Week 13 Lectures

Tuesday – Topics discussed included:

• We’re getting close to the end of the school year!
• How to cheat in all your other classes
• Sudan and South Sudan are doing air strikes on each other
• How no one takes North Korea seriously
• Putin will be stepping down as the head of his party, and Meddie (Medvedev) may step up!
• Sarkozy lost the first round of elections, and that’s not good for this blogger since I run Plaid Sarkozy’s Twitter account!
• The Spratly Islands conflict is getting worse
• Speaking of China… more on history, how it was almost taken over completely by Japan, why they became run by the Communist party, and how Taiwan represented China for a while
• Shoutout to Hootie the Owl!

Thursday – Topics discussed included:

• Dancing on the stage before class!
• Boyer got a “man card!”And a durian!
• Two bizarre British stories going on in China
• Mass synchronized pom-poms at the mass games in North Korea
• CHINA RICH! And speaking of which, we also talked about the rest of China’s history, how they place stability first, how they think long-term, and how they’re in the game to win it again!
• How Taiwan is armed so much
• Who is Hu, and when do you say Wen?

Rabbit Proof Fence

Another movie night, and this time we skipped over Blind Shaft and watched Rabbit Proof Fence instead! It was made in Australia, set in Australia, and it’s in English, so nobody had to pay attention to subtitles the whole movie! Huzzah for laziness! The 2002 movie takes place in the 1930s, a period during which the Aborigines (the natives of Australia) were oppressed by the whites. Daisy, Gracie, and Molly are three half-castes, children who are half white, half Aborigine. Taken from their home and sent to a Gurag where they would be taught basically how to be indentured servants, the girls decide to try to escape the camp and follow the rabbit-proof fence which runs from their home in northwestern Australia to the south. However, they are pursued by men under the command of the Chief Protector of Aborigines. Did they succeed in their escape? Those who attended found out and got more points for class. MORE POINTS I SAY!

We watched this movie on November 16, 2o11 for Fall semester, and on April 11, 2012 for Spring semester students (as part of a double feature with Five Days of War).

5 Days of War

This 2011 action film is really a piece of propaganda, but it’s a story about the Russians invading Georgia (the country, not the US state) in 2008. American journalist Thomas Anders is saved in Iraq by Georgian troops, and then goes to Georgia when he hears that conflict may be stirring up there. While examining Georgian life, he captures shocking footage of the Russians, which he struggles to get out of the country. However, the five-day war is going on, and now he, his cameraman, and a local woman must fight to survive. A fun fact about this movie – Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvilli actually chose actor Andy Garcia to play the part of Saakashvilli! That’s how biased this movie is!5 Days of Warincludes the Georgian, Russian and English languages.

We watched this movie on April 11, 2012.

Week 11 Lectures

Tuesday – Topics discussed included:

• Boyer has a moustache!
• North Korea might be shooting a rocket into space AND doing an underground nuclear explosions test!
• Fighting in Syria has overlapped into Turkey – Article 5 can be invoked! It’s more justified than what happened in Libya
• Saudi Arabia is willing to arm the Syrian opposition!
• How to stay informed and smart about the news!
• There was a ten-year-old who had a baby in South America? What?
• You got’sta know the SCO!
• Is Putin rebuilding the Soviet Union?
• Russia and China have a joint space program
• Cultural organizations – the Arab League, African Union
• Different types of religion – ethnic (born into) and universalizing (spreading everywhere!)
• There are two aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf
• Instagram! It’s another .com bubble. D=
• All about tulips! The first stock market bubble!

Thursday – Topics discussed included:

• There was a standoff between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea
• Japan is ready to shoot North Korea’s rocket
• The cease fire in Syria is on! Will it last?
• Sixth Summit of the Americas is going to happen in Colombia. But what is it? And why is the location important? (They’re talking about drug policy)
• Colombia – the rising star of Latin America!
• There is hope for Mexico!
• The G-8 and G-20: what they are, what they do, and their history
• The BRICS
• The difference between BRICS, the G-8, G-20, and the other organizations!
• CHINA RICH! It’s the powerhouse of East Asia! But not all of China is the same…
• Soccer on the Tibetan Plateau!