Wearing my black gown, square cap and a light blue hood, which is meant to symbolize the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (to make it different from two other graduate schools and a mass of undergraduates), I received my MA degree in anthropology. This rainy day Simon and Uli were my family. And Thomas Friedman, foreign affairs columnist for the "New York Times" and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, gave the commencement speech in the gymnasium, filled with hundreds or thousands. He spoke of how he became a journalist and what it means to be a good one. In 1975 he graduated from Brandeis, as I did today. He finished his captivating talk with a quote from Mark Twain, abused many times, but very powerful in his mouth: "Work as if you don't need the money, Dance like nobody’s watching, Love like you’ve never been hurt. Live like it’s heaven on earth." I must have forgotten the order and probably some lines, but the simple truth of these words affected me. I would be ready to go out there and do good deeds for the well-being of humanity. But for me it's not over yet. Next September I will be back here, so that in some years to graduate finally. But can I wait? I already have an idea of organizing a symposium on the freedom of speech next Spring at Brandeis, were Orhan Pamuk and Gary Kasparov would be among the speakers, as would some human rights and social justice activists. But now... California, here I come!

Last Tuesday Joschka Fischer, German foreign minister and Vice Chancellor in the government of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005, who was a youth activist back in the 1960s and then the leading figure in the German Green Party and for many years the most popular politician, Now he is teaching in Princeton. “He went to the East, I went to the West,” commented Fischer on the aftermath of their days in power.



The topic of his two-hour talk was Europe, Germany and the conflict in the Middle East. What was it about in particular? Firstly, he admitted that the invasion of Iraq was a very decision because now there is no way out: retreating might end up in civil war, staying doesn’t make any more sense. It was a trap. I liked his idea that democracy cannot be brought about at gunpoint. And does the U.S. really want democracy in Iraq? The majority rule brings Shias to power, but that will make Iraq closer and closer to Iran. As a matter of fact, for Fischer, Iran with its nuclear ambitions seemed to be the major threat in the region. I wasn’t convinced. But Simon and Negar (good to have a member of the Iranian democratic opposition at Brandeis) proved why a nuclear weapon in the hands of Iran would be disastrous: for Simon, the most important consequence is further nuclear ambitions of other states in the region, especially the Saudis, who will not be able to control this power and the deadly weapon might end up in the hands of some terrorists; for Negar, the reasons for opposing Iran’s nuclear ambitions have more to do with its internal policies and the consolidation of the regime in power, which she is fighting against. Negar was the first one to ask Fisher a question about Iran and the use of economic sanctions against Ahmadinejad’s regime. She was concerned that the sanctions will be projected to the population, as has happened in other cases. But Fischer was firm. He proposed active diplomacy (such as Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Syria), generous offers to Tehran (just like in North Korea) and, if these attempts fail, stopping all money transactions in the oil market with Iran.

More than anything, Fischer seemed to me very pragmatic, not what I really had expected from the Green leader. He went on to stress the importance of Turkey, which has been falling back since Europe turned away from it. Turkey, for him, is a strategic ally and an example that democracy and Islam can go together, therefore, it can’t be let to fail. Even when one senior Armenian asked him about the issue of the Armenian genocide, Fisher replied that the recognition of its past mistakes will come as a consequence of Turkey’s modernization. And it being predominantly Muslim does not mean the doors of the EU are shut for Ankara.

And then there was the question of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Fischer wasn’t as brave to talk about this conflict as President Jimmy Carter was. Maybe because of the audience, that is, in front of Brandeis community. Or maybe because he is German and as German he simply cannot say anything against Israel. This is a new axiom in German policies towards the Middle East. He did not denounce the wall and did not talk about the apartheid. At that time I was sitting next to a very old Jewish professor, retired from CUNY, who happened to be a student of Margaret Mead. And this gentleman was much more sober in relation to the issue. He said that he never approved occupation of Palestinian territories and keeps telling his other Jewish friends that Israelis are doing to the Palestinians the same that the British did to Israelis living in Tel Aviv back in 1930s. That’s isolation. I think Fischer lacked firm stance towards this conflict.

And I also don’t approve of his attitude towards Russia. When I asked him about German foreign policy towards Kremlin, he – very pragmatically – argued that getting gas from Russia is the only possibility and Germany needs gas. He simply saw Russia as a better option than the Middle East. And, even though in the end he showed a little concern with the authoritarian tendencies in Russia, he finished by stating that he prefers having Russia as a friend and not an enemy. After my question people have been asking whether I am Russian But, in fact, one thing I liked in his response. He said that maybe the West is somehow guilty for what is happening in Russia because when in the middle of 1990s it opened itself to the world, the world did not really welcome the democratic Russia… and so it went back… it’s own way…

Fischer talked for two hours, then we had the official dinner.

He believes in Europe much more than in the U.S. He was patient with the questions. Some say, he was arrogant. I think, pragmatic. But in some cases really short-sighted.

"To the Brandeis Community

The events that took place yesterday at Virginia Tech have shaken academic communities
throughout the nation and the world. I have written to President Charles W. Steger to express
our community's deepest sympathy and condolences. I have asked that our Brandeis University
flag be lowered to honor the memory of those who lost their lives at Virginia Tech. Our thoughts
and prayers are with the members of the Virginia Tech academic community and the families and
friends of all those who lost loved ones in this terrible tragedy.

In the days ahead, we will learn more about the events that took place leading up to this national
tragedy. We are at this moment reviewing our own safety and crisis communications procedures.
I want each and every member of the Brandeis community to know that the administration has in
place an emergency procedures program, which we update regularly. This plan has been
developed in cooperation with safety officials from the City of Waltham, including the Police and
Fire Departments, the State Police and relevant federal officials. The Brandeis Senior
Administration is meeting with me to discuss any additional safety measures or procedures we
may wish to consider in light of the Virginia Tech tragedy.

During this very difficult and anxious time, I encourage you to talk with one another, and seek
out the resources we have on the campus to help deal with the shock and sadness we all feel.
For students, I suggest you speak with residence life professionals, members of the chaplaincy or
with a professional in the counseling center. There will be services and vigils in the next few
days at Brandeis and elsewhere. I encourage you to attend and share your grief and concerns.
There will be a solidarity prayer vigil at 5:00 p.m. today in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium.

In the meantime, be assured that we are doing all that we can do to maintain a safe and secure
community at Brandeis."

Jehuda Reinharz, President of Brandeis


I have spent the second evening watching reports from the campus of Virginia Tech. Why on earth did it take so long for the police to arrive? Students from a room, which they barricaded with a table and so prevented the shooter to come in, sent e-mail messages to BBC News, but could not make someone to come in almost an hour... Another thing that strikes me is the answer - people have been suggesting that students should have been allowed to have weapons on campus, so that they would have been able to protect themselves. What? A response to a gun massacre is more guns? Crazy country...

Back in 1620 the pilgrims of "Mayflower" entered the Cape Harbor near Provincetown and there the first Thanksgiving was held with the Mashpee Wampanoag Indians. This is how the United States was founded. Cape Cod, the historically rich peninsula in Massachusetts, and its Atlantic coasts were our destinations for the Good Friday. National park rangers were smiling and warmly greeted our company of four (Simon, Uli, Regina and me) and we spent hours alone trekking more than fifteen kilometers in sand and wind. It is so much like the Baltic sea!

I just received an e-mail from Diego (my Fulbright friend from Chile who is studying astronomy at Harvard):



Hi Ieva,

It's been a long time uh?

I'm right now in Hawaii (it is 1:44 AM and is your 7:44 AM -if you're in Boston). I'm at the observatories in the top of volcano Mauna Kea.

Nothing more amazing could I imagine! A note from a friend at the top of volcano in the middle of the Pacific observing the formation of stars...

Morning. This time it was not my alarm clock that woke me up reminding of yet another day of lectures. I heard a knock on my bedroom door and it was Sebastian, the old friend from Berlin, who came to visit New England. He brought Andreas, a friend of his, and so the two spent the weekend in Boston, but today left for New Hampshire, Maine and then Canada. So I went to Brandeis to hand in my Master’s paper draft. Enough of Turkish-Armenian dialogue for the moment, although I am aware of the fact that I still have a month to submit the final version and in May get a certificate in a black gown graduation ceremony. I don’t really care about that since I will stay here for at least five more years. It is ironic, since I was never sure and still am not sure whether I do want to get a Ph.D. Or, to put it better, I don’t know whether I really want to remain in the academia. Studying was never enough for me, but here it is pretty much all I do. And only read about the world everyday in “The New York Times”. Today in the post box I found an interesting offer from TIME Magazine – an annual subscription for only fifteen dollars. Not even mentioning that I get “National Geographic”, watch BBC and CBS news and yesterday became a member of American Anthropological Association, which means I will get some more magazines to read. Never thought of it before, but living here is like being in the center of the world. All events and names and places which were so distant before are circling around. But the world is big... In small Lithuania it was much easier to contribute to the matters of the state and society. Looking through the headlines… five African peacekeepers killed in Darfur… Britain and Argentina mark the anniversary of Falkland war… wild magnolias are getting extinct… I guess today I will read… Have two books on corporate social responsibility and some texts on oil politics in Nigeria and Ecuador. Sounds familiar? The last few weeks I was only learning about participatory approaches in development and so asking the Heller students for help. John (my roommate from Ghana) gave me kilos of papers… Now it turns to business strategies and so my other roommate knows more about it. Anthropology seems all over the place. But no deep interest in anything somehow… I even stopped writing here because I feel I don’t have anything more to say. It is a feeling that destroys me. Nothing seems to be that inspiring. Maybe I just need holidays and that is what we have now. Ten days - no classes. It all started Thursday night when with Ahmet and Sezer and Seyit (I almost know more Turks than Germans now) we went to the opening of the Turkish Film Festival at Boston Museum of Fine Arts.



“Ice Cream, Ice Cream”: Mediterranean coast, grapes and watermelons, gangs of kids and top-less Europeans on the beach, but it was all about an old ice-cream man, who was trying to stay in business by competing with sellers of mass-produced ice-cream. In the reception afterwards we got baklavas and wine. Friday we celebrated the first part of Simon’s birthday, Saturday watched “Escape from New York” and Sunday the Germans cooked dinner as the starter for a long evening with rum and Turkish delights. But I don’t know what to do today… Maybe get a ticket to New York? But it might be worse than here. I need something very different. And I want to go home. Less than two months left. Some days ago I even spoke with my grandfather about the coming spring… and with Goda, who told me she had been in the opening of an exhibition with some of my dad’s paintings. Why am I writing all this? Time for lunch. Some Greek salad…

The director of "Manda Bala" (Send a Bullet), the documentary that won at this year's Sundance Film Festival, Jason Kohn, is Brandeis alumni, therefore, last Thursday he came back to campus with his film and a following discussion. The film is about Sao Paulo, Brazil, connecting a frog farm and a plastic surgeon that recreates peoples' ears. What is the connection? The answer: the rich steal from the poor and the poor steal back from the rich. The documentary focuses on Jader Barbalho, former president of the Brazilian senate and current Congressman for the state of Para, who was in charge of SUDAM, a multi-billion-dollar fund intended for public works projects to stimulate the economy in the poorest of Brazil's interior, the Amazon regions. Through corrupt business dealings, Jader laundered billions from the fund and the frog farm was one of the tools for doing that. The poor didn't get advantage of this enormous development initiative, so they try to make a living by kidnapping extremely rich in Sao Paolo, cutting their fingers or ears and sending them to their families to demand compensation. The rich then buy bullet-proof cars that still don't make them feel safe, take courses how to avoid being kidnapped, carry two wallets - a real and a fake one, and guns. A great film, probably as striking as "Darwin's Nighmare" about fish and Russian guns in Tanzania. Jader himself speaks as does one kidnapper, the talented surgeon and the victim. And the Brazilian music is just great! Jason received his BA from Brandeis in 2001 with a double major in history and European cultural studies, and a minor in film studies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZhcgWC3sgM

(Thanx to Tathagata for the pictures)



Brandeis News Front Page:

Brandeis afternoon and evening classes are cancelled, as of 3:30 p.m. today, due to the storm. All
offices will close at 3:30 p.m. as well. Employees of Facilities Services, Public Safety, and
laboratories, where it is crucial to maintain research activities, and other offices providing esential
services, should follow the specific instructions of their respective departments.



And another storm of something between snow, rain and ice cubes is scheduled for Friday.

On New Year's Night, just two blocks away from the South Station in Boston, city full of people loudly celebrating the coming of 2007, a black man was shot multiple times from a car. He was the 74th victim of homicide in Boston in 2006.



"The Boston Globe" in the edition of January 1, 2007, reports the statistics of crime in the capital of New England last year.

Of the 73 people that were killed:

61 were black, 8 Hispanic (any race), 11 white and 1 Asian;

66 were male and 7 were female;

38 were between 14 and 25 years old, 29 had between 26 and 44 years, 5 were older than 49 and 1 was younger than than 5 years old;

most of them were killed in the months of May, June, July and October on weekends and Mondays between 8 PM and 3 AM in the neighborhoods of Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan;

54 died of gunshot wounds, 13 were stabbed with a knife and 6 died due to other trauma;



ONLY 36 percent of the murder cases were solved.

drums are calling tonight.
we are waiting...
observing the sacred ritual.
so many people gathered under the starry sky.
they hid in the house of their god.
they joined their hands.
African beat during the midnight Christmas Mass.
shadows of powers creeping in the edges of the dark.
they won't let go...