Last Day

Today's Class was the last class before break for Thanksgiving. I hope the break goes by extremely slowly because I love thanksgiving. The reason I love Thanksgiving is because it is getting ready to enter into the Christmas season. Right after Thanksgiving is over Christmas imminently starts. Christmas music plays, lights are put up, and everyone begins shopping for gifts. I love getting a Christmas tree and decorating it, it’s all part of the Christmas season. So hopefully this year we have an extra-long Christmas break; that would be great. Also I should probably start getting ready for exams. Hopefully the Human Geo exam isn’t too hard because I’m a little scared. I’m going on vacation like right before exams so I really don’t want to have to study there. I literally get back the day before exams, so I’ll probably study before I leave. Let’s hope I don’t bomb these exams like I do every other test.

Peace Corps Challenge

Mr. Schick wasn’t in class today so we had a sub. Basically all we did the entire class was work on the online game about the Peace Corps again. This time I did finish and I learned a lot of things about conditions in developing countries. The game didn’t take that long, but I wasn’t challenging trying to fix all the problems. One of the problems was that everyone in the town had Malaria. I learned that it was caused by all the mosquitos that were laying eggs in the swampy waters all around the village. The doctor who worked at the clinic said that many people didn’t have the money needed in order to afford the needed treatment for Malaria. It was a huge mess and it was my job to fix it. It took me awhile but eventually I fixed all the problems in the village and I finished the game.

And the Emmy goes to...

Today in human geo we started off with Mr. Schick showing us an Emmy he “stole” from some guy. We took like a bunch of pictures of it at the beginning of class for some reason. Then he showed us a website called “bobdylan.com” and it was about a very famous singer in the 60’s, and at the website there was a video were you could flip channels and it would show you all these different versions of people singing Bob Dylan’s song. Then Mr. Schick let us get in groups and work on a game he had on his blog. Our group did pretty well but it got really confusing towards the end. Reading the instructions was very helpful. The point of the game was to find a way to help the people in the developing countries. Problems like, crops not growing, and water contamination needed to be fixed and it was our job to figure out how to fix them. 

Economic Geography

In human geo today we started off playing a game about the Peace Corps. I pretty much had no idea how to play the game put luckily we neither did anyone else. After that Mr. Schick gave us our test back and we went over the answers. Some of the questions I got wrong were so easy and I feel stupid knowing that I got them wrong. It was a really hard test only because I didn’t have enough information on my blog to help me. Other people did really badly and I’m not sure why. I’m just happy that we got to use our blogs because without it I would have never finished. So I guess are next unit will be about microloans and such because that’s what we have been reviewing the past couple of days. Mr. Schick said that economic geography was extremely uninteresting but he said he had to teach it because it is part of the class.

Microfinance

We didn’t do much today in Human geo. We first got our test back, and I think I did pretty well. I got an 83 which is a B. Some people haven’t taken the test so they will take it tomorrow. Other people have to finish it because they didn’t have enough time when we took it. Then these two sophomores came in to talk to Mr. Schick until he made them leave. After that Mr. Schick took us to a link on his blog called Microfinance. Microfinance is a way to give people who have low-income a chance to rise up out of poverty. Instead of just handing them money as charity microfinance allows them to be able to lift themselves out of poverty with just a bit of help. One example of this is the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps was established in 1961 and continues to work to help people in developing countries who don’t have the infrastructure needed to succeed. 

Thursday's Class

Thursday in class we took a very challenging test. I had just enough time in class to finish, but the good thing is that we were allowed to use our blogs for the test. Some of the questions took a while to find but most I just knew off the top of my head from learning it in class. Towards the end, I started to rush, and had to guess a few. One question, I didn’t have the answer in my blog, but I remember Mr. Schick telling us about it. I put the answer I thought it was down, but then I second guessed myself and changed it to something else. Turns out my first answer was right and know I’m really mad that I changed it. The maps in the back of the test were really easy and I’m pretty sure I did pretty well on that part.

TEST TIME

So here are some notes I have taken in the last few days for our test tomorrow: 

• He was a resistance leader under Taliban rule and worked to undermine the regime.
• Speaks several
• Several times in 2001, he warned the US about the Taliban’s plan to attack, but we just ignored him

• She was in a resistance and served three years in prison, where she was tortured.
•  rules the country with the eighth-biggest economy in the world, due to her degree in economics
• She survived cancer and also found a way to overcome sexism in a male dominate country.

• Xi Jinping is the son of revolutionary veteran who was a member from the Communist Party
• He married folk singer Peng Liyuan, who was once an army general
• Sends his daughter to Harvard University

• Hollande has no previous experience in a national government position.
• Had a serious relationship with Ségolène Royal, who is the mother of his 4 kids
• His father was an extreme-right physician and his mother was a progressive social worker.

• Has a degree in physics and physical chemistry also has a PhD in quantum chemistry
• Has been Chancellor since November 2005
• Merkel has earned the top spot on the FORBES list of Most Powerful Women In The World for eight of the past 10 years.

·        He taught Political Science and was a journalist before entering politics.

·        Mukherjee was rated as one of the best finance ministers of the world and has a very good understanding of government.

·        Fought Rajiv Gandhi for the position after his mother was murdered and started his own party – Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress.

•  Khamenei was imprisoned multiple times and also was exiled to a remote region in southeastern Iran.

·        Was elected President of Iran in 1981 and re-elected in 1985.  

·        Became Iran’s Supreme Leader in 1989.

·        Rouhani has been a deputy speaker and has also served on the Supreme National Security Council.

·       Was elected president of Iran in June 2013

·       He has been calling out the previous president

·       Shimon Peres tried to escape Jewish persecution so his family fled to Palestine in 1934.

•  Peres was given the chief responsibility for securing military equipment for Israel
• Later he organized Israel's nuclear program and is regarded as the father of Israel's atomic bomb.
• As Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs Shimon Peres was in charge of the Israeli negotiations during peace talks with the Palestinians.  In the autumn of 1994 he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with his own Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

• Netanyahu has lived in the US before with his family

• After his brother Jonathan (Yonni) was killed, in July 1976, under his command, Netanyahu returned to Israel and started to advocate international cooperation in fighting terrorism.

• He was the eldest of four siblings in a middle-class family; his father, Both parents were quite boring
• called him the Teflon candidate because all the alligations against him don’t seem to mess with his career.

-        He has fathered 22 children, the youngest when he was 79.

-        He is worth approximately 21 billion dollars.

-        He was appointed commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard, a post he was still holding when he became king.

-        In November 2007, King Abdullah visited Pope Benedict in the Apostolic Palace. He is the first Saudi monarch to visit the Pope.  In March 2008, he called for a “brotherly and sincere dialogue between believers from all religions.”

-        Is taking small steps to enter his country to the 20^th century, like giving women rights

• Attended many very highly educated preparatory schools

• His first child, Ivan, who is disabled and needed round the clock care, died in February 2009.

• Cameron is the youngest Prime Minister (43 when he took office) in over 200 years.

·        Elizabeth became queen on February 6, 1952, and was crowned on June 2, 1953.  Her reign has lasted 60 years - and counting.

• Nicolás Maduro Moros worked as a bus driver before becoming politically active in the early 1990s.
• Maduro was introduced to Hugo Chávez in 1992, after Chávez was imprisoned for an attempted coup and Maduro began campaigning for  Chávez's release. (Chávez was released in 1994 and won election to the presidency four years later.)
• After President Chávez won a third term in October 2012, he selected Maduro to serve as vice president. Maduro worked alongside the outspoken president, until his death
• The queen doesn’t really have much power anymore.

Getting Prepared

Today in Human Geo we discussed the different leaders of the world again. We just picked up where we left off and continued the PowerPoint. I made a map of the world and marked all the countries that we were learning about. That way whenever he tests us on their locations I will be ready. Jasmine taught the class again today, but only for a couple of minutes at the end of class. Hopefully, Mr. Schick will put his PowerPoint presentation on his blog that way I will be able to study off of it before the test. I’m pretty sure, someone told me that we have a quiz or something on Thursday. I can probably just read Mr. Schick’s blog and find out. If it is on Thursday then I need to start studying now because I can guarantee I wouldn’t be ready. Maybe we will review tomorrow for the test, and that would be very helpfully. 

Updates

Friday in class we learned more about the leaders of countries around the world. We already did an assignment the day before, so we just edited the facts we already had. Some of these leaders were really interesting. Like the woman who was arrested and tortured for several months. Then after that she survived cancer. Not to mention, she is a leader of a male dominate country, Brazil. Anyway, we also went over our test that we took. Mr. Schick said that was the hardest test he will ever give us. Which explains why we all did terrible. Some of the questions on the back were difficult and I kept getting two of the religions confused. Mr. Schick also noticed that he must up one of the answers, so we got a few extra points on our test. Which means I got an A, so technical I got a “ding!” 

Assignment #2

President Francois Hollande(President of France)
- He succeeded Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012, who he had been assisting during Nicolas's term as president
- has no previous experience in a national government position 
- Is nicknamed marshmallow man by the french 
-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18070495

 (Iran) Supreme Leader Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI
- has a paralyzed arm due to an attempted assassination 
- in 1965, he traveled Iran, protesting against the government of Iran
-http://www.biography.com/people/hassan-rouhani-21313175

(Saudi Arabia) King and Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud
- has a reputation of honesty and being untained by corruption
-took his first public office as mayor or Mecca
-http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7068977.stm

(Germany), President Joachim Gauck/ chancellor Angela Merkel
- Graduated with a degree in physic and earned a PhD in quantum chemistry
-chancellor since 2005
-top spot on Forbes most powerful women for the eight of the past 10 years
 President:
-member of the Political Revolution in 1990
-According to Joachim Gauck, his political activities were inspired by his father, and that he grew up with a "well-founded anti-communism"-http://www.edinburgh.diplo.de/Vertretung/edinburgh/en/04__Politik/Joachim-Gauck-Bundespraesident-en.html


(Mexico) President Enrique Pena Nieto
- became int interested in politics in elementary school
- He joined the Institutional Revolutionary Party in 1984-http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/p/enrique_pena_nieto/index.html


 (Afghanistan) President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai
-warned the US about the Taliban's attack in 2001
- He was a resistance leader under Taliban rule and worked to undermine the regime 
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamid_Karzai

(China) President XI Jinping
- son of a communist (China is a communist state) 
 - has a daughter who is studying at Harvard 
- highly educated 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11551399


(Venezuela) President Nicolas MorosMaduro
- Chávez, previous president, publicly named Maduro his successor before his passing
- became the speaker of the National Assembly in 2005-\http://www.biography.com/people/nicol%C3%A1s-maduro-21145011


(United Kingdom) Queen Elizabeth II
-was third in line for the throne
 -introduced many reforms to the monarchy -http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/queen_elizabeth_ii


(Brazil) President Dilma Rousseff
- she overcame cancer and sexism in a Latin American country 
- she was Brazil's first female president
- has a degree in economics(eight biggest economy in the world)
-was tortured in prison for being in a resistance
http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml

(Israel)  president Shimon Peres
-won  Nobel Peace Prize for a treaty with the Paletine Liberation Organization
- served in the military
-http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/451349/Shimon-Peres


(India) President Pranab MUKHERJEe
- has been involved in the political career for over five decades including the Government and Parliament
-rated as one of the best finance ministers in the world
- organized his own political party
 - known for having remarkable knowledge of international relations, and financial affairs.-http://presidentofindia.nic.in/profile.html

Assignment

France- republic, President Francois HOLLANDE


Iran- theocratic republic Supreme Leader Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI

Saudi Arabia- monarchy, King and Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud

Germany- federal republic, President Joachim Gauck

 Mexico – federal republic, President Enrique Pena Nieto

 Afghanistan- Islamic Republic, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai

China- Communist state, President XI Jinping

Venezuela- federal republic, President Nicolas MorosMaduro 

United Kingdom- constitutional monarchy and Commonwealth realm, Queen Elizabeth II

Brazil- federal republic, President Dilma Rouseff 

Israel- parliamentary democracy, president Shimon Peres

India- federal republic, President Pranab MUKHERJEE