The end of shark fin soup

An increasing number of organisations such as WildAid, that protect the rights of the animals worldwide, have started a campaign to stop with the cruel practice of cutting shark fins, which are then used to produce shark fin soup. This soup is a very popular item in the Chinese cuisine, to the point that it is even considered a luxury product (it can cost around $100).This organisation attempts to make the Chinese population aware of the impact of their consumption, and end with the myth that the fins will end up regenerating. To obtain their objective they have counted on the support of a famous sportsman, Yao Ming, in their advertising campaigns. There is also an exhibition that shows pictures of fishermen cutting their fins.

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I think this is a really positive iniciative, that shows that the importance of issues such as the environmental protection is increasing in the country. However, although it is having a positive response among some of the population, there are many who are still reluctant to stop their consume of this product, especially because it is a sign of wealth. The fact that materialism is so deeply rooted in the Chinese society might be the biggest barrier to hold back this practice.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15007841

Mystery surrounds deadly explosion in Argentina

Last Monday, there was an explosion in the locality of Monte Grande in Argentina, just two days after a more than- 5- ton NASA satellite plummeted to earth. This terrible event caused the death of a Peruvian woman and eight other people were injured. It is uncertain which the cause of the explosion was but the residents of the area where the explosion took place have commented that they saw a “powerful flash” and a strong noise; they even speak of a fireball fall from the sky. A resident explained to the Media that it was like a horror movie, all the people running away from their houses, cars everywhere turning around and window glasses exploding.

Experts don’t know yet what it exactly was, some say that it was a piece of meteorite, others that it was a satellite or a piece of it but they are still investigating so we can just wait until they find out the answer.

I don’t really know what it exactly was what caused the explosion because I am not an expert on this matter but what I can tell is that lots of social and natural disasters are happening in earth lately. It seems to me that not only the social crisis all over the world but also natural disasters and this kind of events are making us realize that ,we, as human beings are not as powerful as we think we are and that we are very vulnerable. We have been abusing of earth and we have to think that the resources are limited so if we don´t respect earth more, we will reach a point where there won’t be a turning back.

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2011/09/26/mystery-surrounds-deadly-explosion-in-argentina/

Ethiopia and Egypt agree on new chapter in relations

In order to open a new chapter on international relations, Egypt and Ethiopia agree that the Nile basin is a bridge and not a barrier. The future is a new relationship between Ethiopia and Egypt based on a win-win strategy. The past is an old relationship based on a zero-sum game. That is gone. There is no going back. Under the Mubarak regime, Ethiopia took the lead in the campaign against Egypt -- for whom the Nile is just about the only source of water -- but Sharaf's government has repeatedly stressed its intention to resolve the dispute. Sharaf, Egypt’s Prime Minister, said that both countries’ main and ultimate goal is to develop an integrated development plan that benefits both. And they have agreed on the establishment of a political dialogue mechanism at the level of foreign ministers to ensure regular meetings. On the contrary, Ethiopia confirms that they won’t make a move and that they will wait for the Egyptian side to make its decision in the regard.

Setting the Nile basin as a bridge and not as a subject of conflicts is the beginning of a new relationship between two neighbor countries based on confidence and friendship, leading to an example of fraternity for other African countries.

ATTACKS IN IRAQ'S HOLY CITY OF KARBALA

On Sunday 25th of September 2011, four bombs exploded killing fifteen people and the number of casualties has already reached eighty. This number could rise, as wounded keep arriving to the city's hospitals. All the bombs exploded within five minutes in Karbala, a city situated in the southwest of Baghdad.

The first car bomb exploded in front of the Department of the Interior, where identity cards and passports are made, and the second one exploded in the same place once the help arrived. The third bomb exploded next to a building, damaging the facade. Finally, the fourth bomb was detonated about a mile away from Iman Abbas temple.

According to Tariq al-Khaikani, member of Karbala’s provincial council, the bombs were detonated in the most popular parts of the city, in order to kill as much people as possible.

The article mentions one of the biggest attacks in Iraq, when a bus full Shiites was stopped in the Sunni dominated province of Anbar, while travelling to a sanctuary in Damask. This took place on September 12, and 22 of the passengers were killed.

In my opinion, when a country such as Iraq suffers an important attack, is very difficult to know the exact number of victims. This is the reason why it is sated that the number of casualties range between 40 and 90. Karbala is a holy Shiite city where numerous Sunni attacks have been committed against the Shiite pilgrims.

Taking into account that only in 2007 more than 7.500 people were murdered due to the civil war, we can conclude that even though Iraq has suffered in the last month various attacks, the number of attacks has decreased drastically. I cannot but agree with Tariq al-Khaikani and think that one of the factors that influence the numerous attacks in Iraq is the lack of ministers of defense or interior. Both these roles have been overseen by the Prime Minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who promised to name two other persons for these roles. In my opinion what they want to achieve is to destabilize the new and fragile government and maybe the presence of the United States military could help in guarantee the stability of the country, while Iraq is reconstructed.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/iraq/awakening_movement/index.html?scp=11&sq=iraq&st=cse

Serbia passes restitution law as part of EU reform but heirs say bill is not enough

Lawmakers in Serbia on Monday approved a law to return property confiscated by communist authorities after the Second World War, which is an important gesture in its efforts to join the European Union. However, the heirs of the property even complain that this act does not undo the injustice.
117 of 154 lawmakers in Parliament backed this proposal.
The intention is for Serbia to enter the union later this year.
George Ilic, an important Serbian artist who is one of the thousands who have waited decades to recover the confiscated fortunes, said the law is not enough.
The owners or their heirs - an estimated 150,000 people - are invited to apply for the return of property or compensation no later than 2014.

In my opinion, even though Serbia is making very important efforts and already using the euro, talking about Serbia joining the EU at the end of the year is too rushed. Serbia still needs time too settle and accomplish the needed conditions to join the EU. But I find the original plan to join in 2014 that the Serbian government designing pretty possible to happen if they manage to resolve the domestic problems and the extensive reforms. Also I think it’s important to point out that The Serbian government has declared that the status of the Kosovo region should not be tied with the EU negotiations.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/serbia-passes-restitution-law-as-part-of-eu-reform-but-heirs-say-bill-is-not-enough/2011/09/26/gIQA62m1yK_story.html

The new "El Dorado"

In the current world crisis situation, mineral-rich rainforest of Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia and Guyana see themselves threatened by a growing number of gold related mining camps. The situation has come to be so severe that each day murders are increasing on the zone, and prostitution and drug related incidents seem to be increasing near those areas. However, although it is a voilent and dangerous path, indigenous population as well as the exploiters of the camps are trying to get richer. And it seems of no surprise that people may risk their lives and an out break of internal violence in the countries may occur, when the ounce of gold could get to a 1480 euro price by the end of the year.

(Brazilian miners and the destruction they bring to forests)

Brazilians are suffering again this increase of corrupted business in the Yanomami area, an indigenous reserve that already suffered the mining exploitation and the violence it attached to the job during 1980s-1990s. It is estimated that today around 2000 illegal workers are in the area, but they could increase numbers even more. Money, greed, drugs and alcohol are now the main problems associated with the murders of mining workers, but the situation seems to be getting worse as time passes by. Other countries and groups such as FARC seem to be getting interested in this new market, as other illegal means have gotten cut down by the different governments. The rise of gold's price is getting lucrative for those who can exploit mineral resources, and it seems it will not change any time soon.

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After reading this article I instantly thought about the african problem with "blood diamonds" and how both cases have many things in common. The situation of exploitation and how some people get richer thanks to this is extreme and sickening to a point. Governments do not know what to do about it, and if they do know what to do, they are not interested as they are bribed by the ones in charge of the mining over the area. Many murders and fights inside the countries are also erupting as less mineral resources are found and poverty strikes in. Not only disputes and violence are the problem, the Amazon itself is getting damaged. Between 2003-2009 deforestation rose up to a six-fold in one of the largest gold mining rush.

It is clear that this problem should be adressed properly in order not to repeat the "death camps" in the Brazilian (and over all Latin America) during the 1980s period. However, it seems a rather complicated issue due to all the different interest states might have on it , such as, gold price and quantity, bribed politicians and the fear of citizens regarding the exposure of illegal mining campaigns.

Source: The Guardian newspaper online. (click to get to the article)

Mexico gunmen abandon two trucks with 35 bodies inside

Last Tuesday, in the state of Veracruz, several gunmen blocked a busy road and left two trucks with tens of bodies inside, most of them showing signs of having been tortured. Motorists around feared for their lives. Seven of the 32 corpses - 23 men and 12 women- have been identified, and it seems that they were involved in organised crime and had prior criminal records such as kidnapping, extortion or homicide. The local authorities pointed out that Veracruz is experiencing a bloody escalation of crime and tension unseen before, very difficult to control. This upsurge has been blamed on a struggle between the cartel Zetas and its rivals to control new drug routes.

The tragedy from last week is just another example of how Mexican cartels resort to huge violence in order to control the drug market. Los Zetas, which control most of Veracruz - now a drug hub- kidnap, torture and kill other cartel’s members, threaten the population and blackmail politicians and important Mexican businessmen. Given the worsening of the situation, in 2006, Mexican President Felipe Calderón announced the beginning of the famous “war on drugs”, which would employ all national forces -including the army- to fight drug cartels. Nevertheless, having soldiers in the streets does not seem to have achieved the goals. On the contrary, cartels like Los Zetas o Sinaloa have grown in number and dramatically increased their power. The day to day in Mexico is a constant bloodshed. There is news about massive killings everyday. It is like a war, with crime organisations confronting police and army forces, and it is citizens who suffer the consequences. We do not realize that more people are being killed in Mexico everyday than in any war right now; but no solution can be found. What should Mexican authorities do? Would legalizing drugs be a sensible measure to bring cartel activity to an end? Can the rest of the world stop this by cooperating individually or through international organizations? or is it just Mexico’s internal issues and therefore, other States should not worry/interfere? It is difficult to find an answer, but I definitely think that the issue of drug trafficking and crimes related to drug cartels concerns every nation and hence, we should cooperate through our security forces and find ways to stop this problem.

Source: BBC News, September 21st 2011

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-14998500

Al Jazeera: the channel of the Revolution?

Lately, we have seen how the head of the Arab channel Al Jazeera, Wadah Khanfar, has been removed from his position without a trace or word. This has led to several hypotheses that have put international opinion on the track of possible causes for such a change in the world’s most popular and relevant Arabic channel, owned by some of the most important fortunes in Qatar. The channel had been accused of faking footage on several demonstrations and rebellions in the Arab world, as well as clearly supporting those rebellions that are currently going on in the phenomenon so called, the “Arab spring”.

Such accusations have been widely proved to be insubstantial, even after Wikileaks exposed Mr Khanfar as an agent in service of the American government. We could say that the Qatari leaders did not have an option after the big noise and harm that these accusations brought over the channel. However, it is undeniable that the support that Al Jazeera has shown towards the revolutions in countries like Egypt, Syria and Libya, has made the governments of these countries feel uneasy about the role that the channel is playing in these events.

 

Taking in account that most power in Qatar flows from the owners of Al Jazeera and similar businesses that have bloomed from the incomes of petroleum, why should a country like Qatar, as autocratic as can be, have any interest on supporting the rising of impending democracies in the region? Well, the answer in my opinion lays on the idea of the Arab brotherhood. Qatar, as the owner of most the economic and commercial power in the region (besides the UAE), may have seen the chance to unite the Arab countries under one purpose without losing any privilege they had before. They have the money and the logistics but we are to wait if this will be enough for the rest to follow them. At least, this should cause more than a restless night amongst occidental countries and global powers.

Source: The Economist, Sep 24th 2011 

http://www.economist.com/node/21530112 

Obama’s administration and U.S ambition: New jobs at Silicon Valley

U.S. president, Barack Obama proposed on the U.S. high-tech industry feasible ideas to generate more jobs in the so-called Silicon Valley.

The U.S. interest in the behavior of the variety of international markets (in terms of marketing and job creation) has been an issue not only highlighted by the Obama administration, but for the development of the electronics industry in California; an industry that a few decades ago, with the advent of Internet technology is now consolidated at Silicon Valley. The analysis and study of this field is a must in the Obama’s presidential cabinet. The U.S. government was in a preventive focus to an escalation of U.S. migrants and technology-based companies to countries like India, where, for example, labor is expanding quickly. The tasks or services to other countries is the concern of a region that strives to keep its place at the higher level from which they led the "boom" of the internet at the end of last century.

It is remarkable to mention the stability of the high tech industry in the U.S., primarily in California; however, the president Barack Obama has ordered the creation of larger strategies to extend that stability and finally to attract more capital through human resources to contribute in local industry.

I would like to end it up with this quote of Obama during his lecture at LinkedIn in Silicon Valley: We’re talking about going back to the rates of the ‘90s when, as I recall, Silicon Valley was doing pretty good. During that period, the rich got richer. The middle class expanded. Everybody was doing well. We’re not punishing those doing well. That’s the last thing I want to do. The question is how can we afford to continue making the investments that can propel America forward? That quote makes us wondering, if even today, with all the background and current situation of other economic emerging powers… how could they do it?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/17/AR2011021702500.html

Three children die in a school in Peru in a food contamination incident

Three children have died and fifty others are severely ill after eating a poisoned lunch in a school in the village of Redondo, in the Cajamarca region. The food had been donated by the National Food Assistance Program, a government program to feed the poor. According to government officials the children had symptoms of carbonate intoxication, which is often a consequence of the consumption of rat poison. However, according to some other sources the food was tainted with insecticide.
Minister for Women of Social Development, Aida García Naranjo, said that when the food arrived to the school it wasn’t contaminated. Instead, she believes that it was accidentally poisoned during its preparation once in said school. Officials from the NFPA have stated that the meal of rice and fish was probably prepared in a container which had previously held rat poison.

Opinion:
From my point of view, it is rather unlikely that someone from the school prepared the food in pots which had previously contained rat poison, as the NFPA has stated.

The fact that this has happened shows that not enough care is being put in producing and preparing the foods for this program. I believe that this incident should be thoroughly investigated to find the source of the poison, and that from now on the Peruvian government should implement stricter controls in order to avoid new cases of poisoning.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15010198

"Ladies in White": A pacific fight against the Cuban government

The Cuban dissident group “Ladies in White” is an opposition movement against the Communist government in Cuba formed by wives and daughters of jailed dissidents. This pacific movement expresses their confrontation with the government by attending Mass every Sunday wearing all white outfits, as a symbol of peace, and walking through the streets. The “Ladies in White” had planned to march to church on the Day of Our Lady of Mercy, September 24th (patron saint of prisoners), but they were not aware of the controversy that this march was going to make. Insults and slogans against this march all over the place was the reaction they found from government supporters in the capital, Havana, in front of Laura Pollan’s family house (leader of the group). But this is just a small frequent incident. The dissident group, “Ladies in White”, have been facing this kind of harassment from groups of government supporters since the creation of the movement. The communist authorities say that all these demonstrations are simple reaction from ordinary Cubans but, are we really talking about spontaneous reactions or is the all-powerful hand of the government behind this “spontaneity”? The Catholic Church affirms that the authorities may have launched this low-level dissident’s harassment campaign in secrecy. Another important statement about this new is the fact that the government describes all the different groups of dissidents as mercenaries paid by the US to destabilize the community system.

I personally believe that Cuba is in a frozen situation. As the world and society in general in the developed countries are running forward, the Cuban government is making its society to run backwards. Their isolation and massive control of the political, economic and social situations is preventing the country to develop. Even pacific actions of innocent citizens, whose only crime is to be against the government and their penal policies within the dissidents, are persecuted but always in a hidden way. The government cannot openly attack these movements but they create themselves a supposed “government’s supporters group” that plays their role with “spontaneous” reactions. Nowadays, none believes in the Cuban government. They try to lie to citizens; Cubans that see themselves fighting for the concept of communism; a communism that is against all rights and freedom. The fact that there are still many dissident groups against the government is also a sign of progress and hope for the Cuban society.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15051043

Palestinians submit statehood request to UN

President Mahmoud Abbas says time has come to end the suffering and the plight of millions of Palestinians.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/09/201192312433584593.html



Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, called for Palestine’s recognition as a full member of the United Nations in an impassioned speech last Friday at the UN General Assembly. He claimed that Palestine is willing to restart negotiations with Israel based on 1967 borders, and made it clear that Palestine’s bid does not seek to delegitimise Israel. Though Abbas’ request was for full UN membership, he also left the door open to membership as a non-member observer state. Talks start today and could last for weeks, yet the US government has threatened to veto the UN resolution at the Security Council, so the possibilities that the bid will be approved are scarce. Despite some clashes between the Israeli military and Palestinians in certain spots along the West Bank, Abbas’ proposal has increased popular support, whereas no signs of activism were reported in the Gaza Strip. The Hamas leader, in control of the Gaza Strip, has expressed Hamas’ rejection to Palestinian statehood via UN resolutions.

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I believe that Abbas’ resolve to achieve a Palestinian state is a great leap forward towards the end of Israel’s repression on the Palestinian people, though his proposal is not viable at the moment due to international law constrains and US opposition. In terms of territory, a Palestinian state built on current borders would be atypical; juridically speaking, the sovereignty of the Palestine Liberation Organisation is under question, for the Gaza Strip is governed by a political entity with a terrorist branch. Besides, Israel’s supremacy in today’s world order as the US’ major ally in the region hinders Palestine’s UN membership bid. Furthermore, President Obama’s incoherent policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has shifted from sympathy towards Palestinians during his presidential campaign to absolute rejection of statehood, most probably motivated by Jewish lobbyists and his ongoing campaign for re-election. Though Abbas’ bid is most likely to fail, the position that UN member states will take in future votes will be determinant for international relations in the Middle East, especially those concerning the Arab world.

"Noda says Japan will not turn inward after disaster"

Noda elected as Japan's new PM

Last Friday, recently elected Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda clearly stated that the country would open its doors to the international community-by trying to help and contribute in order to achieve a "better future for the world"- as much as it would work to paliate the awful consequences of the recent situation involving the Fukushima power plant and the tsunami.

Among all the things he promised in the U.N. General Assembly opening session, he said he would invest all the means possible in order to ease the development of the new recognized state of South Sudan and also facilitate the way to democracy in the Middle East and North Africa. In order to do so, he offered a $1 billion loan to start the procedures. He mentioned he would strengthen the relations with China as well, as both countries need to get along well and forget hursh feelings from the past.

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After elections were held, and with huge effort and a competitive campaign, Noda has made its way through the Japanese government to the top. His administration, focused on the economic field, and his tight relationship with the U.S. in order to obtain a security alliance, have made of him a popular character in the country. However, as a new Prime Minister, he is trying to show to both Japan's population and the rest of the international community that he is ready to be the "change", but the truth is that on the one hand the state has been focusing a lot on its domestic policies for a long time and, on the other hand, it has established a foreign policy characterised by mere pragmatic and pacific behaviors since the end of WWII and only acquiring a more internationally committed perspective in the past twenty years. So we will have to wait and see if his promises are for real and if he is willing to be the real change for the country.

What do you guys think? Is Japan ready to do everything it takes in order to be recognised as the power it actually is? or is it most likely to maintain its past policies and remain in a second place while the rest of the world keeps on walking? I think Japanese won't be able to consolidate back their former strong position in the international framework for a long time, because even though they are the third largest economy in the world, they do need to recover from the quake & tsunami accident and rethink some of their policies regarding issues of extreme importance such as energy or demographics...

頑張ってNodaさま！！(good luck Mr.Noda)...you're going to need it.

Link: http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/noda-says-japan-will-not-turn-inward-after-disaster

-Japan Today News, 24 September 2011.

"We were held because of our nationality"

Two American hikers were released today after they were imprisoned on espionage charges in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran last July, 2009.

It started when Shane M.Bauer, Joshua F. Fattal and Sarah E.Shourd were hiking near Northern Iraq´s border with Iran. They wondered unkowingly over the uncertain Iranian border when they were approached by an Iranian guard that immediatelly detained them.

"From the very start, the only reason we have been held hostage is because we are American," Bauer said, adding that "Iran has always tied our case to its political disputes with the U.S.". The two countries severed diplomatic ties three decades ago with the hostage crisis. The relationship between these two countries is also on its last threads due to Iran´s uranium enrichment program and thus as the U.S.´s nuclear threat in the Middle East.

Bauer added: "It was never about crossing the unmarked border between Iran and Iraq. We were held because of our nationality."

Ms. Shourd, 33, Mr Bauer´s fiancee (they became engaged while they were all in jail), was released in September, 2010 after she paid $500,000 in bail.

The Americans were isolated in prison and would go on repeated hunger strikes to receive letters. The Iranian authorities only let them talk with their families for 15 minutes in the full two years they were in prison. Their stay in the Iranian prison was uncertain until Mir Ahmadijenaldl promised last week that the men would be released in" a couple days".His statement was part of his strategy to gain favorable attention before he flew to New York to attend this weeks United Nations General meeting. On the contrary, Iran´s judiciary announced that the prisioners wouldn´t be freed as the president said.

Finally, they´re torture stopped when they were lead to another part of the prison where they met a diplomatic envoy from Oman who said: "Let´s go home".

To cross such poltically and fisically dangerous terrain was an ignorant move on the part of the americans and with such a fragile relationship between the US and Iran suspicions of espionage can only be expected by such a totalitarian country as Iran. Regardless, such treatment is beyond any humanitarian rights and should be not tolerated on the international playing field.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/26/freed-us-hikers-iran-american

Greece nears the precipice, raising fear.

Greece is in a very delicate situation. In the article of the New York Times, we can see the possible outcomes of the Greek economy. Some specialist talk about default and some others talk about a return to the drachma, the currency before the euro. The Greek debt is about 370 billion Euros, bigger than the debt Argentina had in its past crisis and bigger than the Russian. The future of Greece we don’t know but the possible outcomes of the crisis are devastating.

OPINION:

As I said the Greek situation is very delicate and they possible aids it may receive are also very delicate. In the articles I’ve read some possible solutions and none of them show a bright future for Greece. One of the solutions to the crisis would be the default; this would be the best for Greece because it would be relieving Greece from paying the debt but it may have negative consequences for countries like Italy or maybe Spain. Can Greece receive more help from other countries? In this times Europe should be together and help everyone in the union, but Greece has receive a lot of financial aids already, there is a lot of controversy with this issue. I think Greece shouldn’t be left alone in a moment like this, Greece is not only a bunch of banks politicians and if they exit the euro or they are left bankrupt they may be some very negative consequences for the Greek people. I personally have a very strong affection for Greece since I have family there and I lived there for some time, and it’s quite sad to see how it has degraded into riots and chaos. I would like to see your opinion, should Greece exit the euro zone and be left on its own to avoid giving them more economic help?