news commentary: due Tues, 3/20 before school
Ken Sklar (Radnor High School)
week: 3/12 - 3/18 (3/17 on the web) that interested you. Please
identify the article title and date.
Claire Kirby
by Simon Romero published 3/12
In Paraguay, an indigenous language, Guaraní is still widely spoken among the native peoples. Only 54 schools out of 12,000 in the nation teach Portuguese, and in a country where 5% of the population is indigenous people is taken over by 90% of Guaraní speakers, there is a huge jump back from Spanish and Portuguese. Guaraní is composed mainly of high screech sounds and clicks, and can be heard throughout city streets and soccer games, when the spectators are upset with the referees. The language has stayed in the country for so long due to communities that Jesuits created for Guaraní speakers, and when the Jesuits were expelled from Paraguay, Guaraní speakers spread all over the nation. Another reason why Guaraní is still so commonly spoken is because of Isolation from other cultures. While the North and Central Americas were being colonized by the British, French, and Spanish, in the region of what is now Paraguay, Guaraní was still spoken throughout daily life.
I really liked this article, because it made me happy and hopeful that native cultures and history can stay alive despite the world's constant changing. Going back earlier in the year to the people and power handouts, and maybe even before then (I don't remember exactly when), we had handouts about cultures and languages and how every year so many languages fall obsolete, as more widely spread languages such as Mandarin, English, and Spanish are spread around the world. I just thought it was really cool to see how so many people are keeping traditions dating back hundreds of years, almost preserving part of the past that is now decreasing, and will soon be gone all together.
Lizzy Hilt
Threats and Killings Striking Fear Among Young Iraqis, Including Gays
Published: March 11, 2012
This article explained how there have been numerous “emo killings” that have recently spiked in numbers. Young Iraqi men who dress in tight, Western-fitting, clothing have been the targets here. They are associated with being gay, and have been beaten to death with concrete blocks. The article also mentioned how the government is not fit in protecting some of its most vulnerable citizens let alone hosting the meeting for Arab diplomats in late March.
Now matter how many times it is reported on in the news, it still alarms me that people would discriminate against gays. It is an indication that Iraq has not progressed very much in its protection of citizens, and, most likely, doesn’t mind too much that gay people are being eliminated. The religious people who live in Iraq have made it clear that they do not accept gays within their culture. It has come to the point where many families don’t claim the bodies at the morgue because they are either afraid of ashamed of their child. How does the government plan on progressing when their people do not feel they are being protected? This exposes how the government is lacking in this area and they need to do a better job with protecting their people’s rights as individuals. It also shows how Western culture is not accepted. These men were assumed to be gay because they wore Western clothes. This shows how they associate us to a great extent by the clothes we wear. I find this interesting and, now that I think about it, not surprising because we stereotype Muslims in our country that wear their tradition dress. Overall, I believe that the global community needs to stop their biases against other cultures clothing and recognizes the rights of gays.
Melissa Lee
Kim Myung-ho, a professor and writer against the South Korean judicial system, wrote the book, “Judges, Who Do You Think You Are?”, and has inspired the popular movie, “Unbowed”, which portrays his activism. Although deemed a “terrorist” by some other writers and bloggers, many citizens see him as a Robin Hood, in the way his signature “crossbow” is his strong beliefs in changing the corrupt and untrustworthy system. Especially judges, are expectedly making unfair rulings and their qualifications are questioned. Since Kim’s imprisonment in 2007 at the hands of one of the many unfair judges, he is continuing to fight for justice in the justice system.
Although often there seem to be endless corrupt leaders of
unstable regimes, the unjust justice systems in South Korea are simply
contradictory. As they are meant to present a fair chance and case for
criminals or victims, wrongful use of power by judges can topple any form of
this opportunity for the people. It is unfortunate 82 percent of people
involved in cases did not have lawyers, mainly because of the expense. This
makes judicial officials’ economic abuses like embezzlement or tax evasion,
even more unfair. It was really interesting how Kim’s story has emerged from
the court and now the media, his book and a movie. It is apparent his activism
has reached many, if not become a phenomenon if it had reached the cinema.
Since the judicial system is able to represent the people by allowing them to
make decisions, power is a prominent issue, but change seems to be imminent as
many dissidents and activists are emerging against unjust institutions in the
government, just as Kim Myung-ho continues to lead his cause.
On Monday, March 19, 2012 2:03:08 PM UTC-4, Ken Sklar (Radnor High School) wrote:
Sarah M
By ROD NORDLAND
3/15/12
This article described an Islamic leader's bewilderment and anger with
the Afghan people's response to two different events. The burning of
Korans by US soldiers, which was extremely disrespectful to their
culture but did not injure or kill anyone, provoked violence
nationwide. However, a violent rampage by a US sergeant that killed
over a dozen people did not. These reactions express the deep piety of
the Afghan people in their devotion to honoring their religion. Islam
is, truly, the most important aspect of their lives, and the people's
response when it is disrespected is explosive. And although the people
are mourning the lives lost in the mass murder that occurred, their
response is underwhelming in comparison to the one illustrated above.
Erica F
2012
As the IAEA prepares to, yet again, inspect Iran's nuclear facilities
to ensure that they don't have nuclear weapons, another problem has
been thrown into the mix. The IAEA has recently accused Iran of not
cooperating with their inspections, and that seems to be the case this
time around as well. Iran has not confirmed whether the inspectors
will be allowed in certain restricted facilities; it is thought that
these facilities have rooms specially designed to test nuclear
weapons. Iran, in defense, is claiming that these facilities are for
'military use' and do not need to be looked at...but they aren't
fooling anyone. I have no clue whether Iran has something up their
sleeve or not, but I must say that they just can't seem to make up
their mind about anything lately! Oh, Iran, what will we do with you?!
On Mar 19, 2:03 pm, "Ken Sklar (Radnor High School)"
Drew Vollmer
By Jack Healy
Published March 17th, 2012
Former Army sergeant Rand Hultz has just been freed by an anti-
American militant group, but oddly enough, his disappearance never
even went noted. A veteran of the war in Iraq, Hultz returned to Iraq
as a civilian contractor, only to be kidnapped in June. He was held
captive by a Shiite militant group loyal to Moktada al-Sadr, an anti-
American cleric. Being shifted between countless houses in Baghdad,
the Sadrists finally released him under their leader's orders. No
negations. Sadr simply let him free. In a recent interview, Hultz
claims that "It was explained to me that this is a gift to me, my
family and the American people who opposed the war”. It is awfully
great to see these militant groups showing sympathy for the effects
that war has on these families' lives, without a doubt. But what I
find incredibly baffling is the fact that no one had any notion that
an American citizen went missing. There were no records of his
disappearance, in fact, many officials at the U.S. embassy learned of
this from the daily news. His own family had no idea of this, as they
had minimal contact with him when in Iraq. This event truly confounds
many, and hopefully more information will be revealed in this
mysterious case. However, it is great to know that even during times
of conflict and resentment, such as Iraq's current state, people still
always have a heart for humanity itself.
Colin Castro
By James Risen
3/18/12
This article discussed some of the intelligence struggles America
faces when dealing with Iran. In 2003, America came to the conclusion
Iran wasn't pursuing nuclear weapons. But, intercepted intelligence
put that into question 2 years ago. The United States really struggles
with its intelligence to draw information out of Iran. This is
generally due to a lack of intelligence in the country. The article
calls Iran a far greater security challenge then North Korea, which is
interesting because one would believe America would have literally
zero influence in the tightly run propaganda haven. However, American
intelligence simply can't be sure if Iran is aggressively developing a
nuclear weapon. In my opinion, this issue if kind of maddening as an
Obama supporter. Many Republicans push and prod the Obama
administration to taking more extreme and violent approaches to Iran.
They do this for purely political reasons and to seem somehow more
more pro-Israel, where the truth is Obama is just using patience to
address a very diffiicult situation.
Colin Castro
Furthermore, intelligence blunders have created a great lack of on the
ground spies. That leads to the United States being in a partnership
with Israel for information, the Israelis tend to work with the
Mujaheeden in Iran and Kurd group in Iraq. While, important sources
it's unclear how trustworty these sources are. Also, it's a struggle
because without great inside sources the US is very dependent on
technology like drones, and small sensors in Iranian land. Iran is
smart, because their nuclear intelligence and discussions are run in a
careful, tight-knit group this makes finding information a struggle.
Thus, any move against Iran must be heavily calculated by the
Americans.
Maddie Chapin
Sarah M
By Randal C. Archibold 3/13
The prison Hope in San Salvador, El Salvador has conditions that
inmates find worse than death. Suffocating sleeping quarters and
unsafe conditions make the penitentiary unbearable. The 19 prisons in
the country were meant to hold 8,000 prisoners; today, they stuff in
three times that number. Overcrowding is not uncommon in Latin
America, especially in prisons, and has not been met with strict
legislation in the past. But due to the fire that killed hundreds of
inmates in Honduras recently and the massacre that killed 44 in Mexico
shortly after, the government is recognizing the severity of the
problem. Public frustration with the violence, murder, and rape has
led to law enforcement that emphasizes increased arrests and
prosecution of criminals. While this may solve the problem of getting
the bad guys off the streets, it only worsens the problem of
overcrowding as the prisons swell to fit three or four times their
capacity for inmates. Human rights groups have complained about the
horrendous prison violence occurring across Latin America, and have
pointed to cases in Uruguay, Chile, and Venezuela only to name a few.
