Spain

Country Name: La Real España
Year Founded: Near 201 B.C.
Population: 40,280,780 (July 2004 est.)
Primary Language: Spanish
Ethnic make-up: composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types
Political System: parliamentary monarchy
Year enetered the European Union: 1986
Type of economy: Spain is rich, developed and largely capitalistic market economies, though in Japan the State plays a major developmental role through pressures on industrial groups and large bureaucracy controlling some businesses and Spain has had a legacy of strong State interventionism. Now European Union (EU), in January 1986 ushered the country into opening its economy, modernize its industrial base and revise economic legislation. In doing this effort -supported from the EU with amounts of funds from the European Regional Development Fund- Spain greatly improved infrastructures, increased GDP growth, reduced the public debt to GDP ratio, reduced unemployment from 23% to 10%, and reduced inflation to under 3%
Currency: Euro
Current Exchange rate for American Currency: 1 US Dollar = 0.73657 Euro 1 Euro (EUR) = 1.35765 US Dollar (USD)
GDP: 1.362 trillion (2007 est.)
Unemployment Rate: 11.3%
Chief Exports: Production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, foodstuffs, leather products, and minerals.
Key Imports: trade, investment, and tourism.
Major Religions: Roman Catholic 94%, other 6%
Surrounding Countries: Portugal, Moroco, France and Algeria.
Literacy Rate: 99.0
Intresting Fact: Highest recorded temperature in Europe = 50°C / 122°F (Sevilla, 1881-Aug.4).

BULGARIA

• Country Name: Republic of Bulgaria
• Year Founded: 1990
• Population: 8,989,172
• Primary Language: bulgarian
• Ethnic Make-up: According to the 2001 census, Bulgaria's population consists mainly of ethinc Bulgarian (83.9%), with two sizable minorities, Turks (9.4%) and Roma (4.7%). Of the remaining 2.0%, 0.9% comprises some 40 smaller minorities, most prominently in numbers the Russians, Armenians, Vlachs, Jews, Crimean Tatars and Sarakatsani.
• Political System: Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic founded on the principle of the division of powers into legislature, executive and judiciary. The Constitution is the supreme law of the country.
• Year Entered the European Union: Since 2007 and of NATO since 2004.
• Representative of the European Union (include party): Consultative Party
• Type of Economy:The economy of Bulgaria is a lower middle-income country coming under the Europe and Central Asia region, according to the classification of the economies by region and income, FY 2005 made by the World Bank.
• Currency: Lev (BGL)
• Current Exchange rate for American Currency:
  1 = 0.65898 US Dollar 1 US Dollar (USD) = 1.51750 (BGL)
  Median price = 0.65394 / 0.65898 (bid/ask) Minimum price = 0.65394 / 0.65898 Maximum price = 0.65394 / 0.65898
• GDP:
  GDP (PPP)
  2008 estimate
  Total
  $93.8 billion
  -
  Per capita
  $12,370
• Percentage of Trade within the European Union: Bulgarian exports to other EU countries grew by 11,8% while imports also went up by 12,1%.
• Unemployment Rate: 6.3% (2008)
• Chief Exports: Fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food and textiles.
• Key Imports: wheat, sunflower, maize, graped, tobacco, tomatoes, barley, potatoes, peppers, cucumbers, cherries, watermelons, cabbage, apples, plums, strawberries, etc.
• Major Religions: Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, other Christian 1.2%, other 4%.
• Surrounding Countries total: Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Turkey
• Literacy Rate: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.2% male: 98.7% female: 97.7% (2001 census).
• One Interesting Fact: that the first air-dropped bomb in military history was developed by the Bulgarian Air Force during the First Balkan War, and used on 16 October 1912 by Lieuts. Radul Milkov and Prodan Tarakchiev. Rayna Kasabova was the first woman ever to take part in a combat air mission, accomplished on 30 October 1912.

BY: STEPHANIE CELIS

UNITED KINGDOM

1)United kingdom

2)707.

3)poulation 61,113,205 (July 2009 est.)

4)Languages: English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)

5)"White Irish", accounting for 1.2% or 0.7 million. According to the 77% of UK population, or 45 million people are English, 8% or 4.7 million are Scottish, 4.5% or 2.7 million are Welsh and 2.8% or 1.6 million are Northern Irish

6)Constitutional monarchy

7)1973

8)kim Darroch

9)Free market capitalist society

10)pounds

11)1 British pound = 1.4493 U.S. dollars


12) GDP (purchasing power parity):
$2.281 trillion (2008 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$2.787 trillion (2008 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP
$37,400 (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
1.1% (2008 est.)

13)6 percent

14)6.3%


15)$468.7 billion f.o.b.

16)$645.7 billion f.o.b.


17)religions Christian (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 71.6%, Muslim 2.7%, Hindu 1%, other 1.6%, unspecified or none 23.1% (2001 census)

18)Ireland 360 km

19)total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)

20)The UK does not celebrate one particular national holiday

14. Italy

· Country Name : Italian Republic

· Year Founded: 1861

· Population: 59,905,22 Density198.8/km2 511.7/sq mi

· Primary Language: Italian

· Ethnic Make-up:
Italian-94.2%
Romanian-1.05%
North African-0.93%
Albanian-0.67%
Chinese-0.26%
Ukrainian-0.22%
Asian-0.66%
South American-0.46%
Sub-Saharan African-0.41%
Other-1.09%

· Political System: Parliamentary republic

· Year Entered the European Union: One of the founders and it was in November 1st, 1993

· Representative of the European Union (include party) : Ferdinando Nelli Feroci (Diplomatic)

· Type of Economy: Industrial economy

· Currency: Euro

· Current Exchange rate for American Currency: 1 Euro = 1.3641 American dollar

· GDP: $1,787 trillion

· Percentage of Trade within the European Union : 11.5 %

· Unemployment Rate : 6.8%

· Chief Exports: Natural gas and oil

· Key Imports : natural gas and oil

· Major Religions: Christianity, Irreligion and Islam

· Surrounding Countries: France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia

· Literacy Rate : Population 98.4%-> -male: 98.8% -female: 98%

· One Interesting Fact: Leonardo da Vinci (1452- 1519) the famous Renaissance painter was also a sculptor, architect, engineer and scientist.

Estonia 7

Country Name: Estonia, officially Republic of Estonia
Year Founded: February 24, 1918
Population: 2009 estimate 1,340,602, 2000 census 1,376,743
Primary Language: Estonian
Ethnic Make-up: 68.8% Estonian, 25.&% Russian, 2.1% Ukranian and 4.5% other groups
Political System: Parliamentary republic
Year Entered the European Union: 1 May 2004
Representative of the European Union (include party): Estonia has 6 representatives in the European Parliament: Mrs. Katrin Saks,Mrs. Marianne Mikko and Mr. Andres Tarand of the Estonian Social Democratic Party (Socialist Group);Mrs. Siiri Oviir of the Centre Party (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe);Mr. Toomas Savi of the Reform Party (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe)and Mr. Tunne Kelam of the Pro Patria Union (European People's Party).
Type of Economy:Estonia's economy is rated as high income by the World Bank,mostly supported by agriculture and mining.Currency: Estonian Kroon
Current Exchange rate for American Currency: $11.5482
GDP: 2008 estimate Total $27.813 billion
Percentage of Trade within the European Union: 2.4%
Unemployment Rate: 6.2%
Chief Exports: food and animal products, textiles, and timber products.
Key Imports: machinery and equipment 29%, wood and paper 13%, metals 10%, food products 8%, textiles 5%, chemical products (2007)
Major Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 13.6%, Orthodox 12.8%, other Christian (including Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic,Pentecostal) 1.4%, unaffiliated 34.1%, other and unspecified 32%, none 6.1% (2000 census)Surrounding Countries: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia.
Literacy Rate: definition: age 15 and over can read and write.
total population: 99.8%, male: 99.8%, female: 99.8% (2000 census)One Interesting Fact:
> Capital: name: Tallinn geographic coordinates: 59 26 N, 24 43 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
> Cuisine: The most typical foods in Estonia are black bread, pork, potatoes and dairy products. Traditionally in summer and spring, Estonians like to eat everything fresh - berries, herbs, vegetables and everything else that comes straight from the garden.Hunting and fishing have also been very common, although currently hunting and fishing are enjoyed mostly as hobbies.Today it is also very popular to grill outside in summer. Traditionally in winter jams, preserves and pickles are brought to the table.Estonia has been through rough times in the past and thus gathering and conserving fruits, mushrooms and vegetables for winter has always been essential.Today gathering and conserving is not that common because everything can be bought from stores, but preparing food for winter is still very popular in the countrysideand still has somewhat ritual significance. Being a country with a large coastal line, fish has also been very important.The oldest university is the University of Tartu which was established by the Swedish king Gustav II Adolf in 1632.In 1919, university courses were first taught in the Estonian language.

KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

Country Name: Kingdom of the Netherlands
Year Founded: 26 July 1581
Population: 16.492.230
Language: Dutch
Ethnic Group: Dutch 80.7%, EU 5%, Indonesian 2.4%, Turkish 2.2%, Surinamese 2%, Moroccan 2%, Netherlands Antilles & Aruba 0.8%, other 4.8%
Political System: Parliamentary Democracy and Constitutional Monarchy
Year Entered the European Union: January 30 1648
Representative of the European Union (include party): Queen Beatrix & Jan Peter Balkenende (CDA)
Type of Economy: Laissez-faire capitalist
Currency: Euro
Current Exchange rate for American Currency: 1 Euro= 1.36 Dllrs
GDP: Total: $909.465 billion
Per capita: $40.433
Percentage of Trade within the European Union: EXPORT: Germany 24.4%, Belgium 13.6%, UK 9.1%, France 8.5%, Italy 5.1%, US 4.3%
IMPORT: Germany 17.7%, China 10.5%, Belgium 9.3%, US 7.3%, UK 5.8%, Russia 5.1%, France 4.4%
Unemployment Rate: 4.5%
Chief Exports: Machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs
Key Imports: Machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs, clothing
Major Religions: Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Protestant
Surrounding Countries: Belgium & Germany
Literacy Rate: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99%
One interesting Fact: High schools in the Netherlands have three different educational levels of difficulty and differ in length. VMBO is the lowest level of high school education that only requires four years, whereas the medium level HAVO requires five years. Upon graduation on HAVO, the student can go to what is considered an equivalent to the US community college level in The Netherlands

Defying Genocide Questions

After you watch the video, answer the following questions:
1. What did Damas Gisimba, Carl Wilkens, and Simon Weil Lipman value, and what risks did they take by holding onto their values?

2. What values did the children of the orphanage demonstrate?

3. As events unfolded, what were Damas Gisimba's concerns?

4. What does it mean - as both Simone Weil Lipman and Damas Gisimba state - to "see the other as yourself?"

Think back to the incidents that took place during the Rwandan genocide:
What role did the international community play during the genocide?

Does the international community have the responsibility of assisting countries threatened by genocide?

How can students get involved and make their voices heard against genocide?

Think about challenges you face in your everday life:
Have you ever witnessed an incident by which a bystander took the responsibility of offering assistance to someone in need of help? What happened?

When someone needs help, do bystanders have the responsibility to offer assistance? What do bystanders risk when they intervene and when they do not get involved?

At the end of the film, Damas Gisimba stated that hatred must be "banished" to make the world a peaceful place. Reflect on that and answer the following:
What is "hatred?" When is it dangerous?

What are examples of different forms of hatred in the global community?
Can hatred be banished?

What would it take to banish hatred?

Whose responsibility is it to work to end hatred or to respond when hatred provokes violence?