1) Political and Economical Systems of the WorldPolitical systems: Democracy - Firstly in the U.S, other governments have followed after. In this government system, the leader of the country is decided by popular vote of the citizens. Versions include Direct Democracy and Representative Democracy, the difference between the two being that direct democracy is when the citizens vote for someone to do something important, and representative democracy is when the citizens vote for someone who represents what they believe, and will do what the people want them to do.Communism - Government system ruled by weapons or money, invented by a few key people (such as Marx and Fidel, of the Soviet Union and Cuba). Whoever's got the most money or weapons has the power to control everything. This is usually ruled by an exclusive group of military officials, or a single person with a close council; the goal is usually to make everyone equal in almost every aspect. Government controls businesses and jobs of citizens.Monarchy - There are two types; Absolute monarchies (where one person, in power due to heredity, makes all the country's decisions) and Constitutional Monarchy, where the king or queen is decided by heredity, but they have virtually no power. Country examples include modern Great Britain (constitutional) and medieval Great Britain (absolute).Dictatorship - One person rules with an iron fist. Also usually military-based, only instead of being for the greater good as in communism, it is for that person's personal gain, to accomplish their single goal. Examples are ww2 Germany, ruled by Hitler and his Nazi supporters.Anarchy - A form of government in which there is no government; the people fend for themselves in an anarchy, and they live in a state of chaos. These usually occur after civil wars, natural disasters, etc. In other words, a failed state. Country example includes: Somalia.Capitalism - An economic system in which companies are privately owned, with little government interference. Country example is the U.S.A, which is also a democracy.2) In the United States, there are two main political parties: the Democrats and the Republicans.Republicans, in general, tend to stick to the conservative old-time rules and traditions. Democrats on the other hand are all for change, letting the government get involved with people by giving them more options, in a way. For example: Republicans are against abortion (believing that the fetus is indeed a human, and consider getting an abortion to be murder), where Democrats are pro-choice (believing that the fetus is not a human yet, and whether or not to get an abortion should be the mother's choice, and others have no right to interfere); Republicans are against gay marriage (believing that marriage, according to the Bible and other holy books, is a sacred bond between a man and a woman, not two men or two women) but the Democrats are for it (believing, again, that it is not for other people to judge what individuals decide). Republicans are for prayer in schools (believing in freedom of speech and religion) and Democrats are against it (saying it is a distraction and what-not). As for taxes....Republicans dislike them but believe everyone should be taxed equally. Democrats are fine with them, so long as the rich are taxed more than the poor. (These are just a few of many, MANY topics we discussed...and I myself am probably more of a Republican)3) Global WarmingThe causes of global warming are numerous. but debate on whether or not human pollution is the main cause continues to rage (although it is agreed that it is a contributing factor). Actually, there is debate on whether or not global warming even exists, despite overwhelming evidence; Senator James Inhoffe is one of the biggest critics, who says its all a bunch of media hype. However, the evidence in places such as the infamously shrinking Lake Chad (in the Sahara Desert, parts of Niger and Chad) and the Arctic Circle, where glaciers are melting rapidly, state quite clearly that it is certainly happening. In any case, one of the possible main causes of global warming is the amount of pollutants we humans put into the atmosphere on a regular basis; the pollutants (greenhouse gases) clog the atmosphere and prevent more heat from escaping into outer space. So, the earth's temperature is slowly rising.The effects? Lake Chad is shrinking, causing millions of people to become displaced (no water-> no food->no people) and diseased, having much less water and food to live on hen they wold otherwise. In the arctic circle, the ice is melting; entire islands are being uncovered, and polar bears' habitats are shrinking. In the southern pacific, there are sinking islands with inhabitants who have been forgotten.4) Overpopulation.....this was a very sad topic to learn about, especially parts of the video with the abortions going on. Anyway, causes are mainly a lack of education and decent environments; women in places such as Africa have little or no education on how to prevent becoming pregnant, nor about the consequences of having too many children. Unfortunately, neither do the men. And if they do, they don't care as much (women in such places get little or no respect from men, and must do as they are told quietly and without complaint). Overpopulation as defined in the video we watched was not how many people are in a country, but how much effect that person has on their environment; so, in a sense, the U.S.A is just as overpopulated as places like Africa, what with all our polluting as such.Effects of overpopulation are obvious: a lack of enough food to go around, jobless people and homeless people, etc. Also; deforestation in an effect, since having more people requires more space, both for living in and growing food in. Deforestation also leads back to global warming, what with all the burning of trees and all.5) The Impact of Globalization - Basically, from the videos we watched, we learned that Americans are going to lose their high-up position to other countries, just like England did a hundred years ago. Because, like England was, we are currently rated among the best of the best for most things, but if we take that for granted, it will slip away from us. Globalization has been defined in three stages: 1) way back when, when countries began to explore the world and their limits and what-not 2) also way back when, but closer, when companies began to broaden their horizons and 3) now, present-day, when individuals led (and are leading) the way for opportunity and wealthiness. Because of everything happening now, such as equal-opportunity job support, everyone everywhere has a chance to do everything they want; so, someone in China could simply move to America or Europe if they were in need of a job, and vice-versa. This type of thing is bad news for us Americans, though, since other places have many more people and resources than we do and would give better benefits to expanding companies. The "playing field" of the world is leveling out, and if we aren't ready for it we will be left behind....is what this means.7) Recent current events(Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Darfur, Rwanda, Somalia)In Iraq; almost 20 years ago (in 1990), we went to war with Iraq to stop them from invading Kuwait, which was a valuable oil resource for us at the time (and still is today). That was a relatively short war, compared to the one we started again in 2003; the reasoning for which was mainly terrorist-inspired, after the al-Qaeda took down our Twin Towers. We called this our "War on Terrorism", and after we caught Saddam Hussein (who denied that Iraq had anything to do with the Twin Towers incident, and had not been hiding weapons of mass destruction), we stayed there to stabilize Iraq's government, install democracy, and keep the terrorist associations at bay. That war also spread into Iran and Afghanistan, who also harbored terrorists and nuclear weapons...In Afghanistan; Afghanistan is the main location of the al-Qaeda terrorist group, which is still causing trouble for our troops. We are also there to help stabilize their government, and keep the al-Qaeda from seizing control. The al-Qaeda are working towards their goal of "global Jihad"....In Iran; currently led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who hates American-ish stuff (basically all our ideas and values, plus our influences in the Middle East) and Ahmadinejad, the president (who is substantially more famous than Khamenei) who wants to destroy the Jews and wants Americans to stop their meddling...concerning nuclear weapons, the UN have done nothing to enforce their laws, so Iran is (almost) freely making them. At first they tried to hide this, but the United States suspected them and did a search, and found the weapons. But, the UN still isn't doing anything about it, so Iran still has the nuclear weapons, only now they aren't trying to hide them.In Darfur; much more recent than the Rwanda genocide, the happenings in Darfur are eerily similar. Basically, Afro-Arabs (African Arabians) in the country of Sudan have been attacking Black Africans since February of 2003. The government of Sudan has been accused of working with the Janjaweed (an Afro-Arab rebel group, one of the main killers of Black Africans) against the Black Africans and in favor of the Afro-Arabs, and are also accused of hiding mass graves. Journalist have not been able to peacefully enter the country to confirm these rumors about the mass graves. The UN does not consider this to be a genocide, but the United States (among other countries) does. So, the UN is there, peacekeeping, with the help of the SLA (Sudanese Liberation Army) and the JEM (Justice and Equality Movement). This civil war of sorts was declared officially over by the president of Sudan, but we do not believe this to be totally true.In Rwanda; April, 1994, the Hutu rebel group called Interhomwe led a 100-day killing spree on the Tutsis, massacring over 800,000 people (mainly consisting of Tutsis, although many were also moderate Hutus....10 were UN officers). It started when the then-president of Rwanda (who was a Hutu) was murdered, his plane shot down by an unknown person or group. Naturally, the Hutus blamed the Tutsis (saying they were trying to take over Rwanda), but the Tutsis blamed the Hutus (saying they were against the peace treaty the president had just signed). And, they so quickly blamed each other because of the huge grudges they held against each other, the origin of which came from the Belgians. The Belgians colonized Rwanda in the early 1900's, and left in around 1950, leaving the Hutus and Tutsis with very little governmental structure. In any case, while the Belgians were there, they oppressed the Hutus in favor of the Tutsis, who were taller and lighter skinned. Once they left, the Hutus (who were the majority population) took over and began oppressing the Tutsis due to their obvious resentment for them. This caused a Tutsi rebel group to form....which is who the Hutus blamed all Tutsis for collaborating with when the president was killed in the plane accident, which led to mass slaughtering. But, in the end, it was the Tutsi rebel group that stopped the Interhomwe. Now there is a Tutsi president, and things have become relatively normal in Rwanda...In Somalia; the best example of an anarchy, Somalia is a failed state....the people govern themselves, although they do a terrible job of it. Gangs run wild, money is inefficient and scarce, the people live in poverty and are in constant fear. Currently, a number of terrorists groups are in a sort of battle for power...when citizens are asked to pick a side (usually being bribed with money or food) they are in a difficult situation, since any choice they make could result in death. Education and jobs are both hard to come by.And....that concludes my Semester Blog! I had fun in this class, might miss it, too....or not. We'll see. =)
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