Red Guards & Chinese Communist's

In the broad sense these two articles seem very much alike, because of the underline meaning of a revolution with violence involved. However, if you look closely these articles also have differences, one had used trickery which resulted in violence while the Red Guards turned to violence first. The Red Guards had less of a thought out plan in case anyone was to escape or fight back, there only message was to relay violence on those who didn't believe in their leader Chairman Mao. While the others had a organized plan consisting of meetings with poor peasants.

Cold War - Cuban Missile Crisis

My grandmother was a mother of four in '62  with a nervous feeling about what may happen next. Walter Cronkite from CBS had informed all of his listeners that Russian boats were bringing missiles to Cuba and that the US had to force Russia to turn their boats around. My grandmother remembers a specific picture that was taken above Cuba, from U-2 spy planes from the US that showed Russian missiles being deployed in Cuba. This picture made her feel threatened because of how close Cuba was and how there was no plan of escape for the people of the US. She remembers President Kennedy, Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara frequently appearing on TV saying that the situation was very tense and they were trying to talk to Russia. Finally, the US Navy instituted a blockade against the Russian boats with fear Russia may shoot at the US Navy. They Russians then agreed to turn there ships away, and my grandmother felt a sign of relief that she wasn't going to die, and her children were going to be okay. She had said that she always wondered where she should go, and no one would say would ever mention the well-being of the US. She said she could barely sleep because she was so afraid of what may happen next. 

On a lighter note, a story she is telling me right at this moment is that she remembers when she was in Elementary School she would have air raid drills and people would yell, "duck and cover" in case of a nuclear attack on Russia. She remembers her father saying, "A lot of good that would do you to hide under a desk in a nuclear attack, we're not building a bomb shelter - I am building a tennis court." That took place in the '50s from her optimistic father before the Cuban Missile Crisis, and he wasn't aware of the severity of the situation. 

Storytelling

African and Middle Eastern books & films: 

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - book 

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - book and movie

Aladdin-  movie

Last King of Scotland - movie

Blood Diamond - movie

Exodus  - movie

Afghanistan - oil

When you first locate Afghanistan on the map, immediately you see that there are no bodies of water surrounding Afghanistan nor are they a major producer of oil. Afghanistan is land locked. Since Afghanistan is not able to thrive off of those two major Middle East money makers, they have resorted to their own natural resource, poppies. Poppies are very lucrative because they are able to be converted into Heroine and Opium. Also, the profits from the poppies are used to support the Taliban. As we have seen, the Taliban is pro-violence, war and fighting and not something the United States supports. Sadly, Afghanistan is not the only land locked country, there are many other countries in the Middle East that are land locked, and not oil producers. I hope they can find other ways to support their population other than the drug trade. 

Ethiopia's Education

The country I chose was Ethiopia, and the cultural issue I chose to focus on was education. While the WHO African Region had a literacy rate of 60.1%, Ethiopia has only a 41.5% literacy rate. The net primary school enrollment is surprisingly almost even between men and women. I had expected men to have a much higher enrollment than women, but the difference is only 6%. Males having a 55% primary school enrollment while Women are close behind with a 47% enrollment. However, when I researched more about Ethiopia's literacy rate, I found out that the native language Amharic is very complicated and has well over the characters in the English language, ( I found it has around 256 characters, while our alphabet has 26!). This definitely has an large influence on the literacy rate being quite low. Here is an article and video I enjoyed about, "Donkey boost[ing] Ethiopian Literacy." It goes on to tell how Donkeys are now used to drag around mobile libraries which are in fact boosting the literacy rate in Ethiopia. I am happy to see that Ethiopia has addressed their problem and found a temporary solution to gain interest and reason for people to become literate. 

Yad Vashem

What intrigues me  about my monument Yad Vashem, is it's interesting shape and architecture. The shape is so abstract, that I am sure there is meaning and organization behind the way the monument appears. Another interesting question I had was why was this monument built so soon after Israel became a state? Did the citizens believe this was a good way to spend money on their first major purchase? I am not even sure if it was a major purchase, I would like to find out the cost that went into the monument and how much labor was needed. Did the amount of money spent have a positive or negative affect on the people? Also, how was the money raised to build this monument and who were the major donors? Also, I would like to research why Yad Vashem was built in Jerusalem. 

Jewish Rescuer's in Yad Vashem

My argumentative article discusses how Yad Vashem honors the non-Jewish rescuers during the Holocaust. Most of these non-Jewish rescuers took in Jewish children and even families while they were on the run from the Nazi's. The question my article raises is why aren't the Jewish rescuers allowed to be honored in Yad Vashem, why are they neglected? The Jewish rescuers consist of the Jews who went by different names on the trains and searching the country for a safe haven to turn to. It sounds like the author of this article brought up this issue to the directors of Yad Vashem and the answer he received was that the Jews were simply "doing their duty" and still Yad Vashem refuses to honor the Jewish rescuers. The group of people who are pushing for the honoring of the Jewish rescuers say that they are not asking for the same major recognition as the non-Jews but would like an acknowledgement of some sort. 

my other journalistic articles are:  

Human Face on the Holocaust

This particular article focuses on the museum's creative way to incorporate history by using film, photographs and artifacts. This article interviews Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and touches on the architecture designed by Moshe Safdi.

Opening of Museum at Yad Vashem 

This article is simply announcing the opening of Yad Vashem's new museum in which leaders from 40 different nations attended. It includes the series of events that took place at the opening of the museum and the meaning behind the events such as the children's choir. The leaders of the different nations are featured with quotes and explanations of how they feel about the opening of the new museum. 

Dinesh D'Souza - Racism

After I finished reading a biography on Dinesh D'Souza, I proceeded to read the other blogs posted about D'Souza, learning about many of the books he published. Already, by just some of the "loud" titles I was able to grasp more of a concept of who he was. I found a website with favorite D'Souza quotes, a few of the quotes which interested me more than others. I notice a pattern with a strong hatred against African Americans in his book The End of Racism, “The American slave was treated like property, which is to say, pretty well.” (from D’Souza’s book, The End of Racism)  Shows off D'Souza's negative attitude and selfishness. “If America as a nation owes blacks as a group reparations for slavery, what do blacks as a group owe America for the abolition of slavery?” (from The End of Racism), I find it ironic that his book is titled The End of Racism, while he is making very racist remarks all throughout his book, contributing to racism as well. Madalena has discussed this particular book in depth and I very much agree with the opinions she gave. As Madalena said, "I do not believe racism is an inborn trait" which I entirely believe with. I think racism (in the present) is acquired from popular forms of media or influences. 

17 year old girl flogged by Taliban

While reading the New York Times, I discovered a shocking article regarding the Taliban, “Video of Taliban Flogging Girl draws Widespread Outrage.” Reading further into the article, I noted that the 17 year old girl denied the request to marry a Taliban commander and was publicly flogged as a result of her actions. In our history class we recently discussed the Taliban and in particular its control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan. This event took place in Swat Valley - which is the region Pakistan gave to the Taliban.

In other articles we have read about concerning the Taliban, women have no rights.  Even with that knowledge this article still comes across as a shock. Someone watching the event was filming with their video recorder on their cell-phone, while the young girl yells phrases such as, “For God’s sake, please stop, stop it, I am dying.” It doesn’t specify who put the video on the Internet, I imagine (and hope) it was someone who was trying to show the world what the Taliban is really about and this video is just one plea of help.  

Rosie the Riveter

From what I have recently read about Rosie the Riveter and other women who took place at the home front, I was able to come to the conclusion that the women in WWI were much different than the women in WWII. The main differences that interested me were the fact that in WWI women were used on propaganda posters as vulnerable and latching onto the men. The women were all dressed up and the posters tried to persuade the men that if they were to go to the army they would get pretty women like these. This was clear to me that in WWI excitement about the war was trying to spread to every man and convince him to join. However, in WWII it was clear that the word got around of how bad being on the battlefront actually was, and the women as well began to get tougher. Now was it not only a tough job on the battlefront but also at the home front. Women no longer were dressing up, "We had to dress in pants and tops with no frills and no jewelry. We didn't worry about our hands or our nails. We weren't there for the glamour. We were there to work and we got our faces dirty" said Munn, a drill press operator in 1942. Rosie the Riveter was an icon for women in her red polka dot bandana saying, "We can do it!" She was a positive image to women saying that they too were able to take part in a tougher aspect of the war and not just sit at home watching time go by. I think Rosie the Riveter became a role model to not only mothers at home but to also men fighting on the battlefront, knowing they weren't alone fighting the war. Rosie the Riveter was named after Rose Will Monroe from Kentucky who worked in the U.S Army Air Force building b-29 and b-24 bombers, and was later asked to take part in a promotional video about the war effort at home. That later led to her famous debut of Rosie the Riveter and was featured on the common poster of feminist movements saying, "We can do it!"

My Movies & Books during WWII

Movies:  

Schindler's List  - A story about a man Oskar Schindler who employs Jewish workers in order to help Jews avoid the Holocaust. 

Exodus - A  group of Holocaust survivors (611), who wish to escape to Palestine and make a nation for the Jews (Israel) on the ship called Exodus. 

Books:

The Diary of Anne Frank - A young girl's diary who lives through the  introduction to the Holocaust and tells how she is able to cope with losing so much and so many. 

A Pictures Worth a Thousand Words

When I first saw this picture, it was a common picture that came to mind when hearing about the Holocaust. Having studied the Holocaust in Sunday School and middle school, its a topic that when I re-learn about, I learn something new every time. Recently, my grandmother Carol had told me she had just seen the movie The Reader and as always told me about the movie in depth, and told me how the main character was a Women Nazi guard. She said at the time the guard didn't know the extent of what she was doing, because she could not read. When I immediately saw this photo I thought of how the guard standing by this sign to boycott the Jews and not buy anything from them, may have no idea to what extent this picture will effect 4 million lives. This boycott was really the start of the harsh actions that would later come against the Jews and even if this Nazi Guard could not read the poster he was holding, he was still responsible for it. He became a Nazi, even if he had not known all the obligations that would come with that title, he still knew what the main purpose of this party was, to destroy the Jews. This picture looks like it takes place outside of a Temple and therefore almost threatening the Jews from practicing their religion as a Nazi guard stands outside with offensive posters. This image is a strong image of the start of the Holocaust without being too graphic. 

Evacuation

The evacuation campaign was because of Britain's fear of Hitler invading England, as Hitler had just announced he was going to send the german army into Czechoslovakia. In order to prepare the government had decided to put Sir John Anderson in charge of a plan and he decided to split England into three sections,  evacuation, neutral and reception. As you probably guessed, those in evacuation were told to evacuate however, not all decided to move and the end result was 827,000 school children, 524,000 mothers and children under school age, 13,000 expectant mothers, 103,000 teachers and 7,000 handicapped. This is only 47% of school children and 1/3 of all mothers, so the plan was not yet very successful. Afterwards, those who had taken in the mothers and children came up with some complaints of their own, the children had lice, fleas and scabies. When the time came and went when the expected bombings were supposed to happen, and nobody was bombed parents from the cities began to not believe they were ever going to be bombed and around 4 out of 5 children went home. When France was bombed in May 1940 nothing was changed, but when Britain was bombed in July 1940 more people began to evacuate and in two weeks over 213,000 more children left the cities on trains for the countryside. As a coincidence, my grandmother was one of these children who had left the city for the country. I am pretty sure she was one of the 213,000 because I know she had been part of an air raid. 

I think the government did the right thing during the war, and do not think they should have made it mandatory for the children to move out because its a safety precaution that was advised and everyone was aware they were at risk. Should punishment have been given to the parents whose children returned home during the war? I think that if punishment was given it would have been too much government control, from what I read it seemed that the government strongly advised parents to move their children which is all they can really do. 

Atomic Bomb Video

The video NBC aired about "The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb" was aired because  the bomb was dropped half a century ago, so the video is once again bringing up the controversial issue of the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima. Now, in 1995 the decision to drop the bomb is  split but in 1945 the decision was unified. The direct accounts of Hiroshima survivors were very personal and touching, and the pictures add a more real affect so I was able to relate what they were saying with the pictures immediately shown after. I think NBC is trying to show a more real account of what happened in Hiroshima than what others may have guessed, or of what the media portrayed of the event in 1945. I think I was clearly able to realize that Hiroshima still seems affected today by what happened, and kids are now taught at a young age about the details of what happened. The memorials with soldiers walking around seems to me like the issue still haunts them, especially when the young girl at the end said something along the lines of, when I see an American plane I wonder if they are going to drop a bomb on us. This video was very informative and offered a whole new perspective to how I view the incident, and the direct hearings from the survivors made the event so much more real and powerful. The tales of the survivors were shocking and the evidence and pictures were much worse than I expected to see. Overall, a very powerful and moving video. 

My Take on the Textbook

I like the textbook's take on separating WWII and the Holocaust because I think it allows you to get a better understanding of one of the motives behind WWII. However the Holocaust was a lot more than just one motive behind WWII. I think describing it in depth and having a whole chapter on it shows its significance not only to learn from this mistake in the future, but because it is one- if not the biggest genocide we have seen. Since the Holocaust is still very recent in world history it is not said this won't happen again, but focusing this much on one issue illustrates the severity of the genocide. I think the Holocaust is way to broad of a topic to try to fit into the WWII chapter because this chapter would have to cover too much information and start to become tedious. As George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" is a famous quote that is usually associated with Holocaust which is what I would name my chapter on the Holocaust. 

Another View

My paternal grandmother Ray, was born and raised in Hythe, England and had a different childhood than most living now because of her experience of living through World War II. As a young adolescent at the age of 11, she was comfortably living in Hythe with her mother and her 2 uncles, her father had passed away years before. Around the time when she was 12 in 1940, England became a place of fear. Hythe was a city in Kent that was South East and bordered London, the capital city. In 1940, one of her uncles had decided to join the RAF (Royal Air Force) in order for him to have a chance to fight the Nazi's. As life began to get tough during World War II the home front was directly affected, rationing began to set into place as well as her mom's "steady" job of being an accountant was beginning to stray off of the normal pattern. As her mom looked for another job, Ray remembers constant drills and air raids throughout the city. One time, Ray's mother wasn't home and neither were her two uncles, so in order to stay safe she actually hid in a kitchen cabinet. When the Nazi's bombed Buckingham Palace, was when England started to change. The King and Queen remained in Buckingham Palace to show their citizens that England would be okay, as they sent their two daughters Elizabeth and Margaret to Windsor Castle. Windsor Castle was far out in the countryside, and the movement began where all children from the city had been forced by their parents to board trains all full of children. These trains were all leading to the countryside in order for the children of the cities to stay out in the countryside with relatives until times got better. As my grandma Ray recalls these events, she stressed one thing throughout her story and that was that she always knew England would be okay, everyone did. No one ever doubted that their leader and Prime Minister Winston Churchill wouldn't be able to lead them to safety. 

Food is a Weapon - propaganda extra credit

The propaganda poster I choose to analyze has the words, "Food is a weapon, don't waste it" which definitely resembles a propaganda poster you may either see in WW I or WW II. However, my poster is from World War II and the rhetoric in this poster seems to have gotten worse than ones that may have appeared during World War I. This particular propaganda poster focuses on the families on the home front and is aimed on telling them where to put their money. However, the army wants the money to go towards manufactoring companies and wants civilians back home to save money on food. This is apparent because of who sponsored this message, The National Wartime Nutrition Program. In the picture, there is a clean plate with an empty cup which to me symbolizes fullness, so while eating all of your food you are not only taking in protein to maintain energy for the following day but also, not spending as much on food so you can be able to finish everything on your plate. Also, this may also have a positive spin, influencing the citizens that although times are tough, maintaining a healthy diet is still very important. I think this propaganda poster had a very strong effect on the people who viewed it because of the harsh tone and simplicity of this poster.

Appeasement

Usually, I find appeasement to not be helpful, because in the end one thing leads to another and the situation is dragged out much longer than predicted. Once, when my family was having a family feud and we were all in a quarrel, and as a result of the argument my brother ended up being grounded. I started to clean his room for him because I felt bad, and then one day I simply didn't clean his room because I forgot. He began to rely on me cleaning his room even after his grounding was over. Here I was able to see how easily one action leads into another and I instantly became the weaker one in our relationship.

Jesse Owens Captures Olympic Title

When I think about the Olympics, I think of the world uniting to compete in friendly competitions, the one time that the world stops fighting with each other to come together to have athletic contests. Sadly, the Olympics always seem to start controversy whether it is good or bad press towards a country. In the article I just read by Arthur J. Daley was written in 1936, a day after Jesse Owens had just acclaimed the title of "worlds fastest human". The 1936 Olympics were being held in Germany and while Hitler had attended the Olympics, his view toward them did not seem to be the same as many other citizens around the world. Daley had addressed the Olympic scores for that day, and along with the scores had brought up an issue of Hitler refusing to shake the two African-American track stars hands, Owens and Metcalfe. The article addresses this issue in a more calming manner than I would have expected. The take that Daley has given the issue was a bit more sarcastic, saying "If Hitler is going to avoid the Afro-Americans, he is going to have his work cut out for him." In order for Daley to still continue the positive approach and light attitude towards the Olympics it was probably important for him to not dwell on such a shameful act. However, the article finishes saying Jesse Owens title was reclaimed, saying the Germans had found a way to deny the African-American of his world record. The Germans have said that Owens mark was disallowed because of a wind, Daley said, "From the stands the breeze looked like a crosswind, but one can never tell about those things." To me, it sounded as if Daley had agreed with the Germans, or simply trying to make sense of what they had done. I would have expected a different reaction from the media, I know today it would have been very different, giving the Germans bad press for what they have done. While reading this article, I immediately thought of the issue in Dubai regarding the UAE, United Arab Emirates. The UAE has denied access to the Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer who is ranked 48th in the world for female tennis players, Peer has said "Politics should be kept separate from sports" which I agree entirely. It is hurtful to see athletes denied access to compete or to a record they clearly won because of their race or where they are from.  

Taliban View

Regarding the actions of the Taliban members I fully disagree with what they performed towards the young students. The government has allowed women to freely get an education, therefore I do not think it is right that just because the Taliban members felt women didn't have the right to be educated and would rather women be "stupid things" they do not have the right to act out against women. I personally think the Taliban would get across their point much better if they proposed an argument to the government stating why they felt this way rather than acting out in such violence. However, this didn't come as a surprise to me that the Taliban would act in such violent ways considering their past. I do not think the Taliban is a fascist regime but i would say the Taliban is indeed a totalitarian state. The Taliban has definitely taken over the social, political, economic, intellectual, and cultural aspects of Afghanistan without the governments consent. The Taliban does not allow any opposition and instead responds violently, instigating fear into the civilians. By instigating fear the Taliban creates a one sided relationship with the people, the Taliban having all control. All in all the Taliban is a great example of a totalitarian state without out being part of a fascist regime.
I believe the Taliban is not a fascist regime because the definition I found for Fascism was a governmental system led by a dictator. However, I found that when I searched for one main leader of the Taliban, there was not one. I found that Mullah Akhtar Mohammad founded the Taliban but was not the main leader, therefore I had come to my conclusion that the Taliban was a totalitarian group.