Iran's Dismal Economy

It seems like a lifetime ago and really since I lived there in 1969-1973 it really almost is.  But I have very fond memories of looking out our window at the mountains in the this picture back when Tehran was much much smaller.  Perhaps the memories of waking up early to the call to prayer or just plain living in a society so different than my own, makes it a real pleasure to teach it as one of the comparative countries.

At any rate life there is not nearly as nice today as it was when I was there as you can see from this NYTimes article on the amazing inflation and tremendous economic problems in Iran.  

80 Ways to use Google Forms in Classroom

This is a great slideshow of ways to use Google Drive forms in the classroom and includes links to examples.  Thanks to @rroysden for the Tweet on it. 

Yellen Speaks, Stocks Stumble

This is a PBS evening news clip from tonight that shows Janet Yellen slipping today in her press conference and the explanation of her definition of "considerable" indicating that rates might go up in six months.  The point for your students is to show the power of the Federal Reserve chairperson's enormous power.  Notice the dip below just after Yellen gave her decidedly explicit answer.

Twitter Accounts of AP Comp World Leaders

My students discovered Putin's Twitter account (he only follows his Russian language Twitter account!) today in class.  We have found others such as Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria and the kids have fun seeing a small connection to the world leaders even if the leaders aren't actually doing the Tweeting.  

China Taunts Ambassador Gary Locke: Calls Him "Banana"

Ambassador Gary Locke, a third-generation American, got a strange send-off from China. The state-run China News service called him a "banana,"  a term, notes the Seattle Pi,  that is considered offensive my many Asian-Americans,  suggesting they  are"yellow on the outside and white on the inside."

The New York Times notes that the parting shot was inspired by Mao, who in 1940, slammed Ambassador Leighton Stewart.

The clip below comes from the Asia Society. Novelist Amy Tan and Orville Schell discuss what it means when you are Chinese-American, especially in light of these recent slurs.

US Budget Spending Video Over Time

This is a great short video from The Economist as it explains discretionary, mandatory, entitlements, interest and defense over the last five decades.  It would be a good short exercise to explain the terms above (actually you would have to add in "entitlements" even though it explains it.   

Back Story on Between the Ferns Interview

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The Between the Ferns interview with Obama above is getting a lot of play, but you might not have read the story behind how and why it came about.  It actually was an attempt by Obama to reach younger viewers who might sign up for Obamacare.  Thanks to my colleague Doug Zywiol for both of them. 

Snagit & Screen Cast for Chrome

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Google just released Snagit for Chrome and the really cool thing about it is that it has a screencasting feature. Although the feature is still in beta, it works very well and allows you to publish your video to YouTube . The video clip above shows you how to enable, but first you want to install both the app and the extension, both of which you can get at the Chrome store.

Every time you capture a picture with Snagit, you can share it and Google deposits the picture in Google drive.

Primer on Putin

We begin Russia in a few days in my AP Comparative so the short video above will be a nice primer on Vladimir Putin. 

Inside the Supreme Court

This is a terrific view of the inside of the US Supreme Court.  It literally goes into all of the major rooms including the library, dining rooms, conference rooms and the actual court.  It is put together by CSPAN.  

Hillary Clinton's Super PAC

Here is the top story from Time magazine on Hillary Clinton's newish Super PAC that already has ads out (see above) and is collecting money and volunteers.  With Citizens United v. FEC, super PACs have become a real force in politics.  With the decision in the McCutcheon case due in June, the question is whether individuals will now have the same rights as corporations and be able to give unlimited donations to super PACs.  

Hip Hughes Constitution for Dummies Series

Just in time for my kids to go in depth on Civil Liberties, Keith Hughes is finishing up his Constitution series.  Above is a cool way to remember amendments and here is his series. 

Kahn Academy - SAT Prep

Time will tell if the SAT is being dumbed down or going to become a much better reflection of learning in high schools today.  Either way if kids want to do well on them, they need to use Kahn Academy's site which you can find here.  But since the changes won't occur until 2016, here is where you can find tutorials for the SAT today from Kahn.   Above is the announcement about the SAT-Kahn merger. 

Primers on Crimea for the AP Comp Crowd!

Here is an excellent written primer on what is behind Putin's desire to reconnect with Crimea.  If you want more, here is a second one. 

Russia, Ukraine and Crimea

Since I imagine the crisis in the Ukraine will not go away very quickly, those of you who teach AP Comparative might want to use the New York Times' "Lede" which is an amazing blog that has almost real time video and coverage coming from people on the scene.  While not limited to this coverage, you can be sure it will have a lot of the Russian troop movement into Crimea in the upcoming weeks.

Hip Hughes, in his usual timely fashion, has a new flipped video on Russia and Crimea which he put up yesterday and you can see below.