Weekly Homework Assignment 9

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 Focus Article

Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/china-finds-promise-and-peril-in-pursuit-of-russian-energy/2011/11/27/gIQA1H9hzO_story.html

China finds promise and setbacks in pursuit of Russian energy by Andrew Higgins

Russia began pumping oil to China on January 1^st. Both countries can greatly benefit from the exchange, but are inhibited by their mutual distrust. Unfortunately both nations have a strong desire to be independent and powerful that drives them apart. I found this article interesting because even though the trade seems logical economically and geologically, they two cannot overcome their cultural and political differences. China requires many of Russia’s resources, and Russia needs China’s market. The trade is also simplified because China is located right next to Russia.

SMH

http://m.smh.com.au/world/samoa-skips-a-day-to-align-with-australia-20111231-1pg1u.html

Samoa skips a day to align with Australia

The people of Samoa embraced the New Year a day early this week to align with New Zealand and Australia. The change was made because the three countries were so closely tied by their economy, it didn’t make sense for them to be on different time schedules. While Australia and New Zealand were still in business hours, Somoa would be closed for the weekend.

CTV News

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20111229/syria-forces-fire-on-protesters-111229/

Syrian forces fire on tens of thousands of protesters by the Associated Press

Syrian police forces opened fire on thousands of protesters in front of a mosque on Thursday. Reports say that at least 4 people were killed during this act. At least 21 others have been murdered in similar incidents across the country as well. This has become a large issue involving human rights that many are very agitated over.

BBC News

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16370561

US says Egypt agrees to stop raids on democracy groups

After the raiding of 17 non-government organizations this Thursday, the US threatened to withhold their aid to Cairo if the raids continued. Some of the raided materials have still not been returned. This conflict has put a hold on US-Egypt relations.

The Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/8982163/Turkey-kills-35-smugglers-in-strike-against-militants.html

Turkey 'kills 35 smugglers' in strike against militants

Members of the Turkish air force mistook 30 smugglers for Kurdish militants. The men were burned as an attempted burial. The smuggler’s friends and family gathered to mourn the loss of their loved ones. The men’s ages ranged from 17 to 20 years of age.

Reflection

I have learned that economic geography affects the world by creating dependences between nations. Countries become tied together through economy. Truces and Contracts are formed due to economic geography.  The location, politics, and culture of a nation can affect its economic geography. 

Weekly Homework Assignment 8

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Focus Article

CNN

To Afghanistan, on the slow train by Tim Lister

 http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/29/world/asia/afghanistan-military-railroad/index.html?hpt=wo_mid

U.S. Troops stationed in Afghanistan get the nation back on its feet again, with conflict and death a major part of a soldier’s life, you’d think importing and exporting goods would be the least of their worries. The United States has faced many difficulties getting supplies to their troops in Afghanistan because of the many border laws. They must go through several countries to be able to deliver the necessities of war, such as food, water, medical aid, and even weapons.  I chose this article for my focus article because it deals with a vital part of economic geography – trading. America must have good relations with Uzbekistan, Russia, and many other minor countries surrounding the Afghanistan area into order to provide them with the best trading route

Article Summaries

CNN

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/12/01/thirsty-in-japan-ask-a-machine-for-a-drink/?hpt=hp_c3&hpt=wo_t2

Japan Eats: Thirsty in Japan? Ask a machine for a drink

Japan has become well-known for their bizarre and vast amount of vending machines in recent years. They range from dispensing the normal food/drink products, to dispensing bicycles and umbrellas. These advancements in technology are a symbol of the fast paced nation that Japan has evolved into.

NBC Nightly News

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/ns/nightly_news/#45530264

Jobless rate falls to 8.6% with Brian Williams

The unemployment rate dropped from 9% to 8.6% unemployment. This is the lowest percentage of unemployed Americans in over 2 years. Statistics show that 120,000 new jobs opened up within the last month, but economists say that this isn’t necessarily a good thing. A third of the jobs are temporary jobs in the retail department. A large amount of these jobs are for low paying blue collar jobs, and the amount of white color workers has largely decreased.

The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/world/middleeast/syrians-say-they-are-feeling-grip-of-economic-sanctions.html?_r=1&ref=world

Syrians Say They Are Feeling the Grip of Sanctions By Neil MacFarquhar

Citizens of Syria are experiencing economic problems due to their countries sanctions. These sanctions prevent business owners from making their own decisions for their finances. These sanctions also prevent money from being transferred out of the country, so employers are finding it difficult to pay their staff.

The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/euro-program-at-imf-could-spread-rescue-risk-worldwide/2011/12/02/gIQAb2rYMO_story.html

Euro program at IMF could spread rescue risk worldwide by Howard Schneider

With many of the European countries in debt, they are looking for a way to loan money without burying themselves deeper. The European countries depend greatly on one another, so when one fails, it brings the others down with it. The IMF hopes to help failing countries out of their recessions by using loans from other affected countries.

Reflection

This week we have been learning about Economic Geography and how it causes countries to rely on one another. America, for example, is dependent on many other countries for it's oil. Each nation has some sort of resource it can use to it's advantage. Japan has human resources, Russia has natural resource...etc. Each of us must partake in this Global Market to sustain our civilization.