Tag: nation

The Reason Residents of Western Countries Struggle More Than Residents of Eastern Countries to Maintain a Healthy Body Mass Index

Leave a comment

The average person in an industrialized country takes in 50% of the amount of fiber which they need, with this intake increasing in more impoverished nations which do not have access to high fat, low fiber food resourecs, as diets are primarily plant and animal based in indigent states, with very few processed foods being consumed. This is one of the most influential reasons as to why western countries, specifically in terms of culture (e.g. the U.S., the U.K., Australia etc.) typically posess larger, more unhealthy populations than their eastern counterparts. It should be noted, obesity does not have a singular causation other than over consumption and increasing ones fiber intake should be considered as a single step upon the long and winding path of human health and wellness

 

The Sham Elections of the North Korean State

1 Comment

Every 5 years, all North Korans over the age of 17 are expected to vote in a democratic election in which 687 members of North Korea’s Supreme Peoples Assembly are elected to represent the North Korean people. Voters are handed a ballot with a single name pre-written upon it and are expected to place this supposed vote in a ballet box, however the ballet box is not enclosed for privacy, rather it is open and on display for all to watch as a persons peers submit their vote. This entire charade is pointless as there are no choices for voters, it’s merely an exercise to create the illusion of democracy for the international community. Perhaps the only positive which comes of this system is that there is no instability within North Korean families with opposing political ideologies as is the case with other democratic nations. Additional positive characteristics of this shameful display of democracy in action is that voters do not need to be familiar with candidates or their policies and platforms and they do not have to worry after having voted if they indeed chose the wrong candidate. The primary reason as to why these sham elections occur is because the North Korean government uses the process as a census to detect those who oppose the current status quo of the North Korean dictatorial political regime. Private voting booths are available but are treated with significant stigma as anyone who uses one in order to write in a candidate or perhaps a short message which is contradictory to the current administration of Kim Jong Un is subject to being questioned and arrested for the crime of “subversion of the North Korean political process”, something which would be unimaginable in most democracies. The entire operation is essentially a method of detecting and exposing dissenters. The 2014 election recorded a total turn out of 99.9% of the North Korean population

The Chinese Political Practice of Panda Diplomacy

Leave a comment

The Chinese government have a practice referred to as “panda diplomacy” which is designed to provide other nations with pandas, which are impossible to ascertain outside of China. China offers the gift of a panda or pandas to nations which it wishes to have strong diplomatic or economic ties with and is considered a high honor amongst world leaders as not many have received this gift and gesture of good will. Ownership is not permanent as China only leases pandas, it does not relinquish them outright. As of 2019, 27 zoos in 22 countries or territories currently feature pandas on loan from China including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Hong Kong, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.K., and the U.S.. The concept of panda diplomacy is not a new one as evidence of the practice dates back to the Tang Dynasty, when Empress Wu Zetian sent a pair of pandas to Emperor Tenmu of Japan in 685 A.D.

One of the Key Factors Behind the Rise of the U.S. as a World Super Power

Leave a comment

The U.S. went from being an experiment in democracy and a colonial backwater during the 18th century, to the most technologically advanced and industrialized country in the world in the 20th century, with this incredible transformation occurring because of those who founded the country and their understanding that the U.S. could not farm its way to wealth, with innovation being encouraged and promoted. Because of this simple yet novel idea, ordinary people suddenly had the opportunity to invent and make life easier for society at large, and were incentivized to profit from these ideas because of patent protection. The Americans developed a system in which new ideas were sought after because they were profitable which is a much more powerful motivational factor than prestige alone or the will and desire to help the greater collective of civilization. It’s not that the U.S. population is more creative than other nations, rather it is because the U.S. government actively decided to back and support those who pursued invention by providing them with a high probability to a path of moderate to substantial fortune. Protecting invention is single handedly one of the most important and influential ideas which has ever developed within the U.S., and even during the modern era, countries which fail to inspire innovation and protect it from theft and exploitation, continue to play catch up with industrialized nations who do reward and promote innovation

The CODIS System Technology Used By Law Enforcement

Leave a comment

U.S. law enforcement uses a database referred to as “CODIS” when attempting to resolve criminal cases using deoxyribonucleic acid. The term CODIS is an acronym which stands for “combined deoxyribonucleic acid index system”. CODIS involves multiple databases including missing persons, convicted offenders, and forensic samples collected from crime scenes. Although U.S. law enforcements databases are not directly connected to any other nation in any official capacity, the underlying CODIS system is used by law enforcement agencies around the world. As of 2016, the CODIS system is currently used by 90 international laboratories within 50 countries. CODIS is maintained by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Socioeconomic Reason As To Why Inner-City Schools Are Often Academically Inferior to Suburban Schools and Provide Less Opportunity to Students 

Leave a comment

The reason inner city schools are often gravely underfunded and therefore poorly equipped to provide and meet even the minimum standard of education required by U.S. law is because of the way in which racial integration changed the United Stated of America. Often referred to as “white flight”, as African Americans migrated from the southern U.S. towards the north, many Caucasians became increasingly aware and uncomfortable with their neighbors, particularly of the direction in which their cities were headed. This caused many Caucasians to move away from the city and into suburban areas which resulted in the majority of the Caucasian population no longer being emotionally or financially invested in what occurred in the city which they once resided in. This lack of interest alongside the push by Caucasian’s to ensure Caucasian tax dollars went towards areas of self interest, namely the suburbs surrounding these cities, caused less and less income to flow or even trickle into the city alongside fewer and fewer people who cared what occurred politically inside the city. Over time, inner city educational districts became markedly worse off and gradually this new low came to be accepted as a new normative standard, while suburban school districts had an opposing trajectory as they statistically became able to offer a better standard of education, also being accepted as a new normative standard. This gross dichotomy between the inner city and outer suburbs continued to occur for decades which is why post World War II, the U.S. educational system has been in constant disarray and need of improvement in respect to the opportunities afforded to students to acquire the information they need to compete and succeed in life. The irony of this situation is that no nation on Earth is better equipped to resolve such an issue as the U.S. is the wealthiest nation to have ever been formed

Shipping Freighters Flying Flags of Convenience 

Leave a comment

The flags flown atop ships are also known as a “flag of convenience” as the owners of shipping companies and shipping vessels often fly a flag different from that of their own nationality or where their business is headquartered. Nations have 19 kilometers of territorial water which is considered part of their land, 322 kilometers of an exclusive economic zone in which countries can pull in ships for inspection and seize their goods or extract resources from the sea bed, and the high seas which belong to nobody. Ships are subject to the laws of the country of the flag they fly however most Greek, Japanese, Chinese, and German ships are registered in Panama, Liberia, the Marshall Islands, or Mongolia, slipping away from the laws of their country of origin, a move which can be very financially rewarding. Doing so allows companies to dodge taxes, safety standards and requirements, labor codes, and minimum wages. This method can reduce shipping costs by up to 65%. Countries promote the efficacy of flying their flag at large gatherings in an attempt to entice large shipping magnets into utilizing their flag which is a mutually beneficial endeavor as the country on the flag gets to collect taxes for its development and the company using the flag gets to save a lot of money, funds which would have been paid out in higher tax brackets had they used the flag of a wealthier nation. On top of all of these perks, most flags of convenience guarantee anonymity to their clients which helps ensure the entire industry is difficult to track and regulate