World Peace?

This particular view of Earth is strikingly beautiful. It seems to be completely at peace while in fact the area of the world that this photo covers includes some of the most war-torn places in the world. When I look at this beautiful image it is hard though to think past the superficial blue and white marble that we all love and realize that way down there on the surface there is tyranny, war, mass murder, starvation, disease, poverty, drought, etc... Instead I am taken back to when i was a young boy and dreamed of exploring the world and outer space. Back to when all I would see is the beauty and not the hurt. The next time that the world will truly be at peace is when the Lord comes back to call us home. Then we will all have the opportunity to look and enjoy, knowing that we can really find peace.

Name Calling

I used the Public Profiler to find where my surname was used the most and unsurprisingly the most common area was in the United States. After that I played around with area searches to find the most common forenames and surnames for a particular area. There is a dramatic difference between the most common names in Little Rock, Arkansas and Seward, Nebraska. For one thing most of the surnames in Seward seemed to be German or something like it. That seems to show some interesting correlation with who settled in which areas. Names can be helpful when considering settlement history.

Southeast Asia Drought

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0EEXWyhjM8

This vide clip shows how drought has affected areas in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines. It seemed especially to hit home since Professor Helmer is going to be doing mission work in Cambodia. This is what the people are going through where he is going to spread the gospel of Christ.

Bizarre Foods

After watching this show it really expresses the variety that is found throughout the world when it comes to diet. While I was visiting Spain I did try some of the cold ceviche soup. That is not very exotic compared to some of the things that Andrew Zimmern eats on his travels. I think the best explanation for the difference in culinary appetites throughout the world comes down to simply what is available. In Tanzania, eating meat is very rare since they are so valuable, so they use the animals to provide milk, blood and other products to eat. In India they use the spices and other natural ingredients that grow around them. In Hawaii the chefs are trying to come back to more local ingredients and styles of cooking. The vast variety of foods and the cultural ties that each has makes me sad that we Americans have resorted to the sameness of fast food. I think I would like to experience a little bit of culture every time I go to eat something.

Global Summit Meeting

The G-20 is a group consisting of the finance ministers and central bank governors of 19 countries and the European Union.
This picture is all the leaders gathered together for a photo shoot


These countries include



Argentina
Australia
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Indonesia
Italy
Japan
Mexico
Russia
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
South Korea
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States of America
and The European Union

Google Earth Image

This image is a view of the North Atlantic ocean from the perspective of the Europeans. This is the sort of mindset that they had when they were colonizing the Americas. Looking at the map it is

interesting to see that the first land mass that the venturing Europeans would have encountered is northern Canada and then what would becom New England. This echoes the settlement of the North American continent. If you look a bit further south you will see the African continent where the slave trade began. The sheer distance between the African continent and the North American Continent makes it seem unreal that the giant slave ships would risk the difficult passage across the Atlantic ocean. It is amazing what a new perspective can bring. Some of the hardships of the voyages are made more clear now that I look at the world from a different point of view.

So I went to see the movie Slumdog Millionaire the other weekend and I had to admit that the movie was pretty darn good. I was kept interested by the main story line as well as the shifting point of view. It was interesting to me to learn that this movie was not made in Hollywood, with well-known actors and actresses. It was made in Bollywood, the movie-producing capital of the world (aside from Hollywood). The stars were none other than children who actually lived in the Mumbai slums. I believe that probably had a great deal to do with why the movie was so real. The children knew exactly what life was like at its worst, and they knew how to survive.

The main character Jamal is seen stuggling to survive with his older brother and also to stay in contact with the "love of his life" Latika. In the midst of all the squalor of the slums and the poor, we see a movie about triumph, good vs. evil and love.

For us in the United States it was initially hard to get past the cultural differences that resulted from this being a foreign film. The director was British, but his movie and actors were all from India and had a better perspective than we do.

Hardly anywhere in America do we have the

extreme poverty that is seen in this movie. There are some areas where families are forced to go to drastic measures to keep everyone warm, fed and clothed, but for the most part America is indeed the land of prosperity.

Aside from being poor, in the movie we are given some glimpse of what it meant to be different. There is no freedom of religion in India and generally the majority rules. In one scene Jamal's mother is killed simply because she is Muslim. The sheer violence of this act and the fact that the Mumbai police did nothing to stop it, goes against every natural instinct that we have. We have been brought up in relative safety, with freedoms that we take for granted. Rioting and killing are not tolerated in our streets.

Throughout the movie, we are taken through flashbacks into Jamal's past. He was accused of cheating on the game show Who want's to be a millionaire? and was secretly arrested and tortured to reveal how he was cheating. The flashbacks are meant to show how Jamal knew the answers, when even rich, smart people did not. While I have to admit that these were very confusing at times, they did allow us to see a great variety of the land and culture of India. Jamal and his brother traveled throughout the country after their mother died and we got to see them as they went.

Eventually, the movie continues on with the drama that is Jamal's life and he finds his love and they live happily ever after...as far as we know. We who watched with bated breath are left with a sense of fulfillment and also a new understanding of what the life is like for someone born in the slums in Mumbai, India.

Whatever happened to the break in Spring Break?

This last week has been fairly exhausting for me. No it wasn't finals week, it was my Spring Break! The Friday before the holiday was supposed to start, I helped to load a tour bus with 46 other members of the Concordia Wind Ensemble and we left at 8 a.m. for our 10 day tour. Every day went something like this....load the bus, ride to the next stop, unload, set-up, practice, eat, change into concert attire, play, break down, go to our host families for the night, wake up at 6 a.m., and repeat.

Some points of the trip were rather fun, such as spending a lot of time getting to know everyone who I was touring with and meeting the lovely people who would open their homes to us. I met a lot of lovely people who sacrificed their time and sometimes money for us simply out of a common love for Christ. One night we went to San Antonio and we were given some free time to enjoy the Riverwalk. I went with a few people to see the Alamo for the first time and met an interesting person who was one of the Alamo Rangers. That night we got to stay at a nice hotel and sleep on wonderful soft beds. That was a very neat night, but of course it had to be the one day that it was cold and rainy, but whatever.

The Alamo (not my picture)

I have to admit that the entire tour was pretty awesome and I enjoyed the fun times that I had, but it also meant that I didn't get to do anything else, I didn't get hardly any homework done and I was exhausted when we returned the day before classes were supposed to start.

That is how I spent my Spring Break '09. PARTY IT UP!!!

Woes in Africa

The economic and political turmoil of Africa has combined to create an unstable environment for many African countries. Over several decades, groups around the world have given large amounts of aid to African countries in the hopes of supporting their economies, only to see the money either misspent or placed directly into the pockets of politicians or elite members of the population. Education, health care, defense, housing, and many other necessities have been largely neglected. Some of the money sent to Africa is reinvested outside of the country further weakening the economies. New plans are in the works to provide even more monetary relief for struggling African economies and governments. So many of the countries are near to collapse and total anarchy that we feel that something must be done. However, if we are to learn anything at all from history (or even common sense) we cannot expect to hand millions (or billions) of dollars to a government that has previously failed to create any lasting sort of financial stability and see any different results.

Corruption has led to governments being completely unreliable and untrustworthy. Seemingly under our noses, millions of dollars have been pocketed or spent somewhere other than intended. This may not be a popular or even feasible solution, but it may be time to simply replace or support the incumbent governments with task forces that are intended to supply a long-lasting government and economy free from corruption that will actually do some good for the common citizens. I cannot see how at the present state of things, giving any more money will help matters. It too will simply disappear.

Human Development Indices

In this blog I looked at the United Nation's HDI list which is a compilation of countries that are ranked according to their life expectancy, knowledge(literacy level) and wealth(based on many factors besides GDP). This method for rating countries differs from others because it takes into account the distribution of wealth and whether the money is being spent on adequate schooling, health care and other facilities. As we look at the list it is obvious that some of the more developed countries are higher on the HDI list, but it is not a perfect match. Some of the more highly developed countries are ranked lower on the list than others. This is because according to the data used to calculate the HDI, some of the less developed countries have better facilities that enable their citizens to have more fulfilled lives. All of the countries that are at the bottom of the HDI list are located in Sub-Saharan Africa. This can probably be traced back to political and financial corruption that keeps the power, wealth and knowledge among a select few, while keeping the vast majority of the population deprived of basic needs. Many of these countries have dictatorships or a history of corruption, war, drought, etc... All of these factors play a role in the Human Development of a particular country.

Excitement and Explosions! :)

While this may look like a particularly extravagant pyrotechnical display it is in fact a volcanic eruption. Flashes of lightning add to the drama as Tavurvur Volcano spews lava in the Rabaul Caldera in Papua New Guinea. I like this picture because some of the most fascinating things (as well as the most devastating) on Earth are volcanoes. The eruptions can vary from slow and relatively unexciting to amazingly fast and terrifying. It is interesting to me to think about how God is in control of these marvelous displays while we are sent running for cover under the nearest rock. Just a small example of the tremendous power of our God. Enjoy the show.

Cuba Through the Years

From reading about the Cuban revolution 50 years ago I can see how the Castro regime was seen as the saving grace of the Cuban people, but instead it has meant another 50 years of corruption, with the population living like peasants. Countless citizens have either been forced into exile or fled in the hopes of finding a better life. For the last half century, the United States has dealt with the problem with a resounding silence...something akin to "Talk to the Hand". The government has steadfastly denied travel and trade between the United States and Cuba in the supposed hopes of driving Communism from the soil of our island neighbor. In the last few years the long term dictator Fidel Castro has fallen ill (being 82 years old it's to be expected) and has given power over to his younger brother Raul. Recently, American citizens have come to hope that the travel and trade restrictions would be lessened or dropped completely. There are several opinions about this, most of them controversial. Those in favor of the embargo state that the Communist government has nearly been driven out and to open trade with Cuba would infuse the country with American tourist dollars, reinforcing it. Those who oppose the embargo seem to think that by helping the average Cuban citizens we have a greater chance of appealing to them and like the Castros before them, revolutionize their way of thinking beyond Communism. Also, most Americans today feel that the Cuban embargo is some sort of fuddy-duddy oldtimer superstitious treatment for Communist governments. Their is a growing group of Americans who weren't even born when the embargo went into effect and they want some say in the matter. Regardless, this particular issue is bound to drag out far beyond the point where it is interesting or applicable. I myself am in favor of dropping the embargo in an attempt to appeal directly to the Cuban people. If at all possible I would bypass the corrupt government and infuse money directly into support programs and jobs for the Cubans instead of supplying the government with cash or even worse, using Cuba as a resort destination and sending all that money directly back to the U.S. which will undoubtedly cause even greater dislike for America among the Cuban people.

Blog Topic #4

Right across the border from El Paso, Texas in Juarez, Mexico a war is raging. This war is ongoing between drug cartels and government officials. The main cause for fighting is over control of a lucrative drug route into the United States. The casualties from this war totaled over 1600 last year and already exceed 400 in the two months since the beginning of 2009. No one is safe from the drug cartels, innocent civilians have been shot just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mexican officials have received death threats, policemen have been killed and the city's chief of police was forced to step down by continued threats. At the moment the Mexican federal government seems to be at a loss to decide what to do. No real military aid is coming into the city, partly due to the distance from the capital and its proximity to the United States. Meanwhile, the city has become a ghosttown. Once a place for American tourists to enjoy a night across the border, now it is not safe to venture there for any reason, and worse the violence is spreading across the border, making it the United State's problem as well. Perhaps we ought to consider shutting down the border completely, and securing that section of the border against all further drug trade. Surely if the casualties begin to spill over into the U.S. our government will have to step in and perhaps take drastic measures to insure the safety of American citizens.



Here is a link to this article.

http://xrl.us/behx2f

World Mapper

World Population Map










Biocapacity World Map

These two maps were created to show the surface of the world in such a way that they are proportionate to the population of the world and the country's ability to support its population respectively. "Biocapacity measures how biologically productive land is. Biologically productive land includes cropland, pasture, forests and fisheries. 16% of the world’s biocapacity is in Brazil. The biocapicity of a territory is affected by physical conditions and people’s actions. A pertinent example of this is Iraq, the Mesopotamian marshes were once part of the fertile crescent. Much of this marshland has been drained and become desert. Trade sanctions and social upheavals also reduce people’s ability to use land productively. Iraq’s land is now estimated to be the least productive in the world."It is interesting to note that there is actually a large correlation between the biocapacity of a country and it's population as can be seen when the two maps are compared. In fact I'm not entirely sure that this information is accurate simply because it seems to match so well. If it does in fact correlate so strongly then this gives a remarkable new insight to the so called "population pressure" in some countries. According to these maps, the population is spread evenly with the biocapacity. If there are any population pressures, it must be because we as humans misuse the resources that we have.

JAPAN










BURUNDI

These are two population pyramids for the countries of Burundi, Africa and Japan. Burundi is a registered LDC (Least Developed Country) and is completely landlocked. The economy of Burundi is suffering and causing shortages in many places. Japan is one of the most economically developed and prosperous countries in the world. They have made it their country's goal to provide support to LDCs like Burundi. The main goal is to inspire the citizens of Burundi to raise the country's economy on a program of Produce-Buy-Sell. This puts the responsibility of creating a new government and working economy on the citizens of that country, instilling a sense of patriotism. Aside from economic differences, which are vast, Burundi also differs from Japan due to its fractured and unstable government. The country's first democratically elected president was assassinated. This lead to long-term civil war between the country's dominant minority Tutsi faction and the Hutu faction, the majority that has little power. The Tutsi also control most of what little trade Burundi does have in the way of coffee, tea and sugar. This disproportionate economy means that the few who are rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. Looking at the population pyramids, we can immediately tell that Burundi has a much smaller population than Japan, which tells us that Burundi's economy and land area cannot support a very large population. Also, the majority of Burundi's population is made up of people below the age of twenty-five. This indicates that there is a high birth rate but also a very high death rate, probably due to lack of proper health care. In Japan, we can see that the population is made up of all ages with a couple of spikes that indicate large amounts of births. In order to maintain the image of their "baby booms" Japan must have an extraordinary health care system. In essence, analyzing these population pyramids allows us to have some idea of how a country like Burundi is being managed.

Visit to the Least Visited State

During my freshman year I visited my roommate Adam Hubrig's home in North Dakota. I spent part of Christmas break at my home in Little Rock, Arkansas, and then after Christmas I went to his home. On the trip up I encountered all sorts of difficulties. I first flew up to Chicago (bad plan at any time and especially right after the holidays) and my flight from Chicago was delayed so I arrived late to Minneapolis. The plan was to get to Minneapolis by plane and then take a cheaper Amtrak ride out to Fargo, North Dakota. Unfortunately, I did not leave much room for error in my itinerary and ended up missing the 11 p.m. train due to my late flight. If you know anything about the Amtrak schedule, you will know that the train only runs once a day. I was stuck, with very little money and being new to Minneapolis I had absolutely no idea where I was going to spend the night and most of the next day (I had about 23 hours to wait). I survived the half mile walk to a dingy hotel and the bitter, bitter cold (I could not find my gloves so my hands were pretty darn cold by the time I got to the hotel). The following evening I boarded my train and began the five hour trip to Fargo. By the way trains are not very exciting, but they are much better than a 24 hour bus ride (But that's another story). My roommate, who had unfortunately been waiting since the previous evening for my arrival, was not very excited by his choice of accomodations either. We left Fargo that morning and began to drive south to the little town of Hankinson, North Dakota. That morning was absolutely frigid and the wind was making the snow blow everywhere and threatened to push Adam's car off the road. Since it was still very early in the morning there was not very much to see outside. When we finally reached Adam's home we basically collapsed on the beds and slept for a few hours. When I woke up and remembered where I was I began to look around. The most striking things about North Dakota is the supreme flatness of the land, the lack of trees and how cold it was in the winter. You could see for miles in every direction. Coming from Little Rock where it was fairly warm and hilly and trees are everywhere, this was a little bit of culture and environment shock. But I still enjoyed my visit. I met part of Adam's family and helped butcher some deer and failed miserably at shooting cans (I really do suck at shooting things). It was one of the best times I had spent anywhere. Eventually though it was time to return to college and the unfortunate realities of life.

Jewelled Spider

This particular spider is part of the species known as Jewelled Spiders (Gasteracantha Minax). They are found in subtropical regions such as Australia and Tasmania. I find these spiders to be particularly beautiful and mesmirising. I think that the back of this spider looks somewhat like a skull. Maybe you see something different?

If this interests you in any way you can follow the link to

http://www.spiderzrule.com/spiderphotos.htm

Geography Class

I am a student at Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska. I am 19 years old and am a sophomore. This semester I am enrolled in a geography course that requires me to write a blog expressing some of my views and opinions concerning various topics of interest in the geographic field. At the moment I'm not sure how I feel about this assignment nor am I certain that I will be able to find the time to get online in order to make my posts regularly. We shall have to wait and see I suppose.