prop·a·gan·da

  

[prop-uh-gan-duh]  

1. information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation,etc.

This past summer, my sister went to Palestine and Israel. She’s Jewish, and wanted to see for herself what life was like for Palestinians and Israelis. A couple months later, the FBI called her and tells her she is going to be subpoenaed (an order to go before a Grand Jury without a lawyer). The FBI is trying to investigate my sister to collect evidence that she supports terrorism just for going to Palestine. She didn’t go to the Grand Jury when she was supposed to, but if the FBI asks her again to go to the Grand Jury and she denies again, she can face jail time.

The US government says that Palestinians are “terrorists” so when my sister went there, they believe she must be supporting terrorism. Our government gives money to Israel and supports them; our government does not want Americans to speak out against Israel, travel in support of Palestine, and organizing in the US against Israel. If people (such as my sister) see for themselves the truth about Palestine and Israel, then the US cannot pretend that Palestinians are terrorists instead of victims of Israel.

These rumors about my sister supporting terrorism has caused some of her friends and family members to stop talking to her because they believe she is associated with people involved in terrorism. One of my sister’s “best friends” from high school did not even support my sister despite their long friendship they had shared. 

Since my sister has been subpoenaed, along with 22 others, there is still no evidence of material support of terrorism. Instead, my sister has had to defend herself publicly to educate Americans that her and the 22 others are not involved in this support of terrorism.

http://www.stopfbi.net/profile/sarah-smith

http://chtodelat.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/sarah-smith-i-am-being-subpoenaed-by-the-fbi/

Beat Street

Open Response:
The music is good, the dancing is good, the rapping is good, the movie is good.
This movie may not be modern, and catch people's attention compared to Step Up 3, but it was the base, or foundation of our dancing, rapping, and graffiti nowadays.
The scene at the train station, where the actors have a dance battle, the famous Michael Jackson took that idea and made it into something huge. The rapping is really amazing, it focuses on the problems they had, what was going on in their lives. Now its about women or sex and it has been changed for the mainstream. However, some graffiti that I see around the city is ugly, but the idea from the movie, to make something beautiful, to express meaning, has been developed. There are now murals around the city and paintings on the building walls. To see a  graffiti piece like in the movie would be amazing. The movie is filled with talent, but the people also loved to do what they did, which I think has been changed nowadays. Someone would stop doing their graffiti pieces because there is no profit for it, and find a job they do not like. People change their music style to become more popular and to make more money. In the movie, the actors didn't care about the money, it was what they loved to do, so they did it.

Hungry?

In the novel, Black Boy, Richard is constantly hungry. He's hungry for not only food, but attention, love, and knowledge. 
However, he is not the only one who is hungry. There are many kids who are literally hungry for food. Everyday, more than 16,000 children die from hunger related problems. When I went to India on vacation, there were many little kids in the street begging for some change to feed themselves, like what Richard did. There are also a lot of people hungry for attention. Some people are so hungry for attention, they want a spotlight on them at all times, and there are people who just want to be noticed, to have some appreciation. There are people who are hungry for knowledge, people who are curious. For instance, I feel like my dad is hungry for knowledge because he loves to read books about the world, history, books in Spanish, the boring stuff. He watches so many educational videos like dinosaurs, the universe, history of science, nature, Malcom X, etcc. Richard wanted to learn, hungry for the books to read, counting to a hundred endlessly. 
Richard isn't alone when it comes to hunger. Many kids are just like him, and every child should be (not hungry for food). I know I was. 

Reading Response (numero dos.)

The author describes how he grew up to be Mexican American, but then later became “Anglocized.” He says “As much as we may try to become part of the main stream, there will always be someone or some event that will remind us of who we are and where we came from; it is usually just enough to cause most of us to stop and remember our heritage.”

I grew up to be Asian American, even though I’m half white/Anglo Saxon. I ate Chinese food, celebrated Chinese traditions; my first language was even Chinese. I’ve been with my other white family, but it doesn’t make me whiter or become “anglocized.” It actually makes me feel more Chinese than I already am. I’m not embarrassed for who I am, so I don’t plan on trying to lose my past, my language, or traditions. I’m American, Asian American, whichever, I’m perfectly fine with it.

I think this author sees Mexican American and American as two different things. Main stream was just Americans. But to me, Americans are American citizens or people born in America. Not the different ways we look, or act. I think for people to be just called Americans is for them to be a descendent from Europe (so white people).

This brings me to a quote from American Dreamer. “Why is it that hyphenation is imposed only on nonwhite Americans?”  Whenever I go on vacation, people always ask my dad “what are you?” My dad of course says “American.” However, when they talk to my mother, they always say “are you Chinese…where from Asia are you from?” She is Chinese, but she’s also an American citizen. So what exactly is an American? I was never really sure. 

King Still King?

There’s one day a year where people take off one day of work or school for the birth of Martin Luther King. Kids look forward to it because they get a day off of school, but is King’s hard work relevant to our present day society?

I say yes; King is still king.

Without him, Obama certainly wouldn’t be the president, schools wouldn’t be mixed with different ethnicities, people couldn’t sit where ever they wanted on a bus, and we would still have different water fountains. King proved that huge changes can be made without the use of a gun. However, I think we should view this day with more value, to realize how much has changed since he lived. In the far future, I believe this day will simply just be a day off, not to recognize someone for their hard work, or even to realize that King changed America. Maybe Americans will be so caught up in the new technology to even look at the small print on their calendars that says “Martin Luther King Jr. Day.” But King is still inspirational to many people and should always be. 

Reading Response

Children of the Sea

This short story was one of the best things I've read in class so far, and I wish it could've been longer than it was.  I liked it for a couple reasons, and one was that it was so real. People do not usually read about things that happened in the short story, like having to throw yourself overboard, or a group of soldiers raping a young teenager. People do not talk about the awful things that happen to people, and it was interesting when we did for class. I also liked the short story because it was like letters for the other person so the reader could understand both sides of what’s going on. 

There was a Child went Forth

I’m not saying this poem/story wasn’t good, but I didn’t like reading it. I don’t like many poems, like the poems that you have to focus on extremely hard on, or the poems that are filled with complicated words that you’re just too lazy to look up for every one of them. I know that’s what you’re supposed to do in school, that’s the point of reading the poem, but I don’t enjoy it. It took me forever to focus and actually pay attention to actually read it. But after I read it, it was pretty good. I liked how the poet went in detail about the child’s childhood and what the child grew up with, and how it became a part of the child as it grew up.

If I were to chose between the two stories, I would choose to read Children of the Sea.

Music Review

Song: Just a Dream (Cover)

Artists: Christina Grimmie & Sam Tsui

      If you haven’t heard of Nelly’s song, Just a Dream, I advise you to listen to that prior to this one. The beat of the original one is faster and has more pop than the one in the cover.

      I came across this song out of boredom, and the first time I heard this cover, I loved it. I liked it way more than the actual song. I have a taste for every genre of music, but if you are interested in slower music, you should check this song out. The two singers are not professional, but they are truly amazing. I chose this song because they aren't famous (yet) and some famous people create awful music, but the people who aren't discovered yet are really really good. They have other songs on their youtube pages if you want to hear more from them.

      In the video/cover, every beat, lyric is recorded by them. Both of them can hold long and high notes, their vocals are amazing, and it doesn’t sound bad or squeaky. If I rate them on a scale of 10, I would say 10. Both of them are truly talented and they don’t need any of their music to be edited because it sounds perfect just the way it is. They can sing different songs and still sound incredible. Honestly, I don't know exactly how to describe this song, but just go check it out to see for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT8gcZh_42w