Luisa ; Global Blog.

Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of Communism

2010-05-09T18:01:00.000-07:00

Mikhail Gorbachev was the yongest leader for the Soviet Union at age 54. Mikhail did support the Soviet Union but saw that there was a decrease in the economy so, had other ideas. He did not like the ideas of totalitarianism and rewarding the silence of others or discouraging people acting on their own. So enough he figured out that there was going to be a collapse of communism in Russia. So he made his on policies one being glasnost, which was allowing citizens to talk about ways to improve the society. And also perestroika, which was allowing citizens to open up their own business. Many people started diliking Communism & it helped on the collapse of Communism. This gave people a voice & the right to vote, leading them to think about how American's government was like .

The collapse of Communism

2010-05-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

The Collapse of Communism was because there were many econmical problems, polictical downfall & it had no support.The Soviet Union collapsed because socialism failed & they had a lot of competion cause them to waste all the money on weapons. The USSR collapse on Stalin's cause, he invested no maney on these couries only on the weapons. Berlin was seperated to EAST & WEST & people tore it down because their were 2 systems & they wanted to unify it. This was such a good relief because many countries turned to capitalist.

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid

2010-04-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

The Apartheid was a racial segregation similair to the one in the US stating that whites were superior to anyone else and weren't allowed to vote. Other kind were called Bantu including the blacks & the indians. Because of this action many people went against the policy and formed the ANC (African National Congress). These orginization was to help fight for the rights of Bantu people. Nelson Mandela were one of the people that was in the oranization 7 went out of his way to fight against the policy. Nelson Mandela used many non-violence methods to gain Africans freedom. He tried to put a stop on the Apartheid & was considered a great hero for these actions. He finally got Africa independent. He was the arrested for 27 years. After he got out he wrote a book "Long Walk to Freedom", expressing the obstacles he had to overcome for Africa. He got elected president in 1991

African Independence

2010-04-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

Africa changed a lot during the 1955-1975 because of Europe. The Europeans wanted to "civilize"them, so they were treated unfairly & unequal. They were also very racist of Africans & thought they were better than them. The Europeans also controlled all of their natural resources. Many Africans got very tired of being controlled over Europe so they started fighting against them. They won their independence & were under they're on ruler. On of the ways they fought back is by renaming Rhodesia to Zimbabwe. Throughtout the years they have tried to civilize themselves, they aren't as civilized as us.

One of the leaders Africa had was Kwame Nkrumah, he was a teacher and had many non-violent protest like Gandhi. He made many boycotts & strikes on the Gold Coast from the Bristish, therefore he got arrested often. After a great deal in effort, the Gold Coast got hi independence & was rename Ghana. Later he became the president for Ghana. Jomo Kenyatta was another African leader that spent many years in Europe fighting for Africa's independence. Because of these actions he was sent to jail for 7 years. He was from Kenya & after he got out he was elceted president for Kenya. He led Kenya to revolution, and gained it's independence fro Europe.

Film Lesson: "The Right Stuff"

2010-04-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

In the film “The Right Stuff” the US and the USSR were in a cold war competing to see who was more advanced in technology and science. It starts of by the US trying to break the sound barrier and finally breaking it. Meanwhile, the Russians had the first satellite called “Sputnita”. Also the Russian were the first to launch a rocket ship. They were far ahead of the US. IT took the US a while to make a functional rocket ship. When the US thought they were a head by have the first monkey in space, the Russian had the fist human being is space. It was a endless race. However, the US was the first to have people on the moon and that’s why they win the war. The scenes that will help me remember this Cold War is the attempts the US had to make the functional rocket ship. Another one is knowing that the first man in space was Russian.

NATO and the Warsaw Pact

2010-04-13T17:37:00.000-07:00

NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty. The NATO was made by Europe and North America during the Cold War. The main purpose was to have a Mutual Defense Alliance, meaning if one country was being attack the others involved would be able to help them fight. As a response to the NATO, the Soviet Union made the Warsaw Pact organization. The Warsaw Pact was to threaten the NATO, to make them weaker. So, the Warsaw Pact gain control of many European countries and then it grew its military & political forces. However, even thought the Warsaw Pact gained many countries, NATO had a great advantage towards them and by year 1991 the Warsaw Pact was eliminated.

Film Lesson: "Schindler's List"

2010-03-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

Schindler’s List is a film showing us the events that occurred during the Holocaust. Schindler helped many of the people that were in the working camp that he controlled. The film had some real footage and images but not as much as “Night and Fog”. The most powerful scene was watching the women mistakenly being in Auschwitz; cutting their hair, undressing themselves, everything they had to do before entering the gas chamber. It was their expression that was scarring to watch. I have to say that “Night and Fog” was a more powerful film to me as a viewer because it had graphic images, therefore it gave me more of a realistic view of the Holocaust.

Film Lesson: "Night and Fog"

2010-03-24T09:35:00.000-07:00

The film “Night and Fog” is a documentary that shows us about the catastrophically moment in history. The impact the documentary had on me was very powerful, it showed me many before and after pictures. My reaction towards the movie was sadness because of the way the Jews, the non-Aryan race was treated. The images shown were extremely disturbing in both films but I think that a this film gave us a better understanding of the Holocaust. For example the way they used the remains of people to make things like wigs, soap , clothing, paper for the military at war.

Treaty of Versailles (end of WWI)

2010-02-25T09:31:00.000-08:00

The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed June 28th 1919, the end of WWI. It punished the Germans for all the people killed & everything else that happened during WWI. The Germans had to pay a lot of money, they tried to print more money out but their dollar had a very low value. The Germans economy was broke by the time they finished paying. The Germans also had to give up lots of land. I think the treaty was very unfair because in a war there's two sides, so they didn't make all the damage. Hitler saw their country in depression and told them that he would help them get their land back and what not. The Germans trusted he and then he became the dictator and started WWII. The Treaty of Versailles was the cause of WWII.

Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) modernized Turkey

2010-02-24T09:43:00.000-08:00

Turkey was once in the Ottoman Empire and Mustafa Kemal helped to make Turkey its own nation. Mustafa Kemal was the first president for 15 years. He modernized Turkey and made it more secular. He separated the laws of the country from the rules of religion. He wanted Turkey to be more like the Europeans and the Americans so he made an English system of court. Kemal gave women more rights like being able to vote & a better jobs. Kemal also wanted the Muslims to dress more like the Americans so he banded the Fez, which was a transitional hat that the officials wore. Instead Mustafa made them wear pants, a tie, a less traditional clothing. He was such a great influence for t=Turkey that he was named "the father of Turks".

Film Lesson: "Gandhi"

2010-02-11T09:43:00.000-08:00

Gandhi's name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and was born on October 2, 1869. He influenced India in getting freedom. He boycotted and used non-violence against the British to win their freedom. He boycotted buying clothing from the British because the Indians were the ones who made them & the British would take it away to sell it right back to them. Gandhi though the Indian's shouldn't use violence and when he found out that they were setting the police on fire he stop eating. He also boycotted buying salt & did a march called the "Salt March" in which Gandhi & the Indians walked 250 miles to the ocean to make salt. They used the salt to sell it and the British got mad, so they started to use violence while the Indians didn't. The use of non violence help Indian a whole lot to gain independence. Gandhi was such a great influence for Indian.

The Russian Revolution.

2010-01-13T08:46:00.000-08:00

The Russian Revolution started because the Russian people didn't like how Czar was running Russia. While being in war the military hardly had food & were being killed by millions because of their low technology. Russia then decided that they wanted a new government called Communism. This cause to revolutionize & this is when Lenin and Bolshevik became leaders of the revolution. There was a March in which made Czar step down of the power & Bolshevik took over Russia. Lenin then promised & quoted "Peace, Land, and Bread." He promised them peace because the Russians weren't at rest. They were fighting World War I for a few years now. Lenin promised them land because they lost lots of land & getting it back would make them more successful. Lenin promised Russia bread because they were in a famine, meaning there were food shortages. They were suffering through starvation.

Causes of World War 1

2010-01-11T08:47:00.000-08:00

World War I was the first great big war. The two sides of the fight was the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. The Triple Alliance included Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary & on the Triple Entente included France, Russian, and England. One of the causes of the war was imperialism because both of the groups were fighting over European territory. Another cause was the assassination of Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo by a Serbian. Austria shortly attacked Serbia. After this attack from Austria, the Russian attacked Austria. Nationalism was a big cause of why the WWI started, because nationalism is taking pride of your own country & helping others when in need causing the other nations from the Alliance & Entente to attack.

Opium Wars - Imperialism in China

2009-12-18T08:52:00.000-08:00

The Opium war was during the Imperialism in China. The western Europeans were still exploring places, trying to find new resources. In China, they've found their tea and they loved it. The British only had one port in China. The British didn't like it, so they decided to trade Opium to the Chinese people for their tea. The people in China realized that it was a dangerous drug and they make it illegal, and whoever uses it can get killed. Afterward, China destroyed the Opium and banned the English men from China. This caused British to attacked China & the Britain won the war. China was so far behind from the new advanced technology & that was the main cause of why they lost. China's defeat by Britain made them sign a treaty.

Film lesson: "Mountains of the Moon"

2009-12-10T08:51:00.001-08:00

In this movie two men go to the middle of Africa in which no one has been before in search for the Nile River. The men were accompanied by African men, unfortunately many men died of mosquito diseases and malaria. They went from village to village trying to get some help & giving girts to the kings. Both of the men disagreed on how they found the Nile River & as a cause of that one of the men committed suicide. Many of their men died of diseases & thirst.

When the Nile River was found they named it Lake Victoria after a queen from British. This was because the British men found the lake so that lead to the conquering of Africa. The Europeans had such advanced technology that the Africans didn't know what a gun was, therefore had no weapons of those kinds. This made it a lot easier to conquer them.

Imperialism Project

2009-12-09T04:33:00.001-08:00

We did the Imperialism project to understand the trades that were done & from where they were done. I learned that many things were imported from Africa for example, England needed cotton to make more clothing. While doing the project it showed how each country try to take over other territories. Another thing that was imported from Africa were slaves & I learned that there was a slave trade for the New World.

Karl Marx and Communism

2009-11-19T08:43:00.001-08:00

Karl Marx was the person who came up with the idea of Communism during the Industrial Revolution. He got this idea from Utopia (a perfect world), in Communism everyone gets paid the same amount of money no matter what job you have. Karl Marx hated the industrial revolution because he believe people were being exploited cause the workers only got poorer and the richer got richer. He beleived that the worker should take over and kill all the bourgeoisie (factory owners). In Karl Marx mind the bourgeoisie were evil and money hungry while the worker and the good people being used my the bad. Karl Marx wanted Communism to take over the world because believed it would bring posterity and good to the world.

Karl Marx and The Industrial Revolution

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

Karl was born in Trier, his dad forced the family to become Christian so Karl could get a job because they were poor. He was the man who created the government system, Communism. Communism is a form of government that spreads the wealth and everyone gets the same amount. Karl used the idea of Utopia to then develop the government of Communism. He was totally against the Industrial Revolution because the rich would get richer and the poor would get poorer. He was also sick and tired of the way workers we get treated and how they would use children in the factory when the concision were so dangerous. He wanted the people in the factories to rebel and take over the factory. After he died, he ideas and ways were known as Marxism. His ideas influenced a lot of people and even influence nations. the first nation that used Marxism was Russia and these form of government failed after 70 years because they were tired of only having one choice and seeing Americans on the TV with so many options to pick from. . So because of the Industrial Revolution Marxism became very popular with nations like China and Russia. Communism still is a from of government in some countries.

Nationalism and the Creation of Italy

2009-10-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

Nationalism is when people take pride in their country or nationality. Nationalism is everywhere and are expressed in many different ways. Nationalism is made up of people that speak a common language, similar culture, food, same currency and sharing a common love for their country. I am nationalistic by speaking the common language which is English. You can also tell when someone is supporting their nation by how they dress. The food I eat can show my nationalistic.

If it wasn't for nationalism Italy wouldn't be what it is today. In 1815, Italy was ruled by Austria. From 1815-1848 Italy grew tired of being ruled over by another country. A man named Cavour helped unite Italy. Because of Cavour they won several battles, and he also helped nationalistic rebels win. Because of Cavour Italy separated from Austria and became independent on their own. Cavour was the George Washington of our time.

Simon Bolivar & the Latin American Revolution

2009-10-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

Simon Bolivar was born in Caracas, Venezuela on July 24th of the year 1783. In his time, he was one of the greatest generals in the South America. Bolivar's parents died when he was a child and he inherited a fortune. He was called "The Liberator" in South America. The Spaniards made Simon Bolivar to retreat from Venezuela to "New Granada" which is now called Colombia. He captured Bogota in 1814 with the help of his Colombian force. His victories over the Spaniards won independence for Bolivia, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela.

Simon Bolivar went to Spain & met a women named Maria Teresa Rodriguez Del Toro y Alaysa. Bolivar then returned to Venezuela in 1803 and his wife died of yellow fever. After the victory of a few more battles, Bolivar traveled to Haiti in 1815 and petitioned their president Alexander Sabes Petión to help the American Spanish cause. With the help of Haiti, Bolivar was led to a great victory in the Battle of Boyaca in August 7, 1819.

John Locke and "The Enlightenment"

2009-10-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

John Locke was a man of great intelligence, he inspired a lot of the people is the 1800's. He was one of the most famous guys in the age that the Declaration was written, he contributed to the idea of making it. The government gets it's power from the people, without the people the government wouldn't be what it is today. "We the people" are the first 3 words in the Declaration of Independence which means, it's all because of us that we have a good government.

The idea of the Declaration of Independence was inspired by words that John Locke made, which Thomas Jefferson took into his own hands and made an idea out of it. He also had a huge influence on modern democracy, some things may not have been here if John Locke wouldn't of made such a big impact.

Copernicus and the Trial of Galileo

2009-09-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

The Geocentric theory explains that in the solar system the Earth is the center of everything & that everything revolves around it. Back in the day , many Philosophers that were Greeks & Chinese was popular with the idea. They also though that the sun, stars, planets made a perfect circles around the Earth.

The Heliocentric explanation of the solar system is that the Sun is the center of the universe & that the planets revolve it. The way the planets circle the Sun is in an elliptical shape. This theory was mathematically proved by Nicoluas Copernicus. Heliocentric is the correct explanation of our solar system , it was also developed by the Scientific Revolution. Many religious people like the Catholics in the church were against the theory because they believed in the other theory. Today in life the theory is accepted in almost everywhere.

The Catholic church didn't believe that the Earth was in the center of the Universe. This is why Galileo went to trail. Galileo was an astronomer , philosopher & mathematician and also was one of the people who helped in the Scientific Revolution. Galileo was punished but not put to death , he was tortured in jail.

Scientific Revolution: The Scientific Method

2009-09-17T08:51:00.000-07:00

The Scientific Revolution started by having many questions that the church couldn't answer. The way scientist would answer their answers is by using Scientific Method. The experimented over & over again to approve or disapprove an idea. Scientist started to prove the church wrong. The Scientific Method included of : making observations , then making a "hypothesis" describing what you see , with the hypothesis you'll make predictions & test it with a experiment. When you've done that a few more times then you'll make sure you have the same results.

A theory that uses Scientific Method is what Galileo did with Aristotle theory that heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects. Galileo threw a bowling ball & a baseball from the Learning Tower of Pisa. They both fell at the same rate. He found out that different weights fall at the same speeds.

Evolution VS. Creation

2009-09-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

The theory evolution is based on man being animals, and we all come from a common ancestor. This theory was started by Charles Darwin, even though Charles Darwin was the first one to come up with the theory , he was he first one to write a book about it he had lots of evidence . The theory also states that the world was to hot for life to form. It took many years for the first spices to form, after formed it took many,many more years to make us humans a.k.a animals. Charles Darwin first discovered that this theory was correct when he went to Galapagos Island. He saw the different type of finches each island.

Creation is based on God making two human beings who reproduced making all these people in the world today. The theory is in the Bible, naming Adam & Eve reproducing to give birth to two sons. For all these people to get made has to pass millions of years. The theory has been passed on by many generations.What the theory hasn't done is explain how two males reproduce to make more people ? There has been many questions & even priest can't answer them . Creation is a theory where you are brothers & sisters of everyone , somehow .

I agree more with the evolution theory because it makes more sense to me. The mutations over years are more realistic. I've been taught to that theory growing up. Evolution explains that all animals & humans have the same ancestors. I believe that evolution has many different ideas of how natural selection has worked over centuries.