Al-Qa'ida, I'm pretty sure everyone has heard of them. HAMAS, another terrorist group; actually there are a lot of terrorist organizations that anyone with internet access can go to http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/37191.htm and see the Current List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations. There is the Aum Shinrikyo, the Revoluntionary Armed Forces of Columbia, al-Jihad (Egyptian Islamic Jihad), the National Liberation Army (ELN), Salafist Group for Call and Combat, just to name a few. Some of the names sound more like clubs that anyone can join on a college campus that actual organizations that have purposes to harm/kill people.
But amoungst these names, there seems to be a name missing, a name that has been synonymous with ethnic persecutions, massacres, horrible treatment of women, and that name is the Taliban. The U.S. State Department, Britain, European Union, Canada, and Australia do not recognize the Taliban as a terrorist organization. The Taliban's main supporters were Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Pakistan but they halted official support after 9/11 and partnered up with the United States.
I have to wonder why this group is not recognized as a notorious terrorist group even with all the attention they seem to be receiving from the media, but I guess the Council on Foreign Relations put it rather soundly, "possible political support, you can't call them terrorist and then try to reconcile with them".
Does a list matter when its purpose is not reflected in its contents? This is just another example we can ponder while sipping our lemonades on our porches while feeling utterly helpless. How's the foreign policy going?
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Iowa Caucus
“First in the Nation” fits into the scheme for Iowa in the 2008 elections because it was the first state to start of a nominating contest for presidential candidates. Some of the info on http://www.atmoreadvance.com/articles/2008/01/07/opinion/editorials/col1.txt says that this caucus is one of many gatherings that shall be held in the United States over the course of the 2008 election. They are a way to measure the popularity of the candidates of both parties and see which one can come out on top. When asked about the Iowa Caucus, many people simply disregard it from their daily life. As for the few that were aware of the caucus, they were interviewed to gain their perspective for the upcoming elections. Robert Sharp {a med. tech. manager in Seattle} had been asked what his feelings towards the results of the caucus were, he stated, “I was kind of disappointed. I am a Democrat rooting for Hilary Clinton.” Given the response, it would seem that Obama’s sudden victory was not only a surprise to me. It is true that I would prefer Obama over Clinton because I do believe that since he is still very young, he has room to grow and he it would be interesting to see what he has to offer.
I had also asked Paula Misley {a high school teacher in Spanaway} what she thought kind of an impact the Iowa Caucus had on the 2008 elections, she said, “I think it’s a good indicator of a candidate’s success in the presidential election.” This I completely agree with, since it naturally does give you a view on who is in the lead and show which candidates will make or break the votes. However, with that thought in mind, it is interesting that those I interviewed didn’t talk about the Republican candidates; those such as Mike Huckabee who dominated the Republican candidates or Mitt Romney who came in second. This may be an indication that these caucuses or primaries are just for popularity and not how or what a person has in his/her span of working in politics.Speaking with some of the student body, I discovered that most only knew of the Democratic candidates Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama because they are different, big and changing in America. Most Americans tend not to become knowledgeable in politics and pay attention to top candidates, however this time the top competitors are causing more of a commotion then ever before. On the night of the Iowa Caucus, history was made when voters decided to take the government into their own hands after many years of hiding in the shadow. A tidal wave of voters rushed to the polls to voice out who it was they wanted. The two victors were Barack Obama of the Democratic Party and Mike Huckabee for the Republicans, whom which came out of no where and dominated their opponents.. Even though I was extremely surprised with the results, I was quite pleased with it. I do believe that Iowa caucus proved that with something new, people get intrigued and want to know more and do more, which was what happened. Seeing as how anything can happen in the primaries and caucuses, I can't wait to see the results of which two will face off for the final prize of being named president of the United States of America. For more on the results, go to http://www.kcci.com/politics/14973253/detail.html.
I had also asked Paula Misley {a high school teacher in Spanaway} what she thought kind of an impact the Iowa Caucus had on the 2008 elections, she said, “I think it’s a good indicator of a candidate’s success in the presidential election.” This I completely agree with, since it naturally does give you a view on who is in the lead and show which candidates will make or break the votes. However, with that thought in mind, it is interesting that those I interviewed didn’t talk about the Republican candidates; those such as Mike Huckabee who dominated the Republican candidates or Mitt Romney who came in second. This may be an indication that these caucuses or primaries are just for popularity and not how or what a person has in his/her span of working in politics.Speaking with some of the student body, I discovered that most only knew of the Democratic candidates Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama because they are different, big and changing in America. Most Americans tend not to become knowledgeable in politics and pay attention to top candidates, however this time the top competitors are causing more of a commotion then ever before. On the night of the Iowa Caucus, history was made when voters decided to take the government into their own hands after many years of hiding in the shadow. A tidal wave of voters rushed to the polls to voice out who it was they wanted. The two victors were Barack Obama of the Democratic Party and Mike Huckabee for the Republicans, whom which came out of no where and dominated their opponents.. Even though I was extremely surprised with the results, I was quite pleased with it. I do believe that Iowa caucus proved that with something new, people get intrigued and want to know more and do more, which was what happened. Seeing as how anything can happen in the primaries and caucuses, I can't wait to see the results of which two will face off for the final prize of being named president of the United States of America. For more on the results, go to http://www.kcci.com/politics/14973253/detail.html.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Hold the Conspiracy Please
President Bush authorized domestic spying, as in the government can monitor phone calls between U.S. citizens and foreign nationals, in 2002. According to the former director of the National Security Agency [the guys that have the power to monitor a whole lot of people's e-mails, telephone calls and other ways of communication] Michael V. Hayden said that the reason for this was because vital information could be lost because it takes time to get a warrant. [washingtonpost.com]
Now for those of you who don't know, telephone companies, namely, those 1-800 numbers we make when we make collect calls, are already recording our conversations. Sure, it is to make sure that the quality of our conversation is up-to-par, but still, our conversations are being recorded nonetheless.
You have to wonder about the abuse that could be made because the government is watching us , and really... ever since 9/11 the public have been very willing to give up their privacy more because they are worried about their safety. It should be a good thing that we have a government that is taking steps to further public safety, if anything we should be worried if the government wasn't doing anything. But there is a time, where we have to wonder if they will go too far, taking advantage of their new hold on America's attention. President Bush's term has been the most unbalanced of the checks and balances in the executive branch favor, what is this suppose to mean for the new president's term starting in 2008?
So I guess we have to choose; security or privacy? One extreme to the next, where is this balance that our framers seemed to crave so much?
Now for those of you who don't know, telephone companies, namely, those 1-800 numbers we make when we make collect calls, are already recording our conversations. Sure, it is to make sure that the quality of our conversation is up-to-par, but still, our conversations are being recorded nonetheless.
You have to wonder about the abuse that could be made because the government is watching us , and really... ever since 9/11 the public have been very willing to give up their privacy more because they are worried about their safety. It should be a good thing that we have a government that is taking steps to further public safety, if anything we should be worried if the government wasn't doing anything. But there is a time, where we have to wonder if they will go too far, taking advantage of their new hold on America's attention. President Bush's term has been the most unbalanced of the checks and balances in the executive branch favor, what is this suppose to mean for the new president's term starting in 2008?
So I guess we have to choose; security or privacy? One extreme to the next, where is this balance that our framers seemed to crave so much?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)