What we’re reading: to be an abolitionist; on democracy; are you ready for the zombie apocalypse?

To be an abolitionist, or not to be an abolitionist? Henning Mankell (Swedish crime author and artist) tells the story about Thomas Clarkson and his decision to challenge the slave trade back in 1787  in a short essay worth reading: A decision that changed the world.

On democracy: guess which country this might be?

Imagine a country without an election commission, where the state makes no effort to prepare an electoral register at national, regional, or provincial level, where it is left to citizens get themselves on the register, and where the ruling party in every province writes the rules and procedures for registration and then conducts the poll and the count. Imagine a country where a federal court decision has been necessary to bar voter intimidation by party supporters who demand to see voters’ identification at polling stations, challenge voters’ credentials, film them as they vote, distribute leaflets stating the penalties for voting fraud, and bombard selected neighbourhoods with junk mail, which is often returned undelivered and then used by party zealots to claim that the voters concerned do not live at the addresses shown on the electoral roll.

See here for the answer.

Zombies 101: are you ready for the zombie apocalypse?

As a new addition to our resource catalogue, preparing for a full scale ‘walking undead’ emergency was always going to turn some eye brows. Lucky for us then that the US Centers for Disease Control made a graphic novel out of it (with an emergency kit checklist) called Emergency Preparedness 101: Zombie Pandemic. The graphic novel seeks to educate and entertain readers of all ages about what to do before a real emergency happens, rather than after.

Feel free to check out recent additions to the resources catalogue: https://www.developmenteducation.ie/resources/

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