Away from the Smaller Apple
was the longest day
ever.
My scale
Burning with
the furious power of god
and my paws
turning more black
every second
Why
the stare is so hot.
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My name is 황민엽. It can be written as 黃民燁 in Chinese.
As I mentioned in February, my name expects me to illuminate the family name.
Obligation of Global Superpowers
111154 황민엽
“The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its members”(United).
This is the first sentence in Article 2, Chapter 1 of the United Nations Charter. United Nations provide equal opportunities for all countries. In Article 1, Chapter 1, the UN’s goal is stated; “The purposes of the United Nations are to maintain international peace and security, to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats in peace, and for the suppression of……..”(United).
It is clear here that the United Nations does its best to maintain peace across the globe. In order to achieve peace, the UN tries to give equal rights to all its members, and treat them equal in all disputes. However, a rather paradoxical statement appears in Article 23 of Chapter5, The Security Council; it states, “The Security Council shall consist of fifteen Members of the United Nations. The Republic of China, France, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America shall be permanent members of the Security Council.”(United) Later it also states that ten non-permanent members are chosen by the General Assembly with a term of two years. Five superior countries above the rest of the world! Also, no decision could be made by the Security Council if even one of the permanent members veto against it.
The United Nations Charter was written to protect the rights of all countries in the world, but ironically, there are statements that are in favor of the strong countries. Strong nations influence other countries over important global decisions, trade between countries, and sometimes even the internal affairs of small countries. A good example of such a strong country is the United States, in which, according to Chomsky, even has a saying “What we say goes”.(Chomsky(What we say goes) 15) The United States is a ‘global superpower’ along with the recently rising China. These global superpowers have enormous influence over the rest of the world. Outstanding armaments, an abundance of resources, a big and strong economy, and a lot of enormous multinational corporations. These are some of the factors that make the superpowers dominant. Small countries submit themselves over these large weapons and rely on their flattery to the big nations to survive.
As the United States is unstoppable by any other country in the world, they do what they want; they influence every outcome of a deal to be favorable for themselves. According Chomsky , the United States invaded Iraq and triggered a war without an approval from the United Nations. When the U.S. failed to seize Iraq with their military, it asked UN to bear some of the cost of the war. The resolution suggested by the U.S. and Britain reached an unanimous agreement at the UN security council(resolution 1511). Few countries such as France and Russia resisted this decision and didn’t send any backup, but countries such as Germany and Pakistan succumbed and maintained a symbolic mutual relationship (Chomsky(Interventions 74-77). This shows the U.S’s tyranny over the rest of the world.
The Iraq war, the Afghanistan war are both examples of explicit tyranny of the United States. When seen closely, there are more such events. After the World War Two, strong countries started to rule their counterparts with tools other than their military power. They started using their economy, resources, technology, and companies. China uses its resources to threaten others. When Japan and China were involved in the dispute of the ownership of the Senkaku Islands, China abused their abundance of rare earth resources; China owns 99% of the world’s rare earth resources, but the resources are very important substances that are mandatory in electronic devices. China claimed that they will stop their export of the rare earth resources into Japan, which would cause devastating effects on the Japanese economy. The dispute didn’t end, but China proved to the world their superiority over the rest of the world.
Technology also enables superpowers to dominate the globe. Even if countries own rare resources in their territory, if they don’t have the technology to exploit those resources and use it wisely, they have to depend on the strong countries. Therefore, when superpowers are jealous of others’ resources, their leaders just need to fly to other countries and sign contracts; contracts signed under the name of a ‘mutual’ development of the resources and an ‘equal’ distribution of the profit. But in reality, the big countries are simply taking the resources.
Multinational Corporations of the superpowers have a threatening effect on the third world. These corporations enjoy building companies on the third world to benefit from the cheap labor, cheap land value, abundance of resources, and minimal restraints concerning human rights. When these corporations build major factories in small countries, those countries have their economy solely dependent on the factories. All of their workforce begin to leak into the factories, and they become specialized at it. This restricts the countries to develop other parts of their economy. On the other hand, the big corporations don’t rely on the countries; they just choose countries that are most suitable for production at that moment, and when the good conditions cease to be true, they are able to move at any time. Therefore, since the multinational corporations have a favorable situation in their relationship, they are able to ask for more things. They start to ignore the rights of the workers and have them work in hard conditions. Countries cannot complain because when they start implementing regulations, the companies can move their companies right away to somewhere with less regulations. These superiority over deals make multinational corporations another weapon for the superpowers; when superpowers want to effect other countries, they could just use multinational corporations under their supervision to give obstacles to others. Afraid of an economic breakdown, small countries are forced to act on the behalf of the superpowers.
Even though the United States is having a hard time recovering from its economic crisis, its advantages over other countries cannot be compared to others. On The Economist, when talking about problems in America’s economy, it was stated, “Are these worried justified? On the plus side, it is hard to think of any large country with as many inherent long-term advantages as America: what would China give to have a Silicon Valley? Or Germany an Ivy League?”(The Economist 11). From this statement, we can feel the influence of the United States as a global superpower. It has great impact over the world even during hard times with a bad economy. Silicon Valley, Ivy League, and such things help the country ace in a variety of fields, which empowers America to ‘rule’ the world.
Superpowers not only affect international issues on their behalf, but also pose negative effects on the globe. China is already the world’s top manufacturer, top auto market, top cement producer and top polluter (Larson 38). When looking into the part about ‘top polluter’, we can see that the China tops in carbon emissions and discharge of wastes. China rejects the sanctions other countries suggest claiming that China is still a ‘developing country’. Also, in 2001, the United States rejected the Kyoto Protocol and refused to reduce their carbon emissions. These two events clearly display that the superpowers have no intention to solve global matters, and are just making international dilemmas worse. They are the ones that are most capable of solving those problems, and also the most responsible for the problems. Albeit these factors, the superpowers keep posing bad effects to the rest of the world for their own benefit.
Not minding these problems, the two superpowers get together to cooperate simultaneously to benefit in return. Two sides will both compete and cooperate, perhaps simultaneously, as they shape and support a global system they can benefit from (Larson 38-39). The United States and China cooperate to get some profit from it, and also check each other regularly in order to exceed each other. United States citizens believe that China will never be able to surpass them. When we look at this statement, “China does not buy our debt for our sake; it does so it because it depends on an economy large and sound as ours for its own growth propelled through trade: The same set of rules that keep its currency undervalued means, by law, it can’t spend at home the huge pile of cash that it sits on. In that respect, China is more directly tied to us than we are to them. If the United States were to discontinue trade with China, it would hurt them more than us.”(Weinberger), we can see that the two superpowers ally for one’s own good, not for the good of each other. In addition, they always check to see if they are gaining more profit from the deal. If that is the case even between the two superpowers, what would the superpowers do to weaker countries? Unfair deals and forced cooperation is undoubtful.
So, what should the superpowers do from now on? They pose a lot of threats to the rest of the world, but still, they are the leaders of the world. Therefore, when seen from a different perspective, the superpowers are able to pose a lot of good effects in the global community. They can use their powers to make justifiable decisions at disputes between countries, and use their technology to solve global problems. It is a well known fact that many countries in the world already possess technology to not only reduce carbon emissions, but also reduce the already emitted carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They are simply not using the technology since using it gives them no significant benefit. Therefore, if superpowers change their perspectives even by a little amount and start working for the good of the globe, they are the ones that are able to make the most change.
The United Nations, the Kyoto Protocol, and other covenants and groups of countries all pose positive results to the world, initially. They are just used in a different way, for the benefits of the superpowers. This situation can sound hopeless, but it can also be a good sign; it is a sign that if the influential covenants and groups are used differently, they can make a big change in the world. The United Nations can actually bring peace across the globe with the cooperation of the U.S. The Kyoto Protocol can have a great effect on reduction of global warming if the superpowers cooperate. International issues could be solved one by one, and disputes can end peacefully by the mediation of superpowers. The great influence and power over the globe is not a bad thing; the wrong usage of the power is the awful reality. If their powers are used right, the superpowers are the ones, the only ones that can actually change the world.
Sources:
-Larson, Christina. “China and the U.S.: The Indispensible Axis.” Time 22 Mar. 2010: vol.175 38-39
-“What’s wrong with America’s economy?” The Economist 6 May 2011: vol.399 11-12
-Chomsky, Noam. 변화의 길목에서 미국을 말하다(What we say goes).
Seoul: 시대의창, 2009 (arrangement with Henry Holt and Company, LLC.)
-Chomsky, Noam. 우리가 모르는 미국, 그리고 세계(Interventions).
Seoul: 시대의창, 2008 (arrangement with Noam Chomsky c/o Roam Agency, USA)
-United Nations Homepage. Signed in June 26, 1945 Secretary of the Publications Board United Nations New York, NY, 10017, USA13 May 2011
< http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/index.shtml/>.
-Weinberger, David. “Why China is not an Economic Threat to the United States”.
The Foundry, 3 Feb. 2010,
Posted in Enterprise and Free Markets, Ongoing Priorities 13 May 2011
<http://blog.heritage.org/2010/02/03/why-china-is-not-an-economic-threat-to-the-u-s/>
THW Curtail nuclear power plants within the next 10 years
Prop
GW
1.Safety problems regarding the powerplants
-insecureness of nuclear powerplants is increasing: frequent accidents (Chernoville, Hukushima)
-radioactive matters detrimental to people’s health (cancer, disordered babies, etc.)
2.Effectiveness of the nuclear powerplants
-too much money needed: it could be spent on other parts of the society and also on the development of other alternative energy
3. Reduce gap between nations
-a wide gap in the development of nuclear energy between developed and undeveloped nations: unfair in our society -> undeveloped nations should be given time to catch up with the technology
-> From this experience of debating, I learned that I can gain a lot of knowledge from discussing with others. When I was debating with my classmates, I found out many facts about nuclear energy. I also felt that it is important to listen to others when they are speaking. In order to make a lot of rebutles and some comments, I had to pay attention to the speakers. Thus, I learned that it was important to concentrate on other people’s speech in order to understand them thoroughly.
According to The Writing Place, Northwesern University’s peer tutoring center, plagiarism is using other people’s work and wrapping it as your own. Copying other people’s work and claiming as your own, copying other people’s sentences directly, and stealing other people’s ideas are all examples of plagiarism. There are two types of plagiarism. accidental plagiarism and deliberate plagiarism. Deliberate plagiarism is plagiarism itself, where people copy ideas from textbooks, articles, essays, and etc. and use it as their own ideas. On the other hand, accidental plagiarism, just as it sounds, is accidental. Reference from a different material is available anytime when making your own ideas. However, one has to site the source of the information in order to use the materials. If one accidentally forget to site the source, it becomes an accidental plagiarism.
When writing college research papers or essays, plagiarism can happen, either deliberately or accidentally. This can give a bad impression to others, and could also be considered a crime. Therefore, one should try hard not to plagiarize from other sources. People can always try to cite every single source that they have searched through, and paraphrase the sentences when they use it. Also, siting the owner of the idea in front of the sentence is a good way to show that the sentence is referenced from other sources.
Source: http://www.writing.northwestern.edu/avoiding_plagiarism.html
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Life is full of decisions. Every moment, we make big and small decisions for ourselves and for other things. It is not always possible to take all advantages, so some things have to be abandoned to continue on. The choice we make sometimes seem so unclear. There are times when it is very hard to choose between to things. Even after making choices, we cannot be sure that we’ve made the right choice; we cannot be sure of the things that lie beyond the ‘road not taken’. But anyways, people live on. They believe that they have made the right choices, and do the best that they can at their current situation.
The two superpowers gather together for a meeting. It could be controversial, but since the two countries are the top of the world, they may be fighting for their own rights, not for the good of the whole world.
Source: China’s Rising (http://profjabbott.blogspot.com/2011/01/chinas-rising-i-hubris.html)
With the improvement of transportation and communication tools, the world has become connected, and so has everyone living in it. Various people around the world, some we are familiar with and some not, contribute to making every product we use. Our actions also result in other people’s life, too. However there are people that suffer from the process. A lot of labor comes from undeveloped nations, where people are willing to work even when the conditions are very harsh. They are treated unequally than those living in industrialized nations. Big multinational companies use the labor of people ignoring human rights. After they produce the product, we are the people that use it. Then, whose fault is it that these people suffer from the production of products? Should we abandon our goods for the welfare of people in undeveloped countries?
It is not possible for us to know exactly how the products we use were made. The world is connected, and so many people from so many different places contribute to the process. Therefore, we are unable to pick only the products that were made fairly. It will be very hard to distinguish those products, and also, not a lot of fairly-made products exist.
Even though it is very hard, we should at least try our best to stop structual violence. There are products that have labels that say fair-trade. Those products are likely to have involved less strutual violence in their production than others. Therefore, we should try to search for these products and protect the rights of suffering people around the world.
North Korea’s leader Kim Jung-Ill always threatens to attack South Korea and the U.S. because of the joint military drills the two countries engage in. North Korea claims that the drills are rehersals for a war against themselves. The very recent military drill started after the discussions between the two Koreas came to no good agreement. The heated drills and threatening started after the ship Cheonan sank, which is thought to have been the deed of North Korea. South Korean activists also send balloons to North Korea that contain mockery of communism and some materials for the people. North Korea also requires the South to stop these movements. The governments of South Korea and the U.S. always claim that their actions are just defensive actions, and that all the movements are consequences that North Korea is responsible for.
North Korea always threaten to attack the South when they are situated in a unfavorable position. However, some people claim that North Korea doesn’t have the power to start a war. Also, since the citizens of North Korea are against their own government, their leader Kim Jung-Ill won’t be able to move his country just the way he wants it to move. Therefore, I think it is best for South Korea and its allies to always be defensive of North Korea, but carry out their deeds regardless of North Korea’s threats.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703796504576169571192518708.html?KEYWORDS=North+Korea Wall Street Journal
One candle for each person. One by one, each student gave their lights to the person next to oneself. In a very short time, everyone was able to light their candles and placed them on the stand in front of them.
The candle stands for the attitude students should take when leading their country. A candle burns itself to illuminate the place around itself. It gets smaller and smaller every minute, but brings happiness to the world. To people with no electricity, it becomes a guide that keeps them out of harm. To students, it becomes a helper that leads them during the night. To people in misery, it becomes a mentor that gives them courage to start fresh and live a new life. Candles could seem like a small, unimportant object that burns itself to produce a small amount of brightness, but the things it could do could make the world smile.
Small good deeds could become an enormous help to others. If students think for their own country, and the whole world, small things they do can be a candle that illuminates the world, one by one. When they start with small things, they could continue on into bigger things and change the world for the welfare of everyone.
The candle ceremony also proved to us that working together can make a great result. The ceremony started with one candle. The candle was very small, and was only able to brighten a little bit of the atmosphere around itself. But, all the students started to give their lights to the people around them carefully, one by one, and soon, every freshmen had a lighted candle. The candles were able to cover the whole stand.
Just like the candle ceremony, if people work together, an enormous result could be achieved. A result that cannot even be imagined when worked alone could come out in seconds.
minyeopwhang 