Period 1: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 13 - Class Recap

At Game 2, with my friends Scott and Clarke. Standing on the court! So amazing! :-)
Hello Period 1,

As Abe noted in class today, I don't see you guys nearly enough. I swear that we have had about 5 more B day classes since I started teaching you guys. Next week, we will start to recoup these losses. A good day today, though I must confess that I am a little worried about your projects. It seemed liked the time I gave everyone in class was not put to much good use by all. Remember that there are two parts to this assignment - the paper explaining your product and going over the basics of the conflict, as well as the creative product. Please let me know if you are at all confused about what to do or needing help!

Today's agenda recap is brought to you in blue, courtesy of the classroom running out of black markers to use on the white board.

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What are the factors to consider in the development of a Palestinian state?

Soundtrack: "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey. Lyrics here. Chosen because we are continuing to look at aspects of the world that connect countries and cultures together.

AGENDA 4/23/09:
News Brief
Earth Day
Child Marriage in Yemen
Project Work

Homework: Continue to work on the final project (have most of it done by next class). Watch the Blazers game! Read recap on blog!

This weekend, I really want you to be hammering out those projects! The due date is Wednesday because I do not want to stress you out over the weekend, but please be focused on getting this done! Again, if you lost the handout, here is a copy to download:

Israel and Palestine Final Project
The Blazers play tomorrow night (Friday) at 6:30 on KGW (Ch. 8) and ESPN, in Houston for Game 3. No, this isn't actual homework for you to do. Just watch it if you have the free time and come back to the blog for fun comments with your more than slightly obsessed teacher. The Blazers also play Sunday at 6:00, on TNT and KGW.

News Brief: We had a good long conversation about the testing and career fair day yesterday. I am really glad that you guys had the opportunity to do this! I certainly would have found it interesting when I was in high school. Sorry about the super long tests. I definitely know how that goes. Testing is a part of life, though. Hopefully everyone got something out of it!

I also wanted to bring up the really interesting current news topic of torture in America. Someone mentioned in class that former Secretary of State Condolezza Rice gave approval for waterboarding, the tactic we mentioned in class. Here's a good rundown of the basics: Guardian.co.uk - Rice gave early approval for CIA waterboarding, Senate report reveals.

An opinion piece on the whole matter that I think is worth reading can be found here: RealClearPolitics.com - Even If It Works, US Shouldn't Torture.

From the article:

But no matter how hard one tries, one cannot credibly argue that, while waterboarding was a crime when committed by the Japanese in World War II, it is not a crime when committed by the United States in the 21st Century.

One of the opposing views can be found here: WashingtonPost.com - Congress Debates Fresh Investigation Of Interrogations. A quote:

Bush administration veterans, led by Cheney, are poised to renew a high-volume debate over the efficacy of the interrogation methods and, more broadly, the approach to terrorism that Obama's predecessor took after Sept. 11, 2001. Cheney called this week for the release of more memos that he said would demonstrate how effective the tactics were. And in an interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity, he made it clear that he is ready to wage a battle over who is right.

"The threat is there. It's very real, and it's continuing," Cheney said. "And what the Obama people are doing, in effect, is saying, 'Well, we don't need those tough policies that we had.'"

Very, very interesting stuff.

Archana brought in a news story about Pakistan, which can be found here: CNN.com - Pakistan sends troops to area grabbed by Taliban. As I said in class, this was the headline story at CNN.com when I woke up this morning. A really big deal! Lots of conflict in this region of the world! Thanks Arch! Zack T. is up for next Monday. Any current article having to do with anything outside the United States.

Earth Day: Because Earth Day was yesterday, and I think we would be seriously remiss to not at least mention it in a Global Studies class, I brought in some interesting information about the history of the event, as well as what it is trying to accomplish. That can be found here: EarthDay.net. Specifically, the information I read to the class can be found here: History of Earth Day and here (again, note my skepticism about it not citing any sources): Climate Change Fact Sheet.

Child Marriage in Yemen: Next, I passed out an article that I found in last Sunday's Oregonian: Islamists Fight Yemen Law Banning Child Marriage. The link doesn't have the cool "who, what, why" box that was in the article I handed out, but you can see what the point of us reading this was. Having the ability to assess current issues, events, or problems is a really critical skill! I was also careful to mention again that while this may be a problem in some Middle Eastern countries, by no means are women this oppressed across the region.

Project Work: For the rest of class (about 30 minutes), you were supposed to be working on either your paper or your creative product. Please see me for anything you may need, whether it be advice or getting materials. Be sure to e-mail me or comment this weekend if you need help too! :-)
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The Office is on tonight at 9:00 on NBC (yay! except that means that I can't go to bed early). Remember the Blazers games Friday and Sunday. Also, I will be playing basketball tomorrow during second lunch in the gym, should anyone wish to come join. Have a wonderful weekend!