PodCast #3

Gabcast! A Blog of One's Own #54

Podcast #2

Gabcast! A Blog of One's Own #26

HW 36: Podcast #1

Gabcast! A Blog of One's Own #15

HW 35: Hello to My Readers

Dear Readers,

It is hard to believe but I started this blog over 13 weeks ago! I have learned how to make a blogger account and create posts on blogger.com. I have maintained regular posts for homework assignments for my Thinking and Writing class; "A Blog of One's Own." In specific posts I was asked to supplement my writing with quotes from the text that I would be reading for class. I properly used a quote and then cited it using MLA style citation. I also learned how to add links to my blog that included my pod mate's blogs and three other blogs that were relevant to the class. I learned of the different features to use when making a post like spell check and manipulating text. In my blog page, I discovered the archives so I could view old blogs that were organized by the months of the year. If someone could learn something from my blog, it would be about Riverbend's novel "Baghdad Burning." In this book, the truth about what is going on in Iraq today is explained from an Iraqi's point of view. I think it is important to understand other countries especially one like Iraq because it is such a huge part of what is going on in the world today. My favorite blog post is my letter to Riverbend from "Baghdad Burning." I had the chance to tell Riverbend how I really felt about the events in Iraq due to the United States occupation and even though she will never read it, I think Riverbend would have appreciated it. When my blog class ends, I plan on saving my blog for historical purposes and maybe I'll show it off to my friends and family since I have written so much on it! I think that everyone should try writing a blog for whatever reason they see fit, if it is for political reasons, a class or for personal interests. Also, if everyone could take the time to read a few blogs, it might brighten horizons and views about whatever the topic is. Cleary blogs are a large part of the world today and they are growing in popularity every minute.

HW 34: "Cultural Literacy" of Iraq

As an American, it is important to learn about and understand different cultures from around the world. In Riverbend's "Baghdad Burning," multiple valued practices and rituals are depicted. One of these practices is the role of gold in family savings in Iraq. Back in 1990, many Iraqis started converting their money into gold because of the unstable flex in the Iraqi dollar. Gold held it's worth unlike Iraqi money. Iraqis gold is all the money that they have and it is held very dear to them. Riverbend describes how gold is handled, "Gold can be shown off and worn, but in times of economical trouble, a few pieces can be sold to tide the family over" (Riverbend 100). Iraqis wear their gold but the importance of it is when there is a war, for example, gold is used to make sure the family can make it through the rough times. Riverbend's aunt was extremely frightened that if their house were raided, the troops would take her gold. The gold represented all of the savings the aunt had collected since 1965, so obviously it meant a lot to her (Riverbend 102). Another common custom of Iraqis is evening tea. Iraqis make it tradition everyday to meet around the table and share a cup of tea together. Unlike here in the United States where tea is prepared as a tea bag, Iraqis have a whole process they go through to make their tea. Water is boiled in a kettle while tealeaves are placed in a different pot of water and the water and tealeaves simmer until they reach the top. The final step is the pot is put on the kettle so the tea can "yihder" which means settle. (Riverbend 108-109). The tea is served in glass cups with either glass or porcelain saucers. Tea time is a scared time for Iraqis when they are all together and can discuss different topics, usually whatever is going on in Iraq that day. Riverbend explains the conversations that happen around her tea table, "Stories (vary from) abductions and hijackings, to demonstrations, to empty gas cylinders and burned out water pumps" (Riverbend 109). These subjects that are discussed are very serious. We are lucky that here in the United States, we don't typically tell stories around our dinner tables about a road side bomb or a raid that we witnessed today.

HW 33: "Challenges at a Girl's School in Baghdad"

"Alive in Baghdad" captures real stories about Iraq and its people who are facing so many troubles today. One episode is titled, "Challenges at a Girl's School in Baghdad" which can be found at http://aliveinbaghdad.org/2007/05/21/challenges-at-a-girls-school-in-baghdad. This episode was published on May 5, 2007. The general topic that is covered in this episode is the problems that Iraqi schools and children are dealing with due to the violence and the disturbance from American troops. The episode takes place at an all girls’ school at the Safina Middle School in Adhamiya, which is unfortunately located in a very unsafe place in Baghdad. The school is quite rundown: there are holes in the walls, desks are small, and it is a primitive environment. The female director of the school and a teacher are interviewed during the pod cast along with several students. One student in particular, tells her story of being an Iraqi girl going to school today. Some days this girl cannot even make it to school if there is a bombing near by or raids or roadblocks. Because of this, the girl has a very unstable education and she misses lessons that were taught on the day she wasn't there. Her family doesn't want their daughter to go to school because of the chance that she could be killed on her way there or while she is in school. Although she admits she is scared, she continues to push to get an education. Everyday all around Iraq, families struggle with either sending their child to school to get an education or to keep them safe at home. A viewer watching this episode might learn that the occupation of American forces is not only damaging Iraq today but it is causing a problem for it's future who are the children of Iraq today. If children are not properly educated, the literacy rate will decline in Iraq, which will cause even more problems down the road. Most other video footage that I have seen about Iraq is American troops and Iraqis fighting; there is nothing about an innocent girl's school in the middle of a war zone. What I find most memorable about this episode is that the girls are continuing to go to school even though they are risking their lives to do so. If I were one of those girls, I don't know if I would be able to do that.

HW 32: "Barbie Notebooks and Strawberry-Scented Erasers"

In Riverbend's "Baghdad Burning," she describes shopping for her cousin's daughters. It was the beginning of the school year for two young Iraqi girls who were seven and ten years old in October 2003. Riverbend, her cousin, her brother E. and the girl's mother went out to a stationary store to pick out school supplies while the girls stayed safe at Riverbend's house with her parents. Unlike here in the United States were we have large shopping complexes with Staples and Wal-Mart, Iraq has it a little different. Stores are spread out down along the streets of Baghdad and the stores range from small to large in size. Riverbend explains what she decides to pick out for the children, "I went with a few Senafir (Smurfs) copybooks, some Barbie notebooks for the older one, and was hard-pressed to choose between Winnie the Pooh and Lion King for the younger. I went with Winnie the Pooh in the end" (Riverbend 95). When Riverbend chose the notebooks with Barbie and Winnie the Pooh on the cover, it made me think back to when I was younger shopping for school supplies. I was into Barbie and Winnie the Pooh just like these young Iraqi girls were. Maybe Iraqis and Americans aren't that different from each other after all. Other supplies that were purchased for the girls were pencils, copybooks, crayons, and erasers. Riverbend was determined to pick out interesting erasers like ones that were shaped like strawberries and she had a good reason for being picky, "S. wanted to go with some generic pink ones that looked like pieces of gum and smelled like tires, but I argued that kids don't take care of their school supplies if they're ugly" (Riverbend 95). Although the girl's mother was fine with buying ordinary pink erasers, Riverbend believed that the girls would be more likely to respect their supplies if they liked them. The shopping was a success except that Riverbend learned to her dismay that the youngest girl had outgrown Winnie the Pooh.

HW 30: "Blogging: Are All Citizens Publishers and Reporters?"

On Friday, November 9th, at Keene State College's Citizenship Symposium, a panel of experts discussed the question, "Blogging, Are All Citizens Publishers and Reporters?" The panel was composed of three males, Mike Caulfield a Blue Hampshire blogger, Jim Rousmiere, the Keene Sentinel executive editor, and Emile Netzhammer who is Keene State's Academic Affairs Provost and Vice President. A missing panelist, to my disappointment, was Laura Clawson of the Daily Kos. The discussion was held in the Main Theater of the Redfern Arts Center with a low turn out of about 40 people. Emile's view on blogs and other means of Internet interaction is that today's younger generation is morphing from traditional ways of education. In older generations, people learned by reading textbooks. Today, however, most individuals under age 30 want to create content on things like blogs and wikis rather than memorizing a book. Mike, who was previously a journalist, now turned blogger, got into blogging so he was allowed to do something different than traditional journalism. At the beginning of his bloggging career, Mike educated people about Charlie Bass, which in turn eventually got him out of office. Jim, the oldest member of the group, made three points about journalism and blogging. The first was disclosure, which is when a journalist uses their name when they write articles but bloggers sometimes use false names on their posts. The use of opinions versus facts; journalists use facts while blogs tend to be biased based and opinionated. The last point Jim made was that blogs are "written to the choir" while journalists write for the general public. The most interesting point made by all three of these men was that protection should be given not only to journalists but to bloggers as well. "When bloggers do journalistic activities, they should be protected by the shield law" (Mike Caulfield). Both journalists and bloggers alike should be granted equal protections and I found this an interesting point. When bloggers are participating in actions like a journalist would, they deserve every safety that a regular journalist receives.

HW 30: "Citizen Soldiers and Global Warriors: Challenges of Iraq"- Scott Ritter

On November 8th, Scott Ritter, who is the former U.N. chief weapons inspector, spoke at Keene State College's Citizenship Symposium. The topic at hand was, “Citizen Soldiers and Global Warriors: Challenges of Iraq.” Scott was the U.N. weapons inspector for seven years and he also served in the Marine Corps for 12 years. Scott's speech started out with his definition of each part of the topic's title starting with "citizen." A U.S. citizen is determined by if a person is born in the U.S. or if they immigrated here. The rights of a citizen are written in our country's constitution, which is the "foundation" for Americans. The term soldier as defined by Scott with his pink face and loud, carrying voice, is a citizen who, "up holds and defends America against domestic and foreign affairs." Not only does a soldier protect the U.S. from other countries attacks but they are also defending us here at home. "Global" is the world as a whole, and a "global warrior" is someone who is "deployed in harms way" by the government. The problem with the global warrior is that the U.S. believes that it has control over the world and that America is the world. The United States government thinks it has the right to tell other countries what to do and how to govern themselves. The way in which we make sure that other countries follow in the path that we see fit for them is by the use of military. If a country does not comply with the rules that are set for them by the U.S, then the military will take necessary action in order to make the country do so. To me, the saddest part of the U.S. treating the rest of the world as inferiors is that when I go to visit another country, I am no longer seen in the same light I would have been if I visited 10 years ago. In the past, American citizens were generally accepted and respected by other countries. Today, however, the majority of the world's population hates and despises the U.S. I don't blame them and in fact I agree with them and to an extent I am ashamed to belong to a country that has done so much wrong to the rest of the world.

HW 30: June Cross' documentary: "Sercet Daughter"

On Tuesday, November 6th at 7pm, June Cross presented her documentary, "Secret Daughter," during Keene State College's Citizenship Symposium. June is a journalist who graduated from Harvard and she is an associate professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. June was born in the early 1950's to a white mother, Norma Stouch, and a black father, James "Stump" Cross. In 1996, June decided to do a documentary on her life and how she was kept a secret to many because of her race. Since June parents were of different races, this was seen as morally and socially unacceptable for a black man and a white woman to be together. The "Secret Daughter" documentary describes June's life as a child and as an adult of mixed race and the impact it had on her family. June's father, Jimmy or "Stump", was a black comedian, and her mother, Norma, was an aspiring actress. When June was four, her mother gave her to a black couple that was friends of the family. Norma's explanation for giving June away to be raised by the black couple was because she thought it would be best for June and for her, "I won't get in her way and she won't get in mine" (Norma). June would fit in better with the black community and Norma was able to protect herself from the shame of having a black child. Norma was also seeing at this time a famous actor, Larry Stouch, who she later married. Norma and Larry decide to keep the truth about June a secret because Norma feared that it would hurt Larry's career if people found out that she had a black child. The most interesting part to me was when June explains how she feels towards her mother about having her raised by the black family, "She loved me enough to give me away" (June). To be able to accept an idea like that takes a very strong person and obviously June is. At the end of the documentary, June, who had long, brown dread locks and a colorful sweater on, answered a few questions from the audience. "Secret Daughter" is a must see and it depicts a story that I am sure many others have had to endure.

HW 31: Al Jazeera all Over the World

"Baghdad Burning" is written by Riverbend, a young Iraqi woman living in Baghdad, Iraq during the invasion of the United States in 2003. Riverbend writes in the form of blogs on the Internet and tells of the trials and tribulations of everyday life in Iraq while it is amidst a bloody war. One evening, Riverbend is watching a show on TV on the Arabic news channel, Al Jazeera. The show hosted three different female Iraqi's for a debate dealing with Iraq, "The discussion was regarding how much women's rights in Iraq had been affected after the occupation" (Riverbend 65). The women discussed the increased regulations of women being forced to cover themselves up and the uprising number of rapes and abductions of Iraqi females. Al Jazeera is one of the most popular news channels in the Middle East, "Al Jazeera (offers) news coverage 24 hours a day from around the world and focusing on the hottest regions of conflict" (http://www.allied-media.com/aljazeera/). Many Iraqis and Middle Eastern countries get their news and information from the Al Jazeera network that offers around the clock news updates. Also, Al Jazeera covers other news topics like sports and entertainment, but the most watched shows are about politics and political debates. Al Jazeera is based out of Qatar and it started up in 1996 and it is now said that it has over 40 million viewers. Al Jazeera is not just popular among Middle Easterners, but it is, "the fastest growing network among Arab communities and Arabic speaking people around the world" (allied-media.com). Whether one lives in the United States or China, Al Jazeera is available all over the world and it is also translated into other languages such as English. Clearly Al Jazeera has a lot of influence all over the world and it keeps Arabs and all others that watch the channel posted on the latest news and world events.

Works Cited

Riverbend. Baghdad Burning. New York: The Feminist Press, 2005.
“Al Jazeera.” Allied Media Corp. 2007.

"An Open Letter to Riverbend (HW 28)"

Dear Riverbend,

It is astounding to hear your story of being an Iraqi woman living near Baghdad during the United States invasion in 2003. It is hard to wrap my mind around such concepts you go through in everyday life. I am a young woman who has lived in the United States all of my life, and I have never come close to any of the situations you describe. Like you, I do not hate Americans or the American troops all of the time, and I don't support my country's actions that have been taken against Iraq. I have hated certain aspects of the War like you have, "I hated them (American troops) on April 28 when they shot and killed over a dozen kids and teenagers in Fallojeh...kids started throwing rocks at the troops, and the troops opened fire on the crowd" (Riverbend 14-15). I know that hate is a strong word, but when innocent children are ruthlessly murdered, the word hate is justified. It must be so physically and mentally draining to constantly be afraid of raids, bombs and looters. It is horrible to think that in today's world, people go day to day without knowing whether they might live or die. When you described a typical night in your home, it made me thankful for the way I am able to live, "We had been sleeping in our clothes for the last few nights with pockets stuffed with ID papers and money because we kept expecting the house to come crumbling down around us" (Riverbend 29). There was no time, even at night, when you could forget for a moment that your country was under attack. I now have a clearer picture of what it is like for an innocent person to live in a War, thanks to you Riverbend.

HW 27: Experiencing War in "Baghdad Burning"

The book "Baghdad Burning" is written by Riverbend. The First Feminist Press at the City of University of New York in New York published it in 2005. "Baghdad Burning" takes place in Baghdad, Iraq during the invasion of the United States in 2003. The author and main character of the book, Riverbend, lives in Baghdad during the time of the invasion, and she is submerged in the chaos of the war. Riverbend is a young 20ish year old Iraqi citizen that lives with her parents and her brother. Beginning in August 2003, Riverbend begins writing on her blog online to show the rest of the world how it really is for an Iraqi to live amidst the United States invasion of her country that later becomes an occupation. By reading this book, you will learn of a first hand account of with it is like to be an innocent person in a war. Riverbend explains how difficult everyday living is from not knowing when the electricity will come on to hearing bombs that are destroying her city and killing innocent men, women and children. The benefits of reading this book are that stereotypes of Iraqi's will diminish and we will learn that we are no different than the average Iraqi person. We feel pain, happiness and loss in the same way regardless of what part of the world we live in. There are disturbing and unsettling images and situations that Riverbend describes with detail in her blog posts. This creates the challenge of having to read something that is hard or painful to hear but at the same time it is necessary to be able to grasp the concepts that Riverbend is trying to explain to us. Although Riverbend may say things that we do not like or that we disagree with, it is important to keep an open mind while reading so you are able to get the full experience of "Baghdad Burning."

HW 25: The Iraqi People and Senseless Wars

A girl called Riverbend who is placed in the middle of the Iraq War in Baghdad writes “Baghdad Burning”. Riverbend started writing online on her blog when the United States invaded Iraq and she tells the true events that occurred to everyday innocent Iraqi men, women, and children. Back during the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the United States, I will admit that I knew very little about Iraq and its people. I have come to learn that Iraqi people are not all that different from people like me from the United States and as Ahdaf Soueif describes this about "Baghdad Burning,” This book should shame all those with lingering imperialist bent of mind who see Iraqis (or Arabs, Muslims, or 'third-worldeans') as somehow lesser or, at best, developing" (Soueif ix). The Iraqi people and all people of the world should be viewed as equals regardless of how powerful or poor a country is. Soueif's forward for Riverbend's book is precise and to the point and he directly tells readers exactly how to interpret it, "Baghdad Burning makes for painful reading. It also makes for enjoyable-even fun-reading. It is certainly necessary reading" (Soueif ix). This novel is important for learning about Iraq and its people and it will also spark emotions within the readers. While Soueif informs us more on Riverbend herself, James Ridgeway focuses on Iraqi people as a whole and the daunting history of Iraq. Ridgeway goes into detail about the struggle Iraq has had for decades over its oil and how it has caused the of death of so many innocents lives throughout Iraq for decades. Children have suffered greatly because of the chaos of war, "About 100 children a day (died) due to the Gulf War and the subsequent sanctions...(these) figures do not include the second, or 2003, war" (Ridgeway xv). This is a disturbing revelation and I had no idea that the number of children deaths was so staggering. Ridgeway really puts into prospective the amount of pain Iraqi's have been through in the past and that they have been pushed even further back because of the 2003 war. Thousands of schools have to be rebuilt, electricity is unreliable, and sanitation conditions are despicable and this is all due from the U.S. war on Iraq. I believe the saddest part of all is the death of loved ones for an unnecessary war.

HW 24: A Room of My Own

My grandmother is a fun loving and vibrant woman. When Virginia Woolf was writing her book, "A Room Of One's Own," my grandmother was a little girl that was growing up in the same society that Woolf depicts. As her mother was raised to be second to men, so was she. My grandmother married when she was 20, raised seven children and she was the homemaker of the family. As Woolf put it, "For all the dinners are cooked; the plates and cups washed; the children set to school and gone out into the world. Nothing remains of it at all. All has vanished. No biography or history has a word to say about it" (Woolf 89). In other words, women for centuries have played the role of the typical housewife and nothing has been written about it. Because of the way history shaped the position of men and women in the world, men were unfairly favored and given the upper hand in life. For this reason, men's writing, "Indicated such freedom of mind, such liberty of person, such confidence in himself. One had a sense of physical well-being in the presence of this well-nourished, well-educated, free mind, which had never been thwarted or opposed…" (Woolf 99). Men were the superior sex and because of that they were able to write and express themselves freely without question. In today’s time, however, women have gradually overcome suppression and the lack of rights. Starting back in Woolf’s time, “there have been at least two colleges for women in existence in England since the year 1866; that after the year 1880 a married woman was allowed by law to possess her own property; and that in 1919…she was given a vote” (Woolf 112). Steadily over time, women have gained rights and access to a higher quality of life. Thankfully, I was born in a time that I have a room of my own. I view this room of my own not as a physical room but as a place in humanity that I am allowed the same opportunities and education as men. I am able to go to school, have a profession and have a voice. These are all qualities that make up my own room. Although there are still aspects of our society that are male dominated, we as women have certainly come a long way from past centuries.

HW 23: "More World of Warcraft Players In America Than Farmers"

"With Apologies to Virginia Woolf."

As I browsed through my blogs this morning, I FANCIED one that I came upon at Instapundit, http://instapundit.com/, titled "There are more world of warcraft players in America than there are farmers" (Woolf 48). I found this post quite disturbing because I am a lady who is fond of the outdoors and taking long walks. It is absolutely ABSURD THAT ONE WOULD find more pleasure in sitting in front of the computer screen then taking advantage of a beautiful fall day (Woolf 58, 71). One comment posted about this DEPLORABLE fact of farmers and game players was of interest to me, "I grew up around farmers...we have once again arrived at a kind of Middle Ages society where the least paid are those who actually feed, clothe, and shelter us. I don't know how to grow a crop. If the whole economy crumbled, it wouldn't be like people would be coming to me to explain factor analysis or something" (Woolf 45, Armbruster 15). As this gentleman finely stated, this country would be in ruins if something tragic happened to our dear farmers. We would no longer be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor, which would severely damage our way of life. As such a vital part of our society, why, I ask, are there so few farmers? I WOULD VENTURE TO GUESS that the new generation of young people in this country are more drawn to playing with technology then get dirty in a corn field as a cow would (Woolf 49). BUT WHO CAN SAY this is what the future holds? (Woolf 49). FOR MY PART, I AGREE THAT unless all those computer people wake up one day and decide to work in the agricultural business, the United States is going to see a gradual decline in the population of farmers in the years to come (Woolf 48).

HW 22: "A Patriarchy Society in the US Today?"

Patriarchy is a society that is ruled and managed by men. Men had the sole responsibility of everything from money to how their household was run during Virginia Woolf’s time. Virginia’s beliefs that men hold unequal power over women is described through a newspaper she reads that is dominated by the opposite sex, “The most transient visitor to this planet, I thought, who picked up this paper could not fail to be aware, even from this scattered testimony, that England is under the rule of a patriarchy” (Woolf 33). In other words, it would be clear to any stranger that the male gender was favored over women. Men dictated every aspect of life down to the smallest detail and women had no say in money, the law, or films. The reasoning that men are so driven to be the superior sex is that they are power hungry and females are the fuel for their hunger. Virginia exclaims, “Women have served all these centuries as looking-glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size” (Woolf 35). Men have used women to feel confident and secure with themselves. If this inferiority is taken away from men then they would no longer have possession over women and as a result, men and females would be equal. Even today, there still would be signs to a transient visitor from another planet that the United States is a patriarchy society. Let’s look for example at the front page of today’s New York Times Newspaper. What sex is pictured here on the front page? Men! Two males that are both head’s of countries, President Bush and the Dalai Lama appear together as the first thing you see. If I were a transient visitor, it would be obvious to me that men were not only shown foremost on the page but also that males are in control of the government. It is interesting to view something like a newspaper as a stranger and interpret how a society is run and who has the upper hand.

HW 21: "A Woman Must Have Money"

Hey Little Cus,

Hopefully I can help you out with you reading of “A Room if One’s Own.” In the first chapter, the author, Virginia Woolf, tells about the events of her day. Our first glimpse into Virginia’s day begins at a river at Oxbridge college in England. Virginia makes her way to the school’s library but is not granted access into it because she is a woman. Following her library mishap, Virginia stands outside of the church and then makes her way to lunch. At lunch, Virginia is presented with the best meals and the luncheon generates lots of positive conversation. After lunch, Virginia lets herself into the garden before making her way to Fernham for dinner. At the dinner at Fernham Virginia is served plain gravy soup and there is little conversation during the meal. Virginia and her friend Mary Seton talk privately afterwards in Mary’s room. We learn that Virginia is given a task to write about women and fiction. Virginia’s initial thoughts to this assignment are, “a women must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction” (Woolf 4). Virginia’s point is that to be a successful female writer, you have to be wealthy and have a room all to yourself. It is explained by Virginia the reasons why it is so hard for women to become writers. For generations and generations, it was the role of the woman to be the homemaker and to raise children. With all the time it takes to care for their children, women had little time to make and save money and even if they were able to, the money would be the property of their husband's. While for men it was so much easier to compile funds for education simply because men where the only sex that had money. Some consider this novel an important piece of work because it shows that women were against high odds when it came to getting an education or being a writer. I also believe that it is imperative that it is known how suppressed women were before they were granted an education and how hard we had to fight to get that. I think that perhaps it is sometimes taken for granted that each sex is allowed equally learning opportunities and we should also keep in mind that it has not always been that way.

HW 19: Blogs Creating Awareness For Genocide in Sudan

In the novel Blog! by David Kline and Dan Burstein, weblogs are not just talking about everyday American topics anymore but blogs are now taking on more serious issues that directly effect a group of innocent people that are dying everyday in another country. In the African country of Sudan, massive genocide has been going on and there has been minimal response from powerful countries like the United States to aid in this crisis. Some blogs, however, are desperately trying to gain attentiveness to this situation that has been ignored for long enough. People like the executive director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, and Samantha Power, author and Pulitzer Prize-winner of "A Problem From Hell": America and the Age of Genocide, FOR INSTANCE, DEMONSTRATE that "some bloggers purposefully harness the medium (of blogging) to promote wider awareness of their causes" and experts like Roth and Power are "devoted to collecting news and information about genocide in Sudan" (Kline and Burstein 91). IN OTHER WORDS, there are those individuals out there that are fighting to get information to as many people as they can but most importantly, they want to get the media's attention. CONSIDER the explosive effect that the media can have when it believes that it has a headlining issue that will grab everyone's attention like a government official’s negative comments, FOR EXAMPLE. Blogger Ethan Zuckerman expresses the significance of the media exploiting a story, "blogs let us tell offline media what we want. When blog readers made it clear we wanted to know more about Trent Lott's racist comments, mainstream media dug deeper into the story,...what sort of effort would it take to choose an important issue-say the Sudanese government's involvement in Darfur?" (Kline and Burstein 92). IN SUM, THEN, it is clear that the media has a powerful impact when it comes to getting the facts out to the world and that the media listens to the bloggers to see what is important to them. I guess the real question here is, how much longer will it take or how many more lives have to be lost before the mainstream media pays attention to this genocide?

HW 18: Ann Coulter: "Personal Fantasy" To Take Away Women's Right To Vote

My least favorite post of the week can be found at The Democratic Party weblog at http://www.democrats.org/blog.html. Posted on Friday, October 4, Ann Coulter, a right wing Republican, made a highly disturbing comment about women's voting rights during an interview with the New York Observer. According to Coulter, "If we took away women's right to vote, we'd never have to worry about another Democrat president. It's kind of a pipe dream, it's a personal fantasy of mine...and it is a good way of making the point that women are voting so stupidly, at least single women." Coulter is insisting that women are the reason for Democratic Presidents becoming elected into office and also she believes that American women are not intelligent when it comes to political decision-making. This appalling remark is sexist towards the female gender and expresses the belittlement and discrimination to about half of the American population. Coulter also makes a point about single women in particular which is greatly incorrect. In my view, women, single or not, are equally if not more intelligent then men and women's views on who should be elected to run our country's government is just as important as any man's. There is no logical reason why men should be the only gender allowed to vote and I am sure that most men and not just women would agree with this. Isn't the United States of America built on the principals of fairness and free speech? America would no longer represent what we stand for as a country if a significant right like women's right to vote is taken away. The way in which a President is elected is from the majority vote of the people, not just from one specific gender and this is how it should be and always remain.

HW 17B: Political Activists Over Sex Scandals

In comparing two opposite weblogs, Wonkette at http://www.wonkette.com and Daily Kos at http://dailykos.com, there is a clear winner in my eyes that would more likely influence the way I would vote in an up coming election. Daily Kos reveals and examines important political information on their blog while Wonkette writes about the latest gossip and dirt on Washington DC politicians. The writers of these blogs, Ana Marie Cox for Wonkette and Markos Moulitsas for Daily Kos, are both passionate writers but they both take very different views of the seriousness and impact of their blogs. In an interview with David Kline and Dan Burstein's novel Blog! Moulitsas stresses the significance of "influentials...the holy grail of successful marketing is to reach those 10 percent or so of the public who are the most passionate about-who are experts on-any given topic...we're trying to organize, we're trying to fund-raise, we're trying to win elections. They're the activists. They're incredibly influential. And they can be the key to winning elections" (Kline and Burstein 46-47). In other words, smart people are the dealmaker or breaker for the up coming elections. Moulitsas takes his blogging very seriously and his ideas are well thought out. On the other hand, Ana Marie Cox in her interview with Kline and Burstein comes across as quite careless and lazy, "I've been fired from or left every journalism job I've ever had. I couldn’t keep a job. I couldn't find work. I was even a lousy freelancer..." (Kline and Burstein 57-58). Ms. Cox doesn't care about what other people think about her and her space cadet comments. In comparison with each other’s blogs, Cox's blog mirrors her interview while Moulitsas blog does the same for him. Wonkette uses uncensored words and comments on her blog such as who hooked up with governor X last night. Daily Kos is more word friendly and includes more vital topics relevant for making a decision like who to vote for an up coming election. I would tend to lean toward a source that seemed approachable opposed to reading a blog about the freaks of Washington.

HW 17: "Bush Vetoes Children's Health Care Bill"

On the Democratic Party blog, http://www.democrats.org/blog.html, a blog was posted on Wednesday October third about President Bush vetoing a health care bill for poor children in America. The post shares that the program that the money would go is the Children's Health Insurance Program, that helps poverty stricken children gain health care. Bush's reasoning for his disapproval was made very clear in this blog. According to Bush, "the legislation (has been) "excessive" in its cost. In related news, the Iraq war has now cost taxpayers over $456 billion- and counting." In other words, the Democratic blogger who wrote this blog reveals what seems more important to Bush, spending a great deal of funds on a war many don't believe in is more crucial then a bill to help sick children. This really makes you see what Bush's priorities are. Bush allows so much money to be given to a war that people are dying everyday for but he can't give some compensation to a cause that is trying to nurture and save children's lives, he rather spend billons of dollars on killing innocent civilians and loved ones. I did not chose this blog because I agree with Bush's decision making, but I believe it is vital is understand what types of choices our current government is making for our country. Even though it is imperative that the legislature is careful with spending the funds of taxpayers, we also need to remember where the majority of the money has gone. Just because the Bush administration used an overwhelmingly amount of resources on the war in Iraq shouldn't mean that other aspects of our country like suffering sick children should receive less funds due to the stupidity of our government’s overspending.

HW 16A: Scobles' Rules of Engagement versus The Democratic Party Blog

In the novel Blog! David Kline and Dan Burstein did an interview with Robert Scoble who is a Microsoft tech evangelist. Shortly after joining Microsoft, Scoble created a list of rules for the corporate blogosphere called "The Corporate Weblog Manifesto." Scoble's rules consist of twenty guidelines to follow if you are thinking of being a successful company within the world of blogging. One weblog in particular for example is The Democratic Party (http://www.democrats.org/blog.html), that uses some of Scoble's regulations and they can be picked out of this blog. On this blog, multiple posts are written everyday with many more comments to respond to them. Frequent and fast responses are stressed quite a lot throughout the manifesto. Showing that there are daily posts on a blog lets people trust you which helps to maintain and gain more readers for the blog, The blog is very left wing and caters to the audience that is reading it which would be the American Democrats. The site is doing justice to it's Democratic readers with true and consistent information; another key part of Scoble's rules. Keeping with accurate information and not lying is also to adhering to Scobles' manifesto. At the opposite of the spectrum, there is also ways in which this Democratic Party weblog does not follow Scobles' principles. In Scobles' manifesto, he states that it is important to be nice and civil with your competitors but I do not see any of this for the Republican Party on the Democratic blog. Although the site offers a place in it's page for Republican candidates for the 2008 presidential elections, the opposing Republican party is not given the same positive ness and support that it does for the Democratic candidates. While the Democratic candidates' pictures are colorful and bright, the Republican candidates' photos are in black and white and accented with white, black, and red lettering. Since this weblog is dedicated to a specific part of society that it is known for unfair behavior towards each other, some of the principles of the corporate weblog manifesto are applicable to this blog. Also, I believe that these rules should be used for as just guidelines then strict regulations. However, it would be really interesting to see the Republican Party and the Democratic Party actually say nice things about each other on their blogs!

HW 14: Blogs Creating Communites Around The World

ALTHOUGH IT IS TRUE that communities are formed from people that we know in person, online blogs are creating communities with virtually anyone in the world. AS A RESULT, many new discoveries are occurring across the globe on the Internet to connect people that would other wise never understand or know about some other person's ideas and beliefs. ACTUALLY, Joi Ito, a popular Japanese blogger, had an experience on his blog that was quite amazing. SO, Ito reveals in his interview in David Kline and Dan Burstein's Blog! novel that he had written a blog post to a reverend from Chicago, Reverend Akma, "I wrote a very flippant post about God...he (the reverend) was so offended and he wrote this own his blog. So I called him and said, "So explain this God thing to me"....I would have never have had this opportunity to call up a reverend and have them explain God to me, and he would probably never have gotten a call from somebody in Japan asking to explain God to him, if it weren't for the fact that we stumbled upon each other on blogs" (Kline and Burnstein 149). ULTIMATELY, this story of a Japanese man and a Chicago reverend, shows that the global division of misunderstandings can be eliminated by the blogs from around by the world.
HOWEVER, blogging is also changing the face of other aspects of communities like the music industry for small groups like folk that are overshadowed by larger music giants such as rock or pop. IT IS TRUE, Ito believes that "we are in a period now where we are in a very constrained, narrow, mass communication method-television, radio, newspapers-where you try to tune the whole world into a very narrow band, where you have big stars like Michael Jackson...how can a hundred million people like the same song? It's very difficult if you think about the fact that we are quite culturally diverse" (Kline and Burnstein 145). THAT IS, less popular music types that have been overlooked due to the mass productions of larger musicians, have a better chance of being successful with the support of blogs. FURTHERMORE, blogs are developing a larger spectrum of diversity of music which will in turn open up people's eyes to so many different types of music that they may not have listened to if it were not for blogs.

HW 13: Blogs of The People

In my view, the impact of blogging on communication by individuals is more important then the impact of blogging on business. Some companies are unaware that communication by blogs is changing the way people view their company. AT FRIST GLANCE, BUSINESSES MIGHT SAY THAT what people are blogging about is irrelevant to their company and its success. Some blogs are about Snoopy the dog or vacationing in the Bahamas. BUT ON CLOSER INSPECTION, businesses will find out if they research their name over all the blogs, that a portion is actually talking or possibly criticizing their company on the web for everyone to see. "There are some 9 million blogs out there, with 40,000 new ones popping up each day...that leaves some 40 new ones every day that could be talking about your business, engaging your employees, or leaking those merger discussions you thought were hush-hush" (Kline and Burnstein 223). Clearly, the individual bloggers have the fate of businesses in the palm of their hands. IN AN INCREASINGLY technological WORLD, people are blogging more and listening less and less to the mainstream media. For decades, regular civilians and the mass media had a dividing gap between them. If a person had a comment or disagreed with what a magazine or newspaper was saying, there wasn't much an individual could do to be heard because what the company chose to publish was up to their editors and publishers. Now with blogs, there has been a total change of events and people are now being heard. "Blogs...they represent power. Look at it this way: In the age of mass media, publications like ours printed news. Sources try to get quoted, but the decision is ours. Ditto with letters to the editor. Now instead of speaking through us, they can blog. The divide between the publishers and the public is collapsing. This turns mass media upside down. It creates media of the masses" (Kline and Burnstein 224). The communication that is generated by blogging is forming the way of the future. People now and will continue to be a vital part of every business and media production.

HW 11: "Global Voices: For the Good and The Ugly"

The blog that I chose to view that Rebecca MacKinnon mentions in her interview with Kline and Burnstein in Blog! Is Global Voices at http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/. The blog looks like it is very well made and it seems to be run or created by a professional web designer. People blog from all over the world, especially from countries in the Middle East and Asia that control what their people can and cannot say on the Internet. The style of writing is conversational and straightforward. The topics that people blog about are corrupt governments and officials. Also many blog about the oppression of certain minority groups and the people of certain countries that are being constrained by their administrations. I believe that the Global Voices blog as it now exists still corresponds to MacKinnion's view of it in her interview in Blog! quite accurately. The website does a great job of organizing all of the blogs and categorizing them all into different topic categories and world regions. MacKinnion in her interview hoped that this blog could link people from one country to the next and create more awareness and understanding between individuals about their differences and similarities. I believe that Global Voices does do this concept much justice. I can easily maneuver around the site and read about Ramadan in Libya or the marginalization of the world's indigenous people. I am able to learn about breaking news and stories in struggling countries that generally would have been overlooked by the mass media. HERE MANY WHO ARE LOYAL TO THEIR GOVERNMENT WOULD PROBABLY OBJECT THAT it is not acceptable or law abiding to go against your countries views and contradict them. To have a group of people that object to the their government makes it difficult for others who follow the rules to maintain a normal life style. I am sure that citizens, who accept and respect their higher official’s choices, would very much like their opposers to not blog negatively about the way their country is run. Blogging is creating much controversy between the people who have differing views about their country. With the growing number of blogs that are questioning their government, the larger the gap is becoming between people on seeing at a mutual stand point.

HW 9: "Ayelet Waldman's Secrets"

In an interview with Ayelet Waldman, we learn of the effects that blogging has had on her life. Once an addicted blogger, Waldman would confess to the on-line world her troubles with her marriage and children. The overwhelming support Waldman received from her fellow bloggers gave her an outlet to express her deep feelings and concerns. BY FOCUSING ON the great counseling and help she gained from her cyber friends, WALDMAN OVERLOOKS THE DEEPER PROBLEM OF the things that she exploits to the entire web will be something that her children will have to deal with. The consequences for being so open seem to be in the back round of Waldman's mind. Her children may misinterpret their mother's private thoughts later on in life when they read her blogs and that could have a devastating impact on their relationship. I believe that Waldman could have had the same results of comfort she was seeking but without being so personal. ALTHOUGH I DISAGREE WITH MUCH OF WHAT WALDMAN SAYS, I FULLY ENDORSE the supportive and caring groups that form on-line for people like stay at home moms, who need help dealing with everyday life and their family. Giving advice and answering questions on a blog for woman who are pregnant is an amazing source of information and something I would probably use myself if I were in that situation. There are great things that come from venting and speaking your mind on your blog but going too in depth about your personal life isn't really necessary. You can achieve the same outcome of assistance you are looking for from blogging but by censoring your writing and avoid dramatizing and exploding your life problems. You should not treat your blog like your dairy; your dairy is meant to be private to the writer and if you want to blog during a hot headed moment, just make sure your not writing something you will later regret.

HW 7: Monitoring Your Middle-School Children's Writing On-Line

I believe that it is important for parents to be involved with their children's on-line chats. In the early years of teenage life, guidance is vital to the success of a young adult. While some teens are responsible with the information they provide to the World Wide Web through LiveJournal and Blurty, others can be very unwise with what they say. Emily Nussbaum depicts the down side of the on-line chat world in her article, "My So-Called Blog:"

In such an unstable environment, it's no wonder that distinctions between healthy candor and "too much information" are in flux and that so many find themselves helplessly confessing, as if a generation were given a massive technological truth serum. (Kline and Burstein 351)

Many young teenagers are not yet mature enough to distinguish what they should be revealing to the entire web. Parents should be concerned with that their children are writing on-line but this does not mean that they need to be pouring over their child's every on-line chat or journal. Granted children need to learn things on their own but there comes a point when a child's safety could be in jeopardy. Putting your full name on your LiveJournal is a big no-no or using someone else's name can lead to major concerns. When Emily Nussbaum went to a high school to investigate the popular on-line journaling, she found out what one student was discussing with the entire web:

Over the course of a monthslong breakdown, she posted graphic descriptions of cutting herself, family fights, sex. It was all documented on her Web log, complete with photos and real names. (Kline and Burstein 358)

This would be overwhelmingly disturbing to the parents of this troubled girl. With serious situations like this, it is the responsibility of the parents to make sure that their child is safe. If a child needs further help then the parents need to get that for them. Every teen goes through their different phases but exploiting every detail of them selves is not acceptable. There is a fine line between venting about your bad day and making yourself completely vulnerable to unsafe situations. Although parents need to give their young teen's boundaries, keeping up on the events and emotions of your child's life is just as imperative.

HW 6: Interest Statement for Semester-Long Project

Three social computing technologies that I find most interesting right now are blogs, online reputation economies, and social networking services. I have used blogs before this class and I also have read reviews on blogs on products that I would consider buying like my laptop. A lady that I know uses a online reputation economy, E-Bay, to sell items on this site that she buys from second hand stores like Good Will and The Salvation Army and she makes a good profit doing it. Another lady that I know uses a social network service like cupid.com for finding dates with guys online. This lady as of yet has been unsuccessful to find the man of her dreams.
Three kinds of empowerment of marginalized groups that I am most interested in finding out about right now are ageism, empowerment of working-class people, and issues with refugees. As a young 18-year-old woman, I am discriminated against because of my age. When I wanted to rent an apartment, most landlords wanted older tenants to occupy their establishments. My mother hasn't had health insurance in over 15 years because she is self-employed, and in some countries everyone has access to health care benefits regardless of their profession. At my high school in Portland, Maine, about half of my fellow peers where refugees from Somalia and Sudan.
Two geographical areas that I'd like to start looking at are Central America and the Middle East. I lived in Costa Rica for a month and completed 200 hours of community service there. I want to learn more about the Middle East because the area in general I don't know that much about and at this point in time it is a very important place. I believe that the more you know about a certain place the better you will understand it.

HW 5b: "The Journey Of Life"

Kline demonstrates in his novel Blog! that the virtual social world of blogging has created a place where individuals can go and express their feelings to others on the Internet. The need for therapists in the future is BELIEVED to decrease since bloggers now have an unlimited outlet to communicate their feelings to others who are willing to listen. Kline CLAIMS that "one must assume that the more deliberatively people appraise and document their lives, the more purposefully those lives will be lived." It is INSISTED here that blogging has such a powerful impact that it allows people to live their lives to the fullest. This is a very bold statement and I QUESTION this because to interact with someone through a computer screen is not the same as talking to someone face to face. There is vital human characteristics that cannot be conveyed as thoroughly as it could be when speaking to someone directly in the present. You cannot visualize body language when you are chatting on IM or in a chat room and a large percentage of what we say is actually non-verbal. So how is it possible that people can be completely clear and exact about what they are trying to say when typing on a computer to a numerous mass of the population? This could lead to major misinterpretations and misunderstandings when reading about others or perhaps others reading about you. For example, when chatting with my friends on-line, it is often hard to distinguish when someone is being sarcastic or when they are being serious. As you can imagine this could become quite complicated and messy. I further CONTEND the importance of the human race to interact with each other in person rather than through a porthole.

HW 4: Option 1; "The Voice of The Harley-Davidson Customer"

For this blog exercise, I researched the website for Harley-Davidson motorcycles via the Google search engine. The pages that mention the motor cycle company on Kline and Burstein's Blog! Is 106 and 111 through 113. The official Harley-Davidson website portrays that their motorcycles are far greater than just a machine. When you ride a Harley, "It's not a ride. It's a way of life." The image that first appears when you open the site displays a scene deep in a forested area surrounded by a picture perfect rugged environment. Owning a Harley gives you an experience like nothing else. "Riding is about more than freedom and adventure. It's about a heightening of the senses." If you are a Harley-Davidson owner, you can explore the road world in a way that a regular person driving a car couldn’t. You are placed in a special category with other riders that share the same unique pleasure. This website depicts that a motorcycle is not just another mode of transportation. You are completely submerged in the wilderness and all of your senses are engaged and sensitive to everything around you. If you are a dedicated owner of a precious Harley-Davidson, then you can register to get up to date e-mails regarding the motorcycle company. I found this information on the Harley-Davidson site, https://www.harley-davidson.com/. I found the site was very helpful if I was interested in purchasing a Harley; you can locate a dealer, rent a Harley, or get “rider education” pertaining to different aspects of riding. The Harley-Davidson website does a superb job of getting a specific image to their customers and their execution of this is flawless. If I were in the market to buy a motorcycle, I would definitely be interested in checking out Harley-Davidson’s just by what I have seen of their website. What this website does that Blog! explains is that to get customers and return buyers, your website and company has to create a quality product as well as a emotional response to keep the customers coming back for more. Clearly, the Harley-Davidson company has been very successful and will continue to be if they listen to what their customers want and respond appropriately and advertise in a strategic way.

HW 3: "Toward a More Participatory Democracy"

In the first chapter of Blog! by David Kline and Dan Burstein, they tackle the political aspect of blogging. The influence on American politics has been greatly impacted by the phenomenon of the blogosphere. AMERICANS TODAY TEND TO BELIEVE THAT the mainstream media lacks credibility and doesn't focus on key issues that are important to most today. There are a staggering high number of people that are relying on getting true and accurate news from blogs and other internet sources. On the internet, nothing is filtered or edited to manipulate the minds of the American people. One large issue that bloggers have with the media is the way it portrays politics and in particular political debates. The mass media gets to choose and pick what they want to focus on and what they don’t want or want to tell. Maxwell McComb and Donald Shaw state that "the mass media may not be successful in telling us what to think, but they are stunningly successful in telling us what to think about." ON ONE HAND, the creation of a place where people can openly discuss and support their issues on politics is a great stride towards a "more participatory democracy." ON THE OTHER HAND, the division between Americans is growing deeper everyday due to the fact that people are not listening to each other but they are simply expressing their own beliefs. Ezra Klein says that he has "not yet-and not for the lack of trying-found the blog where smart and engaged partisans are respectfully speaking to each other...where the point is to inform and enrich rather than enrage and destroy." MY OWN VIEW IS THAT blogs both have a negative and positive impact on our society and especially on politics. It will remain to be seen in the future of blogging if minds can be altered to be listening more and blogging less.

The Effects of Blogging in the 2008 Elections

In David Kline and Dan Burstein's Blog!, there is a list of 12 key ideas of the blogosphere. One in particular is that blogs favor liberals over conservatives but in factuality, that is said to be untrue. The left wing as well as the right wing party has equal amounts of exposure through the social computing network. During the 2004 controversial presidential elections, republicans were just as active as democrats in voicing their opinions and getting awareness out for the candidate of their choice. Since blogging has become even more popular since 2004, I believe that it will have a substantial impact on the outcome of the hyped up 2008 elections. The author states that conservatives are as involved in the political virtual world as liberals are but before reading this I was under the same assumption as many other Americans. Just because it would seem one way to me, it is not always so. Misconceptions can lead to a belief that many people agree in something like who is to be elected for president, but once it comes down to election time and the results, there can be a very different outcome. There is a majority of Americans who still do not use blogs or the Internet, and maybe this is the group that makes the margin from one candidate over the other. So, all of those votes that might be overlooked by the blogosphere could be the most important factor of all.