Abstract

The resource that I am looking at is oil in Iraq. Oil has been mismanaged, especially in Iraq, for decades and may continue to be mismanaged for many more years. Without any help from the United States government, Iraq’s oil could profit the wrong people or fall into the wrong hands.

There have been laws to restrict Iraq after the gulf war in 1991. Many of these laws were put in place to regulate Iraq’s income (which is largely based on oil exportation profits). Even with the regulations, Iraq failed to maintain records, measure the amount of oil they withdraw from the ground, and withheld information from the United Nations.

Many of these laws were put in place to ensure that Saddam Hussein or Iraq did not try to invade another country after Kuwait. The United Nations allowed Saddam to remain in control of Iraq after his defeat in the first gulf war. Many of the laws regulating oil would have helped stopped oil smuggling, and benefited the government, yet the corrupt government Iraqi government did not follow these laws.

The United States have drafted a new set of laws regarding oil which Iraq is still considering at the moment. These laws force Iraq to sell oil to America at a reasonable price, trying to weed out as much corruption and mismanagement as possible. The problem is, with the state that Iraq is in now, even should the government agree to such a proposal, the different groups that are fighting for supremacy in Iraq care little for the government.

My solution is to find a reasonable way to unite the 3 warring groups in Iraq (Sunni Shiite and Kurd) into a peaceful solution, allowing each of them to gain profit from the oil. If this does not work, America will need to find a way to switch to another energy source, removing dependency on Iraq and its oil.

Social Deviance

My group (which consisted of Jesse, Sam, Dan and me) chose to do our social deviance video on what would happen if we fell asleep at the mall. We brought an inflatable matress and a blanket and put it in the middle of Fashion Valley mall, while secretly recording people. A link to the video can be found at Sam's blog. http://sgraye.blogspot.com/2009/10/man-and-bed-sociology-experiment.html

In Defense of Food

Why do people choose to eat products that are unhealthy for them?

People choose to eat unhealthy food for two main reasons. One of them is taste, unhealthy food generally tastes good. The second reason is availability and price. Unhealthy food is almost always available at cheap prices and combined with the fact that it tastes good, many people choose to eat it.

What roles/responsibilities does the gov't have in framing your choice?

I belive that the government should be responsible for educating us on our choices in farming, what types of food to eat, etc. They should not control what food we can eat, but give us the knowledge to make those choices for ourselves. It should be our choice weather to eat genetically modified food, yet the government has to educate us about the advantages and disadvantages of eating the crop.

Barder's Story

There is a little kid 5-6 years old. His name is Daniel. He is wearing jeans, a purple sweatshirt, and an orange turban. Daniel has a pet, a dog named Barder, but the turban that he's wearing, and his dog are no completely ordinary. While Daniel is wearing the orange turban, his dog Barder can fly.

Daniel flys through the air clinging tightly onto Barder's back. Faster he crys, and Barder obideges. Daniel understands that the turban he is wearing is what allows his flight, but he does not know why. The wind attacks the boys face, but his turban keeps him safe and protected as Barder continues to pick up speed. The boy's dog barks in excietment and begins to slow down. It appears he spotted something far below him on the ground. His excitment obvious by the wailing of his tail, Barter lands light as a feather on the ground. He runs up to a bowl of food, and eats until he is full. Meanwhile Daniel, on his back has fallen asleep. Once Barder can't eat any more, he lays down to sleep, the boy still on his back. They will awaken again, and the boy wants his rest.

American Authority?

Does America have the authority to meddle in other countries affairs? In many cases, the answer to this question will change, depending which country is having the affairs. For example, in Iraq, America would have had the authority to meddle in there affairs if they actually had nuclear weapons. Since they don't, there is no reason for America to stay in Iraq. In certain situations, it would be all right for America to meddle with the affairs of other countries. This is only when the country is in some way threatening America. In most cases, America should stop being the police of the world.

The Man in the Leather Jacket

1:00 AM. January 28th, 1998. A man is hurrying off of the subway. The man is wearing a leather jacket, not buttoned up, over a black collared shirt which is tucked into his black pants which are secured by a belt. Worn over his leather jacket is a completely black backpack. His right hand is firmly clutching a ticket of some sort. In his right he is holding a magazine and a stack of papers that can't be made out in the light. The man's mustache outlines his expression of confusion and panic; the necessity to hurry.

A beeping occurs, beep..... beep.... beep... beep.. beep.. beep, getting faster and faster until the man clicks a button on the watch to turn it off. There is silence as he steps outside of the subway station onto the deserted street. Nobody is out at 1:09 AM. The man in the leather jacket glances behind him, the lack of anyone present seems to comfort him. He looks ahead again, he's almost at his destination.

36 hours earlier: The man in the leather jacket is sitting at a round table. He glances nervously around at the 4 men sitting around him. All of them are wearing black suits with white ties. All of them are staring at him with expressionless faces. He knows panic such as he has never felt before, although he does not know why. The men sitting around him rise as he blacks out.

1:15 AM. The chirping of crickets bring the man in the leather jacket back to his present state of mind. He feels the cold air stinging his face, but he does not care. He does not remember anything before the train ride, other than the terror he felt of the 4 men in suits. He knows he is to meet someone here, he just does not know who, or why. He's curious and afraid of what he will find, but he knows that he is not able to turn around, to run away. A voice calls him by name, just loud enough that he can hear them. He walks around the corner, ready to face whatever he needs to.

Pictures found from Bill Sullivan Works: http://www.3situations.com/BillSullivanWorks/MT%20MASTER%20pre%20.html