North Korea

North Korea

History

After Japan surrendered in WW2 the country Korea was divided in two different occupied areas.  The area south of the 38^th parallel was controlled by the US, while the area north was controlled by the Soviet. In 1950 a war broke out between the two countries. The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il tried several attempts to invade South Korea with his massive army, this lead to a full-scale civil war.  The Korea war ended in 1953.

Kim Jong-un and his father

Kim Jong-un was born 8th of January 1983 or 1984 in the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang. He is a North-Korean communist and also the youngest son of the former communist Kim Jong-Il. Kim Jong-il was born the 16. of February 1941 in Vjatskoje (in former Soviet). North Korea was founded by Kim Jong-un`s grandfather, Kim II-Sung. His father Kim got Kim with his lover Ko Young-hee. The country`s got many secrets, among them is Kim Jong-un`s birthday. No one can for sure know exactly when his birthday is, except from his father and mother. Kim’s father died the 17. of December 2011. South and North Korea`s relationship have become very tense since Jong-il came to power. This because of the several threats, they have for example threatened US and South Korea.  Threats, missiles, nuclear possibilities.

Recent actions

In the last several months the tension has raised between North and South Korea. North Korea have made countless of threats to South Korea and its allies. They have also threatened to fire missileson South Korea and the US.

 In recent times North Korea have also launched propaganda videos were they show how strong and powerful they are to the world. One of their latest propaganda film demonstrates how a missile will make USA burn to the ground.

The threats North Korea have made might be an act of propaganda, or there might result it action and probably a new war.

At this time, North Korea has broken one of the only existing contacts with each other by closing South-Korean fabrics on North-Korean soil.

Threats, missiles and nuclear possibilities

In 1993 North Korea choose to sign out of the “Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty” (spread of nuclear weapons). It was the beginning of North Korea`s threats against “the world”. There are manufactured around 180 underground defense industry plants. This includes 3000 heavy weapons, 200 000 rifles, 200 tanks and a lots of more in only one year. North Korea have for a long time tried to show muscles by scaring US and South Korea with missile tests, nuclear weapons and even threats. The tension between the two neighbours have been increased more and more, and I think that it is just the matter of time before a new Korea-war is beginning

Army and demonstration

North Korea has one of the world’s biggest army measured in men. There is no reason to treat the threats with disrespect.  Every year an annual demonstration of their great army is preformed to demonstrate power and their fanciest weapons. Kim Jung-un has threatened South-Korea with a massive ground force invasion. 

Government and politics

North Korea is controlled by a dictatorship and it is an own state with a “closed” government. The government is divided into nine provinces and three regions, and the only legal party, “Korean Workers”, were led by Kim II-Sung. He introduces communism to North Korea, but abolished it in 1992. Kim II-Sung was referred to as “The Great Leader” and was regarded as “North Korea`s eternal president”. The upper assembly in the government got around 700 members and they are elected every fifth year, but it is the executive power is the leader himself, Kim Jong-un.

Sources:

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/10/world/asia/north-korea-threats-timeline/?hpt=hp_t1

http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-un

http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il

http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nord-Korea http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikkespredningsavtalen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea

http://www.vg.no/nyheter/utenriks/artikkel.php?artid=10102402

http://www.defense.gov/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=27769

 

6 Year Old Accidentally Shot by 4 Year Old

Six-year-old Brandon shot by four year old in New Jersey

The 9^th of April 2013, the six-year-old boy Brandon was shot by his four-year-old playmate while they were playing in the four-year-old’s backyard nearby Toms River in New Jersey. According to Police Chief Michael Mastronardy, the two boys were playing when the four-year-ole went inside. When the child came back, he had a 22-caliber rifle in his hands. From about 15 metres, the boy fired the rifle and hit Brandon in his head. The four-year-old’s parents, who were home at the moment called 911 as quick as possible. Brandon was taken into Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune City, but even though the doctors tried their very best to save the little boy’s life, he was pronounced dead at 5 p.m. the next day.

Friends, family and neighbours were in shock and couldn’t believe what they had just experienced. Brandon’s uncle, Daniel Watkins, told CNN that the two children were friends, and that it was nothing but a tragically accident. Even though he find the incident as an accident, the Atlantic County prosecutor’s office, who are leading the investigation, will determine whether charges will be filled in the case, and if so, against whom. The four-year-old’s neighbour, Debi Coto said in an interview done by ABC News: “I'm sad for the children involved and their families, but I'm angry with whoever owns that gun and allowed a little child to get hold of it. A four-year-old can't load a gun”. Statements like these are usual in cases where someone gets shot, the gun policy in the United States are debated.

To buy a gun in the US you need: 1. an ID, 2. enough money to pay for the gun and 3. you must not have a criminal record.  When it’s so easy to access a gun in USA, it’s easier to understand why so many people die due to gun shootings. Whether it’s a school shooting, a street fight with weapons or, in this case, what we characterize as an accident were a weapon is involved. Some reasons why the gun policy isn’t stricter in the US, is the history of the country. When the thirteen states on the east coast of the United States became independent from the Englishmen late in the 18^th century, they defended themselves by guns, and overthrew the Englishmen at last. This happening is a part of the Americans’ identity, and it is also a law who says that people have the right to keep and bear arms. The second Amendment sounds like this: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right for the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”.

Even though there are both people supporting the gun policy and people fighting for a stricter gun policy in the USA, it’ll be a discussion for a long time. We want a stricter gun policy in the United States of America because we think that the number of killed people by weapons at about 30.000 Americans a year, which means more than 80 citizens a day, would decrease dramatically.

When we searched through the stuff in the media, we couldn’t find big differences in the articles. But we concluded with something: That the ABC News probably was the first to write the article since it stood that the name was unknown, while they in among the BBC had given the name of the kid who was killed; Brandon.

And at last we wrote a poem about the tragically incident.

A little four-year-old went out to play
the four-year-old was so afraid
He went inside when they had fun
And he came out with a gun

The gun fired of towards his little friend
the bullet was flying towards the end
the shot in his head
he laid down dead
and flew up to heaven above

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-6yearold-boy-dies-after-being-shot-by-a-4yearold-in-us/1100291/

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/police-year-accidentally-shot-year-18912094

http://www.dagbladet.no/2013/04/10/nyheter/usa/vapen/26584603/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9MW05FycYE

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/09/us/new-jersey-child-shooting/index.html

http://news.sky.com/story/1075905/six-year-old-dies-after-being-shot-by-boy-4

The 6-year-old boy who was accidentally shot to death by his 4-year-old playmate was remembered by his school as a “cheerful” student. Brandon Holt, who died a day after being shot in the head by a neighborhood friend, was a first grader at St. Joseph’s grade school in Toms River. “Brandon was an exuberant, energetic and happy student and was well-loved by all who knew him, ”the school counselor said. “His cheerful presence will be dearly missed by his classmates, friends and teachers.”
Brandon was playing with a 4-year-old boy two houses from his own home on McCormick Drive when, police say, the younger boy went into the house and came out a few minutes later carrying a loaded .22-caliber rifle The gun went off and the bullet struck Brandon in the head. Brandon was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune where he died at 5pm, Tuesday. Authorities have not identified the 4-year-old boy. However, a source familiar with the case has identified the boy's parents as Anthony and Melissa Senatore. A neighbor who is also a friend of Brandon’s family, said relatives indicated the boys were playing “pretend shooting.” Another neighbor said police removed several weapons from the younger boy’s home after the shooting. The charge currently is a disorderly persons offense but would be upgraded to a fourth-degree  offense under the recommendation of the task force, named NJ SAFE. Authorities are still investigating to determine whether the 4-year-old boy’s parents secured the weapons properly and whether they possess the guns legally.

We think that the reason why this is happening is because the U.S has a way to bad gun policy. In the U.S you can just walk down to a store and buy whatever guns suits you and you wallet. Another thing is that the gun owners don’t secure their guns more properly. As in this case, the 4-year-old boy managed to get his hands on his parents 22.caliber rifle and shoot it at his friend. The U.S needs to take responsibility and make a similar gun policy like other countries, so all the homicides will stop. In the U.S 

New Gun Legislation, Martin G. & Jannike

Republicans tries to stop voting on the new gun laws           

                        

Ever since the December school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, that killed 20 first-graders and six educators, Barack Obama and the leading Democrats have pushed for tighter gun law. Even now, 6 months after the incident, the debate is still as heated as ever. Obama and the Democrats have called for a voting on a gun legislation, which will involve doing background checks on every person who tries to buy a gun. This means that everyone who tries to buy assault weapons either through gun shows or online will have to fill out a survey first to check if they are mentally stable. Most of the public, including the president, feels that this legislation is not ideal. A large hole in this legislation is the fact that people can still be able to sell guns privately, by for example selling to family members, without having to take any kind of survey. But although it isn’t ideal, most agree that it is a step in the right direction.

         

In fact, 90% of the public agree that something needs to be done with the gun laws in America. Then this should be an easy thing to change, right? If they cast a vote, the legislation will be invoked? It seems that it can never be that simple. The Republicans have done what Obama refers to as a “political stunt”, so the public cannot vote. This is more formally called a filibuster. It is basically a way to prevent a vote to even occur, to stop it before it even reaches the public.

There are now at least 14 Republican senators who have signed this filibuster, something that surprises many. Obama even tells the public in his speech that to the Republicans “your opinion doesn’t matter”. To overcome this filibuster, they will need 60 senate votes. The Democrats only have 55 votes, and some are on the edge, not sure where to vote. On the other hand, there are some of the Republicans who already have stated that they will vote to remove the filibuster. It therefore seems like this vote will be very close, and there will be a test vote on Thursday, 11^th of April.

Obama's plea for new gun legislation

Sources:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/04/2013492333457238.html, 10.04.13

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/04/09/as-vote-looms-gun-control-backers-ratchet-up-pressure-on-congress/, 10.04.13

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22075243, 10.04.13

http://www.aljazeera.com/video/americas/2013/04/20134931748999591.html, 10.04.13

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/04/10/senators-to-unveil-proposed-compromise-on-gun-background-checks-as-vote-looms/, 11.04.13

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/10/politics/congress-gun-laws/index.html?hpt=hp_t3, 11.04.13

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/04/michelle-obama-invokes-slain-hadiya-pendleton-to-frame-gun-debate/, 11.04.13

Margaret Thatcher

The news of Margaret's death is important because she was prime minister of Great Britain, and she was very important for British politics. She became prine minister of Great Britian after winning the election in 1979.

"It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol Thatcher announced that their mother Baroness Thatcher died peacefully following a stroke this morning," Lord Timothy Bell about Margaret Thatcher.

"She de-industrialized Britain and let communities for communities die. She left unemployment, social deprivation and despair" - Ken Hancock

Many also hated the Margaret, and celebrated when she died. The reason for this is that many people thought that she was unfairly with the choices she made when she was Prime Minister. Many believe that she destroyed communities and that she de-industrialized Britain.

She was also a monetarists, who made sure she initiated its economic policies to raise key interest rate to prevent inflation. This led to an immediate doubling of unemployment from 1 million to 2 million, and that is another reason why some people celebrated her death.

“To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catchphrase, the "U" turn, I have only one thing to say. "You turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning” – Margaret Thatcher

North Korea-what will happen?

North Korea might test missiles, are they preparing for war?

North korea has come with some provocations in the last months. Their national television has published propaganda videos claiming they are ready for war against the USA. What will this have to say for the rest of the world?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCWNCxPRoIo

Korea-war

The background for this tension between North Korea and the rest of the world is the Korea-war which was an armed conflict that lasted three years from 1950, to a truce came in place. Technically North and South Korea is still in a conflict. Since the Korea-war there has been sparks between the two countries. USA took South Koreas side in the Korea-wars since they rejected communism, while the North embraced it.

After the war, North Korea has been a very closed country, not allowing freedom of speech, nor having democratic elections. The videos the media shows are often manipulated, and are full of propaganda.

What will happen?

What will happen if North Korea put there threats out to life? The USA has stated that they won’t do anything rash, meaning not attack unless directly attacked. The consequences of a nuclear war could be disastrous for the entire world.

Musudan rockets ready to launch from North Korea

North Korea want to show muscles, so it is very lightly  they will shoot up a test missil. The question is if they will just blow it up somewhere in the pacific ocean, or try to attack their enemies.

6 year old kid got shot by his 4 year old neighbor in New Jersey, USA.

Tuesday. April 09, 2013. 

Last Tuesday night, a 6 year old boy got shot by his 4 year old friend and neighbour in the head. The 6 year old boy got very bad injuries, and was on a hospital and died later by the heavy injuries.

The name of the 4 year old boy was withheld and he was not injured at all. The gun he used was a 22 caliber rifle that he obviously got from his family, but how and why we he got the gun, we don’t know.

It’s too early in the investigation to know whether anyone would be charged. Police Chief Michael Mastronardy from the local police in New Jersey says the children were outside the 4-year-old's home when the boy went inside, got the rifle and shot the 6-year-old about 15 yards away. It's not clear if the 4-year-old pulled the trigger or if the rifle accidentally discharged.

Probebly the mother of the 6 year old boy.

Sources
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/police-year-accidentally-shot-year-18912094#.UWUcQZPBpc8
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_jersey&id=9057965

Made by

Kjetil 

and

Henrik