening with little to no warning and they have been mainly targeted at night. The reason for this is because after sunset, all the Syrian Democratic Forces leave town, leaving civilians with no one to call for help. There hasn't been a single night within the last month that hasn't resulted in at least one death. Many think that the reason for the spike in terror in Syria is because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With such a large distraction, there is little attention to what is going on in this small province. Unfortunately, this has led to countless nights of terror for those within Deir al-Zour with little to no help.
Gall
Biden's Refusal to Lift Iranian Sancation -Dalton Willett Blog Post 2
In an article written by CBS it has come out that Biden will not lift sanctions on Iran until they stop enriching uranium. This fight between the world and Iran to stop their nuclear program has been a hot topic for some time. Biden believes that the sanctions should remain on Iran, and Iran says that they will stop the enriching of uranium once the terms of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are back in place. The Iranian nuclear deal is a disaster and any attempt to continue that deal, or the revert back to said deal would be foolish by Biden, and dangerous to the rest of the world. The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei came out with a statement saying that is the terms of the Iran Nuclear deal are reenacted, then they will stop enriching uranium and stop the production of uranium metal that can be used as the core of a nuclear warhead. This of course is just not true. I fundamentally disagree with the idea that we can trust Iran, one of the largest funders of ISIS on the planet with the honor code that if we begin to give them money and meet their demands that they will in turn stop their nuclear program. The Iran nuclear deal is not the solution to this problem, and neither is doing nothing but their has to be a resolution to be found that does not require us handing out massive amounts of money to a country that poses a threat to America and democracy more broadly. In addition to this, it is a fact that Russian, while the Iran deal was in place, was providing Iran with tanks and other weapons of war. Russia is a a third party here but they present an unseen threat by the support they show Iran by breaking the Iran nuclear deal guidelines and Iran does not need anymore help with that considering they have broken this deal in about every way they could when it was actually in place. The solution to this is unclear, I think the Iran Nuclear deal is a disaster and should be abandoned, but I also think allowing Iran to develop nuclear weapons is not a good alternative and should be monitored and stopped if at all possible. - Dalton Willett
Biden: U.S. won't lift sanctions until Iran halts uranium enrichment (msn.com)
Hong Kong Security Law: How Beijing Is Cracking Down
After briefly discussing last week's class on the matters of the destabilization of democracy in Myan Mar, I find this Wall Street Journal post of Hong Kong's strict security laws to essentially mirror the same situation, just in a different part of the world. As you may or may not know, Hong Kong is located in China but is not governed by China. Currently, with the start of a cold war between the U.S. and China, Hong Kong & Beijing passed new national-security legislation, and are now using their newly attained power to arrest protestors, round up opposition political figures, and eject 4 pro-democracy lawmakers from the city's legislature. With new security enacted, many people living in Hong Kong are afraid to lose most of their freedoms due to a murky legal system with minimal restrictions. The Biden-Harris administration has come out recently and said they will stand with the people of Hong Kong and against Beijing's crackdown on democracy.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/hong-kong-national-security-law-11605104896
Wall Street Journal, Joyu Wang, 2/5/21
Alec Kretovic, Blog Post #1
Saturday, February 6, 2021
Teenagers' Mental Health on Decline Amidst Lockdowns and Dealing with Covid-19
Interesting research shows that Covid lockdowns are impacting teens' mental health (not surprising). Teens around the nation are under significant mental and emotional distress- the burden of online school, increased anxiety, withdrawal, and even suicidal thoughts. Young people have reported that when dealing with mental illness in lockdown, things have gotten harder for them. Expert advice to parents is to ensure their children are eating proper meals, getting a good amount of sleep, and even exercising. But for many teenagers this is the last thing they want to be reminded of by their parents. A study done in England on mental health in children and young people has found that girls are more likely to suffer from poor mental health during lockdown. Around the globe we have seen an increase in anxiety and eating disorders, Japan has even seen a rise in suicides. Children with mental health issues are more than twice likely to be from families struggling finically. Now, this is a lot of negative information, but there could be a light at the end of the tunnel, "health tech" has been slowly growing over the years, but now with the pandemic we're seeing a surge of growth. These apps offer things like chatrooms, resources, and even therapy sessions to those in need. Stem4, a youth mental health charity has seen over 500,000 downloads of their free apps Calm Harm (an app that discourages self harm) and Clear Fear (an app to help manage anxiety).
by: Tommy McClernon
link: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-02-06/teen-metal-health-is-suffering-in-covid-lockdown-isolation-can-tech-help
China Approves Sinovac Vaccine for Broad Use Against Covid-19-Blog Post #1
Regulators gave CoronaVac the green light for mass inoculation, making it the second coronavirus shot in China to get provisional approval. However the Chinese developer of the vaccine: Sinovac Biotech Ltd. has faced questions over its vaccine efficiency due to the lack of transparency around clinical trial data. Latin America, Africa, Asia, and many developing countries have put a lot of their hopes on the CoronaVac. The key distinction in this vaccine compared to the ones produced by the West is that it can be stored in an ordinary refrigerator making it cheaper and easier to transport. However, the drug has produced lower efficacy than originally published dropping from 78% to around 50% during late stage trials in Brazil. Moreover, the Chinese government is donating shots to less affluent countries such as Zimbabwe which will receive 200,000 doses.
It raises the concern of how the United States will respond in competition per say with China. How the Biden administration chooses to approach China's administration of CoronaVac to other countries will be interesting. In the international system, power and your relations with other countries is huge. By China leveraging their power with the CoronaVac vaccination they could be an even greater threat to the United States. Also, it's concerning the lack of information being made public from the Chinese government about this vaccine. Will the United States intervene and help other countries if they purchase the vaccine from Sinovac and issues arise?
-Katie Huey Blog Post #1
Link: https://www.wsj.com/
articles/china-approves-sinovac-vaccine-for-broad-use-against-covid-19-11612617336
Biden's foreign policy - The Global Agenda Submission 1
In the article, "Reversing Trump Foreign Policy, Biden Criticizes Russia in First State Department Visit" by Lauren Egan and Abigail Williams, Egan and Williams talk about President Joe Biden's first visit to the state department and his remarks about Russia. This article and Biden's approach to foreign policy leave a lot to unpack. First, the overarching theme of Biden's approach on foreign policy is in stark contrast to Trump's foreign policy. Biden will be very involved in the world's affairs whereas Trump as we know, was solely concerned with American affairs.
Biden also differs from not only Trump but Barack Obama in his approach to Russian meddling. Obama had attempted to 'play nice' with Russia and ultimately failed. Trump on the other hand had what is often referred to as a love affair with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This comes as no surprise because Trump in part had a lot to gain from Russias involvement in the 2016 presidential election, and as the world knows, Trump is Trump's top priority so if a win for Russia consequently means a win for Trump, then so be it. Biden, on the other hand, appears to be on the offensive. Biden specifically condemns the jailing of Alexei Navalny and brazenly demands that Navalny be, 'released immediately and without condition." It's going to be interesting to see how else Biden is going to be willing to challenge Putin and the Russian government.
- Jake T. Domingo
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/reversing-trump-foreign-policy-biden-end-u-s-support-offensive-n1256738
Friday, February 5, 2021
The United States and China Need to Cooperate—for the Planet’s Sake
In President Biden's first 1oo days, his priority last month was to bring back the United States back into the Paris Agreement that former President Trump pulled the U.S. out of. This week President Biden continued to sign another executive order to taking another step toward domestic action and international engagement on climate change. President Biden also moved forward with establishing White House Office Domestic Climate Policy and to set a date on Earth day in April for a global summit, with these strong actions that President Biden is enforcing will surely have the United States to be involved and improving what we can do to help the decline of climate change. With these executive orders, this will improve the relationship that the United States and China had fallen since the Trump Administration...although how does China tie into all of this? Chinese President Jinping's pledge is to achieve the world's position on global powers for a new era of diplomacy, where we can finally allow climate change to be the top priority rather than the last. Climate change is critical for both the United States and China to cooperate with each other, and not to compete with because this involvement on improving the issue on climate change will determine our lives in 2060.
Alexis Ferreira Blog #1
Could the U.S. and China Cooperate on Climate Change? (foreignpolicy.com)
Covid-19 Vaccines Don’t Appeal to Some Firefighters, Even With Prizes
In this article, the authors talk about the situation with L.A. firefighters and their opportunity to get the COVID-19 vaccine. As of right now, only 55% of the firefighters in the L.A. Fire Department have begun the vaccine process with the other 45% not choosing to yet. This has troubled the fire chief because he believes he is not legally able to make his employees get vaccinated, and I agree. Whether or not it is the right thing to do ethically, I believe that the firefighters should not be forced to take it. Obviously, it would be beneficial for them to as it would limit the exposure of the disease that the people they are helping would get. However, since individuals are not legally forced to take other vaccines, I do not think that these firefighters should be forced to either. It is a difficult situation for the fire chief to be in as we are clearly in a pandemic, but he is definitely making the right decision in my mind because he is respecting certain freedoms we are entitled to as Americans.
Jeremy Cardenas Blog #1
https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-vaccines-dont-appeal-to-some-firefighters-even-with-prizes-11612188230
Unapproved Vaccines Being Used for Chinese Workers in Race to Defeat Virus.
In China the use of unapproved COVID-19 vaccines is being pushed forward by Chinese government for the use on employees of state companies. With the ever growing concerns over Coronavirus and the continuously growing numbers globally, it makes sense as to why these vaccines seem to be popping up pretty rapidly. In this case the government is backing the unapproved vaccines by citing evidence of promising results in the clinical trials. While this article is somewhat dated with its last update coming in December, it is still an issue nonetheless as the globe hopes to turn the corner, or flatten the curve, of this deadly virus. This is a case of a government forcing out results in order to be the first, when in reality the world needs a vaccine that can be mass produced and is proven to be effective. While speed of creation was a necessity you cannot fight fire with fire here. By this I mean that without truly testing a vaccine and understanding what comes with taking the vaccine, you could just be creating a short term solution while creating another problem (i.e. side effects, long lasting effects, etc). As we have seen in recent months the access to a Vaccine is very limited with rollout efforts so time is of the essence, but quality is also key to truly stopping this Virus that is going on well over a year without slowing down.
Kolby Miller (Post #1)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/business/china-vaccine-coronavirus.html
Cuba develops COVID-19 vaccines, takes socialist approach
This article talks about how Cuba is approaching vaccination from a socialist point of view. Cuba is a country that has struggled for years under United States sanctions, yet has managed to produce one of the best healthcare systems in the world. The will frequently send doctors to other countries for humanitarian aid and it is rumored that they have even cured lung cancer (smoke as many Cuban cigars as you want). With this in mind, it is no surprise that they have handled the COVID pandemic exceptionally well and developed their own COVID vaccine, two in fact. The only downside of being competent in this crisis is that they actually lack enough infected people to test the vaccine, for that they will be testing the vaccine in Iran, another country struggling under United States sanctions.
The article also talks about how the Cuban government will be distributing the vaccine world wide. In the case of the United States vaccine, it is aimed to make a profit, going to only those that can afford it. It will likely be many months, if not years, for many poorer developing countries to get the American vaccines. This is not the case for the Cubans' vaccines, they are planning on sending out 70 million of their remaining doses to Vietnam, Iran, Pakistan, India, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua. The Cuban government is ran under a Marxist-Leninist model, meaning that they work to both fight imperialism and help the greatest number of people possible. In the COVID-19 pandemic, it is admirable to see a country not afraid to lose money if it means saving lives.
Luke Kwiatkowski
https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/cuba-develops-covid-19-vaccines-takes-socialist-approach/
Thursday, February 4, 2021
UK could make Covid variant vaccine in 30 to 40 days, minister says
The Washington Post reported on the status of the coronavirus inside the UK. Nadhim Zahawi, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment, claims there are 4,000 new variants of the coronavirus worldwide. The UK is claiming that they will be able to create a new vaccine in 30-40 days to combat any new or developing mutations. They are hopeful that the current vaccine being distributed will cover the new mutations. An alternate approach they will take, if necessary, will be to rely on the Valneva vaccine as a booster in the fall. The UK surpassed 10 million of the first dose of vaccines this past Tuesday and the government is keeping a log of all the new variants to be more prepared for the future. Variants have been found and recorded in California, South Africa, Brazil, and the UK, so Pfizer/BioNTech is researching how they can improve their vaccines. At the rate vaccinations are being administered, everyone in the UK will have the first dose of the Covid vaccine by April. This article was important because it shows how other countries are dealing with the pandemic and provides more information on the new strains and mutations of the virus. It also demonstrates the progress we are making worldwide in ending the pandemic and keeping humanity safe.
-Hannah Kohl (Blog Post #1)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/04/about-4000-covid-variants-across-world-uk-minister
Mexico arrests ex-governor in case of tortured journalist
Mexican authorities recently arrested the ex-governor of Puebla, Mario MarÃn, for having Lydia Cacho illegally arrested and tortured. Lydia Cacho was the reporter who investigated MarÃn in his role in a pedophilia ring. Cacho published a book in early 2005 reporting on MarÃn as a political protector of the pedophilia ring. In December 2005, MarÃn sent police to get Cacho from Cancun and take her to Puebla where during the 20-hour ride, she was tortured. The even bigger problem here is that the Mexican justice system failed to protect the ones greatly affected. For years, MarÃn walked freely in public despite Cacho’s reports. Finally, in 2019 a judge from Quintana Roo gave a warrant for MarÃn’s arrest. Lydia Cacho was threatened for years and is now currently living outside of the country. In the end, the United Nations Human Rights Committee recognized what happened to Cacho and how it was in violation of her human rights. Later, in 2019 the Mexican administration publicly apologized to Cacho for her arrest. Even in the end, Cacho has her eyes on serving justice as she states, “we want all and each one of the masterminds on trial.”
Reese McMullen
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
Exiled Uighurs Fear China's Reach Will Erode Turkish Haven
Uighurs have suffered tremendously under the Chinese government; especially in the Northwestern Xinjian region where internment camps have inhumanly treated the Uighur people. As a means of survival, many Uighurs would travel to the Muslim majority Turkey to escape the authoritarian government of China. Many Uighurs have called Turkey their home but it seems that their home is now being threatened by China, even while in another nation. Turkey's national police force has made multiple arrest and deportation efforts of Uighur civilians with allegations of terrorism against China. Many Uighur civilians are concern that the increase of these allegations will lead to the haven, that is Turkey, to be dismantled; leaving the Uighur people at risk of the Chinese internment camps. To many who hear of this, you might be wondering, Why would Turkey help in the targeting of Uighur people while knowing of the harsh treatment that China puts on the people? Well the increase in arrest may have something to do with Turkey securing ties with the Chinese government as a way to bring investors to the Middle Eastern nation after dealing with years of foreign debt and inflation. Turkey has suffered economically for the past few years, but the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has decided to assist the Turkish economy with a $3.6 billion loan. Not only is China helping economically, but also with Covid-19 relief by sending 50 million doses of Coronavirus shots to Turkey. The leverage of trade and covid relief brings fear to the Uighur people who see the new Turkey-Chinese cooperation as a defeat to their haven center of Turkey. Another reason the Uighur people fear such ties is that the two nations have worked on an extradition treaty as a way to combat their religious freedoms; allowing China to silence Uighurs in Turkey by allowing them to extradite any opposition to China. Even though Turkey's minister of foreign affairs has denied that Uighurs are used as political tools; arrests have increased and leave many Uighurs in deportation centers. Uighurs have been suffering under the Chinese government by being abused and even killed in the so called "vocational training centers" in China. Uighurs have protested fiercely against the Chinese government and their genocide of Uighur people; protesting at their local Chinese Embassy and even the capital of Turkey, Istanbul. Chinese leverage can mean catastrophe to the Uighur people as their freedom of religion has been oppressed by the Chinese Communist Party and its military. Practicing religion should not be the reason of persecution; and sending a group of people to internment camps based on their religious beliefs brings concern on an international level as China breaks Human Rights Laws protected by the United Nations. Seeing that China sits as a member of the Human Rights Council worries me that international organizations are not taking action to stop such violations from occurring; especially to a nation who is a sitting member of the Human Rights Council. All people are to be protected by such violations but the peacekeeping organization, UN, seems to be stuck in their decisions because China is a member of their council. Even though China is involved, I do not believe that a group of people should be persecuted based on their religious beliefs. In order for humanity to thrive, all should be protected by the International policies of freedom of religions in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Jesse Solis
The Wall Street Journal - Article written by Eva Xiao (February 1, 2021 9:00 AM ET)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/exiled-uighurs-fear-chinas-reach-will-erode-turkish-haven-11612178314
Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Biden's Position On Trumps Impeachment Trial-Dalton Willett Blog #1
The Business Standard released an article on January 31st about how President Elect Biden will handle the impeachment trial of former President Trump. Biden's position on the impeachment trial is to distance himself from it so he does not derail the agenda items he is attempting to push forward such as adding another stimulus package, adding to the food stamp program, etc. My feeling as it relates to the impeachment of former President Trump is that there is no legal precedent to pursue an impeachment of a president that is not a current sitting president. It is ridiculous that we are even having to go through this process and spend tax payer dollars to chase an impeachment of an president that has already left office. Additionally, Nancy Pelosi and the rest of those in favor of impeachment that are pretending like this is a "sad" and "somber" day for them is laughable. They do not like Trump, and they want him to drag him through the mud as much as they possibly can. On the flip side, Trump does not like them and will push back and fight them tooth and nail no matter if it is ethical or proper process. The fact that as an American citizen we are having to sit by and watch this bi-partisan circus by democrats and republicans alike is infuriating and it speaks to the core of our political reality in America right now. With that said, from a legal standpoint the impeachment effort against a private citizen is a dangerous precedent to set. If this goes through, what is to stop Congress from impeaching any private citizen prior to their election as president? In that case, anyone that does not conform to the agenda of the side in power running against the incumbent can be impeached and not allowed the ability to let the voters decide who takes office, instead the will of those in power would not allow the will of the voters to vote who they want into office. -Dalton Willett BLOG POST #1
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