Blog #5

The prevalent fear of poverty among the educated classes is the worst moral disease from which our civilization suffers. ~William James

A cartogram is a type of map that distributes a variety of populations throughout the world. In the map shown above is a cartogram displaying poverty throughout the world. Even in the United States poverty surrounds our everyday living. Unfortunately, there are countries that are struggling to make even $2 dollars a day. Families are desolating due to unhealthy living conditions.
The cartogram shown above shows that Central Africa’s poverty levels are severely high. South Asia, Southeast Asia, Russia and Africa are some of the country’s most affected by poverty according to the cartogram. Globalization refers to the interconnectedness of people and places through economic, political, and cultural changes. Poverty has a big influence on globalization because people are unable to pay finances or celebrate in cultural activities. This map shows that the eastern countries are facing hardships when it comes to economic despair and along with their lives.

Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that. ~Norman Vincent Peale

Blog topic #4

In this video clip, we can see that these places are unsanitary for little kids. These slums display unhealthy living conditions for children and adults. This clip does show that there is improvement being done to help reduce the unsanitary residue crawling in the area. It astonishes me that in India 80 percent of the population is living on less than 2 dollars a day. This is unheard of and something should be done about it. Most of the population are children. 33 percent of the population are under the age of 15. I hope these slums can start making a little improvement.

The award winning movie Slumdog Millionaire, shows the poverty and harsh conditions that Indians have to live in. This film was nominated 10 Oscar awards, won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screen play and four Golden Globes. Even though this film caught the eyes of many, Indians living in these “Slumdog” conditions were appalled by the film. Tateshwar Vishwakarma stated, “Referring to people living in slums as dogs is a violation of human rights.” The film was a disgrace to the people living in the slums. This was not the only thing that caused trouble after the making of the film. Parents of the actors Runina Ali and Azharuddin Ismail argued that their children were not getting enough money for their role in the movie. Even though the kids played an excellent role in the movie, they still have to go back to their old ways living in the slums. After watching the film it astounds me how anyone could live in a malicious place like the slums.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/4359316/Riots-as-Indian-slum-dwellers-object-to-Slumdog-Millionaire.html

Blog Topic #3

Indonesia is the largest country in Southeast Asia. Indonesia has a population of about 231.6 millions of people. Indonesia is also known for their volcanic activity in Southeast Asia. Indonesia has around 150 active volcanoes. These volcanoes were formed in Indonesia due to plates shifting about 15 million years ago. Some of these volcanoes have erupted causing danger to some people living in that area. A website that I found stated, "The largest eruptions or geological events took place in Indonesia".
http://discover-indo.tierranet.com/volcano01.htm


I picked this video because it portrays some of the volcanic activity that has happened in the past year in Indonesia. Indonesia is known for their volcanoes, so I thought it would be interesting to put a video of a volcano erupting. The volcano in the video hasn't erupted in over 400 years. This tells you the ancient history/geography about Indonesia before it was founded to be a country. I can't even imagine living near a volcano that could possibly erupt and kill hundreds of people.

Blog Topic #2

The topic of immigration in the textbook states that about 25 percent of Australia's population are immigrants. 70 percent of Australia's population comes from the British and Irish heritage (646). Not just the British and Irish cultural heritages make up Australia's population. Italians, Greeks, Germans, African Americans, Chinese, people from Malaysia and India cover different cultures in Australia (646). Australia is mainly an English-speaking country, but with all of the different cultures of immigrants leads to a variety of languages. 2.5 million people living in Australia speak another language other than English. Religion is also another important factor that has been affected by immigration. Australia is mainly a Christian country with 26 percent of the population being Catholic and another 20 percent being Anglican. With the wide spread of cultural differences religions such as Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism are becoming more popular. This might be scary if Christianity might fall below one of these religions.

"According to the Australian Bureau of statistics in the past year net immigration contributed 64 per cent to population growth while natural growth accounted for 36 per cent. Over the past five years there has been a substantial increase in immigration owing to government policy". This article has a good point on who should be allowed to walk on Australian soil or not. Police or something should be enforced so not as many immigrants are entering the country freely. Pallavi Jain writes that, "it isn't just about the money that Australia offers but the life choices". Australia is one of the most industrialized countries in the world, and families should have a freedom to live there. Jain says, "Too much immigration may give rise to unforseen social unrest, apart from being a huge burden on the infrastructure and the environment. Striking this balance will be a key to Australia's future".
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/striking-a-balance-in-australias-immigration-future-20101019-16rgd.html


Immigration on the internet sites are talking about the same kind of stuff. Immigration is hurting the economy and the population. Jobs in the mining and oil companies are getting the most people. Many jobs are available with full time employment means that immigration rates will start to sky rocket. With more immigration this causes more trouble with housing. They have to take care of that one person and also that family to make sure they have all the essentials to live a healthy lifestyle.
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/punters-well-aware-of-economic-case-against-more-immigration-20101123-185ij.html


In the textbook the First Fleet took place in the year 1788 near the coast of Sydney. In the First Fleet there were around 750 prisoners on board and other convicts followed. English speaking residents were outnumbering the prisoners and convicts, these people were free settlers. Gold attracted many people to move into Australia. If it was not for the First Fleet that brought in so many people, Australia might not have become a country. Australia Day is a celebration from the founding of the Australia land.

Australia Day takes place on January 26^th. Many Australians will travel to Sydney for many festive celebrations. Other activities for Australia Day can be seen in Melbourne, Queensland, Brisbane and Perth. At the end of the day a huge fireworks show takes place in Perth by the Swan River. Australians have a ton of pride for their country.
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/australia-day-to-showcase-national-spirit-20110125-1a404.html