I was kindly requested to post about the following:

New cookbook brings Palestinians, Jews to the table

In spite of discouraging acts in the Middle East, we thought your readers might like to take a moment for some inspiration — a glimmer of cooperation and shared creativity.

PALESTINIAN AND JEWISH RECIPES FOR PEACE is a new, very-grassroots, very-nonprofit, beautiful cookbook publishing-first we just helped write.

There are stories about the people, photos, and recipes for the table and for relationship-building at home, in school, and between nations.

This useful cookbook is newly-produced by our 12-year-old Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Group here on the San Francisco Peninsula, preparing for its 151st meeting.

Especially at this special season of light and hope, please take a moment to read about this publishing breakthrough at:

http://traubman.igc.org/recipes.htm

Read the book’s reviews in the San Francisco Chronicle and San Mateo County Times. Needless to say, the book is a very good gift idea going to a worthy cause. Helping promote good food is a bonus!

Mmmm….food…time to eat…if only I had the book to make some great recipes with…

Tomorrow, 17 December 2005, is the ‘D-Day’ for Turkey’s 40 year journey towards formally joining Europe. Will Turkey receive the go ahead to begin accession talks or not?

There is no shortage of places to get up to date won this issue.

Personally, I hope Turkey is given the go ahead as I think accession will benefit both sides:

a) Turkey: Accession will continue the positive political and economic progress that has occurred over the past few years.

b) EU: Turkey’s accession, as Muslim country, should help open minds in the EU.

What will actually happen? Who knows?

Even if accession talks do start and Turkey satisfies every condition of entry, they are not likely to join the EU until at least 2015. For the average Mehmet and Elif on the Mersin street, the decision tomorrow will probably not change their lives in a material way for a long time.

Hundreds of people have escaped from a packed cinema in Istanbul where a blaze broke out at the premiere of a Turkish horror film, causing panic.

“A candle used as part of a “fright tunnel” in the cinema’s foyer is said to have started the blaze.”

As no one was badly injured and the event is in the past, I think it is safe to laugh now. A fire at the premiere of a horror movie caused by a candle as part of a “fright tunnel”!

Whilst checking one of my past Yahoo! email accounts I wondered why the website www.meanstreak.com.au opened in a new window. I thought this was a pop-up ad so I closed it and returned to Yahoo!. Then, when I moved the cursor over the Mitsubishi Lancer banner advert, the meanstreak website again opened in a new window. I didn’t click anything, just moved the mouse over the advert.

With the high ignore rates of web ads these days, I wouldn’t be surprised if the “ad-opening by moving the cursor over” becomes a trend.

I’ve been sick the past couple of days so I haven’t written any posts or replied to emails. Despite this lack of posting, lots has happened:

On Tuesday TEDAS‘s case against me was dismissed! If I get the time I will write more about this.

On Wednesday almost 500 kg of heroin was seized in Mersin.

However, the biggest news has to be my brother, Liam’s band Headdress Of Neon Flames. Headdress Of Neon Flames not only supported American act Faun Fables, but, according to the DB Magazine reviewer, Kelly Parish,

“Headdress Of Neon Lights (sic) were definitely the star attraction“.

Just a pity Kelly could not get their name correct. Congratulations Liam and your band co-members!

On the weekend I caught the train to Adana for fun with the AIESEC‘ers and trainees. I met a few great new people and enjoyed mixing with other foreigners again.

In winter, Adana, like Mersin, suffers badly from pollution. Many people in the heavily populated cities burn wood to warm their homes. The combination of poor quality timber, thousands of fires and unfavourable atmospheric conditions lead to visible and pungent pollution. This pollution is particularly intense at night when most fires are burning.

Clothes hung out to dry end up smelling of smoke by the time they are ready to pick in. The haze visible on the Mersin horizon reminds me of Istanbul’s year-round pollution.

I wonder how the region’s wildlife remnants handle the pollution? Does the pollution affect the fish stocks? Will the burning and pollution be regulated and reduced in the future? Too many big questions to answer…

From a 2003 edition of the Turkish Daily News, Turkey’s only daily English newspaper:

In full, the sentence reads:

Protestors hold portraits of Abdul Abbas, a leader of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) also known as Mohammed Abbas, the leader of PLF, who killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner Achille Lauro in 1985 and US Special Forces captured him Monday 14 April, 2003 in Baghdad, during a protest to demand the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, along the streets of Gaza city, on Monday.

In 2001, the Turkish Daily News cost 300,000 TL. The last time I checked, customers have to pay 1.5 million TL to put up with the above poor standard. As the monopoly English newspaper in Turkey, the Turkish Daily News can do whatever it wants and foreigners will still buy it. I used to buy the paper on a semi-regular basis. Now I hardly ever buy the newspaper.

A few years ago there was a second, livelier newspaper, the Turkish News, however this paper did not last long. Since the demise of the Turkish News, the Turkish Daily News has price-gouged its captive audience. The price may have increased 500% but the content has remained thin and dry.

In contrast to Turkey, Iran has at least 3 daily English newspapers.

Some readers may argue, like the Turkish Daily News, Joe’s Ramblings’ grammar is poor and content thin and dry, but I don’t charge 1.5 million (more than USD $1) for you to read it! 🙂

Joao Leitao was kind enough to leave an entry on my GuestMap (see link on right hand side). Joao is a photographer who specialises in photos of people from around the world. The photos on his website are fantastic and the subjects really shine. Visit, you won’t be disappointed!