Progress towards the Millennium Development Goals

Ku Klux Klan OK, WikiLeaks NOT OK!

If you want to donate money to the KKK, through its political branch the Knights Party you can do so using your Master Card. However, it is no longer possible to use the Master Card trying to donate money to WikiLeaks. This must mean that the WikiLeaks is more dangerours than the KKK! I've always been afraid of the computer geeks... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/YeWight/swiss-cut-off-bank-accoun_n_792542_69908418.html

Land grabbing - neo-colonialism in Africa

I remember listening to a programme on P1 approximately 3 years ago when there was a new food crisis worldwide, riots in Haiti and Cameroon among others. I especially remember this interview because the person (don't remember who it was) claimed that there was actually a silver lining here. The need for food and biofuel and increasing oil prices worldwide could lead to increased and improved farming in Africa. That farmers in Africa finally would get paid for what they produced. And then I read this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/07/food-water-africa-land-grab & also in DN http://www.dn.se/ekonomi/kontinent-till-salu-1.1213018

Land grabbing is when foreign companies, mainly Gulf States (Saudi, Qatar, Dubai...) and China move in and buy or lease large amount of agricultural land in Africa and by doing so are causing massive displacement of small farmers, with little or no compensation for the land they've lost.

Ethiopia (what a shocker) is one of the countries where much of the land grabbing is take place, very often at a very low cost for foreign investors. A country where millions are dependent on food aid sell off some of their best agricultural land. The Government in Ethiopia claims that it is a good deal since foreign direct investment and job opportunities are increasing. But couldn't the land be more wisely used, especially considering the water and food scarcity that will be the result of global warming?

Gentrification and redevelopment in Beirut...

....might be destroying the soul of Beirut. I was Beirut in 2002 and was stunned by the beauty of the rugged city. The only part that didn't impress me was the Solidere, the refurbished old town of Beirut. The city was in ruins after the war, and of course needed to be rebuilt, but the way that Solidere was rebuilt felt fake. In this article in Newsweek http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/29/the-battle-over-turning-beirut-into-the-next-dubai.html# the author expressed a concern that Beirut was planning on becoming the Dubai of the Mediterranean, tearing down the remaining historical buildings of the city. The refurbishment of old run-down buildings is called gentrification (or urban renewal). It has been proven to be a delicate task to refurbish old areas so that it keeps it original status. There are both social and economic issues that needs to be adressed, one of these is the relocation of the low class/poorer population that can't pay for the higher rents in the neighbourhood. Should poor people be able to live anywhere?

Phosphorus running out

The reason behind the incredible increase in food production across the planet is dependent on fertilizers. The problem is that phosphorus are running out, reserves only found in Morocco and China are diminishing rapidly as the demand is increasing.
How do find any good news here!? Maybe that the phosphorus is creating pollution and eutrophication in our oceans and lakes, so I decrease in the use could be good news for the environment (but bad for starving people....)

Slum tourism - good or bad (for IB08)

Next topic is settlements, and to connect with the previous tourism topic, here's a task that I would like to have a look at. Especially important since a Swedish woman was murdered in a slum just recently. She and her husband went into a Township at night, she was abducted and murdered.

It is becoming increasingly common and popular to take guided tours through slums, especially in Cape Town, Joburg, Rio, Nairobi and Bombay. The aim is to bring in tourism revenue and enhance the situation for the population of the slums. Read this article and discuss if slum tourism is good or a bad thing! http://www.victoriasafaris.com/kenyatours/kiberaslumtours.htm

Very good, and highly disturbing article on Berlusconi...

...and his terribly sexist view on women. Discusses inequity issues on highest levels in Italy and the reasons for why Italian women have fewer and fewer kids. As always, interesting when Kristina Kappelin writes about Italy. http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/berlusconi-och-kvinnorna-1.1208142

A very good wiki on gender inequality in Bangladesh

http://www.wikigender.org/index.php/Gender_Equality_in_Bangladesh Here you can find articles from a wide variety of countries (on gender issues) http://www.wikigender.org/index.php/Most_popular_articles

The lazy person's guide to eco-friendliness

Quite often it seems like a hassle to go green, that we think it is time or money consuming to be environmentally friendly. This article from Newsweek tells us differently... http://www.newsweek.com/2010/11/08/the-lazy-person-s-guide-to-being-ecofriendly.html

The 50 cent Burger you have at McDonald's really costs $200 Burger

Heard an interview on the radio and read about the author Jonathan Safran Foer, that just released a book called "Eating Animals" http://www.progressivereader.com/?p=59606 where he claims that meat industry is the number on cost of global warming. He also states that the very cheap burgers we eat, see above, have such an immense carbon footprint that it really cost 200 dollars. I had a similar experience a few weeks ago when I bought 4 t-shirts at HM for 200 SEK, which is the same amount that I payed for a t-shirt in the local market in Koh Lanta. I guess it's true what they say, nothing is for free!

Why teachers drink!

It's a must see! http://theforexmom.com/why-teachers-drink/?ref=nf

Life expectancy well explained by Hans Rosling

Read through this power point on life expectancy and will get a better understanding of what it is. http://www.gapminder.org/downloads/life-expectancy-ppt/ It will show you that not everyone in Sweden lives 31 years longer than in Burundi, and why this is not the case (because the infant- and child mortality is so high)

The importance of Geography - couldn't have said it any better!

Michael Palin, the very famous Monty Python comedian, and around-the-world traveller explains the importance of Geography:

"But then geography is the most up to date of subjects. It is renewing itself 24 hours a day, perhaps the only subject in a state of constant change. Hectic maybe for teachers, but what a wealth of material on offer. Ash clouds closing airports, oil leaks polluting oceans and the life-giving River Indus killing thousands; major traumas which we look to geographers to explain."
Thanks to them (the teachers) geography remains for me the freshest and most exciting of subjects. Geography is about understanding our world. It illuminates the past, explains the present and prepares us for the future. What could be more important than that?" http://www.atl.org.uk/publications-and-resources/report/report-2010/final-word-michael-palin.asp 
 

Ecotourism (sustainable tourism) pros and cons - IB08

I found a very good piece of work on the pros and the cons of ecotourism. It is easy to believe that every consequence of ecotourism is a positive one, but it's never as simple as that. This case study, from an ecotourism project in Costa Rica, is a very good summary of many of the pros and the cons of ecotourism.

It discusses the pros, including trips that are an alternative to environmentally damaging trips, and that it encourages conservation efforts and limit the effects of leakage and many others.

On the other hand, it also discusses the cons including the fact that ecotourism is growing fast, and that certain areas are experiencing visitor overcapacity, greenwashing (false marketing) and of course a certain degree of leakage is impossible to prevent.  http://www1.american.edu/ted/costa-rica-tourism.htm

If would like IB08s to read this article and summarizing the different pros and cons of ecotourism.

Vem äger världshaven?

Hi! There was an interesting (but depressive) documentary on issues that we've discussed. On "Korrespondenterna" there was a documentary called "Vem äger världshaven?", on topics such as the border dispute between China and Japan, the "slicing" up of the Arctic, overfishing and the Apo Reef. As you notice, all things that we've covered. http://svtplay.se/t/103500/korrespondenterna Watch it! It's a very good update & revision!

Gender inequity in MEDCs

When teaching and learning about gender issues, the focus is quite often on LEDCs and emerging economies, where of course the situation for women is the worse. But the situation in MEDCs are far from perfect. The health  and educational inequalities have been wiped out, but there are other areas where the inequalities remains. I would like IB09 to read this article on gender issues from Newsweek http://www.newsweek.com/2010/03/08/what-ever-happened-to-the-gender-gap.html and answer the following questions:

1. In what areas have women caught up? (Give specific examples)
2. In what areas are women still lagging behind (especially in the corporate world)? Give specific examples.
3. Why isn't the "Gender Gap" closing?
4. What would it mean to economy (GDP) of the US to close the gender gap in income?

Will discuss these questions next week on Wednesday.

Our Endangered Planet - 100 places to see before they disappear

These sites are all endangered and at risk of destruction, mainly due to global warming. So go there quickly before they're all lost to the sea, see as many as you possibly can. http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/100-places-to-remember.html

The Nail House now a popular computer game...

I don't know if you remember, but in 2007 Yang Wu and his wife became a symbol for protesters on the demolition spree that is taking place in China. As you can see, he refused to give up his house for developers even though they dug around his entire house and shut off the water and electricity. He even refused a deal that would give him the equivalent of 3,5 Million kronor. Finally he and his wife gave up, and were forced to sell their house anyway (they were compensated, how much is not known) - and the house was torn down. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/a-chinese-mans-home-is-his-castle-kung-fu-master-keeps-bailiffs-at-bay-in-the-siege-of-chongqing-442550.html

He was called the nail because the government was trying to pin him down, but he was very reluctant to give up. Now there is an online game that is based on the story of Yang Wu's struggle against the authorities. Apparently a very popular one, you can use slingshots and sticks to protect your property. After a while though, the player realises that it's a no-win game, the authorities always wins at the end - just like in real life. But you have to admit that it is refreshing that some one is taking fight! http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90782/90872/7141775.html

Lonely Planet - any city!

Sorry for the few days of inactivity, been busy outside, enjoying the beautiful autumn days! The Travel Guide, there's no one nearly as influential as the Lonely Planet, is a good start when discovering tourist attractions for "your" cities. Every backpacker with self respect uses and lives by the Lonely Planet. However, quite often too many use the guidebook and everyone follows the same route. But it is a very good guide... http://www.lonelyplanet.com/

Island states better than mainland Africa

Read a really interesting article in the Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/05/africa-ibrahim-index-governments about a development index called the Ibrahim Index. It was "invented" by a wealthy businessman and philantropist called Mo Ibrahim, that wanted to keep track of the development in the African states in a better way. The index, which is a multi-component index, measure indicators such as safety and security, participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity and human development.

The report 2009 (haven't found any info on 2010) shows that it is the Island States that performs best in the index. Mauritus is topping the chart, ahead of the Cape Verde and the Seychelles with the first mainland country, Botswana in 4th place and South Africa in the 5th.
The worst perfomer - no surprise here - is Somalia, way behind even the other bad performing countries. (Chad 2nd & Zimbabwe 3rd from the bottom)

Child soldiers in Sudan

Film from the Guardian that looks at the situation for the 10 000 child soldiers in the horrible conflict in Darfur. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2009/mar/04/sudan-child-soldiers

Sudan splitting up in two, North and South

There is a risk of further bloodshed in Sudan in the months to come. The southern parts of Sudan, which has been at war with the North and the Government of Khartoum, is staging a referendum to declare independence from the rest of Sudan. There seems to be no indication that a vote would lead to that the South will stay in the Republic, they will probably try to break lose.
The million dollar question is of course if  President Bashir (North) is going to allow for this to happen. The oil, the main income to the impoverised country, is in the South. Sudan is currently providing China with substantial amounts of oil.
There has been evidence of troop movements in the "border" regions in the last few days, and obvious risks that Bashir is trying to force South to stay within the Republic. Will he risk a new war? There was also a clash in Khartoum between the groups just recently.

While this conflict is not directly involving Darfur, there is of course risk that fightings will spill over into that region as well. There is a very fragile peace treaty in Darfur, which is constantly violated. Read more about the issue here: http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-09-22-international-fears-of-violent-breakup-sudan

Dengue fever and Malaria in Europe!

The first report of mosquito transmitted Dengue fever has been reported in the mainland of France. One of the strings of this disease causes internal bleeding and can lead to death. http://vaccinenewsdaily.com/news/215544-france-reports-first-mainland-case-of-dengue-fever

I heard a scientist on the radio saying that in the future, the southern parts of Sweden will probably experience mosquitos carrying malaria, thanks to global warming. The mosquitos survive on higher and higher latitudes and altitudes, and cities like Nairobi is now threatened by malaria. She also concluded that the only risk wasn't the global warming, thanks to the increase in worldwide long-haul tourism, diseases are spread around the world in a rate never experienced before.
I also read a very interesting article in DN Debatt that was related to this topic, especially global warming. Mikael Karlsson, ordförande Naturskyddsföreningen, concludes that the threats to biodiversity is not only an environmental issue, but very much also an economical one. In short he says that the Swedish welfare (and any welfare for that matter) is extremely dependent on having a wide variety of species:
Förutom mat, energi, fibrer och andra varor som har ett marknadspris, bjuder ekosystemen mänskligheten på en lång rad värdefulla tjänster. Mediciner, rening av vatten och luft, cirkulering av näring, nedbrytning av avfall, skydd mot UV-strålning, stabilt klimat, rika jordar och möjligheter till rekreation och upplevelser är några bland många ekosystemtjänster som naturen ger... Utan åtgärder riskerar förlusterna av enbart landbaserad biologisk mångfald motsvara sju procent av global BNP vid år 2050. http://www.dn.se/debatt/sverige-maste-hjalpa-eu-stoppa-kriget-mot-naturen-1.1186171

That could be thing that makes governments and companies bring about the changes that are needed. When the wallet hurts, that's when they tend to take action!

Mamma Mia!

First homework assignment on the blog/facebook for IB08! Read these two articles on the consequences of Mamma Mia on the Greek Island of Skopelos, and decide if the film was good or bad for the island. Think about the socio-cultural, environmental and economic consequences of the tourism invasion that followed from the film.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1203536/Mamma-Mia-How-feelgood-movie-2008-ruined-Greek-paradise-island-Skopelos.html & http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/dec/20/mamma-mia-greek-island-money

More travel porn...

While we're on the subject, 50 travel writers/journalists remember their best trips, and they should know what they're talking about. http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/nov/28/50-ultimate-travel-experiences-sites

Travel porn from the Maldives

If you're looking forward to the winter and think that Sweden in the winter is quite a swell place really, have a look at these photos. I rest my case... http://beautifulplacestovisit.com/islands/maldives/

EU helping Libya to stop immigrants

The EU is providing Libya with 50 million Euros in order to stop the illegal immigration into the EU from Libya, which is an important transit-country from immigrants. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20101006/local/libya-eu-reach-milestone-agreement-to-stem-migration

This is disturbing in many ways. First, that Libya is blackmailing EU in order to stop the migrants. Secondly, and more important, that the EU is closing its borders for people that desperately needs our assistance. Third, giving people smugglers/ traffickers an ability to make even more money out of the desperate migrants and finally, EU is then responsible for migrants ending up in makeshift refugee camps in Libya under terrible conditions. See article from Humans Right Watch: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2006/09/12/libya-migrants-abused-europe-turns-blind-eye

China handing out aid to the EU

China has promised to buy bonds in order to stabilize the Greek economy. China holds unpresedented political and financial clout, to the extent that they are bailing out both the US and the EU. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6069926,00.html

There are two sides of the coin though. What will happen is that the value of the Euro to the Yuan will increase even further, making it even cheaper to buy Chinese goods, hence disrupting manufacturing in Europe even further. The value of the yuan is already artificially low since the Chinese government wants it that way - remember they're the factory of the World.

Camino del Rey - extreme tourism

Here's the youtube clip that I showed earlier from the Camino del Rey, the world's most dangerous hike, and a good example of how tourists push the boundaries. The more extreme and more remote the better. There's a very strong hierarchy among backpackers for instance, the more remote, the less you spent, the more native you've gone the better. Explorer tourists and adventure tourists are most often the ones the discover new and un-chartered tourist destinations. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmDhRvvs5Xw

To travel is very important for more and more people. Especially for a majority of people in highly economically developed countries, but even so in emerging economies such as China and India. When you get to the stage of not merely surviving and getting food and clothes you want to broaden your perspectives. I agree with Robert Louis Stevenson who said "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."

The best travel author, according to me is Bruce Chatwin. Especially his book on Australia (Drömspår).

Amazing travel link...

Forbes writes the most amazing travel pieces found on the net, very remote and luxurious http://search.forbes.com/search/sectionSearch?section=Travel But if you want to look at beautiful pictures and dream away, then Forbes is difficult to beat.

Usama Bin Laden going green...

I'm starting to change my views on the fellow, I knew he was an Arsenal supporter, and now this! Makes me wonder if his views on global warming is changing his everyday life. Molotov-cocktails from recycled bottles, filling up his Jeep with ethanol, solar panels instead of diesel generators in his cave. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jan/29/osama-bin-laden-climate-change

Clear link between child benefit and higher fertility rates - pro-natalist population policies

This is a very good article (unfortunately for IB-students in Swedish) from SCB: http://www.scb.se/statistik/_publikationer/BE0801_2007K03_TI_03_A05ST0703.pdf
The writer concludes that countries with higher levels of emancipation of women in the workforce have higher birth rates, which at first glance doesn't make sense. But she continues to argue that these countries also have extensive child-benefit programmes in place (especially for children under 3 y's), which allow for women to both contribute to higher birth rates and have a career.
She summarizes her findings with these words "Att bedriva en aktiv familjepolitik och ta hänsyn till jämställdhetsfrågor tycks alltså vara ett användbart vägledande koncept i utformningen av framtidens välfärds- och familjepolitik."

"Lärare borde använda sociala medier"

I listen and obey: http://playrapport.se/#/video/2169400 What do you think? Should teachers use social medias more often? How?

North Korea is dark - Haiti is poor!

As you might know, the Communist Paradise of North Korea (I hope you got the irony) has held a congress for the first time in 30 years. There is much to say about this country, but there is probably not another image that highlights their problem as this satellite image. (see link) http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/dprk/dprk-dark.htm

Also, consider the differences in economic development displayed in this image of the border between Haiti and the Dominic Republic, sharing and island but unfortunately not governance. http://therogersinhaiti.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/haiti-and-the-environment/

Video tutorials

This is a great website from The Economist, using short video clips explaining all sorts of different issues, everything from explaining the geographical distribution of the World Cup to Climate Change and food.
http://audiovideo.economist.com/?fr_chl=37b523f6e1fab620d03697edb18b1216db2961ca&rf=bm

Globalization

Greetings! When floating through the cyberspace I quite often end up reading the BBC, and their excellent summarizing articles/themes and whatever issue you might consider. Here's one really good article on the (economic) globalization. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/guides/457000/457022/html/default.stm

China in Africa

I read a piece by Richard Dowden who was in Sweden last week on "Bokmässan". I have good insights on the situation in Africa and during the book fair he expressed the idea that journalists and NGO's (Red Cross, Oxfam) have a mutual agreement/conspiracy where they portrait the situation in Africa as worse than it is (see Hans Rosling), NGO's wants money - journalists wants to sell newspapers. China is in a race to get their hands on the resources in Africa while EU and US have virtually abandoned the continent. The article below concludes that is not only China that are benefiting from these deals, but the Africans as well. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6908835.ece

Hilarious map site

I found a link to a web site that is truly hilarious - European maps based on misconceptions and people's prejudice. This must be a TOK moment! http://alphadesigner.com/project-mapping-stereotypes.html

Amazing!

I stumbled upon something remarkable this morning, an interesting article in SMP! http://www.smp.se/nyheter/tt_utrikes/fransk-strejk-mot-hojd-pensionsalder(2118387).gm
These kind of quarrels and skirmishes are going to be more common in the future when governments all across the world are forced to raise retirment age. (socio-economic consequence of an ageing population)

Yann-Arthus Bertrand

Just wanted to tip you about a brilliant documentary I watched this Tuesday. It was made by the man above, do not remember the name of the film, but search svt.play for the NeXT month and you Will find it there.

One-child policy - China...

The effects of the policy can be found in this article from the BBC. Many demographers seems to agree that it is more likely changes in population policies during the 70's (Government promoting later marriages) that brought about changes in the fertility. According to the article, the continued decrease (probably as low as 1,5 children per woman) is not only due to the policy, but also due to the rapid economic development and the emancipation of women (50 percent of university or college students in China today are women, up from 23 percent in 1980) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7000931.stm

According to this article http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/27/chinese-women-are-more-ambitious-than-americans.html "What’s more, over 75 percent of women in China aspire to hold a top corporate job, compared with just over half in the U.S., and 77 percent of Chinese women participate in the workforce, compared with 69 percent in the U.S." i.e they conclude that Chinese women are hard-working (and Americans lazy), and of course willing to put in the hours to climb the corporate ladder - hence having fewer kids!!!

The negative consequences of the policy, especially the greying of the Chinese population seems to be getting some attention in Goverment. There seems to be plans on easing the policy, and slowly dismantling it, piece by piece. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36754653/

Corporate Learning - company campus!

Read an interesting piece on the future of education http://education.newsweek.com/2010/09/13/across-the-globe-big-companies-start-own-colleges.html The corporate companies seems dissatisfied with the universities, and are eager to shape their own students into whatever the company is requiring e.g. Infosys students undergo computer science. It's an interesting piece on the globalization of culture/education/economy. I would like to be a teacher at the University of Carlsberg then!

Baby bonus scheme - Singapore

This is http://www.divaasia.com/article/4773 an article on the some-what failed pro-natalist population policy of Singapore. Describes the policy and explaines why its needed and its limited success. Singapore have been "to successful" in the emancipation of women and are now struggling with below replacement fertilities (TFR Singapore 1,09 in 2009). This means that the old-age dependency ratio of Singapore now is 14 (14 elderly dependent on 100 workers) while in 2050 (projection) it will be 60.http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3A44

China - Japan quarrel...

... over an angry fisherman ramming a Japanese Coast Guard boat. That is of course not the entire story, vast oil and gas resources in the disputed area is also behind the conflict. http://www.rferl.org/content/China_Japan_Appear_Headed_For_Bruising_Encounter_Over_Fishing_Incident/2162997.html

It's a shameful day...

...to be Swedish! I'm usually a very proud Swede, but today I'm willing to make an exception. Now we're up there with the rest, Danskt Folkeparti, Vlams Blokm, Jobbik and British National Party to name but a few. I think Victor Borge once said that the only thing that is better in Sweden than in Denmark is that Sweden has better neighbours. I used to disagree to the extent that we didn't have any parties with racist ideology in Parliament, but unfortunately that is not true any longer.
I think that is in place to question the value of history. The only thing that we learn from history is that we do not learn from history!
We should probably include SD and its politicians in the debate, let Samuel Älgemalm speak his mind freely, and SD's woters will soon be long gone! The UNHCR last year released a report on the status of migration in the world and concluded that "migration can raise a person’s income, health and education prospects." I'm not saying that everything is friction free, there have been some problems with integration of immigrants into the Swedish society, but this is absolutely the wrong way to go.
We must instead acknowledge the fact that we need our immigrants if we want to maintain a high living standard in Sweden. The populations of Europe are ageing rapidly and need a constant influx of new citiziens since fertility rates are so low.
Unfortunatley in recessions xenophobia is always surfacing! (We should blame Lehman Brothers instead of immigrants) The most flagrant example is of course the stigmatizing treatment of the Romany population in France. It's a slippery slope (thanks Rosie), go after one group and others will follow. I read in the newspaper that Ilona Engquist just passed away, I'm glad she didn't have to experience the day that we had racists in the Parliament.
I would like to finish with saying that I'm hopeful, the truth about Sverigedemokraterna will soon be revealed, and the next election is just 4 years away (or sooner!) Feel free to comment and agree!

SD.s calculations doesn't add up...

...in this article from DN today http://www.dn.se/nyheter/valet2010/sds-ekvation-gar-inte-ihop-1.1172182 the writer touches upon the subject on work migration to cover for the diminishing workforce, and the flaws in the politics of Sverigedemokraterna. They overestimate the costs of immigration and they underestimate the tax incomes from the working immigrants.

Ageing populations - even in LEDCs

...in class we've discussed the consequences of ageing populations in Europe and in order to maintain our living standards immigration is vital and necessary. But bare in mind that ageing populations are not something that affects high-income countries alone, this is something that will be a problem in low-income countries as well. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8131567.stm

Old age pensioners - the wealthy ones!

A while back I saw a piece on the wealth of old age pensioners, and the amount of millionaires in Sweden. Quite astonishing numbers in that article, 36% of the Swedes over 65 are millionaires. See the link: http://svt.se/2.128339/1.2109219/manga_miljonarer_bland_pensionarer

India's demographic dividend

Hi IB09 (& IB08). There's been a lot of talk on the demographic dividend/bonus in class and here's yet another god article on the possilities that comes with a large population (if handled correctly i.e. governmental funding in education, family planning programmes etc. etc.) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6911544.stm
Feel free to comment!

Correction IA

There's been a slight change in the instructions for the IA this year (new syllabus). The datapresentation and analysis should be integrated (1 title/heading) Call it datapresentation and analysis and keep it the way it is, or include the analysis in the datapresentation. That could actually save a few word since you don't have to worry about refering to all data in the analysis.

Save our Baltic Sea

The link on the right hand side "Save our Baltic Sea" is from the producers of "For cod's sake" which we watched in class. Any additional information on conservation policies or unsustainable fishing in the Baltic Sea can found there.

Cod and Algal Bloom

If you by any chance missed the connection between algal bloom and the overfishing of cod, see this article from National Geographic. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/02/100305-baltic-sea-algae-dead-zones-water/

TOK in Geography

Hi fellow Geographers! We (read I) do not make enough references to TOK in my teaching, which is a shame since there are many possible TOK issues in the Geography syllabus. I would like you to think at classes or cases or notes that you have that could be a TOK-moment. Please post comments on the blog, I think this a good chance to make the subject TOK more understandable.

The demographic dividend

For those of you that feel that you can take even more info on the demographic dividend or bonus, in this article you will find yet another comparative study from East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB5065/index1.html

UG - det gränslösa fisket

In today's class with the IB08 I mentioned a film on SVT that showed the overfishing of West Saharan waters done by Swedish fishermen. The film can no longer be seen on SVT Play but here's a link that discusses the film and the moral implications of overfishing an occupied country. http://svt.se/2.129201/1.1911975/svenska_fiskare_bidrar_br_till_ockupationen?lid=puff_1911964

Good animations...

...was just surfing around when I stumbled upon some good animations on plate tectonics and ocean floor morphology. At this stage you probably understand that it concerns IB08 more than IB09. http://www.wwnorton.com/college/geo/egeo/animations/ch2.htm#1

Personal or private

Since this is my first time blogging, and I have to admit I don't follow many blogs, apart from www.stuffwhitepeoplelike.com , I'm kind of new at this. I will try to be as personal I can without being to private. And you know me, what I say I mean, and do not understand the term irony! I will try to use this blog in my education of you guys, but I still haven't figured out how. For now it will be probably be just posting good links and other interesting Geography stuff. So let me know if you find any... Please, please comment, YOU will be the FIRST ONE!

TED

Just received from a tip from a student on a brilliant documentary I missed yesterday, about the TED-fair where lecturers from across the planet dazzle us with their knowledge, including my hero (which you know I have a thing for...) Hans Rosling:
http://svtplay.se/v/2126789/dokumentarfilm/ted

Ambivalent...

I can't really make up my mind about what language to use, Swedish or English - or both!

...second blogg!

Just watched a really interesting piece on Rapport about HIV prevalance in the US, that it is increasing in poorer urban areas, learn more at... http://playrapport.se/#/video/2126322

My first blogg

...as you probably understand by the title, this is my first time blogging! I'm going to try to use this as a tool in my teaching, making Geography more understandable for my students both in the IB and in the Swedish programmes. You see, I'm teaching Geography in both Swedish and English. Hear more from me soon, I got a class I need to finish...