C11-2 Russian Hackers and Treason

As many people know there has been the conclusion that Russian hackers did interfere with the election but what we don't know is what they did and to what extent they changed the elections. According to this NY times article two hackers in Russia were arrested for providing info to the United States government. Those arrests could be used as a scapegoat in order to prevent a large search and conflict within the Russian government and prevent the Russian government from appearing to have traitors inside. Another possibility is Russia using those hackers to hold above the United States, as releasing exactly what the hackers did could cause issues in the States with the election results and current president.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/world/europe/russia-hacking-us-election.html

C11-1 Trump Immigration Ban

As many already know, Trump has now placed a temporary ban on Muslims from 7 countries which has sparked major protests. This ban has set America even more distant from other countries as most agree to take immigrants and muslims in with open hands. Personally I have no opinion on this as it seems to set one side off no matter what you say, but by living in the South this will most likely not affect me. Trump is living up to his words which is a good or bad thing depending on what side youre on. I think while its good that he's doing what he said he would do, not all of those actions are "good".

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38791752

C10-4 Trump abortion policy

With Trump now being the official president of the United States, he is living up to many of his claims with one of those being anti abortion. Today he reinstated a policy that bans foreign aid or federal funding for international abortion programs. While that policy doesnt effect abortions in the United States it does however effect foreign countries. Many are saying that the act, which was taken down by Obama in 2008, is now setting abortion activism back many years. While many think Trump is doing this because he is against abortion it seems that he is doing this because thats what the people want him to do. A majority of Americans voted that they don't want abortions to be tax payed, and this is a step in that direction. However with these foreign abortion clinics most likely being shut down, the population in the poorer countries will be on the rise which could raise other problems.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-reinstates-reagan-era-anti-abortion-policy-n710081

C10-3 IRS and bitcoins

With the use of bitcoins, the digital currency, being on the rise this post is now discussing the irs wanting access to the bitcoin database. The irs is stating that bitcoin is being used for illegal transactions which gives them a reason to invade but the whole purpose of bitcoin is to be able to pay safely and anonymously over the internet with no invasion. I believe the irs shouldnt have access as bitcoin isnt something used only in the United States but around the world and with the IRS joining in, other countries most likely would too. The government seems to be wanting to make sure theres absolutely no way people can make transactions without getting taxed but either way people will find a way around it.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/12/15/bitcoin-user-battles-irs-in-court-over-access-to-private-data.html

C10-2 El Chapo extradited

The well known drug lord El Chapo has been captured again and despite his numerous captures and escapes this time looks like the last. Being the leader of a large drug ring he has escaped from multiple Mexican prisons with many factors such as more people working for him, lower grade prisons, and inside people. Now that he is in the United States that will change. While most of that seems more crime related news, the United States is seeking 14 billion from him now that he is captured which brings politics into the mix. As many know now that Trump is president he is seeking money from mexico to build a wall and with el chapo now captured and put in the United States, Trump could use that as leverage to get the money for the wall. On the other side Mexico could give the United States the money for el Chapo but then say they owe nothing else towards the wall as the money from the drug lord could cover both.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-38696925

C10-1 9/11 Muslims challenging Supreme Court

In responce to studying the supreme court I picked this article as its about a case where Muslims have gone to the supreme court claiming religious discrimination after they were detained following 9/11. Many of the muslims out of the 750 rounded up did not have immigration papers and were held for around 1 day in a cell where they claim to be mentally and physically abused. And after were held in detention for 3-8 months. The lawyers for the Muslims are saying that they understand why they picked up the muslims at first as they thought they could be connected, but say that 8 months is ridiculous. The Justice department says that some were connected to terrorism, some had been, and others werent at all and the government was in a difficult situation following the huge attack. The main case is that the government is being called out for religious discrimination but as mentioned earlier the reason was terrorism. Personally i believe the court will rule in favor of the government, especially since the government had a reasonable caused and  will be backed by much more interest groups.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/supreme-court-hears-case-muslims-detained-911-170119050505116.html

C9-4 Chinese Central Commission for Discipline Inspection

China's communist government is known for being one of the stricter governments existing, something I got a taste of from visiting there, and this news article about their anti-corruption shows that. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection is the organization in charge of making sure no government official is corrupt however 17 officials from that organization alone have been inspected for corruption. The CCDI has became very relevant since the current president came into power and has broadcasted the CCDI officials admitting into giving into bribes which resulted in their punishment. While to some that seems a bit extreme, in many ways it seems very reasonable given how much corruption goes on with governments in the modern time.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-38551841

C9-3 Republican Victory and Action

With the upcoming president, the Republican party will now hold power in both ends after losing one the Obama for the past years and it will be interesting to see the action they take regarding his past policies. The Republicans have been saying that they will wipe the country of Obama's past actions but the true question is how they will do that. Many of Obama's actions such as healthcare would seem very difficult to do as it would leave many people without any medical care. The GOP is already taking action against the democratic parties policies but with Obama still in power nothing is being stopped.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/how-republicans-plan-to-roll-back-obama-era-regulations/512348/

C9-2 North Korea Missiles

In this North Korean video, Kim Jong Un states that North Korea is prepping tests for a new long range nuclear missile, posing a much larger threat to countries like the United States which aren't completely in range of their other missiles. Its funny how other topics such as the election and race issues are receiving much more attention while a potential nuclear threat isn't being looked at much at all. The people of the United States need to truly be united and worry about the true issues that threaten us all. The Republicans now taking leadership in the government will be a new stance compared to democrats and I believe there is much more potential for more action being taken against North Korea as the republicans are pro military compared to democrat.

http://www.today.com/video/north-korea-s-kim-jong-un-says-preparations-for-long-range-missile-at-final-stage-845803587556

Parties of China

1. China’s government falls under the communist type and is a unitary system. It is led by the Chinese communist party, which is a small force that controls all levels of government. There is a head of state which mainly a ceremonial position with limited powers, however after 1993 the head of the ccp has also served as president. The current head of ccp and president is Xi Jinping. China does have a legislative branch which is made up of the National People’s Congress. The CCP holds the true power in China.
   
2. In total China has 9 different parties while the CCP is the only major party, showing prevailing power of the others.
3. The Chinese Communist Party is considered the major ruling power and towers over any other parties in china.
   
4. There are 8 other parties that exist below the CCP but they only exist due to signing to rules which give the CCP all the power and agree not to violate a wide range of offenses to hurt the CCP in any way. The CCP practically controls all other parties and has the power to shut down any party they wish to.
   
5. While the CCP is ruling over all issues of China, the other 8 parties gather on issues such as democratic committees, revolutionary committees, and self governing democratic committees.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_China

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_the_People's_Republic_of_China#Parties

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-09-26/chinas-leaders-who-holds-the-real-power

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/china_politics/government/html/1.stm

http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/Q&A/161608.htm

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/China-POLITICS-GOVERNMENT-AND-TAXATION.html

C9-1 Russian Election Hacking

The news buzz about the election still hasn't died down despite trump still being the president following the recounts. The news is now commonly about Russias alleged hacking into the election. While Russia didnt hack the votes directly, they are being accused of releasing the emails regarding hilliary clinton along with hacking into her campaign managers email. Seems as if Obama is doing all he can about Russia while he is still in term and Trump wont be doing anything once hes in office. I dont believe the Republican party had anything to do with the hacking directly however the republican political views would benefit Russia which would motivate the hacking.  However i believe that once trump is in office there will be no russian hacks against the United States.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38521503

News Post Cycle 10

Like many know, donald trump was very into the blue collar theme of his campaign, saying how the wealthy are taking over and the middle and lower class need more power. However as the article shows he hasnt shown that at all. All of his picks for government positions have been very wealthy individuals. With Obama coming from the democrat side and having democratic officials, the trump transition seems like it will have a very big effect on the country as the new politicians are going for completely different goals. I believe all of the new government officials will have the most effect on the current debate topics such as global warming, immigration, and gun control as those have recently all be acted on from a democratic point. With the attorney general coming from Alabama im wondering if he will make any changes that would effect alabama more than others.

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/trump-s-cabinet-picks-have-combined-wealth-11b-how-did-n692681

News Post Cycle 10

While the drug pricing debates havent been a focus of media recently they are definitely still going on. According to this article, since 2014, 29 drugs have been mentioned by the government regarding their prices being way too high but only 5 of those 22 went down on their prices while 2 went up. One of the biggest themes of america is free market which brings into question whether or not the government should be able to control the prices of drugs especially when those drugs are needed to keep somebody alive. The government will not let somebody die due to not being able to afford a medication which means the cost of the drugs would go to programs such as medicare. Which in turn makes the people of the country pay for the medication. If the government does regulate the drug prices then people will definetley become angry which will start a entirely new issue. Either way somebody will not get their way.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/congress-doesn-t-scare-drug-execs-lowering-prices-n685276