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

Economical Industrialism in Morocco:

Moroccan economy is liberal and governed by the law of supply and demand. Morocco has now privatized certain economic districts that used to be government owned. Morocco has had some steady economic development in the last decade. The economy has grown because of the development in cities (Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier, and Marrakech) and because of the agricultural progress. Also, the service sectors (mining, construction, and manufacturing) have been responsible for over half of GDP and industry. Tourism, technology, and textile sectors have recorded the highest growth in Morocco. However Morocco still depends on the climate for our agricultural development.

Socratic Seminar

The seminar was a very helpful discussion that made me see issues in a variety of different lenses. The point that stood out for me was when we answered the question “How conflict cause change?” because there were some logical points mentioned. Like how conflict reveals economic opportunities, which was something I said but I was intrigued by the responses I got. I think Yousra and Sophia helped move the dialogue the most because they were the ones with concrete facts that helped prove their point. I don’t think the seminar turned into a debate because we all listened to each other and added details to previously mentioned points. There were a couple girls that seemed to have the most attention because of the good points they were discussing. The group reacted by listening and adding details. When I mentioned something about how conflict reveals economic opportunities, Jehanne clarified what I tired to say in order to make it clearer. The seminar definitely answered some questions I had about the needs of nations and about war. The seminar didn’t really change the way I thought before because we just spoke about different things, it wasn’t a big deal. The best part was when I still had energy to participate and the worst part was when I was asked to take a walk because I was disturbing the rest of the group. I would like everyone to have a chance to talk instead of doing first hand up so everyone can talk, and if someone doesn’t have anything o say he/she can say, “pass”. 

Disaster Persists in Haiti

Last Tuesday, an earthquake struck Haiti resulting in 200,000 deaths and extreme geographic calamity. American troops and doctors are flying to Haiti in order to help the earthquake victims with food, water, and aids. European nations donated about 500,000,000$ to help Haiti, and America promised to donate 100,000,000$ which has yet to be seen. Haiti has quickly lost its economy, transportation, and is hoping to get the entire possible healthcare. 

Congressional Reconstruction

Johnson's Reconstruction Plan: It reflected some of the same ideas as President Lincoln's Reconstruction Plan, but was much more beneficial for the Southerners. The Johnson Reconstruction Plan was less severe with the South and pardoned any Southerner who took an oath of allegiance to the Union and/or asked for forgiveness from Johnson personally. 

Black Codes: The first order of business in these new, white-run governments was to enact the black codes, which were laws that restricted freedman's rights. The black codes established virtual slavery with some provisions.

14th Amendment: It states that anyone, black or white,  born in America was guaranteed automatic citizenship and that no state can deprive them of freedom, life, or property. Also everyone should be treated the same way, legally.

15th Amendment:  The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Radical Reconstruction: They envisioned a more severe punishment and they insisted that the main goal of the Reconstruction should be a total restructuring of society to guarantee black people true equality.

Carpetbagger: The term southerners gave to northerners who moved to the South during the Reconstruction era, between 1865 and 1877. They formed a coalition with freedmen, and scalawags in the Republican Party.

Scalawags: The nickname for Southerners who supported the Reconstruction.

The Birth of The New South

1865, the civil war finally comes to an end. After the war all the soldiers of the North and the South headed home. Soldiers often came home to destroyed homes and defeated cause. The government started a program to help rebuild the ruins and restore the Southern states to the Union, this program was known as Reconstruction. The war had destroyed two thirds of the South’s shipping industry and 9,000 miles of railroads. The war destroyed farms, farm buildings, and farm machinery, work animals, bridges, canals, and levees. The war killed about 364,000 soldiers from the North and 38,000 of which were African-Americans. The South lost 260,000 soldiers one fifth of which were adult white men. Unfortunately many of the survivors were either mentally or physically scared.

Reconstruction Plan (Lincoln):

-       A pardon was offered to any Confederate who would take an oath of allegiance to the Union and accept federal policy on slavery.

-       It denied pardon to all the Confederate military and government officials and southerners who had kill African American war prisoners.

-       It permitted each state to hold a convention to creat a new state constitution only after 10 percent of voters in the state had sworn allegiance to the Union.

-       States could then hold elections and resume full participation in the Union.

Members of the party The Radical Republicans did not agree with Lincoln’s reconstruction plan. They insisted that the main goal of the Reconstruction should be a total restructuring of society to guarantee blacks true equality. They proposed a stricter plan that Lincoln pocket vetoed. Lincoln’s plans could not be executed because John Wilkes Booth killed him on April 14^th, 1865.

After Lincoln’s death, southern vice president, Andrew Johnson became president. He had another Reconstruction Plan.

Reconstruction Plan (Johnson):

-       It pardoned who swore allegiance to the Union.

-       It permitted each state to hold a constitutional convention.

-       States were required to void secession, abolish slavery, and repudiate the Confederate debt.

-       States could then hold elections and rejoin the Union.

This reconstruction plan, The Presidential Reconstruction Plan, was more generous to the south and ignored Lincoln’s 10 percent rule. Also, Johnson allowed pardon to those who asked him personally. By 1865 alone, he pardoned 13,000 southerners.

The period of reconstruction was needed in order to pardon the southerners ad make the United States of America whole again.

The Southerners faced many problems. They usually went home to ruins and dead families. The South became a region of destroyed farms, widows, and thousands of miles of destroyed railroad.

The slaves, even after their freedom, faced many problems. They had to start from nothing. They had no education, no money, no jobs, and they lived in poor states where the economy was relatively slow.

There you have it, The Birth of The New South!

 

 

Effects of War

If the war happened in your country, your crops and farms would've been most likely wiped out and buried under bodies of soldiers and unexploded land mines and shells. These shells can still be found on the battle field today. Most of the inhabitants would be dead due to the explosions and the ones who lived on are most probably traumatized. Wars can force children to leave their homes and fight for their country. Many families have been left homeless after wars have taken place in their countries. War also causes families to break because of their opposing beliefs. For example a man can be proslavery and his wife can be an antislavery abolitionist. The victorious sides of wars become stronger and united.

Many slaves attempted to run away but were killed in the process. Every year, 100,000 slaves run away. Underground Railroad (network of safe houses) helped the fugitives travel north being sheltered by house to house until their arrival to Canada. Slaves purposely sabotaged their owner’s possessions. The slave trade was abolished in DC. 1852: Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a book published that painted the life of slaves. Harriet Tubman, was the most famous Underground Railroad conductor. She escaped from Maryland in 1849, and risked her freedom by returning from Canada 19 times to rescue about 300 slaves, including her parents.

Southerners
The Confederates had more advantages then the Northerners. Farming and Agriculture was a decent advantage that the Southerners had. The southerners believed in the right to hard labor meaning they had slaves cowing their crops and picking they’re corn. Also the Confederates had good economical reinforcement due to their relationship with foreign countries. Southerners had a military mentality meaning they were used to using powerful firearms to protect themselves and others. Finally, before the civil war began the united states had many weapons manufacturing factories who supplied the Confederates with arms.
Northerners
As the war began, the north had a population of 22,000,000 people (1.3 of whom were industrial workers), and the South had a population of 9,000,000 (110,000 of whom were industrial workers). Also the South’s population was occupied mainly by slaves whom were not forced to go to war. Finally the North had many Irish and several German soldiers by their sides in order to try and beat the Confederates.

U.S. Abolitionist

Frederick Douglass was a US abolitionist and writer. His full name is Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. He escaped from slavery in the year 1838 and became an antislavery lecturer. He founded an antislavery newspaper in 1847 and it collapsed in 1864; he named North Star. He published his autobiography in 1845 (it was revised in 1892) which he named, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Harriet Tubman was an African-American abolitionist during the Civil War. After escaping from slavery as well, she founded thirteen missions to rescue seventy slaves using the association of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the “Underground Railroad” (a network of secret routes used by African-American slaves in the United States to escaper to Canada and the Northern states with the help of abolitionists like Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and others I know not of). William Lloyd Garrison was a US social liberal and leader for New England abolitionism. He published The Liberator in 1831 and was one of the founders of the American Antislavery Society in 1833.

Events Leading to the Civil War

- Compromise of 1850 was a package of five bills, passed in September of 1850 which neutralized a confrontation that has been going on for four years between the Southern slave states and Northern free states that came up from belief of global expansion of the US with the Texas Annexation and the American-Mexican War. It effected the civil war because it delayed it for a while by soothing the argument.
- The Kansas-Nebraska Act was an act passed in 1854 creating the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opened new lands, revoked the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and allowed inhibitors to chose if the community they inhabited would be a proslavery or an antislavery commune. It was not problematic until popular sovereignty was written into the proposal.
- Presidential Election 1860 was a United States presidential election between Abraham Lincoln, John C Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen A. Douglas. Abraham L. won the election without a single vote from the Southern States. His election caused the secession, withdrawal of a federation, especially a political state, of the states of the “Deep North” from the union and their formation of the Confederate States of America.

Mazagan Beach Resort

The Mazagan Beach Resort is the newest project that opened in El-Jadida, which supposedly cost the owners three billion dirham to build in order to make it a sublime accomplishment. The Mazagan Beach Resort is a gorgeous five star hotel, which consists of restaurants, spas, an 18-hole golf course, a fabulous casino and nightclub, villas, and amazing suites. The Mazagan Hotel consists of 500 rooms and suites spread over 617 acres hectares across a beach 7 kilometers long.

Allegedly, Mazagan will bring about four million tourists per year, which will increase nearby economy because of the money the tourists will spend during their stay in Morocco. The Kerzner Group, which is the founders of the Mazagan Beach Resort, worked with Royal Air Maroc, CDG Development, Dubai World Africa, Somed, and MAMDA/MCMA.
Pictures:
http://www.mazaganbeachresort.com/nightlife/default-fr.html
Information Links:
http://www.mazaganbeachresort.com/default-fr.html

Compromise

- In what situation will compromise not work? A) Choose a non-negotiable situation that could happen in a teenager’s life. B) One international political, economic or social situation. Describe in both situations why compromise would not work or be the best pathway to follow.
A) If a teenager were to have unprotected sexual intercourse and were to produce a fetus, it would be non-negotiable to abort it. A comprise will not work because there isn’t anything a teenager could sacrifice that could make both the teenager and parent happy. B) If a leader lied to his people about something very important to their survival or growth, then the people wouldn’t be able to find a compromise where everyone would be happy unless they decided to have him killed or step down.

Life after University

When i finish university i would probably begin my life in America, possibly in New York. New York is full of great jobs and opportunities. New York is one of world's largest economic state. The museums in NYC are quite inspiring and filled with cultured Europeans and Asians. Also NYV is a very large city/state where everything is readily available. Thankfully the climate is temperate and not very far from my home, Morocco. The technology there is pretty advanced because a large portions of the world's technology comes from America. NYC is part of a political country where people have the right to wear what they like, do what they like, and believe what they like. Also by the time ill be done with college the economic crisis will hopefully be under control and the economy will be booming. It's a very social city because there are lots of places to be and many interesting people to see.