Tuesday, May 10, 2011

"What Caused The Cold War To Begin"

The Cold War Begun by many events that caused set up for it to happen. Both sides, the Russians and Americans never actually sent armies at each other to fight in an "actual" war but the tension was very high.




 American Concerns:

              The growth of communism countries and the threat of a nuclear attack. They didn’t like Russia conquering so much land and felt capitalism. Also, they did not allow the people to vote for their government. The Communists were spreading rapidly. i.e. In 1949, Mao Zedong's communist forces had won a victory in China and this added another front to the Cold War. The blockade on Berlin set by Russia was another cautioning act. They were concerned when Russia launched the first successful spaceship called Sputnik into space. This set of the race to beat the other in outer space technology.



USSR Concerns:

         They felt threatened when they were invaded twice in the 20th century. Also, America had the Atomic Bomb and they were set to making their own. The western allies unified western Germany and did not consult Russia first. The Western Germany set up by the western allies had allowed them to re-arm and let them join NATO. America had been successfully testing bombs such as the hydrogen bombs and had moved them closer to Russia by moving into Russia. Also, they let America have partial governing of Berlin because they were afraid of the Atom bomb that was dropped in the same year. They were not ready to fight a war so they let America have part of Berlin which was deep in Russia's half of Germany after WW2.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

"Le Futur Porche"

Le Futur Porche is used to talk in the near future tense.  It literally means "I Am Going To" and is considered too primitive to use during formal and sophisticated conversations. Le Futur Porche should be used when talking to friends in an unsophisticated way. It is fairly easy to learn "Le Futur Porche" and how to use it. 




Subject                  Futur Porche               Verb in the INFINITIVE 


Je                              Vais                        Ex. Manger
Tu                             Vas                            Manger
Il/Elle                         Va                             Chanter      


Nous                        Allons                         Nager
Vous                        Allez                           Vister
Ils / Elles                  Vont                            Faire


The verb has to be in the INFINITIVE.


How to Use Le Futur Porche in the Negative 


Je n'ai pas aimer ma maison   :   I do not like my house
Je ne vais pas aimer ma maison   :   I am not going to like my house




Used when you are going to do something in the same day or very close. Otherwise you will need to use the Futur Simple Tense (I Will) if it is farther away into the future.





Wednesday, April 6, 2011

"Haitian Revolution Summary"

There were many causes to the Haitian Revolution and this is a summary of the key events and people of the Revolution.


The 3 Social Statuses In Haiti:
 In order of highest to lowest are whites, mulattos and free blacks in the same social status, and the black slaves. This caused anger through the lower classes and the want for revolution.


French Revolution’s Effect:
           The people of Haiti, after the French Revolution, saw new ideas that it was possible to achieve liberty, equality, and fraternity. This encouraged their movement to be stronger and now they know that it is available.


Mulattos: People who were a mix of white and black that felt that they should be treated equal to the whites since they were not given all their rights.


Toussaint L’overture: An ex-slave that  became general, governor, and commander in chief after the Haitians win the revolution. He is very famous and the icon of the Haitian Revolution.


Britain’s effect in Haitian Revolution:
      Britain were strong rivals of France and came in to help Haiti with their revolution so they can help beat France so they won’t get to powerful. Britain was a crucial turning point in the revolution.


Yellow Fever: An illness that swept through Napoleon’s army making them weakened and smaller in size. Out of the 25,000 men sent by Napoleon, 22,000 of them died from this virus. This also played a big point in Haiti and Britain winning because the French Army had such a disadvantage.

"Renaissance Terms"

Hundred’s year war: A war that lasted over a hundred years between France and England. 1337-1453. This war slowed down the movement in new ideas and technology because all their effort was held into fighting each other. In turn, the progress of northern Europe was slow.
Italian City States: The city states were individual states that were functioning on their own. They were in the best location for resources and trade because of the environment of Italy. They had to keep fighting other countries because everyone wanted to have an Italian city state.
Crusades: The crusades were a series of fights between the Roman Catholic Church and other religions. The Church was trying to eliminate other religions and was mostly focused on fighting the Muslims. These series of wars lasted many years and casualties. However, they helped start the Renaissance.
The Church: The church was the most powerful group in all of Europe. Almost everyone followed it and the ones who didn’t were taken care of by the church. They collected a large amount of tax for church taxes and were making tons of money. The pope was the leader of the church and lived in Rome for the most part.
Renaissance art ideas: The new ideas brought over from Asia started the Renaissance ideas and changed their perspective on art. Also, the many wealthy people were investing in art and it was rapidly growing.
Power of City States: It seems very logical to have all the city states form together and make a united large country. However, the leaders and rulers did not want this to happen. They were very rich and loved enjoying the power because they did not have nobility so this was their gateway in. The city states’ leaders would have rather kept everything and run itself.
Art Ideas: New oil painting techniques were being developed and could make paintings very realistic.
The Book the Courtier: This book taught of how to become a Courtier and certain traits that are needed. Advice is also given.
The Black Death: The plague wiped out about half the population in Europe. It started from southern Europe and spread north. It caused lots of suffering to people and sorrow because many families were being broken apart.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Imperialism Key Terms (Printable)

These are a few key terms from the imperialism era:



Social Darwinism: Using racism and Darwinism to give a reason why the “Whites/Europeans” were superior to their colonies and thus giving them an excuse to colonize other races. It summed up to: The best are destined to become greater and succeed in life in social aspects and rule over the weak and nonwhites.

Key Resources; Iron ore, copper, cobalt, rubber, diamonds, sugar, coffee, cotton, wool, silk, rice, indigo (dye for clothing), and cocoa.

Monroe Doctrine: President James Monroe’s speech to Congress in 1823 that declared the South and North America free from Europeans colonization. This was not directed to Europe but was meant for them to overhear. British backed this up because they wanted the good trading partner and saw America was going to become powerful so they wanted to be friendly. British Navy > Europe’s ambitions of colonizing the Americas.

Indirect Control: Colonization when the ruling power trains leaders and officials and basically allows the colony to rule itself. It just profits from the colony.

Direct Control: When the Imperialist ruler fills official positions with their own people and gives little freedom and rights. This is used more when the ruling party thinks the colony is unable to handle its own affairs.




Paternalism: Imperialist rulers who treat their colonies as if they were a parent. They give little freedom or rights but help with resources and building up the country.

Nationalism: When a nation’s people become more devoted to their culture as a whole. Also makes the people want to come together and gain independence.

Militarism: The overwhelming feelings of increasing the military for a country





Berlin Conference: Conference set up in 1844-1845 for the 14 European nations to lay down rules of colonizing Africa. They didn't invite any African leaders and made all the decisions. They also made up the boarders that are still in use today.



Scramble for Africa: 1800-1900. The brief amount of time where European countries all raced to colonize more African land than the next one.

Protectorate: The protection by a superior power over a smaller country that could be dependent or independent.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

"Dr Mrs Vandertramp list" Definitions Included

In French, the étre passé composé verbs are not easy to remember so the famously known, or not, Dr Mrs Vandertramp list contains one verb for each letter. In this article, I will give you the Dr Mrs Vandertramp list with the meaning of each verb and how it is used.



    Devenir: To become or turn into something
    Revenir: To become sad. A change in emotion to becoming sad
    Monter: To go into - go up into your room, would be an example
    Rester: To stay somewhere, usually for visits
    Sortir: To exit. It is used the same way as in English. Instead of exit signs, the signs say sortir.



Thursday, February 3, 2011

Why did the Renaissance start in Italy and not in Northern Europe and how were they different?

The Renaissance started in Italy first and not in Northern Europe because of many factors that came into play in favor of Italy and against the progression of the classical arts in Northern European countries.

What is the Renaissance?

The Renaissance was started when the Crusades brought back classical arts the soldier had seen when they were fighting in the east. This fueled by passion for the classical arts again that ancient Rome and Greece had lead before the "Dark Ages".


Some determining factors in Italy:
  •  Italy was ideal grounds for the growth of the Renaissance because it had many urban cities for the spread of ideas
  • Italy had a Greek and Roman background which were big players of the classical arts
  • Italy had a wealthy merchant class who could sponser new ideas and art. This was called partonage where the rich citizens would give money to artists who were talented to make them classical art pieces.
Why the Renaissance started later in Northern Europe:
  •  Northern Europe lagged because England and France were locked in the 100 years war
  • They mostly consisted of rural areas where there wasn't fast communication with a large amount of people.
  •  Northern Renaissance started in the mid-late 1400s because the bubonic plague ended
  •  There was a war going on between France and Italy so many Italian artists and writers fled to the North for a safer place to stay. They brought their classical ideas with them which had helped spur the movement towards the Northern Renaissance.

 How the Northern Renaissance and Italian Renaissance differed:

              The Northern Renaissance differed from Italy's Renaissance in that it had more of a religious stand point. Art would include Jesus, but the foundamentals where completly changed. Instead art would be more realistic and would show expressions

Sunday, January 16, 2011

french weather terms definitions

French Weather Terms Definitions: In French and in English.
French Weather is easy to master if you know the definitions of the terms. Just read this article and you will be all set to make simple remarks about the weather. 


English                               French

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

French Verbs Made Easy With Examples Included

The French language is a pretty difficult one compared to English but it can all be made simple if you know the fundamentals. Here, I will show you the basics of French verbs and make them easy for you. There will be examples as well to help you along the way.

You will first need to know how to conjugate a verb before you start using them.




How to conjugate a verb in the present tense:

Mange - to eat

Je mange                    Ending with e
Tu manges                  Ending with es
Il/Elle mange               Ending with e
Nous mangons            Take out the e and replace with ons
Vous mangez              Ending with ez
Ils/Elles mangent         Ending with ent


Next, you will want to learn how to use verbs in a sentence.

          aller means to go. You use it in a sentence when you want to say something along the lines of " Je aller au lac" which means I go to the lake.

          ecouter means to listen to. When you say that you are listening to music you say " Je ecouter de la musique"

          faire- to do something. Faire is used when you are going to do something that you wouldn't "play" such as skiing. Faire would mean "to go" do something. In English, it would be improper to say " I want to play skiing" but instead " I want to go skiing"

         Jouer is used when you are going to play something such as basketball. It would be OK, in English, to say, " I want to play basketball

There are some exceptions and others that you wouldn't use a lot. Here are the common ones:

  • Nager- to swim. You wouldn't need anything in front of Nager and just say "Je nager ( I swim)"
  • Pecher a la ligne- To go line fishing
  • Sauter a la corde- To jump rope

To say you don't do something you put ne.....pas
       Ex. Je ne joue pas au tennis
                I don't play tennis



Some Verbs To Remember:

  • Chanter - To Sing
  • Diner - To Have Dinner
  • Parler- To Talk/Speak
  • Travailler- To work
  • Voyager- To Travel
  • Aimer- To like
  • Habite- Live somewhere
  • Inviter- To invite
  • Regarde- To Watch or To Look At
  • Ecoute- To listen

Now you can expand your French to include how much you do something.
WARNING: THESE NEVER GO IN BETWEEN THE SUBJECT AND THE VERB
         ex. Je beaucoup ami voyage
It should be "Je ami beaucoup voyage" ( I like to travel a lot)

Here are some useful describing words:
  • Bien- Well. 
  • Tres Bien- Very Well
  • Mal- Badly
  • Beaucoup- A lot
  • Un Peu- A Little
  • Souvent- Often
  • Toujours- Always
  • Aussi- Also
  • Maintenant- Now
  • Rarement- Seldom, Rarly
Now go out there and use your French! I also have more French blog posts that would be helpful as well. 
Thanks, The Informer.

Basic Facts On France

Even though France is not as large as it used to be under Napoleon, it is one of the most powerful and influential nations. It is beneficial to know some basic facts and background information about this prosperous county. I included the basic facts on France in French and English to make it easier on you guys. Whether you need basic facts for a school class or just to find out more of the country who has a larger power to land size than any other country, here are some good things to know about France:

(However, if you are going to travel to France, it won't be hurtful to get some detailed eyewitness travel guides to your doorstep tomorrow:France (Eyewitness Travel Guides) 



France's capital city is Paris

Capitale: Paris


The population is roughly 60 million inhabitants

Population: Soixante millions d'habitants


The French Motto is : Liberty, Equality, Freedom

Devise: Liverte, Egalite, Fraternite


The French Flag consists of the colors Blue, White, and Red in that order from left to right

Le Drapeau Francaise couleurs est Bleu, Blanc, et Rouge


The currency in France is the Euro

Monnaie: l'euro


France consists of many ethnicities. The majority are European but France also has people originating from Afria and Asia.

France est multi-ethnique. Origine de la population: europeenne (Majorite), africane, et asiatique.



The principle religions practiced are: Catholic (Majority), Muslim, Protestant, and Jewish

Le Principales Religions pratiquees: Catholique (Majorite), Musulmane, Protestante, et Juive



Hope you learned something from reading this. If you want to get a cheap and decent sized flag- 30x45 centimeter (12x18 inches), just click on the image on on the bottom.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Du De la Des De -When And How To Use Them In French

"He who fears suffering is already suffering that which he fears"

La Fontaine.
Hello. If you happened to stumble to this article, you are probably like the hundreds of people in the world, including me, it seems like there is not place to give you a quick and precise description about when to use “de” “des” “de la” and “du” without requiring you to take a costly French course. Well your in luck today because I will give you a brief overview of when you should use  “de” “des” “de la” and “du”.


Du- It is masculine and is used when the amount is not specified and means “some”.
              Ex. Je ne mange pas du jambon     ( I do not eat ham)

In that case, you are stating that you do not eat ham and doesn't specify how much ham but only specifies that you do not like it.
Jambon is masculine, and in this case, it’s plural and does not specify on the amount

(Note: Du is actually de + le)


De la- de la is used just like du. However, it is for feminine subjects. De la is still plural and does not specify on the a
mount. In English it would be “some”.

Ex. Je mange de la creme ( I eat cream)



De- de is basically used in a negative sentence.

Ex. Pas de soleil ( No sun)

De can also be used when referring to the amount of something.

For Example, Je mange de la kilo de sucre.  
                     I    ate       a    kilo  OF sugar


Des- The same as De and De La but is the plural form. There is a number attached to the amount and can be specific on the amount given.
Ex. J’aime des noisettes               (I like Hazelnuts)