Israel

During Vice President Biden's trip to Israel the Israeli government announced plans to expand the settlements that were already present. This threatens the attempts by the United States and other countries to resolve problems between Palestinians and Israelis. This move also undermined the United States efforts taking place in Israel. If you combine this with the fact that AIPAC (an American Jewish lobby group) is supporting the Israeli move America is being made to look like a fool because the country that they provide the most foreign aid to is going against there will.

The United States should put an end to its alliance with Israel because the current alliance threatens United States relations in the Middle East and rest of the world. As long as Israel keeps bombing the Gaza Strip and flying in the restricted air zones of other countries in the Middle East with the support of America that turns the other cheek there will be hostility between the United States and the Middle East. If the U.S. were to cut its ties or reprimand Israel it may help to gain the support of other countries in the Middle East. Also if the U.S. would reprimand Israel or reduce its support for Israel it would improve its relations with the whole world because of the amount of times the U.S. has used its veto in favor of Israel. Many countries feel that the excessive use of the veto in the UN is an abuse of power.

The U.S. should change its policy in Israel to ease relations with the Middle East and the rest of the world. By doing so the United States could avoid a war with Iran, Egypt, and other countries. It would also strengthen U.S. legitimacy.

Russian-Venezuelan Arms Deal

Russia has agreed to a five billion dollar arms deal with Venezuela that includes a 2.2 billion dollar loan that was given to Venezuela last year from Moscow. The Venezuelans have already been buying military weapons from the Russians. These purchases include more than 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles (AK-47), twenty-four fighter jets, and more than fifty attack and transport helicopters from Russia’s Mil Moscow helicopter plant (UPI). The Russians and Venezuelans have also signed a plan that would establish a facility in Venezuela that produces the Kalashnikov rifle but the facility has not been built yet. It is believed that the current arms deal will be used to purchase tanks from the Russians.

The arms race in Venezuela threatens the sovereignty of the surrounding Latin American countries. The major country that is threatened by this is the Columbian state. This is due to the fact the Venezuela is supporting the left wing Revolutionary Armed forces of Columbia. Columbia has had to increase its own military power in order to stop the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia. Also, the relations between the two countries have also been hampered by the fact that Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez slapped a ban on Columbian imports as a result of Columbia allowing the United States to have greater access to its anti-narcotics operations. IT is feared that the Russia Venezuela arms deal is the sign of an arms race between Venezuela and Columbia as a result in differences of opinion about United States involvement in and presence in South America.

This arms deal and the potential arms deal that it may cause threatens global security. This is due to the United States being aligned with Columbia whereas Russia and Iran are aligned with Venezuela. If war were to break between these two armed nations there is no definite winner and the war may require outside intervention. Intervention could lead to war between the United States and Russia. This arms deal also threatens sanctions by the United Nations. This is due to the Venezuelan support of the Iranian nuclear program which can be shown by Chavez stating the he would send 20,000 barrels of gasoline a day in order to undermine the sanctions placed on Iran (Schualy).

This plan also may allude to the development of a Venezuelan nuclear power program. Their increased alliance with Russia and Iran may mean that the last two countries are providing Venezuela with nuclear technology. In a sense this may be positive because Venezuela’s GDP fell by over three percent as a result of an energy crisis. On the other hand Venezuela has been rapidly arming itself which may indicate that it would use nuclear technology to create atomic weapons. If you combine this with the anti-American and anti-Columbian sentiment expressed by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and there is the potential for a global war to erupt that could involve nuclear weapons.

This arms deal is more of an example of cooperation in the world than it is an example of conflict. This is due to the alliance that is being formed between Russia and Venezuela. The alliance also includes other countries that have or are developing nuclear programs and express anti-American sentiment. These other two countries are Iran and China. This cooperation between the four countries resembles the alliances formed by the axis during World War Two and the triple alliance of World War One. The potential for this alliance is of great importance to the whole world because of the authoritarian regimes that run these countries and the corruption or militarism of the leaders that are in power in these countries.

The arms deal between Russia and Venezuela is an example of cooperation between two belligerent nations. The cooperation between these two countries may be the sign of a formation of a new axis of evil. This cooperation may lead to a third world war. This deal threatens not only the sovereignty of countries in South America it threatens the security of the world. At the same time it also helps an economy that was struggling as a result of an energy crisis. The outcomes and consequences of the actions of these two countries are unknown but the pose the potential to destroy global security and cause war.

Russian PM Putin eyes $5bn arms deals with Venezuela. BBC News. April 6^th 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8603698.stm

Russian-Venezuelan arms deal sparks concerns. UPI. April 8^th 2010. http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2010/04/08/Russian-Venezuelan-arms-deal-sparks-concerns/UPI-36351270749864/

Schualy, Mordchai. “The Future Nuclear Powers You Should be Worried About.” October 20^th 2009. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/10/20/the_future_nuclear_powers_you_should_be_worried_about?page=0,3

Venezuela-Russia deal sparks arms race concerns. The Financial Times. April 7^th 2010. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fb73932c-423f-11df-9ac4-00144feabdc0.html

Moscow's Victory Day Celebration

I was reading an article on ForeignPolicy.com called "Will U.S. troops march past posters of Stalin?" http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/03/24/will_us_troops_march_past_posters_of_stalin. Every year the city of Moscow has a celebration commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany. This year American and British troops have been invited to march in the ceremonies. This would be no problem if the Mayor of Moscow was not trying to have posters of Stalin placed throughout the city. This presents the dilemma of whether or not the British and American troops should march in the parade due to the acts of Stalin.

The United States and British troops should not march in the parade because of the inhumane acts that Stalin committed during his time of reign. The celebration commemorates the fall of Nazi Germany and the horrendous acts of Hitler and the Nazi Party. It is counterintuitive to criticize and celebrate the downfall of one inhumane group and at the same time praise a man who committed crimes that were just as bad and sometimes worse. The troops should not march if Stalin is celebrated because they would be condoning the acts of lunatic. In a time when the UN is trying to limit inhumane acts in the world two of its most important members should not celebrate a leader that is known for his acts against other men.

The only downfall of not marching in the celebration is that it will hurt U.S. relations with Russia. The relations of the two countries are declining quickly. This due to the U.S. blowing up Russian gas lines during the Clinton administration and Russia supporting Iran's bids for nuclear technology. This may lead to a potential war between the country. It could be a physical war or it could be an arms race such as the Cold War.

In conclusion the United States and Britain should not march because it is better to hurt relations with Russia than to condone inhumane acts against man in the rest of the world.

Automotive Recalls

For the past few weeks the biggest news story has been the Toyota recall. Toyota recalled more than 7 million automobiles due to problems with rapid acceleration. This was due to either a malfunctioning pedal or due to the pedal becoming trapped by the carpet or floor mat. Allegedly 37 people have died from these accidents. Every day for the past few months Toyota has been attacked by the United States media as ignoring the issue at hand and by doing so they put the lives of Americans. These claims were made because the problem stems back to some 2000 models. Toyota's name was dragged through the mud and a result of this their sales dropped significantly.

While Toyota's sales were falling Ford's and GM's rose greatly. I believe that the media and the United States government attacked Toyota with the intent of hurting Toyota's sales and by doing this they would increase the sale of American made vehicles. This would help to stimulate the struggling American auto industry and economy. Apparently some Toyota dealers feel the same way that I do because they had ads pulled from local news stations.

Another reason why I believe that is was an attack on Toyota is the fact that General Motors recalled roughly 1.3 million vehicles that had power steering problems. These problems would cause power steering to cut off unexpectedly. There have been 14 accidents reported with the Chevy Cobalt (900,000 recall) and there were 1,100 complaints. The news briefly mentioned this recall earlier this week but they did not return to the subject later on in the program or return to it one of the following days. Although the numbers for GM are lower than that off Toyota they have still put lives at risk. The American government and media decided to not attack GM as they did Toyota because they were trying to ensure the regrowth of the American auto industry.

I'm not saying that what America did was wrong but I do feel that America's actions may be threatening our relations with Japan as a whole because of how important Toyota is to their economy. These actions further endanger the American economy because Japan may resist to buy American products and reduce trade. Also the jobs of Americans are being threatened by the attacks against Toyota. This due to the fact that Toyota has five plants in the United States. The United States should change their current actions so that they are not attacking Toyota and in the process both sides would benefit.

The Olympic Games

Over the past couple of weeks when I have the time I check the medal count for the Olympics to see how the US is doing. I’m always thrilled to see that the United States is winning in the medal count and individual events. Also, while watching the news and ESPN I have seen the debates about whether the medal count is still important. So I asked myself is the pride I get from seeing my count try on top just promoting a false sense of superiority and security or does success in the Olympics translate to political and economic success on the global scale. I believe the Olympics still carry the political importance just as they did during the World Wars and the Cold War.

The goings on in the world today might not be as threatening as they were 30-50 years ago but they are still important to the games. Just as the US’s improbable victory over the USSR in hockey was symbolic of the US becoming the only superpower and the fall of the USSR other countries defeating US in the present Olympic Games shows the decline of the American superpower. The victories that the Americans achieve are still important because they help to show that America is still one of the most dominant countries but the American loses show that they were not as strong as they once were and that other countries are on the rise.

The Olympics are further more politically important to this day because of the sense of nationalism that they instill in the citizens of each individual country. Seeing one’s country win creates a since of pride in the individual. As the games go on people continue to root for their country in each and every event they participate in. This creates a sense of nationalism in many countries because they unite as one against foreigners despite the bad situations they may face. This nostalgia from the games does not last forever but it eases some of the pressure on the governments and the people.

The medal count is still important because the sports are an institution in the world. Therefore dominance in sports translates to strength as a country. And they still remain important because of the nationalism that is created by the game. Therefore I encourage all of you to turn on the news or check online to see how your country is faring in the Olympics and cheer for your country.

Fox News

The other morning I couldn't find anything on TV so I decided to watch FOX News. I usually do not watch CNN, MSNBC, or FOX because of the propaganda going on between them and some of the polarizing views. But, on this day I choose to watch and Fox and Friends happened to be on. I was appalled when I saw the Gretchen Carlson having no clue what simple words meant and I recalled an episode of The Daily Show were she was talked about. So I did some research and found out that she was Miss America, went to Stanford, went to Oxford (the one in Britain), and she is a violinist and played the Ziguenerweisen (which is an extremely tough peace). So asked myself why would a woman with so much intelligence and being so accomplished pretend to be dumb? I came to the conclusion that FOX News must feel that women should not be portrayed as both or can not be both intelligent and attractive. In other words women are either intelligent and unattractive or they are bimbos. This is shown my Gretchen Carlson and Megyn Kelly (another anchor that attended Syracuse) pretending to be ignorant and trying to flaunt their appearance. On the other hand you have Greta Van Susteren who is highly knowledgeable and knows the legal system very well but she will not be seen as attractive by the majority of men in America. I feel that FOX News is setting women back many years by portraying this image because they are only instilling these ideals/beliefs into the people that watch it. Therefore, these women should take the responsibility upon themselves to display their intelligence and show that just because one is attractive doesn't mean that one has to be ignorant.

Education

Recently I was looking at the statuses that my friends in college were posting. The majority of my friends graduated last year. Some of them decided to take a semester off and some started immediately. When I was reading their statuses I was alarmed to see that a large amount of them were taking reading classes this semester or had done so last semester. These are students that recently graduated from high school yet they could not exempt the reading classes after taking the placement exams. This is due to education system we have in place. Instead of ensuring that students know the basic math skills, how to read, and how to write at an acceptable level through test schools would rather make homework and classwork a large percentage of the grade. I had classes where 40-60% of the grade was based on homework and classwork alone. To do this is outrageous because in no way does homework and classwork demonstrate one knowledge of the course material. These policies were put into place because students did not do well on test. So instead of improving teaching we lowered our standards and our expectations. Both of these are bad for the education of children because people tend to perform at the level you expect. For example if you expect someone to only make a D or a C in the class the student will give a D or a C effort. However, if you expect them to get an A and provide encouragement they will try harder in order to meet those expectations and in turn will earn a better grade. Therefore, I propose a new grading system be mandated across the country in which 60-80% of the students grade is compromised of test/quizzes and no more than 20% be allotted to homework and classwork. The remaining area can be devoted to projects.

Outsourcing

In this period of economic decline unemployment rates are high and jobs are continuously sent over seas. Although outsourcing provides America with more affordable products it also hurts America due to the loss of jobs and the potential increase in poverty as a result of this. This tendency will continue until their are only corporate, professional, and low skill jobs left (retail stores, fast food,etc.). In order to stop this the United States government needs to take action. They can do this by placing a new tariff on goods not produced in the United States. This new tariff would cover goods produced by American companies. However this tariff would only cover final goods and goods that were used or assembled to form final goods would not have a tax on them because the final production would be completed in the United States. This would result in jobs being brought back to America and it would serve as a way to generate revenue.
The potential downfalls of this plan are that it may hurt our relations with China and India because we would be taking jobs away from them. Another possibility is that the foreign nations would provide the American companies with greater incentives and thus result in the tariff having less effect. Lastly this change may lead to an increase in the price of goods in the United States whic

Foreign policy

Up until the World Wars the United States had not taken part of to many wars that occurred on a global scale. After these efforts the United States began to take on the role of global police and continues this role. This has led to US involvement in the Cold War, Vietnam War, and the Korean War. The most recent wars in which we have involved ourselves in are the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq.

The US was rightful in declaring war on Afghanistan because of the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11th 2001. The United States had the backing of its allies from the United Nations and this led to a speedy success in the sense that the US was able to take down the Taliban regime with the increased troops due there ally backing. The US then made the mistake of leaving Afghanistan before it had help to set up a new government and ensure the Afghans were able to protect themselves. By withdrawing prematurely the United States threatened the sovereignty of Afghanistan and the countries surrounding it. Now that the US has increased its activity in Afghanistan once again they must make sure that a stable government is set up and this government must be able to rule within its borders or the US will inevitably have to become involved again.

The US was not right when the invaded Iraq because they did so without probable cause and the without the backing of their allies in the United Nations that would have led to a faster success and less US casualties. The US did do the right thing by ensuring they had helped to set up a stable Iraqi government and that this government was able to defend themselves and their people from harmful outside influences such as the Taliban.

Therefore moving forward the United States should continue its global police role and refrain from taking military action if they do not have the backing of their allies. But, the US should take action if they are provoked in some sort of way by terrorist or a country in general. If the Taliban or North Korea were to attack the US should take immediate action to prevent further harm of Americans. However, the United States should not take on an imperialistic role and start invading countries because the use of goods and raw materials from these potential colonies could benefit the US economy.

Healthcare in the United States

One of the big issues in congress of late has been health care reform. Although it is just now coming back into the main stream it has been addressed by multiple presidents but attempts at reform have fallen short. This does not mean that we should give up hope and stop fighting for reform because there are currently between 36 and 46 million people in America that are uninsured. This number is debated because it includes 9.7 million people that are present in America but not citizens. Even if the we use 36 million instead of 46 million it still means that approximately 11.7% of Americans are without health care.
Some common misconceptions about health care reform are that there are or will be "death panels," the U.S. has the best health care system in the world, and Canadians have to come to America for better health care in emergencies. "Death Panels" do not exist in countries with universal health care. The officials work with the individuals to find the option that will result it the greatest quality and longevity of life. They serve as a way to prevent people from choosing the most expensive option based on the misconception that if it cost more it must be better. Also, the United states does not have the best health care system in the world. We actually have a very inefficient system and rank only 37th in the world despite spending the most on health care. The usual top countries in the rankings are countries such as Britain, Canada, France, and Japan all of which have a universal system. Lastly, some people claim Canadians flock to the United States for better health care. As I previously stated Canada ranks higher in the World Health Organizations ratings. Canadians do not have to wait for emergency procedures and receive non-emergency procedures in about 2 months waiting time.
Some steps the United States can take to reform the health care system is to eliminate the gap between insurance and prescription drug plans, cap out of pocket expenses, don't allow policies to be canceled and require companies to provide insurance for their employees and their employees families. Firstly, Americans with insurance and those without insurance have to pay significant amounts of money for prescriptions. These expenses lead to the American system being inefficient. to solve this the government could impose reform mandates that require insurance companies to cover some of the gap. Secondly, insurance companies only pay for a portion of procedures and leave the policy holders to pay for the rest of the procedure. This puts more and more people into debt thus worsening the financial crisis in America. Thirdly, a law should be passed that prohibits insurance companies from canceling policies when policy holders are in need of a life saving or life improving procedure. For example,insurance cancel policies because of prior conditions such as cavities and acne. Cavities are tooth decay which is a result of gum disease and gum disease can cause heart problems. The companies use this line of reasoning to cancel policies when people need them the most. Lastly, the government should require companies/businesses to provide insurance for their employees and their families. This could be done in a cost efficient manner by the government giving companies write offs for their taxes for going along with the new policy. This would keep the financial burden of Americans and lessen the dependency on medicaid. Medicaid is still used by those employed and still fall below the poverty line by making this change the burden on this individual part would be lessened.
America must take action and pass health care reform the benefits the people as a whole. It is necessary for our progression as a civilized country and to preserve future generations. Compromises should be made on the issue but these compromises should not be so great that nothing is accomplished.