Planet Earth

Congratulations on the end of the year everyone! The world is yours this summer. Go out and explore all it has to offer!

Name Search

I found that when searching my last name on www.publicprofiler.org/worldnames/ I found that my name is most common in the U.K. and is also common in Australia, USA, and New Zealand. This makes sense as I am half British and all of the countries with the highest numbers (besides the UK) were all at some point in history colonies of the British Empire. So it looks like I have some very distant relatives across the world.

You Tube Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElpzfM5knYA&feature=related

Here included is a clip about the December 26 tsunami that struck Indo-China in 2004. The tsunami took a huge deathtoll, and caused massive destruction on a wide scale across southeast Asia. In this clip you will learn about many geographical features in the area, and the potential hazards from natural disasters in the area.

Bizarre Foods...

What kinds of strange food have you eaten? There is so much out there all over the world, not all of it pleasing to the eye, but there is no denying... you've got variety!

Probably the strangest food I have ever eaten is calamari. I personally think it is delicious, and it is a popular staple in far eastern cuisine as well. Many people from the west may have an aversion to it because of the texture of it (its kinda chewy), and also because though it is becoming popular, its not a very common thing to come across calamari at a western restaurant.

At the G-20 summit in London this April, 20 countries were included. They are as follows:

-Argentina -Australia -Brazil -Canada -China -France -Germany -India -Indonesia -Italy -Japan -Mexico -Russia -Saudi Arabia -South Africa -South Korea -Turkey -United Kingdom -United States of America

Seen here are the leaders of the twenty member countries in London for the 2009 summit. They are working hard to devise solutions to the global economy's woes, and the word is that the going is successful.

Google Earth...

Here we have a rotated view of the earth over the southernmost tip of South America, and the northernmost tip of Antarctica. South America is the closest continent to Antarctica, with the distance between these two tips at little over 600 miles. I just found this interesting because South America is almost always seen as a lush tropical place, but you never hear much of the sub polar regions to the south, where the world's most mysterious continent is a boatride away.

"Slumdog Millionaire"

I found this movie very entertaining, and informative. It portrays life in India as very hard at some points in the movie. As Jamal is taken and begins to tell the story of his life in the slums, we are taken back and see all of the hardships that affect so many people there. Overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, gang violence, and poverty among others. Life definitely can be hard there, but I like to say that the greatest lessons are learned in the worst tragedies, and this movie definitely fits the bill. Jamal is fathered by his brother in the movie, with only his guidance at a young age, and as time passes he finds his true love, and then tragically loses her. There was also the glitzy side of the movie though. Some scenes in Mumbai show the hustle and bustle of a city that is the up and coming hollywood. Some scenes in the movie show the fantasy world of television, where a boy from the slums becomes a millionaire. I think this movie shows how different things can be anywhere you go. In the West, we live with a strong central government and a good quality of life for the most part. But some things we take for granted are hard to come by elsewhere. In India, and indeed many places in the Eastern Hemisphere, there is overcrowding in citys because of the massive population in China and India, and poverty is also a big issue. The movie also shows the differences between cultures in the west and in India.

Spring Break 09

I had a great time on spring break. I am from St. Charles MO about 10 minutes away from St. Louis, so when I go home I have a long drive. The distance is about 450 miles and can be covered in about 7-8 hours. On my trip home I go through 3 different states. I have to travel east on Nebraska Hwy 2 for a lon time before crossing into Iowa, and taking I-29 all the way to Kansas City MO, where I then take I-70 all the way to St Louis. It is a somewhat interesting drive as at three separate times on this drive you cross over the Missouri river. Also when traveling south through Missouri, if you have a keen eye for geological features, you can observe how the landscape is shaped by the mighty glaciers that retreated north thousands of years ago, and how as you travel further south you come to the beginnings of the Ozark Hills, which at some time long long ago were a fairly large mountain range. Arriving home was great. I got to spend a lot of time with family and friends, and had a welcome week of relaxation away from school.

Aid to Africa

In the case of Africa, there are many exceptional circumstances there that affect people on such a wide scale that it is hard to ignore. Many of their people suffer from lack of food, proper shelter, and fear for their lives from genocidal militants. Although we cannot deny that many of the funds gone to Africa have been diverted to currupt leadership or militant leaders. I believe we must both continue with financial aid, and unilaterally work with leaders of African Countries and the UN and NATO forces to try and keep some kind of peace in the region, and remove corrupt and homicidal leaders. Once that is done, more focus can be given to developing stronger government and infrastructure.

Human Development Indexes

Relating to Human Development Indexes I examined, the U.S ranks well for all 4 topics of life expectancy, GDP per capita, HDI values as of 2006, and Combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio (%). However Zambia, a sub-Saharan country, ranks very low in all of these categories as well as Adult literacy rate, a statistic not mentioned in the U.S. HDI. I believe that Sub-Saharan countries rank so low for combined reasons. One is the fact that much of that area of Africa is unexplored wilds. Rainforests and wild savannahs cover much of it, and human population is sparse as the natural aspects there can be quite unforgiving, as well as the wildlife. Also, the fact that many of these countries have somewhat unorganized or corrupt governments show that the well being of humans and human development is hard in the area. Most African countries are also highly underdeveloped when it comes to technology, which can also play a role. All of this contrasts to the United States where our culture and technology have hugely evolved and adapted, as well as our govt, economy, and industry.

Nat Geo Photo

This is a picture of Tavurvur Volcano in Papua New Guinea. This is a dramatic lava eruption accented by what is called volcanic lightning, which while spectacular, is a fairly common occurence. But yet its causes are not quite known, but it is belived to have something to do with static electricity. I chose this picture because is shows natures beauty, but also its potential fury.

Lifting of the Cuban Trade Embargo?

In Cuba it seems that the travel ban and trade embargo may be lifted. I think that this may be a great idea. It really seems that the communist regime there is coming to an end, and provided democracy makes a comeback there, it would be a welcome help to the Cuban economy and infrastructure. Also many dorrs would be open for the Cuban people. Because of the embargo, many cuban people live with old technology. If the embargo was lifted I believe the quality of life would improve there dramatically. Lifting the travel ban would also be a welcome boost Cuban tourism, and would surely be successful as Cuba is a beautiful place that many Americans would love to travel to.

Current Events in Latin America

Today in Latin America, Bogata Columbia more specifically, Columbia's most wanted drug lord was captured in a large raid into the jungle by Columbiam police officers. Here in this picture, Daniel Rendon Herrera the captured drug lord, is being led off tho the capital restrained. He is to possibly be extradited to the U.S. since he is responsible for the shipping of at least 100 tons of cocaine there. Referenced in the link here, http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-world-latinamerica/20090415/LT.Colombia.Drug.Lord/ , Herrera is one of the most feared traffikers in the world and his orginization believed to be responsible for at least 3000 murders. This related to our discussions as we know latin america has always been a region where drugs have been a problem, and in relation to the border fence article, many of those drugs have made their way into the U.S. across the border.

The image below is a map that shows the amount of military spending in the year 2002, taken from this site http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=279. I chose this map because of what it says about not just our country but the world as a whole. Included in this map is also the amount of money spent an military assistance to other countries. Although this map is not totally up to date, it shows how much money is spent purely for war. Referenced on the link, the U.S. was responsible for 45% of the worlds military spending in 2002. This link shows how it is a rough place out there. It also shows you a bit of history. Notice the U.S. is highly bloated in this map. When this map was made in 2002, the U.S. was of course in the beginnings of war in Afghanistan, and later on in Iraq. This shows the high price of war, and though the map doesn't show it, the effects can be long reaching.

Yellowstone National Park

By far, the most interesting place I have been is Yellowstone National Park. There is no place in the world that is like yellowstone. The entire park is an ancient area of volcanic activity. It is located directly above a hotspot, which is a large chamber of magma beneath the surface of the earth that slowly rises to the surface. The entire park is a caldera, which is a giant collapsed depression where a supervolcano once stood. There are thousands of geothermal features in the park like geysers (ie. Old Faithful), hot springs and various features created by bacteria and mineral deposits. The entire area is flush with vegetation and wildlife like salmon, bald eagles, deer, wolves, buffalo, bighorns, antelope, and grizzly bears, plus many many more. The entire area is on the fringes of the rocky mountains and is very scenic. It is the most interesting place I have been because of the sights you see there. Everything there from the wildlife to the earth has something unique and special about it. The things you see there you cannot see anywhere else on earth. All of this made it a special place for me, including the fact that I went there on family vacation with my mom and dad. It was a great place to admire nature, and spend time with the ones close to you.