quote:

Originally posted by DR86 I'm starting my college essays and in my time of need I have decided to turn to the braintrust of TA. I need your help in identifying a current global issue outside of the usual terrorism and Iraq deal. This is for my essay for Georgetown so I want to try and be a little more original and not go the route of superficiality. Thanks for all your help!

Well that's a pretty damn broad avenue there. Perhaps we could narrow it down to some specifics which depend more or less on your interests.

Sooo, are there any topics of specific interest that you have outside of the current war? Environment, energy, trade, etc? Any particular area that you may feel more comfortable describing above all else?

___________________
Whence September dusk grows crisper still,
with leaves all crimson conquered,
I yearn to shout,
and dance about,
and stick pickles in my honker...

well i really don't know so much about the environment or economics in terms of global trade so those are out. i was thinking something more in the political realm like US foreign policy and it's impact on the world, but i'm not exactly sure how to discuss it as a global issue. the other part of the question asks you what you would do to deal with it. i was considering wrtiting about how the EU is turning more and more into one unified country, but that's not really a problem. there's nothing i can really do to DEAL with it except sit back and let it happen.

argh!

___________________

It has to start somewhere,
It has to start sometime,
What better place then here?
What better time than now?
--Rage Against the Machine

extreme population growth in the coming years
disappearing natural ressources
China's rise as a potential new superpower
Negative effects of mulitculturalism
AIDS problem in the Third World
Russia - Chechnya issue (watch TV)

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"Those are my principles, if you don't like them... well, I have others.”

quote:

Originally posted by DR86 there's nothing i can really do to DEAL with it except sit back and let it happen.

Well, there's a topic right there. Talk about the Euroskeptics, like the British against the euro, and Jean Marie Le Pen's Front National. Or talk about how the new Commission takes power away from the Franco-German center of the EU. Barroso has given significant positions to nations who haven't had that kind of responsibility before.

Here's a nice international issue that would be impossible to answer, but would be a fun discussion. People outside of the US decry US cultural imperialism, but they eat at McDonald's, listen to Britney, and drink Coca-Cola. Why?

Here's another issue. Intellectual property protection. The US makes stuff. The Chinese copy it and sell it for a nickel. What should be done about it?

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FLUSHED THE JOHNS!

quote:

Originally posted by DR86 well i really don't know so much about the environment or economics in terms of global trade so those are out.

hah that eliminates alot

quote:

Originally posted by imokruok Well, there's a topic right there. Talk about the Euroskeptics, like the British against the euro, and Jean Marie Le Pen's Front National. Or talk about how the new Commission takes power away from the Franco-German center of the EU. Barroso has given significant positions to nations who haven't had that kind of responsibility before. Here's a nice international issue that would be impossible to answer, but would be a fun discussion. People outside of the US decry US cultural imperialism, but they eat at McDonald's, listen to Britney, and drink Coca-Cola. Why? Here's another issue. Intellectual property protection. The US makes stuff. The Chinese copy it and sell it for a nickel. What should be done about it?

I especially liked the idea bout the US cultural imperialism, that's really clever!

but about the european union issues...could those issues be considered "global"? they seem more like EU domestic issues.

___________________

It has to start somewhere,
It has to start sometime,
What better place then here?
What better time than now?
--Rage Against the Machine

quote:

Originally posted by DR86 well i really don't know so much about the environment or economics in terms of global trade so those are out. i was thinking something more in the political realm like US foreign policy and it's impact on the world, but i'm not exactly sure how to discuss it as a global issue. the other part of the question asks you what you would do to deal with it. i was considering wrtiting about how the EU is turning more and more into one unified country, but that's not really a problem. there's nothing i can really do to DEAL with it except sit back and let it happen. argh!

Well I dunno if this topic would interest you or not, but perhaps specifically within the context of US global policy, you can discuss the neoconservative philosophies and policies and how that's influenced global policy as a whole. You could do a search within this forum on "neocons" or "neoconservatives" and that should get you started. Pay close attention to any of Vesa's posts - he's been a pretty good student of it for awhile now (though he hasn't been around for some time). You could also do a google search on the subject as well. You might also want to examine and search on PNAC, or Project for a New American Century.

And more recently, there's some investigation into the neocon activities with Israel and it's associated lobbying group and influence over our policies. With the recent bust of a possible mole high up in the Pentagon, there's some profound implications here that may actually involve Chalabi's group and his indictment of handing Iran some intercepted intelligence. Here's some links on that:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle....storyID=6138716

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FI02Ak02.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/fe...shallrozen.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...4-2004Sep1.html
(free registration required)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...4-2004Sep1.html
(free registration reqd)

I dunno, just an idea that's currently interesting me more and more. HTH.

___________________
Whence September dusk grows crisper still,
with leaves all crimson conquered,
I yearn to shout,
and dance about,
and stick pickles in my honker...

quote:

Originally posted by DR86 but about the european union issues...could those issues be considered "global"? they seem more like EU domestic issues.

Not really a global issue - that's right. But I think it's still a little bit early in the century to start using terms like "EU domestic issues."

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FLUSHED THE JOHNS!

OPEC's inevitable production decline and the ramifications on the worlds cultural, economic, and political infrastructures.

if that too broad you could cut it back to just the Greater Middle East.

You can write about the democratic deficit of the EU and perhaps compare and contrast their development of a somwhat federalist yet independantly soveriegn system of nations with the US's development of a federalist system of states.

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Retro ...

quote:

Originally posted by imokruok Not really a global issue - that's right. But I think it's still a little bit early in the century to start using terms like "EU domestic issues."

hah, yes i suppose that's a little too avantgarde...but just wait a few years...

___________________

It has to start somewhere,
It has to start sometime,
What better place then here?
What better time than now?
--Rage Against the Machine