Planning

I was going to go to the library and check out a couple books that are related to my topic. I prefer concentrating on books instead of internet because most of the time the internet contains websites that don't have reliable information since anyone can alter it. I prefer reading the books because I know from the starter who the author is so I can look him or her up, then carry on with my research.

WW1 Letter

Nov. 5, 1917

Dear family,

It is the 5th of November 1917. We are dealing with the reality of the oncoming winter here in France. I am sad to inform you that my past few years at war have not been my best years yet. We have suffered through bullet wounds, minimal food and shelter, and awkward sleep. The days grow slower and slower as we wait to rejoice completion with our loving family, lovers, and friends. We are forced to dig holes in the ground that shelter us for days on end as we take turns surveying the area. We have spent our nights sleeping by thousands of rats stuffed to the size of cats (since they fed of our deceased fellow soldiers) or exchanging enemy gunfire with “the other side”. We are also forced to release ourselves in holes in the floor thus forcing us to suffer through the prominent smell of our excrements. Although, all will be well once we meet again!

Your dearest soldier, Neil

Neil B.

P.S. Please know that knowing I have a family to look forward to seeing is what is keeping me going through the canned meals and freezing evenings.

Progressive Thinkers

First of all, what is a progressive thinker, exactly? A progressive thinker is basically an individual that sees to live in a more developed community due to economic, social, and political improvements. Morocco has shown a few examples progressive behaviors throughout the 21st century. For example, Morocco is planning on starting a tramway system in order to get people from point A to point B in a comfortable fashion. These tramways will enormously reduce pollution in Morocco and also increase job opportunities. Imagine how much easier it is to catch a tramway in order to get to your job or the store. My second example is that the media system in Morocco is getting better and better at informing the community in any and all details of businesses and daily lives. The newspaper has become much more successful at informing the public of little flaws in peoples factories or crop farms. The newspaper tells us all about which stores have been closed down or sued because of the rotten fruits and meats they sell that may turn people ill. Morocco isn't a fully progressed country, then again no country is, although its on the right track.

Historical News Paper

Imperialism In All Its Forms:

Did the positives of American expansionism and imperialism outweigh the negatives? 

By Neil Benjelloun

Throughout the latter 1800s, the United States portrayed many acts of military and diplomatic influence towards the weaker and dependent nations of the world. The cause of the start of imperialism was threefold. Firstly, Americans wanted to promote economical growth. Since the US had a very powerful industrial economy, there was usually a surplus of products, which lead to financial panics and frequent economic depressions. Workers and farmers helped to convince business and political leaders into globalizing their markets. This lead to people starting international corporations (like the Standard Oil Trust and the American Telephone and Telegraph) or some people invested directly into companies abroad (Minor C; Keith provided financial services to the Costa Rican government. In return he won long-term leases for lands and railroad lines). Secondly, the US wanted to protect American security. Lobbyists who wanted a strong United States Navy formed a second force pushing for expansion. They wanted to build modern steam powered, steel-hulled ships to protect over seas trade. As Mahan said, the US needed a powerful navy to protect those markets from foreign rivals. Thus, the Congress established a Naval Advisory Board, which would manage the navy’s budget. Finally the Naval Act called for the construction of more battleships, gunboats, torpedo boats, and cruisers. Lastly, the US wanted to preserve their American spirit. People (Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, historian Frederick Jackson Turner, and a young politician from NYC named Theodore Roosevelt) feared that the United States was losing its vitality. They believed that an imperial expansion would restore the country’s pioneer spirit. Social Darwinists believed that expansionism was not only this nation’s destiny but also a noble pursuit because it introduced Christianity and modern civilization to heathens around the world.

Examples Effects of Imperialism:

There were many cases of imperialism during mainly the 1890’s. For example, when the United States confronted Great Britain during an intense dispute between Great Britain and Venezuela regarding the ownership of a piece of territory off the coast of Venezuela. The US intervened and demanded, in July 1895, that Great Britain acknowledge the Monroe Doctrine and submit the boundary dispute to arbitration.

Another example would be when The US government installed a military government in Puerto Rico until 1900. They aided the development of infrastructure and education, and also acted as a police force. The US then removed the military force and established a civil government under US control. 

Also, when McKinley decided to annex the Philippines in order to govern them before they had no governmental structure. His argument was that if he didn’t act quickly, the Europeans would end up taking over the territory, which would lead to newer conflicts.

Finally, in 1878, the US had negotiated a treaty with Samoa offering protection in return for a lease on Samoa’s fine harbor at Pago Pago. This led to a confrontation between Greet Britain, Germany, and the US because the three countries desired possession of that territory.

Effects of Imperialism:

The effects of imperialism both on the US and nations abroad were numerous. For example, Cuban exiles living in the US urged the government to intervene in the Cuban rebellion towards Spain although both Presidents Cleveland and McKinley refused. They were unwilling to spend the money to intervene and feared to be accorded with colonial responsibilities the US couldn’t handle. As a result Cubans threatened to destroy American sugar plantations and mills in Cuba. That led to more business people urging the government to intercede. 

Another effect would be the annexation of Puerto Rico, which resulted in the US granting Puerto Ricans citizenship in order to stem a growing independence movement, although the citizenship was based only on the act of Congress. 

A third effect would be the annexation of the Philippine that resulted in rebel leaders wanting to turn Philippine into a republic although they were ignored by the US. Then, the mounting tension between the Filipinos and American soldiers erupted into a war that ended with the lives of 4,000 American soldiers, 17,000 Filipino soldiers, and 200,000 Filipino civilians.

 

Finally, The negotiation of the treaty with Samoa resulted with a large dispute between Germanic, Britannic, and American leaders. The three nations eventually arranged a three-way protectorate of Samoa in 1889. Britain withdrew their share of Samoa leaving the US and German in control.

 

Arguments For/Against Imperialism:

For: 

Americans turned to imperialism because they were afraid to lose their competitive edge. They also believed that imperialism was a celebration of American tradition and creative spirit. They liked the fact that imperialism widened their market range. Finally, they embraced the strategic military reason for expansion.

Against:

People were against imperialism because they believed it was a rejection of the nation’s foundation of “liberty for all”. They also protested that American laws and flag had to go together meaning that the people living in areas controlled by the US had to have the same rights as the US citizens (e.g. most of Hawaii consisted of labor workers that did not have human rights). Anti-imperialists also believed that imperialism could lead to the revolution of other countries thus resulting in the destruction of the nation’s democratic foundation.

OP/ED:

I believe that the negatives and positives of imperialism are equivalent. Although imperialistic communities take advantage of weak nations by enforcing laws on them and reducing their human rights, they also aid them by providing military reinforcement. Usually communities that get taken advantage of are in need of help to gain their independence, so I think that the US just saw opportunities for expansion and leaped at it.

Bibliography:

http://amciv.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/imperialism.jpg

Globalization?

What is globalization? Globalization is the development of international opportunities and influence. The positive effects of globalization are numerous. A positive effect would be that globalization offers a broader market choice; for instance, if one globalizes his/her business, he/she can find products he/she wouldn’t be able to find in his/her country thus increasing his/her sales. An other positive effect would be that globalization can help one with his/her financial necessities because the international clients or partners someone has can assist them. Finally, a positive effect globalization has on a business or individual is culture. When people work with international clients or partners, they tend to push themselves to learn about their (clients or partners) cultures and inform and fascinate their cultural sides. A negative effect of globalization on a business, individual, or nations is that it increases the world’s immigration rate. Another negative effect is that in some cases immigration goes over board thus turning the minorities into majorities. Globalization increases wealth, power, and stability because of the international exchanges and commerce thus establishing new world leaders and rivals.

What will I do to help the world once I'm a millionaire?

If my product is a big hit, and I make a fortune, I will donate  time, effort, and money to help mend whatever is awry in our planet Earth. The Earth's main problem is pollution, so that is mainly what I will focus on. Firstly, I will donate a large amount of money to help install solar panels on as many houses as possible in order to reduce pollution. Next, I will go out of my way to inflict hybrid cars on humans to decrease pollution as well. Then, I will help install air filters in offices and hotels all around the world in order to purify the air to reduce cases of sick building syndrome. In offices, there is usually more pollution than outside because of the poor ventilation and the added pollution of printers, tax machines, scanners... Finally, I will dedicate years of study with the worlds top engineers to create a machine that filters the air outside so that factories won't be as harmful as they are today.

Virtual Mobile 2.0

Mr. Buffet, sir, good afternoon. On behalf of all the members of "N.B.&N.B.S. Incorporated", it is a privilege to be here today to present our newest revolutionary form of communication. I hold in my hand the Virtual Mobile 2.0, a gadget that will forever change the way we view communicational devices. This tiny machine is more capable than ever before, we have edited its performance in all aspects to make it perfect. What’s special about the Virtual Mobile 2.0 is that it brings your interactions to life. When speaking to someone, his or her facade emerges virtually before your eyes. The device works as a portable video call and has access to any and all network on this planet. The Internet is faster than ever and is incredibly easy to use. Also, watching videos on it is an amazing experience because of the impeccable resolution and the adjustable display size. The gadget is controlled vocally and remembers the user’s voice. This extraordinary tool is 2½ inches long, 1 inch wide, and ¼ inch thick. Best of all, it only costs 699$!

We will use infrared projectors made by “Shanghai Yayuan Lighting Appliance Co., Ltd.” to be able to project the calls in front of you. The glass for the device’s touch screen will be made by “Hyulipo” (a South Korean glass factory) and will then be shipped to India, by “The Shipping Corporation of India, Ltd” also known as “SCI” where it will be accumulated with the rest of the phone. The core of the device will be made of aluminum alloy in a small factory in the midst of Beijing.

We will employ Chinese laborers and make them work in Beijing and Shanghai because we were able to maintain great deals. We will have around 400 laborers whom we will pay 98$ per month. We’ll also have employees in India because we were able to find a cheap shipping company named “The Shipping Corporation of India, Ltd”. The workers there will be paid 102$ per month because of their quicker productivity, but we will employ 325 of them.

I have already written a letter to the leaders of China (Hu Jintao) and India (Manmohan Singh) about this project and they accepted my proposition to let us work in their countries. Their only regulations were that we had to pay all the workers sufficiently and it was highly forbidden to pollute the cities. These conditions aren’t going to be a problem to abide by because we already agreed to pay and our factories will be situated in rural sections of India and China, therefore we will have no problems with the Government.

If you give us the funding to industrialize the virtual mobile, 22% (153.78$) of every product sold will go into your pockets, and the remaining 78% (545.22$) will be used to pay for the commercialism, factory workers, shipping, materials, and the inventors. Apple, Samsung, Sony, Nokia; none of them have expanded their market to this magnitude but you, sir, could be the first. People all around the world have been waiting for something new. Something extraordinary! This is the answer to all of their calls! We hope you consider our offer, sir.

Thank you.

Bibliography:

- Kennon, Joshua. "The Story of Berkshire Hathaway's Billionaire Chairman." About. 2010. Web. <beginnersinvest.about.com/cs/warrenbuffett/a/aawarrenbio.html>

My Website: 

http://www.wix.com/neilbenjelloun/Virtual-Mobile-2-0