rss873-WC1.xml

<worldCrises>
    <crises>
        <crisis id="bath_salts">
            <name>Bath Salts</name>
            <kind>Drug Epidemic</kind>
            <description>A drug epidemic where users snort "bath salts" in order to get a high.</description>
            <date>2003-present</date>
            <location>United States</location>
            <humanImpact>According to a CDC report of bath salt abusers in Michigan, users not only experience psychological side effects -- there were physical ones too. In fact, 91 percent of users had neurological damage, while 77 percent experienced cardiovascular damage and 49 percent had psychological difficulties associated with the drug. Those difficulties could be severe: 37 percent of the people who suffered mental health problems reported attempting suicide or having suicidal thoughts, related to bath salts.</humanImpact>
            <economicImpact>Little economic impact</economicImpact>
            <resourceNeeded>More drug rehabilitation centers</resourceNeeded>
            <wayToHelp>Raise awareness through word of mouth</wayToHelp>
            <image kind="header">
                <link>http://www.accessrx.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Bath-Salts-Lines.jpg"</link>
                <title>Bath Salts</title>
            </image>
            <video kind="youtube">
                <link> http://www.youtube.com/embed/C0Q4dRzECUs</link>
                <title>News segment on Bath Salts</title>
            </video>
            <social kind="facebook">
                <link>https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ban-Bath-Salts/199330996776489</link>
                <title>Bath Salts</title>
            </social>
            <extLink>
                <link>http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr102111.html</link>
                <title>DEA Website</title>
                <description>Contains information about the Bath Salts epidemic</description>
            </extLink>
            <extLink>
                <link>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylenedioxypyrovalerone</link>
                <title>Wikipedia</title>
            </extLink>
            <organizationRef>drug_enforcement_admin</organizationRef>
            <personRef note="Michelle Leonhart is the administrator of the DEA">michele_leonhart</personRef>
        </crisis>
        <crisis id="global_economic_crisis">
            <name>Global Financial Crisis</name>
            <kind>Global Depression</kind>
            <description>A global economic depression</description>
            <date>2007-2012</date>
            <location>Global</location>
            <humanImpact>Large-scale unemployment, reduction of the work week to 33 hours in the US</humanImpact>
            <economicImpact>Global Recession, Widening of the wealth gap in the United States.</economicImpact>
            <resourceNeeded>The economy has mostly stabilized, however more stimulus in certain areas will be required to get the economy fully back to normal</resourceNeeded>
            <wayToHelp>Get involved in awareness</wayToHelp>
            <image kind = "header">
                <link>http://api.ning.com/files/MBEap-467Djs5j04yvDcr8o4Pf6l6tD8cQi3Tj-YdiTfvANU9qFyXlpIS2sVikborntRIJiakcBgl-pShOWjGeJ6nu8y8-84/ChenWenlingWhatYouseeMightNotBeReal.jpg</link>
                <title>Chen Wenling - What You See Might Not be Real</title>
            </image>
            <video kind="youtube">
                <link>http://www.youtube.com/embed/Q-zp5Mb7FV0</link>
                <title>Video describing the economic crisis</title>
            </video>
            <social kind="twitter">
                <link>https://twitter.com/#!/search/global%20financial%20crisis</link>
                <title>Up to date twitter news on the global financial crisis</title>
            </social>
            <extLink>
                <link>http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/key/finstab.htm</link>
                <title>IMF website detailing the Economic Crisis</title>
            </extLink>
            <extLink>
                <link>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007–2012_global_financial_crisis</link>
                <title>Wikipedia page on the Global Financial Crisis</title>
            </extLink>
            <organizationRef>federal_reserve_system</organizationRef>
            <personRef note="President Obama is a key person in creating reforms that will help the country out of the recession">barack_obama</personRef>	  
        </crisis>
	
        <crisis id="north_korea">
            <name>North Korea and Nuclear Weapons</name>
            <kind>Nuclear threat</kind>
            <description>North Korea's nuclear program is of concern for the rest of the world because of their unstable government</description>
            <date>1956-present</date>
            <location>South East Asia</location>
            <humanImpact>It is unknown if there are any deaths caused by the North Korean nuclear program</humanImpact>
            <economicImpact>Due to the secrecy of the North Korean government it is unknown what the cost of North Korea's nuclear program is.</economicImpact>
            <resourceNeeded>Increased international pressure on North Korea to cut their nuclear weapons program</resourceNeeded>
            <wayToHelp>Join the Free North Korea Coalition and raise awareness</wayToHelp>
            <image kind="header">
                <link>http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Third_Party_Photo/2005/03/19/1111248871_9419.jpg</link>
                <title>Photograph of the nuclear missile and Sattelite imagery of the launch site</title>
            </image>
            <video kind="youtube">
                <link>http://youtu.be/P59KMyZ-3QM</link>
                <title>Video describing the North Korean nuclear launch</title>
            </video>
            <social kind="twitter">
                <link>http://twitter.com/#!/freenorthkorea</link>
                <title>Free North Korea Twitter</title>
            </social>
            <extLink>
                <link>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction</link>
                <title>Wikipedia article about North Korea and Weapons of Mass Destruction</title>
            </extLink>
            <extLink>
                <link>http://www.nkfreedom.org/</link>
                <title>North Korea Freedom</title>
            </extLink>
            <organizationRef>department_of_defense</organizationRef>
            <personRef note="Kim Jung Un is the current Leader of North Korea">kim_jong_un</personRef>
        </crisis>
	
        <crisis id = "tibet">
            <name>Tibetan Occupation</name>
            <kind>Cultural Genocide</kind>
            <description>China's contraversal occupation of Tibet has resulted in many suicides and what some have claimed cultural genocide</description>
            <date>1950's-presnt</date>
            <location>South Asia</location>
            <humanImpact>Mass suicides, Cultural Genocide, Death toll estimated to be 1,200,000.</humanImpact>
            <economicImpact>China's control has created an economic boom, with Tibet's GDP being 65 times what it was before China's control</economicImpact>
            <resourceNeeded>Donations to Tibetan awareness organizations</resourceNeeded>
            <wayToHelp>Join an awareness organization, donate to the various organizations aiming to free tibet, join a boycott of goods made in China</wayToHelp>
            <image kind = "header">
                <link>http://ligress.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/tibet_map.gif</link>
                <title>Map showing location of Tibet in proximity to China</title>
            </image>
            <image kind = "body">
                <link>http://worldsfamousphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/budist_monk_on_fire.jpg</link>
                <title>Monk setting his body on fire in protest of the occupation</title>
            </image>
            <video kind = "youtube">
                <link>http://www.youtube.com/embed/bWnfJqqW2Yk</link>
                <title>Video depicting the Chinese Occupatin of Tibet</title>
            </video>
            <social kind = "facebook">
                <link>https://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Tibet-Campaign/107981189223849</link>
                <title>Facebook page of the Free Tibet Campaign</title>
            </social>
            <social kind = "twitter">
                <link>https://twitter.com/#!/freetibetorg</link>
                <title>Twitter page of the Free-Tibet Organization</title>
            </social>
            <extLink>
                <link>http://www.freetibet.org/</link>
                <title>Website for the Free Tibet Organization</title>
            </extLink>
            <extLink>
                <link>https://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/</link>
                <title>Website for Students for a Free Tibet</title>
            </extLink>
            <organizationRef>united_nations</organizationRef>
            <personRef note = "The Dalai Lama is the exiled leader of Tibetan Buddhism">dalai_lama</personRef>
        </crisis>	  
    </crises>
    <organizations>
        <organization id="drug_enforcement_admin">
            <name>Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)</name>
            <kind>Federal Law Enforcement Agency</kind>
            <description>The DEA was established on July 1, 1973 by Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1973 which was signed by President Richard Nixon on July 28, 1973. The plan proposed the creation of a single federal agency to enforce federal drug laws and consolidate and coordinated the government's drug control activities. Congress accepted the proposal and the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs and the Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement merged o create the DEA. The current DEA Administrator is Michele Leonhart and the current DEA Chief of Operations is Thomas M. Harrigan.</description>
            <relationToCrisis>The DEA is attempting to crack down on Bath Salts on the local and national level. There are many elements used to synthesize bath salts and the DEA is trying to get them added to the federal list of illegal substances. If this is accomplished, it will make it easier to prosecute the criminals who import, sell, and possess the chemicals.</relationToCrisis>
            <dateFounded>July 1, 1973</dateFounded>
            <location note="Headquarters">Arlington, Virginia, United States</location>
            <image>
                <link>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/US-DrugEnforcementAdministration-Seal.svg/600px-US-DrugEnforcementAdministration-Seal.svg.png</link>
                <title>DEA Seal</title>
            </image>
            <video kind="youtube">
                <link>http://www.youtube.com/embed/dSUGY8qV6Jc</link>
                <title>DEA FAST Team</title>
            </video>
            <social kind="twitter">
                <link>http://twitter.com/#!/DEAEdFoundation</link>
                <title>DEA Education Foundation twitter</title>
            </social>
            <extLink>
                <link>http://www.justice.gov/dea/</link>
                <title>Official website</title>
            </extLink>
            <crisisRef>bath_salts</crisisRef>
            <personRef note="Michele Leonhart, DEA Administrator">michele_leonhart</personRef>
        </organization>
        <organization id="department_of_defense">
            <name>United States Department of Defense (USDoD)</name>
            <kind>The Executive Department of the Government of the United States of America charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government concerned directly with national security and the United States armed forces.</kind>
            <description>The US Congress created the War Department in 1789 and the Navy Department in 1798. In 1945 President Truman proposed the creation of a unified department of state defense, citing both wasteful military spending and inter-departmental conflicts. In 1947, President Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, which set up a unified military command known as the National Military Establishment. The National Military Establishment was renamed the Department of Defense on August 10, 1949, in an amendment to the original 1947 law.</description>
            <relationToCrisis>The US DoD has been keeping a watchful eye on North Korean weapons tests. These tests could further destabilize the already volatile region.</relationToCrisis>
            <dateFounded>August 10, 1949</dateFounded>
            <location note="Headquarters">The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia, United States</location>
            <image>
                <link>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/The_Pentagon_US_Department_of_Defense_building.jpg/800px-The_Pentagon_US_Department_of_Defense_building.jpg</link>
                <title>The Pentagon</title>
            </image>
            <video kind="youtube">
                <link>http://www.youtube.com/embed/bJ76-dVSrBc</link>
                <title>The Pentagon Channel: Future Soldier</title>
            </video>
            <social kind="twitter">
                <link>http://twitter.com/#!/DeptofDefense</link>
                <title>Department of Defense twitter</title>
            </social>
            <extLink>
                <link>http://www.defense.gov/</link>
                <title>Official website</title>
            </extLink>
            <crisisRef>north_korea</crisisRef>
            <personRef note="Kim Jong-Un, Leader of North Korea">kim_jong_un</personRef>
        </organization>
        <organization id="federal_reserve_system">
            <name>The Federal Reserve System</name>
            <kind>The central banking system of the United States</kind>
            <description>The Federal Reserve System was created on December 23, 1913 through the Federal Reserve Act. This was in response to a series of panics, particularly the Panic of 1907 when the NYSE fell almost 50% from its peak the previous year. Since then, the roles and responsibilities of the Federal Reserve System have expanded and the structure has evolved. Ben Bernanke is the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve System.</description>
            <relationToCrisis></relationToCrisis>
            <dateFounded>December 23, 1913</dateFounded>
            <location note="Headquarters">Washington, D.C., United States</location>
            <image>
                <link>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Marriner_S._Eccles_Federal_Reserve_Board_Building.jpg/800px-Marriner_S._Eccles_Federal_Reserve_Board_Building.jpg</link>
                <title>Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building</title>
            </image>
            <video kind="youtube">
                <link>http://www.youtube.com/embed/pQGhfQnRzYk</link>
                <title>Money, Banking, and the Federal Reserve Documentary</title>
            </video>
            <social kind="twitter">
                <link>http://twitter.com/#!/federalreserve</link>
                <title>Federal Reserve twitter</title>
            </social>
            <extLink>
                <link>http://www.federalreserve.gov/</link>
                <title>Official website</title>
            </extLink>
            <crisisRef>global_economic_crisis</crisisRef>
            <personRef note="Barack Obama, President of the United States">barack_obama</personRef>
        </organization>
        <organization id="united_nations">
            <name>United Nations (UN)</name>
            <kind>An international assembly of 193 member states</kind>
            <description>The United Nations was established in 1945 to replace the League of Nations, which failed to prevent World War II. The main goal of the organization is to maintain international peace and promote cooperation in solving international problems. The UN Conference on International Organization began on April 25, 1945 with 50 governments in attendance. The UN Charter was ratified on October 24, 1945 by France, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom (the five permanent members of the Security Council at the time) as well as a majority of the other 46 signatories. The UN was originally based at the Sperry Gyroscope Corporation's facility in Lake Success, New York, from 1946-1952, before being moved to the UN Headquarters building in Manhattan. The United Nations currently has 193 member states.</description>
            <relationToCrisis>Since 1959, the UN has passed four resolutions on Tibet (in 1959, 1961, 1965, and 1991). Since then, there have been motions to hold China accountable for its actions in Tibet, but lobbying by China has blocked any progress.</relationToCrisis>
            <dateFounded>October 24, 1945</dateFounded>
            <location note="Headquarters">International territory within New York City, New York, United States</location>
            <image>
                <link>http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/untour/imgunh.jpg</link>
                <title>The UN headquarters in New York City</title>
            </image>
            <video kind="youtube">
                <link>http://www.youtube.com/embed/bHmXZXsABm0</link>
                <title>The United Nations: It's Your World</title>
            </video>
            <social kind="twitter">
                <link>http://twitter.com/#!/UN</link>
                <title>United Nations twitter</title>
            </social>
            <extLink>
                <link>www.un.org</link>
                <title>Official website</title>
            </extLink>
            <crisisRef>tibet</crisisRef>
            <personRef note="His Holiness, the Dalai Lama">dalai_lama</personRef>
        </organization>
    </organizations>
    <people>
        <person id="dalai_lama">
            <name>Tenzin Gyatso</name>
            <kind>14th Dalai Lama</kind>
            <birthday>July 6, 1935</birthday>
            <nationality>Tibet</nationality>
            <description>The 14th Dalai Lama, Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso (Tenzin Gyatso for short), was born Lhamo Dondrub in Takster, China. He is the spiritual leader of the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhists, and after fleeing to India in the 1959 Tibetan Uprising against China, he established the Tibetan government in exile. Since then, he has traveled the world teaching Tibetan Buddhism and advocating for the welfare of Tibetans.</description>
            <image>
                <link>http://wallenberg.umich.edu/images/recipient/3Lama.gif</link>
                <title>Tenzin Gyatso</title>
                <description>Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, smiles and claps his hands.</description>
            </image>
            <video kind="youtube">
                <link>http://www.youtube.com/embed/_QvVaZfFDKw</link>
                <title>The Dalai Lama: Happiness, Inner Peace, and Money</title>
            </video>
            <social kind="facebook">
                <link>https://www.facebook.com/DalaiLama</link>
                <title>14th Dalai Lama facebook page</title>
            </social>
            <extLink>
                <link>http://www.dalailama.com/</link>
                <title>Official Website of the 14th Dalai Lama</title>
                <description>Contains information about the teaching and works of the 14th Dalai Lama</description>
            </extLink>
            <organizationRef>united_nations</organizationRef>
            <crisisRef>tibet</crisisRef>
        </person>
        <person id="barack_obama">
            <name>Barack Obama</name>
            <kind>44th President of the United States</kind>
            <birthday>August 4, 1961</birthday>
            <nationality>United States</nationality>
            <description>Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States and the first African American to hold the office. He served as a U.S. Senator representing the state of Illinois from January 2005 to November 2008, when he won the 2008 presidential election. Obama was born in Hawaii, graduated from Columbia University and Harvard Law School, worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago, and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School. Before being elected as president in 2008, he served three terms in the Illinois Senate and one term as a US Senator from Illinois. He received the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, and while president, has had to deal with the reform of Healthcare in the U.S, the World Economic Crisis, the Occupy Wallstreet Movement, and many other challenging issues.</description>
            <image>
                <link>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Official_portrait_of_Barack_Obama.jpg/220px-Official_portrait_of_Barack_Obama.jpg</link>
                <title>Barack Obama</title>
                <description>Official Portrait of Barack Obama</description>
            </image>
            <video kind="youtube">
                <link>http://www.youtube.com/embed/VbnplgnVG4s</link>
                <title>President Obama Speaks on the Economy</title>
            </video>
            <social kind="facebook">
                <link>http://www.facebook.com/barackobama</link>
                <title>Official facebook page for President Obama</title>
            </social>
            <social kind ="twitter">
                <link>http://twitter.com/#!/BarackObama/</link>
                <title>President Obama's Twitter</title>
            </social>
            <extLink>
                <link>http://www.barackobama.com/</link>
                <title>President Barack Obama Website</title>
                <description>Contains information about President Obama and his campaign</description>
            </extLink>
            <organizationRef>federal_reserve_system</organizationRef>
            <crisisRef>global_economic_crisis</crisisRef>
        </person>
        <person id="michele_leonhart">
            <name>Michele M. Leonhart</name>
            <kind>Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration</kind>
            <birthday>Unlisted</birthday>
            <nationality>United States of America</nationality>
            <description>Michele Marie Leonhart is an American career law enforcement officer and currently the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency. She graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice from Bemidji State University of Minnesota in 1978 and went on to work as a police officer in Baltimore Maryland before moving into the DEA in 1980. She spent the next several years moving up the ranks in the DEA before becoming the Special Agent in charge of the Los Angeles Field Division which put her in charge of all enforcement and administrative operations in Los Angeles, Nevada, Hawaii, Guam, and Saipan. This made her the first female ever promoted to the position of "Special Agent in Charge." She was nominated in 2008 by former President George W. Bush to replace the recently retired Administrator, and she was nominated again by President Barack Obama to the position of Administrator.</description>
            <image>
                <link>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Michele_Leonhart_official_photo.jpg</link>
                <title>Michele Leonhart</title>
                <description>Official Portrait of Michele Leonhart</description>
            </image>
            <video kind="youtube">
                <link>http://www.youtube.com/embed/H3ebBYbLnu4</link>
                <title>Representative Cohen vs. Michele Leonhart</title>
            </video>
            <social kind="facebook">
                <link>https://www.facebook.com/DrugEnforcementAdministration</link>
                <title>Unofficial DEA facebook</title>
            </social>
            <extLink>
                <link>http://www.justice.gov/dea/agency/leonhart.html</link>
                <title>Michele Leonhart bio page by DEA</title>
                <description>Contains biographical info about Michele Leonhart</description>
            </extLink>
            <organizationRef>drug_enforcement_admin</organizationRef>
            <crisisRef>bath_salts</crisisRef>
        </person>
        <person id="kim_jong_un">
            <name>Kim Jong-un</name>
            <kind>Supreme Commander of North Korea</kind>
            <birthday>Jan 8, 1983/1984</birthday>
            <nationality>North Korea</nationality>
            <description>Kim Jong-un is the Supreme Leader of North Korea, First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, First Chairman of the National Defence Commission, Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission in North Korea. Kim Jong-un, his father and predecessor, died on the 28th of December, 2011 to screams of mourning of his citizens. Allegedly, North Koreans were forced to cry to show a proper amount of respect. Regardless of the validity of these claims, it can be said that the political regime in Pyongyang is hostile, complicated, and completely focused on the Supreme Leader. As a result, it is not yet clear how the shift in leadership to Kim Jong-un will affect North Korea's previously belligerent nature, and the possibility of the country's continued development of nuclear weapons has left the world in an ongoing crisis.</description>
            <image>
                <link>http://o.onionstatic.com/images/articles/article/18374/Kim-Jong-R_jpg_250x1000_q85.jpg</link>
                <title>Kim Jong-un</title>
                <description>Kim Jong-un, Supreme Commander of North Korea</description>
            </image>
            <video kind="youtube">
                <link>http://www.youtube.com/embed/lG31fvXEIU8</link>
                <title>Kim Jong-un gives first speech</title>
            </video>
            <social kind ="twitter">
                <link>http://twitter.com/#!/KimJongNumberUn</link>
                <title>Fake Twitter account for Kim Jong Un</title>
            </social>
            <extLink>
                <link>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-un</link>
                <title>Wikipedia page for Kim Jong-un</title>
                <description>Contains information about Kim Jong-un</description>
            </extLink>
            <organizationRef>department_of_defense</organizationRef>
            <crisisRef>north_korea</crisisRef>
        </person>
    </people>
</worldCrises>