Conferderacy of Morons: The New Thread

[hitite]

Read the bold

http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=143584

Reading Turks’ minds through ‘Valley’

Experts agree that TV series “Valley of the Wolves,” despite some redeeming qualities, sets a bad example for teenagers with frequent violence and the lack of any demonstration of post-crime remorse....

I am not a big fan of TV series but somehow I too am a fan of this one. The reason I'm watching more and more of it is because of "Muro", total crack up, the PKK Istanbul local president and because of the the pschotic Büyük Iskender (Alexander the Great) who is the current head of the bad guys and acts like he created god. There is a lot of humour lately in the series.

Another reason a lot of people watch it is because it somehow tries to explain the "underlying facts" of recent or current events. So since a lot has happened after the season finale with all this Ergenekon, bombings and AKP shutdowns they will not need to be very creative to write the new seasons script.

[Joseph]

phantom, here's more:

Today.Az » Politics » Oqtay Atakhan: "Allakhshukur Pashazade has never incited hatred and animosity to Armenians among Azerbaijanis"

23 July 2008 [12:30] - Today.Az



"I am far from defending Allahshukur Pashazade, but I think he meant "genetic memory", which is better known as a "memory of blood" and merely as blood in the abbreviated form", said head of the Humanistic party of Azerbaijan, commenting on the statement of head of the Caucasus Muslems Department, who said "falsehood and treason is in Armenians' blood".

He noted that the blood of Hayes, who appropriated our ancient name "ar-men" does not differ from blood of any other nation and probably, the blood of Hayes was transfused to Azerbaijanis and Azerbaijani to Hayes, even more often than any other blood, as we were not only neighbors, but we lived together both in the Azerbaijan SSR and Armenia SSR.

"But can anyone reject that indeed the genetic memory of Hayes, who have been breeding hatred and animosity towards Azerbaijanis, on whose lands they found refuge and happy habitat and then attained their "statehood", can not evade treason, cruel treason, which has turned into the dominant of this genetic memory? No, this is true, said Atakhan, adding he thinks Pashazade meant that.

He noted that Pashazade was interpreted wrongly or he allowed his being wrongly interpreted.

"In both cases, these are shortcomings, which can be used by our enemies against us", said Atakhan.

/Day.Az/

https://www.armenianreporteronline.com

Washington briefing
by Yelena Osipova and
Emil Sanamyan

Azerbaijan shares its
brand of tolerance with
the L.A. Museum of
Tolerance...

“Falsehood and treason run through Armenians’ blood,” Azerbaijan’s Muslim leader informed Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean
of the Simon Wiesenthal Center with its Los Angeles–based Mu-
seum of Tolerance, according to an Azeri-Press Agency report cited by
Day.az on July 22.

During a meeting with the vis- iting rabbi, Sheikh-ul-Islam Haji
Allahshukur Pasha-zade report- edly added, “They ate our bread, but
spoke against us while leaving,” in a possible reference to hundreds of
thousands of Armenian refugees expelled from Azerbaijan.

Two years ago, Mr. Pasha-zade called on Azerbaijanis to be ready for “jihad” (a holy war) against Armenians. Rabbi Cooper reportedly de-
scribed Azerbaijan as “a toler- ant country, where everyone can practice his religion without any restrictions,” in a Day.az interview published the next day. He pointed, in particular, to the
presence of the Jewish community in Baku.

Rabbi Cooper went on to say that Azerbaijan should do more
to “inform the US community in details about their country and es-
pecially about [the Karabakh] conflict. The United States are mostly
well informed about the ‘genocide of Armenians.’ It would be good if
Azerbaijanis held work for informing Americans about the Armenian-
Azerbaijani conflict.” Azerbaijan’s government and the country’s news outlets are known for frequently distorting comments by foreign visitors. The Ar-menian Reporter requested a clarification from the Wiesenthal Center,
which could not be provided as of
press time because Rabbi Cooper
was traveling.

[Joseph]

Turks covering for genocidal Sudanese regime

http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=113129

Not a genocide, a 'tragedy'in Sudan

Wednesday, August 20, 2008


Sudan's president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, whose visit to Turkey raised controversy, says his administration was not committing atrocities, adding that foreign powers had a role to play in the situation. As a response Turkish President Abdullah Gül says that if the problems were solved than there would not be any room left for provocations

BARÇIN YİNANÇ
ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News

Sudan's president, who was charged last week with masterminding a campaign of rape and genocide in Darfur, denied yesterday his responsibility for the atrocities in a meeting with President Abdullah Gül.

Omar Hassan al-Bashir came to Istanbul to attend the Turkey Africa Cooperation Summit that took place yesterday. He was one of the six heads of state to attend the meeting, where 50 countries were represented. Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held meetings with the representatives of the African countries on the sidelines of the summit. No doubt, one of the most important meetings took place between al-Bashir and Gül. The latter avoided using terms like “genocide” or “atrocities,” describing the situation in Darfur as “a tragedy.”

“Whatever its race, language or religion, the pain suffered by anyone in the region makes us sad,” Gül told his Sudanese counterpart, according to sources close to the president's office. “The pain has to stop and everyone has to spend an effort for this,” he added. "Black or white, Muslim or Christian, it doesn't even matter. One single life is important. You cannot expect the whole world to remain indifferent to what happens in Africa."

Al-Bashir said his administration was not committing atrocities, adding that the events upset him as well. He also told Gül that foreign powers had a role to play in the situation and that there were a lot of provocateurs stirring trouble in the country. Gül told al-Bashir that if the problems were solved than there would not be any room left for provocations.

Al-Bashir's visit to Istanbul is his second to Turkey this year. His state visit to Ankara a couple of months ago had raised criticism from Turkey's Western allies, mainly the United States. To avoid criticism, Turkish officials often argue that some Western countries are holding behind the scenes talks with the al-Bashir administration.

Meanwhile Gül has also asked al-Bashir to facilitate Turkish firms investments in the country. He asked the president to give priority to Turkish firms, which were showing increasing interest to oil investment in the country. Gül also pledged that Turkey would continue to send extra help for the health sector.

Both Gül and Erdoğan, who held separate bilateral meetings with nearly all of the representatives of the countries that attended the summit, raised the issue of Turkey's candidacy for U.N. Security Council non-permanent membership. They both sought to re-affirm the pledge previously given by almost 90 percent of the countries on the African continent, according to Turkish officials.

Erdoğan, during a lunch he hosted for the African leaders, restated Turkey's desire for a non-permanent Security Council seat, which will be up for election in October. "We attach a major significance to this candidacy as we have not served on the Security Council since 1961," said Erdoğan.

"We are pleased that the great majority of our African friends have already pledged their support for our candidature," he told lunch guests promising, "If elected to the Security Council, Turkey will pay special attention to the priorities and problems of African countries."

Widespread African support for a Turkish Security Council seat is no surprise, considering the rapid development of relations between Africa and Turkey. Ever since Turkey released its “Opening up to Africa Action Plan” in 1998, "the government has taken significant steps to further intensify and deepen our relations with Africa," said Erdoğan.

"During my visit to Ethiopia, I marked the opening of the regional office of TIKA, the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency," said Erdoğan, adding, "This office has since been followed by regional offices in Sudan and Senegal."

Erdoğan spoke of Turkey's new role as an “emerging donor country” due to its increasing assistance to developing and least developed countries, most of which are located in Africa. Over the course of the last three years, Turkey's official development assistance has ranged between $600 and $750 million per year, with the number rising to $1.1 billion to $1.7 billion if nongovernmental assistance is included, according to the prime minister.

"In March 2008 we allocated a further $50 million for African countries to be utilized over the next five years," Erdoğan told guests, adding, "We have also encouraged our businessmen to do business with African countries."

In 2003 the volume of Turkey's bilateral trade with Africa was $5 billion, a volume that now stands at over $12 billion. "The target before us is now $30 billion by 2010," he told the audience, adding that the amount was "modest" considering the rapid economic development of the past few years.

President Abdullah Gül, in a later speech, emphasized Turkey's sympathy for Africa's many plights saying, "The importance of Turkish-African cooperation is seen with threats like the food crises and epidemics that gravely affect Africa and that we observe with great concern."

"African nations are unfortunately also the victims of global climate change. Towards this, we need to cooperate on such fields as climate change and environment, desertification, wetlands, biological diversity and wildlife preservation."

In a show of trans-continental solidarity, Gül offered "to share our experiences and technology as best we can with African nations.”

[Joseph]

Hmm, where we have we heard that refrain before and from whom??? Gee Turkey, thanks for giving him a forum

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1834198,00.html

Sudan Pres. Denies Darfur Genocide
Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008 By AP/C. ONUR ANT


(ISTANBUL, Turkey) — Sudan's indicted president denied Wednesday that his regime is orchestrating genocide in the troubled western region of Darfur — and offered hope for an end to the violence and the dawn of reconciliation by promising free and fair elections next year.
PHOTOS

Solar Cookers for Darfur Refugees
An extremely simple device provides relief for imperiled women


President Omar al-Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague last month on genocide and war crimes charges. Prosecutors say militias unleashed by his government have killed some 300,000 ethnic Africans since 2003. More than 2.5 million have been displaced.
Al-Bashir, speaking in Turkey during his first trip abroad since the indictment, said the death toll was inflated.
"Genocide like the International Criminal Court claims is nonexistent," he said at a news conference in Istanbul on the sidelines of a Turkey-Africa cooperation summit.
"If (those figures) were accurate, there needs to be mass graves. Where are those graves?" he said.
Al-Bashir's regime is accused of directing the janjaweed militia campaign against black African groups that say the government discriminates against ethnic Africans. The janjaweed militias also are blamed for extreme violence against civilians.
On Tuesday, Turkey's President Abdullah Gul urged Sudan to take responsibility for Darfur and to end the suffering in the region.
There are fears the indictment could threaten a fragile peace deal in Sudan and plunge the country back into civil war.
Members of the former southern rebel group Sudan People's Liberation Movement — now al-Bashir's wary partner in a unity government formed as part of the 2005 peace deal — want the president to make concessions to ward off the court's charges by handing over some Sudanese officials.
But al-Bashir rebuffed such calls on Wednesday, reasserting that his administration does not recognize the court.
"We are saying that we will not hand over any Sudanese citizens to anyone for prosecution abroad," he said.
"We are an independent state, with an independent and fair judiciary system."
But al-Bashir offered something else his southern rivals have been longing for: free elections.
"The next year, after completing the election law, we'll have free elections," he said. If al-Bashir sticks to his promise, the elections could be Sudan's freest and fairest in decades.
Meanwhile, al-Bashir accused Western powers of provoking separatist violence. The president said his administration was working with countries such as China and India instead of Western companies to develop the country's rich oil fields and other natural resources.
"Some forces who are targeting Sudan's resources are encouraging fighting in Sudan and want her to be divided," he said.

[Edoman]

The Armenian priority with Turkey/Turk is not RECONCILIATION. We are not going to hold their hands and come up with a cheap and cynical quid pro quo in order not to hurt their fragile pride. We are not going to for a cirlce and sing "We are the World", we are not going to forgive those who refuse to apologize and continually blame the victim.


a) Few Armenians I know have ever denied Turkish suffering. At the same time we all are very aware that the suffering that occured was their own governments insistence on entering a disastorous war they had no business fighting in the first place and did not have to and susequently led to the final destruction of their crumbling empire...the one that they so obviously wish they still had to this day.

b) Only a "SMALL PART"of that suffering (in Eastern Anatolia) may be ascribed to Armenians, and mostly in late 1916-1917 when some Armenians and Assyrians took some revenge on the people that destoryed their families en masse- "whereas the WHOLE "of the Armenian suffering is the work not only of the CUP but also a pretty large part of the Turkish population with various degrees of implication and (in conjunction with the CUP of course).

c)How ethical is it to consider that the ARMENIAN recognition of Turkish suffering is a prerequisite for a reconciliation, but the TURKISH recognition of the crimes committed in 1895-6, in 1915-6, and in the early 1920s and which are continuing to this day under other forms IS NOT a prerequisite for reconciliation?

d) Turks never write that TRUTH and "an APOLOGY" should come first, and RECONCILIATION would follow as a logical consequence. They want the issue to just vanish, like they tried to make Christians vanish in Asia Minor.

e) If you have a daughter or a grand-daughter and she is raped, how would you feel, how*would SHE*feel if we told her that as a prerequisite to a reconciliation with her rapist's family she must recognize the childhood suffering of the guy who raped her? Would you ask Korean "comfort women", of all people, to recognize Japanese suffering as a prerequisite to a reconciliation with denialist Japan? Or would you suggest Japan faces its history and apologizes to its wartime victims first - not for the sake of reconciliation, but because this is how human beings should behave ? Do you think that Korean women, e.g., are obsessed with RECONCILIATION, or do they need a bit of justice and a bit of respect, a "Sorry", say?

To those who toe the State Department line:


Do you remember the reports about*the Bosnian women who were repeatedly raped by dozens of Serb "men" (if you can*them "men") until they got pregnant? Pregnancies as war-weapons...Then the (Christian !!!) Serb paramilitary would tell them "Now go and deliver a Serb child". Incidentally, the rapists identified the children to be born as their offspring, but they used the future babies to defile the Bosnian blood and humilate them... Now do you remember WHO dared to tell these unfortunate Muslim women not to have an abortion ? Pope John-Paul II. Not only a Catholic, but someone who was not likely to ever get raped by 50 barbarians in a row, nor to become pregnant as a consequence. Wasn't his "advice" obscene and absolutely revolting? Now how would one feel if some Serb personality rose and told these women's children to stop using the words "gang rape" or if some South-African or Argentinian asked them to recognize the suffering of the Serbs as a prerequisite to this or that? Don't you think that the ONLY people entitled to suggest forgiveness, for example, could be fellow Bosnian women?

Furthermore, it seems to be assumed by Europeans and North Americans that it is the Armenian mission to "effect some change in Turkey" "the support the Turkish liberals" "to help the Turks change and alleviate their worries" "to assist them towards a more democratic society"


And Turkish-Armenians three bullets for her pain, like Hrant Dink.

Why should be obliged to help Turkey in any way? Why should we be the ones to encourage them to act in certain ways when they should already have the decency to do it themselves?

What we have is this strange theory that it is the Armenians' responsibility not only to work at RECONCILIATION with Turkey but also at the democratization of Turkey (and the education of the Turkish masses), and that conversely it is their fault if fascism develops in Turkey.
"Go to Turkey, speak to people there, tell them about what happened to your families", was recently suggested by the leader of ACORT, a Paris-based assembly of Turkish associations, while addressing an Armenian crowd after a conference. Umit, that's his name, seemed to be a really nice and sincere guy, no doubt a democrat who would like to do something for his country, and who got emotional as he spoke. But how many of us are not scared? I for one cannot picture myself visiting Turkey, let alone telling people in streets and restaurants about the way part of my*family "vanished" in 1915, and another part which had survived 1915 was killed by Mustafa Kemal's gendarmes. Just guess how it feels, after that, to be called a "Kemalist Armenian" by " a Turkish friend". Next we'll be called "Hamidist Armenians" and then "Talaatist Armenians". Second,isn't it totally tactless to ask the heirs of the killed to teach history and democracy to the descendants of the murderers (in the case of people over 70 or 80,some of them*may be directly the sons and daughters of the criminals)? Can't the US, the Germans, the Swedes, the Italians etc show Turkey that democracy is nicer, if Turkey needs help to understand it? By the way, it is not very flattering for the Turkish nation to*claim that it is the only one which cannot get rid of fascism by itself, as Portugal, Spain and others did...

In any case, all this is beyond my understanding, and I don't know many people ( unfortunately they exist, though) who would dare ask an African, a Carribean or an Algerian - since they are often mentioned - to FIRST recognize the suffering of the French colonists (and God knows that some of them went through horrors ).

I fully agree.

So Turks are Egyptians and have been living on our land for 5000 years. These bonehead Turks never stop to amaze me.

[VaheTheGreat(e)]

TTK to research Tashnak Archives
The Turkish Historical Society (TTK) reportedly wants to finance the opening up of the Tashnak Archives in Boston to Turkish historians.

The president of the TTK, Professor Yusuf Halaçoğlu, said that until now his organization has been denied access to the Tashnak Archives on the basis of claims that the documents "are not classified and categorized." As for archives in Jerusalem and Armenia, Professor Halaçoğlu notes that no excuses have been provided in the barring of Turkish historians from these resources. Refusing to accept the excuse the Boston-based Tashnak Archives had proffered, Halaçoğlu has offered to finance the cataloguing of the archive with TTK funds.

The TTK has obtained access to documents pertaining to Ottoman Armenians in the archives of a number of countries, including Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, France and England. Two central archives to which the TTK has not been able to obtain access are the Tashnak Archives in Boston, which contains pre-1923 documents concerning the Armenians, and the Patriarchate Archives in Jerusalem.

http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=105494

These archives, he maintains, contain crucial documentation about the Armenians. Halaçoğlu also maintains that despite the fact that a few well-known defenders of the Armenian genocide have been given access to the Tashnak Archives, there has never been a Turkish historian or researcher allowed to use this resource.

What they hope to find in Dashnak archives? Proof that Dashnaks committed a Genocide against inocent Turks?))

[VaheTheGreat(e)]

hitit, may I ask you why “hitit” not “mongol”? LOL

[hipeter924]

I fully agree.

So Turks are Egyptians and have been living on our land for 5000 years. These bonehead Turks never stop to amaze me.

Yeah, amazing. The Persian Empire never existed. Wow. I never knew that, and I guess the Hittates never signed a peace treaty with Egypt. I guess the Turks will also have to deny that Alexander the Greats Empire existed, the Eastern Roman Empire existed, and on from that the Roman Empire and Roman Republic as well. Well there goes ancient history. I guess the only places that existed 5000 years ago were Turkey, Egypt and Asia. Thanks for that brilliant and historically inaccurate version of history.

Personally I'll stick with established history, the Armenian genocide happened, and so did 5000 years of history.

[Sako]

HAHAHAHA, sorry, this is just funny. I just took the time to go deep into what's been said.

[Steph]

From Hurriyet :

Kurdish TV opens but picture still fuzzy

ANKARA - As Turkey’s first full-time Kurdish TV Channel, TRT-6, is about to be launched, bans remain on the use of letters in the Kurdish alphabet such as w, q, and x, which are absent in the Turkish language.
The head of the Kurdish Writers’ Association, İrfan Babaoğlu, dismissed the channel initiative as tragicomic and said the dilemma Turkey faces now is the use of the Kurdish language, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review yesterday.

"People cannot name their children, streets, or parks in Kurdish. Just today (Sunday) in Diyarbakır, 12 parks were opened; all their original names were in Kurdish. They were then given to the municipality and the names were changed by the district governor," Babaoğlu said. "Most of them did not even have w, q, or x in the name. I do not believe the new channel is an improvement."

The political parties law still restricts the use of these letters in election campaigns, although TRT-6's test runs have made use of them. Democratic Society Party, or DTP, deputy Akın Birdal said the discrepancy was a dilemma for the Turkish state, but was optimistic about the future. "I do not doubt that more steps will be taken. This is a development in itself, but the content of the channel must be shaped in consultation with Kurds and local people," Birdal said, adding that the channel’s affect would be naught if it was used for propaganda purposes. "The Justice and Development Party (AKP) must not use the channel for leverage in the local elections."

Şanar Yurdatapan, a composer and a human rights activist who has received a Human Rights Watch award, also acknowledged the improvement, but lamented its tortoise pace. "The question of language was solved back in the Lausanne Treaty," he said and cited Article 39 of Turkey’s founding treaty signed in 1923. "Every Turkish citizen has the right to use the language he wants in any open meetings or publications. But there are laws like the letters code that run counter to this article," Yurdatapan said.

"It is tragicomic really, it humiliates Turkey," said human rights attorney Yusuf Alataş, speaking to the Daily News. "People in Turkey should not have to deal with these petty events, letters and bans," he said.

Improvements still at glacial pace
Diyarbakır’s Sur district mayor, Abdullah Demirtaş, was deprived of his post by a decision from the Council of State after he attempted to give municipality services in Kurdish, Armenian and Assyrian last year.

Yurdatapan was pessimistic about the content of the TV channel. "My guess is that like every business carried out by the state, the aim will be to act as if something has been done, instead of really accomplishing anything. I believe we will only see state rhetoric, this time in Kurdish," he said.

The utility of starting the channel in the Kurdish language is lower than it could have been if it had started decades ago because anyone who has a satellite dish can access channels in any language.

The head of Turkey Human Right’s Association, or İHV, Yavuz Önen said a state-run channel in Kurdish was not the cure for problems. "After a while, it may not be watched. I believe the state does not intend to provide a basis for its people develop their own languages, but it has political motivations," he said. TRT’s channel will have to compete with other Kurdish channels for an audience, he said.

"Local authorities must be allowed to deliver services in other languages. The state allows Kurdish TV on the one hand, but opens investigations against mayors who send Bayram greeting cards in Kurdish," Önen said.

The change will not come easily, especially as it is dependent on a bureaucracy that resists improvement on some issues it considers sensitive. "There is a considerable amount of resistance in some state cadres, which insist on sticking with old practices," Alataş said. "We have heard similar criticisms, but this became a stage that led us here. Nevertheless, we have to support the new channel," Önen said.

Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan requested minute keepers of Parliament to refer to the Kurdish not as "an unknown language" that has been the practice since 1991, but as "a non-Turkish language."


I understand the BBC might consider banning the letters W,E,L,S & H on broadcasts to certain parts of the UK.
This may or may not be, true.