Border Control
A huge debate topic is what to do about so many illegal immigrants coming from Mexico to the United States. Some say that we should build more of a barricade and find more border patrol to prevent them from coming in, but a fence will not keep out the majority of those who want to come in to the U.S. When a triple-fencing was put in the San Diego area, it did cut back on the immigrants coming in at that area, but in a nearby area, the numbers greatly increases. Unless we want to build a fence along the whole border, which would be just plain crazy amounts of fencing and about 9 billion dollars, we need to find a different solution. Even if we were to reduce the amounts of illegal aliens substantially, the problem would still remain because of those who come legally, but overstay their admittance. There is also an ammendment that is in the works that would deny undocumented immigrants their drivers license and also raise judicail pwers of deportion. This seems pretty basic to me. But it's such a complicated issue. There are several strategies that are being suggested and discussed and this article talks about a few of them. This is a huge issue to our country and it is reflected in our budget. Besides defense, border protection is one of the highest areas of growth in our budget.
http://www.ailf.org/ipc/policy_reports_2005_fencinginfailure.aspIn another article, it talks about how Mexico needs to do its part as well in helping to control their immigrants. Mexican and U.S. lawmakers discussed several relevant topics concerning this yesterday, at their 45th annual meeting between these two legislators. They also discussed a bill that was passed by the House of Representatives to build a 700 mile wall on the border. The Mexican legislators thought this was a stupid idea, and are completely opposed to it. I really don't think it's going to do a whole lot of good either. But Mexico does want to help the border control and this is a step in the right direction.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/14014673.htm
Since we discussed illiteracy rates in class, I decided to do take a more in depth look into education. According to one site, "The likelihood that children under five years old today will complete primary school by 2015 is greater than or equal to 95 per cent in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Uruguay. It dips to between 90 per cent and 95 per cent for Brazil, Costa Rica and Venezuela." Although the region as a whole, has made progress, gender disparity exists in individual countries. Although most people discuss how females lack education (which in some cases they do), for the most part we should apparently be more concerned with boys. According to the article, At the secondary level, girls are far more likely to be enrolled than boys regionally – 47 per cent versus 41 per cent. The problems associated with illiteracy and undereducation effects the entire society. It may lead boys into the life of crime, domestic abuse, or violence. These awful consequences have been witnessed in Jamaica in particular.
Why aren't boys recieving adequate education?
Well, many boys leave school in order to support their families and enter the labor force. "A study conducted in Chile found that poor boys are four times more likely to enter the workforce than poor girls. In Brazil, child labor has robbed boys of an education by luring them away from books with promises of money."
What's important to help the issue?
Most articles state that pre-primary school is extremely beneficial. It helps stimulate the child's mind and work with emotional and social development. Early child care projects have helped connect the family and the child. In Peru, for instance, "Iniciativa Papa, an early childhood project, strengthens the bond between fathers and tots through intensive male participation in child-rearing." Another key to intervention is challenging traditional gender roles. It helps to establish a universal education system, by shattering stereotypes.
I think that this issue is very important in Latin America. Hopefully UNICEF or such organizations will step in to encourage education. Through a variety of projects, I believe that education with boys and girls can be far improved.
*Check out this site for more
EDUCATION NOW
After learning about Choropleth maps I found them to be pretty interesting. I did a google search on them and found an interesting one of the United States and the average age in the various states.
The map isn’t exactly the way I though t it might be but there are some predictable trends. The fact that Florida consists of a more elderly population is predictable because many people move there around retirement age. One thing I didn’t expect was for Arizona and Colorado to have such a low age average because I think a lot of people go there to retire too, but that must be a stereotype. Overall looking at the map though it is pretty interesting just to look at.
On friday in class the fact that bananas are going extinct came up.The whole deal with bananas going extinct may not seem like a big deal to those who don’t really like bananas but out those who do it is a horrible thing. Bananas are an inexpensive way to get nutrients, and most Americans have figured this out. Bananas are the leading seller among fruits; the average American consumes 26.2 pounds per year, followed by the distant apples, almost 10 pounds behind. The reason they are going extinct is a fungus that is currently in Panama is progressing down Latin America. Currently the officials can’t do anything about it but what is happening is that they are trying to make a new breed of bananas. I know the article is very long and no one will probably want to read it, but if you do it is very cool, at least view the slide show that is really interesting and there is little reading involved, the link is below the author and picture.http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/5a4d4c3ee4d05010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html
WTO
In class we have been talking about exporting and trade barriers and tariffs and I didn't
completely understanding. Searching American Exports I came to the World Trade Organization web site. It gives you a complete look at their job description, budget, advantages, and some common misconceptions. Looking at a few of the links helped me understand the impact the WTO and other organizations like it have on the nation and world.
http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/whatis_e.htm
3/3/06
1. Trivia2. Finish Chloroplath Maps3. Latin America NotesEconomic and Social Development: Dependent Economic Growth Most Latin American countries are "middle income" -Development Strategies *Import substitution: Support for domestic industry by imposing inflated tariffs on all imported goods
* Industrialization, Manufactuing emphasized since 1960's
- Growth poles: Planned industrial centers
-Maquiladoras and Foreign Investment *Maquiladoras: Mexican assembly parts lining US border
*Other Latin American Countries attracting foreign companies
-Primary Exports *Latin America specialized in commodities into 1950's
- Bananas, coffee, cacao, grains, tin, rubber, petroleum, etc
. -Agricultural Production * Since 1960's agriculture has become more diversified and mechanized
* Machinery, hybrid crops, chemical fertilizers, pestecides, making agriculture very
productive -Mining and Forestry * Poducts: Silver, zinc, copper, iron ore, gold, oil, gas
* Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador export oil
*
Mining becoming mechanized, laying off workers
*
Logging: - Exportation of wood pulp provide short-term cash infusion
- Plantation forests of introduced species replace diverse native forests
- Latin America in the Global Economy *Dependency theory holds that expansion of European capitalism created Latin America condition of underdevelopment
- Creates prosperous cores and dependent, poor peripheries
- Increased economic integration within Latin America and ominance of U.S. market
-Neoliberalism as Globalization * Neoliberal policies: Stress privatization, export prodcution, and few restrictions on imports
- Benefits include increased trade and more favorable terms for debt payment, political leaders embrace it
-Dollarization: Process in which country adopts (whole or part) US dollar as official currency
* Full dollarization - U.S. Dollar becomes only currency
- Until 2000, Panama was only fully dolarized Latin American Country
- Ecuador also became fully dollarized in 2000
- El Salvador considering
- Limited dollarization more common strategy
- U.S. dollar circulate with countries nation currency
* Tends to reduce inflation, eliminate fears of currency devaluation, and reduce costs of trade
-Social Developmemt * Improvements since 1960
- Declining child mortality rate, along with higher rates for life expentancy and educational attainment
` Most countries had cuts of 50% or in child mortality
` Important role for non-governmental organization (NGO's)
` Still regional social differences with in countries
` Humanitarian organizations, churches, community activists
- Race and Inequality * Relative tolerance, but Americanindians and blacks over-represented amon the poor
- Hard to ignore ethnicity and race when explaining contrasts in income and availablitly of services
Mapping Poverty and Prosperity ( 4.29) -Social Development * The Status of Women
- Many women work outside the home (30%-40%)
` Lower thatn rate in U.S. but comparable to many Euopean countries
- Legally, woman vote, own property and sign loans, but less likey thenment to do so
` Reflective tendencies
- Lower illiteracy rates
` Highest rates in Central America
- Trend toward smaller families
` Related to education adn work fo participation
Conclusion - Lain America is the first region fuller colonized by Europe - Demographic recovery slow after early population decline
- Latin America is rich in natural resources
* But will resources be exploited for short-term gain or sustainablility?
- Active informal economy, rapid development
4. Political Maps
Class Summary for March 2nd
Today in class the trivia was; which South American country is home to the ruins of Machu Picchu. The answer was Peru. No notes were taken during class today instead we began work on Latin American choropleth maps. A choropleth map is a map involving statistics shown in scale using colors, such as population densities, or GNI per capita. The maps must be completed for Friday the 3rd, and a set of questions needs to be answered by you and your group. Also continue reading the chapter and answer questions in the reading guide.
Sex trafficking is a huge issue going on in our world today. In Latin America, many women/children are being exploited. According to one site, "Child prostitution is a growing industry in Latin America. After Thailand, Brazil is now considered to have the second highest level of child sex trafficking in the world. Guatemala City has become a centre of international sex trafficking, with girls smuggled in from all over Central America. Estimates of the number of Brazilian children living as prostitutes range from 250,000 to as high as
2 million!"
Why are people being tricked into this way of life?
Well, many of these women are vulnerable and are running out of options. When being promised high paying jobs, they hesitantly agree. With false hope of a better future and lifestyle women are being taken advantage of . Traffickers prey on women who have fled their homes because of violence or have been displaced by armed conflict or natural disasters (like orphans of Hurricane Mitch). Not only that, but in Guatemala, young girls who had been raped play targets for traffickers. With such a strong, social stigma, they had no chance of being married. With that, they were manipulated into joining the sex trade, as if they had no better choices.
Sadly, this underground trafficking market is nonstop and out of control. Young girls are being coerced into a dangerous and deadly lifestyle.
I feel that this issue has been kept under the shadows, but is finally gaining recognition. With movies like "Human Trafficking," more people are becoming aware of the problem. This is a serious issue all over the world. It involves many aspects that relate to the treatment of women in developing countries. There seems to be harsh violence directed towards women. Take, Mayra Angelina Gutiérrez Hernández, a university lecturer and women's rights activist who has been missing since 2000. With the rise of sex trafficking and murder, it appears that Women need hope in Latin America.
Check out these sites:
This one is really great and has a lot of info on many subjects
Fight for Womenor
TRAFFICKING WOMEN
Syncretism
As I was reading through the Globalization and Diversity book, i read about syncretic religions. It interested me, believe it or not. I wondered what other types of blending between religions there are.
I found an article that talks about how a Luthern minister was 'guilty of syncretism'. I don't really think that is right. Just because you agree with (not entirely believe in) a muslim view doesn't mean you should be punished by the church.
I thought it was strange that the church was so strict with their dogma. But i wouldn't really know, i haven't researched religions, i only
really know my own.
3/2/06
1. Trivia2. We worked the rest of the class time on Latin America Choropleth Maps. Tomorrow we will have time to answer the question sheet. Each person in the group of four was supposed to do two maps.3. Reading assignment is pages 98-106 (end of the chapter).
We were just talking about the war between Mexico and Texas a couple of days ago in class, and today on my way to school I heard on the radio that today is the day that Texas declared its independance in 1836. Texas was a part of Mexico, but American citizens began to settle there, and soon there were more Americans than Mexicans there. A conflict between the two groups began and started the Freedonia Rebellion. The dictator of Mexico, Santa Anna, tried to stop the rebellion, but the Texans were set on breaking off and becoming part of the US. The Texas Revolution began with several minor victories for the Texans. In February, the famous battle of the Alamo occured. The numbers were against the men in the Alamo- 140 of them to about 3,000 Mexicans. For days, Santa Anna and his troops attacked until they finally captured the Alamo by brutal hand-to-hand combat. But a few weeks later, a large Texan army surprised and overtook Santa Anna, shouting "remember the Alamo!" This victory led the way to Texas' independance and they became the 28th state.
This is a great war to be remembered because of its example of determination and perserverance and the price so many will pay for freedom. I once heard of a soldier who said
"there is no price too high to pay for freedom". That is a pretty strong statement, and whether you agree with it or not, it makes me think about how amazing our history is of our young country and how much there is to learn about our history and paths that led to the freedom we have today.
Read more about it at
http://www.historychannel.com/today/and
http://www.lone-star.net/mall/texasinfo/alamo-battle.htmand
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/texas.htm
Rate of Natural Increase
Today in class I had to do the rate of natural increase map and it got me thinking of the RNI of other countries in the world. This link,
RNI, shows Latin America RNI compared to the rest of the world. I was surprised to see Europe being a negative to a very low number. This means their death rate exceeds their birth rate and that surprises me. Although what doesn't surprise me is that Africa has the highest RNI because women have the most kids there, two times the world average.
Minoriteam?
I am not sure why I am posting this, but Minoriteam, a new show that is premiering on cartoon network during [adult swim] should not even be there. I am not the most politically correct, but a show about all the stereotypes of every race is just idiotic. Though it is extremely funny that white people are the "bad guys".
In class today we discussed how Colombia had the highest murder rate in the world. A lot of the violence from Colombia stems back from the high amounts of drug trafficking that go through there to the United States. There is also high rates of kidnapping. Most of these crimes are commited by either left wing (geurrillas) or right wing groups. Some of these groups are even backed by the government, so there is a lot of corruption as well. The US has spent money trying to stop Cocain from coming here, and so far they have spent about 3 million dollars and not much has happened. It is important that we take care of this because Colombia has lots of natural resources like gold and oil. They also have lots of coffee.
I was checking out a few sites and came across one interesting issue that's going on right as we speak.
Over 40 million people in the world suffer from HIV, with more then 275,000 of them living in the six Latin American CAFTA nations. In such developing countries, affordable generic drugs help citizens survive each day. However, if CAFTA is approved this could mean drastic changes. The article stated that "under the pact American pharmaceutical giants would gain a five-year edge on the development of new drugs by low-cost competitors." The idea of higher priced medications has caused many activists to CAFTA especially in Guatemala, where 78,000 sufferers reside. They feel outraged at the thought of more expensive pills and treatment. Take this for example: a generic version of a top drug costs them $216 per patient as opposed to the original made by GlaxoSmithKline at $4, 818 per patient. Wow-that's a huge difference in price!
What's the American drug Companies argument?
Well, they feel that they're being underhanded by generic "copy cats." For exampe, it it may take them a decade to develop and design/research a drug. U.S. pharmaceutical companies spent more than $38 billion on research in 2004. However, these pills can be quickly and easily duplicated by generic makers. Not only are they worried about generic companies swiping our innovations, but they are also concerned about the safety along with these copied drugs.
I can see both sides to the debate. However, I feel that in these circumstances less fortunate people need affordable medications. If generics are the best option, then so be it. When aids is sweeping the country, people need to recieve the treatment they deserve. I don't believe it's right to steal our innovative drugs. However, what would poor countries like Guatemala do without it? That shouldn't be a risk we're willing to take.
*Check out this article for more info and a couple of personal stories.
CAFTA AND THE BIG ISSUES
China's Trade Agreement Proposal
As we have been reading about and learning about the different impacts trade agreements have on a country, I have decided to do more research on the subject. One of the articles I found stated how China has proposed to create a trade agreement with Latin America, and Latin America is not so sure it is a good thing. In our books it is stated that many good relationships come out of trade agreements and that much extra revenue is collected. In the case of China and Latin America, China has been known to not want to pay the fair share and effort in having a trade agreement. Latin American officials who are looking into the agreement say that they think China may be trying to play Latin America, but they are not sure. It seems weird to me that China would go out of its way to create a trade agreement that they weren't going to carry through with, but you never know. Read this article
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/389 to find out more interesting facts and opinions about whether or not Latin America should go through with the trade agreement with China or not.
3/1/06
Block 21. Trivia2. We took the following notes in class Language Map of Latin America (4.19)Geopolitical Framework: Redrawing the Map
-Cycles of antagonism and cooperation
* Organization of American States (OAS)
* MERCOSUR (Southern Cone Common Market)
-Iberian Conquest and Territorail Division
Treaty of Tordesilles divided South America between Spain and Portugal
-Revolution and Independence
* Elites born in America led to revolutions resulting in the creation of new countries
-Presisting Border Conflicts
* Colonail boundary lines were not well accepted
* When states gained independence, border issues grew
Shifting Political Boundaries (4.21)-The Trend Toward Democracy
* Long independence, but political stability has been a problem
* Democratic elections since 1980's
Most of the countries are free-market democracies
- Regional Organizations
Supranational organizations: Governing bodies that include several states
Subnational organizations: Groups that represent areas of people with in the state
-Trade Blocks
*To foster international markets and reduce trade barries
-Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA), Central American Common Market(CACM), Andean Group, NAFTA, Mercosur
- Insurgencies and Drug Traffickers
* Guerrilla groups have controlled large portions of their countries through violence and intimidation
-FARC (Revolutionary Amred Forces of Colombia) ELN (National Liberation Army)
Drug cartes: Powerful and wealthy organized crime sundicates
3. Finished GIS in the Pub4. Finally we finished the movie on Mexico
More Bird Flu News
More bird flu news here:
German cat gets deadly bird flu
And a new map that shows the current extent of bird flu cases found in both birds and humans.
New Orleans is Not Alone
Mardi Gras is not the only celebration that takes place before Lent begins. In Brazil, they have a
carnival in Rio de Janeiro. This carnival took place in the Sambadrome stadium that hosted over 200,000 people. There are themed “samba” troupes that put on a show over three days. The performers wear colorful costumes that are known for being seductive. For example, many women used glitter and glue to cover-up in replace of the heavy, 20-pound costumes of the yesteryears (although tall and heavy headdresses are still worn).
Apparently, the Sambadrome cannot equip 200,000 people with accessible bathrooms, and so women were offered "feminine urinary conductors”, cups that they could pee in while standing up. In the streets, people could buy plastic sheeting for privacy, and for a fine of fifty cents.
However, some of the troupes had political implications in their themes. Troupes sang about the designer of the Sambradome, the Brazilian President, and tributes to the Sao Francisco River (which is going under an irrigation dispute).
The champion of the celebration was crowned today; the winner was the Vila Isabel troupe that had been funded by Venezuela’s state oil company.
Notes for 2-28-06
Latin America Part II
-Urbanization began in 1950s; today 75% urbanized
-Urban primacy: a country has a primate city 4 times larger than any other city in the country.
Urban reform
-Reflects colonial origins and contemporary growth
-Latin American City Model
-Squatter settlements: makeshift housing on land not legally owned or rented by urban migrants, usually is unoccupied open spaces in or near a rapidly growing city
-Mechanization of agriculture, population pressure, consolidation of lands
Patterns of Rural Settlement
-130 million people 25% live in rural areas
-Rural Landholdings
Latifundia: pattern of maintaining large estates
Minifundia: pattern associated with peasants farming small plots for their own subsistence
Agrarian reform: a popular, but controversial strategy to redistribute land to peasant farmers
- Agricultural Frontiers
Brazilian Amazon settlement is controversial
Provided peasants with land, tapped unused resources, shored up political boundaries
Population Growth and Movements
Rapid Growth throughout most of the century followed by slower growth
- Declining Total Fertility Rates (TFRs) since 1980s
- Asian Migration
Many Chinese and Japanese between 1870s and 1930s
New wave of immigrants from South Korea
- Latino Migration and Hemispheric Change
Economic opportunities spurred migrations within Latin America, or from Mexico to the U.S.
Political turmoil, civil wars caused migration
- 1500: population of 47 million; 1650:5 million
Largest populations on Indians today: Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia
Indians trying to secure recognized territory in their countries
Comarca: loosely defined territory similar to a providence or homeland, where Indians have political and resource control
Patterns of Ethnicity and Culture
Racial caste system under Spanish: blanco, mestizo, indio, negro
- Languages
About 2/3s Spanish speakers, 1/3 Portuguese speakers
Indigenous languages in central Andes, Mexico, Guatemala
- Blended Religions
90% Roman Catholic
-El Salvador, Uruguay have sizeable Protestant populations
Syncretic religions: blending of different beliefs
- Allows animist practices to be included in Christian worships
- Catholicism and African religions, with Brazils carnival as an example
Murder rates
In class when we talked about Columbia having the highest murder rates, I went online to find a chart that showed countries murder rates. I found out that Cololumbia does have the highest murder rate per capita with .6 murders per 1000 people, and was ranked 3rd in totals number of murders with 26,539 murders. The countries above Columbia in total number of murders was India, and Russia. The fact that a country as small as Columbia can have the 3rd most murders behind countries that are extremely larger than itself, tells me that Columbia has major issues.
Heres the article-
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_mur_percap
On Monday the 27th we started our notes on Latin America. This notes included a general introduction, some environmental geography, the climate, destruction of tropical rainforests, and urban environmental challenges. The trivia question was: What two South American countries do not border Brazil? the answer was: Ecuador and Chile. We also went to the pub to finish our GIS packet on Nafta and it's effects. Finally, we were given our South/Latin America physical map, which was due today. No other homework was given other then to start spacing our blogs out unstead of lumping them all together in a single time period (aka late Sunday night).
UAE-Ports Review
The issue that khblog presented in this post has raised much concern throughout the country regarding the safety of our ports. Here is another article on the proposed port management relationship with Dubai Ports.
Read the articles then answer three or more of the following questions.
In what cities would the Dubai-based company manage ports?
What is the Dubai-based company slated to control?
Why is the White House convinced that right decision has been made concerning the transaction?
What other countries operate port terminals in the United States? According to Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, why is the Dubai case different?
What relationship does the United States have with the United Arab Emirates, and why might that be a factor in the deal?
In what ways has the United Arab Emirates been linked to terrorism, and how does that factor into the debate?
Why are shipping industry experts “befuddled” by opposition to the Dubai deal?
According to Philip Damas, why is the location where port operation companies are based “irrelevant”? Why might company representatives consider the current outcry to be political?
What evidence do they point to as proof of their alliance with the United States against terrorism?
Why might the reaction against the company be “sending exactly the wrong message to the Arab world”?
Why is Mexico City sinking?
Today in Geo we discussed how Mexico City continues to sink eachyear, so I decided to do some research and here’s what I found:
The world's second most populous city is sinking at a rate of about three inches per year. Many cities have experienced this as well. For example, Venice, has sunk about 9 inches during the 20th century. But from here Venice's problems seem minimal. As a matter of fact, during the last century, Mexico City has sank about 30 feet!
But the most severe damage is taking place underground, where the subsiding soil is rupturing sewer lines, water pipes, and subway tunnels. As if these problems aren't serious enough, Mexico City sits on a major fault line, and the loss of ground water and collapsing soil have made the city more susceptible to earthquake damage.
So why is Mexico City sinking? Well, it's because the ancient aquifers that supply 72 percent of the city's ground water are being emptied faster than they can be refilled, and that is causing the ground to sink. Part of the reason the water is disappearing so quickly is that every year, 350,000 new people move to Mexico City, which is already bursting at the seams with 24 million residents.
Can anything be done to solve Mexico City's water problem? The water difficulties have become a degenerate circle: as the city expands, more water is pumped from the aquifer. As more is drawn out, the city submerges further. The sinkage bursts more underground water pipes, sending fresh water gushing into the sewers, disturbing the shortage, demanding more water to be pumped from the aquifer, and so on. The most evident solution is to stop pumping water from the aquifers. However, there are too many people and not enough other water sources for the city to stop using the aquifers completely. To help solve the water problem, the government has asked citizens to conserve and re-use water. But since the people of Mexico City are used to getting all the water they need from the city's old supply, this has proved to be easier said then done. If you were a city official, what would you do to solve the crisis?
Mexico City is sinking
I was just looking for some pretty intersting news and I came across this one. According to CNN, pirates are not an uncommon occurence offthe coast of Somalia. These pirates are taking over a once peaceful port and demanding different things (drugs, money, item). I always knew they were in movies but never believed they were still in real life.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/02/27/pirates.reut/index.html
This article not only shocked me, it appalled me! After reading this article i question the techniques of Mexican officals. I am also worried at how quickly they blaimed three Canadian women. Did they even take into account that it could be someone from their own country? This article gives few details, but it does show lack of investigation.
Canadian or Mexican killers?
UAE-Ports Review
In past weeks the Bush Administration has been under harsh criticism for wanting to turn United States seaport security at 6 large ports to a foreign United Arab Emirates company. The criticism comes from the company being goveernment run and also because some of the 9/11 hijackers came from the UAE.
Recently, I found an article that said the company has submitted for a second review by the United States government. What this means is that the United States can watch the company's activity real closely over the next few months. It also means that the UAE company will have little control over the US branch. Instead, the United States seaports will be managed by an executive from until May 1. Also, part of the agreement is that the company would leave the United States in control of much of the paperwork. From the article, it sounds like the United States would basically have some control if the deal were to go through, but the UAE company will be getting the profits. It's a controversial issue and many were very opposed to it, but now Peter King, a House rep. from New York is saying that the planned "emergency legislation" to stop the deal that gives security control to the UAE may be held off.
I personally belive that the United States government or a United States firm should be in control of security. It makes little sense for a foreign company, especially one that is government owned, to be in control of the United States seaports. To me it goes beyond security, it's just common sense.
Article
Digital Divide
We have talked a bit about what is called the 'digital divide' in class. This refers to the idea that in current and future generations, people who dont have access to the internet are deprived in a sense. That is to say, those who are without a computer arent able to stay as current as far as news or access the same educational sources as others. While this holds a lot of truth, and I agree with the fact that this is happening, I believe that with globalization, the problem will be fixed in time. True, students that go to Sartell (or any other public school nationwide for that matter) are practically required to have a computer, but some have other opinions on the matter. Surprisingly, I found more articles against the theory of the 'digital divide' than for. One I read is quite opinionated, stating that the notion of the 'digital divide' and attempts to stop it are just another way to get taxpayers money. After reading it, it occurred to me that it would be quite profitable to computer company such as Microsoft to promote the idea of the digital divide, encouraging those who dont have computers to go buy at least one. In either case both sides make sense, its a tough call here. The link I found is below:
http://www.nationalcenter.org/P21NVGreenDivide400.html
During the Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, many valuable pieces of artwork were stolen, including Pablo Picasso's "The Dance," Salvador Dali's "The Two Balconies," Henri Matisse's "Luxembourg Garden" and Claude Monet's "Marine." The value of these pieces are in the tens of millions of dollars. The thieves even stole digital cameras, wallets, and cell phones off of visitors. It is a perfect situation for pickpockets because there are large amounts of people packed together. The four thieves escaped, and authorities searched airport and ports to no avail. They will continue to look for the artwork and hopefully prevent them from leaving Brazil. Theives are a big problem there, especially among tourists. They say that you should not flaunt anything valuable unless you want it to get stolen.
Let's face it, the internet is a prime example of the globalization of technology. More then ever, the internet is allowing someone from the U.S. to chat with a person in India, miles and miles away. At the same time you can go shopping online or play games at the touch of a button. To prove the domination of the internet, take this example, "The rapid diffusion of the Internet has been surprising: this technology is less than 4,000 days old yet it is already used by approximately 10% of the world’s population. In contrast, the telephone has existed for 125 years, but until a few years ago, half of the world’s population had never made a phone call." With this growing connectivity, people from all corners of the world are becoming linked together.
For Costa Rica, the internet arrived back in April of 1994. "Costa Rica, like Cuba, is one of only 15% of the countries in the world that still maintain a state-owned monopoly in the commercialization of Internet services ." Luckily, CAFTA (central american trade agreement) will put an end to the monopoly and allow black market companies to join the "formal economy." Therefore, if CAFTA is approved by congress, Costa Rica will gain the opportunity to have competition between local and international companies. I think this will be very beneficial for the country. This way, they'll have a variety of options to retrieve information and faster internet services.
*Check out this story for more unique facts and info.
COSTA RICA & INTERNET
The HIV virus has been a huge target of research and now there are some new developments that have been made that potentially could help us target the virus and stop it before it grows uncontrollably. They found that the HIV virus is controlled by a protein called LEDGF that tells the virus where it can attach on the DNA. They found that if you take away the LEDGF, the virus has a much harder time reproducing. The RNA must be turned into DNA, and if the infected cell's reproduction can be slowed down significantly during this process if this is taken away. This discovery also helps us in a new gene therapy method. They say that learning about the gene sequences will help them know how to treat genetic deseases. There is still much to be discovered about this, but the more they find, the easier it is to cure. We are on our way to fighting this disease.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4746926.stm
Friday Feb. 24, 2006
Today in class, we had our maps of Sartell due. Trivia: What countries are associated with NAFTA? Answer: United States, Mexico, and Canada. We did a NAFTA GIS is the Pub Lab. Homework: Read pages 74-84 in our book and do the correlating questions in our chapter four reading guide.
This article is about a coal mine in Mexico that exploded. There have been many people searching for survivors, but hope looks bleak. The air wouldn't have had enough oxygen to breathe and the methane and carbon dioxide spread to every corner. Plus, the temperatures raised to 1,110 degrees Fahrenheit. And yet, families continue to have hope and many are camping out next to the mine, waiting for either survivors or remains to be found. The company is giving money to the families for their loss, but most families don't want to accept the money because that would mean that the company would stop looking for the miners. 65 miners were trapped inside when the pre-dawn explosion happened last Sunday the 19th, and there is little hope that any survived. But one son of a miner declared that "faith and hope are the last things to go," he said. "I won't lose mine until they turn his body over to me."
read the story yourself at
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/02/25/mexico.mine.ap/index.html
Fish at 3M
There was news out today that fish tested in the Mississippi near a 3M plant turned up positive for a chemical called PFOS, which is used in carpets, fabrics, and paper products. Humans aren't at any risk right now because the chemical was found in fish blood, which is not consumed by humans, but it still has people worried. The Minnesota Senate environmental and natural resources committee have scheduled a hearing for Monday. This article somewhat goes along with the pollution that we were recently talking about in College Geo. This problem isn't about green house gases or acid rain, but nonetheless it is uneeded pollution. 3M did stop using this chemical in 2002 but the amount that was found in the river was 10 times higher than normal. This certainly raises some questions about how damaging this could be to that area and just how long a chemical like this will pollute the water since it hasn't been used since the year 2002. I think 3M was responsible by giving up use of the chemical and are taking responsiblity by using their own tests in fish as well. Companies that pollute the environment need to step up and take action for their responsibilities. My hope is that other companies will do the same and conduct their own tests and make reductions or cuts in their chemicals to better our environments.
Article
World Population Tops 6.5 Billion
I was reading this article on Friday, but waited to post it today because now our earth is over 6.5 billion people. According to the article, we hit 6.5 billion (estimate) at 7:16p.m. on Saturday night. Of course there's no possible way to hit 6.5 billion even because according to the article about 4 people are born every second. This article outlines some of the causes of our continuing rise in population and how different areas of the world have different factors that relate to how many people are born there. Our textbook says that 90% of the world's population is growing in developing countries. Some interesting numbers that I was able to pick out was that our earth is now 3.5 times more populated than it was in 1900 and we are expected to add 3 billion people to the world by the year 2050. By that time we will be getting into our 60's. The article shows a nice graph on how the population trend was in the past and how it should continue into the the future. The article did cite that one thing that hasn't changed is that the world is growing in areas that it can least afford to grow. I think now is the time to begin planning for this population increase because our earth will need to make accomadations for this.
Article
2-24-06
Hey everyone, on Friday we started out with class trivia and then went to the Computer Lab to work on a GIS. Mrs. Hartman will be giving us time on Monday to finish the GIS. For homework, read pages 74-84 and pick up a chapter 4 packet.
