Last Blog Until January

    This is the last blog until next year oh my. Today in class, we reviewed what would be on the exam. We surprisingly did pretty well and got the basic summary of each topic in a span of 48 minutes. It was helpful that we have an outline of whats going to be on the exam because I have more of a general idea of what to study. This whole entire weekend I'm going to be studying for exams. I'm not looking forward to them at all, but at least once they're over that means we are on break which is good. Once we're on break that means that Christmas is literally a few days away.  If you ask me what my favorite holiday is, I would instantly tell you that it was Christmas. Its just a really cheery time and everyone is usually in a good mood, which is a plus.  Christmas is also my favorite holiday because seeing all of the decorations up makes me happy too. When it snows, all of the lights look even prettier at night. I'm hoping that it is a white Christmas this year because that is always the best. There's only eleven more days till Christmas as of right now.

2 Hours Late Yay

    Today class was really short because it was two hours late from all the snow so the classes became shorter. In class, we went over the test answers for the test on microfinance. The test was really easy, I only got one wrong which ended up  being a 93%. After we went over the test, we talked a little bit about exams. Exams are next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The day of exams are also half days which is good. Since we're freshmen, this is our first time taking exams and I already know that I don't like them. I mean who would like exams? In order to get ready for my exams, I'm going to go over all of my tests that we have taken throughout this semester along with all of my notes that I have taken. I think that if I do this, then I will be able to walk into the exams confident.

Microfinance Test

    Today in class we took a test on microfinance. It was worth 100 points. The test was really easy in my opinion. On the test there were questions about KIVA along with questions about microfinance in general. I think I did really well on it. Before we took the test, we were all really loud, which doesn't surprise me. We were even more loud then usual. Mr. Schick told us that we couldn't talk once the test was given out but as soon as he placed the first test down Arri said, "I have a question". That didn't surprise me at all because he always has a question. Right now, Mr. Schick is down the hall grading our test. We're all trying to be as quiet as we can. Whenever anyone goes to say something, someone else just shushes them. Its really weird because we're never this quiet but its actually pretty nice. Most of us are either sitting there starring off into space or is on their computer. That's basically the only thing that's going on right now.

A Good Day with The Review of Microfinance

    At the beginning of class we talked about the academic team. Mr. Schick told us how they lost to a team that they beat last year 20 to 2 (?) but instead they beat the highest ranked team. That's pretty good if you ask me. I think it could be kind of fun to join the academic team yet I don't know as much as the others and I usually can't think on the spot. It would also look extremely good on your college application which is always a great thing. After that we reviewed the Power Point on microfinance. Since Mr. Schick was really busy last night, he only got four slides done so we reviewed them. I remember that the last slide that he had done was talking about malarial. During the review, there was something about how people borrow money to start a business or to get medicine or medical drugs. Well, Alexa thought that he meant the drugs that aren't used for medical purposes so she was like, "drugs?!" and I was just like, " No, not the bad drugs Alexa". For some odd reason, we thought that it was the funniest thing that ever happened and neither of us could stop laughing. I eventually had to turn my back to her because I was laughing so hard and every time I saw her laughing, I started to laugh even harder. After we calmed down, I was in such a great mood. Once again, I left the class in a better mood then I was in before.

Microfinance Questions or Answers

1. What is microfinance? 

           - A general term to describe financial services to low-income individuals or to those who do not have access to typical banking services.  

2. What are the benefits of microfinance? 

            - saving accounts, fund transfers, loans, and insurance

3. How many deaths are caused by malarial?

            - 655,000 people 

4. Name three problems in developing countries that can be helped by microfinance.
           - droughts, malarial, and polluted water 

5. How do loans affect small businesses?

           -  Loans help small businesses to get a kick start with their business.

6. In what year did scientists discover the cause of malarial?

           - 1880

7. What is malarial? 

         - life threatening disease transmitted by mosquito

8. Are there any cures for malarial?

        - No, because the doctors are trying to find a Racine for it. 

9. How can we improve microfinance? 

        - We need to think of a solution to give people a chance to have a better life. 

10. What is a micro lender?

         - It is an organization that makes business loans to individuals who are not able to obtain financing from traditional lenders. 

Another Funeral

I wasn't in class today because I had to go to another funeral for my great uncle.

Happy Thanksgiving!

   I wasn't really sure if we were required to blog or not, but I assume we have to since we did have class. Class today put me in a really good mood. Throughout the whole class, Mr. Schick told us stories from when he was younger. He told us how he "had adventures" with Gumby and loved it very much. He told us how he, along with another boy, would throw Gumby across the room whenever the teacher would go to help someone else with something. Everyone noticed it except for the teacher. One of the times that he threw it, it flew over the kid's head and landed in his teacher's coffee cup. No one was going to tell her that she was about to drink Gumby, but she shortly realized once she started to drink and saw Gumby sitting at the bottom of her cup. Our whole class was rolling the entire time. Then he continued to tell us how he flooded the bathroom at a school he didn't even go to. He only attended the school for the rest of the year because his school got hit by a tornado. During the rest of the class, we all just shared stories about our old school and teaches. It put me in a really good mood for the rest of the day. Anyway, happy Thanksgiving Mr. Schick! Don't eat too much food!

Funeral Today

I wasn't in class today because I had to go to my great grandmother's funeral who was 105 years old.

Webquest- Day 2

    Today in class, we continued to play the Peace Corps game. Basically, you're the main person who helps figure out an answer to the problem in the town. After you figure out what the problem is, you're supposed to go around town and ask the people their opinions on what they think should happen. You then are responsible for proposing the best idea to the governor. One of the problems in town was that there was an outburst in malarial. This is caused by mosquitoes. Many of the townspeople were being infected by this disease. The solution to this problem was that the people needed loans to buy mosquito nets. With the mosquito nets, they can put them in the water to prevent the bugs to lay eggs that will soon grow up. Along with this, some other problems were the water becoming brown and who to give the money to in order to help them start their business. The game is alright, nothing special really, but at least it gives us something to do.

Poor Little Small Businesses

    Today, we had a class discussion about small businesses. First we stated that many small businesses can get a start to their "life" by the benefits of microfinance. These benefits consist of saving accounts, fund transfers, loans, and insurances. A small business may use one of these things in order to start off everything, but they will have to pay the loaners back the money they used. After we established this, we talked about how the big businesses are kicking out the small business. The bigger businesses, the ones with more money, will either buy out the smaller businesses or they might move nearby and attract all the costumers to their store. This causes the smaller businesses to lose costumers which mean they aren't making any money. If they're not making money, then it is no use in having the small business.

Think of it this way...

       he big businesses are the big kids and the small businesses will be the younger kids. The small kids make a little lemonade stand one day because they want to earn some money so they can go buy this brand new toy that everyone has. They borrow the ingredients and other necessary items from their mom, who they have to pay back. The little kid's stand is going pretty well for a lemonade stand when suddenly, the big kids across the street make a lemonade stand too. The big kid's stand has regular lemonade, pink lemonade, and cookies while the other stand only has regular lemonade. As the day goes on, more people go to the big kid's stand because they have more of a variety of choices. The smaller stand only gets a few more costumers for the rest of the day. After the day is over, the smaller stand checks its income to find that they did not make enough money for the toy nor enough to pay back their loaner. This causes them to shut down the stand and "go out of business". When the bigger stand sees this, they go over to the old spot and start to build another stand for their lemonade business.

World Leaders Test

   Well class today was pretty exciting. We went over the World Leaders test for both mods. I did pretty well on it, I actually got a 91%. Surprisingly, I was the only one who got an A. It surprised me because we could use our blogs and I thought the test was pretty easy. My blog was filled with all the information from the Power Point so maybe that's why it was so easy. The two questions that confused me was number 24 and 25. They only confused me because at first I thought that it meant that they had a degree in economics, but then I thought that it was talking about who had a strong family background in economics. I thought that it was asking who has had someone in their family that deal with economics in some way. Besides that, we were all really loud and couldn't stop talking which was no different than any other day.

Webquest

   Today in class, we started our Webquest that we will be working on for the next few days. The whole things is revolved around the concept of Economic Geography. The four benefits of microfinance to individuals living in poverty are: saving accounts, fund transfers, loans, and insurances. You might even have a few of these things and not even know it! Instead of having a lecture or learning from a Power Point like usual, we're trying something new with this Webquest. Basically, we're supposed to do this game where we are the Peace Corps and we have to make the right decisions in order to help the town survive after you leave in two years. For example, you might have to choose what invention deserves a lone and will be the most helpful to the community. The game is alright I guess. It's not my favorite but whatever I'll deal with it. Oh, and don't forget no one in this game or story is real because *insert Gollum voice* it's all in your mind.

Test on World Leaders

     Today in class, we took the test on all of the world leaders that we have been talking about. I thought that it was a pretty easy test especially since we could use our blogs. My blog was adequately filled with the notes and was very useful. There really wasn’t a “hard part” on the test since I basically had all of the notes right in front of me. To be honest, I figured that we would be allowed to use our blogs since Mr. Schick told us about it the day before he gave us the test. I knew that he wouldn’t just give us such a short notice if there wasn’t a catch to it. I still studied just in case, but I was almost positive that we would be able to use our blogs. Overall, I think I did really well on the test and possibly got all of the answers right. 

Finishing up World Leaders

     Today in class, we finished up the world leaders Power Point. Throughout the class, I checked to make sure that my blog was up to date with the notes.

World Leaders Powerpoint

  Last night I thought we had to update our blog with the information about the leaders so I updated it with the information. Throughout class, I went along with the Power Point and made sure I had the correct notes down.

Review for Test and the Rest of My Friday

   Yesterday in class we reviewed our test. Of course I got that same question wrong about which country was the least culturally diverse. When I first saw the question, I thought about how the answer was Switzerland on the last test and I guess I didn't read it close enough because I got it wrong. The right answer on this test was actually North Korea, which is was I put for the last test. I thought that the test was pretty easy except for a few of the religion ones. The religion ones were a little more difficult only because I got some of them mixed up and switched a few around. After reviewing the test, we started to go over the important facts about the different leaders for the countries we were talking about. We're supposed to make sure that our blog is accurate with the right facts. Since this is kind of a boring blog, there were really no notes, I'm going to tell you about my Friday because it was pretty fun. On Friday after school, my friend, my sister, and I went to the Fillmore in Silver Springs, Maryland for a concert. We saw Jake Miller who is a rapper/songwriter. This was my second time seeing him and let's just say once again he did an amazing job. Throughout the concert, he kept the whole crowd pumped up and jumping the whole time. It was general admission though and I don't think I've ever been that close to so many people that I didn't know. We were all basically side by side all squished to the front and no one would move back. Anyway, after the concert he told everyone to meet him outside of his tour bus so he could stop and meet us all before he left. While we were standing outside, the other two opening acts came out and I got to meet them all and get pictures with them all. After about 45 minutes, Jake finally came out to meet us all. He was extremely nice, as usual, and I even got a hug from him. The only bad thing was that in my picture with him I was blinking which is no surprise because I always do. In the end, it was a great concert once again and I had a blast.

Interesting Facts about Leaders all of the World

Mexico: Enrique Pena Nieto:
      - His election marked the return to power of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which controlled the Mexican presidency for more than 70 years.
       -Enrique is the fifth member of his extended family to serve as governor of the State of Mexico.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/world/americas/enrique-pea-nieto-fast-facts/index.html


China: Xi Jinping:
        - Xi Jinping was the first leader who had a PH.D.
        - He is seen as "princeling" because he owes some of him success to his anscetors. In this case, he is the son of revolutionary veteran Xi Zhongxun who is one of the Communist Party's founding father.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11551399
http://contextchina.com/2012/11/ten-facts-about-chinas-incoming-leader-xi-jinping/


India: Pranab Mukherjee:
        - He is among the small handful of politicians of India to have the three key ministries of finance, defense, and external affairs.
        -According to his daughter, he is a compulsive workaholic. Mukerjee works nearly 18 hours a day and hasn't taken a holiday since the last 20 years.
http://www.indiatimes.com/india/top-7-interesting-facts-about-pranab-mukherjee-33200-7.html#list_start


Afghanistan: Hamid Karzai:
         - After a civil war broke out between many groups, Karzai resigned from his place as deputy foreign minister in order to help organize a grand council to resolve differences between the groups.
         - Karzai, along with the military commander of the Northern Alliance named Massoud, warned the United States that the Talibans were connected with al Qaeda and that they were planning on a great attack on America. The United States ignored these warnings.
 http://www.biography.com/people/hamid-karzai-537356?page=2


Germany:
     Joachim Gauck (president):
          - He beat his main rival Beate Klarsfeld, who was a veteran anti-Nazi campaigner, 991 to 126 votes.
          - When he was 11 years old, his father was sent to jail for allegedly spying and was in there for four years. This gave him the idea that freedom would be the main theme for his presidency.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/18/anti-communist-pastor-gauck_n_1356919.html


United Kingdom:
   David William Donald Cameron (Prime Minister):
        - He is a descendant of King William IV and became the youngest prime minister since 1812 and was 43 when he took office.
         - One of his very first actions after becoming prime minister was forming a pact with Nick Clegg, who was the Liberal Democrat Leader. This resulted in the first coalition government since World War 2.
http://www.biography.com/people/david-cameron-39203?page=2


France: Francois Hollande
         - He is the first Socialist president since 1995 when Francois Mitterrand left the office.
         - During his campaign, he promised renegotiating the austerity agreement, withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, lowered the retirement age, and higher taxes for the people who were extremely wealthy.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/21/world/europe/francois-hollande---fast-facts/


Brazil: Dilma Rousseff:
        - It was her first time ever running for an elected office when she became president.
        - After joining the resistance movement against the British military dictatorship, she was jailed for three years and allegedly tortured in the 1970s.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/04/world/americas/dilma-rousseff---fast-facts/index.html?iref=allsearch


Venezuela: Nicolas Maduro Moros:
         - Before becoming politically active in the 1990s, he belonged to the transit union and worked as a bus driver for Caracas Metro.
         - He beat Henrique Capriles Radonski in the 2013 presidential election by two percentage points.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/26/world/americas/nicolas-maduro-fast-facts/


Saudi Arabia: Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (King):
         - While he was in charge, Saudi Arabia joined the World Trade Organization.
         - On September 15, 2011, he announced that women will be able to run for office and vote in local elections in the year 2015. This was the biggest chance in a decade for women in a puritanical kingdom that practices strict separation between males and females. This was the only country in the world who banned women from driving.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/28/world/meast/king-abdullah-bin-abdulaziz-al-saud---fast-facts/


Iran:
    Ali Hoseini- Khamenei (Supreme Leader):
         - After being appointed after Mohammad-Ali Rajai's assassination, he became the first cleric to serve in the Iranian presidency.
          - He issued a religious prohibition against any insult to Muhammad's wives or companions. Also, he forbid the production, stockpiling, and use of nuclear weapons.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/khamenei.html


Israel:
   Shimon Peres (President):
        - in 1994, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Prime Minisiter Yitzhak Rabin.
        - When he addressed the Turkish parliament, he became the first Israeli president ever to speak to a Muslim country's legislature
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/03/world/meast/shimon-peres---fast-facts/

Nation Assignment

Country: Mexico
Government: Federal Republic
Leader: Enrique Pena Nieto

Mexico: Enrique Pena Nieto:

      - His election marked the return to power of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which controlled the Mexican presidency for more than 70 years.

       -Enrique is the fifth member of his extended family to serve as governor of the State of Mexico.

       - eldest of four sibilings in a middle-class family

       - his father, Gilberto Enrique Pena del Mazo, was an engineer for an electric company and his mom, Maria del Socorro Nieto, was a school teacher

       - many call him "the Teflon" because trouble seems to slide off him like the rumor that he fathered two children in affairs while his wife raised the couple's 3 children or the investigation of the sudden death of his wife at home in 2007

      - two years after his wife's death, he announced his engagement to the soap opera actor Angelica Rivera who became his wife through a star-studded wedding ceremony and is now the first lady of Mexico

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/world/americas/enrique-pea-nieto-fast-facts/index.html

 

Country: China

Government: Communist State

Leader: XI Jinping

China: Xi Jinping:

        - Xi Jinping was the first leader who had a PH.D.

        - He is seen as "princeling" because he owes some of him success to his anscetors. In this case, he is the son of revolutionary veteran Xi Zhongxun who is one of the Communist Party's founding father.

       - married a folk singer in 1987 named Peng Liyuan who also holds the rank of army general

       -  Ms. Peng was the better-known half of the couple before he became the leader of the Communist Party

       - has a daughter named Xi Mingze who is studying at Harvard University in the United States http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11551399

http://contextchina.com/2012/11/ten-facts-about-chinas-incoming-leader-xi-jinping/

 

Country: India
Government: Federal Republic
Leader: Pranab Mukherjee

India: Pranab Mukherjee:

        - He is among the small handful of politicians of India to have the three key ministries of finance, defense, and external affairs.

        -According to his daughter, he is a compulsive workaholic. Mukerjee works nearly 18 hours a day and hasn't taken a holiday since the last 20 years.

       - taught Political Science at the Vidiyanagar College

       - worked as a journalist before becoming involved in politics

       - rated as one of the best finance ministers of the world in 1984 and was adjudged the best parliamentarian in 1997

        - had a conflict with Rajiv Gandhi and started his own party called Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress

http://www.indiatimes.com/india/top-7-interesting-facts-about-pranab-mukherjee-33200-7.html#list_start

Country: Afghanistan

Government: Islamic Republic

Leader: Hamid Karza

Afghanistan: Hamid Karzai:

         - After a civil war broke out between many groups, Karzai resigned from his place as deputy foreign minister in order to help organize a grand council to resolve differences between the groups.

         - Karzai, along with the military commander of the Northern Alliance named Massoud, warned the United States that the Talibans were connected with al Qaeda and that they were planning on a great attack on America. The United States ignored these warnings.

         - well versed in several languages, including Peshto (his native language), Persian, Hindi, French, and English

         -  Emerged as a resistance leader under Taliban rule and worked to undermine the regime 

http://www.biography.com/people/hamid-karzai-537356?page=2

 

Country: Germany

Government: Federal Republic

Leader: Joachim Gauck

Germany:

     Joachim Gauck (president):

          - He beat his main rival Beate Klarsfeld, who was a veteran anti-Nazi campaigner, 991 to 126 votes.

          - When he was 11 years old, his father was sent to jail for allegedly spying and was in there for four years. This gave him the idea that freedom would be the main theme for his presidency.

    Angela Merkel (Chancellor)

         - graduated from University of Leipzig in 1978 with a physics and physical chemistry degree and earned a PhD in quantum chemistry from the German Academy of Sciences in Berlin in 1986

         - has been Chancellor since November 2005

          - earned the top spot on the FORBES list of "Most Powerful Women In The World" for eight of the 10 years

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/18/anti-communist-pastor-gauck_n_1356919.html

Country: United Kingdom

Government: Constitutional Monarchy and Commonwealth Realm

Leader: David William Donald Cameron

United Kingdom:

     David William Donald Cameron (Prime Minister):

        - He is a descendant of King William IV and became the youngest prime minister since 1812 and was 43 when he took office.

         - One of his very first actions after becoming prime minister was forming a pact with Nick Clegg, who was the Liberal Democrat Leader. This resulted in the first coalition government since World War 2.

        - was packed off at age seven to Heatherdown which was a highly exclusive preparatory school,Prince Edward and Prince Andrew both attended there

         - after Heatherdown, he attended Eton, which is Britain's top private school and is a family tradition to attend there

         - first child, named Ivan, was born disabled and needed care all day

         - Ivan died in February 2009

         - This experience is said by friends to have broadened Cameron's horizons and has led an almost charmed life to that point

   Queen Elizabeth:

          - became queen on February 6, 1952 and was crowned on June 2, 1953

          - reign lasted 60 years and counting

http://www.biography.com/people/david-cameron-39203?page=2

 

Country: France

Government: Republic
Leader: Francois Hollande; Jean-Marc Ayrault

France: Francois Hollande

         - He is the first Socialist president since 1995 when Francois Mitterrand left the office.

         - During his campaign, he promised renegotiating the austerity agreement, withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, lowered the retirement age, and higher taxes for the people who were extremely wealthy.

        - no previous experience in a national government position

        - shared a 30-year relationship with his mom, Segolene Royal

  - born in 1954 in the city of Rouen to an extreme-right physician father and progressive social worker mother

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/21/world/europe/francois-hollande---fast-facts/

Country: Brazil

Government: Federal Republic

Leader: Dilma Rousseff

  Brazil: Dilma Rousseff:
        - It was her first time ever running for an elected office when she became president.
        - After joining the resistance movement against the British military dictatorship, she was jailed for three years and allegedly tortured in the 1970s.
        - been divorced two times
        - has a degree in economics and rules the country with the eigth-biggest economy in the world
        - went through chemotheraphy in 2009 for lymphoma and is in remission
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/04/world/americas/dilma-rousseff---fast-facts/index.html?iref=allsearch

Country: Venezuela

Government: Federal Republic
Leader: Nicolas Maduro Moros

Venezuela: Nicolas Maduro Moros:

         - Before becoming politically active in the 1990s, he belonged to the transit union and worked as a bus driver for Caracas Metro.

         - He beat Henrique Capriles Radonski in the 2013 presidential election by two percentage points.

         - introduced to Hugo Chavez in 1992

         - After Chavez and other members of the military were imprisoned for and coup, Maduro began campaigning for his release. He was released in 1994 and won the election for presidency four years later.

        - Chavez selected Maduro to serve as vice president after he won his third term in October 2012.

         - worked alongside the president and served as one of his closest advisers as well as a loyal spokesperson

         - Chavez died at the age 58 on March 5,2013 from cancer and Maduro took his place

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/26/world/americas/nicolas-maduro-fast-facts/

 

Country: Saudi Arabia

Government: Monarchy

Leader: Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud

Saudi Arabia: Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (King):
         - While he was in charge, Saudi Arabia joined the World Trade Organization.
         - On September 15, 2011, he announced that women will be able to run for office and vote in local elections in the year 2015. This was the biggest chance in a decade for women in a puritanical kingdom that practices strict separation between males and females. This was the only country in the world who banned women from driving.
         - has fathered 22 children, the youngest when he was age 79
         - worth approximately 21 billion dollars
         - appointed commander of the Saudi Arabia National Guard before he became king
         - vistited Pope Benedict in the Apostolic Palace in November 2007 making him the first Saudi monarch to visit the Pope
         - called for a "brotherly and sincere dialogue between believers from all religions" in March 2008
         - granted women the right to vote an
http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/28/world/meast/king-abdullah-bin-abdulaziz-al-saud---fast-facts/

Country: Iran

Government: Theocratic Republic (religion based government) 

Leader: Ali Hoseini-Khamenei ( Supreme Leader); Hasan Fereidun Ruhani ( president)

Iran:

    Ali Hoseini- Khamenei (Supreme Leader):

         - After being appointed after Mohammad-Ali Rajai's assassination, he became the first cleric to serve in the Iranian presidency.

          - He issued a religious prohibition against any insult to Muhammad's wives or companions. Also, he forbid the production, stockpiling, and use of nuclear weapons.

         - took place in street protests against the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran and was exiled after the uprising was crushed

         - was in prision many times

         - in 1975 he was exiled to a region in southeastern Iran

         - elected President of Iran in 1981 and re-elected in 1985

         - became Iran's Supreme Leader in 1989

    Hasan Fereidun Ruhani (president):

       - held several parliamentary posts, including deputy speaker

       - served on the Supreme National Security Council

       - elected President of Iran in June 2013

       - openly critical of the previous president saying Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's "careless, uncalculated, and unsteadied remarks" have costed the country dearly
- wanted Israel wiped off the face of the earth 

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/khamenei.html

Country: Israel

Government: Parliamentary Democracy

Leader: Shimon Peres ( president ); Binyamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (prime minister)

Israel:
   Shimon Peres (President):
        - in 1994, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Prime Minisiter Yitzhak Rabin.
        - When he addressed the Turkish parliament, he became the first Israeli president ever to speak to a Muslim country's legislature
        - born in Belarus but his family fled to Palestine in 1934 to escape from the persecution of Jews
        - after Arab forces launched attacks on the new state of Israel in 148, he was given the chief responsibility to secure military equipment for Israel
        - organized Israel's nuclear program and regarded as the father of Israel's atomic bomb
        - in charge of Israeli negotiations during peace talks with the Palestinians.

    Binyamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister):
         - lived in the US in the years 1956-68 and then again in 1963-67
         - his brother, Jonathan, was killed in July 1976 in the course of the Entebbe Operation where he was one of the commanders
         - Quote: "There are those who say that if the Holocaust had not occurred, the State of Israel would never have been established. But I say that if the State of Israel would have been established earlier, the Holocaust would not have occurred."
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/03/world/meast/shimon-peres---fast-facts/

Political Geography

    Today in class we took the test on the religions. After we took it, Mr. Schick graded it right away and we got to see out grades. I got an 80, which isn't too bad, but I thought I did better on it. Once we saw our grades, we started to talk about Political Geography. We discussed how the world is organized. It is separated into four different categories. Those categories are: country, nation, state, and nation-state. Country is the identifiable land area on a map and is a piece of geography. Nation is a population of a cultural group that has people who have a shared identity. It is a homogeneous group and is larger than a single tribe or community. A nation shares common language, institutions, religion, and historical experience. State is synonymous to country and is a population under a single government. When a state is called an independent state, it means that it has boundaries, an organized economy, education, transportation, government, sovereignty, external recognition, and living people. A Nation-State is a single culture under a single government. Its a nation that has the same border as a state.

Review of Religions

   On Friday, we were supposed to take a test on all five of the religions that we have been talking about in the last few classes. Instead of taking the test, like we were supposed to, we went over all of the main religions again. We got the basic facts that we needed to know for the test. It was a review for most of the religions but some stuff I didn't know. For example, I didn't know the exact number of Christians in the world. There are about 2.2 billion of Christians in the world. Also, I didn't know that there is the "Eightfold Path" in Buddhism. The Eightfold Path consists of the right of: view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and dedication. Another thing that I didn't know was that the Hindus' holy book is called the Vedas. It is made of the eternal truths that are revealed to ancient sages and is written in verse form.

Continuation of the 5 Major Religions

    Today in class we picked up where we left on Hinduism. Instead of priests, Hindus have gurus. Gurus teach and master specific traditions. Almost all of the gurus come from the Brahman caste. Throughout a year, Hindus celebrate 32-34 holidays. The major ones are: Maha Shivarati, Gudi Padwa, Guru Purnima, and Vijayadashami. Maha Shivarati is held on March 12 and is a night of fasting to show devotion to Shiva. Gudi Padwa is on March 23 and is the day that they celebrate how Brahaman created the world. Guru Purnima is the day that they celebrate their gurus and is the day that one of the writers of their sacred scriptures was born. Vijayadashami is held on October 15 and is a day of celebrating good conquering evil. Even though Hindus believe in many different gods, there are fights in India between Hindus and Muslims. The fights are back and forth and is all in "revenge" for something that happened in the past. After Hinduism, we started talking about Buddhism. Buddhism is based off of the practice teachings of Siddhartha Guatama, commonly known as Buddha. Buddha was a teacher who lived between the fourth and sixth century. He shared his incites to help the beings and suffering of others. Buddhism is the fastest growing religion in the world and has about 350 to 550 million followers. Buddhism has such a large range of followers because they don't have certain rules like having no other gods before Buddha and they don't claim to be number one. Most of these Buddhists can be found in India and Asia. They have practices of mindfulness and meditation.

The Start of Religions- Hinduism

    At the begin of class today, we got our tests back. After we were handed back our tests, we went over all the answers. Now that we have all the correct answers, when the final comes around, we will have something to study from. These questions will most likely come up again. Once we finished going over all of the answers, we started learning about the different religions. The first group to present was Grace's group, which was Hinduism. Hinduism has no official founder nor official date that it was created. There are also one billion followers of Hinduism, which makes up about 14% of the world's population. Because of this, it is the third largest religion in the world. They also have two sacred texts called Vendas and Bhagavad Gita. The Vendas is made up of over a thousand hymns and contains the descriptions of Hindu rituals. The Bhagavad Gita is the most important Hindu text and is a poem that describes the belief of afterlife. Hindus believe in Karma. They believe that every action has an equal reaction. If you do a good action, then there will be a positive consequence, but if you do a bad action, then there will be a negative consequence. Another thing that they believe in is that there is one omniscient being that controls everything even other gods called Brahman. Lastly, they believe in Samsara which is the Hindu process of reincarnation. Reincarnation is a continuous cycle of death and rebirth into a new body. If you didn't perform good deeds as a human, then you'll come back as a lower form of life.

5 Major Religions

    Today in class, we split up into groups of three people and were assigned one of the 5 major religions in the world. My group was Alexa, Grant, and me. The 5 major religions are Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism. We were assigned to find information about Judaism. Some things that I learned was that in Judaism, there are a little over 14 million followers in the world and that its Holy Land is located in Jerusalem, Israel. Also, I learned is that instead of having priests like they used to, they have Rabbis. Rabbi, in Hebrew, means "My Teacher". Their job is to instruct the community, answer questions, and resolve any disputes regarding Halakhah. Jews, as what the followers are called, have a holy book called the Torah. The Torah is the central concept of Jewish Tradition and is followed by all Jews and is taught by the Rabbis as faith. I think that today was a pretty successful class and we got a lot done.

End of First Quater

   Today was the last day of the first quarter. We took a quiz today that was worth 50 points. It was on the PowerPoint that we've been going over in class. Not only did we take the quiz, but we are also getting a 50 point grade for class participation along with our blog grades. Even though I think that I got a few questions wrong, I still think that I did well. For starters, I know that I got at least one of them wrong because I switched the answer from Switzerland to China. I only changed it because I was over thinking and I thought that it meant that out of the three homogeneous countries, which of those three was the least homogeneous. Instead, it meant which of the countries was heterogeneous and had multiple ethnic cultures. As long as the incoming grades help my grade and doesn't affect it, then I'm completely happy with them. Personally, I would rather have my grade above 90 throughout the whole semester but that's just me.

Debate on Nationalism

     Well today in class, we debated on nationalism. Nationalism is the belief that your nation is superior to all others. People all around the world always say, "(insert country name) is the best country ever woo!". Well technically, in my opinion, that's not true at all. There isn't a number one country out there, it doesn't exist. I mean sure there are pretty great countries out there like America and such but none of them rank to be number one. A perfect country doesn't exist. All of them have flaws or problems going on. Each of the countries have pros that causes them to rank higher, but then they also have cons that bring them lower than they were before. The pros and cons basically even each other out. If someone says that America is the best, then they have to give reasoning. What makes America so better than all the other 196 countries out there? Let's be real here, America isn't number one like people portray it to be. People have such a high expectation of what life is like living in America that they don't see the imperfections of it. America has issues all throughout it. For example, the government is a big one. It was shut down for sixteen days because they couldn't agree on what to do about Obama Care. People weren't working or getting paid and the things run by the government were shut down temporarily. Not only that but we are also about 17.1 trillion dollars in debt. Another reason why America isn't number one is that even though we have freedom of speech, we still have to watch what we say. Many Americans don't share their opinions on things because they are afraid of someone bashing them for it. They are afraid that they will get yelled at for expressing the opinion that is not the same as the other person's opinion. America also has an extremely high crime rate. There are about 12,408,899 people who have committed a crime in America. That's extremely high if you think about it. Why would people want to go to America if there is such a high crime rate? I believe that there is no real number one country out there, but there are countries out there that are close. Take Canada for example and just look at the. Its all pretty calm there, their government is doing well, they don't really cause any drama, and they have maple syrup. Let's be real now, maple syrup is a plus. Don't get me wrong, America is a great country, but its definitely not number one!

Culture Characteristics Part III

    Today in class, we picked up where we left off, which was talking about religion. The five major reasons in the world that are related to religion differences are: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. More wars have been fought over religion to see who's god is the most superior. This beats the amount of wars fought over money and land. Religion can not only unify people, but can also divide them. For example, Muslims are separated into two separate groups, the Shiites and the Sunnis. This happened because they both disagreed on how the Prophet Muhammad taught and what his teachings meant. Because of this disagreement, it created two separate groups that have two different beliefs. Spatial divisions is how we divide the livable space found on earth by establishing social, economic, and political control. In some spatial divisions it is okay to be in more than one group, but sometimes it may cause conflicts. Two examples of economic alliances are the European Union and the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The NAFTA is basically where a business can move their factories from one place to another where they can pay their employees less than minimum wage. Because of this, the employees that worked in the factory before it was moved become unemployed. The people around the new factory site now have an opportunity to get a job there.

Continuation of Cultural Characteristics

    Today in class we continued to talk about cultural characteristics. Three main culture characteristics are: language, religion, and ethnic heritage. If you recall, cultural characteristics are parts of a group's everyday life and are the ideas and themes in which the group will teach to all of the members. These can either link regions together or they can divide a region. An example of language is that it units the Arab world. Because they can all speak the same language, it allows them to be able to communicate and understand each other. Brazil is the only South American nation that doesn't speak Spanish. Instead, they speak Portuguese. This caused Brazilians to be separated from the rest of the other nations. An example of ethnic heritage is Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia used to be made up of many different groups all combined in one place. Those groups were the Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, and the Albanians. All of these groups got along and accepted each other. When the strong leadership died out, the many different groups went to war and caused a civil war. The cities were destroyed and many people died. Instead of fighting over ethnic heritage, the United States of America and Switzerland have peacefully merged the groups in their countries and accepts them all. Religion can be unifying or can cause a lot of issues. The five major religions are: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Spirit Week Comes to An End With a Test

    Today we took an AP test for Human Geography. The score on the test wouldn't affect your grade though. Instead, we are using it to see how much we know. When we take another test at the end of the year, we can now compare our final scores to this test and see how much we have learned. Although I didn't get that far in the test, I thought that the test was okay. It wasn't too hard, but it wasn't easy. You just had to remember everything that you have learned.  Personally, I'm not the best at remembering every single detail about each thing that I have learned so it required more thought to try to remember everything. Not only did you have to remember everything that we have covered so far, but there was also stuff on the test that we will be covering in the future. This gave us a general idea of what else we will be learning about this year. Overall, I think I did okay with the questions that I actually answered.

Cultural Characteristics

     Today in class, we reviewed the quiz on the population pyramids that we took on Friday. I originally had a 42 out of 50, which is about an 84, but Mr. Schick gave me a point back for number twelve. Overall, I thought I did pretty well and that it wasn't too hard. It took up most of the class to go over all of the answers because we couldn't focus at all. We all kept getting distracted and getting off topic. After the review, we started to talk about cultural characteristics. We only just scratched the surface of the topic because we ran out of time. Cultural characteristics are parts of a group's everyday life. Its the ideas and themes in which the group will teach to all of the members. Having similar characteristics can link regions, but they can also divide them. Some examples of cultural characteristics are: language, religion, and ethnic heritage.

Population Pyramid Quiz

     On Friday in class, we took a quiz on the population pyramids. There were also words that we had to know for the quiz like life expectancy, crude birth rate, crude death rate, rate of natural increase, net migration rate, immigration, emigration, push forces, pull forces, and the total fertility rate. The number one thing to remember is that the total fertility rate needs to be at least 2.1 for the population to remain the same. If it is lower, the population will decrease, but it if it higher then the population will increase. Overall, the quiz wasn't too hard. I thought it was pretty easy since I did study for it. After the quiz we talked a little bit about an organization called KIVA. Basically, its an organization that helps people who don't have enough money get what they need in order to succeed. People can lend someone in need $25 that will go towards whatever they need. Most of the time, the people who borrow the money pay the loaner the amount back. The rate of repayment is about 99.03%. This rate is incredibly high and there is only a less than one percent chance of you not getting repaid.

More About Population Pyramids

     When we first started class today, we got back our quiz that we took that was about the lost boys. We went over the answers so we would all have the correct ones to study from when the exam comes. After we checked the quiz, we picked back up on population pyramids. Recall that population pyramids are used to analyze the growth or decline of fertility, mortality, and migration in cities. The graphs are usually measured in the amount of people or the percentage of each population. When we say that it is a box pyramid, we don't mean a completely even box. There is usually a bugle in the graph where there are the most people. We looked at many different types of pyramid examples that ranged from Michigan to Kansas. In Michigan, there is an increase in the category for women from the range of 20-24 years old. This is because there is a popular all women's' college located there. In Kansas, there is more of an increase around the 20-35 range. This is because there is a main prison there where people would spend a long time in jail and would be considered a resident there. Mostly males were located there. By looking at these graphs, you can tell which places have more people in each of the three categories; the oldies, the economically active, and the kiddos.

Population Pyramids

   Today in class, we took a quiz. The quiz covered the whole entire documentary on the lost boys. It was 20 questions that were fill in the blank. We were also surprised with the option of using our blogs. We could use any information that we had on our blog to answer the questions. After the quiz, we started to talk about Population Pyramids. We use population pyramids to analyze the growth (or decline) of fertility, mortality, and migration in cities. The pyramid ranks from "the oldies" at the top, then the "economically active", and then finally "the kiddos". On the pyramid, the oldies would be considered anyone sixty years or older. The economically active would range from 20-59 while the kiddos would range from age 0-19. When making the pyramid, the males are placed on the left side while the women are placed on the right side. Because of the amount of people per category, it can give the pyramid a different shape. There are three types of shapes which are the christmas tree, the box, and the cup. When the pyramid has the shape of a christmas tree, it means that it is a developing nation with a slow growth rate. It has a high birth rate, but also has a short life expectancy. Namibia or Bangladesh would both be examples of a pyramid looking like a tree. If the pyramid has a box shape, it means that it is a developed nation and has a slow growth rate. It has a low infant mortality, a slow population growth, and a long life expectancy. Sweden or the United States is an example of a box pyramid. Finally, the cup shape means that it is a developed nation and has a negative growth. It has a low birth rate, a shrinking population, and a long life expectancy. An example of this type of pyramid shape is Italy or Japan.

Ew Sickness

I wasn't in class today because I was sick at home. I had a fever along with a cold and a sore throat and didn't feel any better this morning when I woke up.

"God Grew Tired of Us"- Day 3

     When class started, we finally got our tests back. We went over all of the answers and then picked up with the documentary, "God Grew Tired of Us". In the documentary, the few refugees that had the chance of going to America have been there for over two months now. When they were there, they wanted to fit it but they didn't want to lose their cultural things. For example, they knew how to use utensils but instead they used their hands while eating. They did this because this is how they ate back home. As Christmas came along, they were slightly confused of the regular American traditions like Santa Claus or christmas trees. In Kakuma, they would celebrate Christmas by singing loudly and dancing around. When it snowed, Daniel and Panther tried to ride their bikes through the snow and were fascinated by the ice rink. Within two months, the boys we are following got jobs. Daniel got a job at the nearby bank and had to process checks. He was paid $6.50 an hour, which was more than minimum wage back then. John got two part time jobs. He would go from making baskets in a factory to grilling McDonalds' hamburgers later that night.We also discovered that John was originally from a tribe called Dinka. Dinka was a tribe made up of tall Africans. While the lost boys were in America, they were becoming lonely. Even though they had the other refugees with them, it wasn't the same. They missed their other friends and desperately wanted to find their families. They constantly tried to contact their family but they really didn't even know if they were alive anymore.

"God Grew Tired Of Us"- Day 2

    The documentary picked up where the selected males were boarding to go to America. The United States allowed a selective group of boys, now men, to fly to the states where they would be given new homes. They were given a second chance to start their life over. This was a take it or leave it offer. No one was forcing them to go or to stay at the camp. Three of those males were, John Bul Dau, Daniel Abul Pach, and Panther Bior. Daniel and Panther had become best friends when they became refugees. They were all excited to go to the United States. When they got there they would have to adapt to the new surroundings and have to learn how to do things like use electricity, shower, go grocery shopping, and other necessities to living. When all the refugees were on the plane, they were so interested in everything that was going on. They kept touching the walls, looking at the remote, kept looking outside, and kept trying all the foods. While they were eating, they thought that the wipe that you used to clean your hands after you eat was a type of food so they ate it. They also ate the whole butter squares that they give you along with the plain jelly. The funny thing about this was that Panther said that the food on the airplane wasn't as good as the food they had back at the camp. After traveling from Kakuma to Kenya to Belgium to the United States, they had finally reached their location. Panther and Daniel shared a room in Pittsburgh, PA while John went to Syracuse, NY. They had to learn how to turn on the lights, flush the toilet, where to throw out the trash, and other activities that are used in the regular household. Even though they were in America, they would still constantly think about the others back home and wonder how they were all doing. John always wondered why he had a good place to live, but the others back home didn't. He would always remember how while they were fleeing the country, he was in charge on digging the hole and burying the kids who died along the way. He was only thirteen then but he was given it because of his height. Panther said that if he could, he would send something from America to the people back home to help them out. He wished that he could help take care of everyone there and fix their problems.Most of the refugees didn't allow the thought of how lucky they were to be able to go to America get to their head. Instead, they thought they were blessed and would remain grounded by keeping their culture alive.

"God Grew Tired of Us"

    "God Grew Tired of Us" is a documentary that follows the refugees of Sudan. In 1983, a religious civil war started between Northern Sudan and Southern Sudan. In Northern Sudan the main religion was Muslim, but in Southern Sudan the main religions were Christian and animist. The Muslims did not accept the fact that they had a different religion so they started to attack. Their one order was to kill all the men and boys living in Southern Sudan. If they didn't kill them, then they were marked. The soldiers would cut their faces, leaving a huge scar across them. This was a reminder to the people who saw them of how much power the northern side had. The soldiers would also capture the women where they would be used as prostitutes or sex slaves. They would either rape them or kill them. Once this all started, over 27,000 males fled Sudan. They marched thousands of miles from Sudan to the Ethiopian border. This process took at least five years. After those five years of traveling, you could barely recognize most of the boys. Most of them were lacking nutrition and were starving. They were so skinny that you could easily count each and every one of their ribs. The boys were also unrecognizable because they had survived bombings from Sudan or attacks by wild animals such as lions or hyenas. After three years past, the Ethiopian government started to have their own problems and forced the thousands of refugees out of the country. The remaining refugees had to pack up everything that they had and travel once again. They had to go down through Sudan to get to the next border, which was Kakuma, Kenya. Once they had finally arrived, there were only about 12,000 people left. These boys were known as "the lost boys".

Review on CIA Factbook

   Today in class, we reviewed our answers from our homework over the weekend. For homework, we had to answer twenty five questions that Mr. Schick gave us. We had to use the CIA Factbook to find the answers. As we went over the questions in class, we talked about each answer before moving on to the next question. If we got any of the answers wrong, it was a good idea to correct them. I think that the two things that I remember most is how high the United States is located on the HIV/AIDS death chart. Its ranked number 18 out of the many countries all over the world. It's kind of sad when you think about it because there are ways to prevent this disease. Another thing that I remember the most is that there is a 95% unemployment rate in Zimbabwe. This means that 19/20 people living there cannot find jobs. It makes you think of how lucky you are to actually have a job that pays you enough to support your family. Basically, during the whole entire class, we just went over and corrected out homework questions.

CIA Fact Book Scavenger Hunt

1.      What is the population of the United States?

-          316,668,567

2.      What are the five largest countries in the world, by population?

-          China, India, United States, Indonesia, Brazil

3.      What is the population of Pakistan?

-          193,238,868

4.      What kind of government does the United States have?

-          constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition

5.      What is the unemployment rate in Zimbabwe?

-          95%

6.      What is the largest country in the world by area?

-          Russia

7.      What country has the third greatest number of airports?

-          Mexico

8.      What country has the greatest number of exports?

-          China

9.      What country exports more oil than any other?

-    Saudi Arabia  

10.  What country imports more oil than any other?

-          United States

11.  What country has the second largest proved reserves of crude oil in the world?

-          Venezuela

12.  Can women serve in combat roles in China’s military?

-          Yes

13.  What is GDP?

-     GDP means gross domestic product; t his entry gives the gross domestic product or value of all final goods and services produced with nations in a given year;

14.  What country has the highest GDP per capita ( people)  in the world, and how much is it?

-          Qatar 103,900

15.  Is the US in the top ten for GDP per capita?

-          No

16.  Most of the countries with the highest birth rates can be found in what continent?

-          Africa

17. 11 or the top 12 countries with the highest number of deaths from HIV/AIDS can be found in which continent?

-          Africa

18.  What other country is in the top ten?

-       India

19.  Where does the US rank in HIV/AIDS deaths?
           -      #18

20.  Is the US #1 in number of cellular phones?

-          No 

21.  What percentage of the US is Roman Catholic?

-          23.9%

22.  What percentage of Mexico is Roman Catholic?

-          82.7%

23.  What is Net Migration Rate?

-          The difference between the number of persons entering and leaving a country each year per 1000 persons. An excess of people entering the country is referred to as net immigration. An excess of people leaving the country is referred to as net emigration. 

24.  Does the US have the highest Net Migration Rate in the world?

-          No (3.6/1000) 

25.  According to the Fact book, what is the current population of the entire planet?

-          7,095,217,980

Migration

    Migration is the movement from one place to another. The Net Migration Rate, NMR for short, is the difference between the number of persons entering and leaving a country each year. There is immigration and emigration. Emigration is the excess of people who are leaving the country. When measuring this, it is written in a negative number. Immigration is the excess of people who are entering the country. This is written in a positive number. For example, Canada has 5.65 migrants per 1,000 population while Mexico has -3.11 migrants per 1,000 population. When people migrate, they want to leave their country and go somewhere else. Push forces are things that make the people want to leave the country. One way that you can remember this is by thinking that these things are physically pushing these citizens out of their country and making them not want to live their anymore. Some push forces are civil wars, environmental degradation, unemployment or underemployment, and religious or ethnic persecution. Pull forces are things that attract others to a country. You can think of these forces as physically pulling them into their country and having them stay there. Some pull forces are better economic opportunities, better health services, religious freedoms, and political freedoms. There is also a thing called the Total Fertility Rate, or TFR. The Total Fertility Rate is the average number of children born per woman. In order for a population to remain the same, the TFR must be at least 2.1. The higher the rate, the more the population increases. The lower the rate, the more the population decreases. In each country, there is a different TFR. For example, in the United States the TFR is about 2.6 while in Nigeria the average rate is about 5.38. In certain places around the world, the Total Fertility Rate is higher because parents tend to have more children in case one of their children die at a young age. A lot of children don’t live long enough to see their first birthday due to malnutrition or from a disease that they picked up and didn't have the right medication to cure themselves. It’s actually a really sad thing when you think about it because it’s like the parents are expecting at least one of their kids to die and to not live as long as they hope they would live.

Population and Migration

    In class today, we focused more on talking about population. There are over 7 million people living on the earth right now. The population is increasing by 77 million more people per year. Life expectancy is the average number of years that are expected to be lived by a group of people who were born in the same year. It seems that women usually live longer than men. For example, if you look at the life expectancy of the United States, you'll see that the average is about 78 years old. If you look more into depth, you'll discover that men usually only live to about 76 years old while women live to about 81. Women tend to live longer because they take more care of their health on a daily basis and have less risky jobs. You can measure population by the crude birth rate, the crude death rate, and the rate of natural increase. Crude birth rate is the number of births per 1000 of the population. Crude death rate is the number of deaths per 1000 of the population. The rate of natural increase, RNI for short, give us the natural growth rate for a country. You can find this by subtracting the death rate from the birth rate and then dividing it by 10.

First Test of The Year

  On Friday, we had our first test in Human Geography. It was made up of ten multiple choice questions and three essays. The test covered everything that we have learned so far from the meaning of arête to globalization. While we were taking the test, all of the sudden the fire alarm went off. We all had to get up and walk out to the football field and stand there. While we were standing there, Mr. Schick had to take role call just to make sure everyone was with us. After about twenty one minutes, the drill was over and we could finally head back inside. Luckily it was nice out and wasn't too hot or else it would've been worse standing out there. Once we got back into the classroom we had to finish completing the test. If we didn't finish, Mr. Schick would give us extra time due to the fact that the fire drill took time away from the test. I only have to complete one more essay and then I’ll be finished. So far the test is pretty easy to me. Hopefully when I get my test back on Monday to finish it, I’ll see that I did well on the multiple choice part of the test!  

Globalization PowerPoint

   Today we all presented our power points that we've been working on. We've been working on this "project" for a few days now in class. Our power point had to be about globalization. We had to define what globalization exactly is and also list pros and cons. A pro of globalization is that it has decreased poverty. In some countries, like China. India, Uganda, and Vietnam, they have opened up to the economy and have decreased their amount of poverty. In China, their poverty rate went from 60% to 16% between the years 1990 and 2005. While globalization has pros, it also has cons. Globalization only makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. It give better benefits towards the mangers and investors than the workers. Also, globalization has led to the exploitation of labor. This means that many children are coerced into working for places with inhumane conditions. After we all presented, we went over what we needed to know for the first test of the school year. We found out what would be on the test and what we needed to study. Hopefully, the information will still be fresh in my mind when it comes time to take the test!

"Just Don't Do It"

   After Nike didn't take care of the sweatshop situation in Indonesia, many people protested against them. The protesters' slogan "Just Don't Do It" caught Nike's attention. People were boycotting all Nike products due to the unfair labor practices. This had an extreme effect on the money they were making. Nike knew they had to do something about it before it got worse. They claimed they had fixed the problem. They said that they improved the working conditions and safety hazards in the sweatshops. Also, they raised the minimum wage to $3.70 per day. Little did they tell you that they hired military officials to coerce the workers into agreeing to the amount they are paid. In Indonesia, the minimum wage is $4.00 unless the worker signs an agreement paper saying that its okay to pay them less. Nike used the military officials to pressure the workers to sign the agreement even if they didn't like it. The workers would sign them relentlessly because they knew that they needed the job in order to support their family needs. Some articles leave that last detail out when they are covering the story while others add it in. That's why you always have to look even more in depth for left out facts.

Behind the Swoosh

    Jim Keady is the co-director and co-founder of the organization called " Educating for Justice". Jim was a pro soccer player along with a soccer coach at St. John's University. While Jim was working at St. John's he was told to be an endorsement for Nike. He was supposed to wear Nike items while the team wore Nike equipment that were given to them. After doing research, Jim discovered that Nike was practically violating everything that the Catholic social teaching is about. He then refused to wear any Nike products. The principal gave him two options: wear Nike and just drop it or he could resign after the year. Even though Jim was told this, he just kept talking about it until he was fired after the year ended. Jim wanted to see how bad the sweatshops really were. He wanted to be physically able to smell them, see them, and touch them. Jim and Leslie traveled to Tangerang, Indonesia to experience it all. They were going to live the daily life of sweatshop workers without doing all the work. They wanted to see how they live with the small amount of money they get. After paying off the rent, electricity, water bill, and any main transportation they have about $1.25 left. With that money, they're supposed to buy food and get any medication they need. Jim and Leslie tried to get into the sweatshops but were denied many times. Once they were denied the first time, the manager of that sweatshop sent out a fax to all the other buildings warning them about these two people. They said that you weren't allowed to talk to them only the managers were allowed to and if you were seen talking to them or anything, then you would have to deal with the consequences. Every time they would get near any of the workers, guards would quickly surround them and they would be under their watch at all times. While you're watching this video, it opens up your eyes and helps you realize that there are bad results of globalization along with the good ones.