The league start today! Beşiktaş plays with Antalyaspor tomorrow.

Well, for those who are familiar the photo above is my season pass card. Erkan returns to İnönü. I couldn't help buying this year's pass. The photo used in the card is as far as I remember from the 1949-50 season when Beşiktaş defeated Fenerbahçe 1-0 and became the champion. A giant poster of this photo is hanged in Inönü Stadium Store and the title is 'Being a BJK fan'

Before an evening of football, in two hours I will have to attend a wedding ceremony. A friend and former colleague, Erol, gets married today.

It seems that there will be high tensions among Fenerbahçe (FB) fans. The FB president Aziz Yıldırım now dislikes GFB (Young Fenerbahce fan group). He is rumored to be effective in helping the flourishing of the group but now they are too much and Mr. Yıldırım is rumored to be supporting another emerging group. News in Turkish here, here and here. 

Turkcell Super League teams:

GALATASARAY Last year's champion Galatasaray was forced to find a new coach to replace caretaker Cevat Güler, who filled in Karl Heinz Feldkamp's boots later 2007/08 season. Skibbe

TURKISH TURKCELL SUPER LEAGUE TAKES A START THIS WEEKEND!...

By Ahmet Turgut

Turkey super league to launch at weekend.............
Turkey's premier soccer loop, is set to make a kick-off with games this weekend. Galatasaray will take on Denizlispor, for the starter on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. local time(12:Noon,ET) in Istanbul.

GALATASARAY WINS THE SUPER CUP OF TURKEY!...

By Ahmet Turgut

GALATASARAY WINS THE SUPER CUP OF TURKEY!...

Harry Kewell Hasan Sas connection works for Gala...
It was a rotten first half to watch but,in the second half of the match, Gaatasaray looked like more of soccer team .

BESIKTAS WON!...

By Ahmet Turgut

Besiktas' players celebrate with scorer Mert Nobre (11) his goal against Siroki Brijeg during their UEFA Cup soccer match in Siroki Brijeg August 14, 2008.
REUTERS/Damir Sagolj (BOSNIA AND HERZEGIOVINA)




BESIKTAS WON!...

Besiktas beat Bosnian side Siroki Brijeg 2-1 away through Matias Delgado (19) and Marcio Nobre (83) goals, with D Silic pulling one back in the 90th minute for the home side.

Turkish Super League is about to start and the number of TV soccer commentators in Turkey is more than in Brazil! Milliyet reports that there are more 100 commentators and there is a real rivalry among TV channels to transfer the popular commentators!

Istanbul clubs take European stage

Turkcell Super League giants Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe will play the first leg game of their Champions League third qualifying round clashes tonight, hoping to secure wins and earn places in

This season's BJK uniforms....

Turkey ranked 13th in FIFA's ranking

By Ahmet Turgut

 

More misery for Turkish Olympic team

Yesterday was another dark day for the Turkish Olympic team, as all the athletes who competed failed. Soner Sucu lost to Islam-Beka Albiev of Russia 12-0 in the men's 60-kilogram Greco-

A European Court Greenlights Turkish Sportspeople's E.U. Status

Turkish trio happy with European draws

Turkish Turkcell Super League Fixtures 2008-20009

By Ahmet Turgut

The Turkcell Super League 2008-2009 soccer season will kick-off on August 22nd.

Sivas out of Intertoto Cup

Sivasspor's dream of winning a place in the UEFA Cup faded away with a 3-0 loss at Braga Saturday night. Losing the first game 2-0 at home, Sivasspor was not really touted for victory,

 

SIVASSPOR UEFA CUP DREAM MIGHT BE OVER!....

By Ahmet Turgut

Two huge goal keeper mistakes cost the match for Sivasspor.
Sivasspor 0-2 Braga

Portuguese outfit Braga secured a 2-0 victory over Sivasspor.

 

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This is a column title by İsmet Berkan but it well portrays my state of affairs; sort of. For the last few days, I am satisfied with the pace of writing and unfortunately these lonely office hours in evenings do not help. I would prefer a crowded and noisy office to this silent and being-alone office. I am glad this damn summer is ending. and here comes a round up mostly on Turkey's fantasies with all-track diplomacy...

What did you do for the EU today?

By RADIKAL, İSMET BERKAN

I guess the Turkish politician who is saddened most when he hears the comment "The government has lost momentum in EU reforms" is Foreign Minister Ali Babacan.

Turkey’s ‘Caucasus Alliance’ proposal: How likely is its success? (2) by GÜNER ÖZKAN

The interdependent model, in this case an "alliance," so to speak, needs to be such  that it will cover most, if not all, intra and extra-regional security issues and actors if it wants to produce fruitful results.

Caucasian Stability Pact nice idea, but will it work?

SEMİH İDİZ

Balance tuning in foreign politics

SAMİ KOHEN

Armenia and the new Turkish proposal

RICHARD GIRAGOSIAN

Turkish national interests and tiny zigzags

A friend of mine who currently occupies an office that is considerably decisive in the shaping of Turkish foreign policy had said to me years ago, i.e., when he was fairly new in the post, the following words, which I still remember: "The era of foreign policy when everything would proceed on a linear path and you could easily predict the next step has long since ended.

Unaffordable failures add to the burdens of foreign policy

Just one kick, and stones start rolling. The Georgian crisis was, whatever the reason, such a misstep, full of pretexts, and here we are with yet another burden on the already overloaded Turkish foreign policy.

Montreux Straits Treaty after South Ossetia War (1) The history of the Turkish Straits

News reports were published immediately after the South Ossetia war indicating that US vessels sent to extend help to Georgia violated the Montreux Convention.

[CROSS READER] Is a Caucasus alliance possible?

Turkey is continuing its talks with countries in the Caucasus for a proposed Caucasus stability and cooperation platform, which was proposed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after a regional crisis erupted following a Georgian military offensive in the Russian-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia earlier this month.

Africa's increasing importance for Turkey

By MILLIYET, SEMIH İDIZ

Steps taken by the government to improve ties with African countries have previously triggered several disputes.

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A man carries a log to his home in a small hillside settlement located near the village of Janovce in Eastern Slovakia where none of the houses have running water or a toilet. A surprising 20 million people in the European Union do not have access to decent toilets and suffer from a lack of hygiene, posing serious health risks, experts meeting at World Water Week in Stockholm said.

(AFP/File/Joe Klamar)

 

Merkel asked to take lead in reshaping East-West relations

The notion that German Chancellor Angela Merkel should step up and take the lead within the EU to resolve tensions over Georgia and reshape the West's relations with Moscow appears to be emerging, with analysts claiming Germany is the only country that Russia might listen to.

Energy security in Europe | Dependent territory

Russia: History and humiliation

By nosemonkey on Georgia

Two interesting - and thematically related - pieces look at past conflicts in relation the the Georgia / Russia spat over the last couple of days have prompted some thoughts along the old comparative history line (always an interesting intellectual exercise, as long as you don’t take it too seriously or literally).

Russia-Georgia: International Federation of Journalists calls for an end to the "information war"

By Alisa Zykova

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) asked Georgia to stop censoring Russian-language press and has asked for all sides of the conflict in South Ossetia to inform the public through "free reporting", reported gipp.ru.

"The world needs to know what is happening and we appeal to both Russian and Georgian authorities to allow media to operate and journalists to work freely", said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary.

Europe’s lobbies: Brussels comes second to Washington

By Annika Thornton

The image of the lobbyist is a part of the Brussels political landscape. These groups work in the spotlight, but also have a consulting role in the legislative process. Is this mature democracy or a skills deficit in Europe?

What Russia’s Moves on Georgia Could Mean for Iran

Given Russia's moves on Georgia, it's time for the United States to rethink its policy toward Iran.

Russia and Iran: rise of the rest, crisis of the west, Paul Rogers

The military and political leaders of the United States and Europe could be forgiven in August 2008 for recalling the English phrase "it never rains, but it pours". For they are currently faced by a series of security problems in relation to Russia, Afghanistan and Iran, each of which is testing in its own right but which together strain their resources (and perhaps nerves) to the limit. These are only part of a chain of problems for strategists of the "west" (a category that analysts are notably feeling more and more obliged to qualify or clarify) that is highlighted in this period alone by events in Algeria, Iraq, and Pakistan.

South Ossetia Conflict: War Begins for Central Asian Energy Resources?

Transatlantic Unity Should Not Isolate Russia

Matthew Derek Crosston: The West needs some serious balance in the way it analyzes and discusses the Georgian conflict. Academics, diplomats, and journalists have come forward with a united response to Ossetia: Russia is showing ‘imperialist ambitions' and ‘a disproportionate reaction.' This is ridiculous.

MAIN FOCUS: Germany seals itself off | 22/08/2008

In MAIN FOCUS

The German government has moved to restrict foreign investors' influence in German companies. With the tightening of the foreign trade act passed on Wednesday, investors from outside the EU must in the future expect more stringent controls by the federal government when seeking to invest in German businesses. Europe's press harshly criticises the new law.

Prague - freedom - spring

By Sean Jeating

The past three post very probably would not have written if - being on my way to become 15 - there had not been Alexander Dubček, the Prague Spring, and its end on August 21 1968, when as Václav Havel later put it, the ("brother"-) state(s) behaved like a girl blaming the mirror for being ugly, and therefore smashed it.

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Annotated bibliography on HTS, Minerva, and PRISP

By llwynn

I’ve been working on an article on the relationship between anthropology and the military, and Nikki Kuper, an honours student in our department, has been thinking about doing her honours thesis project on the Human Terrain System. So together, Nikki and I decided to put together an annotated bibliography of sources on the Human Terrain System, Minerva, and PRISP and post them here to Culture Matters so that others can benefit from them.

If you know of any resources or links that aren’t listed below (or if you spot any mistakes), please send me an e-mail (lisa.wynn[at]mq.edu.au) and we’ll add them to our list and credit you with the contribution.

–L.L. Wynn and Nikki Kuper

Open Access: New alliances threaten the American Anthropological Association

By Lorenz

(via media anthropology) What is the purpose of organisations like the American Anthropological Association? What is the point of publishing articles? The free software movement forces anthropologists to rethink these questions, Christopher Kelty says in a conversation about anthopology and open access to scholarship.

Three ads from The Starfish Project. The Starfish Project, located at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, collects the unused HIV meds to support people who are HIV-positive in Nigeria. Found in Your leftovers can save lives in Africa

New Minerva article from Hugh Gusterson, plus congressional testimonies on HTS and national security research

By Maximilian Forte

Hugh Gusterson has a new article out titled, “Project Minerva Revisited,” in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists for August 5, 2008 — well worth reading carefully, since it contradicts and corrects some of the ways that the agreement between the National Science Foundation and the Pentagon have been presented to the public. It is one of the sharpest articles yet in spotlighting some of the serious limitations and contradictions of both the Minerva Research Initiative and the role played by the NSF, and the cosmetic gloss that has been applied by those promoting these initiatives.

Minerva: Risks, Opportunities, Boycotts, and Mentally Handicapped Informants?

By Maximilian Forte

In the Washington Post article for which I was interviewed (I am the “but”, appropriately at the end), there was a suggestion that a project critical of U.S. foreign policy should be submitted to test the openness of the Minerva Research Initiative and its Pentagon-funded counterpart at the National Science Foundation. I do not recall Maria Glod asking me to address this option, but my answer would have been that it is not a good idea, as clever of a challenge as it is. In the specific choice of research topic identified by Dr. David Vine, it too can be reverse engineered by military planners to make for better, more effective positioning of foreign military bases. 

Anthropologist in Aussie Politics

By amonchamp

Anthropologist Diane Bell (Daughters of the Dreaming) is hitting the political scene in Australia running for the recently vacated seat of former foreign minister Alexander Downer.  After the Rudd ‘apology’/ and on going ‘intervention’ it will be interesting to follow the campaign of an anthropologist who has worked closely both in legal and social contexts with Aboriginal people for several decades. 

John Hartley’s media studies

By John Postill on TVNM

‘My media studies’ - the history and future of ideas
By John Hartley | August 4, 2008

Various people have been invited by the journal “TVNM” to write a short piece on the topic of “My Media Studies.” Contributors include: Manuel Alvarado, Sarah Berry, Charlotte Brunsdon, Milly Buonanno, Nick Couldry, Stuart Cunningham, Allen Feldman, Larry Gross, Heather Hendershot, Joke Hermes, Richard Maxwell, Vicki Mayer, Inka Moring, Horace Newcomb, Rune Ottosen, Arvind Rajagopal, Andrew Ross, Dan Schiller, Graeme Turner, Helen Wood and Barbie Zelizer.

The Anthropology of Olympic Gymnastics

By Pamthropologist

I saw Savage Minds has a post up about having to say something about the Olympics. Funny because I had been thinking the exact same thing. Fortunately, my wonderful students have saved me. We were discussing gender today and one of my female students offered the following observation: "I just think its wrong when you see a man doing the floor exercise in gymnastics". That led to a really interesting discussion of our gender concepts, expectations, cultural constructs, and homosexuality around the world, and why Blades of Glory was a really funny movie. Sometimes, I really do love my students.

Development anthropology via the mobile phone

By Lorenz

With mobile banking taking off around much of the developing world, how long will it be before international aid is delivered electronically, asks anthropologist Ken Banks in PC World.

Banks is the founder of kiwanja, an organisation, that helps non-profit organisations to make better use of information and communications technology in their work - of course with an anthropological perspective. “Anthropology is interestingly the area which raises the most eyebrows among delegates at conferences", he writes on his website.

Cultural Neuroscience

By dlende on social neuroscience

Shihui Han and Georg Northoff have just published Culture-Sensitive Neural Substrates of Human Cognition: A Transcultural Neuroimaging Approach. This article will prove foundational for “cultural neuroscience,” a term Han & Northoff use near the end of the article. I highly recommend that everyone read the full version (pdf), but will outline and comment on it here.

Advice for anthropologists who want to work for government

By llwynn

Charity Goodman, an anthropologist who is a public health analyst for the U.S. federal government, wrote the below with some information about anthropologists working in U.S. federal agencies and she includes some excellent advice about what student anthropologists who aspire to working for the government should study.  Though some of it is specific to working for the U.S. government, other things (like “get methodological and statistical training”) are relevant to aspiring applied anthropologists anywhere.  I repost it with her permission.

Somatosphere: Science, Medicine and Anthropology

By dlende on Medical anthropology

Somatosphere is a new blog focusing on medical anthropology. Eugene Raikhel, a post-doc at McGill, is the primary blogger but there is also a group of contributing anthropologists.

The Anthropology of Boredom

By Pamthropologist

I wasn't, completely, joking about labeling desk doodles as wikis. A desk is an area with boundaries and yet it is free for editing..adding, erasing, building, growing, scrubbing. A far less confined space then the lines of text that this box requires of me. A piece of paper is a more freeing area of processing than this confined space. (Ah, two times the word confined.) I find that when I am prepared to write a paper, plan a presentation, or map out a semester course (the syllabus), I turn to my note pad to draw out the flow. I never start with the lines of text forced on me by this box...and my cursor moving and the letters lining up...straight and neat....neat and straigh.t..never curved..never free formed...never inserted on the side...at an angle....arrows pointing....smaller lines of text added.....just lines of text....straight and neat.

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Strasbourg not yet ready for MEPs

The European Parliament's temporary relocation to Brussels from Strasbourg reignites a row about where it should be based.

found in Small Food Nation
(Pieter Aertsen, Butcher's Stall with the Flight into Egypt, 1551. Source.)

Commission to test free access to EU research

A pilot project that will give unrestricted online access to EU-funded research results was launched yesterday (20 August), which the Commission claims will ensure better exploitation of scientific studies and guarantee a "fair return" for taxpayers. But specialist publishers are unhappy with the move.

Memories of Czech invasion

Two BBC website readers share their experiences of the Soviet invasion and living under communist rule in Czechoslovakia.

The end of illusions?

By Samuel Abrahám

The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 caused the Soviet empire to lose its internal logic even for the communist faithful. Yet today, the naivety of the reform communists serves as a pretext for the dismissal of any vision of a better political system.

Hopes dashed

How one Czech journalist reported '68 Soviet invasion

SLATE: The last two weeks have been a disaster for U.S. foreign policy. - by Daniel Benjamin

The west is strategically wrong on Georgia

The Georgian fiasco heralds the end of the post cold-war era. But it does not mark the return of any new cold war. It marks an even bigger return: the return of history, writes Kishore Mahbubani

Fact and fiction

Uncovering human rights abuses in the Georgia conflict

Russia scales down Georgia toll

Russia says it has evidence of 133 civilians killed in the conflict over South Ossetia - far lower than its initial estimate of 1,600.

US-Russia in war of words over missile shield deal

The signing of a Polish-US agreement to base an American missile shield on Polish soil triggered a war of words between former Cold War enemies, adding to the tensions over the crisis in Georgia. Washington has denied that the missile shield is aimed at Russia but Moscow said the deal contains new elements perceived as a direct threat.

Georgia conflict: Russia asserts itself

Russia's invasion of Georgia has shown the world that the US, the EU and NATO are all "paper tigers" in that region, writes former US ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro William D. Montgomery for Belgrade media service B92.

CECIMO supports the Communication on the new industrial property rights strategy for Europe

By Pierre-Antoine Rousseau

MAIN FOCUS: US missiles in Poland | 21/08/2008

In MAIN FOCUS

Yesterday the US secretary of state and the Polish foreign minister signed an agreement on the stationing of a US missile defence system on Poland's Baltic coast. The Russian government has harshly criticised the plans. Is Europe facing the prospect of a new arms race?

European beaches, from the Croatian islands to the Black Sea

By Mary Maistrello

Crossing via the urban sands of northern Europe to the fun-filled southern Salentine peninsula – there is a stretch for all those who want to try something new, even in the capital

Brussels, collateral damage in the Belgian conflict

By Jean-Sbastien Lefebvre

Neither Flemish nor Walloon, Brussels is the battlefield of choice for the divisive struggle that is plaguing Belgium. Faced with a situation that does not seem to be getting any better, some residents of Brussels have decided to form a new political party. We meet one of them

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MAIN FOCUS: NATO's new role? | 20/08/2008

The NATO foreign ministers gathered yesterday to confer on the crisis in the Caucasus. NATO General Secretary Jaap de Hoop Scheffer sharply condemned Russia and called for an immediate withdrawal of all Russian troops. Europe's press discusses the role of the alliance after Moscow's show of force.

That Forceful NATO response

By Nikolas K. Gvosdev

So, at the end of the emergency NATO meeting, the decision of the Western alliance is to "suspend" meetings of the NATO-Russia Council. Since there wasn't a great deal of meaningful NATO-Russia coordination and joint activity to begin with, I don't see why this will be a major blow to Moscow.

The U.S. Secretary of State, despite calls from many U.S. pundits, did not press the alliance to accelerate efforts to bring Georgia and Ukraine into the alliance, correctly assessing that there is absolutely no consensus on this issue.

NATO responds, spin on the ground

In Russia and Europe

Groping for a response

TODAY´S NATO meeting on the Georgian crisis was bound to be a tough one, given the divided views of members going into the session. They emerged with a joint statement saying there would be no more "business as usual" with Russia as long as it had troops inside Georgia, but didn´t specify exactly what there would be in its place.

A papal warning

Italy's anti-immigration measures are counter-productive – the key is to manage integration, not to inflame prejudice against the least protected

Kremlin wins propaganda war at home

Russian public opinion polls indicate that the government and its media allies have succeeded in winning public support for the military campaign in Georgia that has been condemned in the west

Nato in Iron Curtain warning to Moscow

The western alliance has suspended top-level ties with Russia and told the Kremlin that it could not draw a 'new line' in Europe preventing Georgia and other countries from joining Nato

Gamsakhurdia

By Douglas Muir

So, Georgia Georgia Georgia. Yet there’s one name I’ve hardly seen mentioned: the late Zviad Gamsakhurdia, the first president of independent Georgia.

That’s sort of strange. Because if there’s one man who’s responsible for the current mess in Georgia — more than Saakashvili, more than Putin — it’s Gamsakhurdia.

Why?

Because he was a complete jackass.

Georgian gambit

BURAK BEKDİL

Europe gets started on quelling a crisis

NICHOLAS SARKOZY

Say it again, Dimitri: A Gift to America from Russia

By Patricia Lee Sharpe

The more the bear growls and paws its Georgian neighbor, the better it is for the US, no thanks to George W. Bush, whose disfunctional aviary of hawks and doves probably helped to create this tragic opening for heavy-handed Russian self-assertion.

Move against our citizens and we will crush you! So says Russia’s cute puppet president Dmitri Medvedev. Say it again, Dimitri! As for the icy-eyed puppeteer and growl-coach Vladimir Putin, he had long contended that NATO expansion on Russian borders is a direct threat to Russian interests. He had virtually guaranteed some sort of quid for the Kosovo quo. Then, stupidly arrogantly, he overdid it, in the manner of his czarist and Soviet forbears, who could never have won an unrigged popularity contest.

Inspiration And Danger In Georgia

By Michael Gerson

The nation of Georgia is a place of inspiration and danger. I saw both in a single hour.

[Comment] Winning the peace in Georgia

Russia-NATO relations in tatters

Russia and the Georgia war: the great-power trap, Ivan Krastev

Europe has entered the new 19th century. The Russia-Georgia war of 8-12 August 2008 has acted as a time-machine, vaporising the "end of history" sentiment that shaped European politics in the 1990s and replacing it with an older geopolitical calculus in modern form.

An older calculus - but not a cold-war one. Indeed, though the conflict over South Ossetia has generated heady rhetoric of the cold-war's return, the real constellation of power and ideology it has revealed is different from the days of superpower confrontation in the four decades after 1945. This is indeed time-travel, not a mere reversal of gears.

8/8 Marks a New Era in Global Politics

Volodymyr Horbach: Consequences of the recent conflict in Georgia will be as serious and global as those after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Ukraine's position in this conflict is especially uncomfortable as it needs to preserve good neighborly relations with both Georgia and Russia. Kiev should not, therefore, take sides but take part in the peacekeeping mission.

Interview: EU caution on new technologies causing 'missed opportunities'?

While the Union's cautious approach to granting market authorisation to new technology applications like GMOs or products derived from nanotechnology has meant that EU has not suffered from any major backlash, it could also mean the bloc is missing out on major opportunities to improve its competitiveness, argued a policy analyst from a Brussels-based think tank in an interview with EurActiv.com.

France calls for EU response to global slowdown

France's Prime Minister François Fillon called yesterday (18 August) for a "coordinated response" by EU governments to the major global economic slowdown, saying his country would propose measures later in September.

EU Medal Table

By Henning Laptop

There won’t be one single European Olympic Team any time soon and European nations together have many more contenders at the Olympic Games in Beijing than other countries. But as most medal winners would presumably still feature in a single European Union team here is – just hypothetically - what the current Olympic medal table would look like:

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Jon Beech, Untitled, 1997
found in Works on Paper: The Natalie and Irving Forman Collection at The Albright-Knox Art Gallery

Erkan's one new interest is to check out the Quran blog at the Guardian. Thanks to Christian, I have become aware of this blog. It is fun to have a look and although i have no interest to declare authoritative statement, i will poke around and utter my own comments from time to time.

In Injunctions to the strong Andrew Brown says:

This has immediately reminded me Nietzsche's critique of dialectic - an in advance, Christianity- where the slave-master analogy is used. What is Christian in N's words is the slave mentality. In fact, this level of comparison btw Christianity and Islam is historically understandable. the latter started as a revolutionary ideal among the slaves whereas the latter from the outset challenged the Meccan hegemony. I never thought of N's critique in religious terms and tried to apply his ideas to the opposition forces who constantly whine about the evils of power and whose agenda is always determined by the power it critiques. (see Nietzsche And Philosophy )
In the mean time, Islam vies for power and at least works on determining the nature of the strong which reminds me liberals' intellectual attempts to determine how capitalism would evolve (see The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality ); instead of challenging the authority, attempting to shape what authority is...

Christianity is certainly more romantic, and more collectivist whereas Islam (and Judaism) seem(s) to be more realistic and individualistic. But of course, theory and practice differ shockingly: Just check out the state of Christians and Muslims:)

As one commenter points out Sunni Islam had already softened the radical relation between the individual and the God and collectivized it (with instituting intermediaries). I am always fond of some early schools of Islam which emphasize the lack of intermediaries and the heavy burden of every individual. (for a treatment of early Islamic schools: Authority in Islam: From the Rise of Muhammad to the Establishment of the Umayyads by Hamid Dabashi) Christian collectivism (or sense of community) - at least in theory- implies more solidarity against the evils of the world but Islamic sense of community (at least in Sunni version) implies the collectivisation of individual responsibilities and guaranteeing collective salvation. So whatever you do, as long as you are in the Muslim community, you will go to heaven after you are punished in Hell. I have been thinking this kind of reasoning causes a postponement of duties and a misbelief in an already happened salvation and an essential belief of superiority over others.

In another blog post, Ziauddin Sardar is in conversation with Andrew Brown. The subject is patience:

Internally, gratitude is about two specific values that the Qur'an mentions again and again: patience and moderation. "Be patient" (46:35), we read, for it is the patient who ultimately have faith and hope in God: "Those who believe seek help through patience and prayer" (2:153). The Qur'an divides patience into three components. First, patience requires endurance: "Endure patiently whatever may afflict you" (31:17). But endurance in the face of affliction is not about fatalism, Andrew. It is about steadfastness, the second element of patience. Affliction is endured patiently because there is always hope if we steadfastly follow the path of virtue. This is why the believers pray "Our Lord, fill us full of patience and make our feet firm" (2:250).

Third, patience is about self-control and seeking righteousness without being distracted by the glamour of the world or materialistic and physical desire: "Content yourself with those who pray to their Lord morning and evening, seeking his approval, and do not let your eyes turn away from them out of desire for the attraction of this worldly life" (18:18).

But of course, social practice of these beliefs differ from the theory (which is subject to several different forms of interpretation). Although I agree with Mr. Sardar, the Muslim self is socialized into a passive subject in most of the social contexts...

In another post, Brian Whitaker says:

Verse 2:30 seems to suggest the latter. God announces that he will place a vicegerent/viceroy/caliph on earth (ie humans) and the angels protest that they will only make mischief and cause bloodshed. God retorts that he knows what he's doing, but I'm not so sure - I'm inclined to agree with the angels on that point.

In the last analysis, I am imagining a deistic God. Difference from the Enlightenment's deism is that the God will return in the afterworld and determine the fate of people where to go. But between creation and afterworld, humans are left to alone with a warning that they will be judged in the end. But in the mean time, the God is an observer at best..

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In the following text, you will find a huge round up on Turkish society. I highlighted Jenny White's emphasis on a particular section of Turkish women but there is also stuff on the threat of a new earthquake in Istanbul, Tuzla disasters, Turkish academia and in the mean time Istanbul is burning with heat and humidity. Boy, I am doing my best to ignore the evil weather!

Blue Wall of Silence: Policeman Kills With Impunity

By Jenny White on Turkish police brutality

Treatment of Widows and Divorced Women

By Jenny White on Widows and Divorced Women in Turkey

A large majority in Turkey (70%) perceives discrimination against widows with the largest number (52%) of any of the nations polled saying that they are mistreated a great deal. The same pattern applies to divorced women–72 percent think divorced women are mistreated, with 51 percent saying a great deal. This issue may have gained a greater profile in Turkish society as part of the process of Turkey seeking accession into the European Union. The European Parliament has said that while women have officially had full political rights in Turkey since the 1930s, customary treatment of women in the country’s southeast has varied from the legal ideal. (click for poll results)

Meeting European Mustache Standards

By Jenny White on Turkey and the EU

Bus drivers have been forbidden to have mustaches by Metro Tourism, one of Turkey’s biggest transportation companies… Metro Tourism has 7,000 workers and though some of the bus drivers tried to resist the decision, arguing that their wives “would not allow it”, or that they have grown a moustache for 30 years …

The rise of Turkish universities Inc.

Only one-third of Turkey's foundation universities balance tuition and expenditures per student. Meanwhile, rectors continue to debate the financial structure for Turkey's version of the private

Four More Deaths and 12 Injured at Shipyards

By Jenny White

Like something out of a Charles Dickens novel, deaths are almost a weekly occurrence at Turkey’s shipyards. In the most recent incident, workers were testing the lifeboat of a newly built ship and got into the lifeboat to test it instead of using sandbags. The hawser connecting the boat to the ship broke off and the lifeboat fell, along with the workers in it, killing four and injuring others. 12 other workers were injured on Monday when a lifeboat broke loose from a ship under repair and plunged into the sea. Last week there were more deaths at a different shipyard. More than two dozen workers have died this year at the Tuzla shipyards alone.

[CROSS READER] Officials’ insensitivity toward Tuzla deaths draws criticism

Three workers lost their lives on Monday at a shipyard in İstanbul's Tuzla district, notorious for work-related accidents and deaths over the past few years. The workers got in a lifeboat to test it instead of using sandbags.

Tuzla murders and ethics

By STAR, ESER KARAKAŞ

The possibility of work-related accidents exists in almost every sector of business. Undoubtedly, the risk of work accidents is higher in some sectors than others.

Workers die in Tuzla after regulation comes into effect

Three workers died and 13 others were injured in a work related accident yesterday at the Gisan Shipyard in Istanbul's Tuzla district, Anatolia news agency reported. The number of deaths is four or

TÜSİAD and Tuzla

By STAR, MEHMET ALTAN

As recently as last week three died and 12 were injured in a lifeboat being tested at the Tuzla shipyards.

Yet another tragedy

Fire … fell again in the hearts of nine mothers … a landmine planted by separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, terrorists on a road near the Acemoğlu bridge at the Kemah township in the eastern Anatolian city of Erzincan, claimed the life of nine soldiers, including two senior officers. Two soldiers were reported wounded, their condition is not yet known. Terrorists, of course, cannot be expected to abide with conventions and international arrangements against land mines … They are terrorists … Their aim is to stage terrorist acts and terrorize the society. But these land mines are not produced by the terrorists … They are products of some “friendly” and

Recent sources of competitive dynamics in Turkish industry

In my last column I started analyzing the competitive strength of Turkish industries in the recent past. Today I want to continue on the same topic.

Powerful Istanbul quake could kill 90000 - report

A powerful earthquake could kill up to 90,000 people if it struck Turkey's biggest city Istanbul, which has suffered devastating quakes in the past, a report published by the city's municipality said on Thursday.

Material damage is estimated to be some $40 billion if there is a quake of 7.7 magnitude, with the rescue operation covering one million people, according to the report produced by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the city council."

Turkish academic receives prestigious grant

Professor Dr. Mete Soner, of Sabancı University, has been awarded the European Research Council's (ERC) Advanced Grant for Physical Sciences and Engineering based upon his research

Pro-headscarf rectors reach the critical mass

The Supreme Education Board, or YÖK, submitted Wednesday a list for rector appointments in newly established universities, which consists primarily of names opposed to the headscarf ban in

Whom to believe?

By SABAH, ERDAL ŞAFAK

A group of scientists led by famous geophysicists Ahmet Mete Işıkara, Naci Görür, Celal Şengör and Gülay Altay argue that a 170-kilometer-long fault line under İstanbul will certainly shift one day.

Residents of Istanbul fatalist about the earthquake

A lack of preparation for a possible earthquake reflects the fatalistic attitude of ordinary people nine years after tens of thousands died in a quake in northwestern Turkey. While many continue to

[CROSS READER] Remembering victims of the Marmara earthquake

Sunday was the ninth anniversary of the 1999 Marmara earthquake, which killed 17,000 and left thousands homeless.

Hazelnut train brings hope, misery to seasonal workers

By BÜNYAMİN KÖSELİ

Malatya is famous for its apricots, Gaziantep for its pistachios, Gemlik for olives, Giresun for hazelnuts and Adana for cotton, and all of these crops are picked by seasonal laborers, mainly from eastern and southeastern Anatolia.

Increasing bread prices prompt homemakers to let the dough rise at home

By ÖMER ORUÇ

The price of bread has recently increased in Turkey as a result of a decline in wheat and barley production arising from a drought that has afflicted the country for the past several years. In big cities such as İstanbul and Ankara a 300-gram loaf of bread sells for YKr 75-80, up from YKr 50 three months ago. Families on a tight budget have started to feel pressure from price hikes on basic commodities, including bread and milk.

'Turkish cuisine is not all about recipes, but of traditions too'

By BÜŞRA İPEKÇI

Turkey has a very rich and profound food culture, which is not all about recipes. Instead it is a whole consisting of several pieces such as an exclusive table etiquette including serving the elders first, distributing food to the needy at celebrations and feasts and collective work during funerals and death anniversaries, according to expert Tijen İnaltong.

Shopping malls challenging popularity of traditional bazaars

By MUSTAFA YÜKSEL / RESUL CENGIZ

Bazaars, part of the Ottoman legacy, are facing a direct threat posed by the proliferation of large shopping malls.

Stopping Alevi-Sunni tension

Last week, President Abdullah Gül participated in ceremonies held in Hacıbektaş. Everything went well. No one paid attention to a small group that wanted to protest the president's speech.

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AKP leaders are taking a risk by this all-track diplomacy. They might win big or lose big.

They have many in their cadres which could trigger this shift from traditional Turkish foreign policy and there have been signs of it already. Now, they are relieved of the closure ban and they are pushing for it. 

After the visit of Iran's leader, now there comes the mini African Summit and a notarious African leader, Bashir comes to Turkey second time in less than a year. As part of a grand plan, these risky visits might work but they are just too risky. The plan is to create independent good, powerful and profitable relations with neigbours. The plan is very innovative. After the 2nd WW, traditional Turkish foreign policy depended on its geostrategic importance for US. This symbolically ended in the first Gulf War where Turkey lost great and it became one of the sources of economic crisis in 2001. Major reliance on EU process in recent years also ended when AKP could not get enough of the process. Since 2004, AKP lost its belief in EU in general. I don't think this means hostile thinking against EU or US. Although ideologues of the new FP attempt might be uneasy with them, their main goal seems to make Turkey a more equal partner in relations with EU or US.

However, even for those who try to be more neutral to AKP, there is the problem of substance. Is there any substance in possible relations with the new 'allies'?  Like it or not, TR has been part of the Western system since 2WW. Political, cultural, economic relations all depended on this system although they were never satisfying. Can there be sustainable relations with others? Particularly when some of the others are subject to systemic hostility?

The ideologues of the AKP Foreign Policy (first person to come to my mind is Prof. Ahmet Davutoğlu, is known to have Neo-Ottoman tendencies. However, he and others seem to be realistic, too.

 

A new art of 'all-track' diplomacy

Relieved by a Constitutional Court ruling against a ban that helped it avert a political crisis, it was natural for the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, to expect a few days of relaxation.

 The Associated Press: Turkey's Gul urges Sudan leader to end suffering

 

Sudan's Bashir on visit to Turkey

Sudan's president makes his first foreign trip since he was indicted on genocide charges by the International Criminal Court. 

Time for Turkey to manipulate events skillfully

The recent conflict in Georgia -- right at Turkey's doorstep -- has once again demonstrated how difficult it is to maintain peace in the region and has threatened several projects intended to create prosperity and economic interdependency among countries in the region.

All eyes on Sudan's Bashir during summit

An eagerly awaited Turkish-African summit has been overshadowed by the presence of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, in his first trip abroad since an international court indicted him for

Turkey takes major step to strenghten ties with Africa

Until elections for a U.N. Security Council non-permanent seat are held in October, whatever Turkey does in the name of expanding its multinational cooperation network in remote

[EXPERTS ANALYZE CAUCASUS PLATFORM] What is Caucasian stability and cooperation? What can Turkey do in the Caucasus?

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Aug. 11 said that Ankara may launch an initiative for the formation of a "Caucasus Alliance," following the Balkan model, adding that the Russian Federation should be part of it.

Turkey bows to the dark side - Los Angeles Times

What if Turkey were left without allies?

By MILLIYET, SEMIH İDIZ

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO was, to a large extent, left without a "mission." NATO member countries need a "joint enemy" for the organization to stand erect under existing conditions.

Our biggest neighbor Iran

İLTER TÜRKMEN

The merit of Ahmadinejad's visit

Barçin YİNANÇ

[EXPERTS ANALYZE CAUCASUS PLATFORM] Turkey's 'Caucasus Alliance' proposal: How likely is its success? (1) by GÜNER ÖZKAN

Amid desperate EU attempts and increasingly tough words from the US to Moscow for an immediate cease-fire and the withdrawal of Russian forces in the war between Russia and Georgia, Turkey has suggested the establishment of the "Caucasus Alliance."

[EXPERTS ANALYZE CAUCASUS PLATFORM] What is Caucasian stability and cooperation? What can Turkey do in the Caucasus? by HASAN KANBOLAT

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Aug. 11 said that Ankara may launch an initiative for the formation of a "Caucasus Alliance," following the Balkan model, adding that the Russian Federation should be part of it.

Will Gül pay a visit to Armenia?

Murat Yetkin

Gül: Turkey critical in new world order

President Abdullah Gül predicted a new multipolar world would emerge from the wreckage of war, in an interview published in Britain on Saturday. He asserted that the conflict in Georgia showed that

Turkey can help solving the nuclear crisis with Iran

Guardian Turkey pulls out of Iranian gas deal US pressure on Istanbul leads to humiliating snub for Iran on lucrative energy deal

Bianet :: Aktar Says Turkey Could Work With The EU In The Georgian Conflict

Armenia lifts Turkish visas for football match

While it is still unclear whether Turkish President Abdullah Gül will accept his Armenian counterpart's invitation to watch a football game together in Yerevan, Armenia has decided on Thursday to

Ahmadinejad behind the doors

Before the press meeting, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held a closed meeting with press and think tank representatives. Attendees of the meeting asserted that the Iranian leader was

Ahmadinejad’s foray to Turkey by ALON BEN-MEIR

It is quite understandable that Israel would be deeply disappointed by Turkey's decision to invite Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for an official visit this week.

Limits of relations with Iran

Comments made about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent visit to Turkey converge on the argument that this visit has opened a new page in relations between the two countries.

Turkey’s concerns over Iran

As an İstanbulite, I must confess that the visit from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made life terrible here for two days. Most of the main roads were closed to normal traffic so as to ensure a secure and comfortable visit for the leader of our noisiest, most energy-rich neighbor.

Pros and cons of a visit to Yerevan

It seems that the big question will remain to be answered to the very end. Will President Abdullah Gül say yes to the invitation to Yerevan by his counterpart in Armenia, Serzh Sarksyan?

An attempt to understand the Iran issue

When I sat down to write this article, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had not yet arrived in İstanbul. Diplomatic efforts exerted by the 5+1 group to coax Iran into abandoning its drive to develop nuclear weapons have all proven unsuccessful, which does not leave much room for hope that Turkey's initiative will bring a miraculous solution to the issue.

Turkey and Iran: two neighbors with different messages

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in İstanbul for a two-day visit. Turkey and Iran have been getting stronger in the region after the US occupation of Iraq without hostilities arising between them.

New model for Turkey

A bill drafted by Edibe Sözen, the deputy chairwoman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), for the protection of young people has created much controversy. As usual, the "big reactions" came from radical secular circles. The bill was actually prepared with inspiration from Germany, an EU member country, and intended to protect Turkey's youth against various destructive elements, including pornography.

Will Gül go to Armenia?

By RADIKAL, MURAT YETKIN

Will President Abdullah Gül accept Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan's invitation to watch a soccer match between the Turkish and Armenian national teams together on Sept. 6 in Yerevan?

Iranians living in Turkey pleased with Ahmadinejad's visit

As heated debates over Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Turkey continue in both Turkish and foreign press, Iranian people see only good news in the visit, according to one

Erdoğan on promotion tour for Caucasus idea

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has embarked on a tour of talks with regional leaders to sell a plan to establish a full-fledged mechanism for stability in the Caucasus. “I have a

Ahmadinejad says Turkey engaged in 'friendly effort'

Turkey's efforts on Tehran's contested nuclear program were defined as a “friendly effort,” rather than mediation, by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during an interview before departing

Relax, the Ahmadinejat storm is over

Relax… Relax… Millions of Istanbulites, relax… The Ahmadinejad storm is over.Yes, both on arrival and departure, as well as during his short trip in the city, millions of Istanbulites were tortured for many hours on roads closed to traffic for “security” reasons. But, the disaster is over, the storm has ended… and, Ahmadinejad is very sorry that Turkey took such excessive security measures for his visit. “I am not in charge here… In Iran, I would not allow that to happen…” the Iranian leader said, apologizing to Istanbulites for the trouble they suffered because of the extensive security measures and thus demonstrating that, at least in words, he cared far

Transiting through Turkey | A tragic crossroads | Economist.com

Turkey and the IMF to decide on future relationship

Should Turkey conclude a new agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), following the expiration of the last stand-by arrangement (SBA) in May, in order to provide an external anchor for the country's macroeconomic stability and minimize its vulnerability to external shocks?

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The way forward

Nato governments divided on what to do about Russia

BUT LATER

Nato cools relations with Russia

Nato says there will be "no business as usual" with Russia, demanding Moscow withdraw troops from Georgia immediately.

 

 

 

Genetically speaking, Finns and Italians are the most atypical Europeans. There is a large degree of overlap between other European ethnicities, but not up to the point where they would be indistinguishable from each other. Which means that forensic scientists now can use DNA to predict the region of origin of otherwise unknown persons (provided they are of European heritage). found in 306 - The Genetic Map of Europe

Who are the citizens of Europe?

Philosopher Jürgen Habermas called for a pan-European referendum in the wake of the Irish 'No'. He overestimates the wisdom of the masses and underestimates what has been achieved up to now, counters Alfred Grosser.

Russia stages carefully-scripted withdrawal

Russia staged a carefully-scripted troop pullback as NATO foreign ministers watched for signs of a withdrawal, while Moscow confirmed it had seized 20 Georgian soldiers from the port of Poti, saying they posed a security risk

Gomorrah – mafia and southern Italy on Europe’s big screens

By Andrew Burgess

Roberto Saviano’s whistle-blowing book first hit the headlines in 2007. Before its October UK film release, a report from southern Italy, where the underground mafia systems are a firm part of daily life

Russia is not evil, the US is not angel

By Harry Chen

Besides the Beijing Olympics, the most talked about international news in the past week is Russia’s invasion of Georgia. The story behind this event is rather complex. In the mainstream news media, the story is told as the follows. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia became an independent democratic state . Unfortunately, not everyone who live in that country are loyal to the new government. Some people in that country were loyal to the Russian government, and they lived in the area of South Ossetia. Recently, the Georgian government sent in military troops to crack down these Russian loyalists. The outcome of this event angered Russia. Military tanks and troops were sent in from Russia to protect Russian interests and revenge the Georgian attacks in South Ossetia.

Europe’s Russia strategy / Russia’s Europe strategy

By nosemonkey on South Ossetia

So, what is it going to be, exactly? A military response isn’t an option, and Moscow knows it - though quite how far they can push before getting shoved back in return we don’t yet know (Georgia may be strategically important, but isn’t yet a member of NATO; the same goes for Ukraine; but what about Estonia, with it’s sizable population of ethnic Russians and history of tensions with its larger neighbour? We’re all meant to fight for EU and NATO member Estonia - but if push did come to shove, would we?) Economic sanctions are unlikely to have much impact when Russia has such a tight grip of the European energy market and can hurt us far more than we can hurt them. We also can’t risk ceasing to trade with Moscow as winter approaches and Russian gas supplies become ever more vital - whereas they can do without European markets, if necessary.

Czech-Slovak sausage: under EU protection

By Sarah Truesdale

A ceasefire was called between the central-eastern nations in July, after the EU intervened in the sausage war dividing them

EU still divided by national borders

Crossing borders between EU countries which have officially eliminated frontier controls remains a challenge, mainly as a result of queues at petrol stations in countries with cheaper gas, journalists from EurActiv discovered while travelling over the vacation period.

Georgia, Russia, the EU and future UK foreign policy

By nosemonkey

Yesterday’s Observer was on really rather good form, with a decent long article amply demonstrating the human cost - easy to forget when trying to work out the wider geopolitical remifications:

MAIN FOCUS: The consequences of the Caucasus crisis | 18/08/2008

Military action in the conflict between Georgia and Russia appears to have come to an end. Today the Russian troops are to begin their withdrawal. However it remains unclear what the political fallout of the crisis will be.

Citizen war-journo? A Caucasus test , Evgeny Morozov

To watch Russian leaders and mediamake the public case for war with Georgia when the conflict was still in its infancy was also to wonder why at that point there was still so little factual evidence - particularly photos and videos - from observers on the ground in South Ossetia's capital, Tshkinvali. The Kremlin's spokespersons wanted the world to believe that the city had just suffered a Stalingrad-like devastation - though there was as yet no visible proof of the thousands of victims claimed.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia: heart of conflict, key to solution , George Hewitt

On the second full day of the Georgia-Russia war of 8-12 August 2008, Russian patrol-boats operating off the Black Sea shore of Abkhazia sank four Georgia vessels apparently intent on landing in the territory. The identity of these vessels is not yet clear, but it is interesting to note that a published list of military equipment in the possession of the Georgian government - equipment largely supplied over many years by Tbilisi's western friends - includes a ship called the General Mazniashvili.

Dos cadáveres en busca de parentesco

By Francisc