The Politics Of The Veil

3. How does the author come to the conclusion that “rather than resolving the problem of integrating Muslims into French society, the law banning headscarves has exacerbated it”? (179)

In the conclusion of The Politics of the Veil Wallach believes that the French may have good intentions with trying to implement Muslim women into their society but the idea of banning the veil, a religious staple in Muslim culture may be distasteful to some. The author went on to say that “surely there are better ways to deal with terrorism than banning someone’s headwear.” But looking at a different perspective Wallach stated that as the French are trying to implement the idea of equality for all and getting more women into jobs and careers the Muslim religion doesn’t believe in equal rights for women. French people view Muslims who think this way as inferior or less evolved. But what we’ve learned throughout the course of the semester is the idea of the 30 basic human rights. Crafted by then first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and a host of other foreign diplomats in the UN back in 1948, these rules or guidelines were put into place to make sure that the average global citizen could live a stress free life. In article 2 of the document it states that Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Some would say after looking at this that France and arguable the United States are going against this very right by controlling what people wear and discriminating people based on what religions they practice. Its our job as global citizen to learn from each other, respect one another and take on anyone who seeks out terror on this world for personal gains. Basically what Wallach is saying in the Politics Of The Veil is that the French should do a better job of respecting ones religion and its up to the people who practice the Muslim religion to be more current with the times and allow more equality and opportunity for their women. Recently Saudi Arabia just had its first election where women were legally allowed to vote and make a difference and I believe this is a massive step towards the right direction, an inclusive one. 

Final Blog

I learned a great deal this semester about the world around us. Far to common we as American's are placed in this bubble that the world is revolved around what we do but what I learned is the idea of globalization and that is the idea of what one country does has a direct effect on other countries sort of like a domino effect. I think the biggest problem regarding the world today is the topic of immigration and who should be allowed into what country. Recently with the rise of ISIS or ISIL and the fear and terror they have placed on the likes of Turkey and France respectively with the recent Paris attacks, the idea of having refugees from the middle east who practice the Muslim religion has been heavily discussed. I cannot pinpoint one single guest lecture but I would say what Dr. Brooks taught us week in and week out has opened my eyes a lot. I did not know going into the semester that Detroit, Michigan has the largest Muslim community outside of the Middle East. What we also learned throughout the semester is the history behind the 30 basic human rights and how modern day governments violate these privileges. With November 2016 elections around the corner we have discussed throughout the semester of the different candidates and their agendas and its shocking that one of the leading candidates Donald Trump who has one of the more radical immigration plans is leading the GOP polls. In his plan he wants to build walls on the southern border and deny anyone who doesn't practice the typical Catholic/Christian religion. He claims that this would be beneficial for the country going forward but it violates on of the founding amendments for this nation and that is the freedom of religion also noted in the 30 basic human rights. How can we as Americans go against rules implemented by our founding fathers?  This course was very beneficial for my development not only as a student at the University of Missouri but its helped me become a better global citizen. 

Final Post

The guest speaker that I found most interesting and informative was Peter Mueser.  His presentation on economics was helpful in understanding globalization a bit further.  It was interesting to hear about the different economies throughout the world and how, in many ways, our economies link us all together.  As a business student, this speaker was easy to relate to because I feel like many of my classes tie lessons to different parts of economics as well.  Mr. Mueser took my thinking of globalization to a different level.

Chart showing the different types of economies throughout the world today. www.budget.gov.nl.ca

During my time of doing research on Thailand I gained so much knowledge of the country and it’s citizen’s way of life.  It was so interesting to learn about a place so different from the United States but in many ways the two can relate.  I gained insight on many of the problems that Thailand is facing but continues to grow stronger and overcome many of these problems as a country.

An example of this is Thailand’s environmental issues.  It seems like very quickly the country started running into the effects of environmental damages as they grew industrially.  But now that they’ve realized the damage that is and was being caused the country as a whole has started being more careful and attempting cleaning up the mess that was made before. 

I also gained a lot of insight about Thailand when writing the paper over an NGO.  The NGO I chose was the Shan Women’s Active Network, http://www.shanwomen.org.  I chose this NGO after we talked about sex trafficking in class and I wanted to learn more about the problems Thailand faces with this.  This NGO was very inspiring because they help woman in Thailand do many things they wouldn’t normally get the opportunity to do.  Offering internships and classes for women in Thailand helps lower the number of women who end up in sex trafficking. http://www.humantrafficking.org/organizations/248

Girls learning in a course provided by SWAN. www.facebook.com

It has been so interesting to learn more about the growth of the people in Thailand.  I really enjoyed learning more about the woman’s groups because in so many countries women are held to a different standard.  NGOs like SWAN are so inspiring.  Overall, I’ve really enjoyed learning more about Thailand.

Last Blog Post

 

I found the lecture on Cheslatta First Nation to be very informative and interesting. I had no idea about this history. The traditions of this place and the people that held on to their hope and religion were very inspiring. The distress that the people of this Cheslatta faced was indecent. Through it all they continued to hold to the traditions of their ancestors.

I gained so much insight doing research on South Korea. I learned about their government and the issues they faced with it. I saw how some of their traditions related to the U.S. I investigated their environmental issues. There are a number of environmental issues in South Korea. These include pollution, land use, and habitat preservation. Other issues include water pollution from sewer discharge and industrial effluents, acid rain, drift net fishing, and wasteful packaging of consumer goods. As South Korea became a developed economy on the world stage, the country’s priorities have changed and the South Korean government has passed a number of environmental laws. Green belts and emission restrictions have markedly improved Seoul’s air quality. In fact, South Korea’s biggest air quality problem is dust blown from expanding deserts in China. In pursuit of better air quality around its capital, the South Korean government launched its “1st Seoul Metropolitan Air Quality Control Master Plan (2005-2014)” in 2005. Measures under this law included projects to lessen exhaust gases from vehicles, administration of emission facilities and controls over energy utilities and cities.

Guest Lecture and Insights on North Korea: Last Blog Post

In my opinion, the most informative, inspiring, and challenging guest lecture for class would have to be Professor Amy McCombs from the journalism school. I think she was the most informative as well as being the most engaging. I felt as though her information was accurate, interesting, and kept the attention of all of the students in the room. I also think her lecture correlated into class discussion because we were talking about human rights and the rights to privacy. I found it very interesting when we talked about the United States and its citizens right to privacy. During the lecture we found out that most people think the United States has the most free speech when we rank low on a list of countries with the freest speech. 

After spending the semester researching and blogging about North Korea, I have found myself much more knowledgeable about the country and its peoples wellbeing. Some of the major insights I have found out is that North Korea's government is extremely controlling of its citizens and where they go and what they are allowed to see. I have seen it compared to an overprotective parent with extreme consequences. Some of the consequences of disobeying the North Korean government are inhumane and often times include starvation, one of the countries biggest issues. 

The issue of hunger in North Korea has driven its citizens to do things we as Americans would never dream of. Some die from starvation and others die trying to escape the conditions. The hunger epidemic has been going on for years and many North Koreans try and leave to go to South Korea to send their families money for food. While doing this they often are driven into sex trafficking or caught and sent back to North Korea to only enter into a prison camp where the conditions are often worse that starvation alone. 

This is an image of a North Korea farmers trying to plant seeds in order to survive

I have also learned that the environment in North Korea is barren and mostly dead from lack of care. Most of the animals are gone because they have been eaten, and anything edible, including trees and grass, is gone as well because it has been eaten. 

It is interesting to me that most of the problems regarding North Korea have to do directly with the hunger issue. However, the American government has partnered with many different NGOs in order to help relieve the hunger in this country. It may not be a long-term fix, but at least the people can eat enough food to survive for a little while. Some NGOs like MercyCorps and World Vision are working with the United States government on a long-term solution. To do this they are working wit the North Korean farmers and giving them the tools to farm things such as apple orchards that will be there for the long haul to help feed the citizens and create economic growth. 

For more information on the Farming in North Korea, check out this link:

Spring release

Over the course of the semester I have come to notice that all of the issues that North Korea has base back to hunger and the lack of government assistance when it comes to this. I think it is up to countries, like America, to step up and address the human rights issues that are being violated. If the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights was enforced, then North Korea would have almost no issues. However, from class we have learned that it is almost impossible to make sure that every country in the world is following these rights we as humans should be guaranteed. 

Sources:
http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21645252-tantalising-signs-change-are-emerging-whether-they-signal-more-profound-shifts-less
http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/

Final Blog

Dr. Soren Larsen’s guest lecture on Oct. 27 was the most informative for me.  His discussion of the Chesletta Carrier First Nation in British Columbia, Canada really brought to life the idea of state crime.  The Canadian Department of Indian Affairs mirrored our own such department in a tragic way, coercing the populace and using forgery to force people out of their homes. 

China is participating in the Paris climate talks
in an effort to curb emissions

Additionally cruel was its 10% compensation rate for lost possessions.  These possessions, by the way, were torched and flooded.  There was little effort to recover any lost goods.  Burial grounds were desecrated, causing poverty and various other domestic issues.  Additionally, the government did not pay for the transportation of the people from their homes to the new land.

I was happy to see that in later years the cemeteries were brought back and some “power” was restored to the people.

I learned a lot about China this semester.  More than anything, I learned that its environmental degradation is a crippling issue that it is working to solve.  For instance, I learned that China’s Carbon emissions have been increasing by 7.5 percent annually since 1997 (as reported by Reuters).  However, these statistics are up for debate given China’s history of providing false statistics on energy consumption.  The variance, however, is not great enough to undermine the fact that China has been the world’s leading polluter since 2006 (per the Center for Climate and EnergySolutions). On the same Center webpage, I learned that China has been taking a five year approach to counter these statistics.

 “China’s twelfth five-year plan (FYP), covering 2011-15, spelled out a number of reforms to domestic energy and climate policies. The headline targets were to reduce energy intensity by an additional 16 percent, and carbon intensity by 17 percent, by 2015. It has been widely reported that China is currently on track to meet these 2015 targets. The thirteenth FYP is expected to be announced in early 2016.”

Additionally, as I’ve stated multiple times in my blogs, China and the United States have been working together for about a year now to mutually curb emissions by 2030.  These talks have helped spearhead the current set of talks happening in Paris as I type this. 

The NGO paper opened up my eyes to the street children problems that China is facing.  The Baoji Xinxing Aid for Streetkids provides children with poor or non existant home lives the food, medicine, shelter and education they need to be productive members of society.  I argued in my paper that educated citizens is exactly what China will need as it continues to combat global climate change.