HW31: Citizenship Symposium

On Thursday, November 9th 2007, I attended the Citizenship Symposium. It was called, “Citizenship & Responsibility”. Here, the United States Representative & Holocaust Survivor Tom Lantos spoke, as did his daughter Katrina Sweat. Katrina was the first to speak. She told us that her father is the only Holocaust Survivor to serve in the United States Congress, and that he is also the Chairman of the House of Foreign Affairs Committee since 2006. Next, Tom Lantos spoke to us. He moved to the United States when he was 19 years old. He then attended University of Washington, Seattle. He talked about meeting the New President of France, and hearing his speech on the US-Europe relations. He quoted the New President of France, “America did not teach men the idea of freedom, she taught them how to practice it.” I thought it was a very smart quote, and it made a lot of sense to me. I thought it was genius.

HW30: What Kind of Democracy do we want?

Today at the Citizenship Symposium, I attended the session called, “What kind of Democracy do we want?” There were 3 speakers by the names of Emile Netzhammer (KSC Provost), Mayor Michael Blastos, and Nancy Tobi. Nancy Tobi showed us a slide show that she called, “Citizens Gone Wild: Taking Control of Our Democracy.” The first slide she told us about Moses, and how he was the first leader of the democratic movement. She referred to him as “a stuttering, humble, poor shepherd refugee,” who “led his people from slavery to freedom, invoking pure democratic law.” Nancy Tobi then began to ask “What kind of Democracy do we have?” She went over the Declaration of Independence, and the meaning of what democracy is on Wikipedia; a republic state or country that is not led by a monarchy. Tobi then talked about safeguard, and election crime. This affects everything. There are two methods that are used to count votes. There is a hand count (community counters) and then there is the Diebold Count (black box count). Nationally, 80% of the ballots counted by corporate owned and programmed computers using secret vote counting. In New Hampshire, 81% of the ballots are counted by corporate owned and programmed computers using secret vote counting. One quote that she used was by Joseph Stalin, “It’s not who votes that counts, It’s who counts the votes.” If there’s one thing I learned it would be about the election crime, I never knew that the ballots were counted by corporate owned and programmed computers.

HwW 29: Dear Riverbend

Dear Riverbend,

I’d like to start off with a “thank you.” This book has given me an insight to the war, and a lot of others as well. It’s not like we’re watching it on T.V. you’re actually giving us a vision of living the way you do. It must be hard, and I give you credit for it. Having to wake up to the sound of a gun-shots, explosion or yelling; and then wondering if it was a burglar, gang of looters, an attack, a bomb, or an American midnight raid, is frightening and I could never imagine doing that. It also amazes me that you know if it’s a tank, armored vehicle, Apache or Chinook, or me how you can tell if it’s a pistol or a machine-gun and how far the distance and maybe even the target. You show us what it’s like living in Iraq, as a woman. I also never knew that 50% of the work force in Iraq was made up of woman. You’ve opened my eyes to the life of an Iraqi woman living in the war, and the war in general. Keep writing!

HW 28: Baghdad Burning

The book Baghdad Burning is a blog written by an Iraqi woman who is 24. She goes by the name “Riverbend.” In her first blog post she tells us we should “expect a lot of complaining and ranting.” (Riverbend 5) She was just looking for a place to go and vent, and then she found her blog. She never really knew that anyone was going to read it. In the second blog she tells us what it’s like living in Iraq. She describes what it’s like waking up to the sound of “gun-shot, explosion, or yelling.” (Riverbend 6) Honestly, I’ll admit that I don’t pay that much attention to the war. This opens up my mind and makes me think, not only about the troops in Iraq, but now the people there. It’s teaching me about the war, and way people in Iraq see it.



Works Cited:
Riverbend. Baghdad Burning. New York: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2005.

HW25: Baghdad Burning

I thought the Forward and Introduction of Baghdad Burning were interesting, and open-minded. In the Forward, by Ahdaf Soueif he tells us about a young Baghdadi woman who blogs on the Internet about the war. She goes by the name “Riverbend” and her blog is called “Baghdad Burning.” Soueif tells us that this war in Iraq has changed Riverbend’s life. On her blog she explains how she loses power, and there’s water shortages. As I was reading this, Soueif also quoted her on how people in Iraq actually felt bad for the troops. “There was a time when people here felt sorry for the troops. No matter what one’s attitude was to the occupation, there were moments of pity towards the troops, regardless of their nationality. We Would see them suffering under the Iraqi sun, obviously wishing they were somewhere else and somehow the vulnerability made them seem less monstrous and more human, That time has passed.” (Riverbend, viii) I like that he included this because to me, it seemed like they hated the troops that are there, and for her to state that actually opens my eyes to the war. In the Introduction, by James Ridgeway, he explains everything in depth. He tells us about Riverbend’s background, and how her “culture is rooted in one of the oldest and richest civilizations in the world.” (Smithway xiii) Smithway also tells us how Riverbend is not only living through the war not, but she also grew up when the Persian Gulf War was occurring.

HW24: A Room of My Own

Virginia Woolfe once stated, “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” (Woolfe 4) I have a room in which I share with another woman, one of my best friends from High School. I only get half of the room because I’m in a dorm room. Is Virginia Woolfe telling me that I can write fiction? The place in which I write my work, is where I’m sitting right now; at my desk. On my desk there’s a postcard from Rome, phone numbers, pictures of friends, a mirror calendar, fortune cookie fortunes, a phone, and a light. This is where I write my work. “The rooms differ so completely; they are calm or thunderous; open on to the sea, or, on the contrary, give on to a prison yard; are hard as a horsehair or soft as feathers- one has only to go into any room in any street for the whole of that extremely complex force of femininity to fly in one’s face.” (Woolfe 87) My room can be described as lively, bright brilliant colors, and a wall filled with faces of people who I love the most. This is a calming place for me, and I like the way my room is set up. “There must be a freedom, and there must be a peace.” (Woolfe 104) She’s right there should be freedom, and peace.

HW 23: With apologies to Virginia Woolfe

Lately, I’ve been reading blogs online. It seems to be that everything is revolved around things that are not so important. I’ve been reading the Jezebel website. On this site is a bunch of “gossip.” One blog on this page I chose to look at was the one labeled, “Making Billions From Bad Sausage: The History of Botox.” The picture shows a magazine called In Touch Weekly.” On the front page there is a picture of a beautiful woman. The caption show below says “BOTOX AT 23.” What a vision of loneliness! (pg 62) This woman is trying to make her self feel better by fixing her natural beauties. Woman should be accepted just the way they are. They shouldn’t feel the need to better themselves just so everyone else can think they’re beautiful. Women should be proud of who they are, and not care about what others have to say.

http://jezebel.com/gossip/pretty-poison/making-billions-from-bad-sausage-the-history-of-botox-313573.php