Mitch Carlson

World Studies Hybrid

Hour 1
The World 2/2/15 Commentary

Ukraine Conflict: With the sheer horror of the conflict currently raging in the Ukraine, it is a
shock that it has not gained more publicity. The current situation in Debaltseve, where survivors
of the fighting are subsisting with almost no food or clean water and must huddle underground
for warmth, are especially oppressive, and the efforts of pro-Russian separatists to keep
evacuation vehicles out of the city stand as a clear testament to the cruelty of the Russian
command, as well as yet another example of Russian infringement on basic human rights. It is
clear that increased efforts to evacuate and support refugees are badly needed, and NGOs
obviously need support from government agencies to be effective in this effort, but as long as
Western nations continue to cling to unstable diplomatic relations with Russia, little more will
likely be done. The situation in Donetsk, in which the city so recently beautiful and new, and a
symbol of the Ukraines progressive future, was reduced to rubble in a little under a year stands
as clear evidence that the region has not yet entirely progressed out of the conflict that
surrounded the fall of the USSR, and that true peace may not be seen as long as Vladimir Putin
remains in power.
Al-Jazeera Journalist Released: This story, while positive in that it involved the release of
Australian journalist Peter Greste from over a year of imprisonment in an Egyptian prison
following accusations of spreading false information and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood,
along with news of large-scale death sentences being dealt out in recent weeks, instead serve
more as demoralizing signs that the positive changes sought in the Arab Spring demonstrations
have not yet become reality in Egypt. The Presidential order to release foreign nationals from
prison with the promise of trials in their home countries provides evidence that the new
government does indeed have more on its plate that it can handle, and a government still so
unstable even years after its foundation does not bode well for Egypts future.
Niagara Falls Ice-Climber: This story is remarkable in light of the dedication that Will Gad has
displayed in his climbing career to provide him the ability to complete the climb he did. Climbing
two hundred days out of the year for nearly thirty years is in itself an accomplishment to be
applauded, but this climb up Niagara Falls now stands as a crowning achievement in an already
impressive career. Gads acknowledgement that the climb will likely be impossible in coming
years as a result of climate change should heighten our appreciation of locations and physical
features that will be similarly effected, as the massive beauty of glaciers, like that atop
Kilimanjaro, will soon be no more than a memory.
US-Iranian Nuclear Talks: If Iran is willing to curtail its production of nuclear materials, I believe
an end to US sanctions against Iran would prove beneficial to both countries. For the US, we
would be allowed access to Iranian goods and would gain a new market for our own goods,
profiting American businesses. But the benefits for Iran would be much greater, in that with the
possibility of international trade would come the possibility of a more prosperous Iranian middleclass, and with that prosperity could come advancements in education that could possibly bring
back about Irans more progressive past.
Syrian Cyber-Attacks: Boys will be boys. This cyber-attack by Assad forces may be objectively
hilarious in that it baited rebel soldiers with raunchy pictures in order to implant its virus, but it
raises real concerns over the increasing tendency to keep important materials, especially battle
plans, on mobile devices. If soldiers could be so easily tricked into compromising their classified
documents, a more complicated scheme could prove unstoppable, and both the forces fighting

against Assad in Syria, and us in the United States, should be increasingly careful with what we
keep, and what we do, on our mobile devices.
ISIS: ISIS is currently the most terrifying gang of thugs on the planet, and for good reason. With
supreme organization and a large stockpile of weapons, they are a force to be reckoned with,
and their propensity for grotesque evil only adds to their fearsome reputation. It is encouraging
to see that, with the help of airstrikes, they have lost control of some of their largest cities, just
as it is that local police are entering the fight as well. While supplying weapons to any fighting
force in the region is a questionable decision, given the tendency for those same weapons to
fire back at us in the future, it seems that if these police are to be effective in their mission they
must be provided the means to do so. If support is not being provided by Baghdad, it should be
provided by an outside force, namely the UN or other international organizations.
Daoism: The Norton Anthology of World Religions ranking of Daoism as the sixth-largest world
religion provides evidence to the growing trend of more informal religious practices. The more
philosophical nature of Daoism gives it the ability to relate with a diverse collection of people,
religious or otherwise, and its teachings and practices can provide guidance and resilience
through the calm it imparts, especially in this increasingly hectic modern age.