Guantanamo Bay, Human Rights, and American Empire

Using the notes from the documentsyou viewed in class, respond to the following statement. Make sure your work includes a thesis statement and ample proof!

The Guantanamo Bay U.S. Nacy detention camps are a violation of human rights.

Discuss...

American Intervention in Latin America

In class, students presented their brief reports about American Intervention in Latin America in the 20th Century. The questions we answered in class were the following:

•What happened?(Knowledge)
•Why did the U.S. intervene? (Comprehension)
•How did the intervention hurt/help democracy/freedom?(analysis
•How did the intevention serve American interests?(evaluation)

Discuss the preceding question: •How did the intevention serve American interests?(evaluation) Try to develop new questions about America's role in Latin America and our committment to freedom and democracy in the region. Cite facts from the case studies. A response that does not directly cite facts from at least two case studies will not be read and is not an effective response.

John McCain and the Presidency

John McCain will be the Republican candidate for president of the United States this year. Several weeks ago a comic, yet academically interesting, debate emerged about whether McCain is eligible to be President of the United States. He was born in 1936 within the Panama Canal Zone while his father, a Navy officer, was stationed in that American colony/territory. The U.S. Constitution says one thing, but the U.S. code say another! Although the conversation is academic, it is worth thinking about...

Is John McCain eligible to be President?

Respond to your peers comments, think about American colonialism, and the current opinions about John McCain. If you find any good sources on this topic, please feel free to share them!

Here is a link to the documents we saw in class today:

John McCain Docs

Latin America: The Lost Continent

Today we viewed several photos of Latin America from my personal collection. The countries represented were Honduras, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Peru. Many people had some idea of where the photos were generally from. Our work was a good introduction to imagining Latin America and thinking about it as a "lost" continent. We also spoke at length about the idea of the "lost" continent. In our blog today reflect on the term "lost" continent.

What are your thoughts about today's lesson?

Why is Latin America a lost continent?

Below is a link to interview in case you want to read more:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/latin_america/jan-june04/summit_1-13.html

Final Reflection on the MIddle East Unit

After completing our Middle East projects, we had a vibrant discussion regarding what the U.S. should do in the Middle East. A-block's discussion focused on the role of oil in our relationship with the middle east and B Block focused on the role of the U.S. in world affairs. Discuss the question below by responding, questioning, and critiquing each other's comments.

Final Reflection:

What should the U.S. do in the Middle East?

What leads you to believe this is the best option?

What are your concerns, worries, or thoughts?

Post at least three times today by 10 p.m.

Bush's War:From 9/11 to War with Iraq

We spent much of class today learning about the different players in Bush's cabinet: Rumsfeld, Rice, Wolfowitz, Powell, Tenet. These advisors to President George W. Bush all had various ideas about what should be done to respond to Al-Qaeda(a worldwide terrorist organization based in Afghanistan) and Osama bin Laden(a Saudi Arabian, it's leader and co-founder) who are accused of responsibility for the 9/11 attack. Very early on its clear that some of these same advisors had their sights set on implicating, or involving, Iraq and President Saddam Hussein in the new "global war on terror." The plot is well-documented in the film and website: Bush's War. Here is the link.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/

Please investigate the website and share something NEW that you learn from this site regarding the tragic turn from fighting Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan to going after Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Summarize what you learned from a photo, event, quote, video clip, interview. Be very specific in what you learn by using quotes, share the web link, and share your thoughts. 

Try using this question to guide your search of this website:

Why did the U.S. start out trying to bring Osama bin Laden to justice after 9/11 by invading Afghanistan, then in 2003 invading Saddam Hussein's Iraq in spite of the fact that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11?

Saudia Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a country in the heart of the Middle East. The King is friendly to the United States, but some of its people are hostile to the U.S. The most notorious Saudi is Osama Bin Laden: the accused ringleader of al-Qaeda and a supporter of the 9/11 attacks. We spent much time today looking at the basic elements of Saudi Arabia-its history, economy, politics, culture, religion, and relationship to the United States.

Read one or two of the excerpts from Osama Bin Laden's interview in May 1998(Handout 2). Once you read the excerpt think and answer the following question: Why is Osama Bin Laden so angry at the U.S.? Is he justified in his grievances? Do American actions in Saudi Arabia warrant a violent response? What conditions or problems in Saudi Arabia might lead Osama bin Laden to recruit supporters and sympathizers?

Respond to others in the blog and discuss this controversial topic with your peers?

Here is the link to full interview transcript:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/interview.html

Also note there is a picture of a few troops guarding me and MLC students in Egypt. Maybe this picture gives us a clue about Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabia's(and Egypt's), and 9/11.

Comparing Islam and Christianity

Today we viewed an episode of 30 Day:Muslim in America. The film described a Christian man's attempt to assimilate to Muslim traditions and customs with a Pakistani, Muslim family in Michigan. What are the key differences between Islam and Christianity? Why has there been so much animosity towards Islam since the 9/11 tragedy? Is Islam responsible for 9/11? What are the stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam in our society?

Discuss these questions in a threaded discussion that agrees/disagrees with your peers. You should respond at least twice by 10 p.m. this evening.

Control Room:Bias and the Media

Refer back to the film Control Room and discuss the problems of covering the Iraq war. What are the areas where bias seems apparent? What challenges does the American and Arab(al jazeera) media face in the covering the war? Why are the images of the wounded and dead not shown on American media? Why would Al Jazeera show these images? What information is missing in the American media about the Iraq War? React to your peers comments, agree or disagree, regarding this issue.

Here is a Wikipedia summary of the film:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_Room_%28film%29

Iraq War and the Presidential Candidates

Today we reviewed the three remaining Presidential Candidates and their views on the Iraq War. You should have a series of quotes and soundbites to discuss. In your opinion, based on the quotes, video clips, relevant websites...Who would you vote for in November if you were only considering their positions on the Iraq War?

Refer to the YuoTube Clips, The New York Times, and the Wikipedia entry.

youtube.com

Friends and Foes in the Middle East

There are many friends and foes in the Middle East. Many of friends pose challenges to us and many of our foes actually helps us in a way. Using your chart and profile today, discuss what challenges we have to our relationships in the Middle East. Which foes should we be concerned about? What friends have we neglected? Are there any contradictions in our relationship? What should our friendships be based on the Middle East? i.e. Democratic countries, oil-producing countries, etc.

Respond to the statement of your peers, bring in new information, react to the class activity/film/research!

The wall...

Today we read the poem, "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost, examined a brief summary of the wall/fence, and viewed the documentary, "Straddling the fence" starring Thomas Friedman. Evaluate how effective this fence is in making "good neighbors" by referring to the film, the Wikipedia entry, and the poem "Mending Wall". Below is a link to the Wikipedia entry for the fence. Although much of the information should be read with a grain of salt, I think that this page will give you a starting point in the discussion.

Link to Wikipedia.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_West_Bank_barrier

Interview with Thomas Friedman about the film:

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0404/01/i_ins.00.html

Do good fences make good neighbors?

In preparation for tomorrow's lesson, please read the following poem, Mending Wall, by Robert Frost. Second, analyze the phrase, "Good fences make good neighbors."


Robert Frost. 1875–

64. Mending Wall

SOMETHING there is that doesn't love a wall,

That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,

And spills the upper boulders in the sun;

And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.

The work of hunters is another thing:
5
I have come after them and made repair

Where they have left not one stone on stone,

But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,

To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,

No one has seen them made or heard them made,
10
But at spring mending-time we find them there.

I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;

And on a day we meet to walk the line

And set the wall between us once again.

We keep the wall between us as we go.
15
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.

And some are loaves and some so nearly balls

We have to use a spell to make them balance:

"Stay where you are until our backs are turned!"

We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
20
Oh, just another kind of outdoor game,

One on a side. It comes to little more:

He is all pine and I am apple-orchard.

My apple trees will never get across

And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
25
He only says, "Good fences make good neighbors."

Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder

If I could put a notion in his head:

"Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it

Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
30
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know

What I was walling in or walling out,

And to whom I was like to give offence.

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,

That wants it down!" I could say "Elves" to him,
35
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather

He said it for himself. I see him there,

Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top

In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.

He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
40
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.

He will not go behind his father's saying,

And he likes having thought of it so well

He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."

Global and International Studies Handout 2

Reading for Information Preparation: The World After the Cold War

Directions:

Create four multiple choice questions and two open-ended questions for two of the following articles. Three of these articles will be selected for an RFI Test on Monday.

Article 1:

Fyodor's Russia:

http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/upfront/features/index.asp?article=f0109c

Article 2:

North Korea Goes Nuclear

http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/upfront/features/index.asp?article=f1113a

Article 3:

Democracy Lite

http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/upfront/features/index.asp?article=f011408_Russia

Article 4:

Where’s Mao?

http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/upfront/features/index.asp?article=f1211a

Article 5:

The Day that Changed the World

http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/upfront/features/index.asp?article=f0904a

Did America screw up the world in the Cold War?

John Tirman argues that the Cold War was one of the ways that America "screwed up the world". He cites several examples of American intervention that have had disastrous effects on the world. I'm not sure he give the Soviet Union enough credit for the destruction. what do you think? Today we will create a collage to visualize the problems and results of the cold war.

Did America screw up the world during the Cold War? Agree or disagree with John Tirman's essay. Comment on each other's posts, connect your argument, or team up with other people in the class to make your case.