http://www.countryreports.org/

http://globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/

Here are some more websites on current conflicts around the world

http://www.flashpoints.info/start.html

Hi guys, the above is a website that lists all the current conflicts and wars going on in the world.

Later,

Scott

I had a really great global issues class today. We listened to “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan, and then we talked about the meaning of peace. I think the reason that the class was so great is that my students are really starting to think for themselves. For example, we worked hard on trying to think of a definition for peace. Peace is a word that we use all the time, but when you try and explain exactly what it means, it can be really difficult. Some of the definitions that my students came up with were really great. I can tell that I am going to really enjoy the next couple of weeks of class.

I think this unit on peace and conflict is going to be one of the most meaningful in the course for me. As most of students know, I lived in Israel for two years, so I guess I have some experience of peace and conflict first hand. I can still remember sitting in a café in Jerusalem watching the jet planes fly overhead on their way to bomb Ramallah. I can also remember visiting my friends in south Jerusalem and hearing the mortar fire come from Beit Jalla as we were getting out of the car. I also remember my wonderful and beautiful high school students who were all going in the army the next year. I hope they are all okay. If only there were no armies . . .

Anyway, my students talked a bit today about peace and what it means to them. They also had to come up with some examples of peace. I want to share one of my personal examples of peace. When I was 28 years old, I was living and working on Kibbutz Palmachim. A kibbutz is a kind of collective farm, and on this farm there was also a huge concrete plant. My job was to work in the concrete plant three days a week, and then three other days of the week, I studied Hebrew. Anyway, this work was tough. We started work each day at six am, and we had to work outside all day cleaning concrete lines, lifting heavy machinery, and operating huge cranes. The work was hard, and most people hated it. Myself, I guess I kind of had a love – hate relationship with the work, because I hated having to get yelled at all the time by everyone, and sometimes I was really tired and dirty, but then again, sometimes I really liked being outside and doing physical labour.

Anyhow, the point of this story is that the work was hard. Most of the people like me were on the kibbutz to learn Hebrew. We were all Jewish. However, there were also some non-Jewish volunteers on the kibbutz as well. One of these volunteers was a young guy named Oliver from Germany. He was a really great guy, and we both got along together famously. We were always laughing, and whenever we worked together we had a good time. In short, we were friends.

One day, we were riding on top of a huge crane very early in the morning. We were both exhausted, and the day promised to be a hard one full of heavy dirty work. Oliver and I were just chatting as we rode on the crane towards where we would be working for the day. We were talking about how hard and crazy the work was. Suddenly, I looked at him, and I asked him, “why are you here?” I mean, I knew why I was there. I was Jewish, and I was learning Hebrew, but this guy was a German. He didn’t have to be in the middle of Israel working like a dog. He said that he was sent to Israel by a social club that he was in.

“A social club? You mean like a church group?” I asked.

“No, it is just a social club, and one of our activities is to learn more about the Jewish people and to do volunteer and welfare work in Israel”

I guess I was tired or something, but suddenly I looked at him and I just started to cry. .He didn’t notice that I was crying, so he just kept talking about this and that. However, before I knew it I started to really cry hard. In fact, I was sobbing loudly. Oliver looked at me like I was crazy.

“Why are you crying?” he asked.

I couldn’t even speak hardly. “You’re German” I choked out. I started to cry even harder. “You’re German and we are friends.”

I was crying because there we were in Israel, a German and a Jew working together in a concrete factory and we were friends. 50 years ago he would have wanted to kill me, but now we joked together, laughed together and were able to complain together. That, for me, was one of the most beautiful moments in my life when I realized peace is possible. History doesn’t have to dictate the future, and past hates can be buried in the promise of a normal tomorrow where two guys can sit on top of a crane and laugh about their lives.

Global Issues in Japan . . . . hmmm, it’s kind of hard to have deep thoughts about the situation in the world when it is eight o’clock in the morning, but I am going to try. I guess the biggest thing that I think about is how to teach a course in Global Issues while not being a hypocrite. I mean, I don’t want to say one thing in the class, and then do another thing in my real life. That is why I have started to recycle all of my milk and orange juice cartons. I was in Izumiya the other day, and I noticed that they have a large recycling centre right beside the mains doors near the McDonald’s restaurant. I can bring all of my old milk and orange juice cartons to this place, and then they will be recycled into something else rather than just being dumped in a landfill site. Anyway, in theory, this is a really great idea. Now I just have to do it! I have been collecting and washing out all of my milk and orange juice cartons for a while now. After I am finished with a carton, I quickly rinse it out, and then I throw it under the sink. The problem is that I now have so many empty cartons that every time I open the cupboard below the sink, they all fall out all over my kitchen floor. In fact, it got really bad yesterday night because I wanted to put another carton under my sink, and they all fell out just as my friend ringing my door to visit me! I had cartons everywhere! It was a mess! I was very tempted just to crush them and throw them all away in the garbage so that I didn’t have to deal with them, but then I thought about my global issues class. How can I talk about environmental issues in the classroom, and then throw out all my cartons at home? Anyway, I patiently put all the cartons back in the cupboard. I guess I will have to flatten them all down and take them to the recycling centre at Izumiya before I am tempted to throw them all away again!

Hello everyone,

I was just looking for articles about global issues, and I found this great site. Here is the link: Global Envision. Click on the "article's" link, and then you can choose articles about the global economy, general globalization, health, the environment, technology, etc. Just click on the appropriate title.

Have fun!

Good Job Guys! Today might have been a little bit confusing, but most of you seemed to do really well. There were just a few problems we the computers, but don't worry, I am sure that we are all going to have a lot of fun with these blogs.

If you don't see your name at the side of this blog, please send me your blog address and I will add it right away.

Have a great day!!

Scott

Hi Guys!

Classes have started, and I hope that not everyone is too freaked out at this point! Just remember, keep up with your homework, do all of your assignments, and come to class, and you are going to be just fine.

I hope you all had a great weekend this past weekend. I had a really good weekend myself. This weekend I thought a lot about the environment, and how beautiful the countryside is in Japan. I climbed to the top of Atago-san with a friend of mine. It was really great!! I love hiking in Japan! I took the bus from the Keihan Sanjo station in Kyoto and went to Kiyotaki. From Kiyotaki I climbed up 924 metres to the top of Atago-san. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and I saw some amazing views of Kyoto while I was hiking. On top of Atago-san, there is a shrine. I thought the shrine was very interesting, especially the wood carvings of wild boar. I also had lunch on top of Atago-san while I was looking out over the beautiful views of the Japanese countryside. I made some tuna onigiri, and the sure tasted delicious after all the hard work of climbing to the top of the mountain!

After I had lunch and I looked around on top of the mountain, I started to hike towards Takao. However, I missed the short hiking trail to Takao!! I actually took a different trail that was much longer. However, the trail I took was really beautiful, and there were no people around at all. In the end I was very lucky because I got to see some beautiful flowers that I had never seen before. They were large white blossoms almost five centimetres wide. I also heard some really cool birds while I was hiking. It sounded like the same bird followed me during the entire hike. Also, if my friend and I had never taken the wrong trail, we would never have seen an ancient jizo with no head. It was a little bit scary, but I left a couple of coins beside the statue to bring me good luck. I hope it works.

Anyway, by the time I got to Takao, I was really tired, but the entire trip was worth it. There was only one thing that bothered me while I was hiking. From time to time, I would see garbage at the side of the trail. People had left empty coffee cans and plastic bags in some places. I picked up some of the old cans and put them in my backpack. It's so easy to carry your garbage back home, I wish more people would do this! However, it was still very beautiful - I recommend that you all get out on the weekends and go hiking!

Study hard, and I’ll see you all in class,

Scott.

Hi guys,

I just found another great site at about.com about global issues. This one has all kinds of information. Have fun.

Hi Guys,

I'm starting to really look forward to meeting all of you. I just found this website with lots of articles about global issues. I think you should check it out if you get the chance.

Cheers,

Scott.