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

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      They do not cite their sources, but everything they use is a fact and they talk about leaders or    Social Entrepreneurs of the past that made a big impact in the world.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

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.

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.

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.