Things are happening

Yes, things are happening. Which partly explains my lack of writing in the past few weeks. But only partly.

So, about those things...

1. Tomorrow I'm getting Lasik. I'm not nervous yet, but I'm sure I will be tomorrow. Some of you have expressed concerns about getting it done in a foreign country. After visiting the hospital, those concerns didn't even cross my mind. This hospital is as nice as, if not nicer, than an American hospital. It has crystal chandeliers! Valet parking! (not to mention it's so clean that I would eat off the floor, my doctor has performed over 50,000 operations, attended numerous trainings in the US, etc.) Some of my coworkers have had Lasik done here and everything went smoothly. Plus, its like 60% cheaper than in the US.

2. Youtube is blocked again. It's getting kind of old. Someone made a video which allegedly insults Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (this is illegal in Turkey) and hence, youtube was blocked again. A temporary, yet ineffective way to deal with the problem...

3. There was an earthquake last Wednesday evening. It measured 4.8 and the epicenter was about 40 km away from Istanbul, across the Marmara Sea. Everyone felt it but me. (I guess that means my apartment building is strong?) Scientists had been predicting that a "big one" is on the way (the last "big one" was in 1999), but some are now changing their predictions based on the fault line which caused this one. So no more "big one" according to some. I'll be preparing my "earthquake bag" soon which will include my passport, socks and underwear, water, some food, etc.

4. Many Turkish workers went on strike on Friday to protest a new social security bill that would raise the retirement age from 58 for women and 60 for men to 65 (keep in mind that Turks have a shorter life span than Americans). The bill also includes other things related to disability and maternity leave and more.

So, for 2 hours on Friday the post office, schools, transportation, hospitals (open for emergencies only), municipality offices, etc. where shut. The government criticized the strike as being tyrannous towards the Turkish people for failing to provide them with the necessary services, but did agree to further examine the options. We'll see as to whether this strike will be effective in preventing the bill from being passed.

5. Probably the biggest news item of the week is that the Turkish Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals filed a request to the Constitutional Court that it disband the ruling AK Party. The AK Party is seen by much of Europe and the US as being reformist, but seen by many Turks as plotting to institute Sharia (Islamic) Law in Turkey. Many Turks are staunch secularists and see the AK Party as a threat to the foundations of the Turkish Republic and the principles of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

So, the Prosecutor case is based on "evidence" that the AK Party is a "hot bed for anti-secular activities." The main issue behind this is the recent decision (now being appealed) that would allow headscarfs (although only certain styles) to be worn in university (this reserved a ban of 20 or so years).

Of course, the European Union is going nuts about this one, as they should be. While I do not support any movements towards an Islamic style government here, I do welcome advances in human rights issues. Turkey is continually being talked by various international organizations as not doing enough to promote human rights and allowing covered girls to attend university dressed as they wish is a step in the right direction in my opinion. But, as I am not Turkish, there are many other sides to this issue that I don't and probably will never be able to understand. I don't want to get into them, just wanted to give a brief overview of my opinion.

At the same time, calling for a political party to be disbanded is not a step in the right direction. One article stated that not even the Nazi party was disbanded in Germany as it was determined to be anti-democratic. In Turkey's history, about 16 political parties have been disbanded.

Anyway, I just wanted to give some (hopefully) objective background information on what's going on here. I don't want to be too opinionated about it because I value that people have different opinions.

I saw a really great exhibit on Islamic Art that is on loan from the Louvre. If my pictures came out well, I'll post them soon.

Wish me luck for tomorrow!