(This was originally written for my class second semester 2 years ago. More timely last year was the following video which created quite the controversy on BT this morning. It was going to be a superbowl ad, but GoDaddy pulled it. What do you think? distasteful? funny? satire?  Jan 28/15. I am not adding anything Feb2/16- sorry.)

When you are done posting your comments, you can watch these videos.

1. I really like Upworthy.  They show some great, feel good, make you think type videos that aren’t as heavy handed as TED Talks (although I love those too).

This one I just found Tuesday night.  It is great for a couple reasons.  I like the feel good message it has.  I also like that it demonstrates how impactful putting a new spin on something can be. Click on the link. I couldn't find the same video on youtube, so I couldn't embed the video.

2. You may have seen this one…  And whether you have or haven’t seen it, you may be prejudiced against the speaker (I don’t know if Ashton Kucher’s still ‘cool’).  I suggest skipping to 1:30 when he actually gets to start talking without the fan screaming stuff.

3.  And interesting take on what education is about.  I like what this guy says.  He is a little full of himself, but I agree with much of his rant.  What do you think?

4.  Michael Jordan (hugely successful) about failure:

5.  Ok, this next one I’ve been thinking about for a while… It feels a little creepy being a teacher and sharing this with you, but I think it is such an important message I need to share it.  Especially as some of you go away to school and live on your own and feel ‘adult.’  I’m sharing one of Laci Green’s videos, but I strongly suggest that you take the time to watch others by her as well.  And  share them with your friends.  These are important messages.

Feel free to comment on any of these to create conversation.  But these don't count as your blog comments.

I hope you have a great second semester! Be safe!

Mrs. Unger

Famine in Africa

Caitlin Connors

January 25th. 2015

Famine in Africa

One of the most important things a person needs to survive is food. It is so incredibly important and some people in the world are without access to resources of food and water. In Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya there has been a famines that have lasted a very long time. Although there has been help from organizations like red cross, these acts barely put a dent in the whole issue since this is a continents problem. So ultimately, I do not believe what we are contributing at the moment is having much help.

In the past, the western people didn’t have many positive impacts on Africa. Africans had their own way of doing things and getting resources that had worked for them perfectly fine. Though, the West believed that they had a better way of doing things and that they could help them evolve into their lifestyle to “improve” their way of living. In the 1600’s, settlers from Europe, took over land in Africa and began to try to improve agriculture. Though, the settlers that came were immune to the diseases the livestock they brought with them carried, the Africans were not. This caused many Africans to die as an diseases like smallpox spread (Diamond 1997).

In the diagram below it is easy to see that most of the areas where hunger is a problem is in Africa. This visual was created using data from 2013, 2016’s data should be the same, or even worse than depicted in this image. A lot of major fundraisers and campaigns have been going on for years to help feed the people of Africa, many countries in the continent have not solved their hunger despite the efforts of the west. The Oxfam International organization donated water, food and money that was meant to reach about 3.5 million people, but still years later there is not much change in the hunger. (Oxfam 2011)

I believe that since the west have always tried to cause change its never been in the best interest of anyone else but themselves which has made no change truly happen. If we just keep doing what we are doing now, although it does help some lives, it is not changing at as large of a scale as it should. There is just about 500 million people in North America alone (statistics time). If every person in that population gave 10 dollars a year, that would be 5 billion dollars helping solve hunger every year.

In order to truly solve this problem the western world needs to actually contribute in big enough ways that may affect their lifestyle slightly but save the lives of others and to help build back up Africa. Instead of just using Africa for the land or helping in order to feel better about themselves while making small changes. Although small changes do help, this is a big problem. This will hopefully help Africa become a safe place to live with resources and choices for the people living there.

Guns, Germs and Steel. Perf. Jared Diamond. 1997. DVD.

"Famine in Somalia: Causes and Solutions." Famine in Somalia: Causes and Solutions. N.p., July 2011. Web. 02 Feb. 2016.

"List of North American Countries by Population (2015)." North American Countries by Population 2015. N.p., 27 Mar. 2015. Web. 02 Feb. 2016.

Jayden's Weapons of Mass Destruction

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Weapons of mass destruction, they come in many forms, some capable of eviscerating life on a global scale in an instant.  The most notable use was the Manhattan Project used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the end of the second world war in 1945. The detrimental purpose of these weapons has become more and more apparent in recent years, these intricate and diverse weapons may very well be the end of mankind and very well every known species on the planet.

The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 

The term “Weapons of mass destruction” first coined in 1937, when in response to the bombings Guernica, Spain, Archbishop of Canterbury wrote, “Who can think at this present time without a sickening of the heart of the appalling slaughter, the suffering, the manifold misery brought by war to Spain and to China? Who can think without horror of what another widespread war would mean, waged as it would be with all the new weapons of mass destruction?”

The bombing of Guernica Spain, occurred on April 26th, 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. Where the Spanish Nationalist Government gave the order for their allies, the German Airforce Condor Legion and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria. No actual “weapons of mass destruction” were technically used during this attack, at least not by today's standard. Originally it was thought that over 1000 deaths were a result, however it was later revealed that 153 died during the attack.  

Nuclear, Biological, Chemical

Weapons of Mass Destruction can be broken down into 4 broad categories; Nuclear, Biological, Chemical and Missile.  Nuclear being an Atom bomb, capable of obliterating cities in seconds.  Biological is the use of bacteria and viruses, Chemical being similar to Biological but instead uses toxins.  Missile being close to Nuclear however not as destructive but more easily accessible.  

One of the most infamous variations of a weapon of mass destruction, and possibly the most dangerous is the biological weapon.  Biological Warfare is classified as “the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria,viruses, and fungi with the intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war.” The bio-weapon is a immensely terrifying idea, the fact that if a faction that possessed a bioweapon decided to use said weapon, like poison the air with anthrax, a disease that in almost all cases causes death through a bacterial infection,  damages could be catastrophic. The use of such weapons can bring a nation to its knees through a pandemic.

Depicting the Nations alliances during the cold war

The cold war being the most prime example of how Weapons of mass destruction has changed how leading nations go to war.  After world war two, where the first nuclear weapon was used, there were tensions between the Western and Eastern nations. Typically thought as the United States of America and Russia, both threatening one another with the use of nuclear weapons. Basically stating that if the other nation were to fire their nuclear weapons that they would in tern fire theirs, this was called a nuclear deterrent. The over looming threat of mutual destruction. There was no actual firing of nuclear weapons during the cold war period. That is because if there was, there would be no world to record the events following.  The use of weapons of mass destruction make conflicts problematic between two countries that both possess them. However if there was a conflict that escalated to the point of actual use of these weapons, the world would be obliterated. This is a well known quote by Albert Einstein; “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”  Einstein is saying that the catastrophic repercussions of world war three would be enough to put humankind back thousands of years in terms of both society and technological means.  

It is sad to see yet another invention of humankind be used in such a counterproductive manner.  The fact that these weapons (Nuclear), were created in order to stop and prevent war will only lead to our own destruction through obliteration.  That if any country goes to war that they both posses such ruinous weapons that the world itself will be put at risk.

Some make the argument that if we do not develop weapons of mass destruction at this point, that the enemy whoever they may be, will.  That we as a species are past the point of return from using these chaotic weapons.  That in order to protect ourselves as individual nations we must advance in the field of weapons of mass destruction.  However, that in itself is where the problem lies, that we are forced to commit to the inevitable obliteration of the world because we cannot trust our fellow man to the point where we need to have such weapons. David Mitchell, makes an interesting comment, “Have you noticed, how countries call theirs 'sovereign nuclear deterrents,' but call the other countries' ones 'weapons of mass destruction'?’ That each country justifies their own greed when it comes to nuclear weapons by blaming other nations and condemning theirs.

In conclusion, the weapons we so seek to advance in order to protect ourselves, might very well be the reason that our  planet will become obsolete.





Works Cited

http://www.britannica.com/technology/weapon-of-mass-destruction

http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelpeck/2013/04/29/974/#273b60105bb1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapon_of_mass_destruction

From Ancient History to Present Day: The Effects of Theocracy on Society

The Effects of Theocracy on Society

Theocracy is a controversial way of running society, but has existed since as early as ancient Egypt and continues to exist today in the middle east. It is based on religion controlling the government instead of independent leaders. The holy book used in that civilization usually shapes the laws and morals of the country. In theocracy, religion and faith play a huge role in everyday life; dictating your actions, beliefs and culture within society. This demonstrates the ability theocracy has to keep a country oppressive and in a blissful ignorance. Key thinkers during the age of enlightenment such as Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes  paved the way for a society based on citizens thinking for themselves and taking control over their own destiny. Theocracy was one of the huge barriers in the way of their idealistic future and continues to spread today in the middle east, and even in the worlds superpower, the United States.

There have been many forms of theocratic governments throughout history including in places like Egypt, which had a form of theocracy where the king was seen as a god. This started when two high priests of Thebes had began a theocracy in upper Egypt, which came through the prophecy of the god wife Amun. The Pharaoh(king) was commonly known to be the earthly embodiment of the falcon headed god, Horus. Everyday life in Egypt centred around entering the afterlife and worshiping the pharaoh. Citizens and servants even sacrificed their lives in order to protect their leader. The pharaohs adviser also acted as the high priest of the Egyptian polytheistic religion. Since the Pharaoh was viewed as a deity, what he said was considered to be the word of god therefore making it a form of law. It is hard to believe many of the morals that shaped such a successful society were based on a prophecy.

The God wife Amun
of Karomama

Anyways, let's look at some advantages of running a theocratic society. Some of the benefits include:

1. Public generally tend to be more obedient

2. Changes in laws happen faster.

3. Crime rate is lower. 

These may seem to be intriguing benefits, but pale in comparison to how they negatively effect countries or regions. Firstly, the general public tended to be more obedient because they were never told to think in any other way. Secondly, changes in laws happened faster because the people changing the laws would be the church or religious leaders. Thirdly, the crime rate is lower because the ones committing the crimes are the church and the leader. Generally, in theocracy citizens will not have a voice. Even if you get to vote between two people, they will most likely be the same. This is due to the church deciding the candidates, making it impossible for change to occur. Also, minorities do not have the same rights as the majority. If your opinions differ from the church, rights and privileges will be taken away and you will not be considered a full citizen. One may even be subjected to ridicule and poor treatment. 

Scene from the Spanish Inquisition depicting the brutal methods of torture

Although Spain in the 1400's was seen as a monarchy, one could argue that it was also a theocracy. King and Queen Ferdinand and Isabella founded the inquisition in order to maintain the catholic religion within Spain. This brought religion and government hand in hand. Although the inquisition was only supposed to have jurisdiction over baptist Christians, throughout a significant amount of time, there was no freedom of religion. Citizens were tortured in the most atrocious of ways for being Jewish or a religion that wasn't catholic. Even if accused heretics protested their innocence, they were tortured until they made a false confession. This demonstrates the evil that can come out of religion being the dominant force of a country.

To this day in the middle east, many places are still under theocratic rule. Everyday life is centered around the Muslim religion. When the government was overthrown in 1979, many reforms were made in order to make religion the the ultimate power. The two sections of Islam are the Sunnis and The Shia. The Sunnis having about 85% of the Muslim population and the Shias being the minority. The Sunnis have political, economic and military advantages and use it in order to wipe out the Sunni population.  Religion controlling the middle east creates an imbalance, when in reality the two groups could be harmoniously living.

“I want you to just let a wave of intolerance wash over you. I want you to let a wave of hatred wash over you. Yes, hate is good… Our goal is a Christian nation. We have a biblical duty, we are called on by God to conquer this country. We don’t want equal time. We don’t want pluralism.” Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue.  The military and economic superpower, USA has had many movements based on creating reforms in aims of the christian church having absolute power. Many Christians in the united states despise the idea of democracy. They simply believe some people are more equal than others. By controlling the judicial system and having "special treatment" Christians would like to take over the united states. The Christian Reconstructionalism movement speaks out about christian rights and the restoration of biblical laws, but the things they call rights are not actually rights if they negatively impact other citizens. In conclusion, religion is a great way to lead life, but when it is mixed in with running a country, terrible things can happen. It is the ability to think for yourself that creates a prosperous country, not one that favours imitation over creation. Works Cited “The Inquistion.” Jewish Virtual Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2016. <http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Inquisition.html>. “Theocracy.” Aspecs. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2016. <http://apecsec.org/theocracy-pros-and-cons/>. “Theocracy.” Eternal Egypt. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2016. <http://www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWebsiteWeb/HomeServlet?ee_website_action_key=action.display.topic.details&language_id=1&trait_item_id=10000212>. “Theocracy.” Occupy theory. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2016. <http://occupytheory.org/theocracy-pros-and-cons-list/>.

The Middle East

Influences From The West 

The Effectiveness of the United Nations

When examining the organizations revolving around international peace, cooperation and diplomacy, there are none more prevalent than that of the United Nations. Established at the closing of World War II, the United Nations is composed of 193 countries and independent states, the vast majority of countries on earth, and operates globally to further these causes. However, when one looks to the past of organizations with similar goals, and even through the record of the United Nations itself, it begins to raise the question, is the effectiveness of the United Nations beginning to wane, and if so will this trend continue in the future. In looking through said historical cases, it seems the answer is yes.

To begin, the United Nation's future is difficult to predict due to the fast paced changes in the global scape, however when predicting the events of the future it is often pertinent to look at similar occurrences in the past. In this case, the history of the natural precursor to the United Nations, the League of Nations, may offer some answers to whether the United Nations will remain effective in the future.

The League of Nations Council (Above) at a security meeting. The size of the council, and amount of leaders present serves to prove that the downfall of the League of Nations was not based on a lack of power, but rather a lack of solidarity when an issue that could have considerable ramifications arose.

[Image: History Help: http://historyhelp.co.uk/index.php/igcse/international-relations/the-league-of-nations ]

The League of Nations operated for years as the United Nations now does, and did much good when handling relatively small global issues, as the United Nations does now. However, when world war two broke out, the League of Nations was reduced to a shell of it’s former self. The cause of this lies in the immediate concern from individual countries at the prospect of large scale conflicts influencing the actions of the League of Nations, rather than continuing to fulfill it’s intended purpose as an international council protecting global peace. This raises the question, will the United Nations remain effective if a large scale war were to break out, or would it be plagued by the fragmentation that afflicted the League of Nations before it in a time of global crisis, resulting in a loss of usefulness.

Again, that is not to say the League of Nations had no success over its years of operation, nor that it did not possess enough power to affect the global landscape. For example, in 1925, the League of Nations orchestrated the withdrawal of Grecian soldiers who invaded Bulgaria over a border dispute. Another example of the League’s initial effectiveness is the legislation that was put in place against slavery in Liberia in the 1930’s. This legislation was a direct result of investigations mandated and carried out by the League of Nations against the American company Firestone, who had been taking advantage of labourers in Liberian factories that produced American goods. These are a few illustrations of the initial capability of the League of Nations, capability that could only occur when the League’s member states banded together, unifying their power through the common pursuit of peace. This partnership however, as time would tell, was one that could only persist in the absence of significant personal threat to the members based on the actions of the council as a whole.

When looking at the loss of strength and solidarity of the League of Nations, the events immediately prior to this are of importance. Immediately before this loss of power, the council failed to solve controversial international disputes. For example, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. As the Italian army marched into Ethiopia, at the time called Abyssinia, the League of Nations was counted on to solve the conflict. In an attempt to do so, the League of Nations imposed sanctions on Italy, however these sanctions proved to be ineffective overall, due to the fact that they did not ban the sale of oil to Italy. The lack of harsh punishment for this discretion was due to the fact that the leaders of the League of Nations took into consideration the effects this would have on their own countries. They feared that imposing severe sanctions against Italy would drive the Italian leader, Benito Mussolini, into an alliance with Adolf Hitler, an event that later occurred regardless. The fact that the leaders took into account their own national security before the core purpose of the League, to protect and cultivate world peace, contributed to the ensuing loss of power; the leadership, acting with self-interests in mind rather than the collective interest, became increasingly fragmented, further damaging the effectiveness of the League as a whole.

While it is true that this occurred partially due to the actions of a world power like Italy against a small country like Abyssinia, similar events have occurred recently, and just like the League of Nations then, the United Nations has failed to have any real impact on the situations. For example, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and occupation of Crimea, an act that is clearly in violation of the core principles of the United Nations, has generated little to no physical punishment from any of the United Nations security council members. Due to the fact that when this occurred with the League of Nations it was a precursor to loss of significant effectiveness, it may be suggested that the usefulness of the United Nations as a global intermediary and power are drawing to a close.

This inaction can be partially contributed to the misuse of the United Nations Security Council’s veto system, another factor that contributes to the increasing ineffectiveness of the organization. The United Nations Security Council, the branch of the organization that deals with international peace and security, is limited by the fact that all five of the superpowers on the UNSC (China, the United States, Russia, England and France) have the capability to veto any deployment of troops by the United Nations. This makes sense generally, as countries should have a say in what efforts their soldiers are involved in, however when countries have a conflict of interest in the decision at hand, their veto can be used to impede the justice that the United Nations was built upon. This occurred when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014. Any efforts by the United Nations to intervene could be barred by the veto of, in this case, the antagonist of the situation. In recent years the use of this veto system by the members of the security council for illegitimate reasons, namely Russia in situations such as the UNSC’s meetings on the Invasion of Ukraine and Syria, has called into question the usefulness of this system. As it currently stands, the veto system is simply creating stagnation for the personal gain of it’s users, rather than fulfilling its intended purpose.

On another note, when looking into past peacekeeping operations, one can see the lack of real effects the United Nations have had. The Rwandan Genocide in 1994 is a pertinent example of this. When the Hutu forces began to carry out what was decidedly a genocide of the Tutsi people, the United Nations, who had forces present in the country when this occurred, shirked their responsibility to respond to the crisis based on a technicality. They stated that the mass killings of a group were not classified as genocide with the sole reason being that they did not deem the issue important enough to expend resources on. When a group like the UN fails to intervene against the systematic murder of millions of individuals, it calls into question the reliability or even capability of said organization.

The Image above is of a United Nations Peacekeeper observing the destruction of a village in Rwanda. The fact that the soldier is armed with advanced weaponry highlights the fact that whilst the United Nations had the means to intervene in a meaningful way in Rwanda, they did not. [Image: RTE News: http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0204/502128-rwanda/ ]

Now whilst the United Nations has completed many successful missions, peacekeeping, humanitarian and otherwise, many important missions have not been successful. In looking to the precursor of the United Nations, the League of Nations, it is demonstrated that when nations have personal agendas within the organization it becomes difficult to run effectively, and when paired with a large scale conflict between world powers, can completely unravel the group. In today’s world, these situations have escalated to far greater heights than in the days of the League of Nations. This is clear due to the growing number of countries with destructive powers, partially due to the increased availability of biological and nuclear weapons, and the conflicts between countries with veto powers in the United Nations Security Council. Overall, when looking into the future of the United Nations, it is difficult to imagine how it could continue to exist in it’s current form.

Works Cited

BBC News. (2015, March 13). Crimea Profile - Overview. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18287223

The Guardian. (2015, September 23). Russian Vetoes are Putting UN Security Council's Legitimacy at Risk, Says US. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/23/russian-vetoes-putting-un-security-council-legitimacy-at-risk-says-us

United Human Rights Council. (n.d.). Genocide in Rwanda. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/genocide_in_rwanda.htm

United Nations. (n.d.). United Nations. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from http://www.un.org/en/index.html

United Nations. (n.d.). United Nations Peacekeeping. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/

United Nations. (n.d.). United Nations Security Council. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from http://www.un.org/en/sc/

United Nations. (n.d.). United Nations Security Council Members. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from http://www.un.org/en/sc/members/

United States Department of State. (n.d.). League of Nations. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from https://history.state.gov/milestones/1914-1920/league

Wikipedia. (n.d.). United Nations. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations

Wikipedia. (n.d.). League of Nations. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations

Wikipedia. (n.d.). List of United Nations Peacekeeping Missions. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Nations_peacekeeping_missions

Wikipedia. (n.d.). United Nations Security Council. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council

Wikipedia. (n.d.). United Nations Security Council Veto Power. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_veto_power

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Rwandan Genocide. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_Genocide

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annexation_of_Crimea_by_the_Russian_Federation

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Incident at Petrich. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incident_at_Petrich

China Vs the West: Who will win as the top superpower?

China vs The West

Who Will Win as the Top Economic Superpower?

By Rosemary Wilson

Throughout history there have been empires that would rise to the expense of others then fall so the cycle could continue. Specifically, after the 1500s there was the Portuguese empire,  Ottoman empire, Aztec empire, and some Asian empires. Today the West is very powerful, practically an empire, but how much influence will it have in the future? Using historic evidence to back me up, I have concluded that in the future the West’s influence on the world will decline because China will gain the upperhand and become the next biggest superpower. I concluded this by examining past empires, China’s economy rebound in the communist revolution, the debt crisis and its role in the United Nations (UN).

Usually when an empire falls it is because it gets too large and isn’t able to maintain itself, and also a rival nation gets a hold of new technology and is able to defend itself from the empire by manipulating them.  Before the 1500s, China had powerful dynasties, like the Han dynasty, which were basically the same as empires throughout Asia while in the West there was the Roman empire. China lost a lot of it’s economic influence on the world around the 19th century to the West, especially Britain. It is important to know that “China , the world technological power between 1100 and 1800, made the West’s emergence possible.  It was only by borrowing and assimilating Chinese innovations that the West was able to make the transition to modern capitalist and imperialist economies.”(www.globalresaerch.com). An example of this is that “China was the world’s leader in technical innovations in textile manufacturing, seven centuries before Britain's 18th century “textile revolution”(www.globalresearch.com). The reason why Britain was able to surpass China’s leading textile manufacturing system was because they invented new machines and cotton mills that beat the Chinese. By this time Britain was also brutally trying to use military force to imperialize and conquer their more sophisticated market because they couldn’t beat the Chinese market system with their own more primitive one. This put a lot of pressure on the emperor of China at that time so he ended up worsening the situation by increasing taxes on the people, particularly merchants who already had to compete with the British fleet and traders. The photo of on the right shows an eighteenth century Chinese emperor who compared to that of a British man from the eighteenth century looks quite out of place. This shows how by then China was being left behind by developing nations.The final nail in the coffin for China was when “ Imperialist pillage forced greater exploitation and taxation of the great mass of Chinese peasants and workers.  China’s rulers were obliged to pay the war debts and finance trade deficits imposed by the Western imperial powers by squeezing its peasantry.  This drove the peasants to starvation and revolt.”(www.globalresearch.com). Not to mention the introduction of opium into the country by the British absolutely crippled them with more debts. By now, China fell from having an advanced and admirable market into a poor and backwards economy. Like so many empires before it China lost to a greater civilization and was crushed because it couldn’t keep up with the technological advancements. However unlike great empires like the Aztecs the Chinese people didn’t give up and rebounded by changing its rule from a monarchy into a republic.

By changing their governmental system the Chinese could bounce back dramatically and could adapt in the nineteenth century and then the twentieth. It all started in 1921 when the Chinese Communist Party was created and joined the Nationalist Party in the Nationalist Army that went on from 1926-27. This didn’t last long because then the Nationalist Party turned on them and began to ‘purge’ them out of the country. Then the Japanese invaded in 1931 and the Chinese Republic really began to struggle. That was when in World War 2 the people started giving their support to the Communist Party, which led to “the Republic of China Government vulnerable to the Communist threat. The CCP, for its part, experienced success in its early efforts at land reform and was applauded by peasants for its unflagging efforts to fight against the Japanese invaders.”(www.history.state.gov). The Communist Party was so connected to the people because they were so dedicated to China and they were able to gain popularity by the poor and scared citizens. The Soviet Union also helped them by setting them up for success and practically gave them land they held in China while the US was helping the Nationalist Party during the Japanese invasion as all part of the beginning of the cold war. After failed amendments by 1946 China was in a full civil war, communists vs nationalists. The black and white photo shows Chinese troops using supplies from the Japanese invasion to fight the nationalists. Finally on “October 1, 1949, Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The announcement ended the costly full-scale civil war.”(www.history.state.gov). By becoming a communist country China was able to jump back into the world from the terrible aftermath of British imperialism. The photo showing a parade definitely shows how the people, particularly the military, were walking proudly on the day of the announcement of their side winning. Under Mao Zedong agricultural production rate rose and the economy increased. Everything seemed great until the great famine caused by misuse of supplies ensuring more chaos by killing millions of people. However without all that chaos caused by the new government China wouldn’t have learned from its mistakes and rose from the ashes of its once proud empire into a communist country that now borrows capitalist tendencies while thinking as socialists. Through its growing economy China has become a resource to many countries with all of its industries and factories. Now China has the upper hand by using the power of other countries debts to its advantage.

The debt crisis officially started in the 1980s in Latin America, then in mid-2000s in Europe and the United States. The debt crisis is “the general term for a proliferation of massive public debt relative to tax revenues”(en.wikipedia.org). China fits into this because they are one of the huge economic superpowers of the world and export a wide variety of supplies, clothes, and food to countries all over the world. Usually when someone goes out to buy a shirt at Walmart it will more than likely say made in china, probably nearly identical to the tag in the photo. Western countries rely so heavily on China’s economy and its ability to export that it is scary. An example of why this is so scary is that “the Canadian economy’s growing correlation to China is becoming apparent too. While America’s S&P 500 stock index is at the same level it was a year ago, the Toronto Stock Exchange Composite has been more closely tracking Chinese indexes. As of mid-May, the TSX was down 14% over the previous 12 months, remarkably similar to the 15% decline in the Shanghai Composite and 14% on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng. Money invested in Canadian equities is considered risk capital by the global investment community, in other words, just like money invested in emerging markets.”(www.canadianbusiness.com). Now a grade twelve student probably has no idea what that quote meant at all so I will translate it.  The S&P 500 is the Americans way of tracking 500 large companies capitalization in there stock market, and TSX stands for the Toronto Stock Exchange. The fact that the TSX is so similar to to the Shanghai Composite, a market index for China, and not the United States means we are moving away from their market closer to China’s. Equities are values and shares a company issues.  The fact that Canada is investing equities means how our economy trusts the Chinese market, especially when dealing with risk equities. Even as early at 20019 as shown in the graph China is passing the US as the world's largest economy, and is becoming one of the best. Their economy and stock market now is starting to show how powerful China once was before the British imperialists used military action and opium to destroy them.  China is making a comeback in what it did best, their market strategies. Since China is so prominent now in the global economy they have a lot of influence over money, but they also have an even bigger influence in the UN.
In the UN China is one of the big five; next to Russia, United Kingdom, France, and the United States. China is one of the big five because of its large population, and the UN thought it would be the best country to represent Asia. The country also fought on the victor's side in World War II, which is probably why Japan wasn't offered the spot because they were on the opposing side. Since China is officially one of the big five it has the power to veto, which is a big deal. The power to veto enables China "to prevent the adoption of any "substantive" resolution, as well as decide which issues fall under "substantive" title."(en.wikipedia.org). This means that if China doesn't like a draft the UN is considering, it doesn't matter how many other countries like it China can scrap it using its power to veto. The fact that China has so much power in the UN shows how big it influences the World. Yes, the West makes up the majority of the big five but China is considered equal to them.  

                    This last video clip basically sums up what I've been trying to prove in a minute, that China's power is growing. China's economy is bouncing back dramatically since it had fell under British imperialism. By changing its government from a monarchy, to a republic, then into communism the country was able to adapt into the super economy it is today. Now it has control over global affairs in the UN so it can use its power to veto to get what it wants. In conclusion the West's influence will decline in the future because like an empire it will fall and China will take over again as one of the biggest economies and country's. This is because money is power and China has a lot of it. 

Citations 

"China: Rise, Fall and Re-Emergence as a Global Power." GlobalResearch. N.p., 

     n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2016. <http://www.globalresearch.ca/ 
     china-rise-fall-and-re-emergence-as-a-global-power/29644>. 

                  "China's Economic Slowdown a Threat to Canada." Canadian Business. N.p., n.d. 
     Web. 25 Jan. 2016. <http://www.canadianbusiness.com/business-strategy/ 
     chinas-economic-slowdown-a-threat-to-canada/>.  

                "The Chinese Revolution of 1949." Office of the Historian. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 
     Jan. 2016. <https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/ 
     chinese-rev>. 

             "Communist entering Beijing in 1949." Office of the Historian. N.p., n.d. Web. 
     25 Jan. 2016. <https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/ 
     chinese-rev>.  

            "Debt Crisis." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2016. 
     <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt_crisis>.  

            "Its official-China surpasses US as world's largest economy." FTAlphaville. 
     N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2016. <http://ftalphaville.ft.com/files/2014/10/ 
     China-US.jpg>.  

            "(no name)." China.org.cn. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2016. 
     <http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/Brief/192266.htm>

            "(no name)." Is it Appropriate for Obama to sell Birther T-Shirts? N.p., n.d. 
     Web. 25 Jan. 2016. <http://patrick.wagstrom.net/resources/images/blog/ 
     effHatTag.jpg>. 

            "The Qianlong Emperor in his Old Age." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2016. 
     <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qianlong_Emperor#/media/ 
     File:Portrait_of_the_Qianlong_Emperor_in_Court_Dress.jpg>. 

          "Russia, China veto Assad to quit." Reuters. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2016. 
     <http://reuters.tumblr.com/post/17038027174/ 
     russia-china-veto-un-resolution-telling-assad>. 

         "United Nations Security Council veto power." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 
     2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 
     United_Nations_Security_Council_veto_power>.  

       Videographic: which country has the biggest economy? Youtube. The Economist, 
     n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/ 
     watch?v=Q_vJfIy1wpw>.