Iran

     Iran's President Hassan Rowhani admitted this past Sunday that women in his country still face discrimination and cultural barriers. However, he instated that they are not treated as second-class citizens.  Rowhandi is seen as a moderate reformer and has said that there needs to be more done for women but that the West is not a model to be followed. His speech on Sunday promised for more social freedoms, he stated: "I, as the head of the government, confess there are still so many deficiencies with regards to the vindication of women's rights", to Iran's female elite.
     The West has criticized Iran for its islamic republic. Women cannot travel abroad without official permission. Within the country many will not allow women to check in to a room if she is not accompanied. Also, women's evidence is considered to have only half the value of a man's. Rowhandi argues that "women should enjoy equal opportunities, security and social rights".  He even pardoned women that had committed crimes and were in jail.
  I think that president of Iran has a good start, but it makes me wonder if Iran will ever have equality for women. Will women ever be able to actually have the same opportunities as men? I do not think this will be possible with any country that mixes state and religion.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2014/04/20/Rowhani-says-Iran-s-women-not-second-class-citizens-.html

Nigeria

       Nigeria is a country of absurd economic realities. It is the 13 largest oil producer in the world and second largest economy in Africa. Yet, its GDP per capita is among the lowest for the continent and 54 percent of its 148 million people live on less than 1 dollar per day. Nigeria has an abundance of natural resources primarily oil and natural gas. More than 67 million Nigerians are docked as poor according to standard definitions, while 35 percent of the total population live in extreme poverty.  Now Nigeria is looking to break the poverty cycle through entrepreneurial revolution. I honestly do not know how Nigeria tends to do this. With all the corruption and fragmentation in this country iI honestly do not think its possible. In order to this they have to spend on education on the poor so they can be educated. 

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/04/breaking-nigerian-poverty-cycle-entrepreneurial-revolution-1-2/

SAUDI ARABIA Social Progress Index

      According to the social progress index Saudi Arabia ranks 64. On basic human needs it ranks 83. Opportunity is 40.  And foundation of well-being is 69. To me it is not surprising that Saudi Arabia ranks 40 on opportunity, 83 in basic human rights and 69 in well-being.  Opportunity and well-being should be high because of the economy that Saudi Arabia has. Ranking 83 in basic human rights is also not surprising because Saudi Arabia is a very conservative state. And their religion has a lot to do with this.  Saudi strives in  Nutrition and Basic Medical Care, Personal Safety, and Access to Basic Knowledge. However, it falls short in personal freedom and choice.  One thing is surprising however, is that Saudi Arabia ranks very high on treating women with respect. I always thought because they don't have some basic rights they were treated without respect. This was very enlightening.

A Copa do Mundo & its effects

      It is a fact that Brazil has one of the most unequal income distributions in the world. Brazil like India has many slums with a growing population. I found an article about one of Brazil's notorious slums by Rio de Janeiro's international airport. Apparently, this particular slum is well known for its organized crime and very dangerous neighborhoods. It has also been affiliated with drug gangs.  Now, we all know what is happening in Brazil this summer. THE WORLD CUP! (Go Spain!). Since the World Cup is happening this summer apparently Brazil has occupied this slum. According to the article, Brazil has sent thousands of soldiers in armed vehicles, trucks and on foot to this slum. Brazil is worried that there is going to be thousands of travels from all over the world and famous football players flying in and something could happen to them. Therefore they have occupied this slum near the airport. I personally think it is wrong. I understand that there is danger, however, that does not give the right to the government to invade people's home. What do you think? 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/brazil/10748295/Brazilian-army-occupies-Rio-De-Janeiro-slums.html

What do you think? (Mexico)

   As we have read in chapter 9 of Countries and Concepts by Micheal G. Roskin, drugs in Mexico is a huge problem. And it has now become a U.S problem too. In Mexico drugs have led to the penetration of crime into the highest levels of power. Mexico's police, judicial system, and army have all been corrupted by drug money. Crime and politics depend on each other, this means that drug money helps politicians and politicians help the traffickers. Also, the lives and security of people in Mexico are constantly being in endangered. U.S also has to deal with all the drugs coming in into the country. Both countries have had a long and hard battle against this problem.
   I found an article about Mexico capturing a drug trafficker from the Caballeros Templarios. Manuel Plancarte Gasper, the trafficker, is also being accused of kidnapping children and and murdering them  in order to sell their organs. This is not unlikely, however, because cartels from the Caballeros Templarios are usually involved in other things that are not just drugs. They have been accused before of contributing to sexual slavery. However, not every one agrees with this. Alejandro Hope, a former government official and an expert on Mexico's security crisis said that he was doubtful that any cartel was involved in organ trafficking. He sated, "There might be a case here and there. But I don't see that it could exist on any major scale."
    What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Is Alejandro Hope being corrupted by drug money or does he really think this?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/18/mexican-cartel-organ-harvesting-investigation

"What is Education?"

    In chapter 8 of Countries and Concepts by Michael G. Roskin, India is discussed. The book discusses how India's population will be far greater than China's in the future. However, India faces a demographic bulge, that China does not. Half of India is under 24 and educating them has become an urgent concern. Indian schools, specially elementary schools, are terrible. They have no money, no buildings, and no teachers. Education in India is a state matter and many states do not have the money to spend it on education, they rather spend it on other things. Public schools have fees that the poor cannot afford. Private schools that some Indians can afford don't even compare to the education american education system. And India's top universities only teach a small elite group. India's literacy rate is 60 percent as apposed to Chinas's which is 90 percent. \
    I found two articles about how education will be hard for females to obtain and how aspirants to be teachers failed their teacher tests. The first article talks about how it will take 56 years for India to achieve female youth literacy. India is expected to to gain female literacy around the year 2070 or 2080. Irina Bokova, the director general of Unesco, states: "It is simply intolerable that girls are being left behind. For poor girls, education is one of the most powerful routes to a better future, helping them escape from a vicious cycle of poverty." The second article states how 98 percent of aspirants to be teachers failed the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET).  According to the article: "The papers feature objective questions which test the aspirants' knowledge of English, mathematics and environmental science." This year's results actually  "mark a marginal improvement over last year, when over 99% of the candidates failed to pass. But CBSE sources said the board had worked on the difficulty level as well as extended the duration of the test, keeping in mind dismal results in the past."
      This shocks me very much because it shows how India is terrible at Education. 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-will-take-around-56-years-to-achieve-female-youth-literacy-Report/articleshow/31758534.cms?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/98-of-aspirants-fail-test-for-teachers-in-India/articleshow/32444979.cms
  
    
     

"My father is Li Gang!"

  "My father is Li Gang!" Imagine shouting this as you have just ran over two innocent college girls, expecting for your father's name "Li Gang" to keep you out of trouble. Can you imagine yourself shouting your important father's name out so the police does not take you into custody?

   In chapter 7 of Countries and Concepts by Michael G. Roskin, China is discussed.  This story is a true fact about a Chinese man who killed one girl out of the two that were injured and whose father was a well-known local deputy police chief. This man really did yell his father's name out because he thought his father's name would protect him. Eventually, the official press had to carry she story because of all the buzz it got and the driver was sentenced to six years. However, the victim's parents were bought off for an undisclosed amount.

   I found an article in New York Times about a Chinese activist who was being held at Beijing's Detention Center and had called ill but Chinese authorities did not give her medical assistance until it was too late. The activist, Cao Shunli, was being held under the pretenses of "picking quarrels and and provoking trouble." All that Shunli was protesting for was for the public to be allowed to contribute to an official report on human rights that China submitted to the United Nations. Shunli was denied medical attentions purposely.

   I specifically chose this article because I think it shows China's corruption. China would rather let a man who is a murderer go than an activist who might stain their "prestigious"name.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/world/asia/chinese-activist-dies-in-custody.html?ref=china&_r=0