By: G. Werner Kim John Un’s spontaneous willingness to demilitarise is in no way an act of good will or drive for peace. There is no apparent explanation as to the sudden and drastic change in the North Korean foreign policy to one of a pacifist state. The North’s nuclear and missile programme has been decades in the making, a demanding undertaking which required vast sways of monetary resources and a nation-wide effort. So why did the dictator choose to abruptly sway his diplomatic focus?
The most probable explanation are the signs of the mounting financial deficits which emerged as a direct consequence of the sanctions imposed by the international community upon the North Korean economy and trade. Additionally, another likely explanation is that the dictator most definitely understands the implications of perusing war with the South which is not only a formidable opponent but also has the strong allies and the United Nations support in the event of a war. Although welcomed with great support, the North’s newly adopted foreign policy plan is yet to be known. However, it is clear that in the short-term the notorious dictator Kim John Un has shown himself driven by his newfound interest in denuclearisation and diplomatic discussions. In the few months of this new year the Supreme Leader has spearheaded historic accomplishments whereby not only did the North-South relations improve drastically but surprisingly, the regime extended an invitation all the way to Washington welcoming the American President Donald Trump for talks. This unpredictable chain of events has unfolded in the span of a mere three months and has served a pivotal purpose in the de-escalation of international tensions. Who knows, maybe Kim John Un New Year resolution wasn’t that wicked after all. Last year marked an unprecedented escalation of global tensions as the North’s Supreme Leader unravelled before the bewildered nations of the world the full might of his missile programme in a sequence of tests which portrayed the advanced stage the North finds itself with regards to long-ranged weaponry. As the year unfolded a staggering total of 23 missiles were fired during the course of 16 tests. With these trials the young dictator finds himself amidst a grand total of 80 successful missile launches since he assumed the reins of the country back in 2011, a number significantly greater than both his predecessors combined. The underlying concern behind the Korean program was not the sheer volume of missiles but the variety of the arsenal at Kim’s disposal. From the short-ranged Hwasong-7 to the Hwasong-15 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile the Korean stockpile is truly well equipped and an indisputable threat. The ICBM, the pinnacle of Korean firepower, has a range of roughly 5,500Km which, when launched from within the Korean peninsula, could reach the American state of Alaska. However, if the launch were to take place from a submarine, the most option with most strategic value, the potential targets would be effectively limitless. Moreover, North Korea also holds two nuclear research facilities and a total of 8 missiles launch sites. Depicting how, in the event of a war, the nation has the potential to set in motion a devastating offensive. Following the previous trend regarding the monumental escalation of tension experienced last year we would have expected to observe continued missile testing and possibly the showcase of new models developed by Korea. However, Kim has once again startled the international community with an unforeseen and drastic shift in his foreign policy. It seems that the dictator has diverted his attention completely form the missile programme and goofing around with the American President and instead, directed his energy and resources towards the reduction of tensions in the Korean archipelago. The Pyeongchang Olympic games established the ideal scenario for Kim John Un to portray himself as a skilled diplomat and avid pacifist. These games marked a historic turning point due to the joint North and South Korean delegation in the opening ceremony under one united Korean flag, a rather utopic design which consisted of a blue image portraying a unified Korean peninsula on a white backdrop. What is most notable is the fact that the dictator did not conclude his efforts with this act but also allowed for a joint women’s hockey team to be assembled, sent his sister Kim Yo-Jong as the official ambassador representing North Korea, personally hosted a dinner with a delegation which was comprised of 10 members of the South Korean Government and most notably, marked the first step towards reopening dialogue with the US. Hence, the confirmation by the American President marks the first step towards what will be an extraordinary breakthrough in the peace talks between both Korea’s and possibly even act as the foundation upon which a hypothetical Korean re-unification may occur. Although the summit between Kin John Un and President Donald Trump shall pose a logistical, diplomatic and political challenge for all parties involved, both the sides alongside South Korea have been committed to ensuring the event can take place. However, we must not be fooled by the recent actions of Kim John Un. We cannot in any way discard the events which have unfolded in the previous year and the fact that Kim’s benevolence only emerged after significant escalation of tensions and the long-term sanctions which were imposed upon the country. It is of yet unclear if Kim’s intentions are truly to strive towards peace possibly denuclearisation or if this is yet another political game of cat and mouse with the United States and South Korea testing the boundaries of diplomacy. The result of joining these two unpredictable and powerful men during these talks is, to say the least, uncertain. We must now wait and see for ourselves the outcome of this historic summit and hope it points us towards a much-welcomed de-escalation of tensions in the Korean peninsula and internationally.
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By: L. Maksoud Government conspiracies - ranging from Obama controlling the weather to Democratic lizards. All of these have their reasoning behind it; they’re all risible. But even after reading an article which taught me “How to spot the reptilians running the US government” this one still surpassed the theory. You’ve probably already heard about the “New World Order”, the totalitarian government which is in almost every conspiracy. It is said that they are a secretive agency which exists or existed, who have the idea of ruling the world under one authoritarian world government, also replacing all sovereign nations. And under this “New World Order”, history as we know it will be culminated. The term was first used long ago, to those who do History, very well know Woodrow Wilson used the term to refer to a new period of history which would be categorized by big changes. And speaking of important people, Beyonce is one of the main people said to be in the Illuminati. But even if she is, I guess it’s okay- She’s Beyonce. But now to the main theory at hand, named Project Blue Beam. It’s really, really (emphasis on really), “out there”. In 1994, a well-educated man, Serge Monast, writer and journalist from Quebec, published a manifesto explaining this insane theory that is discussed to this day. What he said was that the ‘Blue Beam Project’, led by NASA and the United Nations was going to take a four-step project to achieve such “New World Order”, led by the one and only Antichrist. Some speculations states that it would be the Antichrist himself ruling over Earth, but what I understand from this is that the figure of the Devil will only be a figure of authority while the two organizations reign from behind. So, this is how “New World Order” would happen; The first step involves earthquakes, many of them. Artificially manufactured earthquakes will be set off in a few places of the Earth. These will unearth artifacts which will confirm that all religious doctrines have been lies for centuries, making people disregard all religions. The second step is a “gigantic space show” according to Monast. This exhibition would show three-dimensional holograms with laser projections using powerful technology based on satellites across the sky, portraying the figure of all scriptural personages morphed into one. So basically, Jesus with the head of Krishna, mixed with Buddha’s long ears, etc. And as the whole sky becomes a huge IMAX movie theatre, this new god would speak to each individual. The third step is mind control. Telephonic communication devices would send waves to each person and intercept with their thoughts “convincing each of them that their own god is speaking to them from the very depths of their own soul.” said Serge. This is what we call “diffuse artificial thought”. The fourth and final step of the Blue Beam project would use various technologies to convince people that there is an alien invasion happening, facilitating the organizations to take control of the fearful population. Monast died on the 5th of December 1996 from heart failure. However, he had never had any cardiac problems - and another known method of killing in the Project Blue Beam was an artificially created heart attack. But Monast wasn’t alone, another journalist was working on this theory, so you could say that he continued the legacy of wanting to alert people about degenerate organizations and governments. But this journalist also died, and from a very eerie way too; a heart attack. Now I didn’t choose this theory because it’s credible. I chose it because not only is it insane, but it is insane that someone could come up with this. Imaginative or realistic, Serge Monast was an interesting man. By: I. Etlin Just in seven weeks of 2018 there has been eight shootings at US schools that have resulted in death or injuries. One of these tragedies was the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting, in Parkland, Florida, which is now considered one of the world’s deadliest school shooting.
On the 14th of February a former nineteen-year-old student opened fire and killed seventeen people (fourteen students and three staff members) and injured another seventeen. The perpetrator (identified as Nikolas Cruz) is now charged with 17 counts of first degree-murder and is going to face a life prison sentence. The political response towards this horrific event was shocking, to say the least. A week after the shooting, Trump had a ‘listening session’ with students and suggested arming up to 20% of the teachers to stop “maniacs” from attacking students. He even tweeted: “Highly trained, gun adept, teachers/coaches would solve the problem instantly before police arrives”. This sparked a huge worldwide debate on gun control laws, leading to protests and campaigns. The majority of US citizens were appalled with the lack of action politicians took to prevent these shootings from happening again. Thus, they started to create campaigns, such as: Never Again MSD (refers to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school), which is a student-led gun control organization that advocates for tighter gun control laws or the March for our lives, a nationwide demonstration which demands action against gun violence. As a result, the Florida Legislature passed a bill raising the minimum age for buying rifles to twenty-one, whilst establishing waiting periods and background checks. Furthermore, this bill provides a program for the arming of some school employees and hiring of school police. Unfortunately, the NRA (National Rifle association) challenged this bill by claiming that banning gun sales to people under twenty-one was unconstitutional, since it violated the right that 18- to 21-year-olds, who were classified as adults. Following this, people are starting to boycott the NRA and its business affiliates, causing several companies to terminate their business relationship with the NRA. By: I. Kotler For the last few years, the legalization of marijuana is known as a topic which generates many controversial debates. Some will argue that the legalization of the drug will improve the country’s social and economic situation as it can increase the government’s tax revenue as well as create more jobs and decrease criminal activity. Others will argue that it would have a negative affect towards the public health as it will “encourage” people to smoke, therefore, increasing the number of addicts. With the innovation of technology and scientific researches, the usefulness of medical marijuana was proved thus, changing the public’s view on the drug for recreational and medical use. However, there are still many issues regarding regulations and public health. Under international laws, cultivation, supply and possession of cannabis should be allowed for “medical and scientific purpose”. This led to many protests worldwide both for and against the legalization of the drug. As a result, governments have revised their laws and set agendas to align with the population’s desires.
According to the UN, the efforts of the global movement to reform marijuana policies will have four demands. That agency mentions that countries should, “Firstly, agree with the UN on a common effort and a coordinated action plan to fill the gap in availability of and access to substances for medical use. Secondly, create a technical working group aiming at analyzing the key objectives of the international system for the fiscalization of drugs, intending to agree on a new, comprehensive approach in 2019. Thirdly, create a consultative group of experts who would analyze the tensions currently existing in the structure of the UN drugs control system. And fourth, establish a solid mechanism for governments and professionals to share optimal practices and experiences.” The controversial side about legalizing marijuana is the negative impact on the public’s health and safety. Whilst the drug is less addictive than some others which are legal, researches have presented hesitancy in withdrawal, meaning that people will most likely develop dependence and those who become addicted are unable to control their use of it consequently, raising risks for many health problems. As an example, smoked marijuana can increase the person’s heart rate by 20 to 100% for about three hours after it is smoked which can lead to a heart attack. On the other hand, the legalization of marijuana brings impacts in the economy of the country. In the United States, for example, legalization of the drug has had a better outcome than expected. In Colorado, it was collected $135 million in taxes and fees on medical and recreational marijuana. The expectation is that this number triples until 2021. Along with having profit, the government also creates more jobs presenting positive outcomes of this legalization in the economy. Overall, it is still a matter that needs to be discussed carefully all around the world so that all governments come to their own solutions which benefits their country and the public health. By: B. Mitidieri It is safe to say that most of the Greek population is Christian, much like us in Brazil. Still, their culture is made up of approximately 90% of Greek Orthodox followers who practice Easter a bit differently than what the Western world is used to. Firstly, the Catholic Easter follows the Gregorian calendar, so that Jesus' resurrection is celebrated on April the 1st this year. However, the first difference between them is the dates: Greek Easter accompanies the Julain calendar, meaning that it is celebrated on the 8th. Both of the dates had the same origins and the same criteria. In 325 AD, it was decided that Easter would occur on the first Sunday after the first full moon prior to the Jewish Passover. However, when the church split into Catholic and Orthodox in 1054, everything changed because the Catholic ruler decided that Easter should not occur after Passover and that they should start following the Gregorian calendar instead of Julian after 1582. The Orthodox simply followed the date that was originally decided. But, what really makes it so different? Well, Easter is always associated with eggs, right? Well, the Western world simply celebrates it with chocolate treats and the entertaining Easter Bunny; meanwhile, the Greek people also celebrate it with a contest of boiled egg breaking! Believe it or not, on Saturday, Orthodox families gather together and paint their boiled eggs red to symbolize the blood of Christ. Furthermore, there is a competition where people tap or hit the tips of the egg they have chosen, with someone else's. The winner is the one whose egg is most intact and therefore less broken after the competition. Then, everyone else eats the remainders of their eggs in addition to the Easter feast. The day is concluded with the Easter bread, tsoureki. Normally, the elders of the family bake this cake-bread and hide a Greek-eye or a Greek drachma (the former currency). Finally, each member of the family cuts a piece of it and the one whose piece contains the coin/eye will be lucky that year. It might be important to add that this is a religious tradition is coincidentally practiced by most of the Greek people, due to the great numbers who follow the religion. The Russian-Orthodox celebrate Easter on the same day and with the same meaning behind it, but they do not have the same customs necessarily. They also boil and paint their eggs but they do not take part in the egg breaking, for example. The Catholic Church, in Brazil, has been shown to celebrate Easter with a mass on Sunday. Additionally, it is common to reenact the moment in which Jesus resurrected. However, the Greek Orthodox customs involve the population reuniting in the church on Friday and performing a ritual mourning Jesus' death represented by a casket carried by noble priests who stroll around the altar. On Saturday at midnight, at the church once more, Jesus' resurrection is announced by the priests, where the main candle is lit and passed through all of the civilians following the ceremony. As people leave the church, which is normally located on a hilltop, they light candles so that the mountain is fully illuminated while repeating ''χριστός ανέστη'', which translates to 'Jesus resuscitated'. I recently discovered that this tradition is unknown to many people even though it always took a big part in my life. All of the added members of my family who are not Greek have embraced this tradition immensely and look forward to it every year. After only months of being married to my mother, my father brought a wooden egg from home and painted it red and, of course, won the egg competition that year. I am sharing this curiosity for all of our Pauleans, in order to create an opportunity to enrich people’s knowledge of world culture. It would be a very fun way to celebrate the month of April or to simply be aware of it next time around. By: L. Janer Earlier this month, the UN released its annual World Happiness Report and Finland was ranked in 1st place as the happiest country in the world. The survey gathered global polling data from Gallup, an American research-based global performance-management consulting company, and researchers used variables as GDP per capita, healthy-life expectancy, generosity, freedom to make life choices, social support and freedom from corruption to try and explain the contrast amongst the data.
This year’s report was the first of its predecessors to measure immigrants’ happiness, a category in which Finland was also placed first. There is therefore a correlation between happy societies and countries with effective, supportive social systems and institutions, which guarantee immigrants full integration and a good quality of life. As a country with bitter winters where temperatures are usually around -20°C and low amounts of sunlight, one might not expect Finland to be a happy country overall, much less the happiest nation in the world. Yet these Nordic countries such as Denmark and Norway have consistently been in the top 5 ranks of the World Happiness Report since its first publishing in 2012. Meik Wiking of the Happiness Research Institute of Denmark commented on Finland’s top placement this year: “That Finland is the top scorer is remarkable. GDP per capita in Finland is lower than its neighboring Nordic countries and is much lower than that of the US. The Finns are good at converting wealth into wellbeing.” And so, what is the Finnish secret to happiness? According to The Economist, it might just be how boring it is: “a Finnish saying sums it up well: ‘Happiness is having your own red summer cottage and a potato field.’” In Finland, and also in Nordic countries in general, citizens pay a particularly high amount in taxes, but the public is accepting and supportive of this because they regard it as “investments in quality of life for all”, says Wiking. These taxes pay for free education and healthcare and also allow for generous parental leave, all of which contribute to this widespread happiness. It guarantees a healthy balance between professional and social life, therefore allocating time for people to engage with their hobbies or whatever interests them. Top 10 happiest countries in 2018: (2017 ranking in brackets) 1. Finland (5) 2. Norway (1) 3. Denmark (2) 4. Iceland (3) 5. Switzerland (4) 6. Netherlands (6) 7. Canada (7) 8. New Zealand (8) 9. Sweden (10) 10. Australia (9) By: G. Castilla Title: Erin Brockovich
Director: Steven Soderbergh Release date: April 20th 2000 Main cast: Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart, Marg Helgenberger, Conchata Ferrel Budget: US$ 51 million Box office: US$ 256,3 million Rotten tomatoes rating: 84% Erin Brockovich, played by Julia Roberts, tells the hard-to-believe true story of a foul- mouthed ex beauty queen who managed to put together a lawsuit over contaminated water with no degree whatsoever. She is an unemployed mother of three, suffering to provide for her family and even bringing food to the table. After losing a lawsuit regarding a car accident, Erin Brockovich demands that her lawyer, Ed, gives her a job. She starts working at his office, where no one likes her because of her big mouth and trashy, not office appropriate clothes. However, she is stubborn, curious and inquisitive. She gets interested in a real estate case, that unusually includes medical records, and decides to find out more. It turns out that the community of Hinkley, California, has been poisoned by chromium six in their water from the PG&E plant, most of them having cancer related diseases. By gaining the trust of the community of Hinkley, she helps Ed put together a case, which won the largest settlement in American law history (333 million dollars). The movie received five Golden Globe nominations and won Best Actress for Julia Roberts’s great, inspirational performance, which was very well deserved. The way she acts out such particular character reminds me of Sandra Bullocks’ acting in the movie Blind Side, where she too won an Academy Award for Best actress - another movie I recommend watching. Erin almost single handedly discovered and built a case against a huge company, even without former education in law. She just was stubborn, persistent and had a real push behind her. Even when everything went sour, she sympathized with the sick Hinkley community; earning their trust. Brockovich had to provide for her children and she didn’t want the hours spent away from home working to be for nothing. The movie poster at the time said, “she brought a small town to its feet and a huge company to its knees”, which is a great summary of the basic lines of this movie. Erin Brockovich is interpreted as being a hero, although not in the classical sense, as she is a little rough around the edges. The character is quite quirky, as in the beginning there is a dialogue where her next-door neighbor wants her number and she decides to give him other numbers, including the age of her children, how many times she has been divorced and the amount of money in her bank account. Although, this is a movie I truly recommend, it is not the type of movie where you can watch in any mood. You can’t watch it whilst looking at your phone, as it contains lots of details and information. There is a need to pay attention to most scenes to get a good grasp of the story. Erin Brockovich is a movie where you laugh, cry and smile all at the same time. By: V. Mahfuz The exponential growth of plastic consumption has, for the past years, proven to contribute towards pollution. Due to various cases of plastic pollution, this year’s earth day is solely dedicated to reducing plastic pollution, introducing the “End Plastic Pollution” campaign.
Such campaign not only focuses on working together with cities and local governments to tackle this issue, but it also aims to educate citizens on the consequences of plastic usage. Working with universities, school teachers and even students, this NGO also attempts to inform and activate citizens to take personal responsibility for their plastic usage and eventual pollution; encouraging them to reject, reduce, reuse and recycle plastics. Also, “Earth Day Network” plans to empower journalists across the globe to report such problem and its emerging solutions; promoting the idea of investing time and resources to tackle this ongoing issue. Such education of citizens from around the globe not only makes them aware of their actions and the dangers of plastic to the environment, but it also encourages them to demand action from governments and corporations to diminish plastic pollution. “Earth Day Network” also aims to build partnerships and work with other organizations in order to develop a platform to end plastic pollution and generate resources that others (as in these organizations or networks) can also use. The upcoming Earth day (22nd of April) has surely stur great excitement amongst environmental NGO’s who strive for a better educated population. The “Earth Day Network” encourages citizens to join their “End Plastic Pollution” advocacy campaigns by organizing events all around the world that strive to spread awareness about plastic consumption and its dangers to the natural environment in an attempt to “inspire and demand effective action to reduce and control it”. Donations are strongly encouraged through the site to help other causes regarding the environment, but “Earth Day Network” also encourages its users to spread the word through social media, or even download its ‘Plastic Pollution Footprint Calculator’ app to track and learn about plastic consumption. Such NGO also provides tips for those who want to host their own “End Plastic Pollution” event and even provides a platform for those with any ideas, or for those who would like to propose a partnership to plastic@earthday.org By: L. Maksoud I’ve often found myself wondering what is bitcoin? Almost everyone knows it’s a sort of cryptocurrency, or in other words, a digital currency. But not everyone knows where it comes from or how can you invest and withdraw the money you put in. No one knows who created bitcoin. So, for a better understanding we need to know about money itself. Money has two main purposes which are to store wealth and to make transactions. It also hasn’t been around for relatively a long time. Before, we used to trade, so I would give you a pair of shoes for a barrel filled with rice, which that’s not really convenient. What if my village were invaded and I had to run away and take my barrel of rice? Or you had nowhere to put your shoes? That’s why humanity invented money, defined by economists as “anything commonly accepted by people for the exchange of goods and services.”.
No one knows exactly when money was first invented, but around 700 B.C, people begun trading any metal objects since they looked like they were worth a lot, so the Lydians invented coins. But gold and silver and other metals are hard to mine and are scarce. Because of this, people created paper bills. Besides their hard forgery and scarcity, they seem to come without any other flaws, but with paper and metal, currencies come with many limitations. There is no privacy, so if you’re making a large transaction, let’s say $4000, your bank will notice, other banks (e.g. the federal reserve, the local reserve bank, etc.) and government agencies will know (IRS, NSA…). There are loads of fees, so if I want to send money to China, this money will go through my bank (which will charge a fee), through the local reserve bank (charging another fee) through the international wiring system (another fee) and so on. Money can be forged easily, around $200 billion of forged money is circulating around the world right now. But human errors are probably one of the worst flaws in the economic system since humans have lots of opportunities to do stuff wrong. Your money could be sent to the wrong account during a transfer, a bank’s software could be hacked and all your money could be lost. But what backs up paper money? As the saying says, a dollar is a piece of paper, as gold is just a rock. But have you noticed how special they make money look? Take the dollar for example, they add in sayings such as ‘In God we trust’ on it to make it seem like some sort of religious relic, or a politician’s face to add extra importance, they even put a signature of the Secretary of Treasury to make it like a contract. And to all my conspiracy theory friends out there, a pyramid with an eye on it. Going back to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, they solve all the problems stated above! There is no printing money, meaning no hyperinflation. However, like all other currencies, it can be hacked and all your money can be stolen - never to be seen again. But you can get storage devices, store your money in a safety deposit box; there’s plenty of backup. The software even guarantees that the money can’t be faked. Some bitcoin transactions do have fees, but none as big as paper money, bitcoin guarantees privacy as you can anonymously send money so no government institution can be aware of any changes in your account. It can be said that in the near future, cryptocurrencies will replace all paper money and coins. Right now, countries like Israel, Estonia and Venezuela are already debating on relinquishing their currencies. China, Korea, Russia and the USA will soon implement aspects of cryptocurrency technology to their economy. Now why does everyone talk about bitcoin so much? It’s only worth $300 billion…pfft… but that’s only a third of Apple Inc’s worth. Well, for starters, it has been an amazing way to earn money for the last two years, as years ago, one bitcoin cost about £300 and now, it’s worth £300,000. But bitcoin is just like a donut- sweet but filled with holes. No one knows who created it. It is said that it was a man who goes by the name of Satoshi. It’s just a Japanese name with the possible writings of “Philosophy”, “enlightenment” … He’s worth billions of Bitcoins right now, but no one knows who it is. This leads us to the first theory. Either he’s a mentally unstable, anti-social man or he’s covering up for the fact that he invented the currency for a secret organization such as the FBI or the CIA. But there’s also another theory which comes from the weird side of the internet, being that Satoshi is actually a rogue AI which created the program. The code is too perfect. So maybe it wasn’t created by a skillful programmer at all, but by an extremely advanced Artificial Intelligence. Some even regard the AI as being sent and created by aliens so they can expand their robot’s information through the network. The second theory originates from the fact that the government has been reluctant to shut bitcoin down, despite it violating all “Anti-Money Laundering” and “Know Your Customer” regulations. So, why haven’t they done anything about it? There is an agreement by FXSTREET which states that the government’s goal is to wait until the public trusts these cryptocurrencies, to then replace them all with a government sanctioned bitcoin. This would completely replace all physical currency, allowing them to take control. This is highly probably when countries like China, the USA and Russia are vying for economic dominance. It really does seem as if bitcoin is a creation out of a spy movie, maybe it is portrayed as something straight out of a Hollywood film with a purpose. Maybe this is an existing or not yet existing government trying to direct our attention to watching the values of a virtual coin so that we don’t pay attention to something else. There’s still a lot we don’t know. Because if you are gaining money, but no one seems to be producing, someone has to be losing. But who? |
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