Assignment 16: Anne Nombe

For us high schoolers, our day-to-day life often feels like an endless cycle. We wake up on school mornings. We get ready and come to school. We go to sports or to clubs or to theater or to band, and when we get home, the best of us, at least, ignore the heap of homework we told ourselves we'd do that night. We push it to tomorrow morning and go to bed, ending our day. Or so we thought, then we get a text at 11:30 asking us about the physics we thought was due tomorrow but is actually due at 11:59 that night. It doesn't surprise us since we're used to dealing with this kind of stress. Because of all this, we tell ourselves we hate our continuous circle of a "cycle," but it really isn't so bad. Not compared to others. 

For example, let's talk about a certain cycle that affects a certain group of people in our society. These individuals, they wake up and get themselves ready. They probably go to public school, then come directly home, having no after school activities to partake in. No homework piles up on their desks. Sounds like a pretty good "cycle" right? Better than ours at least. 

But what if I told you that that isn't it? What if I told you that one part to this cycle, one dark, twisted part is obscured from the public's eyes? These individuals don't just live happy, work-free lives with stress-free cycles. The worst part of their cycle doesn't revolve school. It revolves around the treatment they receive at home. It circles around the abuse, the battery, and the neglect. Yes, this is what finishes the cycle of a child in an abusive household. 

In the fall of 2015, this cycle of child abuse came to an end for a 7-year-old boy in Kansas named Adrian Jones. After months of being forced to stand outside in the cold in only his t-shirt and jeans, being forced to rummage through his own trashcans for food, and being forced to stand in his parents' filthy pool overnight, all while they documented his torture, everything revolving around Adrian's abuse came to a stop. Why? Because his parents had abused to the point of death. And when they were done, they fed his remains to pigs. 

Unfortunately, Adrian's story isn't the only one of such cruel, inhuman treatment of children. Take the case of Alize Vicks. She was only 2 years old when her foster mother ended her life by throwing her 5 feet, head-first, into a coffee table. Both stories are clearly connected by extreme neglect and abuse, but also by the lack of action. In both Adrian and Alize's stories, the most shocking, pitiful fact is that some had actually seen the abuse and alerted child protective services in the state. The outcome: no help for Adrian or for Alize from the organizations that are supposed to save children like them. 

The story of these two children, whose miserable day to day lives were terminated by death instead of by CPS, is becoming much too common. NPR's National Desk Correspondent Pam Fessler reported that approximately 1,500 child abuse victims died in 2013. In 2015, the Child Welfare Information Gateway, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, found that this number increased to 1,670. The Child Welfare Information Gateway equated this to the death of five children every day. Five children who could have grown up to make incredible contributions to our nation, had they been rescued from their violent cycles. 

I'm sure you didn't know any of this before I relayed the facts to you. And that is one of the largest problems with child abuse cases. They simply do not get enough coverage to the public or care from the government to force a change in the child protective system. While "major news"-worthy topics such as tax plans and Donald Trump's tweets run rampant through our headlines, child abuse fails to make the front page. This lack of awareness can be deadly. For instance, the Lexington Herald Leader found that in our state of Kentucky, cases of child neglect have increased from roughly 10,000 cases in 2012 to over 15,000 in 2016. 334 of these cases have resulted, or nearly resulted in death. Yet many Kentuckians don't even know these overwhelming statistics, because they are pushed aside for more "newsworthy topics and policies". In the words of Louisville State Representative Tom Burch, our state will "pass legislation against abortion all day long, but once the babies are born, they’re on their own." 

So victims of child abuse don't make the headlines. They have Child Protective Services to rely on, right? No. While that should be the case, programs such as the Department of Children and Families and other child welfare groups often fail to act upon serious child abuse cases, such as in the case of Adrian Jones. The boy's biological mother and her family had reached out to the Kansas DCF numerous times, and Adrian's trauma was even documented by doctors, yet none did anything to save him from his inevitable death. These child welfare programs, as stated by the Denver Post, are often times disjointed, as the case in Colorado. Colorado social work is determined by county, and because of this, "state officials cannot pinpoint the average workload of caseworkers, and cannot fire or discipline a county employee". The flawed system failed to protect young Alize Vicks when neighbors called to warn CPS because the social workers didn't follow through with child welfare protocol. Even though they knew of her situation, the social workers deemed it not serious enough for intervention until she was found dead. 

Both the lack of awareness from the public and the ineffectiveness of child rescue organizations are dangerous factors that when combined, often result in the loss of a young life. 

These factors are always combined. 

It’s time to fix the problems with child welfare. I know I spent a lot of time detailing the problems with CPS, and though I may have led you to believe that the poor work done by social services is why cases of child abuse continue to grow in severity, it’s not entirely true. It’s not just the duty of the state to protect children, but the duty of our citizens and schools as well. We need to teach our children more aware of child welfare policies, and to encourage them to speak up when they feel unsafe at home. “Screening” or pushing away calls of child abuse, should be eliminated, as half the children in 2007 who died due to neglect were "screened calls". We need skilled, responsible social workers to respond to every possible instance of abuse that gets called in rather than dismissing a case because it doesn't sound imperative. We could do this a number of ways, but I believe the best action is to have our Congress pass new legislation that instills child welfare education in schools and establishes new, national requirements and tests for state social workers. Through all of this, even though child abuse may not get a bigger spot in the daily news, we can do our best to end these perilous cycles of abuse through working harder as a country to save child victims rather than allowing death to do it for them. 

Page BreakWorks Cited 

Blewett, Kate, and Brian Woods. Innocents Lost. Innocents Lost (Child Neglect Documentary) - Real Stories, True Vision, 1998, www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWLVyi7Fv48. 

Cheves, John. “Child Abuse and Neglect up 55 Percent in Kentucky since 2012.” Lexington Herald Leader [Lexington], 3 Feb. 2017, www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article130535059.html. 

“Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities 2015: Statistics and Interventions.” Numbers and Trends, 2017, www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/fatality.pdf. 

Fessler, Pam. “Child Abuse And Neglect Laws Aren't Being Enforced, Report Finds.” NPR, National Public Radio, 27 Jan. 2015, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/01/27/381636056/child-abuse-and-neglect-laws-arent-being-enforced-report-finds. 

Osher, Christopher N, et al. “Abused Children’s Cries for Help Were Ignored.” The Denver Post, www.denverpost.com/2012/11/10/abused-childrens-cries-for-help-were-ignored-2/. 

Schmidt, Samantha. “Boy, 7, Was Tortured to Death and Fed to Pigs. State Agencies Failed Him, Says Lawsuit.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 1 Sept. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/09/01/boy-7-was-tortured-to-death-and-fed-to-pigs-state-agencies-failed-him-says-lawsuit/?utm_term. 

Skeen, Sarah, and Mark Tomlinson. “A Public Health Approach to Preventing Child Abuse in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Call for Action.” International Journal of Psychology, vol. 48, no. 2, 2013, pp. 108–116., doi:10.1080/00207594.2012.737467. 

YouTube, NBC, 1970, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbEkt66OjEA. 

Assignment 16: Maggie Anderson

Fish Farming

We’re all human. And we all enjoy eating. And we all appreciate the fact that our species no longer dies by forty. But if we want to continue to this trend of rising health and longevity in a growing population, we need to maintain our nutrition. Predictions put our population at 9.7 billion by 2050, up from 7 billion in 2015, meaning our planet will need 70% more protein by 2050. Due to cost and space restriction on land, the best place to expand this production is the sea. Another advantage of fish over meats such as beef is the fewer resources needed to grow a fish. Due to the fact that they are cold-blooded and float all day, they need considerably less feed to live; therefore more feed is directly translated into meat. Fish also consume less feed and, ironically, much less water.

But commercial fishing is not the solution. It depletes the ocean’s resources and will soon become unsustainable in a growing population. One solution is fish farming, the practice of raising fish in an enclosed space such as a net in the ocean or a pool on land so that when fish are needed they can easily be pulled out and prepared. Aquaculture can create more meat than can be hunted; creating a healthy, and sustainable, environment that makes the fish healthy, happy, and delicious.

Downsides to fish farming exist, and they have bubbled to the surface and made a large splash in the minds of consumers. One concern is overcrowding. Having fish packed together in concrete pens isn’t good for anyone, least of all the fish. Crowded conditions lead to disease, genetic problems, and the buildup of naturally occurring chemicals such as ammonia, which destroys the water, as well as harming the fish. Most fish farm owners regularly treat their farms with antibiotics to keep their fish alive. This is worse in offshore farms, where the contaminated water can harm wild fish and infect them with diseases from the farmed fish if they come into contact.

 Feeding these fish creates a further strain. Salmon and other popular fish are carnivorous, and they require 30 billion tons of forage fish such as sardines to feed the larger fish in the farms. Most of this is given to the fish in pellets that contain fish meal, fish oil, and plant based nourishments like soy. This creates another strain on the ocean as the continued extraction of wild forage fish continues to deplete populations and ecosystems.

These problems are, however, solvable. One easy solution to the feeding problem is to raise more omnivorous fish that can be fed without the use of fish meal. This is already happening, and the use of forage fish per pound of farmed fish has dropped 80% in the last fifteen years. Fish oil is high in omega-3 fatty acids, however, and is harder to replace. The oil is created in algae and goes up the food chain through bigger and bigger fish. Omega-3 is already being extracted directly from algae which also reduced chemicals that accumulate in farmed fish.

Another solution is to mimic the natural environment. Nowhere, in the ocean or anywhere else, does an ecosystem with only one species exist. Diverse ecosystems naturally clean themselves up. One cleaning method lets the rest of the ocean do all the work. A farm off the coast of Panama is situated in waves that can reach up to fifty feet, unlike most farms, which are built in more sheltered locations. This washes away old water, destroying any chance of build up and sending the debris off to other parts of the ocean. As tests have reported clean water surrounding his pens, it is assumed that the waste is being eaten by plankton. In this way the farm both produces a sustainable food source and helps the surrounding ecosystems.

An even more profitable way to clean your waste water is to create your own ecosystem. A man named Stephen Cross has built one such farm off the coast of British Columbia. His main product is sablefish, which he feeds. Down current from the sablefish pens are baskets of shellfish such as cockles, oyster, scallops, and mussels. These feed on fish excretions and live alongside sugar kelp which reduces bioethanol, converting waste into plant tissue. Below the fish on the sea bed are sea cucumbers to handle heavy organic waste. This system could work with almost any type of fish in almost any environment. Not only is it healthy for the outside environment, as all impact is neutralized within the system, it’s economically smarter. All the plants and animals used can be sold, for the cost of only feeding the fish.

Fish farming is going to have to take off if we are to avoid famine. And it doesn’t need dramatic overhaul to bring it up to these standards of sustainability; it’s already heading there fast. Even in the past fifteen years have standards improved. Farmers and countries are realizing that fish farming is efficient and that farms that are better for the fish and the environment also make more sense economically. This isn’t an uphill battle for sustainability against the force of the economic goals of those involved; it’s an easy, and peaceful, win for both sides. If you want to ensure the prosperity and progression of future generations, act now and support fish farming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

Animal Welfare Institute. “Fish Farming.” https://awionline.org/content/fish-farming Retrieved    June 22, 2017.

Bourne, Joel. “How to Farm a Better Fish”. National Geographic. June 2014, pp. 93-111.

Stone, Daniel. “The Other Other White Meat.” National Geographic.             http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/special-features/2014/04/140430-other-white-    meat-fish-aquaculture-cobia/. Retrieved June 22, 2017.

Velings, Mike. “The Case for Fish Farming.” TED. October 2015.             https://www.ted.com/talks/mike_velings_the_case_for_fish_farming?language=en.            Retrieved June 22, 2017.

Assignment Sixteen – Jessica Ewing

    I was once told by my mom that if any of her kids ever told her that they were gay, she’d have them packed up and admitted to a counselor by the end of the week. Needless to say, while I am openly gay at school and out in the community, in my home life I am still fiercely closeted. I live every day in fear of what may happen if my family were to find out about my sexuality. LGBT youth, like myself, still face oppression and hate, even in the wake of strides towards equality such as the legalization of gay marriage in 2015.
But today, I’d like to talk about this ongoing homophobia and how it is still plaguing our society, hurting primarily LGBT youth. First, in our government. With the Trump administration and their profoundly pro-religious standpoint, the LGBT community is facing discrimination now more than ever. Second, in our homes. Families that refuse to accept their children for who they are greatly damage their child’s psychological well-being. And finally, in our communities. Stereotypes greatly hinder LGBT progression, and prejudice alienates LGBT youth from their more religious family and friends.
    Firstly, since President Donald Trump was elected into office, LGBT rights have begun to gradually vanish, starting from the day after he was sworn in and all LGBT content was removed from the White House and Department of State websites. While that doesn’t sound very profound, it was a small step that helped pave the way to larger, more destructive, decisions.
In February, the Departments of Education and Justice revoked the Obama administration’s guidance on equal access to facilities for transgender students in schools, and just this past October, the Trump administration passed a “license to discriminate,” allowing for federal agencies, businesses, and other organizations to refuse to provide services or employ LGBT people. Transgender writer and activist Janet Mock said that “the federal government does not protect us from discrimination when we’re trying to apply for a job or keep our job”; indeed, the Human Rights Campaign cites that over half of all Americans live in an area of the U.S. where LGBT people are at risk of being fired, evicted, or denied services because of who they are, and with the passing of this License to Discriminate, that number is only projected to increase.
Secondly, home life for LGBT youth can be distressing, especially if they live in a family that are unaccepting of LGBT rights, forcing them to remain closeted and in fear of what may happen if their true identity is discovered. Even if a child is out, homophobia still plagues families, many putting their prejudices before their own children. Actor and gay activist Neil Patrick Harris puts it perfectly: “Parents need to be more accepting of who their kids are and less concerned about who they think they need to be.”
The effects of an unaccepting family can be detrimental on an LGBT child. The Trevor Project, a crisis intervention organization for LGBT adolescents, cites that while LGBT youth are five times as likely to attempt suicide as heterosexual youth, those who come from highly rejecting families are roughly eight and a half times as likely to attempt suicide as those who come from families with little to no rejection. This means that for kids like me who are trapped in this situation of being who we are and not being accepted by our families for it, we’re over 42 times as likely to attempt suicide as our straight peers. The psychological damage done by something as seemingly simple as an unsupportive family can be catastrophic to LGBT youth.
Finally, stereotypes and prejudice in communities hinder cultural progression towards LGBT acceptance and equality. The all-too-familiar stereotypes of the feminine, lispy gay males or the butch, pixie-cut-sporting lesbians interfere with the reality that LGBT people can look and behave in any way, just like straight people. The confinement of these stereotypes brings many people to invalidate those who identify as LGBT by claiming that they don’t “act gay enough” or don’t “look gay.” I’m not even able to count the number of times I’ve been told that I “can’t be gay” because I don’t look like the stereotypical idea of a lesbian. Frankly, it’s rather disheartening and tiring to hear other people dictate what I should be based on their narrow-minded judgments.
Speaking of judgments, prejudices against the LGBT community are rampant in our society today, particularly in religious circles. Christians and Muslims alike disparage the LGBT community, in many cases refusing to even get along civilly with them. Teacher Wazina Zondon said concerning her childhood, “Being queer or being gay or being lesbian was never an option in our [Muslim] family,” stating that by coming out as lesbian, she not only put herself at risk, but also jeopardized her father’s integrity and dignity in their Muslim community, due to their traditional Muslim practices.
On the Christian side, Tates Creek Christian Church, which is not far from here in Lexington, was one of many churches that ignored the 2015 Supreme Court decision to allow same sex marriages, stating in their wedding policies that “the use of the church for a Biblical marriage should be recognized as a privilege, and not a right...we will not permit wedding ceremonies or events in our facilities between same-sex couples, transgender individuals or couples...or other arrangements not in accordance with scripture.” Well, according to the scripture, God loves all, and Jesus said ‘love thy neighbor as thyself,’ so why is the LGBT community being told that because we happen to love somebody different, we can’t be treated as equally as a straight couple when wanting to get married? This hatred from the religious populations, the ones self-proclaimed to be built on the foundation of the love of God, now get to determine other people’s happiness?
    Writer and producer Dustin Lance Black once said that “every day we don’t have full equality [is another] day those messages are still being sent that gay and lesbian people are second-class in this country.” The trends I’ve discussed here today demonstrate that exactly: the regression of LGBT rights in our federal government since the dawn of the Trump administration, the psychological harm inflicted on LGBT youth from a disavowing and rejecting family, and the ongoing hatred and bigotry in the form of stereotypes and intolerance from Christians and Muslims. Well, even though it feels like equality is backsliding with the rise of anti-LGBT legislation and more open discrimination in our communities, I have hope that this generation of LGBT youth will grow up to see a better, more equal future for the next.









Works Cited
“Facts About Suicide – The Trevor Project.” The Trevor Project, 2017, www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/preventing-suicide/facts-about-suicide/.
Greenfield-Sanders, Timothy, director. The Out List. The Out List, HBO, 27 June 2013.
Lunn, Sherri A. Trevor Condemns "License to Discriminate" – The Trevor Project. The Trevor Project, 6 Oct. 2017, www.thetrevorproject.org/trvr_press/trevor-condemns -license-discriminate.
O'Hara, Mary E. “How has Trump's first 100 days in office impacted LGBTQ rights?” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 26 Apr. 2017, www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/first-100-days-how-president-trump-has-impacted-lgbtq-rights-n750191.
Peters, Stephen. Trump-Pence Administration Unleashes #LicenseToDiscriminate. Human Rights Campaign, 6 Oct. 2017, www.hrc.org/blog/breaking-trump-pence-administration- unleashes-license-to-Discriminate.
“Talking about Suicide and LGBT Populations.” Issuu, Movement Advancement Project, 24 Oct. 2011, issuu.com/trevorproject/docs/talking_about_suicide_and_lgbt_populations.
Tates Creek Christian Church Wedding Policy. Tates Creek Christian Church, Jan. 2016, s3.amazonaws.com/media.cloversites.com/bc/bcb9d2e5-d9d9-48d1-9e5d-0e9f1c8de4c3/documents/WEDDING_POLICY_-_01-2016.pdf.

Assignment 16 - Ben Sanner

Speech Manuscript

What's the hardest position to play in sports? Some say it is the goalkeeper in soccer, while others say it is the catcher in baseball, however most believe that it is the quarterback in American football. That is why names such as Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck, and Derek Carr along with other quarterbacks around the league have been guaranteed tens of millions of dollars, in some cases hundreds of millions to play for their teams in the years to come. Meet Colin Kaepernick, a mobile 29 year-old free agent quarterback with the fifth best touchdown to interception ratio in NFL history, for those of you who do not know what that means just know that it is really good. Most of you have probably heard of the protests going on in the NFL the last two years, well the man that started it all was none other than Mr. Kaepernick himself. He chose to take a knee in a peaceful gesture attempting to use his platform to change a nations social conscience. Whether you agree or disagree with his public protest during the national anthem to spotlight police brutality on people of color, he did bring a lot of attention to it. During the time of the protests the NFL's T.V. ratings went down and the league lost millions of dollars in revenue. Whether the league acknowledges it or not they have a problem, and unless they soon realize how to get players and owners to work together on it, their product will undoubtedly continue to suffer. 

For quite a bit of time now African-American players in the NFL have voiced their anger that, in their opinion the NFL owners are effectively blackballing Colin Kaepernik on the sole means of his political stance. They are not wrong in their anger as lots of evidence supports their conclusion. 1. Far less talented quarterbacks have signed with new teams while Kaepernick remains unsigned. 2. Multiple owners from around the league have been critical of Kaepernick's form of protest. 3. President Donald Trump has attacked Kaepernick repeatedly in many forms. He has not been charged with a crime, nor has he been accused of breaking any aspect of the NFL's cba. He has done nothing but exercise his right of peaceful protest which is protected by the constitution. He plays the most valuable position in sports and he has shown he could excel in it before. So how could you argue anything other than he is being blackballed as a reason that he is still a free-agent?  

One of the main reasons T.V. ratings have gone down is that people have disagreed with the protests of Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players because they believed these players were disrespecting the flag by kneeling while the national anthem was being played before every game. And who could blame them, they heard it from President Trump Himself when tweeting about a weekend of NFL protests saying, "If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL, or other leagues he or she should not be allowed to disrespect … our Great American Flag and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU’RE FIRED. Find something else to do!” The president in this context has misrepresented the situation, as the players are not protesting the National Anthem but rather they are protesting police brutality against African Americans. This tweet among other items contributed to widespread decline of viewership in which the league had a loss of revenue. 

Now let's focus on the NFL owners, who possess the cash and spotlight to provoke change – as well as the means to give Kaepernick a job. Owners want to raise their bank balance. By people tuning in and loving the NFL shield. In the past, they believed they would be able to control the effects of Kaepernick's protest by simply not signing him and letting fade into unemployment. As they thought that what he was doing would in no way affect their money due to the many fans who would want him to simply shut up and play. Well it has affected their money and now numerous players such as Malcolm Jenkins, Marshawn Lynch, and Michael Bennett have joined him and through this time the narrative has changed from, "Who will stand with him?" To now, "Who could possibly stand against him?" The time is now for Owners and players to unite as one and use their outstretching resources to not only accomplish their goal but also to return the NFL to the glowing product that so many love. 

Now just recently a big first step was made in that the NFL owners along with the NFLPA have agreed to a $90 million deal to fund the players' activism efforts and to support them in doing so. Now this is just the first step, and lots of work still has to be done but the future looks bright for the players in their activism efforts as well as for the NFL in the years to come. 

Page Break 

Works Cited 

 Garber, Megan. “They Took a Knee.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company 24 Sept. 2017, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/09/why-the-nfl-is-protesting/540927/.  

 HBO, director. Hard Knocks. Hard Knocks, HBO, 2001, www.hbo.com/hard-knocks.                                                   

Reid, Jason. “We May Have Seen the Last of Colin Kaepernick in the NFL.” The Undefeated, The Undefeated, 7 June 2017, theundefeated.com/features/we-may-have-seen-the-last-of-colin-kaepernick-in-the-nfl/.                                                                              

Smith, Stephen A. “The NFL Has a Kaepernick Problem That’s Bigger than Just Kaepernick Now.” The Undefeated, The Undefeated, 17 Aug. 2017, theundefeated.com/features/nfl-has-kaepernick-problem-thats-bigger-than-just-kaepernick-now/.      

  Snyder, Deron. “SNYDER: If Kaepernick Can Play, Why Isn’t That Enough?” The Washington Times, The Washington Times, 7 Aug. 2017, www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/aug/7/colin-kaepernick-can-play-why-isnt-enough/.     

Assignment 16: Brennan Cegelka

Brennan Cegelka AP Language and Composition 4th Hour Speech Manuscript
Since the creation of nuclear weapons, nuclear war has become one of the greatest threat to human existence. A nuclear armed North Korea increases the likelihood of nuclear catastrophe and threatens America’s national security. A nuclear tipped intercontinental ballistic missile launched from North Korea could reach Los Angeles in just half an hour. This paper 1 discusses how the world arrived at this point, the severity of the threat posed by North Korea, and the options available to the United States. North Korea: A Brief History In the early 1900s, Japan effectively made Korea a territory of its expanding empire.2 Japan ruled over Korea for decades, industrializing and modernizing Korea’s economy, but these advancements served Japan, not Korea. When Japan surrendered in World War II, both Russia and the United States sought control of Korea. In September of 1945 two occupation zones were created for the region. With the south controlled by the United States, and the North controlled by Russia. This peace did not last long. North Korea invaded the south in 1950, launching the Korean war. The war was suspended, but never technically ended, with the creation of the 38th 4 parallel, a Demilitarized Zone. No official peace treaty was never signed. 5 North and South Korea developed quite differently. The North installed a dictator, Kim Il Sung, adopted a communist philosophy, limited civil liberties, controlled the media, and adopted a policy of isolation and self reliance, called Juche. Effectively, North Korea cut itself off 6 economically and politically from the rest of the world. South Korea, on the other hand, 7 adopted an American style democracy with three branches of government, embraced capitalism, has a free press and supports civil liberties similar to those in the US.8 The effects of these different governments is astounding. South Korea’s economy thrives. Per capita income in South Korea is roughly $33,000. In North Korea its less than $2,000. The incarceration rates are through the roof in the north relative to the south. North Korea is malnourished. A famine killed up to 3 million North Koreans, who are now one and a 10 half to three inches shorter than South Koreans. 11 While South Korea lives on the forefront of technology thanks to companies like Samsung. North Korea does not even have the internet. It lives up to its name, “The Hermit Kingdom,” which leads them to believe some pretty outrageous things. For example, according to the state media, Kim Jong Un learned to drive at age 3 and won an international sailing contest at 9. The first time his father ever played golf, he shot 11 holes in one. It would be funny if he wasn't so dangerous. The threat posed by a nuclear North Korea is very serious for two reasons. First, Kim Jong Un is a ruthless dictator. Second, his primary goal is obtaining a nuclear missile that can reach the United States. That’s a dangerous combination. Since taking power in 2011, Kim Jong Un has executed over 140 political and military officials. In 2013, he ordered the execution of his own uncle, who was second in 13 command. And in February, he ordered the assassination of his oldest brother, Kim Jong-Nam. The brother would likely have become North Korea’s leader if Kim Jong Un died or was 15 removed from power. Newsweek recently reported that North Korea’s current number two is missing and is believed to be dead at the hands of Kim Jong Un.16 Now he wants a nuclear missile that can reach the United States and experts think he will have in Trump’s first term. Since February, North Korea has conducted 16 tests, launching 23 missiles in total. Kim believes the US will eventually try to remove him from power. Kim 17 views a nuclear missile as the ultimate deterrent. Would Trump try to remove Kim if North Korea could launch a nuclear missile that hits the US? No. In short, Kim views an intercontinental ballistic missile as an insurance policy that guarantees his rule over North Korea. In other words, North Korea’s nuclear program is, for Kim, an insurance policy that guarantees he remains in power.The United States has four options: And none of them are good. Twenty five million people live in Seoul, South Korea’s capital, which is just forty miles from the DMZ. North Korea has an estimated 8,000 big guns just north of the DMZ. It also has stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons. These conventional weapons alone can reach and decimate Seoul within minutes. This makes military options dangerous because North Korea could almost immediately wipe out Seoul with these existing weapons. The United States has four options: 1. Prevention: Pre-emptive Invasion. This is a full fledged invasion and occupation of North Korea. It would be expensive, dangerous, and time consuming. Americans would occupy North Korea and try to install a democracy and a capitalistic economy. It could take decades. 2. Turning the screws: This approach consists of aerial strikes on nuclear facilities and special forces operations at strategic locations to disable North Korea’s nuclear and pre-emptive capabilities. If successful, this approach would essentially neuter North Korea’s military. On the other hand, it would be seen as an act of war. The risks include missing essential military capabilities, including a nuclear missile location, which could be used to attack Seoul or Japan. 3. Decapitation: Assassinate Kim. This approach is appealing because of its apparent simplicity and relative ease. The downside is that we do not know how North Korea would react. They could be relieved to be rid of a ruthless dictator or they could see it as an act of war and respond in kind. 4. Acceptance: Accept that North Korea will soon obtain a nuclear missile. Like the Cold War with Russia, the US and North Korea would rely on M.A.D., Mutually Assured Destruction, to balance and minimize the risks of war I believe we should pursue all options, particularly Decapitation based on intelligence from North Korea, which is limited. But, unfortunately, we may be stuck with acceptance because all the other options are worse. I think a diplomatic resolution, perhaps involving recognizing North Korea and engaging in trade and growth could be the best long term solution for the Korean Peninsula and the world.
1 Bowden, Mark. “How to Deal With North Korea.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 9 Aug. 2017, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/07/the-worst-problem-on-earth/528717/.
2 www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/History_of_Korea#Japanese_occupation
3 20th CENTURY: Korea as a Colony of Japan, 1910-1945 | Central Themes and Key Points | Asia for Educators | Columbia University, afe.easia.columbia.edu/main_pop/kpct/ kp_koreaimperialism.htm.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Kim Il-Sung.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 15 Oct. 2017, www.britannica.com/biography/Kim-Il-Sung.
7 www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/11/17/north-korea-fascinating-facts/874277001/.
8 Chaibong, Hahm. “South Korea's Miraculous Democracy.” Rand Center for Asian Pacific Policy, 2008.
9 Kim, Christine. “North Korea 2016 Economic Growth at 17-Year High despite Sanctions: So.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 21 July 2017, www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-economy-gdp/ north-korea-2016-economic-growth-at-17-year-high-despite-sanctions-south-koreaidUSKBN1A607Z.
10 Weissmann, Jordan. “How Kim Jong Il Starved North Korea.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 20 Dec. 2011, www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/12/how-kim-jong-ilstarved-north-korea/250244/.
11 “Nine Charts Which Tell You All You Need to Know about North Korea.” BBC News, BBC, 26 Sept. 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41228181.
12 See footnote 7.
13 Westcott, Ben. “Kim Jong Un Has Executed over 300 People since Coming to Power.” CNN, Cable News Network, 29 Dec. 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/12/29/asia/kim-jong-un-executions/ index.html.
14 Ibid.
15 Fifield, Anna. “Kim Jong Un Is a Top Suspect in His Half Brother's Death. But Questions Abound.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 16 Feb. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/world/ asia_pacific/kim-jong-un-is-a-top-suspect-in-his-half-brothers-death-but-questions-abound/ 2017/02/16
16 Persio, Sofia Lotto. “What Happened to North Korea's Second Most Powerful Man after Kim Jong Un?” Newsweek, 15 Dec. 2017, www.newsweek.com/north-koreas-second-most-powerfulman-purged-party-sparking-execution-fears-748157.
17 Berlinger, Joshua. “North Korea's Missile Tests: What You Need to Know.” CNN, Cable News Network, 3 Dec. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/05/29/asia/north-korea-missile-tests/index.html.
18 See footnote 1.

Assignment 16: Doug Vaughan

Doug Vaughan AP Lang. Final Speech Manuscript 4^th Hour

Goalazoooooo-o-lo-lo-lo-looo! Is what the people of every nation hope to be yelling when the FIFA World Cup comes around. The world cup is the biggest international soccer tournament in the world which is hosted every four years for which teams go through a lengthy qualification process. Qualifying for the World Cup for every nation is an honor and brings great excitement and pride to the whole nation as many fans travel half way around the globe to support their country. However, in 2022 it might be best for the fans to stay home. The location of the 2022 World Cup is surrounded by great myriad of issues such as corruption, declining budget, political isolation, high security risks, homophobia, intense heat, gender abuse, abusive labor, and human slavery.

            With the amount of issues present, why would hosting a World Cup in Qatar even be considered? In December of 2010 the 22 members of the FIFA executive committee held the final vote for the host of the 2022 World Cup which saw Qatar prevail with narrowly over other biding nations Japan and the United States. The Amir of Qatar stated the tournaments goal to be “Vehicle to demonstrate social development, unity, and football in the region of the middle east.” (Brenner). Qatar being the richest GDP country in the world was a significant reason why Qatar won the bid in 2010. Qatar designated a 200-billion-dollar budget to create 6 new state of the art stadiums, renovate 2 existing ones, build state of the art player facilities, a new efficient public transport system, grand hotels, and plenty of experiences for tourists. This project would cost 500 million a week until its completion in 2022. In 2015 a huge scandal in FIFA was exposed, 12 FIFA Executive committee members who involved in the vote, were indicted including the president of FIFA Sepp Blatter for taking up to 6 billion dollars in bribes just between 2010-2014 (Brenner). This scandal resulted in Blatter’s resignation and caused controversy over the Qatar bid. Was the vote corrupted by bribery? Qatar certainly had the money.

            A few people out there couldn’t care less about the corruption and politics and just want to attend the games wherever and support their nation. However, a fans experience in Qatar isn’t garneted to be fun.  Traditionally the fans attending the World Cup games always drink it’s a cultural norm but, in Qatar alcohol is illegal. Fans will undoubtedly attempt to sneak alcohol in to the countries. If they are caught then they will face a sentence in a Qatari jail. Homophobic behavior in public is also illegal and could result in some pretty severe sentences. No law stands in Qatar that goes against domestic abuse, so justice won’t come to any crime of this nature (Conn). These laws or lack thereof could make a World Cup in Qatar unsafe and unenjoyable to the fans who travel.

            Another thing that would hinder the experience of the fans is the heat. Several times during the summer the temperature reaches close to 110 digress Fahrenheit (YR). In response to this FIFA announced they would move the World Cup from the summer to the winter where the temperature is still decently high around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Even though this helped a bit with the heat problem it still angered many fans as the World Cup had never taken place in winter. It conflicts with many large European club soccer leagues. This means major club teams will be without their star players for a month which is unfair to them. Sadly, this isn’t a problem you can fix with money, which Qatar is starting to lose.

            Over the summer a political dispute occurred in response to reports of Qatar funding terrorist groups. This resulted with several countries including Egypt and Qatar’s only land boarder, Saudi Arabia, cutting all ties with Qatar refusing to trade and enacting a travel ban. This will damage the economy of Qatar as a large chunk of its GDP is Oil Exports and it would slow down the transportation of materials. A professional economic journalist Simon Kerr states this would be a huge and expensive set back of billions of dollars and several months of construction.

The declining budget isn’t the biggest problem with the stadiums. 94% of the work force comes from migrant workers most originating from south east Asia. They come to Qatar seeking easy labor for lots of money. In the documentary “21st Century Slave State” by ESPN, reporter Jeremy Shapp investigated their life style. They live in labor camps on the outskirts of cities. About 16 people share a room about the size of that pole to the wall. The air conditioner hardly works in the 110-degree heat. One floor of rooms shares one bathroom without plumbing in the toilets. The kitchen is filthy and full of unhygienic food. The worst part is they are stuck there under the kafala system. The kafala system entitles employers to hold on to the laborers passports until they have completed their contract. However, its not the contract they agreed to when they signed up originally in their countries. That contract is thrown away and a new one is created extending the labor’s stay and lowering the pay to whatever they feel like. They hold the laborers against their will and force them to live in such awful conditions while paying them hardly anything, pretty much slavery. Kali a 27-year-old Nepalese man, needed money to provide for his family. He then signed a contract of a Qatar World Cup migrant worker for 2 years for about 300 dollars a week. However, when he arrived in Qatar they told him he now had a 6-year contract for less than 60 a week. He couldn’t leave as they had his passport. Just 2 months later Kali was sent back to Nepal to his wife and 2 kids, in a coffin. He had died from a heart attack due to intense heat. His wife claimed he was so heathy she couldn’t believe he had died until she saw the body. By the time the fist ball is kicked 4,000 people will die due to this abusive enslavement just like Kali.

Already these games have failed. The Amir of Qatar wanted these games to unite the middle east, which right now is clearly divided. He also wanted to demonstrate their developed society, conducting slavery and murder is no were close to developed. To have these games built on blood and lies is a tragedy for the great game of soccer and for humanity. At first Qatar repeatedly denied these claims, but as more undercover footage came out like ESPN’s E:60 they then confessed to it and promised change back in 2014. But just last summer Journeyman TV produced another documentary going under cover showing no change with anything. In fact, it has gotten worse with the setbacks of the past few years they are attempting to compensate it with more workers, an increase in 36,000 workers is expected within the next year(Conn). FIFA has done nothing in response to this except for saying “We are watching it”. DON’T WATCH ACT! You need to conduct thorough investigations report your findings to the International Labor Organization (ILO) who will impose sanctions on Qatar and their system. FIFA If ANYTHING is found forget the money and put on your big boy pants and pull the games out of Qatar. Now I talk to you the common citizen of the world. Spread the word of this greatly over looked issue about what FIFA needs to do with this World Cup. Tell them of the corruption, declining budget, political isolation, high security risks, homophobia, intense heat, gender abuse, and most importantly their abusive labor system. With all of these issues there is no way the beautiful game’s World Cup should be in Qatar.

Works Cited

Conn, David. “FIFA Urged to Press on Qatar on Conditions for World Cup Workers.”      The      Guardian 9 Nov. 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/nov/09/fifa-urged-press-qatar-improvements-2022-football-world-cup-stadium-worker  

http://time.com/3910054/fifa-scandal-sepp-blatter/ 

Kerr, Simeon. “Neighbor’s Blockade on Qatar Raises Fear for 2022 World Cup.” Financial                      Times.  16 Jun. 2017, www.ft.com/content/1b16b4c6-5128-11e7                                         -a1f2db19572361bb?mhq5j=e1. Accessed 24 Jun. 2017.

E:60 Qatar’s World Cup. Directed by Joel Edward, Performance by Jeremy Schaap, Espn, 2015.

YR. "Average Weather in Doha Qatar" https://www.yr.no/place/Qatar/Doha/Doha/statistics.html

Wong, Kiera. "Abuse of Nepalese Workers in Qatar" Image on YouTube. Accessed 14 Dec. 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYOhdKt_EU4