Nuclear Force

The topic of nuclear power, energy and proliferation stirs a lot of mixed feelings and debate. From this weeks discussion it was very intersting to hear the thoughts and opinions of the class.   Having read a lot and studied the country of Iran which is the most controversial country concerning nuclear proliferation I feel bothered by the current media attention.  In my opinion I feel as if the United States is acting like bullies rather than the world’s police. During the seventies the United States and Iran had an amicable relationship and the US gave Iran the tools to create nuclear power.  After the Shah took over Iran the relationship betweent the two nation states became soured.   We have known and always known that Iran has the capability to go nuclear! Duh!  It is is appaling that the un needs to send in teams to search and conduct field tests when we know that they have it.  The sanctions placed on Iran pose so many inequalities for its people .  The people of Iran are deeply suffering by all of the sanctions and various results from the United States approach to their country. I have Iranian friends that have told me about the horrible things occuring as a result of the US not wanting Iran to go nuclear. Why does the United States have the right to tell Iran that they can not possess nuclear weapons when we have them and are not conceal the fact that we do? In fac,t we have even flexed our muscles and used them on innocent people before.  The United States needs to focus more on helping its citizens and less on bullying other nations.

:Climate Change

  Previously I had not thought about the inequalities that climate change poses  those with lower economic statuses.   The topic of climate change is such a relevant issue in the current election and many other intellectual circles.  From the research presented in this week’s articles and things that I have personally read I feel that there is no denying that the world’s abuse of resources has attributed to the change.  Inevitablly the world will be in dire straights if change does not occur quickly.  Many regions are being affected daily by the lack of rain and other natural resources that used to be their financial means of survival. 

   The only way that the developed over consuming world will realize the affects of our excessive ways is to directly be affected by the change. I believe that all of the recent hurricans(katrina) and tsunamis are a warning to us all.  The question as discussed in class is how can we make this change? Change cannot occur overnight or as quickly as we would like because everyone is not in the same state of mind.  The United States consumes more unrenewable energies than all of europe but we are the least responsible.  It is not necessarily the majority of the people’s fault either. I hold the government responsible as they are not allowing these new renewable technologies to transform our daily lives. European countries have elected smaller cars, renewable energy resources etc… I hope that this new presidency will strive to gradually and as quickly as possible change the way we consume our earth’s slowly dissolving resources.

How Much Justice Can Technology Afford?

  This Thursday’s discussion was very engaging and provoked a lot of questions concerning the United States’ adversarial system.  In the article titled How Much Justice Can We Afford The Impact of DNA technology on equality and Criminal Justice ?  the notion of paying for justice was discussed.  Justice unfortunately in the United States is based upon a silent known hierarchical system of class.  The more wealth , power and stature an individual has the less likely they are to be convicted of the crime.  Money and contacts can buy the best lawyers as seen in the O.J. Simpson trial .  The best lawyers have more drive to work harder and seek justice for the large sum of money they are paid because their reputation is on the line. High cost lawyers base their fees upon how many cases they have won and whom they have representing.  This is great for those that can afford an expensive lawyer but for those that cannot their justice is simply injust.  We have all heard the miranda rights stating that we all have the rights to a lawyer.  What the rights do not tell you is that you have the rights to a state lawyer that may not be experienced or have far too many cases to thoroughly represent you. Without proper representation the fate of your case lies in someone elses hands.  Justice should be fair and equal for all  but it is simply not.  All of my fellow classmates that choose to go into the field of law need to work hard in order to seek more justice for all.

Distributive Justice

When discussing distributive justice it is important to consider what is justice. With this weeks lecture we heard many different answers as to what one believes as justice.  Defining justice is not an exact science but it is imperative in order to have a just society.  Everyone has to be on a similar wavelength in order to feel like they have justice or they are not being treated fairly.   In my own opinion I feel that justice entails having fair and equal rights and opportunities for everyone that equally participates and contributes in a community.  My philosophy of justice follows the distibutive justice model.  The distributive justice model states that is the distribution of goods among members of a community at a specific time.  Distributive justice places societal wants and needs over individual. 

   Concering technology distributive justice would be a wonderful approach as it would allow all members of the community equal access to new technologies.  As we have all seen those with access to new technologies and even old prosper much faster and receive advantages that others do not.  For example a child with a lap top has access to  a myriad of knowledge and opportunities with the click of a mouse. A child without this access does not have the opportunity to learn about anything they like on the internet. The same concept concerning technology applies to adults as well.  Distributive justice if accepted by the majortiy could benefit society greatly.  The world has become far too worried about individual justice as compared to the well being of others .