Politics, Leadership & Contemporary Issues

I interviewed Matthew Restell who wrote the book "2012, the end of the world" who is also a professer at Pennsylvania State University. He is a reliable source because he wrote I book on the topic and am researching and he has studied it for many years. I interviewed Mattew Restall through e-mail.

1) Is 2012 scaring everyday people?

"I can't say how many people are panicking, but audiences at my talks admit only to mild concern. Maybe a small number of folks will get panicky in December. But I think mostly it is a "fun" theme (like your Prom)."

2) Are Government preparing for the unknown events of 2012?

" I also know of no government plans on the matter."

3) Is the market using 2012 for their benefit?

"But it has certainly become a global commercial enterprise; a virtual industry. If you Google "2012 Countdown" you get various websites selling information and supplies. Plenty of people are hoping to profit from it all."

Thursday, May 3, 2012

professor anker immigration Post #7

I interviewed Professor Deborah Anker, who is the Director of the Immigration and Refugee Clinic at Harvard Law School. She got her Bachelor's degree at Brandeis University, her Master's degree at Harvard University Graduate School of Education, her Jurist Doctor degree at Northeastern University School of Law, and her L.L.M. ( Master of Law) at Harvard Law School.

My first reason why she is a very reliable source is because of her schooling history. She is a very educated woman who spent 15 years studying and learning law at great colleges. Also, for her to be the director of Immigration at Harvard, she has to be good and know a lot about immigration and law. I did not get a chance to interview her because she was too busy, but she did give me the cite http://www.immigrationforum.org/.
In this cite, it talks about the goods things about immigrants and tries to help immigrants create opportunities to succeed and help the prosperity of America as well.

blog post #7, 2012

Fear the 2012 Apocalypse- Elizabeth Miller

-The Maya who lived 1200 years ago ended their calender on December 21, 2012
-Some people say that we could have devastating comets, and we'll have increased solar flares
-A famous professor (Wells) concluded after massive amounts of research that the calender has nothing to do with the end of the world
-Another man says that an apocalypse is something that you can make funny, tragic, and heroic
-The earth's position in the Milky Way is about the same then how it was in the 1980's and will stay like that for about another 20 years
-the Mayans were known as brilliant astronomers and measured the planets' movements with astounding accuracy
-According to a piece of limestone, this date is just the end of the Mayans calender

1.http://find.galegroup.com/gic/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=DateDescend&tabID=T004&prodId=GIC&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchId=R3&searchType=&currentPosition=1&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28KE%2CNone%2C15%29apocalypse+2012%24&userGroupName=hins30136&inPS=true&docId=CJ283752123&contentSet=IAC-Documents&docId=CJ283752123&docType=IAC

2.This information was published March 18,2012
3.The author of this is Elizabeth Miller who asks a famous professor Christian Wells about this
4.Yes, the author shows where the information is coming from

Blog 6 interview

1. This lady where i got my information is really reliable because she is my aunt , and she is a nactual immigrant.
2. She is a reliable source beacuse she has actually experienced being an immigrant, and being a new person in a new country.
3. I got her email from my mom about a week ago and she got back to me earlier this week.

4. I asked her two major questions.
- Why did your family move from serbia to the United States?
- What advantages did you have in the united States that you did not have in serbia?
She said the village she was in the economic system was horrible. So her dad went to the united staes where he stayed with his brother and saw the advatges of being in the united states and brought his family to the united stes then.

-She said the work in Serbia was hard. you had to work on the farms every day. very few people made it to college because many people had to help out on the farms. Her dad realized that her kids needed an education. So they moved to the united States.

Is It Doomsday in 2012? Blog Post #7

Article:
Is It Doomsday in 2012?
Link:
http://find.galegroup.com/gic/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=DateDescend&tabID=T004&prodId=GIC&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchId=R2&searchType=&currentPosition=1&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28KE%2CNone%2C12%29world+ending%3AAnd%3AFQE%3D%28TX%2CNone%2C6%29nibiru%24&userGroupName=hins30136&inPS=true&docId=CJ212663003&contentSet=IAC-Documents&docId=CJ212663003&docType=IAC

Database:
Global Issues in Context

Notes:

Apocalypse Theorie #1: "The Earth's crust loses its moorings and begins to weaken and slide around. Los Angeles falls into the ocean; Yellowstone blows up, showering the continent with black ash. Tidal waves wash over the Himalayas, where the governments of the planet have secretly built a fleet of arks in which a select 400,000 people can ride out the storm. But this is only one version of apocalypse out there."
"Apcalypse Theorie #2: "A planet named Nibiru crashes into us."
Apocalypse Theorie #3: "The Earth's magnetic field flips."
All of these theories are portrayed in movies, stories, and books, but according to astronomers, none of it is true.
Black holes are science fiction, not fact
Climate change is the thing to worry and think about, not the world ending
The potential sunspot will most likely happen in 2013, and it will be mild
Apocalypse is the best theorie you could have due to the earthqaukes and other natural disasters, but it would happen in millions of years.

Blog Post #7

What Accounts for Finland's High Student Achievement Rate?

Finland is the top ranked school system in the world
correlation between country's schooling and their overall economics
high graduation rate, equal education access among students, high achievement on international benchmarking tests, and moderate per-pupil spending
Education is a civil right
K-8 grade and highschool are mandatory
The average acceptance rate into schools of education is a mere 10%.
They abolished standardized tests
2-3 hours less of education than american schools
also helpful because finland has a small population

1. URL: http://asiasociety.org/education/learning-world/what-accounts-finlands-high-student-achievement-rate

2. When was the information published or posted? 6/15/2010

3. Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor? asia society.org/

4. Can you verify the accuracy of the information? (Does the author show where the information is coming from by citing sources?) yes. they use movies to prove their points

Interview

I emailed Mr. Otahal on what he knows about Sierra Leone, its civil war, and the role that diamonds have played. He emailed me back and recommended that I read up about the Kimberley process. I read about the Kimberley process and found out that it is a joint intiative involving governments and the international diamond industry to stem the flow of conflict diamonds. All diamonds would be sealed in tamper-resistant containers and would have forgery-resistant, conflict-free certificates with unique serial numbers each time they crossed an international border. Progress to achieve this began in May 2000 and by 2003, it was adopted as a national law. Sierra Leone is a member of the Kimberley Process and this process has greatly helped decrease the amount of diamonds that are illegally smuggled out of the country.

In this book, George Packer explains that the war looks like it's over, but has a lot of time left before it is resolved. One reason he supports this idea is ___how he says that that the Gulf War seemed to end near March 1991 but didnt end untill 1994. Another reason/fact/example that supports this main idea is __how new conflicts and semi-wars keep ccuring due to the main conflict. Finally, the author gives the reason/fact/example __military experts agree that the war will take a long time before the conflict is officially. These ideas are _similar_ (connected/similar) to ____grudges betweenn sibilings__________________________________________ (something you learned or experienced previously) because ______________they take a long time to officially get iver grudges with your sublings______________________________________________________________________________________ (explanation of connection).

Friday, April 27, 2012

2012 answers

-final battle between good and evil according to the bible
-polar reverse
-volcanic ash will block out the sun
-Web bot from 1990 predictions
-300,000 hits on the earth
-Survival groups are being made
-Movies like "2012" have already been made

http://media.web.britannica.com/ebsco/pdf/681/44372681.pdf

Thursday, April 26, 2012

A Leader or a Social Entrepreneur

CREDIBILITY:

1. http://www.ashoka.org/social_entrepreneur

2. Does not say when it was posted, but since it is a .org it is more reliable then a .com

3. The people at Ashoka, the inovators for the public.

4. They do not cite their sources, but everything they use is a fact and they talk about leaders or Social Entrepreneurs of the past that made a big impact in the world.

ABOUT:

Ashoka believes there should be a world where everyone can change the world. Then when they have social challenges they cand respond efficiantly and with freedom, confidence, and support to overcome the challenges. Ashoka's goal is to make a successful world that enables citizens to think and act as change makers.

INFORMATION:

Social Entrepreneurs think of and execute soulutions to the world's most challenging social problems.
They are ambitious and persistent and think of solutions that will make a big impact in the world.
Instead of leaving big problems to the government, who should be fixing these thing in the first place, they take on these social problems and find out what is not working and then change the system all together.
They are visionaries yet they see the reality in things and try to implement the most practical approach to fixing a problem.
Social Entrepreneurs try to please and help the most people possible in the most user-friendly, understandable, and ethical way possible.
Buisness Entrepreneurs make new buissnesses, but social entrepreneurs think of solutions and use use them, which can be more valuable than new jobs.
Susan B. Anthony (U.S.): Fought for Women's Rights in the United States, including the right to control property and helped with the creation of the 19th amendment.
Vinoba Bhave (India): Founder and leader of the Land Gift Movement, he caused the moving of more than 7,000,000 acres of land to help India's untouchables and landless.
Dr. Maria Montessori (Italy): Developed the Montessori approach to early childhood education.
Florence Nightingale (U.K.): Founder of modern nursing, she established the first school for nurses and fought to improve hospital conditions.
John Muir (U.S.): Naturalist and conservationist, he established the National Park System and helped found The Sierra Club.
Jean Monnet (France): Responsible for the reconstruction of the French economy following World War II, including the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The ECSC and the European Common Market were direct precursors of the European Union.

immigrating to the US

http://www.thegramblinite.com/sports/why-do-immigrants-come-to-united-states-of-america-1.24479#.T5n4K3huG5R

By: Elizabeth Arizaga
Published: Thursday, November 16, 2006
Updated: Wednesday, June 29, 2011

This is a reliable source because i read information in this article that i had read previously in a book and so i know it is pretty reliable.

Why do immigrants come to the United States of America?
- to live in freedom
-practice religion freely
-escape poverty or oppression
-to make lives for themselves and their children better
-employment opportunities
-prosperity
-they are a plus to our economy...add about 10 billion dollars each year to our economy

Armenian Genocide

- Started by the Ottoman Empire during World War I around the 20th Century.
- Exterminated one-half to two-thirds of the Armenians living along the outside of the empire.
- Many who survived were forced into severe hunger and thrist in the middle of summer.
-Many Eyewitness reports a lot of physical mutilations, massacres of women, children, and newborn babies.
- This genocide is the only instance in which no reparation have been paid and which has never been granted any formal recognition.
- The Allied forces began evidence gathering and trying the guilty.
- The Allied forces let out a statement against the young turks.
"In view of these new crimes of Turkey against humanity and civilization, the Allied governments announce publicly … that they will hold personally responsible [for] these crimes all members of the … government and those of their agents who are implicated in such massacres."

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/whic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=WHIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CCX3447000056&mode=view
- Database- World History in Context

Blog post 7 Why do immigrants come

-Jobs are what mostly drive immigrants to come to the Uited States
-the wage in mexico is one tenth of the wage in the united states
- Some pweoplpe that come to the united Staes are still unemployed for a long time.
-twenty percent of the unirted staes workers are immigrant landscapers
-People say the U.S. should allow immigrants to become legal immigrants
-Another reason why a person will come to the united Staes because they want to benefit there family.
-The US estimates that there are eight to nne billion undocumented workers.

http://www.teachablemoment.org/high/immigration.html

2012- Claire cornell

Blog post #6

Part A
1. Mary A. Voytek works at NASA and she studies environmental controls on microbial transformations of nutrients, xenobiotics, and metals in freshwater and marine systems.
2. She is a reliable because she is in charge of NASA's Astrobiology program
3. I read an interview online about a week ago from people asking questions all over the world

Part B
1. All of my friends at school are telling me that we are all going to die in the year 2012 due to a meteor hitting earth. Is it true?

Your friends are wrong. The Earth has always been subject to impacts by comets and asteroids, although big hits are very rare. The last big impact was 65 million years ago, and that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Today NASA astronomers are carrying out a survey called the Spaceguard Survey to find any large near-Earth asteroids long before they hit. We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs.

2. Why does the Mayan calendar say the world will end in 2012? I have heard that they have been pretty accurate in the past with other planetary predictions. How can you be sure you know more than they did?

Calendars exist for keeping track of the passage of time, not for predicting the future. The Mayan astronomers were clever, and they developed a very complex calendar. Ancient calendars are interesting to historians, but they cannot match the ability we have today to keep track of time, or the precision of the calendars currently in use. The main point, however, is that calendars, whether contemporary or ancient, cannot predict the future of our planet or warn of things to happen on a specific date such as 2012. To further complicate matters, scholars do not agree on when the Mayan calendar long-count turns over.

3. There are many photos and videos of Nibiru on the Internet. Isn’t that proof that it exists?

Many of the photos and videos on the Internet that were taken two or three years ago were of some feature near the Sun (apparently supporting the claim that Nibiru was hiding behind the Sun). These are actually false images of the Sun caused by internal reflections in the lens, often called lens flare. You can identify them easily by the fact that they appear diametrically opposite the real solar image, as if reflected across the center of the image.

Interview

INTERVIEW

Description of Mary A. Voytek

Mary Voytek is a microbiologist who focuses mainly on "environmental controls on microbial transformations of nutrients, xenobiotics, and metals in freshwater and marine systems" (http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/directory/profile/4886/mary/voytek/). Mary has traveled the world studying these things. She has been to Antartica and deep sea-water sites to research her interests. She is in charge of the NASA’s Astrobiology Program, which is why she is a very reliable source.

3-5 Interview Questions

Source: http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/intro/nibiru-and-doomsday-2012-questions-and-answers

1. What is the origin of the prediction that the world will end in December 2012?

Mary Voytek: The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. Zecharia Sitchin, who wrote fiction about the ancient Mesopotamian civilization of Sumer, claimed in several books (e.g., “The Twelfth Planet”, published in 1976) that he had found and translated Sumerian documents that identify the planet Nibiru, orbiting the Sun every 3600 years. These Sumerian fables include stories of “ancient astronauts” visiting Earth from a civilization of aliens called the Anunnaki http://www.sitchiniswrong.com/. Sitchin suggested a return of Nibiru and the Anunnaki sometime this century. Then Nancy Lieder, a self-declared psychic who claims she is channeling aliens, wrote on her website Zetatalk that the inhabitants of a fictional planet around the star Zeta Reticuli warned her that the Earth was in danger from Planet X or Nibiru http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/planetx/. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012. Then these two fables were linked to the end of the Mayan calendar long-count at the winter solstice in 2012 – hence the predicted doomsday date on December 21, 2012.

2. Why does the Mayan calendar say the world will end in 2012? I have heard that they have been pretty accurate in the past with other planetary predictions. How can you be sure you know more than they did?

Mary Voytek: Calendars exist for keeping track of the passage of time, not for predicting the future. The Mayan astronomers were clever, and they developed a very complex calendar. Ancient calendars are interesting to historians, but they cannot match the ability we have today to keep track of time, or the precision of the calendars currently in use. The main point, however, is that calendars, whether contemporary or ancient, cannot predict the future of our planet or warn of things to happen on a specific date such as 2012. To further complicate matters, scholars do not agree on when the Mayan calendar long-count turns over. There is no agreed-upon synchronization between the Mayan calendar and ours, which was imported much later from Europe. This supposedly key date in the Mayan calendar may have already happened, or it may lie decades in the future.

3. When most of the planets align in 2012 and planet Earth is in the center of the Milky Way, what will the effects of this be on planet Earth? Could it cause a pole shift, and if so what could we expect?

Mary Voytek: There is no planet alignment in 2012 or any other time in the next several years. In fact, in late 2012 the planets are scattered all over the sky! As to the Earth being in the center of the Milky Way, I don’t know what this phrase means. If you are referring to the Milky Way Galaxy, we are rather far toward the edge of this spiral galaxy, some 30,000 light years from the center. We circle the galactic center in a period of 225-250 million years, always keeping approximately the same distance. Concerning a pole shift, I also don’t know what this means. If it means some sudden change in the position of the rotation axis of the Earth, then that is impossible, as noted in the answer to Question 10. What many websites do discuss is the alignment of the Earth and Sun with the center of the Milky Way in the constellation of Sagittarius. This happens every December, with no bad consequences, and there is no reason to expect 2012 to be different from any other year.

4. I have heard that the Earth’s magnetic field will flip in 2012 just when the strongest level of solar storms in history is predicted to take place. Will this kill us or destroy our civilization?

Mary Voytek: Near solar maximum (which happens every 11 years approximately), there are many more sunspots, solar flares and coronal mass ejections than near solar minimum. Flares and mass ejections are no danger for humans or other life on Earth. They could endanger astronauts in deep space or on the Moon, and this is something that NASA must learn to deal with, but it is not a problem for you or me. Large outbursts can interrupt radio transmission, cause bright displays of the aurora (Northern and Southern Lights), and damage the electronics of some satellites in space. Today many satellites are designed to protect against this possibility, for example by switching off some of their more delicate circuits and going into a “safe” mode for a few hours. In extreme cases solar activity can also disrupt electrical transmissions on the ground, possibly leading to electrical blackouts, but this is rare.
The last solar maximum occurred in 2001, but the subsequent solar minimum was unusual, with a period of a couple of years with almost no sunspots or other solar activity. Scientists now guess that the next maximum will in 2013 not 2012. However, the details of the solar cycle remain basically unpredictable.
You are correct that the Earth’s magnetic field protects us by creating a large region in space, called the Earth’s magnetosphere, within which most of the material ejected from the Sun is captured or deflected, but there is no reason to expect a reversal of magnetic polarity any time soon. These magnetic reversals happen only once in 400,000 years on average.

5. All my school friends are telling me that we are all going to die in the year 2012 due to a meteor hitting earth. Is this true?

Mary Voytek: Your friends are wrong. The Earth has always been subject to impacts by comets and asteroids, although big hits are very rare. The last big impact was 65 million years ago, and that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Today NASA astronomers are carrying out a survey called the Spaceguard Survey to find any large near-Earth asteroids long before they hit. We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs. All this work is done openly with the discoveries posted every day on the NASA NEO Program Office website http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov, so you can see for yourself that nothing is predicted to hit in 2012.

BLOG POST #6- interview and expert

PART A:
1. A description of the background the source (person you interviewed) has (e.g. What have they studied? What do they do for a living?)

I interviewed Kristin Jung who has been a first grade teacher at Walker elementary School for the past twenty one years. She studied child education in college.

2. Explain why they are a reliable source

Kristin Jung is a reliable resource because she is a teacher and therefore has had a lot of time to learn about children and how to teach them. She is also very experienced because she has worked with first graders for the past twenty one years.

3. How and when did you interview them?

I interviewed Kristin Jung through email from April 12th through April 19th.

PART B:
1. 3-5 interview questions you asked them and under each question write notes of what they said.
Why don't children go to school?
- There are a lot of families who pull their kids out of school to take family vacations. This can be very disruptive to a child's education and it is frustrating as the teacher because many of the activities that they miss can't be made up.
-This year in particular I have had about 11 of my 26 students miss 3-7 days of school for family vacations and some of these were right before the scheduled Spring Break.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of going to school online?
- I think one of the biggest advantages would be financial. I think there are many students who can't afford to go away to college and this would allow them to save money. An online program may also be a faster way to earn a degree.
-Some disadvantages would be no interaction with the professor or other students. I think people learn so much more by being active learners
-This to me would be the biggest drawback. I also think that having the "college experience" is so important and by not going to a college or university, this would be lost.

Blog post 6. Iraq War

My uncle lived during the worst of the Iraq War conflict. He knows a lot about the Iraq War.

My uncle has studied a lot about the Iraq War and knows a lot of facts about it.They are a reliable source because they are not biased and know a lot about the Iraq War. I interviewed them over the weekend through e-mail.
1.) How do you feel about the Iraq War?
2.) What can you tell me about the Iraq War?
3.) How long do you think it will take for the conflict to officially end?

Answers:
1.) The Iraq War is a battle between Iraq and the rest of the world.
2.) The Americans have worked with the French and the British to try and end tyrant rule in Iraq before they destroy any other countries.
3.) I believe that he conflict will take at least 20+ years till the War is officially over.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Diamonds: A Major Source of Conflict

Sierra Leone: Diamonds and the Struggle for Democracy
By John L. Hirsch
-The Kono region in the eastern part of Sierra Leone is very rich in diamonds and also accessible to anyone.
- In the Kono region hundreds of young men dig for diamonds in areas other diggers have already secured.
-Sierra Leone diamonds have financed rebel movements of Foday Sankoh, the leader of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), and Charles Taylor.
-In the mid-90s, Sierra Leone produced about 300 million to 450 million dollars worth of diamonds, but only about 10% of these diamonds passed through the Sierra Leone government, which means that almost all the diamonds were smuggled through Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire.
-The Sierra Leone Selection Trust (SLST) was graned a ninety-nine year monopoly in 1934. The SLST created discord by demanding that outsiders be removed from mining areas (e.g.Kono) and illicit minging nipped in the bud.
- Just two years later, in 1936, the SLST was permited to have a security force of thirty-five men around the mining areas.
-Illicit mining grew apace in the 40s and 50s as local chiefs obtained the power to decide who would live in Kono.
-Ultimately, these events of corruption are what set the stage for the start of Sierra Leone's civil war in the 90s.

In this book, John L. Hirsch argues that diamonds have posed a major source of conflict in Sierra Leone. One reason that supports this is that he explains how the Kono region is rich in diamonds. Another reason that supports this is that he explains the SLST's effect on mining areas. Finally he gives the reason that diamond corruption in the 30s is what led to the start of Sierra Leone's civil war in the 90s. These ideas are similar to Syria's civil unrest right now because both deal with corruption and rebellion.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Public Health Book, whole book, by: A WHO Collaborating Centre

In this informational/guidance book, a WHO Collaborating Centre explains proper guidance and gives valid information about world health issues/problems.

One example that supports this main idea is that it educates the reader about chemical substances and how avoiding them is critical based on the harm they can do. Another example that supports this main idea is how the book talks about National functions and how important the nation knows it is to be fully aware of all chemical incidents to the population. Finally, the author gives the fact of how the WHO assesses issues and evaluates the impact on the health of the public to support the main idea.

These ideas are connected to the role of the WHO (world health organization) because they go into detail about how the World Health Organization is constantly working to protect the health of the public.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Immigration Policy (BOOK) post 5

Book: Immigration Policy (Point/Counterpoint)
Author: Alan Allport
Chapter 1: Introduction
Pages: 10-28

-Any alien within American borders who does not have a visa, immigrants or nonimmigrants, is here illegally
-Immigrants enrich the country both materially and culturally
-Immigration is a drain on America's fragile resources and a strain on its social fabric.
-Because our population is reaching 300 million people, we can no longer afford to take in large numbers of foreign born people
-There are 2 ways that immigrants enter this country; people who enter the country legitimately as tourists and then don't leave when their paperwork expires and people who cross illicitly over the border.
-The 1882 Immigration Act was the nation's first major attempt to define who legally could and could not enter the US.
-There are 2 types of visas, nonimmigrant and immigrant. Nonimmigrant visas allow aliens to enter the US for a fixed period of time only. Immigrant visas are for people who would like to enter the US for good and establish a permanent home, but this doesn't mean these people are US citizens. These people do not have the right to vote, serve on juries, or run for public office.
-In 2002 over 1 million immigrant visas and 27 million nonimmigrant visas were approved in the US.

Summary:

In this chapter, Alan Allport explains the background of immigration and informs us about the different laws that have been passed against and for immigration. One example of this is when Alan talked about the Immigration Act of 1882. He informed me about the first concern that arose against slavery. Another example of that supports the main idea of this chapter is when Alan informed me about the two different types of visas non citizens can have. Him explaining these gives me a better understanding of how we control immigration. Finally, Alan Allport explains the ups and downs of immigration briefly in saying that immigration is good because they enrich our country by their hard work and expand our culture. The downs are that these immigrants are taking up our resources and if we don't control this, our resources may one day be very limited. (and the rising population). These ideas are similar to the idea of supply and demand. Since our demand for immigrants is low now because we don't need anymore people taking US citizens jobs, we don't need immigrants. That's is why the government is making all these new laws to lower the supply of these immigrants. If all of a sudden, US citizens started to die and factories needed people to work, then the supply of immigrants would be higher. That is why I believe immigration is connected to the idea of supply and demand.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Fiction? book

The Scorch Trials, Chapter 16, James Dashner

- Even though this is a fiction book, it's foundation is pretty close to our society/world we live in, a dystopian future.
- However, the situation of our world is different, more like a "What if?" situation.
- Current situation in the book is the world has been exposed to dangerous sun rays and therefore threw off the climate entirely, and spread a disease called "The Flare" causing people to go complelely inhumane.
- In trying to hold down the epidemic of "The Flare" the world governemts decided to gather their intellegience in looking for a cure.
- The result of putting the world governements together is WICKED, World In Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department
- The world can harmonize if something bigger than all them can bring them to an alliance.
-

Friday, March 23, 2012

2012 the mayans

2012 and the end of the world By Matthew Restall Chapter 1

In chapter 1 its all about the Mayans. The book gives their significance as a civilization. Also it talks about why there prediction would be so important. I also learned how important religion was to them and why. Also I learned how advanced there civilization was. The Mayans were also intense believers in gods. Lastly it talk about the crazy traditions and sacrifices. The Mayans were around for a long time and were a very advanced and intelligent civilization for there time.

In this book Matthew Restall explains that the Mayans were a very advanced civilization. One reason that supports this main idea is that they they figured out that they need to swap crop land so the old soil has time to get back it's nutrients. Another reason that supports the main idea is that the Mayans were able to construct such phenomenal buildings they must have had been able to plan and lead very well. Finally the author gives the reason of the Mayans ability to be so prosperous and powerful for so long to support the main idea. These ideas are similar to early americans. This is because they had to lead many fighters and use more advanced tactics and weapons to be able to successfully defeat the British Army.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Powerful Lessons of Stephen Covey

Book Title:
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Author:
Stephen R. Covey

Chapter:
The Seven Habits an Overview
Pages 46-59

Bullet Points:

Habits are important in our lives because not only do we constantly do them, but they are a part of our character and hard to break.
For there to be a habit in life youmust have knowledge, skill, and desire.
A habit will not suddenly appear for example in human interaction you must know that you need to listen, know how to listen, and want to listen.
Change is motivated by will and a higher purpose that will help you to make you happy.
Happieness is defined as being able to sacrafice what you want at the moment fo what you will want later.
The seven habits are not a seperate set of rules, but rules that co-inside with the natural way and help you move thru life from dependence to independence to finally interdependence.
Dependency is "you take care of me." Needing others to get what you want. Independent is "I can do it." Also I can get what I want with my own effort. Interdependent is "We can do it." With combined effort for the greatest success.
Physical, mental, and emotional maturity does not mature at the same rate.
Independent people who can not work interdependently will only be good individually, but they will not be good leaders.
Habits 1-3 is about self mastery.
Habits 4-6 is about teamwork, cooperation, and communication in success.
Habit 7 is the habit of renewal.
The seven habits are refered to the "habits of effectiveness."
Effectiveness lies in the balence of production and production capability(P/PC.)
There are three kinds of assets physical, financial, and human.
You must invest time in your assets to achieve success.

Summary:
In this book, Stephen Covey explains a quick overview of the many ways of being successful, including the seven habits and the differences of dependencys. He tells that habits 1-3 is about self mastery, 4-6 is about teamwork, cooperation, and communication in success. Also interdependence is the most successful way of the dependencys because it involves teamwork and leadership. The fact of the matter is that without interdependence and habits 4-6 you are unable to work well with others and become a poor leader. This is connected with all the great leaders of our time because they could work well with their collegues thru teamwork, cooperation, and communication.

Specialize and Jobs

The World is Flat by Thomes Friedman

Chapter 6 The Untouchables

In this ___book___(book/article, etc.), Thomas Friedman (author) ______Explains________(claims/argues/explains) that _____________If you specialize more and adapt to the world changing your more prone not be outsourced and if you don't change as the world is changing then you will be outsourced. (identify author’s argument/purpose). One reason/fact/example that supports this main idea is ______________When the author gives his friend as an example. His friend Bill did hand illustration and colored them and everything for newspapers or books, but later on they started coming out with software that would do that for you so he wasn't asked to often to do that so he started just do a drafts for the sketches and then they would do all the color and fixing up to the draw and Bill would still get a good sum of money. He also started to do morphs for magazines and newspapers, he adapted to the world and wasn't out of a job.__________________________

___________________________. Another reason/fact/example that supports this main idea is ________ the author also gave an example of one of Bills friend. She was a designer and she didn't adapt fast enough and so now she does landscaping, she still does some designs, but does't do that for her main job._______________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. Finally, the author gives the reason/fact/example ____that American has the most collages and university in the world, only 14 countries have more collages and universities than the U.S. This makes th U.S. have smarter people and make the people think for themselves more. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ to support the main idea.

These ideas are ______similar______________ (connected/similar) to ________________sports______________________________ (something you learned or experienced previously)because ____________if there is someone better than you then you are gonna try harder to get better or you are gonna be left in the dust and other teams wouldn't want you ask much like being specialized in a job you need to get better or no one is gonna hire you. (explanation of connection).

Outsourced- to contract out (jobs, services, etc.): a small business thatoutsources bookkeeping to an accounting firm.
Specialize in something if you want to better or not outsourced
The playing field for competition is getting flatter causing the world to be come more flatter
The U.S. has the most collages and universities and only 14 countries have more than the U.S. in the whole world
Commoditized- An increase in the number, availability, and similarity of products in a given category which tends to drive down the price of the products
Untouchables come in 4 types: Workers who are "Specialized", "special", "anchored", and "really adaptive"
Fungible- Something that is exchangeable or substitutable

Irish immigrants

Imigration, page eight , and by Philip Brooks
This is about why the Irish immigrants migrated away from the country. Becasue a femine came aroound and effected there crops.
- the femine killed one million people
-About one and half million people migrated to the United states
-The disease was called the potatoe bright
-The main crop of ireland was the potatoe
- Ireland leaders were prodestant and they would charge high rent to other poor people
-As the crop became scarce , the food that was there became more expensive
- if the people could not find food they would eat rotted food

In this book Philip brook claims that the Irish came to the United States because they had spoiled crops.
The author explains by suporting what the disease was. The disease wa a disaese that affected crops soo the food populastiooj for the people were going down.
Another reason why the pople left there country was becasue the peple were charged rent that was to high bby the protestant leaders. Another reason was because a lot people could not afford food so they would come to the USA. These ideas are similiar to the opium trade becaue the country used a lot of opium and the country get rid of it just like how irelands food crop got low and they were stuck and they did nto hae much. I learned previously that some immigrants migrate because they have bad leader. Just like peopel in Ireland.

Mark Hitchcock, Chapter 1, 2012 The bible and the end of the world

In this ______________book________________ (book/article, etc.), ___________________ (author) ______________(claims/argues/explains) that ___________Predictions vary widely but they all agree big change is coming for planet earth and mankind this day.______________________________________________________________________________________ (identify author’s argument/purpose).

One reason/fact/example that supports this main idea is __60% of all Americans from all religions believe the world will end eventually.___________________________. Another reason/fact/example that supports this main idea is ___A peak in oil production, food shortages, nuclear threats, economic meltdowns, vanishing species,wars, turmoils in the Middle East, and erratic weather patterns are just a start to the problems. _____________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. Finally, the author gives the reason/fact/example ___December 21, 2012 is the end of the 5000 year calender of the Mayans.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ to support the main idea.

These ideas are _________connected___________ (connected/similar) to ____a tv show i watched__________________________________________ (something you learned or experienced previously) because _______________________it talked about all of the problems that may cause the world to end eventually _____________________________________________________________________________ (explanation of connection).

-December 21, 2012 is the end of the Mayans 5000 year calender

-The alignment of the planets is supposed to happen December 21, 2012

-A huge volcanic eruption is said to occur on this date

-The government has had several meetings about this, nothing serious

-The bible does release some information about the end of the world at this time

-Our world is getting more dangerous by the day

-This could be another hoax like the Y2K in 1999

ICE AGE

Book
Earth: The Operators' Manual

Author
Richard B. Alley

Chapter
11 and the beginning of 12

7-10 Bullets

Volcanoes cause a slight change of a few tenths of a degree in a year
This effect disappears in about a year
Ice Ages are caused by the "changes in the distribution of sunshine on the planet driven by features of Earth's orbit" (Alley 133)
CO2 levels are the main cause for growing ice on Antartica (Ice Ages)
The drifting continents are also a cause for the ice on Antartica
The peaks of ice ages are seperated out by about 100,000 years
The small ice ages, "wiggles", are seperated by about 40,000 to 20,000 years
Drifting continents and tilting orbit caused large climate changes

Summary

In this book Earth: The Operators' Manual, Richard B. Alley explains in this chapter explains the problems that the world may be having due to ice ages.One example that supports this main idea is him explaining how far appart the large and small ice ages are occuring. Another fact that supports this main idea is that he explains that Milutin Milankovitch predicted the up and comng ice ages by calculating the changes of sunshine on the earth. Finally, the author gives reason that the heat coming from volcanoes is cooling the CO2 levels which helps stop ice ages.to support the main idea. These ideas are similar to my past learning about how the world could possibly end because ice ages and other possible natural disasters could end the world.

Against All Odds

Against All Odds by William B. Helmreich
-Many People have turned their lives around and become people we know today.
-Anti-Defamation League- non-governmental organization that is based the United States.
-Congress man Tom Lantos was a holocaust survivor and became familiar to many television viewers.
-All classes of people were discriminate against: wealthy, middle, and poor.
-Zionists- nationlist jews that wanted a homeland to be formed.
-SS Ernie Pyle- a refurbished military vessel that carried Jews to the United States.
-Displace Persons Camps- Placed here so that families could find each other.

In this__Book__ (book/article, etc.), _William B. Henreich_ (author) _explains_(claims/argues/explains) that _the people that survived the holocaust are making lives for themselves today.__ (identify author’s argument/purpose).

One reason/fact/example that supports this main idea is _Tom Lantos became a US Congress man and is know to many people today. Another reason/fact/example that supports this main idea is Eva Ebin became a phychologist and lives in Long Island. Finally, the author gives the reason/fact/example Harry Haft became a professional boxer and went up against Rocky Marciano and Roland LaStarza to support the main idea.

These ideas are __similar_ (connected/similar) to the Conflict in Rwanda(something you learned or experienced previously) because they both are involved in genocide. (explanation of connection).

Blog Post #5 Education in Africa Book

Teen Life in Africa By: Toyin Falola Chapter 4: Ethiopia

7-10 Bullet Points:

24.9 % of kids were enrolled in school in 2000
64.5% of people over 15 were illiterate
5.3 % of people went to highschool in 1997
most rural schools were brought about from Christian Missionaries
fighting made kids stop going to school because they were scared.
A lot of children don't go to school because it is unaffordable
A lot of kids also don't go to school because their parents need help at home.
Kids walk to school all year around, but there are so few and most are far away from the seperated rural communities

In this book (book/article, etc.),Toyin Falola (author) explains(claims/argues/explains) that education is vey poor in the country of Ethiopia (identify author’s argument/purpose).

One reason/fact/example that supports this main idea is that only 24.9% of children were enrolled in school during the year of 2000. Another reason/fact/example that supports this main idea is that a lot of children do not go to school because it is unaffoordable for their parents to pay.Finally, the author gives the reason/fact/example that a lot of children are scared to go to school because there is so much fighting and violence. These ideas are connected(connected/similar) to the violence and gangs in Chicago (something you learned or experienced previously) because children do not want to go to school because they are scared.(explanation of connection).