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Sanctions from the West against Russia only seek to worsen foreign relations between the two factions.  Understandably, Russian involvement in Ukraine over the past year has been simply atrocious, violating all forms of state sovereignty, and the West’s response to these actions only aim at punishing the actions of the Russians. However, it must be understood that Russian involvement in Ukraine was primarily due to the NATO expansion into what Russia deemed its “sphere of influence”, as such, any methods by the West that attempt to punish Russian activities only result in increased Russian aggression.

The crisis in Ukraine began last year with President Yanukovych opting to accept an agreement with Russia over the EU. As a result, protests and riots erupted in Ukraine, particularly in the Western region. Since then, there has been a divide within the country, with pro Russian sentiments in Eastern Ukraine and a primarily Ukrainian speaking population in the West. A peace deal has been in place, however it is regular broken and fighting still continues between the pro Russian rebels and government troops

Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Larov has accused the West’s economic sanctions as aiming to secure a regime change in Moscow. Whether this is true or not is obviously debatable, since it is Russia’s word against the West, but the issue of escalation still remains. With every punishment the West inflicts onto Russia for their actions in Ukraine, Russia will only reply with anti Western rhetoric. As we have seen very clearly with the USA during the Cuban Missile Crisis, nations are willing to go great lengths to secure areas close to them. Russia’s will to secure Ukraine does not seem to waver, Putin himself has made it clear that the crisis over Ukraine is solely on the fault of the West.

Obviously, Putin’s claims can be deemed nonsensical, since Russia was the one who entered into Ukraine. However, Russian movement was prompted due to the expansions of NATO into an area too vital to Russian interest to be left under the umbrella of the West. In this sense, if the West hope to stop Russian activities in Ukraine through the use of sanctions, it is a complete mistake because the fact is, Russia will not halt their operations in Ukraine. So what the sanctions will do is simply isolate Russia from the international community and destroy any form of positive foreign affairs between the two blocs.

Evidently, there is a clear difference in the two thinkings of the West and Russia, while the West tries to punish Russia for its actions in Ukraine, we can see that Russia simply wants to secure their borders. So long as Russia deems Ukraine a crucial area for their national interest, their involvement will not end and the West’s imposition of sanctions only exacerbate the poor relations between the two factions.

The issue with private security firms and their contract soldiers is not with the nature of their occupation, but the poor representation of the industry by poorly run private military companies (PMCs). Due to the negative connotation of the industry in conjunction with the lack of professionalism and seemingly aggressive nature of some contract soldiers, there is the common belief that soldiers who are paid to fight lack the social justification in comparison to soldiers who do. It is agreeable that some private security firms and their employees display unprofessional attitudes when conducting their operations, however it would be unsensible to disapprove of the whole industry based on the actions of some.

Private security agencies have gained popularity after the end of the Cold War. After the Soviet Union collpased, many countries decided to slim their standing armies thereby relieving soldiers of their duty as well as their jobs. This influx of ex soldiers could only make a living through the skills they had, which were all related to the military in some form. In addition to this, after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, state governmenents, prmarily the USA have been contracting these PMCs to help with transports, training or actual fighting. This industry has pulled in around 100 billion in revenues annually and seem to be staying.

There might be a common misconception of directly associating private security firms to soldiers being paid to kill, however private security agencies do more than simply selling guns for hire. Firms such as Globe Risk “protect nouns”, this is to say they provide security to areas where natural resources are being extracted, namely mining and oil industries. The company also conducts non lethal operations, which are operations that relate to logistical needs such as transportation of certain munitions, supplies or personnel. Globe risk also serves as a military consultant firm who provide military training to their clients and advise customers on potential security threats. But most importantly, the company conducts a high level of screening such as “psychological analyses” for their potential soldiers and employees to ensure the company’s staff are qualified and suitable. Even then, the soldiers must undergo cultural training where appropriate before being deployed. Alan Bell, the CEO of Globe Risk said that PMCs run by previous special forces soldiers rarely -if ever- break laws and rules when conducting their operations. Now obviously there may be a difference from what Bell states and the actuality of how the company is run, however there is a probable cause that other PMCs do not follow the same protocols or precautions.

There are some PMCs, namely the American ones such as Aegis and Blackwater, conduct their operations extremely aggressively and with a general disregard for local civilians and at times local laws. These companies may not have the severe screening process at Globe Risk and therefore produce soldiers or employees that Bell would categorise as “cowboys”. The American companies use forceful means when conducting their work, such as shooting civilian cars when they get to close and disobeying driving laws. Bell also mentions that due to the reluctance of Western countries sending in soldiers on the ground, the West heavily relies on PMCs that could simply fill the role of “boots on the ground”. He comments that during operation Iraqi Freedom the Americans essentially controlled Iraq and primarily hired American PMCs to fill some duties and as a result the American government did not pay attention whether the contract soldiers were suitable or even qualified. Thereby allowing the contract soldiers to roam rampart and do what pleased them with no checks or balances. This is behaviour is accentuated because private military companies tend to operate in failed or weak states and as a result the local authorities are not able to enforce the local laws.

The issue with private security agencies and private military companies is the poor decision in employees not the nature of the industry.

Due to the general public’s lack of grasp of what exponential growth is, they have yet to realise the gravity of the situation with Ebola.  In order for there to be any hope of defeating or containing Ebola, the international community must enforce foreign policies and foreign aid as if Ebola was already spread across the globe. Now, this is not to say countries and organisations are not dealing with the outbreak,  but in order to nullify a world catastrophe, a more aggressive and active stance must be adopted.

Since its outbreak in Guinea earlier this year, Ebola has claimed more than 4,000 lives and there are more than double of confirmed and suspected cases. The outbreak has spread across Western Africa, terrorising the already weak countries of Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Guinea. An Ebola victim in the USA has already fallen while another is suspected of carrying it. Spain also has another victim who is reported as “gravely ill”. The primary counter measures have been through local governments, although most recently USA has sent 3,000 troops to Liberia.

Ebola is experiencing what is called exponential growth, while many may know this simply as being a large increase in a short amount of time, what many do not grasp is beginnings of exponential growth. The famous example of the chess board is always used, if one grain of wheat was placed on the first square of a chess board and two grains were placed on the second and continued to double the amount of grains every subsequent square (4 on the third square, 8 on the fourth etc.) by the time the 64th squared is reach,the total amount of grains is massive. Now if we replaced the grains of wheat with Ebola patients, we would begin to understand the devastating effects of its growth.  The image below depicts the cumulative death over time of Ebola victims.

What we are experiencing currently with Ebola are the initial stages of its growth. There are many in the public that see 4000 lives claimed by Ebola and think to themselves that is nothing compared to the number of deaths due to starvation or accidents, take for example, obesity which totals at around 3.4 million.  This misguided approach is what will lead to international aids or efforts being sent with no sense of urgency. The issue is not that 3.4 million is larger than 4,000, it is the large probability that the 8,000 infected could -in one month- turn into 16,000, then in turn grow to 32,000, then 64,000. If we use the chess board analogy again, currently we may only see one grain of wheat transfer to two, or two transfer to four. What happens when we are only on the 10th square jumping to the 11th? The number doubles from 1,024 to 2,048 which in theory, requires the same time it takes one patient to transfer it to two others.

The obvious counter argument to this is what nation states have been doing, quarantine. Gwynne Dyer mentions that you do not need to isolate everybody infected to break the exponential growth, but simply 75% will do it. Governments however, only quarantine a measly 18% of those who display symptoms. With numbers like these and the potential for mistakes like those in USA to happen, what is to stop a immigrant worker that has been infected to return to China or India and expose the large populations there? As Professor Pete Piot states, “it would only take one”. Currently, we have countries giving aid such as Great Britain providing 200 hospital beds with China and Cuba sending health workers, which in itself is already extremely useful and charitable, but still a limited support to the fight.

The common misconception that Ebola can be contained in Western African and will only affect the people there is one that must be corrected in order for nation states to properly deal with this outbreak before it is too late.

Hong Kong’s protestors need to end their pro democracy movement or they run the risk of foregoing any form of freedom the city has left. The protestors must realise their actions are futile in the larger picture and will only yield more bad than good for the city. While this is not to say a city, community or country should not strive towards universal suffrage, but it would be foolish for the protestors to believe China will grant democracy for the city. If, in the microscopic chance, that does occur, what does this democratic government hope to achieve when the largest and most powerful communist state is a breath away from you.

What began as a student boycott on September 22nd for Hong Kong has joint forces with the “Occupy Central” movement which was scheduled on the Chinese National Day, October 1st. The massive protest from students and activists have occupied areas in the already bustling city, these areas include Causeway Bay, Admiralty, Central, Mong Kok and a portion of Tsim Sha Tsui. The protests and boycott began due to China’s decision to allow elections in 2017, however the candidates will be pre approved by the central government first. The protestors have asked for the Chief Executive, CY Leung, to step down, but he has refused to do so.

There have been rumours that due to the internal quarrels in the central government, there are some, such as Jiang Zemin who have been “manufacturing” the civil unrest in Hong Kong, thereby using it as a tool to destabalise the current General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Xi JinPing. Whether these rumours are true are not, the fact remains the thought of the Tiananmen Massacre still echoes in the minds of many. It is this risk that the protestors are selfishly raising and what the citizens of Hong Kong should be worried about. Some may argue the chance of another repeating event like Tiananmen is slim or even non existent and will not occur in Hong Kong. Which is a perfectly sound argument, however the precedence has already been set and China has demonstrated it has the capability of committing such crimes.

In all likelihood, China will not commit another event like Tiananmen (at least in the immediate future) let alone in an international city like Hong Kong. But the issue still stands that China’s response to these protests is still unknown and could very possibly limit the relatively high level of civil liberties in Hong Kong.  Rights and civil liberties such as freedom of expression, freedom of religion, right to equality, right to privacy, right to travel etc. are all in jeopardy and the possibility of losing these rights are increased for every second the protests continue.

Even in the extrememly rare chance that the central government would grant Hong Kong direct democracy and universal suffrage, what powers would that democratic government have? The protestors seem to be short sighted because even if democracy is achieved, it would be extremely difficult to practice it while the Colossal Communist state is right across the border. In a hypothetical situation where a democratic government is in place and decisions are made, what can this government do when China disagrees?  In realist terms, China has the capacity to halt and alter these decisions, while Hong Kong has no form of response whatsoever.

To reiterate, this is not to say a community, city or nation state should not aim towards democracy and universal suffrage. In fact the opposite is true, democracy should be the primary goal in any political institution. However, when the protestors already possess civil liberties that are considered high and comparatively better than most, they should think twice before gambling with their freedoms.

Despite the efforts from the UN and the World Bank, the Ebola still exhausts the resources, infrastructure and the people of Guinea, Liberia. Nigeria, Sierra Leone as well as many more. A stronger and more effective global approach must be taken. The international community cannot sit as a bystander when this deadly virus is wreaking havoc in states with already weak health systems. Efforts from the international community must be increased in order to combat this outbreak, aid in the form of financial, humanitarian aid workers as well as basic resources should be priortised.

Since its detection in Guinea earlier this year, the virus has claimed more than 2,500 victims and is still expected to claim more. The disease has spread across Western Africa, primarily in Liberia with no sign of stopping. While there have been humanitarian efforts from international organisations in aiding this outbreak, the efforts of combating this disease has been primarily through local governments.

The international community has addressed the issue but has yet to provide the necessary support in combating the spread, particularly addressing the issue of a deficit of medical staff in the affected countries. Liberia has 51 doctors to the 4.2 million population, while Sierra Leone have 136 doctors to their population of 6 million. Having said this, the wealthier and more resourceful African countries such as Nigeria and Guinea have successfully contained the virus, which only speaks to the amount of help foreign aid could provide if any was given.  An increase in humanitarian aid personnel should be prioritised in potential aid programs, while it is understandable that this places these personnel at risk of the disease, it will provide extra man power as well as expertise in the fight against Ebola.

The disease is now reported as having a high level of mutation and therefore might have the capability of adapting which would raise the infection rate exponentially. The international community cannot let Ebola spread further and must follow the example of the World Bank by providing basic resources and equipment such as additional tables that the West African countries desperately need. In addition to this, financial aid should be provided as well, these funds will be used towards purchasing medical equipment as well as other resources that can be used to fight and contain the disease.

The current efforts globally can be summarised by Obama’s recent statement about the issue, “There is still a significant gap between where we are and where we need to be”. This gap significant indeed, an issue everyone must aim to act on.

A more proactive approach is needed in place of the cautious choice Obama has issued in the fight against the Islamic State. While the motives for choosing airstrikes over ground operations may seem logical and perhaps even understandable. The point remains that USA and its Arab allies are prioritising other factors over defeating IS quickly, which in turn will drag out this conflict longer than it needs to last. USA and its Arab allies have the capabilities of ending the Islamic State swiftly and therefore have the responsibility to do so.

The radical Islamist group known as the IS have taken up areas around Syria as well as Iraq have been extremely outspoken about their aims of establishing a new “caliphate”, which in essence is an Islamist state ruled by one political and religious leader. IS has enraged the internationally community with its cruel acts of abductions, killings and beheadings; actions which have caused intervention by a number of states.

The primary issue with USA forgoing ground operations is that if American troops are not the ones leading the fight against IS, then nobody else will follow. It is true that USA has its Arab allies of Syria and Iraq, however only Iraq seems to be the one capable of taking on such a task. Syria on the other hand does not seem to be in a situation which USA is willing to throw its resources into. Other states such as the United Arab Emirates have the capability to fight IS as well, but are reluctant to do so simply because they are afraid of this terrorist group.

American reluctance to aid local Arab states fighting IS will only delay the defeat of IS. If Obama is too hesitant to make unreliable allies for fear that military resources will “find[ing] their way into al-Qaeda”. USA should simply implement ground troops of their own that they can trust and finish the job.

In addition, just issuing air strikes seem to be doing more harm than good, since the damage of these weapons claim the lives of enemy personnel but also innocent civilians and refuges. By implementing ground forces, airstrikes can take a backseat to the American troops on the ground and even if airstrikes are needed, coordination with ground forces can improve their accuracy.

Despite the current scenario for the American approach General Dempsey says he still has “to keep his options open”. However, the fact still remains that If USA takes a reserved role in the fight against IS, no other actor will step up its in place.

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