Straw man arguments

Here is an analysis of the way in which Bush uses straw man arguments (arguing with a position that actually isn't being taken by anyone):

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060318/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_s_straw_men;_ylt=At0NEjWUBv46JxAnCkM2IIID5gcF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA

from Marjorie

hicomp

Speaker- Hong LeeI thought that the speaker did a very good job bringing us into the situation. I think that some of the emotions that he was going through that could have added to the presentation were lost in his laughter. I don’t think that his laughing was a bad thing though. I think that it was good that he could look back at the situation and laugh at how outrageous the events that took place were. It’s amazing that this man was able to live through this environment and come out of it without being traumatized. I really think that what Jason said about how he was educated and knew how to handle all the events and get over it was a big part. He was given the tools to handle the situation and used them. It’s just amazing. It’s hard to imagine a place where they would kill you because you’re educated because America is a place where they try and educate people. It’s also hard to imagine a place where they don’t let you pick food if you’re hungry. What is a place without the people? When Mr. Lee said that Cambodia was a place that not many people knew about it got me thinking. I knew where Cambodia was but I had no idea about the events that took place there. It’s amazing how information like that isn’t spread widely around and talked about. Or maybe it’s just how little teenagers care about the world. I don’t know.

more bombing

This morning the US commenced Operation Swarmer in Iraq. I mention this because we have just learned about the bombing of Cambodia. Here, from a poetry list I'm on, is something on the name of this operation:


"operation swarmer" does not bode well as a name for this new little
project of our government. from TIME Magazine, May 1, 1950:

"This week, 32,000 U.S. troops will begin dropping in parachutes or
landing in troop-carrier planes on the green hills around Fort Bragg and
Camp Mackall, N.C. Jet fighters will whisk overhead, giving them air
cover. Cargo planes will fly in with all their supplies, for "Operation
Swarmer" is designed to prove that a combat area, e.g., an island base
for strategic bombers, can be taken and held by airborne troops entirely
supplied by air. Operation Swarmer will also demonstrate something more
important: the nation's unpreparedness."

also: "Operation SWARMER at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, during April and
May 1950, highlighted many of the inefficiencies and shortcomings of
improvised supplied by parachute-dropped and air-landed supplies." (LT.
COL. ROBERT C. McKECHNIE, QM-USAR
Quartermaster Review September-October 1950.)

t.

Ysa Osman to speak

This is the man I thought was coming to our class. A great opportunity to hear him. I'm going to try to get there (late) (after Spanish).

The Center for Southeast Asian Studies Brown Bag Series Presents

Cambodian Cham Muslim during the Khmer Rouge Regime, 1975-1979

A talk by
Ysa Osman

Friday, March 17
12:00-1:30 p.m.
Tokioka Room
University of Hawaii at Manoa

Oukoubah is an Arabic word meaning "justice." This book explores the genocide of the Cham ethnic group, making a case that the Cham, who are Muslim, were killed at a rate that was double to nearly triple that of the general population. The author provides evidence showing that the Cham comprised 10% of Cambodia's population (roughly 700,000 people) before 1975, but numbered only 200,000 after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979.

Mr. Ysa Osman presents case studies of 13 Cham prisoners at the infamous Tuol Sleng Prison, known to the Khmer Rouge as "Office S-21." The prisoners included seven Khmer Rouge soldiers, two Khmer Republic Government officials, a student, a fisherman, a Khmer Rouge interrogator at S-21, and a peasant who fled the regime. All were taken from S-21 to the "killing fields" of Choeung Ek and executed.

Oukoubah is based on 11 field trips to Kandal, Kampong Cham, Kratie, Kampong Chhnang, Kampot, and Koh Kong provinces, Krong Preah Sihanouk and Phnom Penh, where the author interviewed 207 people. The book's finding are also based on an extensive review of primary and secondary documents.

Ysa Osman is a Researcher at the Documentation Center of Cambodia.

This lecture is presented by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Hawai`i-Mànoa. For more information, including building access for the handicapped, please call 956-2688.

Dr. Chhany Sak-Humphry
Assistant Professor
Coordinator, Khmer Language Program
University of Hawaii, Manoa
Department of HIPLL
Spalding Hall, Room 255
Phone: (808) 956-8070; Fax: (808) 956-5978
Cell Phone: (808) 561-6850
E-mail: sak@hawaii.edu
Website: www.hawaii.edu/khmer

some old posts by JP

When Broke Floats Response- 3/08/2006
When broken Glass Floats is sort of depressing in a sense. It always seems as if their is always another new tail of depression that i haven't heard about. This story in particular is new because this is the first time that I have heard about Khmer Rouge. I love to hear stories like this. Not for the bad but just to hear that people are strong enough to strive through these types of struggles. Stories like this let me know i have alot to be thankful for.

Free Write- 3/08/2006
Im hella late for real. I j ust got on this blogger stuff and let me tell you im not impressed. jus kidding. I dont know what to write about so i'll just talk until the page looks full. No but seriously, I love the way people always assume im jamaican. I guess every black dude with dreadlocks has to be jamaican now. You've got my word that the next person to ask me am i jamaican will be getting slapped.literally. Im not playin. i've had enough. you can test me if you want to. it wouldnt be wise though. : )

Khmer writer

hicomp

I'm pasting this again from below. Do yourself a favor and go hear Sam Oeur in Chhany Sak-Humphrey's class on March 8. I was just in her class today to give a talk about poetry. I'll be gone onf the 8th (damn!), so please blog on all of it! USO is a very important poet! And remember that Hongly Khuy will be our visitor on the 14th of March in our splendid room. Please come with comments and questions.

1. Khmer Poetry Writer, Mr. U Sam Oeur, who wrote some of theses books Sacred Vows, Crossing Three Wilderness and many others poems will be here from March 8th to March 11th. On March 8th, he will come to talk to my class SEA Lit in Translation course at BUSAD E20, from 3:00 -5:30 pm about the bilingual book on Sacred Vows and his life story to share with everyone. Please come to join us at this time if you are free. After that, I will take him to have dinner at Anthony's (new Khmer and SEA restaurant, may be from 6:00 to 8:00 pm). You are welcome to join us for dinner.
On March 9th at noon time, I hope to get a room to ask him to share his professional work with our UH community.

topics for the next essay

hicomp

English 100
March 2, 2006
Susan M. Schultz



Paper Topics for When Broken Glass Floats
Due March 20 (day before class)


This paper should be 4-5 pages long. Remember you need to have a main idea, keep your focus manageable, and use evidence from the text. You should state your idea toward the beginning of the essay, and then main ideas early on in each paragraph. The conclusion should explain the significance of what you have argued, not merely summarize what you already said. Write on one of the following topics.



1. Chanrithy Him tells the story of how the Khmer Rouge systematically attempted to destroy Cambodian culture, its traditions, rituals, and beliefs. Somehow, while relating the story of her culture’s destruction, she also teaches us a great deal about it. Write a paper in which you discuss the significance of two or three aspects of Cambodian culture. Be sure they are linked; do not write a laundry list, but show how these aspects of culture contribute to each other. Be sure to use evidence. Place page numbers after citations in your text. Here’s an example: “As Him writes, ‘The episode leaves me weak’” (113).


2. As we discussed in class, Him writes not only out of her own experiences, but through the eyes of a scientist and researcher, as well. Take a small section of the text, perhaps one chapter, and who how Him moves back and forth between personal and communal experiences. How do these two frames of reference work to bolster each other?