It only just hit me last night that the year was almost over. Seriously, five days of classes (well, really four) and I will never again have to get up and go to that 9:05 a.m. section. I have no idea how the year flew by so fast, but to attempt to make sense of it all, I thought it would be appropriate that my last column for the year take a look back at the important developments of the school year. Get ready to feel old.

It was supposed to be one of its greatest honors. It was meant to represent the great economic, political and social progress it had made. Instead, the 2008 Beijing Olympics have caused China to become the target and object of ridicule from Hollywood directors and Buddhist monks alike.

Five years into the U.S. occupation, how much do we really know about Iraq?

March 19, 2008 marked the five-year anniversary of our war on Iraq. My God, doesn’t it seem like just yesterday that we were taking our first baby steps into Iraq? How time flies by!

Five years — that’s quite a long time. But how much do you think Americans know about a country we have been at war with for the past five years? To answer this question, I have complied the following quiz to see how “Iraq-smart” you are.

This past Tuesday, I, along with 400 or so of my peers, went to Statler Auditorium to hear Palestinian Ambassador Afif Safieh address the Cornell community on what was advertised as “A Palestinian Perspective.” Ambassador Safieh’s speech came at a crucial time, with tensions and violence having mounted in Gaza a few days earlier. I was happy to see that the audience was very respectful of Ambassador Safieh during his speech, as the spiel given in the beginning about “our right to protest without obstructing the speaker’s right to free speech” brought back images of John Ashcroft and students with potato sack hats.

When I was in Lebanon this past winter break, I became a master of the Missed Call technique. I had previously been exposed to this technique during the summer, but it was not until this winter, when I had my own cell phone (thanks Papa) that I became a self-proclaimed “Missed Call Connoisseur.” So what exactly is this skill that is essential for all denizens between the ages of 15 and 40? The best way for me to explain is to give you an example:

U.S. of A:

Jodie calls Ben: “Ben, I’ll be at your place in 15. I’ll call you when I get there.”

15 minutes later…

Jodie calls Ben again: “Ben, I’m downstairs. Come down.”

And now for Lebanon:

See, I knew my creative title would catch your eye. So, apparently, does Mr. Clooney, who on February 1st officially became a U.N. Messenger of Peace. So what is this exactly? Some underhanded tactic to boost his film career and make even more millions? Since he already makes as much as $20 million a movie, and he already has pretty much all the fame anyone could ever want, this doesn’t seem like a reasonable explanation. Why then would Mr. Clooney trade in his Gucci loafers and Armani suits for some combat boots and traditional light blue U.N. gear?

In a previous article, I mentioned Saudi Arabia in what was perceived by some to be an unjust light. One of my best friends is Saudi Arabian, and she’s had a lot of defending and clarifying to do pretty much all her life: “So, do you like live in tents in the desert?” “Do you have oil in your house?” “Wait, you wear normal clothes under the abaya, I thought you just wore nothing?” “Do you ride a camel to school?” “Do you have, like, seven mothers?” “Do you know lots of terrorists?” To be fair, she did get most of these questions when we were in middle school. (Note: If you think any of these questions are valid, maybe you should reconsider whether Cornell is the best place for you.)

As a government major, you do quite a bit of reading, especially if you happen to be in any of Prof. Peter Katzenstein’s classes. And as you read page after page, you begin to see a pattern, and you realize that in many ways, history does repeat itself. You see the rise of “leaders of the people” who eventually lose their original values and become corrupt dictators; you see CIA overthrows of democratically elected politicians so that they can be replaced by U.S.-friendly puppet-leaders; and you see dictators who run the show until they die or are forced out of office, much like Hosni Mubarak who has been president of Egypt since 1981 and will celebrate his 80th birthday next year.

I’ve never been much of an American Idol fan. I’ve always thought of it as just another dumb reality show — and besides, something about Ryan Seacrest and that golden boy, bleached-white smile look of his creeps me out. Point being, I’ve never watched a full episode since it first aired five years ago. How then, did I get addicted to a very similar show on Arab television? Back at home in New York City, my dad called me over to show me a program he had recorded; I guessed that it was probably an interview with a politician. Instead, it turned out to be the first episode of a new show called Star Academy on the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation.

I saw Stephen Colbert on Friday night, and as expected, he was hilarious. However, there was one thing he said which I didn’t find funny, but everyone else seemed to. When Colbert asked, “How many of you don’t think that I’m news, but get your news from me anyway?” the entire room erupted with applause. “And this is the Ivy League.” Amen to that. If more of our generation gets its news from Jon Stewart and Stephen “I make news up” Colbert, our future isn’t looking too bright. So, I’ve compiled a list of nine things (10 is just too ordinary) I think will make Cornellians more intellectual/internationally aware — a lost cause? (I think not.) Here goes nothing:

1. BBC not Perez