Rudolph Giuliani Makes Me Cry

I just finished reading Rudy Giuliani's version of "America's Next Foreign Policy" in the September/October edition of Foreign Affairs. My immediate reaction? I don't want that man to be President.

I understand that most politicians nowadays feel like you need to scare the public into voting for you, but it makes me sick. An election should be about choosing the best candidate, a campaign about showing why your candidate is the best. Never should the threat be made that failing to elect a candidate will result in disaster, whether that threat is veiled or not.

But, I am not that naive as to think that any political campaign will be that clean. What scares me even more, though, is that the policies being forwarded by Giuliani are taking fear-mongering to new levels. There isn't a Republican candidate on the slate that won't mention 9/11 in the first few lines of a speech, but Giuliani is the worst. Fear is his entire campaign. It is the basis for every policy he suggests.

"The United States must not rest until the al Qaeda network is destroyed and its leaders, from Osama bin Laden on down, are killed or captured." - Rudy Giuliani
"To kill the Americans and their allies -- civilians and military -- is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it..." - Osama bin Laden

Am I the only one who sees the similarities in tone and message? Now don't get me wrong, I despise terrorism in all of its forms as much as anyone. The problem that I am having is seeing the fundamental difference between the non-state terrorism that al Qaeda practices and the ultra-violent American policies that have perpetuated the "War on Terror." Fear is fear, whether it is defended by the state system or not. And using it as a political tool whether you have legitimately gained power or simply claim it, is wrong.

America is the most powerful nation on Earth, for now. But if we keep wasting our energy on fear and fighting, we will lose that status as surely as every great nation has fallen. Instead, it is imperative that we use our power properly. It is in our abilities to fight injustice, fear, poverty and oppression. But, in order to do that, we must refrain from practicing such methods. Anger can not convince us that what is wrong is right. Torture is wrong, vengeance is empty, victory is fleeting, and glory is nothing without honor. Why can't we fight fear with tolerance, hunger with food, brutality with justice? American culture has much to offer the world in the realms of understanding and cooperation.

But we must realize the values of goodwill and cooperation. We must acknowledge that the greater good of the nation is indelibly linked to the greater good of the world. Why can't we forget the word enemy? Why can't we organize and centralize our peaceful, humanitarian efforts as Mitt Romney suggested? Why can't we begin converting our overseas military bases into universities? Why can't we rededicate a small portion of the money reserved for maintaining old, antiquated military equipment to providing AIDS medicine for Africa. Friends are so much more valuable than enemies.

The world certainly does not need a paranoid superpower. And America doesn't need Giuliani.

Oh Happy Day

What a fantastic day to be a baseball fan.

A bit of background. I was born in northern Chicago. Every year that I played baseball in my town's park league, I was hoping to be on the Cubs. My first professional baseball game was above the ivy in Wrigley. I am a born Cubs fan.

Also when I was very young, I lived in Connecticut for a while, where I have my first memories of trading baseball cards and learning players' names. Which team was I learning there? The Boston Red Sox. As I moved back to the Midwest, I still had family in New England that helped me grow my interest in the Sox, especially my uncle. Finally, after graduating high school in hated Wisconsin (don't get me started on the Packers, football will have to be a different post), I moved back to New England and my membership in Red Sox nation became official. Plus, I have the distinct pleasure of living a couple miles from the Red Sox's AA team, the Portland Sea Dogs.

I am now proud to say that I am a full-fledged fan of both the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox. Now some of the uninformed might be concerned of a conflict of interests if the two teams play. Not to worry. You see, the Cubs are in the National League, while the Red Sox are in the American. So, the only opportunity for these two to play is in interleague play or the World Series. When it comes to interleague play, I root for the team that seems to need the wins the most (usually based on my perception of how they are doing in their division). In the World Series...ok let's face it, these are two teams who are historically averse to playing on that grandest of stages. But, if they were to both make it, I would have to root for the Cubs simply because the Red Sox won their last World Series in 2004, its been since 1908.

So, why am I so happy? Because last night, September 28, 2007, both the Red Sox and the Cubs won their respective divisions. For the Cubs, they clinched the NL Central for the first time since 2003. The Sox, who had already clinched the playoffs, won the AL East for the fist time in 12 years. Just as importantly, they ended the Fucking Yankees string of division titles at 9.

Every year, 8 of the 32 Major League Baseball teams makes the playoffs. I can't say how excited I am that I have a 1/4 chance of one of my teams making the World Series. Damn good odds if you're a baseball fan. And I am a baseball fan.

The Truth Behind Don't Ask, Don't Tell

'Gays Too Precious To Risk In Combat,' Says General

And the Winner Is...

Thank you to everyone who voted in my "Where Should I go for Eid" poll. Due to a surprising comeback in the bottom of the 9th, the winner is India. So from October 12 through October 20, I will be traveling to the subcontinent.

More specifically, a small group of my coworkers and I will be flying into Mumbai where we will sightsee and make our way northeast to our final destination, Delhi. Along the way we plan to stop in Udaipur, Jaipur, Ahmadabad, and Agra (where the Taj Mahal is) to name a couple places. We will be traveling mostly by train, but I am sure a good deal of hiking will also be involved.

I am very excited, and don't worry, I will take as many pictures as humanly possible. So thanks again if you contributed to this decision!

Happy Birthday!

Today my beloved girlfriend, Sophie, turns 23 years old!

Happy Birthday darling, I love you more each day.

Fasting

Today, for the first time this Ramadan, I am fasting. So far, the most annoying part of the experience here, as opposed to in the States, is that the sun rises WAY earlier. Eating a bowl of oatmeal at 4:20 am alone sucks. But, in a groggy state, I had to keep reminding myself that it was worth it.

Now, 9 hours later, the oatmeal is mostly gone. I'm having those irritating stomach pains that are supposed to remind you that your thoughts should be on God. Instead, I find myself thinking about lunch.

Of course, I haven't been doing myself any favors. I spent a while this morning looking up Bed & Breakfasts in Bar Harbor, Maine because I would like to take Sophie there for a weekend when I get back to the States. In the search, I found one very nice looking B&B called The Maples Inn. On top of decent prices, great location, and attractive rooms, they have had a couple of their breakfast items published in Gourmet. And yes, if you know me, you know the rest of the story. I looked up the recipes. I examined them, envisioned them, and evaluated what I might have done differently. And it made me hungry.

I have been doing a good job so far of staying focused away from food, but how can one ignore blueberry and cream cheese stuffed french toast or panna cotta with raspberry sauce? I guess I just have to be grateful that there are no pictures other than those my mind creates. (Which happen to be very vivid and laid out in the Gourmet style with lush colors and a tableset that accents the theme of the article, in this case, I'm guessing Summer in Maine.) By the way, has anyone noticed that a rather large number of my blog posts deal extensively with food? And I still am not sold on the idea of opening a diner? Yeah...

Anyways! The hunger strike for heaven continues today until 5:30ish when we will have the big Carnegie Mellon in Qatar iftar. It should be pretty fabulous. I, for one, am planning on camping out next to the shawarma stands. Yeah, that's right, we got shawarma stands for our iftar, how cool are we?! I'm excited. Food. And water.

Listening

Why is listening to what you are saying such a rare skill?

It seems to me that there is an inordinate number of quite intelligent people out there who simply don't take the time to listen to what is coming out of their mouths. I'm not going to claim perfection, or God forbid that I have never said something stupid. But I believe that I make a conscious effort to evaluate what I say and an attempt to screen it for blatantly offensive or idiotic comments. I simply don't see the point in offending someone and not even taking the time to notice when you do it.

Now some may stop me there and say, 'what is you truly don't know when you're offending someone?' Well, that's a different matter entirely. To simply lack the understanding is not the problem, it is the lack of an attempt to evaluate and find out.

But there is another level that I am talking about here. That is the person who speaks so blatantly offensively that all listeners are stunned by said person's inability to hear their own idiocy. This is not cultural misunderstanding or language deficits. It is kindly calling someone stupid for picking a different major in school or mentioning to an Italian friend that you are pretty sure that Italians are they laziest people. It is the act of insulting someone or something and not caring to notice. Is is wrong. And so easy to fix.

Please, just listen to what you are saying.

Speaking of which...

If I could do anything right now, I would take a trip to the Busy Bee. Delicious.

Dreamin'

Making chili in Qatar, with its long periods of inactivity unaided by the football game that isn't on TV, turns out to be a great time to sit and daydream. Its interesting where your mind wanders when you're reasonably happy but lonely and bored.

In this case, I found myself thinking about what I would have if I ever made a good deal of money. Of course, my first priorities would be to provide a beautiful life for my wife and children, but that's not usually the kind of thing that one daydreams about. No, I was a bit more selfish today. Rather, I imagined what I would really want for myself.

A library. No, not a public library with little kids reading stories with a lion, although I do hope to wed the librarian. What I dream of having is a personal library. With dark wood bookcases along each wall, full of all sorts of fascinating books. They would be specifically designed to wrap around the window that's heavy velvet shade rarely closes. Most of the cases would be teeming with books I intend to read, but some would also contain relics of my travels and one very special shelf would contain first editions.

Centered on the gorgeous persian rug covering the entire hardwood floor would be a large rectangular table, scattered with books and writings. A green-shaded lamp would brighten the crisp pages after the sun sets and throw shadows across the desk built into the far wall.

The library would be a place of peace, reflection, knowledge, and softly playing classical music. A warm pair of slippers would wait by the side of the door and accompany me to the high-backed armchair angling beside the window.

This is my favorite selfish daydream, what's yours?

Sigh

What will come next?

Homesick aka When Will the Leaves Change?

Well, every year around this time I start to get tired of the heat and the summer. I begin to long for the autumn. This is usually accompanied by a rash of buying apple cider, cooking with pumpkin, and frantically searching the supermarket for the perfect apple. Meanwhile I suffer through the disappointment of each footstep outside not providing that delicious crackle of dead leaves. But what I long for most is the crispness of a cool day, the wisps of breath condensing in air, and the smell of wood fires curling away from chimneys.



Normally, these longings would be ameliorated by a combination of convincing myself to enjoy the remaining warm weather while it lasts and the impending autumn itself. This year, I have neither of those comforts. Instead, I have continued heat, humidity, and hideous produce at the supermarket. (Yeah, hideous produce, went to the store today and the quality of the lettuce and broccoli available was nauseating.) This year will likely be almost completely lacking in apple cider, pumpkin, wood fires, colorful leaves, caramel apples, and most importantly, cold weather.

I am sure that that will get to me soon enough, but for now the lack of hope is leading to an even more dreary situation, homesickness. Yeah, its true, for as much as I'm enjoying Qatar, its just too damn hot for my constitution. And turning the air conditioner way down is NOT the same.



I like snow, cold weather, curling up in front of a fire, scarves, boots, layers of clothing, shoveling the driveway, snow angels, rosy cheeks, icicles, orange, red, and yellow leaves, the works. I love my job here, don't get me wrong, and I love the people. But I'm beginning to feel that this just isn't going to be home for me.

There is more to this story though. Home has always been mutable for me, with my family moving as much as they did, it kinda had to be. I've found a way to make anywhere I am, home at that point. But this time, I have somewhere I'd really prefer to be. And that is near Sophie. They say that home is where the heart is. In this case, my heart is in Maine, with Sophie and my family.



The two are tied though. One of the first presents that Sophie ever gave me was a beautiful warm scarf. Some of my favorite memories from childhood are playing in the leaves and snow with my family. The most delicious fall foods are found in abundance in Maine and cooked to perfection by my family and my Sophie.

I am here now, and I do not regret that. I am making the most of it, and will continue to do so. But it is becoming increasingly clear to me as time progresses where I would like to be next. Until then, I guess I will have to find ways to make my favorite dishes with substitute ingredients. I also plan on enjoying every minute that I have in this adventure and spending plenty of times with the incredible friends that I am making.

In the end, I will find my home.

Bunny Bread!

Is this not the coolest loaf of bread ever?!

Trip to Jordan

First of all, thanks to the couple of you who encouraged me to keep blogging. You're right, it is a decent way to keep thinking and communicating.

I just got back from an incredible weekend in Jordan. On Friday, I was able to cross off one of the top places on my list of where I'd like to go in my life, Petra. Petra is absolutely incredible, and certainly deserves its place as one of the new 7 wonders of the world. The city is gorgeous, the architecture unbelievable, and the lack of a written history of its construction, life, and demise give it that air of wonder and mystery that makes any place appealing. We (the two other chaperones and nine students) walked through most of the ancient city before riding insane donkeys back out. Yes, the donkeys were insane, and galloping on a donkey along the edge of a chasm is not exactly fun. But, then again, how many people can claim to have had that experience? Overall, Petra was postively incredible, and I look forward to returning someday to see the sites that the group wasn't up for hiking to.

The main reason for the trip, however, was to help Habitat for Humanity build a house for a local family. As it turned out, we were actually building an addition onto an existing house so that the family's son would have enough room for himself and his bride-to-be (she was going to marry him as soon as he had room for her). The work itself was exhausting, but certainly gratifying. Our project was to build the roof for the addition. Normally, in the states, this would mean a wooden frame, crossbeams, shingles, and insulation. Not here, that would be too easy. Arabs like having cement roofs, so we had to first build a wooden frame, set up metal supports every few feet to bear the weight of construction, then build a ramp up to the roof to help with carrying hundreds of cement blocks, then we had to build steel girders to reinforce the poured concrete and carry those to the roof...in other words, we worked our asses off and I am very sore (though to be fair, my ass is still fully here, a testament to how much I need to continue exercising). We didn't get to actually pour the concrete, but everything else was done, and it was nice to have made visible progress.

One great part of the construction process was working alongside the students and some Jordanian contruction workers. Working with the students gave me the opportunity to learn more about them, their motivations, their lives, etc. And getting to work with the Jordanians was a window into a less affluent Arab world. They were all good people and hard workers, and I was able to establish friendships through my own hard work. We also received lunch every day from the family, which was always delicious and eagerly anticipated.

Finally, we had the evenings free to explore Amman, and load up on souvenirs. I had a great time visiting the ancient Roman amphitheater and haggling with merchants. It truly was a memorable weekend, and not just because my entire body aches.

If you would like to see some photos of the trip (mostly Petra) check out this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/gregory.smith44/JordanTrip

Others there took many more pictures of the construction and the group, so as soon as I get those, I will add a link to them.