The role of woman in war times increased during WWI and WWII. When all of the men left for the war, it granted the women with an opportunity to create careers instead of staying home and being housewives. They also were used as nurses in the war, which was a first. This was a large step for women's rights because they were finally able to prove themselves in the workplace when the opportunity presented itself. 

However, after the wars there was a large drop off in women in the workplace because the men came back, there were baby booms, and then the women were forced to stay at home and lose the progress they had made during the absence of men. Only after WWII did their rights stick.

When looking at the map of the middle east, it really brings some things to light. For example, most of the terrain that is rich with oil is flat and near bodies of water. This is most likely because the Oil is easier to drill when it is near sea level, because it is easier to drill out of the ground. Also, most of the large oil producing areas have very low populations, which could be because of the fact that oil drilling is a large deal. It probably is not very pleasing to live next to a large oil plantation, due to the toxins and other health risks. 

Lastly, this population also increases the GPD, because there aren't that many people per capita and most of the people involved with oil are wealthy because it really is "Black Gold".

Pop Cultue, decolonization

I have read the book Things Fall Apart, which is about an African who deals with the colonization of his village.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Things_Fall_Apart

I have also read The Kite Runner, which depicts a young boy growing up in the middle east. It was written by Khaled Hosseini.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kite_Runner

three sources for project

http://www.newseum.org/berlinwall/

http://userpage.chemie.fu-berlin.de/BIW/wall.html

http://www.berlin-life.com/berlin/wall

I have seen many WWII movies, such as 'Saving Private Ryan". Here is a link for the review http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/savingprivateryan

Oral History Account: WWII

Although I wasn't able to directly talk to my Grandfather, I can remember stories that he told me in the past. He was on a ship, and he worked on repairing them. He was stationed in Japan, where he stayed for the entire war. He didn't face any combat, but he did suffer a horrifying leg injury. He broke it playing Soccer at the Ally Camp. He survived, luckily. That is where he met my Grandmother, who was a nurse in the war. 

Although he didn't see very much combat, he did suffer an injury. 

In my opinion, although both stories are different situations, they both have the same intentions and outcomes. The first story was of peasants rising up against crime and throwing out the new order. They began with somewhat of a trial, asking for the evidence of the crimes committed by the person in question. However, as the meeting went on, it turned to violence. This is the same as in the second story, except that the red guards started with violence. They were both fighting against the oppression of the previous rule, and they both did so with violence (eventually).
The end goal is the same, which is that the previous rule will be abolished, and the ones responsible will be punished. The second one seemed harsher, because they stormed into a wife of an oppressors house, with no questions asked, and started to tear down her house. The first story was much more civil at first, even though it eventually turned to violence (it ends with the men charging at the ruler, ready to fight).

My dads experience with the Cold War was light. The only thing that he could remember was that when he lived in Chicago, one of the kids in his neighborhood had a bomb shelter in his backyard, in case of a nuclear war. He also remembered doing bomb drills in school, in which they would "duck and cover" underneath their desks. He also said that he was afraid of the Russians, as were the rest of his friends.

Sierra Leone

When looking at Sierra Leone, which is known for "blood diamonds", and comparing it to the United States, the results are staggering. What I found was the there were 4 nurses to every 10,000 people in Sierra Leone.

In the US, there are 97. That is a huge difference. Also, the women in Sierra Leone are expected to live until they are 30. In the US they are expected to live until they are 67. That is more than double the life expectancy. Statistics like these show how different 3rd world countries really are, especially in comparison to the US. For example, the US's expenditure on health resources was a 23 while Sierra Leones was only a 7. This likely attributes to the low mortality, as less health resources means less hospitols and other medical aid.

1) Why is there a graffiti section  called the "death strip" on the west side?

2) why were people killed trying to cross over to the west side of the wall?

3) how does the wall relate to the GDR's authoritarian rule?

4) why were only westerners allowed to visit east germany, but the east side could not come over to the west?

5) why was this made into a monument, since it symbolizes a negative period in germany's history?

Franz Fanon

When researching about Franz Fanon, the theme that I saw throughout the records were that he believed in education. He thought that colonization was a terrible thing, although he seemed to have a bias, as he focuses on the oppression of African Americans. His famous quote, " "To speak . . . means above all to assume a culture, to support the weight of a civilization" (17-18), from his book "Black Skin, White Masks", shows how the power of education can be usefull. He says that if the people of a country are educated enough, they will not fall into the "white mans trap", as Fanon calls it.
I do agree with Fanon, in that if the people of a country are educated then they will more acurately be able to judge when they are being taken advantage of. This happened with the indians in america, where they were not literate enough to know when they were signing away land for a tiny amount of money. I also agree that racism is brought upon by colonization. This is because when colonization happens, the colonizers culture is generally forced upon the nation.
However, it seems to me that Fanon has a narrow minded view, because his focus is entirely on African Americans. Even his book is "Black Skin, White Masks", as well as most of his points. He should realize that colonization, although more frequently happens to third world countries in Africa, happens elsewhere to different ethnicities as well. Another thing is that I read somewhere that he does not give woman equal status as men, and often refers to the whole of humanity as "Men", instead of also including Woman.

http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Fanon.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frantz_Fanon (because I did look there, although it wasn't my primary source)

Dig for victory

During WWII britain and other nations started food rationing, which basically meant that everyone got a specified amount of food. No more, no less. Everyone had a 'ticket', or registration which allowed them to get food. Britain also encouraged as well as mandated people to use their land to grow food. For example, instead of gardens and flower beds people planted crops. People were also encouraged to raise animals, especially pigs.

The reason for this is that Germany specifically attempted to sink ships carrying food and supplies. This was a low tactic, for it hurt the citizens and innocent civilians. This was just one of the many tactics that germany and other nations used during WWII that is frowned upon.

I don't know how many tribute videos had aired on mainstream news television stations previous to this one, but I'm going to assume that this is one of the more in depth ones . I think NBC decided to air it in 1995 because it was 50 years since the bomb was dropped. This provided an 'anniversary', except in the negative connotation. It seemed to me like NBC was trying to take the blame off of the US, almost. I got that feeling from the news casters "post note", in which he talked about how the US has decreased its nuclear research as well as their nuclear production. They also had a veteran who talked about how many people they may have saved by dropping a nuclear bomb.
On the other hand, they did focus a lot on the survivors stories (from the Japanese perspective), which seemed to balance it out. As a final note, I still think that NBC did not dwell enough on how this bomb added to the US's pending imperialism. The US essentially bullied the Japanese into surrenduring, making the "ends justify the means", and doing things "for the greater good".

My Textbook

If I was to design a textbook I would most likely do a simple explanation of each country and the factors that may have contributed to how WWII was started. I then would have simply gone through the war in chronological order, but broken up into sections for each country.

For example, I would have a year, then the different countries and what happened during that time period. I think this would be the best way to convey what happened, because you are getting the specifics of each country, as well as what happens globally. This is also a good way to do it because it gives you a complete sense of time, and in what order things happened.

Appeasement

Normally I use appeasement with my parents. When they ask me to do chores, like walking my dog or cleaning the table, I just say ok. I avoid arguing with them, or trying to get out of it because I know that they will win in the end and they will just end up mad. Other times that I use appeasement is if I am arguing or debating with someone and I know that it is going no where. Neither of us are going to sway our opinions, and so I normally just give up. This is simply easier than continuing an endless argument.

The Rise of Hitler

The day after Hitler was appointed chancellor is one that is not mentioned often. However, it is an important moment in Germanys history that hints at what is yet to come in their future. When Hitler was appointed, it was much to the dismay of the current Chancellor, Hindenburg. He had not approved of re-elections and only allowed Hitler to become Chancellor if he was allowed to appoint the vice-chancellor. He, as well as other anti-nazis, thought that this would hurt Hitler. They thought that he would become Chancellor but not have any power, and then eventually be pushed out. Everyone under estimated him, however.

"By appointing Hitler Chancellor of the Reich you have handed over our sacred German Fatherland to one of the greatest demagogues of all time. I prophesy to you this evil man will plunge our Reich into the abyss and will inflict immeasurable woe on our nation. Future generations will curse you in your grave for this action."

- the telegram to Hindenburg from Ludendorff stated.

The business men were thankful, for they thought that Hitler would remove any aspects of communism and allow business to flourish. The military was also excited, for Hitler had promised to remove the Treaty of Versailles and rebuild the army.

Hitler becoming Chancellor was just the first step of many, yet it was the turning point that eventually allowed him to become a complete dictator.

Link

Class Dismissed

The Taliban is using the most common form of rule: fear. They do so by frightening the population with guns, forcing them to obey. They force girls to stay home from school, keeping them illiterate. That is another form of power, for if un-educated they have a lower chance of realizing the situation they are in (being controlled by a terrorist originization) and thus not retalliating. This is a horrifying way of ruling, one that the Nazis as well as so many other Fascist governments used. It makes me think about how ridiculous the problems that a typical menlo student has. The largest problems are usually doing terribly on a test, while students in Afghanistan have problems that include being murdered while on their way to school. Articles like these give us some perspective on the different worlds we live in. However, it also brings hope to see that these women are retalliating, fighting for what is right. It shows that ruling through fear only works for some time, until enough people realize what is going on. And right now, the Afghanistanian women know exactly what is happening, and they are prepared to fight for it.