Chaos in Philippines

The Philippines is hitting the headlines a lot lately. Attacks by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has caused the United States Forces to enter the Philippines against the war against the separatists. Three Typhoons recently hit the Philippines all around the same time. Now, the Philippines are being hit by a new conflict. The political activists with their techniques in kidnapping and murder. Overall, 57 victims including 30 journalists have been kidnapped or gone missing since the Philippines elections. As the state of emergency is being declared, Philippine politicians question whether martial law should be declared also. It is not terrorists that have caused the kidnappings but political allies through clans. There are so many people involved that even mayors of various cities and towns have been arrested on suspicion. On Monday, hundreds of journalists, human rights activists and layers marched in the capital of Manila in support of justice for the missing people after the president has suggested perpetrators might not be held responsible for their crimes.

[Renato Reyes, Secretary General, New Patriotic Alliance]:
"We are protesting against impunity and we are protesting in demanding justice for the victims of the Ampatuan massacre and all other human rights abuses under the Arroyo regime. Unless we do such moves, we do not think the Arroyo regime has what it takes to really address the big problems of impunity and justice in our country."

Kandahar: Canada's Newest Province

The land that was once over run by Taliban is in the hands of Canadians. Since the events of the 9/11 attacks, NATO has responded by attacking those responsible and those helping them. The Taliban occupied country of Afghanistan was invaded with Canada taking a leading roll in Kandahar, one of the more dangerous provinces of Afghanistan. Many know the typical arguments for why we should pull out, such as hundreds of ally deaths, thousands of civilian casualties, the cost of developing a nation that is not ours, and the list goes on. There is of course those who want to see troops in Afghanistan. The one taking a leading roll in this right now is Senator McCain. As many NATO states confirm their plan to terminate all military aid to Afghanistan, McCain says we should not even be thinking about leaving until the mission is done. "Imagine if Canada pulled out of World War Two in 1943" the parents of some KIA Canadian soldiers tell reporters. It would be pointless to contribute false hope at such a high cost. The Honourable John Manley of the Liberals argues that we cannot allow another Rwanda from happening in Afghanistan which although does not make it a Canadian responsibility, does put the UN in a situation which it is needed to support human rights as the Taliban puts its population in fear of much torture which includes whipping, stoning and other violent forms of violence to innocent people. Canada has taken many steps in progression for the Afghan province, treating it almost as its own. Some question Canada's political goals though. For example, Tooryalai Wesa was appointed governor of Kandahar Province. He is also a close childhood friend of Afghan President Hamid Karzai who lived in Canada for 13 years before being appointed governor. Above all however, the Canadian occupied parts of the province are developing relatively fast with development programs in the process and food, water and even gifts from Canadians being donated to the Canadian controlled parts. If Canada continues with its plans to pull out of Afghanistan in 2011, these parts of Afghanistan certainly be taken over by the Taliban without any international military help and contribution.

copy and paste this link to here arguments on Afghanistan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddsExN295fI

Japan Wants the Americans Out?

Over five decades ago, two nuclear bombs are dropped in Japan followed by a peace treaty between the Americans and the Japanese. As a result, territory is lost and American military bases settle on Japanese islands. Following the Korean War, American troops in Japan mobilize in case of an invasion. The United States makes great use of Japan's soil during Today's War on Terrorism in Afghanistan. It's easy and cheap to leave soldiers in Japan rather than transporting them back and forth from the US across the ocean, over continents and finally to Afghanistan. Until recently, the Japanese liked the idea of having American protection from North Korea. So what's different now? There's a new Conservative Prime Minister who wants to the crime to stop in Okinawa where US troops are living. The crime, mostly to do with theft, has become a concerning problem among the people. The base is located in a "busy-center" and the military causes much noise pollution from jets and other military machines. 21,000 people protested on Sunday in hope that the 2006 agreement between the US and Japan will have the Americans move the base out of Okinawa. Many Japanese politicians however would prefer that all American troops be removed altogether.

Chinese Play God

Some might say you need gold to be happy but in the case of the Chinese, it was silver. In fact, it was silver iodide. The Chinese shot Silver Iodide into the clouds between 8pm on Saturday and 11:25am on Sunday causing precipitation. This process is called 'Cloud Seeding'. Other than experimentation, for what reason would the Chinese do this? “We have to seize every opportunity to increase precipitation,” explained Zhang Qiang, head of the Beijing Weather Modification Office, to the Global Times. “Beijing had almost no rainfall in October.” Is it wrong to play God? In the 1970s during the Vietnam War, Agent Orange as well as other environment modification technologies were feared about because they may deliberately alter and change the environment. A treaty was signed between the Soviet Union and the United States, and many others, signed ENMOD (Environmental Modification Convention). ENMOD is an international treaty that prohibits the use of military and hostile use of environmental weapons. China has not signed this treaty which gives them the ability to legally contribute to their research in drastic environmental changes. As much of the world's population watches in amazement, many question if this is considered to be playing God and if it should be allowed. Regardless of this, this is new and unique for any culture. The Chinese were seen smiling to the site of snow which is not very usual for Beijing, especially this time of the years.

Possible Polish Problem

Since the end of the Second World War, Poland had suffered under the Russian influence of communism until democracy finally prevailed. Today Poland finds itself in the middle of things. Since the collapse of communism, relations have not been too good between Moscow and Warsaw. In 1991, Poland joined NATO and voted to join the EU in 2003 causing relations between the two countries to weaken drastically as Russia decisively becomes more hostile to both the EU and NATO. The Bush Administration set up plans to install a missile defence shield in Poland in the fear of an attack by Russia. In response to this, Russian officials announced that this will open the right for a nuclear strike in Poland. Russia has also announced that it will install missiles in Kaliningrad, near Poland. Following the August War that took place between Georgia and Russia, Poland immediately sided with Georgia against the decisions of Russia to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Poland has contributed greatly to aid Georgia, most notably in the technology area after Georgian internet had been hacked – most likely by Russia. Previous years of Georgian-Polish relations has also resulted in the erection of a statue in Tbilisi in celebration of the Poles who contributed to the independence of Georgia. This has been seen as negative to Russia. Up until this point, Poland has rejected former president Bush’s plan to install missile defence due to Russia’s threat of a nuclear strike. After seeing the willingness of Russia to bomb civilian-filled cities with no strategic value, Poland immediately began considering and signing plans for a missile defence system that also included missiles for attacking. Poland is also an unofficial supporter of Chechnya and has been known to provide assistance to Chechnya. During the First Chechen War, many Poles volunteered to fight on the side of the Chechens against the Russians. In March 2005, President Aslan Maskhadov of Chechnya was killed in action. President Putin of Russia awarded medals to those who killed the Chechen president and had his body displayed on Russian television. Days later, Chechens and Poles alike held demonstrations in front of the Russian embassy in Warsaw. They prayed for the return of his body according to Muslim customs. President Obama has scrapped the Bush Plan for missile defence and will instead use smaller, mobile interceptors. Vice President Biden ensured Polish leaders that the United States does guarantee the security of Poland. Polish officials want more than just a defence system though. Officials believe that if there ever was an attack on Poland, having American soldiers on the ground would make the US quicker to respond.

Sorry for the long boring videos but I couldn't find anything better. Basically the videos explain why the Poles want a missile defense shield and what could happen with or without them.

Kosovo: Independent, Divided and Occupied

Is it a province or is it a country? Either way, the region is dominated by 92% ethnic Albanians and about 97% of the Albanian population is Muslim. This has greatly influenced the region as nationality tensions have grown throughout the centuries after much Ottoman rule and later the unification of about 6 nations. During these times, Serbian and Yugoslav leaders tried to hold their authority by not allowing the succession of any state. Kosovo was declared an autonomous province but later had that revoked. The government said there was a political and cultural genocide in Kosovo and as a result, many ethnic Albanians lost their jobs – especially those working in the areas of education. Over 80% of Kosovo’s population became unemployed as a result. In 1990, over 80,000 people were expelled from the country. On top of that, Albanian newspapers, radios and other forms of media and culture were disallowed. Albanians decided to ignore any elections and conscriptions and began to vote on a referendum. 90% voted for succession and there was a 98% voter turnout. The Kosovo Liberation Army came into effect and was recognized as a terrorist organization as it launched attacks on police and civilians. Serbian authorities began launching attacks on the KLA and massacred village people where KLA was suspected of hiding. After a series of peace conferences, the US and other western nations began siding with Kosovo Albanians after what happened with the Bosnian conflict which involved much ethnic cleansing of Bosnians and other Muslims. To help change Serbian ideology, NATO began bombing the country until it came to a peace agreement where NATO would occupy the province. Kosovo still had a rather high Serbian minority though, causing many disputes, protests, violence, kidnapping, rape and murder of one another simply because the people are of different races and religions. Many agreed that Kosovo's succession from Serbia would be good for the long run in hope to minimize the violence between different ethnic groups.

Just to get an idea, this video is about the Siege of Sarajevo in Bosnia that took place when Bosnia wanted to succeed from a Serbian dominated Yugoslavia. It expresses a need for the UN to be more involved in conflicts of ethnic cleansing through drafted soldiers' points of view which explains why the UN was right to intervene in Kosovo.

“We did have high expectations from the international community. We thought they are human as we are. They will help us because they can see, but nothing. They let us die. Purposely let us die.”-Nedzad Seric, Bosnian veteran

This video is about the crimes against ethnic Albanians by Serbian authorities. It includes personal interviews of those who survived the genocide and witnessed the gruesome attacks by Serbians.

This is a commercial promoting the independence of Kosovo as a nation. It is recognized by over 60 sovereign states.