Tuesday, February 27, 2007


Have you seen the movie "Blood Diamond"?

Called "conflicts diamonds" by our State Department, this link, courtesy of Docuticker, will provide more information and background about the "Kimberley Process Certification Scheme [that] was launched by the international community, the diamond industry and civil society groups in 2003 to control and monitor the trade in unpolished diamonds and prevent the violence financed by the trade."

We highly recommend Docuticker as a source of hand-picked resources, reports and publications from government agencies, NGOs, think tanks and other public interest organizations.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Database Spotlight:

Issues & Controversies from FACTS.com


This database is available to all students and faculty from the Rio Hondo College Library homepage. To access the database if you are on-campus, simply click on the link for the database under Articles - on the far left side of the page. If you are at home, click on the Off-Campus Access link - also on the left side of the page. You may need to scroll down to see it. (You will need to input your Student ID and password before given access.)

So, now that you're in the database - let's have a look around. There is a "search" box on the left of the page that allows fine-grained searches to be run, but we recommend that you just click on the links under Quick Access - on the right side of the page. You can get an alphabetical list of the titles of all the topics included in the database by selecting "Access All Topics" or you can select "Issues: Pro & Con". The Subject Index allows you to pick topics from a list of broad categories. You can also click on the Need a Research Topic? box at the top of the screen for a thematic approach to the topics.

Some of the Pro & Con issues are a bit dated, and many are enduring favorites such as the stem-cell research topic, the death penalty topic, the television violence topic, and so on...but there are also new topics that are currently in the news - such as Trans Fat Bans, Presidential Primaries, and less well-trodden topics like "Video Surveillance Cameras". What do you find when you click on this particular topic?
  • The research question: does the expansion of video surveillance help prevent criminal and terrorist acts? Or does it infringe on civil liberties in an unacceptable way? This is followed by a couple of pro and con position statements.
  • A background and overview piece
  • Discussion questions and activities
  • A bibliography
  • Suggestions for additional resources
  • Contact information for organizations mentioned in the piece
  • Key word and points - valuable for further research in a library catalog.
In addition, there are Sidebars that provide additional short facts and figures, Related articles that take you to other Issues in the database, Key News Events, and Overviews. Tools for Students includes value-added features such as Analyzing, Understanding and Presenting your Research, as well as topical timelines, newspaper editorials, and debate topics.

This database will be useful for students needing introductory resources on controversial topics, general overviews to current events topics, and a "scaffolded" approach to research.

Thursday, February 15, 2007



If you were confused yesterday, try today's headlines!

Click on each picture to go to the story. Up top, we have the New York Times...
Below, we have the Los Angeles Times...

You decide...if you can




Tuesday, February 13, 2007


Who is more persuasive? Is it possible to get at the "real" truth? A news story making the rounds this week is the alleged involvement of Iran in supplying Iraqi insurgents with weapons. WARNING! Apply your critical thinking skills -- here are a few "takes" on this situation:


Friday, February 02, 2007

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has published their report this morning. It confirms that human activities are influencing the climate system. In the words of Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep):

"It is an unequivocal series of evidence [showing that] fossil fuel burning and land use change are affecting the climate on our planet."

He added: "If you are an African child born in 2007, by the time you are 50 years old you may be faced with disease and new levels of drought."

The BBC has a good selection of articles and audio/visual links about the report on their web site:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6321351.stm

In addition, click here for a link to the BBC portal on climate change, and here for global reaction to the report.

If you want to skip the commentary and go straight to the report itself, click here.