Here is a link to my second podcast:
http://www.gabcast.com/index.php?a=episodes&query=&b=play&id=8538&cast=73132&castPage=

http://www.gabcast.com/index.php?a=episodes&query=&b=play&id=8538&cast=72726&castPage=
This is the link to get to my first podcast!!!

After learning more about Riverbend’s culture it was very interesting to know what the Iraqi’s value most in their lives. Palm trees are especially important for their useful dates. They use the parts of the palm tree to make many household items and use dates for many cooking items. (Riverbend 104) The Iraqi’s take much pride in the palm tree and the dates it produces. I also found it interesting how important Tea is to them because they drink it through out the day and have tea every evening. They brew their own tea from leaves. Rivebend even says, “Tea is so important in Iraq, that it makes up a substantial part of the rations we’ve been getting ever since the sanctions were imposed upon the country” (Riverbend 109)

The fist podcast i watched was “Iraqui teens work to help their families” The title of the series was Alive in Baghdad and it was dated 10/15/07. This is the link to watch the podcasthttp://aliveinbaghdad.org/2007/10/15/iraqi-teens-work-to-help-their-families. The podcast talked about young boys who help their fathers in different trades, they have helped their fathers since they were young. One of the young boys who talked was a 15 year old boy who gos to work with his uncle and father, he said that it takes them an hour to get to work and sometimes when the area is unsafe they have to work at home. The boy said that he coulf make pretty much anything in a badroom to a sofa and a door. He learned everything from his father and picked up different styles by watching what his dad did. When you see him working it looks like a very small backyard, and its messy and a very dirty ground. Some one watching this podcast will get a better understanding of what some teens go through and the challenges that they go through. It’s hard to compare this video to other’s of iraq because this one is just about kids and the other ones are just about the war.
The second podcast was “Challenges at a Girl’s School in Baghdad” The series was Alive in Baghdad and was dated at 5/21/07 and the link to see it was http://aliveinbaghdad.org/2007/05/21/challenges-at-a-girls-school-in-baghdad. The pocast was the challanges that girls face in school, how for some depending on how far it is away they might not beable to get to school so they miss the lesson that was taught, also some parents want their kids to go to a school closer or drop out and just stay home. But alot of these girls are very eager to learn. A couple of girls were asked if they were nervous to come to school and one said no but others said sometimes yes just because sometimes roads would be closed and it would be hard to get to school. The classrooms arent very big, the girls sat at long tables with benches as seats and there was about 20 to 30 girls in a class and the teacher had a chalk board to write on. Many people could learn alot from this, like not to take school and simple things like that for grandated. I feel this podcast was alot different because it let you understand what these girls have to go through and how they really want to keep up with school and learn more. What i loved most was this video was just seeing how the girls loved to be at school and really wanted to learn.

After reading the assigned pages of Baghdad Burning I wanted to know more about Al-Qaeda, and why it was such a big name in Iraq. After doing research I found out that Al-Qaeda is an international alliance of Sunni Islamic oragizations that was founded in 1988 by a man named Abdullah Yusuf Azzam but who was later replaced with Osama Bin Landen. Al-Qaeda has had many attacks against civilian and military targets in various places around the world. Al-Qaeda has been named a terrorist oraganization by many countires inclueding the US. Due to Al-Qeada’s secrecy, structure, its size and dregree of responsibility for particular attacks they are difficult to establish. I feel as if Riverbend and her family everyday are worried about attacks or being caught in a cross fire, because Al-Qeada attacks its own people and doesnt even care. Al-Qeada is talked about alot during Riverbend’s post just because the face that everyday she has to deal with trying to keep her and her family safe.

Dear Riverbend,
As I read everyone of your posts, I have so much sympathy for you and that everyday you are fighting for you and your families live. Also that things have become so hard for women and that anytime you want to go somewhere but you need a guy with you. I cant imagine being trapped in my house like a prisoner. The part I had mixed emotions about was when you and your borther E. were sitting on the roof and you were able to tell the shoots of different guns, and whether it was an american gun or an Iraq gun. In an way you have been really deprived of your childhood, because in america we dont have to go through that. We dont have to face the challenges of hoping that our houses dont get invaded or being afraid to wake the streets alone. But I did admire how you had sympathy for our American troops at some points through out your blogs. It takes a strong person in my opinoin to be as brave ae you are and not hate every American for what your going through. So I hope that people do feel inpowered by your blogs and maybe a change can be made.
Sincerely, Roxy

Riverbend.Baghdad Burning, Girl Blog from Iraq. New York:The Feminist Press,2005
This Book is about a young girl from Baghdad who starts to Blog about her daily live living in her homeland. It talks about all her experencies and what has changed since the US have invaded Iraq. It also talks about the struggles of women and the risk they take by just walking out of their homes. She writes about how so many things have changed. Its a very griping book and lets you know what other people face around the world. The book fits into all the work that we have been doing this semester because its about blogging and how blogging has such an impact and how its almost like a a support group that lets you have the freedom to say whatever you please.

So far and i can already tell that im going to like this book. I cant wait to hear more about her stories from Iraq. They begining of the introduction starts off saying about Riverband and that she lives with her mother,father, and brother. She also says that her and her brother can tell different types of weapons when they go off, which is such a scary though. Also some of the daily things that she has to live with everyday, like some days not having electricity. The rest of the indroduction explains different wars and the problems that they face with oil, and the start of was in Iraq. Towards the end Riverband starts to explain how things have changed so much, women have a hard time keeping jobs, most women fear walking in the streets without men. Thats just so scary to think that women are scared to walk out of their own houses, it like almost being in jail. For me when we started to enter Iraq I had mixed emotions about it, I personaly dont think that we went into the war for any good reasone and I dont understand why were still in Iraq.

In response to the question I feel as if I have my own room, any time I am alone whether it be at home or at school I have the freedom to write and say whatever I please. No one can tell me that my feelings and opinons arent vauled. People have the freedom of speech and it my write to write down anything that im feeling, whether someone sees it or not I know that i have stayed true to myself. In chapter five she says, “but and unknow girl writing her first novel in a bed-sitting room, with out enough of those desirable things, time, money, and idleness, she did not do so badly, i thought.” (woolf, page 94) I feel as if though for virgina woolf to say that that is must have been a pretty good novel, but this is everything that she preeches saying for women to be heard you really need your own room. As for chapter six the quote I found i felt as though she was going against what she says how she likes the way women write and how its hard to find women authors. She says, “it was delightful to read a man’s writing again. It was so direct, so straight foward after the writing of women.” (Woolf, page 99)

With Apologies to Virgina Woolf,
The Blog I choose was brazil-blogs-banned-from-the-2008-elections, I feel Virgina would feel as though this is closely related to her book and how talking away someones right to speak freely is almost a crme. In the Blog only candidates’ purpose-built web pages will be allowed. All others have been suspened for the time of the coming election. Im sure though people will find other was to voice their opinon. As vigina would say having your own space and standing up for the way you feel is the only way to have people hear you. People cant silence your voice and act like your not as important as others, the same way went for her book women are just as important as men and men shouldnt be allowed to control women.