Your final blog assignment for the second marking period is also the culminating project for this grading period. You will need to summarize three articles on a political and/or human rights issue in a nation of your choice in a historical or modern context. The issue or event you select will ultimately shape the film/documentary trailer you will be working on next marking period, so be sure you are genuinely interested in the topic.
The articles selected for this assignment must reflect international perspectives (they must be from the media of at least TWO different nations.)
Note: if you haven't completed the first part of this project, please select a nation and move forward with this assignment anyway. I'll be happy to help you chose one - just ask!
Some topics you might like to research include:
Effects and events of specific wars in your nation of study
Race based conflict and discrimination
Women’s suffrage/ voting rights
Universal suffrage/ voting rights
Impact of specific leaders and/ or dictators
Gender parity (difference) and/or discrimination
Labor issues, strikes, and unions
Genocide
Imperial rule and colonialism
Indigenous/ native rights
Terrorism
Health crises
Human trafficking (may be labor or sex work related)
Pollution, water and waste management
Poverty
Industrialization
Child rights issues (soldiers, labor, slavery, orphan crises, health crises, education and infanticide (killing of unwanted babies) are some issues you might chose to focus on)
For the purposes of this assignment you must:
Some topics you might like to research include:
Effects and events of specific wars in your nation of study
Race based conflict and discrimination
Women’s suffrage/ voting rights
Universal suffrage/ voting rights
Impact of specific leaders and/ or dictators
Gender parity (difference) and/or discrimination
Labor issues, strikes, and unions
Genocide
Imperial rule and colonialism
Indigenous/ native rights
Terrorism
Health crises
Human trafficking (may be labor or sex work related)
Pollution, water and waste management
Poverty
Industrialization
Child rights issues (soldiers, labor, slavery, orphan crises, health crises, education and infanticide (killing of unwanted babies) are some issues you might chose to focus on)
For the purposes of this assignment you must:
- Locate and summarize three articles on the (1) issue you have chosen as it specifically relates to the issue/event you chose. Be sure to explain when and where this event had/is having the greatest impact, who is most directly affected by it.
- Explain how this event relates to the political system in place (or systems in conflict) of your nation of study
- Summarize the role of leaders in managing this issue. Evaluate his/her/ their role in relationship to this issue.
- Explain how this problem/event relates to the government case studies we’ve covered in class thus far (U.S., Iran, UK)
- Cite your three internet or printed articles in MLA format
( http://www.easybib.com/ ) will format citations for you in MLA if you have the necessary information.
This assignment must meet a minimum of 600 words. It must be typed and may be either emailed to me, posted to the blog or submitted on paper.
This will count as TWO blogs and follow the generic blog rubric that appears on the right side of this page under “blog rubric”.
Due: Wednesday December 3 before class.
5 bonus points will be added if you submit by Monday December 1.
OPTIONAL Extra Credit Assigment:
Write a film synopsis and review of any of the following films:
In the Name of the Father
The Madness of King George
The Queen
Braveheart
Michael Collins
Directions:
- Summarize the plot.
- Explain what it reveals about the political history of the nations it relates to.
- Draw connections between the film and the information you learned in one of our recent units.
- Conclude by evaluating the film and stating whether or not you would recommend it to other Government students.
6 comments:
Jeremy Smith Block G
Israel has a history of an ongoing dispute over land against the sovereign refuge of Palestine. There have been many attempts of diplomacy, but, the main compromise was towards a more violent approach. Either side of the competition, and many media around the world, has considered each other terrorist organizations fighting over irredeemable land. It is lead to be believed by many that either side of the tenure is neither wrong nor right in the conflict over land. This is similar to the United Kingdom’s empire around the world in the early 20th century, and when Ireland stood up to form its own government against the crown. Their only means to gain the land were acts of guerrilla warfare, which were seen as terrorist activity, and Michael Collins, the Minister of Intelligence in the Ireland Republican Army, amplified the aggression by killing off “Browns and Tans”, officials serving for information under the Crown. In a way, Israel is trying to gain land that was rightfully theirs as an independent nation, while Palestine was given their land by the British when the Balfour Declaration was passed in the early 1900s. The Prime Ministers of Israel have only taken defensive action over the 60 year quarrel, such as Golda Meir’s intermittent exposure to the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War against other Arab nations, and Ariel Sharon’s pan-nationalist reign to gain the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The row continues, although, acts of violence are the main confrontation and focus on either side of the table. In the article written in the Israel National News, entitled “Libyan Ship to Test Israeli Sovereignty over Gaza Coast,” the primary focus was the recent sending off of a Libyan ship to the Gaza Strip, where civilians in the city suffer from humanitarian crises that are caused by Hamas, a terrorist organization of Islamic extremism, Israel and Palestine. Israel retreated from the city three years ago, but retained the air and space over the city until Palestine ended its acts of terrorism, according to the article. This lead to the fact that all sources of commerce in Gaza were limited to what Israel had let pass into the city. The article, “Palestinian forces dilute Hebron’s volatile brew”, focuses on the recent imminent danger in Hebron, an Israeli-occupied city. The city has had nine deaths in the past couple of months due to Israeli extremism and policy towards protecting itself against Palestinian and Hamas forces that had been invading to gain sovereignty over. For the most part, the conflict is mainly due to the populating citizens, with 12,000 Israelis living in Hebron and 600,000 Palestinians there as well. The two sides of the conflict do agree to the fact that neither of the citizens’ siding should be involved in the political divergence over land without being armed. For the most part, the author states that if another conflict would arise, the only solution would be to establish two states, one of Israel and one of Palestine, and let Palestine keep all of the land it has now. The final article, “Israel ‘dragging Mid-East into war’”, focuses on the prejudice against the Israeli state that had been going on for nearly 60 years. When the article was written, the largely Americanized and popularized conflict in Iraq had began its campaign, and terrorism was of the cause. In a sense, many people began speculating that the entire Middle East region was full of terrorism and extremism, including Israel. The exposure of Bush’s policy of invading Iraq had given more media attention towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and where terrorism really stands.
Ben Gedalyahu, Tzvi.
Sources
"Libyan Ship to Test Israeli Sovereignty over Gaza Coast." Israel National News. 26 Nov. 2008. Arutz Sheva. 27 Nov. 2008 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/news.aspx/128561.
Bronner, Ethan. "Palestinian forces dilute Hebron's volatile brew." International Herald Tribune. 26 Nov. 2008. Internationa; Herald Tribune. 27 Nov. 2008 http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/26/africa/26hebron.php.
"Israel 'dragging Mid-East into war'" BBC News. 1 Apr. 2002. BBC. 27 Nov. 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1904654.stm.
Child Soldiers in Pakistan on a global perspective by Khadijat O.
United Kingdom.
Unsurprisingly, Pakistan does, in fact operate with child soldiers. Recruiting Taleban ‘ child soldiers’ by Syed Shoaib Hasan describes the disturbing use of children in Pakistan. The article was written in Tank, Pakistan (a small remote town, near the Taliban in North West Pakistan). In Tank the children have been increasingly disappearing. The report detailed that children as young ass 11 are being taken away by pro- Taliban militants. Most people in Tank have denied this accusation, while the accused blames it on government policy. A Tank teacher says that the children aren’t really being kidnapped but are really just carrying out jihad (holy struggle), an overly used defense by many Islamic extremists/ terrorists. The teacher also states that the children don’t really need a whole lot of convincing because they are promise “adventure”. Just like how military activists come to schools to advocate joining the military; Taliban militants go to schools in Pakistan, telling them to become a “Fidaydeen” - those who sacrifice their lives/ suicide bombers-. "As many as 30 students from each of the four government schools in Tank 'enlisted'. A similar number have also joined from private schools. The ages of those taken are between 11 to 15 years.” Children between 11 and 15 are also used to fly air craft. Said by the Tank teacher, if a child soldier becomes a traitor to the Taliban, their whole family would suffer.
India.
Inside The Hindu, Reddy writes about child soldiers in Pakistan. The article speaks about the United Nations formally telling the Taliban to stop recruiting child soldiers. It also threatens them with possible sanctions. The U.N Security Council spokesman issued two statements on the use of child soldiers. The Statements tells the Taliban and other groups using child soldiers like the Tamil Tigers and the Karuna in India to stop using child soldiers while condemning the continued abduction, recruitment and use of child soldiers. “Both groups have been put on notice to immediately implement the Security Council's call to stop all child recruitment, and release the children in their forces. The Security Council will want to see results.” The endangerment on children as soldiers is a huge concerned in the United Nations.
Sri Lanka
The U.N has come up with a resolution that involves monitoring nations and rebellion groups that use child soldiers. This is a humongous step in protecting the world’s used children. The resolution took action in 2004 monitoring countries as Congo, Sudan and Burundi. It expanded in 2006, monitoring countries like Nepal, Colombia and the Philippians. Pakistan will be monitored in the year of 2008. The U.N took this giant step because it was fed up with the lack of progress developing over the years on child soldiers. The U.N is also concentrating on creating a lead task force that would defend against disobedient perpetrators. The article informs that in the last two decades two million children have been killed in armed conflict, while six million have been injured or disabled. U.N reports have reported that the use of child soldiers world wide have decreased globally. I didn’t know of this huge accomplishment the U.N has made until I read this article. I am extremely happy and proud of the progress.
Pakistan’s new leader’ Perves Mushaff hasn’t been quoted saying anything about the topic but he is definitely against it. The government has been following the Taliban Militants and fighting them off. They came into conflict one day in Tank when the Taliban came to a school to recruit. The government stepped in and ended up fighting 15 years olds, which was hard for them. Pakistan’s political government system is a federal parliamentary system with a president. The government can not prosper when they have terrorists in their country promoting terrorism to young people. Throughout history, we learn a lot about people going against the government in Iran, UK and America, but we haven’t really learn much about the role of the children in these cases. The Child Soldier incident in Pakistan is a conflict between the Taliban Militants and the rest of Pakistan.
Work Citation.
1.Ferdinando, Shamindra. "UN Terror list." Sri Lankan News & Discussions. 28 July 2005. LankaNewspaper.com. 29 Nov. 2008 http://http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2005/7/27/lankanews.html.
2.Hassan, Syed S. "Recruiting Taleban 'child soldiers'" BBC News; South Asia. 12 June 2007. BBC News. 29 Nov. 2008 http://http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6731389.stm.
3.Reddy, Muralidhar B. "Free child soldiers, Tigers told." The Hindu 13 May 2007.
Rachel Geissler
Hunger Strike in Greece.
“Thousands of Greek prisoners in hunger strike”
CNN.com / Associated Press / Athens, Greece.
According to CNN’s “Thousands of Greek prisoners in hunger strike”, 8,000 of Greece’s 12,200 prisoners have recently begun conducting a hunger strike against the overcrowding and poor living conditions in Greek prisons. The prisoners’ demands include improvements to health care and reduced detentions spans. The strike has gained recognition and support from the local Amnesty International office. “Greece’s 24 prisons are designed to hold a total of 8,000 inmates, according to government figures, but Lambrou [protest organizer] said they often fail to provide basic health and sanitation facilities and offer few job-training opportunities.” Last Tuesday, prison policy committee suggested a list of recommendations for the justice minister to consider.
“Fears over Greece hunger strike”
BBC News / Essex, England.
BBC focuses on the arrest of British citizen Simon Chapman “during an anit-capitalist march at the European Union summit in Thessaloniki” for possession of a Molotov cocktail, hammer, and axe. Since his arrest in October, Chapman has resisted ingestion of any food or water. Although it is obvious that Mr. Chapman desperately needs medical attention, the Greek government has neglected to transport him to a necessary medical facility for treatment. As a result, Amnesty International has gotten involved because they’re concerned for the violation of human rights against Chapman. Despite Chapman’s failing liver and respiratory problems, “Greek authorities are still refusing to move him from a prison hospital into the public health sector”.
“Hunger strike ends as Greek government caves”
Libcom.com / United States.
According to Libcom’s “Hunger strike ends as Greek government caves”, as the hunger strike’s end draws nearer, strikers are demanding that the Greek government comply to their proposed forty-five-point prison reform. If the ministry of justice follows through, as they promise they will, by April 2009 half of Greece’s prison population will be released. The aforementioned proposal, if accepted, would decrease sentences. Furthermore, the number of prisoners per Greek prison would drop from 12.315 to about 6.815. “The maximum limit of pre-trial imprisonment is reduced from 18 to 12 months.” Although agreeing to cooperate with said proposal will not completely improve the current conditions, prisoners feel it will be a “first step, a result of our struggle and of the solidarity shown by society”.
In Greece, the Minister of Justice serves to keep peace and order among the Greek citizens. Thus, their participation in the mediation of the prison hunger strike conflict is vital. According to the CNN.com article, the Justice Minister of Greece, Anastasios Papaligouras, agreed to meet with members of the protest campaign group in order to attempt to work things out and put an end to the hunger strike. Before the 45-point proposal of prison reform can be put into effect, Papaligouras must review it. According to the Libcom article, prisoners agreed to conclude their hunger strike of eighteen days after the Ministry of Justice recognized and responded to the issues of overcrowding and poor living conditions, which thousands of Greek prisoners are forced to endure day by day.
Although we have not really studied any cases of hunger strikes in other governments this year, we did cover one in particular last year. Last year in AP US History, we learned about the different approaches that female rights activists took in their fight for suffrage. We watched the movie “Iron Jawed Angels”, which detailed the fight of Alice Paul and other defiant females like her. After being thrown in jail for her protests, Alice Paul started a hunger strike among the other women in the same prison. Unlike the current Greek hunger strike, however, prison authorities attempted to force-feed the participants. In Greece, there are complaints about the prisons being stubborn and violating human rights by denying inmates of proper and necessary medical attention, as in the case of Simon Chapman.
Samantha Goodman December 3, 2008
Block G
Within the last few months there have talks in Greece about the country violating article eleven and six of the European Convention, because Greece is denying Greek citizens of Macedonian origin who are a Greek minority the right to freedom of assembly, association and equal protection of laws. The suit (Ouranio Toxo and Others v. Greece) was against Greece for allegedly discriminating against national origins, ethnicity and religion. This suit was filed three years ago and since then Greece has done nothing to resolve the conflict and abide by the decisions of the courts. The European Free Alliance (EFA) in Brussels said, “Greece’s decision to veto an invitation to the Republic of Macedonia to join NATO is an irresponsible act motivated by its refusal to recognize the existence of a distinct Macedonian ethnic identity in the Republic of Macedonia as well as Greece.” Because of their refusal to accept Macedonia citizens as Greek citizens tensions are increasing and Greece has banned Macedonia Airline, a private airline none the less, from flying to, from or over Greece and wants them to change its name so it does not include Macedonian. Greece has also banned trade with the Republic of Macedonia because of the label stating “imported from the Republic of Macedonia.” The human rights violations of article eleven and six are a continuing issue in Greece and for the European Parliament, since Greece won’t abide by the courts rulings.
Following with the rights of citizens, “Three held in Athens over Syrian Antiquity,” is about three people, two Syrian immigrants and one Greek citizen that were trying to sell an antique bronze statuette of a lion that dates back to the fourth century BC and is worth $158,000. An officer posed as a potential buyer of the artifact and busted the operation being run by the three men. In recent years the amount of illegal trafficking in Greece has increased, it is unusual for foreign antiques to be seized. Greece has passed stricter and tougher laws about trafficking to protect their heritage and they have also agreed to reward those who inform the government of any plans to “remove” and sell pieces of Greek heritage.
The last article, “My country under the invasion of Greece,” is not an article, but a speech by the Greek Cypriot President, about the Greek military regime violating the independence of Cyprus. The government of Cyprus feels that Greece had no lack of respect for the independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus. It was also believed that the Greek regime was being two-faced and unfair.
Greece’s issues with human rights relate to our studies in class, because of our study of Iran and the Iranian revolution. Although these two countries are very different and Greece is not having a revolution, human rights were restricted during this time period, when women could not wear make up or show their hair, and had to wear long skirts. Also materialistic things were banned such as certain types of music, alcohol, parties and other things that were associated with the west, as a way to discourage people from becoming “westernized.”
Gligorov, Steve. "EU Parliament Struggles with Greece Human Rights Violations." American Chronicle. 18 Apr. 2008. 1 Dec. 2008 http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/58907.
"Three Held in Athens over Syrian Antiquity." Middle East Times. 1 Dec. 2008 http://www.metimes.com/politics/2008/10/21/three_held_in_athens_over_syrian_antiquity.
"The Greek Cypriot President Makarios:"My Country Under the Invasion of Greece"" 16 July 2008. Turkish Press. 1 Dec. 2008 http://turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=241803.
After World War II, Korea divided along a Demilitarized Zone at the 38th parallel. It divided into North and South Korea, based on political influence. Since North Korea was heavily influenced by the USSR’s communist agenda, it became a communist state. In 1948, the northern part of Korea became known as The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the southern part became known as The Republic of Korea. From 1948 until the start of the civil war on June 25, 1950, the armed forces of each side engaged in a series of bloody conflicts along the border. In 1950, these conflicts escalated dramatically when North Korean forces attacked South Korea, triggering the Korean War and effectively making the division permanent. An armistice was signed ending hostilities and the two sides agreed to create a three-mile wide buffer zone between the states, where nobody would enter. This area came to be known as the Demilitarized Zone or DMZ. Conflicts continue to this day, however, resolutions are being considered in order to stop bloodshed and commision a peace agreement.
United States: Bloomberg.com
The article “North Korea Restricts Border Access with South Korea” states ways that peace agreements between the North and South are often obstructed by extreme differences betweent the two governments. North Korea restricted border crossings and access to an industrial complex for South Koreans on December 1, protesting what it calls hostile policies by President Lee Myung Bak. The industrial complex is part of a 10 year engagment plan created by South Korea in order to make stronger ties with North Korea. Since the North Korean government decided to create more restrictions on South Koreans crossing into the border, it greatly marrs the reunification process. In its defense, North Korea claims that the government in Seoul has been pushing relations to the point of breaking and has been misleading the public on its achievements. This move by North Korea greatly affects the South Koreans who work at the complex. It also affects North Korea’s economy, which has not been doing well for a long time. South Korea has been trying to reconcil with North Korea, offering aid to its economy, but the more restrictions the North Korean government puts up, the less help they will receive from other nations.
Koo, Heejin. "North Korea Restricts Border Access With South Korea." Bloomberg Press 1 Dec. 2008. Bloomberg.com. 1 Dec. 2008. 3 Dec. 2008 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ayj8mvj9xzpe&refer=home.
Pakistan: The Daily Jang
This article from a Pakistani newspaper is about South Korea and Japan urging North Korea to come up with a plan to stop its nuclear program. Since North Korea and South Korea are still technically at war, there is constant fear that North Korea will try attempt to take South Korea by force using nuclear weapons. These are just one of the many steps being taken to lessen the threat North Korea poses on South Korea and other nations threatened by its hostile behavior.
"DPRK pressed to come up with roadmap on N-issue." The Daily Jang. 22 Nov. 2008.3 Dec. 2008 http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=148201.
The UK: BBC News
In the article “Seoul strengthens military readiness” it is explained that because of North Korea’s new restrictions on border crossing, the parliament in Seoul has decided to strengthen its military in case of any attacks. Seoul also is on edge since failure to communicate has become a constant for North Korea in recent months. The south is worried about an attack on the naval or fishing vessels in the South Korean border. There have been attacks on this area in the past by North Korea so the South can only prepare for the worst. Acts such as these continue to make reunification and reconciliation difficult for both nations.
"Seoul strengthens military readiness." BBC News. 2 Dec. 2008.3 Dec. 2008 http://bbcnews.co.uk.
The government in South Korea has changed since the last president. The new president Lee Myung Bak wishes to take a harder stance on North Korea, which the North Korean government takes for hostility. Despite the efforts made by South Korea, its northern political counterpart does not want to budge. However, North Korea is in need of desperate aid since majority of the country is starving and its economy is failing. South Korea has the fourth largest economy in Asia and has the assets necessary to aid North Korea. President Lee Myung Bak believes that too much aid has already been offered to North Korea and stronger measures should be taken in order to keep the south safe.
The issue between North and South Korea is similar to the one in Iran, however, both nations became influenced by different political systems durinng the Cold War. Iran adopted its own government system separate from the US or the USSR, but South Korea became influenced by the US’s government and economy and the North did the same with the South.
Anam Baig, G Block, EXTRA CREDIT
Michael Collins is a film about one of Ireland’s great leaders in the independence movement, Michael Collins. It starts off with the end of the Easter Uprising, with the surrender of the IRA and the execution of many of its important leaders. Michael Collins and Eamon de Valera escape, and continue to work towards getting Ireland its independence. The film goes through some of the triumphs and losses of the IRA and the many struggles they’ve been through. Some of these included the IRA killing important people who wanted to stop the Irish from gaining their independence. Some low points included members of the IRA being imprisoned, including Eamon de Valera, who was broken out of jail. Michael Collins receives help from a double agent, who warns him of the government’s next moves in suppressing the IRA. The movie ends with Michael Collins’ assassination. He was labeled a traitor for helping the Anglo-Irish Treaty pass without de Valera’s consent.
The film gives an insight to the violence that had been ensuing between the Irish and the British for more than 700 years. The British were imperialists who had control of many areas, including parts of Africa and of course, Ireland. The film shows the imperialist agendas of the British and the Irish people’s determination to break free from its clutches.
I would recommend this film to other government students because it somewhat accurately portrays the struggles of the IRA towards gaining their independence. Some parts were romanticized, but the class might need a teacher like Ms. Francis to forward the inappropriate scenes.
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