Erkan's Field Diary

Open Democracy on Ergenekon….

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:48:17 +0000

Turkey and Ergenekon: from farce to tragedy ,

- by openDemocracy

Author:

Bill Park

Summary:

An epic military, political, and security scandal continues to absorb Turkey. The affair’s latest bizarre sub-plots make the tensions between the country’s “deep state” and its constitutional order even more acute, says Bill Park.

The sprawling, chaotic, all-consuming “Ergenekon” investigation into the activities of Turkey’s so-called derin devlet (“deep state”) shows no sign of abating. Indeed, its tentacles are spreading ever further as it moves from enveloping its politicians and public to polarising the state’s core institutions.

General Malaise

from Istanbul Calling by Yigal Schleifer

Ilter Turan, a respected professor of International Relations at Istanbul’s Bilgi University, has written a briefing for the German Marshall Fund looking at the recent arrest of dozens of high-ranking Turkish military officers – among them the former heads of the Navy and Air Force – as part of an investigation into an alleged plot to overthrow Turkey’s AKP government.

The struggle for Turkey’s soul | statesmanjournal.com | Statesman Journal

Advocates, elites and hitmen of the network by ORHAN KEMAL CENGİZ

If you ask me what the biggest achievement of the Ergenekon gang is, I would say without hesitating for a moment that it is its ability to convince some people that it actually does not exist.

‘Neo-nationalist group wiretapped PM’s house’
Today’s Zaman
The VKGB is suspected of close ties with Ergenekon, a clandestine criminal organization accused of working to overthrow the government.

More Ergenekon Developments

from Turkish Politics in Action by Ragan Updegraff

Three significant developments happened this week in line with the Ergenekon investigation:

Accountability in military organizations: the Turkish case by Bekir ÇINAR

If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. Although government must be enabled to control the governed, it must be obliged to control itself as well.

Plot drafter worked with Erzincan prosecutor
Today’s Zaman
Cihaner and Berk are accused of membership in Ergenekon, a clandestine organization charged with plotting to overthrow the government

Latest bullshit from S.C: Soner Cagaptay: Turkey’s Republic of Fear – WSJ.com

YAVUZ BAYDAR – Determined on referendum?

Even the meeting between President Abdullah Gül and main opposition leader Deniz Baykal was extraordinary. In the course of the past seven years, the latter visited the presidential palace only three times, a symbol itself of how difficult “normalization” is here.

İHSAN DAĞI – A constitution without Kemalists and nationalists

Once again making a new constitution is on the agenda. According to a public opinion survey conducted by MetroPOLL, 70 percent of people think a new constitution is needed.

BÜLENT KENEŞ – The judiciary issue: Who blockades who in Turkey?

The latest MetroPOLL survey, covered in our headline story on Saturday, has put an end to the debates, showing clearly that there are serious problems with the judicial system in Turkey and there is a strong popular demand for change in this regard.

ETYEN MAHÇUPYAN – Why is the military in a paralyzed condition?

We have so internalized the place and role of the military in the country’s politics that everyone harbors the hope or fear that the military may make an unexpected move at any time.

FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK – Referendum’s possible consequences

After Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government would take a constitutional reform package to referendum if it fails to win sufficient support in Parliament to be approved, there is now a heated debate over what the consequences of holding such a referendum would be.

It can declare war, but it can’t change the Constitution!

by ERHAN BAŞYURT- BUGÜN

Deniz Baykal even denied the reason why he is against changing the Constitution. “This Parliament cannot change laws…” OK, but why? Can this Parliament declare war?

Shāh Māt: Prosecutor Takes Prosecutor

from Kamil Pasha by Jenny White

Photo of Cihaner from Bianet

Prosecutor Ilhan Cihaner’s arrest has created a deep judiciary crisis. Cihaner had launched an investigation into the Ismailağa religious sect in Erzincan in 2007. He was arrested Wednesday on charges of being linked to the suspected anti-government gang Ergenekon, which allegedly sought to topple the government. Osman Şanal, chief prosecutor in Erzurum, had ordered Cihaner detained. But now Şanal’s authority has been revoked by the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK).

New era of Turkish democracy by MÜMTAZ’ER TÜRKÖNE

It is important to understand the difference between the two: Has the armed tutelage over the state ended in Turkey? Yes, it has.

Modernity that covers

by EMRE AKÖZ – SABAH

You know the story. A group of female Republican People’s Party (CHP) supporters tore black chadors into pieces on Wednesday.

CHP against, MHP uncertain

by MUSTAFA ÜNAL- ZAMAN

The agenda in Ankara is judicial reform. The government is determined. The package will include around 10 to 15 items. Opposition parties have objections to the constitutional amendments, which foresee reforming the judiciary.

And Now, The Plot is Proven…

from The White Path

[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News] Something very important happened last Monday. A short statement from the Turkish General Staff noted that its investigators had gathered “evidence that might prove the existence of the document in question.” “The document in question” was quite a terrible one. It was a military plan to overthrow the AKP government and suppress the popular Islamic movement led by Fethullah GÃ¼len, a retired preacher who lives in the U.S. One idea was to “find” weapons in the homes of people from the GÃ¼len movement by planting them there first and thus portraying the peaceful community as a terrorist group. At a time when the world is understandably sensitive about Islamist terrorism, this certainly would be a good sell. And even a good justification for the Turkish military to roll its tanks once again — against its own people. Just a Bad Apple?

LALE KEMAL – Reform package and government dilemma

by LALE KEMAL

The Turkish government has slowed down its democratic reform process over the last few years, playing into the hands of those who have been seeking to preserve the status quo in a country that has witnessed five different types of coups interrupting the democratic process.

BÜLENT KENEŞ – Who deserves criticism more: Prime minister or the media?

Last week, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s remarks that media bosses should control their columnists were received with much criticism. His words were largely regarded as a threat to the already contentious freedom of thought and freedom of the press and were mercilessly lambasted by columnists, who even wrote and published a joint petition.

A roundup of aftermath of biggest raid against Ergenekon Power shift from BBC News | Europe | World Edition...
“Ergenekon sees biggest raid today! update: 22:15 49 arrested so far. Turkish police arrest...
NYT article relies on pro-Ergenekon lobby? A new article in NYT by Mr. Bilefsky quotes extensively...

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More confessions from a former media tycoon

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:04:37 +0000

It is not the first time Mr. Bilgin makes confessions, this time he is bolder.

Dinç Bilgin

Bilgin wishes he could be a reporter like Taraf’s Baransu

YAVUZ BAYDAR – Dinç Bilgin speaks out

One of the greatest myths about today’s Turkish media is that it is a “totally clean and democratic press” targeted by an “evil” government. This myth is deliberately reproduced by the financially dominant segment of the Turkish media groups, and their accomplices abroad, merely to be able to regain the political influence and leverage it has lost vis-à-vis this government and to continue to survive through the use of privileges.

Klaus Jurgens on Turkey’s future media professionals Promoting an uncensored press: Meet Turkey’s future media professionals by...
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A film and An album, I recently discovered

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:08:45 +0000

A Prophet is a French movie I have recently watched. It is definitely worth watching. It is a story of “A young Arab man is sent to a French prison where he becomes a mafia kingpin.” Not all action packed and i did not feel a strong claustrophobia I sometimes have when watching prison etc movies. Have a look.

official site.

via Trailer Addict

Trailer:

Heathen is a very quality thrash band. They have had a comeback after 19 years (!) and their last album The Evolution of Chaos is listeneable more than once (!) I did not have any expectations when I started to listen to them. But with a bit of Exodus sound, they got me in the mood…

New Slayer album, World Painted Blood, rocks! No doubt, World Painted Blood is not for many of...
Rammstein Album Banned In Germany! I am not surprised at all. In metalic standards,...
Erkan recently quoted in/ invited to…. Unpacking my luggage… Dear Erkan Saka, We would...

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A book on December 19-26, 2000 operation in Turkish prisons…

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:00:56 +0000

hapishanelerde katliam / massacre in prisons:

During the week of December 19-26, 2000, 10,000 Turkish soldiers violently occupied 48 prisons to end two months of hunger strikes and “death fasts” by hundreds of political prisoners. The hunger strikers were protesting the state’s plan to transfer its prisoners from large wards to US-style “F-type” cells holding one to three occupants. Operation “Return to Life” — which left at least 31 prisoners and two soldiers dead — lasted a few hours in most prisons, and up to three days at one prison. Eight prisoners were reportedly “disappeared,” and at least 426 prisoners have been wounded. 1,005 prisoners have been transferred to F-type cells.

The armed operation ostensibly aimed to “rescue” members of illegal, radical left organizations from “forced” starvation at the hands of their leaders. But the official number of prisoners conducting death fasts has reportedly increased to 353 since the operation, up from 282. Unofficial reports say that up to 2,000 prisoners are starving themselves, with the active support of 10,000 others. Human rights groups suspect security forces of burning prisoners with firebombs during the operation. According to the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, some bodies were buried without being identified, and other deceased prisoners’ families and lawyers were not admitted to the autopsies.

in turkish

Movement on Dink

from Turkish Politics in Action by Ragan Updegraff

PHOTO from Hurriyet Daily News

Another small bit of justice was issued to the Dink family this week when a an Istanbul court found the state-owned Turkish Radio and Television Broadcasting Corporation guily of defamation for airing a documentary making unfounded accusations that Dink was responsible for the 1978 Maras massacres. After a long court battle (TRT ran the documentary in December 2008), the court ordered TRT, Bey Productions Company (the company that produced the documentary), and Maras MP Okkes Sandiller (a prime suspect of the Maras massacres who made the accusation) to pay a total of 20,000 TL in compensation. For more on the case, see this article from Bianet.

Plans for a National Human Rights Board

from Turkish Politics in Action by Ragan Updegraff

The mini-democracy reform package the government is planning to introduce to parliament by the end of March is said to include plans for a National Human Rights Board, which will reportedly involve a re-structuring of the Office of the Prime Ministry’s Human Rights Presidency. The organization is designed to be an answer to repeated EU calls for an office of ombudsman, which would investigate human rights violations committed by the state. However, as Today’s Zaman’s Ayse Karabat reports, plans for the new institution are being sharply criticized by human rights groups as falling short of the Copenhagen political criteria and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’s Paris Principles designed to guide national institutions setup to protect human rights. The government’s plans for the board would have its members appointed by the government rather than elected in an independent process and would requires that members not have criminal convictions. The latter requirement is difficult in that many human rights activists and officials have and routinely do fall prey to complainants and prosecutors using criminal laws restricting freedom of speech. From Karabat:

Artist defiant despite fine for Turkish PM ‘mockery’

BBC News
One article in the criminal code – the infamous “301″ on insulting “Turkishness” – has been used to prosecute award-winning novelists Orhan Pamuk and Elif

European court’s judgment on Cyprus issue legally wrong, politically correct by ORHAN KEMAL CENGİZ

Let’s be honest. The European Court of Human Rights’ latest verdict on property cases brought by Greek Cypriot citizens against Turkey is not legally correct. But, at the same time, it is politically wise.

DOĞU ERGİL – Will the EU join Turkey?

While surfing cyberspace I came across a satirical piece on the Web site of the Mesopotamian Development Society posted on Feb. 9.The piece was penned by Hataw Sarkawt. He must have been following the public arguments in Turkey concerning EU accession and must have realized that we Turks are more inclined to support the EU joining Turkey than Turkey joining the EU. The rest of this article is written with the inspiration from his piece, where my name also appears, with different conclusions.

EMRE USLU – Analyzing police raids on PKK in Europe

On March 4, police in Belgium launched raids on several addresses, and 22 people linked with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were detained. PKK leaders Zübeyir Aydar and Remzi Kartal and Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK) leader Haji Ahmadi were among those arrested. The arrests followed a three-year-long investigation.

Future of Interrogation

from Boing Boing by David Pescovitz

Not only are torture techniques like waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and forced stress positions evil, they don’t work very well for interrogation. Jacques Vallee talked about that on BB last year in his provocative essay, “Waterboarding’s curious corollaries.” This week’s New Scientist also considers the efficacy of torture and “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” (CIDT). On the heels of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, Obama established the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group to study and practice “scientifically proven” techniques to interrogate without torture or CIDT, which are illegal.

A documentary on Hrant Dink [links updated] A documentary by Ümit Kıvanç. “Justice for Hrant...
Enver Aydemir still needs our attention and Hrant Dink case, too Disciplinary Fine for Detained Conscientious Objector Aydemir from Bianet ::...
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Now PM points out the “Jewish lobby” for the course of genocide resolution…

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:19:07 +0000

The Resolution Saga Continues, Erdogan Points to “Jewish Lobby”

from Turkish Politics in Action by Ragan Updegraff

Prime Minister Erdogan said today that Ankara has no plans to send Turkish Ambasador to the United States Namik Tan back to Washington until it receives a clear signal that the resolution is dead. On Friday, the Obama Administration announced that it had reached a deal with American congressional leaders that would stop the resolution in its tracks. However, for Ankara, this is apparently not enough. Upon Tan’s return this week, the government continued to issue strong rhetoric, for which there is no doubt a public demand. Fighting “genocide” resolutions is one of the few things that pulls otherwise polarized Turkish politicans together. Suat Kiniklioglu, the AKP’s deputy chairman for external affairs, threatened major consequences” should the resolution pass the full United States House of Representatives.

Event | Armeno-Turkish Relations: Pitfalls and Possibilities

from Mavi Boncuk by M.A.M

Armeno-Turkish Relations: Pitfalls and Possibilities. Could one major pitfall be, not inviting speakers for the Turkish side or running away from dialogue? Their real fear could also the Kurdish-Turkish rapprochement, which could complicate an important demand of the Armenians. (3Ts Tanima, Toprak, Tazminat | Recognition, Restitution, Land). There is another way beyond the well known Ottoman saying: Ya Vur Kurtul, Ya Ver Kurtul—either fight and be free, or pay and be free. That will be bilateral talks where everything is on table. Ya hep ya hic | All or nothing.

FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK – Balances change after committee approval of resolution

Many believe that the recent approval of a resolution that recognizes the killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire as “genocide,” an allegation Turkey categorically rejects, by the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, has dealt a blow both to Turkish-US and Turkish-Armenian relations, making it harder for the normalization of relations with Armenia.

ÖMER TAŞPINAR – Strange bedfellows in Washington

Last week’s vote on the Armenian genocide resolution by the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee effectively put an end to already weak hopes of reconciliation between Ankara and Yerevan. In that sense, the vote created two clear victors: the Armenian lobby and Azerbaijan.

Article | Was the 1915 killing of Armenians genocide?

from Mavi Boncuk by M.A.M

Mavi Boncuk |
Genocide vote harms US-Turkey ties
Was the 1915 killing of Armenians genocide? The question is debatable, but it’s not for the US Congress to decide

Stephen Kinzer [1]
guardian.co.uk, Friday 5 March
Article

Obama asks Congress not to judge Turkey on Armenia

The Obama administration has asked the House of Representatives not to vote on whether Turkey committed genocide against Armenians in 1915.

Turkey: From the Bosphorus: Straight – Returning to ties between Turks, Armenians

from EU-DIGEST by A-News

It is interesting to imagine what might have ensued had the alliance forged in 1907 between the nationalist “Young Turks” and the nationalist Armenian “Dashnaks” not broken down in 1912.

Armenia-Turkey: Response to US Genocide resolution

from Global Voices Online by Onnik Krikorian

ŞAHİN ALPAY – What if Congress adopts the ‘genocide’ resolution? (2)

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives last week adopted, as it did previously in 2000 and in 2007, a resolution to call on the president to declare the deportation and massacre of Ottoman Armenians in 1915 genocide.

“Genocide” Resolution: Is It Worth Undoing the Recovery Attempts?

from U.S.A.K. Blog

Mehmet YEGIN: USAK, Center for Transatlantic Studies

The Armenian Diaspora in the US persists in its attempts to kill the protocols. Again they are pushing for another “genocide” resolution. Of course they do not want to loose the chance of having the support of nearly all the crucial leaders of the Democratic Party. The midterm elections and the hard position of the party also seem to create an appropriate climate. The previous attempts were blocked by the interventions of the previous presidents, whereas now there is not an apparent attempt of Obama administration on the bill.

A Look at the Snarled Past of Armenians and Turks

from NYT > Turkey by By DWIGHT GARNER

A deeply unconventional book about Armenians and Turkey that is as much memoir as proper history.

Turkish angers builds up today And I am sure this will boost the sequel of...
Annual drama between US and Turkey continues US congressional move will definitely help US favorability in Turkey...
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the European External Action Service- The EU’s new diplomatic service

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:41:42 +0000

The EU’s new diplomatic service

from EurActiv.com by Giacomo

Introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, the European External Action Service is intended to give the Union a greater role in foreign policy. Yet its scope and competences are the subject of fierce debate among EU countries.

The German Economy Is Essentially “Intact”

from A Fistful Of Euros » A Fistful Of Euros by Edward Hugh

According to Bundesbank President Axel Weber, Germany’s economic recovery is “essentially intact” and is set to benefit from stronger demand in countries outside the euro region.

“I firmly believe that the recovery process that began in summer 2009 is essentially intact, and that it will continue despite the slower growth dynamic in the winter semester. An additional factor in this context is that the German labor market continues to be in extremely robust shape.”

From Greece, an economic cautionary tale for the U.S. – by Dana Milbank

from Turkish Digest by A-News

Look into the face of George Papandreou, America, and see your future.
The Greek prime minister is in town this week as part of a world tour seeking help for his beleaguered homeland. Greece is broke, its government on the verge of default. As Papandreou landed in Washington, there were strikes in the streets of Athens over his tax increases, his wage cuts for government workers and his scaling back of retirement benefits.

EDGE: “Europe, Where the Idea of Competition in the Internet Space Appears to Focus on Litigation, Legislation, Regulation, and Criminalization”

from EU Pundit by Andis Kaulins

Does Europe especially need to reconsider their approach to the Internet? EDGE would say yes:

Edge: TIME TO START TAKING THE INTERNET SERIOUSLY By David Gelernter: “Introduction: Our Algorithmic Culture” by John Brockman:

Groups in EU social media: not so ridiculously easy

from Blogactiv by admin

A while back I and a number of others were blogging about how a very light, bottom-up usage of Web2-style tools and techniques (bloggingportal, delicious, tagging, google alerts, etc.) could help build links between national and EU online discussions and develop the slowly emerging European public space.
The importance of this was brought home to me

Visualising EU law

by Julien Frisch

It’s just a thought that I had a minute ago because I am working on images in politics right now: Why not try to visualise EU law?

Earlier this morning, via the EU Law (Wordpress) blog, I came across the newly published Rules of Procedure of the European Commission.

I don’t think many people outside the institutions will actually read this. It is boring. It is interlaced. As most EU law.

France offers support to Greece

from BBC News | Europe | World Edition

France’s President Sarkozy says his country will stand “resolute” with Greece as it imposes economic austerity measures.

Eurozone aid for Greece comes one step closer

from EurActiv.com by frederic

French President Nicolas Sarkozy promised on Sunday (7 March) that eurozone countries would help Greece if its financial problems worsened. Meanwhile, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he plans to make proposals soon on a new European institution to help ensure the stability of the euro zone.

Greece, boredom and representative democracy

by Julien Frisch

I am so bored by news on Greece.

I have understood that the country is in financial trouble and that this could threaten the Eurozone and the Euro. I have understood that Eurozone leaders aren’t willing to give unconditional help but that some kind of support might be necessary to get Greece out of the shit. I have also understood that not everyone in Greece seems to share the assessment of the situation.

Why not extend and reverse Nabucco?

from Edward Lucas by Edward Lucas

This just in from London-based Polish gas expert Greg Pytel

Greg Pytel

Extended and reversible Nabucco – competitive and secure natural gas market for Europe

There has been an ongoing debate about constructing Nabucco pipeline: a pipeline designed to transport natural gas from Central Asia, Middle East, Caspian and even North Africa via Turkey and then Balkan countries to Hungary and Austria. Nabucco would bring a degree of diversification of gas supply routes to Europe from southern and eastern directions. At present there is a renewed initiative to make Nabucco happen.

Merkel backs IMF-style fund for eurozone

from Open Europe blog

More news on the eurozone front this weekend as we learned that France and Germany are preparing plans for an IMF-style European Monetary Fund (EMF). German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has said he will “present proposals soon” for a new eurozone institution that has “comparable powers of intervention” to the International Monetary Fund.

What should NATO’s new strategic concept say about Russia?

from Centre for European Reform

by Tomas Valasek

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, NATO has strived to reduce mutual suspicions with Russia and to build a more co-operative relationship. So it is vexing that 20 years on, Russia continues to view NATO as a hostile alliance. Moscow competes with NATO for influence in Eastern Europe, it seeks to halt NATO’s eastward enlargement and its recent security proposals for a new European security architecture were aimed in part at weakening NATO’s role in European security. Moscow’s policy worries the Central European members of NATO, who have been demanding that the alliance draft defensive plans for the unlikely, but not unthinkable, possibility of a conflict with Russia.

Euro roundup: European Young Journalist Award 2010 etc European Young Journalist Award 2010 from Stephen Spillane Again this...
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A video: Maths and beauty

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:11:31 +0000

Comedian John Cleese and model and actress Liz Hurley investigate how mathematics can reflect our perception of beauty. Includes some great tests that you can try out yourself! Do parts of your body divide into the ratio 1 to 1.618? Fascinating short video from BBC science show ‘The Human Face’.

The Decade in 7 Minutes and a Friday video selection from Erkan The Decade in 7 Minutes: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfhTPaqKEAE&feature=player_embedded] I’ve Got Nothing: Crowdsourced...
A video: Balkan Beat Box “War Again” The first video from Balkan Beat Box’s album BLUE...
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A video: Balkan Beat Box “War Again”

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:40:09 +0000

The first video from Balkan Beat Box’s album BLUE EYED BLACK BOY, out on National Geographic Records on 4/27/10 in North America and 3/1/10 on Crammed Discs in Europe.

Michael Jackson Tribute in Taksim Square and more to watch; a video selection A different look at Foucault’s History of Sexuality: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsB2q12UOYM&feature=youtube_gdata] The...
The Decade in 7 Minutes and a Friday video selection from Erkan The Decade in 7 Minutes: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfhTPaqKEAE&feature=player_embedded] I’ve Got Nothing: Crowdsourced...
A video: Maths and beauty Comedian John Cleese and model and actress Liz Hurley...

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from Ethan: how to fight net-censorship

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:55:28 +0000

Beyond breaking firewalls: how to fight net-censorship

from Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow

Ethan Zuckerman’s new piece on Worldchanging, “Internet Freedom: Beyond Circumvention,” looks at the technical and social limitations of circumvention of censoring firewalls that we love so much as a tool for helping people in repressive regimes liberate themselves. It’s an excellent and thought-provoking piece that raises more questions than it answers, but it points to some very meaty research problems that people who care about technology and freedom need to attend to.

Can Social Media Chatter Predict Oscar Winners?

from MediaShift

The biggest night in movies is two days away, and everyone has an opinion as to who will win an Oscar. While there isn’t a proven formula that can tell us which film is going to win, a closer look at social media such as blogs and Twitter can provide some interesting perspective as to which nominees are dominating conversations and spurring emotional reactions.

Criticism of Google at Wikipedia

from Google Blogoscoped by Philipp Lenssen

Wikipedia has a whole page dedicated to criticism of Google.

Growth of the Internet from 1998 to 2008 [INFOGRAPHIC]

from Mashable! by Stan Schroeder

augmented reality, serious games, and pedagogic secrets

from digital digs by Alex Reid

I was reminded earlier of Don DeLillo’s White Noise and the scene early in the novel where Gladney visits the “most photographed barn in America” and his friend observes that, of course, no one can actually see the barn. It’s an observation that summons Baudrillard’s precession of the simulacra. 25+ years later, seeing the same barn through an augmented reality lens (e.g. layar on a smartphone), what might we be able to say that we see?

Last week’s web-censorship proposal shows that supporters of every party need ORG

from Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow

In the wake of last week’s introduction of a LibDem pro-web-censorship amendment to the Digital Economy Bill in the House of Lords, Open Rights Group executive director Jim Killock has a call to action for supporters of all the UK’s political parties to join ORG and its nonpartisan effort to promote liberty and openness in the digital realm.

Blackberry email adds 10 working days to our year

from edu.blogs.com by Ewan McIntosh

The Telegraph reports that the average Briton sees 10 extra days of work added to their year as a result of always-on email through devices like the Blackberry.

Full-content RSS feeds harm page views, but not viewership

from Boing Boing by Rob Beschizza

Merlin Mann calls for websites to offer free, full-text RSS feeds. Jason Snell agrees, but wonders if offering them harms web traffic. As Boing Boing’s had a full-content feed since the dawn of time, we can’t really tell, but John Gruber switched only recently. He says that in his experience, a dip in traffic did result–but that in the long run, his RSS feed became the primary source of income for Daring Fireball:

SuperPower: BBC and Global Voices

from Global Voices Online by Ivan Sigal

It’s a great pleasure for me to announce a joint project between Global Voices and BBC News as part of the BBC’s SuperPower season, which launches today.

This past year has been particularly eye-opening in terms of the increasing interplay between mainstream media and citizen journalism. Events in Mumbai, Moldova, Iran, Haiti, and now Chile are but a few examples in which the world has been eager to make immediate and direct contact with citizens in crisis in local contexts. These citizens may have had blogs, Twitter accounts, and cell phones for years, but only in the last year has the mainstream media adopted the narrative of citizen media as an integrated element in their news reporting.

JOURNAL: Education and Media in a Resilient Society

from Global Guerrillas by John Robb

If anyone is going to save the media, as a business, it’s probably Jeff Jarvis. He recently gave a talk at TEDxNYED (a conference that runs with the TED format but is not associated with it) that’s very interesting from the perspective of building a resilient society (one that runs in parallel to the current broken system and displaces it). Here are some highlights:

Google vs. Yahoo: Who Has the Right Social Strategy?

from Mashable! by Ben Parr

Google officially changes attitude towards China censorship A new approach to China from The Official Google...
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International Women’s Day celebrated

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:11:01 +0000

More celebration photos here.

Rights activist İlkkaracan: Turkey needs urgent initiative on gender equality

by YONCA POYRAZ DOĞAN

Activist and researcher Pınar İlkkaracan has said Turkey needs to work harder in order to reverse some downward trends in women’s participation in public life, and for that to happen it should start an initiative, complete with budgetary allocations and time and target-bound measures.

“To be a woman”

International Women’s Day
from ORGANIZED RAGE by Mick Hall

Mixed emotions on Women’s Day in Eastern Europe

from EurActiv.com by Georgi

Many people, especially those above 35 living in Eastern Europe, still associate 8 March with the old official Communist celebrations, with faded red cloves and drunken men ‘celebrating’ Women’s Day. But gradually the day, which symbolises female emancipation, has gained new legitimacy, a tour of the EurActiv network reveals.

by UĞUR PAMUK VIA

A Long Road to “Equal”: A Glimpse at the Status of Women in Turkey

from Turkish Politics in Action by Ragan Updegraff

Turkey should be praised as being one of the first countries to enfranchise women (in 1934) and for making equal rights for women a key part of the Ataturk reform era. At the same time, the status of women in Turkey seems to be getting worse on a number of fronts. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, Turkey came in 129 of 134 countries surveyed, consistently falling in the rankings over the past years. And, according to the UN Development Program’s Gender Empowerment Measure, Turkey ranked 101 out of 109 countries surveyed, placing Turkey, the 17th-largest economy in the world among countris far less developed.

Five leading women outline visions for Europe 2020

from EurActiv.com by daniela

To celebrate Women’s Day, EurActiv asked five prominent women to set out their visions for the future of the European Union. Starting with Dalia Grybauskaitė, president of Lithuania, these successful professionals are symbols of the economic, political and social achievements of Europe’s women.

Women: reflections on our human rights,

by openDemocracy

Author:

Jane Gabriel

Summary:

It’s seventeen years since women’s rights were recognised as human rights at the World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna. openDemocracy writers examine the struggle to turn these rights into a day-to-day reality for women and girls and examine the challenges that lie ahead

Equality Report: Once More a Confession of Failure for Turkey

from Bianet :: English

The women’s organization KA.DER issued the third “Report on the Representation of Gender Equality in Turkey”. Turkey, “still resisting to gender equality on the 100th anniversary of the World Women’s Day on 8 March”, gained zero credits in the 2010 report.

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