Schemata

In order to grasp a better understanding of the subject, I would like to start our discussion with a proper and relevant definition of the word schema.

On the ethimology of the word, there is a sufficient rooting introduced by the Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia which reads: “The word schema comes from the Greek word "σχήμα" (skhēma), which means shape, or more generally, plan. The plural is "σχήματα" (skhēmata). In English, both schemas and schemata are used as plural forms, although the latter is the standard form for written English.” (Wikipedia, schema)[1].

Longman, Dictionary of Contemporary English, defines “schema” as:

“Sche.ma, n plural schemas or schemata [c] technical a drawing or description of the main parts of something.” (Longman, 2003:1465)

According to the definitions provided by the online Dictionary.com:

“Sche·ma (skē'mə)

n. pl. sche·ma·ta (skē-mä'tə, skĭ-māt'ə) or sche·mas

1. A diagrammatic representation; an outline or model.

2. Psychology A pattern imposed on complex reality or experience to assist in explaining it, mediate perception, or guide response.”(Dictionary.com, schema) [2]

Since this post is supposed to take into focus the two hot, controversial and alive schemata of Americans toward Iran and Iranians toward America, I would like to pick up the conversation with the latter pattern of schema.

What do Iranians thinks of America?

Basically in order to answer this question and finally find out the current schema that Iranians hold in mind against America, this should be clarified that normally in Iran we are facing with far right as well as far left wing people. Specifically following the 2008 presidential elections in Iran, which brought along with it a lot of opposition to the results of the election, new waves indicate that there is an increasing inclination toward left wing by the young generations, who of course are the building blocks of this young nation.

Steven Kull, director of WorldPublicOpinion.org, based on the work of a global survey group at the University of Maryland, polled more than 700 people in Iran earlier this year with interesting results, offering an answer to the above mentioned question:

“Views of the United States are still quite negative. One of the most striking things that I found in both the poll and in the focus groups is a perception on the part of Iranians that the United States has extraordinary power over all kinds of things in the world. Large majority of the Iranians in the polls said that the United States controls most of the important things that happen in the world. And when I probed about this they even said in the focus groups that the United States controls Al-Jazeera, that the United States controls al-Qaeda.” .(Kull,16 April,2008) [3]

Now, the group of people contributing to the poll with this opinion about America is very much likely to belong to the far right. Again, there is a huge tendency to approve President Ahmadinejad’s presence at the office by the same group.

While on the other hand the face of the leftists is of more compassion toward the United States as Kull asserts:

“What's striking to me is that the - you get a different kind of nuance by doing focus groups because in the poll you just get a lot of, mostly a lot of negativity, except toward the American people. There actually 51 percent of Iranians say they like American people and that comes through when you meet them. They do immediately express frustration with America, but you can feel underneath it a real longing to have better relations and an appreciation that you're there and listening to them. So, by the end, they are actually projecting a real sense of warmth.” (Kull, 16 April, 2008)

What do Americans think of Iran?

Exactly the same trend exists in the United States dividing the results of the polls in two different directions. Steve Watson says, in this regard, on Tuesday, April 1, 2008 that: “According to a new poll by Gallup, Iran is top of the enemy list, with 25 percent, followed by Iraq at 22 percent, then China with 14 percent, and North Korea with 9 percent. A quarter of Americans believe that Iran now poses the biggest threat to the United States, confirming that a sustained neoconservative propaganda campaign to demonize Iran and its leaders for their own strategic benefit is having a significant impact.

Republicans are more than twice as likely as Democrats to see Iran as the top U.S. enemy, while Democrats are likelier to name Iraq. Older people and those who say they closely follow world news are less likely to cite Iraq than the younger and less informed, reported the AP.” (Watson, 1 April, 2008) [4]

Bibliography:

1. Longman, Dictionary of Contemporary English, (2003), London: Pearson Education.

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schema, retrieved at: 12/14/2009.

3. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/schema, retrieved at: 12/14/2009.

4. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89683583, retrieved at: 12/14/2009.

5. http://infowars.net/articles/april2008/010408Iran.htm, retrieved at: 12/14/2009.

U.S. Said to Pick Illinois Prison to House Detainees

In order to give a brief background of the subject, Guantanamo served as a detention center to house prisoners mostly captured through extraordinary rendition taken place by the CIA. The logic behind this act is mostly to transfer the prisoners to destinations where the international regulations regarding prison interrogation and treatment don’t apply. The most debated issue concerning the Guantanamo Bay detention center has been the harsh methods of interrogation, which are called torture by so many including physical and mental like waterboarding and eerie music.

After President Obama took the office, during his first months of presidency he, supposedly as documented, made an attempt to close down the Guantanamo Bay detention facility which was frequently used under Bush Administration to keep suspects involving terrorist activities. But dealing with the roughly 200 detainees at the prison has proved difficult, and he is widely expected to miss that deadline. The procedure has continued until on December 14, Washington claimed that the Obama administration is expected to announce on Tuesday, December 15, that it has selected a prison in northwestern Illinois to house terrorism suspects now being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in a major step toward shutting down that military detention facility.

An administration official said President Obama had directed the federal government to proceed with acquiring the Thomson Correctional Center, a maximum-security prison in a rural village about 150 miles west of Chicago.

Gov. Patrick J. Quinn of Illinois and the state’s senior senator, Richard J. Durbin, will be briefed about the plan at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. The officials, both Democrats, have been enthusiastic supporters of bringing Guantanamo prisoners to Thomson, arguing that it would bring jobs to an impoverished part of the state.

When talk of bringing Guantanamo detainees to Thomson first surfaced in late November, both Mr. Quinn and Mr. Durbin held a series of news conferences to promote the idea of turning over the empty state prison, which was built in 2001 at a cost to Illinois taxpayers of about $120 million, to the federal penal system.

Top Illinois Republicans — including Representatives Donald Manzullo, whose district includes the prison, and Mark Steven Kirk, a candidate for the United States Senate seat once held by Mr. Obama — have denounced previous talk of such a move, saying it could make Illinois a target for terrorist attacks.

But Obama administration officials argue that the prison would be secure and that it would enhance national security to close Guantanamo because it has become a global symbol and a recruiting tool for Al Qaeda.

It was not immediately clear how the government would pay for the prison and upgrades, but seemingly the procedure is willing to repeat. Levy taxes on the state’s tax payers.

Apparently this course of action is going to bring up a lot of tension among Americans, because both ends of the deal are issues that mainstream American public don’t approve of. Americans during a number of cases, Mahar Arar being one of them, showed their objection toward government policies regarding prisoner detention and interrogation. On the other hand, if the government wills to collect the financing through taxes, another wave of opposition will come up.

We had the same situation after the 2009 Presidency election in Iran. A lot of news about Kahrizak detention center for suspects, arrested accused for distorting the public regulations and provoking opposition, revealing that the prisoners are harshly mistreated and tortured. The facility after so many scandals and debates all over the country, even by traditionalist party, finally got closed directed and ordered by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic revolution. Detainees; therefore, were transferred to another detention facility.

Jobs Report Is strongest Since the Recession (Headline From NY Times)

There has been an unexpected improvement, as officials say, on the domestic economic affairs of the United States; as the analysis of the last month’s report reveal there have been a kind of “rebuilding” in the American work force which had gone through a lot since/due to the last economic recession starting two years ago. In this regard, according to what government said on Friday, the report also demonstrated that only 11000 jobs eliminated last month and therefore the unemployment rate decreased 0.2 percent to a percentage of 10, the highest unemployment rate in 26 years, and that actually is the best news in two past years.

President Obama during his visit to Allentown, Pa, gave hope to his audience when he said: “there are going to be some months where the reports are going to be a little better, some months where the reports are worse, but the trend line right now is good.”

Now, there is prophecy which speculates March as the real turning point during which cutting jobs would replace creating or adding jobs. If by any chance this estimation is true “the beginning of a workforce recovery would come more quickly than after the last two recessions, in the early 1990s and 2001…”.

During the last month according to statistics 50000 temporary workers were hired as well as some permanent workers which are of course low in number. There have been remarkable increases in the working hours, even in manufacturing, and consequently weekly wages rose likewise by nearly two-thirds of a percentage point in a single month. “To $622”. In this regard Nigel Gault asserted: “many companies have reached the point that they can’t extract more work from their existing employees. That means they have to add hours for existing workers or add people. Just how many depends on how quickly the economy grows.” A major means to calculate unemployment, which includes those individuals who were forced to work part time and those who were too hopeless to search for jobs, decreased to 17.2 percent from 17.5 in October. Moreover, job losses in September and October turned out to have fallen to 250000 from preceding 409000.

Republican economist Kevin A. Hassett, director of Economic Policy Studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute and chief economist for John McCain in his presidential campaign, who is in favor of tax cuts rather that public spending for job creation, contends: “even if you accept their analysis that we are creating jobs this year, when you remove the stimulus you are going to destroy jobs.”

Based on Louis Uchitelle’s opinion during the first months of recovery in the work force, with the hiring and all, 18 million individuals will be competing over vacant places and thus this will create a hot, hard situation, for even a healthy economy is capable of creating 300000 jobs within a month.

Given all these information, readers have to be careful not to miss the fragile point that there is one other condition to consider recovery and that is the degree of credit those who hold the capitals or big businesses are supposed to entrust to the awakening economy. This latter element will make a thorough and healthy circulation of money and refresh the economy.

Louis Uchitelle, 5 Dec, 2009, Jobs Report Is Strongest Since the Start of the Recession, NY Times.