Blog Topic #11

This map shows how the U.S. differs in it's slang terms for soft drinks. The blue represents "pop", red is "coke" and yellow is "soda". It is interesting how "pop" is mostly the Northern/ Northwestern US, "coke" is mostly the Southeastern US and then "Soda" is split between the Southwestern US, Northeastern US, and then an area around St. Louis. It would be interesting to know how the split of "soda" came about. I also found the county that I live in, which is Otoe County, NE and it is 90-100% "pop". From living there, I can say that this is probably true so this map is most likely accurate.

Blog Topic #10

I believe that the foreign aid given to Sub-Saharan Africa is a huge waste of money. While there will be money needed to get their economy rolling, it should not be to the extent that is it. I think that instead of giving those countries the money, we should be teaching them how to earn the money and use it to develop their country. Sort of like do we give them fish, or teach them how to fish. I go with the later since that can be used for many years down the road and not just until the money runs out.

Another reason why the foreign aid should be cut is because part of it, if not most, is being embezzled by individuals anyway. If the money we give them is not going to be put to use for the public, then why would  we give them money at all. This is why we should help Africa to set up governments and stimulate their economies with the goal of making African countries independent from foreign aid, for the most part.

Blog Topic #9- Libya

There have been violent protests taking place in Libya for several months now. They began in February 2011 when around 500 people, in front of police headquarters, began chanting in protest. The police ended the protest through violent means which angered many and fueled the start of a rebellion. Libyan citizens want the reign of Muammar Gaddafi to end since they feel that they are being oppressed by his leadership. The Libyan people are rebelling in hope of dethroning Gaddafi and setting up a democratic government in Libya.


     

Blog Topic #8

While flying around the world with Google maps, I found that the Pacific Ocean is much larger than I had ever expected or imagined. This image shows that almost an entire hemisphere of the Earth is one large ocean. This also put into perspective just how much Hawaii is in the middle of nowhere. Being on a flight from the Western Coast of the United States to Antarctica would also be very interesting on a sunny day. From what I see there is no landmass that would be crossed by the airplane on the whole trip. While looking out of the window might get boring after a while, knowing that all you can see is the Pacific Ocean would be a neat experience. I just wouldn't want there to be any mechanical troubles on the flight, since finding an airport for an emergency landing could very well be impossible.

Blog Topic #7- Opium

Opium production in Afghanistan is a very big issue around the world, and even more so for the U.S. military. This is because the majority of the money that comes from the selling of this opium directly funds the Taliban. Which is who the U.S. is at war with right now. In 2000, Afghanistan produced around 4,000 tons of Opium which was estimated to be around 75% of the worlds supply.

What is Opium? Opium is the milky substance that is drained from the Opium Poppy plant, which is then made into heroin and sold around the world. 

Opium Poppy with "milk" running from a cut

During the Taliban's rule of Afghanistan, there was the largest recorded production of Opium in 1999 with 4,500 tons. Then in the summer of 2000, the Taliban ruler Mullah Mohammed Omar, began to work with the UN to rid Afghanistan of Opium. This resulted in a 91% reduction in Opium cultivation but lasted very shortly.   The collapse of the economy in fall 2001, led to Afghan farmers to resort back to opium production to support their families. After Hamid Karzai became president in 2004, the next years had record productions of opium. As many Afghan farmers want their government to turn a blind eye to the opium production, the government has done so. Without the Afghan government enforcing that their be no opium production I see no end to the production in Afghanistan. This also means that there will be little hope of ending the funding to the Taliban and Al Qaeda organizations.

http://opioids.com/afghanistan/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_production_in_Afghanistan

Blog Topic #6

Bunnies Hop the Great Firewall


http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/innovation/2011/0225/1224290375860.html

The Chinese Government has censored what their citizens can browse on the internet. They have done this by creating a "Great Firewall". The firewall was created by Fang Binxing, the president of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. Fang has been receiving a lot of criticism over this firewall and has even had to shut down a blog that he created due to the hateful nature of some posts. The firewall was created to censor the 3 T's, which are Tibet, Tianeman Square, and Taiwan. The government has supposedly done this to reduce the likelihood of a rebellion.


The Article listed above is about a cartoon that was created about a bunny playing in a field. Since the Chinese year of the rabbit began February 3rd, the video looks like it is a tribute to this new year, according to the article. The article goes on to explain how the video turns out to be a revolutionary call to arms. This is an example of how the Chinese are starting to find ways around the firewall to get their message out.  

Blog Topic #5

International Fast Food



The image above shows the proportion of McDonald's restaurants that were open throughout the world in 2004. As you can see, the United States has by far the most with 45%. Globalization is occurring in the more developed countries throughout the world. This is why Europe, Japan, and Canada are also very large on this map. The countries that are the least developed almost not even shown on the map. This is shown by almost the whole African Continent. The size of the Country is almost a direct reflection of how developed the nation is. More Developed Countries are usually more susceptible to globalization. McDonald's is a global company, so the more of these restaurants a country has, the more developed or globalized it is.

Blog Topic #4

Dharavi Slum


The Dharavi slum in Mumbai, India is one of the largest slums in the world. The slum covers an area of 535 acres. It is estimated to have a population of 600,000 to 1 million people. This computes to around 1,500 people per acre. (an acre is slightly less than a football field)



The Indian Government has developed a plan to demolish the slum and turn it into a more modern part of the city. Included in this plan is the relocation of "registered" families to free apartments elsewhere. There are around 51,000 registered families in Dharavi. The number of families not registered is somewhere around 100,000 more families. There is also no plans to relocate the thousands of successful businesses run out of Dharavi, which is the home to some of the cities "best leatherworkers, as well as textile and furniture factories, potteries and bakeries." The cost of this project is estimated to be in the range of $1.3 billion. This project would be very expensive and leave a very large amount of people homeless. If the Indian Government has enough money and can find housing for a large majority of the Dharavi residents, the project would be a good change for the city of Mumbai. 

http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501060619/slum.html

Blog Topic #3

This video is showing a underwater volcano of the coast of Indonesia. Since volcanoes usually are located along plate boundaries, this shows that Indonesia is located next to a plate boundary. Having a plate boundary near Indonesia can show that the country is very mountainous and also has many volcanoes located on and around it. The underwater volcano is said to be  more than 10,000 feet off of the ocean floor. At the boundaries of tectonic plates, there can be deep water trenches that form. I would say that a 10,000 feet underwater volcano would have to be in a deep water trench.

I selected this video because the thought of having found new animal species, on this underwater volcano, to be very interesting. Adding to my curiosity was the fact that this volcano is 10,000 feet off the ocean floor, yet is still under water.

Blog Topic #2

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/australia-day-to-showcase-national-spirit-20110125-1a404.html


January 26th is very important and celebrated day in the country of Australia. This is the date that is known as Australia Day. For Americans we can relate to this day very well. It has much of the same feel as July 4th does. Australians celebrate this day in many of the same ways that July 4th is celebrated. There are many festivals throughout Australia on this day, with different kinds of activities. According to the article posted above, "History buffs may take to Sydney Harbour to commemorate the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788." Just like on July 4th in the U.S., fireworks will fill the Australian sky at nightfall, to cap off the very eventful day. Overall this is a day for Australians show pride in there country. This pride is shown in our textbook on page 647, "Many American television programs appear down under, although the Australian media are mandated to show at least 50 percent local programming from 6 A.M. to midnight in order to "keep the Australia in Austrailian television.""




http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/big-benefits-from-immigration/story-e6frg71x-1225995723499


Immigration in Australia is a very important and hot topic right now. The above article explains how Australian people are split into 2 groups. One believes that business would greatly benefit from more immigrants. They believe this because the only reason the country is showing increased revenue from exports is because of higher prices not increased volume of exports that more workers would bring. The other side believes that more immigrants would take jobs away from Australians. From what I read this issue will probably never be resolved, but will continue to be around for awhile. The impact that migrants have on Australian society is a very large one, with " around 25 percent of Australia's people now immigrants,.." (Page 646 of our text book) That is a very large percentage of the population being foreign born. While reading through the article I understand both sides of Australia's immigration debate, yet i can not say that there is a certain side that has a better argument. All I can say is good luck Australia on trying to figure this one out.

Globalization

Globalization is defined in my geography textbook as "The increasing interconnectedness of people and places throughout the world through converging processes of economic, political, and cultural change". The main component of globalization is economic reorganization. As companies such as, Nike, Wal-Mart, McDonalds, and the others shown in the picture become more and more international, each countries economy is becoming less and less independent, thus "economic reorganization". If one of these companies starts to struggle, that causes the global economy to decline.

These companies rule the business world. Products from these companies can be seen throughout the world, including most of the LDC's (less developed countries).   This picture shows globalization through the economic/business part of the definition. Since the main component is the economy I felt this was an appropriate picture for globalization.