The causes of selfie-related fatalities Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder The most common way to die from taking a selfie is falling from a heights, followed by drowning. From Priceonomics: How Snapchat’s Evolving, One Small Update at a Time (and Why You Need to Pay Attention) Social Media Today by Andrew Hutchinson Snapchat announced two significant updates last … Read more
Erdoğan transplants Turkey’s oldest olive tree for ‘green life expo’ Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has taken part in a ceremony to replant the country’s oldest olive tree, which was uprooted after 945 years, at the site of a “green life expo” in Antalya In Memoriam | Mustafa Vehbi Koç (1960 – 2016) Mavi Boncuk Mustafa Vehbi … Read more
Why Turkey’s government is threatening academic freedom washingtonpost.com – Jan 16 Turkey is making international news. And, unsurprisingly, the news is gloomy yet again. Emboldened by his party’s electoral victory in November, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has set out on a crusade against academics. After 1,128 Investigation against Academic Signing Peace Statement Bianet :: … Read more
Ukraine faces world’s first blackout caused by hackers The Next Web by Abhimanyu Ghoshal While 2015 was rife with news of hackers stealing data from governments, health insurers and adultery sites, it looks like targeting our energy infrastructure might be the next big thing in cyberattacks. Three regional power authorities in Ukraine were infected with malware … Read more
Religion has been causing conflict since 2000 years ago,anthropologists say ChristianToday This social tension caused by religion, however, is not a product of the modern world, according to a new study published on the journal “Current Anthropology.” In fact, researchers have concluded that religion has been causing conflict for over 2,000 Anthropologists overwhelmingly vote to … Read more
Turkish official confirms talks, understanding with Israel Israel and Turkey have reached a preliminary agreement to normalize relations, including the return of ambassadors to both countries, Reuters quoted an Israeli official as saying on Dec 17 ‘Defaming Erdogan’: Criminal complaint filed against Putin in Turkey RT Furthermore, Mahir Akkar, a suspect in the Ergenekon ‘coup plot’ … Read more
Obama backs Turkey, urges Ankara to reduce tensions with Russia U.S. President Barack Obama urged his Turkish counterpart on Dec. 1 to reduce tensions with Russia while stressing U.S. support for its NATO ally’s security Turkish exports decline more than 10 pct due to parity, geopolitical risks Turkey’s exports declined by 10.5 percent in November to $11.44 … Read more
Terror in France and ISIS’ Revolution: Anthropologists try to see the whole picture antropologi.info – anthropology in the news blog (draft, post in progress) More surveillance, more bombs, more border controls, less democracy, less freedom: Europe is reacting hysterically after the deadly terror attacks in Paris one week ago. How to make sense of what is … Read more
BDS, the AAA, and Academic Imperialism OPEN ANTHROPOLOGY by Maximilian Forte We Disagree to Agree Support for a particular cause can come from numerous sources and points of view, each representing different interests. Similarly, people can arrive at the site of a demonstration, united in protest against an injustice, having arrived there from many different routes … Read more
Reality check: Number of displaced Syrians in Europe AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (IN DEPTH) Very few of the 11.8 million Syrians who have fled their homes during the current conflict are now in Europe. Why EU guidelines on Israeli settlements are welcome EurActiv.com EU guidelines on the “indication of origin of goods from the territories occupied by Israel since … Read more
Gorgeous book of paper airplanes collected by anthropologist Harry Smith Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow Myths and Facts About the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions Savage Minds: Notes and Queries in Anthropology — A Group Blog by Jessica Winegar Anthropologists for the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions is pleased to extend its original series on this blog … Read more
Final Report: Task Force on AAA Engagement on Israel-Palestine American Anthropological Association by Anne Kelsey Read the full report. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Recent years have seen increasing pressure in the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and many other professional academic associations to discuss alleged Israeli violations of academic freedom and human rights, and to move toward sanctioning Israel. … Read more
MAIN FOCUS: Row over Syria policy | 30/09/2015 euro|topic The presidents of Russia and the United States met to discuss a policy on Syria at the start of the week. Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad remains the main bone of contention between the two leaders. According to some commentators Putin has pushed through his strategy of including … Read more
Anonymity, Ethnography, and Alice Goffman: Welcome, journalists Savage Minds: Notes and Queries in Anthropology I think I’ve written and thrown away three separate posts on the Alice Goffman debatetrying to find something to say that people will find interesting. I personally don’t find the case to be very interesting, or to speak to core issues of what ethnography is … Read more
Europe launches antitrust investigation into Amazon’s ebooks business The Next Web by Amanda Connolly The European Commission has launched a formal antitrust investigation into Amazons ebook business to determine if the company is abusing its powers. The investigation is going to hone in on Amazon’s contracts with publishers, Russian cybersecurity firm hacked BBC News | Europe | World … Read more