McDonald's Points

McDonald's has changed culture in Asia. It has changed the appetite of young people who normally only eat main meals, now go to McDonald's as a snack meal and increase their meat intake.

McDonald's is also changing the way people in Asia order food. Normally, one person would order for the entire group. Now, each individual orders their own meal.

McDonald's has also played a huge role in people'd health in the United States. It and other fast food restaurants have been a hue contributor to obesity. 60% of Americans are now overweight or obese.

The New York Times reported that 3 new Mcdonald's come up every day.

McDonald's spends $2 Billion a year in advertising.

Sources

Werdigier, Julia. "To Woo Europeans, McDonald's Goes Upscale." May 2010. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/25/business/worldbusiness/25restaurant.html?_r=1 (Accessed May 2, 2010).

Mickelson, David."Ware's the Beef." May 2010. Snopes. http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/mcdbeef.asp (accessed May 1, 2010).

"McDonald's." May 2010. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald's (Accessed May 2, 2010).

"Is McDonald's Social and Animal Friendly or Just Concerned With Their Image?" May 2010. Animal Freedom. http://www.animalfreedom.org/english/opinion/mcdonalds.html (Accessed May 3, 2010).

Grandin, Temple. "The McDonald's Effect." May 2010. Beef Magazine. http://beefmagazine.com/mag/beef_mcdonalds_effect/ (Accessed May 3, 2010).

iPad

While looking through Nytimes.com, I found this article about the iPad. Basically, it is a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of this new Apple product. Simply put, this device is another evolution of technology that is changing the way people use older things like internet and books.

In relevance to modern world history, it can be compared to the industrial revolution. During this time, many new inventions and technologies were developed to better the lives of people and change the way people go about everyday tasks. Moving away from the iPad itself, technology in general is always improving and changing. It is a subject that has been around since the beginning of time and will continue to move forward everyday. It is one of the most important things in the world today and is relevant in every point in history.

Article

China - Great Leap Forward

What happened to China was a complete result of internal issues dealing with Mao. However, they stemmed from a desire to be better than everyone else. I'm talking specifically about the Great Leap Forward. Mao wanted to use, what seemed like good ideas to push China to be surpass the U.S. but ironically hurt them even more. Mao wanted to do this with industrialization and agriculture. He thought that he could take advantage of China's vast numbers and collectively work together to achieve his goals. Many things changed under Mao's command. Private farming ended, and anyone who chose to take part in their own farming was counter revolutionary. Instead, they were groups of farming communities (Communes) where no specific person owned the tools. They all would work together to produce as much grain as possible which would be taken by the government to feed other people, like those in cities who do not grow any of their own food. The government did a good job of convincing each commune to produce as much grain as they could by almost pitting the communes against each other. Mao also established communal kitchens. Like the farming communes, it involved no one owning their own tools such as pots, pans, kettles etc. Instead these were all taken by the government to help them create steel. Instead of cooking at home, people would go to a public kitchen where they would all be fed the same meal. The consequences of all this were much greater than any benefits that were intended by Mao. It, along with the droughts and flooding of the Yellow river, led to extreme famine where about 2 million Chinese people died.

War Crimes

It is not always easy to identify a war crime or a war criminal. However, when we do, I find it interesting that we are always trying to justify this action. No matter what happens, if someone commits a war crime, they always justify it by saying it was in aid of their country or it was going to help finish the war. Whether or not that is true, it is still a war crime the people who commit them, at some point, must pay for their actions. I'm talking about all countries, the U.S. included. The bombardiers who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima themselves are war criminals. They dropped the bomb, committed the crime, and killed many people that day. The same goes for the Japanese in the Rape of Nanking. Every single one of those Japanese soldiers are war criminals for their actions. They committed heinous crimes again humanity.

WWII Changing War

World War II definitely changed the definition of war. Almost every aspect of war changed, from the weapons used to the strategy and tactics. There was a huge difference between World War I and WWII. In World War I, most of the soldier sat in trenches and would come out only to immediately get shot by the opposing side. Compared to WWII, where the use of bombs became a new tactic. Also, instead of trenches on opposite sides, soldiers would storm cities and fight there. This allowed them to control areas more quickly. This is shown by the amount of cities that were destroyed in Japan by American forces.

The atomic bomb played a huge role in WWII. Not only did it show the power of the US but it devastated Hiroshima and Japan as a whole. It left the people in fear of what was to come and brought a new aspect to war itself. In my opinion, the atomic bomb was the biggest difference in the war and eventually changed future wars.

Japan...Totalitarian? hmmmmm.

Being totalitarian can be described as the form of government that does not tolerate different ideas or opinions and has dictatorial control over their people. During this time, Japan had Hirohito as their emperor. This alone point to the fact that their was a single ruler who had control over the people. Although the government had police with strict laws and penalties, it was not a complete secret. At this point in time, Japan was very focussed around their military. As their government began to lose to power, the military stayed strong because of the use of propaganda and because of their success. They were able to take control over Korea which gave the people of Japan a sense of strength and stability. Despite treaties and other agreements with nations such as the U.S. (which did not want Japan to grow their army), Japan chose to spend the time and money to grow their army and navy to a point where they were the 3rd largest navy in the world.

I think that Japan could be described as totalitarian. They had an emperor with complete control and a military with even more control. They captured the trust of their people with their ability to win battles and conquer nations.

extra credit

I think we can all agree that the current government in the U.S. is far from perfect. However, Im sure as to what the perfect system would be. There should be a balance between freedoms and control by the government. I partially agree with Cy. The idea of taxes makes sense, however, it does not seem to work for the majority of the population. This becomes especially difficult as the government begins to raise them. This is why it makes more sense to have people pay directly for services provided by the government. Instead of the government charging a certain percent on income to cover all of the the amenities provided by them, it makes more sense to pay for each thing individually and how often you use it. This keeps the government from taking your money and using it for many things we do not know about. It makes more sense to know where your money is going instead of not seeing where it goes or not seeing it used for things you use.

WWI

Italy did not have a good experience in World War I. Although they originally were undecided amongst the war, they ended up having huge losses. It is not surprising to see why Italy would be very upset. They fought and lost many men, but ended up on the winning side. However, they received none of the winnings such as land. Not only this, but inflation took a toll on the italian people; causing many job losses. However, Italy had a strong economy and did not suffer much from this.

In the beginning America was doing well. People used leverage to make much more money then they could have imagined. They continued to borrow and borrow money. Unknowingly, this led to the depression because of the stock market crashing and eventually a large amount of inflation. Eventually people had to borrow money from banks leaving them in debt as well as causing banks to shut down. This meant that people's money was not safe, if you had $1000 in the bank, that money was pretty much gone. So people tried to withdraw large amounts (or all) of their money. As this went on, people spent less money and did not buy stuff, keeping the money from circulating.

Thomas Edward Shirley - Background + Analysis

Robert Shirley found his father, Thomas Edward Shirley's World War I diary. In 1916, Thomas and many other Dartmouth undergraduates were drafted into the French Ambulance Corps. They duty was to Today, men and women are not allowed to keep diaries but in 1917, they were. When on the battlefield, men would split into groups to complete different tasks.

The ambulance groups experienced much of what the soldiers were. They woke up very early, and they immediately were assigned to the trenches. The men viewed the scenes of broken buildings and destroyed cities. During this time, they used black men to repair bridges. Around the trenches were multiple graves. The sight was terrible. Overall, these troops had a good look into the war and experienced the aftermath of combat.

WWI Diary

Thomas Edward Shirley

June 29th 1917

This is a diary entry from a young man who was recruited to join the French Ambulance Corps.

We got up at 8:30 and was supposed to work around camp but I sneaked off with Roy and Adnoids and took my laundry down town. At dinner time we were told that we were going to be taken to some trenches the Germans occupied last April. Well were got started in two trucks about an hour after we were supposed to. We went thru Soissons and had a chance to see for the 1st time how badly the city was hit. The north end of town sure is a mess- all the house blown down, a couple of big factories all to pieces, and all the bridges down. The bridges are being replaced by negro soldiers as fast as they can. Out side of Soissons we met a great many horse convoys the largest I have seen yet. It sure was a sight mules, donkey, and horses and men of every description. We went through a town completely distroyed and populated only with troops. Finally we got to the top of the hill after winding our way up pass German dugout after dugout now occupied by french soldiers. These were very comfortable looking dugouts probably old officers dugouts. The top of the hill was just one mess of trench, barbwire entanglements, shell holes, and here and there a grave. We went over to the other side of the hill where we could look down into a village completely destroyed. Not a house was left. It impressed me more of what all the destruction meant was when I saw an old man driving by what was evidently his home with the tears streaming down his cheeks. After collecting some some souveniers from a German graveyard we started home. Coming home the water boiled so in our car that we had to be towed home. After supper and writing a letter I went to bed and slept the best I have yet. Although they bombarded Soissons during the night for the 1st time in a long while and we were there at six last night.

http://www.dartmouth.org/classes/57/tes00.htm

Ishmabahu

Description of Our Nation's Flag:

Our flag consists of four quadrants. Each quadrant represents one aspect of our empire that is important to us.

Wheat and Grapes: The top left quadrant is golden-brown, representing wheat. The bottom left quadrant is colored purple, representing grapes. These two sources of food represent key parts of our diet. We use the wheat to feed our livestock. Addictionally, we can turn the wheat into flour through a process known as milling. This flour can be used for a number of staple foods such as bread, cookies, cake, and pasta. We often ferment the wheat as well as grapes (another one of our staple foods) in order to make alcoholic beverages. We also use olive trees, coral, and grapes in order to make a product that can be used to expand our island. Lastly, fish is another key part of our diet, and represents the final quadrant of our flag. Food is very important to us, and this is apparent in the way we designed our flag quadrants.

National Anthem

volo canere
nolo videre
nolo vicere
tu amabant nostro
omnes sunt sub nostro
(i want to eat, i dont want to see, i dont want to conquer, you will love us, everyone is below us)

Alliances and Connections

Ishmabahu does not have many alliances with other nations.  This is one, due to our inhospitable nature, and two, the fact that we have plenty of resources and power as a single nation.  Our small alliances lie with Italy, Egypt, and Greece.  This is mainly because they are out surrounding countries. Also, like us, they are rich in resources.  When we do trade, it is mostly with Egypt.  Our main imports from them are cotton and silk.  These products are very valuable and desirable around the world.  We can buy these cheap because of how close Egypt is, and sell them very high to foreigners and far away nations such as the U.S. and Mexico.

We often have trouble with negotiations because most nations consider us "hostile" or "savage."  However, this is only because we are very protective of our land, resources and people.  The people of Ishmabahu believe that involvement with other countries only creates more opportunities for conflicts and wars.  This is why we choose to isolate ourselves and trade very rarely.

National History
The province of Ishmabahu is located in the central Mediterranean. It is south of Sicily and is a small island. In the ancient word it played a major part in the connection between the Phonecians, Greeks, and Romans. After the destruction of Carthage at the end of the 3^rd Punic War, Ishmabahu officially became part of the Roman Empire. For the next 700 years, the Ishmabahu’s were under the rule of the Romans. They were given some rights, such as being able to go to Rome to vote as a recognized tribe and helped elect the Tribunes. Once the switch was made to Christianity by Constantine, tension began rising between Ishmabahu’s polytheistic ways and the new found Roman religion. After many bloody rebellions, they finally regained their independence and continued their polytheistic ways. An interesting aspect of their history is that after about 300 BC, the Ishmabahu’s remained isolated and participated in no trading. It was almost as if the Ishmabahu’s had been covered by a volcano, no one tried to take over the rebellious polytheistic island. Until 1575, all of the ports on this island were closed. They rellied heavily on wheat and fish, a main aspect of their diet even today. ON this day, curious French explorers went to the island.
The island by that point had hacked away at the edges of the island, creating sharp cliffs. This remains to be an amazing feat since the cliffs literally go straight into the ocean. There is one beach where the islanders perform sacred ceremonies to their gods on the night of a new moon. The French men attempted to make contact with the people, but the islanders savagely attacked the explorers torchering them for months before finally throwing them off the jagged cliffs. The French were so outraged that they arrived with guns and broke into the island. They saw absolute order.
ON the island the people dutifully farmed, switching their crops every season, maintaining the volcanic soil’s minerals. The island has an island a radius of about 20 miles so it is very important to save land. To quote from a solider’s journal
      “The houses are each no more than 3 rooms. Every family has only 4 children. ON the harvest moon, each family will send the oldest child to vote for the family on who will be the new leader. This is usually based of off the crop yield that that family has produced. While one family produces wheat, another will produce grapes and a tally is kept on which family has produced the most food. The eldest child in this family usually becomes the next ruler. The people speak in Latin. They have no idea of the outside world, it is like walking into an ancient village.”
Over the next 400 years, Ishmabahu caught up with the rest of the world. The 1700s was its golden age. While the rest of Europe was caught up with civil war, revolutions, and imperialism, Ishmabahu  created ingenious technology. They expanded their island using a product made from the bark of olive trees, coral, and the skin of grapes. Today Ishmabahu has increased its radius by 3 times since they were first visited by the French. They continue to grow every year. Although they have adopted many modern ways, their religion stays the same as well as their language and government. Who knows where Ishmabahu will go?

Afghanistan National Anthem

The lyrics to Afghanistan National Anthem describe the different cultures and beliefs of the country and it's people. It says Afghanistan is home to Baloochs, Uzbeks, Pashtoons, Hazaras, Turkman, Tajiks, Arabs, Gojars, Pamirian, Nooristanian, Barahawi, Qizilbash, Aimaq and Pashaye. Such a diverse country culminates all different cultures and ethnicities. The song also has a line that says "the land of peace, the land of sword". Much like the eagle on the back of our $1 bill, Afghanistan shares the same common goals of being both a land of peace but with the ability to fight. The song then goes on to describe Islam and Allah being the one god they shall follow forever.

Why take a test?

Tests are extremely beneficial...for teachers. It is a perfect way for a teacher to see how much a student has learned and how much information they have retained. Luckily, the tests we take at Menlo are less about seeing how many facts we retain and more about using our knowledge of subjects to make connections and come to conclusions and in my opinion, this is what tests should be about. Unfortunately, because classes involve so much factual reading, often, 50% of tests test your ability to answer multiple choice or write as much as we remember about a certain passage.

There is very little to be learned from taking a test. In fact, the point is not to learn from the test because the test is to see how much YOU have learned. However, what can be learned is common themes and how difficult certain teachers tend to make tests. Many teachers tell you what the structure is but for those who don't, you can learn what to expect on future tests from taking the first one.

In conclusion, tests are helpful depending on what exactly is tested but often lack important questions that test your ability to think.

Marx/Smith

After reading the 2 different sections, I thought that Karl Marx took a negative view from the perspective of a worker and knew a lot more about the struggles whereas Adam Smith knew a lot about the system but saw it as very effective. If I had to decide who I thought had better insight into this issue I would Choose Marx. Marx talked about how the worked was selling his labor for very little, allowing the capitalist to make a lot more money by selling the products the laborers make for as high as possible. Marx had a better idea of what was actually going on with this system, whereas Smith only saw the profit that was being made and the creation of new inventions and new technology. He said everyone working in their own self-interest was good for the country and that everyone this way could live a good life. However, this is not the case for those who were laborers working long hours and making next to nothing, unable to support their families and themselves. On the other hand, Marx continues to see all the flaws in the system, especially with machines and how they cut labor and slowly humans become "slaves" to them and capitalists can lower wages further and further. This is why I thought Marx overall had a better understanding of this system of work.

Primary Source: Statue of Liberty

The New Colossus, by Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

My Analysis:

Above is a poem I found that describes the Statue of Liberty. The statue itself sends a message to people and nations. A message that states her "commanding" presence, her "mighty" stature, and her "welcoming" nature. All of these are meant to describe the U.S. as a country. The golden door is America. The Statue of Liberty represents the U.S. for the rest of the world.

http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/History/hits?docNum=CD2154000050&tab=4&locID=menlo_schlib&nav=1&origSearch=false&hdb=ALL&t=RK&s=1&r=d&items=0&secondary=false&o=&sortOrder=RE&n=10&l=dE&sgPhrase=true&c=1&tabMap=119&bucket=psm&SU=%22statue+of+liberty%22

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty was shown on October 28th, 1886. The tower was a gift from France, originally named: "Liberty Enlightening the World". The statue stands at Liberty Island in New York. At the time, President Grover accepted this gift as a monument to celebrate 100 years of American Independence.

http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/History/hits?docNum=BT3401804032&tab=1&locID=menlo_schlib&origSearch=true&hdb=ALL&t=RK&s=1&r=d&items=0&secondary=true&o=&sortOrder=&n=10&l=dR&sgPhrase=true&c=1&tabMap=119&bucket=gal&SU=%22statue+of+Liberty%22

http://www.kakambourasfamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/StatueofLiberty1939WF2.jpg

Economies of Coercion

During the colonial era, there was much more demand for labor for local projects and building infrastructure. Also, labor was needed to harvest natural products. Of course this labor had to be unpaid. In Africa, specifically the Congo, many natives were forced to collect rubber for Belgium (Leopold II). This was required by law, that you were required to work 10-12 days a year without pay. Although it doesn't seem that bad, they were treated poorly. It escalated to the point where if they could no longer retrieve rubber, Leopold and his men would go to the villages and kill innocent people. Eventually, many people got word of this, causing Belgium to take control over the Congo. This in turn ended Leopold's "reign of terror."

In the Netherlands, a similar system was put into place. Peasants were required to cultivate 20% or more of their land in cash crops to pay for taxes. These crops were sold to the government at low rates and then sold off to the rest of the world making a lot of profit. Once again, if people could not cultivate their land, they would be lashed and often starved.

I had always thought that Africans were only taken out of Africa and then forced into labor. I did not know that there were enough valuable natural resources within Africa for Europeans to force labor there as well. In the end, throughout history nations have taken advantage of African people in order for cheap labor. Unfortunately this led to massacres of thousands of people.

Strayer 566-569

After reading about China and Europe's conflicts over Opium and the beginning of the first Opium War, I felt as though the entire situation could have been avoided.

Based on what I read, it was obvious that Britain took complete advantage of China after the Opium war. Britain, with its high ego because of their new military, decided to wage war against China. Soon after, China signed Britain's treaty which was completely in favor of Britain and allowed them to open numerous ports in China and impose tariffs on goods. The same thing happened after Britain won the second Opium War. It is clear that China let Europe push them around, taking control of the ports and allowing Europeans and other foreigners to live in China under their own laws. China, previously a very powerful nation, has fallen at the hands of Europe and their weakened government was the result of Imperialism. Why was China so feeble? Why did they let Europe and other nations such as France and Japan take advantage of them and control of areas of their country? Most likely, China underestimated Europe's newfound power, especially after the effects of the Industrial Revolution.

Strayer 528-529

These next few blogs are a bit late but I'd still really appreciate your comments, thanks.

After reading this section (and after completing the unit :O), it's pretty accurate to say that the most important things that came from the industrial revolution are the technologies created such as the spinning jenny, power loom, steam engine and cotton gin as well as factory systems that were brought into play. Unfortunately, these machines only benefitted factory owners, allowing them to produce more and make more profit. However, the actual laborers were had a much harder lifestyle and made very little money in comparison to factory owners. This is why many families had to send their children off to work in order to make as much money to support them as possible.

Present industrial feats occur all the time with the advancement in technology. However, it is never and probably will never be on the same scale as the Industrial Revolution was in Britain. This is because at that point in time, one invention after another surfaced, modernizing the country and world. Unfortunately, another industrial revolution will most likely not occur unless some sort of futuristic/alien (foreign) technology is created or discovered.