omar abdelfadel's blog

Letter

2010-04-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

Dear family, I’m in the western front in france and I want to talk to you how my daily life is in the trench and when I’m fighting.

Life here is very tough and tiring. I know that I don’t have the option to quit but I continue fighting for my country. In the trench, where I’m presently righting this letter, rats and other insects are invading the area causing numerus diseases to the soldiers. Luckily, I’m not one of these. Today, I fought with the Germans which were equipped with more sophisticated weapons than our army. Unfortunately, they forced us to recover back to our trenches. Each day, I keep thanking god for keeping me safe from troubles. Although our army is starting to loose hope in the war, I always believe in miracles to happen. I can’t wait to come back home and see you all.

Love you all

Progressive Thinker

2010-03-23T16:11:00.001-07:00

One of the main issues in Morocco is that new roads need to be constructed in order to have a better quality of transportation. Highways throughout all of Morocco need to be built in order to facilate the passage for the vehicles. If the highways are built, then Morocco will increase in all the domains including a very important part which is agriculture because the food could be transported easily to other areas of the country. For me to be a progressive thinker, I suggest to start this project and invest all the money possible for the good of the country. Although a huge amount of money will be lost, it can be gained in the future. This can also attract the tourists because they can get to visit different parts of the country easily. Every problem has a solution.
This is what I propose for the people in the government to start in Morocco. If they apply this plan, I think that it will be a great success.

Flow Chart

2010-03-22T12:07:00.000-07:00

Causes of Imperialism in US in the late 1800’s --> The three factors that started American imperialism were political and military competition, economic competition, and a belief in the racial and cultural superiority of people of Anglo-Saxon decent.

Examples of Imperialism in the US in the late 1800’s --> Some examples of imperialism in the US is that people from other areas came to the US and changed because of the Imperialism. In other words they changed because of others. This can be described of how imperialism effected the other people that moved to the US.

Effects of imperialism in US & other territories in the late 1800’s --> Imperialism helps a country in good and bad ways. All these ways are listed below.

Arguments for Imperialism --> Some pros for imperialism are that it industrializes smaller nations which help them boost their economy. Health centers are built over all the nations which then provide better health care. Schools are built which offers better education to the children. Transportation such as railroads, planes, boats is introduced to the country. Modern equipment for farming helps produce better food.

Arguments against Imperialism --> New cultures and religion that are being introduced to the nation are forced upon the people. Traditional cultures are not practiced any more by the people. Labor can be exaggerated by the imperialist.

Your opinion-editorial outline --> I am for imperialism because it helps a different nation improve in all the domains to have better ways of living. Without imperialism, the majority of the countries in the world might be poor. That is the main reason why I’m for imperialism.

Globalization

2010-02-10T09:49:00.000-08:00

The definition of the term globalization in my own words is the spreading of new companies and industries throughout the world. This can be a good thing because it increases the connnectivity of the markets and businesses. It also helps people know better about each other which then creates a links between these people. The internet, phones, and other electrical devices help the gobalization expand greatly throughout the world. This can be important because new busninesses may be established. The cons of globalization is that many people lost or fear to lose their job due to globaization. This is because of Companies are competing against each other. Another important con is that the corporate may seek control over the world because there is a lot of power which is handed to them during the globalization.

Dinamite PCs

2010-02-05T14:50:00.001-08:00

Name of the company: Dinamite PCs
Products of the company: Cheep computers that don’t last more than a year
Horizontal Nature of the company: Our markets are all around in the world. Places that are targeted are not where the richest people are. We mainly target the middle and low class who don’t like to spend a large amount of money for electronics because their chances of breaking are high. The issue is that there are no refunds, returns, or exchanges except if the product is defective.
Our first store will be in Morocco because the majority of the people are either from the middle class or from the low class. I know from personal experience that people in Morocco from the low and middle class want personal computers for the lowest price even if they are not the best quality. This will work especially in Morocco because there is a black market where people can fix their computers. We will plant other stores in France, Germany, Russia, China, and Brazil.
Another version of our computers only last one month but is of high quality. There computers will target rich people that want to use a portable computer for a month during their vacation or when they go to places like Las-Vegas to play in the casinos for a week. This computer will have everything a high quality apple computer has. The software will be the same as the one you would find in a stock apple computer, but this one will have installed antivirus.
Another type of people this product will target are spies and astronauts. These people want their data to be erased after a while. What this computer does is break after a month or when a code is correctly typed into a special area. When they break, the computer’s memory if completely erased without, leaving any trace of anyone ever being on it.
Vertical Nature of the Company: These computers will be completely built by machine so each factory will have its own sets of stores within the country, and it will produce depending on the demand. Each factory will have an estimated 5 stores in small poor countries, 20 to 50 stores within middle class counties, and estimated 70-130 stores within really wealthy or populated countries like china, The United States of America, and Canada. The factory will produce a lot of computer so no more than 5 factories will ever be needed, maybe one in each poor country we decide to target. The computers will be transported from the factory to the stores by our trucks, so this will not drain our wealth very much.
Energy: Energy usually means money. The employees of the stores will be paid by the stores from the profit the store makes, and the employees of the factory including the driver of the truck will be paid by the factory by what it gains. The factory will play the role of the manufacturer, in other words it will not give the computers to the stores for free. It will get paid by the stores as if they were an individual company.
Raw Materials: The materials used to create this computer are the same that are used to create every other computer. There will be metals and plastics. The factory part of the company will pay for this.
Labour: There are basic workers that are permanent at each location, and there are others that can come and go. The permanent employees at the factory, there should be a manager, chef of machinery. Other people such the people that sort the materials, count what there is, clean, use smaller machines, drive the trucks are not mandatorily needing to always be the same. At the store, the permanent employee is the manager. The others are just workers. Each location will pay for its own employees. The higher someone gets in rank and the more important he/she becomes, the higher their payment is the rule.
Government and Regulations: I think that governments will welcome this sort of business because it also get profits from taxes, makes their people work at our locations, and makes other people want to work to get a personal computer. I don’t believe there will be a problem there. Of course we will follow the rules of the country and not do any illegal activities, but if the rules are going to be a problem for our money because of for example too high taxes, then we will simply leave the country because we are there for business and to gain money and not to sell computers.
Profits: As I explained earlier each location will be responsible for its money and buying and selling its products. Let’s take a store for instance. It buys its computers from the factory, which is also ours, at $50, and spends $20 to sell it by paying employees, cleaning, and paying electricity, etc…, and sells them at $140. This is a $70 profit which is 100%.
When I give all the money that I burrowed in the first place, I’m going to spend a portion of the in helping other people. I will transfer thousands of dollars to hospitals in order to offer better medical care. This is important because it could save lives. Afterwards, I’m going to build wells in Africa in order for the people to have clean water. If I build these wells, I’m going to decrease the amount of sicknesses that dirty water provides. I’m also going to help some poor people that live in places where the economic activity is low. In these places, I will build small industries and try to reconstruct lands that can be farmed. There are many different ways of helping people, but not all of them could be used. This is important because you can be more and more respected by other people while you do all these important actions. This is why one of the primary priorities is to help others.

Industrial and Technological Revolution

2010-01-31T14:10:00.000-08:00

While I was talking to my family about the industrial and technological revolution in Morocco, I noticed that war may sometimes bring change to a country. After morocco was occupied by the French, the industrial revolution began. Many areas were starting to fill with projects such as building dams, railroads, and highways. Morocco also started to notice that its lands occupied vast areas of precious material that could be sold to other countries and therefore attract more and more immigrants. If further projects are applied, Morocco may easily reach the level of the developing countries because it is in the route of development.
Another important area in which Morocco has been working for years is technology. Technology can help the country to modernize in order to reach the level of the developing countries. Presently, Morocco is starting to host more and more stores in order to bring the technology from other countries. This is a major revolution because morocco can also create its own technological goods in order to export to other countries. A trade can be present between our nation and the outside world. We can conclude that technology is a major is major area in which our country will need to work on.

Socratic Seminar

2010-01-21T09:31:00.000-08:00

During our socratic seminar, everybody in the group took part of the conversation by dividing each question to a group of people. Each tim we had a new question, a group of people would center themselves in the middle of the class and be the core of the discussion. We discussed numerous topics such as the reconstruction and the economy of several countries. We also discussed one main current event that was the earthquake of Haiti. One of the main questions that followed this topic was about how Haiti could reover from this calamitous event. Overal, we all contributed to the discussion in order to receive ideas from students in the class.

Haiti's earhthquake

2010-01-21T09:21:00.000-08:00

This earthquake was one of the worst that the little island of Haiti could imagine. It caused billions of dollars of damages that left the people in search for food and water. This devasting earhtquake caused thousands of deaths in the capital of the city Port-au-Prince that was left in ruins. On the other hand, this event could cause the people to re-build their city better with the help of enternational countries.
On wendsday january 20 another earthquake stroke haiti with a force of 6.0 on the Richter scale. This could also caused other damages. Now, the only question that the people might be asking themselves is "what are we going to do?"

Conclusions to Successes and Failures of Reconstruction

2010-01-07T08:32:00.000-08:00

I disagree with "freedmen's bureau and other organizations help many black families obtain housing, jobs, and schooling". My reasons are because although they helped them, they weren't treated equally as the white families. Many other black families were unemployed and "remained caught in a cycle of poverty." Failures after the civil war were that there were the black codes, Jim Crow Laws, and many black families remained in sharecropping. The successes were were that all black people were free and people could choose who to be slave to if they were unemployed.

Definition and explanation of the following terms

2009-12-10T15:15:00.000-08:00

Johnsonʼs Reconstruction Plan: Johnson's reconstruction plan was to pass on a series of laws that helped the South. One of these laws is "It pardoned the southerners that swore allegiance to the Union." On the other hand, Lincoln reconstruction plan declared harsh laws upon the South. These couldn't be applied because he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.

Black Codes: "Black codes are laws that restricted freedmen's rights." These laws were very harsh. One of these stated" black people could not gather after sunset." Although they earned their freedom, they didn't dispose of it in a good way. This isn't fair because these black people fought in the war in order to earn their freedom but at the end a series of laws were placed upon them.

14th & 15th Amendment: The 14th amendment stated that all the people born in the United States are citizens of this nation. It also declared that "no state shall make or enforce any laws which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens." Another important part of this declaration is that the states can't take away life, liberty, or property from a citizen. This is important because this law finally stated the freedom of any race in the country.
The 15th amendment was declared from the black citizens of Nashville. The most important part of this amendment was "Why deny them the right to have a voice in the election of its rulers?" Although they gained their freedom, they weren't allowed to vote in the elections of its rulers. Later on, this 15th amendment was passed on to the constitution. It stated that all the citizens had the right to vote in the elections.

Radical Reconstruction: In the radical reconstruction, there were many people that had "a desire to prosper in the postwar South." During this event, there was a group called the radical republicans that were opposed to Johnson's reconstruction plan. So they decided to do their own.

Carpetbagger: The Northern Republicans who moved to the postwar in the South were known as carpetbaggers. This name was given by the South which criticized them. This was because the Northern Republican carried with them a cheap suitcase that was made from carpet scraps. The carpetbaggers were often known as greedy men that wanted power. This idea is thought false from the point of view of the historians because they think that they are honest and educated men.

Scalawgs: The Southerners had a name for white southern Republican. They were thought of scalawgs which is a scottish word. This term means that they are "scrawny cattle". Many of the scalawgs were former whigs who were often poor. Many of the southerner whites thought that the reconstruction government was incompetent. They were opposed to the power of the freedmen.

The end of the civil war

2009-12-08T10:23:00.000-08:00

The civil war finally ends. The South is in fury. The North celebrates as expected. In the South, all the lands are devastated and the people don’t know what to do. Houses are burned, many dead bodies are left behind, and people are starting to get hungry. During this war, many farmlands were destroyed leaving the people behind with nowhere else to plant their crops. Also, two thirds of the shipping industries were damaged. As for the soldiers, many of them are suffering from injuries and the rest are dead in the war. Their only hopes know is to flee for their lives.

Almost 38,000 African Americans were killed in this war. The rest that stayed alive are now located in a poor region in which the economic activity is slow. With this support we can say that they earned their freedom but not in a good way. Some of these people decided to continue working in the plantation of their master. Others thought in moving to cities and try to find jobs. In this war, these African American people were paid 7 dollars each month which was half the salary of a white soldier. What they cared the most about is fighting in order to earn their freedom. Some questions started to be stated about African Americans. One of them is “Now that the black southerners were free, would the races have equal rights? If so, how might those rights might be protected. If they earlier said that these people were free men, why do they need to ask themselves this question?

As for President Lincoln, he passed out his reconstruction plan in which many people were not pleased with. Right after, he got assassinated by John Wilkes. This gave the chance for the vice president Andrew Johnson to take over as President. He wrote his reconstruction plan in which he accorded many favors to the South. This was partially because he came from North Carolina which was a South state. Some of his ideas were that he “pardoned the southerners who swore allegiance to the Union. He permitted each state to hold a constitutional convention. He also stated that states were required to void secession, abolish slavery, and repudiate the confederate debt, and finally, states could then hold elections and rejoin the Union. These new ideas were not exactly the same as Lincoln’s ideas. Lincoln helped the South in some ways while Johnson helped the south in all the ways. Lincoln also mentioned a harsh law that stated that it denied pardons for any Southern person that killed an African American war prisoner.

Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Presidential Election 1860

2009-11-16T03:10:00.000-08:00

Compromise of 1850

There were several important issues in the compromise of 1850. These issues were:

- A vast territory has been gained by the United States. They are wondering if they should allow slavery in the land or set it free or that the citizens should choose.

- Should california be a free state.

- There was some kind of disbute over land where Texas declared that its lands streched till Santa Fe.

- Washington D.C allowed slavery. It was the largest slave market in North America.

There was a compromise where Texas was said to forget about the lands and in return be given 10 million dollars. California would be a free state. Slavery was another big problem because many blacks fled from the country to live in present day Canada.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

The Kansas-Nebraska act was when Kansas and Nebraska people had the right to allow slaves if they wanted. There were two groups: The pro-slavery which strongly recomended the slavery and the anti-slavery, which was against. Violence rose among these two groups of people in which the death toll increased. The elections that were held were won by the pro-slavery. After each election, the pro-slavery was attacked by the anti-slavery group in which violence arose. Before the civil war, Kansas became a free state.

Presidential Election 1860

The issues of the presidential elctions in 1860 was mostly slavery. In the elections, Lincoln needed to face Douglass, which was another man running for president. In 1859, Lincoln gave a speech in New York in which he denounced slavery. The speech was a big success. Lincoln wanted to ge the support of the Illinois delegation to the Republican National Convention. Eventually he got its support. Throughout the presidential election, Lincoln continued to get the support of more and more people. In the day of the elction, Lincoln got less than 40 percent of the votes but still won the elections.

Politics in Morocco

2009-11-12T07:45:00.000-08:00

Leaders of Morrocan Political parties welcomed the U.S. position over Morocco's autonomy leader. This happened on saturday where the main topic was mostly about the Sahara issues which lasted more than 300 hundred years. When Hillary clinton last visited Morocco, she stated that morocco's autonomy leader for the Sahara desert is mostly "serious" or "credible". Moroccan leaders such as Thami Khyari or Ismail Alaoui stated that this is a clear message to the enemies that wish to see a change on the U.S. position.

Compromising

2009-11-10T09:09:00.000-08:00

Compromise could not work in a teenager's life when someone is asked to dring alcohol. This drinkable substance is not allowed in the muslim religion for whatever reason. An example is if someone asks you to drink alcohol against 1 million dollars, the muslim person will need to decline this offer. If he accepts, he just would brake a muslim statement.

Compromise could not work in an international political situation when a national leader is asked to leave his post in return for leading another nation. This could also not work because it isn't right to leave his or her nation back to govern another country. It is like leaving our family behind.

Where I would like to immigrate to after my university studies

2009-11-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

When I finish my university studies, I would like to migrate to the United States of America because it has a very developed economy. There are many jobs there that are not present in other countries. In my case, I would like to start with engineering and continue my career with business. Another reason why I would like to migrate in the U.S.A is because the people are free to express what they want. Back when there was the American Revolution, people hadn't lots of rights like today. When the British colonized their lands, the Americans needed to accept the harsh laws imposed by them for example taxes.

Questions about the reading

2009-10-28T06:57:00.000-07:00

1) Describe the debate over the nature of government. Compare the viewpoints of
Jefferson vs Hamilton.

The debate on the proper role of government continued when the Americans won their new constitution and new government. It even continued through Washington's administration. Hamilton thought that the government needed to develop the American economy. He didn't care much about the people that lived in this country. The only problem was that the government still had a depth of nearly 75 million dollars. In order for him to find the money to pay the depth, he decided to set 2 new taxes that were based on importing goods and Whiskey taxes. The government accepted this idea wisely. On the other hand, Thomas Jefferson was the one that most opposed Hamilton's point of views. He believed in the idea of strict construction that was based on using the power of the constitution. Hamilton's idea was different. He believed in a loose construction in which the government could use some of the "powers of the constitution as to do many things as long as they were not expressly prohibited by the constitution." pg.90

2) What is a political party?

A political party is a group of people who seek to win elections and hold public office in order to control government policy and programs." pg 91

3) Describe John Adams presidency. What were some of the difficulties he faced?

John Adams was a leader in the American Revolution. During his presidency he didn't acknowledge the same talent as George Washington. This was normal because he had a small nation between his hands that still was in the form of development. Some difficulties that he faced were the French that wanted to

declare war. This was because the Americans signed the Jay's Treaty with the British. In order to express their anger towards the Americans, the French began to seize their ships that were placed in their harbor. In order to find a solution to this problem, John Adams decided to send some people to negotiate with the French.

4) Outline the key events of Jefferson’s presidency.

Thomas Jefferson acted in a democratic way. He had an excellent start in his presidency in which he bought Louisiana from the French. It was half the size of the American Nation. One thing that he failed to do was limit the federal courts. The second term didn't go as smoothly as the first. He left the office in the year of 1809.

Definitions and their ranking

2009-09-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

(Some words are taken from the real dictionary definition)

Natural Rights: It is the term used to explain the rights of humans. Freedom is one part of this word that demonstrates the equality of every human. Natural rights cannot be taken away from any other human except yourself.

A Right of Self Determination: Is when a person has free choices in which they can determine their political status.

Right to Revolution: It is when a group of people has the right to try to overthrow a government.

Popular Sovereignty: This term is used when the government is created by the people.

Social Contract: Is an agreement among an organized society or among the government stating in limiting the rights of a person.

Migration From Morocco, where they go, and who is migrating from it

2009-09-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

Different reasons why Moroccans migrate from Morocco are that they can't find a good and suitable job in their home country. They think that migrating would bring them a better life and fortune. The only problem is that some migrating people could not find a good job in the other countries and have a miserable life. Other reasons why people migrate is for their school work. When they graduate from school, they got to find a good english University in order to extend their work. Only one known university is found in Morocco which is located in Ifrane.

When people migrate they usually go in Europe. Only 9 percent of the migrating people go in North America in which the remaining are found in Spain, France, and Italy. I once saw in the news that their are almost 1 millions Moroccans living in Spain, making it the most popular country for Moroccan Migration. I also noticed that most of the migrating car identities come from Spain.

Some people that have industrial work can migrate from Morocco for a year or two in order to establish some company businesses in other countries. Also, some soccer players that would like to play in other countries migrate. Finally, teachers that would like to teach in other countries and know a little bit of other cultures migrate.

Effects of Colonization in Morocco

2009-09-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

In the past, many countries tried to control morocco such as Spain. Although it was very powerful, Morocco was helped by two nearby countries named today as France and England. This was not because they liked Morocco so much, it was because they didn't want Spain to gain power after they seized this country. Although all these three countries were unified, Spain wanted to leave the lands but in one condition; that Morocco would pay some money. Morocco accepted with the help of England and France that leant them millions and millions of dirhams. With the rise of the economy in Morocco, they were able to repay them back. The only problem that is still left today is, that Spain still fishes in the coasts of Morocco, therefore decreasing the amount of fish left. Someday this fish might be extinct and the economy of Morocco would fall. Lets just hope that these two countries would remain in peace and resolve all these problems.

Why Study History?

2009-09-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

I think that history helps us know better about the ancient people that lived in our society. It helps us know some interesting facts about them and the way that these people lived without any technology in which the people of today would barely imagine. History helps us have a clear idea of the different methods these people shared for example irrigation methods which were a great use to them and is also used by present-day people. History affects society as a whole because it helps us sometimes invent knew technologies. Without the history, people wouldn't have a great role in today's life. History affects me as an individual because I wouldn't have lots of objects if the ancient people didn't find the correct substances to from the object.. I'm very thankful for this.

Bomb seized by the army

2009-09-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

The bomb is believed to have been planted in the ground by a dissident rebublican in northern ireland. The police say that it would of caused big damages. This bomb is said to be the clue to kill several policeman. How did they find the bomb? Easy, it had a command wire that was visible to the ground and from that they noticed that it was the bomb today. The army made safe the 600 pound device from explosing and murdering several people. It contained fertiliser-based homemade explosives that has finally been removed from it.

"I challenge those who have planted this bomb in the community to come forward and explain why they have done so? How is this furthering the struggle for Irish freedom?" This sentence was said by Dominic Bradley who also questioned the police. The terrosist still is unknown but a power of courage would make him explain himself on this dangerous crime.

Skills that my parents shared with me.

2009-09-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

The first skill that my father shared with me is that he needs to have the authority on the family. The second skill is that he needs to manage his effort to do his work in the best ways. The third and final skill is to raise his children (me, my brother, and my sister) in the respect of others.

5 reasons why blogging is such an important tool.

2009-09-04T10:39:00.000-07:00

1) I think students should blog because there is no longer a teacher that can see all our work but the whole audience. I can share with them my point of views and they can give me feedback on my ideas.

2) The second reason is that homework will be easier typing than writing by hand. Some people may disagree with this idea but that's what I personally thing.

3) People can write comments over my work in different hours of the day. This is really important because if I agree on something, I may change some of the work.

4) One of the most important reasons is that my parents can know what I'm doing in school and try to help me if I have troubles.
5) The last reason is that my work can be easily accessed in all times.

All about me

2009-09-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is omar abdelfadel and I'm in
9th grade in the Casablanca American Shool.
I lived in morocco all my life and I like it here.

Some of my best sports are soccer, basketball,
and tennis. I really like these sports because
thay are very fun.

My favorite foods are pizza and burgers and
others.

My goal this year is to have very good
grades in my classes. I'm willing to work very
hard to achieve what I expect of myself. My
other goals are to complete some sports
in the varsity team. I'm really certain that
I have the ability to accomplish this.