Murtaza's Global Blog

Mikhail Gorbachev and The Collapse of Communism

2009-05-13T10:04:00.003-04:00

Mikhail Gorachev was a young leader to the old and conservative Soviet Union. His new ideas and vision as opposed to the old views of Stalin were considered to be a way out of their situation. He introduced a policy of glasnost which was a policy of openness or freedom of speech. Under the old government there was no right to speak. With the thoughts of his people in his mind he had passed the policy of perestroika which gave people to own and open small private businesses. This was the plan of Econmical Reconstruction or like a communist industrial revolution. Gorachev unknowingly opened the door to the collapse of communism. With this policy Gorachev also was able to lossen the elections and lost many satellite states.

The Collapse of Communism

2009-05-12T09:54:00.002-04:00

During the Cold War the USSR and the U.S. were the world's leading superpowers. After WW2 these two world powers were competing in a race. Both of them being world powers and armed with atomic weapons they did not get in to any actual fighting. The mere cost of keeping up with each other was high for both countries. For the USSR it was to much. Their economy soon collapsed at the high price of competing with the U.S. With the collapse of the USSR the communist countries that they supported soon also collapsed due to the fact that their main source of money came from Soviet Russia. The collapse of the USSR destroyed many economies around the world. The collapse of the USSR gave a response out to the world. The fall of the Berlin Wall raised the iron curtain that had fallen on Europe ever since WW2. Cuba which was one of Russia's allies due to it's location near Florida. The collapse made the U.S. the world's only leading superpower and reshaped Europe again.

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid

2009-05-05T18:15:00.002-04:00

There is no place in the world today where segregation has not hit. In the Continent of Africa, segregation was a major issue. In South America the government there adapted a policy of apartheid. This was a policy of segregation which was similar to the Jim Crow Laws in the Southern U.S. after the civil war. This was in the common sense to stop the majority which were non-white from voting and having a say in their country. Southern Africa was lead by Nelson Mandela and others in their fight for a free and equal South Africa. Today Nelson Mandela is a symbol of hope like Dr.King and Gandhi who have become the peoples voice wherever there is apartheid or racial injustice. Nelson Mandela is considered a National Hero, not because he had freed his country of South Africa but rather because he did not give up. He and many others were the immovable objects that nothing as strong as European Imperialism could move. He was the cornerstone of the South African people and was elected President in South Africa's first free election in 1994.

African Independence

2009-05-05T09:52:00.006-04:00

Africa was not always into the many countries that it is today. Before during the gold rush and European imperialism the European countries came to Africa and started making their colonies. This upset the African people because their borders were being defined by the will of those new to their countries. The African people also had no say in their government. This was one of the more critical parts that had affected the African people because they were supposed to abide by laws that they had no say in which were created by a government in which they had no voice in. Many new African nations were formed after WW2 mainly because of the fact that the European countries had no money left to control these countries.

Many African countries demanded thier independence. These countries had many fighting for their freedom. Some of who include Leopold Senghor, Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Nelson Mendela and mony more. All these leaders felt the need to free their country and to do it without the use of violence like Gandi. In the end many of their efforts had worked and their countries were free.

Flim Lesson:The Right Stuff

2009-04-08T10:06:00.003-04:00

The U.S. and the USSR were competing in a space race. In this movie it shows the early days of the U.S. space program or NASA. This was made in response to the communist country Russia's launching of the first satellite, Sputnik. This was the first satellite launched to space. Seeing this the U.S. decided to send the first man to space. They began searching for the perfect candidates and found the test pilots. While they tried all of this the also tried to launch a rocket into space. The USSR had already launched a rocket and this meant that the U.S. were behind the Russians.

The test for the rockets took many months and each time the had failed. While doing all this NASA decided to send a chimp up to space. The first American up was a monkey while the first Russian up was a man. The U.S. and the astronauts felt threatened and felt like a joke that they were behind the Russians. The U.S. would then succeed in passing the USSR by sending the first man on the moon Neil Armstrong. This was part of the many Apollo Missions.

Film Lesson: Schindler's List

2009-03-26T10:15:00.002-04:00

The Hollywood version of the Holocaust directed by a Jew Steven Spielberg. It tell the true story of the people saved by a member of the National Socialist party, the Nazis. The man was Oscar Schindler. He was a factory owner who made ammunition's for the German army. This was hugely profitable to him because he did not have to pay the people who worked for him because they were Jews. The most striking scene in the movie was the one with the girl in the red dress. This was the most striking because the entire movie was in black and white and through the confusion of the transportion from ghettos to the camps. A young girl gets lost looking for her mother. Later on she ends up in a wheelbarrow with other girls all of whom are dead. This was the most striking because it showed innocence being punished for doing nothing wrong other than being born in the wrong house. Oscar Schindler who saw the girls dead body felt a chill going through the course of his entire body. The scenes from the movie that were the disturbing were the killings in cold blood. Cold blood killings like that are the kind of killing that stay and change you forever. To kill someone like that with no emotion is savage. Oscar Schindler saw this and didn't want blood on his hands. The Hollywood version was the one that was more describing of the holocaust.

Film Lesson: Night and Fog

2009-03-26T09:53:00.004-04:00

The documentary Night and Fog which was made by the French is a documentary on the Holocaust. The documentary showed the concentration and death camp know as Auschwitz. This camp was the mass murderer of millions of jews. The scenes of the camps buildings and the facilitys there were the most striking. The dormatories were one of the most shocking ones. The other scenes which showed the gas chambers in which millions of jews were killed. This documentary was more efffective at telling about the Holocaust rather than the hollywood version Shindler's List. This is because in hollywood everyone likes a happy ending. The truth is there was no happy ending.

The treaty of versailles (ended WW1)

2009-02-24T09:50:00.002-05:00

The Treaty of Versailles ended WW1. It was signed at the palace of Versailles in France. The winning side which included the French, British and Americans made this treaty to punish Germany and blame the Germans for everything. This treaty forced Germany to give up any thing it had. Its colonies were seized by the British and French. This treaty forced Germany into a recession. This led to Facism and the rise of Adolf Hitler. Hitler provieded the people of Russia the one thing that the needed, revenge. He started building the military, which was unathorized by the treaty.Hitler provided the people of Germany with what they wanted, they want'ed to hurt the people that made them lose everything.

Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) and the Modernization of Turkey

2009-02-11T10:06:00.002-05:00

The Ottoman Empire was one of the biggest empires ever. It stretched from Northern Africa to the Middle East and Southern Europe. This was a Major Muslim dominated empire. Like all great Empires this one was doomed to end. It ended after World War 1. The Ottoman empire was on the losing side(Germany). With this the Ottoman empire broke up and was split up into many countries. One of those was Turkey.

Turkey was led by a man named Mustafa Kemal. He asked the people of Turkey if their country in any way was a bit civilized. He was named Ataturk. This was a title given to him by the people of Turkey. It meant the father of the Turks. His principles were stated as the "Six Arrows". This was his drive, his purpose and his values which defined everything he did and was reason behind everything he did. The Six Arrows were republicanism, populism, secularism, reformism, nationalism, and statism. He made sure that all the aspects of the Turkey government was separated. This was called secularism. This meant that religious affairs were not to interfere in government affairs. This can also be found earlier in the subcontinent of Asia in the Mughal Empire. Their leader also used simpler ideas and redefined the Mughal empire. This was the most important thing that Kemal could do. This is because by keeping religion and government apart he modernized Turkey.

Film Lesson "Gandhi"

2009-02-10T09:51:00.005-05:00

The map of Asia was changed forever in 1947 when the East India British company left India for good. India was split up into 3 countries Pakistan, India, and East Pakistan(Present day Bangladesh. This began the biggest migration in the history of the world. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims went to Pakistan. This move of Independence can be credited to many people but the one that was quite possibly the most influential was Gandhi. This leader was most recognized for his acts of non-violent civil disobedience. He encouraged the people to get their independence through non-violent means.

He defied British rule on many occasions. One of them was the salt march. This was when Gandhi along with a hindered men walked 200 miles to the edge of India to the sea and made salt. While this may sound like nothing, salt had a huge importance in everyday life in India. In the harsh climate like India's food cannot survive because of the extreme heat. He also stopped wearing British made clothes and made his own cloth. He encouraged the people to do the same. He was also sentenced to jail many time and all those times that he was sent to jail he came back stronger and more determined than ever.
This also had an effect on the people because it made them more determined. He believed that nothing can be achieved through violence and that if the people would want their independence then they would have to prove it not to him but to the empire. He once said that "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind". This ment that violence was never the anwser and that the only thing violence bring is more violence and death with bloodshed.

The Russian Revolution

2009-01-09T09:34:00.002-05:00

World War 1 had changed Europe but not for the good. It gave the Germans land, Russian land. This caused the people of Russia to be mad and angry with their government which back then was a monarchy and the king who in Russia was know as the Czar. The people being unhappy they revolted under the leadership of Vladmir Lenin. The people were tired under the leadership of Nicholas II. The people were tired for being so far behind to the rest of the world. They lost the Russo-Japenesse War. The Germans declared war on Russia after Russia chose to stop Austria-Hungary from invading Serbia. This was the start of World War 1. With this nearly all of Russia's men were dead. Russia had given up and chose to sign a treaty with Germany by which it gave up land to Germany. This was the last straw to the people of Russia. This was the start of Communism in Russia under Lenin. He believed that this was the right idea for Russia. The people wanted change and that change was found in Lenin. This alloweed him to control the people in anyway he wanted. One thing that he and the Bolshevik party(communist party) came up with was "Peace, Land and Bread". This was the most know party chant. This ment the people wanted peace, land and food. There were however people that opposed them too. This caused Russia to go to civil war in which 15 million Russians died. There were two armys the Red(communist) and White(capitalist) army. The U.S. and other western nations supported the white army. In the end however the Red Army was the victor. This however caused Russia's economy to collapse into a depression.

Causes of WW1

2009-01-07T09:34:00.002-05:00

The Great War was the one that is now know as World War 1 or WW1. This war was a war that was waiting to happen. No matter what happened this war was to happen. The cause that started it all was the assassination of Austria-Hungary's Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Sebian Nationalist. The assassination of the archduke was caused the nationalism. The people that lived in the Austria-Hungary empire were now realizing the fact that they don't speak the same language with their rulers. They only thing that they shared was the land that they lived on and were always fighting over. These countries also started funding their militarys in the previous years because of the anticipation. This was one war that could not be prevented because it was one that all the nations of Europe saw coming. This war also created new countries. It also caused promises between the natoins to be broken. This was the collapse of the alliance system. This war caused the people of all the nations they belonged to felt pride in the fact that their country was the dominate one.

The Opium Wars

2008-12-10T09:36:00.004-05:00

The Opium Wars were started after the Chinese Government banned the Europeans from bringing the opium into their country. The Opium Wars were the Europeans way to enter China. With the opium the Europeans traded the people of China opium for their natural resources(tea). They got the Chinese addicted to the opium so that they would be dependent on them. The opium comes from the Popeye plant and comes from the family of heroin, morphine, codein, mescalun, and opium. These drugs are know as the opiates.

The Opium Wars were between China and England. The British won the war effortlessly because of the fact that they had better weapons and were more advanced than the Chinese. The Chinese were using swords while the British had guns and cannons and were kill the Chinese by 10s or 15s. The Europeans won the war easily and were able to capture China. China was now a colony of the Brits and they were able to shape China however they pleased

Film Lessons: "Mountians Of The Moon"

2008-12-03T09:35:00.002-05:00

Getting to the middle of Africa for the Europeans was not easy. The Nile, the biggest river in the world was the reason for their curiosity. Some of the problems that the Europeans encountered while trying to enter the middle of Africa, trying to find the source of the Nile. The problems were that the could face local tribes and get into conflict with them. Another problem was that the middle of Africa was unknown and undiscovered. They also had to cross the Sahara Desert which was often difficult. So they now went form the east of Africa into the middle of Africa. There were also diseases such as malaria and other but there were also betrayers from the peddlers that the Europeans hired. The animals were also a problem because animals like the lions and tigers attacked them.

At the end the source of the Nile was found, Lake Victoria. This lake was named after the British Queen. This is a little strange because the people living there never bothered to change the name of the lake. This is weird because that is one of the constant reminders that Africa was once a colony of the Europeans. The explorer that named Lake Victoria was John Speke. He was also accompanied by Richard Burton. Later on the Europeans eventualy got into Africa and captured the African people. This was not that hard for them because the Europeans had guns and a cure for malaria. The African had nothing. They only had spears.

The Meiji Restoration of Japan

2008-11-26T09:40:00.000-05:00

The world power and influence that Japan holds today was not always there. Japan was also like China at one time isolated. It was the Americans that forced Japan out of there isolation. Mathew Perry was the commodore in charge of the U.S. Fleet sent to Japan. He threatened to destroy Japan. This caused the Tokugawa shogunate to allow the western powers come into Japan. He was later overthrown and Emperor Mustsushito was restored to power. He then decided to turn Japan into a modern country. This was know as The Meiji Restoration. The emperor was forced to do this in the fear that they might become a colony, so the Japanese started to imperialism countries them self. The Japanese then fought to stay in the world. They also defeated Russia which sent a shock to the west. The had always believed that the eastern/Asian countries and their people were weaker than them. With the defeat of Russia came the Treaty of Portsmouth in which Korea became Japans colony. One thing that the Japanese did was that they kept their traditions and customs. Japan is an archipelago this meant that Japan was made up of a chain of islands. This was an advantage to the Japaneses because they had many ports by which their economy changed.

Karl Marx and Communism

2008-11-06T09:35:00.000-05:00

Communism was created by Karl Marx. Communism is a system in which the government controls it's people. This government would be made up of the working class, the proletariat. He believed that the majority should win. This was all the factory workers who were treated badly. He thought that why should the factory owners get all the power when there are more workers. He said that the Industrial Revolution was a return of the Feudalism. That the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

He said that capitalism was evil. This was because in the system of capitalism only the rich could even afford the capitals. This was a rich man's world. The other reason Marx believed that the system of Capitalism was bad is because of the fact that the rich have the power. Under Communism the people all had the same pay and were treated as equals. This also meant that they didn't have any property that was there's. The government owned everything and this was so that on one feels better than someone else. The system of Communism still exists today but not in the traditional sense that Marx had in mind.

Karl Marx and The Industrail Revolution

2008-11-05T09:35:00.000-05:00

Karl Marx was a German that created one of the most controversial
if not most unique system of both economy and government. He was the father of Communism. He hated the Industrial Revolution because of the fact that it was the return of Feudalism. The factory owners represented the lords of the manors. He said that this was just pure wrong. He said that the majority which were the workers should have power and should decide what happens. The idea of Communism is that everyone under it are equal both in pay and say.

His ideas no matter right or wrong encouraged Russia to try Communism. Russia tried Communism for 70 years before they decided that it was not right for them. Russia was not the only country that tried Communism. In fact China, Cuba, North Korea, Laos and Vietnam are the only Communist countries left. All of these countries were once part of a Communist Community which was created by the Soviet Union. These countries however don't follow the ideas that Marx had. They are in no way what he imagined.

Marx's ideas turned heads and started revolutions. Marx himself would tell workers to fight. He said that a revolution was needed and if it was a bloody one then it didn't matter. The idea of Communism is that the government controls every aspect of life. This ment no private ownership. Communism is not as effective as Capatilism which is what most countries in the world use as their econamical system.

Nationalism and the Creation of Italy

2008-10-16T09:35:00.000-04:00

Nationalism is the concept of having pride in your country. It means that you will do whatever you can to make your country better. Nationalism is about having pride in your country, the fact that your country is the best in the world and no other country is better. Nationalism also means that will show your pride. If you are a nationalist then do what you need to help your country. When people show there pride they do it in many ways. One of the ways you can show your pride is by having a flag or cheering your country on in international events such as the Olympics.

Nationalism was responsible for creating nations. Italy was created by nationalist who had grown tired of being ruled by foreigners. A Italian named Giuseppe Mazzini created a group called Young Italy. It's purpose was to unite Italy and free it from Kings and Nobles. However, his dream failed when the kings forced him and his group into exile. While in exile he went to Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. This was the biggest and the most powerful state of Italy. Count Camillo di Cavour was put in charge to conquer the other states. Mazzini however, did not trust Cavour. He believed that he was doing this for the kingdom, not Italy. Covour had united Italy even though that was not his goal. Before a united Italy there was only city-states. Because of nationalist who felt pride in their country was Italy able to come together regardless of who actually united it.

Simon Bolivar and The Latin American Revolutions

2008-10-10T09:36:00.000-04:00

Simon Bolivar was one of the great revolutionists in history. He was the one who led the Latin American Revolutions from Spain. he believed that the people should have the power. He won the independence of Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Bolivia. He is so famous because he was a revolutionist. Born in Venezuela Bolivar was given a good education. Later he went to London to gain support for his fight to free the countries of South America. While he was there he learned the English government and laws. On his way back he stopped in the Americas and learned their government as well. He was able to use this information to create an army and was then able to win Venezuela's independence in 1821. He was then able to also help other Latin countries. He is know as the Liberator of South America. he was fighting for independence. He won the freedom of his people. The country Bolivia was named after him. His dream was for a Great Colombia.

Robespierre and The Reign Of Terror

2008-09-23T09:37:00.000-04:00

The French Revolution is one of the most recognized revolutions ever. This is because the people of France did not get what the wanted for so long. After the French Revolution a group of Radical who opposed the idea of a monarchy led the Reign of Terror.

They were part of the Legislative Assembly and were completely against the King and wanted a new government. There were also the Moderates. They were the people that felt they were treated bad but not as bad as the Radicals so they did not want that many changes in the government. There were also the Conservatives. They supported the ideas of a limited monarchy and did not changes if any at all. Then the Radicals had their way though and the head of King Louis was chopped off and the leader of this new France was Max Robespierre. He promised the people of France democracy but he got power hungry and became what he tried to overthrow. He had started the Reign Of Terror which proved to be much worse than the King. The Reign came to an end with the head of Max Robespierre.

The French Revolution

2008-09-22T09:34:00.000-04:00

In France there were three classes or estates. Most of the population was made up of the third estate. This include the framers, merchants and anyone that had no meaning or importance to the king. The third estate hated the nobles, Kings and the Clergy. This was because of the fact that they had to pay no tax while the third estate was taxed too much. A french peasant may be grumbled about the fact that France was ruled by a King and were over taxed. The farmer was carrying the Feudal lord and the clergy because if the farmer decided not to carry them anymore than the whole system will break down. The farmer is given too much work and if he chooses not to work then France would collapse. The conditions that the peasants had was way too harsh. They did not have enough to live yet the still had to pay taxes and feudal dues. The third estate represents the rich in France because the majority was third estate. The third estate would be most influenced by his words. They would want it to be banned so that there is no idea of a revolution in the third estate.

John Locke and "The Enlightenment"

2008-09-18T09:37:00.000-04:00

John Locke was the most famous Enlightenment thinker. He beleived in the fact that all humans born were born equal. They all have the rights that they were born with. He even inspired the writer of the United States constitution, Thomas Jefferson. His words were the fondation on which the U.S.A stands today. Thomas Jefferson talks about the rights that all men have since their birth to their death. This is also based on the fact that these rights were given by God and no man can take them away. The Decleration says that government comes from the people and that its power comes from the people it governs. John Locke was one of the most influential person in the histroy of the world. The modern day democracy was based on his ideas.

Copernicus and the Trail of Galileo

2008-09-12T09:36:00.000-04:00

The Scientific Revolution started many things. One of them was the debate about the solar system. Before the Scientific Revolution people believed in the geocentric but then a new theory came and that was heliocentric.

Geocentric theory was most accepted theory during most of the middle ages and before. It was also accepted the ancient Greeks. This theory was based around the fact that the planets, stars and the Sun all revolved around the Earth. The believed that the Earth was the center of the universe. This theory was later proved wrong by Copernicus.

He had studied the phases of the planet Venus and was able to prove that the planet did not circle the Earth but rather the Sun. This theory came form the Scientific Revolution. It also said that the Sun is the center of the solar system. This theory was already put into motion by many people from the Mid East. They believed that the Earth revolved around the sun. They also believed that the Earth spined. However, it was Galileo that brought this concept to the West.

Galileo brought the idea and his support in it by continuing Copernicus research. This did not go well with the Roman Catholic Church because they still believed in the Geocentric system. They put him on trail for his belief and he was then convicted and his books were forbidden. He later died and the Church did not give him the funeral that was planned by the state. They then later admitted that they did him wrong.

Scientific Revolution: The Scientific Method

2008-09-11T09:41:00.000-04:00

The scientific method was process that the scientists during the Scientific Revolution used to prove or test their theories. This method is still being used today by scientists. The way this method works is that scientists first come up with a problem or a theory that they wish to challenge or prove. Then they write their hypothesis based on their problem and observation. Then they design an experiment to test their hypothesis. Then after the experiment is conducted they analyze all of the information from the experiment to produce their conclusion and theory.

An example of the scientific method is an experiment in which you can test for how strong a boiled egg is. The problem in this is that you want to find out how strong the egg is. The hypotheses could be that you believe that the egg can hold or withstand 20 pounds. The way to then test your hypothesis is to put an object that weighs the amount of weight you want to put on the egg. The conclusion would be whether the egg can withstand the weight.

Evolution Vs. Creation

2008-09-05T09:41:00.000-04:00

One of the worlds biggest mystery is about how the universe and more importantly how humans came to be. There are two sides to this: Evolution and Creation. One goes on the fact that the universe was created by God and the other that over time it just came to be.

Evolution goes on the fact that everything was created and started by one event know as the Big Bang. They also state that the living are all related by one common ancestor. The living includes humans, animals and plants. They believe that the reasons that there are so many different creatures is because of Natural Selection. The founder of this theory was Darwin. He saw that the same species of birds had different beaks and abilities varied from places.

Creation was the main idea during most of the time. The believe that God created the world and everything in it. The religions that believe this are Christianity, Judaism and Islam. They all believe in a version of Adam and Eve and the fact that they were the first humans created by god. This theory was most accepted during the medieval times of dark ages because of the fact that the Roman Catholic Church was in charge. The believe that there is a God and he is the maker and he has power over everything.

I believe in the fact that there is a God and he is the ruler of everything. He has the power to change the world has he pleases or see's fit. I believe this because there are miracles going around the world; the supernatural, the unexplained that science/evolution has no answers to.