International Musings

While Hassan Rouhani closes out his term as President of Iran, the Islamic Republic is facing a serious water shortage. Rouhani has enlisted the government to aid areas that have been the most seriously impacted by the drought. Many report that the drought is a direct cause of global warming. I found it interesting that Iran, a country that supplies much of the world's oil (a fossil fuel), is experiencing first hand the effects of climate change, something that is caused- in part- by the burning of fossil fuels around the world. The drilling required to harness the oil has also impacted the natural landscape of the country, disrupting ecosystems and artificially carving away at the land. Because Iran’s economy, as well as the world’s oil needs rely so heavily on the exportation and distribution of oil, it is not as though Iran will implement tactics to minimize the exportation of this oil in the face of the drought. While the drought is certainly a result of environmental factors, ...

Yesterday, Haitian President Jovenel Moise was shot and killed in his home. Much controversy surrounded his term length, as alleged election fraud resulted in a 12 month delay in which the new polls opened, and the election results of 2015 were annulled. These new polls were won by Moise. His opposition denied the legitimacy of the upcoming year of his presidency, claiming that he had served his 5-year term, because former Haitian president, Michel Martelly, stepped down 5 years prior. Moise, however, argued that he still had another year of his presidency due to the fact that he only took office in February of 2017 as a result of the aforementioned delay. Mr Moise continued to rule by decree, causing outrage throughout Haiti. Protests riddled the streets of Haiti, calling for Mr Moise’s resignation. Opponents also claimed that Mr Moise was to blame for a surge in violence, seeing as he left Haiti without a Parliament during the postponement of the October 2019 legislative elections. O...