The American Car

I agree with Blair in her article Automaker failure. The American Auto industry has a reputation for not being the best thing out. This reputation is not only found here in the US it can be found all around the world. The funny thing is that initially the US was won for making good, cheap cars, but the was way back when the Model T came along a Ford had just introduced the assembly line process to the automobile industry. Since then it seems that the US has lost its prestige when it comes to car making. Most Asian companies have picked up were Ford left of so many years ago and that is making cheap, efficient and affordable cars for the public. The American car industry seems to have moved away from this concept creating gas consuming monsters that are not to the consumers’ best interest. It almost as if the car industry has a deal with the oil companies.

The article is very well written and captures the essence of the automobile industries’ problems. There is definitely a bias in the article, but this bias is backed up by cold facts. Unlike many other articles I have read before this type of bias is supported, after all it is an informed and coherent one. Blair talks about how the automobile industry promises to use their bailout to generate more efficient transportation. But just like the article says isn’t it a bit too late?

I believe that article is excellent. It addresses the main issue of a current and relevant topic. It is well written, easy to read and its message is clear. Yes the article is bias against the American Automobile Industry but this bias it supported by facts and unlike many other biases out there it has a good mixture of feelings with the facts, which make the argument all that more appealing. The article is also balance for Blair explains that she understand the existence of these vehicles, but she doesn’t understand why anyone who doesn’t have a farm or does heavy lifting would use them in the city where their outdoor advantages become urban disadvantages. To sum it up the article is well written, coherent, addresses both sides of the issues and exercises a prudent way of using bias.

Nicaragua was left in a ditch to die

I was born in the center of it all. Few Americans know where Nicaragua is and for those who claim to know, I’m sorry but Africa is not the place. Nicaragua is actually closer than most people think, in fact it’s geographically considered part of North America (no not the USA, I’m talking about North America which includes: Canada, USA, Mexico and Central America). Flying from Nicaragua to Miami actually only takes about an hour and a half, that’s pretty close considering that going from Miami to San Francisco takes twice the time. Sub geographically Nicaragua is found in Central America and it is considered to be the very center of the Americas. This key location has caught the eye of many nations in both North and South America. Initially the Panama Canal was planned to be constructed in Nicaragua but sadly this idea never took of. The idea still lives on today though because of Nicaragua’s central location in the Americas. But that’s another story.

Back in the days of the Cold War, the US was known as the protector of democracy. The US made it their duty to preserve democracy and contain communism. The USSR was spreading through Eastern Europe, communism was taking over Asia and under developed countries in the Americas. The US could certainly not allow this, for this was a direct threat to democracy. At the rate communism was spreading it was only a matter of time before it reached them. Nicaragua fell to communism as the Sandinistas took over the country back in the 80s. The very center of the Americas had been infected the US had to act fast before communism reached its own borders. On April 21 1985, Ronald Reagan imposed an embargo on Nicaragua. Reagan said "the actions and policies of the Nicaraguan government represent an extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States." The idea behind the embargo was to create such an economic crisis in Nicaragua that it would only have one option to ask the US for help and renounce its communist tendencies. But the Nicaraguan people held on and never fell to the embargo. Reagan then gave green light to his back up plan. US military personal stationed in Honduras was promptly moved into Nicaragua territory to aid rebels who opposed the national government. The missions to bring down the Nicaraguan government failed, but Reagan was still hopeful that the economic tension and the increasing military operations would eventually take over allowing for the US to take over and install democracy. The Nicaraguan government was able to maintain power and Reagan’s attempts failed. The country though had tens of thousands of people dead and the economy was destroyed. To this day the effects of the Reagan presidency still echo in Nicaragua.

So how did Nicaragua respond to this aggression? We didn’t attack New York City, we didn’t bomb Washington. Instead we took the diplomatic road. We responded by presenting a case to the World Court, there was no problem putting together the evidence there was plenty to pick from. The World Court took our case and ruled in the favor of Nicaragua. The Court ruled that the US was guilty of “unlawful use of force,” which is fancy talk for international terrorism. In the end the court said that the US needed to terminate the crime and pay Nicaragua reparations. So what did the bastion of democracy do? Well the United States government basically wiped their @$$ with the court ruling. The US announced “that it would not accept the jurisdiction of the court henceforth.” How convenient if I may say. Then Nicaragua then went to the UN Security Council which considered a resolution calling on all states to observe international law. No one was mentioned but everyone understood it was targeted toward the US. The US simply vetoed the resolution. It now stands as the only state on record which has both been condemned by the World Court for international terrorism and has vetoed a Security Council resolution calling on states to observe international law. At this point, Nicaragua couldn’t do anything lawful. It tried all the measures. Sadly the world is ruled by force and not democracy, and the US government is no exception.