Global Citizens means Global reading

We know we need an awareness of what's going on in the world to understand the world.

Here are some links to short and medium length articles and opinions on events past our borders.  They are all thought-provoking.  The one on the woman who was murdered and found yesterday in Mexico is heartbreaking and inspiring.

Take some notes as you read.  And yes, I know you are not used to doing that, but give it a try.  It will help you for the Quiz on Monday and believe it or not, I do want you to do well.

All best,

Mike

This one connects to our discussions of social media, and unrest in China.

http://www.npr.org/2012/11/27/165933657/how-ordinary-chinese-are-talking-and-fighting-back

These two cover the murder in Mexico of this very brave politician.  Feels great for the U.S. to be Mexico's number one customer for drugs, doesn't it?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9706915/Maria-Santos-Gorrostieta.html

Maria Santos Gorrostieta

http://www.christianpost.com/news/maria-santos-gorrostieta-former-mexican-mayor-found-dead-by-roadside-85557/

These two deal with religion and environment in China.  They are both huge issues of concern in the West and East.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/13/opinion/china-challenges-water-security-hiscock/index.html?hpt=ias_r1

 

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/101east/2011/06/2011629646319175.html

Enjoy, and learn! 

 

Exploration 11

“The compromises we have reached demanded sacrifices on all sides. It was not easy for the supporters of Mr. Mandela or mine to relinquish the ideals they had cherished for many decades.” (Page 633 in the Essay Connection, Frederik Willem de Klerk) This passage is important to me because it explains the situation and how they arrived at a solution. There is no beating around the bush with this passage. This passage does an excellent job of getting straight to the point. Currently, South Africa is having other issues past politics.

Huffingtonpost (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/28/rhino-poaching-south-africa_n_2202431.html?utm_hp_ref=green) wrote an article on the ever growing issue in South Africa. The issue of rhino poaching demands action, but no one has stepped up to take charge. This is an awful practice to partake in, but a profitable one at that. The article tells that the rhino horns go for the street value of cocaine in the US. This is because the buyers in Asia believe that rhino horns cure diseases.

The Dalai Lama is a high religious official in a sect of the Buddhist church. His country is under the control of the Chinese as of the invasion 50 years ago. Today in modern Tibet, there have been a lot of self-immolations happening in protest of China. Tibet clearly wants to be free of China. In my research, I had trouble finding any recent news on Tibet that were major issues.

Here is a good picture of the Dalia Lama showing that he is a peaceful man .

            

Exploration 11

In Nelson Mandela's speech, I feel that paragraph 36 means the most to me because it shows something new is beginning and starting fresh.  Then paragraph 37 is "Let a new age dawn!"  When I read this, it gave me chills and shows that things are better.

South African platinum mine workers were protesting and 34 of them were killed by police.  They were demanding more pay. 

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/8/21/massacre_in_south_africa_police_defend

The Dalai Lama is a man Buddhist who wears a yellow hat.  This started during the 14th century.  They believe in peace and enlightenment. 

In the picture is Tenzin Gyatso and he is the Dalai Lama today. 

Exploration 11

The passage when Mandela says, "This reward will not be measured in money. Nor can it be reckoned in collective price of the rare metals and precious stones that rest in the bowels of the African soil we tread in the footsteps of our ancestors" makes me realize that freedom is more than anything. We are so used to being free because most of us were born in America. I always know that I am being treated fairly when I do something wrong and that I receive a fair reward when I perform well in whatever I am doing. What I found interesting about Mandela was that he went to jail for planning to overrun the government with violence. Mandela was actually fighting against the violence ironically. While he was in jail his reputation became better because he refused to change his political views. Today in South Africa, President Jacob Zuma is likely to be re-elected as president. Five of the nine countries provinces support Zuma to be re-elected as president. This helps to show South Africa is growing if the population is willing to re-elect a president.

            The Dalai Lama is a Buddhist monk who is believed to have been a re-incarnated version of past spiritual leaders. His role is to help enlighten others on the Buddhist religion. The Dalai Lama just wants Chinese forces to leave Tibet and to have those who are not Tibetans to relocate. Ever since the Dalai Lama was forced to flee to India in 1951, China has rules over Tibet saying that China has "liberated" the region from the Dalai Lama. I feel that China should give back what is not rightfully theirs. They took over a peaceful country and from what I read, the inhabitants are not happy about it. China does not want to give this large amount of land up however.

           

11      http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1993/mandela-bio.html

22      http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/28/us-safrica-politics-idUSBRE8AR0VL20121128

33      http://articles.cnn.com/2009-03-10/world/india.dalai_1_dalai-lama-leader-of-tibetan-buddhists-chinese-officials?_s=PM:WORLD

Exploration 11

"The compromises we have reached demand sacrifices on all sides. It was not easy for the supporters of Mr. Mandela or mine to relinquish the ideals the had cherished for many decades. But we did it. And because we did it, there is hope". This quote by Frederik Willem de Klerk shows us that everyone can solve a dispute between two parties, even two fierce political rivals like de Klerk and Mandela. F.W. de Klerk was the final president of South Africa of the apartheid era. Since the all presidents have been of the african national congress and not the national party. De Klerk still travels the world and is a very influential speaker internationally to this day.
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1993/klerk-bio.html

The 14th Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyasto. He was chosen to be the next Dalai Lama because it is said as a small child of 2 years of age, he correctly identified his predecessor's belongings in a pile of toys. In recent years, China has invaded and occupied Tibet forcing the Dalai Lama to exile in India. He still continues to spread the Tibetan language and culture as well as human rights. He also is consistently spreading the word of the oppression faced by the tibetan people under China's rule and advocates for their freedom.

His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyasto

Exploration 11 Tyler Lacks

   My favorite passage from the selection of speeches was out of the Nelson Mandela speech, towards the end where he says, "Let the efforts of us all prove that he was not a mere dreamer when he spoke of the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace being more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.  Let a new age dawn!" (Mandela 633).  This passage was pretty powerful to me because it was just a sort of shout out to how Dr. King did this before and Mandela almost seems to be insinuating that he too is also willing to die for his cause to strive for the ultimate society climate of equally and peace without having to worry about violence or being attacked by anyone due to race or class and it shows how this is a major mile stone to what is to come in the country of South Africa.
   I found that it pretty interesting to see that if Mandela was not imprisoned for as long as he had been, that he might not have gone on to do the things that he did.  In prison he actually made a fool of most of the prison officials that worked there at Robben Island and became a large leader in the prison for his prison comrades.  This experience actually worked heavily in his favor and he might not have even realized it.  He came out of prison a new man essentially even more driven to achieve his goals from the banned ANC with the help of his now fine tuned leadership skills that he had acquired while imprisoned.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/mandela/prison/

   The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the people of Tibet.  The government of China threatened Tibet as the current Dalai Lama assumed the power of Tibet.  The current Dalai Lama has been in exile in India for the last half century by China due to the struggles between the two.  It was odd reading about the stuff involved with this because of how different of a world it is over there.  Everything is run based on a religion and I grew up basically without religion.  It all seemed so different for me.




The Dalai Lama receiving an honorary award for his work with humanitarianism.

Exploration 11

"The compromises we have reached demanded sacrifices on all sides. It was not easy for the supporters of Mr. Mandela or mine to relinquish the ideals they had cherished for many decades."
          This is my favorite passage from Frederik Willem de Klerk's speech. I thought that it was important because it showed how he truly want to help his country. He did not want to just get elected, like many politicians in the United States want to do. He know that many people would not like him but he know in order to free South Africa from Apartheid, which means literally the status of being apart, he had to compromise on many key issues.
          Not only was de Klerk one of the most important figures in ending Apartheid in South Africa but he also ended South Africa's Nuclear Weapons program. This is important because not only did he want his own country to be nonsegregated but he also wanted to stay a peaceful nation.
          <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._W._de_Klerk>
          <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1993/klerk-bio.html>

          The Dalai Lama is the head of state for the Central Tibetan Administration, or Tibetan government in exile. The reason that Tibetan government is in exile from China today is because the current Dalai Lama criticized the Chinese government for its harsh governing over the country. In 2011 the Dalai Lama stated that the next Dalai Lama might be found outside of Tibet and might be a female. The Chinese government rejected this statement stating that they alone have the power to pic the next Dalai Lama.

In the picture above the Dalai Lama tells China that he is no Demon.