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kuramirocket · 1 year ago

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Ana María Cetto: The Mexican Pioneering Theoretical Physicist & Activist

Ana María Cetto is a Mexican theoretical physicist who has made contributions to the fields of biophysics of light, electrodynamics, quantum mechanics, and stochastics.

Cetto was born in Mexico City in 1946 and is a research professor at the Institute of Physics and lecturer at the Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). She holds an M.A. degree in Biophysics from Harvard University and M.Sc and Ph.D degrees in Physics from UNAM. Her main field of research is theoretical physics (foundations of quantum mechanics). She has published 14 books and 120 research articles. Prof. Cetto is former Dean of the Faculty of Sciences (UNAM) and UNESCO consultant for the World Conference on Science. From 2003 to 2010 she was Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (Nobel Peace Prize 2005). She is founding president of LATINDEX, an online information system for Ibero-American and Caribbean scholarly journals. Prof. Cetto has held honorary positions in a number of international organisations, including the International Year of Light Steering Committee, and the Executive Boards of the Third World Organisation for Women in Science (TWOWS, Co-Founder), International Council for Science (ISC), International Foundation for Science (IFS), United Nations University (UNU), International Network of Engineers and Scientists (INES) and the Pugwash Conferences (Nobel Peace Prize 1995).

In addition to her work as a theoretical physicist, she is also known as an activist who champions more women taking up science, particularly physics.

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A Natural Curiosity and a Critical Spirit

When asked about what led Cetto into the field of physics, she stated that as a child, “I had a fortunate and fruitful combination of curiosity and critical spirit.” Physics wasn’t Cetto’s sole interest within the scientific field as she also had a curiosity towards chemistry and biology, but she maintained that physics was her primary choice, and that it was a good choice because it has given her a way of living. Ms. Cetto explained that when she finally decided to study physics, it was something very natural and attributed this to her lifelong curiosity that was primarily nurtured by her parents and in school. With a gratified smile on her face, Cetto proclaimed that, “physics is in my blood, as we say in Spanish.”

Throughout her career, Cetto managed to couple her academic interests with her activism, and stated that it was all about “working hard, because you have to work on both sides, and you have to be serious and professional about them. You cannot take them superficially, you have to work hard, and with conviction.”

Cetto stated that it was discussions with her university friends and her readings that got her interested in nuclear disarmament.

Being a Woman in the STEM Field

In light of being a woman in the male dominated STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) field, Cetto shared some sound advice: “you have to learn to gently put your foot down.” Cetto reasoned that this method is more effective than those that involve confrontation and fighting, and will result in men respecting you more, as a woman. Cetto claimed that male domination is something that has pervaded not only the STEM field, but whole societies. In order to counteract this pattern, Cetto illuminated that “it becomes clear that negotiating is not about making concessions, it’s about understanding the others.” Cetto is a big advocate for putting yourself in others’ shoes, and reasons that if you want people to respect you, then you should speak out for them to listen, and that in turn, you must also listen to them. Cetto emphasized that “it is important that we listen to each other.”

Cetto also mentioned that she thinks it’s important to stand up for what you believe in on certain things and to not compromise on your principles, thus striking a balance between not assuming a conflictual, threatening approach but also retaining your values and beliefs.

Promoting Latin American Information Programs and Women in STEM

Cetto is still very much involved in the scientific information programs, based in Latin America, that promote Open Access to scientific information, going back 25 years. Cetto explained that there are a handful of very big commercial enterprises based in the North, namely Europe and in the United states, that have control over the international scientific publishing arena. This privatized way of dealing with information represents a highly profitable business for them, with Cetto stating that these companies make over a 30% net profit a year. Furthermore, academics have to pay thousands upon thousands of dollars to have their academic literature peer reviewed, accepted and published in journals that are controlled and owned by one big commercial enterprise.

Therefore, this system is a highly profitable business for the publishing corporations, but a big financial burden for academic institutions, not only in developing countries, but around the globe. Cetto explained that “this has an effect of overshadowing valuable contributions to science from our countries, specifically from developing countries, because our journals are underrepresented in big commercial information services.” Cetto stated that in Latin America, “we have our own way, perhaps, of doing science in the world, but we also contribute to international science from our perspective and from our point of view.” Cetto believes that this adds value to the scientific field and should not be disregarded by the standards of the north.

“For me, cultural diversity, linguistic diversity, knowledge diversity, knowledge source diversity, and even gender diversity, in all areas of human activity, are as important as biological diversity. So, I’m pro diversity in general. I think that all these aspects of diversity are essential for human survival, the survival of humankind.”

Cetto asserted that “if we do not give visibility to these contributions, if we don’t value them and promote them, nobody will do it for us. So, this is why I took the initiative to create this information system.” Cetto was also happy to mention that these programs have had an incredible impact as there are now other information systems people can use from many journals online, produced in Latin America and in other parts of the world. The promotion of academic literature from around the world is still an ongoing effort. Cetto further specified that “journal publishing, for us, is not a business, it’s part of the knowledge production and dissemination process.”

“In the STEM field, I would say go ahead girls, you won’t regret it. It is a never-ending adventure, it’s endless.”

Cetto explained that when you explore the STEM field, you have a better idea of how nature is, how it has evolved, and how it works, which makes you cultivate your critical spirit and nurture it. Moreover, Cetto explained that science offers countless opportunities to learn new things, to create and invent, and it gives you a degree of freedom.

Sources: (x) (x) (x)

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jbfly46 · 20 days ago

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Need a job? Here’s a list of federal agencies you can apply to for employment:

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#employment opportunities

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head-post · 1 month ago

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Kyiv denied plans to restore nukes amid Zelensky’s nuclear weapons claims

The administration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky refuted a Bild article claiming that he was considering renewing the country’s nuclear arsenal.

Ukraine possessed the capabilities and information needed to develop nuclear weapons, German observer Julian Röpcke quoted an anonymous Ukrainian official as saying.

We have the material, we have the knowledge. If the order is given, we will only need a few weeks to have the first bomb. The West should think less about Russia’s red lines and more about our red lines.

During a speech at the European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday, Zelensky recalled that his country had agreed to give up Soviet nuclear weapons in Ukraine in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the US and the UK under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.

Who gave up nuclear weapons? All of them? No. Ukraine. Who is fighting today? Ukraine. Either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons and that will be our protection or we should have some sort of alliance. Apart from NATO, today we do not know any effective alliances.

Zelensky later explained that “we are not building nuclear weapons. What I meant is that today there is no stronger security guarantee for us besides NATO membership,” according to Politico.

On Wednesday, Zelensky presented his “victory plan” to end the war against Russia to the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament). It included receiving an invitation to NATO and continued arms shipments to force Russia to the negotiating table.

However, Kyiv must get the approval of all 32 NATO members, whereas Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico vowed to block Ukraine’s accession as long as he was in office. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also called the victory plan “more than frightening.”

NATO promised Ukraine membership but did not set a date, disappointing Zelensky. He stated that “an immediate invitation to Ukraine to join NATO would be decisive” in the war against Russia. However, a security source in Ukraine told The Telegraph that Zelensky and his government were getting desperate.

There is an understanding that countries with nukes are treated differently. This is an existential conflict for Ukraine, something people in the West still don’t seem to get.

Pavel Podvig, a senior researcher at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Studies, also said that a nuclear-armed Ukraine would only raise the risk of nuclear war.

How would a nuclear Ukraine deter nuclear Russia? How would nuclear weapons have helped Ukraine in Crimea? In eastern Ukraine? It’s not the magic wand people seem to think it is.

Previously, the Ukrainian authorities repeatedly expressed regret over Ukraine’s lack of nuclear weapons.

Read more HERE

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mariacallous · 9 months ago

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Last month, there was a sudden panic in the United States when House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner issued a statement warning of a “serious national security threat” and demanded that President Biden declassify related information. The American media subsequently reported that Turner was referring to alleged Russian plans to deploy nuclear weapons in space, though U.S. National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby later clarified that the matter concerns anti-satellite weapons that cannot be used to attack people or to strike targets on Earth. He explained that Russia’s development of the technology is concerning but does not pose an immediate threat.

To make sense of these reports and to respond to the panic that this situation provokes, The Naked Pravda welcomes back nuclear arms expert Pavel Podvig, a senior researcher at the U.N. Institute for Disarmament Research.

Timestamps for this episode:

(3:20) The (im)practicality of nuclear weapons in space

(5:31) Imagining a nuclear blast in orbit

(9:59) The feasibility of nuclear-powered space weapons

(28:02) The 1967 Outer Space Treaty and its modern-day implications

(31:26) Common misconceptions about space in movies

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nicklloydnow · 1 year ago

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“Russia is withdrawing its ratification of a landmark deal designed to prohibit nuclear testing. The Russian state duma carried out the first in a series of votes today that will lead to the de-ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

(…)

"We are in a bad place," says Andrey Baklitskiy, a senior researcher at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research in Geneva, Switzerland. "We are not yet in a terrible place, but we are in a bad place."

(…)

The treaty has not yet received enough signatures to enter into force, but it is considered a major reason why many nations — including the United States, Russia and China — have observed a voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing since the 1990s. Other nations who haven't signed onto the treaty, including India and Pakistan, have also refrained from testing.

Additionally, the treaty led to the creation of an organization charged with watching the globe for nuclear tests. Based in Vienna, it runs a network of seismographs, hydrophones, and radionuclide detectors that is capable of picking up even small nuclear explosions anywhere on the planet. It has successfully detected North Korea's nuclear detonations, and given valuable insight into that nation's nuclear weapons program.

(…)

Russia has backed away from several Cold War-era nuclear treaties in recent years. First it violated a treaty that prohibited the development of intermediate-range nuclear missiles. More recently, it suspended its participation in the START agreement with the U.S., which limits the number of deployed nuclear weapons on each side.

In remarks made last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the reason for the de-ratification of the test ban treaty was part of its "tit-for-tat" relations with the U.S.

"There is this tendency in the last couple of years that Russia wants to have everything the U.S. has," says Andrey Baklitskiy, a senior researcher at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research in Geneva, Switzerland.

But at the same time, Putin pointed out that Russia is developing new nuclear weapons, and that the nation may decide to test them.

Russia has historically tested its nuclear weapons on a remote arctic archipelago called Novaya Zemlya.

Satellite imagery shows a great deal of renewed activity at the site, according to Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

"It is so busy at Novaya Zemlya, we are seeing so much construction," he says. Large new buildings are being erected in the main part of the site, and he says his group is also seeing repair and maintenance work at nuclear test tunnels all over the site.

Russia is not alone in that regard, Lewis says: China has also been hard at work modernizing its nuclear testing facilities at Lop Nur. And the U.S. has also upgraded its test facilities in Nevada in recent years, though the American government remains adamant that it is not planning a return to nuclear testing.

(…)

Lewis says at least part of the motivation for withdrawing ratification from the CTBT and pondering tests is the War in Ukraine. "I think the way the Russians see it is that by withdrawing from these agreements, they're raising the nuclear temperature," he says. "And I think they hope that will somehow cause the Biden administration to slow or withdraw its support from Ukraine."

Lewis says he personally doesn't believe a Russian test is imminent — in part because winters at Novaya Zemlya are brutally cold. But come spring, he thinks the odds Russia will test are "probably 50/50."

Andrey Baklitskiy is more doubtful that Russia will actually conduct a nuclear test. For one thing, he says, Russia remains a signatory to the treaty just like the U.S.

"I'm pretty sure that had Russia wanted to go full out and test a nuclear device, it would have left the treaty [completely]," he says.

Moreover, he says, Russia has pledged to continue to operate international nuclear monitoring equipment that's been placed on its territory by the test ban treaty organization. Russia continues to operate 32 of the global test monitoring network's 321 monitoring stations — and many of Russia's stations are crucial for following developments in sensitive parts of the world like North Korea, China and Iran.

But Baklitskiy and Lewis both warn that the norms which have long limited nuclear weapons development are starting to fray.

"I think we're just in a really dangerous uncertain period, where things could really break badly for us," Lewis says.”

“The moratorium against nuclear testing rests on an uneasy patchwork of international treaties. The Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed by the UK, US and Soviet Union in 1963, forbidding testing of these weapons in the atmosphere, underwater or in outer space, but permitting underground trials. Then, in 1996, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) theoretically put a stop to underground testing too.

Yet the CTBT remains unfinished. Despite 178 states having ratified it, the treaty will not officially come into force until action from eight more nations; China, Egypt, Iran, Israel and the US have signed, but not ratified, the agreement, while India, Pakistan and North Korea never signed it.

The moratorium against nuclear testing rests on an uneasy patchwork of international treaties. The Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed by the UK, US and Soviet Union in 1963, forbidding testing of these weapons in the atmosphere, underwater or in outer space, but permitting underground trials. Then, in 1996, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) theoretically put a stop to underground testing too.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent ongoing war may have changed its outlook on testing, however. Russia ratified the CTBT in 2000, but on 17 October its lower parliamentary house, the Duma, passed a measure to revoke ratification with 412 votes in favour – with none against and no abstentions. Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that the decision was being made because of the failure of the US to ratify the treaty and its “irresponsible attitude to global security issues”.

Further readings and votes are needed to officially revoke Russia’s ratification of the treaty, and it is expected to remain a signatory to it, but this is another sign that the nation may restart testing that ended in 1990, with the Soviet Union’s final detonation. In recent months Russia has tested new nuclear delivery systems – without live nuclear warheads – and there have been prominent voices within the country calling for a resumption of nuclear tests.

(…)

All three of the major nuclear powers appear to be preparing for tests. CNN reports that expansion and modernisation work has taken place at China’s test site in the far western region of Xinjiang, as well as at Russia’s in an Arctic Ocean archipelago and the US test site in the Nevada desert. Speaking to CNN, Jeffrey Lewis at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California said “there are really a lot of hints that we’re seeing that suggest Russia, China and the United States might resume nuclear testing”.

(…)

“A lot of nuclear devices are so simple that you can be pretty confident they’re going to work. The technology has changed, but the basic science hasn’t,” he says. “There’s no logic to doing this, other than political rhetoric – which doesn’t mean it won’t happen.”

“The trouble is that there’s what logic would suggest will happen, and then there’s reality,” says Futter.”

“A nuclear test over Siberia would be "a nuclear ultimatum" to the West that would have no serious consequences for Russia's own population — according to Margarita Simonyan. The editor-in-chief of RT, Russia's state-controlled international broadcaster, made the claim in a video early October. There, she declared that "nothing too terrible" would happen if Russia detonated a thermonuclear bomb on its own territory, and that Western countries would not back down "until they are in great pain." According to Simonyan, the West has nothing better to do than continue using Ukraine to "strangle" Russia.

(…)

Nevertheless, the discussion resurfaced this week, and Simonyan's remarks were probably at the forefront of the minds of Russian MPs on Tuesday, when the Russian parliament, the Duma, voted unanimously to withdraw from the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The idea was recently floated by President Putin himself, and taken up by the chairman of the Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin.

(…)

The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed in 1996 by Russia, the USA, and China. However, unlike the other signatories, Russia actually ratified the treaty in 2000, as the nuclear expert Pavel Podvig of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) pointed out in an interview with DW. Podvig explained that the treaty never officially entered into force, but that the five major nuclear powers — the USA, Russia, China, France, and Britain — have nonetheless adhered to the moratorium on nuclear tests since the 1990s.

India and Pakistan have also refrained from further nuclear tests since initial ones in 1998, Podvig said. "In this respect, the only dissident, so to speak, is North Korea, which has already conducted six nuclear tests."

Podvig stressed that the arms treaty is held in high regards across the world. "No one is going to win friends by conducting new nuclear tests. All the ideas being discussed in Russia right now — along the lines of 'Let's scare everyone!' — are not actually likely to scare anyone. There will, however, be unequivocal condemnation."

(…)

Russian nuclear expert Maxim Starchak of Canada's Foreign Policy Research Institute said he would not be surprised if Russia did carry out nuclear tests soon. But he assured DW that "so far, there are no clear indications that Russia is planning any such tests in the near future." He added that nuclear physicists are divided on the usefulness of such tests: "Some are in favour, some are against. A political decision will definitely be needed if they are to be revived."

Starchak explained that Russia already has a zone prepared for this: the archipelago of Novaya Zemlya. "To the best of our knowledge, there are three sites there where underground nuclear tests can be carried out. I think that if nuclear tests really were being considered, they would be at these sites. I doubt that this madness will be realized in the form of a surface blast."

(…)

Starchak believed that Russia's plan was to further escalated the war in Ukraine. He estimated that Moscow's hope was for the US to feel threatened by and seek to reduce that threat by making concessions in the war in Ukraine.”

“Kremlin propagandist Margarita Simonyan has rejoiced at the attention given by Western powers to the Israel-Hamas war, which she believes is pivoting the global focus away from Ukraine, and said it's about to kick off a third world war in the Middle East.

(…)

"This is wonderful, it's beautiful! Watch how the British instructors are leaving Ukraine because they have no more time for Ukraine, just like the Americans and everyone else, because the world is on the brink of World War III," she said, as translated by Russian Media Monitor.

"It's obvious and it has nothing to do with Ukraine! Thank God, it has nothing to do with Mother Russia!," she continued. "We're recording this program just as Iran announced that if Israel starts its land operation in Gaza, Iran will intervene. If Iran intervenes, it won't be pretty."

Simonyan then said that Iran is an "enormous military nation" that is "five minutes away from getting a nuclear bomb" and possesses "many other interesting things." She then went on to belittle and mock the Israeli army for not having been able to stop "1,000 bandits" from infiltrating the country.

"How is this army planning to handle Iran? I wanted to say, 'I'd like to see that,' but no, I would not want to see that," Simonyan said. "I don't wish for anyone to see that, because this is on the brink of WWIII. At this point, no one cares about Ukraine!," she added.”

#nuclear #nuclear weapons #nuclear testing #nuclear war #wwiii #world war 3 #russia #ukraine #israel #iran #gaza #hamas #simonyan #marharita simonyan #war

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spacenutspod · 1 year ago

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Sydney, Australia (SPX) Aug 29, 2023 The intricacies of space security terminology can sometimes create barriers in international discussions. With the rapid evolution of space technology and policies, the need for a universal understanding of terms has become imperative. Recognizing this void, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) and the Secure World Foundation (SWF) have crafted the "Space Security Lexic

#space #astronomy #news #science

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christinamac1 · 1 year ago

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United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) held a public youth pitch event "'Peace & XX' Ideation - Nuclear Disarmament and Sustainable Futures"

Mirage News, 11 Aug 23 United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) held a public youth pitch event “‘Peace & XX’ Ideation – Nuclear Disarmament and Sustainable Futures” in Hiroshima. .39 youth living in Japan held discussions on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and a sustainable future and select teams presented their ideas to expert panellists for their…

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mineaction · 8 months ago

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Enable states to assess and strengthen national capacities against improvised explosive devices.

Explosive hazards have profound effects on communities and development. The UNIDIR C-IED tool enables states to assess and strengthen national capacities against improvised explosive devices.Together, we can protect our communities and build peace.

#UNIDIR C-IED #toolkit #improvised explosive devices (ieds)#explosive hazards #anti personnel mines #Protect And Build #imad2024 #protecting lives. building peace #international day for mine awareness and assistance in mine action #MineAwarenessDay

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tetraquad3prosequi · 3 years ago

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In a brief clip, Putin is shown speaking to two stony-faced generals about the country's nuclear forces.

"He basically said, 'Because of all these hostile or aggressive statements and aggressive policies, we should start this special mode of combat duty of our deterrent forces,'" says Pavel Podvig, a senior researcher at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research in Geneva.

It's unclear what a "special mode of combat duty" actually is. One possibility, says Podvig, is that the order activated the nation's nuclear command and control system.

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mariacallous · 2 years ago

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Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday that his country would suspend its participation in the New START agreement with the United States, throwing into question the future of the last remaining arms control accord between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.

The treaty, which came into force in 2011, places limits on the number of intercontinental nuclear weapons that each country can have and was extended for an additional five years in 2021. Arms control had long been regarded as the last redoubt of constructive collaboration between Washington and Moscow.

Putin showed no signs of backing down as he used his annual state-of-the-nation address to rail against the United States and accuse Ukraine and the West of provoking the war days before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. “They want to inflict a ‘strategic defeat’ on us and try to get to our nuclear facilities at the same time,” Putin said during his nearly 100-minute speech, which was met with applause from Russian lawmakers and senior officials. “In this context, I have to declare today that Russia is suspending its participation in the Treaty on Strategic Offensive Arms.”

Responding to Putin’s announcement, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, “With today’s decision on New START, the whole arms control architecture has been dismantled.”

Experts said it’s too soon to interpret Putin’s remarks as heralding a new nuclear arms race, but with the treaty set to expire in 2026, the Russian leader’s announcement will further complicate diplomatic efforts to extend or negotiate a new treaty between the United States and Russia, which together hold about 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons.

“If they don’t agree to new limits on their strategic arsenals before New START expires, we won’t have any limitations on the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals for the first time since 1972,” said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association. “That does open the door to a build-up by both sides of their strategic nuclear arsenals.”

Here’s what Putin’s announcement could mean for the future of arms control.

What did Putin actually say?

Putin did not quite invoke the nuclear option on arms control in his announcement on Tuesday. In suspending Russia’s participation in the treaty, rather than withdrawing in full, the document still stands and can in theory be returned to in the future. “Suspension is better than withdrawal,” said Pavel Podvig, a senior researcher at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research. “Things could have been worse,” he said.

It’s unclear what it would take for Russia to return to the treaty, Kimball said. “I would not pay too much attention to the pretext and excuses that [Putin] gave for why Russia is pulling out,” he added.

Putin outlined his terms for returning to the agreement, including factoring in the nuclear capabilities of other NATO member states including the United Kingdom and France, which are not currently party to the agreement.

“That’s not a serious point,” said Andrey Baklitskiy, a senior researcher with the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research. “The U.K. and France were not a party when Russia signed it. They were not party in 2021 when Putin extended the treaty for five years.”

Putin also said that Russia would not conduct any new nuclear test explosions—unless the United States did so first, in a seemingly responsible but largely irrelevant statement. “It is not an appreciable change in Russia’s position,” Kimball said, noting that both the United States and Russia are signatories of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which bans any and all nuclear weapons tests. As the United States has no appetite to violate the treaty by testing its nuclear capabilities for the first time in over a quarter-century, Kimball said, there will be no reason for Russia to follow suit.

Why did Putin say it now?

Red lights had been flashing around Russia’s participation in the treaty for some time. “The writing was on the wall,” Baklitskiy said.

Mutual inspections of strategic nuclear weapons sites were suspended in March 2020 due to the health risks posed by COVID-19. But as the pandemic subsided, Moscow announced in August 2022 that it would bar U.S. inspectors from resuming visits to its facilities, claiming that Western sanctions impeded the ability of its officials to conduct reciprocal visits to the United States. Last November, the U.S. State Department announced that Russia had postponed a planned meeting in Egypt that was intended to forge a road map to resuming inspections.

In an announcement last month, the State Department accused Moscow of violating its obligations under the treaty by preventing U.S. officials from inspecting Russian weapons sites.

What can Washington do?

In a statement on Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States would watch closely what Russia does following Putin’s announcement and reiterated that Washington remains ready to talk about arms control.

“The question is, will it be possible for the Biden administration to make the case to Vladimir Putin, who is the blockage here, that it is in Russia’s national security interest to resume full implementation of the treaty,” said Rose Gottemoeller, who served as chief U.S. negotiator of New START.

Shortly after Putin’s speech, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that it would continue to observe limits on the number of nuclear warheads it can deploy under the treaty, staving off the prospects of a renewed arms race for the time being.

Since mutual site inspections had not resumed following the pandemic, the most immediate impact of Putin’s announcement will likely be an end to Russia upholding its side of the agreement to notify Washington each time nuclear-capable missiles are moved, maintained, decommissioned, or put into storage. Such information sharing served as an important transparency measure that allowed each side to keep tabs on the status of the other’s nuclear forces, even while they were unable to conduct in-person checks. (Since the deal came into effect in 2011, the two sides have exchanged more than 25,000 notifications, according to the State Department.)

“The suspension of the notification regime is to my mind a serious, serious problem,” Gottemoeller said. “The implications are serious for predictability for the United States, but—and this is what is so puzzling about this—it’s equally serious for Russia. How are they expecting to plan for their nuclear operations in the future if they don’t know what’s going on in the U.S. strategic nuclear forces?”

Washington is now faced with the question of whether to continue to keep Moscow updated on the status of its nuclear forces. For now, experts are confident that the Biden administration will keep the door open. “This administration, I’m very confident, is not going to pull out of that agreement,” Kimball said. However, it may face increased pressure from Republicans to take a tougher line. In light of Putin’s announcement, Chairman of the House Armed Service Committee Mike Rogers said “[a]ll options must be on the table,” including the deployment of additional nuclear forces.

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Multinational Corporate Environment

1. Why are many governments in today's world liberalizing cross-border movements of goods, services, and resources?

China Globalizing

The year 2010 is very significant in China in regards to the economy and immigration. In a capitalist country, industrialization and immigration go hand in hand. Contrary to what seems like a norm to a democratic country, a socialist country like China has also experienced a massive influx of immigrants into the country. In 2010, China surpassed Japan as the second-largest economy. In addition to that, China also drafted its first-ever Policy on immigrants in China. China's Immigration and Internal migration policies have to be reconsidered to sustain its rapid influx of immigrants within the country and maintain its economic status quo.

China is known to be the most populous country globally, with a population of over a billion people. China is also known for its mass immigration of people worldwide, which can be seen through the location of China Town in various countries around the world. China is also experiencing an influx of people from the developed and the developing world into China. China categorized the immigrants into the following groups, the skilled, the unskilled migrants, investors, etc.

Categories to outline:

· The Skilled Workers- Professionals from the United States and other countries who have decided to join the working class in China

· Investors/Diplomats – includes business people, diplomats who are usually in China temporarily for business and political reasons rather than as a permanent resident.

· The Unskilled workers- are those who have immigrated to China in search of a more decent life different from that of where they have come from. It also includes the peasant in China who granted passports to move around.

These immigrants have moved to China for different reasons; while some stay there temporarily, some have made China home. Foreigners from other East Asian countries are not relatively new to China, especially those from Taiwan and Tibet. What makes it fascinating is the newcomers' faces from Africa, who share a different racial background. Due to the origin of the new immigrants, China has begun to tighten its immigration policies and adapt to the influx of immigrants' new faces in China. The protests of more than 100 Africans who protested in the Chinese town of Guangzhou, in regards to the death of a Nigerian clothing trader, Ojide John Okene, in July 2009, had drawn the attention of the international community to the situation of immigrants in China (Allafrica.com). Such protests by foreigners have never been staged before, which was a significant outrage in China. China has begun scrutinizing its immigration policies by haunting illegal immigrants, or immigrants who have overstayed their presence. Those who protested in Guangzhou felt that the haunting is more racially motivated than a claim of its attempt to reform the immigration policies.

Immigration- The treatment of rural people in China has immigrants

From a political scientist's point of view, China's immigration policies are very hypocritical. In the first reading for the class on China, "Kinship, Contract, Community, and State, Anthropological Perspectives on China" by Myron Cohen, He described how rural China is viewed and how the term 'peasants' have been used derogatorily for people who came from a pastoral challenge. China's immigration situation is a tragic case because those described as 'peasants' from rural China are still obligated to have a traveling passport for them to travel. The problem in China, whereby citizens still have to get a ticket, is similar to that of the Apartheid in South Africa. Blacks had to have access to travel, similar to that of the Jim Crow law in the rural South. Once a citizen has to be issued a ticket to travel around their own country, the individual has technically been ascribed to being a second class citizen, which equates to the immigrant in any nation.

As a nation, China has fantasized about an ideal society that models after the United States without losing its communist elements. In the name of the Bandung Spirit, China's policies are also to compete with the capitalist Ideal by developing an economy heavily dependent on the people's workforce and utilizing the immigrants' skills for its industrialization to strengthen the communist government. As it has been stated, China is a country of contrast, and it is essential to study and research how its immigration policies work and anticipate if the systems will survive in the long term.

China is not a threat in the aspect of its foreign policy, especially with Taiwan. China wants to keep Taiwan's economic status quo; this status quo is "one country, two systems." And although China intends never to allow Taiwan to become independent, there is a chance of a military confrontation between Taiwan and China. A military conflict between China and Taiwan is unlikely because the United States will defend Taiwan. In that case, China does not want to have a war with the United States directly because the United States military at this point, and time is better equipped. China does not want to damage its economic ties with Taiwan. Taiwan and the United States are strategically critical economic factors for China, contributing to keeping the status quo. The Taiwan Relation act in 1979 and the Shanghai Communiqué in 1972 during the visit that Nixon made created the structure to which the United States and China base on their relationship. This has worked for almost three decades now. These two diplomatic gestures have influenced how the two countries will communicate with each other. And since China has no intention of destroying the relationship it has with the United States economically, then China will not be a threat to its foreign policy towards Taiwan shortly

China's Foreign Policy:

New World Order; China has not established a Communist World System, neither has communism helped the system a great deal. Under Deng Xiaoping, China developed Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence; maintaining a positive attitude toward international cooperation; making energetic efforts to promote the establishment of a new global order; opposing arms race and promoting the disarmament process; practicing wide opening to the outside world, and actively enhancing the friendly people-to-people contacts across the globe.

Bibliography

Adie, W.A.AC, "China's Foreign Policy," The World Today, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Mar. 1968) pp. 111-120

"Africans Protest in China Over Death of Nigeria" July 17, 2009, http://allafrica.com/stories/200907170601.html

Ian Taylor, "China's foreign policy towards Africa in the 1990s", The Journal of Modern African Studies, 36, 3 (1998), pp. 443-460, Cambridge University Press

Ian Taylor, "China's Rising Presence in Africa" China review International Volume 16, Number 2, 2009

Denis M. Tull, "China's engagement in Africa: scope, significance and consequences" J. of Modern African Studies, 44, 3(2006), pp. 459-479. 2006 Cambridge University Press.

Stephanie Hanson, "China, Africa, and Oil," June 6, 2008

Meine Pieter Van Dijk (ed.) The New Presence of China in Africa, Amsterdam University Press, 2010

2. What are the approaches international managers seek to understand when instituting change in the international arena?

Managers and International Labor Law

There is a famous quote, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." As much as this applies mostly to political power, it applies to all facets of leadership. A great Greek philosopher, Aristotle, defines leadership based on three principles. The principles are pathos, ethos, and logos. Pathos emphasizes the ability to appeal to people's emotions. Ethos involves ethics and values, and Logos requires logic.

Management guru Peter F. Drucker is right when he said, "Managers do things right while leaders do the right things; managers usually do not consider the pathos, ethos, and logos of leadership. They are more concerned about the result. Managers are prone to treat people like machines whose mission to produce, but not necessarily to be productive. Managers manage people, but leaders invest in people.

Furthermore, labor laws are implemented to prevent the abuse of power and human rights. For example, there are two fundamental labor rights, according to the International Labor Organization (I.L.O.), that transcend the principles of modern democracy, which are recognized as; the Freedom of association and the right to bargain (Liebman 15). The Freedom of association is simply the right of individuals to collectively mobilize themselves to express, promote, and pursue a common interest. The Freedom of association is expressed in many democracies. The goal is to empower and come together in voicing a re-occurrence of the violation of their rights in the labor force and demand actions to be taken on such issues. Many workers have been able to be mobilized through unionizing to express themselves and get those goals accomplished. When those issues are being frowned upon by the nation state that the issue is taking place and the worker's rights conflict with the constitution, it is presented to the International Labor Organization for review. If the workers are not contented, then it is taken to the International labor court. Secondly, collective bargaining is a process between employers and employees to agree on the rights and duties of people at work. Collective bargaining is an attempt of meeting in the middle of deciding on work leisure and payment between the employees and the employers.

The best example of protecting workers' rights is the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT). The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) has been very consistent over the two decades in demanding a stable condition of learning and an adequate salary to motivate skilled teachers' furtherance at the Nigerian primary and secondary level. The demand for a salary increase has intensified over the years, which has led the Federal Government to commission an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Teachers' Salary Structure, which was presented on October 3, 1996. The minister of education declared that teachers will be taken out of the Public Service Salary Structure, which the issue is still kept in the archives till now (NUT Teacher's Salary). The continuous demand by the Nigerian Union of Teachers has provided it a representation on the Joint Consultative Committee on Education and also on the Committees that deal with the technical aspects, such as qualifications, training, and the construction of school buildings.

International managers must always consider protecting employee rights. Nigeria's Teacher's Union has also influenced corporate employees in exercising their democratic rights. The issue of bargaining between the teachers and the government in Nigeria has significantly been politicized. Even though Nigeria has a democratic government, Nigeria's Teacher Union has made efforts to agree on salaries with the government, which has led to an occasional strike by the Nigerian Union of Teachers. Nigeria has the largest population of people in Africa, and the lack of necessary educational infrastructure has led to a few communities of teachers to a large percentage of students. The teachers in the thirty-six states in Nigeria are under the umbrella of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT).

Work Cited

Aguda, T. A., "Nigeria in search of Social Justice Through the Law" Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Occasional Paper 1, 1979; p.17- 18

"International Labor Organization" http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/afpro/abuja/countries/nigeria.htm

Lugbe, S. "THE TEACHERS' SALARY STRUCTURE (T.S.S.): THE JOURNEY SO FAR; An Insider's Chronological Account on the 25 years Struggle For Better Condition of Service For Teachers in Nigeria", Nigeria Union of Teachers, Abuja

Obong I. J. "The State of Basic Education in Nigeria: The way Forward" 47th Annual Conference of Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) Calabar; Aug 13-19, 06 http://www.nutnigeria.org/state_primaryedu.html

"The Annual State Report of the Federal Republic of Nigeria: Education, Chapter 6," I.L.O. report link. http://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/nbsapps/annual_reports/CHAPTER%206.pdf

3. What is culture shock, and how does it affect international business?

FRANCE, NATIONALISM & INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

According to Investopedia, culture shock is "a feeling of uncertainty, confusion or anxiety that people experience when visiting, doing business in or living in a society that is different from their own." France is the best example of a country where businesses would experience a culture shock. France shares some history with the United States, but their approach to foreigners is very different. France absorbs individuals into its traditional culture. France has been the European country that has been the most open to immigration and international businesses, but very peculiar to the assimilation of the foreigners

Furthermore, understanding the France cultural norms would help International businesses in adjusting to the condition of the country. The majority of immigrants in France are from former French colonies. What has created the discourse between the French North Africans known as the Maghreb and the French has more to do with religion. France finds it hard to assimilate its immigrant population because they strongly support their religious and cultural practice. Unlike the United States, France does not have an affirmative action whereby every group is being represented. The majority of Muslims have their settlement in Northeast Paris, much of Marseilles, and in the inner suburban rings. There are few immigrant descents in French politics, and most Muslims do not show any interest in it. France might not follow a United States pattern of assimilation whereby the immigrants involve themselves in national politics and become accepted. A Senegalese, French-made this statement "I was born in Senegal when it was part of France. I speak French, my wife is French, and I was educated in France. But the French don't think I'm French." (Deaux 91). The French have been very insistent on French nationalism and separating religion from politics.

Also, international businesses would have to consider the social welfare of the country. Societal culture also has a significant influence on the immigrants' integration into society. In the United States, it is easy to get by without assimilating into the broader culture. Still, it might make a person's life unbearable in a culture of intense nationalism in France. Women have also had a good integration than men in France. Cultures also involve the United States' social welfare and how it has impacted how different groups have survived in the United States. France has a large welfare state that provides to immigrants. The welfare states in France are more concentrated on the elderly by providing the best health care. There is more acceptance of the French way of life by the elderly immigrants who have immigrated to France in the earlier 1960s than the young people who are just arriving. The French are running out of programs for young people, and there is an increase in joblessness. This creates a significant disparity between the elderly and the young people in France. With the massive welfare state, France is still partially in its welfare by caring for those who have been more assimilated than those who haven't, and then they only have access to a few French resources. This situation increases the crime rate among immigrants and children of the immigrant group in France due to little consideration. The United States has successfully provided welfare to immigrants and assimilated into American culture (Levine, pg 15, 2004).

France's approach to immigrants is also the same as France's approach to international business. France is currently experiencing the rapid growth of immigrants in urban centers. The recent racial and religious tensions in France have created hysteria among immigrants. The struggle to contain Muslim women who continued to wear their head-starves in French schools has caused a sense of xenophobia in the French population. It is widespread to see French people of the second generation, born in France, who still firmly upholds their foreign parents' cultural elements. In 2004, France government proposed to ban Islamic headscarves in French state schools, which provoked international scrutiny. Most Islamic states saw it as an attack on Islam and disregard the French educational system's secular government. Multicultural issues had become a great debate among the French and the Americans. Before Vietnam was, the United States was following the same system, believing that everyone has assimilated to American society until the United States became more liberal after the Vietnam war (Pfaff, 2004).

There is a high rate of joblessness among the immigrant youths in France, which could explain their rebellion against the French way of life. The availability of education for all citizens has made the United States the world's envy at large. Knowledge has accelerated the assimilation of immigrants in the United States and the productivity of international businesses.

Bibliography

Deaux Kay. To be an Immigrant, New York Russell Sage; 2004

Donald L.Hprowitz. "Immigration and Group Relations in France and America" Blackwell Publishers Inc, Malden, Massachusetts; 1998.

Friedman, Jane." Immigration and insecurity in France."

Huntington, Samuel P., "The Hispanic Challenge," Foreign Policy, March/April 2004.

Levine. R. A. Assimilating Immigrants- Why America and France Cannot; July 2004

Pfaff, William, "Why France Still Insists on Cultural Assimilation: Head Scarves," International Tribune, January 17, 2004.

Reston, A. Stanley, 2005, "THE 50% AMERICAN Immigration And National Identity in an Age of Terror" Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

Simpson, G. E. Racial and Cultural minorities; 1985

4. What is the political risk, and how does it affect international business?

GHANA, POLITICAL RISK, AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS THEORIES

According to Investopedia, Political risk is defined as "the risk that investment returns could suffer due to political changes or instability in a country." Ghana is a country that has survived different military governments, just like the neighboring countries. Ghana has become a political frontier in African democracy. It has been able to institute a controlled government that is checked and well balanced. It is essential to understand how Ghana's government has transitioned since its independence in 1957 till now. In the words of Alexis de Tocqueville, the French political thinker, Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude."

Historical and Political Timeline

To understand the influence of democracy on the nation's economic growth, it is important to understand its economic and political aspects. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah became the prime minister on March 6, 1957, and later became the President on July 1, 1960. As the President of the Republic of Ghana and the leader of the Convention People's Party, Kwame Nkrumah wanted to organize a government that models after the western-style parliamentary, which later became a one-party government.

Kwame Nkrumah initiated social programs to improve the economic and social development in Ghana. Due to his strong Pan-African background, which he had been influenced by in the United States, Nkrumah wanted to work towards having the United States of Africa that would compete with the western power. The infighting within the Convention People's party had promulgated corruption in Nkrumah's government. It decapitated his idea of properly executing his social programs and social reforms to expedite Ghana's economic development.

For example, the colonial presence in Africa has not contributed to Africa's progress in any way but has only left Africa under-developed and continuously dependent on its colonialist countries. In an article, Maldevelopment- anatomy of a global failure, Samir Amir analyzes Frantz fanon theories of how Europe and the world economic powers have underdeveloped Africa and how Africa can free itself from these predicaments. Samir mentioned how the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (A.C.P. Group) and European Economic Community (E.E.C.) have resulted in a European neo-imperialism in Africa and how decisions being made have become more beneficial to Europe than it's helpful to Africa. Africa's financial system has been much dependent on Europe, especially the Franco-phonic African countries.

Conflict Theory Perspective

Those who support the Conflict theories, Bhagwati, Huntington, do describe democracy and economic growth as competing concerns. Theorist Bhagwati puts it as "the political economy of developments poses a cruel choice between rapid (self-sustained expansion) which highlights expansion and the democratic process (Haan, K, & Siermann 1996). Bhagwati further stated that it would require an authoritarian regime that suppresses basic civil and political rights to have stable economic growth. In Ghana's case, Bhagwati would argue that Ghana was in a better economic state during the authoritarian regime of the 1960s and 1970s than it is now under a democratically elected government (Haan, K, & Siermann 1996). Another prominent "Conflict" theorists, Huntington, explains further that developing countries' political institutions are very weak and fragile. Hungtington would argue that a country like Ghana that had survived many years of imperialism and suddenly gains independence can not suddenly rebuild a perpetually incongruent economy to a vital economic force through a nonaligned democratic state. The democratic process usually overburdens economic growth and makes it a lot more complicated.

The Comparability Theory Perspective

Theorists, who share the comparability perception, argue that democracy works as long as the market works. Rather than democracy influencing the market, it is the market that is affecting democracy. Comparative theorist like Wittman argues that "democracy interest groups are competing for the rents and each is maximizing the net difference between benefits from policy measures taken and the costs of lobbying which leads to an inefficient equilibrium both because lobbying are wasteful and because the transfer of income that results from group pressures cause deadweight losses (Haan, K, & Siermann 1996). The proponents of comparability are more concerned about how the democratic government is best suited to foster sustained equitable economic development. The argument could not be made that authoritarian regimes are more effective in promoting a more robust economy than democracy, or can it be made otherwise.

The economic force stands on its own and probably has more influence on the government's government type of economy. Comparative theorists would argue that Ghana's economy is growing because Ghana's democratic process has sustained its economic growth. Democracy in Ghana has provided checks and balances that have fostered accountability and regulated corruption within the country. Some comparatives theories also argue that a democratic government in Ghana is better than any other type of government that could have been established at any time. Democracy entrenches economic Freedom.

The Skeptical Theory Perspective

The third perspective is the skeptical view that doubts if there is any correlation between democracy and economic development. In the skeptic world, politics alone matters very little (Haan, K, & Siermann, 1996). The more critical aspect of the political element has more to do with the kind of pursued policies. Recently vast revenue of oil has been discovered in Ghana. The economic growth would be influenced more by the economic factors and how it has been maintained irrespective of the government system currently in place in Ghana.

The term "Development" in Introspect

The economic progress in parallel to the growth of Democracy in Ghana had begun in the late 1980s. There has been a consistency of power supply, water supply, and the population of people connected to the electricity grid had multiplied over the year. Most empirical and theoretical papers usually conclude that governments generally invest more where most of their supporters live. When the N.D.C. was in power from 1999 to 2000, the districts that voted for the opposition received more public goods. The idea of favoring constituents that favor the opposition party is to select the opposition party. As comparative theorist Wittman stated, the democratic government helps foster economic sustenance through checks and balances.

Ghana's democracy has dramatically improved from where it was in the 1970s and its economy. Irrespective of what angle of theorist agrees with, neither the conflict theorists who share Huntington approach that Ghana was in a better state under the authoritarian government or the comparative theorists who argue that democracy has a role to play in the economic development of any country or the skeptics, who not see any connection between the political system and the economic growth. Ghana's democracy has a correlating impact on growing international businesses in Ghana. The skeptics would probably conclude that economic forces drive the economic developments, and political parties drive political results. Also, the term development is very ambiguous in the definition of what standard is being used to understand a nation's economic growth like Ghana. If Ghana is compared to Malaysia or Western countries, its development would be undermined, and individual factors, including imperialism and neo-colonialism, would also be overlooked. Ghana is only fifty-four years old, and it still has a lot to accomplish as a young nation.

Bibliography

Andreasson, S. (2005, September). Orientalism and African Development Studies: the 'reductive repetition' motif in theories of African underdevelopment. Third World Quarterly, 26(6), 971-986.

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=17691667&site=ehost-live

Beitz, C, R. Economic Rights and Distributive Justice in Developing Societies World Politics, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Apr. 1981), pp. 321-346. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-8871%28198104%2933%3A3%3C321%3AERADJI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-2

Chua, A. "A world on Edge, World on How Exporting Fire: Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability" Doubleday; Yale. 2002.

Fanon, F. Speech at the Congress of Black African Writers, 1959 Wretched of the Earth - Reciprocal Bases of National Culture and the Fight for Freedom. http://www.marxists.org/subject/africa/fanon/national-culture.htm

Goulet, D. "Development Ethics at Work Explorations (1960-2002)" Wikipedia; 2006

Haan, K, & Siermann C. L. J. New Evidence on the Relationship between Democracy and Economic Growth. Public Choice: Vol. 86, 179-198; Jan. 96

Harris, K. (2005, September). STILL RELEVANT: CLAUDE AKE'S CHALLENGE TO MAINSTREAM DISCOURSE ON AFRICAN POLITICS AND DEVELOPMENT. Journal of Third World Studies, 22(2), 73-88. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=19221352&site=ehost-live

5. Why do countries with high G.N.I. and G.D.P. are attractive for foreign investment?

UNITED STATES AND COLOMBIA

The United States is very interested in Colombia because of its growing gross domestic product. Columbia is the 5th largest economy in South America, with a G.D.P. of $427 billion in 2015. Both President Barrack Obama and vice-president-elect Biden have shown a great interest in the situation of Colombia. Vice-president elects Biden has proposed that the United States Congress cut aid to Colombia and turn over to the Colombian operation of vital military aviation units (The Associated Press). President Bush has previously opposed the reduction of aid to Colombia and also opposed the bill proposed by Nancy Pelosi but all to no avail. The outgoing President vehemently warns of the cut for assistance on U.S.-Colombia relations (Palmers). President Obama would have to strengthen the United States-Colombia free trade agreement that was an an-ongoing contract for the Bush presidency until September 11. This trade agreement could be an extension of revisiting the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement by Obama's presidency to remake the United States image in Latin-America (Castaneda). Sustenance of this relationship would be much determined by Obama's presidency, who's Republican Party have not been too lenient in supporting Colombia. China's rapid growth as a trade giant has increased outsourcing to Latin America, including Colombia, one of the United States contenders in the region. The U.S-Colombia relationship has led to the rapid growth of Colombian immigrants in the United States, with most New York, Florida, and California. In 1999, Colombia became the third largest country that benefits from United States security aid after Israel and Egypt.

Furthermore, the United States military-industrial complex has strong ties to Alvaro Uribe's government in supplying military weapons to destroy the militant groups in Colombia. The Bush administration has dramatically strengthened the relationship between it's his regime and that of Colombia. Just like the Israel lobbyist groups, Colombia has also been supported by powerful lobby groups. These lobbyists group have been encouraged by the outright support of Republican members, including President Bush and Republican minority leader John Boehner. The Colombian federal Army's first counternarcotics Brigade, Anti-Narcotics Directorate (DIRAN), has become one of the most potent and well-organized forces in Latin America (United States Department of State). For Obama's presidency, the United States Office on Colombia outlined some reports for Colombia's effective Policy.

1. Obama's presidency should use U.S. Aid and leverage for Human Rights and the Rule of Law. The United States has to use its diplomacy and aid to make sure that Colombia addresses the human rights issue in its country and destabilizes organizations with a long history of abusing human rights. The Colombian judicial system is to be strengthened as the principal rule of law.

2. The U.S. has to support the overtures for peace actively. The United States has become sensitive and mandate vacation to the countryside population whereby war is without end and continuously bankrolled.

3. The continuous expansion of the civilian government presence in the countryside. Lawlessness, poverty, and inequality are always the root of conflicts; the military juntas' prevalence would only exacerbate the war in that region.

4. The rights of the internally displaced persons and refugees have to be protected. The dismantlement of the paramilitary would significantly resolve the humanitarian crisis in Colombia.

5. The rights of the Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities have to be protected. Colombia has to be inhibited from carrying out racist policies in the earlier century by its neighboring countries Argentina and Chile. The United States has to pay special attention to promoting ethnic minority groups in Colombia and protecting their lands from being displaced.

6. The United States has to ensure that the trade policy supports but not undermines policy goals towards Colombia. The labor rights are inferior in Colombia, which is due for some advancement. United States must ensure that its trade agreement does not undermine U.S. policy goals, such as reducing the farmer's dependence on coca and ending the conflict.

7. The United States needs to increase its serious alarm on drug control. There has to be a cut down on the use of narcotics, and the United States should lament more on alternative development designed with affected communities. The U.S. has to counter violent traffickers and track down money laundering. Access to a higher quality of drug treatment in the United States would significantly reduce Colombia's dependency on the drug trade.

Eric Holder was part of a $655 million fruit giant corporation know as Chiquita Brand. For years now, the Chiquita brand has been involved in the secretly paid off death squads A.U.C. (United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia) in Colombia. Chiquita group has sponsored A.U.C. with over $1.7 million who destroyed unions, terrorize workers, and killed thousands of civilians. United States has labeled A.U.C. as a terrorist organization. For this reason, Chiquita was charged in March with engaging in transactions with terrorists. Chiquita was arrested and fined almost $25 million. There was a statement made by Adam Isacson, director of the Colombia program at the Center for International Policy, in Washington, which says, "While the A.U.C. was murdering thousands of Colombians, "to our knowledge, the paramilitaries never touched a hair on the head of a U.S. citizen or company" (Undernews).

According to the U.S. government, the unresolved dissolution of terrorist groups, like the FARC, is a continuous threat to the government's stability in Colombia. These drug policies have successfully reduced the corrupt trade of narcotics by Colombian forces and reduced paramilitary forces in Colombia. Colombia is also an excellent asset for the United States to amend its strong relationship with South America, despite the constant propaganda by Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Eva Morales of Bolivia against United States policies. The continuous connection between the United States and Colombia would be significantly affected by the current change in the United States presidency from republican to democratic. The republicans have always been a supporter of increasing aid to Colombia to combat the terrorist organizations. In contrast, the Democrats have always advocated for reducing Colombia's support until its government works in lowering the kidnapping and crimes committed by these terrorist organizations.

Work Cited Page

B.B.C. Expulsions stoke US-LatAm dispute, British; September 12, 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7612778.stm

Goldiner, D. Hostages released by the Colombian military, Daily News/U.S. World News; July 2, 2008

Human Rights Watch. U.S.: Delay Colombia Trade Vote, Washington DC; April 10, 2008. http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/10/colomb18503.htm

MacEoin, G. NO PEACEFUL WAY: Chile's struggle for Dignity ., Sheed and Ward, I.N.C.; 1974

Palmer, D. U.S. House votes to delay Colombia trade pact, Reuters Ed. Eric Beech; April 2008. http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN10360664

The Associated Press. "Colombia Aid Failed to Halve Drug making; Report Finds," New York Times (A10); Nov.6, 2008

Undernews. "Eric Holder, Chiquita & The Colombian Death Squads." Portfolio of Kevin Gray, 2007; November 20, 2008

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