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Obama seeks ‘new beginning’ in Muslim worldPresident tells Egypt audience ‘America and Islam are not exclusive’ 
WATCH SPEECH
CAIRO - Invoking the Quran and his rarely used
middle name, Barack Hussein Obama declared Thursday that America has a
common cause with Islam and never will be at war with the faith — an
overture intently watched by the Muslim world and welcomed in unlikely
quarters. An Iranian cleric called the president's speech "an initial
step for removing misconceptions." Obama spoke at
a seat of Islamic learning, his 55-minute address suffused with respect
for touchstones of the religion. He said the time had come to "speak
the truth" and "seek a new beginning." "America and
Islam are not exclusive," he said, "and need not be in competition.
Instead, they overlap, and share common principles of justice and
progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings."
Slingshot Hip Hop
"Slingshot Hip Hop braids together the stories of young Palestinians
living in Gaza, the West Bank and inside Israel as they discover Hip
Hop and employ it as a tool to surmount divisions imposed by occupation
and poverty. From internal checkpoints and Separation Walls to gender
norms and generational differences, this is the story of young people
crossing the borders that separate them."
Watch Trailer
Film Series
* Post War Years, Cold War Fears: American
Culture and Politics, 1946-1960, Thomas Crane Library - 40
Washington St. Quincy, MA, 7:00pm
Films will be screened and discussed at the library every Tuesday
evening from September 29 to October 27. Post War Years, Cold War Fears focuses on American culture and politics
from 1946 to 1959. America’s new affluence, the demographic shift to
the suburbs, and a pent-up demand for goods and housing combined to
create a new consumer culture that would alter traditional American
values and eventually engender the counter-culture of the 1960s. The
series also will investigate the origin and progression of the Cold
War, the rise and fall of McCarthyism, the burgeoning of the civil
rights movement, and the inception of modern feminism.
Broken down into five sessions, the series includes informative and
lively lectures by Newbury College Professor of History Dan Breen, film
screenings, and discussions. Tonight's session, Toward an Affluent
Society, focuses on post war expansion. With the end of the war, the
United States embarked upon an era of growing affluence that seemed a
far cry from the austerities of the Great Depression. A crucial
ingredient for many was the G.I. Bill, passed by Congress near the end
of the war, which offered new economic opportunities for veterans and
their families. But at the same time, it exposed the inequalities in
American life that left those opportunities beyond the reach of too
many.
Check this out...
CarrotMob.org
SHOPPERS UNITE!
A Town Hall Meeting with Governor Deval Patrick
Thursday, March 26
7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Governor Deval Patrick will discuss current issues facing Massachusetts citizens in a Town Hall Meeting format moderated by NECN Anchor R.D. Sahl on Thursday, March 26, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
The public forum will be broadcast live by NECN, the television sponsor of Kennedy Library Forums.
Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Audience must be seated by 6:30 p.m. Seating is limited. To make a reservation, click here.
Calculate your water footprint! ~ Water calculator 1~ Water calculator 2
Singing Revolution--
USSR vs ESTONIA
TRAVEL OPPORTUNITY!!!
2009 is the year of Laulupidu,
the every-five-year song festival in Estonia where 30,000 people gather
on stage and sing in perfect harmony. It was the 2004 festival that
was filmed for The Singing Revolution.
It is truly an experience to have in one's lifetime and impossible to
fully describe in an email. This year's festival dates are July 3-5.
Astellaria Travel Agency is
hosting two tours of Estonia that include attendance at the song
festival. Miss it this year, and you have to wait until 2014! "The Estonishing Song Festival Tour of Estonia" runs from June 27-July 6, and "The Singing Revolution Tour of Estonia" runs from July 2-9. They're also offering an option to customize your own tour.
Please go to Astellaria's website to learn more about the tour: www.song-festival.astellaria.ee. You can also visit the official website of the song festival to learn more about this amazing cultural event – and the cornerstone of a nation's freedom: http://www.laulupidu.ee/eng
Thank you, and hope to see you in Tallinn in July!
BEST PLACE FOR PAPER RESEARCH!!!
Boston Public Library Database
1) www.bpl.org2) click on "my account" 3) Click on "Get a BPL Ecard" 4) Fill out the form and click "I accept" 5) SAVE YOUR ACCOUNT INFO 6) Go to the Tab "Electronic Resources" Happy Searching!
STORM ANNOUNCEMENTS!!!!!School canceled Mon and Tues 12.15 and 12.16: BCFG: Quiz (Hinduism and Sikhism): Wed 12.17 Test moved until Tuesday 12.23 Wed-Fri: We will talk about modern India and globalization. Group Homework Q2G2 moved until 1.5 My thoughts are with you all during this state of emergency... ~Ms. Mattie
Note, Question of the Week is NOW WORKING!!!
Beijing 2008
Medal Standings: 1) China: 51G, 21S, 28B = 100 Total 2) USA: 36G, 38S, 28B= 110 Total 3) Russia: 23G, 21S, 28B= 72 Total | | Mumbai Attacks
BBC special report on the attacks here
Persepolis 2.0
READ COMIC
Since the Revolution in 1979, Iranians have coped with an
increasingly repressive regime. Attempts for greater social and
political freedoms have resulted in brutal crackdowns by the hardline
government. The ensuing apathy and significant boycott of the 2005
presidential elections led to the election of the ultraconservative
mayor of Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Four years later Iran has become increasingly alienated and its
people more polarized than ever before. The campaign of former Prime
Minister Mir Hussein Moussavi galvanized voters hoping for change,
especially among the youth – two thirds of Iran’s population is younger
than 32. On June 12th 85% of eligible voters cast their ballots and
what happened next changed Iran forever…
The 99
The creator of a bestselling comic designed to show the world the tolerant and peaceful face of
Islam
has written an open letter to his young sons explaining how the project grew out of 9/11.
ABOUT THE COMIC
Kuwaiti psychologist Dr Naif al-Mutawa, says his superheroes - inspired by the Koran and known as
THE 99
- were designed to "take back Islam" from militants who had taken it hostage.
The
comics, which now sell about one million copies a year in several
languages, are soon to be made into an animated film by Dutch media
company Endemol. Early last year, Forbes magazine announced THE 99 were one of the 20 top pop culture trends sweeping the world.
THE COMIC: ORIGINS OF THE 99
BLUE LEGACY
Blue Legacy (link above) is a project created by ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU which seeks to document the importance, and increasing scarcity of water on our planet. Beginning mid-February, she is embarking on a 100 day journey around the world to look at different water sources.
She will be journeying to India, Cambodia, Perth, Saudi Arabia, West Bank, Botswana, and the Mississippi River delta to interview local officials, religious leaders, farmers, policy makers, legistators, kings, etc. to obtain documentation on the water crisis.
Additionally, she will be VIDEO BLOGGING on CNN International and National Geographic about her findings and interviews. Links to follow.
FIND OUT MORE
Mission Statement:
Vital
to all life on Earth, water moves through our world in a constant state
of flux. Cycling endlessly through ecosystems, flowing under the poles
and through the atmosphere, changing states, laying waste to entire
regions or achieving perfection in the shape of a single snowflake -
water is a mystery and a miracle, a source of conflict and a cause for
celebration, a blessing and, in its absence, a curse.
Alexandra Cousteau created Blue Legacy with the goal of telling the story of our water
planet to the world, inspiring people to take action on critical water
issues in meaningful ways and helping to shape society’s dialogue to
include water as one of the defining issues of our century and the
primary vehicle through which climate change will be felt.
GO TO HELPFUL WEBSITES SECTION FOR VIDEO ON CHINA AND THE ENVIRONMENT!!!!
New Kennedy Library Forum!!
Change Haiti Can Believe In
Tuesday, Jan 27th: 5:30-7:00
Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners In Health; actor and activist Matt Damon,
who recently visited Haiti to assist victims devastated by hurricanes;
Massachusetts State Representative and Haitian-American Linda Dorcena Forry; and Brian Concannon, Jr.,
director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, share
their stories of eradicating disease and injustice in one of the
world's poorest nations, and discuss how changes in U.S. policy can
help to build a stronger, more resilient,and prosperous Haiti. Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!, moderates
See below for reservation instructions:
New Kennedy Library Forum!!! The Role of the Public Intellecutal
Sunday, October 12
1:30 to 3:00 p.m.
On the centennial of John Kenneth Galbraith's birth and the opening of his papers at the Kennedy Library, Gloria Steinem, and professors Alan Wolf and Sean Wilentz, of Boston College and Princeton University respectively -- pay tribute to the public intellectual -- particularly Galbraith and Arthur Schlesinger who served in the Kennedy administration, and their intellectual nemesis, yet personal friend, the late William F. Buckley. Richard Parker, Galbraith's biographer, moderates.
To make a reservation, go to www.jfklibrary.org or call 617-514-1643. Reservations guarantee a seat in the building, but not in the main hall. Once the main hall is full, audience members will be seated in an overflow theater where the forum will be streamed live. 
*Question of the week will be updated every Monday. A new question for the week of 9/1 has been posted.
*Descriptions and downloads of group homeworks can be found under the assignments page. Descriptions and copies of quarter projects can be found under the projects page.
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