Terror Bombing

Terror bombing is a military strategy that involves deliberately bombing civilian targets in order to damage enemy morale and elicit panic. During World War II, the legality of area bombardment—the bombing of general regions rather than specific targets—rested on the language of treaties drafted in a time before aerial mass bombardment was possible. Despite diplomatic attempts, such language was not updated until after the war. How have treaties since 1945 treated the targeting of noncombatants? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

US Approves Antiretroviral Drug AZT as a Treatment for AIDS (1987)

Though it was originally developed as an anticancer drug in 1964, azidothymidine (AZT) was never approved for that purpose. Two decades later, however, it was discovered to be effective in fighting HIV. At the time, thousands of people were dying of AIDS, and no other treatment was forthcoming. For humanitarian reasons, the drug was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in a matter of months, rather than the usual eight to 10 years. How does the drug prevent HIV from reproducing? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Nowruz (Iranian New Year)

The first day of spring (nowruz means “new day”) is celebrated by all religious groups in Iran and Afghanistan. In Iran, Nowruz is an event lasting 13 days, during which people wear new clothes, give gifts, and visit friends and relatives. Banquet tables traditionally hold seven foods starting with the letter S. Plates with sprouting wheat symbolize fertility, as do eggs, which are colored. Other symbols are a mirror, candlesticks, and a bowl of water with a green leaf in it. The 13th day after Nawruz is Sizdah-Bedar, and everyone picnics in the country or on rugs in city parks. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Burrhus Frederic “B.F.” Skinner (1904)

Forgoing his early goal of being a writer, Skinner earned his doctorate in psychology at Harvard, where he later spent much of his teaching career. A leading exponent of the behavioral approach to psychology, Skinner maintained that learning occurs as a result of an organism responding to, or operating on, its environment, a phenomenon he called operant conditioning. Skinner did extensive research with animals and, during WWII, worked for the US government training what animal to guide missiles? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Right of Return

The right of return is a principle in international law which asserts that members of an ethnic or national group have a right to immigrate to and become naturalized citizens of a country that they, the destination country, or both consider to be that group’s homeland, independent of prior personal citizenship there. This belief is sometimes reflected in immigration laws that facilitate or encourage the reunion of a dispersed ethnic population. Why is the concept controversial in some countries? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Nevada Legalizes Gambling (1931)

Though unregulated gambling had been common in early Nevada mining towns, it was outlawed in 1909, and for many years, the state’s economy was carried by mining. However, with the mining industry in decline amid the Great Depression, state lawmakers agreed to re-legalize gambling in order to strengthen the state’s finances. Today, the state economy is dominated by tourism and gaming. Nevada has the unusually high ratio of approximately one hotel room to how many state residents? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary