Globalisation and Peace

Hey kids - how important do you think world peace is for Globalisation?
I just read this morning that US soldiers and Apache attack helicopters just wasted some supposedly civilian buildings in Syria - no doubt the military knew more about the intended purpose of those buildings as potential points of operation for some potential terrorist activities [or something like that].
This raises my tricky question: Is violence and small scale military activity justifiable in order to help contain greater threats ? Or is that just an excuse for certain countries to do what they need to do to protect their own interests and keep themselves at the top of the pile? [- think about America's outrageous attack on Iraq against United Nations advice...]
The reason I find this interesting is because I once went an international relations lecture by Doctor Lou Fretz at the University of Waikato. I found it incredibly interesting to hear about the history of military intervention in different countries in order to maintain overall peace. There is a concept known as "The Balance of Power" which is worth trying to understand.
The threat of nuclear war was a very real fear that hung over us as people growing up in the 70's and 80's. Some claimed that that very real threat meant peace was assured as no one would dare to risk war with nuclear weapons. Globalisation was well and truly underway then. It is firmly entrenched now and means the world needs to develop new ways of interacting.
What are our moral reponsibilities in a globalised world? First we need to try to understand how the world works. That isn't easy and it also depends on who you ask. Hence I try to help you to become independent, self-reliant, critical-thinking, open-minded, curious people who are keen to learn.
Here is a peace for kids site that may have interesting stuff in it.
Tell me what you think about peace.
How about fair trade?
Have you considered your moral responsibility in terms of your "carbon footprint"? [calculate yours here]
What else is relevant to this discussion?

Politics and freedom in NZ

Did you hear the news? There is a general election coming up later this year.

Our electoral system is called MMP. What does it stand for? Can you explain what it really means? Compare it to our old system, which was called First Past the Post. What on earth might that mean? Do politicians run a race to see who gets into power?

There may be a referendum at the next election to see if New Zealanders want to re-consider the value of the MMP system and maybe think about changing it to something else. If you're interested. Share your research findings and opinions here.

:-)

Oh, by the way - who invented democacy? And do we really have a democracy?

By the way - I think Helen Clarke is a great politician who will be remembered as one of our best ever. I'm not so sure Che Guevara is quite the hero that people make him out to be either. This cartoon may not be entirely complimentary to Auntie Helen, and in fact I believe it is inappropriate to make such personal, public put downs about anyone [except Australian and English rugby players or George Bush] but at least in this country we can publish something like this without being executed or locked in prison. Our freedom is seen as a right. Other countries are not as free as ours. Can you name any countries where freedom is limited compared to us?

hotspots

do you know your world news?
does politics and international relations tickle your fancy?
are you a geographer?

where would you say there are political hotspots to watch out for?

today we discussed Pakistan and the state of emergency which General Musharraf has put in place... why?

any other potential hotspots in the world? places that could effect all of us if things went wrong?

AND what about ecological hotspots? perhaps the Amazon Rain forest?

OR how about environmental hotspots? like the ever growing economy of China or India using up resources?

OR countries like America and Australia who refuse to sign the Kyoto Protocol and continue to dispute global warming and the perils of carbon emissions?

please post intelligent justified opinions with references if needed.