Posts

Showing posts from May, 2018

The Korean alliance: deciphering the motives of North Korea

In 2017, North Korea went on to a missile launch bonanza; first into the Sea of Japan in February, then its first ever nuclear ICBM on July 4 th (Happy Birthday America!) and eighteen other missile tests, plus a cyber attack on 150 countries, disrupting everything-from banks to hospitals. According to North Korean media, Americans active in internet now have extreme nuclear-phobia. Kim Jong Un ’s threats of wars weren’t new, but this time they were echoed by the US on twitter (which seemed to be a bad way to reach someone in North Korea). But tensions were at an arguably all-time high. And afterwards, something changes out of nowhere. Kim Jong Un announced that he would send two athletes to the 2018 Olympics with South Korea under a unified flag. His sister and an entourage of suspiciously enthusiastic fans also travelled to the south. Missile Testing suddenly stopped, and Kim even met with the US Secretary of State. He also left the country for the first time as supreme leader to v

The Iran nuclear crisis: Withdrawal of US from the agreement and viable outcomes

The decision of U.S. President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement and to reimpose sanctions jeopardizes the landmark arms-control agreement, under which Iran dismantled most of its nuclear program, and consequently the international inspectors gained extensive access to monitor its compliance. The agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (a.k.a. JCPOA), has been in difficulty since Trump’s election, and the resulting climax of uncertainty ‘spooked’ many larger firms from doing business in Iran, diminishing the economic incentives, which drew Iran to the agreement in the first place. While Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the agreements’ European signatories will now try to reclaim it, it is clearly uncertain whether they can overcome the pressure of sanctions from the United States. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has certified for about 11 times, that the Iran government is complying with its end of the deal. Howev

Reminiscence

Image
I reminisce the time when I genuinely felt the true phenomenon of happiness and joy. I can still recall the feeling of the soft leather of the psychologist's armchair underneath my pinafore. I remember the noise it made, too; it was a high-pitched noise, as if it were protesting from my overweight. Not that I weighed an awful lot as a child; sometimes I refused to eat my meals even when I was starving , just to upset my mother. That seemed to be my number one priority, “to upset my mother”. But I knew I could be successful eventually. "Tell me, what seems to be the problem?" Dr. Cook said, tapping his Swiss fountain pen elegantly against a cork clipboard. I knew for a fact that he wasn't intending on writing anything on that clipboard. "Well, she's become quite complacent recently," my mother began. The vigorous ceiling lights of Dr. Cook's office were reflecting off the surface of her pearls. "I don't think she's been handling

'Sáyonara' to the horrific 10 years of NCTB curriculum ✌

Image
Ah,relief . Feels good,nah? You'd feel the same, possibly if you are (or rather 'were') an HSC candidate of batch 18. Feels better, even to realise the fact of not having to wake up early in the morning, sip a cup of tea with possibly one eye fixated towards the book(s) and the other dizzy one skimming through the contents at a remarkable pace. Nevertheless, the hopes of getting "100% common" in the exam are about to be shattered(yet again). Nothing unusual, I presume. "kha" set. More like "Khaiya dimu" set 😧 Presumption correct, yet again. ☺