Ben Cook

A Rope and a Prayer

2012-01-22T14:43:00.000-08:00

The book, A Rope and a Prayer, is about a journalist, David Rhode, who was held hostage by the Taliban. He is a New York Time’s journalist who was on assignment in Afghanistan when he was kidnapped. Rhode experienced seven terrible months while being held captive. This book not only shows the perspective of the author, but it also tells us what his wife and family went through. Luckily Rhode is alive today. I chose this book because of the interesting and thrilling subject matter. I hope to learn more about the country of Afghanistan, the Taliban and its tribes, and the political climate of the country today. I look forward to reading this book and I think it will give me a good overall view of the problems the people in Afghanistan face.

Solutions to the Nile River Conflict

2012-01-04T15:20:00.000-08:00

The first and best solution is figuring out an agreement on things to trade. Some things Egypt does not have, maybe some of the Upstream Nations have. This could benefit both countries, a poor country could use water from the Nile, while Egypt or Sudan could easily obtain a resource that they lack. A way to ensure that all countries receive water, people have to set up systems, where maybe you "donate" 10% or so of the crops, resources, animals, any necessity for that matter, and give it to Egypt or Sudan.
A second and also good option is to swear loyalty, by militias or army's, or alliances from these countries to Egypt and Sudan. This could obviously strengthen both sides. The Upstream Nations receive the water they need, while Egypt and Sudan both receive bigger and more spread out Army's.
The third and final decision is to force them to give portions of water. A way to start this could be by taking the problem to the UN; if that does not work the only option left is war. This would already add to a death toll that is very high in the area. The first two options are the best because they are saving lives although this may or may not be effective it is very possible that many of lives will be lost.

Application of the IR Paradigms

2011-11-29T12:27:00.000-08:00

The two paradigms that I have chosen are realism and marxism. Realism can be seen all throughout this topic, because Egypt and Sudan have more power if they control the Nile River. Egypt and Sudan, do not gain a thing if they give some water resources to the Upstream Nations. The Upstream Nations are in a famine and are also very poor. Since they are poor, there are not a whole lot they can trade with for the water. So if a realist is in this situation he would not give them water, beacuse he could have more power. Marxism can also be seen in this topic as well. A seperation of upper and lower classes is what has been going on here for a long time. Egypt and Sudan would like to keep it that way, so keeping the water sources would keep an unbalance system of upper class and lower class.

Interview with Jason Knapp

2011-11-17T18:16:00.000-08:00

Tonight I had an interview with Jason Knapp of Wadsworth High School, Mr. Knapp is an AP History teacher. When we talked over the phone, he gave me more point of views to look at that I had not thought about. We talked about the relationship between the US and Egypt, and how this would affect the US government trying to get involved with the conflict. Another topic was about how Sudan was a rogue nation. There is no stability, especially after the civil war that split Sudan into North and South. There are many paradigms that can be seen in this conflict, but if you are looking at it through realist point of views; what does Egypt receive? What do the Upstream nations have to offer Egypt and Sudan, what can they trade? He told me that I should take a bigger look at the smaller countries involved and what they have to offer. And also to see what Egypt does not have. Democratic Egypt? How would this affect everything? After all of the events that just took place with the revolution, can we expect to see a democratic Egypt? If so, will it affect the choices Egypt will make? Democratic Egypt, obviously will allow the people to think and if the Upstream Nations can sneak ideas into Egyptian minds, will there be changes in this conflict? Another question that came up in our conversation was how? How will these very poor nations, transfer the Nile's water to their city's? If they try to transfer it, then it will cost a lot of money, which most of these nations do not have. Mr. Knapp helped me so much with this project, not by proposing a solution, but by helping me see the bigger picture. By giving me more options to look at and possibly a better solution.

Nile River

2011-11-04T05:26:00.000-07:00

This picture gives us a clear look at the Nile River and the countries surrounding it. Countries like Ethiopia, Congo, Burundi, Eritrea, and Tanzia are currently fighting for a share of the Nile River with Egypt and Sudan.

The Nile River Conflict

2011-11-04T05:19:00.000-07:00

The Niler River Conflict is a very sensitive topic, especially in the North Eastern part of Africa. The Upstream Nations as they call them are angry over the distribution of the Nile River's water sources. Currently Egypt and Sudan control the Nile's water, but these Upstream Nations are fighting for shares of the water. Most of these nations are experiencing famines and droughts, which means that they desperately need a share of the Nile River. The Upstream Nations are currently trying to negotiate with Egypt and Sudan. If these countries don't agree to a resolution quick it could very well lead to war. If they agree on certain terms, all countries would relieve themselves of any more possible deaths. But if they don't come to an agreement soon there could be millions lost.