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Declaration against web censorship in Turkey (in Turkish)

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Declaration is first announced in these addresses: (to sign declaration personally click here: http://www.sansursuzinternet.org.tr/) Alternatif Bilişim Özgür Interent Cyber Rights Temel Hak ve Özgürlükler Engellenemez 1. Internet kullanıcılarının düşünce özgürlüğü ve bilgiye erişim hakkı engellenemez. 2. Türkiye?de bireylerin, kurumların, ve şirketlerin bilişim alt yapılarını istedikleri şekilde oluşturmaları ve istedikleri servislerden yararlanmaları engellenemez. Sansür ülke ekonomisine … Read more

Erkan recommends: Watch masters’ last movies: The White Ribbon, Antichrist

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The White Ribbon (2009)

Haneke’s White Ribbon is more humane than many of his previous movies.  Maintains tension to the end, cinematographically perfect, as usual:)

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Antichrist (2009)

The first word to use after watching it is “excuriating”. It is just too challenging. I warn you:)

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Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) ahahahah Michael Moore is probably a pain in the ass for the Republicans. I felt like he skillfully skipped corporate relations in the Clinton era and continued to hit Bush period. Well, compared to Bush period all others are innocent of course. After all they have done, and no punishment for them… maybe voters just deserve what happened…

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PKK’s latest terror campaign might be the end of Kurdish gains

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Once I stated that Turkish State have lost Kurds after the closure of DTP. Kurdish opening etc progressed slowly but there had been gains. 30 years ago, you could not utter the word “Kurdish” publicly in this country. Now there is a state TV channel in Kurdish. I don’t claim these are enough but such a thorny issue cannot be solved easily. And Kurdish national consciousness has been gaining ground, more and more public spaces for Kurdishness appeared in the last year. However, organized Kurdish response to politics is to step up terroristic activities. Unfortunately not only the guerilla movement but its political dimension, many leaders of BDP explicitly support terrorist activities. Latest wave of attacks are unbearable. It is highly possible that the Turkish State may start an anti-terror campaign in unprecedented scales with an unforeseen popular support…

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19 July: A major meeting against web censorship

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Press release here. Location: Kadir Has Üniversitesi Cibali Kampüsü Date: 19 Haziran 2010 Cumartesi Time: 13:00 – 17:00 An FF discussion here. Turkish Green Party’s anti-web censorship statement here. Internet Sansürüne Karşı Ortak Platform Toplantısı from Sansüre Sansür by miocaro 19 Haziran 2010 tarihinde, Kadir Has Üniversitesinde gerçekleştirilecek olan internet sansürü konulu toplantı pek çok … Read more

2010 World Cup begins. Can Erol to post for Erkan’s Field Diary

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Can Erol, a former student of mine, and a graduate student at Bilgi Cultural Studies program accepted my offer to be a guest author. He will be writing about World Cup 2010. His opening follows, which is followed by my roundup: Opening Day for World Cup 2010 World Cup 2010 starts today in South Africa. … Read more

Foreign policy roundup: Turkey is not a piece of cake anymore

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I have stated several times that Turkey has started a new foreign policy which is riskier but more attractive than the old obedient silent ally policy. I sincerely wish for its success.  EU hesitancy certainly helped the change. Before this new line of policy started, many Turks had already lost hope in the EU front. It is not easy for a nation to wait for more than 50 years for a membership. It is a great humiliation and Turkey is not the only reason for that.

Current Turkish leaders’ Islamic origins certainly gave them the courage to continue. Even if previous leaders thought to have more assertive foreign policy, that hardcore secularist line had little ties with the public but dependent on Western powers in terms of lifestyles and ideological background, social capital etc.

“Moving Eastward” is a mistaken thinking. I believe new FP is an attempt of neo-Ottomanism. I believe Turkish elites are trying to gather power from Middle East to negotiate in better terms with the major Western policy makers…

and for the critics of being isolated, was Turkey ever not isolated? always in fight with her neighbours, dependent on mostly US to survive. Is that being not isolated?

In the mean time, with the existing leaders in both countries Israel and Turkey relations are doomed to end and US-Turkey relations will be worse… US Foreign Policy Establishment is too conservative to change and has forgotten diplomacy for ages and doesn’t want to see that being a superior war machine is not enough, something proved hundreds of times…

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Prof. Ronen Shamir: An open letter from Israel to friends and colleagues in Turkey

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June 4th 2010 [43 years of occupation] An open letter from Israel to friends and colleagues in Turkey It is with great worry and sadness that I am witnessing the deteriorating relationship between Turkey and Israel. It is with horror and pain that I follow the unfolding dangerous betrayal of Israel’s own good by its … Read more

Heroes are back.

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Eight Turks, one US citizen shot dead in Israeli attack to aid ship, report says from Hurriyet Dailynews Eight Turks and a US national of Turkish origin were among the nine dead in an Israeli raid on Gaza-bound aid ships, Anatolia news agency reported. (UPDATED) More photos here. Turkey emerges as Middle East leader from … Read more

IHH answers: Was the flotilla carrying anything other than humanitarian aid cargo?

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IHH (İnsani Yardım Vakfı) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Official sites:
Gaza Flotilla

IHH site.

Was the flotilla carrying anything other than humanitarian aid cargo?

No. The ships are carrying humanitarian aid only. The flotilla will deliver things like medical aid, food, clothing items, prefabricated homes, children?s playgrounds, stationery items, iron bars, cement. There is not even a razor, knife or jackknife onboard.

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I don’t think Israel* will get away with this massacre, not this time…

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* I previously used “Zionist entity” just to state my anger by using the Islamic resistance rhetoric but a German friend of mine sort of persuaded me about possible anti-Semitic connotations and I now decide to switch back to normal coverage. Wikipedia entry on Zionist Entity does not explicitly imply anti-Semitic usage of the term … Read more

Erkan has his first book published!

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Blaming Others This is basically my master thesis. I had finished this just before i flew to Houston to start my PhD. In a more traditional sense this is much more ethnographic than my dissertation. When I have a look after so many years, I am really proud of with what I did in this … Read more

Turks at Twitter: #Recep Bey, @notredamedesion @ahmethc @cbabdullahgul- Introducing Turkish Cybersphere (9)

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New CHP leader’s addressing of PM Erdoğan as “Recep Bey” became a Twitter phenomena a few days ago (The Istanbulian: What Is Recep Bey?) AKP members responded by setting up a website called Recep Bey (http://www.recepbey.com/) and began striking back. In the mean time, Kılıçdaroğu gained quite a number of fans at Facebook (Turkish opposition … Read more

Erkan recommends: Vavien, Devrim Arabaları, In the Loop

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A nice Vavien post here.

I have become an Engin Günaydın fan since I recognized him at Avrupa Yakası sit-com. In fact he was already known with his acting before among many TV watchers. What he does now is he embarks on script writing and adds more talents to his career. There are many vulgar Turkish comedy films around in recent years. This is not a comedy per se but adds some drama and thriller with intelligence (reminding early Fargo Brother movies).

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IMDB plot summary:
In the years of pulse, Turkey was unable to produce its own cars. But Pasha believed that Turkish people can produce their own cars so he ordered 2 cars. Gunduz and engineers with him must produce 2 cars in only 130 days!

I am not sure about the cinematic quality but this movie have chosen such a heart-breaking topic. It is a great work of art that represents how idealist Republican ideals were killed off by the Republican bureaucracy in Turkey. Naivete of early Turkish aspirations…

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In the Loop reminds me Wag the Dog slightly in case of media manipulation and it can also be listed among the movies that criticize how masses were manipulated in the start of Iraqi invasion…

A British style foul-mouthed comedy that must not be missed.

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Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu emerges as the new CHP leader

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After Baykal’s resignation, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who got a nationwide fame during his candidacy for Istanbul municipality elections, emerged as the most possible CHP leaders. It seems that Mr. Baykal was hoping for a comeback but after yesterday’s developments within CHP circles, Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu, he is gone for good. Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu proved himself a capable polemicist … Read more

Bursaspor becomes the Turkish Super League champion, the fifth team ever winning the title…

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an open thread… Bursaspor in Wikipedia (Turkish) Official Website (Turkish) Official Online Television Channel (Turkish) A Fansite Web Page (English) Bursaspor News in English (Turkish) Bursaspor Stats Database (Turkish) The famous fan group of Bursaspor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5MHTIvm1vs A TV scene giving the news of championship… Frustrated FB fans are reported to cause clashes… Saraçoğlu burning. more … Read more