Blog topic #11

Washington: Wash Tin
Oregon: All Gone
California: uninhabitable
Idaho: Hi Ho
Utah: You Saw
Nevada: Never Add
Arizona: Arid Zone
New Mexico: New Mix (Hiccup)
Montana: Mount Annie
Colorado: Color Radio
Wyoming: Why Home In
North Dakota: North Colder
South Dakota: The Cold (South)
Nebraska: Knee Grass
Kansas: Can This
Oklahoma: Okay?
Minnesota: Mint Soda
Iowa : Out-A-Way
Missouri: Misery
Wisconsin: Wise Cousin
Illinois: Ill Noise
Michigan: Miss Again
Indiana: Indian Annie
Arkansas : Arch Insult
Ohio: Old High
Kentucky: Canned Turkey
Tennessee: Ten Seeds
Louisiana: Lousy Annie
Mississippi: Miss-Is-Yippi
Alabama: All Mammy
North Carolina: North Carol’s Line
South Carolina: South Carol’s Line
The New England states (plus NY, NJ and PA – and a big part of Maritime Canada): “Damned Yankee” Land
West Virginia: West Gin
Maryland: Snafu
Georgia: Judgy
Florida: Swamp Land


Well I'm from Louisiana and have never had anything against Texans personally.  I have developed a distaste for the utter size of Texas.  I've often been told I'd be a good candidate for president when people hear my politics but I know I'm not the man for the job because if I were ever president I'd divide Texas diagonally into East Texas and West Texas. I'd also combine the Dakotas to maintain the even number of 50 for the states. I find the map does show the ego that most Texans I've met have.  They do see themselves as the "Big Deal" of America sort of in the same way that America sees itself as the "Big Deal" of the world. 

Blog Topic #10

I think the only way that Sub-Saharan Africa is going to get better in the short term is through individuals. The best kind of aid that you can supply to the region is help that you give DIRECTLY!! Whenever you send things through corporations or through governments the money is bound to end up somewhere other than where you intended it. The best kind of charity that you can provide is things that will end up creating the availability of education and health services to anyone and everyone.  Ensuring the education and health of the layman is the first step in creating a better Africa. It's tough to look at it in terms of what the U.S. government can do but I would say that they have to invest in education and health services as well and that would probably fall under the jurisdiction of infrastructure.

Blog Topic #9

I am selecting Yemen and I know almost nothing about this country except that it is currently divided. There have been many protest both pro and anti-governmental in the past few months all with non-comforting names such as "Day of Rage" "Friday of Anger" and "Friday of No Return".  The people are obviously fired up.  The pro-governmental people want to keep the current people in power because they feel that they are a lesser of two evils, the other evil being the people who would replace their current government. The anti-governmental people are fed up with unemployment and poor economic conditions and were pushed over the edge by a proposed modification to the constitution of Yemen.  The main thing the protesters want is for their leader President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down and they don't want his son to take over either.  He has already said he does not plan to run for re-election in 2013 and that his son won't inherit power either, but there is still mounting pressure for him to step down now.

Blog topic #8

I like this picture because it shows how much land separates modern day Germany and Russia. When I was in a European History class my senior year in high school I found it strange that we incorporated Russia into the class seeing as how the book classified Germany as being Eastern European. It's difficult to include in Russia in any other regions history though, Russia has almost always been doing their own thing culturally.  I think this map helps us to understand Russia's hesitancy and sometimes inability through out history to "Westernize." It is important and has always been important to take this into account when considering Russia and it's people.

Blog topic #7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvUdruvbdmI

This is just a trailer for the movie but it did a few things well.  The first thing I think it did well was show the difficulty that the soldiers have upon returning to the U.S. after serving especially in places as bad as the Valley was. The soldiers speaking about nightmares and about not quite knowing how to deal with or process what they've been through or what they've seen brings to life the struggle of the people who defend our freedoms.  The other thing was the sacrifices they make while they're there.  These people really enter into situations where it's life and death everyday. It makes you wonder whether or not you would be able to do the same if you had to.
I think the most important question that the movie raises is the question of whether or not leaving or retreating makes the soldiers sacrifice in vain.  We had forces in the Valley for a good while because we had labeled it as being strategically important, yet we have since withdrawn from the region; and not because it is safe now.  We watched the whole movie about the struggle and the sacrifice to build that camp, Camp Restrepo.  The soldiers were proud of that and it probably helped them to carry that sense of pride with them about their service while they're back home.  I wonder how they feel about the withdrawal from the Valley. I can't imagine they'd be too happy about it because I know I would be terribly upset.

Blog topic #6

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=edc1d819-59b0-4092-90ca-daedc5ed1962%40sessionmgr11&vid=4&hid=19&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=19865286

The article looked into the formation of the wall and some examples of the problems that it has caused small business owners that are trying to use the internet to start their businesses. The two stories that caught my eye in the article were about these two women who are still going strong on the internet in China despite the government disliking them.  A woman by the name of Shi Hengxia began writing under the surname Hibiscus Sister about herself and how amazing and attractive she is.  Then she started putting pictures of herself in 'sexy' poses albeit fully clothed.  Her popularity exploded and she began to be mentioned in T.V. and basically became an overnight celebrity.  The second story is similar story about a woman writing under the name Mu Zimei.  In both cases the Chinese government doesn't like what is going on but at the same time doesn't want to shut it down unless they have to because of the women's vast popularity.  It seems as if the 'cracks in the surface' of the Great Firewall are starting to appear.  I think that China's determination to control the internet is a testament to the influence that the internet can have on culture and the way things are.  I also think China's giving in to these women and therefore their people's desire is a testament to the power that people can possess even in a Communist or other more controlling kinds of government.

Blog topic #5

This map shows the world according to carbon emissions as of the year 2000.  I would be really interested to see how the map stands now because since 2000 the U.S. has done a fair amount to cut carbon emissions while some of the eastern powers like China have continued rapid industrial growth. This issue is extremely important and relevant because of the world summits on the issue.  The U.S. has continued to volunteer to cut our carbon emissions but China has been reluctant to bring all of their facilities up to current environmental standards. This is one of the problems that is causing a lot of tensions between China and the U.S. The States aren't really in any position to do anything about it, however, as China is the #1 owner of U.S. debt.  We continue to make strides ourselves, in spite of that, in terms of being more environmentally friendly and that is something we can hang our hats on at the end of the day. I would imagine that if the map were redone with recent statics the map would still be dominated by Ease Asia and the United States but they would switch places from #1 and #2.

I really like this video as an example of the similarity that exists now between India and America in their love of the movie industry and their favorite actors and actresses. The scene in the movie when Jamal Malik is trapped in the porta-potty and has to crawl though 'filth' to get to see his hero who is a famous movie star. I had heard about Bollywood and some of the movies coming out of there but I didn't understand how close India's movie industry is to America's.  Obviously Bollywood's movies aren't as well made as the ones in the U.S. but that's only because they are still new to movie making. The movies and trailers I've seen all look like movies from past decades. Some of the people in the video like the little boy who says he loves his favorite actor helped me understand the kind of admiration Jamal had for his hero in the movie.  It reminded me most about the admiration  that Amir had for John Wayne in the Kite Runner.  We're not so different in that we are all captivated by heroic figures in the movies.

Blog topic #3

This video points to the problem of complacency with regards to the Thai government in their efforts to shut down human traffickers in their country.  The video discussed human trafficking from the point of view of getting people into the country to cheap labor which is a problem that we as Americans can understand fairly well.  The sound byte of the activist at the end of the video sounded like it could have been a man from Arizona or southern  California talking about the governments lame excuses for their delay or failure to step up efforts to prevent illegal immigration. I believe that in the case of the Thai government they have to have some kind of motivation for keeping the human trafficking business going and the labor coming in because otherwise they would have stepped in by now.  I know that Thailand is infamous for their trafficking, both for labor and sex, and I have a feeling that one way or another the government is touching that money.  Otherwise they would have a great motivation to shut down the traffickers because they aren't getting tax money on the income of the "immigrants."

Blog Topic #2 part 1

 http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/pm-calls-for-reflection-on-australia-day-20110125-1a3jj.html    
This article discussed a speech that the prime minister of Australia gave regarding Australia Day.  In the speech the P.M. talked about the floods and how they needed to remember their 'mateship' even more than usual this Australia Day.  The P.M. also said that this was important not only to remember their unity as a nation on the national holiday, but also to come together in order to give aid to those who need it because of the floods. This relates to discussion of Australia's population in terms of its diversity. It is very important and almost vital that a country unite in times of crisis like what Australia is experiencing now.  The United States pulled together during the critical period following 9/11 despite any racial or other tensions and it is critical right now for Australia to do the same. (Pg. 636-637).

http://www.smh.com.au/national/protests-mark-fresh-immigration-shame-20101119-180zl.html                        
    This article discussed the protest of a few asylum seekers who had their lips sewn shut.  They did this because they were protesting Australian immigration incidents form about ten years ago.  This is giving officials problems because the people who are currently being held because of immigration infractions are considering protests of their own.  These immigration issues and tensions are discussed in the book on pages 654 and 655.  Since Australia didn't open their border until the 1970s, there are still a lot of issues between the immigrants and the native people.

blog topic #1

I like this picture mainly because I think it shows very well how the internet and technology have played such a major role in bringing the world together.  Until recently going around the world and interracting with people of different cultures and regions was a task that very few people in all of history could accomplish.  But now, for many of us on earth, people from all over the world are just a keystroke or two away!

These are exciting times that we live in but we have to be sure to ease our way into a globalized world so that we can create a generally fair and mostly peaceful planet.