A Year (or Semester) in Review

Not to be cliche, but I truly have learned a lot this year.  I've learned many details and facts about empires, but that's not what is important.  My analytical skills have increased vastly due to the hours of fact analysis we did.  I now feel comfortable making connections between seemingly different events that occurred throughout World History.  I learned enough about the French Revolution and Islamic Empires to last me a life time, although there's definitely more I can learn.  All the blog writing we've done this year has helped me greatly, and I need it because writing in my English class is scare.  This has been more of a humanities class than just MWH due to this blog.  The blog has certainly matured my writing by allowing us the opprotunity to look over past work and correct it, or admire it in some cases.  Overall, I've had a great time in Modern World History, as well as learning a great amount.  I'd go so far as to give three cheers for MWH, instead of the mediocre two.  Thanks for a great year; I hope you enjoyed us (only A Block), as much as we have enjoyed having you as our teacher.

China

These stories are essentially the same thing.  The people wish to destroy the old, gentry way and establish a new way of doing things.  They take a more orderly route at first, but quickly ditch their initial plans after a few days of discussion and angst.  The second story begins violently and end violently.  The students wish to destroy the old government and culture.  They go so far as to ignore the Constitution of the People's Republic, claiming that it was abolished and that they only recognize the teachings of Mao Zedong.  The differences in the two stories are small and show the horrors on land reform in China.  The reformers often ignored any systematic, legal, and fair source to achieve justice, choosing to simply kill or torture whoever they please.  

Black Gold: Oil

Many people in the blog has previously talked about oil in relation to the elevation of the land and such related topics, but i want to go in another direction; I want to talk about the post world war 2 history in the Middle East, and how that relates to our current oil struggles.  George Kennan, of the U.S. State Department Policy Planning in 1948 said, "We should recognize that our influence in the Far Eastern area in the coming period is going to be primarily military and economic. We should make a careful study to see what parts of the Pacific and Far Eastern world are absolutely vital to our security, and we should concentrate our policy on seeing to it that those areas remain in hands which we can control or rely on."  The Cold War happened next, providing the US with perfect opprotunities to do what they needed to in order to gain oil concessions, under the cover of protecting the US and other countries from Communism's stranglehold.  In Afghanistan, as documented in Charlie Wilson's War, we sent arms and money to those people who we know fight against (Osama Bin Laden), to help them gain independence from Soviet Russia.  When the US first invaded Iraq in the Gulf War, we were there arguably to protect our oil share in Kuwait.  Iraq was even accused of dumping oil into the Persian Gulf to keep our troops at bay.  We won the Gulf War, removing an Iraqi presence in Kuwait, and later went on to remove Saddam Hussein as ruler of Iraq.  All of this was done to protect our oil in the Middle East.

The world's oil is under the hand of public companies and state-owned organizations.  The public companies are known as supermajors, or the six largest non state-owned energy companies.  They own roughly 5% of the oil reserves and made approximately 45.6 billion dollars worth of profit last year. Not coincidentally, these companies are all either primarily US or English owned.  As for the state-owned companies, the three biggest ones, Saudi Aramco, National Iranian Oil Company, and Qatar Petroleum all trace their routes to US and British companies.  While it is interesting how oil, elevation, and population are all connected, I find it more interesting that the world's largest oil producers all are connected to the US and Britain, two of the greatest allies 

Parents and Grandparents view on the Cold War

I interviewed both my grandparents and parents about the Cold War, and got some very surprising answers.  My grandparents were living in Connecticut at the time, and said that they didn't really notice any difference during the time.  They did say, however, that Nikita Khrushchev was a very scary guy, as evidenced when he slammed his shoes on his desk at a 1960 UN conference.  There was no consequence from this though.  My grandparents went on to say that business was as good as always, and there was significant growth during the time.  They said that Mikhail Gorbachev, the Russian leader later in 20th century, seemed to be a good guy.  My dad's response was slightly different than my grandparents.  He was in the 1st grade during the Cuban Missile Crisis and said the Cold War was a very frightening time. He lived in Spokane, Washington, where there was a weekly siren to warn for a nuclear attack.  Russia was widely regarded as America's greatest enemy, and also a world superpower.  In one particular memory, he said remembering looking up at the sky after the Sputnik launch, trying to find the satellite.  I find it very interesting that a change in age, a child and two adults, could cause such large differences in opinion.  I believe my grandparents weren't as concerned because they were older and more mature at the time.  

Rhodes Memorial

I found several journalistic pieces from the late 19th century to earlier 20th century on the NY Times archive website.  One article praises Rhodes effort in trying to unify South Africa regardless of race.  It's quite biased in favor of Rhodes, as evidenced by the comparison between Rhodes and the Count of Monte Cristo.  In another piece, Cecil Rhodes' trial is documented.  Rhodes argues that the President Kruger of the Transvaal asked for it by not keeping promises to his citizens.  He went on to argue that the British were there to protect civili rights.  

Africa and Middle East Pop-Culture

I have read and watched a fair amount of entertainment about Africa and the Middle East:

Hotel Rwanda, Blood Diamond, The Kite Runner, Things Fall Apart, House of Saddam (HBO Mini Series) and Generation Kill (HBO Mini Series).  

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the third largest country in Africa and has roughly 68 million people.  
The DRC was established as a Belgian colony in 1908 and gained independence in 1960.  Its colonial history is marked by violence, as the Belgian colonialists brutalized the Congolese population to produce rubber.  
Not suprisingly, the Congo is still marred by war.  In 1998, a brutal civil war began, killing hundreds of thousands of people.  Now, an estimated 45,000 people are dying per month due to effects from the war.  The country still has a population growth of 3.2%, however.  Life expectancy is a mere 54 years in the DRC, due to the devastating effects of AIDS, Malaria, and famine on this poor country. Over 4% of the population lives with AIDS.  For such a troubled country, the literacy rate is suprisingly good.  67.2% of the population is literate, with 80% males compared to 54% for females.  Moreover, the school life expectancy is 10 years for males compared to 8 for women.  Many of the problems in this nation began with their mistreatment by the Belgians.  Since its independence, the DRC has been unable to shake trouble.  Women are consistently abused, as seen by the lower literacy and schooling rates.  The Democratic Republic of the Congo, being the 3rd largest country in Africa, is constantly in the middle of other nation's problems.  Refugees are consistently overflowing into the DRC, and this creates even more problems.

Rhodes Memorial Research Question

I would like to find out several things about this monument:

1.  Why does he have a memorial?  After all he was a very corrupt political figure.

2.  Why is his monument so modest?  

3.  Why is it in South Africa and is there any significance behind its location?

4.  How do Africans feel about this monument

"The Unmitigated Gall of Dinesh D'Souza"

I read an article by San Diego Reader journalist, Thomas Larson, and was quite surprised about the topic.  Mr. Larson wrote a 12,000 word article profiling Dinesh D'Souza; it discussed his views, his two major books Illiberal Education and The End of Racism, and how he made his money/his family life.  A week after it had been published, Larson's article appeared on Dinesh's personal website, only not in its complete form.  Dinesh cut it down, removing paragraphs in which his personal life was discussed and criticisms of his arguments namely criticism of his argument that "Democrats, because they supported gay rights, are now the party of "bestiality" and sexual deviance."  Mr. Larson wasn't notified of these changes, and this sparked off a big controvery.  I find it interesting that Mr. D'Souza has the audacity to do such a rude and illegal act.  It's even more interesting that Mr. D'Souza, who is a hardcore Republican committed to the principles of private property,  would do such a thing, and then carelessly shrug it off like he did nothing wrong.  The article can be found here.  

Rosie the Riveter

Throughout the two World Wars, the role of women has essentially stayed the same, except for the increased role of women in WWII.  Their involvement in the wars changed the social status and working lives of women around the world.  The service of women as "home front regulators" was crucial to allied success in both wars.  In World War II, women became iconic symbols of hardwork; Rosie the Riveter is a classic example.  The propaganda created by female workers inspired all citizens of the US to partake in the war effort.  Women have played key roles in both World Wars, and in doing so, have helped their respective nations.  Their work in wars also contributed to the great female suffrage acts during the early part of the twentieth century.  Without them, who knows what would have happened during war, both on the battle front and home front. 

WWII Movies

Saving Private Ryan- Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel.  A timeless classic, full of action and drama

Valkyrie- Tom Cruise, story of Claus von Stauffenburg and his plan to assassinate Hitler

Defiance- Daniel Craig, story of Eastern European Jews who survive in the Nazi occupied Belarussian forests during World War II

Band of Brothers- 10 episode Mini Series, following the missions of Easy Company, from the US Army 101st Airborne division, in WWII Europe.

Flags of Our Fathers- Clint Eastwood, chronicling the Battle of Iwo Jima from the American perspective

Letters from Iwo Jima- Clint Eastwood, chronicling the Battle of Iwo Jima from the Japanese perspective

Desertion in the Armed Forces

During the Second World War, soldiers in the British Army, Navy, and Air Force frequently deserted their respective forces.  This was mostly because of a draft that Parliament created.  In 1939, Parliament passed the Military Training Act, which required men aged 20-21 to undertake six months' of military training.  When WWII broke out, Parliament passed the National Service act, making all men aged 18-41 eligible to be drafted.  There were, however, many ways to get out of this service.  Objection to military service because of moral grounds was used by 22 out of 1000 people.  These men had to stand trial though, and as many as 41% of them were required to serve.  A second way to avoid the draft was to ignore the summons to register for National Service, because there was a shortage of people to enforce attendance.  A third way was to have a man that failed his physical to take it for you in your name.  Finally, buying forged medical discharge certificates was another way to avoid service.  All of these ways came with consequences, however, and if one was found out to have used an illegal method, they were subject to Government punishment.

The Royal Forces also suffered from desertion.  Many soldiers who were drafted unwillingly or learned of their future service abroad simply deserted.  Roughly 36,000 men deserted before and shortly after D-Day, 10,000 of whom were charged.  Many of those who deserted were forced to lead a life of crime because they had no identity cards.  Therefore, looting was often seen after the bombing of cities.

If I was to fix the problem of avoiding conscription, I would using photo id's to verify everyones correct identity, thus solving the problem of fake physicals.  I would also make the discharge cards special in some way, either on the paper they were printed, or in a special color.  Lastly, i would devote more people to enforce attendance to register with the National Service.  I would round up deserters from the armed forces by cracking down on all crime.  I would raid Red Light Districts, Gambling Halls, and other illegal fronts.  I would start arresting immediately too.  Deserters would be subject to penalties as high as 25 years in prison.  Death seems to be too high a price to pay; also Britain is far more civilized than Nazi Germany.  With me in control, there would be no rogues who don't serve

Atomic Bomb

NBC aired this piece in 1995 not only to honor the anniversary of the dropping of the Atomic bomb and subsequent Japanese surrender, but to also remind us of the great travesties that come with such destruction.  This video was a success becomes it had a somber overtone.  Also, the way it featured interviews from both American and Japanese perspectives contributed to its success.  This video reminds us that we won the war, but at a price which only time can measure.  The dropping of the Atomic bomb contributed to hundreds of thousands of deaths, but also introduced the world to such destruction.  It created a weapon of death, something that corrupt leaders and nations now strive for in order to gain world power.  It certainly changed how wars are fought, as now WMD's are a constant worry when going into war.  At the same time, the atomic bomb was the means in which we won WWII.  Had we not used this weapon, who knows how many more people would've died.  Overall, I believe this video was successful in being a somber tribute to the anniversary of the A Bomb.  Its effect on the future, however, is all relative to the viewer and their opinion

Textbook

There are parts of our textbook that I like and dislike.  First of all, I like how the textbook organizes the pre-war activity by nation.  I also like how they show each countries "path to war."  The textbook struggles in that it doesn't devote enough energy to the holocaust, as only 1 or 2 pages in focused on this travesty.  If i could change the textbook, i would make it so there are 4 chapters; Pre-war (similar to the type in our current book), Wartime (with many primary and secondary sources), Holocaust (its affect on the war, the world, and the jewish people), and Post War(the affect this war had, how it revolutionized society).  It also might be interesting if we read a second textbook from a different perspective on the war, because the US and other countries obviously see the war as much different things.  I don't believe a textbook has to be in chronological order, except for the Wartime section.  We can learn in many different ways, and the learning could possibly be more effective if we focused on a particular theme or motive, rather than dates and names

WWII Enlistment

"Hello soldier, ready to kill more Germans?"

While my grandfather was never asked such a question, he did serve his country faithfully during WWII.  As a matter of fact, both of my grandfathers served faithfully.

Samuel W. Fancher, my paternal grandfather, served as a pilot for the Canadian Air Force, known as the RAF(Royal Air Force).  While he is no longer with us today, I was able to gain some interesting knowledge about his service via my dad.  He flew a RAF Fairey light fighter-bomber plane.  My dad doesn't know the extent of his service abroad during the war, but he was a trainer of pilots in Canada.  And if I had to guess, I'm sure served gloriously across the seas due to his experience in flying small, acrobatic airplanes at home.  

My maternal grandfather, Cyrus William "Bill" Ridenour, served in the Navy/National Guard during the Korean war.  He experienced no first hand combat, but still served his country faithfully.

The most notable of the Fancher relatives in terms of military service is my Uncle Jerome.  He was a 3 star General in the Vietnam War.  He continued his service for long after the Vietnam War too.  He was instrumental in several Vietnam battles and helped serve the US in a very troublesome war.  To this day it is easy to tell that he served in the military because of his strict personality.  

 

My family has a very honorable (like Jon Jon) history in terms of service in the military to their home country, whether it be the US or Canada.  Previous relatives have also sacrificed the most when serving in the military.  I am proud of my families' history

Appeasement

Life is a constant battle of appeasement with superiorities as well as yourself. We use appeasement because we fear the punishment of direct confrontation. Most days I am given advice from a coach that I view as either invaluable or either just straight wrong. But, as coach, they have the right to preach their own strategies, whether it differ from what you, as a player, have been taught by a personal coach or someone you believe in. Instead of arguing with them and earning a punishment, a few progressions perhaps, we give in to their suggestions. This has happened to me quite frequently, but instead of simply giving in to their incorrect advice, I only follow their instructions for the next few minutes. While not totally appeasing the situation, I do enough to avoid punishment and/or delay myself from developing an incorrect and unhelpful habit.

Hitler Articles

Before he was the sociopathic leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler was an artist, bum, and in some eyes a revolutionary. He was able to gain a tremendous amount of support due to his inspirational speaking and undeniable leadership. He did not, however, always have this power. In the early 1920's, many people doubted his ideals and his conviction to fulfill them. In this article (Alan Stern), he is compared to Mussolini because of his idea to establish a government of German Fascists. This article also says that, "the German republican press assure us that the Bavarian workers will have nothing to do with him or his followers." Oh how they were wrong. Despite all the predictions that Hitler was no more than a t-shirt, Hitler was still able to gain great following. The Republic government was so worried that they banned several of his meetings and processions. Hitler gained this support by linking a common enemy, communism and capitalism, with his own personal enemy, the jews. He linked these two by saying, "The world's capital is Jewish;Marxism is Jewish; Marxism and capitalism are responsible for the desperate straits the world is in, Therefore, Down with the Jews!" Overall, this article described how Hitler would be unable to gain support. The article made it seem like Hitler and his followers were nothing but a bunch of jive turkeys. They said he was less than Mussolini because he lacked conviction and was incapable of definite lines of action. Unfortunately, they were wrong.

The Price of Going to Class

At Menlo, the price of going to class is registered in dollars.  In Afghanistan, the price of going to class is your life.  We have the luxury of riding in cars or on trains to school.  Everyday thousands of women across Afghanistan travel miles by foot to get to schools.  Along their routes, they face the dangers of Taliban.  The only dangers we face are of street cameras catching us running a red light or making an illegal u-turn. Conditions in Afghanistan are frightening. Women are burned with acid, like Shamsia Husseini.  Her face was injured so badly that she was forced to leave the country to get it healed.  Posters, or Propaganda, are place on Mosques and on buildings saying "Don't let your daughters go to school." Afghani women face these problems because of the Taliban and their fundamentalist take on Islam.  The Taliban consider women as lesser beings, just as the Nazis did with the Jews.  These two examples of persecution are strikingly similiar.  While the Taliban may not have the same organization or power that the Nazis did, they certainly still believe in persecuting those who they view as lesser beings.  The Nazi party had to be completely crushed in order to stop the persecution.  The same has to be done for the Taliban.  We had them cornered in 2003, but we let them slip away. And now, they have begun to rebuild and regroup.  President Obama told us of his plans to redeploy troops from Iraq to Afghanistan.  He must come through on this promise for it is our duty, as Americans, to help those in the face of persecution.  It always has been and it always will be.  We can't allow a price for going to class.