Iran + Nuclear = Unthinkable

Classics: Iran + Nuclear =?

It is an incredibly controversial topic whether or not Iran should have nuclear weapons. According to an Iranian newspaper, Iran News Daily, Iran says its nuclear program is solely aimed at generating electricity to meet booming demand[1]. Iran claims that its program is for peaceful purposes like generating energy. However, other countries, especially the US thinks that if Iran makes nuclear bombs, then Israel will be in danger. According to the New York Times, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that Israel can’t just watch Iran and wait for what happens. He said that Iran is now in the “zone of immunity” meaning that there is really no evidence that Iran is building nuclear bombs[2]. The UN uses economic sanctions to try and bring Iran down to its knees but it’s fruitless so far. “Cyber warfare” (use of viruses and other cyber to harm someone) has also been used to put pressure on Iran and to discourage it from proceeding to make a nuclear bomb. Israel does have nuclear weapons and it’s backed up by what’s arguably the world’s greatest power, the United States. [3] Iran and Israel would get into a nuclear war if Iran is successful in making the bombs and if it attacks Israel. “You would have a very unstable deterrent environment between Israel and Iran, simply because these are two states that tend to view each other in existential terms,” said Ray Takeyh, an Iranian-American Middle East scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations[4].

Iran, on the other hand, claimed that the US’s actions show hypocrisy because they had a nuclear test recently and that was a clear violation of the rule of “nuclear disarmament that threatens world peace and stability[5].” Also, it said that according to the Iranian Supreme Leader, the construction, stockpiling, and use of nuclear weapons are all haram (illegal in Islam). This claim about nuclear being haram would not be the opinion of Sunni Muslims.

The United States showed its strictness when it blacklisted a group of companies and individuals for cooperating with Iran in the production and enrichment of Uranium[6]. “So long as Iran continues to pursue a nuclear program in defiance of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, the U.S. will target those involved in Iran’s illicit enrichment activities,” the Treasury Department said in a statement[7]. It would do whatever it takes to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons and Obama showed frustration when he said that the  the time for a negotiated settlement was running out[8]. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is the agency responsible for the investigations on whether or not Iran develops nuclear weapons, wanted to investigate at Fordo, the place where Iran runs its nuclear program. However, Iran delays the investigations saying that a framework regulating the agency’s probe must be agreed on first[9].

Iran says that it needs nuclear power for peaceful purposes and other countries led by the United States think that it’s not and that their first target might be Israel. All we can do is wait and see what happens next.

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[1] (MPs Propose Bill for Uranium Enrichment 2012)

[2] (BROAD 2012)

[3] (BROAD 2012)

[4] (Keller 2012)

[5] (Iran Condemns US Subcritical Nuclear Test 2012)

[6] (Press 2012)

[7] (Press 2012)

[8] (BROAD 2012)

[9] (Press, UN, international envoys renew efforts to engage Iran on nuclear program 2012)

Wildfire

The Arab Spring was one of the biggest events in almost a decade where several countries in the Middle East and North Africa revolted against their leaders who were dictators. The protests and riots spread through the whole region like wildfire. According to a New York Times article, geography shrunk by the use of social networking[1]. Facebook and Twitter allowed communication between an Egyptian street vendor who lives in the north and a rich businessman who lives in the south. These people had the same idea and distance didn’t matter because they could organize whatever they want in a matter of seconds. It all started in Tunisia where a street vendor, so passionate about the whole issue, set himself on fire to let the people know[2]. Then, the next thing you know is that other countries in the region realized that they were ruled by dictators for the past years and they start using social media to organize protests.

The use of social media during the Arab Spring was the main reason why people were able to organize protest and gather at public places. It made it possible for them to communicate and organize without the government knowing. For people who sought democracy, social media was a major benefit. It enabled people, mainly youth, using social media like Twitter and Facebook to follow what’s happening and to know about the secrets of the parties leading the protests. Also, it enabled individuals in the same country to know that they were not the only victims of the dictatorial regimes that didn’t give them any sort of voice or representation[3]. On the other hand, social media was the worst nightmare of the dictators because it led to their exiles or, for some of them, their deaths. Social media had the power, and still does, to shape a country’s future in the sense that it can give people ways to organize huge events that can both be harmful or fruitful.

The aftermath for most of the countries involved in the Arab Spring was not living happily ever after, but rather economic problems. According to The National, the UN thinks that the protests caused unemployment rates and poverty to rise. Also, according to the same article, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) thinks that “North Africa's non-oil producers have been hit by reduced trade and investment flows and an exodus of migrants from Libya[4].” These problems, however, were necessary in order to end dictatorial regimes that existed for decades because in order to gain, one must feel pain first.

Finally, I think that the governments in these regions tried to monitor what the citizens were doing, but they were not successful. They didn’t do it to keep the country stable. They did it to keep power for themselves. Other countries in the region were so paranoid about the “wildfire” and they blocked social media websites. Also, one more thing, the Arab Spring caused more people to start using the internet and follow what’s happening in the world and in their country. This makes the people more aware of their country and it allows them to view the world through a lens other than their state television[5].

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[1] (Colum McCann 2011)

[2] (Colum McCann 2011)

[3] (Kassim 2012)

[4] (Reinl 2011)

[5] (Srinivasan 2012)

An Apology to the Past, Present, and Future

Since childhood, I had friends and we always promised each other to always be friends. However, as I grew older, I realized that such thing was impossible. I’m writing this to my childhood friends saying I’m sorry I haven’t kept my promise. I’m also writing this to my future friends and especially my current friends who live in a fantasy world. They think that their lives will be the same a year from now. They think they’ll have the same friends a year from now. They think that everything will be handed to them on a silver platter.

Yusuf, Omar, Abdilahi, and the rest of my friends, I love you guys to death and I wish we could all be friends for life. However, it’s unfortunately my duty to tell you guys that it doesn’t work like that. I’ve been thinking lately thinking about our friend Ryder. Do you guys remember how close we were and how often we hanged out? And have you guys noticed how often we even speak nowadays? Barely! That is mainly because he doesn't go to Abaarso Tech anymore but it's also the painful truth that your narrow minds don’t even notice. And that is what’s about to happen a year from now to the rest of us. We will separate and take on different courses in our lives and I don’t want to break promises like I did to my childhood friends and that’s why I had to talk about the inevitable. This “inevitable” faith will also probably happen to my future friends and to everyone who has friends.

We went through everything that happened in the school together and stood by each other even knowing that we were wrong. We celebrated the basketball tournament together and we celebrated Abdilahi being the student council president together. We also used a 2M by 2M bathroom together during our thrilling trip to Ethiopia. We did so many other things, whether it’s embarrassing other people or something else, that I’m sure that I’ve spent the last 3 years with the best friends that I could ask for. But it’s all coming to an end and I want you guys to know that I’ll always remember you guys because Dan made me write a one page blog and you guys came into my mind.

Omar, we all know you are doing well so I’ll dedicate this paragraph to Yusuf and Abdilahi aka Plato (he has so many great philosophical ideas). I know you guys don’t take anything I say seriously, but I wish you guys could see my facial expression while writing this to tell how serious I am. You guys need to take things seriously especially since you guys are about to go to college (Hang on! Don’t start rolling your eyes). I feel like I haven’t done what I could to get you guys to be successful in your lives and that doesn’t make me a good friend. First of all, Plato, you should post all of your blogs even though they are months late. Also, you should quit what we talked about yesterday. On the other hand, Yusuf, you just have to be a man! We both know what I’m talking about and I’m sure you wouldn’t want me to talk about it any further. That’s all I have for you guys.

Finally, I just want to apologize again to my childhood friends and to my current friends. I love you guys.

Somaliland’s “Democratic” Parliamentary Elections

 Somaliland’s parliamentary election was,supposedly, democratic where everyone was supposed to get a single vote. However, that was not the case. The reasons why this happened are nepotism and corruption.

 It’s well known among Somalis that each person should do whatever it takes to get his/her clansmen to be in the government or to have some sort of a prestigious job. This was the reason why the vast majority of Somalilanders voted numerous times and a lot of them got paid by the candidates whom they were voting for. A man whom I asked who he voted for answered with a laugh and said, “What do you mean? Son, if you don’t vote for your clansmen, you’ll have to have another source where you can get anything from. I did vote for my uncle. Xaqsoor!”

In order to really analyze the problem and its source, we must understand why nepotism and corruption exist in the Somali society. Somalis are organized according to their clans. People in the same clan are basically just like a huge family and therefore support each other for one reason or another. This brings us to the next issue: Corruption. When government officials favor their clansmen, this will bring corruption. People from other clans might bribe the government official to get hired or get whatever they want because their credentials won’t matter like as much as their clan does.

Candidates don’t show their credentials or why they should be in the parliament unlike other candidates. For them, it’s about whom they know not what they know. The voting process is basically to go and vote for you clansmen as many times as possible. That is the reason why I didn't vote. Since I don’t know anything about the candidate I am voting for, how do I know that I am not voting for the next Hitler?

The outcome of this messed up system was a gun fight. On Dec 7^th 2012, there had been a gun fight between the police and a political group named Xaqsoor. This led to the death of two people and the injury of many others. Xaqsoor’s claim was that the party that is currently in power messed up the numbers on purpose and gave themselves 7 seats while giving them only 4. This should not be a surprise given how people have been voting and the corruption “teeming” inside the government’s bones.