Maria Corazon Aquino

          Maria Corazon Aquino was a very important figure in Filipino politics.  She was born in Tarlac, Philippines, on January 25, 1933.  She went to school in Manila until she was thirteen, and then she went to the States to study in Philadelphia and New York City.  She then got at bachelor's degree in French and math at the College of Mount St. Vincent in New York.  After that, she went back to the Philippines to go to another school and met the man who would later become her husband:  Benigno Aquino Jr.  They married in 1954 and had five children.  Benigno quickly became an important political figure.  During a twenty-year period of time, he became mayor, governor, and senator.  He began to challenge the Filipino president, Ferdinand Marcos. 

          Marcos had become president in 1965, and ended up taking away the democratic rights of his people.  His presidency was corrupt, and he arrested those opposing him, including Benigno.  Benigno spent seven years in prison before he was exiled to the United States for three years with his family.  When he arrived back in the Philippines in 1983, he was promptly killed by two soldiers.  Marcos was believed to be behind Benigno's assassination, and a wave of angry opposition struck the president.  He quickly called for presidential elections, and the candidate running against him was none other than Maria Corazon Aquino.  When she lost against him, she and her supporters questioned the results of election.  The army and the defense minister decided to support Aquino, and Marcos was exiled to Hawaii.  Aquino became the first female president of the Philippines in 1986.  During her six years of presidency, Aquino struggled with the economical problems with her country and defeated rebellions made by Marcos' supporters.  She retired from office in 1992, and died of colon cancer in 2009.
          I chose Maria Corazon Aquino for this blogpost, because I thought that she was someone who accomplished a lot in her life, but I'd never heard of her so I wanted to learn more about her.  She ended the reign of a corrupt ruler over her country and became the first female Filipino president.  I admire the fact that, even after Marcos assassinated her husband, she still had the courage to oppose him in presidential elections.  I also like her determination to win against Marcos, even though it had been announced that she'd lost against him. 

Resource:
http://www.biography.com/people/corazon-aquino-9187250?page=1

Saint Angelina of Serbia

          Saint Angelina is a Christian Orthodox saint.  She was the daughter of Prince Skenderberg of Albania, but the name of her mother is unknown.  Angelina was raised to be a good Christian, and was taught to love God.  Saint Stephen, prince of Serbia, fled to Albania from people who wanted him dead.  He had been blinded by the Turkish Sultan for offenses he had not committed, but he was welcomed into Albania by Angelina's father.  As time went on, Stephen became more than an honored guest:  he was treated like part of the family.  Soon enough, Angelina and Stephen fell in love and were married with both the blessings of Angelina's parents and of the Church.   They had two children who grew up to become saints:  George and John.  However, after the boys had become men, Albania was invaded by the Turks.  Men, women, and children were slaughtered with no regard for their gender or age.  Stephen, Angelina, George, and John were forced to flee from Albania and take refuge in Italy.  There, they lived peacefully until Stephen died in 1468.  In her grief and poverty, Angelina asked the Hungarian ruler for help, and he allowed her and her sons to have the town of Kupinovo in Sirmie.  In 1486, St. Angelina led her small family out of Italy and buried the remains of her husband in his homeland: Serbia.  Angelina ended up outliving both her husband and her sons, and entered a convent where she spent her last years praying and living piously.  She died in peace and was buried in the same tomb as her sons in the monastery of Krushedol in Frushka Gora, Serbia.  Even today, she is still honored at that church on July 30th and also on the 10th of December with her husband, St. Stephen, and her son, St. John.

Works Cited:

"St. Angelina of Serbia." ROCA.org. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.roca.org/OA/34/34k.htm>.

"St. Angelina of Serbia." Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.antiochian.org/node/19134>.

The Fall of Rome

          At around 476 AD, the great Roman Empire fell apart when Odoacer, a Germanic chief, banished the last Roman emperor out of the country.  Scientists have speculated over several reasons as to why Rome finally fell: geography; economic decline; lack of technology which led to a decline in work force; growth of government; military defeat. 
          Rome was located around the Mediterranean Sea in a donut-like shape.  Because of this, it was difficult for the Roman armies to be everywhere around the empire at once while under attack.  Battling the invading barbarian tribes took away many valuable soldiers and resources away from Rome.
          The century before the fall of the empire,  the Roman government and army kept expanding.  Government officials and soldiers cost money.  Adding to the cost of the growing military was the fact that Rome did not cease to import expensive goods from far away countries.  The Roman Empire simply could not afford both of these things.
          Because of the Romans' lack of technology, there was a very high death rate in the Empire.  Also, the number of slaves decreased, so Rome was forced to deal with fewer workers having to make more goods for their fighting soldiers.  The wealthier Romans did not care about making machinery that would be more time and energy-efficient, and so it was very difficult for the workers to meet demands for goods.
          Lastly, the Roman Empire simply was not strong enough to hold back barbarian attacks for extended periods of time.  So many invasions eventually wore the military down, and Rome was overrun by barbarians.
           In my opinion, I think that the lack of technology and decline of work force was the most important reason for the decline of Rome.  Since the empire had not developed the best medicines for battling cancer and other fatal diseases, they had a very high death toll.  Because of the limited amount of people, there were not as many workers available for creating products.  Because of the barbarian invaders, there was an increase in the demand for weapons and other items.  However, there were not enough workers to supply for this demand, and the soldiers were not well enough equipped to face invaders.  This caused the military to weaken and eventually fall.