History Reading Log

Reading Log 9

2007-03-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

In the last section, I learned about the rule of 150. Basically what the rule of 150 says is that humans have a certain amount of people that they can relate to, more than just knowing their name, this number turns out to be 150 people. There are lots of historical examples to back this up. For example there was a tribe in Australia that would build a new village when the population exceeded 15o. In the army, each unit is 200 people. In Gore, a high tech company, each plant has 150 employers. When the number goes above 150 then another plant is built, to get the number back around 150 employees. The Ya-Ya Sister hood became a best seller book, and a lot of the reason for this is because of the rule of 150. The author said that it wasn't just one epidemic, it was a lot of little epidemics that sold her book. People started coming to her readings in groups. Reading groups would form just around her book. One person would come a buy a copy, not just for themselves, but also for the other people in their reading group. Then these people would tell their friends and then they would go get copies. If people just showed up to her readings single, instead of in groups of six or seven, it would have been much harder for her to reach such a large audience.

Tipping Point 1

2007-01-19T18:37:00.000-08:00

This book is actually better than I thought. It is very interesting to me because I have started my own business. I also loves staying on top of technology and I try to keep up to date on emerging technologies. I agree with the author that at some point a product, idea, or social movement, can rapidly go from something small to something big. A perfect example of this is computers. In the beginning computers were expensive, complicated, and were not very powerful. Today computers are cheaper, faster, smaller, have more features, and are easier to use. That in conjunction with the rapid growth of the web has caused many consumers around the globe to purchase computers. The same thing has happened with many other products including, cell phones, digital cameras, iPods, and it will continue to happy with new products. The trick that everyone wants to know is how can they create a positive tipping point to start a new trend that will benefit them.

Reading Log 15

2006-11-27T10:00:00.000-08:00

I just read an article about Iraq on an independent news website. The article was very interesting because it gives a different perspective then what is being told by the US media. Although we hear about some of the violence in Iraq there is still a lot of the story left uncovered by the US media. For example the number of attacks was 24,470 in 2004 and 26,500 in 2005. More over the insurgents seam to have an unlimited supply of fighters. Quoted from the (News Defense) one of the army officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Ross Brown, a squadron commander in the 3rd armoured cavalry regiment: "I went out on an operation, I killed 27 [insurgents] in October. All they do is fill their spaces with more people; they have an infinite supply of replacements. We kill a leader or we detain a leader and there is somebody else in charge. Every time I feel good about killing or detaining this guy, there is somebody else to fill the boots, somebody is standing right behind ready to jump up."
In 2004 the Bush administration was calling these insurgent attacks as mere "remnants" that were being organized by a hand full of families and that they would soon dissolve, however now no one is saying that there are a few "remnants".

From the very begging I knew that going into Iraq was a bad idea. I remember one of the questions that my dad kept on asking was what was the plan after we won. The Bush administration had a plan, however their plan failed miserable. The strategy was was termed "'clear, hold, build' and involves clearing a city or district of insurgents, holding it with US troops with assistance from Iraqi security forces, and implementing a build strategy of reconstruction and long-term control (see "Victory in Iraq", 15 December 2005)." Unfortunately, this plan severely miscalculated the sophisticated strategy that the insurgents have developed to successful turn any order that the US army has tried to establish in Iraq. The do not know of a magic strategy that will save us, however I do know that usually when an army gets beaten badly that they usually retreat and do not stick around to take more of a pounding. If we stay in Iraq the situation is going to continue to be the same. Of course if we leave there is a good chance that the government that we have been trying to form will collapse. I think that the ultimate decider of the future of Iraq is the Iraqi people. If they want freedom and democracy they can have it, if they do not, then we don't need to try to force them into it. I think that Iraq is a lesson for the United States, the age of imperialism is over and it is becoming increasingly difficult to use military force to secure foreign interest. I think what America needs now is strong leadership. As the most powerful nation in the world we have a unique opportunity to lead the world in developing a globalized system based on capitalism and free trade.

Reading Log 14

2006-11-26T14:31:00.000-08:00

In this reading we learned about the different views of the role of the government and the people. During the middle ages in Europe the government was a federal system. The belief was that the leaders where choosen by God to rule the people and therefore the people should obey these leaders. Because God choose the leaders it was a sin to go against them. Over the years different philosophies have been developed about how the government should best function and even today people still debate over what is the best way to rule. During the 17th and 18th centuries Thomas Hobbes and John Locke amoung others beleived that human beings originally lived in nature, and although humans may have essentially been good human nature and greed causes humans to endanger eachother by violently taking away others freedoms and possestions. Thus, government is needed to protect the people and allow them to pursue self interest in a fair environment and be treated equally. As the age of reason progressed new ideas about government developed. For example liberals during the 17th and 18th century saw the role of the goverment was to help the individual reach self defined goals by eliminate hurldes such as social privilege, blood rights, authoritarian instituations and the church. However not everyone agreed with this. Edmund Burke beleived that the individual alone could not make good decisions and that a collection of people in a large group together would make the best decisions. He saw society as an organism whose puropse was to promote the good of the whole by the individual being served by the promotion of the community. Today in the US the liberals value social services, educations, and taxing large corportions, while the conservatives beleive that individualism is a hurtle and value the whole over the individual. They do not support social services and spend more money on the military. Conservaties also beleive that individuals are responcible for there own well being and therefore the goverment should not interfere by provided aid to the poor or disadvantaged.

In my opinion so far there is no perfect political party. Like everything each party has it pros and cons. I personally tend to support the liberals because I value education and beleive that the conservatives mostly have a disregard to the environment. Although sometimes the parties overlap. For example Arnold ran for govenor as a republican, however he has put a lot of energy into finding environmental solutions to solving problems. This is different from most republicans and you would usually expect a demacrat to take on these challenges.

Reading Log 9

2006-10-29T20:40:00.000-08:00

The Easy Voter Guid is designed to aid California voters in making decisions on issues such as; who will be governor, how should California spend it's budget, and choices about taxes and political campaigns. The Easy Voter guid helps voters to learn more about the different canidates running for the different political positions for California's government. The voters guid also helps to explain what roles each of these different positions play. For example the secretary of state, manages state elections, keeps records about campaign finances and lobbying, issues offical documents for new corportions and runs the state archieves to preserve California's history and constitution. The voter's guid also helps explain the different propostions and what they would do if passed. It also says the pros and cons of each proposition to help voters decide how they should vote. On the back of the voter's guid it describes the steps voters need to take in order to vote.

Every citezen in the United State has the right to vote, however I think that less than half of the people take advantage of this privilege. I beleive that everyone should take an active role in their government because the goverment is an important part in any society and we should uphold our responcibility as a citezen to make sure that we inform ourselfs about the different canidates and issues, so that we can elect the best possible leaders. I think that it is great that in America we have an opertunity to have an impact on the leaders we choose to make decisions. I also think that it is really cool that we can vote on propositions that can have an affect on our comunities. Therefore I would encourge anyone who can vote to educate themselfs so that they can make good choices about the canidates they are voting on and the different propositions. I realize that there are a lot of different canidates running for many different political positions and unfortunately I do not know very much about a lot of the canidates or even the positions they are running for. Since I will be voting in this election I am hoping to learn more about these canidates and their positions, so that I can make good decisions. I am also exited about our ad campaign project and it has been very helpful in teaching me about the different propositions and what to watch out for.

Questions:

How should I research the different canidates and find out more about their oponets and what positions they are running for?
If I am unsure about how to vote on a proposition, what further research should I do?
How do I know who to believe, and how can I trust what I read or hear?

Reading Log 7

2006-10-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

I have continued reading "Americas Empire: Global Leader or Rogue Power". In the last chapter I read it talked about how the New World was similar to the ancient legend of the lost world of Alantis. Just as in the legand of Atlantis the founding fathers of America saw America as a new light. If you look at the United States seal printed on every one dollar bill you will see that it is an ancient Egyption pyramid with an the eye of Horus the Egyption Sun God, who's essence is light a and who represents the eye of knowlege. In this image the founding fathers of the United States created America to be a became an example of the most perfect nation in the world and a became of freedom for the rest of the world to seek. As with all empires march to power the United States march to dominance was not without bloodshed. Through our relative short history we have almost been involved in some overseas conflict. Through military power the United States achieved independence from Great Britain, something that no other colony of Great Britian was able to acheive for two more centuries. After WWI Great Britian acknowleged that the United States had a navel equal navy as her own and reconized the United States as an equal world superpower. Since the beginning of the United States history she has deployed troops all over the globe sending troops to Asia, Africa, and South America, to represent America's foreign interest.

Today the United States is continue to spread it's empire through military power and futrth expand it's base of influence. Recently the United States was attacked by a small group and for the first time America realized that it was not invisiable. The United States felt threatend and in responce tried to prove to the world that the United States was still the strongest most powerful nation in the world through military oppuration in the middle east. First the United States consintrated on Afganistghan and then moved to Iraq. The United States based it's foreign policy on a strike first policy. The strategy of this policy is that you can not show your enemies that you are weak and that the only way to prevent them from attacking you is to intimidate them. Furthermore the some leaders of the United States beleives that the beacom of freedom that the United States represents needs to be spread throughout the world through military force so that all global citizens can enjoy the same freedom and opertunities excessible to every ctizen.

Questions:

Is there a way for the United States to still be able to promote it's foreign interest and at the same time make decisions that are beniefitial for the world?

How will the United States respond to the globalization that is overtaking world economics and politics?

How does the rest of the world view the United States and do they feel that the United States is attempting to try to take to much power and what are the other nations doing to try to balance the United States global power?

Rd. Log # 2

2006-09-14T09:59:00.000-07:00

I read another chapter in "An American Empire". Jim Garrison has noted that there are many problems that the world and the United States need to face. These include, global warming, the digital divide, the separation between the rich and poor, and many other issuese. All of this problems are global issues and need global solutions. Yet, recently the United States has backed away from these issues. For example the United States refused to sign the Kyoto Protocal. Garrison argues that the United States needs to look beyond it's self interest and find solutions that benifiet the United States the the larger whole. He makes the point that the world is becaming moree globalized and the United States need to understand and thus change their policies to take this new globalization into account when making policy. He has made the case that America is an empire and will be the last empire because in the world today there is not a place for empires. He says that America will either transition into a nation that is not just the most powerful nation in the world but will also spear head a new globilzed goverment that will take on solving global problems that affects countries across borders.

Obviosuly Garrison talks about many issues in the world. Some issues that I can relate to is global warming. I recently took a trip to Alaska. This was my first visit to Alaska and I have to admit that it is one of the most beatiful places I have ever been. Unfortuantely log is one of the biggest sources of money in Alaska and therefore is one of the biggest industries. As a result many forest are being logged. This is bad for several reasons. First forest are important for filtering the C02 out of our air. By cutting down these tries we are destroying habitat and increasing global warming. Unfortunately Alaska depends on this industria. If Alaksa stopped it's logging industry then many people would loose their jobs and the economy for Alaskans would decline. This is an area where the United States goverment needs to work with the people to help find a solution that would be beefitials to both the enveronment and also the people. Unfortuantely the goverment is doing the exact opposite of this and this is where Garrsion says that the United States need to change. Instead of just looking at the short term solution that generates the most profit we need to come up with a long term solution that can ensure that we are balance economics with the environment.

Questions:

How is the Europian Union becaming a global power and how are they playing a role to check America's foreign policy?
How are other world powers dealing with global issues?
How has the Euro changed the international business in Europe and has this helped unite Europe?

Current Event: Europes Rule in the Middle East

2006-09-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

Obviously there is a lot going on in the Middle East. The United States is in Iraq, Israel and Lebanon just finished duking it out and Iran is becoming a major threat. Yet, according to the Al-Abram Weekly Europe did little to help the situation in the Middle East. According to the article Europe has helped Israel to achieve what it could not do by war. It has liquidated Huzbula, which I think means they they have settled some deal with Israel that gives them what they want. Although I am not exactly sure what that is. Europe has also helped Lebanon by sending troops and I think money. However the article conveys that this is not enough to help the problem. What the AL-Abram Weekly says what Europe needs to do is to confront the US and Israel. Unfortunately I only have a vague idea of what is happening between Israel and Lebanon, and I am not up to date about what is going on with the US and the Middle East.

Questions

What is the European Union's Stance on the Isreal Lebanon conflict?

How has the EU and US foreign policy agreed and disagreed on the actions of Isreal?

How is the EU checking US foreign policy?

American Empire Rd. log 1

2006-09-07T20:34:00.000-07:00

I have settled on American Empire: Globabl Leader or Rogue Power, by Jim Garrison. The central theme of this book is America has transitioned from Republic to Empire. Garrison explores why America has became the world's most powerful nation and what responcibilities come with it. He argues that todays world is a global system. This has happened because leaps in technology and communication and because of a globalized economy. Garrison claims that America will be the world's last empire. This is true he explains because in a globilzed system there is no need for Empires. Instead a global goverment like the UN will settle gloabal affairs and disputes. The United States now will either provide the leadership that we showed the world after world war I and II or we will be remembered as coming a a trajec end. Either way we are the only onces that can decide our outome and the future of the world according to Garrioson.

Current Event: 1

2006-09-07T13:53:00.000-07:00

Article Summary: Nicol Stephen said that he wants to see wind power in Scotland by next summer. The minister visited the Pelamis project off of Portugal which is set to become the world's largest wind farm. Nicol Stephan wants to increase Scotland as the place where renewable marine energy is developed. He also said that he invested 8 million Euros in marine projects and he intends for a share of this to insure the Pelamis project in Orkney at the European Marine Energy Center.

Analysis: I think that marine energy is very important. Water is 100 times as dense as air and the motion of the waves moving up and down can be used to generate power. Marine power is much more efficient then win power and could be the solution for the future. Already there are many marine power projects being developed in many different places in the world. I think that this could be an alternative that could help solve our current reliance on oil. Even though the Bush administration has tried to deflate public opinion toward the need for alternative energy I believe that he has motivations to do so and that we need to listen to the environmentalist who's career is to study the environment.

Questions: How many marine projects are being developed or have been developed and how much energy are they producing? Why does Europe seem to be more environmental savvy? Why do we continue to rely on fossil fuels even if we know that they are hurting the environment and that relying on the Middle East for oil is hurting our economy. If we were to convert to alternative fuels sources we would reduce our impact on the environment, insure a clean world for future generations, and help save on energy cost, while increasing American business. Alternative fuels make sense for America. So why do our politicians continue to ignore the scientist and environmentalist who are showing them that be green is green.

The Great Law

2006-09-05T17:59:00.000-07:00

The United States constitution barrows many of it's ideas from the Iroquois conistitution, also called the Great Law of Peace. The Iroquis constitution was created sometime between 1000-1400 AD (historians think it was made closer to 1400 AD). The great law was created to stop the fighting between Native American tribes around lake Erie. Like the US constitution the Iroqouis constitution was a document that organized the structure of their goverment. The constitution outlined the rights of it's citezens, the responicbilities of it's leaders, polices about immigration, land, and declaring war. It also covered religion, freedoms, and the power of the president regarding war. Some of the ideas of the Great Law of Peace were separation between church and state, freedom of the press, religion and speech. When Franklin Rosevelt learned about the Iroquois goverment he was very impressed. He saw that their were many features of their constituion that were lacking from the goverments at his time including a ban on the forced entry of goverment into citizens homes, the freedom of politics and religous freedoms and the impeachment of corrupt officials or leaders.

Reading the "The Great Law" was very interesting to me. It was a part of our history that I knew little about. I rember hearing that our constitution was based on a document that was created by Native Americans, however I did not know much of the details. I find it interesting that we abused the Native Americans and at the same time admired them. I am wondering why most Americans have not heard about the The Great Law of Peace. I think that it is an important part of our history. Without it our goverment may be much different. I would also be curious to learn how the British adopted the Iroquois constitution and how it influenced their form of goverment.