Mount Princeton, Colorado

I chose this image of Mount Princeton in Colorado because I love the mountains! The Rocky Mountains are my favorite place to visit in the entire world. I love this picture because it really does show how beautiful the Rocky Mountains can be. You can see the plain before the mountains rise up, and you can also see the beautiful flowers. Then, in the background, you can see the huge mountains that rise up. I am not quite sure where Mount Princeton is in Colorado, but I love all of the mountains and forests in Colorado. Our family has a cabin in Woodland Park, Colorado, and we go up there every summer. We fish, hike, and shoot up there, I love to go up there because it is very relaxing, and peaceful. You can see all sorts of wildlife in the mountains, and we have seen our share of birds including herons, and beautiful song birds, rabbits, deer, elk, and I have even seen a small brown bear on one occasion. I would love to live in the mountains one day, maybe even close to Mount Princeton.

Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act

The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act introduced in the United States House of Representatives on Feb. 4 would allow American citizens unrestricted travel to Cuba for the first time since 1963. The bill by Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., and eight co-sponsors would also lift limits on travel by Cuban exiles living in the United States. The president would not be able to regulate travel to the island unless an armed conflict or armed danger arises.

This Act would allow American citizens to travel to Cuba, and could possibly bring in massive amounts of revenue for both countries, but there are also many possible negative effects to the act, and many have voiced their disaproval. Cuban officials have said that Cuban exiles should be free to visit their families any time they want, but American tourists should not be able to spend money in resorts that Cubans are banned from. Others have voiced the opinion that Cuban exiles returning to see their families are abusing their refugee priviledges.

American tourists visiting the island would undoubtedly bring in massive amounts of revenue, but these tourism dollars could inject more oxygen into the dying Castro regime. Cuba is one of five communist countries remaining on Earth, and hopefully this current regime will be diminished soon. No one wants the power of communism revived on the island of Cuba. If American tourist money can revive this communism, then Im not sure The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act is not such a good idea. Freedom to travel between countries would be a positive benefit to this act, but abused refugee priviledges, and the possible return of communism makes this proposed Act a negative and ineffective proposal by Congress.

Bolivia and the Current Crisis

I chose to talk about the current economic and political unrest found in Bolivia. I found this story at http://www.linktv.org/latinpulse/20081007.

As Americans and the rest of the world focus on the looming economic catastrophe, Bolivia is struggling to avert its own internal problems that ultimately could throw Latin America into a tailspin. According to this website, "One out of three Bolivians want their department (province) to secede from the country." Why would anybody want to do this in one of the continent's poorest countries? United States ambassadors to Bolivia have been sent packing, and this event has ultimately created chaos within Bolivia.

The central government of leftist President Evo Morales, Bolivia's first leader from an Indian majority centered in the western highlands, has been conducting talks with governors of largely white provinces in the east who want autonomy. Both sides are trying to settle differences in the distribution of oil and gas revenue, autonomy for eastern states, and Morales' plans for a constitution that would give more rights to indigenous Bolivians. The talks began after clashes this month between supporters of the two sides killed at least 30 people. Morales has said the opposition leaders are trying to overthrow the government. He expelled the U.S. ambassador, Philip Goldberg, on the grounds that the envoy urged anti-government protesters to get violent.

"This is a coup in the past few days by the leaders of some provinces, with the takeover of some institutions, the sacking and robbery of some government institutions and attempts to assault the national police and the armed forces," Morales has said." Opposition leaders said they merely want their demands met.

This topic relates to our discussions of Latin America, and it could eventually play a very large role in geography as a whole. This is a very large political problem that could effect not only Bolivia, but all of Latin America, and its economic policies. Hopefully this event will be resolved quickly and with no more violence.

Internet Users 2002

I chose this map that shows Internet users in 2002, and was surprised at some of the results. Right away, I noticed that the United States, Japan, Europe, China, and southern Asia all had very high numbers of Internet users in 2002. I also noticed that South America, Africa, Austrailia, and Canada had relatively small numbers in comparison. I suspected that Africa would have low numbers of Internet users, but I really thought that Canada would have similar statistics in comparison to the United States, and I thought South America would have higher numbers. The internet is a vital part of our lives in this day and age, and this map makes this fact very apparent.

The United States is one of the largest countries on the map. This makes sense because Americans use the Internet on a daily basis. We use it for entertainment, information, purchasing items, and even for educational purposes. I depend on the Internet for many of my school projects, and I even stay in touch with family and friends on it. I admit that I am somewhat dependent on the Internet.

The Internet is a regular part of our lives, but people of other countries and continents may not have the priveledge to use this very beneficial technology. Africa is one of the smallest continents on the map. Africa had very little internet usage in 2002. I realize that this map was made seven years ago, but considerable development has been made in terms of the expansion of the use of the internet in Africa in the years since. According to "Macro Environment and Telecommunications" African governments have come to realize the importance of global connectivity that the internet offers and are making efforts to provide rudimentary infrastructure for Internet take-off. The internet market in Africa doubled from 2.5 million users to about 5 million in the year 2000, which shows a high level of growth. Specifically, the African market grew by 126 percent in the year 2000. In the same year, South African market grew by 80 percent from 1.6 million users to 2.8 million. About 66 percent, of Internet users on the African continent are in South Africa. The use of the Internet has grown relatively rapidly in most urban areas in Africa, in much the same pattern as the adoption of the cell phone. As an indication, five years ago, only a handful of countries had local Internet access, now it is available in every capital city on the continent.

It is clear that the Internet has been one of the most influential, positive, and revolutionary technologies ever invented. It has become a very large part of our lives, and it is expanding all around the globe. I predict that within the next ten years, the Internet will be found in many more countries all over the world, and within the next 25 years, the Internet will inhabit every household all across the globe.