Post B

I thought that this particular section was less active than the previous section. It was full of details and things of that nature, but didn’t have much action. It was basically the aftermath of the attack on Irene Kennedy’s convoy. These parts of books are very important though because, even though they are not necessarily exciting, they provide details and information which move the plot forward. In this section, there is a part where an American submarine is tracking an Iranian submarine and loses it. They pick it up again, but right after they pick it up, it fires a torpedo at another Iranian ship. The Americans are puzzled by this and do not know how to react. Another part of this section, takes place at the American military base in Mosul, Iraq. Mitch Rapp, the main character, is interrogating three prisoners. He needs to get information from them before the Iranians get information out of Irene Kennedy. He takes the fact that she was kidnapped very personally, and is putting all his effort into finding out where Irene is. His main obstacle is the fact that the United States government cannot use cruel and unusual punishment to obtain information from prisoners. Rapp believes that in this particular situation, he should be allowed to do whatever is necessary in order to get the information he needs. Rapp has this struggle but so far is winning. The President even talks to him. In the end though, he is allowed to do whatever he needs to find out where Irene is.

Post A

• Din(pg 266) - A jumble of loud, usually discordant sounds. Roust(pg 277) - To rout, especially out of bed.
• "Mr. President, I'm afraid he's out of control." This is a quote describing Mitch Rapp. This is the way that Mitch operates and is the reason he is so good at his job. He is out of control so he takes action and doesn't hesitate.

Post B

I am enjoying this book very much and think this book could be mistaken for non-fiction. The plot is very real and engaging. The characters are interesting and have many intricacies in their personality. For our outside reading memoir, I read a book that was about a journalist’s stay in the Green zone in Baghdad. There is a part of that book which describes an attack by insurgents on a convoy. That book was a memoir and therefore was non-fiction. There was also an attack on a convoy in this book. The resemblance between them is uncanny. The fact that an author of fiction can make it seem so real is amazing to me. There is a lot of action so far, but it is balanced by other, less exciting things. There are also times when they are just talking to each other. These slower paced dialogues almost perfectly combine with the action to create a sense of balance. With the world in the state it is in now, the possibility of Iran carrying out acts of war with us is very real. The plot is winding with unexpected twists and turns, although at the same time, you don’t feel an unnecessary flow from event to event. It’s a very natural progression that makes you want to keep reading to find out what will happen next. I enjoy this book very much and am happy that it is the book I chose for my outside reading. I am looking forward to finishing it.

Post A

• Vying - (pg. 182) - To strive for victory or superiority; contend. Sectarian - (pg. 206) - Of, relating to, or characteristic of a sect.
• An emerging theme of the book is, follow your instincts.

Post B

“Every time there is a catastrophe in Iran, the leadership trots out the stars and stripes and the Star of David to distract the people from the policies of their own government.” This quote reflects the current relationship between the U.S. and Iran. The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has blamed the U.S. for problems which they have caused themselves. There has always been a hatred of the U.S. by the Iranian people and in this book, the hatred is present. There is however, a governmental connection between Iran and America. Personally, I don’t know if this connection truly exists, but it would not be all that hard to believe. The Iranians in this book, even with fake names are still identifiable. Take for example, President Amatullah, he is the short, easily angered president of Iran. Those traits are also shared by real life president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. There are also other people who very closely mirror their real life counterparts. There are also other parallels between this book and real life. The Iranians have a pure hatred for the Israelis. They say in this book that they want to wipe Israel off the map. The Iranian president has also said this and has offended Israelis even further by saying that the holocaust was a hoax. This book is written quite accurately concerning current issues. This book, even though it may be fiction, is based on a very real premise. The fact that the Israelis would attack the nuclear program of a country who has sworn to wipe them off the map is incredibly plausible.

Post A

• Citizenry - (pg. 187) - Citizens considered as a group. Emanating - (pg. 173) - To come or send forth, as from a source.
• "With the destruction of the Isfahan facility we have marked the beginning of the end of these tyrants, and the start of the fight for a true Islamic and democratic Iran."(pg. 180) This quote shows how even after taking part in the revolution, many Iranians are very unhappy with their new government.

Debate activity blog

Political debates
Where? – These debates usually occur at universities and other places of learning.
For what purpose? – The debates allow political candidates to present their views on issues and they also help voters decide who to vote for.
Does it help arrive at a better decision? – Yes, it gives the voters a better idea of the person they’re voting for.
Is the debate structured or unstructured? – The debate is structured.
Does this effect the decision making progress? – Yes, it makes it fair for both sides and allows all parties involved to get their fair share of talking in.

School debate team
Where? – These debates take place indifferent schools on teams.
For what purpose? – Some people enjoy debating and they do it for fun.
Does that help arrive at a better decision? – I would think that when people debate for fun, they would arrive at a better decision.
Is the debate structured or unstructured? – The debate is structured
How does this effect the decision making process? – The decision is based on evidence given in a structured manner and therefore the team that deserves to win should win.

Court cases
Where? – Courtrooms.
For what purpose? – Court cases occur when someone is accused of doing something wrong and is pronounced guilty or not guilty.
Does this help arrive at a better decision? – This doesn’t necessarily mean that the decision is right, but I guess it does make the decision better.
Is it structured or unstructured? – It is structured
How does this effect the decision making process? – The court can come to a more logical decision if it is structured.

Friend vs. Friend debate
Where? – This can happen wherever you talk with your friends.
For what purpose? – You may have different opinion about something than your friend does, so it may lead to a debate.
Does this help arrive at a better decision? – This may not help arrive at a very good decision.
Is this structured or unstructured? – This is unstructured.
How does this effect the decision making process? – This can make it very difficult to arrive at a decision at all sometimes.

Post B

So far this book has really intrigued me. I am at the point where the plot is thickening and details are being revealed which will set up the climax. I think that this book relates to our lives right now because it concerns Iran and their confrontations with us. The book is fiction but has a very believable premise. Iran having a nuclear weapons program which is bombed by the Israelis is an extremely possible scenario. Also, the fact that the Iranians would blame us is an accurate assumption. The switching of storylines at different locations is cool, because it allows for the reader to follow two storylines at once. From the other Vince Flynn books I’ve read, I also know that as the story continues, the separate storylines combine and become one. The author’s writing style is very enjoyable. The way that he writes makes you want to keep reading, whether he’s writing about a video-conference or the bombing of a nuclear facility, you just don’t want to keep reading. I think it is also interesting how Mitch Rapp, the protagonist, has such a high clearance in the government. Even though he is just a CIA operative, he is able to talk with the president, organize meetings with members of foreign agencies, and do other things that I would think would be reserved for members of the president’s cabinet. Overall, this book has been enjoyable. The plot has been thickening ever since the first few chapters. It will be very interesting to see how the book will progress from here.

Post A

• An emerging theme in the book so far is that an ego causes nothing but problems.
• Diminutive - (pg. 95) - (adj.) Extremely small in size; tiny. Edict - (pg. 104) - (n.) A decree or proclamation issued by an authority and having the force of law.

Post B

The protagonist of the story is Mitch Rapp. He is a special agent working for the United States government. He is a man who has no remorse when he kills. His wife was killed and therefore he is emotionally distraught. Even with her death, when he kills he is able to keep calm and do his job well. So far I like his character. He is likeable as you read farther into the book, and he becomes a very complex personality. He is extremely devoted to his job and it is a very large priority to him. All the things he does are in relation to his job. In addition to devotion to his job, he is determined to right any wrongs in his life. For example, in the opening chapter, he goes and kills a man who bombed the president’s motorcade, killing 8, in order to get his candidate elected. Mitch finds out that Stu Garret is behind the bombing and kills him. In the chapter describing the assassination, you can tell that he pays attention to the smallest details and works with precision. I am intrigued to read more about Rapp and what he will do about the nuclear facility in Iran. From the other Vince Flynn books I have read, I would expect Rapp to take matters into his own hands and correct the problem. He is an interesting character who has a complex personality, and he is a one man army. I would even compare him to a James Bond or, Jason Bourne. He drives the plot forward in a very exciting way.

Post A

• Paunchy - having a large and protruding belly; potbellied (pg 43) Sanctimonious - making a hypocritical show of religious devotion, piety, righteousness, etc. (pg 27)
• "Even those chameleons found a way to get under his skin." (pg 27). The author is describing political candidates and how they annoy Stu Garret. This is a metaphor because he is comparing politicians with chameleons without using like or as. "Something far simpler could cripple the entire facility." (pg 37). This is personification because it gives a human characteristic, being crippled, to an inanimate object, the nuclear facility. "For Ashani it was like being on a long car trip with his teenage daughters.'' (pg 49). This is a simile because he is comparing two things using "like".

Book Information

• "Protect and defend" by Vince Flynn
• October 2007
• Fiction
• 403 pages
• There are relatively advanced words such as coalesced, narcissistic, and proficiency, just to name a few.
• I chose this book because I have read Vince Flynn books in the past and have enjoyed them very much. I was going to read this book for fun, but seeing as though I have to do this outside reading assignment anyways it was a happy coincidence.

Outside reading final part #1

Chapter 13- Travel by car was very fluid before the occupation. Peter Mcpherson, the man in charge of economics, removed the previous tax on cars and this led people to import cars and therefore, traffic was a major problem. John Smathers, who was in charge of traffic, rewrote the traffic law basing it on the Maryland traffic code. The law was ridiculous and the Iraqis wouldn't accept it unless they could make revisions. Two Iraqi lawyers, who had been exiled, created a draft of a bill of rights for Iraq. This was strange to everyone, because the Americans were usually the ones making laws and the Iraqis were usually sitting on the sidelines. The Transitional Administrative Law or TAL, was drafted by these lawyers. The TAL was difficult to get signed by everyone, because there were disagreements between the different ethnic groups; the Kurds, the Shiites, and the Sunnis. There was great difficulty in choosing a leader for the new government. The Iraqi elections were unfair to candidates of smaller parties and also to individuals because the whole country was counted as one electoral district.

Chapter 14- The people who worked in Saddam's weapons programs were very well payed. After the liberation, the workers simply went back to living normal lives. Anne Harrington attempted to get the old scientists jobs but the Pentagon wanted to punish them seeing them as Saddam's accomplices. Alex Dehgan was put in charge of redirecting Iraqi scientists. He clashed with the CPA staffers because he was from the state department. He had extreme difficulty doing his job because nobody would give him supplies or help. He did however make more progress than CPA staffers because he didn't have to worry about the CPA hierarchy. There were many militias in Iraq. Bremer wanted them removed before he left. He thought that they could be used for political intimidation. David Gompert was the man in charge of dissolving the militias. He had a tough time, because the Kurds and the Shiites thought that they needed protection and deserved militias.

Chapter 15- When the First Cavalry division arrived in Iraq, their mission was to restore municipal services and act as glorified policemen. Sadr city, a slum of Baghdad, was in very bad shape before the occupation and was still getting progressively worse. A platoon of men patrolling Sadr City had run in with some armed Iraqis after turning on to the main thoroughfare they were ambushed by some of al-Sadr's men. It turned out that they were just guards but their weapons had to be confiscated. Moqtada al-Sadr openly criticised Americas actions in Iraq. He believed that the U.S. had handled the post-liberation looting poorly. Bremer wanted to dismantle al-Sadr's militia but al-Sadr would not comply. Bremer shut down al-Sadr's newspaper which made al-Sadr furious. He responded by telling his followers to attack Americans. A platoon of men patrolling Sadr City had run in with some armed Iraqis after turning on to the main thoroughfare they were ambushed by some of al-Sadr's men. Eight men were dead one of which was Casey Sheehan, son of Cindy Sheehan, future antiwar activist. Moqtada al-Sadr had taken control of all of al-Sadr City and several cities in central and southern Iraq. The Iraqi police were extremely ill prepared for a rebellion. They had hardly any equipment and they were either poorly trained or not trained at all. The rebellion created unprecedented fellowship between Sunnis and Shiites against the Americans. During the rebellion, CPA staffers were absolutely forbidden to leave the Green zone for any reason. Everyone including Tony Blair apposed the Marine offensive in Fallujah which Bremer had set up to quell the resistance. The Marines were accidentally killing innocent civilians and this is what everyone was against. The CPA eventually realized that their efforts to create a democracy overlooked the fact that the country was in turmoil and needed to be under control before it could become a stable democracy. This was the underlying fact that plagued the CPA from the start. They were focusing on little things that a country recovering from a war did not need or in some cases want.

Outside Reading Week 5 post #2

Chapter 11-
The green zone's hospital is very modern with lots of medical equipment. The rest of Iraq's health care system is a complete and total disaster. Before the war, the hospitals in Baghdad were top notch but after the Americans arrived, they ran out of supplies and funding and were a wreck. Frederick M. Burkle Jr. was put in place to rehabilitate Iraq's health care issue. A week after the liberation of Baghdad, Burkle was replaced by James K. Haveman. Steve Browning, a man who was in the CPA government, used his reputation to sway Bremer's decisions. Browning decided to get generators for every hospital in the city and gave one of his officers the power to take drugs from drugstores and other places in order to get them to the hospitals. Haveman tried to organize campaigns against smoking and other things which led to the need for hospital treatment. Kimadia, which was Iraq's public pharmaceutical company, was in charge of everything that had to do with drugs. Haveman also implemented a formulary, which was a list of drugs that doctors could prescribe to people. This formulary would cut costs to Iraqi health care. Ted Briski headed the team that created the formulary. He found out soon after he arrived that Haveman and his team had no idea what they were doing. After Bremer had made the decision to delay the handing over of the government, Haveman knew that his plans were going to have to be rewritten. Of all the ministries in Iraq, the ministry of health was the first to be handed over to Iraqis.
Chapter 12-
Faez Ghani Aziz was killed because of his involvement with the privatization of Iraqi industry. Tom Foley was put in charge of privatizing Iraq's industry. Nobody wanted to invest in Iraq because of Aziz's death. The Iraqis in charge of the ministry of finance were afraid they would be targeted if they made radical changes. Foley received a plan to lease factories to private owners to create a transition between ownership which he grudgingly agreed to. Several senior staffers refused to stop their pet projects even though they were scheduled to leave in November. They basically had seven and a half months to finish their projects. Jim Otwell opposed all of Bremer's efforts to privatize food distribution calling a "humanitarian debacle". Bremer ignored Otwell's complaints but in the end the U.S. military shot down the plan because they couldn't handle the insurgency and food riots. The CPA staffers decided to put in place a system giving Iraqis debit cards which would be replenished every month. Otwell realized that this would never work because Baghdad didn't have the infrastructure to support electronic transfers. Jay Hallen wanted to rebuild the Iraqi stock exchange from the ground up even though the Iraqis just wanted to get back to work while he was planning the new stock exchange. Hallen fired many employees and created a board of governors which was composed of completely Sunni Arabs. This was not wise because the Shiites and Kurds would not like this. The board made many decision which Hallen disapproved of. These disagreements caused much tension between Hallen and the Board. Hallen was disappointed with his work after he left Iraq and yet at the same time, he thought he had done well considering the circumstances.

Reaction-
So far what I have been reading is very revealing reading. The reoccurring theme I have noticed is that the post-war government in Iraq was very, very poorly run. This was mostly due to the people who were appointed to posts in the CPA. They were not always the best suited for the job. In some cases they were very simply put in place because they were close friends of the president. In fact, you were most likely not going to get a job in the CPA if you weren’t a republican. The CPA staffers also wanted to create a Baghdad that was way beyond their capabilities. They had expectations that were way too high and that is why they failed. Before I read this book, I was against the U.S. being in Iraq. Now, after reading this book I feel even stronger about the U.S. leaving. I am angry that we didn’t make the right decisions when it mattered. I now see why the situation in Iraq is the way it is. The amount of times that different offices changed hands is amazing and frightening. Most people weren’t in Iraq long enough to really accomplish anything that mattered. This is also a relatively unbiased account of the war but it still does have a slight bias mainly due to the fact that the author is a journalist.

Outside reading week 5 post #1

"You're in charge!", Rajiv Chandrasekaran "Imperial Life in the Emerald City" (61) . The quote is really a good summary of the book so far. It shows the attitude of the CPA towards Iraqi involvement in the creation of the post-war government in Iraq. The quote was directed at one of the men chosen to lead Iraq after the Americans left.

Reflection on "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"

The book was good and I liked it. I personally thought that for a book written by a guy who could only blink his left eye it was well written. I liked the book because even though there were some weaknesses, they were strongly outweighed by the strengths. One of the strengths was the quality of writing. The book was written by a man who was generally cut off from the outside world, and yet he managed to have the story flow with a very good rhythm. I also liked the point of view in the book. The fact that he is, “locked in”, makes for an interesting point of view on things. I personally have always wondered what it would be like to be in a coma, and to have someone with writing skills tell the story from that position is incredible. I also enjoyed the content of the story. I thought the way that he went through events in his life that came to him in his state was very interesting. In fact, it almost makes me wonder what I would remember if I was in that condition. The book was good but it also had weaknesses. One flaw that I had a problem with was the frequency with which he would jump in and out of his real life and past life. This constant switching back and forth was a little annoying and did make the book a little less enjoyable to read. While reading the book, I didn’t like the story very much for the most part because of this switching of storylines, but now that I am done reading the book, I am glad that I read it because in hindsight it was a fairly good story. The fact that a man who is unknowingly writing his last memories, feelings,and thoughts can achieve the goal of a book this length blinking out the entire thing with his left eye is simply amazing. The fact that he wrote the book that way give you an even greater apreciation for the quality of the story.

Week 3 part 1

Part 1

1) Summarize what you've read as if you were creating a Spark Notes version of the memoir.

Chapter one-The author, Rajiv Chandresekaran, narrates the story. The cafeteria in the republican palace has very American food. Everyone has a very patriotic mood and nobody questions America's role in Iraq. The cooks are all either Pakistani or Indian. All of the people working in the palace separate themselves into cliques and that is how they seat themselves in the cafeteria. The customer service liaison from Halliburton makes sure that everyone feels more or less at home in the palace. The Palace was the headquarters for the Coalition Provisional Authority or CPA. The CPA was Iraq's government from April 2003 to June 2004. They did everything a government would do. The palace was Versailles on the Tigris. It was very luxurious. As many jobs that could be outsourced as possible were. The green zone quickly became Baghdad's little America. The coalition staffers lived in trailers outside the palace. The area around the trailers had many shops and restaurants. The law in the green zone was strictly American and was enforced by military police. Mark Schroeder comments on how much it feels like America. He explains how all of the amenities they have make it seem a lot like home. Mark Schroeder is an analyst who is working for the CPA in Baghdad. In the first few weeks of the occupation, it was safe enough to drive around the streets of Baghdad alone. When leaving the green zone one had to be escorted by two cars, both of which had to have machine guns in them. The author would go around the city outside the green zone to do activities that the people inside the green zone would deem unimaginable. The people inside the green zone would never experience the real Baghdad, the one just outside the walls. The Iraqis who wanted to enter the green zone all had very different stories. A bombing of a Shrine in central Baghdad killed many people, but the Americans didn't discuss a word of it.

Chapter two-Shortly after American tanks had toppled the statue of Saddam in front of the Palestine hotel, the author got his first look inside the green zone. Looters had attempted to get inside the green zone, and some succeeded. The looting was kept under control by a Lieutenant named Joe Peppers. He showed Rajiv around the palace. Pres. George Bush gave the order to start planning for the war in Iraq a few months after September 11. He put Doug Feith in charge of the planning. Feith then put a man by the name of Jay Garner in charge of post-war planning. Garner assembled a group of his old buddies to help him with the planning. He was making a plan for Iraq but, at the same time a group at the pentagon was doing the very same thing just in case Garner's plan wasn't good enough. Garner arrived in Kuwait a month before the invasion to prepare for his move into Iraq. When he could finally get a palace -the Republican Palace- he was able to start organizing his forces to run Iraq.

Chapter three-In the days immediately following the liberation of Baghdad, looters were everywhere in the city causing chaos. They looted nearly all of the ministries where Garner and his staff had been planning on using as offices. This created a problem with where they were going to work. Finding no better place, they eventually decided on using the Republican Palace due to it's massive size. Tim Carney, who was called in to help Garner, had been a diplomat in many exotic places. Seeing as though the ministry of industry was thoroughly bombed, the ministers met at the state company for batteries. Employees of the factory wanted non-baathist leaders and held up banners outside the factory that said the same. The post-war planners made efforts to put some political exiles, which had been chosen by the U.S., into power in a temporary government. The CPA staffers who needed plenty of amenities, were ignored by the military who wanted to supply only the true necessities. Tim Carney had been prepared and brought things which proved their usefulness over time. Carney wrote in a journal every night and sometimes write his doubts about the U.S.'s plan for Iraq. In order to create a fair and balanced council-which would decide on the government-the CPA had a conference at the convention center where they picked out individuals they saw fit to be in the council.

Chapter four-The man put in charge of post-war Iraq was Paul Bremer. He visited a school and promised to supply it with money, teachers, and security. He toured around Baghdad doing this with other establishments promising to bring them supplies and others things like that. Bremer had doubts about the number of troops that were deployed in Iraq. He was made viceroy and was given very absolute power. He made sure that all staffers responded to him and only him. He wanted to keep total control. Bremer's past made him a very good candidate for viceroy. He had served many years in the military and even more as a diplomat. He implemented a plan for "de-baathification" which was the elimination of baath party members in the government. This plan was viewed as foolish and even stupid by almost everyone, but Bremer had the authority and acted on his plan. His plan nearly destroyed the ministries in which it was acted on and made the upper levels of the government shaky at best. The armies of Iraq were mostly neutralized before the war even began. American planes dropped leaflets telling soldiers in the Iraqi army to disband and return to their normal lives. This worked for the national army, but the Republican guard stayed intact and still fought the U.S. and coalition forces. The national army was needed again later to police the city, but having all of the soldiers return to their barracks could have disastrous effects. Bremer's next action disbanded all soldiers from all branches of the military. This had the soldiers in an uproar because they had no jobs and therefore had no money. This became a problem later, because many of the soldiers later became insurgents.

2) Research the author of your book and write a short biography in your own words. Cite your sources. Leave internet links to your sources. DO NOT COPY AND PASTE. Include a photo of the author and cite the source for the photo.

Rajiv Chandrasekaran is an American journalist. He is currently working as assistant managing editor of The Washington Post, where he has been working since 1994. Born in the San Francisco bay area, he got a degree in political science from Stanford, where he was editor-in-chief of The Stanford Daily. At The Washington Post, he has worked as bureau chief in Baghdad, Cairo, and Southeast Asia, and as a correspondent covering the war in Afghanistan. In 2004 he was a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a journalist-in-residence at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. I found my facts at this site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajiv_Chandrasekaran (Picture included above right) Photo taken by David Shankbone http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Rajiv_Chandrasekaran_by_David_Shankbone.jpg#filelinks

Part 2

1) Write a journal entry post of the entire book up to this point. Discuss the book's strengths and weaknesses in your mind; talk about your feelings about the issues brought up; relate the book to real life and perhaps your own life; make predictions; discuss your feelings related to the book.

The book's strengths are very apparent as you read into the book. The story picks up relatively quickly and once it gets going doesn't stop very often. A weakness is that the story skips around from time to time. It has sort of a flashback feel with the story sometimes switching story lines mid-page. This is however a good way to keep the story changing. Another strength would be the fact that there is a lot of information which is mostly unbiased. Considering a journalist wrote the book, I am surprised at how unbiased it is. Another weakness of the book would be that, without any background knowledge, the information can go right over your head and you will have to re-read some parts. All in all there are many weaknesses of the book but the strengths outweigh the weakness, making it a very good book so far. The book has really opened my eyes to how badly the situation in Iraq was handled and it really explains why all the stuff that's going on in Iraq is happening. Reading the book has really had me questioning why we went into Iraq so quickly and once there why we didn't have enough troops to handle the city of Baghdad. This book relates to real life because, we are in the Iraq war and it is a continuously growing problem.

My memoir so far (Part #2)

Loaded Words:

1. Bedlam-Complete and total chaos. The author ued this to put how much was going wrong in Baghdad into perspective by over exaggerating. (page 47)

2. Tent-The Author uses this word to describe the Republican palace. He says this because, there was no electricity, running water, or windows. The impact he was trying to make was that the palace had no amenities and therefore was like a tent. (page 47)

3. Rubbled-The author uses this word because it paints a picture in people's mind of bit and pieces of a structure. He uses it to describe a building hit by a cruise missile. (page 49)

4. Gun-toting-The author uses this to create a negative feeling in the reader because of the use of the word gun. Some people may be impartial to this word but most negativley associate this word. (page 54)

5. Dispirited-The author uses this word to get a negative effect. He uses it to show how badly the director of the ORHA felt about the situation in Iraq. (page 56)

6. Scout-The author uses this word to describe Carney the director of the ORHA. The author is trying to illustrate Caney's adaptiveness and preparedness. (page 57)

7. Elder-The author uses this word to show how old William Cohen is without using an impolite term. (page 61)

8. Orbit-The author uses this word to make the point that Paul Bremer III was involved with white house affairs. (page 62)

9. Prohibited-The author uses this word to make a negative impact, because the word is very upfront and extreme. (page 63)

10. Canoodle-The author uses this word to put a positive even childish look on the relationships of the staffers in the green zone. (page 65)

My memoir so far (part #1)

(The first page of the first chapter is page 9, all previous pages are the prologue)
Page
9. This page describes the food served at the Republican palace in Baghdad and how it was very american.
10. This page describes the dining hall with all of it's Halliburton supplies and patriotic decorations.
11. This page describes the "cliques" of the dining hall and why they were arranged so.
12. This page talks about the Halliburton customer service liason and how he tried to make everything seem like home for the people working in Iraq
13. The palace is described with it's ample luxury as "Versailles on the Tigris".
14. Outsourcing of as many jobs as possible and Halliburton's supply contract with the U.S. military are explained.
15. Housing and amenities in the green zone are described.
16. Transportation and restaurants within the green zone are described.
17. This page describes who runs the green zone and how it is run.
18. This page describes how the author (Rajiv) met Mark Schroeder and what Mark's job is.
19. This page talks about what stores are in the green zone and what those store sell.
20. This page talks about travel outside of the green zone.
21. This page describes the area around the green zone and the rest of Baghdad.
22. This page describes the people (Iraqis) who wanted to enter the green zone. It also describes a suicide bomber attack on the Imam Kadhim Shrine.
23. This page talks about how the Americans didn't talk about the bombing at all. It also describes the man Mahmud Ahmed.
24. This page talks about Mahmud's daily commute to the green zone.
25. This page describes what the traffic is like in Baghdad since the Americans have come.
26. This page describes what Mahmud thinks about the green zone.
27. This page describes how the people in the green zone received their news.
28. This page describes posters put up in the palace that were meant to dicourage secret sharing.
29. This page describes the green zone several days after the Americans liberated Baghdad.
30. This page describes a tour of the palace Rajiv was given shortly after he arrived.
31. This page continues to describe his tour.
32. This page describes how planning for post-war Iraq was carried out.
33. This page describes Jay Garner, the man put in charge of the unofficial planning for post-war Iraq.
34. This page describes how Garner found out about the official post-war planning operation at the Pentagon.
-Impact:
The impact reading this had on me was, i was very surprised toknow that America wasn't really ready to go into Iraq. I was also surprised that the people who worked in the green zone were working in a very nice environment with all amenities. I had never known any of these things were true and finding these things out was very surprising.

This I believe Assignment

1. A link to the essay
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11505283

2. Author
James Loney.

3. Title
All Beings Are Interconnected.

4. One sentence of what the belief is
I believe all things and all beings are interconnected.

5. 2 examples from the story that showed their belief
One example would be when his captor wiped his hands on a rag that James had used to wipe up his own "unfortunate messes" which arose when he had to go to the bathroom. He said, "In that moment I saw how everything we do, even the things that seem most insignificant — cleaning up a mess or wiping our hands — affects everything and everyone else."
Another example was this paragraph describing the illusion of power his captor held, "Uncle was one of our guards. With keys in one hand and gun in the other, his power over us seemed absolute, but he was not free. He said so himself on one of those interminable days when we asked him if he had any news about when we would be released. He pointed glumly to his wrists as if he himself were handcuffed and said, 'When you are free, I will be free.' "

6. 1 favorite passage
"I believe there are many ways we can hold one another captive. It might be with a gun, an army, a holy book, a law, an invisible free-market hand. It doesn't matter how we do it, who we do it to, or why."

Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007

The thing I am most anxious about at Edina High School is the fact that I have to do my homework for the next day overnight every night. I answered this way because, I usually would have to do homework for four classes every night and it would be easier. Now I have one less day to get the assignment done but I also have more classes to do homework for.
One goal I have for myself in my sophomore year is to get all my homework in on time with effort put into it. I answered this way because I sometimes would rob myself of an A or A- just because I wouldn't do my homework or I wouldn't hand it in. I believe that I can do well and receive at least an A- in almost all my classes as long as I keep up with the homework.

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