Weird Map of the United States

                This map was made by: typing in each state's name on Google then labeling it with the first data that came up.  The states in red refer to newspapers such as the New York Times, Idaho Statesman, Washington Post, and the Missouri Compromise.  The states in green all contain important educational institutions.  Colorado State, Georgia Tech, New Mexico State, Arizona State, South Dakota State, North Dakota State, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Mississippi State, Iowa State, and Pennsylvania State University.  The rest of the states are not grouped together by color.  Notice Nebraska is known for college football. 

Sub-Saharan Africa

         In my opinion, we should help them develop their government and military.  The Bush administration sent billions of dollars over there, and now they have somewhat become dependent on the money.  If we could develop their governments they would have not as much of a need or dependency on the money the United States is supplying Sub-Saharan countries with.  Setting up a government and helping it to get established is a very difficult task, as we have found out in the Middle East, and Central Asia (Iraq and Afghanistan).

Unrest in Libya

          Muammar Gaddafi is Libya's leader, he has been in power for forty-two years.  This makes him one of the longest serving rulers in history.   After seeing what kind of protests took place in Egypt with the people forcing the stepping down of Hosni Mubarak, the Libyan people came up with the same idea.  With the protests that took place in Egypt the military did not get involved a whole lot, so it was not as violent as the protest in Libya.  Gaddafi has used the military to try to stop the protests, that has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths.  After Gaddafi started firing on his own people, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization became involved.  NATO created a no fly zone over Libya, so Gaddafi could not use planes against the people.  NATO also shot missiles, trying to hit Gadaffi's palace.   The main reason for all of the protests in Libya is: the people want to overthrow Gaddafi, and install a democratic government.  With installing a democratic government they would have a lot more freedom compared to now.

Google Earth

          In this view, you can not see much land at all only the border of the continents, Hawaii, and a few other islands, all the rest is the Pacific Ocean.  I like this view of the earth because it shows how Hawaii is very isolated, and it shows how big the Pacific Ocean is.  If someone was going to Hawaii saw this view of the earth, they might get a little anxious about flying over the ocean for that long.  This view of the earth really supports the fact that the earth is about 71% water, and only 29% of it is made up of dry land.

The War In Afghanistan

         The war in Afghanistan has been a brutal war for the United States.  As we saw in the movie "Restrepo" the terrain is very mountainous, which makes it very hard for the U.S. soldiers to advance quickly.  The mountainous terrain also provides plenty of shelter for the Al-Qaeda insurgents to hide.  Another reason that makes this war so tough to fight is: the U.S. can't just go in and bomb the whole country because there are also a lot of innocent people, that had nothing to do with 911.  One positive point the soldiers brought up was; how they were glad that the war was in Afghanistan, and not in the United States.

The Great Firewall

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2006/tc20060112_434051.htm

        The article "The Great Firewall of China," consists of three main points, that talk about China's Great Firewall.  First it talks about how Western Internet systems like Google, and Yahoo have to respect the laws if they want to do business in China.  MSN another high profile site, was forced by the Chinese government to shut down a blogging site, in December.  The second point the article goes into is: how the Chinese monitor all of these sites.  Beijing has a lot of technology to keep watch over the internet, what is coming in, and going out.  The agencies that are assigned to watch over this employ more than 30,000 people.  That is 14,000 more than the CIA employs.  The rules get even tougher for companies who have their sites on servers in China.  They have to sign an agreement which says they will not spread superstition, or obscenity, in a way that would disrupt social stability.  The third point of the article talks about how the Chinese give no internet freedom.  All internet traffic that is leaving or coming into China, must be first checked by the government.  If you try a Google search for the "The T's" which are Tibet, Taiwan, and Tienanmen Massacre, ninety to one-hundred percent of the sites are blocked.    

Population and Globalization

This map shows the populations of the countries throughout the world, by size.  The bigger the country is the larger its population is.  Notice India, China, and Japan are very large.  One way that population affects globalization is: the more people a country has living in it, the more it is going to have to rely on trade with other countries.  Another way that population is a factor is: the more people that a country has living in it, the more its cultures will be practiced.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire

         The game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire first aired in the United States on August 16, 1999 on ABC.  The game show was hosted by Regis Philbin.  The maximum prize is one million dollars, to win the contestant must answer fifteen multiple choice questions correctly, without missing any.  Along the way the contestant has three lifelines: ask the audience, 50:50, and phone a friend.  These can be utilized once, at anytime during the game.  The game originated from the United Kingdom.  In the movie Slumdog Millionaire, the game is a lot alike the United States version.  Of course there is a different host, but the lifelines and the basic game play are the same.  In the movie the ultimate prize is 20million rupees, since the game is being played in India.

Laos Culture

This video is about the religion and culture of the country of Laos.





This video gives a good overview of Laos' culture.  Buddhism is the religion that is mostly practiced in Laos.  Laos is a very poor country, as the monks have to walk down the streets and collect rice from the women who are there.  The Laos residents dress very conservatively, while they are in the temples and homes.  It is common courtesy to remove your shoes when you enter any building.

Australia Immigration

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/immigration-fined-242k-over-malu-sara-20101202-18hyj.html

         The article I read was "Immigration fined $242k over Malu Sara."  The Australian immigration department was fined $242k by the federal government, because of the sinking of the Malu Sara which was an immigration boat.  Five people were killed in this incident.  The ship sank in October of 2005, while it was on a 74km voyage between Badu and Saibai islands, located in the Torres Strait.  Two days before the trip the Malu Sara's motor failed, but it was still given the go ahead to make the trip.  Much of Australia is dominated by European immigrants, who traveled to Australia by ship.  Global popular culture has shaped much of Australian society.  The country has embraced North American movies, music, and television.  Many American television programs are played in Australia, although the Australian media are mandated to show at least fifty percent local programming from the hours of 6 am to midnight.  (p. 646-647)

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/australia-day-is-about-mateship-pm-says-20110126-1a4rb.html

Australia Day is about mateship, PM says.

            This article talks about the Prime Minister's view on how Australia Day is all about celebrating the nation's unique qualities.  One example of a unique quality of Australia is: much courage was shown when Queensland was hit by a flood.  The country was bound together so they were able to help out the area of Queensland, during the crisis.  Ms Gillard (the Prime Minister) migrated from the United Kingdom in 1966, she goes on to talk about how her parents had serious debates about whether to become citizens of Australia or not.  Aborigines dominated Australia's land and culture for thousands of years.  Then the Europeans started migrating to Australia.  This caused many problems whether it was disputes over land or the difference in the languages that were being spoken.  After many years there are still Aboriginal cultures in Australia.  The Aborigines and the Europeans have learned how to join together when a crisis comes. (pg. 645-646)

Globalization

I like this photo because it shows how the English language is not only used by the United States, but also by China, and many other different countries.  The English language is being taught in many different countries, and is becoming a global language.  This is great in the area of trade and business, as it helps with communication.