The U.S. needs to follow through with devastating sanctions on Iran. America can stop Iran with these new sanctions, such as increasing the cost to conduct business in Iran. We can use this sanction to make businesses leave Iran, and causing their economy to plummet. This would devastate the nation, and would cause them to be stopped in making nuclear weapons due to a lack of funding. Benjamin Netanyahu said that “Iran was racing forward to produce a nuclear weapon,” and “This means not moderate sanctions, or watered-down sanctions,” he said. “This means crippling sanctions and these sanctions must be applied right now.” That is exactly what increasing the cost to conduct business in Iran would do…cripple them severely.
Another way the world can stop Iran by using sanctions is by sanctioning the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, which are in control of the nuclear facilities. If China and Russia, the main suppliers to Iran, would sanction the guards then, the guards could not control the facilities and an outer power would be able to buy it out. The country that would buy it out would be a stable country such as the U.S. or France. A brilliant strategy that would only work with the help of China an Russia. The U.S., China, Russia, and France need to attack Iran with powerful sanctions.

Do We Have More Time?
Iran, in the end, will eventually become a nuclear power. The main reason why Iran will become a nuclear power is because of China and Russia’s stubbornness. China and Russia are the main suppliers for Iran, and if they lose Iran as a business partner, then they will lose a major profit. They are way too stubborn to let go an excellent business partner leave, even if it creates a great threat to the rest of the world. According to New York Time’s journalist, Neil MacFarquhar, China’s UN representative, Zhang Yesui, said about the Iranian nuclear issue “needs some more time and patience.” This proves that China will keep giving Iran nuclear supplies for as long as possible. China has a known past for opposing sanctions, because they say they are waiting for Beijing conformation.
Another reason why Iran will succeed in getting nuclear weapons is because China will give enough supplies to Iran, before the sanctions are passes-if it is passed. The time it takes to us to decide what were going to do about Iran, Iran will have enough supplies to continue building their enrichment plants. Iran will keep us busy while they build their plants, and become a nuclear power.
Now you might say that the sanctions will pass and Iran will not get there supplies, but it is taking the world quite some time to figure out what they’re going to do with Iran. This situation is just like a race, and whoever finishes first will have a massive affect on our world. If Iran drags out these sanctions, and is able to build their uranium enrichment plants, then that area of the world is in trouble, but if we can pass the sanctions with Iran’s permission, or come up with a brand new idea, then the world will have one less threat to deal with. Therefore, China and Russia need to let go of their economic values and realize that if they continue to be stubborn then Iran will have nuclear weapons.

During this semester I learned so very much about writing and different forms of it. I learned how to do creative writing. On my First Day of School memoir, I learned that in creative writing you don't write an overview, and you have to be creative. On my first draft it was by far the most boring story I have ever read. So, when I got my grade back (which want so hot) he allowed us to redo it. Thank goodness for that or else I would have failed. On my redo I found out that you have to use adjectives and describe what you: taste,smell,hear,see, and feel. When I finished my redo I had to say that thanks to Mr. Fielder teaching me how to do a creative story really helped out my grade.
Next, I learned how to use a blog. At first I thought a blog was going to be a burden to do, but i quickly found out that blogs help you to express your feelings about all sorts of topics. Such as holidays, elections, experiences in your life, etc. With the blogs you have to have pictures, and by the help of fellow classmates, I discovered that pictures help your blog a great amount, because it gives you a visual on what you are feeling or what the topic is about.
In addition to learning how to write creatively, and how to blog, I learned how to read with more of an intellectual approach. I was taught how to margin note. Margin noting is when you read and article, book, newspaper, and so on, and question it or make comments, and later on go back to the question and see if you can find the answer. This is a very effective tool when you are reading a difficult paper, because it allows you to question something to see if it makes sense. Margin noting came in handy when we read a complex paper called the American Scholar. This article was written by a philosopher, so the language was difficult to understand and it had old terms that people don't use today. Thanks to margin noting I questioned what I didn't know and eventually went back and it helped me to clear the nonsense and understand what was really important.
Another concept I strengthened was that of capitalization. Now i though i knew everything about capitalization, but I was wrong. I learned that you capitalize "mom" and "dad" when it takes the place of a persons name, pretty much like a pronoun. Also I learned that you don't capitalize foreign names if it has become very common like french fries, but Asia Minor needs to be capitalized.
I think the most important concept i learned this semester was the cultures of the world. Cultures are as diverse as the people in the culture. There are 100s of different cultures and I learned about just a few of them this semester. I learned that minority cultures are sometimes forgotten about, such as in Australia and the Aborigines. When the British arrived in Australia they immediately discriminated against the Aborigines. The British believed that the Aborigines need to be erased from the world, and they came close to it. They put the Natives into camps where they would be breed with white men and the children would be one shade lighter than before. They also used the Aborigines as cheap labor, later on laws were passed to stop the elimination of the Aborigine culture, and they did. The Aborigine population is very low today because, new generations want lives in the modern world instead of living in the 40,000 year old culture.
Lastly i learned about the early origination of countries. South African was a country that really intrigued me. Here the Dutch were in charge, as they set up a strategic port for the the Dutch East India Trade Company. a group of rebellious Dutch called, The Boers, didn't like the lifestyle in the Cape Colony, so they started the Great Trek. They moved northward and encountered the Natives here call the Khoikhoi. The Khoikhoi were easily eliminated due to the spread of smallpox. At this time a Africa nation was starting to rise and it was run by the Zulus. The Zulus were fierce warriors and stopped at nothing to get what they wanted. They eventually would face the Boers and utter defeat when 3,000 Zulu men were killed by over 400 Boers. In the 1800s diamonds were found in Kimberley and the British wanted them, so the set up a colony in Natal. Natal was placed as a strategic base to get diamonds. The Boers had confrontation with the British, and this led to the Anglo-Boer war. Where the Boers were severely outnumber and lost the battle. I really enjoyed this semester and i cant wait for next semester!

In early colonization, Britain plays a huge role in the colonization of the early world. Britain is the reason why America was founded as a country, and why Australia was colonized as well. Britain did not have colonized South Africa, but they did play a major role in the swift development of the South African colony. First of all, Britain indirectly founded America. The pilgrims from Great Britain were trying to avoid religious persecution. So the British pilgrims set up colony in America, directly linking Britain to the United States of America. Next, Britain set up a prison colony in Australia. The British were extremely into the imperialism, but thanks to this many colonies were set up around the world.
Britain also utilized other territories for there own use such as Australia. They set up Australia as a prison colony because they didn't want criminals in there great empire. A very clever idea and by doing this they established a small prison colony on Australia. The probably didn't know how successful Australia would be, but as we know today Australia is a very popular country.
Along with this colonization came conflict with the natives. In America the British pilgrims came into contact with the Native American, which at first they used them to their advantage, but later on pushed them out of their land and put them in camps. Also in Australia they used the Aborigines as cheap labor, but not quite to the extent of slaves. They were very ruthless in the colonization, and how they treated the natives.
The British not only did the British colonize countries, they also helped other countries get there name put into the world. For example, in South Africa the British took a tremendous role in helping establish South Africa. The British were in South Africa before the Dutch. It is more of a reconnaissance to see what they could find, but they found no use in South Africa, until later years. The British did not find use in South Africa until the discovery of diamonds in Kimberley. The set up a colony at Natal as a useful base for their operations. While in Natal they had confrontation with the Boers. Which eventually led to the Anglo-Boer war which the British won. Overall, Britain crafted South Africa history and those of many other countries, due to their strong belief in imperialism.

I love Christmas. It is my favorite holiday, by far. You get to get out of school for two weeks, spend time with friends, and family, and just get to relax from all the pressures that are placed on you from school. Too bad that this year I didn't get to get out of school on December 18 like everyone else, and actually feel like I got out of school because of Christmas vacation. Instead, I was stuck at home with bronchitis. I was looking forward to almost being done with school on Tuesday, December 16. I would finally be done with swimming in three days! I should have known that I wouldn't make it to the end of the week. You see i have had a cough for about a week and it was getting pretty bad, but I made sure that I would stay in school for as long as possible, and I did.

On that Tuesday I felt so terrible right when I woke up. I was coughing had a headache, and I just felt plain tired, but I somehow made myself go to school, because I was so determined to make it through this week. First hour, I felt chipper even though I was sniffling like crazy. I felt really bad for all the people around me, because I knew how annoying my continuous sniffles were. I was feeling okay until I got to sixth hour... gym. Now this week was the last week of the dreaded swimming, so it would be a pain to have to make up any swim days. When I entered the swimming pool I started to cough so much that I thought my lungs were going to collapse. I just wanted to be done so badly. I made it through that day of swimming.

When I dried off everything felt odd. My skin hurt, I felt hot, and I was exhausted. Unfortunately I had to stay at school because my mom was working the Teacher Luncheon and I had to help. I tried so hard not to cough but it wasn't working. The harder I tried not to the harder I coughed. It was a nightmare. Finally, I went home and took my temperature, it was 101.3. I was glad that I could sleep in tomorrow but so upset that i had to miss a day of gym ,because I would have to make it up later on. I went to the doctor the on Wednesday and she told me I would have to miss the rest of the week due to my fever. I was devastated that I would have to miss the last days before Christmas vacation.

Emerson’s argument in “The American Scholar” about American society is very true even in today’s society. One way that Emerson’s idea is still true today is in the way Americans work. “The planter, who is Man sent out into the field to gather food, is seldom cheered by any idea of the true dignity of his ministry.” (Emerson). Today we believe that our occupation is the only job we can do. We don’t see that there is a bigger picture. The bigger picture is that our job is part of a cycle that keeps us living and prospering. There is a farmer, a doctor, and a soldier. The farmer produces food, the doctor makes sure the people are healthy, and the soldier defends the people. If you take one of those careers out of the picture, the people of the country would wither away. If the farmer is taken away the people would starve, take the doctor out the people would die from illness, and lastly take out the solider the people would be killed by foreign countries.

The second reason why Emerson argument is still true is the way we educated our children. We teach our children different subjects, so that they can decide what they will progress in at life. School gives us an oppurtunity to accomplish in a vast majority of fields, and yet when we grow up we only have one job that defines us. In conclusion, Emerson's idea is very common in our world today.

I found the debate about Rwanda to be a very useful tool in understanding the situation in Rwanda and how all major parts contributed to the genocide. My group, Paul Kagame, though played a major part in the genocide was not called on that much, because most of the questions were directed to the countries rather than the groups of people that actually were involved in the fighting part of the genocide. I was upset that I wasn’t able to answer many questions, yet I learned so much from the other groups. I was surprised that so much of the blame went on Belgium for leaving Rwanda in their time of distress. I was surprised that no one really called on the Interahamwe, the Hutu Rebel group, because they did most of the killings along with Rwandan Armed Forces. Instead most of the blame was aimed at the MRND, a Hutu group that supposedly brainwashed the Hutu people into killing the innocent Tutsi people.

I do believe that the MRND did help to get the Hutu people to become enraged, but I believe more that years of racial conflict really caused the genocide, and over years and years of fighting they just snapped and started to go out on a killing spree. The event that caused the thin wire to snap was we Hutu leader Juvenal Hirotayama’s plane was shot down. Most people believe that Paul Kagame was the one who ordered his plane to get shot down, so he could use the opportunity to become a leader of Rwanda, but there is no proof. After the genocide ended however, Paul Kagame did become vice president, later the president of Rwanda. Therefore, all of us are to blame, but some of us contributed to the genocide more than others.

I hope that in the future that we will do debates again. They really cleared things up for me that I didn’t understand, like who is to blame. I really like how all of have opinions that clash with each other. I hoped that we could have come up with a resolution together, because a whole class has more ideas than a group of two or three people. All in all the debate was a great opportunity to get ideas off your chest and see what other people think about them, I believe that we should do debates more often than not.