Difference between revisions of "World Cultures News Articles"

Revision as of 22:43, 14 September 2006

World Cultures Project. Find 10 news articles for 14 of the categories he provides. Articles must involve from non-western nation. Write a paragraph summery for each and one sentence why it applies to each category.

Categories

• Independence
• Culture
• Scarcity
• Empathy
• Change
• Diversity
• Identity
• Technology
• Power
• Political Science
• Human Rights
• Choice
• Justice
• Citizenship

Sacristy:Saudi executive tells OPEC there's plenty of oil left

I choose this article because it deals with scarcity. Specifically, it has Saudi Arabia explaining how oil is not actually as scarce as we all think it is.

By William J. Kole The Associated Press Posted September 14 2006 http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-zopec14sep14,0,3739178.story

VIENNA, Austria · The world has tapped only 18 percent of the total global supply of crude, a leading Saudi oil executive said Wednesday, challenging the notion that supplies are running out.

Abdallah S. Jum'ah, president and CEO of the state-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known better as Aramco, said the world has the potential of 4.5 trillion barrels in reserves -- enough to power the globe at current levels of consumption for another 140 years.

Jum'ah challenged oil ministers and petroleum executives at an OPEC conference in Vienna to step up exploration "and leave the minimum amount of oil in the ground."

"The world has only consumed about 18 percent of its conventional potential," Jum'ah said, contending that should lay to rest fears that the world is in danger of being tapped out within a few decades.

Many experts estimate that the planet's recoverable oil resource is at least 3 trillion barrels and potentially more than 4 trillion barrels. If global consumption rises about 2 percent a year from today's levels of about 85 million barrels a day, they say, the low end of that range would only be enough to last until roughly 2070.

Rex W. Tillerson, the chairman of Exxon Mobil Corp., said world demand for oil will increase by 50 percent in the next decade.

"When nations threaten to stop this flow, it stops economic progress worldwide," Tillerson said.

Industry leaders have gathered this week to take stock of new challenges at the conference sponsored by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Earlier this week, the 11-nation cartel agreed to leave its current production target of 28 million barrels a day unchanged, but made clear it would keep close tabs on falling oil prices and consider a possible cut in its output quota before the end of the year.

Crude prices have tumbled to five-month lows and have dropped by more than $12 a barrel since hitting record highs in mid-July. Analysts say a combination of ample supplies and an easing of political tensions have driven prices lower.

Justice:Prosecution wants Saddam trial judge to go

There's big trouble in Saddam-trial-land. First the judge, Abdullah Al Amiri, told Saddam that he wasn't a dictator, [1] and did not stop him while Saddam was making "political statements." The prosecutor, Munqith Al Faroon, became angry and roared, "you allowed this court to become a political podium for the defendants." On Tuesday, the judge did not stop Saddam while he bellowed on against "agents of Iran and Zionism" and vowed to "crush your heads" after he listened to Kurdish witnesses allege atrocities committed against them during the government's Operation Anfal crackdown on Kurds in the late 1980s. The prosecutor wants the presiding judge to step down.

This article is about bringing justice to Saddam Hussein. Unfortuanly that process has not gone along smoothly. Usually, the defendants are the ones angry at the judge, but in this case it's the prosecutor.

http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iraq/10067361.html Published: 09/14/2006 12:00 AM (UAE) Prosecution wants Saddam trial judge to go by: AP

Baghdad: The chief prosecutor in Saddam Hussain's genocide trial demanded the presiding judge step down, accusing him on Wednesday of bias towards the deposed leader and his co-defendants.

"You allowed this court to become a political podium for the defendants," roared the prosecutor, Munqith Al Faroon, as judge Abdullah Al Amiri listened.

On Tuesday, Saddam bellowed against "agents of Iran and Zionism" and vowed to "crush your heads" after listening to Kurdish witnesses allege atrocities committed against them during the government's Operation Anfal crackdown on Kurds in the late 1980s.

Al Faroon alleged that Al Amiri was giving Saddam the time to make "political" statements that were irrelevant to the proceedings.

"For instance yesterday, instead of taking legal action [against Saddam], you asked his permission to talk," Al Faroon said.

"The action of the court leans toward the defendants," the prosecutor alleged. He said Saddam treated the witnesses with disrespect.

A Kurdish civil attorney also told the court that Saddam "hurt our feelings" in the statements he made this week.

"His statements are illegal and must be stopped," said the woman.

Al Amiri responded by recalling how a Muslim successor to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) allowed the accused to voice their opinions. One of the "pillars of the judiciary is to treat everyone equally," Al Amiri said before he ordered proceedings resumed.

Power:Govt. plans ultra mega power project

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/401200609130355.htm Chennai (source) from the Hindu (org)

New Delhi, Sept. 13 (UNI): The government is currently considering setting up an ultra-mega power project in Tamil Nadu and the action on this project will be initiated shortly, official sources said.

The setting up of the ultra-mega project is in response to the State government to setting up the project in the state to bridge its growing demands.

Meanwhile, the two ultra-mega power projects, out of the five, of 5,000 MW each are being readied by the end of the year with the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) inducting State representatives to help resolve implementation issues.

PFC has reconstituted the Boards of Sasan and Mundra Ultra Mega Companies who will expedite issues with purchasers including signing of Power Purchase Agreements which has already been finalised through a broad-based consultation involving bidders, purchasers, regulatory commssion and the Central government.

Addressing media after the kick-off of the reconstituted boards, Additional Secretary in the Power Ministry Ajay Shankar and Chairman of these companies Shyam Wadehra said that this is only a beginning of the process of broad-basing shell companies for other ultra mega power projects including Krishnapatnam in Andhra, IB Valley in Orissa and Girye in Maharashtra.

The other three mega projects are also progressing and would be awarded before mid-2007.

Shankar said that the government has received a recquest for establishment of a similar ultra mega project in Tamil Nadu and the request is currently being looked into by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) for identifying suitable sites.

Action will be initiated on this project shortly, he said.

Empathy: All Must Help Clean Up Mess In Darfur

Terrible things are happening in Darfur. The government is not protecting their people, and instead is supporting the Janajaweed in their fight against the non-Baggara people. The UN passed Security Council Resolution 1706, authorizing 20,000 peacekeeping troops, but the Sudan government reacted strongly against the measure last month. Before however, Darfur was largely ignored till Mukesh Kapila, the outgoing United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, called Darfur the "world's greatest humanitarian crisis" in March 2004. Will these methods be enough to stop the genocide in Darfur? It surly does not have the glory of toppling Saddam Hussein, but lots of people are still dying in Sudan.

The author of this opinion piece wants to get us to express empathy towards the people of Darfur. We should put ourselves in their shoes, and try to help them. We should not assume that it's not our problem, and that someone else should help. We should take action to help them.

http://www.thehoya.com/viewpoint/091206/view6.cfm The Hoya Georgetown University

By Erin Mazursky Tuesday, September 12, 2006

As I weaved my way through the aisles of the Crystal City Target during back-to-school weekend, I came upon a traffic jam in aisle seven. In the midst of the chaos, someone had pulled a stack of folding chairs off of the rack, causing all the other metal, upholstered dorm-style seats to topple into the aisle. Although there was still enough room for passage, people continued to tiptoe around the pile.

While watching this spectacle, a single thought popped into my head: “So this is how genocide happens.”

These days, as the genocide in Darfur, Sudan worsens and hope dwindles for the up to 2.5 million people displaced from their homes, I generally think of little other than genocide. I often question why people have not done more to stop the world’s most egregious human rights violations, and the answer finally came to me as I stared at the pile of chairs: It’s not our problem.

Or so we think. Six thousand miles away, 450,000 people in Darfur have died as a result of war or disease since 2003. Since elements within the Sudanese government first began exterminating the ethnic tribes in Darfur, the international community has, for the most part, sat idly by.

In both cases, the problem is that we assume someone else will clean up the mess. We read about the tragedy in Darfur and feel a pang of sympathy and outrage and then go about our business, expecting that the “powers that be,” like the United Nations, NATO or even the U.S. government will take responsibility, leaving us unaccountable to the destruction of an entire people. But history will come back to haunt us.

It seems like a stretch, I know — picking up a chair versus stopping genocide. One seems so simple while one poses a colossal problem with no easy answers. But, we all have the ability to act.

Eric Reeves, an English professor at Smith College, has become the preeminent Darfur scholar despite beginning his academic career focusing more on Shakespeare than on Sudan, for example.

Finally, two years ago, a group of Georgetown students who had never been to Sudan founded the first STAND chapter, which has become a national organization expanding to over 500 chapters in colleges and high schools across the country.

But the people of Darfur need more advocates. On Sept. 30, 2006, the African Union’s protection mandate in Darfur will expire, and the 7,000 peacekeepers there will have to go home. At that point, there will be no one in Darfur protecting millions of people from genocide and famine.

It does not have to be this way. STAND believes that the single most important thing we can do to protect the lives of millions of innocent people, mostly women and children, from a horrifying death is to demand a robust U.N. peacekeeping mission in Darfur led by NATO member states. These states have sophisticated military capabilities, in contrast to the unprepared, under-resourced, skeletal force left in Rwanda. Such action is not out of the question. The United Nations Security Council has already voted to send blue helmets into Darfur. The genocidal Sudanese government, whose sovereignty the international community continues to respect despite its clear inability to protect its people, remains the only obstacle.

This school year, as we begin to fill up our schedules with various activities, the lives of 2.5 million people hang in the balance. We must leave time in our schedule for Darfur. Come to a STAND meeting Tuesday nights; pressure your members of Congress through letters and calls. Fast in solidarity with producer Don Cheadle, journalist Nicholas Kristof and thousands of students across the country and five other continents on October 5th for DarfurFast. The opportunities exist. We must take them.

As I parked my cart and began to walk towards the pile of chairs, I saw a woman in front of me with three small children. Her baby was crying, her cart was full and her two other toddlers shouted at each other.

“Stop your fighting, and help me pick up these chairs,” she yelled, taking the toddlers’ arms and facing them towards the road block.

They began to pick up the chairs and re-rack them. I thanked the woman as I passed, continued my shopping and sighed in relief. We should follow her example in Darfur.

Erin Mazursky is a senior in the School of Foreign Serivce and executive director of STAND.

Citezenship: Taslima asks India to give her citizenship

Writer Taslima Nasreen is caught between two countries. She was born and raised in India, but moved to Bangladesh. There she made enemies with Muslim clerics who have offered money for her death, because of her views on the freedom of women. Her books have been banned in Bangladesh for numerous reasons. Therefore she wants to stay in India where she is living with a 6-month visa. So far no one has come to answer her plea to let her get Indian citzenship.

This article relates to citizenship because she is stuck between 2 countries. Who will take her? Where shall she live? Her life is in danger in Bangladesh, but no one wants her in India. What will she do when her temporary visa runs out?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1978049.cms 11 Sep, 2006 10:57hrs

KOLKATA: Expressing regret at her inability to visit her motherland due to threats from Bangladeshi fundamentalists, writer Taslima Nasreen has urged the Indian government to grant her citizenship or permanent resident status.

Taslima said India, and particularly West Bengal, was her current home. "I feel at home here and have received the love of the people," said the author who fled Bangladesh in 1994 after receiving death threats from fundamentalists.

The writer, who was recently given a six-month residential valid till January 2007, urged the Central government to grant her citizenship or a permanent residential permit.

"I can then concentrate on my writing and set up my base here. Will it not be possible for the Indian government to grant my plea?" Taslima said in an interview.

Asked whether she wished to return to Bangladesh, which she left after Muslim clerics offered a reward for her head, Taslima regretted that her right to visit her motherland had been taken away.

"My parents have passed away. So the persons closest to me in Bangladesh are no more. It is more of having my rights to visit the country where I was born and grew up rather than purely emotional reasons," she said.

She regretted that none of the major political parties in Bangladesh had come out in her support.

"I am also loved by the people of Sweden, but Kolkata holds a special place for me," she said, thanking Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee for understanding her problems whenever she approached him.

To a question on why she invited controversies time and again, Taslima said, "Let me reiterate that male chauvinists and fundamentalists do not believe in equal rights. Whenever one tries to unshackle patriarchy, a religious controversy arises.

"Whenever someone wants to change a society which does not give equal rights to women and fails to consider them anything other than sexual objects, it evokes controversy.

"Taslima said she was now working on an autobiographical book, Ami bhalo nei, tumi bhalo theko priya desh (I am not well, but you my motherland remain well), that would encapsulate her wishes, dreams and agony.

The Bangladesh government had banned Taslima's Lajja (Shame), which was about the persecution of Hindu minorities and her autobiographical works Amar Meyebela (My Girlhood), Utal Hawa (Gusty Wind), Ka (titled Dwikhandito in West Bengal), and Sei Sab Andhakar (Those Dark Days).

Choice: Mom, Apple Pie and...Toyota?

Did you know that the Toyota Sienna has more parts made in America then a Ford Mustang? This article tries to show how a supposedly American car, made by an American car manufacturer, actually has less parts sourced from America the a Toyota Sienna, made by a Japanese company. The Toyota Sienna is made in Indiana, while many cars made by American car manufacturers are made elsewhere and imported. The American auto industry is quick to respond saying that even if a few thousand manufacturing jobs go oversees, they still have their management and designs facilities in America. However foreign auto makers have long had design centers in America to gauge Americans tastes and are also hiring more American managers for their factories.

This article bring up and important international choice question? Can you still buy a truly "American" car? And is that car going to be made by a "foreign" automaker? But most of all, will Americans still buy "American" cars to support American workers, even though they are actually made elsewhere, and even though a "Japanese" car actually supports American workers more? One person said, "I wouldn't buy a Sienna. I don't like them because they are foreign."

Ford Says It's Patriotic to Buy A Mustang, but Sienna Is Made In Indiana With More U.S. Parts

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB114731076341249773-vC7NDlPLXotsdDHpLbpm5Ewbo9E_20060610.html?mod=tff_article (or from WSJ Student Edition, scan page, get info)

By JATHON SAPSFORD and NORIHIKO SHIROUZU May 11, 2006; Page B1

Few sports cars have captured the nation's imagination like the sleek Ford Mustang, a 21st-century reincarnation of an American classic. The Toyota Sienna minivan, by contrast, speaks to the utilitarian aesthetics of Japan: refined interiors, arm rests and lots and lots of cup holders.

Yet, by a crucial measure, the Sienna is far more American than the Mustang. Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that were publicized in "Auto Industry Update: 2006," a presentation by Farmington Hills, Mich., research company CSM Worldwide, show only 65% of the content of a Ford Mustang comes from the U.S. or Canada. Ford Motor Co. buys the rest of the Mustang's parts abroad. By contrast, the Sienna, sold by Japan's Toyota Motor Corp., is assembled in Indiana with 90% local components. [Home and Away]

There's more than a little irony in this, considering Ford has launched a campaign to regain its footing with an appeal to patriotism (catchphrase: "Red, White & Bold"). "Americans really do want to buy American brands," asserted Ford Executive Vice President Mark Fields in a recent speech. "We will compete vigorously to be America's car company."

As the Mustang shows, though, it's no longer easy to define what is American. For 20 years now, the dynamic car makers of Asia -- led by Toyota, Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. -- have been pouring money into North America, investing in plants, suppliers and dealerships as well as design, testing and research centers. Their factories used to be derided as "transplants," foreign-owned plants just knocking together imported parts. Today, the Asian car makers are a fully functioning industry, big and powerful enough to challenge Detroit's claim to the heart of U.S. car manufacturing.

The result is a brewing public-relations war, with both sides wrapping themselves in the Stars and Stripes. Toyota, for example has been running commercials touting its contribution to the areas of the U.S. economy where it has built factories.

Next year, the staid Toyota Camry will undergo the ultimate rite of passage by entering the most prestigious circuits of the National Association of Stock Car Racing. Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe said his company's vast network of dealerships saw the Nascar link as a crucial marketing tactic to raise Toyota's profile in the U.S. heartland. "Our dealers told us it was really important to do this," he says.

On Thursday, the Level Field Institute, a grass-roots organization founded by U.S. Big Three retirees, is scheduled to hold a news conference in Washington. Among the points the group is expected to make is its belief that comparing relative North American component content is an ineffective way to determine who is "more American" among auto makers. A better way, says Jim Doyle who heads Level Field, is to look at the number of jobs -- from research and development to manufacturing to retailing -- each auto maker creates per car sold in the U.S.

Mr. Doyle says the institute's study shows that Toyota in 2005 employed roughly three times more U.S. workers, on a basis of per car sold in the U.S., than Hyundai Motor Co. Each of the Big Three manufacturers in the same year employed roughly three times as many U.S. workers, on a per-car-sold basis, as Toyota. "What's better for the American economy?" Mr. Doyle asks. A GM car "built in Mexico with 147,000 jobs back here in America or a Honda built in Alabama with 4,000 or 5,000 jobs in America?"

Measuring local content is extremely difficult because a part made in America can be assembled from smaller parts, some of which might come from abroad. All of which underscores how the line between what is and isn't American, at least in the auto industry, is "going to be increasingly difficult to pinpoint" as car makers become increasingly international and produce more in local markets, says Michael Robinet, a vice president at CSM Worldwide.

General Motors Corp. is importing Korean-made cars to sell under the Chevy nameplate. Japanese car makers are using American designers for cars being sold in China. Some of the high end luxury BMW "imports" on the road are made in South Carolina. "We don't look at it as an American industry," says Mr. Robinet. "It really is a global industry."

That said, the Japanese manufacturing presence in the U.S. is growing. Foreign-based auto makers in the U.S., led by the Japanese, account for 1.7% of U.S. manufacturing jobs, according to a report by the Center for Automotive Research, Ann Arbor, Mich. After $28 billion in cumulative North America investment -- and annual purchases of parts reaching $45 billion or more in recent years -- 67% of the Japanese-brand cars now sold in North America are made in North America, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Japanese investment in U.S. production was a response to the trade tensions of the 1990s, when tensions flared over Japan's surplus with the U.S., of which autos and auto parts were a large portion. By spreading investment across the U.S., Japan's car makers have won crucial allies among U.S. politicians. Last year, when President Bush took to the road to tout his Social Security plan, one of his first stops was a major Nissan plant in Canton, Miss., a conservative corner of the country where the phrase "buy American" no longer means what it once did.

"As the son of a union member, I'll admit that free trade is an issue with which I've struggled," says Republican Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, who has a Nissan Titan pickup truck in his garage. But he adds: "Remember that every Nissan built in Canton also was engineered by Americans, for Americans."

What isn't clear is how Mustang fans like Fred Barkley, president of the Bluegrass Mustang Club of Lexington, Ky., would react to the news that the Mustang is only 65% American, at least by one government measure. Mr. Barkley, owner of three Mustangs, one from 1965 and two from the early 1990s, says it "doesn't bother me too much." Told the Toyota Sienna has higher North American content than the Mustang, he is unimpressed. "I wouldn't buy a Sienna," he says. "I don't like them because they are foreign."

Works Cited

“Taslima asks India to give her citizenship.” The Times Of India. 11 Sept 2006. IndiaTimes. 12 Sept 2006 <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1978049.cms>. (expand)