Blog Post #3

Sunni vs. Shiite

Being only a teenager, I do not really think it is important to be able to figure out the difference between the Sunni and Shiites groups of people. On the other hand, if you were an adult that is a part in the Washington Counterterrorism Organization, it seems a lot more necessary from them to know the difference instead of me. These kind of people need to be able to know the difference because of the fact that they are in the counterterrorism group. Being in this group, they are going to need to know about terrorists. Knowing about the terrorists will help people to form a plan for when they know when we are going to have to go and fight. You would possibly be able to point out some different targets just by knowing the simple things. The one big difference between the two groups are easily that they believe in very different things, so their beliefs are very different. The amount of Shiite people are a lot less than the amount of the Sunni people. Counterterrorist people would not be able to plan attacks or know about their enemies if they did not know about certain facts. The schism that formed once the Prophet Muhammad died is something that the counter terrorists need to be aware of and know about. 

Blog Post #3

Sunni vs. Shiite

Being only a teenager, I do not really think it is important to be able to figure out the difference between the Sunni and Shiites groups of people. On the other hand, if you were an adult that is a part in the Washington Counterterrorism Organization, it seems a lot more necessary from them to know the difference instead of me. These kind of people need to be able to know the difference because of the fact that they are in the counterterrorism group. Being in this group, they are going to need to know about terrorists. Knowing about the terrorists will help people to form a plan for when they know when we are going to have to go and fight. You would possibly be able to point out some different targets just by knowing the simple things. The one big difference between the two groups are easily that they believe in very different things, so their beliefs are very different. The amount of Shiite people are a lot less than the amount of the Sunni people. Counterterrorist people would not be able to plan attacks or know about their enemies if they did not know about certain facts. The schism that formed once the Prophet Muhammad died is something that the counter terrorists need to be aware of and know about. 

Blog Post #2

Mozambique is a very poor country in southern Africa. Their bread tax went up to 20 cents for a loaf of bread. This price hike on bread cause food riots. A total of 13 people got killed, just over an increase on bread. This extra 20 cents was extremely important because most people in Mozambique only made about a dollar a day. I see globalization in this story as the government abusing the costs of things. The government is making it harder for them to be able to eat. Mozambique is impacted because of the 13 people that died from riots, and they still don't have enough money to pay for the bread. After the riots ended, the minister said that the government was going to reverse the the 30% tax hike on bread. This country has little to survive on. Mozambique only makes about one third of wheat they need to survive on, the only other place they get their wheat from is 5,000 miles away. The government is now saying that they are going to subsidize the purchase of wheat to keep the bread prices the same.

9-11 Impact on Air Travel

Katie H.

15 September 2010

Human Geography

9-11 Impact on Air Travel

September 11^th, 2001 is a day no one will ever forget. The day two airplanes flew into the Twin Towers in New York, the airlines system changed completely. The United States closed down any flights, so no planes were coming or leaving for four whole days after the terrorist attack. Air Travel after the terrorist attack was then made extremely strict and time consuming. The United States’ air traffic control system is now the safest in the world. If you went to an airport after 9-11 you would see that you wouldn’t be able to have the following items: sharp objects, sporting goods, guns and firearms, building tools, explosive and flammable materials, disabling chemicals, and other dangerous items. People used to be able to come quickly through airports, but now you have to go through sensors, remove anything metal, take your shoes off, all hassles you wouldn’t have had to do before. Now, coming to an airport can be a slow process that could even take over two or three hours to get through.  Some air travel companies went bankrupt, because people were afraid to go back onto planes after what happened. People were terrified of new terrorism. Business travelers were also severely affected. With all the new security measures and not knowing about certain passenger delays. Almost every single airline showed barely any profit during the time after 9-11, while Southwest Airlines was profitable throughout 2001. Southwest was also still showing a profit halfway through 2002. Just from 2000 to 2001 the international rate for passenger growth was 10% (high), and in just one year it went down to below 2%. US airlines said that in 2001 there were net losses of $7+billion. Labor costs increased by 9.7% on average among US majors. The fuels prices were also up by an average of 8.9%. The Airlines wanted to get back on top, but they struggled with getting travelers. The business was down around 30%, and the recovery of traffic factors were being decided upon how low travelers were now paying for fares. By lowering the costs to make it easier for the travelers, the airlines then made it harder on themselves. This would not work because then the airlines would not have enough money for all the new security and operating costs.  Airlines were given $15 billion for short-term assistance. $5 billion was used for direct assistance to the airlines. The remaining $10 billion was in guaranteed loans for the industry.  After receiving the money, some airlines showed minimal profit, but most of the employees remained laid-off or soon being laid-off. There were over 80,000 layoffs in the United States Airlines alone.   According to the Air Transport Association (ATA) announced that airlines lost around $1.4 billion during the four-day shutdown of air travel after the terrorist attack. Even after a year of all the loans and direct assistance several airlines were not progressing by much. There were some airlines that were suffering before 9-11 and they tried to abuse the help they were getting. Those airlines were trying to get money to help them from before and after the attack, while all the loans were doing were stabilizing the companies. There were a lot of airlines that were actually suffering before 9-11. What happened before 9-11 was weakening the economy all on its own. There was a long period of time where a lot of people didn’t fly because of the economy itself. The industry’s profitability depended on the economic recession starting to get better. The airlines were worried about how there were going to pay for the increased security, fuel, labor, and insurance costs.  The terrorist attack also affected the security and safeness on the planes. On 9-11, the terrorists were able to get to the front of the plane and take control of the steering, while most likely killing the pilots. The improvement of the planes today is that no one, not even the stewardesses are able to get into the cockpit. The only people who can open and close the doors are the pilot and the co-pilot. The air travel can also be observed from the air traffic control system and make sure that the plane stays in the route that they are supposed to be flying through. As I said in the beginning, no one will ever forget the day September 11, 2001. Because of that day the airline system rapidly changed. It changed to make the world a safer place, and to secure the safety of all the people flying. It is now made to help prevent any more terrorist attacks through flying. Airlines should no longer be a place where people are scared to be, they should feel safe with the improvements the system has made over the years after the day of September 11^th, 2001. 

Blog Post#1

First Item: iHome

Made in China

Population: 1,338,612,968

Labor by Occupation: Agriculture- 39.5% Industry- 27.2% Services- 33.2%

Unemployment: 4.3%

Percentage Below Poverty Line: 2.8%

Second Item: Tissue Box

Made in USA

Population: 307,212,123

Labor by Occupation: Farming, foresting, fishing-0.7% Manufacturing-20.3% Professional, technical, managerial-37.3% Sales & Office- 24.2%

Unemployment: 9.3%

Percentage Below Poverty Line: 12%

 

Third Item: Flip Flops

Made in Vietnam

Population: 88,576,758

Labor by Occupation: Agriculture- 51.8% Industry- 15.4% Services- 32.7%

Unemployment: 6.5%

Percentage Below Poverty Line: 12.3%

Fourth Item: BIC Pencils

Made in France

Population: 6,442,007,364,057,792

Labor by Occupation: Agriculture- 3.8% Industry- 24.3% Services- 71.8%

Unemployment: 9.1%

Percentage Below Poverty Line: 6.2%

Fifth Item: Expo Marker

Made in Mexico

Population: 111,211,789

Labor by Occupation: Agriculture- 13.7% Industry- 23.4% Services- 62.9%

Unemployment: 5.5%

Percentage Below Poverty Line: 18.2%