FOREIGN POLICY

Please answer each question fully.  Remember that you have access to your textbook (and anything else you may want to use) to answer these questions, so I expect well-developed responses.  That means use BOTH the text and your ideas/opinions to write your answers.  In other words, just giving me your opinion is not sufficient AND just giving me a textbook answer is not sufficient.

Please answer each question fully.  Remember that you have access to your textbook (and anything else you may want to use) to answer these questions, so I expect well-developed responses. 

Please number your responses the same as I have numbered this assignment. (1, 2a,2b, etc….)

1. FOREIGN POLICY: For this assignment, select three different  international news stories (preferably dealing with different countries and/or different areas of the world).  In your assignment, you should discuss these three news stories separately.  You may number each discussion as 1, 2 and 3.  (In other words, do not discuss all three stories as a single discussion.)

• Use AT LEAST 3 sources to investigate each news story.  Cite these sources.
• Summarize each news story – be sure to identify the key actors, key concerns for America and/or other countries, and provide some context for your news story.
• Use information, vocabulary, themes, etc…. from your textbook and CLEARLY link them to each of your news stories.
• Finally, write a response (2 paragraphs) giving your impressions, discussing your concerns, presenting the implications and/or developing an argument regarding each news story. 
• Be sure to be thoughtful and complete in your responses.  The discussion of these news stories is worth 50 points total – the majority of those points will come from your ability to do more than summarize – in other words your ability to apply textbook concepts to real world events AND to develop a response is the important part of this assignment

2. The Health Care Problem: (Agenda Building)

To begin your exploration of the health care issue, take a look at the four basic models of health care.

• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/countries/models.html

1. Briefly summarize the four models of health care, including where the models are used (both in America and other countries).

Now watch the PBS documentary “Sick around the World”. 

• http://video.pbs.org/video/1050712790

Before viewing the video, think about the fact that -- unlike education – the American government has not guaranteed health care. However, United States senior citizens and veterans do receive government sponsored health care through Medicare and the Veterans Administration.  Most other Americans, however, receive health care insurance through their employers (with employees sharing the cost) or through insurance that they pay for themselves.  If Americans do not get health insurance through employment and cannot afford to buy it themselves, they often go without insurance and then, sometimes, without care.  According to the documentary, more than 700,000 sometimes Americans go bankrupt each year as a result of medical expenses, and some of those who go bankrupt are covered, but not completely, by health insurance. This documentary provides a bit of background – or sets the stage—for the health care debate in the United States.

2. Assess health care systems by comparing and contrasting  (including strengths and weaknesses) the health care systems in

i.                    United Kingdom

ii.                  Japan

iii.                Germany

iv.                Taiwan

v.                  Switzerland

3. Why do you think the documentary ends with the example of Switzerland?  What do the Swiss have in common with Americans?  Do you believe the health care model in Switzerland is most applicable to America?  Why or why not?
4. “Everyone has the right to health care,” asserts Pascal Couchepin, the president of the Swiss Federation. Present an argument agreeing or disagreeing with this statement.
5. Taking into account the information from the documentary and your textbook, compare  the United States health care system pre-Obama health care reform and post-Obama health care reform. 
6. Write a response (2 paragraph) minimum comparing what you have learned during this unit (from the film and the textbook) to the current health care debate in the United States. (Be sure to use and cite current articles from newspapers, magazines, etc…) .

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