Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Blog Post #11
I decided to use this map for my final post because to me, it represents why we should have classes like World Regional Geography. When I look at this map I see many stereotypes that might not ever change. Being in a class where I learn about each region of the world has made me see certain countries in a different light (not necessarily in Europe). I have appreciated learning about many places that I knew nothing about. For many of them, I probably wouldn't have taken the time to look up any information on my own. This class has reminded me just how important it is to teach and learn about the world we live in.
Blog Post #10
After reading both the section in the text book and the article provided, I think it would be much more beneficial to help establish trade, industry, and infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa. The aid that is continually provided seems to be causing more trouble than good. If there aren't people stealing it, it's being invested in other countries, not even in Africa.
If aid is going to be given, it needs to take a different appearance. In my opinion, it would be much more beneficial to actually have trained, capable people in Africa that could help set up industry and infrastructure that would remain sustainable and functioning long after the help leaves. The people who would help with this would need to know a lot about Africa in order to know what would work for them. This would help keep things manageable which in turn would be more beneficial. Similar to mission trips that send help to an area and then leave without giving the locals any way of continuing progress, foreign aid gives the funding but doesn't give any useful tools on managing it.
If aid is going to be given, it needs to take a different appearance. In my opinion, it would be much more beneficial to actually have trained, capable people in Africa that could help set up industry and infrastructure that would remain sustainable and functioning long after the help leaves. The people who would help with this would need to know a lot about Africa in order to know what would work for them. This would help keep things manageable which in turn would be more beneficial. Similar to mission trips that send help to an area and then leave without giving the locals any way of continuing progress, foreign aid gives the funding but doesn't give any useful tools on managing it.
Image source: here.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Blog Post #9
Protests in Jordan
In a recent protest in Zarqa, Jordan in an anti-government protest.
Hundreds of Salafi Muslims clashed with pro-king loyalists. People were beat with fists and clubs along with using stones to throw at each other. This left many people wounded and bloody. The violence started when a crowd of Salafis rallied in front of a town mosque while listening to speeches by Salafi leaders. When a government loyalist marched around with a portrait of the a king, the Salfis started to push him back. He was then beaten and fell to the ground. After that, other Salafis ran to get clubs and cables from their cars to attack the other group. Police eventually stepped in and encouraged the pro-king loyalists to move away from the mosque.
According to a Huffington Post article, the Slafie movement is "an ultra-conservative version of Islam with an ideology similar to al-Qaida's." It is banned in Jordan but has grown in recent years. The demonstrators in Jordan have been pushing for a "series of reforms to loosen the control of the king over the government." This would include popular elections for prime minister (who is now appointed by the king).
AP Photo -- A Salafi protester holds a sword during a demonstration
for extremist Salafi Muslims in the town of Zarqa, Jordan....
A protester holds a stone during a demonstration for extremist Salafi Muslims in Zarqa, Jordan.
Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/15/jordan-protests_n_849647.html
http://www.heraldonline.com/2011/04/15/2991609/dozens-wounded-as-protesters-clash.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-04-15-jordan-protests.htm
In a recent protest in Zarqa, Jordan in an anti-government protest.
Hundreds of Salafi Muslims clashed with pro-king loyalists. People were beat with fists and clubs along with using stones to throw at each other. This left many people wounded and bloody. The violence started when a crowd of Salafis rallied in front of a town mosque while listening to speeches by Salafi leaders. When a government loyalist marched around with a portrait of the a king, the Salfis started to push him back. He was then beaten and fell to the ground. After that, other Salafis ran to get clubs and cables from their cars to attack the other group. Police eventually stepped in and encouraged the pro-king loyalists to move away from the mosque.
According to a Huffington Post article, the Slafie movement is "an ultra-conservative version of Islam with an ideology similar to al-Qaida's." It is banned in Jordan but has grown in recent years. The demonstrators in Jordan have been pushing for a "series of reforms to loosen the control of the king over the government." This would include popular elections for prime minister (who is now appointed by the king).
AP Photo -- A Salafi protester holds a sword during a demonstration
for extremist Salafi Muslims in the town of Zarqa, Jordan....
A protester holds a stone during a demonstration for extremist Salafi Muslims in Zarqa, Jordan.
Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/15/jordan-protests_n_849647.html
http://www.heraldonline.com/2011/04/15/2991609/dozens-wounded-as-protesters-clash.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-04-15-jordan-protests.htm
Friday, April 1, 2011
Blog Post #8
This may seem odd, but the most interesting perspective I found while "flying" around Google Earth, was this one:
This image shows how far out into the ocean Hawaii actually sits. I can honestly say, I had no idea it was out there that far! I knew that it was generally between the United States and Australia but I wasn't quite sure where. It always seems to get stuck on the map as a little inset and no one really knows were it belongs. This is the main reason that it made me think about the Earth differently. I realized that there are probably quite a few places that I couldn't place on a map (which the map quizzes in class are slowly helping with).
Something that really had me thinking was this: I might do alright at placing places on a flat map, but what if you gave me a globe? I don't think I would do well at all. By "flying" around Google Earth, I had a better sense of where continents and countries are in relation to each other. This definitely helped me think about the world differently.
This image shows how far out into the ocean Hawaii actually sits. I can honestly say, I had no idea it was out there that far! I knew that it was generally between the United States and Australia but I wasn't quite sure where. It always seems to get stuck on the map as a little inset and no one really knows were it belongs. This is the main reason that it made me think about the Earth differently. I realized that there are probably quite a few places that I couldn't place on a map (which the map quizzes in class are slowly helping with).
Something that really had me thinking was this: I might do alright at placing places on a flat map, but what if you gave me a globe? I don't think I would do well at all. By "flying" around Google Earth, I had a better sense of where continents and countries are in relation to each other. This definitely helped me think about the world differently.
Picture Source: http://world-wall-map.com/world-map-puzzle-pictures/
Blog Post #7
Afghanistan's Opium Wars
This article by National Geographic on opium wars seems to be one of the best and most recent articles out of what I've looked at. I also looked at this link to learn more about what opium is, what it is made from, and what it can do to the user.
I learned many things from the National Geographic article that I didn't know about opium or Afghanistan's production of opium. To start off, I can't say that I ever knew there was a connection between opium and Afghanistan. I guess I have always heard of opium but hadn't thought about where it comes from or who supplies it. After learning that Afghanistan has a role in opium production, I was surprised to find out how large that role was.
I also learned that some of the farmers, as mentioned in the article, use the income from the opium crop to feed their families. "It provide(s) everything," one man, Mohammed Khalid, said. Because of the eradication of poppies, Khalid has come up with a plan in order to keep providing for his family. He said that he will end up switching his easily seen crop of poppies to that of melons and wheat and keep only a small slice of land, which is more hidden, to earn money. I had no idea that so many families depended on the opium crops for their main income.
I thought it was interesting to see how the officers go about removing the crops. They tend to go through them with bamboo canes and "swing away at the flowers, reaper-like." I learned a lot of small interesting things like this through the photo gallery related to the article. The captions helped me realize how serious the problem is. For example, there is one photo and caption about the many people addicted to opium, which features two men smoking with young children in the room. These photos are a really good way to experience the intensity of opium production, use, and attempted eradication. I would highly recommend looking through the gallery if you get the chance.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Blog Post #6, The Great Firewall of China
Something I found especially interesting in the article was the number of employees whose job it is to search Web sites, blogs, and chat rooms looking for offensive content. The agencies employ over 30,000 people to do this job. The article contrasts this to the United States CIA which employs an estimated 16,000 people. Also, it amazes me that the government would filter people's e-mail and text messages. The article mentions how phone companies were ordered to install software that blocked any text messages with offending terms. Here in the United States, we can hardly imagine what it would be like to have every technological communication we send or receive be intercepted by something else first.
Even with the huge "gateways" that filter already, China's monitoring system is "becoming far more complicated" because more sites now have podcasts and user-generated video which is harder to examine compared to text files. It will be interesting to see how China keeps up with the ever increasing technology!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Blog Post #5, How Do They Compare?
I decided to compare a few export and import maps from Worldmapper including toys, clothing, and wood & paper. I included a "regular" map here at the top for easier comparison.
Toys Exports
Toy Imports
The first comparison I made was the import and export of toys. It's so easy to see that a very large number of toys are exported from China, while the vast majority are imported in the United States. This relates to globalization since it has to do with trade between different countries. It was interesting to see this comparison because it really shows how much China exports, and that's just in toys! Growing up, I started noticing that many toys were made in China so the export map was not a big surprise to me. What was surprising, was that the United States seemed like the only large importer. I expected other countries to have a larger import than they did, which may be something good to note. Does this show that the United States is caught up in material things like toys more than other countries??
Clothing Exports
Clothing Imports
This map shows the import and export comparison for clothing. This map does a good job showing how companies can outsource their businesses to places where it is cheaper to make their products. For example, many companies in the United States are outsourcing to places like China and India. This is very evident on the export map. China and India are among the most noticeable exporting countries for clothing. On the import map, we can see that China and India are practically non-existent, while the United States and most of Europe are large importers.
Wood and Paper Exports
Wood and Paper Imports
Finally, I looked at the export and import of wood and paper. I wasn't sure what to expect when I looked at these two maps. I figured that the United States would be a big importer, but I didn't know what to expect anywhere else. I was surprised to see that Japan had such a large import. In terms of exporting, I was surprised by how much is exported by South America, Europe, and Canada.
After looking at just a few maps and comparing the imports and exports, we can see how global trade impacts almost everyone.
"Regular" Map
Toys Exports
Toy Imports
The first comparison I made was the import and export of toys. It's so easy to see that a very large number of toys are exported from China, while the vast majority are imported in the United States. This relates to globalization since it has to do with trade between different countries. It was interesting to see this comparison because it really shows how much China exports, and that's just in toys! Growing up, I started noticing that many toys were made in China so the export map was not a big surprise to me. What was surprising, was that the United States seemed like the only large importer. I expected other countries to have a larger import than they did, which may be something good to note. Does this show that the United States is caught up in material things like toys more than other countries??
Clothing Exports
Clothing Imports
This map shows the import and export comparison for clothing. This map does a good job showing how companies can outsource their businesses to places where it is cheaper to make their products. For example, many companies in the United States are outsourcing to places like China and India. This is very evident on the export map. China and India are among the most noticeable exporting countries for clothing. On the import map, we can see that China and India are practically non-existent, while the United States and most of Europe are large importers.
Wood and Paper Exports
Wood and Paper Imports
Finally, I looked at the export and import of wood and paper. I wasn't sure what to expect when I looked at these two maps. I figured that the United States would be a big importer, but I didn't know what to expect anywhere else. I was surprised to see that Japan had such a large import. In terms of exporting, I was surprised by how much is exported by South America, Europe, and Canada.
After looking at just a few maps and comparing the imports and exports, we can see how global trade impacts almost everyone.
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