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PLS 152
Global Issues
Assignments and Web Links
Issue #1
Terrorism
Terrorist
Groups
Assignment:
Research one of
the following terrorist groups on the web. These groups will be
discussed in class. Questions to examine include the
following: (1) What is the ideology or political orientation
of the group? (2) What's the nature of its leadership, strength
and support among the people? (3) What incidents are associated
with this group?
A good place to
begin this search is the state department web page on terrorism which
can be found at the following site:
Other useful sites
include:
The Battle of
Algiers
The following
questions will be raised in class. Students should be prepared to
respond to these questions:
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What are the central lessons of the film
"Battle of Algiers"?
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What do you learn about terrorism from watching
this film?
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How does the film
portray the terrorists? How does it portray the
French? What's your personal
opinion of each group?
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What the French strategy for dealing with the FLN? Was it successful
or not?
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How did terrorists recruit the central
character, Ali? How do you recruit new members?
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How were the Algerian
nationalists ultimately able to oust the French
from Algeria and establish an independent state?
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How did Algeria differ from other French
colonies?
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The PLO early in
their existence followed a strategy remarkably similar to that employed
by the FLN, can you speculate on why this strategy has not been as successful
for the PLO as it was for the FLN? What are the similarities and
differences between these two cases?
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Conclusion: What's
your view of the film? Did
you like it, dislike it, find it interesting or not. What was your
interpretation of the film?
Reviews and Commendaries
on Battle of Algiers
Looking
Back on the Battle of Algiers by Louis Proyect
Terrorist Profiles
Issue #2
Human Rights
Assignment:
Research the human rights record of one of the following countries-
Iraq, China, Israel, India, Indonesia, US, or UK.
Human Rights
Documents
Human Rights Organizations
- Amnesty International USA
www.amnesty-usa.org.
Amnesty monitors prison conditions around the world and urges fair
and prompt trials for all political prisoners. It has documented
extensive sexual abuse of female inmates in the U.S.
- Casa Alianza
www.casa-alianza.org. A
San Jose, Costa Rica-based group dedicated to the rehabilitation and
defense of street children in Latin America.
- Christian Children's
Fund
www.christianchildrensfund.org. CCF works in 28 countries on
critical children's issues.
- Children's Defense
Fund
www.childrensdefense.org. CDF addresses abuse, teen pregnancy,
gun violence, housing, and other issues affecting poor children.
- Coalition to Stop the
Use of Child Soldiers
www.child-soldiers.org. An alliance of groups working to
prevent governments and insurgency groups from using children under 18
in armed conflict.
- Defense for Children
International
www.defence-for-children.org. investigates sexual exploitation
of children and other abuses.
- Free the Children
www.fteethechildren.org.
Founded by a 12-year-old boy who read about a Pakistani youth who was
sold into bondage as a carpet weaver and murdered for speaking out
against child labor, this group encourages youth to help exploited
children.
-
Human Rights Watch
www.hrw.org. The largest U.S.
human rights organization investigates abuses around the world,
including those against children.
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International Labour Organization
www.ilo.org. Headquartered in
Geneva, this U.N. agency sets and monitors worldwide standards for
child labor.
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Lawyers' Committee
for
Human Rights
www.lchr.org
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Save the Children
www.savethechildren.com.
Helps children and families in 47 developing countries improve their
health, education and economic opportunities.
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Sisterhood Is Global Institute
www.sigi.org.
This nonprofit group produces and circulates educational manuals
and research papers publicizing issues of concern to women, especially
those in Muslim societies.
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Street Kids International
www.streetkids.org. SKI
works with local agencies in Asia, Africa and Latin America that help
street children.
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United Nations Children's Fund
www.unicef.org. UNICEF helps
poor children and their families in more than 160 countries.
- United Nations
Development Fund for Women
www.unifem.undp.org.
UNIFEM promotes women's rights
around the world and is a leader of the campaign to publicize and
combat violence against women and girls.
Issue #3 Global Ecological
Problems
Organizations concerned with
the topic of global warming
- The
Community Learning Network
www.cln.org/themes/globalwarming.html has several useful
global warming links.
-
Environmental
Defense
www.environmentaldefense.org. This nonprofit organization,
formerly called the Environmental Defense Fund, seeks economically
viable solutions to global warming and other environmental problems.
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Environmental Canada has many
international links to global warming and climate change sources.
www.ec.gc.ca/climate/primer
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Global Climate Coalition
www.globalclimate.org.
Founded by a group of corporations and trade associations, the
coalition lobbies in opposition to U.S. ratification of the Kyoto
Protocol.
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Greenpeace USA
www.greenpeaceusa.org.
Seeks to protect the environment through research, education and
grassroots organizing. (Headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands.)
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Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) www.ipcc.ch.
This U.N. agency comprising some 2,500 scientists worldwide,
assesses published, peer-reviewed scientific technical literature on
climate change.
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Pew Center on Global Climate
Change www.pewclimate.org.
This nonprofit organization provides information on climate change and
seeks innovative ways to combat the problem.
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United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change contains news and documents
on the Kyoto Protocol and other global warming negotiations
www.unfcc.org
- United Nations
Environmental Program
www.unep.org
- Union of Concerned
Scientists
www.ucsusa.org
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U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
www.epa.gov/globalwarming. The EPA
provides a wealth of information on the science related to global
warming, as well as policies aimed at curbing it.
-
Worldwatch Institute
www.worldwatch.org.
A research organization that focuses on an
interdisciplinary approach to solving global environmental problems.
its interests include energy conservation, renewable resources, solar
power and energy use in developing countries.
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World Wildlife Fund
www.wwf.org.
Conducts scientific research and analyzes policy on
environmental and conservation issues, including pollution reduction,
forestry and wetlands management and sustainable development.
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White House Global Climate Page has useful information and links
on global warming.
www.whitehouse.gov/lnitiatives/Climate/main.html
Issue #4 World Energy
Problems
- Critical Mass Energy
Project, Public Citizen.
www.citizen.org/CMEP. Founded by consumer advocate Ralph
Nader, this organization promotes environmentally safe alternatives
to nuclear energy.
- Energy Information
Administration. www.eia.doe.gov.
EIA provides
data, forecasts and analyses to promote sound policy-making,
efficient markets and public understanding regarding energy and its
interaction with the economy and the environment
- Environmental
Protection Agengy. www.epa.gov
This governmental agency is responsible for clean air and water and
deals with international
environmental standards.
Global Climate Coalition.
www.globalclimate.org.
This coalition of business trade associations and private companies
opposes mandated caps on emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases
implicated in global warming.
- International Atomic
Energy Agency. www.iaea.org .
As an intergovernmental organization under the UN's umbrella, the
IAEA deals with nuclear energy
National Petroleum Refiners
Association. www.npradc.org.
This trade association provides information on the
petroleum-refining and petro¬chemical-manufacturing industries.
- Nuclear Energy
Institute. www.nei.org. NEI promotes expansion of nuclear power as an environmentally
friendly alternative to fossil fuels.
- Resources for the
Future. www.rff.org. This
environmental research organization examines the benefits and costs
of all aspects of environmental policy.
- US Department of
Energy. www.energy.gov
This agency is responsible for a secure and reliable energy system
that is both environmentally and economically sound. The agency
oversees nuclear energy and the development of science and
technology.
Issue #5 Population, Immigration, and
Refugees
Organizations concerned with
the topic of population, immigration and refugees
-
Population Action
International
www.populationaction.org.
This organization promotes population stabilization through public
education and universal access to voluntary family planning.
- Population Reference Bureau
www.prb.org. An educational organization that provides information on family
planning and international development programs and
U.S. population policy.
- Population Research Institute
The institute focuses on human
rights abuses in population programs and promotes economic development
without recourse to these programs.
- Zero Population Growth
www.zpg.org. ZPG supports expansion of family-planning programs and women's access
to abortion and familyplanning services.
Issue #6 Global Health/Disease
-
American Public Health Association.
www.apha.org. The largest organization of
public-health professionals in the world represents 50,000
members from 50 related occupations
-
Center for
Law
and the Public's Health.
www.publichealthlaw.net.
The center was founded in 2000
with support from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention as a primary, national resource on public health law,
ethics and policy.
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Center for
Medical
Humanities and Ethics.
www.texashumanities.org.
The center uses literature, drama and the
visual arts to integrate the humanities into medical
education.
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Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
www.cdc.gov.
The CDC is the lead federal public-health agency.
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Food and Drug Administration.
www.fda.gov.
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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases.
www.nih.gov.
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Nuclear Threat
Initiative.
www.nti.org. NTI seeks to
reduce the risk of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
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World Health Organization.
www.who.int.
The U.N. agency responsible for promoting worldwide health.
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United Nations Aids Organization.
www.unaids.org. UN
AIDS is a UN organization that deals with the global AIDS epidemic.
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Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and
Malaria. www.theglobalfund.org.
The GlobalFund supports all HIV and AIDS care, treatment,
and prevention programs.
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