C.E. Reflection

did you learn a lot?
I learned more about whats going on in the world doing the Current Events assignments that I have any other way. (Outside of the United States anyway)
what helped you learn what you did?
The fact that there were due dates helped me learn what I did. The feeds that I set up on the blog also made it easier to find what kind of stories I was looking for.
could you have learned more?
I could definitely have learned more by bookmarking more than two stories a week, but by the time I had found and read two stories, I was satisfied.
what would you do differently next time?
If I were to do this project again, I should probably try to expand beyond just one topic. (In my case, Foreign Policy) I would also try to communicate more with my group when the Wiki posting comes around at the end of a term.
what could Mr. Scott do differently next time?
Mr. Scott should make sure a particular group does not end up with more that two Africa regions throughout the year. Africa gets pretty boring after a while.
do you think you'll continue to read the news?
I don't know about "reading" the news, (I tend to just read local newspapers) but I've been trying to watch news channels and listen to the radio more often.
_____________________________________________

From whose viewpoint are we seeing or reading or hearing? From what angle or perspective?
There are multiple websites reporting news from the middle eastern regions. There are Israel national news.com and jpost.com, which are sources coming directly from Israel. And there are gulfnews.com and alarabiya.net, being general middle eastern news sites. Then there are CNN.com and BBC.com as an American and British perspective.
How do we know when we know? What's the evidence, and how reliable is it?
CNN is a trustworthy, national site, but the BBC tends to be biased on certain subject, as mentioned in previous responses to these essential questions. The news coming from Israel should be trusted more so than the other middle eastern sites considering that other nations tend to have bad regions with Israel.
How are things, events, or people connected to each other? What is the cause and what is the effect? How do they fit together?
These countries and events can connect through foreign policy and working together to bring peace to these nations and fight the terrorist organizations threatening these people.
What's new and what's old? Have we run across this idea before?
The old news is the fact that the other middle eastern countries aren't getting along with Israel. There's nothing completely new here.
So what? Why does it matter? What does it all mean?
This all matters because it is still debatable on whether our forces are still needed in this region or if it can support itself.

5/16/08 Ch. 31 HW

Theme related: Demonstrate the evolution of the concepts of personal

freedom, individual responsibility, and respect for human dignity.

Chapter 31 Section 1: Latinos and Native Americans Seek Equality
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31.a
Latinos

1. Improved working conditions and better treatment for farm workers:
How did they get what they wanted?
-They unionized believing that their strength would come from bargaining as a group.
-UFWOC boycotted grapes and union workers were given higher wages and other benefits.
What laws were passed?
-none
2. Education programs for Spanish- speaking students:
How did they get what they wanted?
-They demanded classes for their children in their language and cultures.
What laws were passed?
-Congress enacted Bilingual Education Act: Provided funds for schools to develop bilingual and cultural heritage programs.
3. More political power:
How did they get what they wanted?
-Mexican American Political Association: Helped put Hispanics into House of Representatives and the Senate.
What laws were passed?
- no laws were passed.
Native Americans
4. Healthier, more secure lives of their own choosing:
How did they get what they wanted?
-Native American groups met in Chicago to draft the Declaration of Indian Purpose.
What laws were passed?
President Johnson established the National Council on Indian Opportunity
5. Restoration of Indian Lands, burial grounds, fishing and timber lands:
How did they get what they wanted?
-"Trail of Broken Treaties": march on Washington to protest the government's treaty violations.
What laws were passed?
-Indian Education Act
-Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
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31.c
Discussion Questions
1. Shy did the NFWA decide to organize a strike against Mount Arbor?
-It was the biggest company and gave lower wages thqan it had promised.
2. How did Chavez and Huerta try to keep the strike from being broken?
-There was a ceremony where they pledged to not break the strike.
-Huerta was checking the offices in the morning shifts.
3. Do you think that strikes and boycotts effectively promoted la Causa? Why or Why not?
- It wasn't very effective because many of the strike members were eager to go back to work that to fight for what they should be getting.

5/12/08 Ch. 29 HW

29.f (section 2) The Triumphs of a Crusade

freedom riders travel through south:
1) What was the goal of the freedom riders?
To provoke a violent reaction that would convince the Kennedy Administration to enforce the law.
2) What was the Kennedy Administration's response?
President Kennedy arranged to give the freedom riders direct support.

March on Washington:
3) What was the goal of the march on Washington?
To persuade congress to pass the civil rights bill.
4) Who attended the march?
Labor leader A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin of the SCLC.

Freedom summer:
5)What was the goal of the Freedom Summer Project?
Influence congress to pass a voting rights act.
6)Who volunteered for the project?
They recruited college students.

March from Selma to Montgomery:
7) What role did the violence shown on television play in this march?
The footage horrified the nation as a whole.
8)What did the march encourage president Johnson to do?
President Johnson presented congress with a voting rights act and asked for its swift passage.

Voting Rights Act is passed:
9)What did the voting rights act outlaw?
It eliminated literacy tests that had disqualified many voters.
Federal examiners could enroll voters who had been denied suffrage by local officials.
10) What did the law accomplish?:
It marked a major Civil Rights victory, some felt it didn't go far enough.
___________________________________________________________________
29.g 9 (Section 2) Triumph of a Crusade

Freedom Riders: rode buses through the south to challenge segregation.

March on Birmingham: Continuous protests, economic boycott, and negative media coverage finally convinced Birmingham officials to end segregation.

Civil Rights Act of 1964: Prohibited discrimination because of race, religion, national origin and gender. Gave all citizens rights to enter libraries, parks, washrooms, restaurants and other public areas.

24th Amendment: Gave all citizens equal voting rights.

March on Selma: Violence scared President Johnson and congress to give these people voting rights.

Voting Rights Act of 1965: Eliminated voter literacy tests. Enabled Federal exames to register voters.

Current Event Sum. 4.1 (Middle East)

A US airstrike targeted a building in Baghdad's Sadr City after American soldiers clashed with Shi'ite militants in a fight, resulting in 15 people dead. This event coincided with the Congressional testimony of the Bush administration's top two officials in Iraq - Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki disagreed with Gen. Petraeus' proposal to delay further US troop withdrawals.
Israeli police have started proceedings against an Israeli rabbi, Elior Chen, who fled to Canada after being suspected of abusing the children of one of his followers. Chen and his followers are suspected of abusing two children, aged 3 and 4, who were burned and severely beaten with hammers, knives and other instruments. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says the 3-year-old suffered permanent brain damage.
An Israeli air strike killed a wanted Palestinian militant, Ibrahim Abu Alba of the military wing of the Palestinian Democratic Front, in Beit Hanoun. The Palestinian sources said the attack was carried out by a drone.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met in Jerusalem to discuss the situation in Gaza. Abbas told Olmert that he fully backs Egyptian efforts to reach a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas leaders in Gaza. Abbas also called for humanitarian aid for the residents of Gaza, including supplies of medication and fuel. Olmert reiterated that he will not allow a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
Palestinian factions meeting in Cairo for talks with Egyptian security officials have agreed to an Egyptian proposal for a truce with Israel starting in the Gaza Strip. state news agency MENA said, "All the Palestinian factions have agreed to the Egyptian proposal on a truce with Israel," The official said the Egyptian proposal included a comprehensive, reciprocal and simultaneous truce, implemented in a graduated framework starting in the Gaza Strip and then subsequently moving to the West Bank.
Syrian President Bashar Assad says Syria will not sever its ties with Hizbullah and Iran, even in the framework of a peace agreement with Israel. Dr. Samir Al-Taki said that "it would be naive to think we'd neglect our strategic alliances which do not stem from the Arab-Israeli conflict."

5/5/08 Ch. 25 HW

25.a (Mobilization on the Home Front)
1. Selective Service System: Expanded the draft and eventually provided another ten million soldiers to meet the armed forces needs.

2. Women: Women Auxiliary Corps (WAAC)- Women volunteers would serve in non combat positions in wartime.

3. Minorities: African/Native/Mexican/Asian Americans were restricted to racially segregated neighborhoods and reservations and were denied basic citizenship.

4. Manufacturers: the US government spent billions of dollars in national defense manufacturing.

5. A. Philip Randolph: President and founder of the brotherhood of sleeping car porters and the nation's most respected African American leader.
-He organized a march on Washington.

6. Office of Scientific Research and development (OSRD): Scientists brought into war effort.
-Relieved soldiers from from body lice/ created penicillin/ Manhattan Project (A-Bomb)

7. Entertainment industry: Started with propoganda to get people to join war effort.
-Eventually moved to musicals and romances to take the viewers away from the realities of war.

8. Office of Price Administration (OPA): fought inflation by freezing prices on most goods.

9. War Production Board (WPB): decided which companies would convert from peace time to wartime production and allocated raw materials to key industries.

10. Rationing: Establishing fixed allotments of goods deemed essentials for the military.
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25.d (Farewell to Manzanar)
1. What were living accommodations like in the camp?
A family was assigned a Barrack about the size of a living room, which had and light bulb, and oil stove for heat, and some army issued blankets and mattress covers.

2. Why do you think the accommodations at Manzanar were so stark and crowded?
The place was only half finished being built by the time truck loads of Japanese Americans were being sent to the Barracks.

3. What incident from this excerpt demonstrates a lack of cultural awareness on the part of those running the camp?
The food servers expressed a lack of cultural awareness by putting apricots on top of a bowl of rice. The Japanese would never eat any kind of sweet food along side their rice.

Current Events Summary 3.2 (South Asia)

The interactions between South Asian countries and the rest of the world have proved to be quite productive in the February-March period of 2008. India and Pakistan, two neighboring countries torn by war, have recently made a deal to double the number of flights between the two countries. They also agreed to expand the number of destinations served by the flights and to allow more airlines to operate the routes. The two countries made a joint statement the deal was signed in Islamabad saying they hoped the agreement would facilitate "people to people contact, business and trade activities". Chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, dismissed claims that Nato's Afghan is having difficulty in their mission. He acknowledged that some parts of the country were heading in a “strongly negative direction,” but he said the picture across Afghanistan was confusing people. He also told the BBC it would “take time for Afghanistan to be pacified.”
US defense Secretary Robert Gates made a trip to Delhi to strengthen military ties and promote US arms manufacturers. US firms are competing with Russian and European rivals for a multi-billion dollar deal to sell India fighter jets. Mr Gates has said he wants to "expand" India's "significantly improved relationship" with the US. The United States urged India to quickly complete all steps required to conclude a civilian nuclear technology deal with Washington before the US presidential polls in November. US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Richard Boucher, told reporters in New Delhi, "Time is very tight to get the deal through the US Congress before the United States goes into election mode.” The agreement, which would give New Delhi crucial access to civilian atomic technology even though it has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, requires final approval of the US Congress.
The Taleban threatened to blow up telephone masts across Afghanistan unless mobile phone companies agree to switch off their signals at night. They claim the US and other foreign troops are using the signals to track down insurgents.The Taleban warned the masts and offices of the mobile companies will be destroyed unless their demands are met. Taleban spokesman Zabiullah Mujaheed said, "If those companies do not stop their signal within three days, the Taleban will target their towers and their offices." The Taleban said that Afghanistan's four mobile phone companies would stop operating between 1700 local time and 0300 that following morning.
A suicide car bomber attacked a government building protected by NATO and Afghan troops in eastern Afghanistan, collapsing a guard post, wounding three NATO soldiers inside, in addition to Two Afghan policemen were also wounded in the attack. It was an Afghan government district building inside compound that also houses a unit of U.S. soldiers. They were evacuated for medical care to the main U.S. military base at Bagram airfield. U.S.-led coalition troops targeted a Taliban commander in Garmser district of Helmand province. The coalition said, "Several insurgents were killed when they fired on coalition forces."

Themes & MCAS standards 2

theme #4: Assess the effects of geography on the history of civilizations and nations.

USII.14: Explain the strength of American isolationism after World War I and analyze its impact on U.S. foreign policy. textbook chapters: 24-4 (WWII)

USII.16: Explain the reasons for the dropping of atom bombs on Japan and their short and long-term effects. textbook chapters: 25-3 (US in WWII)

USII.19: Analyze the sources of Cold War conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. textbook chapters: 26-1 (Cold War Conflicts)

USII.20: Explain the causes, course, and consequences of the Vietnam War and summarize the diplomatic and military policies of Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. textbook chapters: 30-1, -2, -5 (Vietnam War)

Personal Freedom and Human Dignity

Evan Griffin
History II
Project 1: Final Draft
2.14.2008


Over the past century, there have been great feats to spread the concepts of personal freedom, individual responsibility, and human dignity. Some nations didn't get the message, or had their own ideas on evolving the concept, and failed. In the pre-World War Two era, The Destructive Nazi Germany and Ruthless Japanese Empire, as well as other powers of the eastern hemisphere at the time, were perfect examples of a negative spread of these concepts. The Communist Soviet Union was an example that also had negative effect on these concepts. However, the United States successful resistance to Soviet powers in the Cold War created an extremely positive effect on personal freedoms and human dignity, as well as the presidency of Ronald Reagan. However, the presidency of William Jefferson Blythe Clinton could have been much more effective on these concepts.


The aggression of the German Nazi party, and the Japanese Militarists played extremely important roles in the concepts of personal freedoms and human dignity. In 1919, Adolf Hitler had joined the National Socialist German Workers Party, or the Nazi Party, and soon afterwards, became the leader. In a similar fashion to Italian fascist, Benito Mussolini, Hitler became the Prime Minister and created the third German Empire. In his new empire, Hitler wanted to enforce extreme nationalism and racial "purification." The concept of degrading human right comes into play here with Hitler believing that blond-haired, blue-eyed "Aryans" were a "master race," and that ethnicities such as Jews, Slavs and any nonwhites were "Inferior Races," and were only fit to serve the Aryans. These beliefs of Hitler's led to the creation of the concentration camps and horrific events such as the Holocaust. Hitler also believed in a militaristic expansion (a means of increasing living space and population), as well as the Japanese and their Prime Minister, Hideki Tojo, who had rendered the Emperor Hirohito powerless. Once they had seized power, the Japanese military launched an attack and took control of the Chinese province of Manchuria. The League of Nations, established after WWI, was created to prevent this type of aggression and to support the evolution of personal freedoms. After discovering what had happened in Manchuria, the League condemned Japan, which was a useless effort because they quit the League anyway. These events that degraded human rights and personal freedoms in Europe and Asia were what caused the Second World War.

Another Axis power form World War Two that disregarded the concepts of personal freedoms and human dignity was Josef Stalin's Communist Soviet Union, before known as Russia. The inhumane ways of the Soviet Union continued throughout the post WWII era until the Cold War was ended in 1992. When Josef Stalin came into power in Soviet Russia, his policies obliterated whatever little successes the New Economic Policy had made, along with the nations agricultural sector, and took complete control of the peoples viewpoint of economic life. The ideas of Communism completely throw away the idea of all three concepts of personal freedoms, in which case, no one could talk negatively about the government, individual responsibility, which, in the Soviet Union, the government provided everything, and human dignity, in which people could get shot just for attempting to leave the country. During Stalin's rule over the Soviet Union, there was no capitalist free market, but "central planning," which was a market controlled by the government. Oleg Gordievsky, a British spy passing off as a KGB agent, told the British intelligence service, "The Soviet Union had been spending at least 50 percent [of the economy] on the military." When this information reached U.S. President Ronald Reagan, he know that America could resist against the Soviet Union by creating an arms race, with project such as an eight-hundred ship navy and the Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as the "Star Wars." His strategy was to out spend the Soviet Union until their economy went bankrupt, which it did. Another contribution to the Soviet Unions collapse was the last communist ruler of the nation Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev's policies began to bring a sense of democracy into the Soviet Union. His most important policies were Glasnost, which allowed freedom of the press and open criticism of the Soviet Government, and Perestroika, a plan for the reconstruction of the Soviet Union. And to help recover the collapsed economy, he called for less government control. The Cold War had finally ended when President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin declared the end of the Cold War, and the Soviet Union became the Commonwealth of Independent States In February of 1992.

The concepts of personal freedoms and human dignity did not seem to be making much improvement in the world. But things were progressing more nicely in the United States. The decades of the 1980's through the 1990's were a period that these concepts really took flight. This was a result of people taking advantage of their opportunities of individual responsibilities and human dignity. However, the most important contributors of evolving these concepts were the Presidents. President Ronald Reagan made great steps toward evolving personal freedom during his two terms in the 80's. The first thing Reagan did, was cutting government spending on social programs and lowered income taxes. When Reagan moved into the white house, according to the website, www.house.gov, the top tax rate was 70%. Eventually, Reagan got it cropped in at least half, coming down to 35%. Also during Reagan's administration, from the National Review, charitable donations increased 57.7% between 1980 and 1989, and income tax revenue increased by more than 54% in the same period. Reagan's tax cuts meant that the people were given their dignity to have the money that they earn rather than giving it to the government. They also were given individual responsibilities to contribute that money to the economy. Ronald Reagan also gave freedom to many Europeans by outspending, and breaking up the Soviet Union in the Cold War. When making his farewell address in January of 1989, President Reagan stated the two things he was most proud of were "the recovery of the economy and our morale as a nation," and that the country was "more prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was eight years ago."

It is more debatable on whether President Clinton was a positive factor in the 90's. One of Clintons policies was the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. This joined together the United States, Canada and Mexico into a free-trade zone to strengthen the economy of each nation and create more American jobs. However, those who opposed this agreement claimed that the American jobs would be transferred to Mexico, where the wages are lower than the U.S. or Canada, and their weak antipollution laws would harm the environment. NAFTA had mixed results, wherein, freedoms and responsibilities were given to Mexicans, but in turn taken away from American and Canadian citizens. Clinton also had created an affordable health care plan for all Americans, with first lady Hillary Clinton at the helm. It seamed like it would help improve freedom and dignity but the bill was never even voted on in Congress. President Clinton also wanted to create a stronger and growing economy by balancing the government's budget to preserve Medicare, Medicaid, education, and the environment. This did not bode well with the new Republican-controlled Congress. President Clinton and the Congress butted heads about the issue until the government was actually shut down for a two month period.

However, these two were not the only Presidents who expanded on the concept of personal freedoms. There have been many other periods in this nation's historic growth that gave its citizens more and more freedoms, responsibilities and dignity. The United States has set major examples on how to properly evolve these concepts of freedom and responsibility. Other nations soon followed on the path towards properly giving these rights to its citizens; Gorbachev was the first of many to do which. Even today, the Bush Administration is making attempts to bring these rights to other nations. Our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan reflect this foreign policy and even those who do not approve of our efforts in the Middle East, want us to intervene and protect human rights in Sudan and other African nations. Protecting human dignity and personal freedoms will likely be part of America's foreign policy for years to come.

Bibliography

1. "The Americans ,"US History Textbook, McDougal Littell

2. "Adolf Hitler's Aggression." History in Dispute, Vol. 4: World War II, 1939-1943. Dennis Showalter, ed. St. James Press, 2000. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/

3. "Hideki Tojo." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/

4. "The collapse of Communism." National Review August 5, 1988 v40 n15 p28(2), Crozier, Brian, Full Text:COPYRIGHT 1988 National Review, Inc. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/hits?docNum=A6542212&tab=4&locID=hyan46532&origSearch=true&hdb=ALL&t=RK&s=1&r=d&items=0&secondary=true&o=&n=10&sortOrder=&l=dJ&sgPhrase=false&c=6&tabMap=20&bucket=iac&SU=communist+economic

5. "Stalin's Economic Policies." History in Dispute, Vol. 17: Twentieth-Century European Social and Political Movements. Paul du Quenoy, ed. St. James Press, 2004. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/

6. "Early Soviet Economy." History in Dispute, Vol. 21. St. James Press, 2005. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/

7. "Episode II: The Agony of Reform, Chapter 3: Behind the Iron Façade." Commanding Heights, Copyright 2003 Heights Productions, Inc. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/hi/story/tr_menu_02.html

8. "United States House of Representatives," 110th Congress, 2nd Session
Washington, DC 20515 | (202) 224-3121 | TTY: (202) 225-1904, http://www.house.gov/

9. "The Reagan Tax Cuts: Lessons for Tax Reform." Joint Economic Committee, Congress of the United States, April 1996. http://www.house.gov/jec/fiscal/tx-grwth/reagtxct/reagtxct.htm

10. "Biography of Ronald Reagan." The White House, http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/rr40.html

11. "Biography of William J. Clinton." The White House, http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/bc42.html

12. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. "Chronology of Ronald Reagan's Presidency, 1979-89." http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/reference/preschrono.html

13. "William J. Clinton Presidential Library." Clinton Presidential Library and Museum 1200 President Clinton Avenue · Little Rock, Arkansas 72201, http://www.clintonlibrary.gov/textual.html

Project Theme #1 Rough Draft #5

Body Paragraph #3
The concepts of personal freedoms and human dignity did not seem to be making much improvement in the world. But things were progressing more nicely in the United States. The decades of the 1980's through the 1990's were a period that these concepts really took flight. This was a result of people taking advantage of their opportunities of individual responsibilities and human dignity. However, the most important contributers of evolving these concepts were the Presidents. President Ronald Reagan made great steps toward evolving personal freedom during his two terms in the 80's. The first thing Reagan did, was cutting government spending on social programs and lowered income taxes. When Reagan moved into the white house, according to the website, www.house.gov, the top tax rate was 70%. Eventually, Reagan got it cropped in at least half, coming down to 35%. Also during Reagan's administration, from the National Review, charitable donations increased 57.7% between 1980 and 1989, and income tax revenue increased by more than 54% in the same period. Reagan's tax cuts meant that the people were given their dignity to have the money that they earn rather than giving it to the government. They also were given individual responsibilities to contribute that money to the economy. Ronald Reagan also gave freedom to many Europeans by outspending, and breaking up the Soviet Union in the Cold War. When making his farewell address in January of 1989, President Reagan stated the two things he was most proud of were "the recovery of the economy and our morale as a nation," and that the country was "more prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was eight years ago."
It is more debatable on whether President Clinton was a positive factor in the 90's. One of Clintons policies was the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. This joined together the United States, Canada and Mexico into a free-trade zone to strengthen the economy of each nation and create more American jobs. However, those who opposed this agreement claimed that the American jobs would be transfered to Mexico, where the wages are lower than the U.S. or Canada, and their weak antipollution laws would harm the environment. NAFTA had mixed results, wherein, freedoms and responsibilities were given to Mexicans, but in turn taken away from American and Canadian citizens. Clinton also had created an affordable health care plan for all Americans, with first lady Hillary Clinton at the helm. It seamed like it would help improve freedom and dignity but the bill was never even voted on in Congress. President Clinton also wanted to create a stronger an d growing economy by balancing the government's budget to preserve Medicare, Medicaid, education, and the environment. This did not bode well with the new Republican-controlled Congress. President Clinton and the Congress butted heads about the issue until the government was actually shut down for a two month period. But these two were not the only Presidents who expanded on the concept of personal freedoms. There have been many other periods in the this nations growth that give its citizens more and more freedoms, responsibilities and dignity.

Project Theme #1 Rough Draft #4

Body Paragraph #2
Another Axis power form World War Two that disregarded the concepts of personal freedoms and human dignity was Josef Stalin's Communist Soviet Union, before known as Russia. The inhumane ways of the Soviet Union continued throughout the post WWII era until the Cold War was ended in 1992. When Josef Stalin came into power in Soviet Russia, his policies obliterated whatever little successes the New Economic Policy had made, along with the nations agricultural sector, and took complete control of the peoples viewpoint of economic life. The ideas of Communism completely throw away the idea of all three concepts of personal freedoms,in which case, no one could talk negatively about the government, individual responsibility, which, in the Soviet Union, the government provided everything, and human dignity, in which people could get shot just for attempting to leave the country. During Stalin's rule over the Soviet Union, there was no capitalist free market, but "central planning," which was a market controlled by the government. Oleg Gordievsky, a British spy passing off as a KGB agent, told the British intelligence service, "the Soviet Union had been spending at least 50 percent [of the economy] on the military." When this information reached U.S. President Ronald Reagan, he know that America could resist against the Soviet Union by creating an arms race, with project such as an eight-hundred ship navy and the Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as the "Star Wars." His strategy was to out spend the Soviet Union until their economy went bankrupt, which it did. Another contribution to the Soviet Unions collapse was the last communist ruler of the nation Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev's policies began to bring a sense of democracy into the Soviet Union. His most important policies were Glasnost, which allowed freedom of the press and open criticism of the Soviet Government, and Perestroika, a plan for the reconstruction of the Soviet Union. And to help recover the collapsed economy, he called for less government control. The Cold War had finally ended when President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin declared the end of the Cold War, and the Soviet Union became the Commonwealth of Independent States In February of 1992.

Critical Thinking 24-2 #5

Review Germany's aggressive actions between 1938 and 1945. At which point do you think Hitler concluded that he could take any territory without being stopped? Why?
The point where I think Hitler concluded that he could take any territory without being stopped, would have to be from the very beginning. I don't think that it ever even crossed Hitlers mind that any one could stop him. After all, he was looking for a "1000 year rule" on the scale of the Roman Empire. And I must say he got pretty close until the United States came into the war.

Critical Thinking 24-2 #4

If you had been a member of the British House of Commons in 1938, would you have voted for or against the Munich Agreement? Support your decision.
Even if I didn't have knowledge of future events leading up to WWII, I still would not have signed the Munich Agreement for multiple reasons. First of all, Neville Chamberlain and Edouard Daladier had to be gullible idiots to sign that treaty thinking that Hitler was going to stop there. If it was that easy to get a piece of land, just by asking for it, why wouldn't he keep going? Winston Churchill was the only sane person there that day. He was right in saying that the other two "gave up principles to to pacify an aggressor."

Critical Thinking 33-4 #3

What factors caused the End of the Cold War?
The collapse of communism in the Soviet Union was a result of the actions of Ronald Reagan, and Mikhail Gorbachev. When Gorbachev came into power, he advocated policies such as Glasnost, which allowed freedom of the press and open criticism of the Soviet Government, and Perestroika, a plan for the reconstruction of the Soviet Union. He also called for less government control over the economy.
In the regions of Germany and eastern Europe, these people were encouraged by Gorbachev to "go their own way." To enforce this maneuver, he reduced the number of Soviet troops in Eastern Europe and allowed non-communist parties to organize in nations such as East Germany and Poland. He encouraged these nations to try to organize a democracy. As a means of disposing of their Communist government, East Germany opened th e Berlin Wall, allowing free passage between the two parts of the city for that first time in 28 years.
When Gorbachev realized that his nation could cut military spending if he had better relations with the United States, he created the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, after a series of arms-control meetings. This treaty would eliminate two classes of weapons systems in Europe and allowed any nation to inspect the others military installations. The treaty was ratified by the senate five months later. In February of 1992, President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin declared the end of the Cold War, and the Soviet Union became the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Current Event Summary 3.1 (South Asia)

There have been few stories coming from the South Asia region. However, what does get through, is of great importance, especially in the context of foreign policy. When the French President Nicolas Sarkozy made his trip to India, his plan was to add substance to their relationship with the country by offering higher economic fruits and lucrative defense deals. The Indo-French relation ship has never had many problems. In fact, India has always considers France to be their most "tried and trusted friend".
However, in the country of Bangladesh, Foreign relations are not as well forged. Unfortunately for Bangladesh, maintaining a delicate balance of relations between China and India is far more difficult that with other regions. If Bangladesh is even on one side slightly more than the other, the other completely misinterprets the situation. Bangladesh in caught in a dead-lock, between India and China, and the country severely needs both of them.
This past month has seen the death of Abu Laith al-Libi, a senior al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan. There have been rumors that Libi was killed by a US missile strike in Pakistan. However, Pakistan confirm this report. Libi is believed to have behind an attack at an Afghan air base last year while the US vice-president was there.Analysts say Libi's death would make a serious dent into al-Qaeda, both symbolically and operationally.
Foreign Office (FO) spokesman Muhammad Sadiq said that if there was a military strike in Pakistan by the US, or any foreign nation, it would be considered an act of war and dealt with as such. Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband made their surprise visit Afghanistan to amid heated debate among NATO nations about their mission to push for more troops for Afghanistan. Rice and Miliband met around 200 soldiers at a major NATO airbase in southern Kandahar province.
Benazir Bhutto was buried the day after her assassination on December 27. The traditional 40 days of mourning has reached it's end for the former premier. During the ceremony, her husband told them he would risk death himself to fulfill what he called her campaign for democracy at the elections on February 18. Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier, Javed Cheema told the press, I can confirm two people have been arrested in connection with the probe into Bhutto's murder and they are being interrogated by the joint investigation team."

Project Theme #1 Rough Draft #3

First Body Paragraph
The aggression of the German Nazi party, and the Japanese Militarists played extremely important roles in the concepts of personal freedoms and human dignity. In 1919, Adolf Hitler had joined the National Socialist German Workers Party, or the Nazi Party, and soon after became the leader. In a similar fashion to Italian fascist, Benito Mussolini, Hitler became the the Prime Minister and created the third German Empire. In his new empire, Hitler wanted to enforce extreme nationalism and racial "purification." The concept of degrading human right comes into play here with Hitler believing that blond-haired, blue-eyed "Aryans" were a "master race," and that ethnicities such as Jews, Slavs and any nonwhites were "Inferior Races," and were only fit to serve the Aryans. These beliefs of Hitler's led to the creation of the concentration camps and horrific events such as the Holocaust. Hitler also believed in a militaristic expansion (a means of increasing living space and population), as well as the Japanese and their Prime Minister, Hideki Tojo, who had rendered the Emperor Hirohito powerless. Once they had seized power, the Japanese military launched an attack and took control of the Chinese province of Manchuria. The League of Nations, established after WWI, was created to prevent this type of aggression and to support the evolution of personal freedoms. After discovering what had happened in Manchuria, the League condemned Japan, which was a useless effort because they quit the League anyway. These events that degraded human rights and personal freedoms in Europe and Asia were what caused the Second World War.

Project Theme #1 Rough Draft #2

Introductory Paragraph
Over the past century, there have been great feats to spread the concepts of personal freedom, individual responsibility, and human dignity. Some nations didn't get the message, or had their own ideas on evolving the concept, and failed. In the pre-World War Two era, The Destructive Nazi Germany and Ruthless Japanese Empire, as well as other powers of the eastern hemisphere at the time, were perfect examples of a negative spread of these concepts. The Communist Soviet Union was an example that also had negative effect on these concepts. However, the United States successful resistance to Soviet powers in the Cold War created an extremely positive effect on personal freedoms and human dignity, as well as the presidency of Ronald Reagan. However, the presidency of William Jefferson Blythe Clinton could have been much more effective on these concepts.

VIDEO BAR ADDED TO MY BLOGSPOT OF AWSOMENESS

While researching the Clinton presidency in the 90's, I came across this video of former president Bill Clinton caught on camera pretending to cry at Ron Brown's funeral.
Watch this video and ask yourself:
Do we really want this man back in the White House???
(As the the "First Man" alongside Hillary, nonetheless)
If your answer is yes, then you are a sad, sad, human being...

Project Rough Draft

Evan Griffin
US History 2
Project format- Essay
Outline
Paragraph 1: Introduction
- Introduce Theme #1 & Explain: Demonstrate the evolution of the concepts of personal freedom, individual responsibility, and respect for human dignity.
- Introduce supporting MCAS standards

Paragraph 2: Body #1 (USII.15)
-Analyze contribution to the start of WWII:
1-German aggression in Europe &
2-Japanese aggression in Asia.
- summarize the major battles and events of the war.

Paragraph 3: Body #2 (USII.21)
-Analyze the Cold War:
1-failure of communist economic policies,
2-U.S.- sponsored resistance to Soviet military, &
3-diplomatic initiatives contributing to ending the Cold War.

Paragraph 4: Body #3 (USII.29 & USII.31)
Analyze (compare and contrast) the presidency of:
1-Ronald Regan & 2-Bill Clinton.

Paragraph 5: Conclusion
- Tie in MCAS Standards w/ personal freedom,
individual responsibility, & respect for human dignity.
- Some sort of meaningful closing statement.