12.14.09
Posted in Personal and Academic Writings at 6:03 pm by Robert Goodis
This is an essay I prepared for a history class in 2008 that was in the Jewish Studies program. The class discussed Diaspora and Homeland. My research paper focused on Beta Israel, the Ethiopian Jewry.
Beta Israel: Ethiopian Jewry, Diaspora and Homeland – by Robert Goodis (2008)
The research discusses various accounts of history and possible explanations for the community of Jewish Ethiopians, who are a community possessing a non-Hebrew Torah and certain Jewish traditions predating the dedication of the Second Temple in Biblical times. While the Beta Israel community maintained its Jewish faith and has faced persecution in Ethiopia, groups in the global Jewish community have questioned the true Jewishness of the Beta Israel group. Without Ethiopia and without Israel, do the Beta Israel have a homeland? Are they in Diaspora? Have they always been in Diaspora?
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Posted in Personal and Academic Writings at 4:37 pm by Robert Goodis
This is a paper I wrote in 2006 for a social studies class at my high school. The purpose of the paper was to present a hypothetical study in behaviorism, which places strong emphasis on psychological, biographical and historical information to suggest the personal actions and reactions of al-Bashir involved in his historical rise to power, and to propose what his likely reactions would have been to given circumstances. This paper looks at Omar al-Bashir (also spelled Umar al-Bashier or al-Bechir), the military and political leader of the Sudan, and incorporates briefly his involvement in anti-Zionist and anti-Israel wars, as well as his involvement in the Sudanese Civil Wars and the war in Darfur. The historical information in this paper is true; however, the rest of this paper is hypothetical conjecture. Unfortunately, I wrote this according to a special format that was assigned to my class which was in response to specific questions and hypothetical situations and I no longer have that prompt information. Also, this paper was written (for reasons I cannot remember or conceive) without a bibliography. Keep in mind that only a portion of this paper is historical fact, and the rest is behaviorist hypotheticals.
A Study in Behavior Modifcation: Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir, President of the Sudan (2006)
Since writing this paper, an arrest warrant has been issued for President al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court.
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Posted in Social and Political Commentary (Personal) at 1:41 pm by Robert Goodis
I prepared this short speech in 2004 for my religious confirmation at Temple Beth Israel, a Reform synagogue in York, PA.
Acceptance and Action: If not now, when? – by Robert Goodis (2004)
Topics include Israel/Palestine and the fence, Iraq, Afghanistan, domestic policy, human rights, social justice, activism, racism, homophobia, gay marriage, and other general social issues that have plagued society for the past decade at least.
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12.13.09
Posted in Personal and Academic Writings at 1:10 pm by Robert Goodis
I wrote this paper, Representations of Tibet: The Model and Language of Human Rights, for a class in the spring of 2009. The discussion is focused on the Sino-Tibetan dispute – comparing the claims of both China and Tibet for control over the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
Representations of Tibet: The Model and Language of Human Rights – by Robert Goodis (2009)
After the bibliography, I’ve included the comments I received from my professor to show what this paper still needs and a basic response to the arguments I’ve presented. This paper is in excess of 9000 words and, in standard academic format, it stretches about 30+ pages including a bibliography.
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Posted in Personal and Academic Writings at 12:46 pm by Robert Goodis
Another rushed, unrevised essay – I wrote Censorship and Dissidence: Media in a Totalitarian State in mid-2008 for a human rights class on Dissent and Totalitarianism in Eastern Europe. Again, this is not the best essay, but it has some interesting points for critical thinking & discussion.
Censorship and Dissidence: Media in a Totalitarian State – by Robert Goodis (2008)
“…it is fair to say that European dissidence in the 20th century competently summarizes the greater part of dissident movements through time and around the globe, and serves to illustrate the relation between censorship and repression and dissidence in general.”
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Posted in Personal and Academic Writings at 12:29 pm by Robert Goodis
I wrote this academic essay in early December of 2008. This was a rushed paper, as usual, and I have not gone back to revise it since I turned it in for academic credit. The information in this paper is limited to circumstances pre-2009. However, while some specifics in the circumstances in Darfur and the rest of Sudan have changed, the general conclusion of this paper remains applicable.
Confronting Conflict in the Sudan – by Robert Goodis (2008)
Overall, this paper address the social, cultural, and political structure that allows for neverending wars. This is a discussion of human rights, of genocide, of regional and global politics, of worldwide political structure and institution, of civil and transnational war, of the tragedies of the past and of the prospects for change.
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12.12.09
Posted in Foundation Publications, Discussions & Previews, Personal and Academic Writings, Social and Political Commentary (Personal) at 6:43 pm by Robert Goodis
The PDF linked below is of a report prepared by Robert Goodis for a class in 2008. It has been reformatted, but has not been formally reviewed since submission for academic credit. Because of it’s relevant topic, it is being made available under both the personal & academic writings section of this blog and the section reserved for The Goodis Center.
In the drafting process, this paper was entitled Police Use of Weapons and Force in the United States of America: A Review of Human Rights in Law Enforcement and Relevant Policy. This PDF bears the official title, Human Rights and U.S. Policy Review: Law Enforcement Use of Conducted Energy Devices.
Human Rights and U.S. Policy Review: Law Enforcement Use of Conducted Energy Devices – by Robert Goodis (2008)
(Note that this PDF is formatted with smaller-than-normal pages. Please consider altering your printer’s settings before printing out this report. It is only about 4500 words, but the current formatting stretches that out to 25 pages. It has not been revised since it was submitted for academic credit. This document is copyrighted ©2008 Robert Goodis.)
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Posted in Personal and Academic Writings at 3:27 pm by Robert Goodis
This is an essay I wrote in 2009 for a sociology class entitled Historical Sociology of Punishment at Bard College. The paper discusses religion and religious conversion in prisons, including the general trends in the U.S. and abroad, as well as theoretically correlated and causal social factors. The primary discussion focuses on conversion to various denominations/sects of Islam in prisons. This paper addresses established theories and empirical data, and puts forth a uniquely formulated theory I developed during the research process.
Exploring the Sociology of Religion and Religious Conversion among the Prison Population – by Robert Goodis (2009)
A quick excerpt:
“Ultimately, the exact causes behind the trending of religious conversion to Islam in prisons remain undetermined. That Christian and Islamic denominations are the predominant religious strains found in prisons surely affects the probability a prisoner will convert to one of these two faiths rather than to any other religion encountered in prison. In reference to the general phenomenon of religious conversion in prisons, sociological and political implications are relatively well-established and clear, regardless of the religion to which the prisoner converts. Specifically investigating the trend towards conversion to Islam in prisons, however, many questions remain. In theory, a prisoner may be more likely to convert to Islam than to Christianity because of personal conditions and characteristics and/or because of social connotations affiliated with Christianity – a repulsive force to prisoners who would wish to distance themselves from the morality that has cost them their freedom….”
This paper was not revised or reviewed after submitting it for a class. It is around 5500-6500 words in length.
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Posted in General Information, Social and Political Commentary (Personal) at 2:30 pm by Robert Goodis
While I will try to keep my personal posts based upon reliable and accurate information, I encourage readers to investigate all of these matters on their own. Do not take the words of this blog to be the truth. This is not the gospel – it is just something to think about. At the same time, I wouldn’t be posting it if I didn’t think it weren’t worth discussing (which is why I’ll also play Devil’s advocate as needed). Comment, reblog, critique, discuss at-length, or just read it and shrug.
Human rights are a contentious and volatile subject. Throw in culture, politics, war, famine, genocide, civil rights, and everything else tied to human rights – all the things that make the world go round – and you’re bound to come across a variety of different viewpoints.
Basically, I’m poking the bear.
Why?
Why not?
Let’s see what happens…
I invite you to join me.
“Bears are lovely creatures that often hibernate and are, for the most part, non-violent. However, when poked, bears can become quite angry. As such, it’s always best to not poke the bear.” – Wikipedia
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Posted in Social and Political Commentary (Personal) at 2:15 pm by Robert Goodis
These are just a few quick points that need to be made. Consider them, if you will.
From the New York Times article, ‘You Have Atomic Bombs, but We Have Suicide Bombers.’ from 19 October 2009, by David Rohde: “One evening, Abu Tayyeb declared that the Taliban treated women better than Americans did. He said women in the United States were forced to wear revealing clothes and define themselves solely as sex objects. The Taliban protected women’s honor by not allowing them to appear in public with their faces unveiled.”
From a CNN report, U.S. won’t join landmine ban, administration decides, from 24 November 2009, by Charley Keyes: “The United States is the only member of NATO that will not sign the landmine treaty, Goose said. Russia and China also have not joined the 156 nations that have endorsed the ban, he said.”
The United States has claimed to triumph human rights. These articles are just a faint glimpse at our failures to support human rights and human advancement. It is time for change.
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