Slumdog Millionaire
This last week, I had the opportunity to see Slumdog Millionaire at the Rivoli Theater in Seward, Nebraska. I am very glad that I went to see it. Honestly, I was not expecting much, but I really enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to see a great movie. I really enjoyed the plot, the characters, and the setting of the movie, but it also made me realize how lucky I am to live in the United States. Seeing the slums of Mumbai really opened my eyes. I did not realize how poor the living conditions are in slums like that. I was appaled to see Jamal and Salim swimming in a local pool that was being used to wash clothes, the local port-a-poties, orphanage conditions, and the persecution of the Indian people. I cannot imagine orphans having their eyes burned out to recieve more money on the street, or paying to use a local bathroom that empties right onto a beach, or even having my integrity questioned because I lived in poverty. All of these events lead an audience to disbeleif, but by the end of the movie, it is all resolved when Jamal sucessfully wins "Who Wants to be a Millionarie?" Slumdog Millionaire is a fantastic movie, and I plan on adding it to my collection as soon as it comes out.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Spring Break
This spring break, I traveled to Texas with the baseball team. We left Concordia on Saturday afternoon, and we traveled to Avila Oklahoma. We then played Northwestern Oklahoma on Sunday, and after the game, we traveled to Brownwood, Texas. On Monday, we played Howard Payne University, and then traveled to San Marcos, Texas. We had a free day on Tuesday, and we actually went down to San Antonio and visited to River Walk. We were then rained out on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Friday, we traveled back up to Oklahoma, and played Bacone University on Saturday. After the games, we then traveled back to Avila to play Northwestern Oklahoma on Sunday. I really enjoyed this spring break, and I am very glad I had the opportunity to visit cities in Oklahoma, and Texas.
I also really enjoyed visiting the River Walk. I spent most of the afternoon walking around the river, and visiting the shops and restaurants in the mall. A few of the baseball guys went to Hooters for dinner that night, and we had a great time watching some baseball games, eating great wings, and visiting with the waitresses. Southern Texas and Oklahoma are very interesting, and diverse parts of the country, and I am very glad that I had the opportunity to visit these places over spring break!
This spring break, I traveled to Texas with the baseball team. We left Concordia on Saturday afternoon, and we traveled to Avila Oklahoma. We then played Northwestern Oklahoma on Sunday, and after the game, we traveled to Brownwood, Texas. On Monday, we played Howard Payne University, and then traveled to San Marcos, Texas. We had a free day on Tuesday, and we actually went down to San Antonio and visited to River Walk. We were then rained out on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Friday, we traveled back up to Oklahoma, and played Bacone University on Saturday. After the games, we then traveled back to Avila to play Northwestern Oklahoma on Sunday. I really enjoyed this spring break, and I am very glad I had the opportunity to visit cities in Oklahoma, and Texas.
I also really enjoyed visiting the River Walk. I spent most of the afternoon walking around the river, and visiting the shops and restaurants in the mall. A few of the baseball guys went to Hooters for dinner that night, and we had a great time watching some baseball games, eating great wings, and visiting with the waitresses. Southern Texas and Oklahoma are very interesting, and diverse parts of the country, and I am very glad that I had the opportunity to visit these places over spring break!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Aid to Africa
The continent of Africa and the countries within its borders defy conventional logic. How is it that countries with so many mineral riches and resources experience constricting poverty? According to an article titled, African Perspectives on Aid: Foreign Assistance Will Not Pull Africa Out of Poverty, by Thompson Ayodele, "Every decade or so, a throng of western donors, African governments, and international organizers gather to announce grand initiatives to pull the world's poorest continent out of its economic miasma." Projects such as the United Nations 1985 aid boost to Africa, and the 1996 Special Initiative for Africa, which provided Africa with 25 billion dollars, have all fizzled and failed miserably. Giving aid to Africa is most certainly a noble cause, but previous projects have failed, and this has caused many to wonder if this assistance is really benefiting the continent of Africa. Should the United States and other foreign governments and NGOs continue to provide aid, or should these governments and associations concentrate on developing trade, industry, and infrastructure?
More than 500 billion dollars in foreign aid has been pumped into Africa between 1960 and 1997. Instead of increasing development, this aid has created dependancy. For example, the countries of Ghana and Uganda are more than 50 percent aid-dependent. Consequently, the more aid poured into Africa, the lower the standard of living has become. This financial aid is clearly not assisting these countries to develop or better the lives of African citizens, and I personally believe that this aid should be terminated and channeled towards developing more effective trade methods such as bringing the local economy back into mainland Africa.
Speaking at the New Partnership for African Development, former British secretary of state for international development, noted that 40 percent of the wealth created in Africa is invested outside of the continent. The amount of capital leaving Africa is staggering. The external stock of capital held by Africans overseas could possibly be as much as 700 to 800 billion dollars. I believe that financial aid should be provided to the project of bringing African merchants and business men back to Africa. If these citizens invest in the African infrastrucutre, the economies of African countries would become much more fruitful and effective.
Africa, and especially Sub-Saharan Africa is a very poor part of the world. Financial aid has been pouring into this continent since 1960, but conditions have not changed much. Development is still at a slow pace, and poverty rages through cities and country sides. This financial aid is doing nothing for the economy and people of Africa. I personally believe that financial aid should still be provided, but instead to the effort of bringing external wealth back into Africa. The United Nations and other foreign governments should terminate financial aid, and should instead start focusing on developing trade, industry, and infrastructure.
The continent of Africa and the countries within its borders defy conventional logic. How is it that countries with so many mineral riches and resources experience constricting poverty? According to an article titled, African Perspectives on Aid: Foreign Assistance Will Not Pull Africa Out of Poverty, by Thompson Ayodele, "Every decade or so, a throng of western donors, African governments, and international organizers gather to announce grand initiatives to pull the world's poorest continent out of its economic miasma." Projects such as the United Nations 1985 aid boost to Africa, and the 1996 Special Initiative for Africa, which provided Africa with 25 billion dollars, have all fizzled and failed miserably. Giving aid to Africa is most certainly a noble cause, but previous projects have failed, and this has caused many to wonder if this assistance is really benefiting the continent of Africa. Should the United States and other foreign governments and NGOs continue to provide aid, or should these governments and associations concentrate on developing trade, industry, and infrastructure?
More than 500 billion dollars in foreign aid has been pumped into Africa between 1960 and 1997. Instead of increasing development, this aid has created dependancy. For example, the countries of Ghana and Uganda are more than 50 percent aid-dependent. Consequently, the more aid poured into Africa, the lower the standard of living has become. This financial aid is clearly not assisting these countries to develop or better the lives of African citizens, and I personally believe that this aid should be terminated and channeled towards developing more effective trade methods such as bringing the local economy back into mainland Africa.
Speaking at the New Partnership for African Development, former British secretary of state for international development, noted that 40 percent of the wealth created in Africa is invested outside of the continent. The amount of capital leaving Africa is staggering. The external stock of capital held by Africans overseas could possibly be as much as 700 to 800 billion dollars. I believe that financial aid should be provided to the project of bringing African merchants and business men back to Africa. If these citizens invest in the African infrastrucutre, the economies of African countries would become much more fruitful and effective.
Africa, and especially Sub-Saharan Africa is a very poor part of the world. Financial aid has been pouring into this continent since 1960, but conditions have not changed much. Development is still at a slow pace, and poverty rages through cities and country sides. This financial aid is doing nothing for the economy and people of Africa. I personally believe that financial aid should still be provided, but instead to the effort of bringing external wealth back into Africa. The United Nations and other foreign governments should terminate financial aid, and should instead start focusing on developing trade, industry, and infrastructure.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Blog Topic #7
The United Nations produces the Human Development Index (HDI) through its Human Development Program. Each year it produces a Human Development report that lists the countries of the world in relation to several indices. It is also interesting to note that all of the countries ranked as Low Human Development are found in Sub-Saharan Africa. I found this information very interesting to look at, and it made me realize how lucky we are to be living in the United States. I pondered why these Sub-Saharan countries were so different than the United States, and the information provided by the HDI revealed the answer. The HDI report uses variables such as life expectancy at birth in years, adult literacy rate, combined primary, secondary tertiary gross enrolment ratio, and GDP per capita to rate countries of the world as High Human Development, Medium Human Development, and as Low Human Development.
The United States was on the list of High Human Development. The life expectancy in the U.S. is 78 years, the combined primary, secondary, tertiary gross enrolment ratio is 92.4, and the GDP per capita is 43,968. On the other hand, the country of Rwanda in Sub-Saharan Africa has very different numbers. The life expectancy in Rwanda is only 45.8 years, the combined primary, secondary tertiary gross enrolment ratio is 52.2, the GDP per capita is 819, and perhaps the most surprising statistic, is that only 64.9% of adults, aged 15 and older, are literate. I also looked at the country of Sierra Leone. According to the Human Development Index, Sierra Leone is the lowest ranked country in the entire world in terms of development. Their life expectancy is only 42.1 years, the combined primary, secondary tertiary gross enrolment ratio is 44.6, the GDP per capita is 630, and the adult literacy rate is only 37.1%. These numbers are very surprising and sad. As citizens of the United States of America, we take things like reading for granted, while citizens of countries such as Rwanda, and Sierra Leone are not literate, do not make much of a living, and may only live to be 40-45 years of age.
The geographic pattern of Human Development is very clear. Obviously, all of the countries that fall under Low Human Development are in Sub-Saharan Africa, while countries that fall under High Human development can be found in the Western hemisphere, and also in Europe. According to the HDI, Iceland is the highest country in terms of development. Other countries that fall under High Development are Canada, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Chile, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Poland. I personally believe that Sub-Saharan Africa falls under Low Development because not much is known about this region. For example, Professor Helmer asked the students in our 10:10 geography class about Sub-Saharan Africa. Not many people knew much about this region. Sub-Saharan Africa is not taught in elementary geography class, and African culture is shyed away from in high schools. Overall, not many people know about Sub-Saharan Africa. I beleive that this region is lowely developed because of this. Technology, healthcare, and politics are not nearly as strong in this region as they are in the western hemisphere. Consequently, this is why people in Rwanda and Sierra Leone, do not live as long, or make as much money. The Human Development Index is very useful and informative, but is sad to see these numbers. It is unfortunate that these countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are lowly developed while other countries are highly developed and almost over developed. Hopefully, one day in the near future, we as a society can change this.
The United Nations produces the Human Development Index (HDI) through its Human Development Program. Each year it produces a Human Development report that lists the countries of the world in relation to several indices. It is also interesting to note that all of the countries ranked as Low Human Development are found in Sub-Saharan Africa. I found this information very interesting to look at, and it made me realize how lucky we are to be living in the United States. I pondered why these Sub-Saharan countries were so different than the United States, and the information provided by the HDI revealed the answer. The HDI report uses variables such as life expectancy at birth in years, adult literacy rate, combined primary, secondary tertiary gross enrolment ratio, and GDP per capita to rate countries of the world as High Human Development, Medium Human Development, and as Low Human Development.
The United States was on the list of High Human Development. The life expectancy in the U.S. is 78 years, the combined primary, secondary, tertiary gross enrolment ratio is 92.4, and the GDP per capita is 43,968. On the other hand, the country of Rwanda in Sub-Saharan Africa has very different numbers. The life expectancy in Rwanda is only 45.8 years, the combined primary, secondary tertiary gross enrolment ratio is 52.2, the GDP per capita is 819, and perhaps the most surprising statistic, is that only 64.9% of adults, aged 15 and older, are literate. I also looked at the country of Sierra Leone. According to the Human Development Index, Sierra Leone is the lowest ranked country in the entire world in terms of development. Their life expectancy is only 42.1 years, the combined primary, secondary tertiary gross enrolment ratio is 44.6, the GDP per capita is 630, and the adult literacy rate is only 37.1%. These numbers are very surprising and sad. As citizens of the United States of America, we take things like reading for granted, while citizens of countries such as Rwanda, and Sierra Leone are not literate, do not make much of a living, and may only live to be 40-45 years of age.
The geographic pattern of Human Development is very clear. Obviously, all of the countries that fall under Low Human Development are in Sub-Saharan Africa, while countries that fall under High Human development can be found in the Western hemisphere, and also in Europe. According to the HDI, Iceland is the highest country in terms of development. Other countries that fall under High Development are Canada, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Chile, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Poland. I personally believe that Sub-Saharan Africa falls under Low Development because not much is known about this region. For example, Professor Helmer asked the students in our 10:10 geography class about Sub-Saharan Africa. Not many people knew much about this region. Sub-Saharan Africa is not taught in elementary geography class, and African culture is shyed away from in high schools. Overall, not many people know about Sub-Saharan Africa. I beleive that this region is lowely developed because of this. Technology, healthcare, and politics are not nearly as strong in this region as they are in the western hemisphere. Consequently, this is why people in Rwanda and Sierra Leone, do not live as long, or make as much money. The Human Development Index is very useful and informative, but is sad to see these numbers. It is unfortunate that these countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are lowly developed while other countries are highly developed and almost over developed. Hopefully, one day in the near future, we as a society can change this.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
