United
Nations Unanimously Passes Weapons Ban
By
HELEN PREJEAN
NEW YORK – A spontaneous celebration erupted in the U.N. General Assembly
after representatives of 192 member states unanimously ratified the
Comprehensive Arms Ban Treaty. The treaty outlaws possession, production and
trade of military equipment ranging from small arms to nuclear warheads. “This
is watershed moment in the security of people and the security of the planet
itself,” said U.S. President Barack Obama. “With weapons off the table, we can
finally focus on the world’s real threats: global poverty, pollution, and
climate change.” The Comprehensive Arms Ban Treaty is an initiative of the
U.N.’s new Global Security Protocol, which identifies environmental
sustainability as its prime directive. “We cannot have any kind of security
unless our planet remains livable,” said Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. “The
tens of trillions of dollars freed by disarmament makes it easier to focus on
the bigpicture issues.”
The weapons ban includes extensive subsidiies for the retooling of arms
manufacturers. Hours after the agreement was reached, German weapons giant
Heckler & Koch announced its first contract to take advantage of the
incentive packages by refitting its P11 assault pistol factory to produce an
improved “life straw,” an individual water filtration system that greatly
reduces waterborne disease. The company’s
plan will use former weapons brokers to deliver the straws, and they will train
former child soldiers to handle the labor-intensive task of local distribution.
Impetus for the C.A.B.T. developedafter
the 1998 EuropeanUnion Code of Conduct, whichprohibits selling weapons
tocountries that may use them forexternal aggression or internal
oppression,went largely unheeded.In one contravention of the code,Europe did
not cease trade withthe United States and Britain despitetheir unprovoked
invasion ofIraq in 2003.
In Britain, massive
publicprotests, including a sit-in thatblocked exit from the British
Parliamentfor two weeks, convincedthe government to reverse courseand uphold
the E.U. Code of Conduct,as well as to support passageof the C.A.B.T.
One of the primary focuses of
the C.A.B.T. is small arms, which kill one person every minute, 75 percent of
them women and children. A survey conducted last May showed fewer than
one-tenth of one percent in favor of continuing these deaths. In addition to
mandating the immediate cessation of production, the C.A.B.T. includes a
buyback program to repossess most of the 640 million small arms already in
circulation, and melt them down in small mobile smelters which will recycle the
steel into agricultural tools and equipment to be distributed locally.
As for the 20,350 nuclear warheadsknown
to exist, they willbe destroyed using monitoringprocedures developed under
theStrategic Arms Reduction Treaty.The last country to sign off on thenew plan
was North Korea, whoagreed to dismantle their last warheadsimultaneously with
that ofthe U.S. The disarmament will takeplace in a ceremony organized
andtelevised by members of the nowdefunct Olympic Games Committee.The Olympic
Games werecanceled in December after mostmember nations realized that
conteststo see who could do uselessthings in the name of archaic
nationalboundaries are not helpinganyone.
Ailing leader Kim Jong Il made
a rare appearance to comment. “Finally, we have rid ourselves of the lympics. Our best athletes will do useful and
strenuous things. And we are very pleased to no longer need bombs to protect
ourselves from Americans with more bombs. We can now focus on avoiding the
collapse of our planet’s ecosystem, and on other pursuits the Great Leader
would have applauded. The people of North Korea will enjoy this challenging,
bright future immensely.”
1.
The
writer’s purpose
To inform
the reader about the unanimously ratified the Comprehensive Arms Ban Treaty
2.
The
writer’s point of view
The
writer thinks that using weapons especially
nuclear it is very dangerous for the word
3.
The
writer’s bias
The writer supports to the topic because
there are clear explanations and examples that support to what the writer talks
about the topic. For example, “This is watershed moment in the security of people and
the security of the planet itself,”.“The tens of trillions of dollars freed by
disarmament makes it easier to focus on the big picture issues.” And As
for the 20,350 nuclear warheadsknown to exist, they willbe destroyed using
monitoringprocedures developed under theStrategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
4.
The
Inference
The Comprehensive Arms Ban Treaty can make the goverment
more focus on the world’s real threats.
5.
Unfamiliar
words
-
Disarmament : the act of taking away or giving up weapons
: The
company support
nucleardisarmament.
-
Refitting : to put a ship back into good condition by repairing it or
adding new parts
: They
are refitting army battleship to keep our national bounderies.
-
Unprovoked : describes an unpleasant action or remark when it has not
been caused by anything and is therefore unfair
: There are many
unprovoked thing in elite government program.
-
Invasion : when an army or country uses force
to enter and take control of another country.
: There are many invasion in the north of the country.
-
Waterborne : carried by or through water
: This ilnes is caused by a waterborne parasite.
-
Cease : to stop something
: They decided to cease this program
-
Massive : very large in size
: She get massive house from her parents.
-
Uphold : to defend or keep a principle or
law, or to state that a decision which has already been made, especially a
legal one, is correct
: Judge Davis upheld the county
court's decision.
-
Dismantle : to take a machine apart or to come
apart into separate pieces
: The weapon cab be dismantled in to separate part.
Article 2.
Education Department
PlansNational Tax Base for Schools
Takes Cue from
Ohio
and 23 Other
States
By M.M. BETHUNE
Twenty-three states have
announced plans to fund primary and secondary education on a statewide tax
basis instead of per county, following the lead of a landmark decision in Ohio.
Ohio’s S.B. 320 follows the Ohio Supreme Court ruling that funding schools from
local propertytaxes and private initiatives does not comply with the Ohio
Constitution’s guarantee of a thorough and efficient” public education system.
The new statewide system means that resources are more equitably distributed,
with innercity schools receiving the same amount as suburban ones.
The Ohio decision began with
Governor Ted Strickland’s 2006 campaign promise to assure that “where you grow
up in Ohio should not determine where you end up in life.” Hundreds of
grassroots campaigns throughout the state, including The Ohio Coalition For
Equity and Adequacy of School Funding, took the cue from Mr. Strickland’s
statement and spent the last two years working hard to hold him to it. “Finally,
this is a real step towardsthe equality our Constitutionrecommends,” says
AmandaFullerton, of Columbus. Ms. Fullerton,a mother of two, voted forMr.
Strickland because of his longhistory of support for educationalreform, but was
soon disappointedby the governor’s inaction inoffice. When she first heard
aboutthe proposed bill in the OhioSenate, Ms. Fullerton decided tooccupy the Governor’s
office todemonstrate how important shefelt the bill was. Over two
hundredmothers soon joined her, campingout for six days. Many observersfeel
that actions like the mothers’played a key role in convincingGovernor
Strickland to push hardfor the bill.
Following the announcements of twenty-three states that they would be voting on
similar bills, the U.S. Department of Education said it would be developing a
plan for a national tax base for schools, to finally assure that as in most
other developed countries, a child’s opportunities to learn will not depend on
his or her birthplace.
1.
The
writer’s purpose
To inform
the reader about Twenty-three states have announced plans to fund primary and
secondary education on a statewide tax basis instead of per county, following
the lead of a landmark decision in Ohio.
2.
The
writer’s point of vie
The
writer thinks that tax base for school
is very important to keep education in U.S. especially in Ohio without any
problems like birthplace that can cause the student has difficulty to study.
3.
The
writer’s bias
The writer supports to the topic because
there are clear explanations and examples that support to what the writer talks
about the topic. For example, “Governor Ted
Strickland’s 2006 campaign promise to assure that “where you grow up in Ohio
should not determine where you end up in life.”, “Finally,
this is a real step towardsthe equality our Constitutionrecommends,” says
AmandaFullerton, of Columbus”.
4.
The
Inference
Tax base for school can
quarantee the student to study without any problems, like about birtplace.
5.
Unfamiliar
words
-
Statewide : in every part of a state
: The U.S. make new regulation for statewide.
-
Landmark : an important stage in something’s
development
: The invention of the new strategies for development of
the product was a landmark in history of the computer company.
-
Equitaby : fair and resonable; treating everyone
in the same way
: if the law is to be effective it must be applied
equitably.
-
Inaction : failure to do anything which might provide a solution to a
problem
: This announcement follows months of
inaction and delay.
-
Suburban : relating to a suburb
: They live in suburban Washington.
-
Grassroots : involving the ordinary people in a
society or an organization
: This grassroots support can show the
power of this country
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