Diwali - Hindu Festival of Lights

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/Photography/Images/POD/w/women-candles-mcnally-692015-lw.jpg

This picture was taken in Jaipur, India at the Hindu festival of lights. The Indian name for it is Diwali, and this picture is taken at the ancient palace in Jaipur. The festival celebrates good overcoming evil and knowledge over ignorance.

I chose this picture because I like the photography elements of it. There is an aesthetic appeal in the soft orange candle-light glow against the ornately adorned Indian palace. I also liked the color contrast between the warm pink and orange tones of both the women and the palace, compared with the cool blues of the early night sky and the palace floor.

I do not know if the clothes the women are wearing are particularly formal just for the festival, or if that is something that they would usually wear, but I think they are beautiful just the same.
I do wonder who else would be present at the palace for such an event as this. I wonder where the other guests were, or why there are only these tow women on what seems to be the roof-top of the palace.

Thoughts on Cuba's Travel Ban

Although the travel ban has existed for the last 46 years, and it has been difficult for the people of Cuba to make a living without the booming tourism industry, I do not feel that the travel ban should be lifted yet. The goal of the travel ban was to injure the country economically, so as not to financially support the communist government. I think that to give in now and to lift the ban, would only make things worse. It would begin to finance the government, and the suffering of the Cuban people would have been in vain, because it would only strengthen the government that is currently in place. I think that the travel ban should remain so long as the country is run by a communist government. I think that Christians in this day and age need to look past the monetary gains that could come from lifting the travel ban and remember the values that it had in the first place.

Similarly I think that companies who outsource labor to China, because it saves them money should also consider how it is financing their communist government. I think that Americans were all for the travel ban on Cuba, because it is so close to the United States, that they also felt it was a protection measure to keep their government weak. I think that when it comes to China, people are not as worried, because they are farther away.

However, if the travel ban is on Cuba because the United States is opposed to communist rule, as it should be, then why would we hold a double standard when it comes to China. Being from a Christian community here at Concordia, I think it is important that we encourage fellow believers in this country to be Christians first and Americans second, and to put away our greed to save as much money as possible, and consider how the world could improve if we held the same standards with all communist countries.

Current Event in Latin America

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1714490,00.html

This is article, "Is Mexico's Drug War Escalating?" discusses the recent developments in the drug war which is rampant throughout Mexico and much of Latin America. The focus in this article is about the recent bombings in Mexico that have injured pedestrians. They are currently unaware of who is behind the bombings, but it is suspected to be a new weapon used by the drug lords in this war, which is escalating between organized crime and the government.

World Mapper

This cartogram represents the Girls Who are Not in Primary School across the world. I selected this one, because my major is elementary education and I was interested to see what education opportunities were available to students across the globe. This map indicated that in North and South America and Western Europe girls have almost equal opportunities to attend primary school. However, in the Middle East, Middle and Northern Africa, and in parts of Eastern Europe, girls do not have the opportunity to attend primary school. This indicates a large cultural split in the world and a difference in gender roles between these two groups of continents. One sees that at least at the primary school age, it is important for both boys and girls to learn academic subjects, where as the other must feel that academic learning is not necessary for girls at all.

Population Pyramids

The first population pyramid is for Hungary during the year 2000. The second is for Haiti, also from the year 2000. Haiti was identified as a LDC (Least Developed Country) by the Committee for Development Policy based on a low Gross National Income (GNI), Human Assets Index (HAI), and the Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI) which includes the population size represented here in these pyramids.

Haiti's current per capita income is only $480 (according to Diversity Amid Globalization). Haiti is also among the poorest, if not the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and has a life expectancy of only 58 years of age. Due to Haiti's economic situation it's population pyramid is wider on the bottom and narrower at the top. The majority of Haiti's population is under age 20.

In contrast Hungary's population pyramid is narrower at the bottom and shows a couple baby booms, but it is for the most part more consistent on up through age 70. The text notes that Hungary was among the nations that made a successful economic transition as they have maintained strong ties with Western Europe. As the population pyramid indicates there seems to be a higher life expectancy for Hungarians, perhaps up to age 68 or 70. This could also indicate why their population is consistent across the age levels. Perhaps the people of Hungary have better access to health care, such as birth control or general care, which would increase their infant mortality rating.

Haiti's population pyramid is characteristic of most population pyramids for LDCs. Hungary's population pyramid, although having a few population spurts is somewhat characteristic of a MDC, with little to no population growth.