Monsoon News Too Soon

This weekend I was requested to write a blog post about monsoons in South Asia so I read an article titled “South Asia monsoon seen below-average to average in 2014 - WMO” by Ratnajyoti Dutta. This article was published on April 23, 2013 on http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/04/23/india-monsoon-idINKBN0D90IX20140423. A monsoon is, by definition, “a seasonal prevailing wind in the region of South and Southeast Asia, blowing from the southwest between May and September and bringing rain or from the northeast between October and April”. This article is specifically written about the effect that this year’s wet monsoon will have on South Asia. As plainly stated in the title this year’s wet monsoon may have below average rainfall due to the predicted, great strength of the El Nino weather pattern. The strength of El Nino is determined by the temperature of the Pacific Ocean’s surface. If the surface water of the Pacific is warm then this El Nino will be strong and if the surface water of the Pacific is not warm then this El Nino will be weak. This below average- average rainfall will not only have drastic effects on India (the world’s second largest rice and sugar producer) and its crop output. It will also take effect in other South Asian countries including Bangladesh, Nepal, and Afghanistan.

Since the article mentioned that it is a little too early right now to determine the strength of El Nino because El Nino is in its neutral phase there isn’t any reason for a panic yet. However if the monsoon isn’t enough to water the crops in India then changes will have to be made so that the monsoons aren’t so vital to the crop output there. The effects of El Nino could also potentially create a rainy summer in the Midwest United States.

In the end, this entire issue depends on forces out of our control like time, weather, life and death, turning homework assignments in late. No matter what we do, El Nino could either be strong or it could be weak. If El Nino is strong then the Indian government will have to review a policy on grain exports adopted in 2011 during a time when India was having an unusually large harvest. Also, South Asian countries plan to expand their irrigated farmland by 10% by 2017. I wish the best for India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Afghanistan this monsoon however it ends up and the rest of this year.

What is happening in Turkey?

This weekend I read an article titled “Turkey to maintain YouTube block despite ‘free speech’ ruling” written by the Autonomous Nonprofit Organization “TV-Novosti”. I found this article on http://rt.com/news/turkey-not-unblock-youtube-608/ and it was published on April 10, 2014. This article is about the Turkish government banning social media websites from the country and the civilian protests against these social media website bans.

On March 26, the Turkish government was persuaded to remove the block on Twitter due to a court ruling that the block violated the right of speech. On March 27, the Turkish government shut off access to YouTube. Recep Tayyip Erdogan feels that the Twitter ruling was incorrect and actually pledged to wipe the website in his campaign speech. During the elections in March there were protests that resulted in violence and police officers had to fight off protestors with tear gas and water cannons. As a result, 8 people died. Erdogan’s party won the elections.

 On April 9 (after the YouTube shut off), the court of Turkey ruled that the block of  YouTube is also a violation right of speech and suggested only blocking some videos on the website if the government feels it is necessary. Despite this ruling and additional advice, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintains the website block because of ‘illegal content’ on YouTube.

This information is very disappointing because social media is a part of our right of speech and press and citizens of Turkey are being robbed of it. It also seems that the Prime Minister of Turkey is set on keeping it that way which is wrong. The Prime Minister of Turkey in blocking social media websites against court ruling is also illegal on top of being horribly unjust. If the Prime Minister of Turkey is not impeached soon, then he might start taking away more rights and start slowly becoming a dictator.

I know this may seem like I’m jumping to conclusions. It is just some social media websites. It isn’t like he is killing anybody. Except, 8 people have died in protests during his election and social media is where people share their opinions about school, religion; politics. No more social media means that there are no more people learning what the outside world is saying about the prime minister and his history. Maybe there is nothing that the prime minister is trying to hide and he’s a nice person who doesn’t like children tweeting all the time. However, just before YouTube was shut down on March 26, a video about Turkish military involvement in Syria was leaked via social media.

See ya, chemical weapons!

This weekend I read an article titled “Syria 'can meet' chemical weapons deadline” which was written and published by Aljazeera and agencies. This article was last updated on April 4, 2014 on http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/04/syria-can-meet-chemical-weapons-deadline-201444134226938708.html. Syria faces an April 27^th deadline to remove all of its chemical weapons. However, Syrian transfers have been suspended for “security reasons” and the Syrian government has said that they will proceed in a few days. The 72 containers of chemical weapons added to the amount of chemical weapons that have already been removed from Syria make up 90% of the county’s chemical weapon supply. The chemical weapons are scheduled to be destroyed on June 30 of this year. The United Nation’s order to remove the chemical weapons from Syria began after President Bashar-Al-Assad launched a chemical weapons attack on the rebel army in Syria.

This news about Syrian chemical weapon removal progress is tiresome and yet, at the same time, uplifting. It’s good to know that, after this removal process, we will no longer have to worry about Syria practicing chemical warfare. This removal process will also level the playing field for the rebel army in Syria.

When everyone in the United States of America is drinking lemonade and swimming in the pool, the Syrian chemical weapons will all be disposed of. The rebel army will charge into the city of Damascus with a flag with the word “freedom” written across it and the song “wave your flag” by K’naan starts playing. Then, you see Bashar-Al-Assad marched off the battlefield in chains with a gun to his head. A United States helicopter has come to pick him up and bring him to a cell where he will be put on death row. Finally, President Barrack Obama will step out of the helicopter and congratulate every member of the rebel army bringing iced tea and sandwiches for everybody. Everywhere in Syria there would be peace.

That would be amazing if that happened, but that’s unrealistic. The Syrian rebels probably wouldn’t have a boom box, stereo, or even an I-pod in war zone so they couldn’t play “wave your flag”. The rebels don’t have enough people or weapons to storm Damascus like that. Bashar-Al-Assad would be out running political errands and if Barrack Obama was present when the rebel army braved Damascus,Vladimir Putin might just have to start World War Three. Also, a myriad of people in the rebel army have committed human rights and war crimes. However, if you believe that scenario could happen, then feel free to show your support.