Re: Discussion on weeks-15--16-research-and-journal

[Meagan Judkins]

Professor, I turned in all of my previous work before the essayy 3 and final was due, do i need to turn it all in again with the essay 3 and final attached?

On Thu, Jun 3, 2010 at 7:47 PM, William W <william...@gmail.com> wrote:

William Wang
English 101 Section 0143
Professor O’Connell
06.05.2010 A Complete Collection of Works by William Wang

Week 1: February 12, 2010 Journal

I'll go first!
a) Is war, specifically the increase of intentional attacks on
civilians, the greatest problem in the world today?  Probably not.
b) Are war violence and attacks on civilians inevitable components of
life or human nature, or can warfare be limited or even eliminated?
Inevitable.
c) If military attacks on civilians can be controlled, should the
people of the world work to stop them?  Sure!
d) Optional - for those ready for more?  Skip.
i) Read the New York Times review of Worse than War.   Done.
ii) Has Science Found a Way to End All Wars?  I will summarize John
Horgan's article in Discover Magazine with an algebraic expression:
More sex and more women in office equals less wars.  To be more
specific:
Let X = the number of women in government Let Y = the number of men
sexually active Let Z = a quantitative representation of peace
X + Y = Z
If X goes up, Z goes up.  If Y goes up, Z goes up.  If X and Y go up,
Z goes up by a factor of 2.
The Tolstoy Theorem states that if there are less wars, then there is
more peace.
Therefore, by using the Counterbalance Postulate, we can conclude
that if there is more peace, then there is less war and that would
help to cancel out Eliminationism.
Week 1: February 12, 2010 Journal Replies
In response to Rosemarie J’s entry...
I bet you're getting an A!
In response to Melinda S’s comment...

Thank you for commenting about my theory as being "interesting".  I
also agree with your last remark that "moral problem which we may
never find a definitive solution" because it just reinforces my
belief
that math sucks.

Week 2: February 19, 2010 Notes on preparing for E1.1

These were my original notes preparing for the essay:
Paragraph 1 thesis statement: Eliminationism is not the greatest
problem in the world today.
Paragraph 2 author's point: Goldhagen says that eliminationism is,
“the desire to eliminate peoples or groups” on page 14 of the
author’s book Worse than War.
Paragraph 3 student's point: Wang says that eliminationism is not
even a word according to Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictonary 11th
Edition.
notes subject to change...
Week 2: February 19, 2010 Essay 1.1

Goldhagen says genocide is worse than war and he goes on that
eliminationism is the root of genocide.  In his theory, if we can
eliminate eliminationism, we could prevent genocide.  And if we
prevent genocide, which is worse than war, then the worst case
scenario our world can ever face then, is war (which is not so bad).
Goldhagen continues by explaining the mentality of people, whose
political ideologies ask three questions: “What is the political
problem?  Who or what is the problem’s source?  What is the political
solution?” and answers them all with eliminationism or violence,
which he does not agree with.  Third, Goldhagen defines the main
problem being society as a whole, having a moral issue, failing to
understand why mass murdering is wrong.
Traub, going against Goldhagen, says that in order to stop
eliminationism, states would have to “abandon the logic of national
interest and reshape the global architecture around the goal of
ending eliminatioinism”.  Traub also pokes fun at Goldhagen by
calling his book “Worse than War” by a new name; “Everyone’s Willing
Executioners” describing it as being very similar to Goldhagen’s
previous literary work “Hitler’s Willing Executioners” which went
into the political ideology of German Nazis.  Traub says that the
problem is not a moral issue because society does recognize the
dangers and the risks taken with mass violence and “abhors atrocities
every bit as much as Goldhagen does” but does what is necessary
because the ends justify the means.
In my opinion, I say that the economy is worse than genocide.  My
argument is supported by everyday conversations between friends and
families and coworkers every time the word “economy” is used in a
sentence when not pertaining to rental cars.  I will even go as far
as writing my own book and calling it, “Worse than Eliminationism:
Economy, Salmon and Honeybees Disappearing and the Continuing Insult
to Fashion” (a soon to be #1 New York Times Bestseller!) just to make
my point.  Eliminationism is in our blood.  We live in a capitalist
economy and we grow up with a capitalist mindset.  For example, if I
spend X amount of dollars today, I will then have saved X amount of
dollars tomorrow.  In other words, if I invested in a timely manner,
then I will be rewarded in the near future.  We carry this kind of
thinking into politics.  If we kill 10,000 people in order to (insert
national interest here), we will then have saved the lives of 10
million people because of (insert moral judgement and reasoning
here).  We allow tragic events to happen for the sake of a greater
good.  In short, the ends justify the means.
Week 3: February 26, 2010 Journal
source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/31/AR2009123101247.html

What I like about this website is that the reviewer acknowledges that
Daniel Goldhagen's heart is filled with good intent but his book,
Worse than War does not have enough muscle to do the casualties of
war, massacre, and genocide justice.  "But even victims... deserve
books that are clearly argued and clearly written.  'Worse than War'
is not that book".  Ouch.  I agree with the reviewer because when I am
reading the book, I feel empathy towards the author's sympathy towards
those who suffered but at the same time, I am asking myself, "How many
more pages do I have to read in order to finish this assignment?"

One point that I do not like about the book so far is that when
Goldhagen is 'clarifying the issue' in the first two chapters, he is
taking it literally.  Instead of defining what eliminationism is, he
is including everything that eliminationism can be.  All the bad
incidents and events like the Americans bombing the Japanese in World
War II and the Armenian Genocide in World War I, although different,
fall under Goldhagen's definition of eliminationism.  It's like asking
the same questions over and over again but with a different reason for
each.  Can you repeat the question?  I didn't hear you.  Can you
repeat the question?  I didn't listen.  Can you repeat the question, I
didn't follow.  All querism!

One thing I do not understand from the website is an excerpt from the
book which reads, "But while each individual account is apt and
explanatory, still, in sum they coalesce into the sometimes looser and
sometimes firmer patterns seen here about which we can say and explain
a great deal but which often still defy general, casual
explanations."  I would like to check in the book what this paragraph
pertains to.  Perhaps there are some context clues in the passages
that would give me a hint as to decipher what the author is trying to
say.

Week 4: March 5, 2010 Essay 1.2

President Harry Truman made an easy call; the wrong one by dropping
two atomic bombs on Japan.  I write this as my thesis statement as a
refutation to the editorial entitled: Hiroshima Bombing Anniversary:
Truman made a tough call -- but the right one.  Truman’s actions fall
under the shade of extermination, a sub-category of Goldhagen’s
eliminationism umbrella.  It is human nature to choose the easier
option and try to justify their choice rather than to make a difficult
decision and do the right thing.

This article tries to reason the bombings by saying “millions more
Japanese would have died” with U.S. Navy submarines blockading food
shipments to the Japanese islands and U.S. Army Air Force B-29’s
bombing Japanese cities.  Although that may be true, it is the
principle of the matter.  It is not right to kill 200,000 innocent
civilians to save the lives of 1,000,000 armed soldiers.  The article
Hiroshima: Then and Now says that, “the bombings were salvation for
Japan” (in regards to Japan’s government) and that is wrong because it
was damnation for 200,000 Japanese civilians.  What good is a
government... if you do not have any citizens to protect because they
are all dead?  Also, in the article, Hiroshima, 50 Years Later, it
states that, “it is right and proper that the debate over Hiroshima
should continue” and that is incorrect because it is wrong and dumb to
continue this argument.

My alternative opinion about saving millions of lives with the
sacrifice of 200,000 is correct because although they are going with
the “ends justify the means” mentality, a philosophy which I believe
in, but they are practicing it incorrectly and unethically by
involving innocent people.  It is like saying, “I am going to commit
suicide right now because it would save me years of suffering from
depression.”  Sure, the frame of mind is there, but the moral and
ethics are missing.  My alternative thought on saving Japan is correct
because having a government is useless without people.  The idiomatic
expression, “Too many chiefs, not enough Indians” would apply here as
there would be no Indians because the population of this tribe is
zero.  Finally, the debate over Hiroshima should be resolved and
become a lesson in our history books that we, the United States, were
wrong so that our children would not make the same mistakes as our
fathers.

Week 5: March 12, 2010: Journal

Casey, Jr. Sen. Bob, 2009, July 16.  S1464: to establish the transfer
of any nuclear weapon, device, material, or technology to terrorists
as a crime against humanity.  US Senate.

a) One thing, I do like about this bill is that it addresses
Goldhagen's concern about nuclear weapons being widely available (as
mentioned in Chapter 10).  It defines smuggling nuclear weapons,
materials and technology a criminal offense.  It also answers
Goldhagen's challenge for all moral beings and model citizens to,
"take simple and effective steps to prevent future wars against
humanity".

b) One thing, I do not like about this bill is that it is also known
as the "Nuclear Trafficking Prevention Act".  A better name would be
the "Nuclear Trafficking Enforcement Act" as it would put more of an
emphasis in actively stopping nuclear trafficking rather than trying
to casually prevent it.

c) One thing, I do not understand about this bill is that it does not
mention the word, "eliminationism" at all.  However, it was tagged
with "terrorism", "war crimes", "genocide", and "crimes against
humanity".  My guess is that using the word "eliminationism" would
decrease the formality of language used in this document but in the
end, it doesn't even matter.

Week 5: March 12, 2010: Journal Reply

Rosemarie J claims that, "the Prof didn't post any instruction on
what
he wanted..." but that is wrong because Professor O'Connell did make
a
post on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010.  Also, Ryota F rationalized
that,
"the syllabus says that [it's] due today... so, I did it just in
case"
but that is also wrong because not everyone got a syllabus from the
Professor on Monday, February 8th, 2010.  I feel that posting my
journal notes for weeks 5 - 7 this Friday, March 19, 2010 as well as
my e1.3 is a good idea.  My alternate opinion about when this
assignment is due is most correct because this is the 6th week and it
falls directly in between weeks 5 and 7, which makes sense.  It is
similar to choosing "2" when asked to pick a number between "1" and
"3".  My refutation is also supported by the fact that there have
only
been three posts to the discussion thread.  Numbers don't lie.

Note: This was probably my favorite reply to another student’s entry.
I really enjoyed firing her up.  She obviously has no sense of humor.

Week 6: March 19, 2010 Essay 1.3

The legality and legitimacy of targeted killings is an engrossing
issue for military and human rights lawyers.  In the Los Angeles Times
article, “Targeted for Death”, Philip Alston, a U.N. special
rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, said, “Political murders of this
type undermine the fabric of international law as well as stoke the
fires of conflict” with regards to the slaying of Mahmoud Mabhouh on
January 19, 2010.  His opinion is wrong because political
assassinations actually help to strengthen the moral fiber of every
ethical human being here on earth.  My statement is supported by Amos
Guiora, a Professor of Law, who says, “I have long advocated person-
specific operational counter-terrorism as a means to protect the state
and to protect innocent lives”.

In the Qantara.de (online magazine) article, “Deterrence as the Only
Prevention for Genocide”, author Michael Hesse asks our beloved
author, Daniel Goldhagen, “Does international law not represent a
moral problem for you here?” pertaining to Goldhagen’s plan for a
“fully robust anti-eliminationist regime” to kill those politically
responsible for genocide.  His question is wrong because he tries to
insinuate that Goldhagen is a murderer himself, seeking to destroy
life, satisfying his own thirst for blood and justifying it by
fighting fire with fire.  Hesse tries to put Goldhagen at the same
level as James Kopp, a “pro-life” member who murdered an abortion
doctor on October 23, 1998.  Again, Goldhagen has the moral fiber and
the intelligence to do the right thing “to prevent future wars against
humanity”.

Political assassination is an idea, a concept, if you will, that has
been popularized of late  by movies like, “The Bourne Supremacy” with
Matt Damon and TV shows like “24” with Kiefer Sutherland.  Sure,
murder is wrong but sometimes we have to permit or even persist that
tragic events happen for the sake of the greater good.  The ends
justifies the means.  This opinion, in contrast to those in the
paragraphs above, is more correct because it understands a little
about how the world works.  In this case, to kill one individual in
order to save a number of innocent people is in alignment with our
never-ending journey and relentless quest for world peace.

Week 6: March 19, 2010 Essay 1.3 Comments

In response to Ryota F’s entry...

Hey Ryota!
I think you should post your essay in our Section #0143 group.
Unless, of course, our professor has asked you specifically to post
it here to serve as a fine example for both groups to see what an A-
quality essay looks like.  =)
Regards,
William
Week 7: March 26, 2010 Bonus Essay
Author Daniel Goldhagen declares that the U.N. (United Nations) is
ineffective at preventing genocide and therefore supports an
international system of killing genocidal agents.  While the U.N.
being ineffective in preventing genocide may be true, an international
system of killing these architects of genocide would only “treat” the
problem, not prevent it.  That is, creating an “authoritative
international watchdog organization... to identify mass murder and
eliminations” would intervene and prevent such genocides from
occurring but the problem of the possibility of genocide still
exists.  In order to “cure” this ailment of society, we must then
strike to the heart of the matter and that is the people themselves.
This is supported by a wise woman who is a resident of Sierra Leone
who said, “They may learn to forgive each other.  When all has been
told, we will work together to repair the wrong and to build a just
and fair future.  Together we will create a vision for a peaceful
Sierra Leone.”

Writer Daniel Goldhagen also wrote in his book that, “mass murder
begins in the minds of men”.  This is supported by the fact that
children were forced to fight for a cause that they did not even
understand.  They were “beaten, amputated, used as sex slaves”,
“forced to loot properties and burn houses”, “forced to kill or rape
our own family members, in order to ruin our moral sense and destroy
our identity and our family ties”.  However, what Goldhagen does not
mention is that mass murder can end in the minds of children.  This is
supported by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and their belief
that “the reconciliation process in Sierra Leone demonstrates how
children, as active partners in the process, can help break the cycle
of violence and re-establish confidence in the rule of law.”  This non-
violent approach to solving the problem is an answer that everyone
that is interested in a world of peace should know.

Professor Goldhagen also says that “an anti-mass murder and
elimination monetary prevention program would prevent mass-murders
from developing, intervene mass-murders from happening and punish mass-
murderers from committing crimes against humanity.  That sounds
reasonable and all but in this case, the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission has a better plan with four steps.  One, disarmament: To
disarm all children of weapons of human destruction.  Two,
demobilization: To transfer those registered as child soldiers to
civilian care or interim care centers.  Three, Family tracing and
reunification: To reunite children with families and communities.
Four, reintegration: To educate and provide for skills training to
help these victims find a place in society.  Less blood shed and more
peace provided.  Everyone wins.

This leads to my alternative in using both violent and non-violent
means when necessary.  There are those who argue for or against
violence to solve problems but I think that we should implement the
best plan of action depending on the job.  Whatever is the best course
of action in a particular case, that is the method that we should go
about in dealing with the situation.  Be flexible, able to adapt to
the environment.  That is what makes us human.  Our ability to adapt.
There is more than one way to solve our many problems and so we should
engage in these matters accordingly.

Week 8: April 2, 2010 Essay 2 Half Done

Intro/Problem
According to Daniel Goldhagen, mass murder and eliminationism begin
because man is a greedy species in nature.  If man wants something,
then man will find a way to get it.  Even if that way is by means of
mass murdering and genocide of entire groups of people.  Man does not
discriminate on who to discriminate when it comes to achieving their
goals.

Explanation of Problem
Man, in order for him to get what he wants, is willing to go to
extreme measures.  These include the Goldhagen’s 5 Pillars of
Eliminationism which are: transformation, repression, expulsion,
prevention of reproduction and extermination.

Solution to Problem
What we as a society can do is stand up for what we believe in and
speak our minds.  If the people cannot take care of themselves, then
we need to take care of them.  If the U.N. (United Nations) cannot
take care of the situation, then we need a private military company to
handle the problem.

Alternative Solution/Personal Opinion
My personal opinion is that we need to be flexible in our methods of
solving problems and the direction of our course of actions.  Like
Bruce Lee once said, “Be like water.”

Week 9: April 9, 2010 Journal

Bill: H. CON. RES. 97
Title: Support of the President of the United States (short).  Calling
on the President to support United Nations Security Council referrals
of situations involving genocide, war crimes, and crimes against
humanity to the International Criminal Court, to cooperate with
investigations and prosecutions conducted by the International
Criminal Court, and participate as an observer at meetings of the
Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute (long).
Sponsor: Kennedy, Patrick J. (Democrat)
Latest Major Action: 4/2/2009 Referred to House committee.
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

The thing I like about this bill is that it helps me understand the
other side of the story.  From Daniel Goldhagen’s point of view, we
got to take a look from his eyes in how the United Nations is
ineffective in preventing genocide.  Here, we get to see how complex
such a task can be and can better relate to Goldhagen’s complaint.

What I do not like is how conservative or “weak” the United States
sound in the resolution of the bill.  The words, “support”,
“cooperate”, “exercise” and “invoke” are used to describe the action
the United States would take.  I would have preferred stronger and
bolder words such as “enforce”, “collaborate”, “exert” and
“instigate”.

What I don’t understand is why in the resolution, did they write that
the United States would not support this bill if it was not in the
national interest of the United States?  Does this mean that we are an
exception to this rule?  Is this a way of covering their own ass if
the United States should decide to commit a crime against humanity?
The forced internment of Japanese Americans in 1942 comes to mind.
Looks like we could very well break the law again all in the name of
national security.  In other words, someone’s political interest.

Reference:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.CON.RES.97:

Week 10: April 16, 2010 Journal

Cypher, from the movie The Matrix, takes an incorrect course of action
by making a deal with the artificial intelligence program Agent
Smith.  Agent Smith is part of what they call the Matrix.  The Matrix
is the computer generated reality that the machines have built in
order to control and enslave humans.  This would no doubt be
considered a crime against humanity.  Therefore, when Cypher strikes a
deal, he is actually negotiating with terrorists and betraying
mankind.  Sitting around, wasting time and being ineffective at
handling architects of genocide is like lending a helping hand to
these terrorists.  Let me remind you that the United States does not
negotiate with terrorists!

Maverick, from the movie Top Gun, takes a correct course of action by
performing a split S in an aerial combat training scenario.  The
instructors at the Naval Fighter Weapons School feel that that was a
bad choice and that it was the last thing he should do.  However, upon
questioning Maverick’s motives, he replied with, “You don’t have time
to think up there.  If you think, you’re dead.”  This mentality aligns
with my own belief that you have to be flexible and be able to adapt
to your environment in order to survive.  If terrorists come up with
new ways to destroy our way of life, then we must be like water and
drown these terrorists and wash away their evil hands!

Works Cited:

Wachowski, Andy & Larry (Lana).  The Matrix (1999).

Scott, Tony.  Top Gun (1986).

Week 10: Journal Response

In response to Patrick D’s entry...

The US Army in the movie Avatar was a great example, Patrick!

Week 11: April 23, 2010 Essay 2 Final Draft

According to Daniel Goldhagen, mass murder and eliminationism begins
in the minds of men.  When men come together to form a group with
common interests, be it a political party, an ethnic community, a
racial group, a labor union or even a fan club for a particular sports
team, this is good.  The problem starts when these groups become
fanatical in spreading their beliefs with other people who may or may
not share the same ideals.  They start to get aggressive in order to
have their way, that is, if the opposition to their goal does not want
to budge or give way.  The Federal government may cut funding to a
State government if the State government does not enforce the rules
set forth by the Federal government; the Nazis desiring to rid the
world of impure, tainted Aryans like the Jews by extermination; the
White Southerners who wanted to continue to enslave the Black race;
the trade union of Air Traffic Controllers who went on strike,
threatening the safety of thousands of innocent passengers traveling
by plane; and the San Francisco Giants fan who shot a Los Angeles
Dodgers fan in a dispute between their team loyalties.  If man wants
to control territory or rule by their own accord, then man will find a
way.  Even if that way is by means of mass murdering and genocide of
entire groups of people.  Man does not discriminate on who to
discriminate when it comes to getting what they want.

The problem becomes magnified or increases exponentially when the
means of mass murder become easier with the advancement in today’s
technology.  Add to that the relative ease by which nuclear weapons
are developed and obtained, being widely available and, “Houston, we
have a problem.”  Goldhagen’s concern is addressed by Congress having
recently passing a bill “to establish the transfer of any nuclear
weapon, device, material, or technology as a crime against humanity”.
This is a formal document that lets the crimininals of our world know
that what they are doing is wrong, as if they did not already know
that what they were doing was a crime.  And if that wasn’t enough, let
us add insult to injury when these architects of genocide think that
they can get away with their crimes because they know that the U.N.
(United Nations), who are supposed to be protecting our communities
and working for world peace, are effectively ineffective at stopping
them.

Our Team: America last year has even passed a bill that “support UN
Security Council referrals of situations involving genocide, war
crimes, and crimes against humanity to the International Criminal
Court...”  Even then, the bill is quite conservative in the language
being used with words such as “support”, “exercise”, and “invoke”
which all sound very weak.  Stronger and bolder words like “enforce”,
“exert”, and “instigate” would be more effective in striking fear into
the hearts of these lawless men.  Another way to make a difference in
our world, is to follow Goldhagen’s advice in creating an authorative
international watchdog organization... to identify mass murders and
eliminationisms”.  This would be a private military company so as to
prevent any conflicts of interest one nation might have with one
another while eliminating the threat in a given country’s territory.
Also, the name of the organization should sound intimidating, like
that of the private military security firm “Blackwater” who are the
largest of the three private security contractors of the US State
Department.  I would call it “Holywater” or “Redwood”.  Commercials
for Holywater would run with the tagline: “Got crimes against
humanity?  Just add Holywater” and for Redwood, “Make like a tree and
leave!”  It’s all marketing.

We, as a responsible society, have too be flexible in our methods of
solving the world’s problems because the terrorists, those who
threaten our freedom, get more and more creative each and every day.
If we can adapt to our “environment”, that is, the increased traffic
of terrorists and the manufacturers of WMDs or Weapons of Mass
Destruction, the world is ours.  The radical and reactionary groups
who are in favor of violence cannot scare us or “phase” us (for lack
of a better term).  We must be able to adapt, overcome and achieve.
We must be able to never give up and never surrender!  We must be able
to believe that we can fly.  We must be able to believe in magic.
Goldhagen challenges us as moral human beings and model citizens to do
the right thing.  I believe that we are up to the challenge and so, we
must be.  Like Bruce Lee once said, “Be like water.”

Works Cited

Goldhagen, D.J. 2009.  Worse Than War: Genocide, Eliminationism, and
the Ongoing Assault on Humanity (pages 14-18)

Casey, Jr. Sen. Bob, 2009, July 16.  S1464: to establish the transfer
of any nuclear weapon, device, material, or technology to terrorists
as a crime against humanity.  US Senate.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.1464:

Kennedy, Patrick, 2009, April 2.  H.CON.RES.97: to support United
Nations Security Council referrals of situations involving genoicide,
war crimes and crimes against humanity to the International Criminal
Court...
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.CON.RES.97:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1619711

Week 11: April 23, 2010 Short Story

It is the year 2021.  McDonald’s has taken control of the entire
cattle industry in the United States.  All the cows are owned by
several dummy corporations so as to avoid government antitrust laws.
The few remaining burger joints left in the United States are subject
to being charged grossly inflated prices for ground beef.  They are
threatened by the McDonald’s Corporation to either continue to pay
for the expensive, raw material for their hamburger meat or sell
their life-long business.  The latter is the usual case for these
poor fast food establishments.  The following is an account of recent
events...
“This isn’t right.” said Thomas.  “It’s going to be okay, honey.  We
just have to stick with it.  It’ll work out.” said his wife,
Jennifer.
Tom and Jenn own a fast food restaurant that mainly serves hamburgers
and french fries.  It is a well known landmark in their community.
“The price of meat just keeps going up!  We won’t be able to survive
in the long term.”  Tom sighs.  Jenn walks over to Tom and gives him
a hug.  Tears form from both pairs of eyes as they hold each other
dearly.
A tall, dark and handsome man walks into T & J Burgers.  There are no
other customers.  Only the husband and wife can be seen behind the
counter.  Tom and Jenn quickly wipe their eyes.  Tom walks towards
the kitchen.
“Hello!  What can I get for you today?” asks Jenn in a cheerful
manner despite her red face.
The young man quickly glances left and right and asks, “Are you the
owner of this restaurant?”
“Yes, my husband and I own this restaurant.” replied Jenn.
“And we ain’t sellin!” exclaimed Tom.
The young man takes off his cool pair of Oakley sunglasses and slides
it into the breast pocket of his navy pin-stripe suit.
“What I am about to tell you is highly confidential.  Congress has
passed a bill stating that McDonald’s cannot own more than five
restaurants per square mile.  There are currently seven McDonald’s in
this vicinity and they are planning to build three more, one of which
will be right here where we are standing.”
“F*ck you, asshole!” said Tom.
“The USDA has been ineffective in regulating the law.” said the young
man, grimly.
“You can say that again.” commented Tom.
“My name is Alex.  I represent a group of business owners who, like
you, are threatened by McDonald’s.  We are men and women who want to
cook, sell and eat our hamburgers free from persecution.”
“Holy sh*t.  You guys sound like the Rebel Alliance.” Tom said in
amazement.
“This isn’t Star Wars, honey.  This is real life!” Jenn said.
“The name of our alliance is HolyCow.  Our mission: to restore cattle
to the free market.  We would like you to join us in our cause.”
Tom and Jenn look at each other and Tom answers, “What can we do to
help?”
All of a sudden a rocket breaks through the window and whizzes by the
three of them but makes a direct hit to the kitchen.  The explosion
knocks all of them down.
Tom gets up on his feet and helps his wife up.  Alex extends his hand
towards the couple and says, “Come with me if you want to live.”  Tom
grabs Alex’s hand and they rush to the side entrance.
The bluetooth headset of the perpetrator who fired the rocket with a
bazooka asked, “Is the target eliminated?”  The perpetrator replied,
“No, they ran outside.”
“Don’t let them get away!” said the bluetooth device.  “Copy that.”
replied the bazooka bearer.
Alex leads Tom and Jenn to his car, a white Subaru Impreza WRX.  Tom
sits on the passenger side and Jenn sits on the rear passenger’s
side.  Everyone fastened their seat belts and as Alex starts the car,
bullets are bouncing off the bullet-proof windows.
“Nice car.” says Tom.  “The beauty of all-wheel drive.” says Alex
with a smile as they peel away.
In the background, a black BMW 535i pursues them.
“What the USDA has failed to do, we will accomplish by our own
means.”
“They just tried to kill us!” said Tom.
“McDonald’s feels that their burgers are superior to everyone else’s.
Obviously, that is wrong but that is not going to stop them from
trying to convince every other American citizen otherwise.  The term
for that is transformation.  Another way that McDonald’s has taken
control of our freedom is by forcing us to leave and be deported
outside the U.S.  Why do think there’s an In-N-Out in Japan and
France?”
“No wonder!” exclaimed Jenn. The Subaru weaves in and out of traffic
while being chased by the persistent BMW.  Tires screech just like
how they do in an exciting chase scene of a high-budget Hollywood
movie.
“That’s called expulsion.  And then we have extermination.”
“I’ve been reading the newspaper and I did happen to catch several
unexplained deaths of restaurant owners lately.” said Tom.
“Now you’re starting to get it.” said Alex.  “We, at HolyCow, can
make a difference.  Not only must we ban McDonald’s and their
ridiculously tempting french fries, but we must destroy the
Corporation itself by any means necessary.  Are you guys willing to
do that?”
Tom replies, “Yes, we are”.
Jenn said, “How can we choose not to?”
The intersection ahead gets blocked by two other BMW 535i’s.  All
four doors open from both cars and men in black suits step out from
every door.  The Subaru stops.  The Bimmer that was pursuing them
stops in back of them.  There is no escape route.  Guns are drawn
from the agents.  The driver from earlier steps out of his car and
holds a gun in one hand and a blow horn in the other.
“All your cows are belong to us!” said the bazooka bandit.
“What are we gonna do?” asked Jenn.
“Just enjoy the show.” said Alex.  Alex grabs his Apple iPhone 3GS
and makes a call.
“Red 5, this is Skywalker.  Can you send these guys a message?”
“Roger that.  Message has been sent.”
Two rockets from an Apache Longbow helicopter hit two Bimmers in
front, knocking out most of the armed agents with the big
explosions.
“Message has been delivered.” said Red 5.
“Package confirmed.  Thank you!” said Alex.
“You’re welcome.” said Red 5.
Week 12: April 30, 2010 Journal

The Darfur Conflict in Sudan is the current conflict of interest to me
and my typing fingers.  Titus Andronicus reminds me of General Dominic
Dim Deng, who is a national war hero to his people.  Saturninus
reminds me of General Omar al-Bashir, who overthrew the Sudanese
goverment.  Titus’ followers remind me of the Sudan People’s
Liberation Army/Movement.  Rome’s religious duty to sacrifice others
reminds me of the Sudan government and their Janjaweed militia that is
guilty of genocide.  The Goths remind me of the United States, who
like to get into everyone’s business.

References

Goldhagen, Daniel Jonah. “Worse than War: Genocide, Eliminationism,
and the Ongoing Assault on Humanity.” New York: PublicAffairs, 2009

Shakespeare, William. “Titus Andronicus.” United States: Penguin
Classics, 2000

Week 12: April 30, 2010 Journal replies

In reply to Rosemarie J’s 4 consecutive entries...

Rosemarie J:
Professor O'Connell:
Could you please post the instructions for the Week 12 Research &
Journal that is due this Friday 4/30/10.
Thank you
Rosemarie J:
Professor O'Connell:
Could you please be specific as to what you require.
Since Research & Journal 12 is now combined with 13/14 is this all
due (deadline) on Friday 5/14/10 (per your syllabus)?
I take it that this Friday 4/30/10 we have no assignment to turn in
since you are now combining the above.  Is this correct?  I'm curious
since Friday is now only 4 days away and to make a deadline we would
need enough lead time.
Rosemarie J:
Professor O'Connell:
I just went to your posting for Weeks 12-14 and it says the page does
not exist!
Please check your site.
Rosemarie J:
nglish 101, spring 2010 online sections #0143 and #3226
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William W: (rolls eyes)
Note: I did not actually post this reply because I did not want to
start drama in your online course, Professor O’Connell.  I should get
extra credit for biting my tongue or in this case, my taking my hands
of the keyboard.
Week 13: May 7, 2010 Essay 3 Half Done

Tony Stark has been called, “the most famous mass murderer in the
history of America” by Afghan terrorists.  In William Shakespeare’s
Titus Andronicus, Titus Andronicus would be called, “the most famous
mass murderer in the history of the Goths” because he spent in his
lifetime ten whole years campaigning, waging war and doing battle
against the Goths.  But even with the success of claiming victory over
the Goths, he is still a victim of the very basics of human nature.
In this case, the desire for revenge.  Titus feels betrayed by the
Emperor Saturninus because Titus cut off his own hand in exchange for
the lives of Martius and Quintus which the Emperor did not make good
on his word (even though this was all just a ploy cleverly devised by
Aaron).  This injustice fuels Titus’ madness so much that he orders
his brother Lucius to flee from Rome and go raise an army to be
“revenged on Rome and Saturnine”.  Revenge in this context means
“murder” and “murder” means “extermination”.  Extermination is the
fifth act of “eliminationism” according to Daniel Goldhagen.



aaron, the moor.  black power.  mass murderer.  political
assassination.  secret agent.  double agent.  triple cross.

sudanese nomadic conflicts = current conflict



titus kills his son mutius because he has shown disloyalty to Rome.
general.  honor.  loyalty.  revenge.  violence.  power.  strength.

worse course of action = saturninus, explain

better course of action = titus, explain

“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he
didn’t exist”.

Goldhagen, Daniel J.  Worse Than War (2009) page 18

Favreau, Jon.  Iron Man (2008)

Singer, Bryan.  The Usual Suspects (1995)

Shakespeare, William.  Titus Andronicus (~1590)

Week 14: May 14, 2010 Nothing Due

Week 15: May 21, 2010 Collecting, Organizing, Uploading All Work

Week 16: May 28, 2010 Essay 3 Final Draft

In William Shakespeare’s play “Titus Andronicus”, the characters Titus
and Tamora set the stage for a bloody tale of justice and revenge and
its vicisous and harmonious cycle.  In spite of being considered by
many to be Shakespeare’s worst play, we, as responsible playgoers
cannot ignore that the new 2010 production is every bit as engrossing
as the original one.  It includes all of the killings, torture,
destruction and rape (AIU, 2008) you have come to expect from the mind
that brought you Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Macbeth.  “Titus
Andronicus” or “A Current Conflict” is now playing at the World Stage
in Darfur, Sudan.

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely
players...”  (Shakespeare, ~1600) and that quote could not be more
fitting as Titus is played collectively by the Sudan Liberation Army
and Tamora played by Omar al-Bashir.  In the original story, the cycle
of revenge begins with Titus killing Tamora’s firstborn as a sacrifice
dedicated to his sons who died from the war against the Goths.  This
provokes Tamora to get her own revenge.  Later, she is able to make
good on her vow by giving her two sons, Chiron and Demetrius
permission to rape Titus’s daughter Lavinia.  Titus vows for revenge
once again and devises a plan to kill his daughter’s rapists.  Not
only is he successful in doing so, but he adds icing to the cake by
baking a pie made out of their own flesh and has Tamora enjoy it
unknowingly until just right before he kills her himself.  Saturninus
then kills Titus out of justice for murdering an Empress of the Roman
Empire.  Lucius then kills Saturninus to avenge his father and gets
the last laugh or in this case, the last kill.  In this modern-day
adaption, revenge still means “murder” and “murder” still means
“extermination” and which by the way is the fifth act of
“eliminationism” according to author Daniel Goldhagen in his work
“Worse than War” (Goldhagen, 2009, p. 18).

We can see the same story unfold before our very own eyes as Omar al-
Bashir having recently signed a cease-fire agreement with a rebel
group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and declaring that the
war in Darfur was over only to then attack a different rebel group,
the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) (TCSM, 2010).  Omar Bashir is to blame
for the war crimes and crimes against humanity that have been going on
(BBC, 2010).  This is very similar to Tamora getting married to the
Emperor Saturninus and swearing complete loyalty to Rome only then to
stab everyone in the back by attempting to murder Titus and all his
sons, all of whom are prominent citizens and distinguished members of
Rome.  If we can learn anything from reading the book about this
wicked witch of the Goths or watching the play with Omar al-Bashir, is
that this is the wrong course of action to take.  Too much drama.

Titus, who is completely loyal to Rome, starts to have a change of
heart when he sees that the government that he fought for so long and
hard for in those 10 years have become corrupt with the induction of
Queen Tamora as Empress Tamora.  His resolve now is to be loyal only
to himself.  He must now find and gather his men to strategize and
formulate a plan in order to increase his chances of success rather
than going in and attacking blindly.  This is like the founding
members of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) first coming together with
a common goal and sharing a common bond before forming together
because they realized that something was wrong and they could not help
but to stand up for what they believed in and fight for their cause.
After regrouping and coming up with a strategy, they started to attack
Darfur.  It went okay.  If they had not planned anything prior to the
assault, the casualties of their campaign would have been
significantly greater.  This is an example of the right course of
action.  To think before you act.  To rationalize and assess the
situation to determine if the end result will be of a desirable
outcome before you even make a move.

However, sometimes we, who are only human beings, are very capable of
making mistakes, can think for too long and miss out on an that
perfect opportunity that may present itself in only a short time
window.  Take for example what Lucius Andronicus did in the last act.
He quickly thought on his feet and took action into his own hands,
eliminating the threat that was Saturninus.  This quickly turned
around a government that was corrupt and restored it to its former
glory.  Lucius did not sit around to watch what would unfold next, he
was the one that turned the page to the next part of the story.  He
did not waste any time going off in a monologue or grieving for his
murdered father, or vowing revenge to the Emperor Saturninus someday.
He did what was right and necessary and quite promptly.  And it was
for the better.  This, then, would be considered a better course of
action.

That is why Goldhagen emphasizes on how ineffective the United Nations
(UN) is in dealing with crime and reiterates that fact every few
chapters.  The United Nations (UN) is too Titus-like.  He asserts
that, “an authoritative international watchdog organization should be
created to identify mass murder and eliminations wherever they are
practiced” (Goldhagen, 2009, p. 570) and that would save thousands of
lives.  Lucius is that ideal watchdog organization that Goldhagen is
talking about.  The tenacity to never give up and never surrender.  To
be able to deliver results consistently in a tight situation.  That is
how you would save the day.

The rest of the cast include the Marcus Andronicus played by the
International Criminal Court.  Wise, albeit slow to action.  The
unknown number of poor women and girls who get abducted, raped and
abused play Lavinia.  The morally incorrect rapists play Chiron and
Demetrius.  The other sons of Titus, Quintus and Martius are played by
the Justice and Equality Movement.  The Empire of Rome is now set in
the Government of Sudan.  Then we have Aaron the Moor played by the
Janjawid.  And last, but not least, we have the Goths played by the
United States.  No country really likes them, but whenever they need
military aid, the United States of America is always there to protect
Her Allies.

And if we forget to make progress towards a better tomorrow, we can
always look at our congressional bills to remind us.  H.CON.RES.159
tells us that we acknowledged the fact the crime of genocide was being
commited in Darfur, Sudan.  Basically, it reminds Americans that we
called it.  In H.RES.241, we are reminded that we shouldn’t fight each
other but rather to focus on the real enemy; men like Omar Hassan al-
Bashir.  He’s the bad guy.  Finally, we can also look at H.RES.1019.
This one gives us hope that the beginning of peace can be achieved...
by signing a paper.

In conclusion, we have taken an inside look at the play, “A Current
Conflict”, which has only been open to the public for a few years and
is doing okay judging by the number of tickets sold.  We got a brief
synopsis of the themes and we also got to take a look at the wrong and
right course of actions as well as an alternative for a better course
of action if possible.  Also, we have a great resource at www.thomas.loc.gov.
We humans are able to adapt and adjust to different situations in our
environment and that is part of what makes us so great and unique.
Our ability to adapt.  Hopefully, we can use our talents to help stop
crimes against humanity and make the right choices in life.



Works Cited

Goldhagen, Daniel J. (2009) Worse Than War: Genocide, Eliminationism,
and the Ongoing Assault on Humanity (pp. 18, 570).  New York:
PublicAffairs

Shakespeare, William.  (~1600) As You Like It

Shakespeare, William.  (~1590) Titus Andronicus

Amnesty International USA.  (2008)  Darfur History.  Retrieved from
May 7, 2010, from
http://www.amnestyusa.org/darfur/darfur-history/page.do?id=1351103

BBC News.  (2010) Q&A: Sudan’s Darfur Conflict.  Retrieved from May 7,
2010, from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3496731.stm

The Christian Science Monitor.  (2010) Darfur conflict flares after
Sudan President Bashir declares war over.  Retrieved from May 27,
2010, from
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/terrorism-security/2010/0225/Darfur-conflict-flares-after-Sudan-President-Bashir-declares-war-over

H.CON.RES.159
Recognizing the fifth anniversary of the declaration by the United
States Congress of genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
Representative Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c111:3:./temp/~c1110yp6wd::

H.RES.241
Commending the International Criminal Court for issuing a warrant for
the arrest of Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of the Republic of the
Sudan for war crimes and crimes against humanity, expressing the hope
that this will be a significant step in the long road towards
achieving peace and stability in the Darfur region.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.RES.241:

H.RES.1019
Recognizing the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Sudan and
the Sudan’s People’s Liberation Movement/Army and calling for urgent
and aggressive actions to establish peace in all regions of Sudan.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c111:5:./temp/~c111uw9Hxe::

Week 17: June 4, 2010 Final Exam

William Wang
English 101 Section 0143
Professor O’Connell
06.05.2010 Final Exam

In current events, Joseph Kony and his “ragtag group of rebels” the
LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) have waged a 20+ year war against the
Ugandan government.  He is wanted by the International Criminal Court
for war crimes (BBC, 2005) including the kidnapping of “more than
30,000 children in the last ten years alone” (CNN, 2006).  We need to
stop Joseph Kony from continuing to commit crimes against humanity.
However, according to Luis Moreno Ocampo, the Prosecutor of the ICC,
“we do not need a war; we do not need to kill anymore LRA members.  We
just need to arrest him and put him on trial to have him explain why
he was abducting children” (Observer, 2010).  There is, of course, a
better COA (course of action).  We need to offer top dollar for this
man’s head just like author Daniel Jonah Goldhagen has suggested in
his book Worse Than War, when he wrote, “$10 million dollars for
killing or delivering the perpetrating regime’s leader or top
leaders” (Goldhagen, 2009).

Attempting to arrest Kony is laughable.  In 2005, the International
Criminal Court (ICC) issued its first indictments which charged him
with “33 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed
since July 2002” when the ICC came into effect (Global, 2005).  It is
now 2010 and we have not been able to arrest him yet.  In other words,
it took three years to file paper work to charge this man and another
five years of trying to take him into custody.  In fewer words, the
U.N. (United Nations) is slow and ineffective.  This supports
Goldhagen’s work when he said that, “the U.N. (United Nations) is
ineffective at preventing genocide and therefore supports an
international system of killing genocidal agents” (Goldhagen, 2009).
It also clearly refutes Ocampo’s decision to have him arrested and
tried because that is dumb.

The best course of action (COA) then is to offer a reward or a bounty
for the head of or death of, Joseph Kony.  Just like how they did it
in the Wild West.  “That’s how Dad did it, that’s how America does it,
and its worked out pretty well so far” (Iron Man, 2008).  The money
from the bill that United States President Barack Obama signed could
be used for said bounty.  Goldhagen’s suggestion of offering a bounty
would allow for any person or group to quickly and effectively
eliminate this problem in northern Uganda.  If citizens are worried
that too much of their tax dollars would be spent on this issue, then
perhaps Goldhagen’s other suggestion that an “authorative
international watchdog organization” (Goldhagen, 2009) that would
handle the trifecta of prevention, intervention, and punishment would
be a better option.  This group would handle the situation at quickly
and effectively as well, not to mention that they would operate at
probably a fraction of the cost outlined in the new bill.  In
conclusion, we need to stop wasting our time talking and start killing
people who need to die.

Works Cited

BBC News  (2005) Profile Joesph Kony.  Retrieved on June 3, 2010 from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4320858.stm

CNN.com  (2006) Anderson Cooper 360° Blog.  Retrieved on June 3, 2010
from:
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/2006/02/old-horrors-young-victims.html

Global Policy Forum  (2005) Warrant of Arrest for Joseph Kony
(September 27, 2005).  Retrieved on June 3, 2010 from:
http://www.globalpolicy.org/international-justice/rogues-gallery/joseph-kony.html

The Observer  (2010) I am waiting for evidence on Buganda Killings,
says ICC Chief.  Retrieved on June 3, 2010 from:
http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8706:i-am-waiting-for-evidence-on-buganda-killings-says-icc-chief&catid=34:news&Itemid=59

Goldhagen, Daniel J. (2009) Worse Than War: Genocide, Eliminationism,
and the Ongoing Assault on Humanity.  New York: PublicAffairs

Favreau, Jon.  Iron Man (2008).  California: Paramount Pictures

--
Meagan Judkins

[Sandy B]

To be honest, I post all my work here:
http://groups.google.com/group/english-101-spring-2010-online-section...

but then the professor says,

"See the Files and Upload File links at 
the bottom of the course
website under Discussions. Preferred formats 
are plaint text (.txt),
rich text format (.rtf), web page (.html), or 
msword files (.doc
or .docx). Please don’t upload .wps or .wbk files, 
as these are
difficult for me to open. If your system creates these, 
please use
Save As and select plain text (.txt) or rich text format 
(.rtf)
instead."

So I upload a file with all my work together too.
http://groups.google.com/group/english-101-spring-2010-online-section...

I did it twice just to make sure he gets everything I have submit
here.

You can see were you can upload your file. Just do the same thing you
put together in one document page > save > upload it > Preview/Edit >
Post.

http ://img203.i mageshac k.us/img2 03/592 /sa mple1r. jp g (take off
the spaces)

[Jayne R]

Jayne Ramirez
Work During the Semester

E1.1
In the article Ending our Age of Suffering, Daniel Goldhagen gives
insight to his beliefs of “a plan to stop Genocide”. He states that
however we define Genocide it is, but one expression of a broader and
more fundamental phenomenon: eliminationism. The core problem is they
are trying to eliminate groups of people. In his book, Worse Than
War:
Genocide, Eliminationism, and the ongoing Assault on humanity, the
principals and patterns of Genocide and Eliminationism are much
discussed in greater detail. He believes Genocide is the “greatest
threat of our time”. The meaning behind the title is that Genocide,
or
Eliminationism, rather, is worse than war. This is due to that fact
that “mass murderers have killed more than 100 million people, a much
greater number than have died as a consequence of conventional
military operations.” In the article, Patterns of Genocide, James
Traub, reviews Goldhagen’s book and basically states that Genocide is
not the “greatest threat of our time” and that Goldhagen in a way
intentionally exaggerates the his topics.
Goldhagen states that genocide and eliminationism should be at the
core of present and future international policy making. He also lists
ideas of policies, he believes can be implemented to help prevent
Eliminationism, for example; million-dollar bounties being placed on
the heads of political and military leaders. A descent idea, but
where
would the money to pay these bounties come from? The United States is
in tremendous debt, how could they possibly contribute to these
bounties? Another idea proposed is to turn them into permanent
outlaws, like pirates, “enemies of humanity”. Whose jurisdiction will
this be under and how would this even be overseen? These proposals he
mentions just seem too costly for a country to contribute when they
are already stuck in a debt that grows more and more each day. Now
let’s say money is not a factor, the only other problem would be with
intervention. In implementing these policies would countries feel
they
are interfering too much?
In my opinion, I do feel that Genocide is a major problem, but I’m
not
sure that it is the greatest problem of our time. It could be that
maybe I still do not have a complete understanding of it. But I do
feel countries need to work together to prevent genocide from
occurring. Educating more and more people on what it really is might
actually help prevent it.


Essay 1-2
President Truman’s decision to order two atomic bombs on the Japanese
cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, continues to cause debate, even after
65 years. Was the use of this bomb a “military necessity”? It was and
was not. These atomic bombs were an “assault on humanity” which ended
in thousands of civilian causalities. In the book, Worse than War,
Daniel Goldhagen, states the dropping of the atomic bombs were not
necessary. These bombs ended the war, the same war Japan started with
their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. His decision was and was not a
military necessity. This is because it was not necessary for all
those
lives to be lots, but it was necessary to end the war.
Goldhagen claims that “President Truman knew that each bomb would
kill
tens of thousands Japanese civilians that had no direct bearing on
military operations”. These bombs were never tested before they were
used on these Japanese cities. He could not have known the full
extent
of his decision. Goldhagen states that the label “mass murderer”
should be affixed to Truman’s name. President Truman was not a “mass
murderer”. The decision he made unfortunately led to the loss of
many
lives, but it also saved them too. During the war, the Japanese
invaded the Philippines capturing approximately 76,000 Filipino and
American soldiers. As prisoners of war, they were forced to march to
a
prison camp more than 100km away. This march is known as the “Bataan
Death March”. These prisoners were forced to march in the blazing sun
with no food or water. “Anyone who dared ask for water was executed.”
Approximately 5,000 to 10,000 were estimated to have died along the
way and about 15,000 died in the prison camps. If the war continued
there could have been more situations like this. Goldhagen even
places
Truman along side” monsters” like Hitler. His decisions may have
killed many Japanese, but he never intentionally tortured or tried to
eliminate them.
President Truman ended the war, Japan started with a surprise attack
at Pearl Harbor. He was trying to prove the point to the world that
the United States is not a country to be messed with. Innocent
Japanese civilian lives should not have been taken to prove this
point, but According to the Las-Vegas Review Journal “It was the
right
call.” If the war was not ended then there would have been more
deaths
to come.
Essay 1-3
Violence with Violence
If Genocide is worse then war, then war must be better then genocide.
In the book, Worse than War, Daniel Goldhagen writes in depth about
Genocide and illustrates plans to help end it. In the articles
Deterrence as the Only Prevention for Genocide and Mass Slaughter Is
a
Systemic Problem of the Modern World, Daniel Goldhagen is interviewed
about this book. In the first article, He states that more than 100
million people have been killed by elimination measures since the
beginning of the 20th century-many more than in wars. The number of
people that are murder is irrelevant to the fact that people are
murdered either way. The objective of Genocide is to eliminate, the
objective of war can be anything from gaining territory to a woman.
But they both are murders with a purpose, usually for political gain.
Genocide is not worse than war and war is not better then Genocide.
Daniel Goldhagen states that anyone who has the chance to kill those
who commit mass murder should do just that. He is basically says that
anyone, anywhere should be able to just kill anyone in order to
prevent other murders. This is fighting violence with more violence
and completely unlawful. The International Court of Justice was
established in 2002 to judge these types of cases. He should be
suggesting that the system be reformed instead of condoning mob
justice. He also states that the political leaders of Europe and the
US should make up their minds to enforce a non-eliminative political
system which could be possible overnight. Whenever there is a
problem,
it always up to the United States to fix it. The other countries of
this world should have the responsibility to help and send aid as
well. In the second article, he mentions a conversation he had with
the Justice Minister of Rwanda. He asked the Justice whether Genocide
would have been prevented had bounties been placed on the heads of
political leaders to which he replied definitely. Goldhagen is again
is condoning violence. Ending one mans life would not stop it because
after he is murdered another leader will arise with the same beliefs
or worse.
It is hypocritical to say the way to end violence is through more
violence. A targeted killing of mass murders is not the answer to end
genocide. Though the International Court of Justice is slow, it is
the
only option. It just needs to be reformed. The court needs to be
better equipped on how to handle and try these cases so people do not
feel the other answer is through more violence.

Optional Essay 1-B
In the book, Worse than War, Daniel Goldhagen illustrates ways to put
an end to regimes using eliminationism. He deems the United Nations
and the International Court of Justice ineffective at preventing and
ending eliminationism and promotes an international system of killing
eliminationist agents. Ishmael Beah, a former child solider and
author
of the book, The Long Way Home, states that Fighting for Peace is an
oxymoron. Fighting cannot end fighting; only a non-violent approach
can.
Goldhagen believes bounties between $1 million to $10 million should
be places on leaders and their subordinate’s heads. He claims that
this strategy will be effective because it is guaranteed punishment,
“wanted death or alive” means you will be hunted until your last day.
After the assination of the regime leader, another will just arise to
power and it is back to square one. He also states that the
international community could easily do much more to affect
eliminationist politics by focusing on transforming tyrannies into
democracies. This would be an impossible task. People could overthrow
a Dictator, but the amount of time, money, and man power it could
take
would be overwhelming. He also states that a bombing campaign to
destroy a country’s military infrastructure should immediately
commence if it manages to initiate mass murder, expulsion or
incarceration. A bombing campaign would initiate uproar and
hostility
and could also lead to war. War is the complete opposite of peace.
Many former child soldiers like Ishmael Beah, who was mentioned
previously above, tell stories of the war in Sierra Leone to promote
peace and to understand how to prevent war from happening. Even
though
they are young, they are aware of suffrages of war and do not want
others to have to experience them.
Targeted killings may seem radical, but can be effective in
eliminating individuals who are seen as threats to humanity. These
are
government intelligence operations which are facilitated only if the
capture of the individual would be impossible or too high risk.
Killing one in order to save many is killing for the greater good.

Mar 29, 10:21 pm
If possible. I would like to attend another in-class session as well.


Research Weeks 8-9
(Just a little bit about this bill)
A bill I did use for research for Essay 2 was H.CON.RES.87.
It is a bill to observe the 15th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide
and calling all responsible nations to uphold the principles of the
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
This bill gives historical events that took place leading up to the
Rwandan genocide. Towards the end of the bill it asked congress to
solemnly observe the 15th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, which
claimed the lives of 800,000 people. Also the bill asks to remember
those who were lost in the campaign of mass murder, honor the heroic
actions to stop it, recognize the genocide unleashed in Darfur and
Sudan, commend the commitment of peacekeepers, and uphold the
Convention on the prevention and punishment. This bill has 27
cosponsors, but just went from the House committee to the House
committee of foreign affairs. It has not been agreed with to be
passed. But with all the lives that were lost in this Genocide it
needs to be recognized as one.
Thanks for sending us our grades in the pdfs like that! You're
awesome!
On May 2, 7:28 am, oc <eng101l...@yahoo.com> wrote:

- Show quoted text -
I think you are right because last time he said it didn't have to be
exactly 3 pages he just wanted a "good start"
On May 7, 8:22 pm, sandy bonilla <sandyt...@gmail.com> wrote:

Half of Essay # 2 (Rough Draft Only)
Genocide, according to dictionary.com, is defined as the deliberate
and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or
cultural group. According to Daniel Goldhagen, the author of Worse
than War, genocide is worse than war. Goldhagen states that mass
murders have killed more, perhaps many more, than 100 million people,
a much greater number than have died as a consequence of conventional
military operations. He also believes that genocide however it is
defined, is but one expression of a broader and more fundamental
phenomenon called eliminationism. Eliminationism consists of five
principal forms transformation, repression, expulsion, prevention of
reproduction, or extermination. In the book Worse than War, Goldhagen
goes is depth about genocide which is the last principal form of
eliminationism. Ironically, the last principal form extermination is
also known as the “final solution.”
The prevention of reproduction is a fourth eliminationist act that
according to Goldhagen is the least frequently used. The Nazis
forcibly sterilized many Germans suffering from genuine or imagined
congenital problems. This is due to the German and American beliefs in
eugenics. Eugenics is the practice and study of selective breeding
with the goal of improving the human species. Nazis in Germany were
not the only ones to implement sterilization on people. Goldhagen
states other countries issues, but failed to mention sterilization
that has happened here in the United States. Americans started to
sterilize people in the early 1920’s in Lynchburg, Virginia. It was
decided that people who were “social inadequate or feebleminded”
should be sterilized. This was a way to keep the American race pure of
good genetic traits. In the court case Buck vs. Bell, Bucks attorneys
pleaded to ban sterilization in the United States, but it was not
overturned. Sterilization to this day is not illegal in the United
States.
In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly passed its Convention on
the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, consisting of
nineteen articles. (236) According to Goldhagen genocide is not
properly defined in the convention. This allows the countries to
pretend that genocide is not being committed. He states that the
United States did this with Rwanda, in refusing to call Hutu’s all-out
slaughter Genocide. This is true, it seemed like it was the United
States policy at the time not to intervene in other countries domestic
affairs. The United States did apologize to the people of Rwanda for
not doing enough to stop the slaughter, though an apology is not
enough. The U.S sent a bill to the House of Foreign affairs in regards
to observing the 15th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide in 2009. On
April 6, 1994 an airplane carrying Rwanda’s president was shot down.
The Hutu’s blamed the Tutsi’s and their plan to eliminate the Tutsi’s
came into play. This genocide in Rwanda claimed the lives of over
800,000 people. Bill H. Con. Res. 87 urges all responsible nations to
uphold the principles of the Conventions on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and seek to halt genocide wherever
it may occur. Goldhagen believes that this Convention needs to
redefine genocide such as stating a threshold number of people killed
for it to be considered genocide. This way, nations cannot ignore it
and state there is no “intent” because there is a body count. Also so
genocide can be properly labeled and nations will feel they have the
right to intervene.

References:
Goldhagen, Daniel. Worse Than War. New York, NY 2009. Print.
“Eugenics: Carrie Buck, Virginia’s Test Case”
http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical/eugenics/3-buckvbell.cfm
Peace Pledge Union Information: Rwanda 1994
http://www.ppu.org.uk/genocide/g_rwanda.html
Thomas (Library of Congress) H. CON. RES. 87
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d111:2:./temp/~bdfSDS::|/bss/111search.html|



Essay 2 Short Story Draft:
The black car halts at the rundown, shack of a building. It could not
be more than one open space. The grass out front was once green, and
in a few months it will be again. Today, on an unusually warm January
morning, in Virginia, the color of the grass resembles that of old
hay. The hay is scattered about the muddy clay that makes up the small
courtyard. The driver holds open the door. A tall handsome, man in a
long winter coat steps out of the car and onto the clay.
“Wait here George,” Said the man, “I will get the child myself.”
The man knocks on the door. A scruffy looking woman answers in a
tattered robe, the pale, yellowish color of material scrubbed
countless times and often dried in the sun too long.
“Is he ready?”
The woman nods. A young man, around twelve, Steps out from behind the
woman with a bag in his hand.
”Hello William, Are you ready to see your new school?” Asked the man.
“Yes sir,” says William.
The tall man smiles and tips his hat to the woman. William kisses his
mother and walks into the outstretched arm of the gentleman. William
walks through the clay and hay wrapped in the security of the strong
arm. This strong arm belonged to the doctor who most recently
volunteered to personally perform check ups on the whole family. This
doctor also recommended that William attend a training school, in
Lynchburg, with children just like him.
William did not know him well or understand why he has decided to
lend a hand to his family, but it didn’t matter. William was grateful.
He trusted this doctor, and so did his mother and father.
The black car halts at the rundown, shack of a building. It could not
be more than one open space. The grass out front was once green, and
in a few months it will be again. Today, on an unusually warm January
morning, in Virginia, the color of the grass resembles that of old
hay. The grass is scattered about the muddy clay that makes up the
small courtyard. The driver holds open the door. A tall handsome, man
in a long winter coat steps out of the car and onto the clay.
“Wait here George,” Said the man, “I will get the child myself.”
The man knocks on the door. A woman answers in a tattered robe, the
pale, yellowish color of material scrubbed countless times and often
dried in the sun too long.
“Is he ready?” The woman nods. A young man, around twelve, steps out
from behind the woman with a bag in his hand.
“Hello William, Are you ready to go to your new school?” William
replies, “Yes sir.”
The tall man smiles and tips his hat to the woman. William kisses his
mother and walks into the outstretched arm of the gentleman. William
walks through the clay and grass wrapped in the security of the man’s
strong arm. This man is taking William to a training school, in
Lynchburg, where there are children “just like him”. William does not
know him well or understand why he has decided to lend a hand to his
family, but it didn’t matter. William was grateful. He trusted this
man, and so did his mother and father.
“Good morning Master William” said George as he tipped his hat.
William smiled at George and says “Good morning.” The tall man and
young boy climb into the car and George closes the door. The inside of
the car was foreign to William. There was a lovely scent of lavender
that he normally would only smell in the early spring. The seats were
polished leather. They were tight and made noise when he sat on them.
He bounced up and down a couple times to hear the squeaking sound.
“Do you like baseball, William?” the man asked. “Yes sir, very much.”
He replied. “Lou Gerhig’s my favorite player!” William blurted out.
The man nodded on hearing this. “He’s a good player, he works really
hard to hit like he does. He’s as strong as they come.” He then opened
a bag that was sitting on the floor and pulls out a new glove and a
fresh baseball. William’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when the
man handed them over to him. “They’re yours to keep,” offered the man,
“Take them with you, there will be plenty of children to play ball
with at your new school.” William couldn’t take his eyes off his new
ball and glove.

Final Short Story Essay 2
The car stopped moving. The door came open. “Right this way master
William” said George in his usual respectful manner. William and the
man climbed out of the car. “This is it, my boy!” exclaimed the man as
he patted young William on the back. Two men walked up. One grabbed
William’s bag and began to escort him up the stairs to the building.
“Have a good time master William!” said George smiling as William
continues up the stairs and the building doors shut behind them.
Evaluation day, William patiently awaits his name. After a few
minutes, a woman says softly with a smile “William we are ready for
you.” William walks into the room and takes a seat. The woman, who
called him in takes the seat, next to him. The doctor was already
waiting in the room, with paper and a writing utensil at hand.
The doctor says, “I am Dr. Smith and this is Nurse Jackie we just need
to ask you a few questions today.”
“Would this be okay with you?” William replies politely, “Yes of
course”. The man asks “How are you feeling today William?” “I am doing
well, thank you.” replies William.
“William do you know what state is south of Virginia?” William
replies, “Yes sir, North Carolina, and then South Carolina.
“What is 10 plus 5?” William states, “10 plus 5 is 15.”
“What Country did the United States get their Independence from?”
“From England,” says William.
“Thank you, William. I just have one more question for you. If we
needed to perform a procedure on you that would be beneficial to you,
would that be okay with you?” William replies, “Yes I guess.” with a
confused look on his face. The questions have all been asked and
William proceeds to leave the room, the door shuts behind him.
“He seems like he is pretty well adjusted for his age, Doctor.” The
nurse states with a smile. “Looks can be deceiving my dear Jackie. I
have looked up his records and his parents have been identified as
“feebleminded.” “Feeblemindedness is heredity and these genes cannot
continue to be passed on.” This country is built on the backs and
minds of strong men. And we can only make progress if we halt the weak
ones from contaminating them.
Essay 3 Half Done
Rough Draft
In the story, Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare illustrates the
epitome of violent acts. The story begins with the Roman victory
against the Goths after years of conflict. Tamora, the former Queen
of
Goths and new empress of Rome, strives to do anything her in power to
see to the downfall of the great Roman general, Titus Andronicus. She
is not driven by the need for power; she is driven by hate and
revenge. She infiltrates from the inside. She starts to see things go
her way, but little does she know Titus is not as easily manipulated
or “mad” as she thinks.
Hate has always fueled conflicts between people and countries Hatred
towards the United States was shown earlier this week. There was an
attempted car bombing in New York City’s Time Square. “The vehicle
smoldered, but didn't explode”. The attempted bomber is Faisal
Shahzad; he is in custody and under investigation. According to
TELEGRAPH.CO.UK, he came to the United States in 1998 on a student
visa, and immigration officials noted there was "no derogatory
information" on him in any database. Shahzad also become a
naturalized
in 2006 after marrying a United States citizen. This is a prime
example of infiltration from the inside.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an ongoing conflict between Israelis
and Palestinians. This conflict continues because these two different
groups both want control over the same territory. They both feel they
are entitled to the land and they are nowhere near a peaceful
settlement. They both and refer to the territory as different names.
To the Israelis it is Israel and to the Palestinians it is Palestine.