Quiz day

today we took the test on Rome. I felt an A and sure enough I got a 95% including the extra credit

Review for test

today we reviewed for our Rome test tomorrow

No class today

No class on tuesdays

Memorial day

Haven't blogged in awhile. I keep forgetting. but today is memorial day and school is closed. Had a great 3 day weekend. Too bad im missing western civ. tomorrow. Curses. But we get a test Wednesday. Yes!

No class today

no class today becuase it is Tuesday.which sucks

No class today

missed school today becuase i went on a field trip to the Folger Shakespeare museum in Washington D.C

No class today

no class today

Monday 5/9

today we reviewed for our test by going over answers for past quizes. i got and 80% on greece and 90% on rome

5/3/11

no school today

5/2/11

Missed school today due to a migrain

Picutres for Rome Rap

4/27

A.    Consul: A consul is like a king in that he commanded armies and directed the government.  Rome had two and they could only rule for one year and not be elected again for ten years.

B.     Veto: Means “I forbid” and is a way to overrule another consuls decisions.

C.     Senate: Was the aristocratic branch of Rome’s government.

D.    Assembly: Was the democratic side of Rome’s government.  It consisted of all the citizen-soldiers of Rome.

E.     Dictator: Only used in times of crisis, a dictator had absolute power to make laws and command the army.  Their power only lasted six months.  They were chosen by the consuls and elected by the senate.

F.      Mercenary: Soldiers who fight for a country for pay.

1.     They were dissatisfied because they were barred from holding most important positions in government, like; commanding armies, high priests, and high offices.
2.     They won reforms by refusing to fight in the Roman army unless there were reforms.
3.     They gained access to government positions, more favorable laws, enslavement for debt was ended, marriage between plebeians and patricians was allowed, and the creation of a written law, called the twelve tablets, was established.
4.     They thought they had a balanced government because it was a part monarchy, part aristocracy, and part democracy, which they thought gave them the best mixture of governments.
5. They won support because they willing to extend citizenship to those outside of Rome.  The new citizens became partners in the growth of Rome.

   6. Carthage was three time the size of Rome, they had a large navy of 500 ships, they were very wealthy, and were able to hire mercenaries.

   7. Rome had the advantage of drawing on a 500,000 soldier reserve, their citizens were more loyal, and war was Rome’s specialty, since they spent so many years pursuing it.

   8. Because Rome was victorious.  If Carthage had won the war then they would have become the greatest empire in history and Rome would not have passed down its laws, government, and culture to western civilization.

   9. They first welcomed them because they thought the Roman’s were protectors.  The Roman’s had freed the Greeks from Philip V of Macedon.

   10. Their attitude changed because the Roman’s interfered in Greek politics and they became increasingly ruthless.

Rome questions.

1. Geography was important for Rome because Rome is the center of Italy which is the point of the Mediterranean. Rome being in the center allows them to send out armies in all directions and traders from north and south would meet in the middle of Italy which is exactly where Rome is.
2.  Rome began as a settlement of Latin farmers.

The Greeks established about 50 colonies on the coast of southern Italy and Sicily. The activity of cities brought all of Italy , including Rome, into closer contact with Greek civilization.

The Etruscans had a writing system which the Etruscan letters were adapted from the Greek alphabet. The Etruscans had a great cultural influence on the Latin's. Eventually , the Latin settlers of Rome adopted the Etruscan alphabet. Roman buildings show the influence of Etruscan architecture. Etruscans also helped to develop Rome's trade. Several of Rome's kings were of Etruscan background, having migrated to Rome from Etruscan cities.

3. ?

4. The man ruled the house and they were known as pater familias "father of the family".  He controlled all family property. He could sell family members into slavery or even murder them with no punishments. He spoke for the family in the public assemblies or in the law courts. The pater familias in each house also acted as its chief priest.  While the women had control of the household duties and considered citizens but they still don’t have voting rights and were supposed to stay in the background.

5. "The constant threat of war forced both patrician and plebian men in Rome to lead double lives as farmers and solders. All male citizens were required to serve in the army, and no one could hold public office until he had first served ten years as a soldier."

Alexander-the movie

today we started another movie in class called Alexander. the first scene we watch is when Alex is still a young boy and makes a bet with his father that he can tame the wild horse which he names Bucephalus. Then we watched the battle of Gaugamela. In which Alexander wants revenge on his Father who he thinks Darius III murdered. Darius runs away when Alexander gets too close and there are many casualties.

Thursday 4/14

THE UNEXAMINED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING
Socrates

1. He was critizied by the Athenians for his looks 
2. He walked barefoot, clad only in a dirty robe
3. did not care about appearance, only the mind
4. People took the gods out of the objects and replaced them with reason
5. Socrates created a new way of thinking, using reason to decipher people
6. spent his days in conversation, talking and debating with anyone who would talk
7. He says things like: My eyes are more beautiful because they bulge out so I can see better
8. Socrates said that you should base your knowledge on what you think is right and wrong

Alexanders conquests

jordan 80/100

Monday 8/10

Battles and Wars

• Why was the Phalanx maneuver good? It created a wall of shields
• Hoplites were usually what? citizen soldiers
• In the battle of Marathon, who won against who? Athens beat the Persians

Trial of Socrates

• What did he teach to his students? that the earth was not the center of the universe
• Socrates explained that the season don't what? The season don't change because of the gods
• Why did he die? He was accused of blasphemy

Hellenic age-brynly

what was one of the styles of sculpture? 4th century style

Pericles/the golden age-lauren

who did pericles over throw?
what were the two religious festivals? Panathenaia and Dionysia
what were the 3 goals of pericles? strengthen democracy, expand empire, make Athens more beautiful

Greek Poetry-alena

who was sapho?
what two great books did homer write?

95/100

Greek Drama-sam (woof woof)

what is the Cult of Dionysus
What are the 3 types of drama
Why was drama created

89/100

Philosophy-Tasha

aristotle- 384-322
focused on hman life, natural world, and western philosophy.
logic, physical works, psychological works, philosophical works, and natural history
died of dieseas

plato 427-347

student of sacrotes and teacher of aristotle
Plato and socrates wrote a dialogue called The Allegory of the cave

sacrates 469-399
one of the most powerful thinkers in history
ethics, questions, morality
the method of question and answer was called the Socratic method
"The unexamined life is not worth living"
encouraged his students to examine their beliefs
was sentenced to death by telling kids there is another way of explaining things

95/100

Hailey-parthenon

Built by parecles designed by phidias
Big statue of Athena, common people called frieze, and other treasures
used to worship the God Athena

what style was the parthenon built in?
When was it built?
Who built it?
80/100

Alexander's youth-Morgan

Born in 356 BC.
His mother told him he was the son of a Greek god.
Student of Aristotle
Alexander tames a horse when he was 12 names it Bucephalus
Alex was born to be a ruler
Alex was captain in the Macedonian army at 16
Known as the greatest generals
His troops had high respect for him and he set a good example. going through as much pain as his troops
Alex died at 33. Rumors said he was poisoned but probably died of malaria.
Never lost a battle and conquered the world.

90/100

kevins Rap on math and science

90/100
Eratosthenes found out the circumference of the earth

olympics

Zach 85/100

Greek Art

Julia 90/100

3 questions for the peloponnesian war

who was the war between
how long was the war
what were the results of the war

After test

We got our tests back and i got a B as id hoped. we also got topics on Greece for over spring break projects

Tests

took a test on ancient Greece today. Feelin' a B

Greece.....

Pericles
Parthenon- big building with a huge statue of athena 
Greeks invented Theater and drama. tragedy or comedy
hubris- conceited

Egypt...

trireme- a slender ship with 170 paddles, built for great speed to ram other ships with a peak of wood at the front. battle ship of its time.
483 B.C Greece discovered silver on their land. Themistocles used the money to buy battle ships to fight Persia. Xerxes swore revenge on Athens for the defeat of his father Darius.
The greeks went to see an oracle of Delphi to see what their fate was. the oracle said that Greece had no chance of defeating Persia. They ordered an evacuation of Athens. Women and children went to Troy and men went into battle.
 delian league

Geeks...still

Aristocrat- member of the ruling class; has wealth & power

Athens - Town built around the acropolis

Acropolis - big outcropping of rock where Athens sits.
good advantage because you can see your enemies approaching

Cleisthenes - set Greece up on a path to empire
 
Ar  te- everything you do, you do it to the best of your ability
The Iliad and the  odyssey - Bards (storytellers) - were told in Cleisthenes Athens as a child to make him believe that he would become who he was

Homer wrote the Illiad and the Odyssey

Tyrant - (ruler) ordinary man Pisistratus was Cleisthenes' brother in law 
Turned to common Athenians for support
He reduced taxes, they were able to keep more of the money they made
He started treating regular people really well
He offers loans- from government
Went into seizing power by bringing in a tall woman and saying she was a goddess - Athena
Becomes friends with everyone who was NOT an aristocrat

514 BC- Hippias went into law
The freedom that the common Athenians
510 B.C. clesthenies is one of the most powerful figures in Greece
agora-  place where the city discussed issues and voted on new laws
everyone that was a male that was not a slave could vote. white pebble for yes and black pebble for no

490 B.C  as Athens was gaining power the Persians had a huge empire building and the wanted to take out Athens.Greece supported freedom and Persia supported obedience. News spread of the Persian attack grew and all Athens males would have to fight. Hoplites- were the best soldiers they had. Athens were out numbered 2:1. Pheideppedis- ran from Athens all the Way to Sparta to tell the news and get help. He ran 140 miles in 2 days. When he got to Sparta they refused to help. Athens did come up victorious killing 6,000 Persians in 1 day.

Themistocles was a Greek general and fought in the battle of marathon.

Greece again

508 B.C Greece revolted against the tyrant
Cleisthes- born in ruling class of aristocrats. power and wealth
acropolis- big hill which most of Athens rested on
city states were formed becuase Greece had many mountains so they made their own civilizations
arate- virtue of doing whatever you do, you do your best and everything. strive for success
They odyssey and illad where two books written by homer about Odisius 
pisistratus-brother in law of clieisthes. took coltrol of Athens by making people believe a girl was the goddess Athena. Pisistratus transformed Greece by lowering taxes and free loans.
Olives were a big part of their economy

no class today

no class today

More Greece

geography

• mountainous peninsula
• mountaisn cover 3/4 of greece
• 1,400 islands in the Aegean and Ionian Seas
• Location shaped its culture
• Skilled sailors
•  Poor natural resources
• Difficult to unite the ancient Greeks becuase of the terrain; developed small, independent communities
• about 20% of the land was suitable for farming
• Fertile valleys cover 1/4 of the peninsula
• Because of geography the Greek diet consists of grains, grapes, olives
• Lack of resources most likely to led to Greek colonization
• Temperatures range from 48 in the winter to 80 in the summer- which caused more action and exercise

Mycenaens

• Began around 2000 B.C
• Mycenae is located on a rocky ridge and protected by a 20 ft. thick wall
• Mycenaean kings dominated Greece from 1600-1200 B.C. - controlled trade in the region
• 1400 B.C. Mycenaeans invaded Crete and absorbed Minoan culture and language
• Around 1200 B.C. sea people began to invade Mycenae and burnt palace after palace
• The Dorians moved into the war-torn region- far less advanced-economy collapsed- writing disappeared for 400 years

Homer and Myths

• only stories were kept and passed on by word of mouth
• Homer lived at the end of the " Greek Dark Ages" 
• Recorded stories of the Trojan War in The lliad and the Odyssey (written 750-700 B.C)
• Trojan war was probably one of the last conquests of the Mycenaeans

Greek Concepts

• Arete-virtue and excellence
• Epics- narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds
• Myths were created to explain creation- Zeus: leader of the gods-Hera: Zeus' Wife-Athena: goddess of wisdom
• 
  

"The Greeks" crucible of civilization

Greece was the birth of science and politics. We struggle to even get close to equaling the architecture that they had. warships ruled the seas. 508 BC in athens people had turned away from their rulers.Cleisthenes was brought up from birth to be a ruler. he relieved the people should have freedom. sets them on the path to empire. 570 BC he was born. he was an aristocratic (member of ruling class) .the ancient stories inspired him. the Iliad and the Odyssey were the stories that shaped him. he wanted to become a real life hero. grew under Pisistratus rule. the city changed into something very powerful. he was going to try to overthrow Hipias. Hipias was captured and banned from Athens. 510 BC and he was one of the most powerful people in Greece .people started to conspire against him. he was called from exile after they overthrew Hisagaris and asked to build an empire. he made a meeting place and rich and poor people could discuss their future. He made up democracy. they met every 9 days to discuss everything.

no class today

no class today

modern egypt

egypts economy

• tourism
• oil, natural gas, manufacturing 
• agriculture - making the most of their limited arable land (3%)-cotton, corn, rice, wheat, fava bean
  
  

  the old pattern of dealing with the Nile [akhet (inundation), peret (land emerges from the flood), and shomu (water is short)] has been changed since the 1970 building of the Aswan High Dam . the dam controls the flooding of the Nile, and increases the amount of reclaimed land

  
  

  
  

Egypts demographics

• 79 million people - biggest population of Middle Eastern nations, third biggest African country
   

   Official language: Arabic (English, French, and German are also taught to some)

  
  

  Religion: around 90% Muslim,most of the rest are Christian (Coptic), but there are major conflicts (Egypt is 12th in religious violence, 5th worst for religious freedom)

   

   

  Egypt - politics, government, revolution

  1922 - end of protectorate with the United Kingdom

   

  1953 - Egypt declared a Republic

   

  1954-1970 - ruled by Gamal Nasser

  • nationalizes the Suez Canal
  • forms allegiance with Soviet Union

   

  1970-1981 - ruled by Anwar Sadat

  • switches allegiance to the United States
  • attacked Israel over Sinai Peninsula, but later made peace
  • Sadat assassinated in 1981

   

  1981-2011 - ruled by Hosni Mubarak

  • kept alliance w/ US (helped in the Iraq war)
  • accused of corruption, political persecution, human rights violations
  • driven from office following mass demonstrations last month
  
   

Ancient egypt cont.

soldiers had bronze, bow and arrows, chariots. upper class people were known as white kilt class. Pharaohs were all powerful. he owned all land, made laws, collected taxes, and defended Egypt against foreigners. upper class people wore fake beards. Hatshepsut was a woman who served as a pharaoh. Cleopatra VII also served as pharaoh, but much later (51-30 BC).

Ancient egypt

geography-Nile, drinking, irrigation, bathing, transportation. only people with sail boats. every July it floods.every October it leaves behind rich soil. managed the river to direct it in a way they wanted called irrigation. only people to have calendars.delta, marshy triangular area with fertile silt.

daily life-pharaohs-government officials ~ nobles and priests- soldiers-scribes-merchants-artisans-farmers-slaves and servants. artisans would carve statues and reliefs showing military battles and scenes in the afterlife. used barter system. trading and bargaining. then went to a money system, scribes kept records, told stories, wrote poems described anatomy and medical treatments.

pharaohs

gods and goddesses

pyramid- the Great Sphinx of Giza- 2555-2532BC- lion body with human head-oldest monumental statue in the world.

no class

no class today

questions for sarah

what do you think will change when someone new takes power?
will anything be worse becuase he left?
were there any good things about hasni?
how did the mobs start?
did for participate in the mobs?
did the police strike you or someone near you?
who are the Muslim brothers?
why now is all of this starting?
did hasni ever try to give his view or testify for himself?
why are the police the only ones who are against the protesting?

Sick day

im home sick with the flu or something like that

Snow Day

just when i thought spring was here. more snow. no school

Presidents day-no school

no school because of presidents day

no class

missed school today 2/18/11

wedensay begininng powerpoints

Mr. Schick was not here but the substitute told us to get into groups and start working on a power point presentation for Egypt.

tuesday-no class

no class today

Egypt-pyramids

Pyramids were built as tombs for the pharaohs and their queens. The pharaohs usually referred to them as their “House of eternity. They began putting ideas together for their houses of eternity as soon as they took power. Pharaohs wanted to buried with all their gold and possessions. Pyramids were made will booby traps in case anyone wanted to steal the pharaohs possessions. But, the people who made the pyramids knew how to get around the traps and were sometimes successful in stealing the pharaohs possessions. All sides of the pyramids were to face directly north, south, east, and west. Large stones were cut from rock quarries and used them to build the pyramids. Most of the workers were farmers who worked during the flood season, when their fields were under water. As of 2008, about 138 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest in Egypt and one of the largest in the world.

Test essay

C. Jared diamonds theory of geographic luck is almost exactly what it sounds like. Ancient civilizations could not change their land or area. its all about luck and what the land gives you. People in the fertile crescent were lucky to get a land that was rich is soil and good for growing crops. they did not make it like that. Land in the Middle East were given animals that were good for domesticating and being put to use to make the peoples lives easier. Donkeys, goats, pigs, cows, all excellent animals to have in your civilization because they can produce milk, perform manual labor like pulling a plow, good resource for meat, and hide for cloths. Papua New Guinea was unlucky to have a land that has no animal, poor for crops, and they are forces to eat sago trees. It is all about where you happen to end up living, what is naturally there that is useful to you for growing a civilization, and becomes more advanced in technology.

review for test tommorrow

1. sago trees, grow in swamps, and cut down my the women made into pulp to eat, they have little protein and doesn't last very long
2. the reason why papua new guinea never developed like other countries is because they  never had any useful animals like horses or cows to plow their crops or give them food or their hides that can be used to make into clothing and blankets. crops were not easy to grow like wheat or barely.
3. ideal characteristics of domesticadable animals. being over 100 pounds for strength or manual labor and more meat. they have to be able to get along with humans and easily breakable. heard animals have a head honcho that the rest of the heard follow or social hierarchy. they produce milk. they can reproduce babies quickly, about a couple a year.
4. ideal characteristics of domesticadable plants. easy to prepare to eat, and easier to plant to create more plants, has to be able to be stored for a long time or in graineries. has to be versatile. plants surplus or more than enough to survive for that week or month. they assigned jobs to certain people or specialization. with specialization it allowed people to have enough time to figure out things that other words wouldn't have time to do if they always had to focus on getting food for the next day. within time population grows.
5. people in the fertile crescent had to move because they overgrew their crops. they moved eat and west along the same latitude so the climate was the same, animals were natural there too.
6. Draa' is the very first community or village, they had a grainery which stored their food and they had a surplus.
7. Jared diamond was a professor at UCLA and went to Papua new guinea every year to bird watch. He made a book off of it which turned into a best seller, then into a movie. Jared diamond began his quest to find the answer of why Americans have so many possessions and why new guinea have so little.
8. present day new guinea has airports and docks in the harbor so they can trade and stay connected with the rest of the world because they are an island. they have natural resources like gold, silver, copper, oil, fisheries, to trade, get money, and thrive.

2/7/11

out today with a migrain

Papua New Guinea

arable land: 0.49%

permanent crops: 1.4%

natural resources: gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries

population: 6,064,515 (July 2010 est.)

0-14 years: 37.3% (male 1,126,214/female 1,088,211)

15-64 years: 59.3% (male 1,815,731/female 1,704,430)

65 years and over: 3.5% (male 113,285/female 92,904) (2010 est.)

 

Population growth rate: 2.033% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 51  Birth rate: 26.95 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 53  Death rate: 6.62 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 148  religion: Roman Catholic Church (27.0%) Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea (19.5%) United Church (11.5%) Seventh-day Adventist Church (10.0%) Pentecostal (8.6%) Evangelical Alliance (5.2%) Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea (3.2%) Members Church of God International (2.0%) Baptist (0.5%) Church of Christ (0.4%) Jehovah's Witnesses (0.3%) Salvation Army (0.2%) Other Christian (8.0%) about 96% some type of christian literacy rate: 57.3% languages: 816 languages, including English 18% of the people live in cities 1.8% unemployment rate 11th in the world many mountains

still watching Germs, Guns, and Steel

In the 1960's New Guinea was still using stone tools. Why have the never made metal tools and a surplus of food. The middle East was very fertile which gave it the name " The Fertile Crescent". the fertile crescent collapsed and lost its head start due to high climates that were not suitable for growing very prosperous crops. The people then moves to the west and east for a search of food and better living. They were moving along the same latitude lines which they did not know that, in many cases countries along the same latitude share the same animals and climate. The climate was the reason they moved in the first place. the animals like pigs and goats, and crops like wheat and barely moved into India and china and down into Egypt and into parts of Africa. they soon have a surplus of food fit for a king. It moved into Europe which feed inventors and great historic people. then everything food into America "The New World". There wasn't a single cow in America until the spread of animals and crops from the fertile crescent. now America has millions of cows. So the overall answer Jared Diamond was looking for was, New guinea just never ended up with the technology to advance like everyone else.

Guns, germs, and Steel contd.

 today in class we continued to watch guns. germs, and steel. we picked up the movie where they, being 11,000 years ago, are learning how to domesticate animals, for milk, meat, fur and skin for blankets and clothing. they used the animal waste to fertilize their crops. the first animals were goats and sheep, then ox or horse to plow their crop fields. pigs came into New guinea from China, but were by themselves not extremely helpful to humans. pigs are not nearly as strong as an ox or human. today in new Guinea the work is still all done by hands. humans have tried to domesticate many animals but with little success. Domesticadable animals over 100 pounds include: pigs, goats, sheep, cows, horses, 2 different kinds of camels, water buffalo, donkeys, llamas, reindeer, yaks, mithans, and cattle. most of the came from the middle east, which is why the countries were fertile and had a lot of crops. zebras could have been a good domesticadable animals but are too jittery. they made plaster from limestone which let them build shelters.

back in school

after missing three days of school Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. here we are on Monday back and school continuing to watch guns germs and steel. as a refresher, Jared diamond is in papua new guinea birdwatching, then one of the natives asks him why Americans have so much and they have so little. So Jared goes on a mission to answer that question.  13,000 years ago the middle east was much more fertile and better. humans thrived here and at this time were hinter gatherers. they would follow animals to hunt, kill, and eat. today the forest of new guinea is still a place for hunters. It takes great skill to capture an animal. gathering is done by women, they cut down a sago tree and take they core make pulp, and cook it. this food is low calorie and not enough protein to support a big population. Barley and wheat grow and they are a much more better source of food. 11,000 years ago, scientists believed that they created a food storage building in the middle of the village which allows them to keep them safe, the food will last longer and they people wont have to move and follow animals anymore. they figured out how to grow their own food. they only picked the plants that are better for them and those were the plants that would be grown and the traits were passed on. they became domesticated. china learned how to grow rice. South America learned to grow corn and beans. New guinea never had natural crops growing so they were at a disadvantage. all they can do is just hunt and gather. people in New guinea also have bananas but sometimes have to resort to eating spiders for nutrients.

guns, germs, and steel

Jared diamond wrote this book on why some civilizations survived and why some failed. we are haves and then some are "have nots". take place in Papua new guinea professor at UCLA, likes to study birds, studies birds in Papua new guinea which brought him to this country. cultural diverse and adaptable. one day a man asks Jared why do we have so much wonderful possessions and why new guinea has nothing. this set him on his quest. they thought race meant power. Jared diamond says that they are very good with building and surviving in a forest with nothing, when if he were to do the same he would not even know where to start.

NO SCHOOL

thank you snow for i got a desperatley needed day off

no class

no class today. i hate tuesdays

monday 1/11

today we went over questions on Korea to get ready for Wednesday's test

tuesday11/4

no class today

korea

1.Democratic People's Republic of Korea(north), republic of Korea (south)
2.Kim Jung Il born 16 February 1941, took office in 8 July 1994.Throughout his schooling, Kim was involved in politics. He was active in the Children's Union and the Democratic Youth League (DYL), taking part in study groups of Marxist political theory and other literature. In September 1957 he became vice-chairman of his middle school's DYL branch. He pursued a programme of anti-factionalism and attempted to encourage greater ideological education among his classmates. He organized academic competitions and seminars, as well as helping to arrange field trips
lee myung-bak. first president of north Korea elected by the people.CEO of a big energy cooperation. mayor of Seuol.
3. 
4.china, japan, yellow sea, sea of japan, Russia
5.
6.The 38th parallel was first suggested as a dividing line for Korea in 1896
7. tense, cant agree
8. north korea lives in poverty, people are dieing, the people are completely detached from the world, the newspaper and television is run by the government. south Korea is a no doubt better country than the north.
9.
10. Pyongyang is its capital and largest city in north Korea, and Seoul is the largest city in south Korea
11.
12. the role of nuclear weaponry is protection of themselves, threat other countries, rule through fear
13. north koreas biggset ally is russia and china, south Korea's biggest ally is the united states.