Read E-Ran Chapter Over Break

Screening Room >> CNN.com - Eraq - Boards

The Iran Thought Hive and Blog presentations will be Friday, April 8.

Here are the full videos from Wednesday in class:

Tiananmen Sq documentary 1 hour+

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9A51jN19zw&feature=fvst

20 years later, 7 minutes Aljeezra

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AXqFoRkxwU&feature=fvwrel

Present Arms

(From Economist.com)

THREE-QUARTERS of global arms exports were supplied by just five countries between 2006 and 2010, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a think-tank. The volume of such exports rose by almost 25% compared with 2001-05. SIPRI counts the deliveries of large conventional weapons, each of which is assigned a value according to cost, strategic importance and other criteria. The two biggest importers of arms over the past five years, India and China, both bought over 80% of their weapons from Russia. The third- and fourth-biggest importers, South Korea and Pakistan, favoured American-made items.

The First Comeback Kid

(A classic Political Warrior Re-run post from 2008 during the U.S. presidential election)

St. Patrick may be the patron saint of Ireland, but he comes in as a close second as the patron saint of politics. Look around at the celebrations today and you will see the residue of our political arena.

The color green is everywhere today.

Green is the official color of politics in America, a lot of green. The money being raised and spent on this presidential campaign is incredible. Before it is all over, it is estimated that the candidates for president will spend over $1 billion dollars. Green issues have also become the rage in our politics. Both Barack and Hillary claim promoting green friendly jobs can repair our economy.

Then again many are already green with envy for this whole process to end.

St. Patrick’s Day is also about parades, shamrocks and being Irish.

Politicians love parades. No better place to shake a lot of hands, look popular, secure votes and endorsements then at a good parade. Look for your elected officials to use this holiday for their own personal gain. The ever-popular shamrock, the three-leaf clover, reminds us of our three branches of government. The separation of powers flowers best when divided by threes. Today, everyone is Irish. 2008 was the first election where both presidential candidates were Irish . . .. . .
McCain and O’bama.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EADUQWKoVek&feature=bf_play&playnext=1&list=QL&index=1

St. Patrick himself was quite a politician in his own day. Born into a Roman family, he was kidnapped by Irish marauders and held captive for years. Upon his escape, he later returned to Ireland as a missionary of the Church. His public approval ratings have never been higher. We all love a great story.

St. Patrick was one of our first “comeback kids.”

Happy St. Patrick’s Day - a holiday in which people feel at liberty to do just about anything they want. Another reason why this is a day politicians love.
(From CitizenU.com)
____________
Two other Irish connections to the rough and tumble game of American politics:

Finley Peter Dunne was a Chicago-based writer and humorist. He published Mr. Dooley in Peace and War, a collection of his nationally syndicated Mr. Dooley sketches. The fictional Mr. Dooley expounded upon political and social issues of the day from his South Side Chicago Irish pub and he spoke with the thick verbiage and accent of an Irish immigrant.

From Dunne's Dooley works comes one of our endearing government and politics quotes:

"Politics ain't beanbag: 'tis a man's game, and women, children 'n' pro-hy-bitionists had best stay out of it."

In Chicago, Irish immigrants became ward-bosses and later aldermen. Meanwhile, Italian immigrats had to get jobs though the Irish gate-keepers. Many later found other ways to make money (illegal?) to get around the legal, but corrupt Chicago Irish politicans. A famous ward-boss, Johnny Powers (Irish) had his substantial house in the middle of what is now Little Italy. There was an old joke that if you wanted to clear out the Irish-ladden City Council chambers, you would go in and yell, "Your tavern is on fire!"

Change in Plans....Flip Book presentations Thur. & Monday

We will move your Flip Book presentations to Thursday and Monday. With a chance to fine-tune your art, consider NY Times syndicated cartoonist Jeff Danziger's take on press freedoms in Russia (above, 2005) and China (below, last week) and his reflection on his industry during the this You Tube interview. Notice how many Putin cartoon's appear in the 4-minute video.

Megalomaniac Fashion

(From APGov.org blog)

Check out Mubarak's $25,000 threads!

Look closely @ the pinstripes.

Re-run to re-set next week

(This re-run post from last year will set the stage for Tuesday's book chats. Discussion questions for both books are at the bottom of this page)

Terror in Moscow
Fearing the wider consequences of a bomb attack on the Moscow metro

The Economist reports on Monday's (3/29/10) Moscow metro bombings. Quotes from President Putin returned as PM when he said the government will "destroy," the terror group. Consider the hard-line response with this from Anna Politkovskaya in 2001 -- five years before her murder.

"People in Chechnya have rights guaranteed by the Russian constitution to live, like you, me or anybody else. The western world is depriving them of these rights by supporting Putin."
_____________________

"TWO terrorist bombers on the Moscow metro killed at least 37 people and injured 102 in the morning rush hour on Monday March 29th. The first explosion, which killed 22 people and injured 12, struck just before 8am at the Lubyanka metro station, a few hundred feet from the Kremlin and next to the headquarters of the Federal Security Services, the successor to the KGB. The second bomb went off at Park Kultury, by the main circular road in central Moscow, killing at least 15.....Russia has grown tragically familiar with terrorist attacks over the past two decades, during which it has fought two brutal wars in Chechnya, in the 1990s. But Moscow has not seen attacks such as these since August 2004, when a bomb on the Moscow metro killed nine people. Last November a bomb on the Nevsky express, which travels between Moscow and St Petersburg, killed 26 people and injured 100.

Chechnya itself has been relatively calm in recent years under the thumb of the local strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, installed by Mr Putin as Chechen president in 2007. But violence has spread to neighbouring republics, particularly Ingushetia and Dagestan, both of which have descended into a state resembling civil war. Yet although killings and explosions have become daily occurrences in these north Caucasian republics, in Moscow they are not considered to be attacks on Russia itself."

www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15806684
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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. What fresh insights have you obtained from Jan Wong’s analysis of the Tiananmen Square demonstration and the detailed description of the subsequent massacre?

9. 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?

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?

What can, should governments do?

This video shows the 71,000-population city of Minamisoma, Japan, being washed away from this week's tsunami.

A factory building has collapsed in Sukagawa city, Fukushima prefecture, in northern Japan on March 11, 2011. A massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake shook Japan, unleashing a powerful tsunami that sent ships crashing into the shore and carried cars through the streets of coastal towns.

Japan has a unitary rather than federal system of government, in which local jurisdictions largely depend on national government financially.There are 47 administrative administrative divisions in the democratic parliamentary system of government, actually very similar to the UK, with less devolved sovereign powers.

This natural disaster will give us another opportunity to access government's response comparatively.

CNN had this interesting interview posted with Dave Mammen, an urban planner who has worked on disaster recovery efforts in Kobe, Japan and Aceh, Indonesia. He was a Visiting Professor at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI) at Kyoto University and has directed many joint research projects with Japanese government agencies, universities and thinktanks. His research on ten years of recovery efforts in New York after 9/11 will be published later this year in Japanese and English by Fuji Technology Press:

According to the U.S. Geological survey, more earthquakes are recorded in Japan than anywhere else—because it has “the densest seismic network in the world,” which probably means more earthquake monitoring goes on there than anywhere else. How well-prepared is Japan for the seemingly endless stream of earthquakes there?

Japan’s modern engineering and technology is well-prepared, as demonstrated by the vivid images of high-rise buildings swaying in downtown Tokyo.

Sadly Japan is not so well-prepared when it comes to public administration. I saw the head of one of the government agencies (I think it was the meteorological agency) giving a press conference today and all he could talk about was how Japan’s early warning systems had “worked properly” by giving residents a warning that a tsunami was coming. But actually relatively few people would have had high ground to get to, and not sufficient time. This bureaucrat’s officious and defensive tone made me very angry.

After Kobe’s earthquake in 1995, there was an outpouring of volunteers helping with relief efforts, and I hope and expect we will see something similar now. But the heavy hand of central government dictated most recovery efforts in Kobe, which were constrained to rebuilding what was damaged or destroyed.

Many good ideas for improvements and enhancements were not eligible for funding, and creative responses that could have taken into account transitions already underway in Kobe’s economy were stifled. Will Japan’s central and local governments be able to work together to recover from this disaster? How will citizen participation be activated after this disaster, and will official recovery planning accommodate the voices and concerns of the public? Time will tell.

You’re writing about recovery efforts in New York City after 9/11. Are there similarities—in terms of preparedness and/or recovery– between a man-made disaster, such as an act of terrorism, and a huge natural disaster?

Yes, I believe there are similarities. The damage and suffering from the World Trade Center disaster was immense, widespread, and prolonged. I believe we will be able to say the same of today’s disaster.

After the immediate emergency response, a long-term recovery and rebuilding program will be needed. I hope the Japanese will take heed of an observation by the co-founder of The September 11^th Fund here in New York who wisely noted that not everything that needs to be done is obvious on Day One.

For example, World Trade Center disaster-associated physical and mental health issues have come into focus only slowly over the past ten years, and we are just now formulating proper responses to these recovery needs.

All of the reputable disaster relief agencies will be providing assistance, which will be needed in huge amounts for a very long time: American Red Cross, Save the Children, Salvation Army, Global Giving, etc. For those who feel a sense of shared humanity with the Japanese who are suffering, the best way to help is by donating money to the agency of your choice.

As I write these notes, I have just heard from another colleague who lives in Nagoya, two hours southwest of Tokyo. He writes, “We are afraid that this earthquake will be a trigger to cause another great earthquake in the southern area of Japan.”

http://inthearena.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/12/dave-mammen-lessons-from-911-will-apply-to-helping-earthquake-victims-in-japan/

Laughing so I don't cry

The Daily Show - Crisis in Dairyland - For Richer and Poorer
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

I'll use humorous videos from the Daily Show to keep me from crying from for my soapbox about the non-governing Ash Wednesday Massacre of collective bargaining pulled in Wisconsin. The new law, taken out of the budget bill so it did not need a quorum, now strips public workers from bargaining rights and allows the governor the power to fire any striking public employee (except police and firefighters, who supported Walker). It was the biggest rolling back of workers rights in Wisconsin state history.

Watch to see what follows in fiscally-challenged states like, Idaho, Ohio, Michigan, Florida....and maybe even Illinois with public school teacher's pensions.

For me, Scott Walker makes Rod Blagojevich look good:

The Daily Show - Searching for the Wisconsin 14
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

And what about the damage of peaceful political protest? Fox News 'Fair and Balanced?':

The Daily Show - Crisis in Dairyland - Tape Residue
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Liberal activist Michael Moore says this means class warfare:

What does this say about our American Poltical Culture?

Washington (CNN) -- A controversial congressional hearing Thursday on the radicalization of Muslim Americans touched on sensitive questions involving terrorism and tolerance a decade after the 9/11 attacks.

At times emotional and theatrical, the four-hour session of the House Homeland Security Committee included calls from moderate Muslims for support in overcoming extremists seeking to indoctrinate their children, as well as protests from Democratic legislators who complained the hearing unfairly implicated all Muslims for the criminal acts of a small minority.

In the end, committee Chairman Peter King, R-New York, said the hearing that generated widespread media coverage "actually went a lot easier than it could have." He blamed what he called the "mindless, baseless hysteria in the media" in preceding weeks for the controversy, and promised additional hearings in coming months, with the next perhaps focusing on the radicalization of Muslims in U.S. prisons.

Despite strong criticism from Muslim Americans and accusations of a McCarthyist revival, King started the hearing by defending it as neither "radical or un-American."

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/10/radicalization.hearings/index.html?hpt=Sbin



Then there is this re-run Political Warrior post from 2008 -- seems some wedge issues stay with us for a long time.


Who Speaks for Islam?

Who speaks for America? Who speaks for African Americans? Who speaks for Catholics?

It seems to me you would all say these are ridiculous questions. Isn't it, "We, the People?"

Then why do extremists and terrorism too often monopolize the media's coverage and thus the message coming out of the Muslim world? Why is it that a robust anti-Americanism seems to pervade the Muslim world? Is it the sign of a clash of cultures – do they hate who we are? Or is it what we do?

Rather than listening to extremists or simply relying on the opinions of individual pundits, why not give voice to the silenced majority?

The purpose of this post is to try to get through (MSM promoted?) the cultural stereotypes we may be looking through when we analayze the political systems of states like Iran ruled by Sharia (Muslim) Law -- or more importantly -- the poltical culture what ("We the People") are saying...in the Muslim world....if there is such a thing?

First, Al Arabia reports on a massive project in which Gallup pollsters interviewed 50,000 people in 35 Muslim countries. The results have been published in a book called Who Speaks for Islam? What a billion Muslims really think.

"A recent survey gathered on what Muslims truly think of the West revealed that Muslims feel disrespected by the West and although they admire Western values they feel that democracy when applied in Muslim countries was hypocritical...

"'Despite widespread anti-American and anti-British sentiment, Muslims around the world said they in fact admired much of what the West holds dear', including freedom of speech and citizens, democracy, technological progress and access to knowledge, co-author Dalia Mogahed said.

[She continued] "'When we asked Muslims around the world what the West can do to improve relations with the Muslim world, the most frequent responses were for the West to demonstrate more respect for Islam and to regard Muslims as equals, not as inferior.'..."

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/04/07/47995.html

Second, from Salek (a 2008 WV grad, 5 on the AP Test BTW):

"I just wanted to tell you about a Canadian sitcom called "Little Mosque on the Prairie."

It's about a Muslim community in a small town of rural Canada and the challenges they face from within and outside their community.

The show is currently airing its second season on CBC and is HUGELY popular in Canada, and has received rave reviews from critics.

I wanted to bring this to your attention because so much in the news and media these days is negative coverage of Muslims (i.e. Danish cartoons). This show challenges those stereotypes and misconceptions and does it effectively through humor.

I appreciate the show not just for the laughs, but also for it's realistic portrayal of issues facing Muslims such as the gap between conservative and progressive Muslims and post 9/11 fears (propelled bya hillarious Rush Limbaugh-esque radio host). The issues may be serious but the show maintains a light-hearted tone."

Here's what the NY Times had to say:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE7D81030F935A25752C0A9619C8B63&scp=1&sq=little+mosque+prairie&st=nyt

Here's an episode of Little Mosque on the Prairie.

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=4689644836814333621

China Potpourri

(These posts from Teaching Comparative blog)

Report to the NPC

Keep the organizations straight in your mind. That will help you make sense of the events.

China's top legislator delivers NPC Standing Committee work report

Chinese top legislator Wu Bangguo is delivering a work report of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), or the parliament, at a plenary meeting of the NPC's ongoing annual session Thursday.

National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference

There are so many representative organizations in China that, perhaps, their number compensates for the limited representative-ness and limited authority any of them has. This is the group that has the first shot at reviewing the new 5-year plan.

Where in the government or Party hierarchy is "China's top political advisor?"

Top political advisor vows to push forward democratic oversight, contribute to China's economic development

China's top political advisor Jia Qinglin on Thursday vowed to "actively yet prudently" carry forward democratic oversight, and contribute to the transformation of the country's economic development pattern.

Jia made the remarks in a report delivered at the opening meeting of the Fourth Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body, which opened in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Thursday…

China's new 5-year plan

Dan Harris and Steve Dickinson write for China Law Blog as an adjunct to their international law practice. Steve Dickinson has been speaking of late at various embassies and chambers of commerce in Beijing regarding China's Twelfth Five Year Plan. The following is the outline of his presentation.

It offers a shortcut for students to a summary of the plan. How does the plan appear different from the plans presented by politicians in other nation states?

China's 12th Five Year Plan: A Preliminary Look

This plan will be adopted during the March meetings of the National People’s Congress and the CPC…

I. China’s Ten Major Challenges

1. Resource constraints: energy and raw materials.
2. Mismatch in investment and imbalance in consumption.
3. Income disparity.
4. Weakness in capacity for domestic innovation.
5. Production structure is not rational: too much heavy industry, not enough service.
6. Agriculture foundation is thin and weak.
7. Urban/rural development is not coordinated.
8. Employment system is imbalanced.
9. Social contradictions are progressively more apparent.
10. Obstacles to scientific development continue to exist and are difficult to remove.

II. The Theoretical Solution

1. The Main Theme: Scientific Development
2. The Main Line: “China must rapidly engage in a complete transformation of its form of economic development.”

III. Ten Point Outline of the 12th Five Year Plan

1. Expand domestic consumption while maintaining stable economic development.
2. Modernize agriculture to create the new socialist rural village
3. Develop a modern, balanced industrial and trade structure
4. Advance the integration between regions and encourage stable urbanization
5. Promote energy saving and environmental protection
6. Create an innovation driven society by encouraging education and training of the workforce
7. Establish a comprehensive public social welfare system
8. Encourage cultural production in order to increase China’s “soft power”
9. Increase the pace of reform of the economy
10. Continue with liberalization and “opening-up” to the outside, but on a new track

Monarchy or republic?

(From Teaching Comparative Blog)

The question of the role of a monarch in a democratic regime shows up in textbooks and classrooms more often than it does in UK politics. A couple dozen republicans did show up in front of Windsor Palace in London recently. Why?

Royal wedding: diehard republicans battle on despite Britain's love affair with the monarchy

Hugh Ashton's face was a portrait of thwarted ambition as he watched from a discreet distance the anti-monarchist protest in front of Buckingham Palace… "It's a bit disappointing. I was expecting more people than this. It's made me wonder, if this is the strongest number they can get out…"

Graham Smith… campaign manager of the organisation Republic believes… "The monarchy is not a luxury; it's an imposition and an obstacle to serious political reform."…

Whether or not you agree, it is a good illustration of why Smith describes the status quo as "the politicians' monarchy – it serves their interests and not ours. The monarchy corrupts the culture of politics because the politicians end up seeing themselves as part of a state apparatus rather than the people's servants."…

Comparing Death Penalty Codes

Cook County kept a gallows around until 1977 in case "Terrible Tommy" O'Connor, who escaped on the eve of his execution in 1921, was ever apprehended. (Chicago Tribune 1977 / March 6, 2011)

Gov. Pat Quinn today signed into law a historic ban on the death penalty in Illinois and commuted the sentences of 15 death row inmates to life without parole. Quinn signed the legislation surrounded by longtime opponents of capital punishment.

10 things you might not know about the death penalty

A comparative look at capital punishment

UK -- Death Penalty? No

The death penalty in Britain was abolished for murder in 1965, but it was not until 1998 that the Government abolished it for treason and piracy when it passed the Crime and Disorder Act. In 2002, the death penalty was abolished in all British territories.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article816637.ece

Russia -- Death Penalty? No, moratorium

Russian announced the moratorium in 1996 when it joined the Council of Europe, although it retains capital punishment in its criminal code. Russia's ban on the death penalty will remain when a current legal suspension expires on 1 January, the country's Constitutional Court has ruled (2009). Opinion polls suggest that a majority of Russians back the death penalty.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8367831.stm

China -- Death Penalty? Yes, more executions than the rest of the world combined

Just two weeks ago, China removed 13 offences from the list of 68 crimes punishable by death.
But death penalty campaigners say the revision of the country's criminal code will not necessarily lead to a significant fall in the numbers of criminals executed.

The offences were all economic crimes for which the death penalty was rarely if ever applied.

It is impossible to say what impact it will have on the number of people given the death penalty each year here.

That figure is a state secret, but China is thought to execute more people than the rest of the world put together.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12580504

Iran -- Death Penalty? Yes, especially if a political protester

An Iranian military court has sentenced two men to death in connection with the killings of three anti-government protesters, the state news agency said.

Prosecutors said the three died after a series of beatings in Iran's Kahrizak jail, where they were held for taking part in last year's election protests.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10466595

Nigeria -- Death Penalty? Yes, mostly young, poor, with no real appeal process

As of February 2008, 725 men and 11 women were on death row in Nigeria. At least 40 of them were under 18. About 53 percent were convicted of murder. Most of the rest were convicted of armed robbery and robbery.

Hundreds of people on death row in Nigeria did not have a fair trial and may therefore be innocent, according to a new Amnesty International report.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/poverty-and-the-death-penalty-in-nigeria-20081021

Mexico -- Death Penalty? No, but maybe under further review

The Congress in Mexico has agreed to debate the issue of reinstating capital punishment for some crimes (2009).

Mexico abolished capital punishment in 2005, but recent surveys suggest that 70% of Mexicans are in favour of the death penalty.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7846249.stm

Power of re-districting pen drawn out of a stovepipe hat? Really?

A nice preview read for tonight's Gerrymandering the Movie presentation at Neuqua Valley (6 pm) can be read here by Matt Hanley of the Aurora Beacon-News.

The new Congressional and State Assembly districts must be re-drawn by May by Democrats (they hold the majority in Springfield) or a non-partisan board will take a shot. Illinois lost one Congressional seat after the last census.

Who knew that in 1981, after the 1980 census, Democrats during divided government got the power of the pen by winning a drawing out of a stove pipe hat? The hat thing must have made the pols pretend that Lincoln would have loved the idea.

http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/4079996-417/redistricting-means-mixing-of-political-puzzle-pieces.html

China Profile

China is the world's most populous country, with a continuous culture stretching back nearly 4,000 years.

Using the BBC China Profile: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1287798.stm you will write your own 10 question and answer quiz on China. Be sure to check out the link: How China is ruled .

Also, these re-run posts to compare China to what was happening in Iran two years ago, and may be coming again.

(From Political Warrior, June 25, 2009)

Earlier this summer, before the heat was turned on the non-democratic Islamic Republic of Iran, the Chinese government kept tabs on ceremonies aimed at at recognizing the 20th anniversary the student-led Tiananmen Square of 1989.

What can the Chinese Case Study of protest tell us as we try to predict the future in Iran? And what does it tell us about the lack of Rule of Law in authoritarian -- even if supposedly democratically elected -- regimes?

Here are a couple of pieces of interest out of China. Can you draw comparisons to events in Iran?

From Newsweek's June 15 issue:

China's Ghost Writer

In designing the "bird's nest" Olympic stadium, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei helped create an architectural icon for China. Yet now he's living under police surveillance. His crime? Running a blog that lists the names of kids who died in poorly built schools in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. In the crackdown ahead of last week's Tiananmen Square anniversary, China's censors deleted Ai's blog without explanation. "The state tried so hard to make [the victims] vanish," says Ai. He began his list in March, frustrated by government inaction. By May he'd gathered 5,010 names and enough publicity to prod the government to compile its own tally of the dead. But Ai says, "You cannot just give us numbers." Now the blog has been wiped from servers, and Ai could face arrest, though he says he's "ready" for that. And while Beijing may have squashed one digital irritant, with Internet use doubling annually, the virtual realm could prove too vast and fast for China to control.

________________

From the June 3, Huffington Post:

Tiananmen Square: Foreign Reporters Barred By China On Eve Of Anniversary

BEIJING — A massive police presense ringed China's iconic Tiananmen Square on Thursday, the 20th anniversary of the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy activists, as the government continued an overwhelming drive to muzzle dissent and block commemorations.

An exiled protest leader _ famous for publicly haranguing one of China's top leaders 20 years ago _ was also blocked from returning home to confront officials over what he called the "June 4 massacre."

Foreign journalists were barred from the vast square as uniformed and plainclothes police stood guard across the vast plaza that was the epicenter of the student-led movement that was crushed by the military on the night of June 3-4, 1989.

Security officials checking passports also blocked foreign TV camera operators and photographers from entering covering the raising of China's national flag, which happens at dawn every day. Plain clothes officers aggressively confronted journalists on the streets surrounding the square, cursing and threatening violence against them.

The heavy security moves come after government censors shut down social networking and image-sharing Web sites such as Twitter and Flickr, blacked out CNN when it airs stories on Tiananmen. Dissidents were confined to their homes or forced to leave Beijing, part of sweeping efforts to prevent online debate or organized commemorations of the anniversary.

________________

And from the June 22 New York Times:

Despite Law, Job Conditions Worsen in China

A year and a half after a landmark labor law took effect in China, experts say conditions have actually deteriorated in southern China’s export-oriented factories, which produce many of America’s less expensive retail goods.

With China’s exports reeling and unemployment rising because of the global slowdown, there is growing evidence that factories are ignoring or evading the new law, and that the government is reluctant to enforce it.

Government critics say authorities fear that a crackdown on violators could lead to mass layoffs and even social unrest...

But workers are fighting back. Earlier this month, the government said Chinese courts were trying to cope with a soaring number of labor disputes, apparently from workers emboldened by the promise of the new contract labor law...

The law requires that all employees have a written contract that complies with minimum wage and safety requirements. It also strengthens the monopoly state-run labor union and makes it more difficult for companies to use temporary workers or to dismiss employees.

Western companies that outsource to China say they have stepped up their monitoring of supplier factories to ensure they comply with the law. But they acknowledge that ensuring compliance is challenging in China...

China’s huge and complicated labor market has long thrived on cheap labor and lax regulation. In recent years, labor rights advocates say they have seen incremental gains for workers. But they say there are growing signs of labor abuse...

[F]actory owners say that labor law enforcement has been weak and selective for years, and changing the rules now could lead to chaos, drive up prices and force many factories out of business...
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When considering China, what conditions are necessary to claim that rule of law is the effective?
China has the law, but it doesn't appear to have rule of law. What's preventing the effective establishment of rule of law?

AP Registration ends 3/11

AP registration ends next week on the 11th. They can register the week after (14th-18th), but then it is a fee of $10 per exam (that gets very pricy). AP registration will officially end on the 18th. No registration sheets will be taken after that. Register in guidance.

Gadafi and Sheen, Oh My!

On the same day, these interviews by ABC News. Blog your thoughts, who is more delusional, Moammar Gadafi or Charlie Sheen?

Study on Facebook

Seriously.

(From Ken Wedding's Teaching Comparative Blog)

There's a Facebook page for Comparative Government and Politics where anyone can ask a question or for an explanation.

It's at "AP Comparative Government and Politics: What You Need to Know"

There's a page-long list of discussion topics (countries and basic theory and methodology) as well. It's at Discussions. Last year's discussions are still posted and you might find what you're looking for there.

Jeff Silva-Brown has an AP Comparative Government hashtag on Twitter: #apcompgov You're welcome to follow those discussions, too.

Check all of them out.

The former AP Comparative Government chief reader also has a site designed at attacking the FRQ portion of the comparative test. It's at:

http://studyingcomparative.blogspot.com/

The Ugly Truth: An open and shut (not up) case

Leaders of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church today vowed to "quadruple" the number of protests at military funerals around the country following a Supreme Court ruling that the displays are protected under the First Amendment.

The 8-1 decision, written by chief Justice John Roberts with a lone dissent from Samuel Alito, is here:

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/09-751.pdf

(From MichaelMoore.com)

Back in the 90s, We Were the First to Deal with the Reverend Fred Phelps:U.S. Supreme Court correctly rules First Amendment gives crazy old Fred Phelps the right to picket military funerals... so now it's up to all of us to use our First Amendment rights to make fun of his vile protests.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/

Voter Registration at WV 3/3

Naperville Township clerk Carol Bertulis will be here Thursday, 3/3 during lunch periods in the student cafeteria to register anyone to vote who is going to be 18 years old by April 5. All that's needed is two forms of ID (one with address). IE: drivers license; school ID.

Any adults in the building that need to register to vote for the local elections that include school board, city council, and mayor in Naperville, are welcome.

Executive Branch still doing its job on DOMA

Last week a wedge issue with separation of powers illustrations was raised when the Justice Department announced that it would not defend in court, but still enforce the Defense of Marriage Act (passed in 1996 by Congress and signed by Democratic President Bill Clinton).

While President Obama says his stance on gay marriage, "is evolving," so was discussion on this issue in the last week. It may be surprising how much mis-information is repeated on this governmental non-action. A liberal professor form the University of Wisconsin during last week's Institute Day mis-spoke on the subject when she was giving her session on teaching controversial topics in school.

This NPR piece is great. Again, I'm shocked at how many people, and not just the commentators on FOX, don't understand that there is a difference between refusing to enforce a law, which I don't think a President can do under the Constitution, and refusing to defend the constitutionality of a law in court. The Supreme Court has the final word, and if they say the law is constitutional, the Obama Administration would have to continue to enforce it--the NPR piece makes it very clear that it is still being enforced now.

The NY Times also has an interesting article on sexual orientation may now be subject to strict scrutiny vs. rational basis testing in the courts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/24/us/24marriage.html?hp

It is unusual but it has happened before, under both Democratic and Republican presidents. Here is an example from the administration of the first President Bush:

http://articles.latimes.com/1992-11-06/business/fi-1371_1_cable-operators

Bottom line is that there is a big difference between enforcing the law, which the administration has clearly said it intends to do, as that is the president's obligation under the Constitution, and defending its constitutionality in court when the law is challenged, which they are not required to do if they agree that it is unconstitutional. Others can defend it, and the Court can rule however it likes.

Here is the Justice Department's statement:

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/February/11-ag-222.html

The Constitutional Question, headed for the Supreme Court eventually, is does DOMA violate the Full Faith and Credit Clause?

Breaking News: SC rules 8-1 in favor of Westboro Baptist Church in Snyder v. Phelps

Chinese, Russian window on the world

Unsettling? Foreign Policy reports on how Russia, China...and the U.S. view events in Egypt:

One of the principal bases of U.S. foreign policy under President Barack Obama has been to create as constructive relations as possible with Russia, China, and other great powers. The administration had some degree of success in 2010: notably the Russia "reset" policy and managing inevitable trade and other tensions with rising China. But 2011 looks set to be more challenging as events continue to unfold in Egypt after the mass demonstrations that ousted President Hosni Mubarak and as the United States, Russia, and China all prepare for elections in 2012.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/02/15/how_russia_and_china_see_the_egyptian_revolution

The Teaching Comparative blog has this:

The populist revolutions in the Middle East are prompting reactions in China. The reactions illustrate the fears of the authoritarians in China.

Well-Oiled Security Apparatus in China Stifles Calls for Change

Two months of upheaval in the Mideast have cast doubt on the staying power of all authoritarian governments. But in China calls for change are so far being met with political controls wielded by authorities who, even during a period of rising prosperity and national pride, have not taken their staying power for granted.

The nearly instantaneous deployment of the police to prevent even notional gatherings in big cities the past two weeks is just one example of what Chinese officials call “stability maintenance.” This refers to a raft of policies and practices refined after “color revolutions” abroad and, at home, tens of thousands of demonstrations by workers and peasants, ethnic unrest, and the spread of mobile communications and broadband networking.

Chinese officials charged with ensuring security, lavishly financed and permitted to operate above the law, have remained perpetually on edge, employing state-of-the-art surveillance, technologically sophisticated censorship, new crime-fighting tools, as well as proactive efforts to resolve labor and land disputes, all to prevent any organized or sustained resistance to single-party rule...

Chinese Move to Stop Reporting on Protests

Chinese police, citing newly enacted restrictions on journalists, have moved to forcefully prevent foreign reporters from covering public protests that have been largely nonexistent, establishing “no reporting” zones in Shanghai and Beijing and, in one case, beating a videographer and injuring two other reporters…

Why China Is Nervous About the Arab Uprisings

As protests swept the Arab world, toppling two regimes, the Chinese government has strengthened its elaborate security apparatus with crackdowns on human rights lawyers and activists.

On the Chinese Internet, anonymous calls for a "Jasmine Revolution" -- modeled after the pro-democracy demonstrations in the Middle East -- have been squelched by authorities. Words like "Egypt" and "Tunisia" have been blocked on some Web searches and social networking sites have been made inaccessible.

Unlike Arab countries with deteriorating economies, China has experienced rapid economic growth in the past decade. Is that keeping a lid on broad discontent in China? If that is the case, why is the Chinese government so nervous? Could popular protests of a similar scale sweep China in the near future?...

Andrew Jacobs on The Takeaway Radio Program