Paul Rusesabagina, No 'Ordinary Man'

If you are going on our Field Trip to meet Paul Rusesabagina this is a good video for you to listen to.   It's from NPR (National Public Radio) and discusses the amazing story of his survival and how he saved the lives of 1200 people with no support from international intervention.  How do you forgive the atrocities that you experience in order to live?  Would you let a lion into your house?   Also check out the clip from his autobiography     

Yang Lan, the Growth of China, and the Rise of the New Super Power?

Check this speech out from TED.   TED is a non-profit dedicated to building and sharing new and ground breaking ideas with the public.   They invite the "whicked smaaat"  to discuss new and creative ideas with a larger audience.   Yang Lan, a famous Chinese journalist,  discusses the growth and changes in China and offers a growing "liberal" ideology taking place.   Do you think that China is going to take the place of the United States as the number 1 super power?   If so, why or why not?

  

What if Your Grandmother Ran an African Country? Ellen Johnson Sirleaf wins the Nobel Peace Prize! Watch her video from TEDWomen

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf wins the Nobel Peace Prize! Watch her video from TEDWomen


An incredibly fascinating and charismatic woman.   Watch her speech and take a look for the major themes of her discussion.  What are they?  How much do they apply to the leadership of women in America?   Do you think what she states is an accurate assessment of why women may make better leaders than men?  

Ladies and Gentlemen, Instructions on How Women Can Break Through the Glass Ceiling.

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, discusses the complex reasons why women on average do not rise to the top of their professions.   What she discusses is a little bit in your future but it is food for thought on how you might want to live your life.  Sort of an existential discussion in a way.   Do you agree with what Sandra says?   Go ask your mother/motherly figure what she thinks (+10 pts.)    

Pipeline under investigation for Environmental Impact

This article from The New York Times discusses the environmental investigation that is taking place into the proposed TransCanada Pipeline. Do you think it is ethically correct for the government to hire this company to conduct the investigation? Does this forecast the approval of the pipeline? Do you think that our government is showing bias? What does this say about our government?

Palestine's fight for an independent state!

  One hotbed of information and conflict in the world is the Israeli/Palestine debate that had been going on for a long time.   This is an article that discusses recent developments in the fight for Palestine to become an independent state.  Scratch your chin and ponder some of the following questions:


Does this promote unity of the Palestinians?

Is this civil disobedience at the international level?

Who gets to decide if Palestine gets to become a
 state?
Imagine being a Palestinian-would you support a push for UNESCO recognition? Why?

Check it out here

Murdered 18 year old girl Syrian potential propaganda?

This is a pretty wild story relating to the mutilation of a young woman and the disapearance of another.   An 18 year old girl who was reported mutilated by the government in Syria are now saying that the same girl is alive!   Watch the video and look at the documentation that the reporter brings to the story.  Do you think that the girl is the real girl?   Do you think that she is not the family's daughter?  Imagine being the parents or the family member of this girl and her brother.  What would you do?   Check it out here.