Erkan's academic interests

Erkan's live from the World Bank/ IMF meetings

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A live coverage from the inside and a post to be updated continously- updates just below the photo

A new turn in Erkan's Field Diary history. Receiving official invitation to press room...
A new turn in Erkan's Field Diary history. Receiving official invitation to press room...

The Meetings has an officially blog-style site for photos, videos and other informative stuff.

Information about the World Bank meetings and events

In the opening talk, Mr. Erdoğan also hinted at protests outside underlining the fact that global economic life is hard and protests are not totally unjustified. Protests in Taksim, very close to meeting center. I have now a post on protest roundup.  And all other media roundup on meetings updated in yet another post.

Glad to make it to the press room with his Lamb of God sweatshirt, unshaved face and hangover mood; not stopped by police for being a potential protester.
Policemen around were very polite maybe because of I did conform the image of an ordinary journalist. Private security guards are less polite by the way. Towards the evening, I had one or two occasions where I had to threaten back because of the latters’ rudeness. (But of course, policemen vs. protesters is another case)

AAA Photo Contest Extended!

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Photo Contest Deadline Extended

Due to popular demand, the deadline for submitting photos to the 2009 AAA Photo Contest has been extended to October 15. Use the online submission form to enter today.

Nelly Azavedo?s thousand little men Brazilian artist Nelly Azavedo had a very interesting action in Berlin. He made a thousand little men from the ice, and then left them to melt on the steps of Berlin?s Concert Hall.

@ haha.nu

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Google Wave- the new goody?

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It seems that Google offers us a new goody to play with.  I saw some Turkish tech bloggers are using the trial versions and they seem to be happy. Well, I am waiting its arrival. There also a round up follows on cybercultural stuff..

Google Wave closer to breaking

by Jennifer Lush

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for googlewave.jpgThe Google Wave is one step closer to breaking after the announcement that invitations would be sent to some 100,000 developers, business and university customers and first-time users to preview the service.

A ‘wave’, which is a browser-based tool that is ‘shared, live and in equal parts conversation and document’, has created a particular buzz amongst journalists who see the opportunities that combining email, instant messaging and real-time interaction, opens up. It could very well change the way journalists currently work.

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Web censorship non-stop in Turkey

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Erkan would like to thank the “system” whose elements include legal structures and its executioners, current government, complaining parents and other assholic conservative citizens, parts of music industry and pro-establishments zealots, who is behind the continuous and increasing web censorship in Turkey.

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Hülya Avşar and Ceylan Önkol; ending up in the same, Kurdish narrative…

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Hülya Avşar
Hülya Avşar

After some disappointing and unnecessary remarks, a popular culture icon, Hülya Avşar was interviewed in Milliyet and this ended up with an investigation.

Challenge for Infamous Prosecutor: BIA Quotes Avşar Interview
Bakırköy Public Prosecutor Ali Çakır’s investigation against Hülya Avşar and Devrim Sevimay has nothing to do with “justice”. This abuse of public power under the pretense of the “Kurdish Initiative” is nothing else but mobbing against the two women. We are protesting.

In the mean time, a scandal might be developing:

A Facebook group accusing military forces in the local area

“The family of a girl killed by a mortar shell fired from an unknown location overlooking the village of Şenlik in Diyarbakır province has asked how it can request an investigation into her death when there are no state authorities in the area…VIA

Diyarbakır Chief Prosecutor Durdu Kavak has said that two bomb experts are conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Ceylan Önkol in the village of Şenlik in Diyarbakır province following her family’s allegations that there were no state authorities in the area to provide assistance. VIA

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The ban itself sued, Petition campaign and web censorship in Turkish humor magazine covers.

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More than 6 thousand sites are banned in Turkey...
More than 6 thousand sites are banned in Turkey...

Academic asks Turkish court to overturn Myspace and Last.fm blocking decisions

Yaman Akdeniz, an Associate Professor of law at the Faculty of Law, Istanbul Bilgi University today (29 September, 2009) made an appeal to the Beyoğlu Criminal Court of Peace to overturn the blocking decision involving both myspace.com and Last.fm from Turkey. The blocking decision was enforced by the Turkish ISPs since Friday, 18 September, 2009 by the order of the Beyoğlu Chief Public Prosecutor?s Office (order no 2009/45 dated 26.06.2009).

Petition against Internet Censorship in Turkey here.

Cover page of Penguen magazine’s latest issue satirizes the ban.
and these are from the older covers that were related to previous bans…

Burqas and anthropologists

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France asks anthropologist for advice on burqa-ban

by Lorenz

France banned burqas in public schools in 2004. Now, a parliamentary commission is investigating a possible ban on burqas in public places and anthropology professor John Bowen was asked to testify on this matter, Student Life and New York Times report.

And older round of anthro news and unrelated images from the web:

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I want an e-reader!

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iRex Digital Reader 1000S
iRex Digital Reader 1000S

iRex has released a new e-reader. Last December I was too close to buy Amazon’s Kindle but because of Christmas time it was all sold out and I got back from US without much dreamed Kindle. Since then I haven’t been thinking about e-readers but a reader friendly e-reader will make my days, I know.

E-Readers: An eco-friendly way to secure the future of newspapers?

by Jennifer Lush

E-readers have had somewhat hesitant popularity to date. There is a clear interest in the developing technology, but steep price tags ($399 for a Sony Reader, $489 for a Kindle DX) have meant that they haven’t exactly taken off.

Notable readings on web-related issues:

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"Banners are from the Dinosaur Age"

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Kristian Hammerstad’s gallery of haunted and monster art has me shivering with delight. Kristian Hammerstad (via Street Anatomy) in Monstrous art This reminds me website banners (!)


Assoc. Prof. Yaman Akdeniz (Law School, Istanbul Bilgi University) is interviewed at BiaNet. He talks about the ban; which articles might be used to ban in Turkish legal system and he declares his hopelessness. I realized there that a Turkish Video Sharing site Akilli.Tv is also banned.

Access to Myspace and Last.fm blocked from Turkey

As of Friday, 18 September, 2009 access to popular social networks Myspace and Last.fm are blocked from Turkey. The blocking order is issued by the Beyoğlu Chief Public Prosecutor?s Office (order not 2009/45 dated 26.06.2009). It is suspected that both sites are blocked because of ?intellectual property infringements? following a request by Mu-yap, the Turkish Phonographic Industry Society. [Blog entry by Dr. Yaman Akdeniz – I will update this story as more information is made available]

turkeybans: MUYAP banned more than 1700 websites in Turkey for copyright reasons.

turkeybans: http://engelliweb.com/ here’s a list of blocked websites in turkey. 4195 and still counting.

turkeybans: newspapers talks about this meaningless ban. all they think about is turkey’s global image but freedom of speech.

Subversive sites?

by Fréderike Geerdink

Network site myspace.com has been closed down in Turkey. It?s not totally clear yet why, but it?s said it has to do with copyright laws being infringed. On myspace, a lot of music is shared among members, and it?s of course feasible that in the process copyrights are not always respected.

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Three Facebook Groups to Protest MySpace/LastFm ban- and more

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Last Update: 21 September 2009: 21:50

A twitter account gives updates on the ban and reactions: Turkey Bans.

Source: www.petitiononline.com
Unblock The Banned Websites In Turkey Petition, hosted at PetitionOnline.com

Özgür Uçkan writes extensively on web censorship in Turkey (all pieces in Turkish though)

Myspace, Lastfm, sansür, kültür ve “bir avuç insan”…

by Özgür Uçkan

“Türkiye’de internet sansürünün kısa tarihi… ve mümkün geleceği!
“Fransa, telifli içerik indirene ceza getiren HADOPI2 Yasası?nı kabul etti. Türkiye bu akımdan etkilenir mi?”

More ban’s in Turkey

by Internation Musing
Bt Arda Kutsal:

Access to MySpace and Last.fm is banned by Turkish court. We are currently not fully informed about the reason of the ban, but it may be due to music copyright violations. And again, this ban may be a consequence of a case filed by Turkish Union of Music Producers (MÜYAP) in order to protect music rights.
Turkish internet users can still reach both sites via OpenDNS. Also, you can reach last.fm by changing language settings to English, since the ban on last.fm is over the address lastfm.com.tr and only users with Turkish language selection are redirected.

As usual there hasn’t been a powerful reaction to the most recent web censorship case. However, I see a rising anger in Facebook status messages and emerging groups. The Groups all in Turkish and they are not tailored to activate masses yet. As of early September 21, here are the groups and their current number of members:

Myspace'e Erişimin Engellenmesini Protesto Ediyoruz !

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Erkan recently quoted in/ invited to….

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Unpacking my luggage…   Dear Erkan Saka, We would like to invite you to join us as a member of the press for the World Bank/International Monetary Fund 2009 Annual Meetings, to be held in early October in Istanbul. Each year, the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund meet … Read more

A few more words on the "Kurdish Opening"

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Well, Turkish political agenda is full of new openings and summer was not a vacation time. Alas, I was in a sort of vacation and thus missed blogging about these openings (and crises, of course).

Brief ideas on the Kurdish opening:

1) High officials in the Turkish army backs the gov’t move. Without that backing, I do not believe AKP would be courageos enough to declare the move.

2) In the last elections, AKP realized that there is no way it can win hearts of CHP voting masses in Western, and Southern parts of Anatolia. Plus, despite the dose of rising nationalism, AKP lost votes to nationalist MHP in Central Anatolian towns. On the other hand, in Kurdish lands, AKP has a real chance. This opening may win some extra votes. This opening might be a "revenge" against nationalist Turks.

3) Nationalist reactions stayed at a ridiculous level. MHP leader’s too angry rhetoric reaches to absurdity instead of substantive opposition. CHP is already in an absurd situation since it now rejects what it had proposed as solution to Kurdish crisis decades ago…

Turkish army officers salute flag-covered coffin of Orhan Kilic, ...
Turkish army officers salute flag-covered coffin of Orhan Kilic, one of nine Turkish soldiers killed by Kurdish rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK at the Turkey-Iraq border two days ago, during a funeral service at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009.
(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

But of course, those opposing the opening, were quick to manipulate the funeral of killed Turkish soldiers… No surprise; hawks of both sides do not like an opening.

In the mean time, another opening comes with the Armenian side. And yet another comes with the EU as the wise men talk. Unfortunately, the gov’t scores miserably against the media. Even I am getting angry with gov’t moves against the Doğan Media Group. All about these can be found below…

 

Between social integration and political dissociation: Turkey’s Kurdish issue perception (1) by TAHA ÖZHAN

On Sept. 11, Armenian massacres, butterflies, the caliphate and the EU

 

 

 

 by ORHAN KEMAL CENGİZ

Turkey hopeful on Armenia border

Turkey hopes to open its border with Armenia by the end of the year after the two countries announced they would sign accords to help end a century of hostility

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Latest product from Rice Anthro Tradition

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I got my copy of Fieldwork Is Not What It Used to Be: Learning Anthropology’s Method in a Time of Transition (by James D. Faubion, George E. Marcus, and Michael M. J. Fischer) and began to read recently. I am proud to know all contributors to this volume and I am happy to be part of this great circle of … Read more

Blogosphere research from the Berkman Center Internet & Democracy project

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First, the extensive study of the Persian blogosphere which the project released last year, Mapping Iran’s Online Public, has been supplemented by an interactive interface for exploring an updated blogosphere map. This updated map includes translations of a small sampling of representative blog posts and provides a handy visual companion to the study. Links: * … Read more

"Imponderabilia – new international anthropology student journal

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Imponderabilia – new international anthropology student journal

By Lorenz

screenshot

Wow! A new anthropology journal! Made by students worldwide. Imponderabilia is it called, and it is “the product of our love of, and frustration with, anthropology":

The journal tries to overcome, erode, undermine and blur the boundaries between institutions and disciplines, between theory and practice and between undergraduates and postgraduates. We envision a space where students can share their research and exchange their views, criticisms and reflections on anthropology through articles, interviews, photography and other creative methods………………….

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