De Beers Control

Today the De Beers Mining Company is world-renounced and is one of the most powerful mining companies in the world. The company has almost total control over the South African territory they posses. The De Beers Company is in one way a self-governing area which no one can ask questions. I think that the De Beers Company in multiple ways acts like the church in the earlier days, because they have power over the government and the people in the area.

This company was founded in 1888 by Cecil Rhodes and now a days is one of the world’s most powerful diamond companies. The control which they posses in some ways can get out of hand and I think that if they continue to mine diamonds in these areas and the government allows them to have power that they will slowly take over the governments’ that gave them power in the first place. For example if you are to step foot on the diamond rich beaches which the De Beers Company owns you can be taken to prison and held under their terms and your release is their decision.

In my opinion the De Beers Company could easily take over the regions upon which they mine their precious diamonds. The company has an annual revenue stream of $6.5 billion U.S dollars and a net income of $556 million. With these massive numbers the company could easily buy weapons and slowly restrict the power of the governments. Considering the company has mines in Botswana and Namibia. These current governments are weak and at any time can be taken under the wing of De Beers for a price which they can easily shell out. With these companies under the control of De Beers they can branch out across Africa and extend their rule. All it would take is for the owners of De Beers to “flip a switch” and the siege would be on.

This situation relates to the past situation where the church would control the government because they had control over the people. With control of the people and government anyone could extend their cultural reach and easily become great. One thing that makes the De Beers Company a little shady is their old affiliation with blood diamonds or conflict diamonds. The company used to buy conflict diamonds in exchange for weapons which would be used to fight an ongoing civil war led by Jonas Savimbi in Angola. This conflict is important because the De Beers Company indirectly financed it even though the UN had peace contracts currently in those areas. After the mounting pressure from different organizations the company went “organic” and started mining their diamonds only.

Through out the next years we will have to see how the De Beers Company acts towards the situation they are in. Even though the company is looked upon as a good thing, I my opinion I think it could get out of control and spread like a disease through out Africa. I think the De Beers Mining Company should go public and be a public company so that all the power could be easily spread to the highest bidder.

WORD COUNT: 528

Iranian Revolution

In the beginning of 1979 Iran was put under political tension whilst the people grew anger about the government. The current government at the time was called the Shah Monarchy and it was headed by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The opposite of the Shah government is the rebellion lead by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The rebellion wants the government to be an Islamic Republic. The other key factor in the revolution is if the United States would back the Shah’s because of various resources and a large border with America’s Cold-War enemies the Soviet Union. Overall this revolution leads to many changes in the Iranian Government that are still questioned today.

The Shah Monarchy is more of a Dictatorship than anything else that is also backed up by a rather large royal army. The Iranian people didn’t approve of the Shah Government because they were brutal, corrupt, and overall had a negative effect on the community. The people viewed them as a shadow of the west and that Iran was going to become a fully westernized place, which is what the people didn’t want. The revolution was set off by riots and public speeches which inspired the people to stand up and revolt for what they want. When the United States were told to check out the Shah Government they issued a report that the country was no where close to revolutionary status or even pre-revolution status. The United States took the option to back up the Shah for oil and other natural resources. This decision angered the Iranian people greatly because that cemented their beliefs of the Government becoming westernized.

I believe that if the United States didn’t intervene with this situation that the Shah Government could have worked out the problems with the people and solved the problem. The United States current relationship with Iran are shotty at best and I believe it is because we helped the Government that was overthrown and now they are spiteful that we didn’t help them. If the United States had a better relationship with Iran right now then we would have an abundance of natural resources and one less nuclear enemy.

When the Abadan cinema fire occurred where 400 people died around 10,00 people came to mourn the deaths and they all believed it was the Shah Government who had planned this awful accident. Later after the ceremony the 10,000 angry and grieving people started to chant “Burn the Shah!”. This started the expulsion of the Shah Government from the country and the new power of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

When the Shah had finally ridden of the country their was mixed emotions between happiness and confusion. In the beginning they struggled but they finally got the hang of things and they have now created a successful Islamic Republic. This new government has shunned the United States and now we are in many disputes with Iran.

In the end the new Islamic republic has done well from the once strong Monarchy and has branched off creating new weapons. Although their nuclear program is questionable the new Islamic republic has done well in recreating the country. If we were a part of the this new country I think we could do a lot of great things together.

Roosevelt and Truman

During the beginning of World War II Franklin D. Roosevelt was the President of the United States and had the responsibility of the war on his shoulders. His Vice President Harry Truman and Roosevelt had a relationship that was questionable. President Roosevelt in a way would keep Truman in the dark about the Atom Bomb project also called the “Manhattan Project”. The decisions leading up to the actual dropping of the bomb are shady and filled with controversy. The main political question is why Roosevelt did not converse did with Truman as much as he did on such a big event. If Truman were more in the know what would the effects or general outcome turn out to be?

Before the war started Roosevelt was outraged with the savage strikes from Japan to China and the Nazi’s strong European offensive, he knew that if war to start the key would be possess a strong Air Force with long-range capabilities. So spoke with General Henry Arnold and started the development of the B-29 (the plane which dropped the Atom Bomb). Without the approval or knowledge of Truman he risks what is called a “three-billion-dollar gamble” and begins the project. With Roosevelt finally letting Truman in his plans along with General Arnold they decide they will need a way to end the war if it gets out of hand. After Truman and Roosevelt agree on this Roosevelt thinks he has let Truman in enough.

With the death of Roosevelt looming Truman’s part after his death would be even more important. Since Roosevelt made Truman have a very little part in the nuclear program the country thought Truman would make the wrong choice once Roosevelt had died. If Truman was more involved with the “Manhattan Project” during Roosevelt’s life the outcome of the bomb drop could have been different. Truman overall decision to drop the Atom bomb was influenced more by the top military generals and the sheer devotion of the Japanese soldiers, who would not stop killing until the war had ended. Truman’s decision could have been different and create a different ending to his war. Without the atom bomb being dropped the outcome of the war would completely different. Japan would have been speared a major catastrophe and we would be viewed differently and maybe with less hate. A less violent way could have been used to end the war like; threatening Japan that we have a device that could end the war, but tell them we don’t want to use it. If the Japanese didn’t accept it that would be their problem and we could say that we warned them. In my opinion we should have told them we have it and not just randomly drop two giant bombs causing a mass amount of people to die and major cities destroyed creating wide-spread hate.

Truman’s decision shocked everyone and with the dropping of the Atom Bomb single-handedly ends the war in the pacific. In a way the decision is what Roosevelt wanted the whole time because he wanted to just drop the bomb and end the war. The people of the country applauded Truman’s choice because no one wanted the war to drag out like World War I and people wanted to bring home the troops. Roosevelt’s choice to shadow Truman during the “Manhattan Project” is strange and could have been handled differently. Together they could have made a better decision and maybe try to end the war in a more peaceful way.--Word Count 586--

During the years after World War 1 in a neighborhood named Harlem the cultures of African American exploded and brought a new life all African Americans in a movement called The Harlem Renaissance. The movement involved names such as Louis Amrstrong, Ella Fitzgerlad, Billie Holiday, and Paul Heath. These people and their culture sparked a cultural revolution that influenced new civil rights bills and the overall view towards African Americans and culture.

The way that this revolution was started with the brave new concepts of surrealism and modernism which allowed the mind flow and just do what you feel. These concepts influenced a genre of music called Jazz. Jazz musicians and their new style attracted many people who were not of African American decent. These people helped spread the word of the new music scene. This movement wasn’t based solely around music this movement involved the growth of many African American writers, painters, and poets. With all of the white people coming into Harlem and other black neighborhoods black business owners had a spike in profits. This spike allowed people to temporarily see through their skin color and actually give them a chance. It was things like this that influenced new social contracts for African Americans.

The Harlem Renaissance did not just introduce whites to blacks but it changed the way that they were looked at. A major person influenced by the Harlem Renaissance was Martin Luther King Jr. who led African Americans in their quest for equality and overall social acceptance. The people didn’t want to only be accepted on paper because that just is writing but they wanted to be respected by the community. As this cultural Renaissance kept going a state a peace between the two races had evolved. But as always when something good is happening there always has to be the person who is against the ideas and is ignorant to others belief, a person who does not want to accept what other people are beginning to see. One person in particular was Marcus Garvey who led the campaign for African Americans to go back to Africa. But in this time the I’s have it as many people soon forget the ideas of racism and just take in the moment.

With the new views towards African Americans many new doors opened up for his class of people. Talented musicians were quickly picked up by record companies, many Black authors were hired as editors for magazines. With everything Black exploding poets had a good time get their rhymes across the ocean to France and influencing other there as well. Not only did African Americans inspire each other they offered inspiration to many whites and what they did. Many play writers would write plays on the day to day lives of these men and women.

Overall the Harlem Renaissance sparked a new life for many African Americans and opened new doors for all creative outlets. This event inspired many new civil rights acts and also gave the strength to many to branch out. In the end this event started a revolution of new things to come in the African American community. --WORD COUNT 523--