Greg Dixon's Random Junk
This page contains links to resources for students. The basic idea is to have a place where you can find resources for a variety of uses. The links are loosely sorted into categories to make things a little easier.
Categories:
| News Sources | Research Resources | International Governmental Organizations | Non-Governmental Organizations |
| Liberty and Economics | Political Parties in the USA | Random Stuff | |
News sources for those who want to stay up on events. Some are TV, some print, and some are radio. Some are also mixed format.
| National Public Radio | National Public Radio (NPR) is the "public" radio in the USA. They get their money from memberships rather than advertising. They provide a variety of news and information programs as well as hourly news updates. |
| British Broadcasting Company | The internationally respected communications arm of the British Government. It was originally started to link the British Empire together through media. It is now one of the most respected sources of news and information in the world. They are editorially independent from the government (something they fiercely protect) and are generally considered as unbiased as humans can be. |
| Cable News Network | The granddaddy of 24-hour cable news. They have become the center-left version of US News |
| Fox News Network | The upstart 24-hour cable news company from Rupert Murcoch. They are generally center-right in their news programs |
| CNBC | A more business oriented 24-hour cable news channel. They focus on the business community and related news. |
| The New York Times | "All the news that's fit to print" or so they claim. It is as close to a national daily newspaper as we have in the US. They also have extensive online information, although more and more of it costs money to access. Generally considered center-left. |
| The Wall Street Journal | The business daily for the US. Think New York Times for business people. Generally considered center-right, but they cater to the business world so this is a little harder to filter. |
| The Economist | The venerable British news magazine that covers the world. It is an excellent weekly source of international news. I generally advise students interested in international relations to subscribe as it is relatively inexpensive and the weekly format is easier to handle than a daily for most students. There is a discounted subscription link for students at www.economistacademic.com. |
| The Financial Times | The sister publication to the economist it is a daily newspaper for the international business community. It is useful for economic and financial news. It is a bit pricey and the subscription can be a little odd depending on where you live, but the website is excellent. |
| France24 | France's newly created wannabe BBC. It was created to promote a French alternative to the BBC, Al-Jazeera, and CNN. They started an English service to broaden their appeal. |
| Al Jazeera English | The Quatar based news organization that is the CNN for the Arab and Islamic community around the world. The English service provides world news in a format similar to that of the BBC's World Service, but from the Middle Eastern Perspective. |
Places to go look for information for students doing research on international relations issues
| Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO) | PRIO collects a wide range of data on conflict around the world. They have a number of datasets (collections of raw numbers) relating to conflict across the globe. They also publish a large number or working papers related to conflict in the world. |
| The Correlates of War Project | A collection of data on conflict and conflict-related research. A good place to find basic information on wars, what states were recognized (and when) by the international community (within some limits: read the codebooks). This is considered one of the most authoritative places to find basic data on military conflict in the world. |
| Freedom House | A think-tank that produces reports on civil liberties in the world each year. You can find a "map of freedom" with color coded countries based on the "free, partially free, not free" framework. They also produce a civil liberties index for most countries of the world. (see also the Polity Project) |
| The Polity Project | An academic research project that produces data on the institutional elements of democracy. The look at the institutions that countries use to select decision-makers. (See also Freedom House) |
| The World Bank Publications | This is the gateway to the online database of World Bank Publications. It contains a searchable database of over 10,000 working papers and world bank reports available free as .pdf files. |
| The US Census Bureau Data Center | The Census Bureau's data and information center. Lots of raw population data and reports related to it. |
| Office of Management and Budget | The White House office that produces budget data for use by the President and Executive Agencies in their economic estimation and decision-making. A good source of economic data relating to US policy debates. Also has historical data for things like GDP, taxes, etc. |
| Congressional Budget Office | The Congressional office that produces budget data for use by Congress. They produce the official US government "scoring" (cost and budget estimates) for proposed legislation. This is the closest thing we have to a single authoritative source on cost estimates for projects within the government. Other agencies create estimates, but CBO estimates are the official baseline for budget purposes. |
| Project Vote Smart | An organization that tracks political leaders and candidates for office. They look at voting records, campaign contributions, official positions on issues, etc. They are a good source for raw information on candidates for higher offices. They are mixed on state and local offices, but getting more detailed every year. |
| RAND Corporation | A think tank that researches specific policy topics. They produce reports that range from a few pages to multi-volume books. Many of their reports are available as free pdf downloads. They do a lot of work for the US government, especially military and defense agencies. They have thousands of reports related to policy issues in a searchable database. |
| Aspen Institute | A progressive think tank that focuses on a wide range of policy issues. They produce books and reports on a range of issues. Some of these are available as free downloads, others must be purchased. They also have a range of leadership programs for young people as well as seminars on policy topics. |
| Council on Foreign Relations | A think tank that focuses on foreign policy issues. They publish the journal Foreign Affairs. They produce a range of reports and books, some of which are available as pdf files and others which must be purchased. |
International Governmental Organizations
The official web-pages for various international organizations across the world
| United Nations (UN) | The main international organization for collective security and collective action in the world today. It does a little bit of everything. |
| World Bank | The main development bank for the world |
| World Trade Organization (WTO) | The body that oversees global trade rules |
| International Monetary Fund (IMF) | The organization that manages international monetary policy coordination |
| Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) | A club of rich countries that shares information |
| The European Union (EU) | The group of European states working towards a gradual economic and political integration of European social democracies |
| The African Union (AU) | The African regional grouping (the successor to the Organization of African Unity) |
| MERCOSUR | The "Southern Cone Common Market": a customs union in the South America (Spanish and Portuguese only) |
| North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) | The free trade agreement binding the USA, Mexico, and Canada |
| North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) | The collective security organization for the North Atlantic States |
| Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) | A regional group intended to promote European regional security |
| Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) | A grouping of Southeast Asian nations. Originally a trade group, it has branched out in the last decade. |
| Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) | A developing country trade and economic integration organization in West Africa |
| Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) | A grouping of Islamic states |
| Southern African Development Community (SADC) | The Southern African economic community. |
Non-Governmental Organizations
The official web-pages for various international non-governmental organizations across the world. There are tens of thousands of these, so this is just a taste of what can be found. These were selected deliberately to give a wide range of NGO's from the serious to the ridiculous (or at least funny). This list was chosen almost completely at random, so organizations on this list should not be considered to have any affiliation with anybody or anything having to do with the Dr. Dixon, the University of West Georgia, the state of Georgia, the United States of America, the Illuminati, or any other organization that may get mad that they are or are not on this list.
| Amnesty International | The main international organization for collective security and collective action in the world today. It does a little bit of everything. |
| Human Rights Watch | A global human rights watchdog organization. |
| OXFAM | A global development organization based in the UK |
| Heifer Society | Promotes development by providing animals to poor countries and persons to promote self-sufficiency |
| Greenpeace | Global environmental NGO |
| WANGO | The World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations |
| Christian Freedom International | An organization that promotes Christianity and fights persecution of Christians throughout the World |
| Child Fund | Feeding kids through Christian charity. Formerly Christian Children's Fund. |
| Doctors Without Borders / Medecins sans Frontieres | A global medical NGO that brings developed world doctors to areas of the developing world that need them |
| Reporters Without Borders | A global NGO dedicated to press freedom and the protection of journalists |
| The Whirled Bank | A parody site set up by an anti-neoliberal NGO to poke fun at the World Bank vision of the world. THIS IS A PARODY SITE, DO NOT TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. Except that it is seriously funny in places, even if you like neoliberal economics. Come on, even if you think they're crazy, this is clever. |
| GATT.org | Another parody site set up by a group that defies easy description. THIS IS A PARODY SITE, DO NOT TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. They have fooled people with this site into thinking that they were from the real WTO (the GATT was replaced before the internet became widespread so the WTO people never thought to register gatt.org). There is some classic video of a business group being told that "slavery is the way of the future" just before the speaker demonstrates that his business suit was made with tear-away Velcro. He tears off his suit and runs out of the room swinging it over his head. |
| Globalization Guide | A list of groups for and against globalization |
| PETA | People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. People who promote a wide range of policies geared towards animal rights globally. These range from the elimination of animal testing in science to ending the use of meat as food. |
| Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Plants | Like PETA, only they also include plants. They also have a strong emphasis on the preservation of threatened species. |
| Horowitz Freedom Center | A center for the study of terrorism, security, and freedom. This is one of the major promoters of the concept of "Islamofascism" as a force for evil in the world. David Horowitz also famously created a list of the "101 Most Dangerous Academics in America". Dr. Dixon did not make the list. Perhaps Mr. Horowitz should have talked to Dixon's students about the reading lists for his classes or the Presidents Quiz in his American government class. |
| Students for Academic Freedom | The student group formed to promote conservative ideas on college campuses in opposition to perceived "radical bias" among college professors. This is the source of one of the "Students' Bill of Rights" movements among conservative students. |
| Fully Informed Jury Association | Basically this organization promotes the idea of jury nullification: that any juror sitting on any jury has the right to judge the constitutionality and/or reasonableness of the law under which a person is prosecuted as well as the facts of a case. |
Libertarians have established lots of free information that includes libertarian ideas, but often also gives free access to classic works in economics. The following are links that relate to this subject matter.
| Online Library of Liberty | This is the online arm of the Liberty Fund Inc. Basically they are dedicated to producing and disseminating books on liberty and economics. You can buy some good quality books from the Liberty Fund (although the same books are often cheaper on Amazon). This site is very useful because they have over 900 texts in searchable pdf format. Basically you can get many of the most influential books in economics (think original works by Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Lord Acton, etc.) as free pdf's. They also have an online economics encyclopedia. |
| Library of Economics and Liberty | An online repository of readings on economics and liberty. They have a range of useful reference information related to economics and to questions of liberty. There are many free articles and ebooks on these subjects. It is a useful source for discussions of political economy. They also have links to related sites. |
| Foundation for Economic Education | An organization dedicated to promoting the ideas of liberty and Austrian economics. They offer free seminars over the summer in the ideas of libertarianism and Austrian economics. Publishers of the Freeman newsletter. |
You probably never knew it, but there are dozens of political parties in the USA. Here is a sampling. Enjoy.
| The Big Two: | These are the two "mainstream" centrist parties in the USA. They are on the ballot in all 50 states |
| Democratic Party | The center-left (if you think they're radical left, click on a few of the other parties on this page) big-tent party. |
| Republican Party | The center-right (if you think they're radical right, click on a few of the other parties on this page) big-tent party. |
| The Three National "Third" Parties: | These parties have a national presence and are on the ballot in most states |
| Green Party of the US | A party whose core principles are environmental protection and social justice |
| Libertarian Party | A party whose core principles are the preservation of individual liberty |
| Constitution Party | Originally creates as the US Taxpayers party, this is the modern party most closely related to traditional populism. They follow a platform that is strongly pro-life, anti-gun control, anti-tax, anti-immigration, trade protectionist, "anti-New World Order," anti-United Nations, anti-gay rights, anti-welfare, and pro-school prayer. |
| The other "Third" Parties: | These parties have mixed ballot access, meaning that they are only on the ballots in some (in some cases only a few) states. Some of them show that people will believe just about anything and form parties to promote those ideas. |
| Natural Law Party | A party based on what it articulates as s holistic natural law of peace and harmony and the policies that derive from it. The national offices of the party closed in 2004 after forming a "US Peace Government" so now only state party offices are operating. |
| US Marijuana Party | Founded in 2002 to do something. We forget what. Anybody got some Cheetos? Just kidding. They advocate the legalization of pot. Seriously, anybody got some Cheetos? |
| Peace and Freedom Party | A party based on the core principles of socialism, democracy, ecology, feminism and racial equality |
| Socialist Party, USA | The traditional socialist party in the US. |
| America First Party | Formed originally as a vehicle for the populist ideas of Pat Buchannon, this is now a party focused on "putting America first" in almost every policy area. It is basically a party promoting a populist agenda somewhat different from that the of the Constitution Party. |
| American Independent Party | Originally part of George Wallace's efforts to secure election in 1968 it is a populist party whose main distinction used to be its anti-integration stance, although that has been abandoned. They are sometimes listed as a state branch of the Constitution Party, but they do have a separate set of institutions. |
| Pansexual Peace Party | No, this is not a joke. Well, maybe not, its kind of hard to tell. They are a party based on what they claim are Wiccan principles of sexual liberation, equality, and the embrace of the Erisian Principle (disorder is the natural order). Their motto is the Wiccan Rede ("An it harm none, do as ye will"). They don't actually field any candidates for office, but they do sell T-shirts. |
| Green Party USA | Hey, aren't the Greens listed above? Yep, but those Greens are different from these Greens. This is the older and smaller Green Party. This is the American manifestation of the same movement that led to the creation of Green Parties in Europe in the 1960's and 1970's. Confusingly the larger Green Party (the one above) is now the one that we normally associate with the Greens in Europe. Confused? The Green Party USA stuck to its roots as a radical environmental and social justice party. They could loosely be described as eco-communist or eco-socialist, although neither really covers it. Basically, if the Green Party of the US seems too mainstream for you, check out Green Party USA. |
| Boston Tea Party | A splinter libertarian party. They are founded on the idea that liberty should be the first and only concern in politics. If the libertarian party is too statist for you, you'll love the BTP. They are not to be confused with the larger tea-party movement that emerged in 2008. The BTP was formed in 2006. |
| American Communist Party | The traditional communist party in the USA |
| Prohibition Party | Wanna ban demon rum? Have a short memory for history? Then this party is for you. They advocate the banning of intoxicating liquors in the USA. |
| American Nazi Party | Yes, its true. This is real. Some people really do believe this. |
| Party for Socialism and Liberation | Are the American Communist Party and the Socialist Party, USA too capitalist for you? Then look for the real revolutionaries of the PSL! |
| Libertarian National Socialist Green Party | This is another Nazi party. But they apparently think that if they just borrow the names of every other party ever created and lump them all together no one will notice. |
Stuff that just doesn't fit anywhere else
| Online Library of Liberty | This is the online arm of the Liberty Fund Inc. Basically they are dedicated to producing and disseminating books on liberty and economics. You can buy some good quality books |