After all...

After registering for this world issue’s course I couldn’t help but wonder over the summer…what we would really accomplish in class?

Would we just skim over the news and point by point discuss our views on the subjects?

Would we focus on only a couple issues?

Basically I had no idea what I was getting myself into…

Looking back now I have realized that I had gained some important qualities throughout this year.

Considering how I was so interested in my law class, my love for understanding world issues was at it’s high by the end of grade 11. We would keep up with current events and look deeper into global events to expand our knowledge.

I feel it’s very important as young adults to keep up with the news to maintain our knowledge at it’s high.

As Ms. Arthur would say, “ It just makes you smarter. Plain and simple.”

And we did just that throughout the year. Our world issue’s class allowed us to voice our opinions and go in depth on some main issues. We looked at the Arab-Israeli conflict; which allowed me to get a better understanding of what the conflict really was and how we as global citizens can help solve it.

On a day-to-day basis we look at the news and discussed our opinions. This allowed me to not only expand my train of thought on the subject, but allowed me to keep an open mind and listen to what others had to say.

I found this very valuable, this class reminded me that not only should I voice my opinions but I should also take others into consideration and keep an open mind.

Most important I learned that we, as global citizens are not so different after all, even if we live in Africa or Israel… we can make a difference even if it’s one step at a time.

THEME

A theme that I believe is the most discussed in our world issues class is corrupt government. This theme has been a guideline for a lot of our topic choices, and is a reoccurring theme within global news.

So we have seen throughout the year this theme of corrupt government that has basically taken over the headlines on a day-to-day basis.
We’ve looked at the Arab Israeli conflict and the dispute between land ownership.
Within the topic of the AIC we looked at the root causes from the history to the present. Today we see a modern-day civilian in Israel simply looking for peace, wanting to take down the barriers and join together with the Arabs.
Not so simple… their government- won’t even listen…

In November we looked at Korea –
North Korea rocks the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong with shelling which leads to high escalation of tensions between both the Koreas
We learned about the corruption within the two sides and about the strength of North Korea and it’s dictator.

Earthquake scaling 8.9 caused tsunami destructed Japan – corrupt system

Corrupt: Libyan uprising leads to civil war
Civilians and defected soldiers seeking the removal of Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi hold off his forces in cities close to Tripoli, Libya's capital. Unlike the Facebook-enabled youth rebellions in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia, the insurrection in Libya is being led by people who have been actively opposing the regime for some time. In a series of determined stands these rebel forces are proving to be a well-armed revolutionary movement.

Corrupt: Egyptian President Mubarak resigned after protests:
Newly appointed Prime Minister Essam Sharaf addresses tens of thousands of protestors in Tahrir Square, where demonstrators press for faster and more substantive changes. The former interior minister, Habib el-Adly, pleads not guilty to corruption charges. A series of fires break out in government security and financial investigation offices angering protestors who suspect that senior officials are trying to destroy evidence that will implicate more of them in corruption and human rights abuses.
Yemen President Rejects Proposal to Step Down (March 7): President Ali Abdullah Saleh rejects the political opposition's proposal that he step down by the end of the year, calling it undemocratic and unconstitutional, the official Saba news agency reports. Saleh calls for a national conference to be held, which is rejected by the opposition.

Tunis revolt, government collapsed – corrupt
French Legislation Bans Full-Face Coverings (April 11): France bans the wearing of full veils in public, becoming the first European nation to impose the restriction. The ban causes protests in Paris and several other cities. The new restriction also has many Muslims worrying about their rights as French citizens. Covering the face is considered by some Muslims as a religious obligation. Supporters of the ban view it as necessary to preserve French culture and to combat what they claim are separatist actions in Muslims.
This can possibly cause riots.
Corruption is world wide. Corruption has been a main theme discussed within our world issue’s classroom. I believe that the response from the people to their corrupt government is very powerful, and in some cases has achieved the greater.

"An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."

Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed thousands of Americans, was slain murdered in his luxury hideout in Pakistan in a firefight with U.S. forces, ending a manhunt that spanned a frustrating decade.

"Justice has been done," President Barack Obama declared – justice?

“ An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth…”

So know what? Justice has been “done” but what about everyone who helped plan terror attacks?

Justice?

Crowds formed outside the White House to celebrate. Many sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "We Are the Champions."

Champions of what? People were climbing light posts and chanting for hours…

Don’t get me wrong I completely believe that is a historic moment but this is not the end…

Even the Al-Qaeda promised more terror attacks.

And even so, bin Laden was murdered another leader has probably already been appointed.

What does this mean? Well it’s not going to stop, yes this was a historic event…

But this historic event has raised concerns that reprisal attacks from al-Qaida and other Islamist extremist groups could follow soon.

Bin Laden, 54, was killed after a gunbattle with Navy SEALs and CIA paramilitary forces at a compound in the city of Abbottabad. He was shot in the left eye, NBC News' Savannah Guthrie reported citing an unnamed U.S. official.

For years the manhunt has raised some questions, and finally some people’s questions are answered. However, I believe this is just a large cycle…

War on terror is not going to stop and the USA will spend another 10 years looking on what seems to be the next “head figure” of al-qeada.

Arab Spring-

Today I was introduced to the term the ‘Arab Spring’, the term for the 2010-11 wave of political unrest throughout the Middle East.

From Tunisia to Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen, the citizens of Arab and Islamic nations throughout the region have risen against their governments.

This widespread demand for democratic rule across the Middle East could mark a turning point for a region fraught with political turmoil, violence and war.

It’s a known fact…governments in the Middle East are notorious for corruption...

People, some educated, some poor, all angry, have resorted to jihad and militancy in an attempt to seize power for themselves.

Driven by anger and, perhaps and helplessness, people are using violence and fear mongering as the measure of first resort.

Extremism in the Middle East has complicated and impacted every facet of foreign policy, because even in the end, a corrupt government is preferable over terrorism, at least in the minds of the West.

Still, for the majority of people living in the Middle East, terrorized by government and fundamentalists alike, there is little hope of empowerment – true empowerment, and not the vision of power through violence.

That is what makes the Arab Spring so remarkable.

For the first time in recent memory, the people of the Middle East – the young, the middle class, the idealistic – are marching in the streets, speaking truth to power regardless of their government's attempts to silence and subdue.

And here we are… in our World issue’s class learning with the timeline in which we know is the Arab Spring.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2011/mar/22/middle-east-protest-interactive-timeline

I have posted this timeline in which I found very helpful- it is always updated with current events! Take a look!

Japan.

"This is the kind of earthquake that hits once every 100 years," said restaurant worker Akira Tanaka.

I was with my mother in Toronto when I had first heard about the earthquake in Japan, however, I became still when the news hit me. I felt disappointed in myself on how I only found out hours later. I though that I should have known earlier… but we were to busy having our girls day out for my 18^th birthday. I felt selfish… here I was shopping in Toronto while all these innocent people were suffering from a natural disaster. I still think about it to this day, however, now I make sure I check the news everyday – I even have BBC and CTV on my iPhone to always keep me updated.

"The incident in Japan is one to never go unnoticed. On March 11, 2011, an earthquake struck off the coast of Japan, churning up a devastating tsunami that swept over cities and farmland in the northern part of the country and set off warnings as far away the west coast of the United States and South America. Recorded as 9.0 on the Richter scale, it was the most powerful quake ever to hit the country.

As the nation struggled with a rescue effort, it also faced the worst nuclear emergency since Chernobyl; explosions and leaks of radioactive gas took place in three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station that suffered partial meltdowns, while spent fuel rods at another reactor overheated and caught fire, releasing radioactive material directly into the atmosphere. Japanese officials turned to increasingly desperate measures, as traces of radiation were found in Tokyo's water and in water pouring from the reactors into the ocean. A month after the quake, nuclear officials put the crisis in the same category of severity as the Chernobyl disaster. In May, Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who had been criticized for showing a lack of leadership, said Japan would abandon plans to build new nuclear reactors, saying his country needed to “start from scratch” in creating a new energy policy that should include greater reliance on renewable energy and conservation"

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/japan/index.html).