(Outside Reading #13) War

For the topic "war" I found an article about an iranian group that claims that Iraqi forces have been beaten an abused them as Iraqis try to keep the Iranians from a camp on their land. People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran has lived at the camp for 24 years and now all of a sudden are trying to be kicked off. The Iranians have turned to the U.S. in need for support but the U.S. considers the People's Mujahedin Organization a terrorist group. The Iraqi government has made a decision to finally close the camp. The group also sided with Saddam Heussaine in the 1980s and fought beside the Iraqis against Iran in the Iran-Iraq war. I almost feel bad for the group. They aren't receiving any help from outside sources and have just been kicked off their land. I support the U.S.'s decision on not helping them if they may be a threat to our country. I'm surprised they have turned to us to help them out, I think they should have gone elsewhere. 

"Iranians at Iraq camp allege abuse." Cable News Network. 15 March 2009. CNN.com. 15 March 2009. <http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/03/16/iran.iraq.us/index.html?iref=newssearch>.

(Outside Reading #12) Imperialism

I didn't know what imperialism was or was involved with so I found an text written about the subject. Imperialism was very powerful, and has been over the last 4 or 5 centuries. Imperialism is the cause of oppressing indigenous peoples and even entire civilizations! One doesn't really hear about it often and attracts seldom attention from the media, academics, and political leaders. Michael Parenti quotes imperialism as, "The process whereby the dominant politico-economic interests of one nation expropriate for their own enrichment the land, labor, raw materials, and markets of another people." Europeans were among the first to experience imperialism in the 19th century. Today, imperialism is not a big issue in regards to the United States. But many people around the world in fact charge the United States with being an imperialist power. I am very glad and I feel lucky that our country does not have to deal with much imperialism. I like our system of government and how our country is ruled. If our country were under imperialism I think life would be much more structured and not as free. 

Parenti, Michael. "Imperialism 101." Michael Parenti political archive. 11 March 2009. <http://www.michaelparenti.org/imperialism101.html>.

(Outside Reading #11) Global Issue

I found an article about how Japan and South Korea are trying to lead the world into an economic recovery. They are working together to rid North Korea of nuclear weapons. Also the South Korean President praised Japan for agreeing to a currency swap up to $30 billion. This would help reduce the fears that South Korea could face a foreign exchange crisis. The president agreed that Asia should be the growth center of the world and plays a huge role in the global economic recovery. Japan and South Korea agreed to the fact that they need to work closely with President-elect Barack Obama on the North Korean nuclear issue. The South Korean president is working really hard to improve ties with Japan since it is geographically close but emotionally distant from the neighboring nation. Trade between the countries reached $82.6 billion in 2007. They are looking to the future and the thought of restarting free trade walks. I think it is great that the two are coming together. It's a good idea because obviously two countries are more powerful than just one on a certain issue. I think they could help our economic situation a bit because of the mass full of trade coming from those areas of the world. I really haven't realized the epidemic that we're in. I just hope we're on the road to recovery soon.

"Japan, SKorea vow to lead world economic recovery." Multimedia Holdings Corporation. 7 January 2009. kare 11 news. 8 March 2009. <http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=535425>.

(Outside Reading #10) Holidays

I have always been interested in the Jewish religion so I found a text about the Chanukah. Chanukah's origin is not in the bible but rather the events that happened later. Chanukah lasts 8 days. The holiday's first day is on December 25 and continues until around January 1. Chanukah marks a historical even that happened in the Seleucid period. A few of the Seleucid kings tried to force the jews in the land of Israel to adopt certain customs that were against he laws of judaism. The jews revolted against the greek  Seleucid regime. The holiday lasts 8 days representing the celebrations marking the purification and rededication of the holy temple. Today, Chanukah has been adopted as a symbol of the Jew's struggle through their earlier times. A holiday custom of Chanukah is candle lighting. Each family will light 8 candles representing the 8 days of the holiday. Another custom is the spinning tops which are mainly popular among the children. I think Chanukah is very different from other religions. I am glad I wrote about Chanukah because I never knew the background of it and now I understand it a lot more. It sounds great, I mean it's like an 8 day christmas!

"Jewish Holidays, Chanukah." Israel, Ministry of Tourism. 4 March 2009. <http://www.tourism.gov.il/Tourism_Eng/Tourist+Information/Discover+Israel/Holidays/Chanukah.htm>.

(Outside Reading #9) Bollywood

Bollywood is the informal term used to describe the Mumbai-based Hindi language film industry in India. Bollywood is only a part of the Indian film industry but is usually referred to the whole indian cinema. The name comes from a mix between Bombay (the former name of Mumbai) and Hollywood. Unlike Hollywood in the United States, Bollywood is not a real place. In Bollywood films, there has been frequent use of Indian English dialogue and songs as well. A lot of times there will be full English words and phrases and many that are made entirely in English.  I actually enjoyed the Bollywood films that we watched in class. At first I thought they would be very different films because they were produced in India but I was completely wrong. I definitely would want to see more Bollywood films now that I have seen a couple in class.

"Bollywood." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 27 February 2009. 1 March 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollywood>.