post WWII

PRe WWI

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/mar/27/comment.secondworldwar

The bombing is often crisisized by people because Dresdan didn't need to be bombed and the bombing didn't help Allies much at all. And now most people call area bombing a war crime and area bombing was considered a war crime and immoral before 1939 . Also bombing to reduce morale was used by both sides in WWII, didn't work for either side, and is considered ineffective.

http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk/heroesvillains/g1/
http://bloggy.com/mt/archives/richter-mustang.jpg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/harris_sir_arthur_bomber.shtml

Over 90% of the city was destroyed and it took until 2004 until the city was complely rebuilt. The bombing is conbtriversial because th ecity had no military targets and had many civillian refugees at the time. It was not precision bombing but deliberate bombing of a whole area. If the bombs weren't bad enough, tornados and fires as hot as 1000C ioccured because of the bombings. Churchill is held responsible for the bombing but tried to distance himself from it after the war.

About 50,000 people are estamated to have died in the bombings
and the bombings were led by Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris

The weather was now clear and 529 Lancasters dropped more than 1,800 tons of bombs with great accuracy

#2

Leadser Post

The general name given to this plan was Operation Thunderclap

Final Quarter 2 Post

I finished The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini tonight. After Amir and Soraya get married they try to have children and are unable to. Amir is upset by this and sees this as a punishment for what he did in the past. Many years later Rahim Khan, Baba's friend calls and tells Amir to travel to Pakistan for urgent business. After Amir gets to Pakistan, Rahim Khan tells Amir that Hassan and his wife were killed by the Taliban and that Hassan is actually Amir's half brother. Rahim Khan also tells Amir that Hassan and his wife had a son Sohrab who is now in an orphanage. Amir decides to venture into Afghanistan to try and find Sohrab. Amir goes to the orphanage in Kabul but the owner tells him he has sold Sohrab to the Taliban and to speak with a Taliban man at a soccer game tomorrow to get him back. At the soccer game Amir watches this Taliban man kill two civilians in front of the whole crowd and than arranges a meeting with him at a Taliban headquarters. Amir arrives and realizes that the Taliban member is Assef, the same man who raped Hassan thirty years ago. Amir fights Assef and when Amir is almost dead Sohrab shoots Assef's eye out with a slingshot and they get away. After spending days in the hospital, Amir tries to adopt Sohrab but is unable to because of legal problems. Later that day Amir goes back on his promise to Sohrab ad tells him he will have to put put in an orphanage. Later that night Soraya calls to tell Amir that she got Sohrab a visa but when Amir finds Sohrab he is bleeding to death in the bathroom. Amir takes Sohrab to the hospital and he survives his suicide attempt. Amir ends up taking Sohrab back to America with him but Sohrab never says a word or smiles. Finally the book ends two years after Amir brings Sohrab to America with Sohrab smiling at Amir when they are flying a kite. 

I liked The Kite Runner a lot and it is one of my favorite books I have ever read for an outside reading project. The plotline was sad but was very good because of its many surprises. I also think I learned a lot about the history of Afghanistan while reading the book because the book starts in the 1970s and ends in 2002. Overall I enjoyed The Kite Runner a lot and would recommend it to anyone.

Outside Reading Quarter 2 Post #8

In the next part of The Kite Runner, Amir continues to go to the flea market with Baba and continues to see the Afghan General and his daughter Soraya. After going to the flea market for several weeks Amir finally gets enough courage to start to chat with Soraya, something that is looked down in Afghan standards unless the father of the girl has approved of it. Amir and Soraya's conversation goes well, so Amir continues to visit Soraya when the general leaves for a walk. One day when Amir is visiting Soraya and giving her one of his books, the general notices them and reminds Amir that people are watching. Shortly after that Baba ends up in the hospital, after examining him the doctors realize that Baba has lung cancer. The doctors recomend that he does chemotherapy, but after learning that it is only pallative, Baba refuses despite Amir's protests. Over the next few weeks Baba continues to become weaker and lose more and more weight. When Baba has became very weak Amir asks Baba if he could go to the general's house and ask Baba for Soraya's hand in marriage. Baba is happy to do this and the general and Soraya accept the proposal. Soraya and Amir's families soon have a celebration at Soraya's house and a wedding that Baba pays $30,000 for (all of his savings). After the wedding Soraya moves into Amir and Baba' house and takes care of Baba. A few weeks later at a party, after watching Amir chat and play cards Baba tells Amir he doesn't want his painkiller that night. Baba doesn't wake up. Even though I expected Amir to marry Soraya, I was suprised that Baba died. Now I wonder how the story will shift back to Afghanistan without Baba.

In the next section of The Kite Runner Baba and Amir when they have time go to garage sales and buy things at a cheap price. On the weekend they then sell these items at a mostly Afghan market for a small profit. One time when Baba and Amir go to the market, Baba meets a prestigous Afghan general who like Baba was a man of high class before he was forced to flee Afghanistan. While Baba talks to the general Amir notices the generals daughter. After they leave the market Amir asks Baba about the general's daughter and Baba realizes that Amir likes her and warns him that her last relationship didn't go very well. I am glad that the author included something eventful like this because the plot was getting boring but I still don't really understand why the book is explaining the life of Baba and Amir in America. I feel like the setting needs to switch back to Afghanistan because that is where the most climatic parts of the book have happened and where lots of character building took place. For those reasons, I predict that Amir will fall in love with the generals daughter and go back to Afghanistan with her, Baba and the general to find Hassan. I believe that they will try to find Hassan because I would be dissapointed if Amir doesn't see Hassan again in the novel because the main conflict in the novel so far has been Amir dealing with Hassan after Hassan was raped.

Outside Reading Quarter 2 Post #7

After Baba and Amir reach Pakistan they soon immigrate to America and live in an apartment in Freemont, California. Baba likes the idea of America and enjoys talking about politics, but misses Kabul and doesn't like the smog of the Bay Area. Baba also has rough times adjusting to his new life. One day when Baba goes to a grocery store he has gone to often and wants to but fruit with a check, the cashier asks him for his ID and Baba gets very angry and makes a mess in the store asking "What kind of country is this no one trusts anybody". Also when Amir graduates from high school Baba spends a lot of money on a nice dinner and than treats everyone in a nearby bar to plenty of drinks. Baba also pays for Amir to go to a junior college and buys him a car to get there, but is disappointed when Amir chooses to study creative writing. I think that the main theme of this chapter is the continuation of Baba adjusting to a new lifestyle. In this new lifestyle Baba still has his pride he had as a high class society member, which is shown when he refuses to go to ESL english classes and when he refuses to get food stamps the welfare office offers him. But something that is surprising about Baba and his new lifestyle is that Baba sacrifices a lot for Amir, even though the relationship between them hasn't been great and Baba previously had said that he almost couldn't believe that Amir was his son because the two are so different.

Outside Reading Quarter 2 Post #6

After Hassan and his father leave the Baba and Amir's house, the story shifts to several years later when Amir and Baba had to leave their house behind and are on a truck trying to get into Pakistan. The truck driver and his brother have deals with the border patrol and are charging money to get across the border. They get to city near the Pakistan border and are told that the truck that is used to get into Pakistan is now broken and that they must wait a while. Baba accusses the driver of knowing this before he took the money and gets very angry. However with the chaos in Afghanistan Baba no longer has upper class status so he can do very little. After waiting a week in a cramped basement the truck finally is fixed and brings them to Pakistan . I feel like this is a turning point in the book and that the rest of the book will be much different than the first part. Baba and Amir are leaving Afghanistan and with it leaving their high social class, big fancy parties and servents behind. This is shown when Baba gets angry at the truck driver but the truck driver doesn't care all that much. Also Amir is still just as unlike Baba as he use to be, which is shown when Amir throws up in the first truck and needs his father's light in the second truck. 

Outside Reading Quarter 2 Post #5

I read the next chapter and a half of The Kite Runner, and Amir continues to be selfish and ridiculous about the situation with Hassan. During the next chapter, Baba throws a big party for Amir and lots of people show up and give Amir gifts. Assef ( the boy who raped Hassan) also shows up and sucks up to Baba, Amir is rude to Assef and Baba is gets angry at Amir. One thing that I thought was interesting during this part of the book is how the author describes Assef's father as short and lanky and his mother as a nervous woman who smiled and blinked a lot. Hosseini (the author) also describes how Assef led his parents over to Amir like he was the parent which makes sense for his personality. After talking with Assef, Amir talks to Rahim Khan, who tells him a story and reminds Amir that he can tell him anything, but Amir keeps his mouth shut about Hassan.  The next day Amir opens tons of presents, but just throws them in the corner and ignores them. Later that day Hassan and Ali give Amir a new book, one of his favorites in which all of the pictures are hand drawn. The next day Amir decides he wants to get rid of Hassan and Ali so he frames Hassan for stealing a watch he got for his birthday, and then tells Baba.  Hassan confesses to the crime he didn't commit, but to Amir's surpise Baba forgives Hassan. After this however Ali tells Baba that they are leaving the house. Ali refuses to tell Baba why they are leaving and Baba breaks down in tears. I am angry that Amir continues to act selfish because now he instead of just hurting Hassan, he has hurt Ali and Baba too, all because he didn't tell anyone the truth behind Hassan's rape.

Annotation #2

Erlanger, Steven. "French Plans for Energy Reaffirm Nuclear Path." The New York Times. August 17,2008. 

France seems committed to building more nuclear power plants and now gets 77% of its electricity from nuclear energy. The French nuclear company Electricite de France is also trying to buy British Energy and is committed to building nuclear power plants in the U.A.E. and China. French president Nicolas Sarkozy argues it is a good thing saying that each nuclear reactor replacing a coal one saves two billion cubic meters of gas each year. The public on the other hand, isn't so sure. Bottled water sales have increased over the past year, and news has come out about 100 workers being contaminated in Tricastin and about nuclear chemicals escaping into tributaries of the Rhone river. The French government insists that the accidents are minor and have almost no effect, but the public continues to speculate.

Annotated citation #1

Hertel, Nolan."Has the Time Come for Nuclear Power? YES: It's Safe, Clean, Cost Effective. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. July 27, 2008.

Nolan Hertal of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution believes that America is ready for and needs for nuclear power plants. Hertal cites a poll that shows that 66% of Americans say they are ready for more nuclear power plants. Hertal also argues that nuclear energy is green stating that plug in cars could happen with nuclear energy and that what is referred to as nuclear waste can actually be recycled and used again. Finally Hertal argues that nuclear energy's safety record has been great during the past thirty years and that we have figured out how to keep things from getting out of control. 

Quarter 2 Outside Reading Post #4

I read the next couple chapters of The Kite Runner and Amir continues to look for Hassan through the streets of Kabul. Finally Amir finds Hassan with the blue kite but surrounded by Assef, the local bully and his friends. Assef demands Amir to give him the kite and when Hassan refuses to give it to him Assef rapes Hassan. Amir watches this happen, but is too scared to intervene so instead he leaves the scene and sees Hassan later and asks what happen but Hassan says nothing. After that Amir's dad becomes very proud of Amir and their relationship improves a lot. However Amir is still haunted by his decision not to help Hassan when he was being raped. Amir constantly thinks about this and doesn't want to play with Hassan anymore. Eventually this leads to Amir throwing lots of pomegranates at Hassan wanting him to throw one at himself and Amir asking his dad if they could get new servants, which his dad gets angry at Amir for. I think that Amir is being unreasonable and mean in these chapters because Hassan was willing to be raped to give Amir his kite and not only was Amir too cowardly to help Hassan, he is mean to Hassan after he is raped. I think Amir really needs forget the situation and stop being angry with himself because that just makes the situation worse. Hassan wouldn't even need an apology from Amir, he just wants to play with him like they used to. As for Amir and his relationship I think that they will never get along that well for long periods of time because they are too different and aren't able to accept each others differences.

Second Qtr. Post #3

I read the next few chapters of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. After overhearing his father talk about how he is weak Amir tries to be tough but still does not gain his father's respect. Amir often reads to Hassan in a tree because Hassan is unable to read. One day Amir makes up his own story instead of reading from the book, and to his surprise Hassan says it is his favorite story he has ever told him. Encouraged by this Amir writes a book, although his father doesn't even give his book a glance, Rahim Khan his father's friend tells Amir that his book is great and persuades Amir to keep writing. The book than skips ahead a couple of years to a local kite tournament hosted by Amir's neighborhood. Amir and Hassan have always been good kite fighters and the tournament is a big deal in Kabul. The night before the tournament Baba tells Amir that he thinks he has a chance of winning the tournament. Amir sees this is an opportunity to earn his father's respect and is determined to win. The next day after long hours of kite fighting Amir finally wins the tournament. Hassan has an uncanny way of finding opposing kites (or kite running) so he offers to chase down the last kite. Later Amir notices that Hassan still hasn't came back and frantically looks for him. My prediction is that Amir finds Hassan dead and the opposing kite gone because when Hassan goes kite running Amir says that is the last time he saw him smile. If Hassan ends up to be dead I am also curious about what will happen next because the whole book so far has been background information on Hassan and Amir and there is still a lot of the book left.

Second Quarter Outside Reading Post #2

So far I have read the first three chapters of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. In the first three chapters of the book the reader is introduced to the main character, Amir, his father,Baba, Hassan, and Hassan's father Ali who works as a servent to Baba. Amir and Hassan are good friends and early in the book the reader learns that both Hassan and Amir don't have their mothers around because Amir's mother died giving birth to him and Hassan's mother left him when he was seven days old. In the second chapter the reader learns background information on Baba and how he financed his own orphanage, became one of the richest merchants in Kabul, married  a woman regarded as one of Kabul's most respected, beautiful, and virtuous ladies, and was a great soccer player. In the third chapter the reader learns about Amir and the tension he has with his father. Amir is awful at soccer and doesn't even like attending games, Amir also likes books and reads them often, and allows other kids to take advantage of him. Towards the end of the chapter Amir is enraged when he overhears Baba talking about him and saying that he is weak and he doesn't seem like he is his son. So far I like the book and I like how the first three chapters were written. I predict that Baba and Amir's relationship will get better because after hearing his father's complaints, Amir will try to not be weak. I also predict that many more characters will be introduced in the coming chapters  because I don't think enough characters are in the book right now.