Nuclear Weapons testing and The Future of the Marshall Islands

In a post colonial and post nuclear age, how can the Marshall Islanders survive? This is a question that I will answer in this essay. I would like to, first, give you some background information about the Marshall Islanders and the United States’ nuclear weapons testing program. After I talk about that, I will talk about how the Marshall Islanders have adapted to colonization and radiation, and how this is all linguistically relative. Lastly, I will talk about what we [the US] need to do in order to help ensure the rest of the world doesn’t make the same mistakes that we have.From 1945 to 1992, United States conducted over 1,000 nuclear weapons tests. The period from 16 July 1945 to 4 November 1962 is known as the atmospheric age, the age before the United States “went underground”; I believe that this happened because of pressure from the rest of the world. Beginning in 1963, the number of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States continually declined until 1992, when all testing ceased. The entire world was under pressure because of the discourse of the cold, and the displacement of power that nuclear weapons gave to the United States. The first Atomic bomb test was called ‘Trinity’ and it was tested on July 16, 1945, it took place in New Mexico, at the Alamogordo Test Range. The next Atomic explosion on earth was the bomb used in the attack on Hiroshima. I found it surprising that the next explosion what the test called ‘Able’ which was on June 30, 1946. I find this surprising because one of the main discourses for testing nuclear weapons in the first place was the cold war and the threat of communism. But, the Soviets didn’t even test any nuclear weapons until operation ‘First lightening’, which took place on August 29, 1949. Another discourse was the threat of the Soviets creating the hydrogen bomb before the United States did. In 1952 the United States went along with ‘Operation Ivy’ the first ‘Hydrogen Bomb’ ever detonated was tested it was codenamed ‘Mike’. In 1954 ‘Operation Castle’ was the response to the Soviet thermal nuclear weapons testing program, this contained the test codenamed ‘Castle Bravo’, that to this day contains the largest yield (15 megatons) ever tested by any nation worldwide. On the 22nd of November 1955 the hydrogen bomb was tested by the Soviet Union, it was designated as ‘RDS-37’. One interesting test was known as ‘Starfish Prime’ on July 9, 1962, this was a high-altitude nuclear test; it was actually detonated 248 miles above Johnston Island. The flash could be seen over 900 miles away in Honolulu, also the electromagnetic pulse disabled the traffic lights, and made television sets and radios malfunction, here in Hawaii. The United States signed the Atmospheric Test Ban Treaty on August 5, 1963; they no longer conducted any atmospheric tests. Although the United States no longer conducted atmospheric tests, it continued underground tests until 1992, with ‘Operation Julin’. I think that all of this is very important to know, because if you see any of the media from the cold war era, the United States makes the Soviet Union seem like the aggressor, but looking at the data, the United States is the aggressor, they were much more extreme with all of their tests. I will talk about the discourse of the Marshall Islanders, and how the United States took advantage of it position as a trustee and a world super power. The test codenamed ‘Castle Bravo’ was tested on Bikini Island, and the wind carried fallout across most of the Marshall Islands. This fallout irradiated many people and they had adverse side affects. The United States government claims that it was due to a sudden shift in the winds, but according to various weathermen in the military, they knew that the winds were blowing to the east to begin with. The United States created the discourse that the Marshallese were “savages” which in a sense de-humanized them. Then in a propaganda video by the government, they showed the Marshallese in the ‘iron room’ getting tested for radiation. They even included the ‘Mayor’ of the Marshallese getting tested in the video, this made it seem as if the whole thing was approved by the Marshallese, by calling them savages earlier in the video, it made Americans think that we were doing these people a favor, by making them ‘civilized’. The United States was talking to the Marshallese like they were children, when they say “Now James…”, that proves that they thought that the Marshallese were inferior. The United States took advantage of the Marshallese not having an understanding of what a nuclear weapon was when they asked them if they could test the bombs. They said that they want to “turn this great destructive power into something for the benefit of mankind”. Even if you could understand English, you wouldn’t have a clue to what extent that is, at that time people didn’t understand the destructive power of these weapons, not even the ones testing the weapons. Another example of this is when President Truman said that the United States had a new “weapon of unusual destructive force”; he was talking about the atomic bomb. Another discourse was ‘the opportunity to study the radiation effects on humans’, this was an argument made to distract the American people, because there were already thousands of people to test in Japan after the bombings in World War Two. The Radiation Effects Research Foundation (formerly the ABCC) has been doing research on the effects of radiation on people since 1945. Although the Marshallese were up against the United States, they had courage and didn’t back down. Besides going to the United Nations and taking the United States government to court, they also rebel in their use of language. The Marshallese made their own words, instead of adopting English, to describe their situation and made it unique. They are creating their own radiation language, for instance radiation is called poison, also they made the distinction between which doctors actually cared about them and which ones were just monitoring radiation. This is important because they are making their own understanding of the situation, and also it shows that the Marshallese are starting to understand the effects of radiation on their own. This is important because if you don’t have a unique word for something like radiation you can’t fully understand it.I would like to conclude this by saying that we all need to be aware of the adverse effects of Nuclear weapons. It really irks me when there is a conflict between the United States and someone else and I hear someone say “let’s just nuke them”, that is one of the most ignorant things that I have ever heard, and I think that anyone who thinks that Nuclear weapons should be used should do some research on the horrible effects that radiation has on a person. The United States has already irradiated 2/3 of the mainland, and killed thousands of people, with these weapons. When I hear rumors of America talking about using so-called “tactical nukes”; that really scares me, because I’m afraid that Americans are forgetting about the effects of these weapons. In the cold war the world Americans became desensitized to these weapons, because they were always in the mass media, and propaganda was used to manipulate everyone, to make them accept these horrible weapons. We need to be aware of these things, college students of today are tomorrow’s leaders, and we can’t afford to become desensitized again.

!Kung

After reading Chapter 10 of James Spradely’s book, I have decided that I could not only be a hunter-gatherer in the Kalahari, but I think that I would like it. The thought of getting my own food right out of the wild sounds very rewarding. I think that I could be a hunter-gatherer in the Kalahari because I lived in a small town that is on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona, the climates sound very similar, so I would get used to it fairly quickly. I have always been interested in the notion that I could go out and hunt an animal for my meal that night, just like the native Americans did. As long as I was part of a camp, life wouldn’t be as hard as it sounds.The thing that I found most interesting about the culture of hunter-gatherers was the lack of selfishness; everyone works for the greater good of the camp. I actually think that our society could learn a lot from the !Kung. We would learn that all of the material things in life aren’t so important. The book argues that hunter-gatherers lack what we call culture, but I don’t agree, I think that they have a different kind of culture, one that westerners have forgotten about. Their culture is more like the spirit of Aloha, where everyone works together and the members of the camp are like family members. In our society we are working an average of forty hours a week for a thing called money; to the !Kung that would seem ridiculous. Sometimes I think that it would make more sense to hunt for my meals, I think that it would feel more rewarding to me. I think that in our society today people overworked, most people work about 8 hours of the day for 5 days, then get only 2 days off, all of that in order to pay the bills. The !Kung work about 2-6 hours of the day for 1 day, then get 2 days off, they don’t have to pay for rent, utilities, or food. The !Kung have an abundance of resources, including many plants and animals. In an average day they consume about 2,000 calories, with 96 grams of protein, this is within the accordance with the RDA for the average male. A staple in the diet of the !Kung is the mongongo nut, which provides 26 grams of protein per 100 grams, an amount similar to peanuts. Also according to the text, about 10 percent of the population was over 60 years of age, as of 2005 at total of 12 percent of the population in the United States is over 65(CIA World Factbook, 2005). All of the above facts considered I think that the !Kung may have a fairly exceptional standard of living.I think that the greatest challenge to me would be getting over the language barrier. I found out that the orthography of the language is very different than any language I have ever heard. For example there are a series of clicks that have significant meaning. I have actually included an outline of how to pronounce the clicks. I think that I would need to learn the language in order to be an effective hunter, or to make any contribution to the !Kung society.Symbol Pronunciation” /” The “first” click (dental), sounds like “tsk, tsk! ” and is made by putting thetongue just behind the front teeth.”¹” The” second” click (alveolar) , is a soft “pop” made by putting the tonguejust behind the ridge back of the front teeth.”!” The “third” click (alveolo-palatal), is a sharp “pop” made by drawing thetongue down quickly from the roof of the mouth.”//” The “fourth” click (lateral), is a clucking sound like that made in Englishto urge on a horse.In conclusion I think that I could live as a hunter-gatherer successfully and indefinitely, so long as I learned the language of the !Kung. I like to think that I can do anything that another person can, given that I have time to learn how to do it. I think that the whole experience would be both exciting and rewarding, and it would be a superb learning experience. I think that everyone could learn from a society like the !Kung, and that maybe our society needs to look at a society like this and take some of the core values of sharing, family, and community, from the !Kung. With these values I think that it is possible to make a better world for everyone.

Chappli Kabab

If you ask any American if they know what a kabab is, they would most likely say “Yeah, it is a stick with meat on it.” They would be correct, those are typically known as shish kebabs, but what they most likely wouldn’t know is that there are at least twenty-five different types of kababs. Kebab simply means “grilled meat” in Persian, they are typically made of lamb, beef, fish, chicken, or a combination of lamb and beef. Kebabs are not usually made of pork because the major religion in the Middle-East is Islam which prohibits it’s consumption. To fully understand the kebab you must know a little history of this wonderful dish.It is generally thought that kebabs originated in the Middle-East as a way to cook meat with very little fuel. Because the meat was typically in small pieces (especially in shish kebab), it cooked more quickly and therefore the fire did not need as much to burn.Kebabs were the food of Persian kings and in ancient times ordinary Iranians consumed it only once a year on Norouz, the traditional Iranian new year holiday. Today, however, kebabs are not only consumed in almost every Iranian house on a weekly basis, but they have also become Iran’s number one selling fast food, and there is a similar trend throughout the whole Middle-East.I chose to make the chappli kabab for this project. The chappli kabab originates from Pakistan, it is more like a hamburger patty than a shish kabab. In Pakistan kebabs are in the category of food called Mogul food, or barbeque. The kabab is sold in Pakistan much like the hamburger is sold here. A popular way to eat chappli kababs is to wrap the meat with naan bread, and dip it into a mixture of yogurt and pepper. Naan bread is a flat bread that is cooked in a brick oven called a tandoor. Naan bread is like a cross between a tortilla and a pancake. Traditionally in Pakistan people didn’t use silverware they ate with their hands, but now more people are using forks, spoons, and knives.I chose this dish because I never tried kababs until about a year ago, after eating just one I fell in love with them. I want to share that experience with as many people as I can. You can get recipe online at www.shanfood.com, you can also order the masalas (spice mixes) online. In Pakistan a box of chappli kabab masala is only twenty rupees, which roughly equates to forty-three cents. I think that kababs in the Middle-East are like Hamburgers are to Americans. I really like the Pakistani culture and food, I want to experience as much of this culture as I can, and I think that I may try to live there in the future. I think that kababs will be around for a long time to come, because they are easy to make and delicious. Thank you for trying my dish and taking the time to read this, I hope that it was everything you expected.

Bretton Woods Institutions

In the world today the global income is more than $31 trillion a year. In some states in the Global North the average income is $40,000 a year per person. In comparison, 2.8 billion people in developing states live on less than $700 a year per person, and 1.2 billion of these people earn less than a dollar a day, which is less than $400 a year per person. Some places are in so much poverty that there are no hospitals or schools. Institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF come in to play when states form the Global North adopt the role of helping to raise the level of income and erase poverty in developing states.During World War Two, most of Europe was devastated and the world had to figure out a way to fund the rebuilding of the states that were affected. To avoid another huge recession after the war, the allies held the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The deliberation lasted for three weeks and consisted of 730 delegates from the allied states. Finally on the 22nd of July 1944, the Bretton Woods Agreements were signed. The agreements set up a system of rules, procedures, and institutions to regulate the international monetary system. The International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were created in 1945 as institutions to help monitor the international monetary system. A complex system of IGO’s work mutually to monitor the international financial system and to fund loans.The World Bank is IGO that consists of 5 other IGO’s. The idea of the World Bank is to give out loans to less developed countries at a low interest rate, in order to help develop them. The 5 IGO’s include the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The IBRD was formed in 1945 in order to fund the rebuilding of Europe after World War Two. Currently the IBRD’s focus is to fight poverty by financing states through low interest loans. The IDA was founded in 1960 to provide interest-free loans and grants to the poorest of developing countries (LLDC). The IFC was formed in 1956 to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries. The MIGA was founded in 1988 to promote Foreign Direct Investment by insuring investors with political risk insurance and by mediating disputes between investors and governments. Lastly, the ICSID established in 1956, is an administrative council that provides facilities for the conciliation and arbitration of investment disputes between member countries and individual investors.The IMF is the other main Bretton Woods Institution that was formed during World War Two and still functions today. The IMF was created specifically to “monitor” the international monetary system in order to prevent further economic recessions after World War Two. The primary mission of the IMF is to provide financial assistance to states with serious financial difficulties. States with that cannot pay their loans on time may request loans and/or organizational management from the IMF to help their national economies. In return the state is required to launch certain reforms in order to cut costs or generate more revenue. Generally the IMF requires these reforms so that states avoid fixing exchange rates that lead to fiscal, monetary, and certain political practices, and which eventually leads to economic crisis. Regardless of how these reforms are justified, these policies violate sovereignty and the IMF is one of the most criticized Bretton Woods Institutions.The World Bank is viewed like a “one-stop shop” super bank, where states can go to handle all of their finances. Within the World Bank, The IBRD and IDA are the “loan desk”, the IFC is the “stockbroker”, the MIGA is the “insurance agency”, and the ICSID is the “court” (or mediator). With the World Bank as the “super bank”, the IMF is the “credit-counseling firm” (like Debt Relief of America), except the IMF also provides loans. The IMF may also similar to the “secret service” because they monitor international currency. These Bretton Woods Institutions collectively have immense power as they essentially handle all of the states’ monies.The Bretton Woods Institutions have been successful in preventing huge economic recessions; there has not been a recession in the United States since they were formed. However, there is a lot of corruption within these institutions. The World Bank and the IMF are both based in the United States (in Washington, D.C.) and are also primarily funded by the United States. Also since the voting system is weighted based on the percentage funded by states. This gives the United States and IMF-finding states more power; and this may be the reason that the Unites States has not had a recession. The IMF has also been observed taking away states sovereignty, as it dictates states’ economic policies. Arguably, these institutions could operate like non-profit organizations, and send in managers to help manage states’ budgets and funds. The primary goal should be to resuscitate these states, and offering loans to them will not help as loan recipient states do not always use this money in the most economically effective manner. Instead, the IMF and World Bank could send in their accountants to states that ask for help and suggest economic reform. The Bretton Woods Institutions have met their goals from the World War Two era, and today there are new goals that have to be met. How soon will it be before 1.2 billion people earn closer to $40,000 a year per person is a question that The Bretton Woods Institutions should answer.

Foreign Policy Factors

In this exam I am supposed to explain which factor is the most important in determining foreign policy. I have thought about this for some time now and I researched various factors that I think are important, but I couldn’t narrow it down to just one factor. The reason that I believe this is that there are three levels of factors that effect foreign policy; each level is (generally) independent of the others. I want to start by talking about the “Peace of Westphalia”, then I will talk about different factors that effect foreign policy (which I think are most important), lastly, I will talk about the future of foreign policy and what I believe should be done.The modern system of states started in 1648 after the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), with the Peace of Westphalia, which was a treaty between various European Countries. The reason that it is important is that there were four main ideas that formed, which didn’t officially exist before. They are as follows; (1) the principal of sovereignty of nation-states and the fundamental right of self-determination; (2) the principal of legal equality between nation-states; (3) the principal of internationally binding treaties between states; and (4) the principle of non-intervention of one state in the internal affairs of other states. This was the first time that state was given the notion of sovereignty, it was this treaty that established a system that respected peoples rights and that relied on international law, rather that the right of the strongest to regulate interactions between states. This is the inception of international relations in the modern world.I could not say that just one factor was the most important one in determining foreign policy. I actually have formed a theory, based on observation of history, on this matter. I think that most scholars would argue that the most important factor is the type of government in a state; this is based on the democratic peace theory. The first notion of the democratic peace theory came from Immanuel Kant, a great philosopher in the 18th century. The theory states that democracies never (or almost never) go to war with each other. I think that the foundation of this theory is right, but I think that the theory is a little flawed; it should state that governments of the same type don’t go to war with each other. The reason that I think this is if you look at any other government type, they don’t really go to war with the same type of government in a different state. I think that this theory is dangerous because it promotes world domination, there have been many wars in the name of democracy and peace, we say that we are “liberating” the people of the state that we go to war with, but are we really doing that, or are we just trying to make other states into the same type of state that we are? This is a question that I have asked my self my whole life. I am going to explain my theory in the next paragraph.I came up with this theory while I was in a movie theater, waiting for the movie to start, all of a sudden eureka phenomenon occurred, and my theory came to me. So, I would like to look at the “big picture” here. In political science, there are three “levels” of factors that effect foreign policy; the first is the “systemic” level (I call this the “International” level); second is the “state” level (domestic level); and finally, third is the individual level (the leader). Each of level is independent (mostly) of the other levels. I would like to bring one other factor into the equation, the factor is weather or not the state is a superpower, this might not sound very important, but I think that it is because it really determines what international and domestic policy will be made. This is my theory: If the state is a superpower then the domestic (state) source of foreign policy is most important; if the state is not a superpower then the most important source of foreign policy is international (systemic) source of foreign policy. The reason that I say this is, superpowers push their policy onto weaker states and try to make them have compatible or similar governments, if a weaker state rebels then the superpower will simply reprimand (overthrow, invade, or instill trade embargos) the weaker state. Also, a non super power must make it’s foreign policy based on what the superpower wants otherwise it will not prosper, and will actually start to decline (I believe that this is a remote cause of poverty in most poor states). The irony is that the thing created to control strong nations and help weak nations (the united nations) actually works the opposite way, it empowers the strong even more and limits the weak. The individual level is also important because the leader of a state makes most of the important decisions, and therefore forms actual policies, making the leader the “trigger” or actor in the equation. I good leader will know their state’s place in the hierarchy of states, and will act accordingly. The future of the world will be made by the decisions and policies of today.I believe that peace can be achieved if the world’s superpowers invest in it. They must not use violence in order to make weaker countries succumb to their policies, the old saying is “violence begets violence”, so in order to have peace, things must be done in a peaceful manner. That means no more waging wars against “ideas” (i.e. war on terrorism), no more invading states if you don’t like their policies, and create a truly free market between all states. I like to say that they [superpower’s] should lead by example, and then others will take note and follow. I think of my self as a realist, although I recognize that this is quite an idealistic idea, I think that this is a way to “regulate” the world (per se) without the “illusion” of [unenforceable] international law, therefore there is true [actual] freedom through out the world.