HW#27 Annotated Bibliography of Baghdad Burning

Riverbend, Baghdad Burning, Girl Blog from Iraq, 2005
The Feminist Press at the City University of NY, NY
The author wrote Baghdad Burning, to show people in the United States and other countries what is truly going on in Iraq and what is happening to the women there. This book fits into the workings of this course because it shows the degrading of Iraqi women and people. Our class focuses on how the internet is degrading to certain people. This book represents an example of how women are degraded in a certain country. The audience for this book is everyday people, made for both men and women. It was made to allow people in general to see and understand what is really going on in Iraq. The sources of the author, Riverbend are personal opinion and knowledge. But she also uses other online sources such as www.yellowtimes.org and www.iraqsnuclearmirage.com along with many others (Riverbend, 157). I think in general, from this book, I will learn through the eyes of the writer just how much the war in Iraq affects her and her people. I will learn this through her terrible experiences, through terror and neglect. Her terror of being bombed or killed and her neglect through the lack of water and electricity. I will learn through her education and knowledge of what she knows is going on around her. The two neglects listed above are just two of many challenges that Riverbend has to encounter during her life. Another challenge she has to be afraid of is being abducted. Also they have to be careful of gas because some gas that is being sold on the black market is sometimes mixed with kerosene (Riverbend, 186). I’ve never heard of a book written like this before, it is a documentary done by the women, herself. It allows people to connect with the writer because they know it is coming right from her heart and her mind. It shows the truth of the War in Iraq and just how horrible it is. It also allows us to see how much the War is negatively affecting the people of Iraq. I think I will learn a lot from this book and will be able to use that knowledge to help other people understand that the American’s aren’t helping.

HW# 25 Summary of the Introduction

The forward of the book "Baghdad Burning" demenstrates the point of view and where the author Riverbend is coming from. The author, who is from Iraq talks about her views on the war and how much it effects the women of her country. The forward tells the reader that the book is shown in the position of humanity and on the side of life (Riverbend). The introduction talks more about the actual main character and writer of the blog and book. It gives what little background we actually know about the character such as her name,age and where she lives. This twenty year old from Baghdad writes in perfect English and writes on her blog at least once a day. The introduction gives the reader background information and historical facts about Iraq and the war over their oil. It talks about American and English participation in the war and fighting with getting the oil. "American government and industry issed warnings to the public of the impending dire shortage of petroleum, paving the way for higher prices to support more U.S. exploration and development (Riverbend xiii)." This shows how much other countries wanted and would fight for Iraq's oil. The introduction gives a brief summary of historical facts from the Gulf War to 2003 war. Liberating Iraq, this last section talks about how Iraq used to be and how women were on their way to equality. Now women aren't able to walk the streets alone or even have a job of their own. I remember the American invasion and occupation in Iraq and how I didn't exactly understand why we were there. I now know how much our occupation in Iraq wasn't helpful and wasn't needed. It just made things worse and I think it made the fighting in Iraq worse then they actually were. My impression of the U.S. in Iraq is the same as the writer of this book. I don't think we should be there and I think that the Iraqi cititzens didn't benifit from us being there. This forward and introduction is very formative and it helps the reader to understand where the writer is coming from and what she has gone through.

HW# 24 Not Just a Dorm Room!!

I am able to have a room of my own because of the women in history. I live in 203B in Randall. This room is not just a place for me to sleep and eat. This room allows me to be out on my own, even if I live with two roomates, discovering the world. Unlike many of the women from the past who had to live in their parent's house and or work in a sweatshop. I am able to be out on my own, working for my benifit and for my personal experience. I am in control of my life and what I want to do with it. Women now a days are changing the world unlike in the book "A Room of One's Own." Virginia describes in chapter five that "One could not go to the map and say Columbus discovered America and Columbus was a women; or take an apple and remark, Newton discovered the laws of gravitation and Newton was a women; or look into the sky and say and say aeroplanes are flying over-head and aeroplanes were invented by women (Woolf 85)." Women now are able to use their minds to educate others and invent useful objects. "The mind is resonant and porous; that it transmits emotion without impediment; that it is naturally creative, incandesent and undivided (Woolf,98)." Women back then weren't able to use there minds to be creative or to be intelligent. We ,as women, have made a lot of progress since the days of "A Room of One's Own." We are now changing the way we are looked at and the way we effect the world. Now we are in control over our lives and what we want out of them.

Hw#23 Pantyhose and the Right of Women

"WITH APOLOGIES TO VIRGINIA WOOLF"
As I read this particular article from the blog Jezebel, I was amazed at how much things haven't changed since I wrote the book, "A Room of One's Own." Women are still being put down even if it is just over what they are and are not able to ware to work. In this article, Jenifer ,from Wonkette, states, that two women, who work in two seperate senator's offices are treated so differently. This is true because, in one office the women are allowed to wear jeans and chuck taylors, while the other is forced to ware heals and pantyhose. I find it very appauling that certain people that have autority over women, will make up such ridiculous rules. Jenifer describes how the women are even forced to ware panyhose in the summer and even under pantsuits. I went on to wonder if honestly any man would dare to live on day in our shoes (Woolf,14). And if from this they would learn to stop and check the feelings of others around them before they just come up with these outrageous rules (Woolf, 14). Now that women are able to have jobs and make a life for themselves now doesn't mean you should tie her down to a formal attire. Men and people of authority will find any excuse to try and control us, women. We shall not let them, for our intelligence has grown and it will be passed down from mother to daughter (Woolf, 21). The daughters of tomorrow will be supplied with the right finances to start their life right and effect the outlook on our sex for the better (Woolf 21). This article demenstrates just one of the little hills we must climb to get to be able to see eye to eye with the men of the next century. Women will conquor and women will lead.

HW#22 Irony, Women and Books

There were multiple examples of irony and sarcasm in chapter two, of A Room of One's Own, written by Virginia Woolf. First, "The swing-doors swung open; and there stood under the vast dome, as if one were a thought in a huge bald forehead which is so splendidly encircled by a band of famous names (Woolf 28)." I think this quote demonstrates sarcasm because of the mentioning of the bald forhead and how splendid it is. I think that Woolf really was thinking about how much it isn's splendid and how it is full of useless famous names. A second example of irony is located on page twenty nine and it is presented as follows: " Wise men never say anything else apparently." I think this is an example because men dont only write about women and the ways of women, they just write more than women write about men. It was sarcastic and over embellished. I believe that Woolf was thinking that all she can find in books is men writing about women, so she showed her frustration through sarcasm. Another interesting sarcastic quote was " One would have accepted the fact, as one accepts the fact that a pea is green or a canary yellow (Woolf, 34)." This is sarcastic because it is the truth, men write whatever they want about women but women aren't allowed to write about men at all. A fourth and final quotation that uses a sarcastic tone is "We should still be scratching the outlines of deer on the remains of mutton bones and bartering flints for sheep-skins or whatever simple ornament took our unsophisticated taste (Woolf, 35)." This demenstrates Woolf's hostility towards how women are viewed. She doesnt truely think that women should go back to doing what she stated but she is trying to prove a point. She is trying to say that women are important to, that we do make a difference and without women they world would not be. Chapter two shows many examples of women and how they use sarcasm in what they say to the world.

Hw# 21 Big Sister To the Rescue!!

Dear Little Sis,
I know this chapter is very hard to understand, because of its strong use of language. I am hear to help you understand better what has happened in the first chapter of the book called “A Room of One’s Own” which is written by Virginia Woolf. This chapter starts off by introducing the main character of this book that is named Mary Beton, she is staying in a hotel near the Cambridge University. She talks about the library at the local college and how a women is not able to go in without a man by her side or if she doesn’t have a letter from the dean. During the whole first chapter she talks about the downside of women and what they have to deal with, with not being educated. She also talks about how if their mothers had left their daughters money and land then the women of today would be better off. She is on her way to a luncheon but she is earlier so she spends her time enjoying the fantastic view of the chapel. She describes the amazing food that she eats at lunch. She also discusses the poetry of Christina Rossetti and how beautiful it is. Through out the whole chapter she discusses the fact that women are valued less. I think this means that during the rest of the book their will be a struggle for value and approval of Mary and women in general. I think your teacher would consider this book important because it will allow you to see what differences women had to deal with back in the time period of this book. This will allow you to get a personal view of a women’s struggle to develop a educated mind in the world of men. I really enjoyed this chapter and I feel that I will enjoy this book. It was kind of hard to get into in the beginning but once a couple pages went by I found it very interesting. Hope of was helpful with any confusions you had with this chapter. If there are any more question feel free to email me.
Sincerely,
Your Big Sister

HW#19 The Web Of Influence

The paragraph that I chose from the chapter “Web of Influence” is on the bottom of page 91. It is the last paragraph on the page and it continues onto the next page. This part of the chapter shows that blogs are much easier to fix and correct over and over. For example, it states that journalism has spun out of control because they are unable to maintain the truth up to date. The blogs on the internet, allow a person to add more onto and correct something if they misinterpret what they heard or read. In other words, the media and journalists today are unable to maintain the constant changing factors that effect everyday news. They are unable to keep an up to date evaluation of the new information coming into the media world. It states in the paragraph that bloggers “Have become so adept at fact-checking the media that they’ve spawned many other high-profile retractions and corrections.” They have the ability and the resources to check and recheck their information. They are able to produce a very up to date and informative post. My conclusion, then, is that blogs are easier to be trusted because they have more resources to back up what they are stating.

HW#17b Making the Vote!

I think the Daily Kos blog would be more influential than the Wonkette blog. I think this is true because it lends support and information. It is also against the war in Iraq, so the views will be biased to one side. I am against the war in Iraq so this site would help me to figure out which candidate would be in my best interests. They would be on my side, so their views would be easy to understand and relate to. Another thing that is helpful is stated in the following quote:
“The most important thing in political campaigns is to strengthen your connection to the activist base and then mobilize them.”
You are able to find many of today’s activists on blogs such as Daily Kos. They allow you to connect and figure out what your views are. Unlike the Wonkette blog which is more of a gossip/ making fun of politicians. It is aimed at “deflating the egos of Washington’s brotherhood of babbling politicians and journalists.” These two blogs will help you in two different ways. I find that the Daily Kos will help me to make my decision when I go to make my vote.

HW# 18 Barbies and Credit Cards For Girls

The blog that I chose to critic is Jezabel. The post that was my least favorite post was titled Priceless: Have you seen the New Barbie Toy, fashion.. This post is located on the website: http://consumerist.com/consumer/indoctrination/barbie-teaches-credit-cards-101-you-never-run-out-of-money-308326.php . This article talks about the new Barbie toy that features “a built-in credit card swiper and a life-size credit card for young children to use when buying outfits for their dolls.” This is just outrageous. I think it is just ridiculous what the media and today’s companies are producing. This little toy will get girls to think that it is okay and fun to spend money on the credit card. The post also states that the outfits that the girls can buy with their credit card are very expensive, like 100 to 300 dollars. Also stated in the article is that once the card’s balance hits zero, it resets itself. This allows the children to continue to keep shopping. This doesn’t allow a realistic attitude for the children, and then when they get older they will think that their card will just reset itself. I disagree with this new toy and it being given to little girls. I believe it will cause multiple problems with the children able to balance their credit card in the future.

Hw # 16 The Five Pilliars of Conversational Software!

The five Pillars were developed by Scoble. He says "these are the five things that made blogging hot." The Five pillars of conversational Software go as follows: First is the "ease of publishing. This means that it is very simple and affordable to have your own blog and to explore other blogs. Secondly there is "discoverability", in simpler terms this means that it is easy to be discovered and discover other blogs. This enables you to be seem for what your interested in or your views on a certain topic. Thirdly there is the "cross-site conversation." This comes from the comments that are giving back and forth from different bloggers. The bloggers are able to communicate without even seeing each other. Anyone can post anything on any one's blog. The fourth pillar is "permalinking." This allows you to link straight to a certain post. The fifth and final pillar is "syndiction." The last pillar is also located in the last "S" of RSS. These five pillars are very important to the increasingly popular blogging community.

HW#17 Mum's the Word: Are Childless Women Hostile to Working Moms?

I chose the Jezabel blog to report on today. The post I chose is titled Mum’s the Word: Are Childless Women Hostile to Working Moms. The website where this can be found is as follows: http://jezebel.com/gossip/mums-the-word/are-childless-women-hostile-to-working-moms-301574.php I chose this post because I thought it was interesting. Ben Black was mentioned in the blog, he is the founder of the UK child-care company who produced “The Working Mothers’ Report.” It showed how working mothers can be hated by workers that aren’t moms. It also brought up an interesting thought about how today’s society doesn’t account for families and parenting. The world just keeps spinning and the day must go on. It talks about how the non moms have to pick up the slack when the moms are away picking up kids or going to rehearsals. But did the workers ever think that they are not even close to what the mother workers have to go through in a day. We all shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The mother worker is at work at home and at work. She has to keep track of her kids and their activities while keeping up with her workload from work. Women are just fighting against each other when they should be supporting each other. As it is stated in the quote from the report:
“The report paints a picture of women undermining and undercutting each other, vying for advancement and some times filled with resentment.”
In response to the above quote a UK feminist Louise Livesey posted her reaction on her blog called The F Word. I found her reaction very amusing and true in all ways possible.
“Why (oh why, oh why) is it that it's women being compared to women here?" But we know exactly why: Because we're all guilty of what Tina Fey, in Mean Girls, called "girl on girl crime". In some ways, the world is the same it was in 4th grade: Catty, sneaky, full of judgments, gloating over microvictories and contests of one-upmanship.”
It is amazing how such a silly statement that was found in a movie would be so true and so hurtful. We all are victims and we all are the victimizers. Is it a flaw in society or just a flaw in us? That is the question and how are we able to fix this hostility? These are many questions we have not yet been able to answer.

HW#14 Response to Joi Ito

Ultimately Joi Ito has always been a leading player in the world of blogging. As a result, he has been able to develop a well balanced community online,in his blog called Joi Ito's Web. Specifically he states “himself as the custodian of the community, enabling people to come but it really is kind of like a party in his living room.” Actually I agree with him being the custodian because he cleans up what people say and how they say it. As a result he is able to portray a community because he tells them to be respectful of his wishes and views. After all Joi writes about just about anything, he enjoys reading people’s views, and learning from the peoples’ knowledge. Along the same lines of any other community based region. However, it is always unsure if the information given is actually true. In addition, Joi states that the availability of one’s voice being heard, will allow more folk art and folk music back into play. On the other hand I feel it will allow many pointless voices to be heard. As a result more unimportant problems will arise and become popular. Of course we will never know until the whole world of blogging progress even more.