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

Cuba

1. How does Cuba’s government work?
Cuba is a communist totalitarian “police state,” thus the government does not provide much freedom to its citizens. The government does not have a high sentiment of legitimacy from the people, so “intense physical and electronic surveillance of both Cuban citizens and foreign visitors” is common throughout the island nation. Cuba’s current Constitution, put into law in 1992, specifically recognizes the Communist Party as the “leading force of society and of the state.” The highest position of power in Cuba is the first secretary of the Communist Party, who also retains the title of President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers. These two councils consist of members who are voted in by the National Assembly of People’s Power, who also elects the President. This Assembly meets twice a year, and has 609 members. The President of Cuba can serve for five years, and has no limit of the amount of terms he can serve in the future. For its judicial sector, the Supreme Court of Cuba is the “last resort for all appeals against the decision of provincial courts.”

2. What was life like under Fidel Castro’s rule?
Under Fidel Castro, life under Cuba was, for the lack of a better term, miserable for the average Cuban. After the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro took power and, although at first he denied being communist, he nationalized just about every industry and service. The Committees for the Defense of the Revolution was created in 1960 and it called for neighborhood spying for “counter-revolutionary activities,” closed all opposition newspapers, radio and television went under government control, and “moderates, teachers, and professors were purged.” According to Wikipedia, about 20,000 people were held captive and were tortured every year. Fidel put many groups of people, such as homosexuals for example, in concentration camps for “re-education.” The U.S. trade embargo mixed with the dissolution of the Soviet Union would only make situations worse in Cuba. 85% of the Cuban economy disappeared, causing extreme shortages of all necessities.

3. What had changed since Raul Castro has come to power?
Raul Castro, the younger brother of Fidel Castro, came into power when Fidel decided to step down. Even though life in Cuba is by no means prosperous, Raul has been able to make the situation better. Since his election, he has eased government restrictions. For example, Raul has allowed the purchase of products such as DVD-players, computers, rice bookers, and microwaves, and private farmers were given land unused by the government in “an effort to boost food production.” The average Cuban was able to further enjoy more freedoms when state-run companies were reformed to reward harder working employees with better wages, and when cell phone restrictions were removed.

Sources:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1097.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castro
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raúl_Castro

China- US Relations

The relationship between China and the United States affects all parts of our nation, but ordinary Americans should be most concerned with the economic relations, as that is what directly impacts them. As it is now, the Chinese government does not provide its people with decent working conditions, and has one of the world’s lowest minimum wages, lower than 32 African countries. This situation makes our economic relationship with China a double-edged sword. For example, the average American benefits because they are able to enjoy a very high standard of living, but at the same time we are losing jobs. On the other hand, China is able to provide a lot of jobs for its people, but the Chinese have a very low standard of living. This is because the Chinese are able to provide extremely cheap labor, resulting in cheap products, which become available for Americans to purchase. During growing economic times, the average American would prefer to have a devalued Chinese currency, but that situation cannot last forever, as displayed by our current economic crisis. With an unemployment rate above 9%, more and more Americans would like to see the Chinese currency be revalued so the labor overseas is not as cheap, leading to an increased sources of jobs here in the United States. On scale of 1 being expensive Chinese labor but an abundance of American jobs with a low standard of living and 10 being inexpensive Chinese labor to the point of the United States having tremendous unemployment but extremely cheap products, I would say that the most ideal economic relationship with china would be around a 6 or 6.5, allowing the US to have a higher than average standard of living, but not an unacceptable unemployment rate.

Source:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/30453/

China- Cultural Heritage

The Chinese are known for having such a rich culture that has survived over thousands of years, something that they take pride in. Displaying this pride, China’s top legislature has just passed the nation’s “first law for intangible cultural heritage.” According to the article, this piece of legislation has been in the making for ten years, and has a purpose to “ensure the better preservation of the country’s cultural legacies.” Zhu Bing, a member of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, helped the legislation become law and mentions that “Chinese traditional cultural practices now have legal protection,” rather than only tangible ancient materials. Covering “traditional oral literature, performing arts, craftsmanship, medicine and fold customs,” the government recognizes that modern urbanization has the potential to destroy traditional villages, and thus a part of Chinese culture. This law, however, “will help raise awareness among the local governments and individuals of how to better preserve their precious cultural legacies.” How effective this law will be is unknown, however, especially considering it has the potential to slow down urbanization in some areas.

Sources:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/video/2011-02/27/c_13752622.htm