Current Events #5

- Serbia offers $14m for Mladic 
- By: Not Stated, Source: Agencies
- 28 Oct 2010 18:05 GMT
- http://english.aljazeera.net/
- http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/10/2010102815143320435.html
- Th reward for the capture of Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic was increased.
- Serbia's government has increased the reward for the information or capture of Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic. Mladic is a former Bosnian Serb army commander and Hadzic is a former Croatian Serb Leader. Mladic's bounty rose from 1.4 million to 14 million and Hadzic's bounty rose from 350 thousand to 1.4 million. Both of these men are wanted fugitives by the UN court for war crimes. Mladic is accused of organizing the massacre of 8,000 Muslims and being the mastermind of the siege on the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. The siege killed about 10,000 people. Hadzic is charged with 14 accounts of war crimes and crimes against humanity such as the killing of Croatian civilians.
- When I read the title of the article I thought Serbia was trying to buy land from another country. When, I read a little bit of the article I learned that it's about two fugitives. Wanting to know more I continue to read on. It surprised me that there was actually a non-fictional person with such a high bounty as 14 million.
- The article was about a boost in the reward for information leading to the capture of a former Bosnian Serb army commander and a former Croatian Serb leader. When I was reading this article I remembered the things I learned from my homework. Serbia's government is willing to pay 14 million for the capture of Ratko Mladic. In my homework I learned about Nationalism. During the 1800s, many people wanted to build nation-states. One of the nation-states that was created during this time was Serbia.

Current Events #4

- In Studying Haiti, a New Angle on an Earthquake’s Intensity
- By: Henry Fountain
- October 18, 2010
-  http://www.nytimes.com/
- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/science/19quake.html?ref=americas
- A new study shows that the geometry of local surface features helped to increase the intensity of the earthquake that struck Haiti.
- In January, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 struck Haiti. Factors that contributed to the destruction of Haiti as well as the loss of many lives was the bad construction of many of the buildings and the closeness of Haiti to a fault. Scientists have also known that the geology of the location can increase the severity of a earthquake. Scientists has found a new factor which could affect the severity of a earthquake. Susan E. Hough and her colleagues has found evidence that the narrow ridge where many buildings were destroyed amplified the shaking of the earthquake. This information can help to create accurate models of how the earthquake is amplified as stated by Dominic Assimaki from Georgia Tech. According to Dr.Hough scientists that is developing microzonation maps can use the information to draw down the topography seen near the ridge to help Haiti properly rebuild as well as to survive another earthquake.
- During my freshmen year I heard about the earthquake in Haiti. I learned about how devastating the earthquake was in my Global History class. But after a while people just stopped talking about it and I soon forgot about it too. Finding this article, I remember what a tragedy it was and i chose this article to learn more about what happen or how it happen.     
-In class I've been learning about the Latin American Revolution. In one of my homework I had to read some pages in the online textbook. As I was reading I learned about a the French colony, Saint Domingue. Saint Domingue was the first colony in Latin America to win its independence. Shortly after declaring its independence, Saint Domingue was renamed to Haiti. Reading from the textbook, I learned a little of the history of a country that has been destroyed by a earthquake.

H.W. #16

Read the link, (it's a textbook link) and answer questions 1 & 4.
Please use complete sentences for question 4
1. TERMS & NAMES
Identify
• peninsulares- At the top of Spanish American society, men who were born in Spain and could hold high office in Spanish colonial government.
• creoles- Spaniards born in Latin America, ranked after the peninsulares. They couldn't hold high political office but could rise as officers in the Spanish colonial armies.
• mulattos- People of mixed Europeans and African ancestry.
• Simón Bolívar- A wealthy creole who helped many nations gained its independence such as Venezuela.
• José de San Martín- A general who helped Latin American's nations gained its independence such as Argentina.
• Miguel Hidalgo- A priest in the village of Dolores who issued a call for rebellion against the Spanish.
• José Morelos- The leader of the rebels who led the rebellion against eh Spanish after Miguel Hidalgo's defeat.

4. ANALYZING THEMES
Power and Authority
Consider the following statement: “Through its policies, Spain gave up its right to rule in South America.” Do you agree or disagree? Explain. Did Spain ever have the right to rule?
THINK ABOUT
• Spanish colonial society
• why independence movements arose
• who gained the power that Spain lost

In my opinion I disagree that Spain have had the right to rule over the  Spanish colonial society. Before the Spanish came, each colony in Latin America had already had a leader. But with the arrival of the Spanish, the leadership was placed in the hands of Spain. Spain doesn't have the right to rule what is not theirs. It isn't a right when the Spanish had to steal the leadership from the people through force and fear.

H.W. #15

1. What did he accomplish?
Simon Bolivar gave back the homeland to the people who had lost it to the Spaniard monarchy. He was appointed to be the president of Peru forever, but didn't accept the offer. He created the Republic of Colombia, which consists of countries that are known today such as Ecuador and Venezuela.

2. Why was he so famous?
Simon Bolivar was so famous because he helped many countries gained its independence from the Spanish Empire. Later on, he would become president of Venezuela as well as Peru.

3. Who did he work to defeat?
Simon worked to defeat the Spaniard monarchy.

4. What was he fighting for in the first place?
Simon Bolivar was fighting all the enemies of his home country of Venezuela in order to free the people that was oppressed by the Spaniard monarchy.

4. Name 5 countries that are mentioned in the video, and what he did in each of the five countries (listen carefull! The narrator talks fast and you may have to replay it).
France- Simon witnessed the coronation of Napoleon in Notre Dame.
Republic of Colombia- Simon was the creator and president of this country.
Ecuador- A interview takes place with Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin.
Spain- Simon married María Teresa Rodríguez del Toro y Alaiza in 1802.
Peru- Simon meets Manuela Sáenz, a lover of Bolivar.

HW #14

Read the textbook section on Napolean Bonaparte (pp 584 - 588).
Look at the map on page 588. List all the countries he controlled in Europe.
-Spain
-Confederation of the Rhine
-Italy
-Kingdom of Naples
-Grand Duchy of Warsaw
-Switzerland

1. TERMS & NAMES
Identify
• Napoleon Bonaparte-A short man, who was born in 1796 and eventually became emperor of France.
• coup d’état-A sudden seizure of power.
• plebiscite-A vote of the people.
• lycée- A government-run public school.
• concordat- An agreement.
• Napoleonic Code- A system of laws that gave a country a uniform set of laws and took away many injustices. It also limited many of the individual rights won during the French Revolution.
• Battle of Trafalgar-The only major battle that Napolean lost during the war with the Third Coalition.

3. FORMING AN OPINION
There is an old question: “Do the times make the man, or does the man make the times?” In your opinion, was Napoleon the creator of or the creation of his times?
THINK ABOUT
• the government after the Terror
• Napoleon’s defense of France
• Napoleon’s popularity
Napoleon was the creation of his times. This all began when he successfully defended the delegates on the National Convention. Soon, he would continue to win many of his battles, which gave him power and popularity. After losing a battle, he returns to France. By that time, the Directory had lost the confidence of the French people and control over the political situation. Urged by Abbé Sieyès, Napoleon set in plan to seize political power. If the Directory had never lost their control of the situation and the confidence of the people, Napoleon might have never been asked to seize power. It is for this reason that Napoleon has become who he is because of the time he was in.

4. ANALYZING THEMES-Power and Authority
To keep his empire together, Napoleon had to deal with forces both inside and outside the French Empire. In your judgment, which area was more crucial to control?
THINK ABOUT
• the length of the period of civil
unrest in France
• the power and activities of the
other European nations
In my opinion I think that in order to keep his empire together, the most crucial area to control was the forces inside the French Empire. If Napoleon doesn't keep everyone inside under control, it can lead to another revolution. When this happens his forces will have to fight of the rebels. His enemies will ally themselves with the rebels, and Napoleon will have more trouble.

Finally, watch this 5-minute video about how he came to power in France.
Describe in ONE paragraph how Napolean came to control the French government.
Napoleon was once a lieutenant, but as he rise through the ranks, he came to control the government of the French government. As a lieutenant, Napoleon defended the delegates of the National Convention. His success made him a hero and savior of the French republic. Later on, he won a series of battles as general against the forces of Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia. Soon, he will suffer a defeat in Egypt by the British. Managing to keep his defeat a secret, he returns France. Due to his popularity and power, he is asked to seize power from the Directory. Setting a plan with his wife, Napoleon manages to become one of the three consuls. In 1800, a vote was made by the people who wanted a strong leader. The vote gave all real power to Napoleon.

Current Events #3

- Double Bombing Hits Karachi Shrine
- By Huma Imtiaz
- October 7, 2010
- http://www.nytimes.com/
- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/world/asia/08pstan.html?ref=world
- A Sufi Shrine in the city of Karachi was hit by two bombs.
- In Pakistan's main port city, Karachi, two explosions struck a crowded Sufi shrine on Thursday evening. The attacks seems to be the work of suicide bombers but it not confirmed yet. The two explosions killed at least 7 people and wounding 65 others. The first blast struck the main gate of the Karachi shrine, and within 25 seconds the second blast struck the steps which led to Saint Abdullah Shah Ghazi's grave as stated by police officials. Victims of the attack have serious injuries such as trauma to the head and neck. From the ruins of the attack, two severed heads believed to be the suicide bombers was recovered. Later on it was reported that the attack was organized by the Movement of Taliban.
- I chose this news story because it was shocking that someone would blow themselves up just to attack a sacred place, such as a shrine. The attackers shocked me that they would pick the day it is most crowded to launch their attack, not even caring about their own lives, and dragging children to their deaths. Atfter reading this article, I'm began to think if it was even the Movement of Taliban that arranged the attack. I don't get why they would reveal themselves so easily.
- In the article, it said that people were injured and killed by the bombs exploding. This reminded me of the Reign of Terror. During this time, countless numbers people was killed by the guillotine. 2,100 people was killed during the last 132 days of the reign of terror. Just as the guillotine was a device used to kill many people, bombs such as the ones used in the attack of the Karachi shrine has the ability to kill many people as well as bring terror to the faces of many people. 

HW # 11

ON PAGE 574 Examine the chart and answer the "SKILL BUILDER"questions #1 and #2.

ON PAGE 575 answer the "CONNECT TO TODAY" question ... examine the paintings, and describe how poor people look (in America; 2010) and how rich people look (in America; 2010)

1. How do the chart and the graphs help explain the political cartoon?
In the cartoon the First and Second Estates are standing on top of the Third Estates. It can be seen that the First and Second Estates have most of the power during this time, while, the Third Estate acts as support. The graph and the chart explains how the Third Estate acts as support. In the chart it shows the population of each Estate, with the Third Estate with the most population. The graph shows the amount of tax that is being paid. Since, the Third Estate has the most population, most of the tax will be coming from them. The tax is used by the government for many things such as increasing military power or helping people in their wars. This clearly explains how in the picture the Third Estate acts as the supporting class.

2. Why might the First and Second Estates be opposed to change?
The First and Second Estates are opposed to change because change could mean having to lose some of their power or wealth. Any change can result in a positive or negative effect for the First and Second Estates. Even though there is a chance of a positive effect, the two estates probably wouldn't want to risk losing their powers or wealth. Change can cause them to have less power when the Estates begin to vote or they will have to pay higher taxes.

Contrasting - How would you visually convey the gap between rich and poor in your country?
The gap between rich and poor in my country is different from the way it was from the past. The rich has more money than the poor, allowing them to have more extravagant things, go to better schools, have beautiful homes, and much more. Even though they have more money the rich doesn't have much of an political impact as they once did in the past. The abundant amount of poor  have more power now in politics because they have the majority votes.

Examine the paintings, and describe how poor people look (in America; 2010) and how rich people look (in America; 2010)
In America today, poor people dress in many ways. The ones with the least or no money would have dirty or ragged clothes. Those with decent amount of money can afford better clothes. People would wear jeans, t-shirts, sweaters, and much more. The poor has many things to wear but their materials are not so good or is in bad condition. The rich on the other hand has much better clothes than the poor. Their clothing are made of better and expensive materials such as silk.

Current Events #2

- Making Math Lessons as Easy as 1, Pause, 2, Pause ...
- By Winnie Hu
- September 30, 2010
- http://www.nytimes.com/
- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/education/01math.html?_r=1&ref=education
- Schools are adopting a new math program referred to as "Singapore Math".
- Children in Franklin Lakes, NJ are beginning to be taught math based on a math program from Singapore. Schools in this district are aiming to increase the country's success through giving students a better understanding on numbers and mathematical ideas. One of the methods children are learning is being taught about the number one for a whole lesson. Research has suggested that students that are taught Singapore math score higher on tests. Students learning Singapore math as stated by Bill Jackson, a math coach who was watching a class as they learn, are taught using a three step teaching method. This method consists of concrete, pictorial, and abstract.
- I chose this news story because I knew there were different ways of teaching students to learn math. But I never knew that one method can cause students to enjoy math and increase their scores as with Singapore Math. In school, teachers don't always necessary teach students in many different ways but just in one. It's interesting that Singapore math covers 3 ways students can learn: visual, kinetic, and auditory.
- After reading the news article it reminded me of the Enlightenment and American Revolution. In the article, children are being taught using a method based on the Singapore national math system. This made me remember the story of Thomas Jefferson writing the Declaration of Independence. He had one week to do it but waited until the last day. The ideas he wrote into the Declaration of Independence were based of the ideas of philosophes from the Enlightenment such as Voltaire and John Locke.