Hakeem's Global Blog

Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of Communism

2009-05-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

Mikhail Gorbachev had a very different thinking way of thinking than other leader of the USSR. He came up with new ideas that is a different belief than Stalin, and other former leaders. Mikhail Gorbachev was tired of communism, and followed his own ideas and demonstrated what a real government should be. Russia's was a country that was ran by totalitarian rulers. The Russian was tired of the corrupted government, and its leaders. They needed someone to start reforms to make the USSR capitalist, or at least show that capitalism was a good thing. Mikhail Gorbachev along with his partners, started these huge reforms called the "Glasnost" and "Perestrokia". In 1985 he announced a glasnost, this marked a turning point because churches were opened, books were published and freedom of the press rised. Perestokia was a policy that allowed people to own their own small businesses which weren't owned buy the government. This in a way marked the end of Communism, it proved that Communism wasn't affective and small businesses were needed for the success of the economy.

The Collapse of Communism

2009-05-13T06:51:00.000-07:00

During the Cold War the USSR and the U.S. were the world's leading superpowers. After the war the power of the two country was in a race. The situation went from bad to worse. The Berlin Wall was the big gigantic wall that seperated East Germany from West Germany. It was a political boundry between USSR and US. East Germany was part of the Warsaw Pact, and West Germany was part of the NATO. Anyone who tried to cross the wall was shot and killed. At least one hundred people were mercilessly shot at the Berlin wall. In November, 1989, demolition work began. At first, the goal was to built a road designated for private trips between the two sections of Germany. Then they decided to make several border crossings so more people could travel across. Soon, they were cutting holes for pedestrians. Some people came at the wall with rock hammers to gather souvenirs of the wall.

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid

2009-05-12T07:12:00.000-07:00

The people of South Africa was ruled under the policy called apartheid. Apartheid is a divide people based on race so it was basically segregation in Africa. Many of the people oppose this policy because not all race had the same rights the white had more and they weren't able to vote in parliamentary elections. When you were growing up in Africa during the apartheid times were hard but one man wanted freedom this man was Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela started off his political career by being apart of the African National Congress. Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in prison but was freed in 1990 after spending 27 years in jail. Nelson Mandela was such a hero towards the people because he helped with the liberation of Africa and he helped end the Apartheid policy. He used civil disobedience, gained trust of his people and was elected to be the president of South Africa. South Africa had more population of African American people, and they supported Nelsons ideas. His ideas of "civil disobedience" were inspired by Ghandi and used by Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders such as AL Sharpton. His mission was to free the "oppressed and the oppressor". He didn’t give up serving for his country even after being punished for 27 years

African Independence

2009-05-05T07:04:00.000-07:00

African Independence was when the African colonies gained its independence from the European countries. This was during the mid 1950's the Africa continent was being ruled by European countries, because the Europeans wanted the natural resources the African poses, for example the gold, diamonds and other raw material. It took Africa 20 years to recover, but know Africa is a whole different continent, because the colonies gained independence from the Europeans. That made them goes on to form their own country. It was easy for the African countries because the European countries were weakened after WWII. The Europeans could not manage to control the African because it was too expensive for them since they lost in WW2. They wanted to express their traditions; Europe was ready to let go of Africa after WWII. Many Africans became well educated. Creating a middle class and following the independence of many others

Some of the African leaders that helped give the African impendence were Kwame Nkumah. He used techniques such as Jazz and Negrative movement. The Negrative movement was a way to make the African people believe that they can be independent and also it gives them pride and sometimes it helped to raise there spirits.

Film Lesson: "The Right Stuff"

2009-04-08T07:17:00.000-07:00

The film "The Right Stuff" was two countries competing to build the first rocket and competing for other things too. The country included the United State and the USSR (Soviet Union); they were trying competing by seeing which of them had the best astronauts and rockets. They did everything they needed too, so they can get their best results. The USSR was the first one to send man in space and the United State send a monkey in space instead they did not want to send a man and the rocket blows up it will look bad because that’s taking the life of a human but if a monkey dies people wont make such a big deal about it. But even if the USSR (Soviet Union) were ahead of us we still got to win the competition because we had better technology that was expanding more and we had some of the best trained astronauts working for us which did a better job then them, plus we went even farther than them in space. That made our abilities greater then theirs.

NATO and The Warsaw Pact

2009-04-08T07:16:00.000-07:00

NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on April 4, 1949. It was created to prevent USSR to spread communism. It was inpact of communist countries, just like the NATO which was for the Democratic government. Countries that were in NATO were Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, & United States. These were the 26 countries that are currently in the NATO, and on the Warsaw pact the countries were Soviet Union, Albania (until 1968), Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany (until 1990), Hungary, Poland, and Romania. These were the two groups created as a defensive system. If one group attacks another group all of the countries envolved in the groups would declare war on each other. It was like friends protecting their friends, or we can say gangs. Warsaw Pact was formed by these alliances because the communist military alliance wanted to maintain power over Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union gained both control over its neighboring European nations.

The film Schindler’s list

2009-03-26T07:23:00.001-07:00

The film Schindler’s list was a very powerful illustration of the holocaust. When I looked at the movie what drowned my attention the most was the children and how they were killed. There were very adorable kids in the film. Take the little girl with the pink dress for instant that was wandering around. At the end, the little girl was wheeled in dead. It was horrible to see such innocent children get gassed. From stopping the Jewish race from growing they had to kill the children. The picture of the girl being wheeled in would stay with me forever in my head. The children were taken away when the women had a check up. When the children waved goodbye to their mothers, it was an upsetting scene because the children didn't know what is about to happen.

Film Lesson: Night and Fog

2009-03-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

Night and Fog was a documentary film about the Holocaust. The Night and Fog illustrates the lives of the Jew's and how they were treated by the Germans. This film showed the different ways Germany tried to kill the Jews as of using a gas chamber, shooting at the Jew's and the use of using the oven to burn the bodies. it was a very descriptive movie. One thing that I saw in the night and fog was it explained and gave more evidence that was in the holocaust. The movie uses real image showing the dead body and real video that was actually shot where the holocaust took place, they even recorded how the place looks now a days meaning how the chambers were empty how the ground grows with grass and more. They focused more on showing you the basic concept on what it was and making you realize how cruel that act of genocide was and how the Nazi's surpassed the border or abuse of human nature. Concluding I think that Shindlers List was a better movie because it explained more effectively the Holocaust. If I had seen only the night and fog I really wouldn’t have known much about the holocaust. The movie Schindlers list actually made me realize how bad the holocaust was.

The Treaty of Versailles (ended WW I)

2009-02-24T06:50:00.001-08:00

World war one-ended November 11th 1918 Germany was one of the three countries that lost. German lost many of its soldiers and it defeated its military power. At the end German was forced to sign a treaty and which made them lose many of their land owned. The treaty was called the Treaty of Versailles, which was very effective to the German people. The treaty limited the rights of the German. German couldn't make big ships or build any kind of military power. One of the laws that the treaty had in it was to pay the damage of the war. United States couldn't lend money to Germany during the depression of America. As a result German faced several depressions. The German people thought that the treaty was unfair and also wanted a fair government that can save them from the situation that they are in. That’s the time Hitler came in and wanted to overthrow the government. I think that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair because Germany was not the only country involved in the war so they should not have to pay all the money for the damages caused. Even if they lost other country lost also so they should have to share the expense. The treaty of Versailles led to the rise of Adolph Hitler, how so? Well the country was in great death so they need money and a good leader and Hitler was right there at hand. Hitler had a plan to fix the country so Hitler steps in to save the country, but know one now what Hitler had in mind.

Mustafa Kemal and the Modernization of Turkey

2009-02-11T07:10:00.000-08:00

The Ottoman Empire was one of the biggest empires ever. It stretched from Northern Africa to the Middle East and Southern Europe. This was a Major Muslim dominated empire. the ottoman empire ended after WW1. It meant the father of the Turks. His principles were stated as the "Six Arrows". This was his drive, his purpose and his values which defined everything he did and was reason behind everything he did. The Six Arrows were republicanism, populism, secularism, reformism, nationalism, and statism.Secular is the state of being separate from religion. For example eating and bathing may be regarded as examples of secular activities, because there is nothing inherently religious about them.

Film Lesson - "Gandhi"

2009-02-10T07:09:00.000-08:00

Gandhi lived by the quote " an eye for an eye only makes the whole world go blind." Gandhi also believed and follows non-violence. Gandhi believed that the best way to defeat Great Britain was by not fighting them at all, when you don’t get angry with the British then they look like the bad guy when they try to over power the Indians. Gandhi did not want to fight back because he said that fighting back would kill them one after another, not solving the controversy that they were first fighting about. To make a bold statement he did not fight and won India’s independence like that.

Some way that Gandhi influenced people not to fight was by going on a hunger strike, it was really affected because the people of India stop fighting. Gandhi was also responsible for the salt march. The salt march was to prevent the British from taxing them. Salt was very valuable back in those days so Great Britain would tax on all the salt, gaining more profit. Gandhi led thousands of people to walk around 200 miles, just to get themselves free salt from their own land, the sea. He was doing this entire thing without using any violence at all. He also wove his own clothes so he didn’t have to pay for the clothes Britain sold them, for they only let India buy from Britain and no other countries.

One of the main reasons that India won it’s independence was because of Gandhi he believed in piece and he lived by it. During the time of India's independence, World War II was going on. Britain would get affected tremendously because Britain would lose a lot of money from the boycotts Gandhi started. Britain found India valuable and if India aloof from Britain, Britain’s empire could possibly collapse.

The Russian Revolution

2009-01-20T14:08:00.000-08:00

The Russian Revolution was a popular Revolution in Russia. The revolutions began during world war one, when the Russians were forced to fight with a limited amount of weapons along with a bunch of other unfair treatment. Eventually the Russians pulled themselves out from the war, although the unfair treatment continued and they began getting tired of it. Retreating was a major cause of the revolution. Their was an unnecessary number of people and a victory seemed hopeless. Czar Nicholas II became associated with a faith healer named Rasputin who's scandalous behavior shocked Russia. After one year being involved in the war it had already begun taking its toll on the people. Their was a food shortage so the people demanded more but Nicholas instead sent troops in to keep the people from demonstrating. Most people started viewing communism as a successful way to live their lives by and soon the Workers and peasants revolted against the landlords and factory owners. Peasants took over land and overturned the interim provisional government resulting in the establishment of the Soviet Union

Causes of WW I

2009-01-07T06:58:00.001-08:00

World War I has affected many nations along with their citizens. WW1 was known as "the great war". One of the many causes to World War I was the rise of nationalism toward many countries.
The people who wanted independence led to a to series of national struggles and problem for their independence among the Balkan people.

Another cause for WW1 was the need for their own country, many people got tired they wanted to have their own country so they started becoming rivalries with other country around Europe. Another reason of the war was because of the Balkan wars and the assignation of Franz Ferdinand. Balkan states were very unstable at the start of the 20th century as the region was under foreign rule and the Balkans wanted self-rule.

In protest against Austria's control, terrorists in Bosnia assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife at around June 1914.
The Bosnians were backed by Serbia and Russia; Germany sided with Austria, against Serbia. Of course After Franz Ferdinand was shot, Serbia took advantage and was able to take Austro-Hungarian Land.

Militarism came into place all the countries within Europe were creating large armies before the war years. Every country was ready for the war they were planning and getting their army ready; it was just a matter of time. Secret battle plans lead to spies, which also lead to other nations feeling scared and suspicious.
The Collapse of the Alliance System came because the European government fells distrust and he made them feel suspicious. Everyone was so suspicious they never talked about specific plans if a war was to come soon because they were scared that they might be destructed.

The Opium War

2008-12-10T07:16:00.000-08:00

The first drug war is known as the British opium war, which took place in the 19th century with the Chinese and the British. The British wanted to balance out their trade with the china for tea so they imported opium from India trying to sell it to the Chinese. China did not need to trade with any other country because they produced everything them self. So Great Britain try to bring in opium to china by mixing it with the tobacco so when they use the tobacco they become addicted to it do, in return the British can make money from the Chinese because know the Chinese needed the opium more so their economy fell. Many of their income was used to buy the opium Britain was becoming rich of the Chinese.

When China’s government found out that Britain was smuggling in opium in to china it caused the war, the Chinese send a letter to queen Victoria but she never received the letter so the Chinese went a head and used forced but the British was for better kin technology so they came out victorious.

Film lesson: "Mountains of the Moon"

2008-12-03T06:36:00.000-08:00

Mountains of the Moon (1990) is a film that depict the journey of two European explorer by the name of Richard Francis Burton and John Henning Speke on their exploration of central Africa which culminated in the discovery of the Nile River. The Europeans faced the heat off the Sarah desert, lost of food, and also being able to adapting to Africa. Lake Victoria, which is located in Africa, was named after the Europe queen because John Speke found it, and one had changed the name ever since.

The Europeans had better technology over the Africans, which made it easy to conquer their land. The Europeans had guns and cannons, the Africans were not familiar with these technology the Europeans also had a steam ship witch can travel far in short times. This was an easy capture for the Europeans.

The Meiji Restoration of Japan

2008-11-26T07:05:00.000-08:00

Japan is known as an archipelago, what this mean is that Japan is a large group of islands, which are close to each other, or in near by areas. Mathew Perry "bullied" the Japanese into singing the treaty by impressing them with the technologies that the Americans enjoyed. The Japanese were very impressed with the technology that was on the American steam ships. The United States in a way was bulling the Japanese instead of just setting up and arrangement and negotiate. The United States used their military power to scare the Japanese, or just force them to do what ever they say. Japan had been in isolation for many years, so their army was weak and their technology was out dated. Mathew Perry purposely dropped 26 miles off the coast of Tokyo, just to impress the Japanese, which did work as they plan the Japanese’s were not so impressed with what Perry did in Tokyo. The Japanese were impressed, but dropping miles they were more interested in how far the Americans steam ship was traveling in such short time. Perry also arrived in Tokyo with the sails of the ship down. He did this purposely, to show the Japanese, that with their steam technology, they no longer needed sails. The Japanese felt intimidated. Japan felt that they were so behind from everyone else so in both the Japanese and united state interest to open the ports. With this treaty in place, Japan was now able to advance, in technology and power.

Karl Marx and Communism

2008-11-06T06:47:00.000-08:00

Karl Marx idea of communist was where everyone was treated equal, what I mean by that is everyman worked equal money, have equal right everyone was treated equal. He wanted everyone to be one. Karl Marx was for the workers; he wanted the workers to have the same right as the factory owners. Marx also wanted the workers to own the factory. Marx did not like the factory owner just for the simple fact of how the were treating the their workers, they paid them little money for long hours.

Karl Marx and the Industrial Revolution

2008-11-05T07:03:00.000-08:00

Karl Marx did not like the Industrial Revolution, just for the simple fact of how the workers were being treated. The condition the workers faced were very harsh and unsafe. Marx argued that the workers should owned the factory and farm rather than the landlord. He urged the "workers of the world to unite" in a worldwide revolution.

Marx's saw how the workers were being treated so he came up with an idea known as Communism, a word formed for common. Marx said that “communism is going to be workers sharing wealth in a communist society.” Marx also wanted the wealth to be distributed "to each pearson according to his abilities, to each according to his needs."

Nationalism and the Creation of Italy

2008-10-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

Nationalism- is the belief that one’s greatest loyalty should not be to a king or an empire but to a nation of people who share a common culture and history.

What mostly makes me a nationalist is the fact that I really treasure freedom and I never take it for granted. I also am a citizen of The United States and I support my country in any decisions that the people make for it. I respect the way people use their freedom here to help make the economy better, but mostly those people because some take their freedom for granted and decide to do what’s mostly best for them and their desires. What also makes me a nationalist is I respect this country but I respect my own country, where I was born, and the people I care about where their family living.

While Nationalism was destroying empires, it was result in new nations. Italy was one of those new nations that form from the territory of crumbling empires. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Austria ruled the Italian provinces of Venetia and Lombardy in the north, and several small states.

Simon Bolivar and Latin American Revolutions

2008-10-10T07:02:00.000-07:00

Simón Bolívar was born in Caracas on July 24, 1783, to don Juan Vicente Bolívar y Ponte and doña Maria de la Concepción Palacios y Blanco. At the age of nine he lost both his parent, he then grew up with his uncle, don Carlos Palacios at the age of fifteen his uncle sent him to Spain to continue his education. When he visited Mexico on his way to Spain he saw how the people were being treated.

Simon Bolívar lost all of his respect for Napoleon who he had considered to be a good leader, after he saw how he betrayed the republican. It was in Italy that Bolívar made his famous vow on top of Mount Aventin of Rome to never rest until America was free. Bolivia is named after Simon Bolivar because on December 9, he destroyed all the remaining Spanish in the battle of Ayacucho, eliminating Spanish in South America.

Simon Bolivar fought for the independence of South America; he made sure that he followed his vow that he made on top of mount Aventin before he died. He won the independence of Venezuela on June 3, 1811. Simon Bolivar was inspired to fight for people freedom and his quest for revolution, after he saw what Napoleon did with his power that fired him up, when he returned home and saw the ways that the people was being treaded he decided to do some thing about it their fore causing all those revolution and battles.

Robespierre and The Reign of Terror

2008-09-23T07:08:00.000-07:00

The Reign of Terror took place on the 5 September 1793 and lasted until 28 July 1794, it was a period of violence that occurred fifteen months after the onset of the French Revolution. During this period people's heads would be cut off for no reason what so ever. Max robespierre was the ruler during this time. He used a machine to cut people is heads. He killed who ever he though could be against him of represent a problem for him. He didnt really care about if it was true or not. incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of the revolution."

Maximilien Robespierre was the main cause of the Reign of Terror, if it was not for his way of ruling people would not have to find a cause to go against him. The Reign of Terror finally came to an end with the head of Max Robespierre.

The French Revolution

2008-09-22T07:17:00.001-07:00

In France the king was in charged over everyone and everything, the country was divided into three estates the clergy the nobility and the peasant. The clergy and the nobility were in the first and second estate and the peasant was in the third. The clergy and the nobility was treated fairly they did don’t have to serve the military, they were not require to pay a lot of tax, and they lived in luxury, the peasant was the complete opposite they had to pay tax and serve in the military.

In 1789 a French peasant would've probably complained about maintaining the burden of carrying the higher estates on their back.

The cartoonist was probably pointing out that they were treated as mules to carry and maintain everything in the higher estate. In the quote he is asking when all this unfair or unequal treatment will be over.

The author of source B describes the lives of French peasants as really unfair because they barely have enough to live by and they still have to pay taxes to the nobles.

Sources A, B, and C tells why the peasants would resented the rich people, because in source C the document shows that a peasant only make 200 lives a year while a priest would make 10,000 a year. One more reason why the peasants would resent the rich people; because in source B it states how a family of peasants had to pay so much taxes, because they had to pay 20kg of wheat and 3 chickens as dues to one lords. That’s not all he also had to give to the other lord he had to pay 60kg of oats, one chicken, and five pence not including the taxes they had to pay the king.

Rousseau's writing would mostly influenced the peasants the most because Rousseau's conveys that no one has the power to have total control over anyone and in order to achieve something using force then that violation of the human rights.

The pamphlet was banned in 1775 because the top estates like’s the king, clergy, and the nobility didn't want anyone to find out. They were afraid if the people found out that they would go against them their for they would lose their power.

John Locke and "The Enlightenment"

2008-09-18T07:06:00.000-07:00

John Locke was a great influence in the writing of the US Constitution. Thomas Jefferson used many of his words and ideals when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson wrote that the people have "unalienable rights", which meant that the people have the right to speak their mind and pursue whatever dreams or goals in mind. John Locke believed when you’re born, you have rights to do what you want; this of course led to the famous quote "all men are created equal" which is written in the Declaration.

The Government power comes directly from the people. This was of course also influenced by John Locke. Although the governing of a King was stopped in Americas we still needed a leader, and that’s where the President comes in. This wouldn't be like a king because this time the people chose the leader and the leader must always think of the people not himself. Now the people were free from the ruling of idiot kings.

Copernicus and the Trial of Galileo

2008-09-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

Geocentric Theory- state that the earth is at the center of the solar system, and that everything revolved around it.
Heliocentric Theory – states that planets and even the moon revolved around the sun, in a counter-clockwise motion.

The Geocentric Theory came first, saying that everything revolved around the earth, then later on scientists try to prove that theory wrong. They claimed that everything revolved around the sun, using the Heliocentric Theory.

Galileo was on trial because he was questioning God work. He said that “the earth was not the center of the universe”. Catholic Church, condemned him to life imprisonment.

The Catholic Church put Galileo on trial because he said that "the earth was not the center of the universe", their for questioning the holy book.

Galileo believed that everything revolved around the sun.

Scientific Revolution: The Scientific Method

2008-09-11T06:45:00.000-07:00

The Scientific Method, consist of four steps:

1. Observation and description of a phenomenon or group of phenomena.
2. Formulation of a hypothesis to explain the phenomena. In physics, the hypothesis often takes the form of a causal mechanism or a mathematical relation.
3. Use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other phenomena, or to predict quantitatively the results of new observations.
4. Performance of experimental tests of the predictions by several independent experimenters and properly performed experiments.

The Scientific Method is used to test theory to see if they are true of false. Scientist can experiment over and over again to prove or disprove a theory. Scientist will not just take a theory for granted, they conduct experiments. Then they will draw conclusion on what they observed. The scientific method is still the best way that scientist can determine the truth from lies.

One theory that used the Scientific Method was Aristotle’s theory that heavy objects falls faster than light objects. Well in the late 1500’s Galileo tested this theory. Galileo tested Aristotle’s Theory by going on top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and dropped stones of different weights. Galileo then observed and collect data. From his finding, he proved Aristotle was wrong and found what we know today; objects of different weights, fall at the same speed using the Scientific Method.

Evolution vs. Creation

2008-09-05T06:45:00.000-07:00

Darwin's Theory of Evolution, states that all life is related to one another. Darwin used Natural selection to explain how this theory can be supported he claimed if a specie grows wing then it's offspring will also have that same wing which will make them able to fly, he also claimed that over a period of time that set of species will eventually die out leaving only the superior one. Darwin's theory of evolution is in a crisis because of the advanced in science, research now show us that there in fact tens of thousands of irreducibly complex systems on the cellular level, which is proving Darwin theory wrong.

Creationism is the religious belief that life, Earth, and the universe were created by God. In the West Creationism usually based on creation Genesis, and in its broad sense covers a wide range of beliefs. In 1929 in the United States the term direct creation of individual souls, became associated with the Christian fundamentalist opposition to human evolution and belief in a young Earth. The United State passed a law against the teaching of evolution in public schools.

I belief in Creationism, in my religion Allah (God) created the heavens and the Earth. Islam also states how mankind came in to existents, which is God created Adam from every peace of clay on earth then he breathes into him giving him his soul. Then Adam was sent to Earth. When Adam had a child it would be a boy and a girl. He was to marry a child from one birth to a child from another birth, populating the earth.