Death Penalty

Death Penalty is a global subject that affects today’s society. It is also practiced in more than 95 countries; in fact over 60% of the world’s population lives in countries where executions take place. Based on the research I did, the four most populous countries where you can see capital punishment are the Republic of China, India, United States of America and Indonesia.

This subject has caused a lot of controversy because the decision to have or not to have capital punishment can vary within a single political ideology or cultural region. Based on the research I did, in the European Union (EU) they have two articles that talk about fundamental right of the European Union and it mentions that it is prohibited the use a of capital punishment also known as death penalty; even though its practices in some countries of the EU.

I remember a movie that shows us death penalty can be considered a wrong decision and create confusion to the system. The movie is called the “Life of David Gale”(2003) written by Charles Randolph. The plot of the movie shows us where a college professor who is an active opponent of capital punishment, he was accused of raping a student and since that his life and carrier falls in pieces. He proves that he is innocent but even though he is innocent, Gale is rejected by society and separated from his family. The movie also shows us where he is accused of killing his friend who was also a capital punishment opponent. At that point David Gale see`s his life destroyed, with no friends, no family and no job carrier.

He sees his life as senseless, plus he is convicted to death penalty .He tells his story to a journalist lady and she gets to prove that he is innocent but by that time it was too late.

I think death penalty should be use precausiosly for example if the prisoner is a serial killer or a serial rapist then you can consider death penalty as an option not just for any reason the government con take someone’s life.

Processes of peacemaking and peace building around the world (Schindler's List)

The Peacemaking process is a flexible process that was made to facilitate the peaceful, respectful resolution of disagreements between people.

Beside of the nominations an Grammys that this movie won i think that the strong content it has help a lot to demonstrate tings that happened in real life and how it affected the word in that time.

The film begins in 1939 with the German-initiated relocation of Polish Jews from surrounding areas to the Kraków Ghetto shortly after the beginning of World War II. Meanwhile, Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), an ethnic German businessman from Moravia, arrives in the city in hopes of making his fortune as a war profiteer. Schindler, a member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, lavishes bribes upon theWehrmacht and SS officials in charge of procurement. Sponsored by the military, Schindler acquires a factory for the production of army mess kits. Not knowing much about how to properly run such an enterprise, he gains a close collaborator in Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley), an official of Krakow's Judenrat (Jewish Council) who has contacts with the Jewish business community and the black marketers inside the Ghetto. The Jewish businessmen lend Schindler the money for the factory in return for a small share of products produced. Opening the factory, Schindler pleases the Nazis and enjoys his newfound wealth and status as "Herr Direktor", while Stern handles all the administration. Schindler hires Jewish Poles instead of Catholic Poles because they cost less (the workers themselves get nothing; the wages are paid to the SS). Workers in Schindler's factory are allowed outside the ghetto, and Stern falsifies documents to ensure that as many people as possible are deemed "essential" to the German war effort, which saves them from being transported to concentration camps, or being killed.

At first, Schindler prepares to leave Kraków with his ill-gotten fortune. He finds himself unable to do so, however, and prevails upon Göth to allow him to keep his workers so that he can move them to a factory in his old home of Zwittau-Brinnlitz, in Moravia away from the Final Solution, now fully underway in occupied Poland. Göth eventually acquiesces, but charges a massive bribe for each worker. Schindler and Stern assemble a list of workers who are to be kept off the trains to Auschwitz.

After a few scenes depicting post-war events and locations, such as the execution of Amon Göth for war crimes and a brief summary of what eventually happened to Schindler in his later years, the film returns to the Jews walking to the nearby town. As they walk abreast, the black and white frame changes to one in color of present-day Schindler Jews at Schindler's gravesite in Jerusalem (where he wanted to be interred). The film ends by showing a procession of now-elderly Jews who worked in Schindler's factory, each of whom reverently sets a stone on his grave - a traditional Jewish custom denoting deep gratitude or thanks to the deceased. The actors portraying the major characters walk hand-in-hand with the people they portrayed, placing their stones as they pass. (Ben Kingsley is accompanied by the widow of Itzhak Stern, who died in 1969.) The audience learns that, at the time of the film's release, there were fewer than 4,000 Jews left alive in Poland, but more than 6,000 descendants of the Schindler Jews throughout the world. In the final scene, Liam Neeson (although his face is not visible) places a pair of roses on the grave and stands contemplatively over it.

National Terrorism

Comparison + Contrast essays

Similarities Differences ]

National Terrorism

Definition : Nationalism involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. Often, it is the belief that an ethnic group has a right to statehood,^[1] or that citizenship in a state should be limited to one ethnic group, or that multinationality in a single state should necessarily comprise the right to express and exercise national identity even by minorities.^[2]

Terrorism , terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for a religious, political or ideological goal, deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (civilians), and are committed by non-government agencies.

The word "terrorism" is politically and emotionally charged, and this greatly compounds the difficulty of providing a precise definition. Studies have found over 100 definitions of “terrorism”.^[6][7] The concept of terrorism may itself be controversial as it is often used by state authorities to delegitimize political or other opponents, and potentially legitimize the state's own use of armed force against opponents (such use of force may itself be described as "terror" by opponents of the state).^[8][9]

Nationalist terrorism is linked to a national, ethnic, religious, or other identifying group, and the feeling among members of that group that they are oppressed or denied rights, especially rights accorded to others.

As with the concept of terrorism itself, the term "nationalist terrorism" and its application are highly contentious issues. What constitutes an illegitimate regime and what types of violence and war are acceptable against such a state are subjects of debate. Groups described by some as "nationalist terrorists" tend to consider themselves "freedom fighters," engaged in valid but asymmetric warfare.

Other nationalistic terrorism can include violence against immigrants in a country. Nationalists in many countries see immigration as a threat to the prosperity of the local or native population of that country

REFERENCES

^ "Terrorism". Merriam-Webster's Dictionary. 1795. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terrorism.

1. ^ Terrorism: concepts, causes, and conflict resolution George Mason University Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Printed by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, January 2003.

The Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large numbers of humans (and other life forms) and/or cause great damage to man-made structures (e.g. buildings), natural structures (e.g. mountains), or the biosphere in general. The scope and application of the term has evolved and been disputed, often signifying more politically than technically. Coined in reference to aerial bombing with chemical explosives, it has come to distinguish large-scale weaponry of other technologies, such as chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear. This differentiates the term from more technical ones such as chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons (CBRN). (wikipedia.org, 2010)

During the Cold War, the term "weapons of mass destruction" was primarily a reference to nuclear weapons. At the time, as a necessary deterrent against nuclear or conventional attack from the Soviet Union (see Mutual Assured Destruction), and the euphemism "strategic weapons" was used to refer to the American nuclear arsenal. (wikipedia.org, 2010)

The use of biological sciences and technologies to fight disease and hunger, and to create new carbon- neutral fuel sources, has enormous potential to improve quality of life and mitigate climate change. Some biotechnologies, however, could also potentially be used to create biological weapons designed to incapacitate or kill people or spread livestock and crop diseases.

WMD is a subject that you can find in the daily news; I remember that in the war against Iraq the main idea was to unarm Iraq because there was a theory that they had a large and growing stockpile WMD. Also there were efforts to stop North Korea’s acquisition of nuclear weapons. There was revelation that Pakistani scientists were illicitly selling nuclear weapons technology in the black market.

I think that we have a controversy in regard to nuclear weapons, are we in danger? Whether countries like Russia or the US should reduce the number of nuclear weapons? I also remember that in the recent Bush administration his made a proposal, to have nuclear weapons under US-Russian arms and that these weapons will be dismantled rather than destroyed, preserving the option of reconstituting them.

Bibliography

wikipedia.org. (2010, October 5). Retrieved October 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapon_of_mass_destruction

Picture

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/WMD_world_map.svg/500px-WMD_world_map.svg.png

Global Warming

Global warming is a term used to refer to the phenomenon of rising global temperature of Earth's atmosphere including the oceans. It is also associated with the constant changes in the climate.

The main effect that causes global warming is the greenhouse effect, a phenomenon referred to absorption by certain atmospheric gases, mainly CO2 from the soil energy emitted as a result of being heated by solar radiation. To this effect occurs are required these greenhouse gases, but in suitable proportions. What worries climate scientists is that an elevation of that ratio will produce an increase in temperature due to heat trapped in the lower atmosphere.

Life on Earth can adapt to climate changes that occur in a slow time, but the current rate would change life on Earth as we know it in a brutal way, rising sea levels could inundate coastal cities like New York, Barcelona and the like, and also alter climate change and increase the strength of hurricanes, droughts and floods would be more and a whole host of "natural" disasters of all kinds such as the spread of tropical diseases into areas "temperate."

The first step in solving a problem is to know its existence and be positive in this case is to be in possession of all this knowledge and act accordingly. Once we enter a positive feedback loop is no longer possible, and will be unstoppable until the reach a new equilibrium nature very different from today.
If we now begin to stop the burning of fossil fuels can be accomplished. Some of the alternatives we already have such as wind and solar power. The savings and avoid unnecessary expenses is also part of the solution, conventional nuclear energy may prove useful because it does not emit greenhouse gases, although there is to solve the problem of waste.

Some of the solutions that each individual of the most advanced societies can be applied to control the production of CO2, wherever possible, are:

• Replace traditional light bulbs with low-energy (compact fluorescent)
• Avoid buying packaged products. If reduced by 10% personal garbage can save 540 kilos of carbon dioxide a year.
• Set the thermostat two degrees lower in winter and two degrees in summer. Setting the heating and air conditioning could save about 900 kilos of carbon dioxide per year.
• Buy recycled paper products. Making recycled paper consumes between 70% and 90% less energy and prevents it from continuing global deforestation.
• Buy fresh foods. Produce frozen food consumed 10 times more energy.
• Use less electrical appliances

Domestic violence

Domestic violence it’s also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, child abuse or intimate partner violence (IPV), can be broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, friends or cohabitation. DV occurs when one person in an intimate relationship or marriage tries to dominate and control the other person.

In many Latin American and Caribbean region, the police require women to take true a medical examination and receive a certificate before being allowed to complain of domestic violence. This medical certificate is in many cases the only evidence capable of confirm the testimony of victims and to give access to legal protection.

There are many signs of an abusive relationship; domestic abuse often escalates from threats and verbal abuse to violence. Emotionally abusive relationships can destroy your self-worth, lead you to anxiety and depression, and make you feel helpless and alone. No one should have to endure this kind of pain, and your first step to break free from this is recognizing that your situation is abusive. Once you acknowledge the reality of the abusive situation, then you can get the help you need.

There are many signs of an abusive relationship. The most telling sign is fear of your partner. If you feel like you have to walk on eggshells around your partner, constantly watching what you say or do in order to avoid a blow-up. Other signs that you may be in an abusive relationship consist of a partner who belittles you or tries to control you, and feelings of self-loathing, helplessness, and desperation

I think that domestic violence is not the way to solves family issues. Communication is the way to solve people differences. Domestic violence in a couple affects all of the family members, because the kids may transmit this violence to the school, give depression, this is why I think that couples can take therapy, hanger management classes, extra activities to control stress.