Social roundup: Mourning for Zonguldak workers, Celebrating 19 May and more…

28 mining workers are found dead today. May their souls rest in peace…

Rescue workers find 28 bodies after Turkey mine ...

Map of Turkey. Rescue workers have recovered the bodies of 28 miners trapped underground in a Turkish coal mine following a gas explosion, in one of the worst mine accidents in recent years.? Read more » (AFP/Graphic/File/AFP/Graphic/File)

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At least 28 Casualties in Mining Explosion

from Bianet :: English
The bodies of 28 mine workers who died in a gas explosion on 17 May were found on Thursday. The explosion happened in a mine of the Turkish Coal Corporation Karadon Enterprise Directorate in Zonguldak (Black Sea coast). Two workers are still missing.


Seda Sayan, a popular TV women’s program host, brought this Atatürk statue to her program to celebrate the 19 May in Turkey.
via
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Singing lessons for Turkish imams who ruin call to prayer

from BBC News | Europe | World Edition
Imams and muezzins in Istanbul are undergoing training to improve their tuneless calls-to-prayer.

The Islamization of Turkey (Through Nudist Hotels, Gay Bars, etc)

from The White Path

[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News] One of the interesting stories I recently read in this paper was about Turkey’s first “nudist hotel,” opened in Marmaris, a beautiful town on the Aegean coast. Here was a place where “nudist tourists will be able to work on their full-body tan” on their “private naturist beach.” This would be, the story added, “a small revolution in Turkey’s conservative society.” If you look for such “small revolutions” in this conservative country, you can find other ones. Gay bars and lesbian clubs, for example, have boomed in big cities in recent years. A new and fancy one was launched in Istanbul just a few weeks ago. My secular liberal friend Orhan Kemal Cengiz, who pointed out to these things to me over lunch a few days ago, also said that he, as a fine diner, has a better time on the Ankara-Istanbul trains now. “They started to serve alcohol on the fast train,” he said, quite approvingly. “I am thankful to the ‘Islamist’ AK Party for that.”

Thousands of Turkish army officers stand before  ...

Thousands of Turkish army officers stand before the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, on Youth and Sports Day in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, May 19, 2010. Turkey is celebrating the 91st anniversary of the start of the War of Independence as Youth and Sports Day.? Read more » (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

Children wave flags with posters of Mustafa  Kemal ...

Children wave flags with posters of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, before visiting his mausoleum on Youth and Sports Day in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, May 19, 2010. Turkey is celebrating the 91st anniversary of the start of the War of Independence as Youth and Sports Day.? Read more »(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

Turkey’s linguistic graveyard

from Yahoo news
Turkey’s history as a corridor and a prize for migrating and trading peoples – whether nomads, refugees or conquering empires – has made it, in the words of etymologist Professor George Hewitt, a “linguistic treasure-trove”.

Framing Ataturk

from Istanbul Calling by Yigal Schleifer


Continuing with the movie theme of the previous post, I have a piece up on the Christian Science Monitor website that takes a look at some recent films about Ataturk and the controversy surrounding them. The debate over how to define Ataturk’s legacy goes to the core of the current ideological battles currently raging in Turkey, it appears to me. From my article:

Criticized Turkish minister creates anti-obscenity team for TV

from Hurriyet Dailynews
State Minister Responsible for Family Selma Aliye Kavaf has initiated the formation of a team to control ‘obscene scenes on TV,’ the daily Hürriyet reported Wednesday.

Statistics show a youthful Turkey about to grow up

from Hurriyet Dailynews by ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
Turkey’s young population, hailed as an advantage by proponents of its EU accession, may soon be a thing of the past due to a decline in the country’s birth rate. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s call for couples to have at least three children is criticized by academics, who say the government first needs to draft more comprehensive family policies

Too Many Obstacles for Youth Associations

from Bianet :: English
It is almost impossible to found an association for young people in Turkey. There are 614 youth associations, which amounts to a mere 0.7 percent of all Turkish associations. Young people can open “clubs” upon the approval of the Home Office, universities face prohibitions.
The group maNga from Turkey performs during a  ...

The group maNga from Turkey performs their song “We Could Be The Same” during a rehearsal for the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo May 19, 2010. Musical groups from 39 countries are competing in this year’s event with the finals to be held on May 29 in Oslo.? Read more » REUTERS/Bob Strong


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