The interactions between South Asian countries and the rest of the world have proved to be quite productive in the February-March period of 2008. India and Pakistan, two neighboring countries torn by war, have recently made a deal to double the number of flights between the two countries. They also agreed to expand the number of destinations served by the flights and to allow more airlines to operate the routes. The two countries made a joint statement the deal was signed in Islamabad saying they hoped the agreement would facilitate "people to people contact, business and trade activities". Chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, dismissed claims that Nato's Afghan is having difficulty in their mission. He acknowledged that some parts of the country were heading in a “strongly negative direction,” but he said the picture across Afghanistan was confusing people. He also told the BBC it would “take time for Afghanistan to be pacified.”
US defense Secretary Robert Gates made a trip to Delhi to strengthen military ties and promote US arms manufacturers. US firms are competing with Russian and European rivals for a multi-billion dollar deal to sell India fighter jets. Mr Gates has said he wants to "expand" India's "significantly improved relationship" with the US. The United States urged India to quickly complete all steps required to conclude a civilian nuclear technology deal with Washington before the US presidential polls in November. US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Richard Boucher, told reporters in New Delhi, "Time is very tight to get the deal through the US Congress before the United States goes into election mode.” The agreement, which would give New Delhi crucial access to civilian atomic technology even though it has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, requires final approval of the US Congress.
The Taleban threatened to blow up telephone masts across Afghanistan unless mobile phone companies agree to switch off their signals at night. They claim the US and other foreign troops are using the signals to track down insurgents.The Taleban warned the masts and offices of the mobile companies will be destroyed unless their demands are met. Taleban spokesman Zabiullah Mujaheed said, "If those companies do not stop their signal within three days, the Taleban will target their towers and their offices." The Taleban said that Afghanistan's four mobile phone companies would stop operating between 1700 local time and 0300 that following morning.
A suicide car bomber attacked a government building protected by NATO and Afghan troops in eastern Afghanistan, collapsing a guard post, wounding three NATO soldiers inside, in addition to Two Afghan policemen were also wounded in the attack. It was an Afghan government district building inside compound that also houses a unit of U.S. soldiers. They were evacuated for medical care to the main U.S. military base at Bagram airfield. U.S.-led coalition troops targeted a Taliban commander in Garmser district of Helmand province. The coalition said, "Several insurgents were killed when they fired on coalition forces."
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Themes & MCAS standards 2
theme #4: Assess the effects of geography on the history of civilizations and nations.
USII.14: Explain the strength of American isolationism after World War I and analyze its impact on U.S. foreign policy. textbook chapters: 24-4 (WWII)
USII.16: Explain the reasons for the dropping of atom bombs on Japan and their short and long-term effects. textbook chapters: 25-3 (US in WWII)
USII.19: Analyze the sources of Cold War conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. textbook chapters: 26-1 (Cold War Conflicts)
USII.20: Explain the causes, course, and consequences of the Vietnam War and summarize the diplomatic and military policies of Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. textbook chapters: 30-1, -2, -5 (Vietnam War)
USII.14: Explain the strength of American isolationism after World War I and analyze its impact on U.S. foreign policy. textbook chapters: 24-4 (WWII)
USII.16: Explain the reasons for the dropping of atom bombs on Japan and their short and long-term effects. textbook chapters: 25-3 (US in WWII)
USII.19: Analyze the sources of Cold War conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. textbook chapters: 26-1 (Cold War Conflicts)
USII.20: Explain the causes, course, and consequences of the Vietnam War and summarize the diplomatic and military policies of Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. textbook chapters: 30-1, -2, -5 (Vietnam War)
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Personal Freedom and Human Dignity
Evan Griffin
History II
Project 1: Final Draft
2.14.2008
Over the past century, there have been great feats to spread the concepts of personal freedom, individual responsibility, and human dignity. Some nations didn't get the message, or had their own ideas on evolving the concept, and failed. In the pre-World War Two era, The Destructive Nazi Germany and Ruthless Japanese Empire, as well as other powers of the eastern hemisphere at the time, were perfect examples of a negative spread of these concepts. The Communist Soviet Union was an example that also had negative effect on these concepts. However, the United States successful resistance to Soviet powers in the Cold War created an extremely positive effect on personal freedoms and human dignity, as well as the presidency of Ronald Reagan. However, the presidency of William Jefferson Blythe Clinton could have been much more effective on these concepts.
The aggression of the German Nazi party, and the Japanese Militarists played extremely important roles in the concepts of personal freedoms and human dignity. In 1919, Adolf Hitler had joined the National Socialist German Workers Party, or the Nazi Party, and soon afterwards, became the leader. In a similar fashion to Italian fascist, Benito Mussolini, Hitler became the Prime Minister and created the third German Empire. In his new empire, Hitler wanted to enforce extreme nationalism and racial "purification." The concept of degrading human right comes into play here with Hitler believing that blond-haired, blue-eyed "Aryans" were a "master race," and that ethnicities such as Jews, Slavs and any nonwhites were "Inferior Races," and were only fit to serve the Aryans. These beliefs of Hitler's led to the creation of the concentration camps and horrific events such as the Holocaust. Hitler also believed in a militaristic expansion (a means of increasing living space and population), as well as the Japanese and their Prime Minister, Hideki Tojo, who had rendered the Emperor Hirohito powerless. Once they had seized power, the Japanese military launched an attack and took control of the Chinese province of Manchuria. The League of Nations, established after WWI, was created to prevent this type of aggression and to support the evolution of personal freedoms. After discovering what had happened in Manchuria, the League condemned Japan, which was a useless effort because they quit the League anyway. These events that degraded human rights and personal freedoms in Europe and Asia were what caused the Second World War.
Another Axis power form World War Two that disregarded the concepts of personal freedoms and human dignity was Josef Stalin's Communist Soviet Union, before known as Russia. The inhumane ways of the Soviet Union continued throughout the post WWII era until the Cold War was ended in 1992. When Josef Stalin came into power in Soviet Russia, his policies obliterated whatever little successes the New Economic Policy had made, along with the nations agricultural sector, and took complete control of the peoples viewpoint of economic life. The ideas of Communism completely throw away the idea of all three concepts of personal freedoms, in which case, no one could talk negatively about the government, individual responsibility, which, in the Soviet Union, the government provided everything, and human dignity, in which people could get shot just for attempting to leave the country. During Stalin's rule over the Soviet Union, there was no capitalist free market, but "central planning," which was a market controlled by the government. Oleg Gordievsky, a British spy passing off as a KGB agent, told the British intelligence service, "The Soviet Union had been spending at least 50 percent [of the economy] on the military." When this information reached U.S. President Ronald Reagan, he know that America could resist against the Soviet Union by creating an arms race, with project such as an eight-hundred ship navy and the Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as the "Star Wars." His strategy was to out spend the Soviet Union until their economy went bankrupt, which it did. Another contribution to the Soviet Unions collapse was the last communist ruler of the nation Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev's policies began to bring a sense of democracy into the Soviet Union. His most important policies were Glasnost, which allowed freedom of the press and open criticism of the Soviet Government, and Perestroika, a plan for the reconstruction of the Soviet Union. And to help recover the collapsed economy, he called for less government control. The Cold War had finally ended when President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin declared the end of the Cold War, and the Soviet Union became the Commonwealth of Independent States In February of 1992.
The concepts of personal freedoms and human dignity did not seem to be making much improvement in the world. But things were progressing more nicely in the United States. The decades of the 1980's through the 1990's were a period that these concepts really took flight. This was a result of people taking advantage of their opportunities of individual responsibilities and human dignity. However, the most important contributors of evolving these concepts were the Presidents. President Ronald Reagan made great steps toward evolving personal freedom during his two terms in the 80's. The first thing Reagan did, was cutting government spending on social programs and lowered income taxes. When Reagan moved into the white house, according to the website, www.house.gov, the top tax rate was 70%. Eventually, Reagan got it cropped in at least half, coming down to 35%. Also during Reagan's administration, from the National Review, charitable donations increased 57.7% between 1980 and 1989, and income tax revenue increased by more than 54% in the same period. Reagan's tax cuts meant that the people were given their dignity to have the money that they earn rather than giving it to the government. They also were given individual responsibilities to contribute that money to the economy. Ronald Reagan also gave freedom to many Europeans by outspending, and breaking up the Soviet Union in the Cold War. When making his farewell address in January of 1989, President Reagan stated the two things he was most proud of were "the recovery of the economy and our morale as a nation," and that the country was "more prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was eight years ago."
It is more debatable on whether President Clinton was a positive factor in the 90's. One of Clintons policies was the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. This joined together the United States, Canada and Mexico into a free-trade zone to strengthen the economy of each nation and create more American jobs. However, those who opposed this agreement claimed that the American jobs would be transferred to Mexico, where the wages are lower than the U.S. or Canada, and their weak antipollution laws would harm the environment. NAFTA had mixed results, wherein, freedoms and responsibilities were given to Mexicans, but in turn taken away from American and Canadian citizens. Clinton also had created an affordable health care plan for all Americans, with first lady Hillary Clinton at the helm. It seamed like it would help improve freedom and dignity but the bill was never even voted on in Congress. President Clinton also wanted to create a stronger and growing economy by balancing the government's budget to preserve Medicare, Medicaid, education, and the environment. This did not bode well with the new Republican-controlled Congress. President Clinton and the Congress butted heads about the issue until the government was actually shut down for a two month period.
However, these two were not the only Presidents who expanded on the concept of personal freedoms. There have been many other periods in this nation's historic growth that gave its citizens more and more freedoms, responsibilities and dignity. The United States has set major examples on how to properly evolve these concepts of freedom and responsibility. Other nations soon followed on the path towards properly giving these rights to its citizens; Gorbachev was the first of many to do which. Even today, the Bush Administration is making attempts to bring these rights to other nations. Our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan reflect this foreign policy and even those who do not approve of our efforts in the Middle East, want us to intervene and protect human rights in Sudan and other African nations. Protecting human dignity and personal freedoms will likely be part of America's foreign policy for years to come.
History II
Project 1: Final Draft
2.14.2008
Over the past century, there have been great feats to spread the concepts of personal freedom, individual responsibility, and human dignity. Some nations didn't get the message, or had their own ideas on evolving the concept, and failed. In the pre-World War Two era, The Destructive Nazi Germany and Ruthless Japanese Empire, as well as other powers of the eastern hemisphere at the time, were perfect examples of a negative spread of these concepts. The Communist Soviet Union was an example that also had negative effect on these concepts. However, the United States successful resistance to Soviet powers in the Cold War created an extremely positive effect on personal freedoms and human dignity, as well as the presidency of Ronald Reagan. However, the presidency of William Jefferson Blythe Clinton could have been much more effective on these concepts.
The aggression of the German Nazi party, and the Japanese Militarists played extremely important roles in the concepts of personal freedoms and human dignity. In 1919, Adolf Hitler had joined the National Socialist German Workers Party, or the Nazi Party, and soon afterwards, became the leader. In a similar fashion to Italian fascist, Benito Mussolini, Hitler became the Prime Minister and created the third German Empire. In his new empire, Hitler wanted to enforce extreme nationalism and racial "purification." The concept of degrading human right comes into play here with Hitler believing that blond-haired, blue-eyed "Aryans" were a "master race," and that ethnicities such as Jews, Slavs and any nonwhites were "Inferior Races," and were only fit to serve the Aryans. These beliefs of Hitler's led to the creation of the concentration camps and horrific events such as the Holocaust. Hitler also believed in a militaristic expansion (a means of increasing living space and population), as well as the Japanese and their Prime Minister, Hideki Tojo, who had rendered the Emperor Hirohito powerless. Once they had seized power, the Japanese military launched an attack and took control of the Chinese province of Manchuria. The League of Nations, established after WWI, was created to prevent this type of aggression and to support the evolution of personal freedoms. After discovering what had happened in Manchuria, the League condemned Japan, which was a useless effort because they quit the League anyway. These events that degraded human rights and personal freedoms in Europe and Asia were what caused the Second World War.
Another Axis power form World War Two that disregarded the concepts of personal freedoms and human dignity was Josef Stalin's Communist Soviet Union, before known as Russia. The inhumane ways of the Soviet Union continued throughout the post WWII era until the Cold War was ended in 1992. When Josef Stalin came into power in Soviet Russia, his policies obliterated whatever little successes the New Economic Policy had made, along with the nations agricultural sector, and took complete control of the peoples viewpoint of economic life. The ideas of Communism completely throw away the idea of all three concepts of personal freedoms, in which case, no one could talk negatively about the government, individual responsibility, which, in the Soviet Union, the government provided everything, and human dignity, in which people could get shot just for attempting to leave the country. During Stalin's rule over the Soviet Union, there was no capitalist free market, but "central planning," which was a market controlled by the government. Oleg Gordievsky, a British spy passing off as a KGB agent, told the British intelligence service, "The Soviet Union had been spending at least 50 percent [of the economy] on the military." When this information reached U.S. President Ronald Reagan, he know that America could resist against the Soviet Union by creating an arms race, with project such as an eight-hundred ship navy and the Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as the "Star Wars." His strategy was to out spend the Soviet Union until their economy went bankrupt, which it did. Another contribution to the Soviet Unions collapse was the last communist ruler of the nation Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev's policies began to bring a sense of democracy into the Soviet Union. His most important policies were Glasnost, which allowed freedom of the press and open criticism of the Soviet Government, and Perestroika, a plan for the reconstruction of the Soviet Union. And to help recover the collapsed economy, he called for less government control. The Cold War had finally ended when President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin declared the end of the Cold War, and the Soviet Union became the Commonwealth of Independent States In February of 1992.
The concepts of personal freedoms and human dignity did not seem to be making much improvement in the world. But things were progressing more nicely in the United States. The decades of the 1980's through the 1990's were a period that these concepts really took flight. This was a result of people taking advantage of their opportunities of individual responsibilities and human dignity. However, the most important contributors of evolving these concepts were the Presidents. President Ronald Reagan made great steps toward evolving personal freedom during his two terms in the 80's. The first thing Reagan did, was cutting government spending on social programs and lowered income taxes. When Reagan moved into the white house, according to the website, www.house.gov, the top tax rate was 70%. Eventually, Reagan got it cropped in at least half, coming down to 35%. Also during Reagan's administration, from the National Review, charitable donations increased 57.7% between 1980 and 1989, and income tax revenue increased by more than 54% in the same period. Reagan's tax cuts meant that the people were given their dignity to have the money that they earn rather than giving it to the government. They also were given individual responsibilities to contribute that money to the economy. Ronald Reagan also gave freedom to many Europeans by outspending, and breaking up the Soviet Union in the Cold War. When making his farewell address in January of 1989, President Reagan stated the two things he was most proud of were "the recovery of the economy and our morale as a nation," and that the country was "more prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was eight years ago."
It is more debatable on whether President Clinton was a positive factor in the 90's. One of Clintons policies was the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. This joined together the United States, Canada and Mexico into a free-trade zone to strengthen the economy of each nation and create more American jobs. However, those who opposed this agreement claimed that the American jobs would be transferred to Mexico, where the wages are lower than the U.S. or Canada, and their weak antipollution laws would harm the environment. NAFTA had mixed results, wherein, freedoms and responsibilities were given to Mexicans, but in turn taken away from American and Canadian citizens. Clinton also had created an affordable health care plan for all Americans, with first lady Hillary Clinton at the helm. It seamed like it would help improve freedom and dignity but the bill was never even voted on in Congress. President Clinton also wanted to create a stronger and growing economy by balancing the government's budget to preserve Medicare, Medicaid, education, and the environment. This did not bode well with the new Republican-controlled Congress. President Clinton and the Congress butted heads about the issue until the government was actually shut down for a two month period.
However, these two were not the only Presidents who expanded on the concept of personal freedoms. There have been many other periods in this nation's historic growth that gave its citizens more and more freedoms, responsibilities and dignity. The United States has set major examples on how to properly evolve these concepts of freedom and responsibility. Other nations soon followed on the path towards properly giving these rights to its citizens; Gorbachev was the first of many to do which. Even today, the Bush Administration is making attempts to bring these rights to other nations. Our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan reflect this foreign policy and even those who do not approve of our efforts in the Middle East, want us to intervene and protect human rights in Sudan and other African nations. Protecting human dignity and personal freedoms will likely be part of America's foreign policy for years to come.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)