Sunday, March 30, 2014

After Break Book Club, Tuesday 4/8

For extra credit, readers of the three books offered this semester will lead discussion questions in a "Book Club" type format (ask your moms). Still plenty of time to read even if you haven't started, especially The Golden Cage (just 250 pgs.) Below are the discussion questions. In the comment section, post what book you read. Also, non-readers for an opportunity for half-EC, post if you are willing to bring a breakfast-type of treat for our Tuesday Breakfast Book Club.


Discussion questions for Putin's Russia
1) Big terrorist attacks have in the past been used by the Kremlin to justify tightening its grip on power and curbing the opposition. The second war in Chechnya, in 2000, which helped to propel Mr Putin into his presidency, was accompanied by a move to bring Russian television under Kremlin control. In 2004, after the school siege in Beslan, in North Ossetia, Mr Putin scrapped regional elections. Using examples from the reading, what would the author predict for Russia's new north Caucasus policy? Why would this be a mistake according to the author? Do you agree?

2) Putin's more autocratic state is supposed to be a more effective state. The author emphatically answers that fear is the only public good that Putin's Kremlin provided effectively. Explain.

3) The author devotes considerable space showing how Putin's government did little to provide most basic state services. She argues hotly that the Russian Armed Services, rather than protecting civilians from terrorism or violent crime, have themselves become perpetrators of state terrorism. How?

4) Effective States have independent courts capable of enforcing the Rule of Law. Institutionally, does Politkovskaya see Rule of Law in Putin's Russia?

5) According the the author, Russian Courts served the interests of criminals and oligarchs. From our unit of study, did that seem to be reformed in Putin's Modern Russia?

6) By the author's account, Putin does not care about the people. She criticizes the political and economic system he has consolidated with true stories and reporting that probably cost her her life. But every day an Army private is hazed to death, a middle class family in Moscow drives to Ikea to purchase furniture for their newly renovated Dacha. Russian GDP grew steadily for 6 years under Putin, and the number of people below the poverty line dropped significantly. In your opinion, do the ends justify the means in Putin's Russia?

7) JusticeforNorthCaucasus.com wrote in 2001, "That Politkovskaya herself has withstood poisoning and harassment to tell the truth about Putin's Russia should give even the most pessimistic observer of Russian affairs hope." But in 2006, the author was murdered and the president called her, "a person of no significance." What does this say about the hope for modern Russia becoming a liberal democracy?

8) Some have claimed Politkovskaya's critique of Putin's Russia is over the top. One on-line reviewer called her, "Russia's Michael Moore." Do you find this analysis objective and legitimate, or illegitimate opposition propaganda?

http://www.slate.com/id/2151209/


Discussion questions for Red China Blues 1. Jan Wong tells us that all existing dictionaries and language textbooks were destroyed at the time of the Cultural Revolution. Why was this necessary? How effectively could a political system be shaped or controlled by such a measure?

2. When the author realises, early on, that she is not allowed the freedom to think, she says this is “only the beginning of my real awakening, a painful process that would take several years more.” Why was her awakening such a slow process?

3. If the author had grown up in China, do you think her doubts and questions would not have arisen in her student years? Or do you think her classmates went through similar “awakenings”?

4. In theory at least, the workers had better living conditions than intellectuals in China in the early 1970s. Does this strike you as any more unfair than the opposite situation?

5. Having completed the book, what are your feelings about Jan Wong’s informing on Yin (the girl who wanted help getting to the West) while she was still an unquestioning Maoist?

6. Could you characterize the four sections of the book? Do they differ in tone as well as content?

7. Broadly speaking, the first half of the book avoids overviews or hindsight, but in the second half the author adopts a more knowing perspective. What effect does this have for the reader?

8. The author says that the Tiananmen massacre could have been avoided: “An experienced mediator could have solved things so easily.” How different do you think life in China might have been after the demonstration if there had been no violence?

9. Do you think there is a post-Tiananmen effect on protest today in China? Using an example we talked about in class, support your answer.

 10. At the beginning of the book the author is writing largely about herself and her reactions to the political system. The last part of the book is more concerned with the stories of individuals living in post-Tiananmen Square China. What can you deduce from this? How much do you think she has changed, and how much has China changed?
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Discussion Questions for The Golden Cage
GoldenCageCover.jpg

1. The book begins, and just about ends, with the words of Ali Shariati , the famous Iranian sociologist, who died under suspicious circumstances a year before the revolution said, “If you do not have the power to overthrow the rule of oppression, inform others of the oppression.” Is this the theme of the story? What does it say about Theocratic vs. Secular regimes?

2. In the prologue, the author writes of a group of women visiting the unmarked graves of their loved ones, political dissidents, so-called "counterrevolutionaries.""They did not cry. When people die the way their children did, you can only mourn them at home." Explain this powerful idea, "you can only mourn them at home"?

3. The author describe three different cages -- one of which, it could be said, currently encloses the entire country. Describe how you think the "cage" analogy describes the relationship -- psychological, spiritual -- that average Iranians have with the cage in which they now find themselves?
4. In a scene set in 1988, an imprisoned Javad says to his sister, "Do you really believe anything that's written in the newspapers these days? Do you think there is freedom, or truth, in those pages? Open your eyes -- they're all lies." How applicable is that description to the mass media in Iran? How do you think the average consumer of information in Iran understand or filter what they're told?


5. The mother of the central family is a renowned cook. With celebrated feasts and more, much attention is paid to food, meals, specific dishes throughout the book. Toward the end of the book you specifically address the rich meaning of flowers in Islamic and particularly Persian culture. What do you think is the significance of these illustrations in the story?

6. Consider the real-life story of the author, Shirin Ebadi who was the first woman judge in Iran (before the revolution of 1979), won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 but has lived in exile from her home since 2009; prevented by the current Iranian government from returning home without persecution. Do the images of food and flowers get to the heart of the author's personal story?

7. The cover of the book came under some criticism. None of the three brothers were clerics or wore turbans. Is the cover misleading, or is appropriate for the story?

8. Pick a brother (three brothers, three choices, one destiny). Which one would you be? Why?
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For your 10 points of EC, make sure you complete the discussion questions and then lead small group discussion break-outs as you "drop knowledge,'' on your fellow students.

"There is nothing inconsistent between Islam and Human Rights," -- Dr. Shirin Ebadi




Thursday, March 27, 2014

The Good, Bad and Hansomley Ugly Peña Nieto's 1st 100 Days

Mexico's new PRI President Enrique Pena Nieto has recently crossed the benchmark 100 Days of his sexano (6 year, no-re-election). Here's your chance to use the analysis from the experts to assess the Mexican president. In the comment section give me a 3-2-1 analysis from the following texts:

First, The Economist's Latin American corespondent fills us in on the legislative accomplishments so far and the bigger reform plans of the Presidente.

Pena Nieto's Reforms

Second, read the analysis of experts from the conservative leaning Brookings Institute. Pena Nieto's PRI was the one-party dominant for 70+ years until PAN President's Fox and Calderon won in 2000 and 2006. They are centrist of the three major Mexican parties, but also deeply traditionally rooted in the patron-client relationships.

First 100 Days Report Card

Finally, imagine a Mexican Soap Opera on Telemudo, would you think there would be scandals surrounding the Mexican President. By the way, Fox and Calderon were scandal free (mostly) but maybe less effective in their governing?

5 weird things about the Mexican President

By the end of the day Friday for grade (but you should look at this stuff before Friday's test) give me in the comment section:

3 -- Three quotes from the texts (including the video) and tell me what they tell you.

2 -- Give me 1 accomplishment and 1 challenge facing Pena Nieto.

1 -- Rate the Mexican President as compared the the other Chief Executives we have studied: Obama; Cameron; Putin and Jinping Xi.

Mexico Institute Election's Guide



Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The rest of the week and LDCs/NICs/Mexico Study Guide

To prepare for the end of the week (test on Mexico 3/28/14), you will need to use the Youdia.....But no "Mexting" as the Onion News Network satirically hightlighted in the first post on the Global South.

Wed. 3/26 - Surf through BBC Country Profile: Mexico and complete your 10-question quiz by Thursday. Also, at home watch the third video posted here, Maquila: A Tale of Two Mexicos. The first video, Mexico's Drug War, we will watch in class film guide due Friday.

Thur. 3/27 - View Mexico 2012 power point off Wolak's Google Docs page:

Mexico 2012 -- note the terms to know and what has changed. One obvious one.


 
___________________________________________________________________
 
 

 
The above video (2010) highlights the federal state, and judicial review in Mexico, upholding same-sex marriage in Mexico City. As in the US, in Mexico, the upper level courts are primarily appellette courts. The Supreme Court (11 justices) can declare laws and governmental actions unconstitutional by a vote of eight or more of the judges. The high court also upheld a state law (only seven rulled against) in the state of Baja California that says life begins at connception.

Mexico Upholds State Right to Life Law

Wednesday's multiple choice test will cover Ch.11 and 16 in Hauss, packet readings and power point notes (which can be accessed on the Google Docs page)

Terms to KnowPresidente Fox/President Bush on boarder policy

LDC/NICs compare and contrast
WTO/NAFTA effects on Mexico
Mexican independence
Constitution of 1917 – similarities differences with U.S. Constitution
Presidents and Generals of Mexico till mid-20th Century
Mexican legislature – format and characteristics
Political Parties – PAN, PRI, PRD place on political spectrum
Sexenio presidency
Federal Election Commission
Political Efficacy in Mexico
Technicos
Politicos
Mestizos
Maquiladoras
Patron-client relations (camarillas)
Corruption
Para-statal sector
compressed modernityPEMEX
Mexico’s policy of structural adjustment under Fox/Calderon
Economy/Immigration as a political issue
Narco War as a political issue
Mexican trade with U.S./U.S. Trade with Mexico
Mexican civil service
Charicteristics of Mexican civil society, political culutre and beauracracy
Mexico by comparative economic sectors
Camarillas
Politcal cleavages in Mexico
Judicial Review in Mexico?
Narco War and the legitimacy of the State
Mexicans living in the U.S. and the effects on both countries
Presidente Calderon on private investment of state oil/electricity
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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Thursday, March 20, 2014

AP American Government and Politics madness

 
CitizenU is back just in time for the TERM-ament. Remember this Spring's AP Exam will be first and foremost a vocab test. So here it is, our version of AP Word Madness.
 

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Get the message: Next week we are going South of the Border


To prepare for our study of the Global South next week and Mexico you will need to use the Youdia.....But no "Mexting" as the Onion News Network satirically hightlighted above.

Mexico Makes It

Read the article from Foreign Affrairs and contrast that with the pages 471-475 in Hauss (Ch. 16). Is Mexico a failed state?"


Just for fun, all my YG delegates had better be showing "their stinkin badges," at all times during the 65th Illinois YMCA Youth & Government Assembly this weekend in Springfield.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Must see China TV




(Originally posted on Political Warrior, April 2013)
So in China, they eat more KFC than we do here, but we eat more Chinese than they do.

Typically, we say, "as American as Apple Pie." Jennifer Lee asks the question, "Do you eat Chinese food or Apple Pie more often?"

Another gem in this TED talk, Fortune Cookies, invented by the Japanese, popularized by the Chinese, perfected by the Americans. Globalization at work.

Focus at 1:45 mark to see Chinese people trying to figure out what a Fortune Cookie is.
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(originally posted on Political Warrior, March 2013)

Vast cities are being built across China at a rate of ten a year, but they remain almost uninhabited ghost cities. It's estimated there are 64 million empty apartments.

6o Minutes Reported on the Real Estate Bubble Sunday.


It happens rarely. But every once in a while, during a 60 Minutes interview, someone will drop a bomb into the conversation and say something that shocks even our veteran correspondents. That happened to Lesley Stahl in this week's interview with a Chinese billionaire named Zhang Xin.

Did She Really Just Say That? Xin on Democracy

But TR probably would have...


Bill O’Reilly doesn’t think President Barack Obama’s appearance on “Between Two Ferns” was funny, calling it “a little bit desperate” and saying Abraham Lincoln wouldn’t have done it.
“The Affordable [Care] Act is dubious to say the least, and using a comedic website to enroll people is a little bit desperate, don’t you think?” O’Reilly said Tuesday on Fox News’s “The O’Reilly Factor.”

Obama appeared in the video, which was published to comedy website Funny or Die on Tuesday, to promote Obamacare in a humorous, satirical sit-down with actor Zach Galifianakis.
The White House defended the appearance, with White House press secretary Jay Carney touting the new visitors brought to HealthCare.gov from the video.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/bill-oreilly-president-obama-between-two-ferns-104564.html#ixzz2vkqe7xNq
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Despite Bill O's critique, is this a modern day presidential "Bully Pulpit? Your thoughts?

Monday, March 10, 2014

China Cleavages

A Short Answer Concept FRQ question like this could be seen on the AP Test:
 

1. Describe a major social cleavage in China. Discuss two policies the Chinese state has adopted since 1990 in response to that cleavage.
 
  • Ethnic (Xinjiang, Tibet, Uighurs)
  • Urban/rural
  • Interior/coastal or East/West
  • Generational
  • Class, rich/poor, income
  • Gender

 Note: A very short description is enough as long as a division is implied. The following responses DO NOT earn credit -- religion, generally or by name; a place name; elite/non elite; party/non-party; an issue of controversy -- Falun Gong

Instead of a Ch. 10 Hauss China Quiz, your quiz will be to answer the short answer concept question above and the two "Flipped" lesson questions below.
 
 
Watch the videos about Wukan. (From APGov.org)
Wukan is a city in the South of China (near Hong Kong) that featured a significant protest and unprecedented response by the CCP.

http://youtu.be/NXsmNIgJsGc

 

2. Which of the following is TRUE of the 2011 protests in Wukan?

A. Wukan's protest ended similarly to the 1989 protest in Tiananmen Square,
B. The CCP refused to listen to the Wukan protesters and the leaders of the protest are now "enemies of the State."
C. The protest stemmed from corrupt behavior of CCP officials in Wukan.
D. The protest did not last long enough to force the CCP to respond to protesters demands.
E. The protest was an anomaly; there are very few protests against the CCP or the Chinese government.

3. Explain how the events in Wukan connect the CompGov concept of Democratization.

____________________________________________________________

 Rich Dog, Poor Dog -- China's new class struggle. From Foreign Policy

A Dog's Life in China -- 15 remarkable photographs of country dogs and city dogs, strays and pets, ladies and tramps.


 (From Teaching Comparative blog)

Textbook authors are keen to impress on readers that the kind of ethnic cleavages seen in places like Nigeria and Russia are mostly absent in China. That oversimplification glosses over Xinjiang, Tibet, and the massive programs to encourage Han Chinese to move to provinces near the border.

Keep in mind that Xinjiang is one of those places (geographic cleavage) where ethnic Uighurs (ethnic cleavage) who used to dominate the population are practicing Muslims (religious cleavage). Note that all those cleavages coincide, and you know what that means. Add to that the political tradition represented by the Chinese maxim, "Heaven is high and the Emperor is far away."

Fast and loose: The party’s interference in the observance of Ramadan stokes grievances in China’s north-west

Xinjiang, the vast region in whose west lies the old Silk Road city of Kashgar, has a history of tension between the ethnic-Turkic, mostly Muslim, Uighurs who used to make up most of its population, and the authorities, dominated by ethnic-Han Chinese. During Ramadan, which comes to an end on August 19th, that tension has been exacerbated by the government’s intervention in religious practice.

It has been discouraging, and in some places even banning, Communist Party cadres, government officials, students and schoolchildren from fasting and attending mosques during working hours…

Groups representing Uighur exiles say that this year the campaign has been more intense than usual. Xinjiang’s government has denied forcing people to break the fast. Hou Hanmin, a spokeswoman, was quoted by Global Times, a party-owned newspaper, saying that the government did, however, “encourage residents to eat properly for study and work purposes.”

This is resented by many Uighurs as yet another encroachment on their traditions. Kashgar is rapidly becoming a Chinese city like many others… In Xinjiang as a whole, Uighurs and other minorities are now outnumbered by Han Chinese.



Millennials in Adulthood: Is this you?

Millennials Less Trusting of OthersThe Decline in Marriage Among the Young

Pew Research has published a new study about YOUR generation and your social trends.

The Millennial generation is forging a distinctive path into adulthood. Now ranging in age from 18 to 331, they are relatively unattached to organized politics and religion, linked by social media, burdened by debt, distrustful of people, in no rush to marry— and optimistic about the future.
They are also America’s most racially diverse generation.

Read the full report here: Millennials in Adulthood -- Detached from Institutions, Networked with Friends

Sociology Assignment:

3 - Pick out three quotes to analyze/explain from the article.

2 - Give me two demographic trends that totally ARE or ARE NOT you, or one of each. Or how you are different than your parents generation.

1 - Summarize in a paragraph the finidings about your generation.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

A message all Political Warriors and Political Leaders of the world should heed

 
Live Respect Week, Political Warriors!

Great job by Ivan and his supporting cast!

Maybe I should send to @PutinRF_Eng?

Lost in Translation: College Party Time in China

(From Teaching Comparative Blog)

Once again, the easy, simplistic answer might not describe the truth.

Students and the party: Rushing to Join

UNIVERSITIES in China are home to a strange mix of political emotions. To the Communist Party’s deep concern, many young lecturers have little enthusiasm for Marx, whose ideas are still officially supposed to “guide” intellectual life on campuses. Many students, by contrast, are desperate to join the Communist Party; recruitment levels are at an all-time high. Ideology plays little part.

In 1989, after the Chinese army crushed student-led protests in Tiananmen Square, enthusiasm on campus for joining the party plunged, as did the party’s eagerness to recruit there. In the following year only 26,000 swore the oath of admission... In 2010 more than 1.2m students joined, about 40% of the total (see chart)...

In 1997 just over 4% of undergraduates were party members. Within a decade the proportion had doubled...

This has little to do with communist zeal. The interest in membership is a byproduct of the expansion of college enrolment, which has created a glut of graduates in the job market. Public-sector employers usually prefer party members and often require membership for better positions. Demand for government-linked jobs has been growing thanks to the relatively generous benefits and security they offer.

In a survey of graduates from 12 universities, it found the employment rate within two months of graduation was 85% for non-members and about 80% for members... Only at vocational colleges did the party members appear to have an advantage, with 96% of them gaining work within two months, compared with 90% of non-members...

In competition for jobs at state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which are among the most coveted of all, a lack of party membership appears to be no bar. More than 21% of non-members surveyed got work at SOEs, compared with just under 20% of party members. That could be a recognition by SOEs that ability trumps political loyalty for entry-level jobs. But meritocracy extends only so far: the party still keeps the top slots for its own.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Traditional Government: Campaign Finance Flipped Lesson


Since the days of Andrew Jackson, campaign financing in America has been a controversial, confusing and important issue effecting elections in our republic. All you will need to know and more on Wednesday's Test on Campaign Financing (Glencoe, Pgs. 477-479) is here. This "flipped" lesson will need to be completed in the comment section here by Thursday, 3/6, but you need to know most of this stuff for Wednesday's test.

Campaign Finance History in US
Click on the Link and take notes

1) Define: a) Buckley v. Valeo (1976); b) Bi-Partisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (2002); c) Citizens United v. FEC (2011).

2) Watch the video above and identify the Citizens United vs. FEC case and explain its impact on elections in the U.S. today.

 

3) Analyze the charts above and View the Prezi presentation below (thanks, Maura O'Kane). In a sentence or two, what's the biggest takeaway?
Campaign Finance Prezi
4) What is a Lobbyist and what is a PAC? Other than monetary donations, how can they influence (for better and worse) the legislative process.....Jack Abramoff was the King of K Street (the HQ of lobbyists in Washington) until he went to prison on 2006. They made a movie about him starring Kevin Spacey.

 
 
5) Just for kicks, Colbert Super PAC meets disenter John Paul Stevens. Stevens doesn't think Corporations should have "Free Speech Rights." But the majority of the Supreme Court (5) did in a ruling that "created" Super PACs. What is the influence on our elections today?

Russia, Ukraine and Crimea

(From US Government Teachers Blog)
 The New York Times' "Lede" is an amazing blog that has almost real time video and coverage coming from people on the scene. While not limited to this coverage, you can be sure it will have a lot of the Russian troop movement into Crimea in the upcoming weeks.

Hip Hughes, in his usual timely fashion, has a new flipped video on Russia and Crimea which he put up yesterday and you can see below.
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In a related knowledge drop for Professor Dick Farkas of DePaul University at the 2014 DuPage Valley Social Studies Conference from his lecture: Big Countries/Small Countries -- Does Size Matter:

Proliferation of "States"
  • End of World War II; 47 sovereign states
  • Today, 207 sovereign states
  • Last 15 -- smaller than Chicago in economy and population
  • "Self-determination of peoples," -- Wilsonian thesis
  • But thinking Russia, Ukraine and Crimea, "Who Decides What/Who are the People?"
Your thoughts?