WARNING! I am potentially offensive!!!

I just saw that my blog is flagged as "potentially offensive", the same day I found out that I’ve been nominated for Thinking Blogger Award! Not bad for one day, not bad at all…

OK personally I don’t know the reason but something is telling me it’s not because I wrote about vagina. Therefore I might guess it’s because of my post from Free Zone Festival and especially the last one about Iraq in Fragments because majority of visitors are from US.

I’m guessing that many of you know or have or have lost someone in Iraq but facts about reasons and effect of that war are evident and unquestionable in spite of the emotions (my sincere condolences to all who have lost someone in Iraq). And I am trying to be objective as much as possible (in spite the fact that I've spent 77 days under US bombs as well and I know better than you can even imagine what that means)

Yes 3300 American soldiers lost their lives in Iraq but also 655000 civilians have died and almost 2 millions live in refugees’ camps in neighboring countries. Iraq has lost its most valuable treasure – people. There is no educated elite there anymore... There are devastating consequences in whole region; the balance is destroyed; radicalism is awake

Do you remember that picture of a man who is hitting Saddam’s monument with the hammer? Picture that symbolizes Fall of Baghdad? Picture that is like the one of raising flag on Iwo Jima (in symbolical sense of course)? Well that man, Mr Khadim al-Jubouri now on fourth anniversary of his act say this:

- We got rid of a tyrant and tyranny. But we were surprised that after one thief had left, another 40 replaced him. Now, we regret that Saddam Hussein is gone, no matter how much we hated him.

Those are the words of man whose only wish for years was to smash Saddam’s monument. Describing his life now, four years after entrance of US troupes in Iraq he says:

- Now every Friday is better than Saturday and every Saturday is better than Sunday

Well think about that before you flag someone's opinion as offensive.
On the other hand thinking and using your own brain has always been potentially dangerous.

PS
If you're interested do read whole article written by The Washington Post's Sudarsan Raghavan:
4 Years After Hussein's Fall, Regret in Iraq

Thinking Blogger Award

Gosh! I’ve been tagged for Thinking Blogger Award by my dear friend WestofMars! This is first time I’ve been tagged and what situation makes even stranger is that she tagged me for my Thursday Thirteen posts BUT after regular 10 weeks of TTs I’ve made pause in my posting because I’m swimming in my Faculty obligations. And I really don’t like TTs like "For this Thursday I prepared 13 randomly chosen numbers!" Well otherwise I’d might be tagged for complete opposite Award LOL

OK, now according to rules I have to pick 5 other bloggers /posts which I found very thoughtful and this will be quite hard (only 5!);OK I’m helping myself and I’ll exclude all non-English blogs (Поздрав свима! Saludos a todos!)

First I'd like to nominate my friend Shanna (I’ve mentioned her in one of my TTs). I don’t know where to start really; She is one of few blogging friends on the (far) East and every morning when I check my e-mail I have small hope that I’ll find in my inbox message with subject: "New Blog Post from Shanna" and she often fulfill my wish :-) Then I run in the kitchen to prepare my first morning cup of coffee and savouring it slowly with Shanna’s adventures in Nepal! Yep, Miss Shanti is in Nepal teaching English and making music (I guess that is Nashville’s inheritance) but also makes magnificent observations (and photographs) about Nepalese culture, tradition, cuisine, mentality and again thru all that analysis of American society and it’s influence.
I'm so grateful cause I have such a friend!

Then comes someone who is guilty as charged for I'm having my own blog: my dear friend morsie! I was reading her fabulous blog with all those reviews and thinking how vividly I remember some of my favourites reads or some events or, whatever and realized that I don’t at all! I do remember the feeling, the emotion but what caused that feeling ... nope. So I decided to start writing my emotions so that I could preserve them. And I never expected I’ll be hooked this much! Thanks K!

Now someone whose blog I have to stop reading! LOL Whenever I visit (and that is very often!) lotus’s blog my book wish list becomes bigger and bigger and bigger or I’m starting manically to search if there is any title available and OF COURSE there aren’t because (and I don’t know how???) lotus is amazingly up to date with stuff she reads! Sometime I think authors are sending one copy to her before the book appears in bookstores and I could totally understand this and if you read her reviews you’ll know why? Since she is (in her own words) ”daughter of the tropics now living in the Great White North” personally I like the most her posts about her spicy homeland's culture ...

And look what my friend Zmrzlina would do if she had a million dollars! Zmrzlina is someone who introduced me with the internet community where I have found my best virtual friends (also nominated here); she doesn’t post on her blog often (probably because she is sending postcards like a lunatic and doesn’t have enough time for blogging LOL) but it always thrills me when I see new post on her ice-creamy blog :-)
Oh I so wish she has a million dollars!

And of course I’d like to nominate WestofMars (I’m not breaking the rule with this right?). Just look at her Thursday Thirteens (and not only TTs). How often you meet a writer (real one) who is sharing process of writing with you? And moreover includes you (in every personal way) in that process; you’re giving comments although beware! If you’re bad she might put you in the book!!!
Every Thursday you’re getting new episode of your heroes … it reminds me (WoM don’t become conceited!) of great Russian novelists who were writing their masterpieces (like “War and Piece”) in numerous small parts which were published in newspapers. On the other hand it reminds me of "Misery" (the movie) so WoM pay attention what you’re doing with your characters, some crazy fan might find you …

Here are the rules, for you newly tagged

How participation works:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote.