Bülent Arınç proved himself several times to have no weight against Erdoğan’s hegemony. So his latest political trolling means: Erdoğan is now aiming for Turkish nationalist votes and the remaining AKP gov’t intending to maintain their Kurdish voter base. I so much admire their mastery of electoral tactics. They use regional mutually exclusive tactics and they mostly win… … Read more
Eyes on Diyarbakır for PKK leader Öcalan’s key Kurdish bid message All eyes will be on Diyarbakır on March 21, where a letter from the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, will be read during Nevruz festivities, marking the arrival of spring Kurdish leader to reveal peace plan BBC News | Europe … Read more
Most of web users may be aware of but Friendfeed had a real role in Turkish cybersphere. I have followed many power users there. I have learnt a lot. I wonder where this bunch of power users will migrate. They already have Twitter accounts but I guess it is never the same thing… Facebook is killing … Read more
Gendarmerie suppresses protests against power plant construction with tear gas in northern Turkey ****** Why is there a peace process if there is no Kurdish question, HDP asks Erdoğan HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş has criticized President Erdoğan for his recent statement denying the existence of a Kurdish problem in Turkey What more do Kurds want, Erdoğan asks w … Read more
Why we occupy: Dutch universities at the crossroads open Democracy News Analysis – by Enzo Rossi, Johan Hartle, Robin Celikates and Nicholas Vrousalis The Netherlands, a mere 10 years behind the UK, seems eager to catch up. Twin pressures of authoritarianism from above and neoliberalism from below make it necessary to develop the democratic alternative put … Read more
2015 AAA Leadership Fellows Program American Anthropological Association The AAA Leadership Fellows Program provides a unique opportunity for anthropologists early in their careers to learn about leadership opportunities within the association. Each year a group of three to five fellows will be paired with a mentor chosen from among AAA leadership. Mentors are available to fellows … Read more
Police Points Rifles Towards Civilians During Berkin Elvan Protests Bianet :: English Police intervened a group in Istanbul’s Okmeydanı district who started a memorial march for Berkin Elvan, a 15 year old Gezi protestor who died last year after 269 days of comatose. Check out more of Berkin Elvan imagery in my Storify collection. Gezi victim remembered … Read more
Stakeholder Reactions to Öcalan’s 10 Measures to Resolution Bianet :: English Several stakeholders of Turkey’s resolution process reacted to PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan called for a PKK congress in spring to decide on quitting arms and 10 measures. Here is a compilation by bianet English. Interior minister addresses intelligence service for leaking Oslo talks Interior Minister Efkan … Read more
This is in reaction to Mashable headline linked below. The Mashable author is surprised that Erdoğan was critical of violence against women but when you deconstruct his arguments, one can see that he is one of the most vocal critic of modern women rights. Erdoğan was critical of rape and murder of Özgecan Aslan but during the same period … Read more
New rules governing drone journalism are on the way — and there’s reason to be optimistic Nieman Journalism Lab by Matt Waite Today we got our first real look into what the FAA intends to do about regulating drones in U.S. airspace — and frankly, it’s surprisingly flexible and permissive given what the agency has required … Read more
AKP boasts about its philosophy of municipal administration and we see it deteriorates day by day. Istanbul’s traffic and infrastructure has entered a stage of decline after successful first years under AKP rule.. Istanbul paralyzed due to snowfall as 841 traffic accidents reported Hurriyet Daily News A new wave of cold air and snowfall has hit … Read more
NYT columnist David Carr dead at 58 David Carr, a New York Times media critic who was known for sharp wit and blunt style and overcame drug addiction to become one of America’s most respected journalists, died Thursday at age 58. David Carr’s First Big Scoop Slate Articles by Leon Neyfakh David Carr was in his … Read more
Iceland’s pagans reach new height with first temple BBC News | Europe | World Edition Iceland’s Asatru movement builds first temple Is there reason to hope for Minsk II? open Democracy News Analysis – by Michael Emerson The last Minsk agreement on eastern Ukraine failed to bring peace. The latest looks similar—but the context has changed. … Read more
Boycott of schools begins across Turkey A boycott of schools was launched on Feb. 13 upon a call from the Eğitim-Sen teachers’ union and a number of Alevi associations to protest the government’s recent education system implementations, including on compulsory religion classes. Dozens detained around Turkey in school boycott Dozens were detained around Turkey on Feb 13 … Read more
Detained suspect ratio highest in Turkey: Council of Europe report Turkey is the country with the highest rate of arrested suspects in Europe, with almost one-third of inmates in the country still awaiting their final verdict, according to a Council of Europe report released on Feb. 11 Turkish courts being turned into ‘revenge’ instruments says outgoing top … Read more