30 January 2009

Pakistan: A Nation Divided

Which is its location? What countries does it border with?
Pakistan is located in Eastern Asia. It borders India, China, Afghanistan, and Iran.
What does the geography say about the country?
To the North there are the Himalayas and to the south there is a dessert. The climate varies from cold winters and hot summers to the North, and mild climate to the South.
What is the dominant religion? Which other exist?
The major religion is Islamism while there is also Hinduism, Christianity, Parsi, Buddhist, and others.
What are the different ethnic groups?
Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun, Baloch, Muhajir
Which ones are the main customs and traditions?
Pakistan has a rich cultural and ethnic background going back to the Indus Valley Civilization. There are differences in culture among the different ethnic groups in matters such as dress, food, and religion, especially where Pre Islamic customs differ from Islamic practices. However, over 60 years of integration, a distinctive "Pakistani" culture has sprung up especially in the urban areas. Education is highly regarded by members of every socio-economic stratum. The traditional family values are highly respected and considered sacred.



















How is this his life different from yours?
The greatest difference is the religion. The problem comes when he is living in a society in which he is the only one, while in my society everyone is like me or almost like me.He has rules to follow as well as I do, He goes to school as well as I do, etc.


Which custom caught your attention?


He can´t eat Starbursts.


How does his religion affect his way of acting?


He has to stop doing many things to follow the rules stated by the Koran, which is the book of the Islamic religion. He cannot eat pork nor things that contain enzymes that come from pork, he cannot drink alcohol, he cannot do a lot of stuff involving girls; so he acts according to it.




Name: Borat

Age: 15

Religion: Sunni Muslim

Ethnic Group: Pashtun

How often do you go to a religuous service? Where? Waht happens there?

I go to a religious service every Friday which is the sacred day and we call it Jumu'ah. We go to the mosque just after noon and it begins with the call to prayer the muezin makes; then the adhan, which marks the beginning of jumu'ah. Once the khaṭīb has given his speech, he concludes with a du'a, which then leads the muadhin to make the iqama which is followed by the two rak'at prayer.

Do you know anyone of a different religion? How do you get along?

Yes I know some people from different religions. In the area where I live, most of the population is muslim but I rarely find a buddhist or a hindu sometimes. When I someone of another religion, I just keep doing what I am doing. It is like seeing any muslim pass by.

Do boys and girls hang out socially? Do you go to parties?

All our celebrations are in families. We go to weddings that can last over three days, but I don not go to parties with friens because my religion prohibbits that.

How many people live in your house? How do you interact?

5 people live in my house. my parents, my sister and my brother. We interact a lot, as in our religion and traditions family is basic for education.

Who goes to school in your family?

In my family my brother and I go to school. My sister doesn´t go, but many girls do.

How do you dress?

I dress with clothes that cover from my knee to my navel, if I don't it is against my religion.

Which ones are your daily chores?

My daily chores are to go to school, go to my home and be with my family, because of my ethnic group. I also have to say the daily prayers to Allah.

What does it mean to be belong to your ethnic group?

To be a Pashtun doesn't mean just to live in a place with people like us, besides following the rules of our religion we are also born with the Pashtunwali code in our education. It is a code of hospitality and freedom of our ethnic group, to be part of us you need to be like the code.

Where are your relatives from?

My relatives are from Pakistan and some from Afghanistan. We are all Pashtuns and we get to see each other once in a while.

Do you hang out with people of other ethnicities? How do you get along?

I don´t hang out with people of other ethnicities, as here in my village only Pashtun people live. I do not know a lot of people from other ethnicities, but we get along well if they treat us well and are our friends.

Do you have to marry someone of your same ethnicity?

I do not have to marry someone of my ethnicity, but I am almost sure that I will.

Describe a typical tradition.

The most important date for us the Pashtun people is the Ramadan, which is a Muslim festivity, and because the great majority of us are Muslim we celebrate that and is the most important date in which families get together.

23 January 2009

News 2

Castro 'reflects' on health, praises Obama

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/01/22/cuba.castro/index.html?eref=rss_world
January 22, 2009

Who?
Fidel Castro
Where?
In Cuba
When?
January 22, s009
What?
Fidel Castro, former Cuban president, said that sometime he will not have the privilege to observe what happens in the world for 4 years.
Why?
Because he is concerned about his age and his illnes, and he will probably not be alive when president Obama's term finishes.


Fidel contemplates his mortality
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7846670.stm
January 22, 2009

Who?
Fidel Castro
Where?
In Cuba
When?
January 22, 2009
What?
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has urged his country's leadership not to be disturbed by his illness or his eventual death.
Why?
There has been much speculation on the health of the 82-year-old, who had not written a column for five weeks.


These two new are different because one is written from the point of view of the United States, which is totally against Cuba; and the other is from BBC News, which is British. Also, in BBC the info is more complete because it tells you the background and why he said that. In CNN, it only makes a quick reference about it, it also contains the opinion of the president of Argentina.

22 January 2009

Politicians




1. Silvio Berlusconi-Italy

2. Michelle Bachelet- Chile

3. Hillary Clinton- United States

4. Hu Jintao- China

5. Álvaro Uribe- Colombia

6. Ehud Olmert- Israel

7. Gordon Brown- United Kingdom

8. Ban Ki Moon- South Korea, United Nations

9. Nocolas Sarkozy- France

10. George Bush-United States

11. Vladimir Putin- Russia

12. Fidel Castro- Cuba

13. Mahmoud Abbas- Palestine

14. Taro Asso- Japan

15. José Luis Zapatero- Spain

16. Kim Jong Il- North Korea

17. Barack Obama- United States

18. Dalai Lama- China

19. Pratibha Patil- India

20. Thein Sein- Myanmar

21. Robert Mugabe- Zimbabwe

22. Hamid Karzai- Afghanistan

23. Raul Castro- Cuba

24. Mohamed Osni Murbarak- Egypt

25. Dmitry Medvedev- Russia

26. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner- Argentina

27. Abhisit Vejjajiva- Thailand

28. Ignacio Lula da Silva- Brazil

29. Angela Merkel- Germany

30. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad- Iran

31. Asif Ali Zardari- Pakistan

12 January 2009

The War Between Israel and Gaza

1- Where is Israel? Locate it on a map.


Israel is located in the Middle East and is in the border with Lebanon to the North, Jordan to the West, Egypt to the South, and the Mediterranean Sea to the East.












2- Why was Israel created?


Israel was created to establish an official homeland for Jewish people.



3- Where are the Palestinian territories?


The Gaza Strip is in the border of Israel and Egypt and the West Bank is in the border with Jordan.




1- What is happening in Israel and Gaza?


A war for territory.


2- How many Palestinians have died and how many Israelis?


900 Palestinians and 13 Israelis up to January 12th, 2009.


3- What is Hamas?


Hammas is a group from Palestine which is considered by the UN as a terrorist group.


4- What was the U.S. response to the attacks?


The U.S. is against the terrorist attacks from Hamas, and supports Israel's decission to attack Gaza.


5- What happened when Israel was declared a state in 1948?


It was immediately invaded by armies from neighboring arab states.


6- What did Israel agree in the Oslo accords?


Israel agreed withdrawing from parts of Gaza Strip and West Bank.


7- How did Hamas come to power in Gaza?


Hamas won the elections and having a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council took over Gaza by isolating the area.


The New Meaning of an Old Battle



a) To which "old battle" does the article's headline reffer?


It reffers to the battle that Israel has been having with Palestine since it was created.


b) What seem to be the hopes underlying Israel's assault on Gaza?


Delegitimize the Hamas’s leadership in the eyes of the Palestinian people and eliminate its power to prevent a two-state solution.


c) How would a clear Israeli victory affect the region?


It would make it easier for countries near Israel to declare common cause against Islamic militancy and its main sponsor in the region, Iran.


d) How would a clear Israeli victory affect the United States?


An international peacekeeping force could clear the way for a restoration of political control in Gaza.


e) Why does Iran have much at stake in the outcome of the current crisis?


Because it sponsors Hamas and Hezbollah to spread its influence in the Arab world. A defeat of Hamas would undercut that strategy.


f) How likely is it that the Israeli assault will be successful?


Israel’s attacks also could fail outright, and history suggests that as the more likely scenario, Middle East experts across the political spectrum said.



g)What are some of the divisions in the Middle East that this conflict has highlighted?


Egypt, whose peace treaty with Israel is anathema to militants in the Middle East, kept its border to Gaza largely shut last week, and its president, Hosni Mubarak, quarreled openly with the leader of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant Shiite group that now shares power in Lebanon. And at a meeting of the Arab League, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister gently and indirectly rebuked Hamas for provoking the conflict.


h) What happened in Lebanon in 1982? How are the Gaza attacks similar?


While Israel was worrying about the negotiation with Yassir Arafat, Hezbollah was rising in Lebanon.


i) In what ways might the attacks on Gaza backfire?


History suggests that Israel has a lot of probabilities to fail just as it did in lebanon on 1982.



j) Why does Mr. Abbas say he will walk away from the peace talks begun by President Bush in 2007?


Because fighting was emboldening palestinian resistance.



k) What lessons has Israel learned from Lebanon?


Israel has learned to lower expectations and this time Israel is more prepared.


m) In what way is the timing of this renewed battle beneficial?


It came before president elect Obama went into power.


n) How will the Obama administration be able to capitalize on the situation in Gaza?


All the violent reactions and hate will be sent to the past administration and no to Obama's




-What is going on in the photograph?

Some women are covering and running away from an Isreali attack.

-Who is pictured?

Some palestinian women.

-What can you learn about how the main subject in the photo is feeling from his or her facial expression?

By her facial expressions, I can tell she is feeling very nervous and afraid.

-What might this person be feeling, given what is going on in the photograph?

She might be feeling a lot of fear.

-What might this person want to say to the "opposite side"?

That she is not responsible for the Hamas terrorist attacks to Israel.

9 January 2009

News 1


Calderón and Obamma will meet

Who?
Secretary of Exterior Relations
Where?
In Mexico City
When?
January 8th, 2009
Why?
To discuss migration, and other matters that affect these two countries
What?
Next Monday, Felipe Calderón will meet with the president elect, Barack Obama, in Washington D.C.