Jodells Global Blog

Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of Communism

2010-05-12T05:49:00.000-07:00

When Mikhail Gorbachev was chosen to lead Russia, he wanted to change things. One of the things he did was Glasnot. Glasnot was basically the idea that the goverment would be more open in sharing information with the public about its institutions. Also the censorship of the Russian people came to an end under Gorbachev. Peristrokia was the reformation of the soviet goverment. Mikhail Gorbachev saw that communism as an economic system didnt work well for its people. When the Russian people saw the standard of living for capitalist countries they realized that they wanted to be capitalist. Mikhail Gorbachev over time began to convert the government from Communist to Capitalist. This was not an easy thing to do because Russia was communist for many decades.

The Collapse of Communism

2010-05-12T05:34:00.001-07:00

During the cold war the communist and the capitalist clashed. The citizens of communist nations were not happy with the way there economy worked. Also people were tired of thing like the Berlin Wall and they made the communist countries look cruel. The Berlin Wall was a border separating East and West Germany. When Mikhail Gorbachev took office he opened up the Berlin Wall and tried to reform the Russian economic system. He saw the flaws that communism had and realized that people were not happy with the system. Over time the Russian economy was transitioned to be more capitalistic. Since Russia was no longer communist there was no reason for the cold war to exist anymore.

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid

2010-04-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

Apartheid was a system that separated the people of South Africa into groups based on race from 1948 to 1994. The non-whites such as the Bantu and the Indians didn't have as many rights as the white minority. The laws also required the blacks to carry identification pass with them at all times. The ANC was a political group that wanted to remove the laws of Apartheid. The campaign fell apart in several months and the leaders of the group were imprisoned. Eventually because of outside pressure some of the harshest laws were abolished such as the ban against interracial marriage in 1985. After Nelson Mandela was voted President he put Apartheid to an end.

Nelson Mandela was a member of the ANC and fought to put end to Apartheid. He was sent to prison in 1964 for life. Even when he was in prison many people looked to him as a source of hope. After he was released 27 later he set out to make sure Apartheid ended. Five years later he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and elected president. Thanks to his sacrifice and hard work, Apartheid was banned in South Africa.

African Independence

2010-04-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

After World War 2, many African nations wanted independence for their own countries. They thought that since they fought in the war for "freedom" that they should have the ability to run there own country. One of these leaders was Kwame Nkrumah. He sought to gain independence for his country from Great Britain. He organized strikes and boycotts and was often arrested for his efforts. But in the end he won independence and was elected as the President of Ghana.

Jomo Kenyatta also fought for independence for Kenya. Also fighting for the independence of Kenya was the Mao Mao. They were a secret society who terrorized white people. Kenyatta was blamed for the Mao Mao activities and was sent to jail. By the time the British granted Kenya independence in 1963, more than 10,000 black Kenyans and 100 white Kenyans had been killed. Kenyatta was then voted the President on Kenya. He ran the country well until he died but his successor wasnt as effective.

Film Lesson : "The Right Stuff"

2010-04-14T09:31:00.000-07:00

In the movie "The Right Stuff" the USSR and the United States of America were in a race for space. Each side wanted the bragging rights of saying the did it first. At first the Russians were winning because they sent the first satellite's into space. They also sent the first man into space while the Americans only sent a chimpanzee. The scenes in the movie that i will remember is the scene of the Russian satellite, the many failures of American rockets, when the chimpanzee first returned from space and when one of the politicians said "Our Germans are better than their Germans".

NATO and The Warsaw Pact

2010-04-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

NATO is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was firmed after World War 2. England and France first made the Brussels Treaty but soon realized that it was to weak to defend against the spread of Communism. Soon afterwards NATO was formed to help combat the "Iron Curtain". The treaty was signed on April 4, 1949. In response to this The Warsaw Pack was made. The Warsaw Pact was formed as communist military alliance to keep Communism in Eastern Europe. Each treaty was signed in opposition of each other. NATO wanted to fight Communism from spreading while the nations of the Warsaw Pact wanted to spread Communism.

Film Lesson: "Schindler's List"

2010-03-24T09:54:00.000-07:00

The movie "Schindler's List" was a movie based on the events of the holocaust. It starts off with the Jews being sent to the Krakow ghetto. In my opinion the most moving scene was when they liquidated the Krakow ghetto. I didn't not like how they casually killed Jews who showed the slightest bit of resistance. Im not sure how anyone could casually shoot someone without even thinking about it. But I still believe that the documentary "Night and Fog" was much more moving because it showed real footage of the war.

Film Lesson: "Night and Fog"

2010-03-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

The documentary "Night and Fog" showed the Nazi treatment of the jewish people. In my opinion the treatment was cruel and completely uncalled for. I believe that the documentary was more accurate than the Hollywood version because it used real footage from the time these events were taking place. Although some of the footage is gruesome I believe it was necessary to show the treatment of the jews was cruel and inhumane. The movie is a good tool to let people understand what really happened during the Holocaust.

Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) and the Modernization of Turkey

2010-02-24T09:49:00.000-08:00

Mustafa Kemal was a war hero from the Ottoman Empire. After WWI he became the first president of Turkey. Mustafa wanted a complete overhaul of the social culture in his new country. He wanted it to be completely secular and more western. Secular means being completely irrelevant from religion. Mustafa didn't want to be a completely Islamic government. He also made several cultural changes such as making the fez illegal, as well as making the veil women wore illegal. Mustafa thought it made the country look backwards and ignorant. He also didn't mind other religions in his country such as Jews and Christians.

Film Lesson: "Gandhi"

2010-02-24T09:37:00.000-08:00

Gandhi was an Indian man who was tired of British persecution. He spent many years trying to help India gain its independence and to make a unified India. Gandhi practiced non-violent protesting. He knew that if Indian's tried to use violence they would most certainly have lost to England's more powerful and organized military. Gandhi also knew that if violence was used the Indians would look like the bad guys. Some of the protest he led was refusing to buy English cloths and making their own. Because of Gandhi's efforts India would eventually gain its independence after many years of fighting.

The Russian Revolution

2010-01-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

The Russians had a cruel ruler call czar and he treated them horribly. During WW1 the Russian where already struggling but the czar made them join they where they where not prepared for the war. The war destroyed the economy they lost a lot millions of soldiers. The Russians had enough and the revolution began. The old Czar and his family was killed. Lenin was the leader of the revolution he became Russias new leader and changed the economy to a communist one.

Causes of WWI

2010-01-19T10:15:00.000-08:00

The roots of WWI began in the early 1990's because of military conflict. A secret alliancewas formed in Europe. They split the continent in two. When the war began it moved to every country in Europe. Because of secret alliances, some powers were obligated to support polices by their partners and each country's military's plans of mobilization. All of the nation's wanted to show their military might. Since countries had different opinions about their nations it brought difficulty among everyone. The war when the Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria- Hungary was assassinated. His death put the countries in alliances and after his assassination war had began. Everyone was prepared for war.

Opium Wars - Imperialism in China

2010-01-19T10:09:00.000-08:00

The Opium War is a conflict between England and China. The English wanted trade with the Chinese, but China didn't like this idea. The Chinese finally agreed to trade with England. After a while the English wanted to trade opium with China. China banned the import of opium because of the effects of the drug and sliver because China was paying for it. Later on in the 1838, China exclaimed that anyone buying or selling opium would be put to death. But The English had a very strong army, it was too strong for China. In the end Britain won the war because of their more advanced army and they forced China to legalize opium.

Film Lesson: "Mountains of the Moon"

2009-12-10T08:44:00.000-08:00

There were many hardships that Europeans faced in Africa. One difficulty was the risk of Malaria from mosquitos. Richard Burton and John Speeke were in danfer of being infected in Africa. They also faced getting attacked by hostile African tribes. The funny thing about lake victoria is that even though its in the middle of Africa,it was named after the English queen who is thousands of miles away. The primary technological advantage the Europeans had over the Africans was the machine gun. The Europeans could easily wipe out the Africans. Another reason the Europeans easily took over Africa was that the tribes were not united and could be killed very easily while thay were induviduals.

Imperialism Project

2009-12-07T08:43:00.000-08:00

We did the imperialism project to have and understanding of how it worked. I learned that Europe during this time was in a frenzy to capture land. Also i learned shipping routes were important in trading because without them getting spices would take a long time and would be very expensive. It was shown that Spain basically had complete control of South America except for Brazil which the Portuguese owned. I also saw that England had colonies all over the world. They owned places in North America, Africa, and Asia.

Karl Marx and Communism

2009-11-19T08:55:00.000-08:00

Communism is an economic system founded by Karl Marx. It was first published in the Communist Manifesto. In Communism all workers made the same amount of money. Marx thought Communism should over the world because he thought the way capitalism worked only a small amount of people would have wealth and that they would eventually revolt. In Marx eyes he believed the working class were the good guys because they had to work hard to make little money while they made their bosses very rich. The people who controlled the wealth were the bad guys according to Marx because the took advantage of the working classes need of jobs to make them selves very rich.

Karl Marx & the Industrial Revolution

2009-11-19T08:40:00.000-08:00

Karl Marx really didn't like the Industrial Revolution. He thought that it dehumanized workers because factory owners only cared about how productive workers were. Also Marx realized that workers were working in bad conditions for bad pay. He saw workers working in very dangerous and unsafe factories. Factory owners didn't care because they just wanted to make money.

Marx then had the idea that if everyone made the same amount of money that wouldn't be a problem. So he came up with the idea of Communism and published it in the The Communist Manifesto. In Communism everyone would make the same amount of money so Marx believed that with this system people wouldn't suffer because of other peoples greed for money.

Nationalism and the Creation of Italy

2009-10-27T08:57:00.000-07:00

Nationalism is the love for your country and people from it because of similar life styles. I am nationalistic because during the olympics and othere such sporting events I always root for the US team.Also i take part in american holidays such as thanksgiving and the fourth of july. Becase of those reasons i am nationalistic.
Nationalism became a nation state because they were tired of being controlled by the very culturaly different austrians. They wanted to become united under there common culture. Camillo di Cavour was a Sardinian king that the Italians asked to help them claim there northern land. Garibaldi was a man who united southern italy. After he was done he humbly let the king of Sardina rule Italy.

Simon Bolivar and Latin American Revolutions

2009-10-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

Simon Bolivar was a general who liberated most of South America from spanisih control. He wsas born in Venezuela born in July 24, 1783. He went to Europe as a younfg man and and he studied enlightenment period writings.He also learned how revolutions were taking place in France. Then he traveled to the United States and learned about their revolution against England. This influenced him to try and end Spanish control in South America.
Simonn led the rebellion forces against Spain. He saw how countrys like France and the U.S.A were succesful in freeing themselves. Boliva was inspired to the the same for South America. He went to country after country leberating them from Spain. Because of this he was given names like The George Washington of South Ameica. Also because of their grattitude the country Bolivia was named after Simon Boliva.

John Locke and "The Enlightenment"

2009-10-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

In the US constituion Thomas jefferson is saying that the people in the country should chose what kind of goverment it wants. Also he beleives that the g0verment should be made to serve it's people and if it doesnt work people can "abolish" the goverment. Thomas wanted a democratic goverment that wasnt opresive and that would actually serve its people instead of taking advantage of them. He also wanted one where each person could have a voice in dicided who runs the country instead of them being born into leadership and not being able to properly run a country.

Copernicus and the trial of Galileo

2009-09-18T08:42:00.000-07:00

Heliocentrism is the theory that the Sun is stationary and at the center of the universe. It says that all the planets in the solar system revolve around the sun. This theory has been argued over geocentrism by philosophers from many different time periods and in many different parts of the world. In the 16th century Nicolaus Copernicus revived the idea. He use astronomical figures and details to try to get everyone to beleive him. Using his models you could predict the path of heavanly bodies.
Geocentrism is the theory that the earth is the center of the universe. This used to be beleived by people of religon because in the King James Bible Chronicles 16:30 state that "the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved." Because of that statement this was the generaly beleived theory. Until Heliocentrism this theory was accepted as right since there was nothing to dispute geocentrism.

Scientific Revolution: The Scientific Method

2009-09-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

The scientific method is what scientist use to determine the truth about something
This is how it works. First you need to make an observation in the universe. Then you must create a hypothesis that you thinks makes sense of what you observed. Then using your hypothesis make a guess. Then you must create an experiment to test your hypothesis. After seeing your results you need to update your hypothesis based on those same results. Keep on doing that until your hypothesis can perfectly predict the outcome of the experiment.
An example of the scientific method is Charles Darwins thoery of Evolution. He noticed something about animals and how the evolved. He created a hypothesis about natural selection and by observing many different animals around the world over and over. He made conclusion that animals evolved over time thus creating the theory of evolution.

Evolution Vs. Creation

2009-09-15T08:54:00.000-07:00

Evolution vs. Creation is a taboo argument and is a debate basically between science and religion. The theory of Evolution was proposed by Charles Darwin. It says that all life evolved from a single common ancestor. He says that a process called natural selection and the species with any kind of biological advantage will thrive and continue to reproduce while and inferior species will eventually die out. And over a process of many generations the process is repeated.
Creationism is the belief that the universe and all life in it was created by divine intervention or a higher power. They believe that the universe was created exactly like stated in there respective holy books (bible,Koran,etc). They dispute with evolutionists over topics such as the seeds of life, creation of the sun and the universe.
Now here comes the fun part my opinion. Creationism is simply a joke to me and i cant believe any one can believe that stuff. I like to base my life on what i can prove or can possibly be proven. the main problem i have with creationism is that if there was "god" WHERE DID HE COME FROM??? It simply doesn't make sense. Whenever i argue with a creationist they always ask me where did the first creature come from. I smile and say ill tell you that when you can tell me where "god" came from and the same thing always happens they get really quiet or they completely dismiss my question. Even if "god" created it himself why does he need us humans is he that much of and egomaniac that he NEEDS people to worship him its absolute craziness since creationist say that "god" is perfect. Another problem i have with religion is the unbelievable amount of inconsistencies in the bible. If it was supposedly inspired by a "perfect" being it would be simply flawless. These are just some of the problems i have with religion if i listed them all this post would be far to long. So basically what i am saying is that in my opinion Evolution is right and Creation is wrong.