Friday, October 18, 2013

Greek Corruption

Rousfeti. Or Bribes. A word well known in the Greek language these days. Almost nothing gets down without a bribe, from politicians to teachers, to priests. The name of the game is money. A study conducted by the Brookings Institute discovered that bribery and corruption are major issues regarding the economic crisis in Greece. 8% of its GDP is lost to bribery. That’s about €20 billion a year. ($27 billion.) Former Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou stated, "Our basic problem is systemic corruption.” In 2009, 13.5% of Greek households paid a bribe of some sort on average of about €1355, from doctor’s appointments, to driver’s licenses. According to Transparency International Greece is the most corrupted country in all the 27 countries in the European Union. Corruption hurts the public finances in small ways, which eventually lead to huge consequences. When money is cheated out of taxes it expands the government deficit, because the money isn't used to the public’s needs or wants.

One of the biggest scandals in the history of Greece is that of the former defense minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos. It is a very rare case of a high profile official being faced with charges and being sentenced. The former minister is charged with corruption as he accepted bribes of at least 26 million dollars for the purchases of submarines and other military equipment and laundering the money through offshore accounts and by buying property. After a 5 months long trial, and a year and a half in custody, Akis Tsochatzopoulos was found guilty, along with 16 other co-defendants including his wife, daughter, ex-wife and cousins, and was sentenced to 20 years in jail.

Sources:

business-20605869

"BBC News - Greece 'most corrupt' EU country, new survey reveals." BBC - Homepage. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20605869

Walker, Marcus . "Corruption, Cronyism Fuel Greek Debt Mess - WSJ.com." The Wall Street Journal - Breaking News, Business, Financial and Economic News, World News &

Thursday, October 17, 2013

A blind eye, or a slap on the wrist?

Last week on October 9th U.S. officials "announced a modest and temporary freeze"on military aid to Egypt. Senior Obama administration officials told reporters "this is not meant to permanent," implying that if Egypt was to restore a democratic government as soon as possible then it would restore the aid being held back. The aid not being withheld funds counterterrorism programs and security measures along the Sinai Peninsula, a haven for "extremist." The untouched aid also includes "programs to train and educate Egyptian military officials in the United States; the delivery of spare parts for many American-supplied weapons; and aid for health care, education and the promotion of business in Egypt." U.S. officials, however, were skeptical about the cutbacks in aid to Egypt, fearing that it would jeopardize the peace treaty of 1979 with Israel. Israel is also concerned about the cut in funding to Egypt's military in fear that tension between the two nations will break out in another brutal conflict.

In my personal opinion i believe the United States should completely stop funding Egypt's military. The reasons behind why the government does aid Egypt are clear and reasonable; however, with the recent events that have taken place since Morsi's removal from power, it is hard to say if the U.S. is doing the right thing by supporting a government that has denied its citizens their basic rights. The aid provided by the United States is "deeply unpopular with the Egyptian public." So why should we keep funding a government whose constituents do not approve of the support being given by another state. If the United States wants to send a message to it's allies about military coups, this is not the way to send it.

Sources:

Gordon, Michael R. and Landler, Mark. (2013, October 9). In Crackdown Response, U.S. Temporarily Freezes Some Military Aid to Egypt. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/

Jonathan
Elvira
Akana
Brennan
Nick
Ali

Syria May Have Peace Again

It may seem that the situation in Syria has faded, but that is hardly case. The media is not making Syria their main headlines, but the war still continues between the Syrian Government and the rebels. This week according to the New York Times, for the first time Syrian officials announced on Thursday the possibility of peace talks. From the time the United States (US) and Russia united late September, their goal now is to make Syria getting rid of their nuclear weapons. Negotiations of making peace are on the table. Reports are that there will be a conference to discuss peace in Syria on November 23 of this year. The issue that is not certain yet, and probably delaying this process is, who would be the representatives for the rebel group (opposition forces), and for the Syrian Government when they meet in Geneva for this peace negotiation? The United Nation officials have not confirmed the news of this date, and say that “we should not get ahead of ourselves.” Although things do look promising and peace in Syria may be on the horizon, for now only time will tell.

The possibility of these talks could mean the end to a three year civil war in Syria. The conflict in Syria has affected global politics as a whole due to the disagreements after it was discovered that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons. Now that the war may be coming to an end, how Syria plans to carry on as a country will be up for a whole new global debate.

Cowell, Alan. (2013) Syrian Official Says Peace Talks Could Resume Nov. 23. New York Times. 17-2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/world/middleeast/syria.html?ref=syria&_r=0

Typhoon Wipha hits Japan

On Wednesday, October 16^th, typhoon Wipha struck Japan’s east coast. Wipha had winds of 126km/h, with the strongest gusts at 180km/h (The Guardian, 2013). Luckily, the typhoon did not cause much damage to the country’s capital, Tokyo, and barely touched the Fukushima disaster site. Due to the typhoon, TEPCO “cancelled offshore work and secured machinery” (The Guardian, 2013). TEPCO has stated that the typhoon did not cause any more problems at Fukushima, though the workers have dumped rainwater that collected near the storage tanks into the ocean after testing it for radioactivity (Wakatsuki, 2013).

The destruction of Wipha in Oshima, as workers look through the rubble for survivors (Wakatsuki, 2013).

Fukushima was left unaltered after Wednesday’s typhoon, but other parts of Japan, such as Oshima, a small island south of Tokyo, were left in ruins (Wakatsuki, 2013). As of today, a total of 17 people have been killed and more than 50 are missing (The Guardian, 2013). The full effects, such as the death toll and clean up costs, of Wipha are unknown. Japan will have to find the funds for the cleanup effort of the debris caused by typhoon Wipha, while continuing to fund the endless cleanup of Fukushima.

Works Cited

Wakatsuki, Yoto. (17 October, 2013). "Typhoon Wipha hits Tokyo area". Cnn.com.

Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/16/world/asia/japan-typhoon-deaths/

Agencies in Tokyo. (17 October, 2013). "Typhoon Wipha wreaks deadly destruction on

Japan".TheGuardian.com. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/16/typhoon-wipha-japan-izu-oshima

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Tourism In Mexico Continues Despite Violence

18 headless bodies were found in a car near Lake Chapala, in the western state of Jalisco in the month of May 2010. As the police further investigated, evidence appeared that suggested that the Zeta cartels were behind those murders. It is said that about 50,000 people have died in these drug wars since Felipe Calderon came into power in the year 2006 as Mexico’s president. Despite reoccurring news such as this, statistics show that tourism has increased yearly. This has been proven to be a positive thing for Mexico, seeing as how Mexico gains much economic stability through foreign affairs. And although tourism has increased in Mexico despite the drug cartel violence, it has decreased from some popular tourist areas such as Acapulco bringing economic consequences to the town.

Acapulco has been labeled the second most dangerous city in the world. Labels such as that have scared off even the most “irresponsible tourists.” News coverage about the killing of 200 people in a span of two months in a touristy area, Acapulco, have also been a culprit of scaring off tourists. In the past three years cruise ships to Acapulco have diminished from 81 to 9. American tourism has dropped by 92%. This has affected the economy of the town. Without the tourists the town has been hurting economically.

It is true that there have been cases throughout Mexico of tourists being robbed at gunpoint. After 7 years of these types of terror, many tourists have gotten over it, Mexico is still the least expensive vacation destination. Although Acapulco may not be the top destination spot in Mexico, other areas are still a good location for tourists.

Mexican magic

An aerial view of Cancun Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula’s Caribbean coast at sunset. Cancun was purposely built as an ideal tourist spot by the Mexican government. (Corbis)

Sources:

Miglierini, J. (2011, April 18). The price of Mexico's 'drugs war'. Retrieved from BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13120598

Rueda, M. (2013, March 5th). Touring Mexico's Most Violent City. Retrieved from ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/ABC_Univision/acapulco-worlds-nicest-dangerous-resort-city/story?id=18652375

Tree, O. (2012, May 10). Eighteen Headless Bodies Dumped Near Mexican Tourist Spot In Latest Drug Cartel Killing. Retrieved from International Business Times: http://www.ibtimes.com/eighteen-headless-bodies-dumped-near-mexican-tourist-spot-latest-drug-cartel-killing-697871

Flannery, N. P. (2013, March 18). Is Drug War Violence Scaring Away Mexico's Spring Break Tourists? Retrieved from Forbes: www.forbes.com/sites/nathanielparishflannery/2013/03/18/is-drugwar-violence-scaring-away-mexicos-spring-break-tourists/