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."