Monsoon Raines

At last, I'm back from the woods! Outward Bound was exhausting, physically and mentally, but I was surprised by how much fun I had there. The people here at Dynamy are really great. I moved into my apartment this weekend and I have a single, woot! My roommates are very nice and we've been working together really well while we've been setting things up.

Today we started orientation, so we're learning about apartment living, and interview techniques, and the like. It's been informative and I'm sure it will be useful, but it's also really boring.

If you guys want to contact me you can now reach me on my cell phone. Remember the weekly call to Laura! I'll probably post more about Outward Bound later; it was quite an experience and it deserves it's own entry.

Today I finally sat down to write the essays to apply for an internship program I'm interested in. One of the essays they have you do is to write a letter to the editor on a current event and send it to a newspaper of your choice, also sending a copy of it to the program's admissions office. So, this is a letter to the editor that I sent to the Washington Post. Who knows, maybe I'll get published.

"Proportionality" in the Israeli Conflict

Since the Hamas military wing’s June 25^th raid on an Israeli army post just outside Gaza, and the capture of an Israeli soldier, there have been questions about the proportionality of the Israeli response.  However, it seems that the international press has gotten bogged down by the word “proportional”.  Instead of examining the conflict, reporters have been drawn into ridiculous debates: Should Israel only respond to Hamas and Hezbollah shot for shot? Does Israel have the right to defend itself at all? Are Israel’s current military actions justified by the undeniable suffering of the Jews during the Holocaust?

It seems, therefore, that the word “proportional” should be discarded entirely.  This will allow an examination of Israel’s goals in the conflict, so that it can be determined whether Israel is effectively accomplishing those goals.

From the beginning of the conflict Israel has claimed that its main goals have been to rescue captured soldiers and to protect Israeli citizens from terrorists.  Secondary goals have been to weaken or destroy the Hamas military wing and the terrorist group Hezbollah.  Any attacks, Israel said, should not be seen as attacks against the Palestinian or Lebanese governments.  However, a month has gone by and it is not clear that any of these goals have been accomplished.  At the same time, resentment against Israel due to the attacks, in which hundreds of Lebanese and Palestinian civilians have been wounded or killed, has grown in Lebanon and in the international Arab community.  In fact, it seems that this resentment has won Hamas and Hezbollah even more support.

Thus, the Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon are reprehensible not because they have not been “proportional”, but because the unnecessary destruction and loss of life has done more to perpetuate the conflict than to achieve Israel’s goal of security.

You can only say YES or NO.

You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone messages you/comments and asks!

1. Taken a picture naked? no
2. Painted your room? no
3. Made out with a member of the same sex? no
4. Drove a car? yes
5. Danced in front of your mirror? yes
6. Had a crush? yes
7. Been dumped? yes
8. Stole money from a friend? no
9. Gotten in a car with people you just met? no
10. Been in a fist fight? no
11. Snuck out of your house? no
12. Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back? yes
13. Been arrested? no
14. Made out with a stranger? no
15. Met up with a member of the opposite sex somewhere? yes
16. Left your house without telling your parents? yes
17. Had a crush on your neighbor? no
18. Ditched school to do something more fun? yes
19. Slept in a bed with a member of the same sex? yes
20. Seen someone die? no
21. Been on a plane? yes
22. Kissed a picture? yes
23. Slept in until 3PM? yes
24. Love someone or miss someone right now? yes
25. Laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by? yes
26. Made a snow angel? yes
27. Played dress up? yes
28. Cheated while playing a game? yes
29. Been lonely? yes
30. Fallen asleep at work/school? no
31. Been to a club? yes
32. Felt an earthquake? no
33. Touched a snake? yes
34. Ran a red light? yes
35. Been suspended from school? no
36. Had detention? no
37. Been in a car accident? no
38. Hated the way you look? yes
39. Witnessed a crime? no
40. Pole danced? yes
41. Been lost? yes
42. Been to the opposite side of the country? yes
43. Felt like dying? no
44. Cried yourself to sleep? yes
45. Sang karaoke? yes
46. Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? yes
47. Laughed till some kind of beverage came out of your nose? no
48. Caught a snowflake on your tongue? yes
49. Kissed in the rain? yes
50. Sung in the shower? yes
51. Made love in a park? no
52. Had a dream that you married someone? no
53. Glued your hand to something? no
54. Got your tongue stuck to a flag pole? no
55. Ever gone to school partially naked? no
56. Been a cheerleader? no
57. Sat on a roof top? yes
58. Didn't take a shower for a week? yes
59. Ever too scared to watch scary movies alone? yes
60. Played chicken? no
61. Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? yes
62. Been told you're hot by a complete stranger? yes
63. Broken a bone? no
64. Been easily amused? yes
65. Laughed so hard you cried? yes
66. Mooned/flashed someone? yes
67. Cheated on a test? yes
68. Forgotten someone's name? yes
69. Slept naked? yes
70. Gone skinny dipping in a pool? yes
71. Blacked out from drinking? no
72. Played a prank on someone? yes
73. Gone to a late night movie? yes
74. Made love to anything not human? no
75. Failed a class? yes
76. Choked on something you're not supposed to eat? yes
77. Played an instrument for more than 10 hours? no
78. Cheated on a girl/boyfriend? no
79. Did you celebrate the 4th of July? yes
80. Thrown strange objects? yes
81. Felt like killing someone? yes
82. Thought about running away? yes
83. Ran away? no
84. Done drugs? no
85. Had detention and didn't attend it? no
86. Made a parent cry? yes
87. Cried over someone? yes
88. Owned more than 5 sharpies? yes
89. Dated someone more than once? yes
90. Have a dog? yes
91. Own an instrument? yes
92. Been in a band? no
93. Drank 25 sodas in a day? no
94. Broken a CD? yes
95. Shot a gun? no

I don't know if anybody will have any questions about these, but I'd be happy to answer any that arise.

1. Pick your birth month.
2. Strike out anything that doesn't apply to you.
3. Bold (or make all caps) the four that best apply to you.
4. Put your month in an entry.
5. Copy to your own journal, with all twelve months under a journal cut.

JANUARY:
Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people's flaws and weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking and productive. Smart, neat and organized. SENSITIVE AND HAS DEEP THOUGHTS. Knows how to make others happy. QUIET UNLESS EXCITED OR TENSED. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. ROMANTIC but has difficulty expressing love. LOVES CHILDREN. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very stubborn and money cautious.

I guess I'm not much of a Capricorn, seeing as I fulfill very few of the common characteristics, but Nathalie and Rachel say that's because I was born in the year of the Tiger.  I'd like to learn more about my personal chart, just to see if any of it really makes sense for me.

I know, I'm behind the curve, but I've finally followed Nathalie and Rachel in the Meez trend. All the cool kids are doing it!

At last, the inevitable has occured. I have finally bowed to political (Nathalie's) pressure and made myself a live journal. I've been trying to figure out how I want my journal set up, so it will probably change several times in the next few weeks until I decide what I like. Well, this is a pretty short entry, but I can't figure out what else to say right now.