Android or iPhone - Choice or No Choice

Time Magazine is running an article entitled, "iPhone Vs. Android: The Smart-Phone Wars Rage On." The article begins, "It's possible to sum up the tech industry's engine of progress in four words: Apple vs. everybody else. That's been true for a quarter-century in the personal-computer realm, where the Apple product in question is the Mac and everybody else consists of Windows PC makers. And now it's happening with smart phones, a product category increasingly defined by intense competition between Apple's iPhone and the gaggle of manufacturers who have embraced Google's Android software."

Read the Article!!

1. What do you think makes a product from a company so popular that similar products from other companies are always compared to it? Can you think of any products, other than those made by Apple, that are held up as "standard bearers"?

2. Why do you think that Apple would have released its iPhone in a partnership with only one telephone company, as opposed to the way in which Google released it's Android?

3. Cell phones have changed a great deal in the last five years? Five years from now what kinds of features do you think that smart-phones will have that they do not have today?

4. Do you think that competition leads to higher quality products? Why or why not? Is competition a good thing for society? Try and argue this question from both sides?

Suspending Talks with Israel

The New York Times is running an article entitled, "Palestinians Say Talks with Israel Should Be Suspended." The article begins, " The Palestinian leadership said Saturday that four-week-old direct talks with Israel should be suspended as long as Jewish settlement housing was being built in the West Bank. It called on the international community to pressure Israel to stop the construction."

Read the Article

1. Consider the discussions from the perspective of the Palestinians: Do you think that the Palestinians should walk away from the peace talks? Why or why not?

2. Consider the discussions from the perspective of the Palestinians: Do you think that the Israelis should extend the construction freeze? Why or why not?

3. Consider the discussions from the perspective of the Israelis: Do you think that the Palestinians should walk away from the peace talks? Why or why not?

4. Consider the discussions from the perspective of the Israelis: Do you think that that the Israelis should extend the construction freeze? Why or why not?

5. Is it fair to ask a Palestinian to view the discussions from the perspective of the Israelis? Why or why not? What about asking Israelis to view the discussions from the perspective of the Palestinians?

6. Do you think that it is easy to view controversial situations from the perspective of your opponent? Why or why not? What are some strategies to help do this effectively?

7. Consider asking students to describe the map of Israel, as can be seen on Google Earth, from the perspective of either an Israeli or a Palestinian. They could also write discussions in which Palestinians and Israelis discuss the geographical terrain of Israel and the disputed territories.