With the developing threat of the Syrian crisis, China has been urging for a peaceful solution to end the violence in Syria. China has recently stated that they do not want armed intervention to bring the Syrian crisis to a violent end. China wants to be able to negotiate peaceful treaties to end the crisis. China plans on keeping peaceful negotiations by maintaining relationships with the Syrian government and the Arab League.
All of this negotiations and planning for dealing with the Syrian crisis have been lead by the United Nations. The United Nations Security Council recently put up a resolution to have a crackdown on the proptests in Syria. However, China and Russia have vetoed the resolution. China's goal in all of this is to not support the current Syrian government, as that would create even more issues with the protesters. China wants to control the furthering of any violence in Syria because armed intervention did not work well in Libya. To begin the process of peaceful negotiations, China wants to increase political dialogue and support of both sides of the argument. China is seeking to gain the help of other countries in this effort, by pushing for peace between Palestine and Israel.
Source: http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-02/25/content_14690756.htm
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Trade Relations Between China and Turkey
In a recent article from the China Daily News, we can understand that the trade cooperations between China and Turkey have progressed exponentially after a meeting between the Chinese vice president, Xi Jinping, and Turkish president, Abdullah Gul. According to Xi Jinping, we can expect that trade relations between the two countries will become more connected, as it is beneficial to both countries.
Turkey has been playing a large role in trying to maintain stability and course for development between foreign countries; this has led to Turkey playing a "vital role in global and regional affairs." The two countries, China and Turkey, will not only cooperate in trade relations, but also in combating terrorism around the world and safeguarding world peace.
There will, of course, be inevitable frictions between the two countries due to their statuses as two of the fastest growing economies of the world, growing competition between the two, and an overall economic slowdown across the globe. However, despite these frictions, the benefits that China will experience due to expansion of trade are also beneficial to Turkey. Strategically, the cooperation between the two countries will create a co-dependent or symbiotic system, where both countries can reap the benefits of their efforts (linkage in cooperation).
Source: http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-02/22/content_14662629.htm
Turkey has been playing a large role in trying to maintain stability and course for development between foreign countries; this has led to Turkey playing a "vital role in global and regional affairs." The two countries, China and Turkey, will not only cooperate in trade relations, but also in combating terrorism around the world and safeguarding world peace.
There will, of course, be inevitable frictions between the two countries due to their statuses as two of the fastest growing economies of the world, growing competition between the two, and an overall economic slowdown across the globe. However, despite these frictions, the benefits that China will experience due to expansion of trade are also beneficial to Turkey. Strategically, the cooperation between the two countries will create a co-dependent or symbiotic system, where both countries can reap the benefits of their efforts (linkage in cooperation).
Source: http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-02/22/content_14662629.htm
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Wen Jiabao Stresses Reform for China
The Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, says that he will continue to push for reform in China despite the problems that reform is currently facing. The premier believes that the only way for China to overcome its difficulties is to implement open reforms. His plans for managing this reform requires that China allow for self-governance of the rural administrations (such as with direct elections of village-level leadership and the need to ensure the voting rights of farmers). Wen wants local affairs to be dealt by the local governments, and in order to implement this, he seeks implementation of a strict legal system along with regulations for the elections. The strictness of these elections will allow for elections to become more transparent and allow for less corruption in leadership. The premier has placed focus on the rural governments because of the lack of reforms and building of corruption in those areas.
Reform is easier said than done. China has had trouble over the years in controlling the local/rural governments from electing or being taken over by poor leadership. The rural governments and their governing areas have faced many problems, mainly with the expropriation of farmland. "Land grabs" have occurred, in which companies have illegally (with authorization) taken farmland for their use. This has caused mass protests in China. Reform, of course, can control this issue, by ensuring the rights of the landowners and farmers. Reform will help protect from the illegal transfer of land by placing strict rules in place. This sort of reform will begin from the local governments to build a democratic form of government in China. Trying to set this system in place will be a major burden on the government, despite the Chinese Premier's strong belief in the program. Reforms cannot protect against rampant corruption within the Chinese government. However, these reforms will be a major advantage for the common man against the wealthy companies building on their lands. Farmers and small landowners will be able to protect their lands from illegal seizure. The government will also be able to organize the allocation of land by setting up separate sectors for spending within the local expenditures, as the article provided that China could allocate funding for "improving soil fertility of suburban land."
Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-02/05/c_131392403.htm
Reform is easier said than done. China has had trouble over the years in controlling the local/rural governments from electing or being taken over by poor leadership. The rural governments and their governing areas have faced many problems, mainly with the expropriation of farmland. "Land grabs" have occurred, in which companies have illegally (with authorization) taken farmland for their use. This has caused mass protests in China. Reform, of course, can control this issue, by ensuring the rights of the landowners and farmers. Reform will help protect from the illegal transfer of land by placing strict rules in place. This sort of reform will begin from the local governments to build a democratic form of government in China. Trying to set this system in place will be a major burden on the government, despite the Chinese Premier's strong belief in the program. Reforms cannot protect against rampant corruption within the Chinese government. However, these reforms will be a major advantage for the common man against the wealthy companies building on their lands. Farmers and small landowners will be able to protect their lands from illegal seizure. The government will also be able to organize the allocation of land by setting up separate sectors for spending within the local expenditures, as the article provided that China could allocate funding for "improving soil fertility of suburban land."
Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-02/05/c_131392403.htm
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Senior Year
Senior Year has thus far been extremely stressful--with all the college applications, homework, scholarships, etc. I think everyone expected that Senior Year would be much easier at least by this time. Honestly though, I don't think I've really enjoyed Senior Year, but I think that will soon change especially once we hit March. I feel like March will be a major turning point for all seniors because then we're suddenly going to be on the fast track to Graduation. So, I guess I just have to make through the rough patch of Senior year, so I can get to the fun stuff. After February though, I think we can all be glad that we'll be graduating soon! March represents field trips, finishing up lessons so we can just get to the easy review period, finding out about scholarships and colleges. April is the major decision time where we'll get all our college information and have a break from school (Spring Break!) and then Prom time comes around. By May, AP exams will end within the first couple of weeks and we'll get our senior final exams done with! Then it's easy coasting till the end.
I wouldn't change anything about Senior Year thus far though because I know that we'll get a chance to have our fun soon enough!
I wouldn't change anything about Senior Year thus far though because I know that we'll get a chance to have our fun soon enough!
Huntsman Drops Out
Political Cartoonist: Nate Beeler
This political cartoon has one clear feature that I found particularly interesting which was the fact that Huntsman was "dropping out" of the competition literally, but in a high class, flashy way. This feature seeks to show that Huntsman proved himself and left as an equally good model candidate. Huntsman left as an honest candidate who still wants to fight Obama, but from backstage rather than front and center, which is why he chose to endorse Romney as the key candidate to win the election. The quote said by the media "now that's how you end a campaign!" goes to say that Huntsman left the campaign, but managed to turn the tables. Unlike other candidates, Huntsman chose to endorse a candidate whose views are far from his own--Mitt Romney. This decision on Huntsman's part will definitely give Romney an extra cushion of votes, especially after the rough showing in South Carolina.
The cartoonist clearly has an admiration for Jon Huntsman because he was not satirizing or ridiculing the way that Huntsman dropped out of the campaign. Huntsman left the GOP campaign honorably after a long but good run for nomination. The cartoonist admires the fact that Huntsman chose to leave as a good sport, who continued to endorse his opponents, mainly Mitt Romney. Hunstman is all for helping his opponents on the GOP side to fight back against Obama. Huntsman proved in his declaration of withdrawl that despite his differences with Romney; he knows that Romney will be the best candidate to reap the GOP some rewards (possibly even the presidency).
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Who will win the GOP nomination?
There have been a lot of ups and downs so far in the race for GOP nomination, but one candidate has seemed to maintain solid ground: Mitt Romney. Romney has the best chance of winning the GOP nomination because the candidates he's running up against all have some sort of major flaw that seems to keep them from winning enough votes.
Romney has always been a front runner for the GOP nomination because of his speech-making abilities and his abilities in gaining the votes of Republicans and Democrats alike. Romney is the best candidate for the win because: he doesn't freak out democrats/independents because he isn't steadfast in conservative beliefs like Bachmann was or Perry is. For this, Romney would be a fantastic candidate for the Republicans in the upcoming general election. His moderate views can gain him more votes from independents in the general election, giving him a greater chance of winning the presidency.
Rick Perry doesn't have a chance of winning the GOP nomination because of his current status as a "nutcase" (after the drinking incident at a GOP debate) and his strong conservative will. Perry doesn't want to sway to any moderate ideals, which will definitely hurt the Republicans in the general election. Perry's crusade against gay marriage and for school prayer will not help him gain the votes of the growing independents in America.
Newt Gingrich showed real promise these past couple of weeks as he had pulled through from nothing to a person who people know of. Gingrich seems to have a lot of ideas of what he will do with the presidency, but Americans aren't very trusting of the man who has brought a lot of political baggage with him. Independents and moderates have not seen Gingrich as a real candidate thus far.
Rick Santorum has entered the picture again, but not as a really promising candidate. He was pretty low in the ranks for the GOP nomination, until the Iowa caucus. Santorum had spent much of his time in Iowa, spreading his views on how he will change if he is chosen as president, which seemed to pay off as Santorum "surprised" everyone by having a hefty number of votes at the Iowa caucus. Though his victory is short lived because Santorum lacks diversity in his views, he wants to turn back to traditional views of "don't ask, don't tell" and anti-birth control laws. Santorum is a very conservative candidate, which will most definitely hurt him in the run for GOP nomination.
Ron Paul has proved to be a really good competition for Romney in the upcoming election. Paul has some moderate ideas that have/will most definitely appeal to younger candidates (like myself). The only issue with Paul is his old age, which could be a deciding factor for whether voters will choose him. Paul has a fairly good shot at winning though because most Republican voters prefer more conservative views (Paul) compared to the moderate-swaying views of Romney. Romney has stressed that his views are moderate, whereas Paul has managed to sneak in moderate views along with conservative ones.
I think that Romney definitely has the best chance at winning the election, but only time will tell whether he can hold on to his central position.
Romney has always been a front runner for the GOP nomination because of his speech-making abilities and his abilities in gaining the votes of Republicans and Democrats alike. Romney is the best candidate for the win because: he doesn't freak out democrats/independents because he isn't steadfast in conservative beliefs like Bachmann was or Perry is. For this, Romney would be a fantastic candidate for the Republicans in the upcoming general election. His moderate views can gain him more votes from independents in the general election, giving him a greater chance of winning the presidency.
Rick Perry doesn't have a chance of winning the GOP nomination because of his current status as a "nutcase" (after the drinking incident at a GOP debate) and his strong conservative will. Perry doesn't want to sway to any moderate ideals, which will definitely hurt the Republicans in the general election. Perry's crusade against gay marriage and for school prayer will not help him gain the votes of the growing independents in America.
Newt Gingrich showed real promise these past couple of weeks as he had pulled through from nothing to a person who people know of. Gingrich seems to have a lot of ideas of what he will do with the presidency, but Americans aren't very trusting of the man who has brought a lot of political baggage with him. Independents and moderates have not seen Gingrich as a real candidate thus far.
Rick Santorum has entered the picture again, but not as a really promising candidate. He was pretty low in the ranks for the GOP nomination, until the Iowa caucus. Santorum had spent much of his time in Iowa, spreading his views on how he will change if he is chosen as president, which seemed to pay off as Santorum "surprised" everyone by having a hefty number of votes at the Iowa caucus. Though his victory is short lived because Santorum lacks diversity in his views, he wants to turn back to traditional views of "don't ask, don't tell" and anti-birth control laws. Santorum is a very conservative candidate, which will most definitely hurt him in the run for GOP nomination.
Ron Paul has proved to be a really good competition for Romney in the upcoming election. Paul has some moderate ideas that have/will most definitely appeal to younger candidates (like myself). The only issue with Paul is his old age, which could be a deciding factor for whether voters will choose him. Paul has a fairly good shot at winning though because most Republican voters prefer more conservative views (Paul) compared to the moderate-swaying views of Romney. Romney has stressed that his views are moderate, whereas Paul has managed to sneak in moderate views along with conservative ones.
I think that Romney definitely has the best chance at winning the election, but only time will tell whether he can hold on to his central position.
GOP: Flavor of the Month
The key objects in this cartoon are the "GOP Ice Cream Shoppe," the elephant, the different ice cream flavors, and Newt Gingrich watching from the outside of the shop. The whole "GOP Ice Cream Shoppe" represents the overall GOP race for nomination in the upcoming general election. The elephant represents the Republican public who is voting for GOP candidates. Newt Gingrich watching from outside of the shop is used as a satire. Gingrich is shown as a chubby man looking into the ice cream shoppe at the different flavors. The different flavors represent the different candidates. Rick Santorum represents a "surprise" candidate who pulled forward in the Iowa caucus as a big surprise to voters and the candidates themselves. Other candidates are also shown such as Rick "Nuts" Perry and Newt "Ego Nog" Gingrich.
The cartoonist clearly uses satire in this political cartoon to make fun of the GOP candidates for nomination. McKee uses the different aspects of the cartoon to satirize the fact that each of the candidates have their own key features that keep them from getting the GOP nomination. The elephant (Republican public) is putting up a new "Flavor of the Month." Gingrich has lost his high ranking position to Santorum.
The really interesting thing about this political cartoon is that it does not show the candidate Mitt Romney anywhere (either to say that he never had a chance at winning or to say that he isn't involved in the petty battle for GOP nomination as Newt Gingrich is). The cartoonist is showing how over time American's opinion over who is the next "flavor of the month" is chaning.
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