Tomorrow morning at 6:30 in Rm 302, I will bring donuts/pastries, fruit, juice and chocolate milk. Please post in comment mode if you are able to bring any food for your brain. Also, post any Qs here till 10 pm and I will do my best to answer them.
While you "Cram for the Exam" here is some more reading on Super PACs:
(From 2010)
The Washington Post has again published a similarity matrix of Supreme Court Justices voting. Three years ago I posted about using a multidimensional scaling procedure to convert this similarity into a visual plot. Since that time Rehnquist and Souter have left the Court replaced by Roberts and Sotomayor. Before Elena Kagan completes the Senate's review process to replace Justice Stevens, here is a plot of the newer Court. Again an arbitrary algebraic sign places Justices Stevens, Sotomayor, Breyer, and Ginsburg on the left of our plot and Justices Scalia, Thomas, Roberts and Alito on the right. Again, Justice Kennedy is the most centrist justice falling just a little right of center.
You will not see all of these cases on Tuesday's test, but this is the best outline out there on the YOUDIA that details any that you might see. Post any questions on these or anything else in the comment section.
The Four Little Girls story of murder of African-American school girls in Alabama in 1963 made the country take stark notice of civil rights crimes in America. But what about an estimated 276 girls kidnapped from school three weeks ago in Northern Nigeria?
The citizens have noticed, but till now the government is still in the dark in how to get the school girls back safely. And the world seemingly has yet to take full notice.
Oprah and Bono (my guy) have lent star power to the issue of girls' education in Africa. But it has largely been unchanged in sub-Saharan Africa, where less than 57% of all children, even less for girls, go to primary school. That includes Nigeria, which was rated as the ninth most deadly place to be a child in the world.
Is the future (and only hope for sub-Saharan Africa, sans South Africa) if girls can rise to be women and women leaders?
Bono thinks so in his essay on Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Time 's 100 Most Influential People Issue.
The situation is dark in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa litterally, too. This re-run post cam after last year's Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium.
The New York Times account of the passage of a new environmental
protection law in China offers a perception of a legislative process that is
very similar to one practiced in the UK or Mexico or the USA.
The Chinese legislature decided Thursday to revise the country’s
environmental protection law…
The legal revisions were approved Thursday
by the National People’s Congress [NPC], a legislative body that generally
agrees to policies already made by Communist Party leaders. Li Keqiang, China’s
prime minister, has said that China is ready to “declare war” on pollution…
You know what's misleading about that account.
The
New York Times reporter makes it sound as if the NPC is meeting in Beijing
like Parliament does in London, and on Thursday it passed important revisions to
environmental protection legislation.
What's wrong with that impression?
If you were asked that question on an exam, what would your answer be?
Here's the account by the Chinese news agency Xinhua:
The Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC),
the country's top legislature, has voted to adopt revisions to the Environmental
Protection Law…
The bill was passed with a solid majority of votes…
And the difference between the two accounts?
You should
recognize right away that the ±3000 delegates to the NPC are not in session at
this time of year. They meet earlier in the spring (March 5-15 in 2014).
You should also know about how political bodies in China regularly have
"executive" committees to do the work of larger groups and ask for approval for
those actions later. The Communist Party has a Politburo and within that a
Standing Committee.
In a system of democratic centralism, policy
decisions are made at the very top of the system by very small groups of people.
The Party politburo is a group of about 25; the Party Standing Committee has 7
members. Similarly, the 3000-member NPC (meeting yearly) has a standing
committee of about 150 (meeting every other month) and the chairman and about 14
vice-chairmen (probably meet weekly or as needed) serve as the executive
committee for the NPC Standing Committee.
So, as with the care you must
take with Nigerian journalists who carelessly toss around terms like government
and regime, we must take care, even with respected journalists like those who
write for the New York Times, when they describe political processes in
terms that sound familiar. Comparative politics is not easy to get right.
_______________________
Facial hair and subversion
The news about beards is probably only one bit in a long list of things the
Chinese government wants to know about, but it makes a good headline.
Authorities in western China’s restive, Muslim-majority Xinjiang
Uighur Autonomous Region are offering rewards to locals who inform on their
neighbors for “wearing beards,” government-controlled media reported this week.
Islamic liturgy recommends that Muslim men wear beards.
In recent months, local officials have tightened religious restrictions on
Xinjiang’s ethnic Uighurs, in response to a series of armed attacks that were
allegedly perpetrated by Uighur separatists…
Informants in parts of
Xinjiang’s Aksu prefecture, an epicenter of the region’s ethnic tensions, can
earn anywhere from $8 to $8,000 for reporting their neighbors’ illegal religious
or “separatist activity” — which can now include facial hair, according to
Chinese newspaper The Global Times.
"That's a lot of money for
Uighurs in the south [of the region]. There they are very poor. This is an
incentive to betray their fellow Uighurs to get some financial gain," Alim
Seytoff, spokesman for the Uighur rights advocacy group World Uyghur Congress
(WUC), told Al Jazeera…
Local authorities have attempted to
suppress various ostensible signs of Muslim religiosity in the past. But
Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, said this appeared to
be first time officials are comfortable enough with such measures to allow them
to be reported in an English-language publication geared toward foreigners…
Watch Part I above and Part II linked below and comment on your prediction of
Nigeria's future, and read the two articles and post in comment section by end of the day Tuesday:
Using the FRQ guide given to you on Monday, Describe with evidence from the texts here (and/or Hauss Ch. 15) what is going on in Nigeria today (remember, Economic, Political and Social lenses) and explain why you give the Nigerian State at age 54 a Pass or Fail grade.
Is Nigeria a Failed State? (Thanks, Ken Wedding Teaching Comparative Blog)
It's a question that's been on the minds of many people. The editors of
Leadership ("Nigeria's most influential newspaper") now make their case.
Do they cover all the bases described in your textbook? (The editors are not
political scientists, so forgive them if they use "state," "government," and
"regime" in less than precise ways.)
Can you tell if this editorial is
more than just a statement of political opposition to the government of
President Jonathan? What resolution is suggested?
It’s about time we admitted it: Nigeria has become a failed state…
About a third of the country’s land mass has been under emergency rule for the
past one year… at least another third of the country including the Federal
Capital Territory: mass murders, kidnapping for ransom, daylight armed
robberies, breakdown of law and order, and unrestrained stealing of public
funds.
Several authorities identify a failed state as one that can no
longer perform its basic duties in such areas as security, power, eradication of
poverty, education and job creation. Even the Nigerian constitution recognises
that the reason for government’s existence is protection of life and property as
well as maintenance of law and order. Events of the past few years indicate that
Nigeria has since exceeded the minimum requirements for classification as a
failed state.
Currently, the nation is still in grief following the
massacre of over 100 people and injuring of more than 200 others by a bomb… On
the night of the same Monday, Boko Haram, which has been working together with
international terrorist groups al-Shabab and al-Qaeda, seized about 100 female
students from a school in Chibok…
No day has passed in the past weeks
without a tale of one horrendous atrocity or the other committed by the
bloodthirsty hoodlums…
After each act of terror, the Nigerian president,
Dr Goodluck Jonathan, has made promises that he has never fulfilled…
And
so, we ask again: what is a failed state? In this same country, 6 million
university graduates applied for 4, 000 job slots in the Immigration Service.
Almost 800, 000 of them were invited for an interview during which 23 of them
died as a result of stampedes at some centres…
Our country has, in
recent years, always featured on the list of the world’s failed or failing
states. In its Failed States Index 2013 released recently, for instance, The
Fund for Peace (FFP) ranks the country 16th out of 178 countries. It is only a
few points looking better than war-torn Somalia that is ranked first… No wonder
the country performed poorly on all indicators used by the FFP: mounting
demographic pressure, movement of refugees or internally displaced persons,
vengeance-seeking group grievance, human flight, uneven economic development,
poverty or severe economic decline, legitimacy of the state, progressive
deterioration of services, violation of human rights, security apparatus, rise
of factionalised elites and intervention of external actors.
As the
State of Emergency imposed on the three states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa
expires this Saturday, President Jonathan should not attempt to extend it,
unless he wishes to extend it to a larger part of the country. The leaders of
the three states have made it clear that they won’t welcome an extension. After
all, the entire nation is in emergency already, as clearly shown in the war with
terrorists in the north, and the failed amnesty programme in the Niger Delta
leading to the militants’ resumption of hostilities; armed robbers and
kidnappers rule the roost in the south-west and the south-east. No doubt, the
theatre of war now covers the entire country.
The Jonathan regime has
demonstrated a frightening incompetence in the handling of the state’s affairs.
It is now beyond doubt that the regime is incapable of protecting the people.
This government cannot even protect Nigerians from the next attack or even the
following day’s attacks. Before the latest kidnap of school girls in Chibok,
nobody seemed to have been looking for or even as much as discussing those
kidnapped earlier. All Nigerians now live in extreme fear.
When a state
has failed, it should not be left to be propped up by failed leaders and failed
politicians. But nothing is unstoppable. This trajectory can still be reversed
before it is too late. That is why statesmen must speak up now!
Or does money change (or an apparently surging economy) everything?
Trending: The Economist explains how Nigeria's economy grew by 89% overnight http://econ.st/1oTPp8I
First student to post a quality inference using the chart above to compare the U.S (even though the US is NOT a CP 6 country) and the UK and EU area with the political culture of the welfare state will win a "major (not really) award," in class on Monday.
More importantly, here are some great AP Comparative Review sites (thanks, U.S. Gov't Teachers Blog):
Rebecca Small's "Conceptual Terms" which my students all have learned and will review
Scribd's AP Comparisons. This is a great site if you want a quick review of major topics such as type of government, corruption, elections, ethnic conflict, social cleavages, and more. If you look at the right side of the page you will see summaries for each country. Russia, Iran, China (but not updated for Xi), Nigeria (Mexico and GB not there and EU is really weak)
Quizlet also has some great flashcards. The best way to search them is to write "AP Comparative Name of country" into the Quizlet search engine. The top search items is usually quite good.
This will be the first of several review posts collected by the Political Warrior:
Dan Larsen and Andrew Conneen do a great C-SPAN AP US Government review each year a few days before the AP exam. Larsen is a question leader at AP Government. Above is their 2013 review and here are the other past ones.
You can watch this year's edition on Saturday May 10th from 9:15 to 10 AM EST on CSPAN. (From US Government Teachers Blog)
Found this great AP Government review guide online (can't remember where and if you know, please tell me so I can give credit where it is due). It is imposing as it is very lengthy.
Posted on Wolak's Google Docs Page (under AP Gov. 2013-14) it is tailored down to 12 pages (minus courts, civil liberties and rights). They are both done thematically and have boxes for easy answers.
Go Cubs! Politico reports on the story of the Mets' mascot that Bill Clinton's Secret Service men scared his baseball's off.
BTW, AP US TERM-ament South Region (the Presidency) No. 5 seed White House Office. Secret Service staff is among the 1,800 that work in the White House Office.
India used to be, but is no longer one of the AP comparative 6 countries. Still, several themes can be taken out of the breaking news where the world's most populous democracy goes to the polls this week.
So with a chance to connect to some of your ethnic family and political culure, we're taking it.
For Wednesday (posted here by the end of the day):
Do they Tweet? I doubt it, but this made social media noise last week. Could Change becoming to the group that picks the Supreme Leader? And if so, why?
Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati has alerted listeners to a planned takeover of the Assembly of Experts, the body that chooses and monitors the activities of the supreme leader.
A few years ago, CNN.com ran a hilarious TV marketing campaign, placing CNN's on-air talent in Spinal-Tappish situations. It's nice to see CNN let down their hair a little.
Here’s hoping we all let our hair down a little as well, before we get down preparing for the AP Test (s), 31 days away (for U.S.), 34 for Comparative as of Sunday.
We will start Amanpour’s birthplace – E-Ran on Monday. Remember Breakfast Book Club Chats on Tuesday.
As we hit the home stretch to the high stakes tests (could be worth more than $6000 at U of Illinois), the first one to answer in the comment section on this post the answer to the question: "What is Horse Race Journalism?" will win a prize to be presented on Monday.
Both Iran and Nigeria (in Northern States) have a political culture based on Sharia (Muslim religious) Law. Most in Iran accept the authority of religious leaders and value a stable government that is involved in economic areas. Individual rights are, to most people, secondary to the needs of the country.
You should watch to the two posted flipped videos here. Above, Imam Khomeini - The Man Who Changed The World | Iran & The West. Also, extra credit available for watching ARGO and writting a summary that ties the film to our current study of Iran. Below, Griding Poverty in Oil-Rich Niger Delta. Given the country's vast oil reserves, Nigerians should theoretically be among the wealthiest populations in the world. But for the people of the Niger Delta poverty, conflict and corruption are a daily reality.
You will have a take-home exam on Iran, Nigeria and other second semester final given on 5/1, due on 5/6. You may want to check out the College Board Briefing papers on Nigeria and Iran.
Follow the blog regularly for other links and posts to review for both tests U.S. Government & Politics (Tuesday, 5/13); Comparative Government (Friday, 5/16).
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?
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?
_______________
Discussion Questions for The Golden Cage
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?
____________________
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
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.
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.
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?
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
(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.
_________________________
(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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
Tomorrow morning at 6:30 in Rm 302, I will bring donuts/pastries, fruit, juice and chocolate milk. Please post in comment mode if you are able to bring any food for your brain. Also, post any Qs here till 10 pm and I will do my best to answer them.
Even Putin loves his mother.*
In recent months, local officials have tightened religious restrictions on
Xinjiang’s ethnic Uighurs, in response to a series of armed attacks that were
allegedly perpetrated by Uighur separatists… 
Chris Wolak @ChrisWolak1 · 
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.
Rich Dog, Poor Dog -- China's new class struggle. From Foreign Policy
(From Teaching Comparative blog) 
