Blog Topic #11 - Final Blog!

For this post I want you to find a map of your choice to post on your blog.  The map can come from any region and on a topic of your choice.  One of my favorite websites is Strange Maps, a collection of  "cartographic curiosities" from around the world.  Explore the web to find a map that interests you, post it and write a brief paragraph on why you selected the map.

I found this map interesting for several reasons: 

1) It demonstrates how huge the U.S. economy is compared to other countries.

US States Renamed For Countries With Similar GDPs

2) The Czech Republic is compared to Nebraska.  Wilbur, NE is the Czech Capitol of the U.S.

Blog Topic #10

"As a poor region, Sub-Saharan Africa is linked to the global economy more through the flow of financial aid and loans than through the flow of goods."

This quote from the Aid Versus Investment section of your textbook highlights an ongoing debate about how best to assist in African development. Read this section, along with the Global To Local box on the used clothing trade.

The United States is the top donor state to Africa, with former President Bush tripling aid during his administration to about $6 billion by 2006. Read this article (http://www.cato.org/pubs/edb/edb2.pdf) from the CATO institute arguing that the $500 billion in aid since 1960 has created dependency, not development. Money flowing into countries through loans and aid is often invested outside the continent, stolen by corrupt leaders, or spent on ill-adivsed programs.

What do you think? Should the U.S. and other foreign governments and NGOs continue to provide aid, or should they focus on developing trade, industry, and infrastructure?

Blog Topic #9



The recent unrest in North Africa and the Middle East is impacting the world in may ways, including the price of oil.  It is also happening and changing very quickly.  This map shows some of the nations facing change, and it's already out of date since President Mubarak of Egypt stepped down and there is definitely opposition to Gaddafi in Libya.

In this post I want you to select a country in this region and research the protests taking place.  Post at least one image from the country that highlights the protest movement.  Summarize why the protests are taking place and what the protesters are seeking to accomplish.

Explore Your World!



Blog Topic #8

Google Earth is an excellent tool to view the Earth from different spatial perspectives. We are trained from an early age to view the world from flat maps showing north at the top and south at the bottom. Many world maps also center the U.S. in the middle of the map.

In this blog I want you to show an area of the world from a different perspective/angle/direction than it is normally viewed. For example, the perspective shown at right makes you realize that if you fly from Chicago to Tokyo, Japan you will probably fly over Alaska (the shortest distance is called a great circle).

Go to Google Earth and "fly around" until you find a unique perspective.  Go to File, Save, Save Image..., and save the image as a .jpeg and then upload it into your blog. Describe how the image makes you think differently about the Earth.

Blog Topic #7

For this post you have a choice of three topics:

Topic A - The Afghan Girl

Here is the link to the National Geographic article about finding her after 17 years.  There is a plethora of information online about this amazing story.



Topic B - Restrepo and/or the war in Afghanistan.

Here is the link to the official website for the movie.  You can also find a huge amount of information online or (I suggest this strongly) you can read the book War by Sebastian Junger to experience a more vivid portrayal.

Topic C - Opium

Afghanistan leads the world in opium production, supplying about 75%.  Here is a link to a recent National Geographic article called Afghanistan's Opium Wars.  Some of the money made from this illegal trade inevitably funds the Taliban and other Islamic extremist groups.

Once you find a web link, video clip, or news item relating to your topic  post them on your blog.  Write several paragraphs explaining what you learned or found interesting about the subject. 

Explore your world!

Blog Topic #6

One basic tenet of a democracy is the freedom to obtain and share information.  Since globalization is partly driven by increasing access to media, denying access is a serious concern.  The "Jasmine Revolution" taking place across the Middle East and North Africa has spread because of people's ability to communicate via cellphones and the Internet.

Since the Peoples Republic of China is a communist country it does not have freedom of the press and it does not allow unfiltered access to the Internet. For example, when you or I Google the Three T's -Tiananmen Square, Taiwan, or Tibet - from Link Library we get different results than if you Google that same term while sitting in an Internet cafe' in Beijing.  This systematic filtering is sometimes called the Great Firewall of China.

The Chinese government filters or blocks certain content it deems inappropriate for its citizens, including YouTube videos, Facebook, and Twitter. It also requires domestic video sharing websites to be state-owned.

This week the government shut down LinkedIn, a business oriented social networking site, for a short time since people were calling for a "Jasmine Revolution" in China.

I want you to find a news link specifically about the Great Firewall.  Provide a link to the article and write a paragraph expounding on the topic.

Blog Topic #5

A cartogram is a type of map where another variable, such as population, is substituted in place of area when drawing a country. One of the best websites to examine a variety of cartograms is World Mapper - http://www.worldmapper.org/.  For example, the map below shows Malaria Death in 2003 and makes one realize how devastating this parasite is to Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of East Asia.

Go to World Mapper and select the A-Z Map Index to view all the maps available. Paste one of these maps into your blog and write about how it relates to globalization.