World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

My son, Zachary, posted this video on Facebook, and it definitely deserves close attention.  Reza Aslan, a professor at the University of California, Riverside, completely decimates the simple-minded views of Islam typically propagated on US media outlets.

http://www.cnn.com/video/api/embed.html#/video/bestoftv/2014/09/30/cnn-tonight-reza-aslan-bill-maher.cnn

The Smithsonian has a fascinating series on what is being called the Age of the Anthropocene. It is a phrase that places the age of human activity alongside other geologic ages, assuming that human activity has changed the global environment as much as any other geologic period.  I won’t be asking questions on the quiz about the series, but I recommend it to everyone.  It is a great way to change one’s perspective on how humans are affecting the global environment.

Save the Children, a highly reputable non-governmental organization, has estimated that there are 5 new Ebola cases every hour in Sierra Leone.  That rate of infection is truly catastrophic given the limited health infrastructure of the country.  The developed world is putting all its hopes in a potential vaccine and freaking out about the disease spreading into rich countries.  Meanwhile, thousands of innocents are dying while the rich countries refuse to provide basic and inexpensive assistance that could make a huge difference.