Another Reason I'm Pumped to Move to the Bay Area

Another Reason I'm Pumped to Move to the Bay Area



Peace Action West announced on its Groundswell blog the beginning of its "No Soldier Left Behind" campaign kick-off on Thursday. This campaign has several impressive aspects. Their mission statement declares that: "Peace Action West advocates for a foreign policy that embodies the best values of the American people. As a membership organization, we foster broad-based civic activism to create a strong voice for peaceful and pragmatic solutions to global problems." As someone who has been involved in the writing of more than one anti-war mission statement, I have to admire the concision they have going there. Having the embodiment of the best values of the American people as a goal reflects not just an increased reclaiming of patriotic language by the left, but also a renewed confidence in American values as potential methods for finding solutions.



The Peace Action West (headquartered on Adeline St. in Berkeley- is that near the NSP, Will?) website also lists methods for effective letter writing, lobbying, bird-dogging and other important actions people can take to influence their legislators. The section marked "Activist Toolkit" in the "No Soldier Left Behind" part of the site highlights a few of the myriad stages and options for non-violent resistance to a bellicose and immoral government. Calvin and Hobbes once made fun of real-world methods for solving problems, where the stuffed tiger sarcastically proclaims "TO THE BATFAX!" But even Bruce Wayne's Batman toolkit doesn't have anything near the dozens or hundreds of methods employed by Gandhi alone in social justice movements. Peace Action West combines the top ten or so methods most readily available to citizens in the contemporary United States in a way that all activist groups should present them to their members.

I was disappointed by the lack of specific legislative goals on the Groundswell blog. Their main political reason for optimism was listed as the new voters and energy generated by the presidential election. But since the same post acknowledges that Obama's current plan for Iraq involves tens of thousands of troops staying in the country, at least in the medium-term, the general election doesn't seem to provide much hope for those wishing to end the occupation. According to Truthout, the House approved another $162 bn for the war, extending its funding through next June last week. The current round of funding came closer than any previous discussion to generating a firm deadline for troop withdrawal, with Rep. Pelosi's "bridge" representing an imperfect but positive step. If the pressure is maintained throughout the next year, there is a very good shot that next summer could mark the beginning of total troop withdrawals. All indications are that more favorable executive leadership will be in place, but the impetus, we know from history, must be provided by the citizenry.

I still recommend pressuring Congressional representatives to sign onto HR 1078 as co-sponsors. Currently it has nine co-sponsors, only 151 behind a resolution calling on Bush to place a naval blockade on Iran. It is in the House Foreign Affairs Committee right now. This is the legislation introduced by Keith Ellison that would go a long way in advancing the Global Marshall Plan by giving it the support of the US House for implementation. So, wherever you are, keep being pesky, and we'll get there eventually!

Father's Day-themed Update

Father's Day-themed Update

Why is this a Father's Day-themed update? Didn't you say we were getting more on Uzunöl? You're right to ask these questions- in fact, I'm flattered you were paying that much attention. The fact remains though that I still don't have any pictures to post and I've already milked May 17-20 for two long blog posts, so I think it's time to move on. More importantly, this particular theme allows me to honor the man who has always preached good writing as one of the fundamental skills in life, alongside defense and a solid wood-splitting technique: my father, Jonathan G. Rogers. To this end, I'll be writing each section with the heading of a question I wanted to ask Dad at one point or another in my life and later found out the answer to.

"Why are you driving me all the way to work when you could make more money billing someone for that time than I'll make all day potting plants and pulling weeds?"
-I came across a quote in Gandhi's autopbiography last week that resonated with where I feel like I am in life vocationally right now: "I am here to do anything that is not beyond my capacity." This was his response to a secretary in the office of the Indian National Congress who said he could give him only clerical work upon his return to India. The secretary did not know his qualificactions (over a decade at the bar at that point, not to mention the South African Satyagraha up to then) and later was ashamed to have given him that work, but Gandhi was happy to have been able to help in any way. How much less am I qualified than him, so why should I agitate for an important and prestigious post? Doing a lot of work on a farm in high school gave me a good background for gratitude and perseverence in the work sector of life, and as I try to find my place in the world of social justice, politics and religion, it is comforting to know that I can handle different kinds of work and that greater people than I have done menial work in the past.

"Why don't more people admire John McCain's b'donk-a-donk?"
-It turns out, they do! (scroll up to the 7:30 mark for the good stuff)

"Why does that football team keep running the ball right into the middle of the other team's defense?"
-I remember asking this once during a game, and on the next play they actually did run an end-around or something different, and it got like 5 yards. In a metaphorical sense, this question goes to the Democratic party, with the answer being Obama. Seeing that picture of he and Michelle up on stage on the front of the NYT website one morning was almost as anticlimactic as updating the gamecast to find out the RedSox had won the World Series, but it was awesome nonetheless. Lost in all the hype about his gang sign/terrorist fist-jab (although no one seemed to mind when Jordan and Dr. Cox did it on Scrubs last season [check out episode 15 and send me a good x-word puzzle site STAT]) was just how much he went through to get that nomination. I mean, Andy Dufresne went throught less crap getting out of Shawshank than Obama did getting the nomination. Who can't wait for the next Chapelle's Show race draft?! And while we're here, I thought David Denby's comment that "Don't Mess with the Zohan" was destined to be seen as un texte Obamiste was a bit hors de la piste. Just thought I'd drop that in there.

"Why is it so important to give something back in better shape than it was lent to you?"
-I love the people I live with here, but chasing folks down to get something back from them an be a pain in the ass. Very few things that I've lent out this year (and judging by the massive amount of emails with headings like "my dvd collection?" or "who's got the kidney I let Bucky borrow?", this holds true for other residents as well) have come back in a timely manner. While I wouldn't list this as one of the ten most stressful things about my life in the past year, I feel its definitely had an effect on the overall level of trust and mutual cooperation in the lojman. Long story short- Patrick, make sure I get my library copy of "Children of Men" back by tomorrow morning.

"Why does Ireland produce so many good writers?"
-Actually, gonna have to wait another couple months on this one, I won't be there until July, but the point is, I WILL BE THERE IN JULY!!! And in preparation, I'm tackling Ulysses, which so far makes about as much sense as McCain's plan to balance the budget by eliminating earmarks (ZING!), but I'm enjoying it nonetheless.

"Why has the anti-war movement pretty much folded just because we are electing a new president?"
-Again, not sure on this one yet, but a less-definite time frame for the answer, so you tell me. But seriously, check out that Daily Show link about McCain's derriere.

From the (other) Aya Sofia to Uzungöl

From the (other) Aya Sofia to Uzungöl

About three km west of the town center in Trabzon, the local Aya Sofia perches on the edge of the hills that overlook the city and give it its distinctive defensibility. Today, that means it looms over a strip of highway, a local intersection and some under-construction wharfs of stone. The cathedral and narthex of the Aya Sofia have even more preserved frescoes than the Sumela Monastery. My favorite is one of Jesus walking on water while an apostle rows between him and the shore. It depicts cliffs and whitewater, through the surf of which Christ is walking, with part of his legs actually covered. The angels and the Virgin Mary are very evocatively painted as well- be sure to check out the pictures on Mike's facebook page as soon as he puts them up, to make it worth the several weeks worth of degradation to the artwork we caused with the flash.

Another advantage of the Aya Sofia is the relative absence of crowds. When Mike and I decided to read the explanatory sign in funny voices, we only got strange looks from one family, plus a random little girl who offered us unripe sour plums (which were about as pleasant as they sound). Even on a cool, spring Sunday afternoon you might only see a couple dozen Turks taking pictures, enjoying the sea-view, resting in the tea garden or laughing at the yabancılar.

Even though mini-busses run frequently out in the direction of the Aya Sofia through the suburbs, when time and the weather are relative non-issues it can be quite a nice walk back to the city center. For example, you will pass the Trabzonspor football stadium on your left. And even though the Superlig football season will be over by mid-May, you might be fortunate enough to amble by as the third-league championship match is about to begin. And, if you manage to combine an ability to communicate with the gate-keeper in Turkish and that look of fascinated mystification that comes so naturally to enthusiastic young travellers, you might get invited into the luxury box for tea, chocolate, and a good view of the match.

That is how Mike and I found ourselves toasting our good fortune amongst a small group of late middle-aged Turkish men at around 6pm, just after kick-off of the match that would determine who got promoted to the second league. The luxury box was about as full as the stadium, that is to say about 5-10%, but outside there was, incredibly, almost a hundred very hard-core fans present to support one of the sides, chanting for all the world like it was the UEFA semi-finals, bless their rabid green-and-white hearts. The overall quality of play was a little difficult to judge from such a small and charged sampling, but let's just say I never thought I'd see a man making a living playing soccer who reminded me more of the friar from the animated Robin Hood than the fox. The match was decided by a goal in the 78th minute, and whatever differences there may have been in the quality of play, the winning celebrations afterwards were reminiscent of Manchester United's a few days later.

If there's any downside to getting a free invite to a soccer match in Trabzon, it is that you might actually have a hard time finding a restaurant open afterwards. By the time we made it back towards the city center, the hour was nearing nine. On a Sunday evening in a conservative Turkish city, that limits ones options. Fortunately, a couple of university students running a small köfte restaurant had only packed away their meat spit, not the frialator when we happened past. So, while the Turkish version of "24" was on the TV, we had a big salad and the best meat balls I've had so far here. Not that I've gone out of my way to try very many, but as someone who subsists almost entirely on plant matter, I was impressed by the nuance of flavor and evenness of texture that our host produced. The meatballs were like a cross between a really good breakfast sausage and a delicious, well-done hamburger.

And as you savor that thought, I'll sign off, to return later this week with tales of the güzel Uzungöl, as well as Hakan, the curious seat-mate.