1800 year old marble head found in Israel

January 26, 2009-In Israel, Archaeologists found a 1800 year old marble head at the City of David. The head was believed part of a boxer statue. The marble statue was a size of 6 centimetres by 4 centimetres. The impressive part was because this statue was carved so small, it was extremely detailed in that size. Archaeologists find it interesting for there were no records of seeing any statues in that are made out of marble in the country. It was also believed that this artefact is created during the Roman era and passed down from generations to generations until it was lost, probably in an earthquake. Last month, the team of archaeologists were able to find an ancient two hundred and sixty four gold coins, a gold earring and pearls around that area.
This was a very important discovery. When the archaeologists are able to find pieces of historical findings, we could be able to learn more about the past history and understand it well. Every historic findings could tell a history. This could be a good tracker and find examples of the past. I find this very interesting because people who did not record much about the past will finally have the mystery of their history restored. In previous written records, they are often considered as biased and unreliable. With these materials found, they could be used to prove what is the truth. I am glad that the archaeologist were able to find these ancient items. Good luck with your new findings!

hyperlink: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/01/26/israel.ancient.find/index.html

Workers are needed to reproduce

Japan is now in the crisis of reproduction. To overcome this problem, Canon, an electronics company, decided to encourage the workers by allowing them leave early to return back home and spend more time with their families. Japan’s birth rate is now 1.34 which is below 2.0, the minimum numbers of maintaining its aging population. The factors that caused it is because of a 12 hour day of work, high cost of living and social rigidity. Japan's largest business group appealed to their officials to let workers go home early to spend more time with their families and assist Japan with its serious difficulty. Experts noted that the world's second-largest economy faces its supreme hazard from its own population. Sociologists remarked that Japan is now frantically required to reconstruct some laws and policies. Japan’s population is now considered as the world’s fastest aging population.
After reading this article, I am worried that Japan’s population will age so fast that it would affect the rest world. Japan could affect the world because it is one of the major electronic selling countries in the world. With Japan’s lost, it would affect the international economy and might cause another problem. If I was the Japanese government, I would tackle this problem with several changes. The first change is to increase the retirement age, so this could still sustain the country’s financial problems. The second change would be tax free for education, giving other essential child needs help and giving government support for families who have more than one child. The third change would be promoting campaigns about having children. The last change would be making immigration much more easier for foreign citizens to migrate into Japan. If the Japanese is still in the aging population crisis, new blood will be needed from other highly populated countries such as China or India.

Hyperlink: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/26/canon.babies/index.html

Can the US leave Iraq safely?

January 21, 2009 -It is now up to Obama to prove himself worthy on leaving Iraq carefully. He had promised Iraq that the US troops will be removed in the year 2010. Reporter Peter Bergen believed that Obama must ensure the peace and stability of Iraq. When the U.S. troops leaves Iraq, this nation will need a reliable and firm economy. This will be one of the main factors of preventing unemployed men to join the militia; to potential breeding groups for chaos. In order to create a firm economy for Iraq, Obama will be required to offer assets and partnerships among the Gulf States with the assistance of American renovating efforts. The Al Qaeda was weakened as the United States had taken over Iraq but must prevent them from recover back to its previously dangerous state.

After reading this article, I find it interesting for I would want to see what will the newly elected President of the United States do. The planning must be done cautiously or it could be a small spark for a new war to come again as Mr. Peter Bergen had suggested. Because Turkey had declared if Iraq Arabs want the nation to become an “oil-rich” country, they will declare war on the nation. Another factor to mayhem could be easily caused is that Iraq’s peace is very fragile. Any small little neglected details could leave a mark for future problems to grow. I trust that Obama’s leadership will be a success on leaving Iraq and prevent any more future conflicts in that nation. I am waiting to hear Obama’s successful strategy on leaving Iraq.

Hyperlink: www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/21/bergen.iraq/index.html

Novelist arrested after insulting Thai King

January 19, 2008, Bangkok, Thailand — Harry Nicolaides, a forty one year old Australian author, was arrested last year and was just sentenced three years in jail. The author was sentenced to jail after writing a book called “Versimilitude”. This book had held contents about the Royal Thai family that was considered to be insulting to the Royal family, which broke the Lese Majeste Law. Mr. Nicolaides was originally sentenced six years in jail but the punishment was reduced because of his guilty plea. His lawyer did not seek for a Royal pardon. The Royal Pardon is apologizing to the Royal family, the King usually will forgive the ones who broke this law. Most foreigners were pardoned after asking for the Royal pardon but awkwardly, Mr. Nicolaides’ lawyer did not ask for one. The Thai Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, fully agreed that the foreigner should be arrested and was determined to have these offences to the Royal families are to be eliminated. He said, “There are cases in the past where this law has been abused for political purposes, and I agree this has to stop.” There are not even a bleak signs of showing a change in this law.

After reading this article, I was shocked. I thought that Thailand was a Parliamentary Democracy, where the people speak for their country. However, the Thailand Prime Minister showed no respect for the people’s voices. This will impact negatively on the Thailand citizens’ or any tourists’ freedom of speech right. I trust that with this law never gone, Thailand citizens, foreign reporters or anyone visiting the country could not show their true feelings in speeches, literature or in any kind of printing. This will ultimately stifle the local or foreign writers’ creativity in Thailand. I feel extremely insecure from now on whenever I visit Thailand because if I accidentally uttered any small phrase that is considered “insulting” to the Royal blood, I could be arrested on the spot. I fear that one day, if a number of Canadian or any other foreign reporters from countries with the freedom of speech, went to Thailand. They were able to spot the negative side of the Royal Family. After reporting the truth about the Royal Family, the reporters might be arrested for “insulting” them. I believe the best thing for a country to have is the freedom of speech. With this right ensured, nobody will not have the fear of being arrested after telling the truth or a joke.

Hyperlink: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/19/thai.jail/index.html