Shot in the Head

Alison Weir, the tireless investigator of what Israel does to the Palestinians and the lack of reporting on it in the United States, has written a very powerful piece on the occasion of the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson.

Alison is executive director of CNI and produces the powerful reference source If Americans Knew. She speaks around the country (I have heard her) and is known for backing up what she says with facts, as the extensive footnotes that follow her article indicate.

Gabrielle Giffords, Tom Hurndall and Palestinian Children

Shot in the Head

By ALISON WEIR

There is something particularly horrifying when someone is shot in the head. Perhaps it’s the gruesome image, the destruction of the brain, the clear intent to kill. The recent shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is made even more nightmarish by the location of her devastating injury.

Those of us who focus on Israel-Palestine are acutely aware of this horror.

Several years ago, I was researching the cause of death of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces during the first months of the Second Intifadah, the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. As I counted up the numbers, I was chilled to discover that the single most frequent cause of death in those beginning months was “gunfire to the head.”

In the past 10 years Israeli forces have killed at least 255 Palestinian minors by fire to the head, and the number may actually be greater, since in many instances the specific bodily location of the lethal trauma is unlisted. In addition, this statistic does not include the many more Palestinian youngsters shot in the head by Israeli soldiers who survived, in one form or another.

Below is a small sampling of those who died. (The term IDF stands for “Israeli Defense Forces,” although these forces are, in reality, an occupation army and are almost always deployed offensively; the incidents below took place on Palestinian territory):

Sami, 12, died of head wounds from IDF gunfire during a demonstration. Abdul, 9, was killed by IDF gunfire to his head during a funeral. Ala, 14, died of head wounds from IDF gunfire while on the terrace of his home one hour after injuring an Israeli soldier with a stone. Omar, 11, died of head wounds from IDF gunfire during a demonstration. Diya, 3 months, was killed, along with her older brother, by Israeli settler gunfire to her head and back. Bara, 10, was killed by IDF gunfire to his head while near his home. Ayman, 15, was killed by IDF tank fire to his head while farming. Khalil, 11, was killed by IDF tank fire to his head while playing with a friend. Rami, 13, was killed by IDF helicopter fire to his head while playing in front of his house. Yaser, 11, died of head wounds from an IDF rubber-coated bullet fired at close range during a demonstration…/1/

Imagine if these names were Bobby… Michael… Susan... Melissa… Jimmy…
and that the foreign troops killing them were invading Arizona, Connecticut, Ohio...

I remember seeing one little brain-dead boy when I was in Gaza in February of 2001; long before any rockets had been fired out of this already assaulted enclave. It’s not a sight you forget, regardless of the name or nationality.

A 2009 article in the UK Telegraph entitled “Bullets in the brain, shrapnel in the spine: the terrible injuries suffered by children of Gaza,” investigated a situation in which doctors at a hospital near Gaza were “almost overwhelmed by the number of Palestinian children needing treatment for bullet wounds to their heads.”/2/

The article began: “On just one day last week staff at the El-Arish hospital in Sinai were called to perform sophisticated CAT brain scans on a nine-year-old, two 10-year-olds and a 14-year-old – each of whom had a bullet still lodged in their brain, after coming under fire during the Israeli ground assault on Gaza.”

Asked about the nature of these shootings, a physician replied:

“I can't precisely decide whether these children are being shot at as a target, but in some cases the bullet comes from the front of the head and goes towards the back, so I think the gun has been directly pointed at the child."

Israeli soldiers in a group called “Breaking the Silence” have provided chilling testimonies about Israeli military culture; the titles alone tell a great deal. Following are a few:

“The battalion commander ordered us to shoot anyone trying to remove the bodies”, “The commander of the navy commandos put the muzzle of the rifle into the man’s mouth”, “They told us to shoot at anybody moving in the street”, “You can do whatever you feel like, nobody is going to question it.”/3/

Another person shot in the head by Israeli forces was 21-year-old Tom Hurndall. The anniversary of his death is this week. Hurndall, a student and photographer, had wanted to “make a difference” with his life. In 2003 he went to Gaza to join the nonviolence movement against Israeli aggression and to photograph what he saw. /4/

On April 11th he was nearby when a group of children who had been playing suddenly came under Israeli rifle fire. Most of the children fled, but three, aged four to seven, froze with fear. Hurndall dashed over, rushed one small boy to safety and returned for two little girls. Just as he was reaching to lift one up, an Israeli sniper shot him in the head.

Despite the urgency of his injury, Israeli officials delayed his transport to specialized medical care for over two and a half hours. A British television crew in the area filmed a powerful on-the-scene report that was aired on England’s Channel 4 /5/ but has never, to my knowledge, been shown on American television. Tom remained in a vegetative state for nine months, finally dying on Jan. 13t, 2004.

From the end of 2002 to the spring of 2003, Israeli forces killed four internationals and shot another in the face. One of the dead was a UN official, Iain Hook. As with Hurndall, Israeli forces retarded efforts to provide critical medical care. /6/ Another was filmmaker James Miller, who had been waving a white flag. He was shot in the throat. /7/

Two recent non-Palestinian victims shot in the head, in this case by high velocity tear gas canisters, are 37-year-old Tristan Anderson /8/ and 21-year-old Emily Henochowicz. /9/ Both have survived, Emily without an eye and Tristan in a wheelchair. Part of his right frontal lobe has been removed, he is partially paralyzed, blind in one eye, and it is unclear to what degree his cognitive abilities will return. After shooting him at close range, Israeli forces twice delayed his ambulance to a hospital.

It is difficult to know how many of the 45,000 Palestinian men, women, and children killed or injured by Israeli forces since September 29, 2000 /10/ have been shot in the head. Quite likely the number is staggering. Former Yale professor and author Mazin Qumsiyeh describes one:

[Mohammed] was 12 years old when Israeli soldiers shot him in the head with a rubber coated steel bullet, fragmenting his skull and damaging part of his brain. Ten years later, Israeli army officers severely beat and tortured him. He got married… the young couple received a blessing in the form of a donation of a very small plot of land from their uncle and they built a humble one room house… they lived in this house for 3 years…Then the Israeli army demolished the home saying that it was built without permit (Israel gave no permits for any houses in the village since the occupation began in 1967.) The family rebuilt the house but Israeli threats forced them to not live in it (Israel wants also some NIS 20,000 for the cost of destroying the home and wants to levy other fines on the family.) So the young family came to live in a small dwelling underground… /11/

A Dec. 23rd news story by the International Middle East Middle Center mentions another:

“After being brought to the hospital, 22-year old Salamah Abu Hashish succumbed to his wounds. He had been shot in the back by Israeli troops stationed at the border. Another of the victims was a 14-year old boy who was critically injured when he was shot in the head while collecting rubble near where Abu Hashish was tending his sheep.” /12/

The stories go on and on.

Gabrielle Giffords

Ironically, the American Congresswoman recently so tragically shot in the head has been extremely close to the Israel lobby, which has played a critical role in enabling the tragedies sketched above. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) works year after year to ensure that the approximately $7-8 million per day of American tax to Israel /13/ keeps flowing regardless of how many civilians its troops kill. /14/

Giffords has been known as “a safe pro-Israel vote in the House” /15/ and could be counted on to support AIPAC’s various initiatives to shield Israel from negative consequences for its ruthless and illegal use of American weaponry. /16/

She called a 2001 visit to Israel a turning point in her life (Israeli forces killed 103 children that year, 31 of them shot in the head) and wrote in 2006 (a year in which Israeli forces killed 665 Palestinians, 139 of them children, and Palestinians killed 23 Israelis, two of them children) that “the United States must do everything possible to secure Israel’s long-term security.” /17/ Palestinian victims – killed first and in far greater numbers – seem to have been invisible to her. /18/

Giffords, of course, wasn’t the only victim of the Tucson shooting; 14 were injured and six were killed. It is deeply saddening to read about the dead and to imagine the unending grief for their survivors. /19/ It is particularly difficult to view the sweet, smiling picture of nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green, knowing that her bright life is no longer before her.

It is equally tragic to read of nine-year-old Akaber, killed by Israeli gunfire to her head while riding in her uncle’s car to get medical stitches removed, and of the 29 other nine-year-olds killed by Israeli forces in the past decade, eight of them by Israeli gunfire to the head.

It is too late for Akabar, Diya, Mohammed, Tom, and the multitude of others. But there is hope that Gabrielle Giffords is going to survive. Let us pray that she recovers fully, that she is able to return to Congress, and that she then works to prevent others – including Palestinians – from being shot in the head.

We have better uses for our money than to fund atrocities.

Alison Weir is President of the Council for the National Interest and Executive Director of If Americans Knew, which has produced posters and cards for people to disseminate in commemoration of the seventh anniversary of Tom Hurndall’s killing (http://ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/hurndall-articles.html ) and about Palestinian children, (which contain a picture of the Gaza boy she saw). (http://ifamericansknew.org/about_us/opcard.html) She can be reached at alisonweir@ifamericansknew.org.

Notes and Citations

1. Remember These Children http://www.rememberthesechildren.org/remember2000.html; Since Sept 29, 2000 Israeli forces have killed at least 1,452 Palestinian children; Palestinians have killed 124 Israeli children. Every single one of these deaths is a tragedy. 91 Palestinian children were killed before any Israeli children were killed. http://ifamericansknew.org/stats/children.html

2. “Bullets in the brain, shrapnel in the spine: the terrible injuries suffered by children of Gaza,” The Telegraph, Jan. 2009, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/;

Related: “Doctor Decries Israeli Attacks,” video of CBS news report, Jan. 5, 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev6ojm62qwA

3. “The Darkness to Expel! Israeli soldiers' book ‘Breaking the Silence’ describes ‘routine’ oppression,” The Missing Headlines, Uri Avnery, Dec. 27, 2010 http://www.israel-palestinenews.org/

4. Section with articles on Tom Hurndall, If Americans Knew website http://ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/hurndall-articles.html

5. “Dispatches: The Killing Zone,” Sandra Jordan and Rodrigo Vasquez, UK Channel 4, May 19, 2003 http://ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/kzone.html

6. “Israel's killing of British citizen Iain Hook, UNRWA's Project Manager in Jenin
Caoimhe Butterly as told to Annie Higgins writing from Jenin Refugee Camp,” Live from Palestine, 22 November 2002 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article906.shtml

7. “Film-maker's death 'was murder',” BBC News, April 4, 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/4876176.stm

8. “Facts about Tristan” http://justicefortristan.org/

9. “EXCLUSIVE...Emily Henochowicz Speaks Out: Art Student Who Lost Her Eye After Being Shot by Israeli Tear Gas Canister in West Bank Protest Discusses Her Life, Her Art, and Why She Plans to Return,” Democracy Now, Aug 5, 2010 http://www.democracynow.org

10. If Americans Knew website, from B’Tselem and Remember These Children http://ifamericansknew.org/

11. “The Story of a Palestinian Shot in the Head with a Rubber-Coated Steel Bullet by Israeli Occupation Soldiers,” Mazin Qumsiyeh, Al-Jazeerah, CCUN, September 20, 2010 http://www.aljazeerah.info/

12. “Shepherd killed; 3 injured in Northern Gaza,” IMEMC, Dec. 23, 2010 http://www.imemc.org/article/60257

13. “U.S. Military Aid and the Israel/Palestine Conflict,” If Americans Knew, from Congressional Research Service reports http://ifamericansknew.org/stats/usaid.html ;

“$3.4b in US military aid delayed: US military aid to Israel in 2011 is due to be largest amount Israel has ever received,” Globes Israel’s Business Arena, December 26, 2010 http://www.globes.co.il/

14. “The Israel Lobby,” London Review of Books, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, March 23, 2006 http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/john-mearsheimer/the-israel-lobby

15. “Gabrielle Giffords Shot in the Head,” The Forward, Jan 8, 2011 http://forward.com/articles/134547/

16. “Israel Violates Law on U.S. Weapons in Mideast,” IPS, Jan 17, 2006 http://ipsnews.net/

17. AIPAC Facebook post, Jan. 9, 2011, 3:35 pm http://www.facebook.com/aipac

“A Tribe of Candidates Leads Drive To Retake House for Democrats,” The Forward, Sept. 22, 2006: “…Several candidates who spoke with the Forward did say that they would be strong advocates for Israel in Congress. This is ‘an opportunity to send someone to Congress who’s going to work for Israel,’ Giffords told the Forward…” http://www.forward.com/articles/4693/

18. B’Tselem - Israeli Information Center for Human Rights http://www.btselem.org/

If Americans Knew http://ifamericansknew.org/

19. “Thumbnail sketches of those shot in Arizona,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jan. 11, 2011 http://www.ajc.com/

collective punishment on video

It can't be denied that the Palestinians are punished as a whole for what extremist Palestinians do, or even when Palestinians have done nothing at all. The assault on Gaza and the ongoing lock-down there is the best example.

Taking collective punishment down to the local village level, consider the following video clip. For most of it, up until 7:00, you will see a routine West Bank security fence demonstration with chanting and marching, tear gas launching and rock throwing. Nothing new there.

What is new is a technical "advance" for the IDF in the form of a multiple tear gas launcher that can literally shower the canisters on an area, producing a thick enveloping blanket of gas that cannot be escaped. Though you won't see the launcher itself, you will see the town getting a blanket of gas as a parting gift when the IDF jeeps leave. Here is the full story behind this demonstration at Nabi Saleh.

By the way, the tear gas canisters are made in the USA.

the government attacks PART 3

In part 1 I had the words of Sarah Smith, in part 2 I had the words (actually my paraphrase) of her lawyer, Michael Deutsch about the grand jury process.

Now I'm going to depart from my guideline of linking and using the words of others and will ask you to consider the question: Why would the FBI be going after Palestinian activists and their supporters?

Yes, you might hear lots of talk about the fight against terror but during the last few years the Palestinian efforts that have sparked such a response around the world have been non-violent.

But consider this - Israel is highly embarrassed by what it is doing in the occupied territories. Israel doesn't want reports in the world news of tear-gas projectiles killing non-violent protesters. It doesn't even want the subject of the occupied territories to be in the minds of anyone beyond the IDF soldiers who conduct the oppression and the settlers who steal land.

Many "internationals" are going to the occupied territories to stand with the Palestinians. So are some Israelis who detest what their government is doing. These people cannot be labeled "terrorists" as are all Palestinians by the powerful in Israel, nor can their testimony be easily dismissed.

So what is an occupying country to do? Wouldn't it be great if it could get the United States to stop Americans from going to the occupied territories? Wouldn't it be great if this could be disguised under a "made in the USA" operation that would shield Israel from anything indicating it was involved?

This makes sense to me. We know from the days of neo-con control of the administration of G.W. Bush that there are more than a few zealous Zionists in Washington, Americans all, who will do anything in support of Israel. Administrations want votes and so-called threats to national security brings support.

The grand jury threat that I described in part 2 is a beautiful tool for stopping people from making a trip to the occupied territories. Would you want to risk a subpoena from the Justice Department, possible prison time and a large legal bill to go to a tiny place on the other side of the world?

So Israel can have it's cake (seeing fewer Americans where it doesn't want them to be) and eat it too (being able to say the grand jury thing is an American operation that it doesn't know anything about).

The word for it is BINGO!

The government attacks, PART 2

In my last post, I told of what Sarah Smith, one of the Americans target by the Justice Department, had told the audience including me when she appeared in my town last Sunday.

The reason for the subpoena served to her appears to be that she traveled to the occupied territories of Palestine. Her description of the events of the trip were those of a typical tourist to a distant land, nothing more, but that hasn't stopped the fishermen at the Justice Department.

What her lawyer, Michael Deutsch, had to say about the grand jury system was the truly frightening part of the presentation. See if you don't agree that there is reason to fear your government when it has the power I am about to describe based on what Mike said.

Gun control opponents fear the danger to freedom of actions the government MIGHT take on gun ownership. The grand jury process is a power the government has right now and you as an American citizen like Sarah Smith are subject to it.

According to Michael Deutsch, the grand jury idea comes from English common law. It was created to protect the individual from false charges. If a person was accused of something, a panel of his/her fellow citizens would be convened to hear evidence and determine if there were, in fact, good reason to believe the charges. If so, this grand jury would then recommend prosecution and if not, the accused would be free of the taint of illegality.

This sounds like a good idea and it was written into the bill of rights with the protection of the individual in mind. In practice it has never worked as intended, being abused almost from the day it took force.

The government has seized the process, taking control of it for the purpose of forcing free citizens to testify whether they want to or not. This is done so that what we call a "fishing expedition" can be conducted. Without being able to establish a case, but wishing it could do so, the government sends out subpoenas to people that it believes might say something to give leads that will allow criminal prosecutions to take place.

This is done without necessarily any knowledge of criminal activity or any knowledge of any activity. I got the impression that there are no rules restraining the government from calling a grand jury.

Once the members of the grand jury are collected, they are coached by government people on what questions to ask of those who have received subpoenas to appear before them. It isn't a matter of the jury deciding for themselves what to ask, they are only a tool for government fishing.

What's so bad about this? Can't you receive a subpoena and refuse to testify? Yes, you can, and that is what all of those who have been served with subpoenas along with Sarah Smith are doing. But there is a danger in this. You can be imprisoned (and this has happened) for refusing to testify. So much for your freedom when you must speak or go to jail.

Not only must you speak, you must answer every question asked of you in full. If you don't you can be brought up on charges of lying to the grand jury.

What about using the fifth amendment that protects a person from self-incrimination? No, under the grand jury system you cannot "take the fifth" but are compelled to answer everything you are asked. Originally, whatever you said could not be used against you - you were given immunity from any criminal charges related to what you told the grand jury. But even this protection has withered away under relentless government pressure and Supreme Court decisions.

As it stands today, the actual words you speak to the grand jury cannot be used against you but you can be charged with a crime revealed by what you say. You might want to read that again. If you end up in court as the accused, no, the exact words you spoke cannot be quoted, that's all. Some protection, huh?

Say you are called in to testify to a grand jury. Do you want to reveal anything and everything you know about your friends? Do you want to tell the grand jury the names of everyone you met over a certain period, every place you visited, every detail of every discussion you had? You are not permitted to ask why the information is needed - that's none of your business, yet every detail of your private life can be the grand jury's business!

Isn't this incredible in the United States of all places!? The grand jury system has been so abused that every other country that had it has eliminated it, but not the U.S.

A handout at the meeting where Sarah Smith spoke was a copy of a subpoena. It begins with this phrase in capital letters: YOU ARE COMMANDED TO BRING WITH YOU THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENT(S) OR OBJECT(S). Is this acceptable wording from a government to free citizens who are not accused of anything?

So what will happen to Sarah and the others who have been served with a subpoena? They could go to jail or the whole thing could be dropped by the government. What will make a big difference is the attitude of the public. After reading the above, will you sit quietly, say nothing and let the government proceed? Where is your protection against being called to a grand jury?

Don't be silent. Demonstrations are planned. Be sure you turn out for one of them. The date set is January 25th. In Chicago it will take place at the Dirksen Federal Building. You can get full information for this event and others across the country on the same day at StopFBI.net

I will definitely be showing my disapproval on that day. I hope you will too.

The government attacks PART 1

Sarah Smith (pictured) is a young Jewish activist who lives in the Chicago area and one of the people served with a subpoena by the FBI to appear before a grand jury. Yesterday, I attended a meeting (every seat taken) where Sarah spoke along with two lawyers who are defending her. I learned quite a bit and am eager to pass it on to you because it tells of how an innocent person can be roped in and potentially sent to prison for doing nothing wrong. Her case is a warning to all Americans that our freedom cannot be assumed.

I have published Sarah's statement to the public, but in person she told of details not mentioned there and her lawyers presented information about the U.S. grand jury system that you should hear - that will be in my next post.

So what did Sarah do that has her under the government spotlight?

She, along with two Palestinian-American friends, took a trip to Israel/Palestine with the intention of seeing more than would be revealed to Sarah by a Birthright trip (a propaganda filled venture to rope young American Jews into support for Israel). They wanted to experience the situation in the occupied territories.

The difference in treatment for Sarah and her friends was astonishing to this young woman who had come to believe all Arabs in Palestine were out to get Jews. On arrival at the airport in Israel, Sarah was passed through without problem while her friends were pulled aside into an interrogation area for ten hours during which they were asked why they were there - who were their relatives in Palestine. It was not constant questioning, but brief question periods followed by long hours of being kept sitting by themselves in a room supplied only with water, wondering what was going on - in other words, the kind of psychological game that Israel plays daily with the Palestinians under their authority.

Sarah could not believe that she, an American with no ties to the area and just as much a stranger as her two friends, was treated with courtesy and not subject to scrutiny while her friends with deep ties to Palestine were under suspicion.

After being granted freedom to go, the three were off to see what they could. At this point Sarah repeated a story I have heard so often from Americans who travel to the occupied territories.

Far from being hostile, Palestinians were welcoming and more than friendly. Tea was constantly on offer and walks around villages brought many warm introductions and visits in homes. Sarah was impressed by the contrast between this warmth and the coldness of the people they encountered in Israel.

When I first heard this kind of story, I was reluctant to give it credit, but too many Jews have told of the same experience, people who were not pre-disposed to see Palestinians in a warm light, so I now expect to hear it and believe it indicates the true situation.

So the three friends completed their visit and after another challenging encounter at the airport, returned to the United States.

Then, on December 3 of last year, Sarah received a call from the FBI as related in her statement and she was suddenly in the spotlight, expected to respond to a demand by the American government to appear and answer any and all questions posed by a grand jury. The grand jury story is a shocker in itself and that will be in my next post.

The Electronic Intifada provides a comprehensive overview of the situation.

Israel to go after human-rights groups

I'm proud to have dedicated this blog to the courageous Israeli human rights groups that tirelessly strive to protect individual rights and never hesitate to reveal the truth.

It turns out that several of them are to be investigated by a panel set up by the Knesset, Israel's parliament.

Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's foreign minister and a settler, unsurprisingly led the drive to get the panel set up saying "leftist groups are terrorist collaborators".

Last week, MK Danny Danon announced the targets for investigation as (I provide links so you can check each one out to see just what Israel considers worthy of investigating)

B'tselem
The Center for Defense of the Individual (HaMoked)
Yesh Din
Ir Amim
The Public Committee against Torture in Israel
Peace Now (the American affiliate is linked)
Gisha
Association for Civil Rights ion Israel
Breaking the Silence
Machsom Watch
The Israeli Committee against Home Demolitions
Center for Alternative Information

I can't think of a more powerful indictment of the Israeli government than that it would go after these groups. This reminds me of the House Un-American Activities Committee that existed until 1975 in the United States, and was terminated because it was an embarrassment and had become a symbol of what truly was un-American.

I'm a big fan of wikileaks because it is instrumental in revealing the truth. Governments are always interested in hiding what they do from the light, Israel in particular because of the nature of what it does to the Palestinians, who are not considered deserving of even the most fundamental respect. What ties all the groups above together is there rejection of the idea that some people should have their rights respected and others should not.

This prompts me to write a letter to my representatives in Congress. This Israeli government is the same one that they automatically support. How can this be? And Monday is Martin Luther King Day!

Cast Lead on an intimate level

Amira Hass is a columnist for Haaretz and, along with her colleague Gideon Levy, never puts anything on paper (or pixels) that isn't worth reading.

As I recently mentioned, it has been just over two years since Operation Cast Lead brought violence and widespread destruction into Gaza. The Goldstone Report commissioned by the United Nations is a comprehensive account of the events leading up to Cast Lead and the actions that took place within it. I recommend reading it. I did.

But a far shorter and more personal summary is provided by Amira Hass in her blog for Z Net. It has an immediacy, intensity and justifiable sense of outrage that Goldstone understandably does not.

Can you imagine living under a canopy of UAV's (drones) the humming of which warns of constant surveillance and possible missile attack? Israel routinely refers to Palestinians as terrorists, shouldn't we call the drones instruments of terror? Gazans were subjected to death and destruction from a source they could hear but not see. This is only one of the many aspects of the attack that Hass brings to life so well.

We should remember that America uses drones extensively in Afghanistan and Pakistan on a daily basis where the effect is undoubtedly the same.

To keep current on events in Israel/Palestine, I recommend following Hass online, an Israeli who has no illusions about what her country is doing. Her fellow bloggers on Z Net are also worth reading.