The first link I have here, is a link to a website talking about the children casualties in Iraq due to the War. The second link I have here is a youtube of a former U.S. soldier talking about some of the things soldiers are told to do in Iraq. Enjoy!

Isreal Lobby

I found this article very informative. There were some things that I couldn't believe but it still made sense. As I read I felt like I was reading the script for a conspiracy movie or something. While reading I couldn't help but wonder if these facts were all true and part of me doesn't want it to be true, while another part of me is saying that it has to be. To be honest this article terrified me, to think that our government is a puppet for the Isreal Lobby group is very upsetting. Once again I feel as though I have to compare Israel to a spoiled child and the U.S. as it's parent. When Israel wants something, no matter how outrageous, the U.S. goes out of it's way to provide.

One problem I'm having is that I'm afraid I might be favoring and anti-Israeli perspective because all I've read is anti-Israeli literature. I wouldn't mind reading some pro-Israel if only to reaffirm my opinions of the issue.

Palestine Peace Not Apartheid

Over all I would say that this was another good read, the book was very informative and interesting. Reading it was very frustrating though. It seemed as though every time Palestinian leaders were ready to negotiate Israeli leaders didn't and visa versa. I found myself being surprised page after page as I learned about the history of the conflict in the holy land, and along with this surprise came anger.

I can't believe how these horrible things have happened and yet still the conflict has not been resolved. After all the reading I'd have to say that my sympathy goes to the Palestinians for how much they've had to put up with over all these long years. Its like Israel is a spoiled child, allowed to do horrible things and still get away with it. For instance the attack on Lebanon in retaliation for the Hezbollah kidnappings and killings. Worst of all the U.S. helped Isreal to attack a country that did nothing, ending in nearly 800 dead Lebanese civilians and 1/4 it's population misplaced. Another example is the so-called "Security Wall" that traps Palestinians inside of their own territory, preventing them from going to church in some cases.

But I can't say that Israel is completely to blame for the current situation. It is obvious that the violent acts of the PLO in the past have lead the Palestinian people nowhere. I can't help but think of Wild Thorns.

Wild Thorns

Thanks to Dr. Webb for emailing me the handout on Wild Thorns I missed on Monday. I've been sick since last Thursday so I stayed in my dorm all weekend. With all that time on my hands I was able to read the entire book. I was kinda hoping that this book wouldn't have a depressing ending like all the other stories but unfortunately it did. I did really like the story though and I reading the entire book in three days wasn't hard considering I couldn't put it down. I even read it a work!

I would have to say that my favorite character had to be Zuhdi. I really liked how while he was in jail he began to study and once he was released he was so excited to have learned from all of his books. Which is why I was so depressed when Usama attacked the bus Zuhdi was riding in. Even though he knew Usama was responsible for the attack, he still fought to protect Usama from the Israeli soldiers dying in the process. It was so sad because Zuhdi seemed like he was ready to start anew, ready to make the best of his life and it was all ruined by someone he thought was a friend.

I don't know what to think of Usama. At the beginning of the story I like his character and I empathized for him. I couldn't imagine how angry I'd be if my home were to change so pathetically. As the story progressed I felt even more for the character, but when he began to really think about bombing the buses my attitude changed. As he thought about the possiblility that Adil may be on one of the buses he would bomb, he told himself that it would be a small lose for the greater good. I can see where Usama is coming from but I don't agree with it at all. I think that Usama was right in wanting to rebel against the occupation but he went about it all wrong.

Two other characters I found interesting were Adil and Basil. I felt incredibly bad for Adil and his situation, but I think he may have felt even worse for himself. It was interesting to see how he hid the fact that he wasn't working on the farm and how he was working for the Israeli. Basil was so different from his brother though. Basil was like Usama, both were unsure of themselves at first but reassured themselves by pointing out the flaws in others around them. I thought it was pretty funny how he lied about his time in jail too, glorifying himself by saying he killed guards and such.

Overall I'd have to say that I really liked the book and I am happy to have some insight on the occupation of Palestine. I wish the book could have ended on a happier note just for the characters and how much I wanted them to be happy, but we can't all get what we want. This book proved that point.

Norma and the Snowman, Land of Sad Oranges

I read the smaller story from the two printed out for us, and I think my copy was missing pages because it felt like the story ended way too soon. Not only that my copy was only one page. I liked the other story Norma and the Snowman though. From what I could tell the story must have taken place sometime in the seventies or maybe early eighties due to the reference on Bruce Lee. I thought it was a nice story but I was a bit confused at times because the story would jump time in one paragraph. But the love story was pretty cool, how Said would come down from the mountain just to see Norma about once a month. I also read "Land Of The Sad Oranges" from Men In The Sun, which was kind of disturbing. It was narrated by a boy who's village is taken by what I assume was the Israeli army and leaves with another family (I think his cousins?). They flee to another town and then settle in a house near that town. The entire time this child who is narrating is talking about the father of the other family and basically how crazy he is. At one point the father nearly kills all the children. The name refers to the orange trees that the father once owned before they were misplaced and how oranges reminded them of what they had lost. It was a good story and very interesting to read.

Men In The Sun

The story Men In The Sun was a very interesting read for me. This was the first piece of oriental literature where I felt as though it was real. In the stories we've read before there was always some type of magic or something that disconnected them from reality. With Men In The Sun however the story pulled me in and made me believe in the characters and their situations. I have to say that I am very satisfied with this read. I gave me a whole new perspective of the world and the people in it from the views of the Orient. Like Othello did before, this story's ending has left me in shock, and I feel as though there is this void that the story left empty on purpose.

I really liked how the story gave all of it's characters life through their memories. they weren't introduced and used throughout the story to progress the plot or anything superficial like that. Abu Qais, Assad, Marwan, and Abul Khaizuran all had a past and a reason for why they were where they were. Each one represented different views, opinions, and experience's yet they were all the same in that all they wanted to do was get to Kuwait. The characters made you feel their struggle and understand their reasons so well that I really did feel sad for them by the end, even Abul Khaizuran.

Above is a picture of Ghassan Kanafani, the writer of Men In The Sun. I was surprised to find out that he was killed by a car bomb in 1972.

Maryam and House of Imran

The first thing I noticed about these readings was that they were very similar to the bible. I had no idea how closely the Koran and the Bible resemble each other. I liked reading the Maryam readings but the House of Imran readings seemed a bit repetitive with the whole praise Allah or your soul will be damned repeated in almost every line. Other than that it was an interesting read.

The differences between the three different translations were quite surprising at times. I read the translations of Yusufali and every once in a while I would read Pickthal's translations. There were some translations between the three that were so different I wonder where they came from. For instance in the Maryam reading, the son of Zakariya was named Yahya in the Yusufali and Shakir translations but in the Pickthal it was John! How did that happen? I just thought that was funny.

"But how many (countless) generations before them have We destroyed? Canst thou find a single one of them (now) or hear (so much as) a whisper of them?"
(This was my favorite line)

The Middle East

After reading those internet articles on the Middle East I can't help but feel sorry for this part of the world. It seems as though over the years the Middle East has sort of been swept up in so much conflict I can't imagine what it must have been like for the people who lived there. It was very interesting to learn its history either way and one thing I was wondering about was in the articles. The Middle East has no boarders! There is no defined edges for the "Middle Eastern" area, there is a general idea but nothing is for sure. I also didn't know how much influence the worlds super powers have had over the Middle East in the past, Like Britain, the U.S., and Russia. I read the article entitled "The Middle East" on wikipedia which basically said the same things that "History of the Middle East" Said only the article talked more about what countries now make up the Middle East. I'm glad I have more insight into this part of the world now, and I can't wait to learn more about it.