Fire in Israel

According to a recent article from The New York Times entitled, "Israel Calls for Urgent Help Fighting Lethal Fire," a raging fire insinuated in one of Israel's forests in a highly populated area. This, "caused the evacuation of thousands of people, burned some kibbutz houses to the ground and prompted the Israeli government to call for urgent international aid in fighting the inferno" leaving 40 people dead. (New York Times) Since this fire was so vast and expansive, Israel had to call for help from surrounding countries such as Cyprus, Italy, Russia, and Greece to send firefighting planes.

This fire was the biggest and deadliest fire in all of Israel's history and it is reported that the fire broke out about 11:30 a.m. and was still raging out of control in the evening. The fire was contained not until the next day. The areas in northern Israel that were impacted the most included, "Kibbutz Beit Oren, a communal farm in the Carmel hills, several houses were burned to the ground. Most of the residents were believed to have evacuated ahead of the fire. The University of Haifa was evacuated as a precaution, as was a luxury spa hotel, Yaarot Hacarmel." (New York Times) It is so upsetting to hear that many innocent lives were lost due to this fire. Also, many homes were destroyed completely and the families now need to rebuild their lives and homes.

I think that it is very important for people all over the world to reach out to Israel as well as the families to help rebuild this community. The United States, after September 11th, was aided by many other countries that showed their support for the U.S. and so this country should in return do the same and extend a helping hand to countries in need. I encourage everyone to find a way to help out a community, especially the community in Israel that suffered this tragedy.

In our reading of Babbie, it talked about the Internet and search engines, which are, "a computer program designed to locate where specified terms appear on websites throughout the World Wide Web." (Babbie 484) This relates to the article and my blog because if people wish to find out more information on this matter concerning Israel they could go to a search engine, such as Google, and type in their queries. Also, a search engine could find out how to reach out and help the community of Israel that was affected and give donations that go directly to fund the rebuilding of the community and help the families.

AirSpace Wars

As part of International rules and regulations, whenever a foreign aircraft from a different country enters into the airspace of a different country, they must make contact with the country before doing so. The foreign aircraft must readily identify themselves and provide the necessary information in order for there to be an understanding reached and the flight can be continued. A country can't fly into the airspace of another country without permission, and this is for safety and security reasons. A country owns the land below the physical country, the skies above the physical country and everything in between those two areas. If the foreign aircraft does not obey this rule, then the hosting country chases the foreign aircraft out of their skies, but if the foreigner doesn't comply, then a more assertive action can be taken.

In the article from the New York Times entitled, "Iran says foreign planes violated airspace", this provided the information on the event that took place just yesterday, November 17th, 2010. Iranian officials claimed, "that unidentified foreign planes violated its airspace six times as the country began its biggest air-defense drill ever, but that the intruders were intercepted and forced back by Iranian jets." (The New York Times) For fear of the country's safety, their strongest and biggest air-defense drill was put into action in order to drive out the intruders. Gen. Hamid Arjangi, a spokesman for the military during its exercises, said "Iran’s radar stations and observation posts picked up on the planes as they entered Iranian airspace during the five-day drill, which started Tuesday." (The New York Times) As soon as the suspected aircrafts where in violation of trespassing into unwelcomed airspace, the Iranian jets picked up on the plans as soon as the entered into Iran. I think this was a good test for the Iranian airspace defense team and it was a success in that in drove out the intruders in a timely and effective fashion. It is not released yet as to who was in those unidentified aircrafts and for what reason.

After the events of September 11th, 2001, not only has the United States, but other countries as well have made sure to strengthen their security systems when it comes to airplanes and airspace. Another attempted terrorist attack can be on the rise, so all countries need to be aware of this potential threat occurring. I think that this is good Public Relations on the part of the United States as well as Iran that they are taking all of the necessary actions to protect their communities and their citizens by taking precautionary steps to security.

In our book by Babbie, it discussed frequency distribution which is, "a description of the number of times the various attributes of a variable are observed in sample." (Babbie 454) I think Iran, the United States, or any country would be wise to do a frequency distribution on how many times they receive threats or tips of a terrorist attack, and this could help predict when another potential attack is eminent. Better to be prepared than unprepared in a situation like this.

U.S. radical says to Muslims: Kill U.S. 'devils'

HATE. This is a very powerful word. Sometimes we can use it in a loose manner saying, "I hate this weather. Or, I hate this color on me." Other times, hatred can develop into a much deeper feeling by having hatred for another person. That hatred can cultivate into something stronger,and can cause people to act unreasonably and pursue distasteful actions.

Hatred was definitely the motive behind terrorist attacks that have occurred from September 11th, to the recent terrorist plot of sending packages to the U.S. with explosives. In one of my previous blog entries, I discussed this attempted attack on the U.S. with these packages, and how it was unsuccessful. Recently, the al-Qaida branch in Yemen claimed responsibility for the failed bomb plot. It is unfortunate for the U.S. to have to continue putting up with and be on the look out for these daily terrorist attacks. To add fuel to the flame, there has been a recent rallying by a radical cleric to kill any American. In an article published by the Record Journal entitled, "Cleric to Muslims: Kill U.S. 'devils'", this article stated that "A U.S. born radical cleric who belongs to the al-Qaida offshoot behind the cargo bomb plot on the United States told Muslims theya re free to kill American 'devils' at will in a video posted on extremist websites." (Record Journal) This man, named Anwar al-Awlaki has inspired several attacks agsint the United States and has made it his life goal to seeking revenge against the United States.

So, why is al-Awlaki filled with all of this hatred against the U.S. and what are his motives? According to some of his past messages, "he has justified killing American civilians as retaliation for the killing of hundres of thousands of Muslim civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere."(Record Journal) I think that killing people, especially on the basis of no rationale, but just based on hatred is the worst thing a person could possibly do and this is very inhumane and unloving. Every living person has the right to continue living peacefully and ruling their life they want to fulfill it, and no one has the right to take away a person's right to live. Al-Awlaki encourages any Muslim to not consult with anybody in the killing of the Americans, but just to go ahead and kill them. It upsets me to see that someone could have no heart and go this far to say it is ok to take someone's life away, as if that person was valueless. No one knows the extent that al-Awlaki has on his outreach to people, but I sincerely hope that people will think rationally about this matter and not listen to what this radical and heartless cleric has to say.

This blog post is not meant to alarm people and think that all Muslims are going to kill Americans, but rather it is to inform and educate people that Muslims are good people. The problem is terrorist groups, especially al-Qaida, and they are the organization behind this hatred. Muslims still need to be treated and viewed in a respectable manner, but it is unfortunate to see that Muslims' reputation is being harmed and tarnished all because of this terrorist group. I think people need to come together and learn more about each other's differences in order to be more accepting. Instead of promoting hatred in this world, we need to start promoting LOVE.

In Chapter 13 of our book by Babbie, it discussed qualitative research, specifically Semiotics, which is, "The study of aigns ad the meanings associated with them. This is commonly associated with content analysis." (Babbie, 422) Since semiotic analysis invovles a search for the meanings either intentionally or unintentioinally attached to signs, this would be a good method of research to conduct. One study can examine the sign of Islam and get the results of what people think of when they see this sign, especially since a particular sign means something to a particular person. To go further, since people too could be examples of signs, it would be interesting to put a Muslim person in front of people, and then get people's initial reactions of the Muslim person.

Yemeni woman arrested for bomb package sent to the U.S.

If you have been to an airport recently within the past 5 years, you will agree with me that security is very strict on what items you can bring on the plane with you. The items one is allowed to bring has been limited, you can't bring tweezers, a plastic knife, toothpaste or shampoos need to be in a container no bigger than 3 oz. These limitations have been taken into action after the events of September 11th, in hopes to prevent any more terrorists attacks. Seems like a full proof system doesn't it? Well, even with this system in action, packages with explosives were on an American airplane en route to the United States. These explosives were in packaged form and addressed to Chicago-area synagogues, and contained PETN, which is an industrial explosive. The fact that these explosives made it onto airplanes showed that nearly a decade wince the events of September 11th, terrorists continue to find security vulnerabilities, and somehow make it successfully past this intense security system.

The Record Journal's article, "Yemeni woman arrested, al-Qaida bomber eyed in plot" followed up on this story and provided details on this plot. A Yemeni woman was arrested on suspicion of mailing these packages because her name was on the return address. This young woman was a medical student, and she along with her mother were detained for questioning regarding this matter. The packages were located on airplanes in England and the United Arab Emirates. Primes Minister David Cameron of England said he believes the explosive device found in England was, "intended to detonate aboard the plane." Other officials said, "it's unclear whether the bombs were wired to cell phones, timers and power supplies, and were intented to be detonated remotely while the planes were in the air, or when the packages were halfway around the world in the U.S."(Record Journal) The suspected bomb maker behind this attack is assumed to be the same maker behind the Christmas Day attack, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri. Al-Asiri has been kept a close eye on by the United States and are hoping to find him to detain him. The packages' destinations were to synangogues in Chicago, which has about 100 members, and serves Jews in the gay community and their families. It is unknown at the moment the reasoning behind this specific synogogue and if there were any potential targets specifically.

How did the United States discover these bombs in the packages? Thanks to intelligence passed from Saudi Arabia, they had been monitoring actions from terrorists groups, and passed this tip along to the United States, which then discovered the bombs.
The U.S. has been on the lookout for terrorists plots, "having received indnications that the Yemeni-based al-Qaida faction was interested in exploring an operation involving cargo planes, said a U.S. counterterrorism official on the matter. (Record Journal) As a results of this incident, the U.S. has temporarily banned all incoming cargo and mail from Yemen. This failed attack should serve as a "wake up call" that the United States needs to increase security on cargo planes and be more alert to bomb threats associated with terrorism, especially from Yemen's al-Qaida branch which is the most active of the terrorist group's affiliates. While the U.S. is trying to build relationships with other countries, such as Yemen, it is difficult to maintain any trustworthy relationship because of the numerous amount of terrorist attacks. Maybe, the U.S. is abiding by the saying, "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." I appreciate the fact that other countries have the U.S.'s back in a sense, by keeping an eye out for terrorism, and attempted to hault any harm done to the U.S. Saudi Arabia is not viewed by the U.S. in a highly respected manner, but hopefully the fact that they provided an essential tip, which prevented precious lives from being taken, can somewhat put them in a better position in the minds of people here in the United States.

This event relates to Chapter 12 in Babbie because it discussed evaluation research which is, "research undertaken for the purose of determinng the impact of some social intervention, such as a program aimed at solving a social problem." (Babbie 390) An evaluative research program that can be conducted relating to this event of the bomb threat is to create and invoke a security plan for cargo planes and see the results produced by this security plan. Is it successful or not in finding bombs and explosives before allowing entrance on an aircraft? This evaluative process can prove to be helpful in the war against terrorism.

Saddam Hussein's Public Relations Representative sentenced to death

There is a saying, "Show me who your friends are, and then I will judge you." For the majority of the time, who you associate with dictates what kind of a person you are. If you have optimistic friends that have goals in life to be successful, for the most part, you in turn will also want to have goals for your life, because you are motivated, so you too can be successful. On the other hand, if you have friends that are into drug dealing, then one day you may find yourself dealing drugs with them. Although these are examples I created, it is true that who you have dealings with and you decide to surround yourself with will have an affect on the person you are. This is the case a lot of the time with rulers and their representatives. Recently, Saddam Hussein was given the death penalty and put to death, on account of many wrong doings. It is no surprise that many of his partners and allies are also finding them selves in cornered positions. Tariq Aziz is one of those unfortunate people to also go down the same path as Hussein. Aziz was a former top aide to Hussein and his urbane public relations representative to the world. Mr. Aziz often represented Iraq at the United Nations and other global settings, serving as a public defender of Mr. Hussein.
In the New York Times, an article entitled, "Top Aide to Saddam Hussein is Sentenced to Death," the death sentencing of Mr. Aziz occurred on October 26, 2010. Aziz was found guilty by an Iraqi court, and was convicted of murder against members of rival Shiite political parties. For years, Aziz has put his efforts into justifying Iraq's use of chemical weapons, invasion of oil-rich Kuwait, and killings of Shiites and Kurds. Using chemical weapons is against the United Nations, and as a member of the United Nations, Iraq can't overstep its boundaries on producing nuclear weapons. Mr. Aziz is one of Iraq's most hunted officials and is "one of the best-known emblems of the Hussein era." (New York Times) When U.S. troops captured Aziz, this was a great victory because the United states want to put an end to the Hussein era, and this involves preventing Hussein's key components by any means necessary. One of Mr. Aziz's lawyers claimed, "that he was responsible only for Iraq’s diplomatic and political relations, and that he had no ties to the executions and purges carried out by Mr. Hussein’s government." (New York Times) The Iraqi court found no support of this claim, and immediately, Aziz was sentenced to be executed, just like his "friend" Saddam Hussein. "Death sentences were also handed down on Tuesday against other former officials in Mr. Hussein’s government including Abed Hammoud, a former secretary to Mr. Hussein, and former Interior Minister Sadoun Shakir."(New York Times) This goes to prove that any affiliates of Saddam Hussein are going to share the same fate as he did.
It is interesting to note that a public relations representative could potentially share the same fate as who they work with or for. This is important to take into consideration for any public relations practitioner, to make sure that not only what you do is ethical, but also make sure others that you are working for or with are conducting themselves in an ethical and moral manner. I support the Iraqi courts decision on this matter, because Aziz was responsible for the killings of many people (Shiites and Kurds) and also attempted to advance Iraq's stance in the world by trying to invade Kuwait and advancing nuclear weapon technology. I think it is essential for public relations representatives as well as other people to really know and understand who their friends are in order to prevent their bad conduct from rubbing off on you.
This article and topic relates to our class reading in Babbie because the Chapter discussed Content Analysis, which is "the study of recorded human communications." (Babbie 356) It would be interesting to do a content analysis based on the laws of Iraq or look into the local newspapers in Iraq to see how people view the sentencing of Mr. Aziz, as well as if there is anyone else in the country that still supports Saddam Hussein.
Lesson of the story: Be careful who your friends are.

U.S. plans to sell Jet Fighters and Helicopters to Saudis

The Obama Administration notified Congress recently that they were planning to sell up to $60 billion in advanced weaponry to Saudi Arabia. This advanced weaponry would include Jet Fighters and Helicopters including Apaches, Black Hawks, and Little Bird attack choppers. Congress has just 30 days to block the deal to prohibit this sale, but if they decide to let it pass, then this sale could be the largest arms deal in American history. Even though the Obama Administration is awaiting the decision made by Congress, officials claim that they don't expect a lot of opposition to the proposal and are optimistic that the deal will pass Congress.

What type of weaponry does Saudi Arabia currently have? According to the New York Times article entitled, U.S. plans to sell Jet Fighters and Helicopters to Saudis, "State Department and Pentagon officials told lawmakers that the sales would include 84 new F-15 fighter jets, upgrades to 70 existing Saudi F-15s, 190 helicopters and a wide array of missiles, bombs and delivery systems, as well as accessories like night-vision goggles and radar warning systems." (The New York Times) This deal, if passed, has the potential of shifting the region's balance of power and authority on a global level.

If you are wondering why the United States is proposing to enter into such a deal, the answer is quite simple: it is intended to strengthen the defense forces of Saudi Arabia, which has been a long time ally of the United States. According to Andrew Shapiro (the assistant secretary of state for political and military affairs) another reason is, "It will send a strong message to countries in the region that we are committed to support the security of our key partners and allies in the Arabian Gulf and broader Middle East. And it will enhance Saudi Arabia’s ability to deter and defend against threats to its borders and to its oil infrastructure, which is critical to our economic interests.”(New York Times) The United States realizes that one of our major oil suppliers is Saudi Arabia, and protecting our allies that we benefit tremendously from is at the top of our agenda. With the events of terrorism on the rise against the United States, it is crucial that this country protect and defend ourselves from all aspects in order to secure this country's welfare.

The United States has deeply rooted connections in the Middle East in order to maintain and build a strong relationship with other countries because this relationship proves to be mutually beneficial. The public relations dealings is essential to continue to provide communication between the United States and the Middle East in order to satisfy the needs of both entities. To apply the readings this week in our book for class by Earl Babbie,there could be several methods of research conducted. One is ethnomethodology (which I don't recommend being done, but it would be interesting to see) "involves the intentional breaking of agreements as a way of revealing their existence (Babbie 325) To apply, in order to show the importance of having this relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia, ethnomethodology suggests to break this deal of the $60 billion in weaponry by the U.S. to Saudi Arabia. There could also be focus groups brought in to examine the opinion of people that work for the Obama Administration to see what they think of this deal and how it will affect their relationship with Saudi Arabia. Until those 30 days are up, we will see how Congress decides.

The need for an alliance between the United States and Pakistan

Did you ever have a best friend, who you trusted, and claimed to "have your back", but then helped out your enemy to do something bad towards you? Unfortunately, this may have happened to the majority of us, including the United States. The United States is allies with Pakistan, in which the United States agrees to send $1 billion annually to this country, and in return Pakistan agrees to take action against al-Qaida and Taliban forces that are located in their country. This appears that both sides have a fair share on what they are supposed to provide in this friendship and both have mutual benefits. Pakistan, according to the U.S., has been an unreliable ally because this country, "keeps evadings its responsibilities in taking military action against Taliban and al-Qaida forces in North Waziristan." (New Haven Register) In the article, "Pakistan, U.S. need alliance" by Kui B. Rai in The New Haven Register, it discussed how because of Pakistan's unreliability, both the United States and NATO attacked Pakistan, which in turn enraged the Pakistani public and makes the U.S. even more unpopular. Pakistan claims that they are not willing to fight the Taliban because they "want to recover its influence in that country and is concerned about Taliban attacks within Pakistan" (New Haven Register) Pakistan therefore cooperates with the United States and NATO in the war against the Taliban to what it considers an acceptable extent.
The United States considers Pakistan a necessary ally because their friendship has become crucial in fighting terrorists, so the U.S. continues to support this nation. Both countries realize that without the other country, they would be lacking vital components to continue their countries. In my opinion, I think that the United States is giving 60% in this relationship whereas Pakistan is givign 40%. A functioning relationship needs to be 50-50 from both ends of each party because it shows that both are giving and receiving equally. The United States is providing a huge amount of funds towards Pakistan for their cooperation as well as funding to Pakistan's army, and Pakistan in return is only providing some action being taken against the Taliban and Al-Qaida, almost as if they take action when they feel like it. I think there needs to be stricter guidelines that are more specific, developed by the United States, to state what they expect from Pakistan. Pakistan can hear these guidelines and tailor them to a certain extent that is agreeable between both parties, which can then result with having more precise solutions on what to do if faced with when deciding to take actions against the Taliban.
Communication is key in any relationship, especially when dealing with a friendship in which you must provide for your friend and take into consideration how your actions are going to benefit/harm them. Right now I think Pakistani's are not viewing the United States as being fair and just in their actions of attack, and so this is going to damage the relationship from Pakistans end. Americans, feel that Pakistan is not keeping their end of the bargain and so they feel that they are untrustworthy and unreliable, so this too is damaging the relationship from the United States' part. Both sides have ill feelings towards the other and so it is necessary for both sides to communicate and listen to each other to understand the feelings of the other party. In our class book of Babbie, we learned about survey research, and this may provide to be a useful tool to get a better understanding of both countries, by surveying Americans and Pakistanis with questions, open-ended, closed-ended, and agree/disagree. This survey research is, "a popular social research method, and is the administration of questionnaires to a sample of resondents selected from some population." (Babbie 309) This survey can hopefully be a guide to the opinion of the larger population and provide a representation of feelings generated from each country, which can then be looked at, and then a solution can be reached in order to better the friendship/relationship between Pakistan and the United States.