Nigeria- Presidential Election 2011

Between candidates Goodluck Jonathan and Buhari, I would probably vote for Jonathan. Nigeria, with its rapidly growing and young population, has an immense amount of potential to be one of the top economic nations in the next decade. Even though it has huge potential, this presidential election will decide if the country will take advantage of that, and become one of the leading countries in Africa. Choosing the wrong leader, however, could prove to be disastrous to Nigeria because of the fragile state that it is in. It is for this reason why the next leader of Nigeria must bring stability to the country. While Goodluck Jonathan certainly is not an ideal candidate for Nigeria, he is no doubt a better choice than Buhari. Being a fairly new country, it is important that Nigeria has a civilian leader to ensure its citizens that their system of government works and is not corrupt. Buhari, while some of his promises might be aspiring, does not have a record to back them. Buhari had been involved with government corruption and broken promises, displaying that voting for him would be a risk- a gamble that Nigeria in its current position simply cannot take. Overall, the most important aspect that the next Nigerian President could bring to his country is stability and a sense of unification; something that Buhari could probably not do by looking at his past records.

Sources:
http://naijan.com/nigeria-presidential-candidate-list-for-2011-and-their-empty-promises/

Nigeria- Biggest Problem

According to an article on CNN, currently one of Nigeria’s most serious issues has to do with the divisions within the country. Written in March 2010, author Tom Evans writes how the ex-President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, claims that the violence that had killed at least 200 people in Nigeria had nothing to do with tensions between the Christians and Muslims living there. Rather, the violence was sparked by “ethnic, social, and economic problems.” Tribal culture is still very prominent in Nigeria, and the ex-President discussed how if one group has land that is “encroached upon by another” group, they would fight back. He also mentions that Nigerians who are indigenous to a certain area feel as if they should be able to obtain a job there, and feel resentment when someone who is not native to that area is able to find employment when they can not. Obasanjo says that this violence is not based around religion as he cites the fact that Nigerian religious leaders “have come together and deliberated on the problems in Jos, which lies on a faith-based fault-line between” the Muslims and the Christians. Nevertheless, the source of violence aside, citizens of Nigeria are displaying their discontent with the government, dealing “from corruption to unemployment.” This makes it hard for Nigerian officials such as police to control the violence, as the citizens don’t look at the police as a source of justice. Instead, citizens believe that “local governors are trying to get away with as much as they can.” Ultimately, the violence is caused by unhappiness among the Nigerian people, and being such a fast growing country, the government of Nigeria needs to quickly find a way to make its people happy.

Sources:
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-03-10/world/nigeria.violence.obasanjo_1_president-umaru-yar-adua-nigerian-president-olusegun-obasanjo-nigerian-capital?_s=PM:WORLD

North Korea- Questions

1. Are there any significant differences in how Kim Jong-Il and his father ruled North Korea?
2. Does the average North Korean know that Kim Jong-Il enjoys imports even thought it's banned?
3. How do South Koreans view the situation in North Korea?
4. What exactly is an average school day like for North Koreans?
5. Is there any legitimate video footage of North Korean life outside of the major cities like Pyongyang?

North Korea and Nuclear Weapons

This video, put on YouTube in 2009, discusses North Korean plans to restart their nuclear program. Despite UN restrictions on the country, they are choosing to defy the international law, and develop nuclear weapons anyways. At the time of the video, North Korea had enough uranium to create as much as 6 nuclear missiles, and has been actively testing missile launches. This video further proves that North Korea is definitely a threat should they possess nuclear weapons. Although the UN is calling for increased sanctions, this would not help stop North Korea because they are already so isolated and if they absolutely need specific resources, China could back them. Overall, the United States and other democratic countries are put in an extremely difficult situation because of North Korea’s desire to have nukes.

Sources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYpUL6vnia0

Afghanistan- War

This video talks about the Taliban in Afghanistan and its methods of keeping power. The Taliban mainly uses terrorism against civilians, and while it bans entertainment of any kind, they spread propaganda by means of television and radio. This video shows various recordings made by the Taliban, which they then sent to Al Jazeera to display their power. As the war in Afghanistan is becoming a war in which the support of the Afghan people is needed to win, both sides have so much propaganda to sway the public that is it hard to know how true everything is.

Cuban Pop Culture

1. The music in Cuba is largely influenced by both Spanish and African music, and original Indian traditional music is almost non-existent in modern music.
2. Cubans love playing and watching sports such as boxing, but baseball seems to be a favorite nation wide.
3. Cuban music uses a lot of percussion instruments, since dance music requires a strong rhythm.
4. Cubans hold carnivals twice a year in Havana, where people wear colorful masks and costumes.
5. Hip-hop is becoming more and more popular among Cuba’s youth, but at first was resented by the government because it related to America and capitalism. However, Cubans put their own style into hip-hop, making it more acceptable.

Sources:
http://www2.cedarcrest.edu/academic/soc/ccameron/soc215/cuba/cuba.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Cuba
http://www.cactuslanguage.com/en/culturesmart/culture_cuba.php

Cuba- Education

Considering how life for the average citizen isn’t prosperous in Cuba, the country does have a relatively great educational system. Cuba’s modern educational system came into play after the 1959 revolution, when Fidel Castro decided that education, more specifically the literacy rate, was to have top priory. Today, 10% of Cuba’s central budget is spent on education, compared to the 4% in the UK and 2% in the US. Prior to 1959 22% of Cubans over the age of 15 were illiterate with 60% of the country as a whole semi illiterate. After the revolution, however, advancements were made and by 2000, 97% of Cubans between the ages 15 to 24 were literate.
In present day Cuba, all children are required to attend school from ages 6 to 15 or 16 and they all wear color-coded uniforms based on the student’s grade level. Higher education, while not mandatory, is offered to those who attended pre-university secondary education, with the alternative being similar to a vocational school. All schools in Cuba are public and controlled by the government, who took over private institutions without reimbursement after the revolution. Being operated by the government, the school system teaches “strong ideological content… with the constitution stating that educational and cultural policy is based on Marxist ideology.” While the subjects students are learning about can be debated, Cuba has proven itself to be one of the most literate nations in Latin America.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Cuba