Interest Groups vs. Political Parties

The fundamental goal of interest groups in the political process is to influence public policy. Where as the fundamental goal of political parties is to gain majority in the government and therefor gain control. Interest groups support the fundamental goal of political parties by contributing to political campaigns and gaining support for candidates. Contributing money to campaigns helps interest groups achieve their ultimate goal of influencing public policy because if the candidate wins they may feel indebted to the interest group and make decisions that benefit them. Or at least get them in contact with policy makers.

Media and Policy Agenda

2009-4 A policy agenda is a set of issues, problems or subjects in which people inside and out of the government are paying serious attention to. The media is an important part of policy agenda because it raises awareness of issues to citizens and policy makers. The media also provides information and explains issues with policies, and consequences for policies not made or changed, to people. The president gets more media attention then congress because the president is one person where as congress is composed of many members. Also the president is the face of our country, he has greater power, and represents all people where each person in congress represents an area. Citizens who pay most attention to national news are older. Young people are less interested in government issues and policy agenda. There are implications for the president using the media to promote their agenda however. Some of these issues include the age of the audience of nightly news and decreased news viewing. The lack of young people watching the news means less awareness of what is going on from the generation that needs to hear it.

The Past and Future of North Korea

 

        Since World War II North Korea has been through a lot. After Japan evacuated Korea the Soviet Union entered North Korea and the U.S. entered South Korea to protect them from the north. In 1943 the Peoples Republic of Korea was declared and the Soviets left. However the peace didn't last because the south declared independence and North Korea invaded South Korea. Led by, Soviet trained, Kim Il-sung. After the loss of two million lives, an armistice ended the war in 1953 and from then on North Korea hid from the rest of the world.
        In the early 1990's North and South Korea agreed to join the United Nations but North Korea refuses to allow access to suspected nucular weapon facilities. In 1994 Kim Il-sung died and was succeeded by his son Kim Jung-il. Kim Jung-il agreed to freeze nucular programs in exchange for fuel and two nucular reacters, which the US provided. In 1996 great famine hit North Korea and the UN aided the wounded nation. Thousands of people starved or died of disease.
         Today, North Korea is under the rein of Kim Jung-il's son Kim Jung-un. The country's economy and people are still hurting from the famine. Orphaned children live on the streets freezing or starving to death. Piles of garbage lie everywhere and the cities are filthy. Department stores have merchandise but it is all for show and none of it is for sale. It is just used to show on TV to convince their people that they live in a country of plenty. Kim Jung-un is a less respected leader than his predecessors and because of this more people are willing to participate in illegal actions.
         Change is stirring in North Korea. More and more people are willing to break the law and buy illegal items like thumb drives with American movies on them. These movies show North Koreans what it is like to live in a world where people are happy and free. Because of these movies and other things I believe a revolution is coming. The people are going to take over the government or just flee the country. People in North Korea have seen what the outside world is like and they are no longer with their situation. I think change is coming fast for North Korea.

Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15278612
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2010/02/a_nation_of_racist_dwarfs.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/secret-state-of-north-korea/