FUN FACT FRIDAY!

Bethel, Alaska, is home to the most taxi cabs per capita. 66 cabs serve 6,000 people. That's 11 cabs for every 1,000 people.

Turmoil in Ukraine Poses Future Threat to United States

The current turmoil in Ukraine poses a grave threat to the United States in the future. A weak Ukraine is subject to Russian influence, which has been spreading quickly throughout the Middle East, the Baltic States, and the Balkan Peninsula. Russia already manipulates Belarus near the Baltic Coast. The civil war that is ravaging Syria has brought Iran and Russia into a near alliance, not to mention the amount of influence that alliance has in Syria.  If the United States continues to become less involved in Egypt and its popularity there continues to dwindle, Russia could jump in and gain influence in Egypt, especially with a new set of elections in Egypt on the horizon. That would surround one of the United States' greatest allies, Israel, by a nation that has not necessarily been very helpful to the United States recently.

First and foremost, Russia spurned the United States by refusing to turn over Edward Snowden after he caused a "blizzard" of reaction in the United States. President Obama sought to have Snowden return to the United States as a traitor, but Russia refused to deliver him to the United States. Russia and the United States oppose each other on the crisis in Syria, causing many problems. Russia backs the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad who has been found to use chemical weaponry against his own people. (Let's hope Ukraine never comes to that...) And, with the uneasy relationship heading into a Winter Olympics that has questionable security (so much so that the United States has two warships in the Black Sea ready to extract American citizens at a moment's notice), who knows what Russia will do next?

Increasing its sphere of influence is nothing new to Russia and the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin was given the task of rebuilding Eastern European governments after World War Two. Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt told him to set up free elections in those nations. Instead, Stalin set up elections where only communists were permitted to run for office. Thus, Stalin effected increased the sphere of influence when these nations were at their weakest. While never incorporated into the Soviet Union, these Warsaw Pact nations were puppets. In fact, when communism was threatened by a people's revolt in 1956 (Hungary) and 1968 (Czechoslovakia - the Prague Spring), the Soviet Union sent in troops to smash the protests. These revolts prompted the Brezhnev Doctrine which stated that the Soviet Union could intervene to protect communism in any communist nation.

Ultimately, I hope that Ukraine becomes stable and pro-Western, but I fear that Russia will sneak in and make another puppet state. The United States does not need another Cold War.

Ukraine's Prime Minister Resigns Amid Turmoil

Ukraine's prime minister turned in his resignation today before a session of parliament that Ukraine's protesters have called "Judgement Day." Mykola Azarov resigned amid turmoil where protesters have been calling for Ukraine's president, Viktor Yanukovych, to resign. Instead, Yanukovych has offered the position of prime minister to a leader of the opposition but also has been turned down twice.

At that session of parliament, they repealed the anti-protest laws that caused an escalation in the demonstrations.

Ukraine's Justice Minister Threatens State of Emergency

Last night, Ukrainian protestors seized the Ministry of Justice's building, prompting the nation's justice minister to threaten a state of emergency. The Ministry of Justice is the fourth building that has been seized by the protesters. Kiev's city hall is among the other three. The parliament is set to meet on Tuesday which has been called by the protesters as "Judgement Day." President Yanukovych also decided on Monday to get rid of the anti-protest law that heated up the protests. An important dispute between the two sides is amnesty for prisoners. Yanukovych says that he can only promise that if protesters stop occupying buildings and ditch the tent city in Kiev.

The turmoil in Ukraine began in December when Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych decided to strengthen ties with Russia rather than the European Union. The protestors originally called for new elections in Parliament, but recently have called for Yanukovych's resignation. Yanukovych offered the prime minister-ship to an opposition leader, but the offer was turned down.

UPDATE on "Crisis in Kiev"

Violent riots in Ukraine over a dispute with the president, Viktor Yanukovych, are spreading to the countryside. The opposition has warned Yanukovych that the only way to end the violence is through is resignation. However, the Yanukovych didn't go that far. He announced on January 21 that he would make changes to his Cabinet, grant amnesty to some jailed rebels, and ease laws aimed to diffusing the protests. The opposition is still calling for Yanukovych's resignation. Instead, Yanukovych offered the job of prime minister to one of the opposition's leaders, Arseniy Yatsenyuk. However, Yatsenyuk replied to the offer with a resounding NO, so protests will continue.

This should worry the United States. A weak Ukraine could be subject to Russian influence which has already spread into Syria and Iran with the possibility of Egypt as well.

World's Newest Nation on Verge of a Civil War

South Sudan has been a nation for only a couple years now, but that's enough time to start a civil war. The current president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, recently accused a former vice president of planning a coup, igniting cultural conflicts between to two. Rebels have since been fighting government forces. The two groups are still at odds, but there is hope. Both sides met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, earlier this month.

The American Civil War

The American Civil War has its roots in the long-time section divides of the nation. The awkward discussion of slavery at the Constitutional Convention (because how could a nation that declares that "all men are created equal" support slavery?) led to the even more awkward 3/5's Compromise which stated that a slave is counted as 3/5 of a person. Disagreements between North and South continued to grow, even getting to the point where whole political parties were formed on the issue of slavery. (The Free Soil and Republican parties were created to combat the extension of slavery.)

In the Election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln won the presidency over three other candidates: Stephen Douglas, a Democrat; John Breckenridge, another Democrat; and John Bell, a Constitutional Unionist. (Douglas irked slaveryites with his Freeport Doctrine, so the Southern Democrats nominated Breckenridge and the Northern Democrats nominated Douglas.) Soon afterward, South Carolina seceded from the Union. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed. These states begin to seize federal land, including military forts. Fort Sumter's Union troops were short on supplies in April of 1861, so Lincoln decides, rather strategically, to send in non-military supplies like food and clothing. Well, South Carolina decides to start bombing the fort, giving Lincoln and the Union a cause for war.

After Fort Sumter, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina secede, trying to get Kentucky to join them. Kentucky is strategically located on both the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and would have been valuable to the South. Luckily for the nation, Kentucky chose to remain in the Union. Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware also chose to remain in the Union. West Virginia chose to secede from Virginia following that state's secession. Each of these states were slave states and are collectively known as "Border States".

The first major battle was Bull Run, in Virginia. The Union, who anticipated a quick victory, was surprised at how easily the South handled the Union troops. In fact, the South dominated the early part of the war and attempted an invasion in 1862. However, it was stopped at Antietam, the bloodiest day in American war history. The South did continue winning in Virginia nonetheless. Following Antietam, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) which changed the face of the war. Previously, Lincoln had promised to leave slavery alone where it existed. But by freeing the slaves in only the rebelling areas, the war was now a moral cause for the North. Also, it dissuaded France and Britain from intervening on behalf of the South because both had already abolished slavery, so intervention would demonstrate support for the "peculiar institution."

The South attempted another invasion in 1863 and met Union forces at Gettysburg. After three days, the South was defeated. This marked the furthest north Confederate troops traveled.

Now, the Mississippi River was another story. Winfield Scott (Old Fuss and Feathers) devised the Anaconda Plan which was based on the theory of divide and conquer. Ulysses S. Grant was sent out West to execute the Anaconda Plan and found great success. Vicksburg fell in 1863 followed by Mobile Bay (General David Farragut) in 1864. General William Tecumseh Sherman captured Atlanta in 1864 and started his famous "March to the Sea" burning an entire state.

The fall of Atlanta was key politically as well. Lincoln was facing reelection in 1864 and was not faring too well. Copperheads and Peace Democrats (both factions of Democrats) hated the war and Lincoln's involvement. The fall of Atlanta and the Republicans' coalition with the War Democrats helped Lincoln defeat George McClellan for the presidency, saving the Union.

Seeing Grant's triumphs in the West, Lincoln moved Grant to the Virginia Army to combat Lee where Grant was ultimately successful. Grant made one blunder at Cold Harbor where soldiers went into battle with their names pinned to their backs for identification. In Washington, DC, Lincoln is pushing for the passage of the 13th Amendment which freed the slaves. In order to get conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives to vote for the amendment, Lincoln had to pretend to be open to negotiating peace with the South. The amendment passed the House on January 31, 1865, and Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9 of the same year at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. The war was over, but Lincoln couldn't see the Reconstruction as he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 13, 1865.

Olympic National Park

• Olympic National Park is located in coastal Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula
• Founded 6/29/1938
• Covers 9222,000 acres
• 3 Types of Ecosystems
  • Subalpine Forest
  • Temperate Forest
  • Pacific Shore
• Olympic National Park is encircled by the Olympic Mountains and contoured by 13 rivers
• 1920's: Mountain goats are introduced to Olympic National Park but they damaged the meadows of the park
• Open year-round
  • Skiing is available in the winter
  • Summer has cool temperatures and rain
• Attractions
  • Shi Shi Beach
  • Lake Crescent
  • Sol Duc Hot Springs
  • Capo Alava
  • Hoh Rain Forest
  • Ozette
  • Quinault
  • Rialto Beach
  • Wedding Rocks
  • Yellow Banks
  • Hole-in-the-Wall

Ancient Seawater Found... In America

Scientists have recently discovered an area of ancient, salty seawater near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The patch of seawater was discovered in an attempt to map a freshwater aquifer 5,000 feet below the sea's surface. It has been trapped for as long as the earth has been dinosaur-less which gives proof that the Atlantic Ocean was once more salty than it currently is. Scientists are able to tell the age of the water by measuring the amount of helium in the water. (This helium is released as uranium decays.) When the water became trapped (about 100 million years ago) the Atlantic Ocean was much smaller and thus had a higher concentration of salt.

UPDATE: The United Nations Changes Name of Cape Verde

The United Nations has announced the change of the name of the nation formerly known as Cape Verde. The nation previously translated "cape" into the speaker's language. The original and current name is Cabo Verde which is in the Portuguese. Portugal first colonized Cabo Verde in 1444.

New Drone Testing Sites

The Federal Aviation Administration announced the testing sites for the controversial drone program. The sites, which can be seen on the map below, are Alaska, Nevada, Texas, North Dakota, Virginia, and New York. The sites were chosen from proposals from 24 states and represent the various climate zones in the United States. The drone program has come under fire from both Democrats and Republicans claiming that the presence of drones takes away the privacy of Americans. Let us know if you would want drones in your state!

NEW GEOGRAPHY GAME!!!!

Recently, I discovered a new geography-themed game called Cropland Capture. The premise of the game is to be able to identify whether a satellite image that you are shown is cropland or not. Your score is the number of square kilometers of cropland that you can identify.

See if you can find a size of cropland larger than the Virgin Islands!