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Who will stop the Edirne lynchers?

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In the last two weeks, there have been at least three incidents of communal lynching attempts in Turkey. Lynchers are frustrated and but coward people. They act only after they feel they will not be punished. Security forces in these incidents prove the theory that they are late to react… Today same group of lynchers … Read more

T. Boellstorff: Coming of Age in Second Life

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I recently finished reading Tom Boellstorff’s Coming of Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually Human. As an anthropologist Prof. Boellstroff added another site to the Archive of anthropology. It surely became a must-read in the growing anthropological literature on cybercultures. My major concern is what he repeatedly insists (also in the quotation … Read more

Deserved buzz for Flashforward

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Just finished watching the first 10 episodes of Flashforward. A Serial that got quite a buzz around me. Most of the people got an interest in it because of its relatedness (thru producers and casting) to the TV Series Lost. Well, Lost remains to be one of my all time TV series favorite. Flashforward remains … Read more

A documentary on Hrant Dink

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[links updated] A documentary by Ümit Kıvanç. “Justice for Hrant Dink” Check out the channel for Dink: vimeo.com/channels/hrantdink And more info about the documentary here.

Erkan’s collection of year lists: 2007-2010

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Update: 3 Jan 2010 Some links may not work. 2007 2008 2009 2010 caricaturque has a great collection of New year greeting e-cards: Greeting e-cards arrived on the New Year’s Eve and more here New Year 2010 greeting e-cards most recently received From the anthro world: Happy New Year with lists!

Erkan’s Field Diary wishes a happy 2010…

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http://www.softskull.com/news/HAPPY%20NEW%20YEAR!!!%20copy.jpg
VIA

Special days like New Year’s Eve make me so tense. Social pressure. Such alienation, such loneliness. It all comes back to Durkheim’s arguments in Suicide. I hope it passes very quickly. As a man of ordinary life and finding bliss in it, it is very hard to go through these days. Yesterday we had a Faculty happy new year cocktail. I found refuge in my office and out of frustration, I did this silly thing of collecting interesting happy new year images in the web while checking my emails and finding tens of  new year greetings. Yes, I have my own resolutions and plans and hopeful indeed but of course happiness and peace of mind are not something planned to happen… In this sunny Istanbul afternoon, I meet with Çetin and other friends to make the final decision on Milli İstirahat’s template. We re-launch our old fanzine as a a web-zine any time now. This might make me happy.

http://oolongiv.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/happynewyear-2000.jpg
VIA

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Ertuğrul Özkök resigns.

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update: 05 Jan 2010 (Aydın Doğan is gone, too) Probably one of the most reviled Turkish journalist, Ertuğrul Özkök resigned from his position as the Chief Editor of Hürriyet. His Wikipedia portrayal is ironic: Ertuğrul Özkök is a Turkish journalist and a daily columnist, currently the editorial writer for Hürriyet, a daily newspaper published in … Read more

Enver Aydemir needs help

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“conscientious objector Enver Aydemir is in military prison under torture” Enver Aydemir, Turkey’s first conscientious objector based on religious reasons, has been arrested and sent to a military prison. Military prisons are already notarious places and it is very likely that Mr. Aydemir is exposed to torture… Bianet news in Turkish. A Facebook support group … Read more

Rakı industry strikes back, Rakı viral ads in the net

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Since advertising of alcoholic beverages are very limited, more video ads are circulating thru social media. Here is the latest one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf-IyC-zKNw

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Turkey’s (another) shame

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Elected Kurdish mayors are handcuffed while taken to the court. That was not necessary. Probably it is the work of an officious local police chief….

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And Muslim Turks make peace with Christmas

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My older sister loves all kinds of decorations on special days. This was always an annoyment for the rest of kids in the family. Now she is married and I hear that she takes her hobby to a new level.  They have a Christmas tree and had worked on decorating it. Of course, they do this to welcome the new year. Christmas and new year practices are blended in many Turkish minds into new year celebrations. Surprisingly enough, my sister always criticises me for consuming alcohol. She is not veiled at all but she is quite a practicing religion woman and I am frequently subject to her anger that I am not a good Muslim. Funny.

Santa movie spotlights Turkey’s east-west divide
CNN
ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) — It may be the first modern Christmas movie ever made for audiences in Turkey, a mostly Muslim country that does not celebrate

EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight – Turkey: Istanbul Gets in the Christmas Spirit

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Avatar, the movie

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last updated: 06 March 2010 On a stormy Sunday night, I rushed back to Mecidiyeköy to meet with Özgür and watch Avatar. The film started at 21 and at 20 I was still Bahçelievler and my car’s alarm system was suddenly broke. I and dad disabled the alarm system so I could drive and be … Read more

Community news: Ömer Heval is 32 days old today.

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32 days ago, my dearest friend Çetin became a father. The parents named the new born, Ömer Heval. (Heval is comrade/friend in Kurdish). It was a cesarian birth. So we could meet on time to wait for the new arrival:) So far so good. Mum is good, son is healthy. Today, Ömer accompanied us to … Read more

Mavi Boncuk: EU and "ahde vefa" [pacta sunt servanda]

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EU and “ahde vefa”

The recommendation adopted by the European Commission on July 15 2009 allows the citizens of Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia with biometric passports to enter the Schengen area visa-free from January 2010
Mavi Boncuk |

Pacta sunt servanda L./Ahde vefa TR /agreements must be kept ENG., is a basic principle of civil law and of international law.

( EU must explain this part to Turkey)

In its most common sense, the principle refers to private contracts, stressing that contained clauses are law between the parties, and implies that non-fulfilment of respective obligations is a breach of the pact. The general principle of correct behaviour in commercial praxis ? and implies the bona fide ? is a requirement for the efficacy of the whole system, so the eventual disorder is sometimes punished by the law of some systems even without any direct penalty incurred by any of the parties.

EU Places Early Member Candidates at Head of Line, Snubbing Turkey

from Kamil Pasha by Jenny White

The EU lifted visa restrictions Saturday for citizens from Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro, even though these are in the early stages of the EU membership process, while not extending this Schengen privilege to Turkey, which began accession talks in 2005 and has opened 11 out of 35 chapters in its membership negotiations. Turkey protested and has asked to be included in the Schengen regime, pointing out that, of the Balkan states affected, only Macedonia has attained the status of EU candidate. Serbia has yet to submit a formal application and its entry has been stalled due to its failure to arrest ex-Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic, who has been charged with war crimes in the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslims at Srebrenica and the siege of Sarajevo.

Trust in EU drops in Turkey: Survey [ WORLD BULLETIN- TURKEY NEWS, WORLD NEWS ]

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Thus spake Öcalan, DTP MEPs shall not resign!

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So DTP MPs decided not to resign because PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan said it was not all right. Some dailies quoted peaceful messages from Mr. Öcalan today. I wonder what he was thinking in the last two months. Because he also contributed by his statements sabotage of Democratic Initiative that lead to the closure of DTP. Now he talks again about peace. Pro-Kurdish politics is as dirty as Turkish Nationalist politics. That’s certain…