Eating Animals Part 3:

I read how chickens have changed and became unnatural geneticly modified beings. It when when the USDA and Poltry Industry launched a "Chicken of Tomorrow" contest to create a pefect chicken that could produce more meat with less feed. Sounds crazy right? But they actually figured it out. They made a hybrid corn called Cornish blood that gave chickens broad breasts. Also they gave the birds sulfa drugs and antibiotics, which stimulated growth and held down the diseases induced by confinement. The chickens' feed and environment were so manipulated that they were genetically altered. "The average weight of broilers increased by 65%, while their time-to-market dropped 60% and their feed requirements dropped 57%. To gain a sense of the radicalness of this change, imagine human children growing to be 300 pounds in ten years, while eating only granola bars and Flinstone vitamins." (Foer 107) Factory farms have taken the natural process of farming and made it unnatural like what you'd see in a Frankenstein movie. These chickens grow so fast that their bones and organs cannot keep up with the growth. This results in the chickens being crippled or in immense pain.
All this overcrowding within a stressful and filthy environment leads to a weakened immune system. As a result, virtually all chickens are infected with E. coli. Take this into account and then remember how Foer described "fresh." As a result, "between 39% and 75% of chickens in retail stores are still infected." (Foer 131) I don't know about you, but that scares me. E. coli is a disease responsible for thousands of deaths, and yet chickens we purchase at our trusted stores are infected with it. I think we should have more restrictions on what factory farms can and can't sell. Perhaps a restriction such as; if a factory is producing food that is infected, then it can't sell it or the factory should eventually be shut down. So lets take a look at who is in charge of providing nutritional information to the people of America and able to create and provide these restrictions. "The USDA was charged with providing nutritional information to the nation and ultimately with creating guidelines that would serve public health. At the same time, though, the USDA was charged with promoting industry." (Foer 146) Does that sound strange to anyone else? The people who tell us what is ok to eat are also promoting the food industry. The USDA has a complete monopoly of the food industry and basically sets the guidelines for what we should and shouldn't eat. I think we need to change this so that we are eating the safest food possible and are given proper nutritional guidelines. If this continues, more people will die as a result of unchecked food that was put into our stores.

Food Safety

The U.S. claims to have excellent quality food from factory farms, but statistics don't support this. According to David Hosansky, An estimated 5,000 people die yearly and some 76 million are sickened because of food-borne pathogens like E. coli, listeria and Vibrio vulnificus. Much of our food comming from factory farms is still contaminated and getting people sick. This is due to the fact that there are few restrictions on factory farms when it comes to clean meat. “There are a lot of gaps in the food safety system, and there are also redundancies,” says Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of the food safety program at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), an advocacy group in Washington. “The system is very inefficient, and we pay the price in terms of more illness and deaths.” Factory farms try to produce mass amounts of meat at once to increase profit, however their carlessness of handling meat leads to the death of thousands every year. I think we should increase the restrictions on meat factory farms so that we have less contaminated food going to our market. Factory farms only care about their own profit, not the health of others. Their products may be cheaper, but in the long run they cost us more in our health. "Poisoning costs the nation an estimated $7 billion a year in medical expenses, lost productivity and other related costs. It causes symptoms ranging from stomach cramps and diarrhea to kidney failure and death." A person can get sick through such innocuous acts as eating a medium-rare hamburger or unwashed lettuce from a salad bar. Our meat should be more closley regulated so that we don't have to be paranoid when eating a salad or cooking hamburgers on the grill. We, as consumers, have made the food industry too powerful so that they can prevent themselves from being sued due to these sicknesses they cause. Also they can prevent laws that restrict them from sending meat out to the market without being thouroughly checked. This is why we need to give less power to the food industry and keep them more in check.
http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2002110100&type=hitlist&num=0

Eating Animals Part 2:

One of the chapters in this is called Words/meaning. It's called this because many things the food industry claims isn't what we think and means a different thing. For example, Foer defines the words "cage free" and "fresh" as "bullshit" when it applies to our food. All cage free really means is that animals aren't held in cages, but they are still crammed together in tight space. They are still subject to debeaking, being drugged, or being cruelly slaughtered. USDA standards of fresh only have to do with temperature. So no matter how old chicken may be, if the temperature is right, it is still considered "fresh." As Foer put it, "pathogen-infested, feces-splattered chicken can technically be fresh...and sold in the supermarket legally." (Foer 61) So most people's interpretation of fresh is different than the USDA's. When we by a meat product, it may not be at our standards of healthy and fresh, but is in the hands of the food industries standards. Does that seem right? Lets take a look at KFC. KFC insists it is "committed to the well-being and humane treatment of chickens." Could we trust these words? The slaughterhouse that's supplies KFC has workers that have been "documented tearing heads off live birds, spitting tobacco in their eyes, spray painting their faces, and violently stomping on them."(Foer) This slaughter house was voted "supplier of the year." This makes me wonder what we can believe about our food. Shouldn't we be able to know all the details about the food that we put in our mouths and how it was processed. From what I've read so far, the best way to avoid untrustworthy food, is buying organic products. "This requires that animals must be raised on organic feed, be able to be traced through their life cycle, not be fed anti-biotics or growth hormones, and have access to the outdoors." (Foer) Although organic doesn' cover animal welfare issues, it is still a more healthy choice. I'm no PETA extremist so, as wrong as it sounds, I don't care how animals are treated in factories, TO A CERTAIN EXTENT. I don't want people to think I'm a horrible person. However, we feed animals, raise them, make them grow, provide shelter, and in return we get to kill them and eat them. Sounds reasonable to me because death is a natural part of life. However, I don't believe any animal should go through what I listed about KFC's factory.
Then I read about how a farmer became the first factory farmer. It turns out it was all by accident. Celia Steele managed her family's small flock of chickens and accidental ordered 500 chickens instead of 50. She decided to keep them and conduct experiments on her limits. She kept them inside at all times and with newly discovered feed supplements she kept them alive. From there, she kept at it and eventually had 250,000 birds. So this is how factory farming all started. We truly don't need factory farming, just like we didn't need it back then. The surplus of animals farmers were able to keep increased the amount of food Americans eat. In reality, we eat too much and don't need all these animals to eat.

Site Page

This is a post to hold all my refrences and sites I got info from. Take a look at all them and learn about factory farms for yourself.

http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/factoryfarms/

http://www.foodincmovie.com/

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=GVRL&userGroupName=deer63488&tabID=T003&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=1&contentSet=GALE%7CCX3233900094&&docId=GALE|CX3233900094&docType=GALE&role

http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2002110100&type=hitlist&num=0

Adverse affects of factory farming

I wanted to learn the effects of factory farming so I went to gale and found a good article. One important thing I found was that "the intent of factory farms is to reduce the costs of raising high numbers of the poultry or livestock by reducing the space necessary to contain them." Basically the main purpose of a factory farm is to gain more profit even if it means having negative effects on everything else. Factory farms are not only detrimental to the animals it holds, but everything around it. Factory farms require a lot of local water, eventually diminishing supplies or ultimately polluting them. "A factory farm generates huge amounts of waste; a factory farm housing 10,000 hogs can produce as much waste in one day as a community of 25,000 people." With all this waste comes a lot of polluting because it soil into water systems or in the soil, which eventually will go into water. Furthermore, all the waste and animals in one area posses another very serious problem. The conditions of a factory farm are perfect for diseases to spread and evolve. An example is avian influenza, or the bird flu. "The common practice of providing low concentrations of antibiotics to livestock as a means of increasing their weight gain has been proven to generate resistant types of bacteria that are also capable of causing disease in animals as well as in humans." At one point, this flu could be transmitted to only birds, but because of factory farms it can be transmitted to humans. How could we continue this type of new farming when it creates such problems? We need to change to all natural and local farms. Big food industries don't want you to know this because if you did you wouldn't support them by buying their cheap meat. The only thing factory farms care about profit, obviously they don't care about their animals, the environment, or the health of the people around them or the ones buying their products.
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=GVRL&userGroupName=deer63488&tabID=T003&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=1&contentSet=GALE%7CCX3233900094&&docId=GALE|CX3233900094&docType=GALE&role

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. Part 1:

I desided to read Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer, because it is a non-fiction book that is all about where our meat comes from. So far, its no simple case for vegetarianism as one might think. This book brings up controversial and somewhat hippocratic issues in our society. Foer brought up a simple point about the way we treat dogs. Why don't we treat other animals with the same level of decency? "Pigs are every bit as intelligent and feeling, by any sensible definition of the words. They can't hop into the back of a Volvo, but they can fetch, run and play, be mischievous, and reciprocate affection. So why dont they get to curl up next to the fire?" (Foer 25) This is an interesting and thought provoking quote. it made me understand how different cultures favor certain animals over others. All animals are equal, just some are more equal than others. Its something to think about when eating meat. What makes us decide what to eat? As Americans, we most likely eat things that taste good or they are easy to obtain. We hardly think about what exactly we are eating or where it came from. "Food choices are determined by many factors, but reason (even consciousness) is not generally high on the list." (Foer 32) We should be more aware of these things.
Looking at the inside cover of the book there’s a quote that reads, “anyone who, after reading Foer’s book, continues to consume the industry’s products must be without a heart, or impervious to reason, or both.” (J.M. Coetzee) Now I’m not vegetarian and I’m not looking for a reason to become one, but that seems like a pretty powerful statement. However, I’m still an omnivore and I sure hope I’m none of the things Coetzee said. I’ve learned a lot about factory farms and I’d say it’s important to learn because 99% of all animals eaten in this country come from factory farms. Perhaps some people don't even know what exactly a factory farm is or does. This is one reason I'm doing my project on factory farms. Also I learned that the once reassuring words, organic and cage-free, mean very little when it comes to the treatment of animals. Chickens are crammed in tight cages their entire short life of less than a year (any time after they don’t lay as much eggs) or in a broiler chicken’s case only 40 days. They are also genetically altered so that they produce more meat or lay more eggs. Turkeys are so genetically modified that they can’t even walk. That can’t be healthy to eat. "For thousands of years, farmers took their cues from natural processes. Factory farming considers nature an obstacle to overcome." (Foer 34) As crazy as it seems, this quote perfectly describes the new style of farming, factory farming. Farmers used to use nature to help them raise animals. Now they try to find new ways to include the least amount of nature as possible like keeping them alive indoors their entire life. Or making them grow at an unnatural rate so that their organs and bones cant catch up causing much pain. Not only this, but “animal agriculture makes a 40% greater contribution to global warming than all transportation in the world combined.” (Foer 43) This is a direction I’m drawn to because I think what we eat and the environment have a lot to do with each other and they are both very important for living happy and healthy lives. Factory farming isn't the only thing humans are using to produce massive amounts of food for people. Fishing is also used to catch many fish at a time. We catch so much fish they cannot replenish themselves at a fast enough rate, thus affecting the food chain and the ocean as a whole. The techneques we have for fishing also catch or kill many other fish. This is called bycatch. "Imagine being served a plate of sushi. But this plate also holds all of the animals that were killed for your serving of sushi. The plate might have to be five feet across" (Foer 50) Our mass fishing kills many other unintended fish. So many species of sea animals are killed just for that little role on your plate.  

Food, Inc.

I watched the movie Food, Inc to further help my understanding of the food industry. Robbert Kenner, the film maker, wanted to lift the veil of the food industry from over his, and everybody else's eyes. The veil, is the image of the honest farmer on a nice field with happy animals, when truley, factory farming has completely distorted this farming. I highly suggest watching this video because it really opens your eyes to where your food comes from. The conditions in which our food is processed are unsanitary and result in the death of many Americans today. Many of the food factories Kenner went to would not allow an interview because they knew people wouldn't buy their products if they knew what they came from. One farmer wanted to let the film makers in, but he knew the industry that owned his business wouldn't like that.What scares me the most is that these companies have managed to make it illegal to say anything bad about the company. On her show, Oprah said she didn't want to eat a burger because of the outbreak of "mad cow disease." The company sued her because they lost profit, however, Oprah battled it out and didn't let them win. The point is, just for saying she didn't want another burger the company was able to sue her. They also have immense laws protecting them from any lawsuits concerning diseases one might get from their meat. One mother tried to sue because he son died from E. coli in their meat. Then she tried to create and pass a law to make meat industries have more inspections and pass them, but her efforts were in vain. What makes these industries so powerful and seemingly unstoppable, is us. Though we may not think we are, as consumers, we are very powerful. Every time we buy something it's like we're voting for that item and saying we want more of it. Sure big business products may be inexpensive, but they cost more in the long run when considering your health and the health of our world. Take a look at their website- http://www.foodincmovie.com/

Controversial topic: Factory farming

I decided to research the topic of factory farming for my project because I want to learn more about it and I want to inform others about the topic. I think it's important to know what goes in your body because we are what we eat after all. Factory farming all started in the 1920's when we discovered vitamins A and D. When these vitamins are added to feed, the animals no longer require sunlight and exercises for growth. This allowed a large number of animals to be kept in doors all year round. The problem raised with having these animals kept inside all year was the spread of disease. The introduction and use of anti-biotics on the animals were used to combat the disease. This raises issues of animal welfare and agricultural health. Another issue raised due to the mass quantities of farms animals in one area is an ecological one. Mass amounts of animal waste are created and deposited into waste lagoons. These waste lagoons eventually spill and find their way into water systems. The methane gas from cow manure is more harmful than the carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation industry. Natural farming, like we used to do, doesn't exactly have this problem because animals are free to grase and relieve themselves on the grass creating fertilizer. Factory farming has turned the natural process of farming into a business production line. The nice image of the red barn and green fields with animals frolicking around, the one you see in grocery stores, is no longer a reality of farming.This is what farming really looks like now. It's hard to call it farming because it has changed so much. Currently, I'm reading Eating Animals and will find out more about this issue and post more about it. Is factory farming worth the problems it causes?

Race in America

I read "Why many Americans prefer their Sundays segregated" and I felt it was an interesting story. I'd say it related to David Hacker's story because it entailed blacks and whites in an integrated community. Hacker claimed blacks wanted to integrate with whites and whites don't want to integrate with blacks. I disagree with this and think neither racial group wants to integrate with the other for the soul purpose of integration. The article I read backs me up. It talks about a black church gaining new members of white race and the black members complained to their pastor. "They warned Sheppard that the church's newest members would try to seize control because members of their race were inherently aggressive." This shows how blacks may feel when integrating with whites. Perhaps they make accusations based on the past and believe whites are aggressive and try to control things. Many pastors of integrated churches claim it is a very hard task to run a racially integrated church because so many conflicts arise based on race. Not only this, but the pastor has to speak in a way that appeals to all groups and have to be very careful about what they say so they don't loose respect. This ordeal isn't just contained within churches, its everywhere in America, it has just made itself apparent within churches. Only 5% of Americas churches are integrated and many of them are slowly becoming one race. It's no secret that Americans want to keep things segregated. Why so many of us want to be segregated, I don't know, but we should try to live together in peace without conflict over power. We have to start seeing everyone as a whole and no longer refer to different races as "they," but as "we."

What's going on today?

I don't really know much about what's going on in Libya, but from what I've read and watched it seems like chaos over there. Many people are in the streets protesting. They are resorting to violence. The government is trying to keep them in control with force with tear gas and stuff. This would make me want to protest more if I were them. Sometimes protesting is necessary for a better country. Amr Abdullah El-Behairy, a protester, was sentenced to five years in prison for protesting. This does not seem just. Protesting  is a citizen asking for change in government. No government should be too controlling, it should be made by the people for the people. Citizens should be able to voice their opinion and if its majority, they should see some changes being made. 

Mock Trial Recap and Response

The first trial that I was apart of, was a civil case between Elyse Roberts and her employer. She claimed they did not protect her from reoccurring sexual harassment. The District of Columbia was found guilty and sued for a large sum of money and Kevin Murphy had to write a lot of apologies.
At first, before I even knew my role, I thought Elyse was overreacting and should not win the case. When assigned my role, my opinion became stronger. However, after the trial was over with and I heard the plaintiff and Mr. Kramer talk about the case, it became apparent to me how she was sexually harassed. I thought Elyse Roberts was a horrible lawyer and under a lot of pressure because of that, not from Kevin Murphy. This may even be true, but the fact is Kevin did sexually harass her, and she could easily blame her stress and performance on that. It was quite apparent that Elyse had social problems with men and getting along with them, but still this does not disprove Kevin Murphy sexually harassed her. In order to reach the opposite outcome, I would have needed to hear that the EEOC had confirmed that she was not a victim of sexual harassment, but of her own problems.

The second trial was a criminal case between the United States and David Jones. Susan Williams claimed she was raped by David Jones, despite him being her boyfriend and them having sex before. David Jones was found not guilty because there was not enough evidence to put David in jail. Throughout the trial I was up and down with the verdict, it was hard to decide. However, the most compelling evidence is that Susan said stop and tried to leave, but was unable to due to David pulling her back. Then I decided he was guilty, but most of the others thought he wasn't guilty because Susan kept kissing David. This case was difficult to decide because they were in a relationship and had had sex before. Susan could have just been upset over the note she found. However, the torn shirt and bruises made me think otherwise. If Susan had made it quite apparent she didn't want to take her cloths of and have sex, and that she was pulled back into the bed, then I think the case would have gone the other way.

I think these are both big issues and are very complex. There are multiple ways a sexual assault and harassment may be perceived. As a juror, the best thing to do is stick to the basics and ask yourself the direct question if the person was truly a victim. What makes these issues so complex, is that the defendant often doesn't know they are committing harassment or assault like in the two cases we did, when they truly are. People should know that there always two sides to the argument, but for these cases you just got to move past the story and stick to the facts and evidence. I would not say these are issues at DHS. Perhaps to a lesser extent a person may tease another person about their sexual orientation, but nothing too serious. No sexual assault takes place at DHS. These matters seem like they would be more prevalent in the workplace or at college. I think here at DHS we believe in respect for women and that's why this doesn't happen much. Our culture here at DHS give women more say and more power. These issues should always still be addressed because they can happen to anyone without them knowing it. With them addressed, people will know how to better treat people and reflect on their actions and their effects. Like I said before, sexual harassment for one person can be joking around for another.

State of the Union Address

I think Obama is an excellent speaker and think he did a great job on his speech this time. His main focus of the night seemed to be uniting the Democrat party and Republican party. Also, investing in important and new technology is of great concern for the president if we want to move forward, but we need to do it as one country. Obama said, "Progress is measured not by what Wall street does, but by how the American people are doing." I take from that he sees the potential in the average American to aspire to do great things. I think this is true and everyone should be given an equal opportunity to a job. I agree with Obama when he said "America is founded for the sake of  an idea and freedom of thought." He means we should be able to follow up on an idea we each have to improve the country and invest in new things, after all "this is our generations Sputnik moment." What Obama means by that is that we should invest in new technologies and new ideas and later it will bring us profit. I agree with this when talking about clean and abundant energy. We should no longer invest in things that require oil as an energy source because we will soon run out and its very expensive.He wants America to be the first company to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road and I think this is a good goal to help the environment and decrease our dependancy on oil. Obama's  new goal is to have 80% renewable energy by 2035. Obama's theme throughout his speach seemed to be "Lets fix what needs fixing and move forward."  But the final critical step is not to be buried under dept. Our gov. spends more than it take in, people work to stay in credit, why not the us government? That is why Obama is proposing cuts of government spending. However, some say he isn't making enough cuts. I like Obama's speech because he proposes many good ideas, but some of these ideas require a lot of government spending. How can we find the right way to invest in the future so that we won't be over encumbered by dept like we are now? This is a very important question and according to the Republican rebuttal to Obama's speech we should spend a lot less. If we do not, the Federal government will double in size in order to help maintain all the problems its created through spending. According to the rebuttal, we need less of government interference and less spending. The government is simply supposed to be our safety net. Perhaps this is true, we must consider all opinions on this matter. One thing is for certain, we must do something to get out of debt because we have a lot of it. I believe we should invest in new technologies also because the will be more efficient and we will eventually see profit from them.

Zeitoun: Part 5

It was the kind deed of a missionary in the jail that enabled Zeitoun to begin the process of bail. Zeitoun had asked him to call Kathy and he did, all it took was one phone call. The justice system should have allowed Zeitoun his phone call from the start, but he wrongly was never given one. Finally, Kathy knew the prison Zeitoun was held at, but no one would tell her the whereabouts. This worried Zeitoun's brother because he knew "a Syrian in an American prison in 2005 -- this was not to be trifled with...he had to be freed immediately." (Eggers 274) It's an unfortunate truth that he's right about that. Post 9/11 was an unfair time for people from the middle east. They were discriminated against and suspected for almost anything anywhere. The justice system would treat them unfairly like Zeitoun. Kathy was outraged she couldn't be told the whereabouts of the jail, but once she got the press involved they told her right away. However, they didn't allow her or anyone else testifying in the defense of Zeitoun in the court hearing. How could anything like this happen in America? At times, I wonder what is wrong with our justice system. Kathy had to get proof Zeitoun owned the house he was arrested in, she found the papers and he was soon released. What if that piece of paper had beed destroyed in the destruction of the hurricane? "Her husband might fall deeper into the abyss of this broken judicial system for lack of the paper." (Eggers 286) Without that paper, Zeitoun, innocent and highly respected citizen of the United States could have been in jail for years. How could our justice system have these major malfunctions? If there is one thing I've learned from reading this book, its that our justice system isn't perfect because innocent people can be thrown in jail. 

When Zeitoun was released, he and Kathy pursued information on the reasoning behind his arrest and the jail he stayed at. The government worried that "terrorists might target evacuation routes, creating 'mass panic' and 'loss of public confidence in the government.'" (Eggers 308) After 9/11, it seemed like the government, or at least George Bush's top priority, was terrorism. Sure there are terrorist out there somewhere, but that doesn't mean you put all your recourses toward finding them. Thats a whole other issue, but the point is that the government seemed to be more concerned with terrorism over saving its own people in its own country. "This complex and exceedingly efficient government operation was completed while residents of New Orleans were trapped in attics and begging for rescue from rooftops and highway overpasses. " (Eggers 311) This quote pretty much sums up the governments role in the devastation of New Orleans. It is true that the government is capable of doing many things very efficiently when its on top of their priority list, obviously New Orleans wasn't at the top. How could the people of the United States not be at the top of their own governments priority list? This book has really opened my eyes to see the faults in our, what I thought was near perfect, government. Zeitoun was an average man, and his experience could happen to anyone, and have happened to many. Its a scary thought.

Zeitoun: Part 4

Wow. This book is really interesting. What makes it interesting is the fact that its true. For part four, I was in disbelief the whole time reading this. I had to keep looking on the back of the book to re-read that this book truly was non-fiction.

While at one of Zeitoun's houses, Todd, Nasser, and a resident named Ronnie that had been using the phone, all were arrested without question. Zeitoun and the others complied and believed there was just a big mix up and they would send them back after questioning. However, as soon as they got out of the law inforcements' boat, they were takeled to the ground, tied up, and brought to what seemed to be a military base for questioning. Todd asked why they were there, and one soldier said because the were al Qaeda. Todd was in disbelief to this reasoning, but Zeitoun feared this day would come and knew they would be there for a while. I think the reason Zeitoun and his friends were targeted by this military force was because there were two men from the middle east with them. "After 9/11, he and Kathy knew that many imaginations had run amok, that the introduction of the idea of "sleeper cells" ...meant that everyone at their mosque, or the mosque itself, might be waiting for instructions from their presumed leaders." (Eggers 212) Unfortunately, many Muslims are discriminated still to this day because of 9/11 and the idea of undercover and waiting al Qaeda living within the U.S. As a result, bad things happen to good people like Zeitoun and Nasser, and the others in the group. When they brought Zeitoun in, they provided no information for him. "Zeitoun had not been read his rights. He did not know why he was being held." (Eggers 216) Does this sound like our American government? To take someone from their home, accuse them of being a terrorist, tell them virtually nothing of the reasoning for the arrest, and then give them no rights in prison? Not even one phone call. When reading this happened to Zeitoun, I was furious that our federal troops would do such a thing to an innocent person. That America would stoop so low as prejudice. Isn't that what America is supposed to be against? Not only this, but they were in caged in an outside prison made entirely out of cage similar to that of Guantanamo Bay. Everything and every body was visible from the outside and they were unprotected from the elements. In each cell there was only a portable toilet and a steel, upside down U-shaped bar cemented to the ground used as a guide for lines of people in the bus station. Perhaps what made me most mad, was the fact that this prison had to take time to build, so the government was planning to create a prison in New Orleans. "Within a day of the storm's eye passing over the region, officials were making plans for the building of a makeshift outdoor prison." (Eggers 226) So instead of planning how they would have to save so many people and evacuate them out of the city, the government was busy thinking of terrorism. I can't comprehend why they were planning to make this prison. Why wasn't the government's main priority saving people? During Zeitoun's stay at the prison, he witnessed things I would never believe our federal troops would do. They bribed prisoners before they were interviewed, they would give Muslims pork for food, and they would torture people with pepper spray when they touched the fence or wouldn't keep quiet. Zeitoun was later transferred to another high-security prison and learned he wasn't the only one that was arrested for no apparent reason. One sanitation worker was doing his job of cleaning up the city, when the National Guard pulled up and arrested him on the spot. They even arrested a fireman who had been asked to stay. Zeitoun came to the conclusion if a "man came to be suspected by the U.S. government, and, under the president's current powers, U.S. agents were allowed to seize the man from anywhere in the world, and bring him anywhere in the world, without ever having to charge him with a crime." (Eggers 255) I think the government is capable of many things and, although it goes against America's values, I think what Zeitoun's thought was right. When the government puts their mind to something, they are very capable of doing what ever it takes to get what they want, even if it means arresting innocent people. By the end of the section, Zeitoun began to think this country was fallible after all and that mistakes could be made. If I were in this position, I would think the same. I still am shocked to see what the government did to Zeitoun.  Zeitoun's situation, was one of those American mistakes.

Zeitoun: Part 3

What frustrates me the most when reading this book, is the thought that perhaps many more people suffering could have been saved. While patrolling in his canoe, Zeitoun noticed a helicopter hovering over a body. Zeitoun thought it was a rescue mission, as I would have thought, but it wasn't. "No. A man was pointing a camera at the body. He did so for a few minutes and then the helicopter rose, tilted, and drifted off." (Eggers 148) When reading this, I felt disgusted to know that helicopters were flying around looking at the damage and dead bodies, while people were trapped in their homes and in the super dome. I think that every resource possible should have been in New Orleans getting these people out of the toxic flooded city. That helicopter should have been picking up all sorts of people to save, but instead it was used to observe the destruction and suffering. Anyone with a sufficient vehicle could have saved many. For example, Todd, who lived in the neighborhood, had a motor boat and saved many people. "Todd told him stories of his own rescues -- how he'd picked up dozens of people already, how he'd been shuttling them to hospitals and staging grounds, how easy it was with a motor boat."(Eggers 138) This shows that one person can make such a difference for the lives and safety of others. Federal forces could have done so much with their fan boat, and perhaps they did eventually, but why didn't the ones that Zeitoun saw help? Those boats could save so many people even though it may seem like a little for each boat, it adds up to many saved in the end.

I am contemplating what the goal of the media during Katrina was. For Kathy, the media only brought disparity. Every time she watched it she could not believe what she was seeing or listening to she turned it off so she would not get upset. "There were roving gangs of armed men. That's all the media could talk about -- that it was the Wild West out there." (Eggers 169) I don't see how this could help the situation other than sending in troops, but for the wrong reason. Everyone just needed help to get out, and needed food and supplies sent. Chief Eddie Compass would exaggerate the crime in the Superdome perhaps to get the attention of law enforcements so they may be sent. He said, "We had babies in there. Little babies getting raped...the people, in my opinion, they got to this almost animalistic state, because they didn't have the recourses." In the video we watched in class, there was someone who was in the Superdome and said none of that type of violence occurred. In fact we saw video of the Superdome and in the hard times people started singing not "raping babies." In Compass' self defense, I think he was desperate to get recourses to the people, but that is no reason to over exaggerate. I'm still unsure of the media's purpose, but I know it didn't help kathy in her time of need when she could not get a hold of Zeitoun. Right now in the book, Kathy hadn't received Zeitoun's phone call for about 2 weeks and she assumed the worst. Until someone called saying Zeitoun was in jail. Thats where I stopped. So far this book is pretty good, I cant wait to see why he's in jail.

Zeitoun: Part 2

Hurricane Katrina finally hit. Zeitoun was ready for it, putting all his valuables and more on the second floor of his house. Then he put buckets and garbage cans under leaks in the house to gather the water. Besides a few windows broken, some shingles lost, and a fallen gutter, Zeitoun's house was in pretty good shape for being in a "category 5" hurricane. The truth was however, that the hurricane had not directly hit New Orleans and the damage was less than anticipated. The next morning, Zeitoun realized the worste was not over. He woke up to the sound similar to that of a river. That sound was the water from the levees escaping due to the lack of structure needed to hold back water from a category 2 hurricane.This is another issue; why was something built by the government and paid for by tax payers and was supposed to save many lives and property, built so poorly? The people of New Orleans were dependent on the levees because the city is 6ft below sea level! They expected the levees to hold back the water like they were supposed to, but they didn't. For this, many people were unprepared for the event including Zeitoun. "It made him sick, the anguish this would cause. Know one, he knew, had prepared for this, adequately or at all." (Eggers 95) This is why hurricane Katrina was such a catastrophe, because no one expected the levees to break and flood the city, so no one was prepared. As a result, it cause immense damage and the lives of many.

One might think, in an incident like this, that the government would send federal troops there right away saving all sorts of people, but they seemed to take their time. As Zeitoun was patrolling the neighborhood in his canoe, he saw some type of armed government force driving by in a fan boat. He and Frank waved for their help to save an elderly woman in her house. The soldiers gave no attention to them and drove past without helping. Zeitoun was thinking, "Where were these boats going, what were they looking for, if not residents of the city asking for help? It defied belief." (Eggers 101) These are questions I am pondering as I read through this book. Perhaps one reason for the governments slow response was an issue with race. Most of the people that needed help in New Orleans were black and they had been described over the radio to be in a "third world" state. "Residents were being referred to as refugees." So when Governor Blanco said, "I have one message for these hoodlums, these troops know how to shoot and kill, and they are more than willing to do so if necessary, and I expect they will." To me, it seems that the Blanco is saying that the people in New Orleans are hoodlums because they are black and because they are looting. I think Blanco, along with the media was blowing the crime way out of proportion to make it seem like they have to send in armed forces to stop them rather than helping them. I recall seeing an article about two instances about looting. One instance was a black person being described as looting a grocery store, while the other was a white person described as searching for necessary belongings. I will tell you, based on the pictures I saw, they both were taking essentials for surviving in that city. You cant tell me that the New Orleans situation had nothing to do with race.

Zeitoun: Part 1

I've separated this book into five equivalent sections and after reading one I will post a blog about the issues and what I think. The first section of this book what sort of uneventful mostly because all books start off slow because they need to introduce everything. However, there was the issue of religious intolerance and prejudice to the main character and his wife. This book takes place a few years after September 11th and people are still hateful toward Muslims. Zeitoun is Syrian and some people deny his services as a carpenter because he's Syrian. For example, people would ask where the last name Zeitoun originated and where he's from. Once his wife and secretary, Kathy, says he's from Syria, some people don't want their services. I can't believe some people would chose to not hire one of the best carpenters around just because of his race or religion. Reading this book, it seems like Zeitoun is the most loyal and reliable person someone could know, but some people can't see past his name of religion.
Kathy is Zeitoun's wife and used to be Christian, but later converted to Islam. She wears a hijab, what some women of Islam wear to cover most of their head. Kathy doesn't mind wearing this and is proud of her faith, but she knows other people don't like it. She knows she'll encounter "ugliness" sometimes when she goes out. "The frequency of incidents seemed tied, to some extent, to current events, to the general media profile of Muslims that week or month. Certainly 9/11 it was more fraught than before, and then it had calmed for a few years. But in 2004 a local incident had stoked the fire again."(Eggers 45) Basically the incident was a tenth grader of Iraqi decent being harassed by her history teacher for her race and he pretty much got away with it. After that, there had been a noticeable increase in harassment toward people from the middle-east. Kathy had people repeatedly sneak up behind her and quickly remove her hijab in public as a joke. She hated it it and at times felt like an exile in her own country. I think people should be more informed about other religions and races so they could learn to respect them. Kathy claims people, "don't know or don't care, that Islam, judaism, and Christianity were not so distantly related branches of the same monotheistic, Abrahamic faith."(Eggers 66) She also says thats how she felt until she looked into the Islamic faith and realized it was right for her. I think if people are well informed about other religions and races they would be so quick to hate and harass them. No one should be judged for their appearance of religion especially in America.