Ridiculous News

[Gavur]

Turkish Web-Site: “Baku Will Attack Armenia in a Few Days”

20.04.2006 02:45 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “Azeri army will attack Armenia in a few days” the Media Forum, an Azeri newspaper, reports referring to www.hurhaber.com Turkish web-site. “Diplomatic sources provided the information,” the web-site reports. According to the web-edition, “the Azeri government has seriously prepared for liberating Karabakh and official Baku has resolved to launch a war”. The intense relations between the U.S. and Azerbaijan are due to “forthcoming military operations in Karabakh”. «Hurhaber.com» states that U.S. President George Bush will receive an Azeri representative today. The web-site points out that “Bush has a positive attitude to towards Azerbaijan launching military operations in Karabkh”.

[Gavur]

Eurovision puts TRT, Foreign Ministry at loggerheads

Eurovision puts TRT, Foreign Ministry at loggerheads

Senem Caglayan - The New Anatolian / Ankara



A decision by state-run Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) to send Sibel Tuzun, this year's Turkish representative in the Eurovision song contest, to Greek Cyprus has led to friction in Ankara and put the TV station at odds with the Foreign Ministry.

TRT signed a document which paved the way for Tuzun to visit southern Cyprus earlier this month in an effort to win the support of Greek Cyprus, although the nation is not recognized as an official state by Ankara. Foreign Ministry officials are now searching for ways to block a possible request from the Greek Cypriot contestant to visit Turkey in a reciprocal move.

Lashing out at the decision made by TRT officials, the Foreign Ministry has been pressuring the station to find a way to cancel the possible visit, according to information obtained by The New Anatolian.

[Gavur]

Oooooooh!

IMPORT OF ARMENIA-MADE HARMFUL FOOD PRODUCTS TO AZERBAIJAN PREVENTED

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 18 2006

Food products made in Armenia, which were brought to Azerbaijan from
Vladimir province of Russia was prevented in Samur border checkpoint
today. The north bureau of APA was informed by the Samur border
checkpoint.

During preliminary investigations it turned out that a person named
Rovshan Hajiyev was to bring the products to the Kutas LLC in Baku.

The products contained substances which are harmful for human body.

Additional information will be given after the investigation is
over.

[Gavur]

Only 250 attends “Stop Armenian Lies,” Times Square

Derby Match to Violate Anti-Armenian Demonstration in New York
By Emrah Ulker, Cihan News Agency, New York
Published: Sunday, April 23, 2006
zaman.com


The meeting titled, “Stop Armenian Lies,” held by Federation of Turkish-American Associations at the Times Square in New York attracted a small audience due to cold weather and Fenerbahce-Galatasaray derby match.

Two hundred fifty people at the meeting that was held at the Times Square for the first time, shouted “an end to Armenian Lies”. American scientists and Azeri officials also delivered speeches at the meeting which was decorated with Turkish and Azeri flags. Armenians also conducted demonstrations two blocks from the Square at the same time.

[Gavur]

Thousands Protest Racist Attack On Turkish Youths In France

Published: 5/8/2006







NEVERS - Azouz Begag, Minister Delegate for Equal Opportunities of France, has indicated that an armed attack staged on Turkish youths in Nevers city of France last weekend had racist characteristic.
Nearly 5,000 demonstrators protested the armed attack on Turkish youths in Nevers on Saturday. They carried banners saying ''Justice for Everyone'' and ''No to Racism''.

Begag, who also attended the demonstration, told the A.A correspondent that everyone should fight against racism with a full determination.

Last weekend, three Turks were wounded after two discotheque guards opened fire on them. The incident happened after one Turk and two Arabs were not admitted to discotheque. Haydar Yildiz, 24, who was seriously injured in the attack, is currently in vegetative state.

[maral_m79]

Turk official arrested for chewing gum at ceremony

Turk official arrested for chewing gum at ceremony

ANKARA (Reuters) - An official in Turkey's ruling party has been arrested for chewing gum while laying a wreath at a monument to the country's revered founder Kemal Ataturk, the state Anatolian news agency said on Monday.
Veysel Dalci, head of the local branch of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the Black Sea town of Fatsa, was charged with insulting Ataturk's memory during Sunday's ceremony marking Turkey's National Sovereignty Day.

CNN Turk television quoted Dalci, a 38-year-old pharmacist and father of two, as saying he chewed gum to hide the smell of garlic which he had eaten the previous evening.

"After laying a wreath at the monument, I noticed I had gum in my mouth. I am very sorry," CNN Turk quoted him as saying.

Anatolian said Dalci was arrested after a local army garrison commander complained to state prosecutors. It was not immediately clear what kind of penalty Dalci would face.

Showing disrespect to Ataturk, the soldier-statesman who founded the modern Turkish Republic on the ashes of the old Ottoman Empire in 1923, is a crime in the European Union candidate nation. Ataturk died in 1938.

Secularists especially revere Ataturk as the leader who banished religion from political life and modelled Turkey's state institutions on those of Europe, especially France.

The secularists, who dominate Turkey's military and judiciary, deeply distrust the AKP on account of its roots in political Islam. The AKP denies any Islamist agenda but wants to ease some of Turkey's restrictions on religious expression.

Yahoo News

[Gavur]

I'm heading for Paris with my poster

Hürriyet, Turkey
May 12 2006

Mehmet Y. Yilmaz: I'm heading for Paris with my poster if the
genocide bill becomes law



If the "Armenian Genocide" bill in France becomes law, it will mean
that the French are discounting the very values which they have
defended since their revolution. France will be shelving freedom of
expression and the right to argue over information, even if this
shelving is limited only to one subject.

You know, there is an international organization found in the middle
of Paris which we all recognize: UNESCO. Why doesn't our Ministry of
Foreign Affairs say "Friends, there is no more academic freedom in
France, let's move the UNESCO headquarters to a place where academic
freedom actually exists"? There are some things that we can do
ourselves if this bill becomes law:

For example, I will go to Paris if the bill is voted in as law, and
will hold a poster proclaiming "There was no Armenian genocide!" in
front of the central police station in Paris. They will catch me, try
me, and expel me from the country. Then I can go to the European
Court of Human Rights with my carefully plotted out case against
France, and, winning a large sum of money in recompensation for
everything I experienced, I will have taken a large step towards
making my retirement dreams come true.

What I'm trying to say is that, if we all think hard, I think we can
come up with more effective ways of protesting this Armenian genocide
law than through the simple boycotting of French goods. Because let's
not also forget that many of things which we assume are purely French
products are in fact "made in Turkey." And the number of Turkish
people involved in the production of these products is over 30
thousand.

So, let's leave off our laziness, and find creative ways of
protesting!

[Gavur]

Baklava war intensifies between Turks and Greeks

http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2006/05/baklava_war_int.php

Monday, 15 May, 2006 @ 4:39 AM


Beirut & Istanbul- The Baklava war ( in Lebanon Baklawa) intensified between the Turks and the Cypriot Greeks. Turkish baklava producers are protesting Greek Cypriot claims that the sweet dessert is their own national creation,

with support for their protest coming from State Minister and EU Chief Negotiator Ali Babacan in the EU General Secretariat.

Plans for a press conference are underway for Monday May 16, and tomorrow a protest in which banners proclaiming "Baklava is Turkish, we will not allow the Greek Cypriots to feed it to the world" are held is planned for Istanbul. The owner of renowned baklava producer "Haci Sayid Baklava," Halil Dincerler, had this comment on the situation: "Baklava is Turkish, what the Greek Cypriots are presenting is just a copy. We will go all the way to Brussels, and we will let the EU ministers taste real baklava."

Another comment on the international food fight was made by the President of the Baklava and Dessert Producers Foundation, Mehmet Yildirim. He said that it was time for Turkey to stand up and claim its national treasures, and recalled that the Turks had brought baklava with them all the way from Central Asia. Yildirim also said that there were documents which proved that baklava belonged rightfully to the Turks.


To help our readers Ya Libnan did some research on Baklava to determine the real origin of this dessert and to help stop this sticky war!

The History of Baklava
THE ORIGIN:

Like the origins of most recipes that came from Old Countries to enrich the dinner tables of dessert lovers, the exact origin of baklava is also something hard to put the finger on because every ethnic group whose ancestry goes back to the Middle East has a claim of their own on this scrumptious pastry.


Recipe for Baklava

It is widely believed however, that the Assyrians at around 8th century B.C. were the first people who put together a few layers of thin bread dough, with chopped nuts in between those layers, added some honey and baked it in their primitive wood burning ovens. This earliest known version of baklava was baked only on special occasions. In fact, historically baklava was considered a food for the rich until the mid-19th century.

In Turkey, to this day one can hear a common expression often used by the poor, or even by the middle class, saying: "I am not rich enough to eat baklava and boerek every day".

REGIONAL INTERACTIONS:

The Greek seamen and merchants traveling east to Mesopotamia soon discovered the delights of Baklava. It mesmerized their taste buds. They brought the recipe to Athens. The Greeks' major contribution to the development of this pastry is the creation of a dough technique that made it possible to roll it as thin as a leaf, compared to the rough, bread-like texture of the Assyrian dough. In fact, the name "Phyllo" was coined by Greeks, which means "leaf" in the Greek language. In a relatively short time, in every kitchen of wealthy households in the region, trays of baklava were being baked for all kinds of special occasions from the 3rd Century B.C. onwards. The Armenians, as their Kingdom was located on ancient Spice and Silk Routes, integrated for the first time the cinnamon and cloves into the texture of baklava. The Arabs introduced the rose-water and cardamom. The taste changed in subtle nuances as the recipe started crossing borders. To the north of its birthplace, baklava was being baked and served in the palaces of the ancient Persian kingdom. To the west, it was baked in the kitchens of the wealthy Roman mansions, and then in the kitchens of the Byzantine Empire until the fall of the latter in 1453 A.D.

THE PERFECTION:

In the 15th Century A.D., the Ottomans invaded Constantinople to the west, and they also expanded their eastern territories to cover most of ancient Assyrian lands and the entire Armenian Kingdom. The Byzantine Empire came to an end, and in the east Persian Kingdom lost its western provinces to the invaders. For four hundred years from 16th Century on, until the decline of Ottoman Empire in 19th Century, the kitchens of Imperial Ottoman Palace in Constantinople became the ultimate culinary hub of the empire.

The artisans and craftsmen of all Guilds, the bakers, cooks and pastry chefs who worked in the Ottoman palaces, at the mansions of Pashas and Viziers, and at Provincial Governor (Vali) residences etc., had to be recruited from various ethnic groups that composed the empire. Armenian, Greek, Persian, Egyptian, Assyrian and occasionally Serbian, Hungarian or even French chefs were brought to Constantinople, to be employed at the kitchens of the wealthy. These chefs contributed enormously to the interaction and to the refinement of the art of cooking and pastry-making of an Empire that covered a vast region to include the Balkans, Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Persia, Armenia, Iraq and entire Mesopotamia, Palestine, Egypt, North Africa and the Mediterranean and Aegean islands. Towards the end of 19th Century, small pastry-shops started to appear in Constantinople and in major Provincial capitals, to cater the middle class, but the Ottoman Palace have always remained the top culinary "academy" of the Empire, until its end in 1923.

Here, we must mention that there's a special reason for baklava being the top choice of pastry for the Turkish Sultans with their large Harems, as well as for the wealthy and their families. Two principal ingredients, the pistachio and honey, were believed to be aphrodisiacs when taken regularly. Certain spices that were added to baklava, have also helped to fine-tune and to augment the aphrodisiac characteristics of the pastry, depending on male or female consumer. Cinnamon for females, and cardamom for males and cloves for both sexes.

From 18th century on, there was nothing much to add to baklava's already perfected taste and texture. There were however, some cosmetic modifications in shaping and in the presentation of baklava on a baking tray (called Sinii). The Phyllo dough (called Youfka) which was traditionally layered and cut into squares or triangles, were given a "French touch" in late 18th century. As the Empire began opening itself to Western cultural (and culinary) influences, the General manager (Kahyabasi) of the Imperial Kitchen didn't miss the opportunity to hire Monsieur Guillaume, a former pastry chef of Marie Antoinette, who in exile at the Ottoman Turkish Palace after learning how to bake baklava, created the "dome" technique of cutting and folding of the baklava squares which was named "Baklava Francaise" (French Baklava) after the nationality of its creator.


Based on the above history it is clear that Assyria is the origin of the Baklava

The Assyrian empire stretched from Southern Lebanon in the south to the Zagros mountains in the north( bordering present day Iraq and Iran) and included areas of present day Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq. The heartland of Assyria is the area that is now dominated by the Kurds.

Baklava , in fact has been the sweetest unifying dessert between all the countries of the Middle East and the Mediterranean sea. Each country makes it its own way but they are all sweet and sticky.

Lebanon has been the leader in promoting Baklava throughout the world. Lebanese baklava bakers such as Samedi were the first to Franchise it in the Gulf region, Europe and throughout the Middle east. In the United States the most famous Baklava is made by Shatila in Michigan.

As Lebanon continues to promote this dessert it will become the ultimate original Baklava.

Turkey and Greece therefore should stop this crazy Baklava war, because they both copied the dessert, but Lebanon did a better job at copying.

One baker told me after hearing the history of the dessert " You know, I never though about this before, but since Lebanon was at one time part of the Assyrian empire...perhaps Lebanon was the origin of this dessert and the Assyrians copied it from us and then passed on the recipe to the Turks and Greeks !!"

I was not surprised to hear this from the Lebanese baker and will comment no further since we had enough wars in Lebanon and we don’t want to start another one with Turkey and Greece.

Sources: Ya Libnan, Kitchenproject, Hurriyet

[Gavur]

Two Turks seek compensation from France:

ANK - Turkish Daily News

Two teachers accusing France of exploitation in Hatay during the Turkish province's occupation between 1918 and 1938 sent documents and pictures they had collected to the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights.

The top European court agreed earlier this year to discuss compensation cases totaling 2 billion euros filed against France by the two teachers from Hatay province in southern Turkey.

Maruf Kaymaz, lawyer for the two teachers, said the Turkish General Staff, the Turkish History Association and the Mining Exploration Institute (MTA) helped them in procuring and preparing the evidence sent to Strasbourg.

Hatay was ruled by France in 1918-1938. The teachers claim that the French killed many people there and that the region's resources were exploited. They argue that the occupiers should pay a price for what they did.

[Gavur]

Turkish court accuses Armenians in genocide

Source: Trend

Author: A.Alasgarov

31.05.2006

The Court of Istanbul District of Shishla is scheduled to host on 16 June hearings on legal competence of statement by writer Orkhan Pamuk on extermination of 1 million Armenian and 30,000 Kurds.

Trend special correspondent reports from Turkey the lawsuit was filed by families of victims of the Armenian genocide, who are currently residing in East Antalia, mainly in Igdir, Kars and Erzerum.

Azerbaijanis who were obliged to move to Turkey as a result of ethnic cleansing by Armenians are also among plaintiffs.

In case the court makes a sentence on legal groundlessness of the statement there will be considered possibilities of a legal verdict on facts of massacre of Turks and Azerbaijanis carried out by Armenian.

On 16 June the Turkish will first over its history make a sentence accusing Armenians in genocide.



Gav-Une finger salute for that!