MoonProject

The causes of International Issues and Problems

Ayah-Sofia Semlali — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:59:08 +0000

In this day and age, one thing is clear: international issues and problems have many causes, but what exactly are they? Terrorism is an international issue with many causes. The first and major cause of terrorism is religious fundamentalism and extremism. The reason this leads to terrorist activity is due to misinterpretation of scriptures in holy books and brainwashing especially among converts. As a result of not being brought up with religion and/or not practicing their religion, individuals become more susceptible to being recruited by terrorists. This is due to not having a full understanding of their religion thus making them more vulnerable to falling prey to malevolent subsets of religious ideology. According to Muhamad Ali, an assistant professor of religious studies at UC Riverside and an expert on Islam, ”Converts are especially enthusiastic about new ideas and more likely to accept fringe beliefs, including that violence is a legitimate religious objective.“ Muhamad then goes on to articulate that some passages of holy books could, if taken out of context, seem to endorse violence. Violent ideologies are justified in holy book verses to the likes of Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism. A famous example of an attack based on religious extremism was 9/11. In September 11, 2001, a group of 19 radicals hijacked four passenger airlines to be flown into buildings in suicide attacks. Although there are many theories of the root cause of these attacks, one credible theory, according to prospects magazine, suggests ”9/11 was collateral damage in a civil war within the world of political Islam.” ”Bin Laden adopted a war against ‘the far enemy’ in order to hasten the demise of the “near enemy” regimes in the middle east. And he used 9/11 to advance that cause.” However, for the most part, his plan failed despite the extent of radicalization present in the world at this time. Another cause of terrorism is nationalism, separatism and unionism. These are all ideological beliefs with the intention of separating from a country or unifying with another city/country ( e.g. Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland). The reason this leads to terrorist activity is because some individuals believe violence is the only answer, and that non-violent means pressure groups, social media, etcetera.. One example of a nationalism/separatism attack is ETA (‘Euskadi Ta Askatasuna’) also known as ’Basque Homeland and Freedom’. In July 29, 2009, a car bomb exploded outside a barracks of a paramilitary Civil Guard in the northern Spain city of Burgos. The cause of ETA’s attacks links into political and cultural injustice as their fight for freedom was synonymous with their fight against the Franco administration (dictatorship). As a result of their basque language and culture being banned and many people dying due to their political beliefs, ETA had no choice but to resort to violence. ETA has since ceased fire in October 2011 but has noted they will not ”rest until independence and socialism“ in their ceasefire statement. In addition, socio-economic factors and social marginality links into terrorism. According to NY Times, ”extreme poverty is the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time and a fundamental contributing factor to 21st century terrorism and insurgency.” The reason this leads to terrorist activity is because some people hold an ideological belief that desperate times calls for desperate measures and that their and other people’s lives will get better which leads to a conflict of ’one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter’. In November 26, 2008, twelve coordinated shooting and bombing attacks emerged in Mumbai. While the perpetrators demanded independence, poverty was also a major issue. According to Global-Politics.co.uk, ”several of the attackers came from poverty and chronic unemployment“ and ”at least one of the attackers was promised that his family would receive $1,500 in exchange for his martyrdom.” Whilst poverty may not be a root cause of terrorism, it is a contributing factor. Moreover, occupation and oppression is another cause of terrorism. The definition of these terms is ’the exercise of authority or power in an unjustly manner.’ The reason this links to terrorist activity is because certain individuals want to change the current political and military agenda and feel their voices cannot be heard in any other way. In July 12, 2006, a divisionary rocket attack was initiated on Israeli military positions. The reasoning of this attack derived from Israeli’s capture of Hezbollah’s militants, however, occupation is a huge problem that has caused conflicts between Hezbollah and Israel for a long time. According to foreignpolicy.com, since Israel withdrew its army from Lebanon, there has not been a single Lebanese attack. Foreignpolicy has also argued the root of suicide terrorism isn’t religious but rather the problem is foreign military occupations. Overall, there is no single root cause to terrorism and almost always, every factor of terrorism is based on an ideological belief whether it is anti-abortion or social-political injustice, every factor contains a set of ideas or beliefs, a certain individual or group holds. According to Republic Of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ”these factors, alone or together can create a fertile ground where terrorism can flourish.”

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Oklahoma Tornado Kills 91 People

RJMorwood — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:14:16 +0000

A huge mile wide tornado devastated the small suburb of Moore, Oklahoma yesterday leaving 91 dead and many more injured. Of the 91 at least 20 are believed to be children. The air was hot and thick yesterday afternoon as I recall. A damp air saturated everything and as the [...]

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Whose fault is Google’s tax bill?

Stefan Simons — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:00:11 +0000

Google is the latest in a long line of companies that are being pariahed for their tax affairs. It’s not just big corporations that are being targeted either. Even the sometimes funny Jimmy Carr isn’t immune from this modern day witch hunt. Whilst most of the newspapers and many MPs [...]

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Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle – Mise-en-scene and Cinematography

RachelBrewer — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:00:10 +0000

This article is a macro study of a seven minute sequence from the move Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. The sequence chosen is the crucial battle in the middle of the film between the Angels and Seamus O’Grady, their nemesis. The purpose of this study is to analyse the cinematography and [...]

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Optimism for the Demand of Silver Jewellery

denverburke — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:48:08 +0000

HSBC analyst, James Steel, has bumped up the price forecasts for silver in 2013 and 2014, after the precious metal continued to increase in popularity last year. In particular, silver sellers are triumphing over the holiday season’s sales figures. But where has this sudden rise come from, after many years [...]

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3 Steps to Blowdry your Hair the Right Way

denverburke — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:36:24 +0000

It’s definitely worth learning how to blow dry your hair the right way. Getting carried away with too much heat is detrimental for the health of your tresses. Protect your hair from becoming dry and brittle by using your hair dryer wisely. Follow these instructions to perfectly style your strands. [...]

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Tracking Your Energy Smartly For Better Purchasing Decisions

denverburke — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:25:41 +0000

What if your business could make more informed energy purchasing decisions? Energy specialists, ENER-G Procurement, have pioneered an innovative market tracking device, which can monitor the energy price landscape for organisations. This way, your company can formulate effective energy purchasing strategies. Becoming a trend follower can save your business a [...]

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21 and Over – A Hangover of a Comedy

deanwest — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:00:58 +0000

We get it: The Hangover was a funny film. It made us all laugh uncontrollably in our cinema seats. We get it, we do. Since then, a stream of Hangover-inspired comedies have been released, each trying to recapture the magic of the original film. All of them tried, yet few [...]

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5 Horror Movies To Watch If You Don’t Like Horror Movies

RachelBrewer — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:07:47 +0000

Lots of people hate to be scared, and for good reason. Horror movies today are so realistic and many of them play up to that whole ‘based on a true story’ idea so well that they could very well be real. I know people who refuse to watch the trailer [...]

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Movie Sequels: Good or Bad?

RachelBrewer — Sat, 18 May 2013 17:12:43 +0000

Everyone in the movie industry jumps for joy when their film gets a second installment. The trouble is that many of these installments should never have happened. In this article I will be looking at film sequels that probably shouldn’t have happened, but at the same time, are worth a [...]

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