5 interesting facts

Nuclear power plants need less fuel than ones which burn fossil fuels. One ton of uranium produces more energy than is produced by several million tons of coal or several million barrels of oil.

In France, nuclear power is the most widespread, supplying 80 percent of the country's electricity. A protest movement exists, called Sortir du Nucléaire, or "Get Out of Nuclear," but it appears to have made little headway.

As of 2004, nuclear power provided 6.5% of the world's energy and 15.7% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for 57% of nuclear generated electricity.

Nuclear energy would be dominant source of energy by now if it hadn't been Chernobyl and Three Miles island (nuclear disasters).

Nuclear energy is really making a comeback because nuclear energy has virtually none greenhouse gases emission and therefore isn't warming the planet and causing global warming like some other energy source

5 Interesting Things

1) Madonna adopted a child from Malawi 3 years prior to today and she able to adopt the baby with no "adoption requirements." I thought it was interesting how now she has to go by the requirements, as if she was a normal person trying to adopt from Malawi.

2) I also found it interesting how the people of Malawi didn't want to give their baby to Madonna even though the baby would have an easier and better time growing up in the United States.

3) Another thing I found interesting was how Madonna was really stuck on getting a baby from Malawi and not any other African country.

4) Madonna as a multi-millionaire is building a $15 million dollar academy for girls and boys in Malawi. I found it interesting and sincere that Madonna would start an organization that costs her millions of dollars, to give these young kids education.

5) Madonna knew she was going to beat the adoption agency in Malawi because she is "white" which is why she followed through with the trial.

Oil Spill Interesting Facts

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig, worth over $560 million, sinks to 5,000 feet below the surface and a five mile oil slick emerges.

17 people wounded, 11 dead. This is the deadliest oil rig disaster since 1968.

Nearly 2.5 million gallons of oil have spilled into the ocean since the explosion on the oil rig.

After initial attempts to stop the oil leak failed, new attempts will include drilling to 18,000 feet below the surface of the ocean and injecting cement and various chemicals to stop the leak. The plan is to use over 100 tons of cement.

Every day, the threat to the coastline of places like Louisiana increases and for now, wildlife in the affected areas is in serious danger. The only hope is that the containment methods for the oil spill work out.

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Citations

Oberman, Mira. "Ships rushed to Gulf islands as first oil arrives" Yahoo News. (5/4/10)

Oberman, Mira. "BP to use domes to capture giant US oil spill" Yahoo News. (5/4/10)

CNN Wire Staff. "As oil spill nears Gulf Coast, experts issue dire warnings" CNN U.S. (5/1/10)

Polson, Jim. "Rig Sinking Prompts Fears of Gulf Oil Spill, 11 Still Missing" SFGate. (4/26/10)

Seba, Erwin. "Factbox - Chronology of Gulf of Mexico oil spill" Reuters. (5/2/10)

5 interesting facts

In the past 5  years Opium production has gone up 50% in many places of Afghanistan

In 2001 the opium production in Afghanistan was about 100 tons, and from that point it started to skyrocket.

Afghanistan produces more than 90% of the worlds Opium.

Now Opium addiction is estimated at an astonishing 1.4 million people.

A lot of the farmers that are producing the opium are not actually affiliated with the Taliban or other terrorist organizations. They are just ordinary people that have to plant this in order to survive.

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.

5 things that I found interesting in my research

Before 1991, when Somalia was ruled over by a dictator, there was extreme media censorship. For example, only one newspaper was allowed to be published. Dissent or disagreeing with the government was a violation of the law, punishable by death.

In 2001, the UNDP published the following statement: "the 21-year regime of Siyad Barre had one of the worst human rights records in Africa."

In 1980, as the government began to collapse in Somalia, massive inflation occurred. In some years the annual depreciation of the Somali Schilling was over 300% compared to the US Dollar. What occurred was similar to what happened in Germany before Hitler came to power. The citizens were robbed from their savings because their money no longer had any value.

By the 1980s Somalia was essentially funded by other nations. By the mid 1980s 100% of their development budget and 50% of their recurrent budged was funded by foreign aid. By 1987 more than 70% of Somalia's total operating budget was financed through foreign aid.

Those are some of the facts about what Somalia was like before its period of statelessness. My research paper will investigate the before/and after of this event.

Learning Five New Facts on Oil

1. Oil takes over the world, it is in such high demand, that people obsess over it. It is crazy what people or Saudi Princes will do for oil.

2. People in the oil rich countries are very very poor and have nothing. This is because the people in the government do not care about the people, they only care about themselves becoming rich and their country for being known for having lots of oil.

3. The issue of oil is destroying the world, and increasing global warming. If oil was never discovered we would not die, we would just live MUCH simpler lives, which may not be a bad thing.

4. America makes a lot of oil, but none of it is sold because we need so much that we use all of it and then we have to buy it from other oil rich countries. We need a lot of oil due to the way americans live.

5. In oil rich countries, the poor people do not get an education and if they need a job, either working for oil or not they must be hard working because if they ask for anything complicated then they will be fired and there are people everywhere looking for a job. Just like in the Industrial revolution, when the factories were just being discovered and people begged for jobs. Also the Oil industry is a capitalism industry not a labor intensive so they do not need as many workers as something like farming or searching and making diamonds.

Golden Triangle Facts

These are facts that I found astonishing and really show how big this trade was. Its also interesting to read about how the UN is cracking down and all of their various tactics.
1) This trade generated up to 90% of the heroin used on the European and 70% of all opium sold worldwide as of 1995.
2) The trade has fallen 94% in Laos as of 1998 because of efforts from both the UN and China
3) Contrary to beliefs, many of the farmers who grew the opium are upset with the government as they have no sort of profits. A large amount of farmers are struggling to switch from opium to cash crops.
4) An estimated 100,000 opium addicts in just Laos alone, but this number is decreasing at the price for opium was sky rocketed due to the rarity and lack of production.
5) Khun Sa, the recent drug lord who died, was connected to 45% of all of the worlds drugs in the 1980s.

Some Pictures from Taiji

Here are some pictures from Taiji, Japan, one of the main places where the killing killing takes place.

Aquariums that buy Dolphins and Whales Illegally

Here is a list of some aquariums that have boughten and shown dolphins and whales that they have gotten illegally.

Miami Seaquarium: Obtained two Risso’s Dolphins (Grampus) from Taiji, Japan, via Jay Sweeney. Both dolphins caught in a 1989 hunt. Both died at Miami Seaquarium in 1989 and 1995.

Miami Seaquarium: Obtained two bottlenose dolphins from Iki Island (drive hunt), Japan, via Jay Sweeney. Both dolphins caught in 1989 hunt; one died 1991, the other in 2000.

Sea World San Diego: Obtained three false killer whales, two from Taiji, Japan and one from Iki Island, Japan, via the Fishermen’s Union. Two caught in 1981 and one caught in 1984; alive in 1991 (date of report).

Indianapolis Zoological Society: Obtained two false killer whales from Taiji, Japan, via Jay Sweeney, in 1989. One died in 1992, the other in 1998.

Naval Comm, Control & OC Surveillance Ctr (US Navy Trained Dolphins): Two Risso’s dolphins obtained from Taiji, Japan, in 1989. One died in 1989, the other in 1999.

Marine World Africa USA (now Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo, CA): Sought to import four false killer whales in 1993. Earth Island letter (dated May 5, 1993) to NMFS expressed opposition to the illegal, inhumane captures of drive hunts. Permission for import denied by NMFS (letter dated May 7, 1993).

Interesting Facts

1. Mohammad Khatami, a previous leader, let women go skiing without the normal gender barriers. Women were allowed to wear ski attire rather what all women were supposed to wear. They were also let on ski lifts and gondolas with men and were allowed to ski with men. The gender barrier was nonexistent on the ski slopes and so women saw this as a chance of freedom sort of. They have police that are supposed to make sure none of the Islamic values are compromised or broken but they haven't been given skis. So as long as the women are on the slopes, they are fine.

2."There is nothing in Islam that says that (women) working is forbidden...If a woman wants to work, she should be able to. She should be able to tell her husband that she doesn't want to just sit around the house... Some men and women deny the right of women to work, and this is either a result of ignorance or holding on too tightly to tradition." These quotes were said by Dr. Umayma Ahmad Al-Jalahma. She is arguing the fact that Islam should not prevent women from working. She thinks that people should be able to adapt and have the freedom to work if they wish. I thought this was interesting because this shows progress regarding the rights of women in Islam and my above point does too. You don't normally hear about the freedom women have. You mostly hear about what they struggle with or what they don't have.

3. From one of my sites, I found that women who have been around longer know many things about what women can do that is normally restricted by law. For example, they are allowed to be educated and it is illegal to keep girls from going to school. Apparently the laws may have been altered a little to what people think women can and can't do but in reality they haven't been part of the Islamic tradition and religion.

4. Iranian women were just allowed to participate in the FIFA Youth Olympics if they were caps instead of the traditional hijab. I think that this is both good and bad. They are allowing the women to play but they are not allowed to wear what they are supposed to wear traditionally. I think it is a good step in the right direction but there is still some work and adaptation that other organizations could do.

5. Islam has made some changes to modernize and make more sense of its self. Islam has gotten rid of polygamy because the Koran states that wives should be treated equally and if you have six it is hard to treat them all the same. They considered it too much work for even a very wealthy man. I think that this is interesting because it shows that Islam is adapting and modernizing sort of. They are trying to make their religion more practical and it will only be a matter of time when the women are completely equal to men.

Interesting Facts about The Killing of Dolphins and Whales but mainly Dolphins

• 23,000 permits are issued each year by the Japan Fisheries Agency to kill dolphins, porpoises, and other small whales. The total kill varies from year to year (for example, in 2007, 13,107 dolphins and small whales were reported killed in Japan waters. These numbers do not include the large whales killed under so-called “scientific” whaling permits in the North Pacific and Antarctic Oceans.). This is the largest scale slaughter of cetaceans in the world.

• About 1,200 to 1,800 dolphins and other small whales are killed in the so-called dolphin drive hunts that takes place six months out of the year in Taiji. The rest are killed with hand-held harpoons from small boats out at sea.

• In the small fishing village of Taiji, Wakayama prefecture, the dolphin drive hunt is carried out by about 26 fishermen from September 1st though March.

• Operating with 13 motorized boats, the fishermen go out to sea at early sunrise and look for migrating dolphins. Banging on metal pipes submerged into the water, they terrorize the dolphins with a "wall of sound," causing the dolphins to panic.

• Terrorizing the dolphins with underwater sound, the fishermen herd the dolphins into a secret killing cove close to Taiji Town.

• Often times, dolphins die during the chase that can last eight hours or more.

• The Taiji fishermen claim that dolphins eat too much fish and therefore must be exterminated.

• Operating with a permit from their government, the Taiji fishermen have referred to the dolphin hunt as "pest control."

• The majority of people in Japan have no knowledge about the annual dolphin blood bath.

• The fishermen kill the dolphins with spears, fishermen's hooks and knives. Trashing about in their own blood, the dolphins emit high-pitched screams during the massacre.

• The slaughtered dolphins are processed into meat and distributed to supermarkets throughout Japan for human consumption.

• Dolphin meat from drive hunts in Taiji proved to be highly contaminated with toxic chemicals such as mercury, methyl mercury and PCBs.

• Repeated chemical analyses have shown that the level of mercury in dolphin meat is much higher than the maximum allowable level set by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan.

• Some of the dolphin meat is given to children as part of their school lunch program.

• The Japanese government and the supermarkets issue no warning that dolphin meat is mercury-contaminated.

• The fishermen of Taiji have told us that the Japanese people have no right to know about the dolphin hunt or the high levels of mercury found in the meat.

• Concealing this information from the public is a violation of Article 21 of the Japanese Constitution.

• Some members of the international aquarium and zoo industry are strongly connected to the Japanese dolphin slaughter, in that they pay top dollar for dolphins deemed suitable for commercial exploitation in dolphin shows and captive dolphin swim programs.

• Dolphinariums throughout the world, including Japan, repeatedly make the claim that captivity of dolphins promotes dolphin conservation and protection.

• Several of the hundreds of captive dolphins in Japan's 50 dolphinariums were obtained through the dolphin drive hunts; yet the dolphinariums do nothing to educate the public to the hunt.

• The World Association for Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) is the world's largest network of zoos and aquariums around the world.

• Dolphinariums that have conducted business with the dolphin killers of Japan have been welcomed into WAZA's network, although the trade in these dolphins clearly violates WAZA's Code of Ethics.

• The dolphins that are purchased by members of the dolphin captivity industry represent a much higher commercial value to the Japanese dolphin hunters than the ones that are slaughtered for meat.

• Live dolphins captured in a Taiji dolphin drive hunt recently sold for $154,000 per dolphin.

• The Japanese dolphin hunt will continue for as long as members of the international dolphinarium industry continue to reward the hunters for show quality dolphins, thereby making the hunt tremendously profitable.

• The most sought after dolphin species for public display are bottlenose dolphins, orcas, white sided dolphins, Risso's dolphins, pilot whales and Pseudo orcas, all of which have been targeted in the Japanese dolphin drive hunt.

5 intersting facts

So far i've decided that my essay will look at the fate of children in Cambodia, and a how the Khmer Rouge affected what happens to the youth in Cambodia. The main source of income in Cambodia come from agriculture, specifically rice farming. Families become desperate if crop fails, which is a main cause of the rising human trafficking in Cambodia. Sweatshops also employ many people. WIth these job options facing Cambodia's youth, Dancing Across BOrders provides hope to children there.

-The Movie Dancing Across Borders is about a boy named Sy (rhymes with we) who rises out of Cambodia and becomes a professional dancer in a ballet troupe in America

-Every year over 800,000 children are sold into the world of human trafficking

-due to lack of government and religious authority in cambodia, brothels are extremely common

-There are little laws in America regarding human trafficking, since it is relatively new in U.S.

-Demi Moore has started an international campaign and recently visited Cambodia

-New York Times journalist Nicholas Krisstoff traveled to Cambodia to report about the conditions, found that many children are involved and that possible solutions would be to have better education for girls world-wide to give them better job opportunities

-EVen after Khmer Rouge rule over Cambodia, over 70% of the population are rice farmers, making the whole country totally dependent on the irregular enviornment

The Killing of Dolphins and Whales Citations

Information Website about the Killing of Dolphins - Earth Island Institute. Save Japan's Dolphins. 2010. http://www.savejapandolphins.org/index.php (May 6th, 2010)

Information Website about the Killing of Whales - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. WCDS North America. http://www.wdcs-na.org/ (May 6th, 2010)

Article by BBC News about Killing of Dolphins - Michael Nelson. BBC News. April 22, 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8599723.stm (May 6th, 2010)

Article by Times Online about Killing of Whales - The Sunday Times. Time Online. April 18, 2010. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article7100851.ece (May 6th, 2010)

A timeline of the history of whaling - Japan Whaling Association. Whaling Chronology. http://www.whaling.jp/english/history.html (May 6th, 2010)

theeeee five interesting facts

• Stetson University students spend a day wearing a veil to feel the perspective of those women. A professor, Khadher said, "They were ignored, despite the visibility of the veil itself, they became invisible for most people. Some students talked about their closet friends who would look at them and not see them, would not know who they are."
• During International Women's Day, a Muslim woman named Fakhraie explains her feelings about the stereotypes in our community. One thing that irritates her the most is how the image used to represent Islam or Muslim people, is always a lady wrapped in a veil. She concludes from this that nobody will ever be curious about the background of the woman, their personality or where they come from.
• A Muslim woman in France was given a few hundred dollar ticket for wearing a veil on her head. The officer said it limits her vision of the road and can cause a sudden accident. This is a valid reason, because veils are banned in France. 
• After the ban of veils in France, the government was afraid that their country would become a target for terrorists. Sarkozy tried to make the ban of veils as nice as possible by clarifying that nobody should be "stigmatised."
• Turkey also lifted the ban of veils but in a more milder way. They allow the Muslim women to wear hijabs but not in open public programs. For example, young girls must remove their hijab when entering a university, but they can put it on again. 

Sources from earlier 5 articles

5 Interesting Facts

• Potatoes were not always loved. After they were brought to Europe they were seen as food for the underclass. This was due because of their relationship to poisonous plants, if let in the sun for too long the potato turns green on top of having a bitter taste they would make some people ill.
• Potatoes became popular until Antoine August Parmentier with a skillful plan made them popular. Parmentier got a piece of land and planted potatoes by day he would have the field guarded. Leading to people becoming very curious and making them steal this valuable vegetable.
• The first people to accept the potato however were the Irish because they were able to plant them in abundance due to their climate. However this lead to the potato famine.
  

“The Secret History of French Fries.” http://www.stim.com/Stim-x/9.2/fries/fries-09.2.html (accessed May 6, 2010)

• Developing countries have recently increased in potato production which I believe is due to the amount of nutrition the potatoes provide and also possibly because of their popularity world wide.
• Even though Asia/Oceania have the largest population and are the largest potato producing areas, they do not even eat half the amount that the Europe or North America regions eat. Europe stands at 87.8 kg per capita while North America is 60.0 kg per capita.

“Potato World.” International Year of the Potato 2008.
http://www.potato2008.org/en/world/index.html (accessed May 6, 2010)

Opium Bibliography

Bibliography 

2001, November, the collapse of the economy, and 300&. "Opium production in Afghanistan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_production_in_Afghanistan (accessed May 6, 2010).

 2008, as more areas in the north, centrally appointed officials allegedly reached power-sharing agreements over drug routes.Today, even as fewer provinces cultivate opium, licit GDP increases, much of the Afghan state remains politically, as earnings from drug cultivation, processing, smuggling inject cash into Afghanistan's agricultural, consumer, labor, construction markets. Despite measured international confidence in Afghanistan's current minister of interior, northeast went poppy-free, a growing number of international bodies active in Afghanistan confidentially indicate that provincial, profit, international officials, political officers in Afghanistan were reporting that the northeast border provinces of Kunduz, Baglan, Takhar were crisscrossed with drug-, weapon-smuggling routes, that in newly poppy-free Badakhshan, and local commanders. "The Good and Bad News about Afghan Opium - Council on Foreign Relations." Council on Foreign Relations. http://www.cfr.org/publication/21372/good_and_bad_news_about_afghan_opium.html (accessed May 6, 2010).

"Afghanistan's poppy politics." Gale Database. galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/hits?docNum=A55852738&tab=2&locID=menlo_schlib&origSearch=true&hdb=ALL&t=RK&s=1&r=d&items=0&secondary=true&o=&sortOrder=&n=10&l=dJ&sgPhrase=false&c=5&tabMap=82&bucket=iac&SU=opium+in+afghanistan (accessed April 22, 2007).

"The Holy Men of Heroin: Afghanistan has been ruined by war. But it does one job better than anyplace else in the world: produce opium." Gale Database. galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/hits?docNum=A57841082&tab=2&locID=menlo_schlib&origSearch=true&hdb=ALL&t=RK&s=1&r=d&items=0&secondary=true&o=&sortOrder=&n=10&l=dJ&sgPhrase=false&c=3&tabMap=82&bucket=iac&SU=opium+in+afghanistan (accessed December 6, 1999).

"The Opium Brides Of Afghanistan." Gale Database. galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/hits?docNum=A177334437&tab=2&locID=menlo_schlib&origSearch=true&hdb=ALL&t=RK&s=1&r=d&items=0&secondary=true&o=&sortOrder=&n=10&l=dJ&sgPhrase=false&c=1&tabMap=82&bucket=iac&SU=opium+in+afghanistan (accessed May 7, 2008).

citations so far for Cambodia

Citations:

Carvin, Andy. “From Slideshow to Genocide.” http://www.edwebproject.org/sideshow/khmeryears/index.html (Accessed April 27 2010)

“Communist Party of Kampuchea-Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.” April 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Kampuchea (accessed May 5, 2010)

Gale online Student recourse center Gold, s.v. “Vietman Troups withdrawl from Cambodia.” . (accessed May 5, 2010)

Gold, Sylviane. “Dancing Across Borders.” March 19, 2010. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/21/movies/21bass.html (Accessed April 27, 2010)

“First Run Features: DANCING ACROSS BORDERS.” 2010 http://firstrunfeatures.com/dancingacrossborders.html (accessed May 5, 2010)