Travel Safety Tips...

The U.S. State Department is one of the best resources for travel information! While most of their tips are about foreign travel, some are excellent advice no matter where you go!! A lot are common sense, but it never hurts to remember things like, for example...

"Always try to travel light. You can move more quickly and will be more likely to have a free hand. You will also be less tired and less likely to set your luggage down, leaving it unattended.
Carry the minimum amount of valuables necessary for your trip and plan a place or places to conceal them. Your passport, cash and credit cards are most secure when locked in a hotel safe. When you have to carry them on your person, you may wish to conceal them in several places rather than putting them all in one wallet or pouch. Avoid handbags, fanny packs and outside pockets that are easy targets for thieves. Inside pockets and a sturdy shoulder bag with the strap worn across your chest are somewhat safer..."

"What to Leave Behind? Don't bring anything you would hate to lose. Leave at home:

  • valuable or expensive-looking jewelry,
  • irreplaceable family objects,
  • all unnecessary credit cards
  • Social Security card, library cards, and similar items you may routinely carry in your wallet.

Leave a copy of your itinerary with family or friends at home in case they need to contact you in an emergency."

"PRECAUTIONS TO TAKE WHILE TRAVELING...
Safety on the Street: Use the same common sense traveling overseas that you would at home. Be especially cautious in or avoid areas where you could be victimized. These include crowded subways, train stations, elevators, tourist sites, market places, festivals and marginal areas of cities. Don't use short cuts, narrow alleys or poorly lit streets. Do not travel alone at night... Avoid scam artists. Beware of strangers who approach you, offering bargains or to be your guide. Beware of pickpockets. They often have an accomplice who will:
  • jostle you,
  • ask you for directions or the time,
  • point to something spilled on your clothing,
  • or distract you by creating a disturbance...

Wear the shoulder strap of your bag across your chest and walk with the bag away from the curb to avoid drive-by purse-snatchers...

If you are ever confronted, don't fight back. Give up your valuables. Your money and passport can be replaced, but you can’t.

Safety in Your Hotel: Keep your hotel door locked at all times. Meet visitors in the lobby.
Do not leave money and other valuables in your hotel room while you are out. Use the hotel safe. Let someone know when you expect to return if you are out late at night."

Other State Department travel safety suggestions can be found here.

Peace Corp. - The Boston Globe

Hmmm... what do you think about this as an idea to help Darfur?

Peace Corp. - The Boston Globe

Updated again: NYC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, let's get down to "brass tacks" about our departure for NYC!!!

Let's meet at 10 am in front of Alfond *CENTER*. Pack lightly... Take only what you can put into a smallish rolling suitcase or backpack. We will be driving only to Stanford, CT (remember to bring $18.50 for the train ticket!) and then taking the train in, so you will have to lug through the streets of Manhattan whatever you bring with you. (And, trust me, stuff gets heavy fast!!)

Also, needless to say, you will be walking... a lot! Comfortable shoes are a total must! (As is appropriate outerwear!!) Also, as in any big city, just be vigilant against purse or chain snatching or pickpockets... (They can be smooth!)

In terms of schedule, the itinerary currently looks tentatively like the following...

Friday afternoon: Arrival
Saturday morning: U.N. (Entrance appointment at 11:15 am SHARP!)
Saturday afternoon: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Sunday morning: The Cloisters
Sunday afternoon: Departure

Your active participation is worth the equivalent of the final paper, i.e., 20% of your grade... so - needless to say - it's in everybody's best interests to be engaged in the group activities and for us to generally mind our p's and q's! :-) I'll give you guidelines about journaling your "Capstone takes Manhattan" adventures when we take off on Friday...

In times not used by the class, you are encouraged to enjoy the great cultural opportunities the city has to offer!! (Allow me, folks, to heartily recommend the museums!!)

FYI, if you're interested, I personally will definitely be hitting the Strand used bookstore during my downtime... What's so special about a bookstore, you might ask?? How about 18 miles of shelves of hard-to-find books?! Okay, I am a total book geek, but it is a global book mecca... People from all over the world go to the Strand when they're in New York!!

Plus, you already know I plan to hit the Frick Museum... and I may go back to what may well be my very favorite Italian restaurant in the whole entire world (and that's saying something!) Serafina, plus perhaps try to attend that truly-fine, highly-intellectual and profoundly-literate Broadway show, Spamalot! I'm an adventurous sort who'll do all kinds of things (within reason!) on my own, but anybody whose interest might be piqued by my own admittedly eclectic tastes is welcome to tag along!!

BTW, the world-famous Tribeca Film Festival, organized by Robert De Niro, is going on this week, as is apparently - hold onto your hats! - the NY Ukelele Festival (or "UkeFest" for short!). Last but not least, in conjunction with Tribeca, if you have an AMEX card, you can enjoy $20 multi-course lunches and $30 dinners at select nice restaurants in Manhattan this weekend... (A restaurant list is available at mylifemycard.com)

Do you have any other questions about our upcoming departure?? Please let me know!!

See you Friday morning!! (Myself and Matt are driving, right??)

UPDATE: The following folks have a balance to pay for the trip to NYC...

$7:
Robin Caron,
Brad Morin
Amanda Frithsen
David Barnes
Michelle Gaspar
Cailtlyn Hickey
Amanda Hart
Joe Anderson
Dan Warren

$2:
Adam Ham
Kelly Madore
Kara Haupt
Carla Santos
Matt Crellin
Amander Wotton
Derek Davis

(Plus I owe $3 to Andy Dunne!)

Please be sure to bring this balance with you, as I will be using it to buy you all unlimited ride 24-hour MetroCards! :-)

Poster-Boys for Worldquest!

The following photo was circulated in the World Affairs Council of Maine's April newsletter with the caption, "All concentrating on answering the questions". Interestingly, I think it may have been the only photo included that wasn't of the very top three teams... What can we say?? We were a team too good-looking to be denied!!!! :-)

UPDATED: Sen. George Mitchell's talk

Congrats, guys! The Honors Capstone and Poli Sci students from SJC were clearly the single largest contingent of undergraduates at Sen. George Mitchell's address today at USM! (We clearly outnumbered even any USM undergrads in the lecture hall!!!!!)

So, just curious... what did those who went think about it??????

UPDATE: Just received via email...

"Friends,

Thank you for attending Sen. Mitchell's presentation yesterday afternoon. Would you please take a very short moment to share your thoughts about the event here
. The purpose is purely in the spirit of continuous improvement, noting that you, our customer, best know what you want. If we don't ask you then we're operating in the dark, trying to be clairvoyant. The comments will be anonymous unless you choose to include your name.

Best wishes.

Jeff


Jeffrey GramlichProfessor of Accounting and
L.L. Bean/Lee Surace Endowed Chair
University of Southern Maine School of Business96 FalmouthPortland, Maine 04104-9300 USATelephone: 1-207-228-8232Fax: 1-207-780-4662Home:
http://www.usm.maine.edu/~gramlich/ "

"Holocaust Survivors Struggle to Survive in Israel"

Holocaust Survivors Grow Poorer in Israel

IMPORTANT NEWS re: George Mitchell's talk!!

From the World Affairs Council of Maine...

"Dear friend,

As you know, Senator Mitchell speaks tomorrow about "Globalism: What it means for America," in the Hannaford Lecture Hall of the Abromson Community Education Center. Reserved seat tickets for the event are sold out and there is a fair crowd (about 40 at the moment) of people who have purchased seats to view Senator Mitchell by closed-circuit TV. At 4:30 they will be allowed to assume any unused reserved seats. That is, reserved ticket seats will only be held until 4:30 sharp!

Please note that it will not be possible for one ticket-holder to save a seat for another ticket-holder who has not yet arrived. In other words, you should not plan to take your seat until all members of the party you intend to sit with have arrived.

If images of the event announcement and a map to Abromson do not appear below (a result of some computer systems not accepting html e-mail), the announcement and map can be viewed online here
."

BTW, if you have any trouble parking, I suggest you park at the Arby's or Hannaford on Forest Avenue and then walk over to the auditorium! (That's what we did tonight, thereby avoiding the traffic!!)

Monday's talk with "Hotel Rwanda"'s Paul Rusesabagina

At least a little bit of history was probably made in Portland tonight...

Paul Rusesabagina whose story was the basis for the Oscar-nominated film that we saw in class, Hotel Rwanda, came to USM's Hannaford Lecture Hall in Portland to speak on genocide and indifference... The auditorium seats 512 people. The campus policeman with whom I spoke afterward estimated that over 1200 had actually showed up!

"Standing room only" was an understatement. Their overflow rooms, where they piped in simultaneous video, were also overflowing. Understandably, some folks headed back to campus. Since we were already there and live in Portland, Andrea and I decided to stay, as did a carload of Honors Capstone students. (And I'd be really interested to get their reactions to the talk as comments to this post!!)

It's almost a crime to try to summarize all of what he had to say... but - for the sake of those who couldn't stay - I thought I'd try...

Firstly, the movie was apparently fairly accurate in depicting the details of their terrible experience. But there's just something about hearing it in graphic detail in the first person, from someone who actually saw firsthand what had even been too unimaginably horrific to show on film... Knowing that he saw things that no one should ever see, not even in their worst possible nightmares...

But, interestingly, Paul Rusesabagina didn't leave Rwanda when the 1200+ people were evacuated from the hotel and spirited to freedom. He actually remained in the country for two more years, until an assassination attempt finally convinced him to accept exile. That in itself must be an amazing story which remains to be told.

His closing words were both a haunting accusation and a challenge. He mentioned that he's heard Western leaders speak about the Holocaust, and repeat over and over and over, "Never again!" Never have two words been more horribly abused, he said, since genocides have not ceased. Right now in Sudan's Darfur region, an estimated 10 to 15,000 people are dying every month, and - even more atrocious, but less well-known - an estimated 4 million people have been killed in the Congo... four times the million victims of Rwanda, or an average - Rusesabagina reported - of over an estimated 30,000 a day!

So - Rusesabagina challenges us - when we say "Never again!"... do we really mean it?? Are we going to permit modern genocides to continue, or are we going to try to stop them whenever and wherever they occur? It's a very good question posed by a man who deserves an answer... the right answer!

In the meantime, I just can't help but think that 1200 - the number of Mainers who overflowed the lecture hall to see Paul Rusesabagina - was the same number of people he was responsible for saving in Rwanda. Kinda puts what one single good human being can accomplish into perspective.

Those of you who were there... what did you think??

U.S. Holocaust Museum: "Journey Through Eastern Congo"

"Ripples from the genocide in Rwanda hit the Congo like a tidal wave..."

Ripples of Genocide: Journey Through Eastern Congo

The Global Fund against AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria

Join the Global Fund - Home

State of the Planet

State of the Planet: "A graphical look at what we've done and where we're going..."

Fun with another media "empire"!

Funny news from the dark side with the "Imperial News Network"!

The Emperor is on the hunt for a new job and with a temp agency: Watch the Video!

"The media bias against Imperial government": Watch the Video!

Earth Day Footprint Quiz!

Calculate the size of your own global Footprint on this Quiz!

In NYC: "BODIES...The Exhibition" & other exhibits (plus safety tips!)

Not excited as I am about Renaissance art? How about the human body in art? And when I say "human body," I mean real (dead) ones!

It's all at BODIES...The Exhibition in NYC when we're there. (I'm not sure I could take it myself!!)

In addition, there's an exhibit on Darwin (incl. real [live!] Galapagos tortoises, iguana and frogs) at the Museum of Natural History, Edvard Munch (who also did the famous, now-stolen "Scream") at the newly-renovated and reopened Museum of Modern Art, William Wegman (weimaraners, anyone?) at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and more about what you can see at NYCvisit.com!

Last but not least, general safety tips (handy for anytime you visit a big city!) are available here... (plus locals tell me that it's a good idea to be mindful of the locales if and when you consider going clubbing. Like anywhere in the world, some are sketchier than others!)

NY Trip: Major Art Exhibition at the Frick Museum!

There is an important art exhibition of Renaissance Venetian painter Veronese at the Frick Museum in NY... I'll be going on my afternoon "off," and anybody who wants is welcome to join me!!

VERONESE'S ALLEGORIES By JAMES GARDNER

4/17: More on the Veronese show from the New Yorker.

Darfur

"Foreign schemes against our country will not stop but if we close our ranks and be determined no foreign soldier will be able to set foot on our lands no matter what the reasons may be. " That's a quote from Sudanese President Omar Al-Basheer. What I'm trying to figure out is how one safely intervenes in a country whose government is so strongly opposed to your assistance? I suppose it's probably not possible. It seems inevitable that the UN is going to lose people. So will they pull out like they did in Rwanda, or will they get a backbone and actually stick around when things get messy? How does one ignore 180,000 dead bodies since 2003 anyway? It's not like your standard world peacekeeeping organization can just miss that. But the UN seemed quite content until fairly recently to put the minimal effort into this crisis. As it stands, they're moving, albeit slowly, but they're still doing that pesky "I don't know if we should really call it genocide" thing. All in all the world has taken a step in the right direction since the Rwanda incident, but it was a baby step on a journey of a hundred miles. As for what's happening in today's forcast: According to UN meeting notes Annan is "troubled" by the security issue in Chad (now Darfur refugee central), Annan is "deeply troubled" by violence in Chad, the ambassador from China "expressed deep concern" in regards to Darfur and sincerely wishes Sudan and Chad would check over those pesky peace agreements they should have rotting somewhere in their inboxes, and Annan states that he hasn't gotten around to getting in contact with the Chadian President "but was PLANNING to have a conversation with the Chairman of the African Union." I suppose that last part will have to wait though because the UN also took the time to note that "[Tomorrow is an official holiday at UN headquarters. The briefing will resume on Monday, April 17.]"

FYI: Social Explorer

Social Explorer Home

FYI: Take Action to Shield the Women of Darfur

Amnesty International: Take Action to Shield the Women of Darfur

Make-up opportunity if you can't go to Portland 4/24 or 4/25...

Either...

OR

Be sure to post your analytical observations about these programs on the class blog to receive credit!!

FYI: "Students take on world's challenges"

Students take on world's challenges csmonitor.com

UPDATED: "What Will It Take to Stop Genocide in Darfur?" Online Program from the Holocaust Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Save the Date: April 17, 2006, at 7 p.m.

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum invites you to join a televised panel presentation discussing the question, "What Will It Take to Stop Genocide in Darfur?"

Who:


  • Samantha Power, Pulitzer Prize-winning Author
  • Ambassador Michael Ranneberger, Senior State Department Representative for Sudan
  • Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, Sudanese Human Rights Defender
  • Jon Sawyer, Award-winning Journalist

When: Monday, April 17, 2006, at 7 p.m. EDT

How to participate:

  • View the program live via regular Internet access here.
  • The panelists will field questions through an online discussion board that you can join.
  • Participate in the online forum: Leading up to the event, we will engage in a public discussion about the crisis in Darfur and what it will take to stop genocide in that region. Go to the online forum to engage in discussion, pose questions that you would like to have answered, and share your own thoughts in response to questions posted by others.

For updated information about the program and the panelists, to view the program on April 17th, or to join the online forum, visit the Museum's Web site.

This is a great way to prepare for the April 30th Million Voices for Darfur Rally. Learn more at www.millionvoicesfordarfur.org.

--------------------------------

"A member of this list had some questions regarding the technology necessary to access the USHMM live program, What Will It Take to Stop the Genocide in Darfur?, on April 17. Below is the response he received from the Museum. I hope it helps either for this program or those in the future. Thanks to Jason for getting the answers.

Jackie

Jacqueline Littlefield, Education Outreach Coordinator, Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine

Regular Internet Webcast: To receive the regular Internet Webcast simply point your browser at http://www.ushmm.org/conscience/stopgenocide . It will play on that page using Windows Media Player (and Internet Explorer). On the Mac, you can use Safari with QuickTime and the Flip4Mac plug-in (see below). To test your ability to receive the Webcast via the regular Internet point your browser at: http://www.vbrick.net/ushmm/ . You may also copy this link, "https://pi.sjcme.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://64.251.63.241/ushmm," into Windows Media Player (or QuickTime on the Mac) directly. It can easily be made to go full screen.

Using a Mac: If you are using a Mac, please install Flip4Mac. Flip4Mac will allow you to view the video via your QuickTime plugin for Safari (also Firefox and Camino, note it doesn't work in Internet Explorer). You can also view it directly from QuickTime, open QuickTime and under the "File" menu, select "Open URL." Paste "https://pi.sjcme.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://64.251.63.241/ushmm" into the field and press enter. Press play to view the video. You do not need a Web browser.

Q&A Before and During the Event: For the Q&A session, all you need is any Web browser. You may submit your questions using any Web browser at

Scenes from Worldquest!

Team Capstone!

Even short one person, at least we beat Team IR! ;-)

Hotel Rwanda

Hello everyone. Since I had to be late for class last Tuesday, I thought I'd contribute more to that class by offering some background on the movie "Hotel Rwanda"(that being the part of the class that I missed). The mass muders between the Hutus and the Tutsis are considered by some to be among the worst atrocities of the 20th century. It took only approximately 100 days in 1994 for about 800,000 Tutsis to be murdered and 95,000 children orphaned. Carol Bellamy, executive director of UNICEF states that "the children of Rwanda witnessed unspeakable violence. Tens of thousands lost their mothers and fathers. Thousands were victims of horrific brutality and rape. Many were forced to commit atrocities. The impact of the tragedy simply cannot be overstated." All of this began after Rwandan President Habyarimana and the Burundian President were killed when their plane was shot down. It is believed Hutus were attempting to stop Habyarimana from puting the Arusha Peace Accords into effect. The Hutus were then driven to kill with machetes, clubs, or whatever else they could find due to mass government propaganda that could be heard on all radios throughout Rwanda.
The Mille Collines, the hotel depicted in the film, was a four-star premier hotel in Rwanda. Paul Rusesabagina, the hotel manager, saved over 1,268 Tutsis and moderate Hutus by stowing them away in rooms, the lobby, hallways, and even the roof. Rusesabagina bribed the Hutu militia outside the hotel gates for two months with money and alcohol. At the end of the two months, all who had sought refuge in the hotel were miraculously still there and alive. Rusesabagina now runs a taxi company out of Brussels. To this day he insists, "I'm not a hero. I just did my duty. I did what any hotel manager would have done. I never thought I was being brave. I was just working as quickly as possible to avoid disaster."

Following is an interesting link about genocide warnings reported to the UN, and the UN's lackadaisical response.

Basically my thoughts on all of this are that it comes down to racism. The UN, US, France, and Belgium knew about what could happen in Rwanda before it happened, but weren't compelled to put much effort into the situation, and that trend continues throughout the whole incident. The UN wouldn't even call what was happening a genocide because then they knew they'd be required to do something about it. President Clinton actually stated in a press conference that he was only talking about the issue because there were some Americans in Rwanda. Now I liked Clinton, but he acted like he was part of the Confederate army during the whole deal. So I suppose what it comes down to for some people, some of the time is, "you're just not worth my time if you're not like me."

FYI: "Russia lags in destroying chemical arms"

Also reprinted in the Maine Sunday Telegram in the "Insight" section...

Russia lags in destroying chemical arms

FYI: Evolution & Avian Flu... "A Battle of time, luck and science"

Battle of time, luck and science - Sunday Times - Times Online: "Professor Colin Blakemore on the likely course of the outbreak...

Anyone doubtful about Darwin should do a little homework on flu. There is no intelligent design in a virus - only the mindless force of natural selection.

Darwin realised that random errors in reproduction will automatically ensure successive generations become adapted to their environments. Viruses are the speeded up version of evolution - the whole process is happening before our eyes. " (more)

FYI: International Crisis Group

"The International Crisis Group is a private agency which attempts to improve the response to international disasters by working out a strategy and providing detailed recommendations to policymakers. Their website is full of reports on crises around the world; here's what they have to say about Darfur, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, Islamism. For the rationale behind the ICG, see William Shawcross's tribute to humanitarian aid worker Fred Cuny, who disappeared in Chechnya." (from Metafilter)

Did anybody see this new reality series: "Black. White."

Did anybody see this new reality series about swapping races called "Black. White."?? If so, what did you think??

FYI: "North Korea's 'Secret' Hotel

Damn Interesting: "North Korea's 'Secret' Hotel"

FYI: Medications in our drinking water?

Seed: Troubled Water

FYI: Nuclear Weapon Effects Calculator

Re: the nuclear nightmare...

Nuclear Weapon Effects Calculator - Federation of American Scientists

FYI: "Globalis - an interactive world map"

"UN and other international organisations collect large amounts of statistics each year from all over the world. These statistics cover a wide range of different issues, which are often presented in large reports and tables that are not easily adapted for use in schools. With Globalis, we have made these statistics available in a simpler and more visual format. The tool contains a large database where we have explained and categorised new UN statistics according to themes.

Interactive, informative colourful maps are only a few mouse clicks away! Globalis is an interactive world atlas where you decide what is to be displayed on the map. Globalis aims to create an understanding for similarities and differences in human societies, as well as how we influence life on the planet."

Globalis - an interactive world map

"Health without wealth possible"

What do you think about this?

Aljazeera.Net - Health without wealth possible

Federation of American Scientists- N. Korea

Ask Amnesty Online Discussion Series: Globalizing Justice

Join us on for a discussion with Special Counsel for Human Rights Watch, Reed Brody, on efforts to bring Chad's exiled former president, Hissène Habré (pictured), to justice.

Ask Amnesty Online Discussion Series: Globalizing Justice
The "Globalizing Justice" series continues next Tuesday, April 11 from 1:00-2:00 PM Eastern with Reed Brody, Special Counsel for Human Rights Watch, who will discuss efforts to bring Chad's exiled former president, Hissène Habré, to justice. Brody coordinated HRW's intervention in the case of Augusto Pinochet in Britain's House of Lords, and initiated and coordinates the prosecution of Habré.

Victims of the human rights abuses committed while Mr. Habré was in power have been waiting for more than a decade to bring him to trial. In September 2005, a Belgian judge issued an international arrest warrant charging Mr. Habré with crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture committed during his 1982-90 rule. Mr. Habré lives in exile in Senegal, where he was indicted in 2000 before courts ruled that he could not be tried there. Pursuant to the arrest warrant and a Belgian extradition request, Senegalese authorities arrested Mr. Habré on November 15, 2005. After a Senegalese court refused to rule on the extradition request, Senegal announced that it had asked the January 2006 summit of the African Union to recommend "the competent jurisdiction" for the trial of Hissène Habré. That summit set up a Committee of Eminent African Jurists to consider the options for Habré's trial and to report back at the July 2006 summit.
Featured Guest: Reed Brody
From our featured guest: "I look forward to speaking to you on April 11th."

» Submit a question in advance