While inside the United States borders the Democratic race remains neck and neck, international politics took a violent turn this week when Kenya’s frequent political riots slowly began to affect all citizens. In a country torn by political usurping, those once immune and tucked away in more comfortable social classes are now being uprooted by the violence. Families are slowly disappearing from their large, comfortable safe homes in the night, fleeing in fear of their safety. Kenya’s political problems intensified this past December over a disputable election, creating more friction between the two major ethnic groups: the Luos and Kikuyus. The Luos support the Orange Democratic Movement while the Kikuyus support the Party of National Unity. In an opposition from the same strain as that of the Rwandan struggle in the 1990’s between Hutu and the Tutsi tribes, Kenya’s government will soon be forced to take more swift action as the country faces increasing terror. The economy has taken a swift hit due to many citizens’ fears that it is not safe to leave their homes. Many once prosperous businesses are now in ruins.
This story has a very high impact nationally because it brings attention to a country that holds much of central Africa’s wealth. While the majority of Kenya is in poverty, the fractions that are upper and middle class hold a relatively vast amount of the region’s wealth. It has an economic impact as well, because often the economy of one nation will affect its neighbors. Also, this has timeliness because the riots are continuing with increasing strength and damage caused. This has proximity because even though this is printed in an American newspaper, The New York Times is a well read international newspaper. Also, the violence and political problems branched from a political election, which the United States is currently in the process of. It has the element of conflict for the violence and riots in the country. It has prominence because not only is this an international issue but organizations such as the United Nations have begun holding emergency meetings to try to resolve the issue before the damage increases ( The New York Times, 2/11/08, p. A1).
The most interesting story this week was that four famous, high valued paintings were stolen out of a small gallery in Zurich. Paintings by artists Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet and Paul Cézanne were stolen in the second Swiss art heist in a single week. The paintings were stolen by three men wearing ski masks and gloves who had a disturbingly easy opportunity to steal the paintings. This is relevant because it highlights the frequency of art burglaries in Western Europe. With recent thefts of paintings such as The Scream by Edvard Munch, many private art collectors and museums are being forced to put away their most valuable pieces. This is relevant because the study of the arts through out Europe is being threatened. As a patron of the arts and a dabbler in painting, this is something I fear greatly. Also, due to the value of these paintings, many fear what will happen to these works of arts when they fall into the wrong person’s hands.
United States seeks execution for 6 in World Trade Center case (The New York Times, 02/11/08, p. A1)…Tentative agreement reached in television and movie writer’s strike (The New York Times, 02/10/08, p. A1)…In Venezuela, faith in Chavez starts to wane amid economic woes (The New York Times, 02/09/08, p. A1)…Lead to Obama, Clinton replaces campaign leader (The New York Times, 02/11/08, p. A1)…Congress votes for stimulus of $168 billion to bump economy (The New York Times, 02/08/08, p. A1).
