Song

I somehow came across this song over the weekend, and after listening to it for a couple times I really like it. This is an underground song but the lyrical ability of all the artists on this song is crazy. The song content is pretty violent/perverted and controversial but if you listen to how good the lyrics and wordplay are on this song (especially ems part--he actually got investigated by the Government because of his verse but lyrically his verse is amazing) its easier to overlook the actual content. 50 cent also makes a guest appearance although I am pretty sure D12 (Rap group) originally made this song. By the way this song is uncensored (and raw).

Group Project

November 12, 2009 20 minutes

Our group project is going to focus on sex trafficking. We decided we wanted to make a video or some other multimedia device. In the video, we want to show statistics of how many are affected and show the video possibly from a "sex trafficking victims" point of view. We still have more to discuss but this is just a start. We might do a video, maybe something like this;

International Problem--North Korea...the right citation

I accidentally cited the wrong source on my North Korea post. The correct citation is;

Lankov, Andrei "Changing North Korea." Foreign Affairs 88.6 (2009): 95-105. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 4 Nov. 2009.

Mexican Drug Cartels

Broder, Jonathan "Drugs and Violence Too Close to Home." CQ Weekly 67.10 (2009): 534-542. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 3 Nov. 2009.

Illegally imported drugs from Mexico into the States has been going on for a very long time, but that was back when the majority of drugs being smuggled was marijuana or heroin. Today, the Mexican drug cartels have increased in size and what they supply (now they supply Marijuana, South American Cocaine, Meth, and Heroin). The Mexican drug cartels are making more money then ever which has allowed them to purchase more weapons, better transportation (submarines, private jets, helicopters), and has given them more bribing/ authoritative power in Mexico. The Mexican Government has responded by sending in their military to areas that have been ravaged by the cartels, but the cartels are fighting back---and winning. This article focuses on how threatening these cartels could be to not only Mexico but also to the U.S.. Broder suggests that if extreme measures aren't taken to stop the drug cartels then Mexico could quite possibly become a, "narco-state", or in other words, a law-less country run by Mexican drug cartels. If this were to happen then, according to Broder, America will also be in great danger, most notably the Southern states such as California, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico.

International Problem--North Korea

Kapp, Clare "South Africa failing people displaced by xenophobia riots." Lancet 371.9629 (2008): 1986-1987. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 3 Nov. 2009.

This article focuses on North Korea and what lies ahead of them in the future. For the past two decades North Korea has been conducting a nuclear weapons program which has forced the rest of the world to keep a watchful eye on Kim Jong II and North Korea. Just recently it was discovered that North Korea performed missile and nuclear tests within the past few months. Obviously action must be taken, but how America should go about it is, of course, up for debate. Clare Kapp categorizes the U.S. policy makers into two categories, "In considering the North Korean nuclear question, U.S. policymakers and experts typically fall into two camps. The optimists believe that negotiating with Pyongyang will set North Korea on the path of Chinese-style political and economic reforms, help it become a "normal state," and convince it to abandon its nuclear ambitions. The pessimists insist that only relentless pressure will cause Pyongyang to denuclearize. The optimists (such as Christopher Hill, who once led U.S. negotiations with North Korea and is now ambassador to Iraq) favor talks and compromise. The pessimists (such as John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations) prefer coercive sanctions."

But what is not as heavily reported is the fact that North Korea relies on its nuclear weapons program very heavily, "Pyongyang cannot do away with these programs. That would mean losing both a powerful military deterrent and a time-tested tool of extortion. It would also relegate North Korea to being a third-rate country, on a par with Mozambique or Uganda." The important point to note here is that if North Korea simply stopped their nuclear testing they would almost instantly become just another 3rd world country. An alternative approach would be to attempt to reform the North Korean economy, similar to what the Chinese did. The problem with this is that North Korea would have to ease up on their stranglehold of their own civilians (censorship, mainly) which would result in many citizens fleeing to their Southern counterpart (South Korea). Realistically, major reforms would probably cause North Korea to fall flat on its face, but after that initial fall things would begin to change for the better.

International Problem--South Africa

Dugger, Celia W., and Alan Cowell "South Africa Weighs Plan To Shelter Refugees." New York Times 29 May 2008: 12.Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 3 Nov. 2009.

This article discusses what the South African Government was planning on doing about the thousands of refugees who were fleeing from the mobs attacking foreigners. The South African Government was faced with two options; setup camps for the refugees, or do nothing. Obviously when the article was written the decision had not yet been made by the South African Government, but the author(s) still attempt to weigh the pros and cons of refugee camps in South Africa. The article cites a relief official, who chose to remain anonymous, fearing, "that the camps could become rife with conflicts and sexual violence." Another downside to the refugee camps, according to Ms. Cornelis, is the poor sanitation which will lead to sickness and disease, which could possibly spread very quickly in the temporary camps. The article also discusses how poorly these foreigners are treated by regular South Africans, "provoking the resentment of some South Africans who see the outsiders as threats to their own jobs and well-being.".

NBA preview- Bulls

Chicago Bulls- The Bulls are entering this season hoping to advance further in the playoffs after last year's heartbreaking loss to the Celtics in the first round. If the Bulls are planning on making it past the first round of the playoffs they are going to need answer some early question marks. Obviously Derrick Rose is going to get the job done at Point Guard and I believe John Salmons will replace the loss of Ben Gordon, but Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, Tyrus Thomas and Kirk Heinrick will have to have productive seasons. Deng needs to regain his touch that he had a few years ago, Gibson needs to prove he can play in the NBA, and Thomas and Heinrick just need to play efficiently. I think Deng and Heinrick will have good seasons, but I have doubts on whether Thomas and Gibson will be good enough for the Bulls to do any damage in this year's playoffs. Looking at the Bulls schedule and the strength of teams in their conference I think they are a lock to make the playoffs, but as far as being a real contender for the NBA title the season we'll just have to wait and see.

FIFA 2010

This past week FIFA 2010 was released, and not a moment too soon. Ever since I started playing FIFA 09 I have been hooked. In general, the FIFA soccer games are excellent; realistic graphics and game play, a deep season mode, intense PK's, and a variety of scoring celebrations, among many other things. FIFA 2010 takes what has made the series so successful and essentially just adds more detail to the game. FIFA 10 is better then the previous games in that the game play is faster yet flows much smoother. Some other new features in the 2010 game; updated jerseys, updated players and teams, new celebrations, different camera angles on corner kicks and goal kicks, and more team strategy options. I haven't tried the season mode yet, so I am not sure what new features have been added there, but after playing just a few exhibition games it is easy to say this is by far the best soccer game on the market.