May 2009 Archives

This will be the final "regular" blog entry. Here's what you need to know to survive your final week. The Great Decisions schedule is below. (We'll slip the Afghanistan/Pakistan group in one day this week.)

The final required blog entry is posted. (It's Blog Entry #15.) I have also posted the Extra Credit Blog Entry. You can get credit for doing that.

Take-Home Essay Exam #2 is due on Friday. You can either print that out or email it to me.

Great Decisions:
Monday, May 18th - Global Food Crisis - Amit, Andy and Waleed

Tuesday, May 19th - Cuba - Annelise, Jaya, Kelsey and Sonia
Wednesday, May 20th - Egypt - Dan, Lauren and John - Will and Andrew
Thursday, May 21st - Human Rights - Asha, Ben and Veronica

TBD - Afghanistan and Pakistan - Ann, Kathryn, and McKenzie

By the end of the course, you are supposed to have read Chapters 16, "The Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention," and 17, "11/9 Versus 9/11." You have the option of doing one additional blog entry for extra credit.

I'll expect a comment of one good paragraph or more. (To me, that means 5-6 sentences at a minimum.) You do not need to worry about perfect grammar, spelling and punctuation, but they should be understandable. Remember that this is a public site, and you are responsible for the content of your postings. Assume that each comment is worth 5 points.

YOUR COMMENT SHOULD BE POSTED BEFORE THE END OF THE DAY ON MONDAY, MAY 25th TO RECEIVE THE EXTRA CREDIT.

Page references are from the paperback edition of the book...

1. "The Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention" and "The Golden Arches Theory" (page 586) - Is there anything to these ideas? Is it simply Friedman being Friedman? Assess the validity of one or both of these ideas he has advanced.

2. How frightened should we be on the stuff Friedman starts talking about in the "Infosys versus al-Qaeda" section? (page 595) Do you agree with his conclusion that, "Hell hath no fury like a terrorist with a satellite dish and an interactive Web site?" Explain.

3. (Page 609) "In early 1999, two men started airlines from scratch, just a few weeks apart." What lessons should we take away from the comparison that begins with this line?

4. "When memories exceed dreams, the end is near." (page 617) Where is the balance currently for America? Are we in danger of having memories exceed dreams? Have they already? What is your prognosis for the future?

By the end of the course, you are supposed to have read Chapter 15, "The Unflat World." Answer one of the following questions. I'll expect a comment of one good paragraph or more. (To me, that means 5-6 sentences at a minimum.) You do not need to worry about perfect grammar, spelling and punctuation, but they should be understandable. Remember that this is a public site, and you are responsible for the content of your postings. Assume that each comment is worth 5 points.

YOUR COMMENT SHOULD BE POSTED BEFORE THURSDAY IN ORDER TO GET FULL CREDIT.

There's an awful lot of "good" stuff in this chapter. There are shocking statistics, great quotations, dire predictions, and a lot of material in which to sink your teeth. Choose the section that most interests you:

• Too Sick
  
• Too Disempowered
  
• Too Frustrated
  
• Too Many Toyotas

Your comment should react to some of the information and conclusions presented in that section. You can deal with specific examples, statistics and/or quotations, or you can deal with the topic at a more "holistic" level. You can be analytical, emotional, predictive or whatever combination of these that suits your fancy...

By the end of the course, you are supposed to have read Chapter 14, "What Happens When We All Have Dog's Hearing?"

I'll expect a comment of one good paragraph or more. (To me, that means 5-6 sentences at a minimum.) You do not need to worry about perfect grammar, spelling and punctuation, but they should be understandable. Remember that this is a public site, and you are responsible for the content of your postings. Assume that each comment is worth 5 points.

YOUR COMMENT SHOULD BE POSTED BEFORE CLASS TIME ON TUESDAY, MAY 19th.

Page references are from the paperback edition of the book...

1. Refer to the Paris taxi anecdote Friedman relates on pages 514-516. I want to know two things. What lessons should we take from this sort of anecdote? Have you had a similar experience? If so, share.

2. (Page 523) "What happens when we can all not only rant or whisper anything we want in our MySpace blog or podcast, but also hear everything ranted or whispered about us?" In other words, "How thick is your skin?"

3. Dov Seidman, a business ethicist, wrote (pp. 529-530) that "your reputation will follow you and precede you on your next stop. It gets there before you do. You don't get to spend four years of college getting drunk. Your reputation is getting set much earlier in life." Your thoughts? (No, I'm not asking about college drinking, but rather about the whole phenomenon Seidman discusses.)

4. Are you "net worried?" (Page 530) Why or why not?

REMINDERS: Try and get up through Chapter 15 by Monday in The World Is Flat. Friedman does some of his best analysis later in the book. Remember that Blog Entry #15 will be the final required entry, but I'll post #16 and #17 by Monday as extra credit/ replacement options.

Great Decisions:
Monday, May 18th - Global Food Crisis - Amit, Andy and Waleed
Tuesday, May 19th - Cuba - Annelise, Jaya, Kelsey and Sonia
Wednesday, May 20th - Egypt - Dan, Lauren and John - Will and Andrew
Thursday, May 21st - Human Rights - Asha, Ben and Veronica

TBD - Afghanistan and Pakistan - Ann, Kathryn, and McKenzie

We'll take a look at a couple of semi-random things today. In addition, we can certainly chat any Thomas Friedman since we haven't checked in with him for a while.

• Gapminder is a really neat way to look at statistics across the globe and across time. I'm not at all good at this yet, but I can give you a basic look at how it works.
  
  
• TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a site you should really take a look at. Basically, really smart and interesting people gather each year to share things. You might want to check out the Top 10 TEDTalks for some ideas.
  
  

• Here's an example of the Gapminder data in a speech by Hans Rosling. This is quite interesting: "The Seemingly Impossible is Possible."
  
  

• The Freakonomics blog had a link to the "Society at a Glance" 2009 report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (You might remember they are the 30 "Western" industrial economies.) If you scroll down, you can access a bunch of really interesting data. Browse around a bit, and we'll take a look at some of what you find.

REMINDERS: Getting through Chapter #14 by Friday keeps you on track to finish before the end of next week. (You know you want to see how it all ends up...) Remember that Blog Entry #15 will be the final required entry, but I'll post #16 and #17 by Monday as extra credit/ replacement options.

Great Decisions:

Thursday, May 14th - Rising Powers - Meghan, Jack and Matt

Friday, May 15th - Afghanistan and Pakistan - Ann, Kathryn, and McKenzie

Monday, May 18th - Global Food Crisis - Amit, Andy and Waleed
Tuesday, May 19th - Cuba - Annelise, Jaya, Kelsey and Sonia
Wednesday, May 20th - Egypt - Dan, Lauren and John - Will and Andrew
Thursday, May 21st - Human Rights - Asha, Ben and Veronica

If we have time: The Freakonomics blog had a link to the "Society at a Glance" 2009 report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (You might remember they are the 30 "Western" industrial economies.) If you scroll down, you can access a bunch of really interesting data. Browse around a bit, and we'll take a look at some of what you find.

By the end of the course, you are supposed to have read Chapter 13, "If It's Not Happening, It's Because You're Not Doing It."

I'll expect a comment of one good paragraph or more. (To me, that means 5-6 sentences at a minimum.) You do not need to worry about perfect grammar, spelling and punctuation, but they should be understandable. Remember that this is a public site, and you are responsible for the content of your postings. Assume that each comment is worth 5 points.

YOUR COMMENT SHOULD BE POSTED BEFORE CLASS TIME ON MONDAY IN ORDER TO RECEIVE FULL CREDIT.

1. Perhaps you already consider yourself to be one, but I want you to "become" a social entrepreneur-activist for this blog entry. What would you do? How would you do it? Why?

2. After reading this chapter, I'm assuming you've developed some opinions about the efficacy and/or desirability of the sorts of efforts Friedman describes. This is your chance to "editorialize" about the whole phenomenon. Make reference to specific events as you see fit.

By now, you are supposed to have read Chapter 12, "Globalization of the Local." Answer one of the following questions. I'll expect a comment of one good paragraph or more. (To me, that means 5-6 sentences at a minimum.) You do not need to worry about perfect grammar, spelling and punctuation, but they should be understandable. Remember that this is a public site, and you are responsible for the content of your postings.

YOUR COMMENT SHOULD BE POSTED BEFORE CLASS TIME ON WEDNESDAY IN ORDER TO GET FULL CREDIT.

1. To what extent DOES "globalization mean Americanization?" Explain your answer with specific examples.

2. Is Friedman overly optimistic in his predictions for the coming "globalization of the local?" Why or why not?

3. "Globalization has empowering and disempowering, homogenizing and particularizing, democratizing and authoritarian tendencies all built into it." (page 482 in paperback - 510 in hardcover) You're almost than 500 pages into a book about this stuff. Which "side" do you think will ultimately prevail when "globalization" is evaluated in the history books to come? Why?

4. For you "techies" or anyone else - Ten years from now, we all get together and reread the sections at the end about iPods and podcasts. Will Friedman have overestimated their impact? Underestimated? Completely missed the boat? Explain.

I know that this is the last thing some of you want to see (especially the ten of you who still haven't done the first one), but I thought it was better to get it posted earlier...

Since we're almost done with our time together (sniff), I suppose it's time for the second of these. You do NOT need to use any resources outside of what we've referenced in class. (You can do outside research if you'd like, and you would, of course, cite any of it appropriately.) I'm again thinking somewhere between 500-750 words on each. If you go beyond two single-spaced pages on a question, you're doing too much (or using that huge font...)

These are due by FRIDAY, May 22nd.

I should say that I really enjoyed reading what you had to say on the last set of these. The "fixing" MPA question that most of you answered was particularly enlightening for me. I look forward to sharing some of those recommendations with colleagues.

No choice in the questions you pick from, but plenty of wiggle room in terms of where you take them... You do BOTH of these.

1. For most (if not all) of you, college will occupy the majority of the next four years of your life. I want you to project yourself ahead to your own college graduation day. Identify the three issues we covered this course that you feel will be most significant to your life at that time. In each case, please explain how you believe that issue will have changed during the intervening time between now and then. (Note that I am NOT requiring that the issue affect you DIRECTLY. For example, nuclear terrorism may well be very significant in your world without directly impacting you...)

To conclude this essay, please comment on whether you believe the 21st Century will be a more or less safe/desirable place from the perspective of the College Class of 2013 as opposed to the MPA Class of 2009...

2. We will have had seven "Great Decisions" presentations during the last two weeks of the course. I want you to choose one of the topics THAT WAS NOT YOUR OWN. I'm not asking you to do outside research, but you might find the "Great Decisions" website useful.

Assume that you have been made "The Great Decider." I want you to make policy recommendations for the United States on the issue that you chose. Your recommendations need not be consistent with the views of the current administration. Tell me what you believe "we" should do on this issue. You can certainly draw upon Friedman or other sources we consulted for this. (In several cases, you can make recommendations for other agents as well. For example, we should encourage the UN to do A, B, C.)

Again, this is intended to be very open, and your answer need not cover every possible aspect of the problem. You can take a broad, "policy" type of approach, or you can lay out very specific actions. I'm more interested in "What should be done?" as opposed to "What is going on?" We've already heard about the latter in the presentations.

Again, please ask me if you have any questions...

REMINDERS: Blog Entry #11 should be posted today, and it would be a good idea to read Chapter 12 by Monday to stay on track.

We'll take the final quiz (10 international treaties and 10 "hot spots") on Tuesday.

POLITICAL "HOT SPOTS": Most of you have posted a short summary on yesterday's blog entry, but let's hear a bit from each of you regarding these locations.

Chechnya
Congo
Darfur
De-Militarized Zone (Korea)
Gaza Strip
Golden Triangle
Horn of Africa (Piracy)
Jerusalem
Kashmir
Kosovo
Sunni Triangle
Strait of Hormuz
Strait of Malacca
Taiwan Strait
West Bank

>>>>>

Great Decisions: Bobby and Jack - What are we doing with you???

Wednesday, May 13th - The Arctic - Jacob, Jake, and Chad
Thursday, May 14th - Rising Powers - Meghan and Matt
Friday, May 15th - Afghanistan and Pakistan - Ann, Kathryn, and McKenzie

Monday, May 18th - Global Food Crisis - Amit, Andy and Waleed
Tuesday, May 19th - Cuba - Annelise, Jaya, Kelsey and Sonia
Wednesday, May 20th - Egypt - Dan, Lauren and John - Will and Andrew
Thursday, May 21st - Human Rights - Asha, Ben and Veronica

• Energy and the U.S. Economy - 

I figure you'll have roughly 45-60 minutes for your group.  Anything short of 40 minutes will be viewed suspiciously...  

Here's what I want from you:

•      overview of the key issue(s) at stake
•      presentation of necessary background information
•      some sort of discussion or other activity
  

Yeah, that's pretty broad.  You're teaching, so you decide how to do it.  Remember that I have the 30-minute video excerpts on each topic available for you.  (We'll say you can use 15-20 minutes from the DVD if you want, but I won't count any more than that toward your time.)  Their website, which contains additional resources, is again linked above.

If you want to make a handout, go ahead.  Want me to put something on the blog?  Get it to me.  Need something copied?  I can do that.  Most of you will be leaving home in about four months.  I think you can figure out how to do a nice job on a presentation...

Please ask with any questions or make any suggestions.  I'll develop a more formal "score sheet" but it will be based on the comments above.

REMINDERS: Blog Entry #11 should be posted by Friday, and it would be a good idea to read Chapter 12 by Monday to stay on track.

We'll start with the quiz on World Organizations. It is matching.

POLITICAL "HOT SPOTS":
Unfortunately, we could make a long list of places around the world where there are ongoing or potential conflicts. I chose 15 below. Some of them are very familiar to you, but others may be a bit more obscure. Notice that I avoided listing countries themselves. We'll have you pair up to look at one of these for a few minutes and then share what you've found with the rest of us tomorrow. GoogleNews is a good place to go. Yeah, I suppose that Wikipedia has something to say on many of these as well...

Blog a short summary on today's entry, as these will be the basis for part of your final quiz next Tuesday. 10 of these will appear, as will 10 of those international agreements.

Chechnya
Congo
Darfur
De-Militarized Zone (Korea)
Gaza Strip
Golden Triangle
Horn of Africa (Piracy)
Jerusalem
Kashmir
Kosovo
Sunni Triangle
Strait of Hormuz
Strait of Malacca
Taiwan Strait
West Bank

>>>>>

Great Decisions: I want to finalize the schedule for these today, and the balance of the time will be yours to work with your group.

Wednesday, May 13th -
Thursday, May 14th -
Friday, May 15th -

Monday, May 18th -
Tuesday, May 19th -
Wednesday, May 20th -
Thursday, May 21st -

• Rising Powers - Meghan and Matt
• Afghanistan and Pakistan - Ann, Katherine, and McKenzie
• Energy and the U.S. Economy - 
• The Arctic - Jacob, Jake, and Chad
• Egypt - Dan, Lauren and John - Will and Andrew 
• Global Food Crisis - Amit, Andy and Waleed
• Cuba - Annelise, Jaya, Kelsey and Sonia
• Human Rights - Asha, Ben and Veronica

I figure you'll have roughly 45-60 minutes for your group.  Anything short of 40 minutes will be viewed suspiciously...  

Here's what I want from you:

•      overview of the key issue(s) at stake
•      presentation of necessary background information
•      some sort of discussion or other activity
  

Yeah, that's pretty broad.  You're teaching, so you decide how to do it.  Remember that I have the 30-minute video excerpts on each topic available for you.  (We'll say you can use 15-20 minutes from the DVD if you want, but I won't count any more than that toward your time.)  Their website, which contains additional resources, is again linked above.

If you want to make a handout, go ahead.  Want me to put something on the blog?  Get it to me.  Need something copied?  I can do that.  Most of you will be leaving home in about four months.  I think you can figure out how to do a nice job on a presentation...

Please ask with any questions or make any suggestions.  I'll develop a more formal "score sheet" but it will be based on the comments above.

By now, you are supposed to have read Chapter 11, "How Companies Cope." Answer one of the following questions. I'll expect a comment of one good paragraph or more. (To me, that means 5-6 sentences at a minimum.) You do not need to worry about perfect grammar, spelling and punctuation, but they should be understandable. Remember that this is a public site, and you are responsible for the content of your postings.

YOUR COMMENT SHOULD BE POSTED BEFORE THE END OF FRIDAY IN ORDER TO GET FULL CREDIT.

1. We'll do this one a little differently... There are nine "rules" described by Friedman in the chapter. Take any rule of your choice, and you'll do both of these following two things. First, assess the validity and/or implications of this "rule" in the 21st century world. Second, describe another, real-world situation that you believe effectively demonstrates the "rule." (By the way, Friedman has added two additional rules in the paperback version. There are only seven in the most recent hardcover. Inflation, I guess.)

Please identify your "rule" by number at the beginning of your answer.

Yes, this looks a lot like Tuesday's blog. With more than 10 people gone, we didn't do much except work on getting caught up...

Take-Home Essay Exam #1 is now past due. If you can print them out, great. (Double-sided is fine.) Otherwise, you can email them to me as an attachment.

REMINDERS: Blog Entry #10 should be taken care of by the end of today. You were asked to have Chapter #11 read as well, and Blog Entry #11 should be posted by Friday.

We'll start with the quiz on World Organizations. It will be matching.

Great Decisions: Just a reminder that we'll start with these next Tuesday. If you have a need to go on (or avoid) a particular day, we'll take requests for that today. I'll give you a full block to work on these yet this week, but I think we'll wait until after the AP exams.

• Rising Powers - Meghan and Matt
• Afghanistan and Pakistan - Ann, Katherine, and McKenzie
• Energy and the U.S. Economy - 
• The Arctic - Jacob, Jake, and Chad
• Egypt - Dan, Lauren and John - Will and Andrew 
• Global Food Crisis - Amit, Andy and Waleed
• Cuba - Annelise, Jaya, Kelsey and Sonia
• Human Rights - Asha, Ben and Veronica

I figure you'll have roughly 45-60 minutes for your group.  Anything short of 40 minutes will be viewed suspiciously...  

Here's what I want from you:

•      overview of the key issue(s) at stake
•      presentation of necessary background information
•      some sort of discussion or other activity
  

Yeah, that's pretty broad.  You're teaching, so you decide how to do it.  Remember that I have the 30-minute video excerpts on each topic available for you.  (We'll say you can use 15-20 minutes from the DVD if you want, but I won't count any more than that toward your time.)  Their website, which contains additional resources, is again linked above.

If you want to make a handout, go ahead.  Want me to put something on the blog?  Get it to me.  Need something copied?  I can do that.  Most of you will be leaving home in about four months.  I think you can figure out how to do a nice job on a presentation...

Please ask with any questions or make any suggestions.  I'll develop a more formal "score sheet" but it will be based on the comments above.

>>>>>>>>>>

I first posted this Monday, but we didn't get to it. Let's spend some time with "This is Not a Test" (Chapter #9) from The World is Flat.

The "Five Action Areas" I've copied some of Friedman's more quotable lines from each section below.

• Leadership - "We need politicians who are able and willing to both explain and inspire."
  
  
• Muscle building - "The 'muscles' workers need most are portable benefits and opportunities for lifelong learning." 
  
  
• Cushioning - "Social Security is good fat. We need to keep it. A welfare system that discourages people from working is bad fat. The sort of good fat that actually needs to be added for a flat world is wage insurance."
  
  
• Social Activism - (NOTE: This section appears in the hardcover, but not the newest, paperback edition.) "Sometimes the best way to change the world is by getting the big players to do the right things for the wrong reasons, because waiting for them to do the right things for the right reasons can mean waiting forever." 
  
  
• Parenting - "The sense of entitlement, the sense that because we once dominated global commerce and geopolitics - and Olympic basketball - we always will, the sense that delayed gratification is a punishment worse than a spanking, the sense that our kids have to be swaddled in cotton wool so that nothing bad or disappointing or stressful ever happens to them at school is, quite simply, a growing cancer on American society."

>>>>>>>

The Extreme Future: I picked this book up at Barnes and Noble two years ago as I was first teaching this class. It's written by Dr. James Canton, and he's the CEO and Chairman of something called the Institute for Global Futures. I thought you might be interested in a few excerpts from it. If you like this guy and his book, you can find a lot more here: FutureGuru.

Today, we'll take a look at "ten trends" he identifies in a number of areas. We'll have each of you look at one or two of these areas, and we'll share what you find.

He looks at these areas:

• Fueling the Future
• The Innovation Economy
• The Next Workforce
• Longevity Medicine
• Weird Science
• Securing the Future
• The Future of Globalization
• The Future of Climate Change
• The Future of the Individual
• The Future of America and China

Take-Home Essay Exam #1 is now past due. If you can print them out, great. (Double-sided is fine.) Otherwise, you can email them to me as an attachment.

REMINDERS: Blog Entry #9 should be completed. I've posted Blog Entry #10, and you should take care of that by the end of Wednesday. Try to have Chapter #11 read by Wednesday as well.

We'll do the quiz on World Organizations on Wednesday. It will be matching.

Great Decisions: Just a reminder that we'll start with these next Tuesday. If you have a need to go on (or avoid) a particular day, we'll take requests for that tomorrow. I'll give you a full block to work on these yet this week, but I think we'll wait until after the AP exams.

• Rising Powers - Meghan and Matt
• Afghanistan and Pakistan - Ann, Katherine, and McKenzie
• Energy and the U.S. Economy - 
• The Arctic - Jacob, Jake, and Chad
• Egypt - Dan, Lauren and John - Will and Andrew 
• Global Food Crisis - Amit, Andy and Waleed
• Cuba - Annelise, Jaya, Kelsey and Sonia
• Human Rights - Asha, Ben and Veronica

I figure you'll have roughly 45-60 minutes for your group.  Anything short of 40 minutes will be viewed suspiciously...  

Here's what I want from you:

•      overview of the key issue(s) at stake
•      presentation of necessary background information
•      some sort of discussion or other activity
  

Yeah, that's pretty broad.  You're teaching, so you decide how to do it.  Remember that I have the 30-minute video excerpts on each topic available for you.  (We'll say you can use 15-20 minutes from the DVD if you want, but I won't count any more than that toward your time.)  Their website, which contains additional resources, is again linked above.

If you want to make a handout, go ahead.  Want me to put something on the blog?  Get it to me.  Need something copied?  I can do that.  Most of you will be leaving home in about four months.  I think you can figure out how to do a nice job on a presentation...

Please ask with any questions or make any suggestions.  I'll develop a more formal "score sheet" but it will be based on the comments above.

>>>>>>>>>>

I first posted this yesterday, but we didn't get to it. Let's spend some time with "This is Not a Test" (Chapter #9) from The World is Flat.

The "Five Action Areas" I've copied some of Friedman's more quotable lines from each section below.

• Leadership - "We need politicians who are able and willing to both explain and inspire."
  
  
• Muscle building - "The 'muscles' workers need most are portable benefits and opportunities for lifelong learning." 
  
  
• Cushioning - "Social Security is good fat. We need to keep it. A welfare system that discourages people from working is bad fat. The sort of good fat that actually needs to be added for a flat world is wage insurance."
  
  
• Social Activism - (NOTE: This section appears in the hardcover, but not the newest, paperback edition.) "Sometimes the best way to change the world is by getting the big players to do the right things for the wrong reasons, because waiting for them to do the right things for the right reasons can mean waiting forever." 
  
  
• Parenting - "The sense of entitlement, the sense that because we once dominated global commerce and geopolitics - and Olympic basketball - we always will, the sense that delayed gratification is a punishment worse than a spanking, the sense that our kids have to be swaddled in cotton wool so that nothing bad or disappointing or stressful ever happens to them at school is, quite simply, a growing cancer on American society."

>>>>>>>

The Extreme Future: I picked this book up at Barnes and Noble two years ago as I was first teaching this class. It's written by Dr. James Canton, and he's the CEO and Chairman of something called the Institute for Global Futures. I thought you might be interested in a few excerpts from it. If you like this guy and his book, you can find a lot more here: FutureGuru.

Today, we'll take a look at "ten trends" he identifies in a number of areas. We'll have each of you look at one or two of these areas, and we'll share what you find.

He looks at these areas:

• Fueling the Future
• The Innovation Economy
• The Next Workforce
• Longevity Medicine
• Weird Science
• Securing the Future
• The Future of Globalization
• The Future of Climate Change
• The Future of the Individual
• The Future of America and China

YOUR COMMENT SHOULD BE POSTED BY WEDNESDAY IN ORDER TO GET FULL CREDIT.

(NOTE - Page numbers reflect the paperback edition...)

1. The chapter opens with anecdotes from Mexico and Egypt. What do you think of these? Are they somehow more meaningful or important because of their cultural significance? Should we react to this type of story any differently?

2. Is the type of introspection required by the "club" Friedman advocates on page 407, Developing Countries Anonymous (DCA), realistic? Can we expect the leadership of these nations to do this type of detached thinking?

3. Friedman gives you a "reform retail" tour of the world on pages 411-413. First, I'm interested in your reaction to his "neighborhoods" of the world. Second, what area do you believe is most important for these governments to pursue in "reform retail?" (He includes choices like infrastructure, education, and governance.)

4. What lessons should other nations draw from the "Irish" experience? (page 417)

5. What's your take on the concept of "glocalization?" (page 420) How important do you believe this attribute is for developing nations? Why?

6. "Ten years ago, if you took the names off these two countries [China and Mexico] and just gave someone their profiles, he surely would have bet on Mexico." (page 428) What lessons should developing nations take from the discussion that follows?

Take-Home Essay Exam #1 is now past due. If you can print them out, great. (Double-sided is fine.) Otherwise, you can email them to me as an attachment.

REMINDERS: Blog Entry #9 should be completed. I've posted Blog Entry #10, and you should take care of that by the end of Wednesday. Try to have Chapter #11 read by Wednesday as well.

We'll do the quiz on World Organizations on Wednesday. It will be matching.

>>>>>>>>>>

We'll spend some time with "This is Not a Test" (Chapter #9) from The World is Flat.

The "Five Action Areas" I've copied some of Friedman's more quotable lines from each section below.

• Leadership - "We need politicians who are able and willing to both explain and inspire."
  
  
• Muscle building - "The 'muscles' workers need most are portable benefits and opportunities for lifelong learning."
  
  
• Cushioning - "Social Security is good fat. We need to keep it. A welfare system that discourages people from working is bad fat. The sort of good fat that actually needs to be added for a flat world is wage insurance."
  
  
• Social Activism - (NOTE: This section appears in the hardcover, but not the newest, paperback edition.) "Sometimes the best way to change the world is by getting the big players to do the right things for the wrong reasons, because waiting for them to do the right things for the right reasons can mean waiting forever."
  
  
• Parenting - "The sense of entitlement, the sense that because we once dominated global commerce and geopolitics - and Olympic basketball - we always will, the sense that delayed gratification is a punishment worse than a spanking, the sense that our kids have to be swaddled in cotton wool so that nothing bad or disappointing or stressful ever happens to them at school is, quite simply, a growing cancer on American society."

>>>>>>>>

INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS: We'll finish with these today. You were asked to post your comment to Lesson #21 next week. (These, along with "global hot-spots" will form the material for your final quiz next week.)

Remember, this is what I asked you to consider... Briefly, what is the agreement? Who are the major parties? (Not necessarily a list...) When was it created? Why? What is the position/status of the United States regarding this agreement? Finally, what is your assessment of the desirability/efficacy of this agreement in the 21st century world?

• Maastricht Treaty
  
• Geneva Conventions
  
• International Criminal Court (ICC)
  
• UN Resolution 242 (and 338)
  
• Oslo Accords
  
• Dayton Agreement
  
• Sunshine Policy
  
• Kyoto Protocol
  
• Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM)
  
• Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)
  
• Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
  
• Land Mine treaty
  
• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Take-Home Essay Exam #1 is due to me today. If you can print them out, great. (Double-sided is fine.) Otherwise, you can email them to me as an attachment.

Once you have checked in, you are free to head down to College Counseling. They have treats for you, and it is the traditional day to make a pennant announcing your college choice. You are welcome to stay as long as you'd like. You also are free to work with your group on your Great Decisions project. (You'll get at least one period next week to do the same.)

REMINDERS: Blog Entry #9 should be done before Monday's class. That would also be a good time to have Chapter #10 read by.

We'll do the quiz on World Organizations next Wednesday. It will be matching.