http://www.economist.com/node/21543592
In large cities of Nigeria with large Muslim populations, like Kano, the rules of Islam, or sharia laws, have substantially loosened, especially with regard to women and how they dress and act. Women dress less conservatively, sometimes wearing trousers and shirts, and even uncovered heads go without question. However the loosened rules have applied to men as well. It's not uncommon for people to drink a beer at the end of the day and nightlife has grown more as well. A lot of radical Muslims account these changing circumstances to the influence of the southern Christians, who they accuse of hogging all the oil and government posts in the country. With these complaints in mind, many Muslim protests have arisen, and even more extremely, a radical Muslim terrorist group, Boko Haram, has arisen and inspired terror in the hearts of the Nigerian people. In the city of Kano, people now adhere to a curfew at night. Boko Haram's name is not even spoken, due to the fear of what saying the name might ignite. Boko Haram has killed thousands of people already. Its main cause is to strictly implement the sharia laws in the north, where they are loosely applied, and especially in the south, where they aren't applied at all. Kano was once a rich city, thriving off Saharan trade, but now it's economy is collapsing due to lack of ability to keep up with cheap Chinese labor. The terrorist attacks aren't helping. From what I can tell, the conflict between the Muslim north and the Christian south is becoming a real problem in Nigeria. It's clear that the Christians have a clear majority of the nation's oil supply, as well as hold many of the governmental positions. In order to solve the conflict, some sort of compromise needs to be reached regarding these two issues, or else, it seems to me that the parts of the country are too different to exist cohesively.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
Current Event #3
http://www.economist.com/node/21547287
China, like other communist countries of the past, has upheld its belief that religion and the Communist Party should not and cannot exist simultaneously. They have been more loose about allowing the presence of religion in the country, but only under strict control of the government, and only to the faiths that China has excepted - Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, and Protestant and Catholic Christianity. This has become a real issue for some followers of religions who wish to engage in party action. Over the last decade, the policy has pretty much been "don't ask, don't tell" regarding faith of party workers, because its against the law for them to be religious believer and party members. If any employees were to discover the faith of one of their coworkers, that person could be fired for their beliefs. Despite the stringent measure surrounding relgion in China, a lot of people still partake in it. It's estimated that 200 to 300 million people practice religion in China. Of those, the majority of them are Daoist or Buddhist. Number of Christians varies from about 50 million to 100 million. However, recently, a suspicion of higher regulation and a less accepting attitude towards religion has been expected to arise due to an article that deputy minister of the party's United Front Work Department, Zhu Weiqun, wrote in a party article. He warned against relgious belief in the face of potentially losing the Marxist values that the country holds now. The Chinese government fears the separatism that could result from concentrated religious beliefs within the country. The idea that people cannot practice the religion they want freely is a very alien idea to me, living in the U.S. It's clear that many people in the country like the idea of religion and want to see it preserved as an institution in the country. If religion continues to persist and perhaps grow in China, we could be seeing some real issue begin to result in the country, especially if the party takes a more hostile view towards religion and stirs resentment in the practicing folk. It will be interesting to see how communism and religion continue to intermix and mingle within Chinese society in the next few years.
China, like other communist countries of the past, has upheld its belief that religion and the Communist Party should not and cannot exist simultaneously. They have been more loose about allowing the presence of religion in the country, but only under strict control of the government, and only to the faiths that China has excepted - Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, and Protestant and Catholic Christianity. This has become a real issue for some followers of religions who wish to engage in party action. Over the last decade, the policy has pretty much been "don't ask, don't tell" regarding faith of party workers, because its against the law for them to be religious believer and party members. If any employees were to discover the faith of one of their coworkers, that person could be fired for their beliefs. Despite the stringent measure surrounding relgion in China, a lot of people still partake in it. It's estimated that 200 to 300 million people practice religion in China. Of those, the majority of them are Daoist or Buddhist. Number of Christians varies from about 50 million to 100 million. However, recently, a suspicion of higher regulation and a less accepting attitude towards religion has been expected to arise due to an article that deputy minister of the party's United Front Work Department, Zhu Weiqun, wrote in a party article. He warned against relgious belief in the face of potentially losing the Marxist values that the country holds now. The Chinese government fears the separatism that could result from concentrated religious beliefs within the country. The idea that people cannot practice the religion they want freely is a very alien idea to me, living in the U.S. It's clear that many people in the country like the idea of religion and want to see it preserved as an institution in the country. If religion continues to persist and perhaps grow in China, we could be seeing some real issue begin to result in the country, especially if the party takes a more hostile view towards religion and stirs resentment in the practicing folk. It will be interesting to see how communism and religion continue to intermix and mingle within Chinese society in the next few years.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Current Event #2
http://www.economist.com/node/21547282
With further developement in the realm of Mexican politics, women have come to represent a force to be reckoned with, both as voters and as candidates. Until this year, no woman had ever been a candidate in Mexican presidential politics. Josefina Vasquez Mota, a woman who has held high-standing governmental positions, has thrown tradition regarding the female sex in politics right out the door as she runs against her fellow male candidates for the position of President. Her dream is to be the country's first female president. The question, though, is whether or not she'll be able to count on her fellow women for the vote. However, her sex may not be the issue with the voters. Her party, the current ruling party, the National Action Party (PAN), has fallen out of favor of voters across the country due to their dislike of the current President, Felipe Calderon, and the violence that has ensued under his regime. This could mean an initial disregard for Vasquez simply due to the party she belongs to. Women voters are really going to be a huge deciding factor in this race. They've really been listening to the politics. Unlike in other countries, one fourth of Mexico's government seats are held by women, a number greater than that of the U.S. and many other countries, and more developed ones at that. The rival party's (Institutional Revolution Party (PRI)) candidate, Enrique Pena Nieto, has been trying to rope in the female voters with his good looks, however, his un-female-friendly actions of late that have been reported by ex-girlfriends and simply by stupid comments he makes have made him lose a lot of support in that department. There is always a chance that the women voters will now turn to Vasquez, however, with Vasquez's anti-abortion position, the increasingly independent women of Mexico may be drawn away from her. Women are really important factors in politics these days in Mexico. It will be very interesting to see how they further change the dynamic of Mexican politics. It's inspiring to see how much ground women have gained in politics in less developed countries like Mexico. Hopefully, more women will be encouraged to run for positions in other countries around the world as well.
With further developement in the realm of Mexican politics, women have come to represent a force to be reckoned with, both as voters and as candidates. Until this year, no woman had ever been a candidate in Mexican presidential politics. Josefina Vasquez Mota, a woman who has held high-standing governmental positions, has thrown tradition regarding the female sex in politics right out the door as she runs against her fellow male candidates for the position of President. Her dream is to be the country's first female president. The question, though, is whether or not she'll be able to count on her fellow women for the vote. However, her sex may not be the issue with the voters. Her party, the current ruling party, the National Action Party (PAN), has fallen out of favor of voters across the country due to their dislike of the current President, Felipe Calderon, and the violence that has ensued under his regime. This could mean an initial disregard for Vasquez simply due to the party she belongs to. Women voters are really going to be a huge deciding factor in this race. They've really been listening to the politics. Unlike in other countries, one fourth of Mexico's government seats are held by women, a number greater than that of the U.S. and many other countries, and more developed ones at that. The rival party's (Institutional Revolution Party (PRI)) candidate, Enrique Pena Nieto, has been trying to rope in the female voters with his good looks, however, his un-female-friendly actions of late that have been reported by ex-girlfriends and simply by stupid comments he makes have made him lose a lot of support in that department. There is always a chance that the women voters will now turn to Vasquez, however, with Vasquez's anti-abortion position, the increasingly independent women of Mexico may be drawn away from her. Women are really important factors in politics these days in Mexico. It will be very interesting to see how they further change the dynamic of Mexican politics. It's inspiring to see how much ground women have gained in politics in less developed countries like Mexico. Hopefully, more women will be encouraged to run for positions in other countries around the world as well.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Current Event #1
http://www.economist.com/node/21546014
China's property market is still relatively new. The business has gone through a major transformation over the last two decades, as the urge to own houses has taken over the Chinese people. However, with the current economy of the world, China's housing market has started to dwindle, putting a large strain on the local governments. China's never really had a tax on housing before a year ago when large cities started lightly experimenting with it. China is considering creating a property tax, which would provide local governments with a steady source of income, however the work involved in implementing such a practice would be extreme. The organization of all the houses and the verification of their actual credit would be a daunting task. However, the Chinese government makes a risky move in implementing the new program because the people of China, especially the urban middle class, many of whom own multiple homes, see taxes as a form of theft by a government that doesn't provide enough for them. The local governments are taking this point of view into account and it'll be interesting to see if China follows through in creating the new property tax. It's kind of a risky move on their part. Once China begins the game of taxing, public dissent and public opinion is going to become a huge issue. In a nation that's still controlled relatively moreso than other countries in the world, that could be a major concern for the government. If that process were to begin it could almost never be taken away again, and it would forever become an controversial political issue discussed in the country. China's making a risky move, but perhaps China needs to stand up and be strong in order to keep its economy under control.
China's property market is still relatively new. The business has gone through a major transformation over the last two decades, as the urge to own houses has taken over the Chinese people. However, with the current economy of the world, China's housing market has started to dwindle, putting a large strain on the local governments. China's never really had a tax on housing before a year ago when large cities started lightly experimenting with it. China is considering creating a property tax, which would provide local governments with a steady source of income, however the work involved in implementing such a practice would be extreme. The organization of all the houses and the verification of their actual credit would be a daunting task. However, the Chinese government makes a risky move in implementing the new program because the people of China, especially the urban middle class, many of whom own multiple homes, see taxes as a form of theft by a government that doesn't provide enough for them. The local governments are taking this point of view into account and it'll be interesting to see if China follows through in creating the new property tax. It's kind of a risky move on their part. Once China begins the game of taxing, public dissent and public opinion is going to become a huge issue. In a nation that's still controlled relatively moreso than other countries in the world, that could be a major concern for the government. If that process were to begin it could almost never be taken away again, and it would forever become an controversial political issue discussed in the country. China's making a risky move, but perhaps China needs to stand up and be strong in order to keep its economy under control.
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