Team Resources

Announcements

Domestic Issues

 

1.) Low Economic Growth Ahead:

The collapse of the subprime mortgate market and Federal Reserve projections of low growth may imply that the US is headed into a recession

a.) Aversa, Jeannine. "Fed Lowers Economic Forecast," Associated Press 20 Feb. 2008.

b.) Henry, David. "This Disaster was Guaranteed," Business Week 10 Dec. 2007. Page 26.

c.) Shinkle, Kirk. "Another Plan to Ease the Pain: The Fed pushes for mortgage reform as housing keeps sinking," US News & World Report 31 Dec. 2007. Page 25.

 

2.) The war in Iraq:

The war in Iraq continues to cost the US in lives and dollars

a.) Alvarez, Lisette and Deborah Sontag. "War Torn: when strains on military families turn deadly," New York Times 15 February 2008.

b.) Hertzberg, Henrik. "Follow the Leaders," The New Yorker 10 Dec. 2007.

c.) Lubold, Gordon. "War Strain in Iraq may speed troop cuts," Christian Science Monitor 24 Dec. 2007.

d.) Teslik, Lee. "Backgrounder: Iraq, Afghanistan and the US Economy," New York Times 4 Feb. 2008.

 

3.) Illegal immigration

It is estimated that several million illegal immigrants currently live and work in the United States. Some argue that they fill jobs Americans will not and are vital to the economy, while others think the federal government should prosecute illegal immigrants.

a.) "Of Fences and Visas," The Economist 26 May 2007.

b.) "Cooking up a Row," The Economist 15 Dec. 2007.

c.) "Guests vs. Gatecrashers: economic focus," The Economist 2 June 2007.

 

4.) Detainee rights

Questions of indefinite detainment at Guantanamo Bay, torture (especially waterboarding), and legal proceedings against "enemy combatants" have been at issue since the US moved into Afghanistan, but have been in the news lately with the presidential race and a few key trials.

a.) Sevastopulo, Demetri. "Hopes fade for closure of Guantanamo," Financial Times 13 Dec. 2007.

b.) "The Guantanamo Six: Military commissions," The Economist 16 Feb. 2008.

c.) Schmitt, Robert. "Democrats decry Mukasey's waterboarding silence," Los Angeles Times 31 Jan. 2007.

5.) Recent college shootings

Recent shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois Univ. raise questions of gun control.

6.) Social Security, national healthcare, No Child Left Behind, and other common issues

I'm assuming you're following the presidential primaries pretty closely on your own, but this article: => Delegates explained is worth reading.

Foreign Issues

1.) Pakistan

The recent assassination of Benazir Bhutto, strong election returns for the two opposition parties, the country's nuclear arsenal, and its status as a reluctant ally in the US' war on terror make Pakistan really, really important right now.

a.) Coll, Stephen. "Time Bomb: Letter from Pakistan," The New Yorker 28 Jan. 2008.

b.) Baker, Aryn. "The Warrior Lawyer," Time 25 Feb. 2008.

c.) Gall, Carlotta and Jane Perlez. "Pakistani voters deal Musharraf crushing defeat," New York Times 19 Feb. 2008.

d.) Ebrahim, Zofeen. "AG tape confirms vote rigging fears," Global Information Network 18 Feb. 2008.

e.) "Pakistan terms 'outlandish' concern over safety of nuclear assets," Associated Press of Pakistan 3 Sept. 2007. Note the source.

f.) Abaya, Antonio. "If Pakistan Collapses," Manila Standard 20 November 2007. Note the source.

Also of interest:

Election boycott: click => Election boycott article

 

2.) Kosovo declared its independence

Through the 1990s, Slobodan Milosevic, who was at the time President of Serbia and later Yugoslavia, brutally repressed Albanian separatists (an ethnic minority group) living in Kosovo (a province of Serbia) until NATO intervened in 1999. Even after Milosevic was tried for war crimes relating to his repression of the Albanians as well as corruption and everything else you might expect, tension between what is now the central state of Serbia and the province remained high; the area has not yet fully recovered economically and there are still refugees. Serbia is a former Soviet Republic and by no means the only one in which there is ethnic tension. Russia has its own ethnic tensions (Chechnya, for example), and so tends to support any state against ethnic separatist movements.

a.) Finn, Peter and Peter Baker. "Kosovo gains recognition by US, some in Europe," The Washington Post 19 Feb. 2008.

b.) Wilkinson, Tracy. "Serbian militants attack border posts in Kosovo," Los Angeles Times 20 Feb. 2008.

 

3.) Fidel Castro declined to be considered for another term as President of Cuba

Cuba and the US have had troubled relations for over a century, but when Fidel Castro took power in Cuba in a military coup in 1959 and declared it a socialist republic it made relations worse, to say the least. It was the height of the Cold War, and having a USSR ally so close to US borders made the US nervous - the most tense moment was the Cuban Missile Crisis, when Cuba installed armed missiles capable of reaching the US (there are a number of movies about this). The US has tried to assassinate Castro or overthrow him more than once over the years, but none were successful. Most recently, the US placed an embargo on Cuba, strictly limiting the goods that can enter the island. This was obviously economically hurtful to Cuba, but again did not dislodge Castro. This past year, Castro had to undergo emergency surgery on his stomach and handed over de facto rule to his brother Raul.

a.) Williams, Carol. "Fidel Castro steps down: memoirs, emigre reaction," Los Angeles Times 20 Feb. 2008.

b.) Sands, David. "Raul in spotlight as Fidel fades," Washington Times 20 Feb. 2008.

4.) Kenya

The country that had been a model of stability broke out in violence after allegations of corruption in recent elections

a.) "Ethnic cleansing in Luoland" The Economist 9 Feb. 2008.

5.) China's Economy

China is emerging as a world economic leader, with 5-10% growth for the past several years. At the same time, quality control, environmental protection, and lack of respect for intellectual property law are all issues. That China has a huge amount of US currency only increases anxiety.

a.) Ikenberry, John. "The Rise of China and the Future of the West" Foreign Affairs Jan/Feb 2008. This article is really long, but completely worth reading.

6.) Russia and its upcoming elections

The big question in Russian elections is usually how free they will be. The answer, for the upcoming Presidential elections, appears to be "not very."

a.) McFaul, Michael and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss. "The Myth of the Authoritarian Model," Foreign Affairs, Jan/Feb 2008. This article is also really long.

Also of interest: Sudan and Darfur, Bush's trip to Africa as it relates to US AIDS policy and Sudan, Sarkozy's sinking popularity, US-Iran tension, Hamas-Israel-Fatah, Zimbabwe and Mugabe, Hugo Chavez, and anything you read on mideastwire.com.

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