Category Archives: History

History, Geography, Civics, Mock Trial.

Current Event #1

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Title: ‘El Chapo’ Guzman: How the world’s most wanted drug lord was finally busted

By Catherine E. Shoichet and Evan Perez, CNN

Date: 2/24/14

Joaquin Guzman, the most wanted drug lord in North America, was finally caught over the weekend in a beachside condo. Guzman has avoided recent capture by bribing officers, using safe houses, and using an army of cartel volunteers/helpers. He was the leader of the infamous Sinaloa drug cartel. They say authorities have been closing in on Guzman when Mexican Marines captured him on Saturday. Several other cartel members had been captured before Guzman, two of which they believe provided security to cartel leaders. The key discovery for Mexican authorities and U.S Enforcement Administration were 7 houses that were connected with underground tunnels.

What do I think? I think this is a great discovery for Mexico and the U.S. This helps with security of our nation and enforces the law, and this is a great win for all, but this I know this isn’t the end of the war of illegal substances, because there are many other cartels out there. My friend Olivia agrees. She also thinks it is really funny that Guzman was able to bribe officers. The author had no bias.

 

 

Vietnam Veteran Q&A

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1) What sort of equipment did you have to fix?

Mr. Christensen had to fix and try to collect things like Bulldozers and Dump trucks, he was considered a supply guy.

2) Why did you sign up for the military?

He didn’t choose to, he was drafted to Fort Polk, Louisiana. He had gone through basic training when he was 21 years old.

3) What college did you go? What did you study?

Mr. Christensen went to Foothill college for 2 years before transferring to San Jose State College.

4) How has military technology changed or improved from the 60s to now?

He says one of the most important things that changed technology the most was night-vision. Night vision changed fighting completely, but so did other things such as smart bombs.

5) Did you ever meet Ho Chi Minh of the President of the U.S.A?

No to both.

An American Hero: Martin Luther King Jr.

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“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.“-Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. King was right and followed his word with peacful protest against racial segregation in the U.S.

M.L.K. Jr. was born on January 15 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His mother’s name was Alberta Willliams King and his father was Martin Luther King Sr. She died in 1974 and he died one year after, in 1984. MLK Jr. was born with the name Michael but his father changed it in honor to a German reformer, Martin Luther. He grew up in rural Georgia, where he was born. He was the middle child of the King family with a older sister, Christine King Farris (who’s still alive) and a little brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King (who was found dead in a swimming pool on July 21 1969) Dr. King got his Ph.D. from Boston University. King Jr. attempted to commit suicide after his grandmother’s death on May 18 1941.

Martin Luther King Jr. played a key role in the American civil rights movement, and is one of the most famous civil rights activists in America. He was inspired by other famous activists such as Ghandi. During his involvement in the civil right movement Dr. King was followed and investigated by the FBI. The FBI thought he was tied with being a communist, they mailed an anonymous letter to try and get MLK Jr. to commit suicide. He won Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his involvement in the civil rights movement. Dr. King Jr. was sent many death threats for his involvement  and was once stabbed in the chest, his house was also bombed. M.L.K Jr. focused on poverty in America and he also worked to end to Vietnam War. He believed in nonviolent protest and equal rights for all. He was a christian minister before he got involved with activist. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was one of MLK Jr.’s main accomplishments. 

He was assassinated on April 4, 1929. M.L.K. Jr. was shot by James Earl Ray on the second-floor balcony in Lorraine Motel. He was shot the day after his “I’ve been to the mountain top“ speech in Memphis, Tennessee. He was announced dead at St. Joseph Hospital at 7:05pm after emergency chest surgery. The main legacy Dr. King Jr. left behind was assure progress on the civil rights in the U.S., which he did. A couple days after his death Congress passed the Civil Rights of 1968 a.k.a Fair Housing Rights. M.L.K. Jr. inspired many such as South American leader Albert Lutuli. Mr. Lutuli was another black Nobel Peace Prize winner who fought for civil rights in his country. “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent.”-MLK Jr.

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Political Cartoons

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I drew cartoons about the “Iron Curtain”, Origins of the Cold War, The Berlin Wall, The Domino Theory, and Harry S. Truman’s “Containment”.

Screen Shot 2013-10-16 at 1.59.47 PMThis represents the “Domino Theory”. The “Domino Theory” was the fear that if another country fell to communist it’ll lead to Communist World Domination.
Screen Shot 2013-10-16 at 1.59.56 PMThis cartoon represents the Berlin Wall that the Soviets put through Berlin, Germany. West Berlin partially belonged to America, France and the United Kingdom and East Berlin belonged to the U.S.S.R.  Screen Shot 2013-10-16 at 2.00.20 PMThis is representing the rivalry between the U.S and the U.S.S.R. It was consist fight about who could bring out the first bomb or who could put the first man on the moon.
Screen Shot 2013-10-16 at 2.00.35 PMThis represents Harry S. Truman’s hand trying to contain communism in Europe, to prevent the spread of communism.

Screen Shot 2013-10-24 at 2.08.25 PMThis represents the “Iron Curtain”. The “Iron Curtain” was a metaphor used for the Soviet Bloc, 8 eastern European countries controlled by the U.S.S.R.

Propaganda Posters

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Pro-Capitalist:Freedom!!!Pro-Communist:Screen Shot 2013-10-30 at 4.02.52 PMThe U.S and the U.S.S.R had many other propaganda posters like this during the Cold War. The Cold War was just a rivalry between the two new superpowers, nothing like World War II. The first picture is Pro-Capitalist, it says Donate today and help fight against Communism. It also says America will always Freedom. The second one is Pro-Communist, it says “…Carlos tried… He was never the same. Capitalism is not the way to go…stay RED!!!!”.

 

Two New Superpowers

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It was the end of the World War II and the beginning of another war, known as the Cold War. Two new superpowers, the U.S, led by Harry S. Truman, and the U.S.S.R, headed by Joseph Stalin, emerged. This war was very different from WWI or WWII because there wasn’t any shooting from trenches or surprise night bombing. There was just a rivalry between the two superpowers. No biggie (kidding). Near the end of this war both countries had the power to destroy the world. The rivalry between the two new superpowers caused the Red Scare, Senator McCarthy’s “Witch Hunt”, and the Domino Theory.

One of the many things that the Cold War started was the Domino Theory. The Domino Theory was the fear of Communist World Domination. Many countries were at risk of falling to communism such as West Germany, South Korea, and all the other countries that surrounded the Soviet Bloc. The Soviet Bloc was when the Soviets took control of eight eastern European countries to create a barrier. Winston Churchill referred to the Soviet Bloc as an “Iron Curtain”. The Berlin Wall was created to represent the Soviet Bloc (and that lasted 30 years!).

The Cold War was also the beginning of something called the “Red Scare”. The Red Scare was the increased fear of communist espionage. This was the era of the C.I.A and spies. The House of Un-American Activities committee (HUAC) had created a “Blacklist” to list all of the people suspected of being communist spies. This was the start of “McCarthiysm”, a term named after Senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy was notorious for his “Witch Hunt”. He would accuse people on the “Blacklist” of being communist spies without evidence and often ruined lives by doing so.

But there were still some good guys. Truman said, “America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.” In the end, the U.S ended up “winning” the Cold War, although it is very controversial among historians who really won the war. After it was over the reign of fear that included the Red Scare, the Witch Hunt and the Domino Theory, all caused by the rivalry, had finally ended. 

Current Event #3: Diplodocus longus dinosaur for sale. Yes, really.

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Scarlett Betancourt

10/15/13

Title: Diplodocus longus dinosaur for sale. Yes, really.

Newspaper: CNN

Ever wanted to own a dinosaur, even better an extremely rare Diplodocus longus? Well you’re in luck. The very first complete skeleton of a large dinosaur, goes by the name of “Mitsy”, is for sale in Europe. “Mitsy” was found in Wyoming, U.S. It took 9 weeks to get the complete skeleton out of the ground. The large skeleton is going to be sold next to Dodo bones, and fossilized Ichthyosaurus (Ichthyosaurus communis). They estimate that “Mitsy” is going to be sold for about £400,000 to £600,000 ($640,000 to 960,000). They say “Mitsy” was found in 2009 by Raimund Albersdoerfer’s sons, Jacob and Benjamin (11 and 14).

Mrs. Ballesteros’s believes that the Diplodocus Longus should not be up for sale but, instead put in a museum for public knowledge and was pleasantly surprised by the fact that two children found the skeleton. I don’t believe there was any bias in the article.

Research Report: The Great Depression

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“If I leave my mother, it will one less mouth to feed”. This is what Eugene Williams said at age 13 while suffering during the Great Depression. The stock market crash played a major part in triggering the Great Depression. It was one of the worst depressions the U.S had ever seen, which is why it had such a lasting effect on people both rich and poor. The Dust Bowl was also one of the tragedies in the 1930’s. However, the Hoover Dam was one way Herbert Hoover tried to get the U.S. out of the Great Depression. Yet it wasn’t enough, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the president that helped the U.S. out of the Great Depression, with a little help from WWII and a certain German dictator.

The stock market crash was the spark that started the Great Depression. The stock market crash took place on October, 29, 1929. A stock market is a way to buy a share of a company. 16.4 million shares were dropped that day. When stocks were in high demand it was called a ‘Bull Market’. When they were in a financial crisis it was called a ‘Bear Market’. The stocker brokers used the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The DJIA is a measure based on the stock prices of 30 major industrial companies. Stock Brokers were people who bought stocks for you. When you bought a stock on credit it was called margin. The stock market crashed because so many people were buying on margin. Buying on margin is bad because when people bought stocks on margin they usually couldn’t pay it back and banks went bankrupt.

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