There was also a good amount of ice in the azaleas in front of the house, from the dripping gutters. However at this late hour this is the best shot I can get. But you get an idea of the pathetic way Arkansans wish and wish for a real winter. Well, this Arkansan.
I am very jealous of Obsidian Kitten, her farm is beautiful. I am sure all that snow can be tiring, though.On to other thoughts. I am taking a course on beginning Standard Arabic this semester, I am very excited. We are learning the written alphabet along with the verbal part, which of course makes sense. There are two more letters than our alphabet, but the language over all seems to make more sense than English. Well, its also backwards, which is taking time to getting used to writing. I am getting the impression that the alphabet isn't letters so much as sounds in Arabic. The instructor, a native Palestinian, wrote everyone's name on the board in Arabic, doing so phonetically. My name is rather pretty, the "h" sound is all curly.
Soon maybe I can watch al Jazeera and know what they are really saying. Also along the topic of the Middle East is one of my classes, Cultures of the Middle East. So far it is fascinating, the instructor is an archaeologist who does work in Yemen. We had several small books assigned, one being "Baghdad Diaries" by Nuha al-Radi. It is so interesting. This woman is smart, funny, and very opinionated. At the same time, the further I get into this book the worse I feel. Most of this was written in the nineties, starting when she chronicled everyday of Desert Storm. I am almost finished, she only wrote a small part concerning the current conflict, a couple of pages written in the days leading up to the invasion. The book has informed me not only of life in Baghdad, but has highlighted even more reasons why war makes NO DAMN SENSE. The people punished aren't the ones who did whatever the attacker didn't like. It would be like if my home was bombed by Iraqis, even though I marched in one of the protests against the war in 2003. I have also learned some history I did not know. For instance, when the Lewinsky scandal was going on, the Clinton administration bombed Iraq for four days. For the same reason Bush got us into the current war, the so-called "weapons of mass destruction". Maybe it was only four days, but at least 68 Iraqis, innocent civilians, were killed. Also, the embargo forced on Iraq during the nineties tore the country apart. Embargoes are useless. While people were starving and went without, I am sure Saddam never lacked for dumb berets or ugly green military suits. Why would we do such a thing to people? Why do we get away with hurting other countries time after time after time? We do all these things to people, but other countries feel sorry for us when things like 9/11 happen. Of course those people were just as innocent. But maybe the killing of innocents was why were attacked in the first place. Our government certainly doesn't deserve any pity, and some fanatic nationalists in this country should take more time to pity innocent civilians in other countries instead of talking about bombing away the existence of an entire nation, referring to people with their ethnocentric racial slurs. Why does our government becomed so outraged when we are struck when they act like bombing and civilian murder is a national pastime? I feel so hurt, enraged, confused, and sick. Britain is just as guilty as we are. Blair was up to his neck in it when the Clinton administration bombed Iraq for those four days.
Well I don't want to leave off on that. I got paid today so I am probably going to Yarn Mart tomorrow to find yarn for my Pratchghan square. I think I will finish "Baghdad Diaries" tomorrow. I have about 50 pages left, but I obviously need a break. I am going to concentrate on Natalie's baby blanket for now. Knit happy.
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