Tag Archives | Turkey

Interview With American Living In Turkey: ‘People Are Still Very Energized’

By David Seaman on June 4, 2013 in News 0

I spoke earlier today with “Natasha,” an American living in Istanbul, Turkey, to get her take on the recent wave of massive protests throughout Turkey — I wanted to know what initially sparked the protests, how the riot police have responded, and what the average Turk thinks of all this.

The protesting in Turkey “isn’t like the Arab Spring,” in her view, and instead reflects focused anger and disappointment over a particular politician, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan… rather than some kind of sweeping societal change.

Also, although the economic situation in Turkey sounds tough for young people, it honestly doesn’t sound much worse than the job climate that recent university graduates here in the United States face.

I asked her if she felt the protests were wrapping up at this point. “I don’t think it’s dying down at all… people are still very energized,” she replied.

Listen to our whole interview right here, she also speaks about Turkish anger over their media’s lack of coverage — and the media’s tendency to side with police forces’ official story, rather than the protesters:

… Read the rest

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Sharing a Story from My Father: In Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide

By salviad on April 24, 2013 in News 0

via chycho

I. Introduction

Growing up I was always reminded of the Armenian genocide, of my ancestral history. It was so normal to hear the elders talk about it that it didn’t really faze me, not until I wrote a research paper on it in university. That’s when it hit me, and it was devastating.

It became real when I read documented accounts of what had happened and saw photos of the atrocities. It became real when I came across a historical novel detailing parts of what had transpired. The deportations, the concentration camps, the death marches, the massacres; it all became real when I realized that it wasn’t just stories my elders were sharing; it was what they lived through. It was their life story.

I was confused at first. I couldn’t grasp it. I was wounded. Grief, anger, and frustration took over. I couldn’t focus on anything else for quite some time.… Read the rest

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Doctors In Turkey Clinically Diagnose Man As Real-Life Vampire

By JacobSloan on February 11, 2013 in News 3

Live Science reports on a horrifying case of multiple personality disorder:

Doctors in Turkey have described what they claim to be a real-life vampire with multiple personalities and an addiction to drinking blood. The case study was published last fall.

The 23-year-old apparently started out slicing his own arms, chest and belly with razor blades, letting the blood drip into a cup so he could drink it. But when he experienced compulsions to drink blood “as urgent as breathing,” he started turning to other sources, the doctors said. The man was arrested several times after stabbing and biting others to collect and drink their blood. He apparently even got his father to get him bags from blood banks.

“Possibly due to ‘switching’ to another personality state, he was losing track during the ‘bloody’ events, did not care who the victim was anymore, and remained amnesic to this part of his act,” the report said.

… Read the rest

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Woman Shoots and Beheads Serial Rapist

By Jin_TheNinja on September 5, 2012 in News 91

Picture: Caravaggio (PD)

Via Daily Bhaksar

Yalvac (Turkey): A woman heavily pregnant with the child of her rapist, killed the perpetrator and left his severed head in the local village square, Sun reported.

The woman five-months pregnant with the rapist’s child has been pleading with authorities to let her have an abortion—although the law prohibits any woman beyond ten-weeks pregnant from taking such an action.

Sun reported that when police arrested her in the south-western village of Yalvac she told them that the head was of the one who ‘toyed with her honour.’

Womens’ groups in Turkey have praised the mother of two as a heroine after it emerged she was being blackmailed by her attacker.

Read more at Daily Bhaksar.… Read the rest

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Why is Hitler Selling Shampoo on Turkish TV? (Video)

By bluemana on March 28, 2012 in News 12

Reports Ayla Jean Yackley on Reuters:

A Turkish shampoo commercial featuring an enraged Adolf Hitler is a “huge insult to human rights” and should be withdrawn, leaders of the country’s Jewish community said on Monday. The 13-second television spot for Biomen shampoo shows black-and-white archival footage of the Nazi leader at a political rally. Dubbed in Turkish, he shouts that men should not use women’s shampoo.

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Israel And Turkey, Friends No More

By Danny Schechter on September 19, 2011 in News 10

Istanbul, Turkey: Let me begin with shvitz, a Yiddish term I believe that refers to special baths.

When the hotel I was staying at in Istanbul advertised that guests were welcome to enjoy the Turkish Bath in their basement, I took them up on it. There were two other blondish guys in their birthday suits in the small room sweltering in the small room when I got there. They were drinking beer and conversing in a strange language I later identified as Swedish.

I was in town to speak at a session on Internet freedom at the 17^th International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA 2011) at Sabanci Center. They were there, as I slowly learned as engineers loaned out to the America’s Westinghouse Corporation to build some nuclear plants in Turkey. Apparently, they were to have been built by the Tokyo Electric company that now has a nuclear disaster of their own on their hands.… Read the rest

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Turkey’s Military Chiefs ‘Resign’

By Pelliciari on July 29, 2011 in News 5

Photo: ozgurmulazimoglu (CC)

With allegations of military officials, academics, politicians and many others campaigning to overthrow the government, over 400 people are estimated to be brought to trial. The head of the Turkish armed forces and other military officials have decided to resign due to extending circumstances. Al Jazeera reports:

General Isik Kosaner, the head of the Turkish armed forces, has quit along with the heads of the ground, naval and air forces.

The country’s state-run Anatolia news agency said the military chiefs have asked to leave their posts because of tensions with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the recently re-elected prime minister.

Antolia reported Kosaner as resigning “as he saw it as necessary”.

This is the first time so many top commanders in Turkey have resigned at once.

Al Jazeera Turk’s Elif Ural said while there has been no official comments yet, the prime minister will be releasing a written statement within the next hour or two.

… Read the rest

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Turkey’s Museum Of Hair

By JacobSloan on April 15, 2011 in News 2

Oddity Central examines one of the planet’s most disturbing “museums,” The Hair Museum in Avanos, Turkey. Every inch of every surface is covered in human hair, culled from tens of thousands of women and tagged and labeled. Great fun for the whole family!

The Hair Museum of Avanos, in Cappadocia, is definitely a must-see if you’re into bizarre tourist spots.

Ever since 3000 BC, Avanos has been known for its high quality earthenware, made from the mineral-rich mud of the Red River, but in recent years, the town has mostly been mentioned in relation to a unique hair museum created by skilled Turkish potter Chez Galip. The unusual establishment, located under Galip’s pottery shop, is filled with hair samples from over 16,000 women. The walls, ceiling, and all other surfaces, except the floor, are covered with locks of hair from the different women who have visited this place, and pieces of paper with addresses on them.

… Read the rest

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An Archaeological Dig in Turkey is Reshaping Human History

By phunkychic666 on February 22, 2010 in News 4

Patrick Symmes writes on Newsweek:

A temple complex in Turkey that predates even the pyramids is rewriting the story of human evolution.

They call it potbelly hill, after the soft, round contour of this final lookout in southeastern Turkey. To the north are forested mountains. East of the hill lies the biblical plain of Harran, and to the south is the Syrian border, visible 20 miles away, pointing toward the ancient lands of Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent, the region that gave rise to human civilization. And under our feet, according to archeologist Klaus Schmidt, are the stones that mark the spot — the exact spot — where humans began that ascent.

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Sheep Gives Birth To Human-Faced Lamb

By phunkychic666 on January 17, 2010 in News 8

lamb or human? From Australia’s dailytelegraph.com:

A sheep gave birth to a dead lamb with a human-like face. The lamb was born in a village not far from the city of Izmir, Turkey.

Erhan Elibol, a vet, performed a caesarean on the animal to take the lamb out, but was horrified to see that the features of the lamb’s snout bore a striking resemblance to a human face.

“I’ve seen mutations with cows and sheep before. I’ve seen a one-eyed calf, a two-headed calf, a five-legged calf. But when I saw this youngster I could not believe my eyes. His mother could not deliver him so I had to help the animal,” the 29-year-old veterinary said.

The lamb’s head had human features on – the eyes, the nose and the mouth – only the ears were those of a sheep.

Vets said that the rare mutation most likely occurred as a result of improper mutation since the fodder for the lamb’s mother was abundant with vitamin A, CNNTurk.com reports.

… Read the rest

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