• Sitting in his secret refuge, hiding from the world, Osama bin Laden spent the last months of his life rethinking strategy, worrying about his legacy and struggling to maintain control over the sprawling terrorist network that operated in his name.

• The letters released Thursday give a fuller sense of his role, and show that his instructions were not always heeded, at least to his satisfaction.
• He was frustrated with groups like Pakistan’s branch of the Taliban and looked askance at figures like Faisal Shahzad, who tried unsuccessfully to set off a car bomb in Times Square, and Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born propagandist who was killed by an American drone strike.
• Bin Laden wanted followers to stop attacks in Muslim countries and focus on the United States. Otherwise, he said, “it would lead us to winning several battles while losing the war at the end.” » The full New York Times article - By Peter Baker - May 3, 2012.

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• The New York Times - Learning Network - Secret Agent Men -
  Overview | Students examine the purpose, goals and actions of government intelligence services by researching and presenting case studies on agencies around the world. » Go to this Building Society Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Reign of Terror? -
  Overview | Students students research acts of terrorism around the world over the past thirty years to create a visual timeline of these events for the classroom. » Go to this Building Society Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring the Intersection of Religion and Modernity -
  Overview | Students examine the ways in which various religious faiths have responded to social, ideological, and technological changes in 'modern' times. » Go to this Building Society Lesson.

• Nearly three of every four people he has gotten confirmed to the federal bench are women or minorities. He is the first president who hasn't selected a majority of white males for lifetime judgeships.
• For more than 140 years, there were no females or minorities among the nation's federal judges.
• "The more diverse the courts, the more confidence people have in our judicial system," said Nan Aron of the liberal Alliance for Justice. "Having a diverse judiciary also enriches the decision-making process." » The full Associated Press article - Published: September 13, 2011.

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Doctors save lives, but they can sometimes be insufferable know-it-alls:

• who bully nurses and do not listen to patients. Medical schools have traditionally done little to screen out such flawed applicants or to train them to behave better, but that is changing.
• “We are trying to weed out the students who look great on paper but haven’t developed the people or communication skills we think are important,” said Dr. Stephen Workman, associate dean for admissions and administration at Virginia Tech Carilion. » The full New York Times article - By Gardiner Harris - Published: July 10, 2011.

Japanese Law Exam:

• Dan Rosen, who teaches American law at Chuo Law School in Tokyo, said he was troubled by the nature of the test as much as by its difficulty. He said the Japanese bar exam, especially the first phase — a grueling multiple-choice test on knowledge of the law — filters out people who could be good lawyers.

• “The test rewards the kind of book learning that comes from years of sitting in your study carrel with your noses in between the pages” of law books, he said. “There is a great faith in Japan in book learning and memorization. The bar exam is to a greater extent a reflection of that.”
• Pictured below, Akira Goto, a professor of criminal law, teaching a class at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. Mr. Goto said “I am an expert in criminal law, so I can answer the criminal law portion of the test and some of the constitutional law,” he said. “But if I were to enter the law school as a student today and studied other laws required for the bar for a few years, I am not sure if I would pass it.” » the full New York Times article - By Miki Tanikawa - Published: July 10, 2011

In France, a Bastion of Privilege No More:

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• How do the students admitted under the diversity initiative, who now make up 10 percent of each incoming class, fare once they reach Sciences Po?
• “The overwhelming majority keep up or catch up very quickly,” said Peter Gumbel, a former journalist who now heads the Center for the Americas at Sciences Po,
• adding that in contrast to the French university system as a whole, which admits anyone with a high school diploma but where as many as half the students fail to progress beyond their first year, the dropout rate at Sciences Po “is marginal.” On average at least 90 percent of students admitted under the initiative graduate after three years.
• After graduation 63 percent are in full-time employment — compared with a figure of 56 percent for Sciences Po as a whole. » The full New York Times article - By D.D. Giuttenplan - Published: September 4, 2011.

• A Learning Foundation Lesson - Compare the similarities and differences between the Japanese, American and French selection process - Go to this ESL Compare and Contrast Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Suitable Schools -
  Overview | Students explore education requirements for different professions, and define the skills and knowledge that adults use in their everyday lives.Go to this Building a Healthy Society Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - What Will You Do With Your Life? -
  Overview | Students consider what it means to live a life well-lived by creating life lists of goals they would like to accomplish and analyzing patterns in the lists of their peers. Go to this Life's Lesson.

• The upward trend in health care costs can't all be blamed on growing doctors' bills.
• So, employers have started to provide on-site medical visits, access to gyms, chronic-care plans, smoking-cessation programs and even discounts for those who buy a banana rather than a cookie.
• For an employer, costs can be as much as 40% higher in one year for someone who is overweight because of all the issues associated with obesity, including diabetes, back problems, asthma, depression and heart disease, said Kenneth Thorpe, who co-directs Emory University's Center on Health Outcomes and Quality. » The full USA article - By Kelly Kennedy - September 28, 2011.

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Birth Control Free for All: New Insurance Rules Affect Millions of Women

• "We know that half of women, according to studies, forego or delay preventive care because they can't afford it and under the affordable care act that all changes," Stephanie Cutter, a White House advisor, told ABC News.
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced sweeping new guidelines for women's health care which will change everything from distribution of birth control pills to administration of breast exams -- and will mean insured women will no longer pay anything out of their own pocket. » The full ABC article - By Jennifer Pereira and Kevin Dolak - Published: August 1, 2011.
• The disagreements between the various courts about (the affordable care act) virtually ensure that the Supreme Court will eventually take up the case. But right now, the range of opinions stretch from "the law is fine" to "the individual mandate is not fine, but the rest of the law is." That could create problems for the legislation if the mandate is repealed and Republicans block any attempts at a fix, but it's a far cry from a world in which the Supreme Court strikes down the whole of the health-care law. » More in this Washington Post article - Published: December 14, 2010

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• The New York Times - Learning Network - ‘The Reality of Reform’: Understanding the Health Care Law -
  Overview | How will health care reform change life and politics in the United States? What does the new law mean for individuals, families, businesses and insurers, as well as for politics and government leaders? In this lesson, students gauge their background knowledge of the health care reform act and take a close look at the legislation to clarify their understanding. They then execute a project on historical context, local reaction and/or the key players, and finish by creating collages of images and quotations that illuminate the issues. Go to this Health and Building SocietyLesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - The Political is Personal -
  Overview | Students explore their own personal political philosophies by identifying events, people and experiences that have helped shape their beliefs and writing an essay. Go to this Building Society and ESL Lesson.

"Socrates...the consummate inquiring mind in history wrote nothing, accomplished nothing, and made his mark by standing around a rock, questioning people ... When an audience is interested in questioning the world, then nonsense blows away like a morning mist .... » read more

• World Wise School - Worksheet - Students will learn to identify and modify generalizations -
  Overview | This activity introduces students to the difficult concept of generalization so that they will challenge generalizations made about people. Go to this Building Society Lesson.

Imprisoned Liu Xiaobo wins one of the world's highest honors, but most of his countrymen have no idea. Web search engines return error messages for his name. The few who try to celebrate are arrested. » The full LA Times article - By Megan K. Stack, Published: October 10, 2010

“For all these years, Liu Xiaobo has persevered in telling the truth about China and because of this, for the fourth time, he has lost his personal freedom,” his wife, Liu Xia, said in an interview.

• In Beijing, Ms. Liu’s telephone and Internet communication has been cut off ...

  and state security officers are not allowing her to contact friends or the media, the statement said. Nor can she leave her house except in a police car, according to the group. Her brother’s phone has also been “interfered with,” the statement said. » The full New York Times article - By Sharon LaFraniere - Published: October 10, 2010

• After peace prize, China targets winner's friends ...

  Turning up the criticism of Liu and the Nobel committee, propaganda authorities on Thursday launched a coordinated, bitter response.
  A pair of official Xinhua News Agency articles, placed prominently on major online portals, attacked the prize as a tool the West is using to undermine China. One linked Liu with the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who is widely unpopular in China because the government has accused him of wanting to split Tibet from China. » The full Associated Press article - By Cara Anna- Published October 15,2010

At a two-hour trial last December, in a statement Liu Xiaobo gave to the court before his sentencing on Christmas Day, he said he held no grudge against those who sought to silence him and he even thanked his captors for treating him with dignity.

He said "Freedom of expression is the basis of human rights, the source of humanity and the mother of truth. To block freedom of speech is to trample on human rights, to strangle humanity and to suppress the truth. I do not feel guilty for following my constitutional right to freedom of expression, for fulfilling my social responsibility as a Chinese citizen. Even if accused of it, I would have no complaints."

By awarding the prize to Mr. Liu, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has provided an unmistakable rebuke to Beijing’s authoritarian leaders at a time of growing intolerance for domestic dissent and a spreading unease internationally over the muscular diplomacy that has accompanied China’s economic rise. » The full New York Times article - By Robert Mackey - Published October 8,2010

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• The New York Times - Learning Network - Democracy in Action -
  Overview | Students consider words that reflect their knowledge and opinions about democracy. They then work in groups to research countries that have recently transitioned to democratic forms of government. Their learning is further enhanced by reflecting on what has transpired in these countries to date. Go to this Building Society and Law Lesson.
• World Wise School - Worksheet - Students will learn to identify and modify generalizations -
  This activity introduces students to the difficult concept of generalization so that they will challenge generalizations made about people... Go to this Building Society Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - The Political is Personal -
  Overview | Students explore their own personal political philosophies by identifying events, people and experiences that have helped shape their beliefs and writing an essay. Go to this Building Society and ESL Lesson.

CHANGCHUN, CHINA
In what China’s history books hail as one of the war’s decisive victories, Mao’s troops starved out the formidable Nationalist garrison that occupied Changchun with nary a shot fired. What the official story line does not reveal is that at least 160,000 civilians also died during the siege of the northeastern city, which lasted from June to October of 1948.
“Changchun was like Hiroshima,” wrote Zhang Zhenglu, a lieutenant colonel in the People’s Liberation Army who documented the siege in “White Snow, Red Blood,” a book that was immediately banned after publication in 1989. “The casualties were about the same. Hiroshima took nine seconds; Changchun took five months.” » The full New York Times article - By Andrew Jacobs.

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• World Wise School - Worksheet - Students will learn to identify and modify generalizations -
  This activity introduces students to the difficult concept of generalization so that they will challenge generalizations made about people... Go to this Building Society Lesson.
• The Learning Foundation - "Did Li Qingyou Break the Law?" - Simplified Mock Trial Lesson -
  Red Guard, Li Qingyou's statement: "Our mentality was that when Chairman Mao waved his hand, we would move, and whatever he said, we would do.
  - We took their money, gold, silver, and things and gave it to the government."
  - Pin Dueng was one of the landowners described as ’rich’ in Li’s statement, and has accused Li of stealing his things and has brought the case to court. Go to this Simplified Mock Trial.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - The Second Draft of History -
  Overview | Students draft entries about a recent historical event for a history textbook using two specific sources of information. They then compare their entries and examine the differences. Go to this Media and ESL Lesson.

Now, as the Iranian government has cracked down to suppress the protests that erupted after the presidential election in June and devastated the reform movement, Ayatollah Montazeri uses religion to attack the government’s legitimacy.
Now in his mid-80s, frail and ill, Ayatollah Montazeri has remained in his home in Qum, the center of religious learning in Iran, issuing one politically charged religious edict after another, helping keep alive a faltering opposition movement. The man whom Ayatollah Khomeini once called “the fruit of my life” has condemned the state he helped to create.
“A political system based on force, oppression, changing people’s votes, killing, closure, arresting and using Stalinist and medieval torture, creating repression, censorship of newspapers, interruption of the means of mass communications, jailing the enlightened and the elite of society for false reasons, and forcing them to make false confessions in jail, is condemned and illegitimate,” he said in one of a flurry of written comments posted on Web sites since the election. The full New York Times article » By Michael Slackman.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding the Quest to Protect Human Rights -
  Overview: Students explore the concept of human rights by developing and defending their own "Bills of Human Rights" and by writing a reflective essay that compares their notions of human rights and the protection of them.  Go to this Building a Healthy Society Lesson and Law.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - History in the Making -
  Overview: Students explore the social history of the United States to better understand why the election of Barack Obama is historic from a variety of perspectives. Go to this Building Society and Law Lesson.

Jurm was tormented by warlords in the 1990s, and though it never fell to the Taliban, the presence of the central government, even today, is barely felt. The idea to change that was simple: people elected the most trusted villagers, and the government in Kabul, helped by foreign donors, gave them direct grants — money to build things like water systems and girls’ schools for themselves.

Original image source » Holly Pickett for The New York Times
Villagers and development workers had to persuade a local mullah to get a girls' school built in the Jurm District of Afghanistan.

But forcing conditions would have violated a basic principle of the approach: never start a project that is not backed by all members of the community, or it will fail.
“People have to be mentally ready,” said Akhtar Iqbal, Aga Khan’s director in Badakhshan. If they are not, the school or clinic will languish unused, a frequent problem with large-scale development efforts.
Today, many people have water taps, fields grow wheat and it is no longer considered shameful for a woman to go to a doctor. The full New York Times article » By Sabrina Tavernise

• World Wise School - Perceptions - This activity is designed to help students understand that perceptions are influenced by personal experience and taste as well as cultural background.  Go to Building Society Lesson Worksheet.

• WWS - World Wise School Lesson - Students will recognize that a single observation can be misleading -
  Young children often make assumptions and judgments about people based on quick impressions. For example, a little girl noticing a house with peeling paint and an unkempt yard told her aunt, "I bet the people who live in that house are ugly." The girl had somehow learned to make assumptions about people she had never met based on her perception of their possessions. Go to this Building Society Lesson Worksheet.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring the Intersection of Religion and Modernity -
  Overview: Students examine the ways in which various religious faiths have responded to social, ideological, and technological changes in 'modern' times. Go to this Building Society Lesson.

Dr. Strobos at left in 1941 with Abraham Pais and her mother, Marie Schotte, with whom she housed scores of Jews.» Original images and article

Why would she take such gambles for people she sometimes barely knew?
“It’s the right thing to do,” she said with nonchalance. “Your conscience tells you to do it. I believe in heroism, and when you’re young, you want to do dangerous things.”
In the decades since her wartime experience, she has spoken out on issues like the torture of terrorists, which she argues is not only cruel but also ineffective.
“Even when they scared me to death and hurt me, it confirmed me that I should not say anything to them,” she said. The full New York Times article » By Joseph Berger.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Examining the Attributes and Historical Realities That Create Heroes -
  Overview: Students will generate a list of the common attributes of heroes, and analyze a specific hero within his or her historical and cultural context.  Go to this Building Society and Life's Lesson.

Teachers exhorted their students to ask questions. Some, true to the school’s embrace of new technology, gauged their students’ comprehension with individual polling devices.
“The Muslim world in general is struggling with its Islamic education,” Razak Mohamed Lazim, the head of Al Irsyad said, explaining that Islamic schools had failed to adapt to the modern world. “In many cases, it’s also the challenge the Muslim world is facing. We are not addressing the needs of Islam as a faith that has to be alive, interacting with other communities and other religions.” From this New York Times Article By Norimitsu Onsishi.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring What It Takes to Become a Well-Informed Citizen -
  Overview: In this lesson, students explore education requirements for different professions, and define the skills and knowledge that adults use in their everyday lives. Go to this Building Society Lesson.
• Related Lesson from: The Learning Foundation - A Simplified Mock Trial -
  The Malaysian authorities' refused to renew the publication of the weekly Catholic newspaper The Herald unless it stops using the word Allah as the word for God in the Malay language.
  The Newspaper answered: Muslims, like Christians, do not worship a person called Allah. They worship a single supreme being, which the Arabic language denotes as Allah.
  Students argue both sides of the issue and decide in the case: Only Muslims can use 'Allah' - Simplified Mock Trial Lesson Plan.

• Tolerance.org - 10 Ways to Nurture Tolerance "Identify intolerance -
  (stereotypes and cultural misinformation depicted in news reports, movies, TV shows, computer games and other media) when children are exposed to it." Go to this Building Society Lesson.

Sania Mirza, the most successful tennis star in India, has announced that she has no desire to play in her country any more, distressed by a string of controversies that have exposed her to months of negative publicity.

Barkha Dutt, managing editor of NDTV, one of India's most popular news channels said that Mirza had "every reason to feel fed up."
"She is young, pretty, with attitude, and as a result she is hounded," she said, "and gets caught up in these controversies which range from the fabricated to the ridiculous." Read Article »

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring the Shaping of Tolerance and Intolerance -
Overview: Students examine the meanings of tolerance and intolerance and participate in a "town hall meeting" in which they represent different perspectives in order to explore how tolerance is shaped by various beliefs and contexts.  Go to this Building Society Lesson.
• World Wise School - "How Accureate is It?"
This activity introduces students to the difficult concept of generalization so that they will challenge generalizations made about people... Go to this Building Society Lesson Worksheet.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring Bias in the News -
Overview: Students look for biased words in news articles, suggest synonyms, then rewrite the sentences to demonstrate how word choice can alter meaning. Go to this Media and Society Lesson.

From The Buddha's teachings ... every action that one performs in the present moment — whether by body, speech, or mind itself — eventually bears fruit according to its skillfulness: act in unskillful and harmful ways and unhappiness is bound to follow; act skillfully and happiness will ultimately ensue.13 As long as one remains ignorant of this principle, one is doomed to an aimless existence: happy one moment, in despair the next; enjoying one lifetime in heaven, the next in hell.

• World Wise School Lesson - Students will recognize that their classmates hold a variety of opinions. - This activity is designed to illustrate the variety of perspectives and opinions represented in the class. It will help students understand that perceptions are influenced by personal experience and taste as well as cultural background.  Go to Building Society Lesson Worksheet.

• Compare and Contrast - Ask students if the Buddha and Socrates thought the same or different? -
Writing help from TOEFL- Prep Writing Practice Site Lesson - More about Comparison and Contrast.

• WWS - World Wise School Lesson - Students will recognize that a single observation can be misleading -
Young children often make assumptions and judgments about people based on quick impressions. For example, a little girl noticing a house with peeling paint and an unkempt yard told her aunt, "I bet the people who live in that house are ugly." The girl had somehow learned to make assumptions about people she had never met based on her perception of their possessions. Go to this Building Society Lesson Worksheet.

Why do people gossip and spread rumors? We've all had that kind of urge. But why? Here are some possible reasons:
- To feel superior
When people are feeling bad aboutthemselves, they sometimes thinkthey’ll feel better if there weresomeone worse off than they are.
- To feel like part of the group
If everybody else is gossiping or spreading rumors, you might feelyou have to do the same thing in order to fit in.
- For attention
When you know a secret that nobody knows, or are the first personin your group to hear a rumor, it can make you the center ofattention.
- For control or power
Certain people always want to be in control and at the top of theladder.
- Boredom
Did you know in many studies, boredom was the number 1 reason why young people say they spread rumors? ... Read more about Gossip and Rumors - PBS kids Its my Life.

Related article: "But rumours sell. People tend to believe in a rumour if it is against the party they hate. This is worrying because people cannot make an informed decision based on rumours." The full article - The Bangkok Post Friday March 3,2006

• The New York Times- Learning Network - Not Just the Facts
Overview: Students explore the difference between hard news, news analysis and (rumors and gossip) ... They then endeavor to write an analysis ... using local sources and drawing their own conclusions. Go to this Media Lesson.
• The Learning Foundation - "News vs Gossip" - Simplified Mock Trial.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - No Place for Bullies -
  Overview | Students reflect on the bullying in their community, hold an anonymous discussion about bullying and suggest solutions to the problem. Go to this Building Society and Internet Lesson.

• Three related Learning Foundation - Simplified Mock Trial cases -
  ‣ "I can say what I want!"
  ‣ "I was just protecting my kid"
  ‣ "News vs Gossip"