News and Current Events 101

[Mutanatia]

News and Current Events 101
This is a basic class. For this class, which will run for 2-4 months (3 is ideal, though I can make it more if you'd like), there will be two components:

A) 75% Participation. This class is open All the time. This means that participation is key. Your basic homework throughout the week that deals with participation is: If it is from a reputable news source, post it here and people will discuss it. That's pretty much it.

B) 25% Homework. Homework is assigned weekly. I will post 1-2 articles a week. When I mark it as "Parody," there will be some other instructions instead of the basics that follow (what? We can have some fun, too, can't we?) My main source of "parody" will be The Onion, and when it tells with "Rated R" or "NC-17" material (which shouldn't be very often), I will mark it as "NSFW."

There MAY be a few times whereby something is happening in mainstream news that is too good to pass up. For instance, something dealing with Eman Al-Obeidi (sp?) will probably be marked "Sensitivity Alert" (the woman in Libya alleging sexual abuse). This is NOT a knock against her; I just am playing it safe.

In the case of a "sensitivity alert: Deals with [subject x]," if a student is sensitive to this topic, they may choose instead to find an article relating to the area of the world in which the sensitive matter is found. For instance, in the caee of Al-Obeidi, you would have to find another article from Libya.

Sample questions I may ask for homework (using Al-Obeidi as an example again):

1) Who is Eman Al-Obeidi? What is her significance to the war in Libya?
2) What is her mother's name?
3) What does she have to say about how her life has changed since she first alleged sexual assault?
4) What does her mother tell her about how she should cope?
5) What role does her father play in all of this?

Homework will be due at the end of the week, and posted usually on a Friday. So, it will be due the following friday.

PLEASE NOTE: I will try to stay away from "Hot button issues" such as this.

There are some parodies that I may post as well (coming from The Onion). Headlines include:

"U.S. to just hand over Terry Jones."

"FBI Embarrassingly Admits it hasn't Solved a Crime for Years."

Questions for homework of that nature will be something along the lines of "What point do you think the authors are trying to get across (if anything)?"

Classes start 2 weeks from when this is posted.

[Markanite]

Thanks for posting this Mut!

Sign me up

[Tanzoria]

Sign me up.

[Birodalma]

Sign me up.

[Agenopolis]

Im in.

[Mutanatia]

The class will begin on Monday (I figure to give people a chance to sign=up one more time). This class is open enrollment, however, until Friday.

For homework (including for whomever signs up after the deadline), please post a news article and say a little about it, 3 or more sentences by Tuesday. The news can be from anywhere, and get be as biased as possible, as long as it tells a story, and is not *just* someone's opinion. An example of things not to include would be Fred Thompson editorial post, or an editorial from any newspaper. THe editorializing, as were, will be done by us.

The discussion part would be to respond to everyone's articles using as many sentences as you like. The minimum post length for a response is 2 sentences.

It also must come from a reputable news organization (Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ABC News, NBC News, etc.). Iin other words, make sure it doesn't come from soemthng akin to like the Onion (a parody news organization). There will be a few weeks which are devoted to parody. I like to keep things not-so-serious

On Sunday, I will post an audio news article from last year, just to get our "Feet wet," and get used to the course, so to speak. Homework (questions) will be due on the following Thursday. However, there will be some "discussion questions," so as such please make sure that those questions are posted by Wednesday. Also, participation would be adding to the discussion of others.

The following friday will begin the current news.

Thanks for joining and good luck!

EDIT: Oops! LEt's make that Sunday for the beginning of class, and Wednesday for the due date of the article.

[Markanite]

www.rte.ie/news/2011/0410/kerrr.html

I know this is a small article but I'd like to comment on it. A very serious murder occured in Northern Ireland where a policeman was killed by Dissident Republicans. This article shows the community uniting against those who commited the murder. The Taoiseach and the First and Deputy First Minister attending the funeral is also a major thing, it shows how close the North and South are becoming.

[Agenopolis]

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/berlusconis-senators-try-to-bring-fascism-back-to-italian-politics-2264970.html#

This isn't really the article i wanted to find but its close enough.
The main news being that the Priminister is in Milan for a trial based on corruption and love affairs. While in Rome a group of senators tries to bring back Fascism.
I'm worried about Italy in general but I'm more worried about if the fascist come to power, will they try to get Croatia's coast (Dalmatia) again as they tried it in the last century.

[Mal]

Too late to add this calss to my current semester course schedule?

[Mutanatia]

Nope. The closing date is Sunday

[Mal]

Far out. Glad to be in the class.

[Mal]

Are we permitted to post parody articles from the Onion as well?

[Mutanatia]

Only when I say it's parody week

This week is not parody

[Mal]

www.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/world/americas/15briefs-ART-Cuba.html

This is a short article, but it raises the age old question concerning American Intellignece and the Public's Right to Know.

How much should we, as a society, know about the covert operations conducted by out intelligence agecies?

We have entrusted intelligence services to conduct operations designed to serve our military and thus keep us safe from aggression.

Unfortunately, there is a blurry line between what we should know, and what shuld be kept secret in the name of "national security."

Again, a great topic for debate...

[Mutanatia]

(Malecia, do you care to add your opinion to that? )

[Mal]

Apr 15, 2011 16:04:57 GMT -5 Mutanatia said:

(Malecia, do you care to add your opinion to that? )

Well, I think in a Representative Democracy, you give the folks you vote for the authorization to make that decision for you. It's why we have oversight committees, like the Select Committee on Intelligence. They are the ones who should decide what should be released to the public and what should be kept classified.

Does it always work? No. Sometimes, intelligence agencies keep things to themselves. After all, Congress can't disclose what it doesn't know about.

If I was a member of a committee, my test on whether to disclose would be: How much will not disclosing impact the average citizen? Also, How much will disclosing compromise the troops in the field?

If disclosing sensitive facts would put lives in danger, I would keep them secret.

It is a tough issue, and it doesn't have an easy answer, but it's as close as I can come to one that makes sense.

[Mutanatia]

Here's a few discussion questions for you two, Agenopolis and Markanite (this is bonus stuff and won't reflect on your grade):

For Agen: Why do you think Italy might act out of aggression towards Croatia?

For Mark: Is it a good thing that Ireland is, as you say, getting more united?

[Markanite]

In my opinion.. yes I am a nationalist in Ireland and the only way the North can move on is if the issue of being controlled by England is removed, then we can actually get down and have real polticians, real politics and actual debates! But I can also see the downside for Northern Irelands economy at this time if unification occurs

[Mutanatia]

Well put, Malecia. You are right; you can't tell what you don't know about if you don't know about it

It kind of reminds me of Rumsfeld's Iraq quote actually (paraphrasing this):
"We know what we know. We know what we don't know. We also don't know what we know, and don't know what we don't know."

And to Markanite: I'm not too familiar with Irish politics. Care to elaborate on the downside for Northern Ireland's economy?

My link will be posted tomorrow, no later than around 12:00. If you cannot, for whatever reason, access this, please PM me and I will send you the file.

[Markanite]

Well at the moment, the Southern Economy is terrible, bank bail-outs, loans from the IMF, mortgage crisis and fighting to retain the 12.5% corparation tax. The North's economy is slightly better, so unification atm would distrupt the economy and really make it slip into another recession.

[Mutanatia]

Nicely said, Mark!

Homework

The following link goes to War News Radio. This is from last year. Again, I'm not going to post things from last year much as those events are probably over. However, for the first one, I want everyone to get their "feet wet," as it were.

A little background: War News Radio is based in the Quaker college of Swarthmore College. Additionally, it has a large program dedicated to the peace movement. Keep this in mind as you come to the discussion question.

Instructions: For each article, there will be two questions. Please choose either 'A' or 'B.' You can also feel free to mix-and-match as well, just as long as one question from each of the articles is answered. Finally, I want the answers to be PMed to me, with the exception of the discussion question. You post that in this thread. Opinion questions count as participation for homework; you don't get graded on those.

Now, here we go!

warnewsradio.org/2010/11/21/this-week-on-war-news-radio-11-19-10-3/

(Click on the link in the text that says "Play this Week's Episode," and not the link at the top.

QUESTIONS (PM to Me):

News Articles:
A. Do you think that NATO will actually withdraw from Afghanistan at its deadline in 2012?
B. If it happens (Which it did at a later datE), would repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell lead to negative consequences in the military?
[SENSITIVITY ALERT: I think there's a mention of Rape in here as a news article]

1st Article:
A. Why does the Wikileaks chat moderator believe that the release of the Iraq War Logs lead was too early?
B. Why does the leak put people's lives at risk, according to the Department of Defense?

2nd Article:
A. What observation does the professor make about U.S. Wars?
B. What are the main two types of wars that the U.S. fights, according to the professor?

3rd Article:
A. Why is commuting in Baghdad "Awful," according to the Iraqi being interviewed?
B. According to the Iraqi being interviewed, why are check points "more trouble than they are worth?"

Discussion question (Please post here): Is War News Radio a valid source of information? Why or why not? Do you detect a bias?

[Mal]

War news radio seems to be an impartial source and they attempt to present an unbiased view of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

They presented both sides of the wikileaks controversy, which is what responsible journalism is supposed to do: report the news.

[Mutanatia]

Class, here's your next assignment:
If you haven't read the book summary I sent you, please do so now. The following is a link to the story on "Three Cups of Tea:"

www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/04/17/three.cups.of.tea.controversy/index.html?hpt=C2

This one comes with three questions and a discussion question. Please answer (PM) me two of the three questions, and post the response to the discussion question here.

QUESTIONS:
a) What are some of the inconsistencies of "Three Cups of Tea?"
b) Do you believe Mortenson was actually kidnapped by the Taliban? Why or why not?
c) Why has Mortenson declined interviews?

DISCUSSION:

Considering that this was once a book that was considered "gospel" by the U.S. Military on how to nation build, do you think the fact that the book might be fabricated (in part and in whole) changes anything in regards to how to nation-build? Why or why not?

[Mal]

In my opinion, nation building is almost always a failure. The most prominent example? The Weimar Republic. The allies basically told Germany that they were a democracy, and handed them a constitution. This to a people with virtually no idea of what a Republic is, and no traditions of Democracy whatsoever.

The result was a nation that touched off the deadliest conflict in history, with over 50 million lives lost.

Fast forward to 2003. The U.S. decides to build a nation in Iraq. 8 years after the "mission accomplished" fiasco, we still have troops "in country." Whether the book is fact or fiction is irrelevant, because if history has shown us anything, it's that nation building in this context is, a majotiy of the time, a futile waste of resources.

How is one nation right in saying that "our way is how you should do things?"

Do I think the Taliban is barbaric for the way they treated women while they had power? Absolutely. But isn't it up to the Afghanis to decide to take power back, as opposed to us taking it back for them, as long as the new regime did it "our way"?

[Mutanatia]

Malecia, let's flesh that out a little bit. Do you think that 3 cups of tea should be viewed, regardless of fact or fiction, as a "how-to" guide?

Also, there was a theory I had a while back. Remember how we (the US) tried to spread democracy to Afghanistan and Iraq? My theory was that the Afghanis and Iraqis didn't want democracy. What do you think about that?

[Mal]

I don't think there can be a "how-to" guide for an endeavour that will usually be unsuccessful. The Afgahn and Iraqi analogy you make is perfect. How can you build a nation for folks who don't share the same governing philosophy of the nation trying to do the building?

[Mutanatia]

Also, there seems to be a culture gap as well.

Examples are:
The way we treat women vs. the way they treat women
The way they give shelter and hospitality to just about anyone whereas we see that as "Fraternizing with the enemy"
The ideals they have vs. what we have

So when we say/project/whatever that, "You should have democracy! Women can dress as they please and speak freely--maybe even become powerful--you'll be able to pick who you want to give hospitality to, AND on top of that, you don't have to be governed by religion... to the men of that area, it doesn't sound too appealing, now does it?

Now, to that point... do you personally think that educating women and children will free them from the mental bond they have to the Taliban and their ideals? (Admittedly, a U.S.-centric question; couldn't think of a different way to word it, sorry >.<)

[Mal]

Well, if History has shown us anything it's that education is just as controvesial as nation building. Look at the way school boards fight on a daily basis over cirriculum.

A few years back, The University of Washington student senate voted to not erect a statue to honor Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, a marine fighter pilot in WWII. One of the women said that honoring a man who killed others was inappropriate.

Still another woman said that there were enough monuments to "rich, white men. " Which was petty. Boyington wasn't white, as he was part Sioux Indian. And he certainly wasn't rich. He only got to go to college on a wrestling scholarship.

The problem with education is that, while certainly enriching, it tends to produce people who think they know more than they really do. And all of this comes back to the folks who teach.

Teaching is a powerful thing. It most certainly has the power to teach women, particularly young girls to come to a different perception than that of the Taliban. But the really deep question is whether it's our reponsibility to do that.

[Markanite]

^^I think Malecia is right. This book can't be used as a guide to nation-build it has far too many flaws.

I think that the chance for girls to learn and go is school is vital, but the people themselves need to embrace and support this too.

[Mutanatia]

To both of you: Do you think we should give them the tools, then, to an education--but leave it up to them?