chelsea’s blog

                I watched the episode, Challenges At Girls School in Baghdad, which was published May 21^st, 2007. ( http://aliveinbaghdad.org/2007/05/21/challenges-at-a-girls-school-in-baghdad/ ) . This individual podcast covered the idea and issues on women and children’s struggles through the time of war with education. In this podcast, teachers at a school in Baghdad are interviewed, along with some of the students. They are asked questions that involve the issue of safety arriving to school, attending school, and their education. One of the students interviewed is asked questions about going to school. She lives far from the school, and whenever there is a bombing or attack, her parents are in fear of sending her to school the next day because of how far away it is. She also states that her parents actually want her to drop out of school for her safety, but the young girl insists on going. This seems to bring up the question or idea of the value of safety verses the value of your education.  The school she is interviewed in is obviously not the nicest. All that there seems to be in the classroom is a chalkboard and white walls. The desks seemed to be made out of some sort of concrete or hardened clay. All of the girls are in heavy clothing and the scenery appeals to be very hot.

                From watching this video, you can actually see what it is like to be a woman living in Iraq during the war. As you may already know, being a male and a female in Iraq during this time period is two completely different things. Children are actually being asked to drop out of school because of safety issues; we could never imagine that in our country. Also, you can learn that Iraqi’s value education very much. This is evident because these girls are willing to risk their lives every day to go to school.  Being in American, we are only shown the progress and “good” being done in Iraq. Since reading this book and taking this course, I had no idea that all of this was happening, let alone what it must be like to be experiencing it.

The topic or person that I chose to further find information about was Ahmad Al-Chalabi. Riverbend always talks about him in the Iraqi perspective, and I thought it would be interesting to see what the Americans point of view was on him. When I typed his name in “Wikipedia,” I clicked on the first link that came up. In Baghdad Burning, Riverbend talks about him in one of her entries that states how he is the “puppet of the month.”  When she talks about Al-Chalabi, she refers to him as an “inside joke from Washington.” She also later describes him as smug, and that he blames neighboring countries for terrorism going on in Iraq.

                While reading the information about Al-Chalabi from Wikipedia, I found it almost comical. The article states that he fails to get re-elected in 2005, (maybe it’s because no one even likes him in Iraq, and Bremmer was the one who put him there). Also, the article states that he was “once dubbed the “George Washington” of Iraq by American neoconservatives.” This to me is very funny, based upon what I have learned about the Iraqi’s feeling towards him. Another part of the article that is funny is that he is wanted for “embezzling over 300 million dollars from the Jordanian people.” I still don’t understand why someone would ever give this man some sort of presidency over Iraq. While reading this book, I find myself siding with everything Riverbend states. I did not know half of the information that she tells us, and it really just continues to make the united states look more and more foolish day by day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Chalabi

Dear Riverbend,

                After reading your blog I find myself to be very happy that you wrote this all in the first place. I think that it is very important for Americans to understand what it is like to live through the war. All that we see is what is given to us through the media, such as CNN and The Daily Show. I have to admit that I was one of those “ignorant Americans” who thought that Iraq was just dirt roads, small mud buildings with everyone dressed in turbans. I had no idea that in Baghdad, there were computers and electricity and running water, let alone cars. I never knew any of this because none of this was ever shown to me on the media.  I feel so stupid knowing that you all had all of this while I was thinking you had literally nothing. Also, I’m so impressed at how extremely intelligent you are.  You speak great fluent English and you work with computers, things that I am not even good with.

                I really couldn’t even imagine being a female in Iraq at this time. I don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t able to leave the house without  two escorts to bring me to wherever I needed to go. You must feel so vulnerable  and scared going out, knowing that these foreign men that supposed to be “liberating,” you are doing what seems to you as the exact opposite, and now have seriously put your safety in danger. One particular entry really stuck with me while reading your blog; the one on April 9^th. I cannot even wonder what it must have felt like to be experiencing all that you did. I really cannot commend you enough on your courageousness.

Sincerely,

Chelsea

The book we are currently reading, Baghdad Burning is definitely in direct relation to our class. First of all, the book is what we are doing as part of the class; blogging. Not only could we possibly use this as a guide for beginner bloggers, but we could also use it as a different perspective to blogging. As a class, we read blogs that our either each other’s on homework assignments, or other people’s opinions based upon current events or ideas. None of the blogs that we are supposed to watch or choose to watch have to do with someone’s experience or life story. Another way that Baghdad Burning relates to this course is the fact that the author is a woman, and part of this course has to do with women’s studies. The book is about an Iraqi woman who is blogging her actual physical experience with the war in Iraq. The best part about the book is that it gives another perspective to the war. In the United States we usually seem to hear only about the good news and progress we may be making. Here, this book tells us the truth about what is happening in Iraq today.

The Foreword and Introduction of Baghdad Burning simply state that “Riverbend” vividly places you into her world and experience of the war. In the Foreword, Soueif  briefly states how Riverbend’s life has drastically changed, and how you can begin to see it throughout her blog posts. He tells us how Riverbend talks about “Arab family ties, women and Islam, the hijab, Ramadan customs, saving and investment, relations between Muslims and Christians, relations between Sunnis and Shia, university education in Baghdad, and many others.” (Soueif ix). Soueif also tells us about Riverbend’s view on anti- Americanism, and her views on our soldiers.            Ridgeway however goes into further detail about the history of Iraq, and how it has all boiled up to what we have today, in the Introduction. Ridgeway talks about the culture of Iraq, and how the fight over the oil goes back to the twentieth century. He later talks about The Gulf War, and some of the breath taking statistics that have happened during that time period. “Oil was responsible for three-quarters of Iraq’s GDP and over 90 percent of its foreign exchange income.” (Ridgeway xv). He then later moves into the 2003 war, and how Iraq is now “liberated.” Both men speak very highly of this book and show Americans a different view of the War in Iraq.

             In the first chapter Virginia Woolf States that “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” Although throughout the years since Woolf has written this book we have made several advances in technology, in rights, and in opportunities, I still feel as if a woman today would still need money and a room of her own. I find this to be almost ironic because of all of the advances today. One way that Woolf points about where we have come in history is when she says , “Do not start. Do not blush. Let us admit in the privacy of our own society that these things sometimes happen. Sometimes women do like women.” (Woolf 82). This is one way how we have made progress in women’s rights in society. In this text it was known as a secret, however today it is something that has become somewhat normal or accepted. I feel that as a woman, Woolf wants for us to be confident and proud in everything we may do. When she was reading the book in chapter five about the lesbians, the way she reacted seemed to be as to not be embarrassed but to just understand that it is there. There is at no point in the book where she ever puts down a woman. She makes the comments about the men who write about the women. I feel as if when she states you need a room of one’s own and money, it is literally that. You need time and space to yourself to understand or collect your thoughts, and in order to actually write fiction, you need money as well. The room of my own is the small cubby space in the library; where it is quiet and I can collect my thoughts.

            After reading the second chapter in A Room of One’s Own, I noticed many different examples of irony. Irony is when a speaker means one thing and says something else. The first example of irony that I found was, “the entire wardrobe of some Swiss or Italian family seeking fortune or refuge or some other desirable commodity which is to be found in the boarding-houses of Bloomsbury in the winter.” (Woolf 27). Clearly the Swiss or Italian family is not seeking refuge; this is why it’s ironic. I feel as if the sentence was pointing out the busyness of the streets neighboring the museum. The second example of irony I found was a little more sarcastic. “Are you aware that you are, perhaps the most discussed animal in the universe?” (Woolf 26). Here, the main character is talking about how many books she has to look through to research women. She had no idea that there would be this much literature, let alone this much written by a man. Finally the third example of irony I came across was also a bit sarcastic as well. “Wise men never say anything else apparently.” (Woolf 29). Here, this is clearly what the character is thinking, not necessarily saying. She is talking about the issue on Samuel Butler’s opinion that “Wise men never say what they think of women.” (Woolf 29).             After reading this chapter I was mainly shocked as to how men used to view women. I seemed to almost feel insulted while reading this chapter, especially after Samuel Butler’s comment. Also, one question that I seemed to have while reading was the issue that women were poor? I didn’t understand if it meant literally poor with no money, or poor as in another sense.

The most interesting blog post this week was by far  the post about the woman soldier who recently received the silver star. The most interesting part about this is that she is the second woman since world war two to receive it; over 60 years ago. The other interesting part is that she is only 19 years old. I feel as if this small story says a lot about our nation. The fact that she is only the second woman to receive this honor since world war two is amazing. This could mean two things. It could mean that there are little to no women in the army. It can also mean that if there are women in the army, they might not be doing that great of a job. This can bring up many different issues and opinions as well. It could bring up the issue that there should be more women in the army, or the exact opposite, women don’t belong in the army. Personally I feel the most respectful part of this story is that she is only 19 years old. I’m sure people in this class are 19 years old. Could you imagine serving in the army and sacrificing yourself for someone else?

            The paragraph that I am choosing to write about is one of the first paragraphs in this section of our book. It talks about Salam Pax, the “Baghdad Blogger.” In this paragraph it states that, “It turned out that technical difficulties, not US cruise missiles or Baathist Party thugs, were responsible for the three-day Salam Pax blackout.” Because of his blog, not only did he correct an error in the war, but he also informed millions and millions of people of what was really going on. “In the months that followed, his readership grew to millions, as his accounts were quoted in the New York Times, BBC, and Britain’s Guardian newspaper.” This alone states the huge power that blogging has on the media and the American public today.  Technology today is something that everyone has a hold of. Everyone is always on the internet, looking up different things and searching for different things. Since technology is at everyone’s fingertips, this immediately granted easy access to Salam’s blog. Being that he was in Iraq, this was all firsthand experience for him. The public knew that this was a true story, and this is what made his blog explode. Because of his stories online, he later signed a book and a movie deal. One little post on his blog completely boosted his career, thanks to technology.

            Between Wonkette and Daily Kos, the bog that would influence me the most in the upcoming election would definitely be Wonkette. After reading Wonkette’s interview, I made a much more personal connection with this certain blog. The way that she talks is a comfortable relaxed and funny tone. I read Cox’s interview before Zuniga’s and I was extremely bored reading Zungia’s interview. Cox I can relate to more because of the things she has done in the past. For example, Cox covered the Democratic convention on MTV. This is something that is in my age frame so to say, and that I would definitely watch. Also, her writing is extremely funny. Having a sense of humor is much more of a positive aspect then just writing out the facts. I am not interested in politics at all, but if there is someone who can accommodate being funny with politics, I will definitely tune in to watch. (I like to watch the Daily Show). Also, Wonkette is a well known blog. “Anyway, the story is that I linked to her blog at eleven thirty in the morning and by the time she got back from lunch, her boss was holding printouts of her so-called anonymous writings and she was fired on the spot.” I would definitely chose this blog over the other because of its tone of voice, it’s targeted age group, and it’s popularity factor.