Drones-The new war tool

For the past 12-13 years’ drones have been used as a war tool by the American government, with an intention to determinate possible Al Qaida followers and terrorists. But using such a device is not only killing a possible terrorist but also a big amount of innocent people along with them. To use drones as a device within war has been an ongoing debate between the government and the citizens in both America and other countries. Is is morally alright to kill a bunch of innocent people if that means that one possible terrorist is killed? How do the people behind the drone remote feel after killing a large amount of people with just a press of the button?

What is a Drone?

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A drone is a remote-controlled weapon system controlled by satellite, which allows a military person to control a drone from places like Nevada to places across the world.  This was first use within war when in 2001, the white house was contacted by the CIA, saying that they had developed the capability to arm a drone with explosives.  After a lot of consideration and meetings, the white house agreed that using drones to eliminate Al Qaida would be seen as legit self-defense and not as murder.  Weeks after the terrible attack on the twin towers in New York, George Bush, at the time president of the United states, signed a secret agreement letting the CIA fly across the globe to kill Al Qaida followers and people related to them. Still, there is no reported ongoing war between Pakistan and the United States, but the bombing continues.

The search for potential terrorists is a long process. They are targeted by a set of criteria, for example, if someone walks around with a gun, or if they are annually visiting an area tied to Al Qaida or the Taliban’s. Classified U.S. intelligence reports that the US, in fact, had no idea who they were they were targeting, even if Obama numerous times had said that all people they have killed are given an identity.  An article written in 2015, estimated that there are roughly 1.000 drone pilots, known as 18Xs, working for the U.S. Air Force and another 180 pilots graduating annually from a year-long training program at Holloman and Randolph Air Force bases in New Mexico and Texas.

Recruiting

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         As I briefly mentioned before, a drone is controlled by a person sitting in a booth with a joystick and waiting for the right time and the command to fire off the drone to the targeted area where the possible terrorist is.  A very common source the US military uses when recruiting soldiers for drone pilots is video games and other virtual reality related themes.  A documentary made by Norwegian Tonje Hessen Schei (Hessen Schei, tonje. Drone, n.d.)

, reviled that children down to the age of 12 were also targeted for recruitment by the US military.

A lot of video games now a day have their plot in war and guns, and people recruiting for drone pilots often come to think that steering a drone is a lot similar to gaming, which can give the US military the benefit of getting more recruiters for drone pilots.  The reason to why video games are a very effective source is because by playing video games, you often sharpen your capability to concentrate, and you become more aware of where you have to aim and who the “bad” guy is.  Recruiting video gamers has gone so far that the US military made an own video game named America´s Army, potential pilots play with real sound effects to make people want to become a drone pilot.  One thing pilots may realize after being a pilot for a while is that what they thought would be easy, ended up affecting their mentality.

 Before it was mentioned that in 2015 the US air force was annually recruiting 180 drone pilots.  At the same time, around 250 pilots dropped out. Brandon Bryant, a former drone pilot for the U.S. Air Force, mentioned that one of the main reasons to why people quit, where how they were treated and how the killing of lives was too much to handle. He never quite imagined how it would feel to kill someone, but the first time he did, he felt the world fall around him. Hearing people around him cheering because their target was eliminated, was too much for him.   A pilot, such as Brandon would spend up to 12 hours shifts in a small booth, so of course, it was affecting their mental health.  Some booths even had a picture of the 9/11 bombing hanging in the room, just to remind the pilots what the “enemies” have done before and are capable of doing again if they don´t stop them first. 

Innocent killings

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         The numerous attacks against Al Qaida followers are of course given a positive outcome on the part where you actually kill important Al Qaida member but are the out cost overweighing the benefits? Is it okay to kill a handful of innocent civilians if that one member gets killed? On the picture to the right, you can see that from 2004 -2013 that a total of 2537-3646 were killed, and 49 of them were high profile militant of the Al Qaida.  That leaves us with up to 200 children killed, up to 951 civilians killed and a total of up to 2446 unknown people killed. (Hessen Schei, tonje. Drone, n.d.) Someone lost their child or their parents and back in the United States, we are celebrating that we killed one person we assumed was a member of Al Qaida.

         During the Obama Administration, there were numerous reports, including one by a former drone pilot, saying how a missile fired from a U.S. drone hit an area, where when bystanders rushed to the scene to help the wounded, the drone returned and killed the rescuers too. Another report showed us how drones have struck at funerals of drone-strike victims.  In July 2011, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism commissioned a Pakistan-based reporter named Mushtaq Yusufzai to investigate the reports of the attacks.

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        Mushtaq reports about Hasukhel, a small village 4 km south of Mir Ali, Waziristan´s second town. On May 24, a number of people had gathered around and inside of the mosque to do mornings prayers. Some people were done praying and were sitting outside enjoying the summer temperatures, when drones attacked the gathering and killing four people, thought to be Arabs and Turkmen.  Some minutes later a group of people including men from the local Dawar tribe arrived to rescue the injured.  While they were pulling bodies out of the rubble, the drones returned and fired four more missiles killing more people.  These three attacks are just some out of the long list of reports showing how drone attacks are out of hand.  These killings will only lead to more people hating the American government and the recruiting for Al Qaida members will grow tremendously.  Distance only makes us act more harshly because we aren’t the ones in danger.

A moral speculation

Killing thousands of innocent people is never the solution, no matter how effective the solution is. We aren’t the one to decide who has the right to die or not. America may say that they are killing in defense, but do we see any drones shooting missiles in the United States? No.  This war is a one-way war between U.S. and Pakistan, where Pakistan is getting fired on and the U.S is living peacefully.  By killing all these civilians, the U.S has managed to break both article 1 and 2 of the human rights, saying that all humans are born free and equal in dignity and rights, and everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set, without distinction of any kind.  The only reason to why they have not been taken to court or anything is done with this problem is because of the fact that the CIA and other military groups is because they are simply saying that they are only eliminating the people who they see as a threat to the nation and people linked to earlier terror attacks.  

The human rights lawyers fight hard to stop the drone attacks. Not only are the drones taking lives, but the force of the drone missiles causes collateral damage to building around, which would cost a lot to build up again. It´s sad to see how small children like my nephew or little brother, plays with missile pieces like it’s a toy, how they have to run for their life when they see a bird because it resembles a drone.  No one, young or elder, should go every minute praying that a missile won´t drop and kill them. They are so desperate to stop the drone attacks, that they print out large photos of adults and children whose been affected by the war, so that maybe if they are lucky, one pilot will have a heart and try to stop the terrible actions.

Conclusion

Drones were never the answer and is never going to be the answer.  By using drones, they only increase the chances for attacks and a real war against the United States.   I know they meant all the good intentions when they started with drones, on the other hand when the outcome is several civilian’s deaths it´s not worth it, not at all. Not for the benefit of the American government nor the people in America.

Sources

·             Hessen Schei, tonje. Drone, n.d.

·             Woods, Chris, and Yusufzai Mushtag. “Get the Data : The Return of Double - Tap Drone Strikes,” August 1, 2013. https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2013-08-01/get-the-data-the-return-of-double-tap-drone-strikes.

·             Cole, Chris, and Jim Wright. “What Are Drones?,” January 2010. https://dronewars.net/aboutdrone/

·             Unknown. “Why Drone Pilots Are Quitting in Record Numbers,” March 7, 2015. http://www.salon.com/2015/03/06/a_chilling_new_post_traumatic_stress_disorder_why_drone_pilots_are_quitting_in_record_numbers_partner/

·             Pictures taken from from Google.com/ Drone Movie.

Mock Exam – International English

Task 1A

The first element I took notice of then reading the text “How You Can Save Western Civilization by Reading True Grit” was that the author of this text used informal language to get his message across to the reader.  The sentences in this text are short and precise and the author uses pronouns such as “You” to deliver the message. This makes the text much easier to read and to understand, rather than if the author used complex and difficult words. Already in the first paragraph words such as “It´s”, “you, we, me “are written, confirming that this text is written in an informal language. By using “you”, the author also makes the text more personal for the reader, by referring only to him.   Some words I also found in the text that made me believe the text was informal, are: “Jerk, crap”. 

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 The second element I want to explain is that the text is very similar to a speech. By using the second person in the text, the author addresses the reader directly, making him more involved in the topic of the text, and also challenges the reader to think and state his opinion.  It is also used facts in this text: “The New School for Social Research in New York proved that reading literature improves empathy”.  This strengthens the author´s message, by proving for the reader that what he said can be confirmed by facts.

The third element is that the author is encouraging the reader to do something that may be strange to the reader. This makes the text even more personal for the reader because the author implies that the reader’s life would be better if he did as the author said. In paragraph one, the author is encouraging reading, because reading makes you open up new ideas, new experiences, and new perspectives.  In the second paragraph, the author is encouraging learning. By learning new things, you will always have the possibility to be part of a conversation you maybe couldn’t if you never learned something new.   This continues in the third and the last paragraph where the author continues implying to what the reader should do for his life to get better.  

The last element the author is using is repetition, however not in single words but at the start of sentences. An example is found in the second paragraph where the author says; “Read difficult books. Read controversial books. Read a book that makes you cry...”. Here is the word “read” used four times, to deliver the author`s  point, which is to read. This gives the reader motivation to want to read.

Task 1B

Reading has always been a type of therapy for me, and I would say that a lot of people would agree with this statement. The text “How You Can Save Western Civilization by Reading True Grit” puts reading in focus, and how reading sets aside inane distractions of modern culture. When you read a book, you step inside a completely different world. You can relax and forget about all the problems or issues in your life or the world. It is just you and the book.  Reading books is not just relaxing, it also brings you as a person in a new perspective.  You learn more about how to build sentences, you learn more about the language of the book you are reading and you adapt new ideas.

 Learning is also very important for any human. We live in a world with a lot of things to learn. Everything from the language of a country, culture, history to war is something that is a very important topic in this world and something more people should know. It amazes me how I can just travel to a country and experience a whole culture than what we have in Norway, in our home and also experience a completely different language.  We have the capacity to learn, so why not use it?  When going to school you reach a certain amount of learning. You learn what the curriculum wants you to learn, and then the rest is up to you.  Not only is learning important to understand things, it is also important for you to continue your life. Without a certain amount of knowledge, you would not be able to get an education or a job. 

 Task 2 – long answer

2B 

“For a nation to function, it must have a shared culture”

         Anthropologist E.B Taylor defines culture as: “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”.  (“Culture.” Wikipedia, May 1, 2017.)   Every country and society have a culture, some similar to each other and others completely different.   Being a part of a culture, gives a person the feeling of belonging, being part of something greater, and finding yourself as a person. A culture has a lot to say about a person and how that person acts. The same goes for a nation.  How can multiculturalism affect a nation? Who says the effect is negative or positive? 

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          According to Access to International English, a nation is a community held together by blood, language, territory, history and common values. It was also defined as an inclusive association, which would mean; a nation is something consciously created to serve the interest of its members and held together by a common set of rule and laws. (Access to International English. 2nd ed. Cappelen Damm, n.d.)   

For a nation to work, it is important to have a shared culture. If we take America as an example, there is a mixture of many different cultures. In fact, United States is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. This is because of the population of more than 320 million.  The American culture is shaped by the immigrants and the cultures of Native Americans, Latin Americans, Africans and Asians.  The different cultures adapt and learn from each other. The American culture has also an impact in the Western countries, where they listen to American music, movies, and even food. In America, they learn from each other´s culture and adapt from that. However, in recent times, there have been problems tied to the different cultures.

         A shared culture – also called multiculturalism, has in recent times established a population that is against a shared culture. They believe that having shared cultures has gone too far, that it has become threatening to the central values and characteristics of the nation.   If we still have America as an example. In America, they have a set of values, called the American Values.  By sharing different cultures, they are afraid that the American values would eventually disappear. To keep their values, they want cultural minorities to understand their culture as quickly as possible. They want them to take on the same traditions, language and values they believe are held by the majority. Donald Trump can be of current interest when the topic is about cultures and how some cultures are bad for us.  Trump has a strong belief that the Mexican culture in America, is nothing less than bad for the American culture.  Therefore, he has started to deport and build a wall to keep such bad influence away from his country.  This is a bad example on how to handle cultural differences.

        

         Another issue that has been a hot topic for the past year or two, is the refugee crisis that is happening in the world now.  More than a million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe in 2015, creating a big problem for the Europeans. ( “Migrant Crisis: Migration to Europe Explained in Seven Charts.” BBC News, March 4, 2016, sec. Europe)

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        Some believe the trouble in this crisis is because of the lack of space to take in all these refugees in different countries, others believe countries deny taking in refugees because of their culture and how the refugees would not adapt to their culture, only bring in their culture and ruin the current culture.  
 A series made by the famous Bosnian/ Norwegian Leo Ajkic shows us how strong the hatred one culture can have toward another culture. In one of the episodes, it is strongly shown how Greece does not want anything that the Syrian culture has to offer, that they have to think of the Greek people who are suffering first before they can help other people. In some way, their point of view can be. However, when countries like Austria and Norway, with a good economy, refuse to help, people start to wonder.  The only possible way they can deny to help refugees has to be because they are afraid that their culture will change, and that by taking in someone with a different culture, they are bringing bad influence to their own culture.  A while ago, an article was published about how people denied people from other countries to wave with any other flag than the Norwegian flag on 17^th of May, saying that people from other countries had nothing to do with the Norwegian celebration.  Another article said how the foreign people loved celebrating 17^th of may because they could finally be a part of the Norwegian culture without being judged. They could finally celebrate just like any other Norwegian.  These two articles thought us that if how if you see everything negatively, it will come out that way. The people coming into Norway only want to be part of the Norwegian society, not ruin their culture.

        Another person that we see in the series “flukt” is the Croatian Tomislav Sunic. He is against mixing cultures and strongly believes that the best way to live in a nation is to keep cultures separated.  He believed that the war in what was once Yugoslavia started because of the different cultures that were mixed.  This is a war that is very close to me, and I have heard so many stories about it from my family back in Bosnia. No one mentioned anything about how the cultural difference made the countries go to war. As Leo said himself, he lived in a country full of peace and love until the government started to ruin things, there was never a problem with culture. “Fences make good friends” is something Tomislav Sunic said to Leo in an interview. That is wrong in every way possible. Turning our back against the refugees or any other person with a different culture tells us a lot more about how we act as a group, than that person who is seeking a better life.

        A shared culture is important so that we can stop the hatred and the ethnocentrism in the world.  Ethnocentrism means that one views the world as if their culture is the center of the universe and every other culture is then defined according to their culture. This can only lead to bad things. Just as every person is equal, so is every culture.  I think it is important for us to mix cultures so that humans can learn more.  I am from mixed culture and have to live in the Bosnian culture when I visit my mom, however when I´m with my friends I live in the Norwegian culture.

Something I learned from this is that there are no negative sides to multiculturalism. You learn different languages, which is a big benefit if you are going to work overseas, and on your application to works, schools etc. You learn about how different cultures work, and you can find similarities and differences in the two or more cultures. You can exchange features about your culture to someone with another culture.  A nation that learns much about different cultures, will have a big benefit when it comes to, for example, business with other countries. Everyone benefits from learning about different cultures.

 It is important to remember that every culture is equal. Never dismiss or condemn another culture, because maybe you can learn something from that culture that your culture does not provide you.  Also, it is important to never judge a culture if only one person represents their culture the wrong way. There is no rule that says that cultures should be separated.

Sources

·             Access to International English. 2nd ed. Cappelen Damm, n.d.

·             Zimmermann, Kim Ann, Live Science Contributor | January 15, and 2015 10:23pm ET. “American Culture: Traditions and Customs of the United States.” Live Science. Accessed May 12, 2017. http://www.livescience.com/28945-american-culture.html.

·             “Culture.” Wikipedia, May 1, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Culture&oldid=778119079.

·             “Language Devices.” Accessed May 12, 2017. https://padlet.com/pad182/g6ie0t9c6jl.

·             “Migrant Crisis: Migration to Europe Explained in Seven Charts.” BBC News, March 4, 2016, sec. Europe. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34131911.

·             NRK TV - Se Flukt. Accessed May 12, 2017. https://tv.nrk.no/serie/flukt/KMTE30002416/sesong-1/episode-3.

·             “Slang | Oxford Dictionaries.” Oxford Dictionaries | English. Accessed May 12, 2017. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/usage/slang.

·             The assignment sheet

Tasks in class p. 103-102

Spot check p. 102 & Task 2+ p. 103

a. Why is culture important for communication?

Culture is important for communication because it can effect the way another person can receives your message. If you take the text " butterflies" as an example, you will see that the lack of cultural understanding made the two parts misunderstand each other.

b.  Why is the command of English in itself no longer enough for accurate communication?

By knowing a language, you are not automatically aware of the culture in the country but since our generation has been more influenced by the cultural society, we have learned more about different cultures than the generations before us.  Also, by having a command of English, you don´t get to learn about the different English dialects that you can find in the world.

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c. Into what three parts can communication be decided? 

The three parts communication can be divided into are sender, receiver and messenger.

d. What is ethnocentrism?

Ethnocentrism is when you judge other cultures by the values and standards of your own culture.  Another explanation taken from our book Access to Enervation English, says that ethnocentrism means viewing the world as if your culture is the center of the universe from which everything and everyone may be judged.  Being based on ignorance of other cultures and admiration of one´s own culture as the best, can lead to prejudice, fear and sometimes violence.

e. What is cultural relativism? 

in short, cultural relativism is that you are aware of the different cultures, but it dosen´t give you the girth to think that your culture is better than another culture. In other words, every culture has equal right.  Cultural relativism has a message hidden that is found in all the world´s great civilizations - treat others as you would like them to treat you.

Task 2 + - Main ideas

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Use the following terms to discuss the main ideas in this article:
Culture, communication, message-sender - receiver,cultural relativism, ethnocentrism 

Culture -  the knowledge of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts.

Communication - two -way process of reaching a mutual understanding, in which participants not only exchange information, news, ideas and feelings, but also create and share meanings.

message - sender - receiver -  a model of communication showing us three stages of how communication works.

Cultural relativism -  awareness of different cultures and every culture is equal.

Ethnocentrism - the belief that you culture is the best, and other cultures are judged after you values and standards.

DIFFERENT ENGLISH LANGUAGES

English, the former colonial language, is a common language among educated Zambians. At independence in 1964, English was declared the national language. English is the first language of only 2% of Zambians but is the most commonly used second language.

The English spoken in Zambia has some distinctive features, such as the omission of certain object pronouns that would be obligatory in Western English ("Did you reach?"), the simplification of some phrasal verbs ("throw" instead of "throw away"). On the link below is a written text explaining a little bit more about the Zambian language and culture.

 More information about Zambian culture and language:

https://norushinafrica.wordpress.com/2013/05/11/zimbabwean-english/

Facts about Zambian language:

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

Scottish English refers to the variety of English spoken in Scotland.  The main and most formal variety is Scottish Standard English ( SSE).  This way of speaking may be defined as “the characteristic speech of the professional class and the accepted norm in schools.”   Along with distinct pronunciation, grammar, and expressions, Scottish English had distinctive vocabulary, especially connected to Scottish institutes such as the Church of Scotland, local government and the education and legal systems.   

Scottish English can be influenced by varying degrees of Scots.  Many Scots speakers separate Scots and Scottish English as different registers depending on social circumstances. Generally, there is a shift to Scottish English in formal occasions or if we are with individuals of a higher social status.

On the link below you will find more specific differences on the Scottish language like pronunciation, distinction between some word etc.

Facts about Scottish language:

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

The reluctant fundamentalist - a book of thinking

 The reluctant fundamentalist is a “bildungsroman” novel written by Mohsin Hamid.  Moshin’s book is a novel of formation, education and coming – of- age, thus I would say that the book is written in a “bildungsroman” genre and the reason to why I would say that is because the book focuses on the psychological and moral growth of Changez. We get to see how he went from being in a secretly poor family in Pakistan to a highly educated Pakistani who worked as a financial analyst for a prestigious firm in New York, and how all these changes affected him and his life in America.
 

Changez, as I said, is a boy from Pakistan who lives in America and attends Princeton University on a financial aid, whiles working at Samson Underwood.  After a trip to Greece Changez finds himself in a disastrous relationship with a woman.  Along with the failing affair, the attack of 9/11 starts to impact Changez life in America. With his life in America slowly falling apart, Changez decided to return to Pakistan.

 “Excuse me, sir, but may I be of assistance” is the first sentence you will read when you open the book.  This sentence is the start of a long monologue between Changez and an American, whom Changez had met in Lahore, and had invited for tea.  Changez starts to tell the American about the story of his life in the months just before and after the attacks. 

At first I was not interested in reading this book, however, when I started reading I came to notice that I was really enjoying this book. I was not sure if it was the weird one-way monologue Mohsin used, or the fact that he brought up very relevant themes not unlike from what we may see in the real world, but there was something about this book that made me continue reading it.   Some of the things could recognize can be things such as the grief of the loss of a dear one, and the strong hate for a certain group of people after a terrible action afflicted them, after my comprehension I would say that the book actual want’s to point that out – how people always want to have a certain something to blame after something terrible happens.  

The book made me happy at first, but as I got more into the book and read about how Changez was treated by the Country whom he loved so dearly, I got mad and upset, because as I said, this is something that is happening in real life. The only thing I didn’t like about this book was the ending, however, I could´ve expected it since Mohsin has a writing of his own.  He decided to leave this book with an open ending, and that made me angry at first. I´m not a very big lover of the open ending concept, I like to know what happens so that I can sleep at night without thinking about what migh´ve happened and so on.

 

This book is suitable for everyone who loves to read a good thriller. This book takes us on a long rollercoaster of thinking and feeling.  I could probably recommend people from the age 16 and over to read the book because it can be difficult to understand at times, or not difficult to understand, but the writing method makes this book a little hard to understand at first.