Bad weather halts South Korean search for sailors

South Koreans are suspending the search for missing sailors due to bad weather. They were searching for 46 sailors from a sunk ship, Cheonan. 57 of the sailors have been found and one of the rescuers was killed during. The cause of the sinking was due to an unknown explosion that is suspected to have been caused by a mine from the Korean War. South Korea has not yet revealed the incident to its people. The navy is planning on salvaging the ship which was carrying missiles.

This event is globally important because it could ultimately cause cultural diffusion. Many years ago cultures were spread by means of sailing to new places. If the sailors end up on a small island they could implement their ideas into that culture. Also since the cause may have been due to the Korean War, the north may be accused of the incident. Also, the materials on the boat could be salvaged by another country therefore possibly capturing undiscovered technology and further diffusing.

Ruling means Kenyan leaders could face charges

Investigators have been set out after Kenya's brutal pre-election violence. The judge, Hans-Peter Kaul said that the crimes were not crimes against humanity. The election between Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga caused 1,000 deaths after political tensions. Kibaki ultimately won but it was believed to be rigged. Human rights watch was also incorporated into the elections to prevent violence. A coalition government is being created while the persecutors are being researched. The coalition government missed deadlines while preventing violence so the ICC stepped in. Many people continue to worry if the ICC will resolve the issues before the 2012 elections.

This event is globally important because the president or ruler of a country has a great impact on the world and the area around him via his viewpoint and actions. Kim Jung Il for example prevents the world from interfering with his country and judging by the leader of any country it could easily happen the same way. Also, the violence within the country could expand to neighboring countries and ultimately create more problems.

China agrees to discuss sanctions against Iran

China agreed to negotiate over Tehran's nuclear program with Iran. China has showed evolvement as they agree to negotiate with United Nations and other world powers unlike the past. The United nations believe Iran is creating nuclear weaponry but they say they are using it for harmless nuclear power. Obama is pushing for greater sanctions within the U.N. to prevent dangers such as these. There are several treaties between countries to reduce nuclear arsenals.

This is globally important because for one it involves the United Nations which encompasses the entire globe and dictates a major portion of every country's welfare. The idea of preventing such a powerful object like nuclear power is extremely important because it is one of the many aspects that dictates a country's superiority. If a country has nuclear power it has the power to wage war with other countries on an entirely different level. It is globally important that China is now helping prevent nuclear arsenals because it is one of the most populace regions and encompasses a large amount of people.

Beheading planned in Saudi sorcery case

Peace Proposal Questions- Jewish Perspective

I think chosing to adapt to a one-state solution without forcing the other groups to leave is the best option. By doing so the Jews will have a place to reside and immigrate and also worship. It will also eliminate border tensions like when Palestine and Israel was interspersed and holy sites will be more accessible. This is important because Israel is the basis of all three major religions and if the Jews took over the country just for themselves more problems would arise if they completely abandoned the idea of allowing other religions inside. Also by establishing Israel as its own state and maintaining the same western aspects many Arabs that are residing their would leave under their own will therefore keeping Israel's strong Jewish population. The citizens who want to leave can move to surrounding countries like Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon and if so inclined further into the Middle East or anywhere they want.

The Palestinian refugees along the border will not be heavily affected because they are closer to a more similar culture with Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon but they are also under Israel's government which might motivate them to move further away from the border if they do not support the West.

The land will not belong to any specific group but it will be under the Israeli form of government and the western aspects that it had originally adopted like democracy will remain to maintain the backing of western powers and prevent future wars. Since the Israel/Palestine area will be transformed into one state holy sites such as Jerusalem will be more acccessible because their will not be tension between the Israeli and Palestine border especially where Jerusalem used to be.

In order to resolve the problems of settlement in the Gaza Strip and West Bank I suggest that the Gaza strip be adopted by Egypt and the West Bank be adopted by Jordan therefore adding an incentive for peace and a compromise. As the West Bank is adopted by Jordan I suggest that the Israel territory going into the West Bank where Jerusalem is should be expanded to incorporate Bethlehem so that the Holy sites are under control by one state.

Since Palestine is being adopted by surrounding countries it will be up the surrounding countries if they can equipt themselves with weapons which is not our business unless they attempt to attack us. It would be unrealistic to confiscate weapons from another country without being involved in the event.

Since the United Nations helped coordinate the creation of Israel and is responsible for a lot of the population the new region should be backed by the United Nations and remain treated as a sort of mandate because that is what it has been treated as except without the physically owning. By having the United Nations back the regions the world's superpowers will be able to protect them since the region is small in comparison with the entire Middle East. If someone tries to abandon the peace treaty we will respond with more forceful actions to threaten them that we have the advantage of more powerful western technology and a large portion of the world backing us. The current government would stay because we want to maintain the current connection with the U.N.

I do not think this plan will work becuase we cannot completely take Palestine off the face of the map, they need to have a reasonable territory to suffice as their homeland. I do think that Israel should maintain control of the holy sites and continue doing what they are doing currently but i think the positioning of the territories needs to be reassembled to compromise each countries resources, size, accessibility, and connections.

Westernism, Imperialism, Nationalism and Zionism in the Middle East

Westernism, Imperialism, Nationalism, and Zionism led to Arab Nationalism because westerners tried to imperialize the Middle East. Egypt for example, was invaded by France and then overrun by the British due to the importance of the Suez Canal. World War I is one of the most recent causes of imperialism. The Ottoman empire assisted Germany and was therefore responsible for losing the war along with the debt. Their land was divided into mandates for western powers by the League of Nations. Since a country does not want to be under control of another country especially one so far away like colonial America and Britain they worked to create their independence. In order to succeed and gain independence many countries created several reforms to become more alike western powers to better their chances and also reforms to modernize and industrialize to better their own country. One of the many reforms ultimately led to Zionism. By doing this many secular ideas rose which caused many nationalist to rise who were strict followers of Islam being the official religion and straying away from western ideas. I believe this led to animosity towards the west today because during the time when they were being mandated they were very weak and could not rebel to superior western countries but now that they have reclaimed themselves they have the power to stand up for what they believe in and do it physically. Also many of the new problems that popularized after they were gaining their independence such as more controversy of the holy land could be blamed on western nations.

I believe the most impacting issue was Imperialism because it was the cause of further westernization and also Zionism. Imperialism caused the mandates to be created and then western ideas to be adopted. From the western ideas being adopted many reforms were created which included Zionism.

How I Came to Love the Veil

To start, I thought it was very honorable that Yvonne Ridley continued to study Islam as she promised even after being treated harshly in Afghanistan. If I was in her place, being beaten would scare me away from the religion I was trying to investigate, not intrigue me. I also applaud her because she still remained true to her opinions regardless of the people that were stereotyping her. She knew her alternate norm way of life and had the option to escape the ridicule but she chose not to. I also thought it was very interesting that she said the veil was a "religous obligation" which means to me that she was honestly part of the Islam religion. I also think that the reasons she chose to wear the hinjab were very respectable. She compares beauty and piety and choses piety which is a very difficult thing to do especially in a western society which the hinjab is believed to combat by some people. It is very notable to me that she analyzed the Koran and disproved what our western stereotyping has suspected of it. After reading this article I am more intrigued about the religion and I am also more weary to rely on our biased media. I also thought it was very important that she looked on feminist rights and problems on a world scale rather than a specific religion which proves that it is not specifically pertaining to the Islam religion or any others. Overal I think Ridley is a very strong women especially for convincing many people, including myself, that certain stereotypes do not pertain to Muslims and have just the same amount of reason and or more to pertain to the entire world.

Do you believe the journalist is right in his claim?

I think that his claim is false because if Osama bin Laden hated us for not being Christian enough he would not accusing us of being "helpers of Satan." He would think that we were "helpers of Satan" regardless of how Christian our country is. Also if you were in another religion, I do not think it would matter how religious another country would be. Why would bin Laden hate us for not being Christian enough? That would benefit him as if the religion of Islam was more powerful. The article also said that bin Laden compared September 11 to Muhammad destroying the idols inside the Kaaba. Muhammad destroyed the idols to prove his religion against the other religions, not to prove himself against a country. If bin Laden was acting based upon that comparison that would mean that he was attacking our religion like Muhammad not our country.

Do you think Osama Bin Laden is justified, based on the claims in this article?

I do not believe Osama Bin Laden is justified in his opinions because I believe that a secular system is more efficient compared to a designated religion. With a secular religion there is more religious freedom, there would be less tension among religions, and it limits controversy on what the correct religion is. Although both systems have their advantages and disadvantages it is impossible to claim without having been exposed to both.

Who Deserves the Holy Land?

I believe that no specific religion deserves the Holy Land. I do not believe that a piece of land should belong to only one religion especially if it means so much to multiple religions. The Jews should not deserve the Holy Land for themselves because Moses led them back to their home, Canaan, but ended up in Palestine. Therefore, the Jews/ Hebrews were not deserving of the Holy Land even though they were respected during the time. The Palestinians, who were residing there during the time were more rightfully deserving of the land. The Christians do not deserve the Holy Land for themselves because their messiah, Jesus, was born in Bethlehem which is inside the Holy Land but does not incorporate all of it. I think it would be fair to call Bethlehem a Christian capital like Mecca is to the Muslims but they should not own the whole area. The Muslims do not deserve the Holy Land for themselves because their prophet, Muhammad was born in Medina or Mecca which represents their religious capital. The only reason they are rooted to the Holy Land is because Muhammad went there to promote the Islam religious. Just because he died there does not mean they deserve the land, most importantly because it is not the root of the religion. Another reason I believe the Holy Land should be shared among everyone is because the basis of religion especially these are not based upon tangible things, its based upon belief therefore a religion should not revolve around a plot of land and therefore it should not matter who deserves the land.