Presentation Summaries

Post presentation summaries as comments on this post.
To do this, click on the comment link and copy and past the text into the comment field.
Try to minimize formatting such as bullets, tabs, etc.

Individual Country

Everyone has their own specific country to research and I was wondering, what are we supposed to do with it?

Example Presentation Summary

UN Mission
Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Adopted by the UN General Assembly December 10, 1948

Established certain universal human rights

Defined the most basic obligations and limitations of the governments of the world

Recognized the need to uphold the basic rights of mankind

Sought to ensure that human rights violations of the past would not be tolerated in the future

Overall: DEFINED THE BASIC RIGHTS OF THE COMMON MAN

Online copy at http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

Let's hope this war doesn't escalate

I heard the news that Etheopia had bombed Somalia on Monday. It was hard to know what to think. Ethiopia bombed several strategic points including the civilian airport. It looks like war.

Since then, the United States has subtly supported Ethiopia.

According to the Ethiopian ambassador, Ethiopia invaded Samolia at the invitation of the ligitimate government in Somalia, so technically it wasn't really an all out invasion.

On the other hand, they object of the invasion was to depose the mostly-moderate Islamist Courts Union (ICU), which took control of Mogodishu in June. They restored law and order to the city after five years of being ruled by warlords. (The UN-recognized interem government has never been very powerful).

So, I guess we can only wait and see what happens.
The Ethiopian ambassador said they planned to pull out asap (within a week or two), but wars have a tendency to not go as planned.

Claim: Up To 1000 Islamists Killed In Somali/Ethiopian Airstrikes; Islamists In "Full Retreat"

If true-- Somalia and Ethiopia can combine to crush these guys, but we couldn't?

Somalia's Islamists are in full retreat after Ethiopian airstrikes and a ground offensive that have killed up to 1,000 of the religious movement's fighters, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Tuesday.

"A joint Somali government and Ethiopian force has broken the back of the international terrorist forces... These forces are in full retreat," Meles told reporters in Addis Ababa, adding that up to 1,000 Islamist fighters had been killed.

"A few are Somali but the majority are foreigners," he said of the dead.

Addis Ababa has vowed to protect Somalia's weak interim government from rival Islamists based in Mogadishu. A week of artillery and mortar duels between the two sides has spiraled into open war that both sides say has killed hundreds.

Meles said most fighters of the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) had fled to their home areas. He said Ethiopian forces were now hunting down troops from his arch-foe Eritrea, which he accuses of supporting the Islamists.

"The only forces we are pursuing are Eritreans who are hiding behind the skirts of Somali women, and terrorist mujahideen," Meles said.

Ethiopia says the SICC has recruited foreign jihadists, and that a handful of almost 300 prisoners taken after one battle for a central Somali town held British passports.

300 prisoners after one battle. (I bolded "handful" so you wouldn't misread as I did and think all 300 had British passports.) 1000 dead.

What the hell?

Can we get these guys to lend us a hand in Iraq?

source Ace of Spades

Packet For Notebooks

We need to put together a packet with all of the information from the presentations from all the meetings. Matrices would be good:

FOR UN MISSION PRESENTATIONS:
*Major dates
*the gist of the topic

FOR UN ORGANIZATION PRESENTATIONS:
*Origin
*Mission
*History

FOR COUNTRY PRESENTATIONS:
*Region
*Map
*Historical fact
*Biggest strength
*Biggest weakness
*Government
*Economy
*Religion
*Military
*Social structure
*Culture

Each topic (e.g. country) should be a row.
Each bullet should be a column.

Anybody who did a presentation, please post this information.

Article about Darfur

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21035&Cr=sudan&Cr1=

How to use this blog:

Once you have successfully created a profile and memorized/written down your password, figuring out how to use this type of blog is often confusing (well it was confusing for me at any rate).

To create a post, go back to the dashboard and find the link that says "create post."
There are also links for editing posts, etc.

When you are viewing the blog, you'll see a link under each post that says "comment."
Click on this link to post a comment that continues the conversation started by the post (i.e. to comment on what the person wrote).

Everything else can be figured out through trial and error.

Why I created this blog

For a long time I have been looking for some means to allow students to discuss current events around the world and maybe even local politics. It is clear to me that the key to getting people involved in their communities is to give them a voice. Students need a forum through which they can develop and communicate their ideas. In order to understand our world, we need to discuss it.

There are two sides to every issue--and sometimes even more. My goal is to create an environment in which students can develop a full and comprehensive understanding of the state of the world today and what needs to be changed. We cannot move foward until we know where we are and where we want to be.

Please use this blog to discuss the issues that concern you and to find out a little more about this world and the state of society today. Most growth in the world's population over the next 50 years is projected to be in Africa and the rest of the developing world. It is critical that we understand the conditions into which these future generations will be born. Only then can we hope to improve them for the future.