1/5/11

today we finished the movie on north Korea. I learned alot about the two countries

Two Korea's: One tense situation

1.       The Democratic People’s Republic of Koreahttp://www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/korea_n.htm

2.       Kim Jong-il is the Supreme Leader of The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.  He was born on February 16, 1941.  His father was Kim Il-sung founded the state.  He graduated from college in 1964 and quickly rose through the ruling Korean Workers' Party (KWP). In 1992, his father publicly stated that his son was in charge of all internal affairs in the DPRK.  Recently, Kim Jong-Il has been grooming his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, to be his successor.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il

3.       The Americans and Soviet Union won WW II. They decided to split up Korea into the South and North Korea. The Soviet Union was to receive North Korea and the Americans got South Korea. North Korea invaded South Korea, to gain control over them. They did not think that America could stop them, but they did. The Soviet Union and America were unable to agree on implementation of the Joint Trusteeship over Korea and decided to give each Korea their own governments in 1984.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_North_Korea

4.       http://www.theodora.com/maps/korea_north_map.html


5.       To the north west of North Korea is China and to the south of it is South Korea. The bodies of water surrounding it are the Sea of Japan, Korean Bay, and the Yellow Sea.http://www.intute.ac.uk/worldguide/html/980_map.html

6.       The 38^th parallel is the name given to the line that demarcates North and South Korea. U.S. military planners chose this at the Potsdam Conference.http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/592578/38th-parallel

7.       The North Koreans hate the South Koreans. This hatred is what started the Korean war, which really truly is not over. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qWGjHuH42ZcZ_DlR8h7n-hox3HxuwtERUJK4o9v27QI/edit?hl=en#

8.       North Korea, after the Korean war was over, had only half the population South Korea had but was lucky enough to have the most industrial and natural resources. It remained in the communist block and rebuilt itself, with their leader Kim Il-Sung. In the late 1960’s North Korea’s propaganda apparatus wove itself a personality cult around him. North Korea now is the most closed of countries in the world. Kim keeps the people of North Korea strictly under his rule, allowing them to believe what he wants them to believe. http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-26/world/north.korea.explainer_1_north-korea-kim-il-sung

9.       I could not find a specific reference to the U.N.’s position on North Korea’s relationship with South Korea.  However, looking through some of the recent article on the U.N.’s News Centre on North Korea leads me to believe that they do not want to take sides on who is right or wrong, but want the North and South to work peacefully on resolving their differences.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=69&Body=democratic+people&Body1=Korea

10.   North Korea’s major city is Pyeongyang. http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/asia/north-korea/cities.htm

11.   The North Korean army is the fourth largest in the world. They have and estimated 1.21 million armed personnel. North Korea has the highest of military personnel per capita with 1 enlisted soldier for every 25 citizens.  Military expenditures account for 15.8% of the state budget and they operate a lot of heavy machinery such as tanks and jets. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea_north

12.   It is the ultimate military weapon that North Korea can threaten South Korea and other countries with.  Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s The North Korean government worked to establish its nuclear program.  Also during this time they entered into agreements to stop making nuclear weapons.  However, they never lived-up to those agreements and on October 9, 2006, they announced that they had conducted a nuclear test that was later confirmed. http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/dprk/nuke/index.html

13.   China is the closest ally to North Korea.  Even though China has recently implemented UN sanctions on North Korea they still provide a lot of economic support in order to maintain North Korea’s stability.  Kim Jong-Il describes their relationship as “unbreakable.”  http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm#foreign

14.   North Korea is considered a closed state, which means they do not let people in, but they do not let people out either.  It is also because North Korea has a Juche government, which has absolute control over its citizens telling them what they can and cannot do, or even what they can and can’t say.http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_cant_people_in_North_Korea_leave_North_Korea

15.   North Korea has a record of consistent, severe human rights violations beginning with the country’s total control of the people.  Reported human rights abuses include: lengthy imprisonment, torture and degrading treatment, forced labor, public execution, and many more severe punishments.  http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm

16.   North Korea uses the press to politically control their people.  They manipulate the news to always show the government in a positive light and that economic conditions, like crop failures and starvation, are always good.  http://www.articlesbase.com/ethics-articles/north-korean-press-3853997.html

17.   Elections in North Korea are mostly a formality because most candidates are handpicked by Kim Jung-Il and the ruling party. Officially, the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), is the highest organ of state power.  Its members are elected every 4 years.  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/world/asia/09iht-north.1.20696199.htmland http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm#gov

18.   North Korea and the United States’ relationship have been filled with continuous confrontation and mistrust since 1954. North Korea views the U.S. as the strongest imperialist force in the world and the U.S. views North Korea as an international outlaw. http://countrystudies.us/north-korea/68.htm

19.   North Korea’s economy is one of the most centrally directed and least open economies. Their GDP (officially exchange rate) is 27.3 billion and their GDP (per capita) is 1,800 dollars. North Korea’s labor force is 20 million, ranking 31st in the world.   They are not healthy and thriving.  Because of their closed society and centrally controlled government of everything they have problems with food shortages and poor living conditions.  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html

20.   Traditionally the religious makeup of the country has been Buddhist and Confucianism. However, people are not allowed to practice their own religion in public.  The government does sponsor some religious activities, but this is only to provide an illusion of religious freedom.  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html

21.   North Korea launched an attack on South Korea, dropping artillery shells over Yeonpyong.   The attached came a few days after America discovered they had a secret facility with increased amounts of uranium enrichment that could advance their capital’s nuclear ambitions.  The attack is significant because it continues the already high tensions between the two countries. http://nationaljournal.com/nationalsecurity/u-s-condemns-north-korean-attack-on-south-korea-20101123?page=1

22. Laura Ling was a journalist and her sister, Lisa Ling was the host of National Geographic and reports frequently for the Oprah Winfrey show and CNN. Laura Ling was over near the China- South Korea border filming a documentary, with her fellow journalist Euna Lee. The two journalists were taken into custody in North Korea and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in one of their prison camps. Her sister states: “…There was never any intention to go anywhere near the North Korean border.” The only way that the North Koreans were going to release the two women, were if the U.S. sent former president Clinton to speak with Kim Jong-il. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126613763

1/3/11

Today was a fun day because it was my birthday so the class sang happy birthday to me and i got to where a hat. Today in class we started a new section and instead of Asia we are now learning about Korea and the Differences between North and South Korea.

10/13

Today in class my group and I worked on gathering research for our project. I am researching about the poverty of India. I hope our project turns out well.

12/8

Today in class we didn't get to watch a lot of the movie because people needed to turn in work that was late before we started. It took a whole mod before we were watching it.

Hard Times For India

 Today in India there are many problems with human trafficking, child exploitation, and forced labor. India is one of the worst countries with these problems, and it needs to be stopped.

                Human Trafficking is when people own other people and they put them up for trade or money. This is a giant problem in India because some people think that they can own other people and make them do a lot of jobs for them. Human Trafficking is basically like slavery, and slavery is completely wrong and you should not be a loud to make other people do work for you unless they are getting paid in some way.

                Another huge problem in India is child exploitation and that is when people will use children to have sex with or just get pleasure from. An estimated number of 158 million children at the ages of 5-14 are engaged in child labor because they were rapped or forced into bad situations. I think that this is disgusting and that they should not ever be putting children into these problems, because then the young girl will have to deal with a little child and raise it while she is still being raised.

                The other main problem in India is forced labor. Forced labor is a horrible problem because while they are doing the labor and getting threatened they are most likely not getting any food or drink, and both of these things could lead to death for the person anyway. It should be a law in India that people cannot make you do anything and if they are you betting be getting a little bit of pay.

                I think India needs to work on many of these problems and I hope everything gets betting for the people in that country. 


https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html

India Essay 12/6

So far in human geography class, I have learned a lot of stuff about India. I have learned about India’s population, India’s poverty, India’s problems with human trafficking, and the life in the slums of Mumbia. I also think that the movie Slum Dog Millionaire is a good and honest example of India, because it has all the problems and poverty that India in real life has. 

                In India poverty is a huge problem and many people are homeless or dying because they don’t have money to get themselves food or water. Many people live in shanti towns, which is basically a bunch of trash pulled together to make a house for themselves. It is sad to think about it because India has a population of 1,173,108,018 and 25% of all those people are living under the poverty line in India. Also another huge problem is Human Trafficking. This is when people own other people and they put them up for trade or money. This is a giant problem in India because some people think that they can own other people and make them do a lot of jobs for them. Human Trafficking is basically like slavery, and slavery is completely wrong and you should not be a loud to make other people do work for you unless they are getting paid in some way.     

                The lives in the Slums of Mumbia are very difficult, many people have barely any money and they will do absolutely anything to get some money to get themselves food or water. The people in the slums are very poor and the shanti towns that they usually live in are very crowded and busy.

                The movie Slum Dog Millionaire is a great example of real India because it shows pretty much everything in that movie. It shows the poverty, the trafficking, what people will do for money, and how the people live in the conditions. I have learned a lot from the movie and I hope we continue to watch it in class.

                I have learned a lot in class about India and their problems and I hope to continue learning about them and hopefully it will get better in their country.

12/3

     In India there are major problems such as forced labor, commercial sexual exploitation, and human trafficking. They force men, women, and children into doing certain things. India has been on the Tier 2 watch for five years in a row. They have failed to show evidence that they are trying to end human trafficking. Human trafficking is the practice of slavery in our world today. It is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. Billions of dollars are made each year from human trafficking. Mostly the women and girls are used for commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage. The children are usually used for forced labor as factory workers, domestic servants, beggars, and agriculture workers. It is founded that around 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficking each year in just the United States. Annually around 200,000 American children are highly at risk for trafficking in the sex industry. Bombay is Asia’s largest sex-trade center. India has around 1.3 million children that work in sex-trade centers. They take the children from very poor areas and use them. In India there are about 10 million prostitutes. It was found that 2.5% of prostitutes that are in India are Nepalese and 2.7% are Bangladeshi. 20% of the women that prostitute are under the age of 18. Almost 200 women and young girls start prostituting each and every day. 80% of those girls are forced into doing it. It is terrible that 95% of the children that are born from a prostitute will become prostitutes themselves. This will only increase the amount of people trafficking. This issue continues to just get worse and worse. To make things worse 60% of prostituted women are infected with STDs and AIDS. That means that they are spreading and catching different diseases.

12/2

 1. Compare the motion picture industry in India and the United States

- The United States has the oldest film industry (and largest in terms of revenue), and Los Angeles (California), is the primary nexus of the U.S. film industry. The Indian film industry is multi-lingual and the largest in the world in terms of ticket sales and number of films produced. The industry is supported mainly by a vast film-going Indian public, and Indian films have been gaining increasing popularity in the rest of the world—notably in countries with large numbers of expatriate Indians. One third of the Indian film industry is mostly concentrated in Mumbai (Bombay), and is commonly referred to as "Bollywood" as an amalgamation of Bombay and Hollywood. The remaining majority portion is spread across North, West and South India (in Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, oriya, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu speaking areas). India makes 3 times as many as the U.S. The U.S makes like 600. Yet U.S is number one in sales. They get more money than India. 


2. What are the names of the three main characters (the "three musketeers") in Slumdog Millionaire?
-The three main characters were Jamal, Salim, and Latika


3. What is a "chai wallah"?
-Chai is simply the Hindi word for tea. A chai wallah is a person who provides tea, either by selling or bringing it. This is Jamal's position in the call center where he works when he appears on the game show.


4. Tell us five things we must know about the Taj Mahal. Inculde a fantastic photo.
-Year of Construction: 1631

Completed In: 1653

Time Taken: 22 years

Built By: Shah Jahan

Dedicated to: Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bano Begum), the wife of Shah Jahan

Location: Agra (Uttar Pradesh)

Building Type: Islamic tomb

Architecture: Islamic

12/1 Bombay riots

Bombay Riots: (4 facts)
- They are riots in Mumbai. In December 1992 and January 1993 about 900 people died. 
- After that on 12 March 1993 Bombay Bombings, perpetuated by underworld elements with alleged help of ganglord Dawood Ibrahim and his D-Company syndicate, about 250 people died that were mostly Hindus^.
- An estimated 575 Muslims and 275 Hindus died and 2,000 people were injured in the riots and 250 people mostly Hindus died in the blasts.
- An investigative commission was formed under Justice B.N. Srikrishna, but the recommendations of the Inquiry were not enforced. 
- In 2008, several members of the Shiv Sena were indicted for their involvement in the riots.

11-29

Today in class we started to watch the movie Slum dog millionaire. It is so far a good movie and I think I am going to learn a lot from it.
1. Mumbai:

• -  The population is 18 million, projected to reach 28.5 million by 2020.
  - Marathi, Hindi and English are the main languages.
  - Mumbai is the capital of the state of Maharashtra.
  - Bombay was renamed Mumbai in 1996.
  - Mumbai's literacy rate is 85.6%
  2. Dharavi:
  -is a slum and administrative ward, over parts of Sion, Bandra, Kurla and Kalina suburbs of Mumbai, India.
  3. Shantytown:
   - It is a slum settlement of impoverished people who live in improvised dwellings made from scrap materials: often plywood, corrugated metal, and sheets of plastic.
  4. How many poeple live in shanty twon world wide?
  - One billion people worldwide live in slums and the figure will likely grow to 2 billion by 2030.
  5. How much is a rupee worth in the U.S?
  - In America 1 rupee is worth .02 dollars.
  6. Who is Amitabh Bachchan?
  -   Bachchan was born on October 11, 1942 in Allahabad. He is an Indian film actor and producer.

India Facts

1. What is the current population of India? 1,173, 108, 018
2. What is the total fertility rate in India? 2.68 children born/woman
3. What percentage of the Indian population lives below the poverty line? 37.2% - 77%
4. Briefly describe two terrorist attacks inside India. On Feb. 13, people thought to be Islamic terrorists bombed a restaurant in the northern city of Pune, killing 17 people.  Indian authorities on Saturday issued a national alert after 9 people were killed and at least 57 were wounded when a bomb exploded at a bakery in a neighborhood popular with foreign tourists in the western Indian city of Pune.
5. The Human Development Report of the United Nations ranks the countries of the world by poverty.  Where does India rank on this list?  India ranked 119th of 169 countries.
6. Briefly describe the effects of the monsoons on India. In less than three days, at least 120 people died. More than 4,000 animal carcasses were later hauled out of the mud. Two weeks after the floods, Surat’s diamond-polishing factories were practically empty of workers, who had fled fearing disease. An industry group estimated the losses at $60 million.
7. What are some of the problems India has getting clean water to its people? They have it extremely polluted with methane gas, they dump toxic waste into it, dead babies, and human waste flows into it from the city.
8. What is the literacy rate in India? The literacy rate of India is 76.9% for men and 54.5% for women.
9. What are the major religions in India? The major religions of India are Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1%.
10. When did India achieve independence, and from what country? India achieved independence in 1947 from Great Britain.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/world/asia/19iht-letter.html?ref=india

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/india/terrorism/index.html?offset=25&s=newest

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/world/asia/19iht-letter.html?ref=india

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/01/world/asia/01india.html

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2006/09/28/world/1194817098866/part-1-water-woes-in-india.html

http://www.theglobalist.com/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=8719

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html

11/22 China vs. India

China and India are to population giants. They are the only countries in the world that have over a billion people in population. 2 out of e very 5 people in the world are out of these to countries. Which is equal too 40% of the world population. Either one of these countries is bigger than all of Europe. China is further along in it's demographic transition than India. Life expectancy in China is 73 and in India it is 64. The median ages are 34 and 25 respectively. China is going to have more of there people living in cities in 2015. While in India will have most of there people will be a rural country. International migration is not a factor to there population. The consequential demographic trend for the growth of these two billionaire nations concerns fertility. China's fertility rate is dropping and India's is growing. India's rate is growing twice as fast as China's. Males dominate these factors.

11/15

Today we continued to work on our project and i feel as if we are making a lot of progress.

11/10

Today in class we went over our notes. For homework we had to find four websites that could help solve our questions from our last blog.
http://www.sustainableharvest.com/relationship-coffee/
http://www.coffeeresearch.org/politics/organic.htm
http://www.zokacoffee.com/what-is-specialty-coffee.htm
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-coffee-roasters.htm

Coffee Trade

Fair Trade Coffee - is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in delvoping coffe obtain better trading conditions and promote susbiniality. www.wiki.com 
Ceritifed Organic Coffee - are coffee beans that have been produced without the use of pesticides or herbicides.http://www.coffeeresearch.org/politics/organic.htm
Relationship Coffee - is an alternative to the traditional coffee supply chain. http://www.sustainableharvest.com/relationship-coffee/
Specialty Coffee - The term "specialty coffee" refers to the highest-quality green coffee beans roasted to their greatest flavor potential by true artisan roasters. These beans are then brewed to perfection as defined by industry standards established long ago. (begins with the planting of a particular type of coffee into a certain growing region.)http://www.zokacoffee.com/what-is-specialty-coffee.html
Roasters - the process of taking ripe green coffee beans and turning them into the brown or black coffee beans, which are then ground and used to make coffee. 1.  are professionals who obtain beans in large quantities and devise roast times to achieve certain types of tastes. 2.to a number of different machines, or sometimes the people who use them, that can be employed in the home to create coffee roasts in much smaller batches. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-coffee-roasters.htm



Questions

1. What are the biggest coffee exporting countries?
2. How does coffee get from the field to the breakfast table?
3. Why is there good and bad coffee? Does it depend on how you haresvt or import the coffee beans?
4. How are coffee beans grown and imported?
5. How many companies around the world import coffee? Who is #1 in import and exporting?