Blog Topic # 11

This is a map of the United States, with the most-known movie associated with the state it is from. I have seen only a handful of these movies, but I found this to be interesting on a personal level as I am from South Dakota and take great pride in the fact that the movie listed on the map for SD is Dances With Wolves, both a popular and well-known film. 

I have been to the actual spot where this movie was filmed, a few minutes' drive from my house (off of Highway 16, on the way to Mount Rushmore to the Black Hills), located at the Ft. Hays Chuck wagon Dinner and Show (a tourist attraction that I highly recommend). I have not seen the movie itself, however, but it is on my list of movies  to watch, as I hear it is a great one.

Blog Topic #10 Sub-Saharan Africa

After reading the sections in the textbook regarding foreign aid to Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the article from CATO institute, it is my opinion that the people of Africa need leadership, not aid. The old adage "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man  how to fish, feed him for a lifetime" could not be more applicable than in this situation.

It is my opinion that by giving the country aid, it merely teaches dependency, not independence. It creates money laundering and scams, not development.
Rather, there should be a greater focus on development, and creating an infrastructure and industry.

Blog Topic #9 Civil Unrest in the Middle East

Yemen.

Opposition rejects Gulf plan, Saleh accepts

Yahoo News.

 The protests in this Middle Eastern country are taking place mainly because the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, was given the option to step down through a Gulf Arab initiative. The protesters do not like this plan, partly because it gives Saleh immunity from prosecution against his past wrongs.

Saleh himself welcomed the plan.

Opposition spokesman, Mohammed al-Sabry, is quoted: "Who would be a fool to offer guarantees to a regime that kills peaceful protestors? Our principal demand is that Saleh leaves first."

Since early February, Saleh has been dragging his heels over U.S. attempts to have him agree to step down, trying first to win guarantees that he and his sons will not face prosecution.

More than 100 protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces, and activists have said that they want to see legal action taken against Saleh and his sons.

Tens of thousands of protesters filled the streets of Sanaa, Taiz, Hudaiba, Ibb, and the SE province of Hadramat to protest against the Gulf plan. General Ali Mohsen, a kinsman of Saleh whose units are protecting those protesters in Sanaa, is quoted to have said on Monday, "[Saleh]...hopes all parties will accept this initiative and not miss the opportunity."

Shortly after the opposition rejected the Gulf initiative, Saleh accepted it. He believes that it is his duty to oversee the transition of power in new elections, and he "has no reservations about transferring power peacefully within the framework of the constitution."

Blog Topic #8 Google Earth

 I found this image from Google Earth to be interesting because it shows  the Earth from an almost entirely water-covered perspective. It made me realize how isolated Hawaii is from the other land masses.

Blog Topic #7 - Opium in Afghanistan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJnbV8SkhVo&feature=fvst

This video explains the topic of American farmers combating the production of opium in Afghanistan, helping the people of Afghanistan learn to plant alternative crops such as wheat, apples, rice, or melons. 

The region (highlighted in this video) produces 90% of the opium produced worldwide, and the Taliban receives $100 million from this production. Opium yields $1,500/acre. This is comparable to the alternative wheat crop, which only yields $500/acre. Therefore, opium is three times more productive (in monetary terms), which explains the difficulty in stopping the production.

President Obama implemented a plan called The Civilian Surge, which is explained in the following article.  As of March 2010, it was hoped that 450 civilians would be implanted in Afghanistan. This objective has not been accomplished, partially because of funding, allocation, and implementation all being on a late time frame, according to Jacob Lew, deputy secretary of state for management and resources. 

There is also difficulty with finding people with the right set of skills who are willing to stay in Afghanistan for a yearlong deployment.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112976965

I found the following quotes from the National Geographic article interesting:

"We have two forms of money here: poppy, and American dollars," says a beardless 33-year-old Helmand farmer named Rehmatou as he leaves the Marine base with his fertilizer. "This is our economy. The Taliban aren't pressuring me—that's just a story you see on TV. I grow for myself. I smuggle for myself. The Taliban are not the reason. Poverty is the reason. And they'll keep growing poppies here—unless they're forced not to. Force is the solution for everything. As we say in Pashtu, 'Power can flatten mountains.'"

"This is a bad way to make money," Rehmatou says gravely. "It trains you for no other occupation. When a father feeds a boy with money from poppies, he will grow poppies too. He'll have no other skill. We have no carpenters, no engineers, no mechanics. We have nothing."

With a sad smile, the farmer says, "It is a kind of cancer on our country."

And so to eradicate poppy, we would first have to eradicate corruption.

 

 

The Great Firewall of China

 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/special-report/The-great-firewall-of-China/articleshow/7583878.cms

This article gives an overview of the revolt in China caused by the fear the government has of social networking sites. This explains the closure of sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. 

There has been cause for further government infiltration, as a few "Twitter clone" social networking sites (Fanfou, Jiwai, and Digu) have caused civil unrest in China. The site Fanfou (which had over a million subscribers) was closed because of suspicions that rebels were using this networking site to spread awareness. 

China closely scrutinizes these social networking "clones", but information still slips through the cracks of China's internet police force. This is evident when looking at a popular trend among the young people of China: translating articles written about China (by foreign journalists) and circulating the translations in mass emails or blog posts. 
 This unrest and suspicion begs the question: will the people of China convert this "chat room" revolution to the streets?

 

Blog Topic #5

This map represents the exporting of groceries. Groceries include sugar, honey, cocoa, chocolate, tea, mate (a tea-like drink) and spices. Territories in South America and Asia Pacific together make up three quarters of net grocery exports, as you can notice from the cartogram. Net exports at regional level seem to be from South America, Asia Pacific, North America, Southeastern Africa and Northern Africa. The majority of both Asia and Europe are not visible on this map. The imports to these places exceed the exports. 

 Mauritius (an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 560 mi east of Madagascar), exports (net) the nineteenth highest value of groceries. It makes most money per person from this trade.

This map represents globalization because of the correlation between the type of land, and the reality of what it is exporting and where it is exporting it to. The majority of Asia and Europe appear to not be driven by grocery exportation; that is obvious from the map. Instead it is Africa, the Americas, and Asia Pacific that share the net of grocery exports.

"Who wants to be a .... Millllunnare!"

Darshan do Ghanshyam.

In the movie "Slumdog Millionaire," Latika, Jamal, and Salim are (dangers unknown to them) taken in by a man named Maman who uses orphans to earn money. Jamal, who has a decent singing voice, is asked to sing the song Darshan do Ghanshyam to Maman. Jamal is under the impression that if he sings well and pleases Maman, he will become famous and make a life for himself, gaining a ticket out of the slums. 

However when Salim, acting as a small henchman for Maman, witnesses Maman burning the eyes of another boy who sang the song previous, he knows that something is wrong. Acting upon instinct, Salim brings Jamal to Maman as ordered, but when he is motioned to pick up the chloroform to be used on Jamal, Salim splashes it in the guard's eyes instead. Chaos ensues, and the boys and Latika flee. 

 Here is a version I found of a man named Dr. Narasinha Kamath of the Ganesh Temple near Flushing, NY singing Darshan do Ghanshyam.

http://dr-narasinha-kamath.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/05/darshan-do-ghanashyam-bhajan-sung-by-dr-kamath-1.htm 

I tried to find the history of the song, but it yielded little results. So, here are the English lyrics to the Hindi song.

Darshan do Ghanshyam:
O Krishna! Bless us with your presence, our eyes are thirsty for the sight of you.
Light up the temple of our hearts, O dweller of every soul.

Lord! Every temple has your idol,
Even then I haven't seen you.
The age has come to an end, and yet
the time for seeing you hasn't arrived

O Krishna! when you open the gates of your grace,
even the dumb sing in mellifluous voices,
The blind see and even the one-legged walk to Kashi to offer obeisance.

Lord! I drink water to quench my thirst,
but how what do I tell my eyes which crave for you?
O Krishna! O Dweller of my heart! Please end these blindfolded games and appear before me.

http://musicforvanshaj.blogspot.com/2009/04/dharshan-do-ghanshyam-with-lyrics-in.html

Delicacy?

[BBC.]

I chose to post this video because of the interesting title; I couldn't imagine eating a spider, let alone touching one! This video showcases the fact that different regions and cultures have a different view of what is a delicacy. The native Cambodian seemed to enjoy the spider, but the tourist obviously found it unappetizing and not worth the price of trying to choke it down.

This video shows that the culture of Cambodia allows for a very "natural" approach to acquiring food; they will eat what is available, just as other cultures do with their tastes. It is based (basically) on the concept of supply and demand.

Blog Topic #2: G'day, mate.

Australia Day.

This article http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/move-on-from-australia-day-debate-wyatt-20110126-1a57v.html from The Sydney Morning Herald speaks to the issue of whether Australia Day should retain that name, or move on. The people of the region have mixed feelings on the issue, as evidenced by the statement: 

"But I think also it's time to draw a line in the sand and we develop together as a nation because we share the same ground," Ken Wyatt, the first Aboriginal elected to the federal House of  Representatives said following a citizenship ceremony in his West Australian electorate of Hasluck. He believes that it is important to share the country, and learn to move on in this way.

There are, however, some that criticize the idea of "Australia Day" being celebrated on January 26th. They believe that this choice alienates many Aborigines, because it signifies the day the First Fleet arrived in Sydney Harbour and white settlement began. Mick Dodson has said as much, while 1984 Australian of the Year Lowitja O'Donoghue still refers to it as `Invasion Day'.

In a nutshell, Wyatt's conclusion was that Australia Day is about celebrating people from different cultures and backgrounds and quality of life enjoyed by Australians. 

This idea of culture and people differences is found in the textbook to be explained as "diverse demographic paths." There are various population-related issues that face residents of the region today. Multicultural Australia is dominated by its colonial European roots, but also has been affected by the country's multicultural character, which is becoming more visible through both native inhabitants and the varied immigrant population. These play roles in the society and culture of the region (p. 606).


Immigration.


This article http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/easier-visas-for-flood-rebuilders/story-e6frfku0-1225995610731 addresses the issue of funding for overseas employees helping with Queensland flood reconstruction. Prime Minister Julia Gillard has promised approval for visas of temporary employer-sponsored migrants who have joined the rebuilding effort. 


The government will establish a special Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) team, which will ensure quick turnaround of visa applications. (The median processing time for 457 visa applications is currently 18 days.) Personalized assistance will also be available for employers. DIAC is ensuring that these "special processing measures" are only available to employers that have a single goal in mind - reconstruction of Queensland. 

There has been an issue in the past, however, of employers allowing overseas workers to be exploited and removed job opportunities,  thereby pushing down the wages of Australian workers. This is why the Australian Council of Trade Unions urges the government to take care with this new measure. 

Australian Greens immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said, "While we need to see more skilled workers in Queensland to ensure that reconstruction happens quickly, there must be safeguards against the kinds of exploitation of migrant workers we have seen in the past." 

P. 607-608 in the textbook address the idea of immigration, and how it affects Australia and the surrounding  region. Australian society has been changed forever by its immigrant mix, varying from people to people.

Blog Topic #1 : Globalization!

I partially found myself choosing this picture because it is a humorous rendition of Mount Rushmore, the tourist hot spot of my residence, Rapid City, South Dakota. 

But I also find that it puts an interesting perspective on the idea of globalization and how it can be affected by the different aspects of human civilization; each portion of the monument (in this photo-shopped picture) covers a different era from periods of human civilization.

The faces on this particular rendition of Mount Rushmore - The Egyptian Sphinx, Michelangelo's "David" sculpture, a pre-Columbian Olmec statue, and the head of the Liberty Statue in New York - are a good representation of the cultural globalization that occurs on a daily basis when we, as students, learn and are exposed to other cultures. 

There is a sharing of knowledge that would not be possible if it were not for globalization, and it's "transnational circulation of ideas, language, or popular culture through acculturation" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization).