Hungary vs. Algeria

Both of these revolutions saw massive protests and other forms of uprisings against the government, who were both from another country. In Algeria, there were many boycotts against the French government, and in Hungary, there were huge protests against the Soviet puppet government. Also, the revolutions could both be considered failures. Though the Hungarian revolution worked for a few days, in the long run, Soviet troops did not leave Hungary until more than 30 years later. The Algerians were obliterated by the French and never really experienced much success in their respective revolutions. Clearly, both the Hungarian and Algerian revolutions have obvious connections.

They've got Questions, I've got Answers

Nick: Is Iran's condition really as bad is it seems?

Yes, Iran is really in a bad state right now. As it said in the article in Up Front, the election results were rigged by the government, and Ahmedinejad won, when most people wanted Mousavi to win. As we have learned this year, anytime the government and the people are on completely different pages as they are in Iran, it can never result in anything good. There are numerous protests, like this one, and the government has been trying to censor the truth from the people for a while now.

Robby: What about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made so many people protest about unfairness?

Ahmedinejad had made some bad decisions during his time as president. Many people accused him of fraud, and called him names, like "a liar" and "a cheat." Many people believe that the crisis in Iran is all his fault because of his work with Nuclear Weapons. He has often been criticized because of his judgement.

Questions/Leads
1. How much of this is actually propaganda?
2. What did Ahmedinajad do that was so bad, and how do they know Mousavi will be better?
3. Islamic Revolution of 1979

Connections
Extremist groups going after youth population because they are easily swayed


Gut Reaction
Iran is in too deep trouble. I don't think the United States should go worrying about Iran because there are enough problems here already.

Don't judge a book by its cover

The most important part of any culture is unity and deciding to go behind that culture in the face of adversity. A culture can not be successful if everyone does not support it at all times. If there is some change, for example a group of people get colonized, they need to stay true to their roots in order to keep it successful. A culture can not be successful without everyone supporting it. If people abandon their culture in the face of adversity, then it will fail. In the case of capitalism vs communism, I think it is right that the statement is right that they judge each other incorrectly. Without understanding a culture, by witnessing it, it is hard to judge it properly. Nancy Snyderman said in her talk when she mentioned the 5 year old girl's mom who wanted her daughter to die than live a horrible life when she found out the girl's leg had to be amputated. Many people would have found this inhumane, but without actually experiencing their culture, you can't judge them.

Stone Cold Rivalries

The Cold War was a useless war that used propaganda to scare the enemy. It really shouldn't even be considered a war because there was not fighting, just threats. The Soviet Union and the USA did not like each other, though they were allies during World War 2, tried to create weapons to out do the opposition. Some of the time, this wasn't even true. These weapons were only used as threats and never actually used against the other side. It was a war of propaganda and nothing more. This rivalry is nothing compared to that of Germany and Russia, China and Japan, and Britain and France. These countries were rivals for a long time, and they actually got in physical conflicts with one another. Japan grew economically and with innovation and later invaded China and sparked a long standing rivalry between two eastern powers. In almost every war, Germany and Russia always fought against each other such as in World War 1 and World War 2. Britain and France was a huge rivalry in medieval times as they kept fighting to claim the crown of biggest superpower of Europe. One thing that makes these rivalries different from that of USA and USSR is geography. The aforementioned pairs were located near each other whereas the USA and USSR were located on opposite sides of a war. It is easier to sustain a rivalry when the two sides see each other a lot more.

Swing and a Miss

Although the United Nations has honorable intentions to eventually make the world a better place, that is an impractical goal coming from an idealist organization. In the UN charter, they tried to create international peace. There is a lot of tension in the middle east, and that tension won't just go away as easily as the united nations says it will. In an article about Earth Day , they take about preserving mother earth, but they do not give any constructive advice on how to preserve the environment. Also, they talk about food shortages, but it is nearly impossible to rid the world of poverty and food shortages. Though it is a very good motive, it is an implausible goal.

International Peace is Becoming Cliché

The United Nations charter promised unattainable goals and achieved nothing. It mentioned "international piece" numerous times throughout the document. International peace will never actually happen because you can't stop conflicts from occurring. Promises are often made but they are impossible to fulfill. There will never be an ideal society no matter how many times the UN says International peace. It would have been better if they had at least offered some constructive advice on how to reach this lofty goal.

World War II: A Geographer's Delight

1. Geography played a large role in World War 2. The concentration camps and ghettos were already strategically located in barren wastelands. Germany was centered between many different European powers which gave them easy access to the places they wanted to fight, but also gave its enemies an easier chance to attack them. Germany controlled many areas throughout Europe, but obviously it wasn't enough since they lost the war.
Also in the liberation maps, each country liberated the camps that were closest to where they were fighting. Russia to the east, and England to the west. The USA, who were from far away helped out with camps all over europe.
2. A museum can be considered a memorial or monument because there are many historical artifacts at museums that remember the achievements, or in this case the tragedies of history. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum remembers all the people who were killed and how big of a tragedy it truly was. There is an american bias on the maps that I saw. In the liberation maps, it only briefly mentioned all the camps Russia helped with, but went in depth of all the camps that the USA helped. While the number was almost the same, the time that they talked about the USA was far more than the time it talked about Russia or England.

Christ the Redeemer

Monument: Christ the Redeemer
1. Does the statue have any significance in Brazilian history?
2. Is there any significance of when it was built?
3. What does Jesus Christ's position in the statue portray?
4. What was religion like in Brazil before and after the
5. Why did they build it on Mt. Corcovado?

The decision to drop the bomb

NBC decided to air this video in 1995 because not only was is the 50th anniversary of the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Americans were becoming more divided on whether or not it was right to drop the bomb. When the bomb was originally dropped, Americans were emphatic because Japan surrendered shortly after. However, after they learnt more about the extent of the attacks, more and more people's views about the bomb changed. Also, the video is pretty biased because they have mostly American veterans defending Truman's decision to drop the bomb. However, they have fewer Japanese perspectives. Also, the parts that they show are more convincing for the American opinions than the Japanese ones. The video remembers the war as tragic, yet necessary by saying things like the bomb actually saved having more casualties because it ended the fighting.

Sports During the War

Though many athletes became soldiers during the War, sports still played a large role. The 40's saw many star athletes, including Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams leave the field in order to go fight. Sports took a major hit during the war though. Because many of these star athletes were leaving, almost anyone could become an athlete. There was even a one handed pitcher and a dwarf who played at the time.

Despite all this, sports did not lose their popularity. Even though they were miles away, soldiers still tried to follow sports, mainly baseball and football. And of course there was the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, which was one of the most memorable Olympic Games of all time. At these games, the German team was very strong and Adolf Hitler expected them to win every medal. However Jesse Owens, a black man, dominated track and field by winning four medals in front of Hitler. This went against everything Hitler preached about Aryan superiority because blacks were portrayed as inferior to everyone else. Though the Germans did take the most medals overall, these Olympic games were remembered for Jesse Owens' amazing feat.

Munich Conference Take 2

The Munich Conference was definitely the right thing to do at this time. Before there was a lot of tension between Germany and the rest of Europe after the Treaty of Versailles. Germany was not allowed to have an Air-force or a large army, both of which they have now broken. The main goal of the conference was peace and I believe it has been achieved. Germany is now a lot more powerful and coming back to being equal to France and Britain. And for those who argue that it was unfair, why should Czechoslovakia be represented. They are such a small country. If they were represented, then shouldn't Romania and Lithuania be represented as well? They are so insignificant compared to Britain and France and Germany that they don't deserve representation.

And regarding the matter of the German takeover of the Czechs, it will make Czechoslovakia a stronger country being under German rule because Germany is a lot more stable relative to Czechoslovakia. 

As for peace, Dorothy Thompson said that Peace can be established when there is equal terms between each sides, and now there is. The Treaty of Versailles put Germany a lot lower than the rest of Europe. However now, they are more at par with Europe. Also she said Peace is not the absence of war, but a positive condition. There is no war right now, and the condition is a lot more positive than it was before the Munich Conference, so therefore there is peace and the main goal of the conference has been reached. 

Munich Conference

For the most part, I agree with what Dorothy Thompson is saying about the Munich Conference. First of all, this treaty is a lot more partial to Germany than the Treaty of Versailles. Germany has occupied Czechoslovakia and the Czechs have been forced to evacuate the area in a very short time. A plebiscite is going to be held, and I think this is very unfair because the Czechs are not promised any protection, and only Germans will remain. In the plebiscite, it is almost like it will be rigged because all the Czechs would be gone, and only Germans would remain.

Also, this issue only pertains to Germany and Czechoslovakia, and they weren't even represented at this conference. I believe it would only be fair to allow the Czechs to have a representative no matter how small they are.

The only slight positive part of this treaty is the main goal is peace and it temporarily been achieved. The peace could be broken by Germany doing something like this again except on a larger scale. The tensions between the major European countries has been eased so hopefully Germany does not do anything to anger the other countries, so we don't get into a war.

However, there is no long term peace because the treaty was not equal. "This is not peace without victory, for the victory goes to Mr. Hitler. This peace without virtue. Therefore it is not peace - but the imitation of a terrific world crisis," said Thompson in her broadcast.

What I Know About World War II

1. Germany was a main cause of World War II
2. Hitler blamed Jews and minorities for the depression in Germany so he decided to kill all of them
3. Allies- France, Britain, Russia, and later, USA
4. Axis- Germany, Italy, Japan
5. Two areas the war was fought in: Europe and Asia
6. USA got involved after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor
7. Jews were sent to concentration camps like Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and Ravensbruck.
8. The USA dropped an atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
9. Robert Goddard was a main creator of the Atomic Bomb
10. The war ended on June 6, 1944 on D-Day, when the Allies stormed the beaches at Normandy.

Questions:
-Why did the USA stay quiet for so long?
-What were the role of colonies/former colonies, tribute states in the war (India, South Africa, Australia)
-What role did propaganda have in the war?

Animal Farm Allegory

Animal Farm by George Orwell can be viewed as a historical allegory to communism and the Russian Revolution of 1917. Old Major can be seen as Karl Marx who gets all the animals to start to have communist values. Napoleon can be viewed as Stalin because his corrupt actions are similar to Stalin's. Snowball can be viewed as Trotsky, who gets kicked out by Napoleon just as Trotsky got kicked out of the communist party by Lenin. Snowball is probably one of Stalin's officials, and the dogs represent the NKVD, Stalin's secret police. George Orwell probably wrote about the Russian Revolution because he was alive during the time, so it makes sense that Animal Farm is about communism.

French Revolution vs. Russian Revolution

The French and Russian revolutions both had a common goal, obviously, and also very influential leaders, but the way they happened and the end result were different. A leader is the cornerstone of any revolution, and both France and Russia had very powerful ones. Robespierre and Napoleon for France and Vladmir Lenin for Russia. They commanded the respect of their people, and in Robespierre's case sent people to get killed at the guillotine. Both revolutions were trying to overthrow the government and did succeed for a while, but France did not succeed in the end as the third estate really did not gain much power. In the French revolution, they were trying to implement more values from the enlightenment, while in the Russian revolution, they were trying to just get rid of the old imperial government because it was so unstable in the country.

Fascism vs. Communism

Fascism and Communism are very similar yet very different because they both involve increased government control but Fascism focuses on the country whereas communism is about equality and fascism is more elitist. Both fascists and communists believe the government does what is best for the country to prosper and they have total control over everyone. However in communism, there is more emphasis on individuals. Both fascism and communism tried to increase their country's prosperity and success, but the means they went about achieving this goal was different.

Cabaret

In the movie, Berlin seemed like a disheartened and poor city, all effects of the economic problems at the time. Not many people in Berlin had much money but a lot of people went to the Cabaret, where the performers always seemed to sing and dance about money. The Cabaret is like a distorted mirror to the outside world where the townspeople come to forget about their problem. Nazis were not welcome at the Cabaret but yet were very strong and gaining in followers as was seen during the song. Many young people started to follow the Nazis. The young Nazi was singing a song that kept repeating, "Tomorrow belongs to me," almost like a foreshadowing as the Nazis would become even more powerful in ensuing years. In the Cabaret, when the Nazi beats up the owner of the cabaret for kicking him out, they were performing something similar in the Cabaret. The Cabaret almost seems like it is a fantasy world that is mocking the real world.

Lunchtime Speaker: Tim James

At lunch, Tim James spoke about his travels in Africa. He went to Senegal and Gambia with limited resources yet was able to enjoy it to the fullest. From what he said, there is a lot of connection between colonialism, and what Tim saw on his trip. The infrastructure in the countries were bad, as there were no roads or bridges. France and Britain colonizing those countries clearly did not do much to affect the infrastructure, but did have other effects. The language of Senegal remained French even after independence. He also mentioned that you have to go through Paris when traveling somewhere from some african countries. This was very interesting to me and shows that France still has some effect on Senegal, or the colonizer still has some control over the formerly colonized, in general, even years after its independence.

Is the Taliban Fascist?

What is fascism? Fascism is a government that believes in significant government control, fighting wars to keep the government strong, and that most people, or at least a large group of people are far less elite than themselves. The Taliban can be viewed as a fascist government because they have expanded through violence, try to attain absolute power, and their treatment of women.

The Taliban started out controlling Afghanistan, but around 1997, they spread their ideology to Pakistan. Although they didn’t actually rule as the government in Pakistan, they still implemented their values and brought fear to the Pakistani people. The Taliban spread to Pakistan through violence just like the Italian fascist governments tried to do. They believed that having a strong military was necessary because they thought the best way to expand was violence. In Swat Valley, Pakistan, the Taliban’s 3000 troops were able to hold off 12,000 of Pakistan’s military. Unlike the fascist movements in Italy, the Taliban is not trying to appeal to the youth population or trying to disguise their true motives. They still are attempting to gain power over the current administration in Pakistan.

Both the Taliban and Fascist governments in Europe were traditionalists. They wanted to implement traditional values to bring their people back to the “good old days” when things were pure. The Taliban’s main intention is to purify the Islamic world, and one way they think they are doing so is through their ill treatment of women. Fascists in Europe also had a negative attitude toward women and anyone who supported women’s rights. They thought women were good for nothing except for reproduction. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Taliban made rules that said, women are not allowed to leave their house without a male escort. In Swat Valley, along with many other Pakistani areas, the Taliban banned women from going to school. The Taliban strongly believes in living by Shari’ a law, and because of this, women do not have the same rights as they would in the western world. Women are not allowed to be educated or even have jobs. The fascists had believed much of the population was inferior to themselves, in Pakistan and Afghanistan; women are those who are inferior to everyone else. The Taliban’s religious fascism is greatly harming the progress of these countries.

Although the Taliban aren’t affiliated with fascism, they still implement many fascist values, like expanding through military, trying to get absolute power, and living by tradition.