Tag Archives: SCI

December 17, 2013 · 6:30 am

Edward Snowden is on the move

Two huge developments in the Edward Snowden saga that you might like to check out.

Go here. A federal district judge ruled on Monday that the National Security Agency program that is systematically keeping records of all Americans’ phone calls most likely violates the Constitution, describing its technology as “almost Orwellian” and suggesting that James Madison would be “aghast” to learn that the government was encroaching on liberty in such a way.

Go here. National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden wrote in “an open letter to the Brazilian people” that he would be willing to help Brazil’s government investigate U.S. spying on its soil, but that he could do so only if granted political asylum. “I’ve expressed my willingness to assist where it’s appropriate and legal, but, unfortunately, the U.S. government has been working hard to limit my ability to do so. Until a country grants me permanent political asylum, the U.S. government will continue to interfere with my ability to speak out,” the letter added.

Go here. Spend a little time in D.C. and it isn’t long before you discover that even the busses are political.

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December 15, 2013 · 11:41 am

Nelson Mandela (1918 to 2013)

In Senior Current Issues we will spend this final week of 2013 looking closely at the life of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. We’ll use various documentary and news stories that will hopefully provide you the background of South African apartheid as well chronicle the life of the man. Mandela’s history is so intertwined with that of his country and the treatment of his people, that in order to understand his impact on the world you must educate yourself first to the world that he lived in.

That may be asking a lot in a single week; so ask questions, work together, listen and learn. This is a life that we should all be Awakened to; even if that awareness initiates upon his death.

Schedule for the week:
Monday 12/16 – Miracle Rising (27:00)
Tuesday 12/17 – Rachel Maddow (15:00) & Frontline Part 1
Wednesday 12/18 – Frontline Part II
Thursday 12/19 – Sixty Minutes (13:00) & Frontline Part III
Friday 12/20 – Frontline Part IV

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December 14, 2013 · 4:00 pm

South Africa Divestment Campaign

This assignment is due posted to Google Docs by 11:59 PM Saturday, December 21. This assignment is worth 50 points. 500 word minimum.

Divestment is an action in which a group of individuals in order to divest (sell) pull support from a business (s). The goal can vary, however in a political action sense, it is to ultimately punish bad behavior of an institution in order to change that institution’s behavior. The term “Divestment Campaign” was first used in the 1980s, most commonly in the United States, to refer to the use of a concerted economic boycott designed to pressure the government of South Africa into abolishing its policy of apartheid. Since then, divestment campaigns have focused on countries and companies for their policies.

For this assignment watch / listen to the three productions below. Like in our first assignment you’re free to move about in your google docs assessment. However, I do want you to concentrate on the Polaroid piece – it was central to the success of the divestment movement. What are your thoughts about the individuals involved and their influence on Polaroid.. Use the two follow up podcasts to talk about divestment historically in South Africa and divestment currently in regard to college campuses today.

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· 1:30 pm

Mandela Timeline

This assignment is due upon return from Christmas Break – Monday, January 6. This assignment is worth 100 points. You must turn in both your working copy and final copy of your final timeline.

Please go here for a PDF copy of our Nelson Mandela Timeline. Go here for Word doc copy of the timeline.

In doing the assignment outlined below, you can choose a number of routes…

Download the Word doc of TL and actually type text onto it.
Print out your own PDF of the TL, write date & line. Tape summaries.
or use the hard copy of the TL, I’ve provided you to do the same above.
For purposes of legibility I want the final copy summaries typed.
Also – turn in both your working & final version.

Requirements for the Final Timeline. – The purpose of this part of the assignment is to keep a working copy of the challenges of South Africa and the struggles faced by Nelson Mandela, in front of you throughout our audio-visual study. While we watch and listen and learn, add to your timeline. At the end of the day you’ll need a three sentence description of each (person / place / thing / date). See my examples on linked TL. That description doesn’t need to be fully written as we work through the movies. However, the individual or date should be noted.

In regard to movie notes, only record those that will be of benefit on the Timeline. That way you can watch and listen, and ask questions without being obsessed with note taking. Our exam on Mandela will focus more on the timeline than on the movies anyhow – and it will be an essay exam – so worry only about specifics when it comes to your three sentence summaries.

Finally – you need 25 entries on your Timeline. It’s going to get crowded. That’s OK. And that’s why we are typing and turning in a final re-worked copy. Make sure that you draw lines to connect your (person / place / thing / date) to the timeline so that your link to the line stays chronological. I will let you know the specific TL topics that are required. Those will be noted during our movie discussions. Otherwise the focus of the twenty five entries are what you deem significant. So have it handy and ask away as we move through our study of Nelson Mandela.

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· 10:28 am

Apartheid in South Africa

Go here for the assignment – hard copy only…don’t Google docs this one. It is due by class period on Thursday. This assignment is worth fifty points.

Some of you have no knowledge of Apartheid in South Africa. It is nearly impossible to understand Nelson Mandela’s impact on the world, without a working comprehension of the practice. It is my goal with this assignment to provide you a brief introduction.

Apartheid is an Afrikaans’ word meaning “being apart” or “apart hood”. The Afrikaans language is an off-shoot of Dutch and was introduced into South Africa in colonial times. With roughly 7 million native speakers, or 13.5% of the population, it was along with English the focal language of white Europeans. It was also the language of apartheid and National Party which carried out apartheid. While African blacks were persecuted from colonial times, it wasn’t until 1948 when the National Party’s white minority (12% of the population) seized full control of the government that Apartheid was fully institutionalized practice within the country and the South African constitution. From then until 1994 the white minority in South Africa created – a separation between European whites and all other races.

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