I
might be starting something with this entry but I felt I had to post
this in a larger venue. I received a response last night from a plea I
wrote last year about educating girls in Afghanistan. You can read that
post here.
Here is the response
Anonymous said...
So we should educate them so that they come to have the same western thinking and values we do? literacy is the mark of civilisation. These people have lived for thousands of years without literacy.What then after they have built rows of schools,then rows of malls, then rows of mcmansions?
Here is my reply....
Dear Anonymous,
I don't usually comment on things like this but your response prompted me to reply. Who said anything about Western thinking and values? Maybe if those values mean equal worth of women to men, yes.
Education = good health, tolerance, long life, greater understanding, ability to learn more to help others and yourself.
Afghanistan is ranked number 2 in the mortality of children under 5 years of age. As of 2005, 25% of children in Afghanistan will not reach their 5th birthday. Only Sierra Leone is worse. "Living for thousands of years without literacy" has helped create this situation. Knowledge saves lives.
The life expectancy today in Afghanistan is 44 years. In 1970 it was 35, education and knowledge are responsible for the lowered death rates. Vaccinations started also. Without education, how do programs like this get off the ground?
Only 29% of women in Afghanistan are literate. They are the caregivers and raise the children. They need to be filled with knowledge on how to make their lives and those of their families healthier. 40% of children under 5 are underweight and over half of the children in Afghanistan, 54% suffer from permanent stunted growth!!
As of 2005 the maternal mortality rate is 1 in 8. Out of every 8 pregnancies, one will result in death. Education and knowledge will go a long way to alleviating these statistics.
Broad education can only help, it does not harm.
Do you want to deny these people a chance at an extra 30 years of life? Children their mothers? Mothers their children?
I am sorry, but I disagree with you on the value of educating women and people in general.
I am not a fan of giant malls and mcmansions, I live simply, but I do believe that with knowledge, people are equipped to make better choices and can understand the consequences of those choices. People with literacy know how to find information about the things they are not sure of and can act accordingly. It is a great equalizer.
If people want malls and mcmansions so be it. Who are we to say no? Better malls and mcmansions than poverty, illness, ignorance and death. Creating buildings like these is a choice.
You have a computer, you have internet, you can read, you are educated. Would you prefer sickness, early death and a life with no words? Reading can bring comfort.It doesn't have to mean 'Western", What about the hundreds of Persian authors and the literature they have created over two and a half millennia? Jelaluddin Rumi, one of the greatest poets ever alive was born in Afghanistan.
I believe education is a gift that continues to give long after it has been received.
"All religions are in substance one and the same.
In the adorations and benedictions of righteous men
The praises of all the prophets are kneaded together.
All their praises are mingled into one stream,
All the vessels are emptied into one ewer.
Because He that is praised is, in fact, only One,
In this respect all religions are only one religion.
Because all praises are directed towards God's light,
Their various forms and figures are borrowed from it.
Men never address praises but to One deemed worthy,"
- Jelaluddin Rumi, Masnavi I Ma'navi/Book III, story 12
Lincoln Rhyme is New York City's best Criminalist, who has helped solve some of the most perplexing crimes that have been committed in the city. He is also a quadraplegic, as the result of an accident at a crime scene, three years before; and has decided to kill himself. But then the Police need his help. Someone is committing brutal and seemingly random attacks in the city, and the only person who can solve the clues left behind is Rhyme. However, Rhyme can't walk the crime scenes himself, so he needs somebody to do it for him. Amelia Sachs is working her last shift as a Patrol Officer, before she transfers into Public Affairs. But the scene she stumbles across in the morning, leads her head-first into a new investigation, where she finds herself being the eyes and ears of Lincoln Rhyme...
This is the first novel in the Lincoln Rhyme series, and I felt that it did a great job of introducing the two main characters, Rhyme and Sachs. The story itself had a lot of twists and turns, and there were some genuine surprises along the way. I was never able to second guess what was going to happen, and the action moved along at a fast pace, making me want to keep reading.
As well as the main storyline, about Rhyme and his hastily assembled team trying to solve the case, the relationship between Rhyme and Sachs is explored, and as a result, I felt that I got to know the two characters well.
The other characters weren't so well developed (with the exception of Rhyme's aide Thom, who I adored), but that did not detract from the enjoyment of the book. As this is the first in a series, there is presumably plenty of time to get to know the others.
I did feel that at times, the storyline about the kidnappings stretched credibility somewhat. Rhyme is certainly supposed to be brilliant, but on occasions he seemed able to deduce something very specific from the vaguest of clues. This is the course the character's job, but it did feel slight unbelieveable. However, there was enough excitement and intrigue in this book for me to forgive that minor niggle.
Overall, this is a cut above a lot of other crime based novels, and is very cleverly written. (it's very evident that Deaver has done his research with regards to forensic work and equipment). A highly recommended read.
My first winter painting this year.
Anna and Scottie find a new friend....
.....on eBay now :)
My first winter painting this year.
Anna and Scottie find a new friend....
.....on eBay now :)
I've
just come in from raking leaves and my arms feel like they are dragging
on the ground:) We are having a bit of a weather reprieve and I thought
it would be a good idea to go out and finally get it done. I tend to
wait until ALL the leaves are off the trees, so it is a big job but
then it is over. Well almost over, there are always stragglers.
I've got a pot of chicken soup on the stove for lunch and then time to hit the brushes:)
Ohh, yes, I went to see Coco Avant Chanel.... Wonderful film. Go see it if you are an Audrey Tatou fan, a romantic, love lush backgrounds, period pieces, creativity, fashion and France!
Last night I had a dream, the second of a new theme. In this dream my grandma (who died of cancer in 1983) has come back to life or reappeared from wherever she'd been hiding. I conjectured perhaps she had been in an induced coma all this time, until they finally cured her. And when she comes back home, my grandpa gets his mind back. This is the new recurring theme. Grandpa Frank has alzheimer's and every time I see him there's a bit less of him there. But in my dream world he goes back to his old grumpy yet good-humored and almost entirely sane self. When grandma comes home.
Their house is the childhood home base that my dreams seem to seek out by default. I never feel safe or happy there in my dreams. There are often problems with the plumbing and the lock on the bathroom door. The main plot point in this particular dream is the appearance of Adolf, one of grandma's long-dead cats. I look out the kitchen window and see him sitting in the middle of the dirt yard where grandpa now keeps his backhoe. I recognize his crooked Hitler mustache. He is bigger and rounder than any non-dream housecat. I announce to grandma that Adolf came home and open the door for him. He rushes inside out of the bitter cold and I sit on the kitchen floor where he uncharacteristically snuggles up on my lap (he was a weird, unfriendly cat). I realize with low-level concern that he is way older than cats are supposed to live. I ask grandma, "When was Adolf born?" She tells me, "45 weeks after your cousin." Even in dream math I realize this is simply not possible. My cousin was born in 1973.... which would make this dream cat over 30 years old. This reasoning launches me toward consciousness, where grandma is still dead and grandpa will never be sane again.
Another theme often found in my dreams: Moving in with my mom in some unfamiliar place that always has complex architecture and more rooms than one would think. The last dream like this was last week, and she and I had moved into an apartment complex much like the one I live in now. In this dream the multitude of rooms we share are spread over two units on opposite sides of the hall (and yet it is still somehow one apartment). It dawns on me that if we divide the space it could be almost like having my own apartment, and I go down the hall to suggest this plan. I find mom has gone insane and is making a variety of loud cat noises. This is not altogether improbable in real life. I try to talk to her quietly and rationally, but she continues to make cat noises. There are a bunch of young women neighbors who come over to help her (wearing fuzzy slippers and pink bathrobes). I decide I can be of no help and lock myself in the other apartment.
Monty senses the excitement in the air! Remember a while back I mentioned a swap organized by Susan
called 15 things? Well ......I received mine! The doorbell rang a few
days ago and a mysterious package was handed over to me by a handsome
postman:)
Look how lovely all the gifts are.... Wasn't sure if there was a special day we were supposed to open.... I couldn't wait.
Monty knew there was a reason to be happy. One of the packages was especially addressed to him!
I am thrilled with all my goodies!!! Thanks so much Pamela!!
Here
is the 15 list.....old-fashioned, delicious, natural, salty, sweet,
cat, dog, culinary, green,sparkly,useful, paper, scented, soft, garden.
Can you guess what is what?
So, I've been using my Typepad account instead of VOX, and whenever I come back over this way I have shit loads of spam comments to delete. Surely, VOX, if you delete a spam account, it should automatically delete all of the spam comments they've left as well?
Anne Boleyn is one of the most famous Queens of England. Typically in literature she is described as the manipulative schemer who lured Henry VIII from his devoted wife Katharine of Aragon and later met her death on (probably trumped up) charges of Adultery, Incest and Treason.
In this book, Denny presents a different view of Anne, as a victim of Henry's cold blooded-ness. She asserts that Henry relentlessly pursued Anne, who resisted because of his marriage to Katharine. Anne finally succumbed to Henry's advances and was then cast aside when it no longer suited him to be married to her.
The book is written in a very 'readable' way. I often find non-fiction to be somewhat dry; however this book flowed easily and held my interest throughout.
It has obviously been very well researched, and Denny is clearly a Boleyn enthusiast, with a lot of passion for her subject. However, this is a double edged sword. While I firmly believe that it is important for any biographer to really care about their subject, Denny's own view means that this book is extremely biased. Katharine of Aragon is described as a vicious, manipulative and unreasonable woman, who lied to fulfill her ambition to become Queen of England. Anne is painted almost as a saint, who could do no wrong and was blameless in every respect.
Joanna Denny wrote this book to bring balance to the general view of Anne; however, she has not created balance but has merely tipped the scales all the way to the other side. She claims that the critics of Anne are biased - and this may well be true - but unfortunately, Denny shows herself to be equally as biased. The women in Anne's world are portrayed as evil and two faced, with the exception of Elizabeth I, Anne's daughter.
I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Anne or the Tudor period, but I do not think that this book is 'the truth' about Anne Boleyn, as the author claims.
