Interview Questions:
1.) How did you meet Gary and Jerri Ann Jacobs?
2.) What made you interested in the issue of the Israeli Palestinian conflict?
3.) What was it like growing up in Israel?
4.) How did you find out about JITLI?
5.) How did you end up with the position that you have in JITLI?
6.) What different countries have you been to?
7.) What have you learned from the different countries you have gone to?
8.) When did you move to America?
9.) What made you decide to move to America?
10.) How has JITLI changed your world views?
11.) What was the most interesting experience you had with an Israeli Jewish JITLI participant?
12.) What was the most interesting experience you had with an Arab JITLI participant?
13.) What have you learned from JITLI?
14.) How did you come up with the format for the trip?
15.) Have you ever been near a qassam rocket that hit in Israel?
16.) Do you have any friends who have been affected by a qassam rocket in some way?
17.) What is your view on the current situation with the Gaza invasion?
18.) How do you see Hamas, and other extremist organizations? How do you interpret their world views/demands?
19.) Do you have any solutions (besides JITLI) to the current conflict in Israel?
20.) What kind of potential do you think JITLI has to help resolve this issue?
Friday, January 30, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Internship!
Today, I started my internship. My internship is with an organization called JITLI, created by Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs. They take 20 Jews and 20 Palestinians to San Diego, Spain, and Israel, and teach them to get along. My task is to edit the footage from their 2008 trip into a documentary. The day went great - exactly as I planned. I started my internship 2 weeks ago, so I was already acclimated to it. My mentor came and helped me edit and plan.
I got my internship when I was called into Dawn's office, and I met with her, Mr. Kuhl, and Margaret. They told me that the previous editor of the documentary was no longer able to take on the task, so they asked me if I would be interested. After a day of thinking it over, I said yes.
Once my mentor got to my school, we did a little work, and then went to panera for lunch. Since I had already had the school lunch, he bought himself a sandwitch, and got me a bagel and cream cheese. The bagel was chocolate chip, and the spread was hazelnut.
Since I started my internship at noon instead of 1:00, I was able to finish right when school ended. This meant that I was able to go home with my carpool, like I usually do.
Everything went fine - I feel like I got a lot done, and I was really in my element. I really like being in an internship which completely revolves around my ideas.
I got my internship when I was called into Dawn's office, and I met with her, Mr. Kuhl, and Margaret. They told me that the previous editor of the documentary was no longer able to take on the task, so they asked me if I would be interested. After a day of thinking it over, I said yes.
Once my mentor got to my school, we did a little work, and then went to panera for lunch. Since I had already had the school lunch, he bought himself a sandwitch, and got me a bagel and cream cheese. The bagel was chocolate chip, and the spread was hazelnut.
Since I started my internship at noon instead of 1:00, I was able to finish right when school ended. This meant that I was able to go home with my carpool, like I usually do.
Everything went fine - I feel like I got a lot done, and I was really in my element. I really like being in an internship which completely revolves around my ideas.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
FDR and Obama's Unfortunate Economic Inheritance
In Franklin Delano Roosevelt's inauguration speech, he spoke of issues that not only pertained to the issues of his day, but the issues of ours. At the time he was elected, the country faced a great economic slump, otherwise known as the great depression. Today, we face a very similar issue; the '08 recession. Our recession could easily lead to a depression, which is why our new president is coming in at a crucial time in this crisis, one which is still on it's way to disaster, but not there yet. In FDR's inauguration speech, he said, "Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously." The ideology of Franklin Roosevelt is something that applies just as much to the crisis we face today as it did to the one in the 1930's.
One of the main causes of the great depression was the major separation of classes. A select few in America (.01%) had more money than 40% of the lower class people in put together. Although money gives no official political power, it does allow for major changes in the political climate, which is precisely what happened. Since the distribution of wealth was uneven, when the stock markets crashed, there was nowhere near enough money to go around. The '08 recession is quite similar. The CEO's of a few banks had very much of the money, and the ability to do with it what they pleased. Since there was no even distribution, once the banks went under, the stocks plummeted and the money was nowhere to be found.
The consequences of the great depression involved the stock market crash (otherwise known as "Black Thursday"), which, over the course of the next 3 years, lead to the failure of 25,000 banks, as well as 12 to 15 million people becoming unemployed. The 2008 recession has many of the same characteristics as the recession, just not as amplified. The number of unemployed Americans rose to 6.5%, with 1.2 million jobs being lost over the course of 2008, and hundreds of thousands of homes being lost.
As stated before, FDR's (main) proposed solution to the depression was to "put people to work." Within the first 100 days of his presidency, he created many federally funded programs in which the people of America contributed, and helped to rebuild America. Barack Obama now has a similar plan, which is called Organizing For America. With this program, he has created a website which will allow people to find work to do in their community, which will in turn help to raise money and rebuild our economy.
As FDR said, "Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort." In order to accomplish solving the problems similar to those which Franklin D. Roosevelt had to solve, President Barack Obama has and will need to continue to inspire hope in the people, and convince them that they are the solution. Then, and only then, can we pull ourselves out of this recession, in the way that FDR managed to help pull America out of the great depression.
One of the main causes of the great depression was the major separation of classes. A select few in America (.01%) had more money than 40% of the lower class people in put together. Although money gives no official political power, it does allow for major changes in the political climate, which is precisely what happened. Since the distribution of wealth was uneven, when the stock markets crashed, there was nowhere near enough money to go around. The '08 recession is quite similar. The CEO's of a few banks had very much of the money, and the ability to do with it what they pleased. Since there was no even distribution, once the banks went under, the stocks plummeted and the money was nowhere to be found.
The consequences of the great depression involved the stock market crash (otherwise known as "Black Thursday"), which, over the course of the next 3 years, lead to the failure of 25,000 banks, as well as 12 to 15 million people becoming unemployed. The 2008 recession has many of the same characteristics as the recession, just not as amplified. The number of unemployed Americans rose to 6.5%, with 1.2 million jobs being lost over the course of 2008, and hundreds of thousands of homes being lost.
As stated before, FDR's (main) proposed solution to the depression was to "put people to work." Within the first 100 days of his presidency, he created many federally funded programs in which the people of America contributed, and helped to rebuild America. Barack Obama now has a similar plan, which is called Organizing For America. With this program, he has created a website which will allow people to find work to do in their community, which will in turn help to raise money and rebuild our economy.
As FDR said, "Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort." In order to accomplish solving the problems similar to those which Franklin D. Roosevelt had to solve, President Barack Obama has and will need to continue to inspire hope in the people, and convince them that they are the solution. Then, and only then, can we pull ourselves out of this recession, in the way that FDR managed to help pull America out of the great depression.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The Obamaguration
"Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage."
Above is the section of President Barack H. Obama's inaugural address which I have chosen as the one which most resonates with me. I have chosen this because with this line, he is directly addressing a large portion of this nation, and telling them why they are wrong, without needing to use a shred of evidence. The has used the idealistic values which is he so famous for, and applied them in a way which helps us to be more idealistic ourselves, and makes us all realize that if we all shared in his enthusiam, our nation's problems would be a thing of the past.
The reason these words resonate with me is not because they relate to something in my everyday life, but rather, because they describe something which I have no memory of experiencing within my lifetime. He describes a national mindset and an amount of change which I have never seen from America in my lifetime, but lately, have been hoping to. This level of idealism, instead of sedistic realism, is something I have neither seen from the government, nor the people of this nation. For this reason, when he says that if we as a people work together, we can accomplish most anything we set our minds to, it strikes me, for this new and invigerating thought is enough to really make me ready to believe in America again.
Above is the section of President Barack H. Obama's inaugural address which I have chosen as the one which most resonates with me. I have chosen this because with this line, he is directly addressing a large portion of this nation, and telling them why they are wrong, without needing to use a shred of evidence. The has used the idealistic values which is he so famous for, and applied them in a way which helps us to be more idealistic ourselves, and makes us all realize that if we all shared in his enthusiam, our nation's problems would be a thing of the past.
The reason these words resonate with me is not because they relate to something in my everyday life, but rather, because they describe something which I have no memory of experiencing within my lifetime. He describes a national mindset and an amount of change which I have never seen from America in my lifetime, but lately, have been hoping to. This level of idealism, instead of sedistic realism, is something I have neither seen from the government, nor the people of this nation. For this reason, when he says that if we as a people work together, we can accomplish most anything we set our minds to, it strikes me, for this new and invigerating thought is enough to really make me ready to believe in America again.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Artist's Statement Outline: Revised
In my piece of artwork, I portray a warped scene from the Wizard of Oz, in which the tin man, or Dick Cheney, is pulling the scarecrow, or George Bush, down one of 2 roads. The road that they are taking leads to a soldier with a gun. This signifies war, which is the path Dick Cheney chose to go down to accomplish his own ends. The other road leads to a peace sign. This signifies world peace (to some degree). Also, the road with war on it is brown and desolate, and the road with peace on it is green and grassy, to represent the 2 options to be environmentally friendly and non-environmentally friendly. The key point that my artwork makes is that George Bush was too brainless to go down the right road, and that Dick Cheney was heartless enough to lead him down the wrong one.
The reason I show Dick Cheney making the decision to go down the road with war on it is because of his conflict of interest during his vice-presidency. He has connections to a company called Halliburton Co., which is involved with oil. As a result of going to war, Halliburton, and therefore Cheney have made a giant profit, by doing business with Iran.
Bush is portrayed as clueless (like the scarecrow) because he has a reputation of being one of our more unintelligent presidents. He is known for encouraging measures that have become unpopular among the American public, such as the invasion of Iraq, and he is also famous for saying some really strange things, which have come to be known as "Bushisms." One example of a Bushism is "We need an energy bill that encourages consumption." His intelligence has been questioned over the course of his presidency, mainly for these reasons.
The idea for Cheney to be pulling Bush down the road came from the events that are believed to have happened during the presidency, in which it is said Cheney had major influence over most of George Bush's decisions. Almost always, it seems Bush had gone in favor of what Cheney wanted, and sometimes, what benefited him. He has mainly been responsible for influencing Bush's decisions in oil and foreign policy.
President Bush will undoubtedly go down in history as one of our least popular presidents, but the message I try to convey here is that Cheney was more or less our president, and while it's possible that things could still have gone a similar way, this peice of artwork begs the question: What could have happened, if George W. Bush "only had a brain?" With Barack Obama as our current president (by the time this becomes my actual artist's statement that fact should actually apply) we can't help but once again think back to The Wizard Of Oz, and wonder if HE truly has the heart, brain, and nerve to go down the path that Bush never had the capacity to.
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1117-22.htm
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushdumbquotes.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2008/06/02/BL2008060201318_3.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns
The reason I show Dick Cheney making the decision to go down the road with war on it is because of his conflict of interest during his vice-presidency. He has connections to a company called Halliburton Co., which is involved with oil. As a result of going to war, Halliburton, and therefore Cheney have made a giant profit, by doing business with Iran.
Bush is portrayed as clueless (like the scarecrow) because he has a reputation of being one of our more unintelligent presidents. He is known for encouraging measures that have become unpopular among the American public, such as the invasion of Iraq, and he is also famous for saying some really strange things, which have come to be known as "Bushisms." One example of a Bushism is "We need an energy bill that encourages consumption." His intelligence has been questioned over the course of his presidency, mainly for these reasons.
The idea for Cheney to be pulling Bush down the road came from the events that are believed to have happened during the presidency, in which it is said Cheney had major influence over most of George Bush's decisions. Almost always, it seems Bush had gone in favor of what Cheney wanted, and sometimes, what benefited him. He has mainly been responsible for influencing Bush's decisions in oil and foreign policy.
President Bush will undoubtedly go down in history as one of our least popular presidents, but the message I try to convey here is that Cheney was more or less our president, and while it's possible that things could still have gone a similar way, this peice of artwork begs the question: What could have happened, if George W. Bush "only had a brain?" With Barack Obama as our current president (by the time this becomes my actual artist's statement that fact should actually apply) we can't help but once again think back to The Wizard Of Oz, and wonder if HE truly has the heart, brain, and nerve to go down the path that Bush never had the capacity to.
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1117-22.htm
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushdumbquotes.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2008/06/02/BL2008060201318_3.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Artist's Statement Outline
In my piece of artwork, I portray a warped scene from the Wizard of Oz, in which the tin man, or Dick Cheney, is pulling the scarecrow, or George Bush, down one of 2 roads. The road that they are taking leads to money, with storm clouds and lightning behind it. This signifies greed, and problems. The other road leads to a rainbow, sunshine, and clear skies. This signifies happiness and prosperity. The key point that my artwork makes is that George Bush was too brainless to go down the right road, and that Dick Cheney was heartless enough to lead him down the wrong one.
The reason I show Cheney making the decision to go down the road with money on it is because of his conflict of interest during his vice-presidency. He has connections to a company called Halliburton Co., which is involved with energy and oil. Despite the implications of supporting this company, Dick Cheney went along with it anyways, for his own personal gain.
Bush is portrayed as clueless (like the scarecrow) because he has a reputation of being one of our more unintelligent presidents. He is known for encouraging measures that have become unpopular among the American public, such as the invasion of Iraq, and he is also famous for saying some really strange things, which have come to be known as "Bushisms." One example of a Bushim is "We need an energy bill that encourages consumption." His intelligence has been questioned over the course of his presidency, mainly for these reasons.
The idea for Cheney to be pulling Bush down the road came from the events that are believed to have happened during the presidency, in which it is said Cheney had major influence over most of George Bush's decisions. Almost always, it seems Bush had gone in favor of what Cheney wanted, and sometimes, what benefited him. He has mainly been responsible for influencing Bush's decisions in oil and foreign policy.
President Bush will undoubtedly go down in history as one of our least popular presidents, but the message I try to convey here is that Cheney was more or less our president, and while it's possible that things could still have gone a similar way, this peice of artwork begs the question: What could have happened, if George W. Bush "only had a brain?" With Barack Obama as our current president (by the time this becomes my actual artist's statement that fact should actually apply) we can't help but once again think back to The Wizard Of Oz, and wonder if HE truly has the heart, brain, and nerve to go down the path that Bush never had the capacity to.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/26/politics/main575356.shtml
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushdumbquotes.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2008/06/02/BL2008060201318_3.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns
The reason I show Cheney making the decision to go down the road with money on it is because of his conflict of interest during his vice-presidency. He has connections to a company called Halliburton Co., which is involved with energy and oil. Despite the implications of supporting this company, Dick Cheney went along with it anyways, for his own personal gain.
Bush is portrayed as clueless (like the scarecrow) because he has a reputation of being one of our more unintelligent presidents. He is known for encouraging measures that have become unpopular among the American public, such as the invasion of Iraq, and he is also famous for saying some really strange things, which have come to be known as "Bushisms." One example of a Bushim is "We need an energy bill that encourages consumption." His intelligence has been questioned over the course of his presidency, mainly for these reasons.
The idea for Cheney to be pulling Bush down the road came from the events that are believed to have happened during the presidency, in which it is said Cheney had major influence over most of George Bush's decisions. Almost always, it seems Bush had gone in favor of what Cheney wanted, and sometimes, what benefited him. He has mainly been responsible for influencing Bush's decisions in oil and foreign policy.
President Bush will undoubtedly go down in history as one of our least popular presidents, but the message I try to convey here is that Cheney was more or less our president, and while it's possible that things could still have gone a similar way, this peice of artwork begs the question: What could have happened, if George W. Bush "only had a brain?" With Barack Obama as our current president (by the time this becomes my actual artist's statement that fact should actually apply) we can't help but once again think back to The Wizard Of Oz, and wonder if HE truly has the heart, brain, and nerve to go down the path that Bush never had the capacity to.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/26/politics/main575356.shtml
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushdumbquotes.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2008/06/02/BL2008060201318_3.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Bush Administration's Largest Legacy Is Also Largest Failure
For the past 8 years, the Bush administration has been nothing short of terrible in terms of acting on environmental issues. Whether it be offshore drilling, or greenhouse gas emissions, president Bush's actions (or in-actions) lead to disappointment every time. Now, two weeks before 
he is to leave office, he has done what is arguably the most contradictory thing he has done throughout his entire presidency. He is protecting more ocean at once than any other organization or person has managed before.
In the 195,280 square miles of water - a total area the size of Spain, president Bush has now set up a safeguard for the marine life there, preventing excessive exploration, or any recreational fishing. According to this article, these are area's which scientists have identified as "biologically and geologically rich." This is a major accomplishment, and may very well go down in history as one of president Bush's greatest accomplishments.
However, this is just about the only environmentally friendly choice the Bush administration has ever decided to make. In a list of his 7 most deadly environmental sins, a few of the listed items were: not reducing greenhouse gasses, signing off on offshore drilling, and failing to protect many endangered species.
So, why this sudden change of heart? Especially since part of Bush's track record is to be unmerciful towards the species that are dying off, if those were the ones he could actually see, what made him suddenly express interest in these creatures that are many miles away from him, buried deep under the ocean. Well, one can only speculate, but it seems plausible that he would understand the public's dissatisfaction with the work he has done on the environment, and, in an attempt to make up for it, and not seem like he was leaving office as a total failure, he decided to go out with a bang.
This was certainly a terrific accomplishment, but George W. Bush's motives for this random act of nobility have yet to be explained.
he is to leave office, he has done what is arguably the most contradictory thing he has done throughout his entire presidency. He is protecting more ocean at once than any other organization or person has managed before.In the 195,280 square miles of water - a total area the size of Spain, president Bush has now set up a safeguard for the marine life there, preventing excessive exploration, or any recreational fishing. According to this article, these are area's which scientists have identified as "biologically and geologically rich." This is a major accomplishment, and may very well go down in history as one of president Bush's greatest accomplishments.
However, this is just about the only environmentally friendly choice the Bush administration has ever decided to make. In a list of his 7 most deadly environmental sins, a few of the listed items were: not reducing greenhouse gasses, signing off on offshore drilling, and failing to protect many endangered species.
So, why this sudden change of heart? Especially since part of Bush's track record is to be unmerciful towards the species that are dying off, if those were the ones he could actually see, what made him suddenly express interest in these creatures that are many miles away from him, buried deep under the ocean. Well, one can only speculate, but it seems plausible that he would understand the public's dissatisfaction with the work he has done on the environment, and, in an attempt to make up for it, and not seem like he was leaving office as a total failure, he decided to go out with a bang.
This was certainly a terrific accomplishment, but George W. Bush's motives for this random act of nobility have yet to be explained.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
My Internship
What do you hope to learn or discover about the "adult" world of work while you are at your internship?
I hope to learn about how to meet deadlines, as well as professional standards for videos in the adult world. So far, from my video-making experience in school, I feel that the deadlines and standards have been relatively lenient, and if I ever hope to work in this field, I need to hold myself to a higher standard. The only time when I feel I came close to having a video critiqued at a professional level, and felt like I was on a real world deadline with consequences for not finishing, was in the video I made for exhibition this past semester, about the water quality at the beach. It was a bit of an adjustment for me to be held to such standards, but now that I have gotten more used to the idea, I would like to raise the bar a bit more for my internship.
What do you hope to learn or discover about yourself and your identity while you are at your internship this semester?
I hope to learn whether or not I can succeed in the video-making world, and whether or not it is the path I actually want to take. I want to know that I can survive the pressure of having so much responsibility, and having only a short amount of time to pull it off. I have never found that I have a high tolerance for stress, so I want to discover whether or not I actually hold up while stressed, and see what kind of work I produce then. This is a real opportunity for me to gain skills and learn things about myself which I have not been able to before.
What goals do you have for yourself for your internship experience?
My main goal is to FINISH THE DOCUMENTARY, but I also hope to learn about the controversial subjects which JITLI revolves around, and further develop my opinion on the issue, as well as what I feel would be the best solution. During the time I am making the documentary, I also want to do continual research on current events, as well as the history of Israel (and the entire middle east), and I want to learn more about the Muslim religion and the role it plays in this conflict.
I hope to learn about how to meet deadlines, as well as professional standards for videos in the adult world. So far, from my video-making experience in school, I feel that the deadlines and standards have been relatively lenient, and if I ever hope to work in this field, I need to hold myself to a higher standard. The only time when I feel I came close to having a video critiqued at a professional level, and felt like I was on a real world deadline with consequences for not finishing, was in the video I made for exhibition this past semester, about the water quality at the beach. It was a bit of an adjustment for me to be held to such standards, but now that I have gotten more used to the idea, I would like to raise the bar a bit more for my internship.
What do you hope to learn or discover about yourself and your identity while you are at your internship this semester?
I hope to learn whether or not I can succeed in the video-making world, and whether or not it is the path I actually want to take. I want to know that I can survive the pressure of having so much responsibility, and having only a short amount of time to pull it off. I have never found that I have a high tolerance for stress, so I want to discover whether or not I actually hold up while stressed, and see what kind of work I produce then. This is a real opportunity for me to gain skills and learn things about myself which I have not been able to before.
What goals do you have for yourself for your internship experience?
My main goal is to FINISH THE DOCUMENTARY, but I also hope to learn about the controversial subjects which JITLI revolves around, and further develop my opinion on the issue, as well as what I feel would be the best solution. During the time I am making the documentary, I also want to do continual research on current events, as well as the history of Israel (and the entire middle east), and I want to learn more about the Muslim religion and the role it plays in this conflict.
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