And as Otis said it so well, I will say nothing more than read it for yourself...
Sittin' in the morning sun
I'll be sittin' when the evening comes
Watching the ships roll in
Then I watch 'em roll away again, yeah
I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooh, I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay wastin' time
I left my home in the UK
Headed for the Bosphorus Straits
'Cos I've had nothing to live for
And look like nothing's gonna come my way
So I'm just gonna sit on the dock of the bay
Watching the clouds roll away
Ooh, I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay wastin' time
Look like nothing's gonna change
Everything still remains the same
I can't do what ten people tell me to do
So I guess I'll remain the same, listen
Sittin' here resting my bones
And this loneliness won't leave me alone, listen
2000 miles I've roamed
Just to make this lot my home
Now I'm just gonna sit at the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooh wee, I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay wastin' time
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Sunday, October 23, 2005
sunny sunday
new places
model faces
weekend tequilla
best type of healer
life goes on
and on
and on
after you're gone
life can breathe
again
sunny skies
breezy garden greens
whispering leaves
no more whys
and what fors
opening of new doors
another day slips away
while you're too proud
to say
i love you more
ain't life grand
head up up up
out of the sand
i am the lucky one
now that you're
gone
gone
gone
Barking Sparrows
new places
model faces
weekend tequilla
best type of healer
life goes on
and on
and on
after you're gone
life can breathe
again
sunny skies
breezy garden greens
whispering leaves
no more whys
and what fors
opening of new doors
another day slips away
while you're too proud
to say
i love you more
ain't life grand
head up up up
out of the sand
i am the lucky one
now that you're
gone
gone
gone
Barking Sparrows
Friday, October 21, 2005
Humans – Merely a step in evolution
A week of suicidal CEOs, monumental aid from Turkey to Pakistan and a realisation AGAIN that I'm living in the wrong century!
This week a touching story came in about a CEO of a Turkish holding group who took his own life after killing his wife on a regular working day, after eating breakfast together as usual. "The couple retired to their bedroom after breakfast" said the housekeeper, where the man shot his wife before turning the gun on himself. The housekeeper found the two dead shortly after. The woman had Alzheimers and was very sick according to the family and as the couple couldn't imagine living without each other they made a decision to take their lives on that cold sunny Istanbul morning. While there is something tragic about the people who are left behind to cope with the loss, there is something incredibly romantic about the death of the couple. I only hope that if there is an after life they are both together in peace and able to live out their love for eternity.
*****
A Noble Effort
Turkey joined along with the UN relief program and NATO this week to help in relief efforts for the victims of Pakistan's earthquake that hit two weeks ago. Ankara has facilitated the airlift of hundreds of tons of supplies, including nearly 10,000 desperately needed tents (although some may say that the tents are old and useless), from the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey to the earthquake zone in northern Pakistan.
Prime Minister Erdogan also travelled to the quake-stricken region on Thursday and took a helicopter tour to see the damage for himself. Erdogan also delivered the news that Turkey would pledge $150 million in aid – this is single largest donation to date. Something which is quite outstanding for a country that is seen to have high debt and that also suffers from quakes. In fact as the prime minister was in Pakistan Turkey was hit by an earthquake that measured 5.9 on the Richter scale. The quake sent panic through the western Aegean city of Izmir, which resulted in one person dead from a heart attack at the age of 38 and others were injured as they jumped from their balconies. A noble effort for Turkey to help in aiding Pakistan.
Erdogan spoke out on the subject of lacking aid to the region. "By the end of 2004, the world had put one trillion U.S. dollars into weapons and we have to ask how much the world has put aside for this disaster in Pakistan," he said after a helicopter flight over the shattered region.
"We have to open our hands more. Today it's Pakistan, tomorrow it can somewhere else," he told reporters through an interpreter in the destroyed city of Muzaffarabad.
"We have to feel what they are a feeling. And as people who are in a responsible position we have to take responsibility for this," he said a day after the United Nations said the world was not doing enough to help.
Although UNHCR has worked closely with non-combatant NATO forces in Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia during the Kosovo crisis, this is the first time the UN refugee agency and NATO have mounted a joint airlift of this size.
Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva, UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond said, "In all, we have about 860 tonnes of supplies in our warehouse in Iskenderun, Turkey, that we're going to rush to Pakistan with the generous help of these two partners," adding that, "This part of the airlift will deliver nearly 10,000 family tents – enough for 100,000 people – 103,675 blankets and 2,000 stoves from our stocks in Turkey."
Dozens of planes are expected to be sent from the NATO alliance, so far a total of 11 C-130 planes have been offered by the UK, Italy, France, Turkey and Greece. With the Turkish government offering 40 trucks to transport the supplies from the UNHCR warehouse to the airbase in Incirlik. Seven trucks arrived in Incirlik on Tuesday carrying stoves and some 45,000 blankets.
The Turkish effort has been at the forefront of this relief effort with the local governor close to where the air base is located going all out to help by assigning some military troops to move aid supplies. "The governor of Adana, where Incirlik is located, is assisting with the provision of military troops and equipment to help shift the supplies," Redmond added.
We should take out hats off to Turkey for getting involved! Bravo! A really humanitarian effort.
*****
The scariest piece of propaganda I came across this week was published on the US government website under the title of "National Security" (no surprises there). The is a whole page dedicated to the war on terror with ridiculous plans of actions and explanations as follows.
"Third, From Their New Base, These Militants Will Seek To Establish A Radical Islamic Empire. The militants believe that controlling one country will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow moderate governments in the Middle East and establish a radical Islamic empire that spreads from Spain to Indonesia."
And who said I was paranoid about the US inventing just another reason to continue their fight against the lefties of this world:
"Like Communism, Islamic Radicalism Is Led By An Elitist Self-Appointed Vanguard That Presumes To Speak For The Muslim Masses. Bin Laden says his role is to tell Muslims "what is good for them and what is not." What this man who grew up in wealth and privilege considers good for poor Muslims is that they become killers and suicide bombers. He assures them that this is the road to paradise - though he never offers to go along for the ride."
Hmm. Communism and Islamic Radicalism in the same sentence. Interestingly put there! This is from a government who still hasn't got it that the cold war is over. Maybe they could have said:
"The wealth that we, the US government, gave Bin Laden obviously wasn't enough to persuade him into a life of TV dinners and submission to Western ignorant political values."
******
When asked what he thought the human race was in for, Mr Hartley from London said, "Capitalism will run its course - I still believe Marx was right in this + I still believe Nietzche was right in saying that humans were merely a step in evolution... "
Then he quite aptly went on to talk about his working week, "Sell soul, make money." A good example of a modern (how long has that phrase been coined for?) working class man. Ideas and capitalism all together in one fell swoop. What else is there to do in today's "modern" world. And how much more modern can we be?
Mr Dobis an American living in Istanbul said when posed on the question of why Americans cannot separate politics from their culture, “Americans are brought up to believe that the US is right and that we are saving the world for democracy, but in actual fact they are pushing in the direction of capitalism. And nine times out of ten capitalism is anti-democratic”
Question: The debate at the moment in the US is "What will we do when Castro dies?"
Answer: It's none of your god damn business! Spoken like a true American.
"The domino theory", a term coined by the US government to explain the effects of country by country turning (or as they said "falling") to communism, the thing that many US defense ministers never realised to understand was that most of these countries were more interested in a sustainable independence than communism. If only Macnamara had picked up and READ a history book on China and Vietnam, millions of lives may have been spared.

*****
Socially awkward or just a false impression?
Sitting at a dinner in a very shi shi restaurant this week, surrounded by young professionals who had all been through university education, some with masters degrees, others applying for grad school next year, the conversation consisted of name dropping, silly political quotes and stereotyped observations about people – supposedly aimed at being ironic. The surprising thing thought the observer (and diner among the group) was, "Don't these people have any information based on the theories that came up with the very stories they are quoting?" An egotistical exercise in seeing who knows more information than the other, but with no real depth of discussion introduced. The observer decided to jump in and comment on why the person to her right was talking utter crap. "Do you really believe that the free open economy of the world can be reversed?" His reply was,"Of course the economy of the world can be reversed? Anything is possible." Finding this to be a simple reply, the observer asked her fellow diner to expand on this statement, which, he was not able to do and instead ignored the request – cunningly in a quick maneuver to divert attention – he quickly jumped into a conversation across the table on the names given to US licence plates.
Is that a justfication in fighting for democracy on all fronts? Thought the observer. Hmm. And hasn't democracy been around since the Romans? It's not something that was invented by the US? Was it? Although the Romans were pretty good at sticking their nose in where it wasn't wanted. Sound familiar?
The observer not able to participate in the shallowness of the conversation sat tight, she would find another opportunity to join in, however, time passed and no opportunity presented itself, feeling under extreme pressure to get involved in the conversation, she tried again. But she couldn't. Would she be seen as a social faliure? A boring person of low intellect?
And then she reflected. Why was it that everytime she questioned the man to her right over his ideas, he replied with a look of puzzlement. The observer's first reaction was one of paranoia. She sat there for a while before excusing herself from the smiles and fake laughter.
Off she went to the bathroom and took a good look at herself in the mirror. "What am I doing here? I'm being relegated to the second division social club." Then the cloud of paranoia cleared and a smile of confidence looked back at her from the mirror. She realised that although he had been talking about politics, he didn't in actual fact know anything about the history behind his ideas. It reminded her of a t-shirt her cousin used to wear, "Keep us in the dark and feed us lots of bullshit".
She went back to the table, sat down, looked around and relaxed. A group of well-educated attractive people with well practised monologues surrounded her. What would they care if she said something or not. They probably hadn't even noticed she had been gone.
Isn't a dialogue much more interesting and benficial for all parties?
Isolation and Estrangement:If this is what being a democratically raised Westerner is, then I reject it.
A week of suicidal CEOs, monumental aid from Turkey to Pakistan and a realisation AGAIN that I'm living in the wrong century!
This week a touching story came in about a CEO of a Turkish holding group who took his own life after killing his wife on a regular working day, after eating breakfast together as usual. "The couple retired to their bedroom after breakfast" said the housekeeper, where the man shot his wife before turning the gun on himself. The housekeeper found the two dead shortly after. The woman had Alzheimers and was very sick according to the family and as the couple couldn't imagine living without each other they made a decision to take their lives on that cold sunny Istanbul morning. While there is something tragic about the people who are left behind to cope with the loss, there is something incredibly romantic about the death of the couple. I only hope that if there is an after life they are both together in peace and able to live out their love for eternity.
*****
A Noble Effort
Turkey joined along with the UN relief program and NATO this week to help in relief efforts for the victims of Pakistan's earthquake that hit two weeks ago. Ankara has facilitated the airlift of hundreds of tons of supplies, including nearly 10,000 desperately needed tents (although some may say that the tents are old and useless), from the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey to the earthquake zone in northern Pakistan.
Prime Minister Erdogan also travelled to the quake-stricken region on Thursday and took a helicopter tour to see the damage for himself. Erdogan also delivered the news that Turkey would pledge $150 million in aid – this is single largest donation to date. Something which is quite outstanding for a country that is seen to have high debt and that also suffers from quakes. In fact as the prime minister was in Pakistan Turkey was hit by an earthquake that measured 5.9 on the Richter scale. The quake sent panic through the western Aegean city of Izmir, which resulted in one person dead from a heart attack at the age of 38 and others were injured as they jumped from their balconies. A noble effort for Turkey to help in aiding Pakistan.
Erdogan spoke out on the subject of lacking aid to the region. "By the end of 2004, the world had put one trillion U.S. dollars into weapons and we have to ask how much the world has put aside for this disaster in Pakistan," he said after a helicopter flight over the shattered region.
"We have to open our hands more. Today it's Pakistan, tomorrow it can somewhere else," he told reporters through an interpreter in the destroyed city of Muzaffarabad.
"We have to feel what they are a feeling. And as people who are in a responsible position we have to take responsibility for this," he said a day after the United Nations said the world was not doing enough to help.
Although UNHCR has worked closely with non-combatant NATO forces in Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia during the Kosovo crisis, this is the first time the UN refugee agency and NATO have mounted a joint airlift of this size.
Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva, UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond said, "In all, we have about 860 tonnes of supplies in our warehouse in Iskenderun, Turkey, that we're going to rush to Pakistan with the generous help of these two partners," adding that, "This part of the airlift will deliver nearly 10,000 family tents – enough for 100,000 people – 103,675 blankets and 2,000 stoves from our stocks in Turkey."
Dozens of planes are expected to be sent from the NATO alliance, so far a total of 11 C-130 planes have been offered by the UK, Italy, France, Turkey and Greece. With the Turkish government offering 40 trucks to transport the supplies from the UNHCR warehouse to the airbase in Incirlik. Seven trucks arrived in Incirlik on Tuesday carrying stoves and some 45,000 blankets.
The Turkish effort has been at the forefront of this relief effort with the local governor close to where the air base is located going all out to help by assigning some military troops to move aid supplies. "The governor of Adana, where Incirlik is located, is assisting with the provision of military troops and equipment to help shift the supplies," Redmond added.
We should take out hats off to Turkey for getting involved! Bravo! A really humanitarian effort.
*****
The scariest piece of propaganda I came across this week was published on the US government website under the title of "National Security" (no surprises there). The is a whole page dedicated to the war on terror with ridiculous plans of actions and explanations as follows.
"Third, From Their New Base, These Militants Will Seek To Establish A Radical Islamic Empire. The militants believe that controlling one country will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow moderate governments in the Middle East and establish a radical Islamic empire that spreads from Spain to Indonesia."
And who said I was paranoid about the US inventing just another reason to continue their fight against the lefties of this world:
"Like Communism, Islamic Radicalism Is Led By An Elitist Self-Appointed Vanguard That Presumes To Speak For The Muslim Masses. Bin Laden says his role is to tell Muslims "what is good for them and what is not." What this man who grew up in wealth and privilege considers good for poor Muslims is that they become killers and suicide bombers. He assures them that this is the road to paradise - though he never offers to go along for the ride."
Hmm. Communism and Islamic Radicalism in the same sentence. Interestingly put there! This is from a government who still hasn't got it that the cold war is over. Maybe they could have said:
"The wealth that we, the US government, gave Bin Laden obviously wasn't enough to persuade him into a life of TV dinners and submission to Western ignorant political values."
******
When asked what he thought the human race was in for, Mr Hartley from London said, "Capitalism will run its course - I still believe Marx was right in this + I still believe Nietzche was right in saying that humans were merely a step in evolution... "
Then he quite aptly went on to talk about his working week, "Sell soul, make money." A good example of a modern (how long has that phrase been coined for?) working class man. Ideas and capitalism all together in one fell swoop. What else is there to do in today's "modern" world. And how much more modern can we be?
Mr Dobis an American living in Istanbul said when posed on the question of why Americans cannot separate politics from their culture, “Americans are brought up to believe that the US is right and that we are saving the world for democracy, but in actual fact they are pushing in the direction of capitalism. And nine times out of ten capitalism is anti-democratic”
Question: The debate at the moment in the US is "What will we do when Castro dies?"
Answer: It's none of your god damn business! Spoken like a true American.
"The domino theory", a term coined by the US government to explain the effects of country by country turning (or as they said "falling") to communism, the thing that many US defense ministers never realised to understand was that most of these countries were more interested in a sustainable independence than communism. If only Macnamara had picked up and READ a history book on China and Vietnam, millions of lives may have been spared.

*****
Socially awkward or just a false impression?
Sitting at a dinner in a very shi shi restaurant this week, surrounded by young professionals who had all been through university education, some with masters degrees, others applying for grad school next year, the conversation consisted of name dropping, silly political quotes and stereotyped observations about people – supposedly aimed at being ironic. The surprising thing thought the observer (and diner among the group) was, "Don't these people have any information based on the theories that came up with the very stories they are quoting?" An egotistical exercise in seeing who knows more information than the other, but with no real depth of discussion introduced. The observer decided to jump in and comment on why the person to her right was talking utter crap. "Do you really believe that the free open economy of the world can be reversed?" His reply was,"Of course the economy of the world can be reversed? Anything is possible." Finding this to be a simple reply, the observer asked her fellow diner to expand on this statement, which, he was not able to do and instead ignored the request – cunningly in a quick maneuver to divert attention – he quickly jumped into a conversation across the table on the names given to US licence plates.
Is that a justfication in fighting for democracy on all fronts? Thought the observer. Hmm. And hasn't democracy been around since the Romans? It's not something that was invented by the US? Was it? Although the Romans were pretty good at sticking their nose in where it wasn't wanted. Sound familiar?
The observer not able to participate in the shallowness of the conversation sat tight, she would find another opportunity to join in, however, time passed and no opportunity presented itself, feeling under extreme pressure to get involved in the conversation, she tried again. But she couldn't. Would she be seen as a social faliure? A boring person of low intellect?
And then she reflected. Why was it that everytime she questioned the man to her right over his ideas, he replied with a look of puzzlement. The observer's first reaction was one of paranoia. She sat there for a while before excusing herself from the smiles and fake laughter.
Off she went to the bathroom and took a good look at herself in the mirror. "What am I doing here? I'm being relegated to the second division social club." Then the cloud of paranoia cleared and a smile of confidence looked back at her from the mirror. She realised that although he had been talking about politics, he didn't in actual fact know anything about the history behind his ideas. It reminded her of a t-shirt her cousin used to wear, "Keep us in the dark and feed us lots of bullshit".
She went back to the table, sat down, looked around and relaxed. A group of well-educated attractive people with well practised monologues surrounded her. What would they care if she said something or not. They probably hadn't even noticed she had been gone.
Isn't a dialogue much more interesting and benficial for all parties?
Isolation and Estrangement:If this is what being a democratically raised Westerner is, then I reject it.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
"Death is not the most tragic thing in our lives.
The difficulty is in the death of a person before death."
Yahya Kemal Beyatli, Turkish poet 1884-1958
Death is not the most tragic thing in our lives
The difficulty is in the death of a country before its population has had the chance to live, breathe and love it again
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in the death of an idea before it has been realised
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The tragedy is in the rationale we all use to justify our selfish behaviour
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The diffulty is in knowing that you'll never love like you once did
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in knowing that you are powerless to help people
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in the death of understanding
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in waking up tomorrow and knowing that the world will be changed forever
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in knowing that we cannot see every corner of the world at least once
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in an honest dream not being fulfilled
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in knowing you are powerless to create any kind of positive change
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in not being heard at least once by someone who understands you
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in the loss of our self against all our wishes
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in known failure before it has occurred
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in knowing when to say enough is enough
Barking Sparrows, insignificant luxury afforded person 1974-now
The difficulty is in the death of a person before death."
Yahya Kemal Beyatli, Turkish poet 1884-1958
Death is not the most tragic thing in our lives
The difficulty is in the death of a country before its population has had the chance to live, breathe and love it again
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in the death of an idea before it has been realised
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The tragedy is in the rationale we all use to justify our selfish behaviour
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The diffulty is in knowing that you'll never love like you once did
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in knowing that you are powerless to help people
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in the death of understanding
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in waking up tomorrow and knowing that the world will be changed forever
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in knowing that we cannot see every corner of the world at least once
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in an honest dream not being fulfilled
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in knowing you are powerless to create any kind of positive change
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in not being heard at least once by someone who understands you
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in the loss of our self against all our wishes
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in known failure before it has occurred
Death is not the most difficult thing in our lives
The difficulty is in knowing when to say enough is enough
Barking Sparrows, insignificant luxury afforded person 1974-now
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Where do I belong?
"Our fear that communism might someday
take over most of the world blinds us
to the fact that anti-communism already has"
Michael Parenti(1)
My first blog *see (A week of natural disasters below on Turkey) had quite an impact on a friend of mine who replied personally to it, rather than comment online. I wish that he had actually posted as he had some valid things to say. So let me see if I might translate them into something for all. When I first read his feelings over the comments made by a so-called friend of mine regarding Turks, my only reaction was one of complete and utter agreement. Then I cried for the simple acknowledgement that these days I feel more and more isolated from my own culture, what do I do? Do I deny that I have a family and friends back home? I sometimes feel I am stuck between a rock and a cold place. I am day by day becoming more isolated from the world I come from. While I wish I could say I have happy family support as a child of this world, and that I belong somewhere, I can't. I remember my friend saying to me, "You are all alone. You chose the easy way to run away from your family instead of staying with them." I can say that it is not easy to go it alone, of course I wish I could wake up and eat breakfast with my mum and dad, and feel the security that comes from that moment, but the truth is that these days I can't seem to relate to or agree with anything they say. Christmas will be the toughest this year, I expect, as everyone heads home for the holidays. Am I being disrespectful? Or am I trying to step away from a sheltered ignorant life and find a kind of truth that goes beyond listening to what is being handed down to me?
This week I got an email regarding the "fallen US soldiers" from my dad. It was the most disgusting example of US patriotism I have ever seen. The title said it all, "The Real America". And I thought, yeah the real america of dead soldiers and millions of lives lost. I don't want to celebrate it and turn the perpetrators into heroes. I'm not saying that the life of one US soldier is worth less than the life of one Vietnamese, that would be racists of me to make that distinction – something which I am not, but what I am saying is that I can't romanticize about why these lives are lost: "For Our Country". It's utter crap. My friends here always tell me, " But he's your dad, you have to respect that". Well, it's just so deeply complicated that I wish it were as simple as just respecting him, and while I have for a long time. I just can't find myslef to accept the ignorant ideas that are a product of comfortable western lives. I remember the day he complained when gas prices went up to over $2 a gallon – I mean what a total disaster! I was so compelled to reply to him on the subject of US patriotism. This is what I wrote:
"Sorry but I won't be forwarding on ur mail to fuel the patriotism that makes Americans ignorant to their government's foreign policy. Did you know that under Clinton .. Yugoslavia was bombed for 78 days.. turning the once industrial country into a back water.... did you know that the US originally invaded Afghanistan to provoke the invasion of the soviets to end the cold war ... please read more scholars and leave the media alone!!!! wake up .. it is the patriotism and well-skilled media propaganda that keeps Americans like yourself free from holding the government responsible for their actions abroad, which ultimately turns into terrorism at home!"
Now to my friend's comments on the stupidity of my so-called friend. These are just a few of his comments that I strongly agreed with when I read them.
"Your friend'stereotypepe ideology burnt 100 K japs in Tokyo, 1,000 K in Vietnam, 55,000 K in World War 2, not the brownskinned-muslims... please tell now, what kind odelusionon is the west in??? They, most of them, have still no respect for their race...And irrespect brigns violation of the rights...how do I know these? Thnx god to some great thinkers of the west, who tried their society to change so...The geography of great ideas in favour of humanity, which is again a creation of these great thinkers in the west, does not effect all the people living there..."
"She may have read Brave New World, but guess she is lack of implying what she read in reasonable ways to her acceptance of life... So that the ruling great powers do not afraid of any critical thinking to their system, coz the sheeps are so much annihilated of reviewing ability."
And the words that ring most true are:
"I think you must consider your friendship with her so, coz who can gurantee that she doesn't feel the same for you...
how can you predict that she, from the heart, lets you to lean on her shoulder...just another steoreotype without honesty..."
"But as Marx said, every organism carry its death inside...this will be the end of white-rich-civilized-west, inshallah..."
Yes, my friend is right, but as I was born in the west and my friends and family are westerners. What do I do? I never felt comfortable there which is why I find myself living in Turkey. A country that knows what it's ills are and is able to discuss it. I have become much more politically aware since living in this country, something that I had been ignorant of for a long time growing up in the cushion of a western middle class home.
I'm not saying that all western households are politically ignorant, I know many that are not. But just mine happened to be that way.
And as a reply to my forward to my dad came in from my sister, it demonstrates my point.
"I'm sorry I have no idea what you guys are talking about. We don't talk politics in this house, too busy watching my family grow up."
There's another generation of people who will not be critical of the government they reside under, a government that will continue to bomb other countries under the name of "the war on terror and human rights", don't they know that communism can not rear it's head again, the world is a changed place. It would be hard to reverse the wheels of open market economy! In the 20th century we have seen the development of organisation of unity between countries in the world and I would find it difficult to believe that these structures would just cease to exist. The US should respect the rules of these organisations. If Slobodan Milosevic can be put on trial for war crimes in the Hague, why then do we not try the many presidents of America? They have violated almost every crime against humanity on a much larger scale. General Colin Powell (not a president I know but part of the machine) said when asked on the number of lives that had been lost in Iraq, "It is not a number I am terribly concerned with." Clinton illegally bombed Yugoslavia, Somalia, Bosnia, Sudan and Afghanistan.
So I find it difficult to be so happy go lucky about the US these days. In fact I find myself shying away from my Americaness, I am also a British citizen and feel fortunate that I grew up in the UK, not the US, as the Brits do at least have a sense of pessimism and cynical thinking unlike the "unreal optimism of the great states of America".
Brits say, "Fuck off. You're full of shit."
Americans say, "Really? Wow, that's interesting!"
More stereotypes I know, but well worth their weight in gold.
My parents were both hippies, who grew up in the states. These I feel are the worst type of Americans as they tended to be part of a movement that thought they could just spread love around the world by sending positive thoughts and energy! With no real political backbone. I mean my mother when broached on the subject of Palestine said to me, "You just have to send positive thoughts to the region honey." While I must admire her own sense of self delusion, it is just a little disturbing to think that she has never had any stance on her own political system. Is it as my friend suggests she was just so well-comforted by her great lifestyle that she didn't need to think about it?
I feel that there was a generation of Americans who just thought that sending peace, love and happy thoughts across the world would be enough. It obviously wasn't when you look at Vietnam.
I'm not completely down on the west, there have been and are many great thinkers. Here's a quote I leave you with – that my friend reminded me of – from a great western writer Aldous Huxley, who replied when some academics criticizeded him of being bad.
"I want to dig a big plate to the ruins of Europe and write on it "thnx to the educators of this society" to stay there forever...and hail the good people of the society." Written in the 1950s.
One last note as my friend quite rightly put it: "So a fake respect in west and no respect here in this part of the world (ME), both are suffering, one needs phsycologists, one needs a stop to bloodshed..."
"Our fear that communism might someday
take over most of the world blinds us
to the fact that anti-communism already has"
Michael Parenti(1)
My first blog *see (A week of natural disasters below on Turkey) had quite an impact on a friend of mine who replied personally to it, rather than comment online. I wish that he had actually posted as he had some valid things to say. So let me see if I might translate them into something for all. When I first read his feelings over the comments made by a so-called friend of mine regarding Turks, my only reaction was one of complete and utter agreement. Then I cried for the simple acknowledgement that these days I feel more and more isolated from my own culture, what do I do? Do I deny that I have a family and friends back home? I sometimes feel I am stuck between a rock and a cold place. I am day by day becoming more isolated from the world I come from. While I wish I could say I have happy family support as a child of this world, and that I belong somewhere, I can't. I remember my friend saying to me, "You are all alone. You chose the easy way to run away from your family instead of staying with them." I can say that it is not easy to go it alone, of course I wish I could wake up and eat breakfast with my mum and dad, and feel the security that comes from that moment, but the truth is that these days I can't seem to relate to or agree with anything they say. Christmas will be the toughest this year, I expect, as everyone heads home for the holidays. Am I being disrespectful? Or am I trying to step away from a sheltered ignorant life and find a kind of truth that goes beyond listening to what is being handed down to me?
This week I got an email regarding the "fallen US soldiers" from my dad. It was the most disgusting example of US patriotism I have ever seen. The title said it all, "The Real America". And I thought, yeah the real america of dead soldiers and millions of lives lost. I don't want to celebrate it and turn the perpetrators into heroes. I'm not saying that the life of one US soldier is worth less than the life of one Vietnamese, that would be racists of me to make that distinction – something which I am not, but what I am saying is that I can't romanticize about why these lives are lost: "For Our Country". It's utter crap. My friends here always tell me, " But he's your dad, you have to respect that". Well, it's just so deeply complicated that I wish it were as simple as just respecting him, and while I have for a long time. I just can't find myslef to accept the ignorant ideas that are a product of comfortable western lives. I remember the day he complained when gas prices went up to over $2 a gallon – I mean what a total disaster! I was so compelled to reply to him on the subject of US patriotism. This is what I wrote:
"Sorry but I won't be forwarding on ur mail to fuel the patriotism that makes Americans ignorant to their government's foreign policy. Did you know that under Clinton .. Yugoslavia was bombed for 78 days.. turning the once industrial country into a back water.... did you know that the US originally invaded Afghanistan to provoke the invasion of the soviets to end the cold war ... please read more scholars and leave the media alone!!!! wake up .. it is the patriotism and well-skilled media propaganda that keeps Americans like yourself free from holding the government responsible for their actions abroad, which ultimately turns into terrorism at home!"
Now to my friend's comments on the stupidity of my so-called friend. These are just a few of his comments that I strongly agreed with when I read them.
"Your friend'stereotypepe ideology burnt 100 K japs in Tokyo, 1,000 K in Vietnam, 55,000 K in World War 2, not the brownskinned-muslims... please tell now, what kind odelusionon is the west in??? They, most of them, have still no respect for their race...And irrespect brigns violation of the rights...how do I know these? Thnx god to some great thinkers of the west, who tried their society to change so...The geography of great ideas in favour of humanity, which is again a creation of these great thinkers in the west, does not effect all the people living there..."
"She may have read Brave New World, but guess she is lack of implying what she read in reasonable ways to her acceptance of life... So that the ruling great powers do not afraid of any critical thinking to their system, coz the sheeps are so much annihilated of reviewing ability."
And the words that ring most true are:
"I think you must consider your friendship with her so, coz who can gurantee that she doesn't feel the same for you...
how can you predict that she, from the heart, lets you to lean on her shoulder...just another steoreotype without honesty..."
"But as Marx said, every organism carry its death inside...this will be the end of white-rich-civilized-west, inshallah..."
Yes, my friend is right, but as I was born in the west and my friends and family are westerners. What do I do? I never felt comfortable there which is why I find myself living in Turkey. A country that knows what it's ills are and is able to discuss it. I have become much more politically aware since living in this country, something that I had been ignorant of for a long time growing up in the cushion of a western middle class home.
I'm not saying that all western households are politically ignorant, I know many that are not. But just mine happened to be that way.
And as a reply to my forward to my dad came in from my sister, it demonstrates my point.
"I'm sorry I have no idea what you guys are talking about. We don't talk politics in this house, too busy watching my family grow up."
There's another generation of people who will not be critical of the government they reside under, a government that will continue to bomb other countries under the name of "the war on terror and human rights", don't they know that communism can not rear it's head again, the world is a changed place. It would be hard to reverse the wheels of open market economy! In the 20th century we have seen the development of organisation of unity between countries in the world and I would find it difficult to believe that these structures would just cease to exist. The US should respect the rules of these organisations. If Slobodan Milosevic can be put on trial for war crimes in the Hague, why then do we not try the many presidents of America? They have violated almost every crime against humanity on a much larger scale. General Colin Powell (not a president I know but part of the machine) said when asked on the number of lives that had been lost in Iraq, "It is not a number I am terribly concerned with." Clinton illegally bombed Yugoslavia, Somalia, Bosnia, Sudan and Afghanistan.
So I find it difficult to be so happy go lucky about the US these days. In fact I find myself shying away from my Americaness, I am also a British citizen and feel fortunate that I grew up in the UK, not the US, as the Brits do at least have a sense of pessimism and cynical thinking unlike the "unreal optimism of the great states of America".
Brits say, "Fuck off. You're full of shit."
Americans say, "Really? Wow, that's interesting!"
More stereotypes I know, but well worth their weight in gold.
My parents were both hippies, who grew up in the states. These I feel are the worst type of Americans as they tended to be part of a movement that thought they could just spread love around the world by sending positive thoughts and energy! With no real political backbone. I mean my mother when broached on the subject of Palestine said to me, "You just have to send positive thoughts to the region honey." While I must admire her own sense of self delusion, it is just a little disturbing to think that she has never had any stance on her own political system. Is it as my friend suggests she was just so well-comforted by her great lifestyle that she didn't need to think about it?
I feel that there was a generation of Americans who just thought that sending peace, love and happy thoughts across the world would be enough. It obviously wasn't when you look at Vietnam.
I'm not completely down on the west, there have been and are many great thinkers. Here's a quote I leave you with – that my friend reminded me of – from a great western writer Aldous Huxley, who replied when some academics criticizeded him of being bad.
"I want to dig a big plate to the ruins of Europe and write on it "thnx to the educators of this society" to stay there forever...and hail the good people of the society." Written in the 1950s.
One last note as my friend quite rightly put it: "So a fake respect in west and no respect here in this part of the world (ME), both are suffering, one needs phsycologists, one needs a stop to bloodshed..."
Saturday, October 15, 2005
A week of natural disasters, global health worries and a new constitution.
Pakistan's Premier made a heartfelt appeal to the US on a global news channel repeatedly this week for more aid, as his country tries to cope with the aftermath of what has happened. A UN spokesman said on Thursday that there were only 10 helicopters on site to help with relief efforts, however, 100 were necessary to rescue the lives of those still stranded in remote parts of the country. They say up to 38,000 have died in the disaster so far, and they are still counting.
Although I know that we can't prevent natural disasters from occurring, we can be better prepared for them. As President Pervez Musharraf begged for help from the US on global news channels this week, it was a sad realisation that they had been left alone to cope with difficult and almost impossible rescue efforts. The US has now pledged to have 40 helicopters in Pakistan within weeks, although this may be too little too late. The temperatures are dropping now and with rainy weather also crippling the rescue efforts these helicopters are needed sooner as opposed to later. It's not like the US has any helicopters in the region, but I guess they are all too busy causing damage to other peoples lives to have time to stop by the needy in Pakistan. Saudi Arabia pledged a generous $133.3m on Saturday to help in the rebuilding of schools and hospitals, I'd like to see the US match this. I'm not saying that it's the US' responsibility to take care of the world – that would be too simple – but as it has spread plenty of terror, poverty, and displacement across the world (for over 4 decades), I do think that it has a debt to repay to society as a whole.
The Turkish Prime Minister was pictured eating chicken salad this week, while up to 2000 chickens/turkeys were being slaughtered in and around the Aegean city of Balikesir. The strain of flu, that has been identified as H5N1 was brought into the country by migrating birds and has also been found in samples taken from birds in Romania.
One friend named his msn messenger in honor of the story "a bird flew", which I thought was quite sweet.
After writing up the first panic of the virus last Sunday, I received a mail from my girlfriend in New York the following Friday. I didn't realise it took so long for news to reach the US shores. However, I was glad that she was taking an interest in it, but what kind of interest was the worry that followed. I was somewhat shocked at her reaction to what was going on in Turkey. So much so that I felt compelled to start a blog and write about it, and barking sparrows help me if she ever reads my blog, as she may not like what I am about to say. Her initial questions were related to Turkey and the EU or the perception of Turkey in the EU. While, I thought this to be an odd combination "bird flu & Turkey's EU membership" I also took the approach that maybe I had misunderstood her question. I informed her that it had been brought into the country by migrating birds and she replied that of course she knew that but she was looking for something a bit more gritty like what was the perception of Turkey now from the EU. Was it a dirty gross stinking backwater? I then informed her that the UK had also been a victim of BSE or "mad cows" as it came to be known. And asked her had that made the UK look like a "dirty stinky gross place"? Her reply was even more shocking.
"let's think big picture here- britain is not a huge developing country teeming with brown-skinned muslim people. it's the colonial power aka the bearers of civilization, not the ones that need to be civilized/the ones crashing at the gates of europe.
nevermind i'll look online for some commentary"
While I love her to bits and respect her opinion, at the same time I was deeply shocked that she could utter such a steroetype. She has been to Turkey three times in the last 12 months and I just couldn't believe that this was her summary of what a Turk or Turkey is. I don't know about you, but how many brown-skinned muslim people do you know in this country? Hmmm, I seem to know a whole rainbow of people living here. The north is famous for blonde hair and blue eyes – nothing to do with their close proximity to Russia of course or the fact that the vikings sailed around this coast many moons ago. And do I really need to remind her that the Ottoman Empire was actually one of the longest ruling empires in history – they ruled for around 600 years, if I'm not mistaken. So where on earth did this idea come from? It's just a western stereotype of Turkey. And it kind of made me a little mad to be honest. I hope that this image will change as Turkey edges closer towards Europe, but I'm not too sure. It reminds me of something that William Blum wrote in Rogue Nation, "The American mind is so deeply politically formed that to liberate it would involve uncommon, and as yet perhaps undiscovered, philosophical and surgical skill." I am not an "American hater", being a US passport holder, but this sense of over intellectualized stereotype did kind of annoy me.
The reforms process and the implementation of these reforms is something that is related to Turkey's EU membership, not the unfortunate episode of bird flu. Turkey got the go ahead for EU acession talks on October 3. You might also like to know that actually Turkey was well-prepared for the outbreak (like the US was in New Orleans!). Experts deployed by the ministry of agriculture weeks if not months ago had been sent to the region and seminars were given to local farmers in order to facilitate the reduction of such an impact on the country "in the foresight that something like this MIGHT happen". The matter was handled quite quickly and efficiently, something that Europe can be proud of Turkey for doing, as the 25-nation bloc is now under threat too.
Romania is now under the "bird flu" spotlight as the strain of flu that was passed onto the chickens in Turkey may have come from migrating ducks that are presently residing on the Danube. Will this affect their membership dreams? I wouldn't think so. They are scheduled to join in January 2007, the only thing looking to hold them back now is the process of reforms being slowed as the country suffered from flooding this summer, along with other reasons.
The new constitution was voted on in Iraq today. We are yet to see the outcome. If the vote is "yes" there will be a general election in December, which will install a government for 5 years. If the vote is "no" the government will be dissolved and the process will start again. All I hope is that the Iraqis get what they wish for.
Quotes I found this week, which I thought others should read:
How can they have the arrogance to dictate to us where we should go or which countries should be our friends? Gadhafi is my friend. He supported me when we were alone and when those who tried to prevent my visit here today were our enemies. they have no morals. We cannot accept that a state assumes the role of the world's policeman. Nelson Mandela 1997
Throughout the world, on any given day, a man, woman or child is likely to be displaced, tortured, killed or "disappeared", at the hands of governments or armed political groups. more often that not, the United States shares the blame. Amnesty International 1996
Published in Rogue Nation by William Blum (no guesses what I am reading). Blum is an ex-state department employee and since writing this book has possible become one of the least employable people in the US.
Pakistan's Premier made a heartfelt appeal to the US on a global news channel repeatedly this week for more aid, as his country tries to cope with the aftermath of what has happened. A UN spokesman said on Thursday that there were only 10 helicopters on site to help with relief efforts, however, 100 were necessary to rescue the lives of those still stranded in remote parts of the country. They say up to 38,000 have died in the disaster so far, and they are still counting.
Although I know that we can't prevent natural disasters from occurring, we can be better prepared for them. As President Pervez Musharraf begged for help from the US on global news channels this week, it was a sad realisation that they had been left alone to cope with difficult and almost impossible rescue efforts. The US has now pledged to have 40 helicopters in Pakistan within weeks, although this may be too little too late. The temperatures are dropping now and with rainy weather also crippling the rescue efforts these helicopters are needed sooner as opposed to later. It's not like the US has any helicopters in the region, but I guess they are all too busy causing damage to other peoples lives to have time to stop by the needy in Pakistan. Saudi Arabia pledged a generous $133.3m on Saturday to help in the rebuilding of schools and hospitals, I'd like to see the US match this. I'm not saying that it's the US' responsibility to take care of the world – that would be too simple – but as it has spread plenty of terror, poverty, and displacement across the world (for over 4 decades), I do think that it has a debt to repay to society as a whole.
The Turkish Prime Minister was pictured eating chicken salad this week, while up to 2000 chickens/turkeys were being slaughtered in and around the Aegean city of Balikesir. The strain of flu, that has been identified as H5N1 was brought into the country by migrating birds and has also been found in samples taken from birds in Romania.
One friend named his msn messenger in honor of the story "a bird flew", which I thought was quite sweet.
After writing up the first panic of the virus last Sunday, I received a mail from my girlfriend in New York the following Friday. I didn't realise it took so long for news to reach the US shores. However, I was glad that she was taking an interest in it, but what kind of interest was the worry that followed. I was somewhat shocked at her reaction to what was going on in Turkey. So much so that I felt compelled to start a blog and write about it, and barking sparrows help me if she ever reads my blog, as she may not like what I am about to say. Her initial questions were related to Turkey and the EU or the perception of Turkey in the EU. While, I thought this to be an odd combination "bird flu & Turkey's EU membership" I also took the approach that maybe I had misunderstood her question. I informed her that it had been brought into the country by migrating birds and she replied that of course she knew that but she was looking for something a bit more gritty like what was the perception of Turkey now from the EU. Was it a dirty gross stinking backwater? I then informed her that the UK had also been a victim of BSE or "mad cows" as it came to be known. And asked her had that made the UK look like a "dirty stinky gross place"? Her reply was even more shocking.
"let's think big picture here- britain is not a huge developing country teeming with brown-skinned muslim people. it's the colonial power aka the bearers of civilization, not the ones that need to be civilized/the ones crashing at the gates of europe.
nevermind i'll look online for some commentary"
While I love her to bits and respect her opinion, at the same time I was deeply shocked that she could utter such a steroetype. She has been to Turkey three times in the last 12 months and I just couldn't believe that this was her summary of what a Turk or Turkey is. I don't know about you, but how many brown-skinned muslim people do you know in this country? Hmmm, I seem to know a whole rainbow of people living here. The north is famous for blonde hair and blue eyes – nothing to do with their close proximity to Russia of course or the fact that the vikings sailed around this coast many moons ago. And do I really need to remind her that the Ottoman Empire was actually one of the longest ruling empires in history – they ruled for around 600 years, if I'm not mistaken. So where on earth did this idea come from? It's just a western stereotype of Turkey. And it kind of made me a little mad to be honest. I hope that this image will change as Turkey edges closer towards Europe, but I'm not too sure. It reminds me of something that William Blum wrote in Rogue Nation, "The American mind is so deeply politically formed that to liberate it would involve uncommon, and as yet perhaps undiscovered, philosophical and surgical skill." I am not an "American hater", being a US passport holder, but this sense of over intellectualized stereotype did kind of annoy me.
The reforms process and the implementation of these reforms is something that is related to Turkey's EU membership, not the unfortunate episode of bird flu. Turkey got the go ahead for EU acession talks on October 3. You might also like to know that actually Turkey was well-prepared for the outbreak (like the US was in New Orleans!). Experts deployed by the ministry of agriculture weeks if not months ago had been sent to the region and seminars were given to local farmers in order to facilitate the reduction of such an impact on the country "in the foresight that something like this MIGHT happen". The matter was handled quite quickly and efficiently, something that Europe can be proud of Turkey for doing, as the 25-nation bloc is now under threat too.
Romania is now under the "bird flu" spotlight as the strain of flu that was passed onto the chickens in Turkey may have come from migrating ducks that are presently residing on the Danube. Will this affect their membership dreams? I wouldn't think so. They are scheduled to join in January 2007, the only thing looking to hold them back now is the process of reforms being slowed as the country suffered from flooding this summer, along with other reasons.
The new constitution was voted on in Iraq today. We are yet to see the outcome. If the vote is "yes" there will be a general election in December, which will install a government for 5 years. If the vote is "no" the government will be dissolved and the process will start again. All I hope is that the Iraqis get what they wish for.
Quotes I found this week, which I thought others should read:
How can they have the arrogance to dictate to us where we should go or which countries should be our friends? Gadhafi is my friend. He supported me when we were alone and when those who tried to prevent my visit here today were our enemies. they have no morals. We cannot accept that a state assumes the role of the world's policeman. Nelson Mandela 1997
Throughout the world, on any given day, a man, woman or child is likely to be displaced, tortured, killed or "disappeared", at the hands of governments or armed political groups. more often that not, the United States shares the blame. Amnesty International 1996
Published in Rogue Nation by William Blum (no guesses what I am reading). Blum is an ex-state department employee and since writing this book has possible become one of the least employable people in the US.
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