News and International Issues

Important events for the USA, England, South Korea, and the world

Communism vs. Democracy

• Democracy – United States, South Korea, England, Canada, etc.– People in control of government - we vote!

• Barack Obama can be president for max 8 years, he does not have total power

• Communist / Totalitarian – China, Cuba, Iran, Syria– Government in control of people

• Kim Jong Un can be leader as long as he wants … and do what he wants!

Arab Spring

• Started in Egypt• Young people protest the Egyptian

government• This idea spreads to other countries • …including

Syria Syrians also protest their government …But the government responds by killing 70,000 people

Don’t cross the red line!

• Obama’s red line = chemical weapons • - latest news – Syrian government may

have crossed Obama’s red line of using chemical weapons on it’s own people. Obama wants evidence and is planning what to do.

North Korea

• You tell me • Did you have a special experience about North

Korea?– Military service, meet a North Korean, read a book

about North Korea, etc.

North Korea – communist

• Up to 3.5 million North Koreans starved to death (no food)

• North Korea strong or weak?– Strong – 1 million man army – Weak - Only enough gas to fight a war for a few

days• Strong talk, but little action– Threaten South Korea and America

Photoshopped photos Computer changed photo

Should the international community help these countries?

• - China and Russia don’t want the world to do anything – “it’s their problem”

• - US, Britain, and most countries of the United Nations want to do something – “we must help the dying people”

• - but Obama doesn’t want any wars because of recent, disastrous war in Iraq, and American economic problems … war is expensive!

China – air pollution = 1.2 million deaths

China – pollution

• Chinese government is killing it’s own people with air pollution

• - China is the #1 polluter in the world • - Chinese pollution spreads to other countries, including

yellow dust and acid rain • - China is contributing to global warming, a problem that

is getting worse and worse, and can kill many many people in the future

• China uses dirty energy – coal energy – building 4 new coal power plants per day

• - 35% of the world’s people live next to water• - what if the polar ice caps melt?