Showing posts with label 2017 at 04:02PM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2017 at 04:02PM. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

… And Erkan is in the year he could not figure out if he is 41 or 42

http://ift.tt/2o5185q

A sweet Poltio survey. How well you know Erkan? 

In fact, I did have a system for that but this year I forgot. This year I did not care to remember. However, just a little ago, when I was having a shower, I decided I am definitely 42 now. After achieving most of my life goals, and after living through a tumultuous year in Turkey I have settled for a future in which I live in tranquility working on my writings/ research or hobbies. I have lost interest living in Istanbul, I would prefer to have a smaller but a more humane city. However, my search for a better place to work and to live has not given fruits yet. As I stated months ago, I have decided to move abroad and I feel I am in my prime in academic production, but this could not be conveyed to the interested parties. I have been so out of job market that it is hard to adapt again. By the way, I still believe I was super lucky to work in Istanbul Bilgi University; my reasons to move forward are different and I will write in another post- including my job searches. Let me not distract myself from the fact that today is my birthday.

Many years I go I posted … And Erkan is 34. Before being aware of the term “quantified self”. I do not like increasing quantification emphasis on social research but for the fun of it I will update the post!

Erkan has spent 27 years as a student (5 primary school+7 secondary and high school+4 college+ 3 MA+ 8 Phd). [This did not change] He has been teaching for 8 [16] years in various levels at university (not including a year of teaching English at a primary school), has been blogging for 5,5 [13.5] years and his blog has been visited a little more than 850,000 times [1,500,000] and it has 252 RSS subscribers now 91 at Feedly, 228 at WordPress], he has 326 [13,921] twitter followers, he has 3 beloved siblings [still same, but 2 nieces added now],  he has 1239 [3022] Facebook friends (but of course only a couple of’em are really close ones), and he has (only) three academic publications (so far)[oh this seems to have improved and also check out my Google Scholar profile]. Erkan has voted 2516 [7751] movie and episode titles in IMDB. He has spent 157 days as a soldier, stayed in Houston, TX for three years. He was born in Trabzon, spent a year there then since 2 he has been living in Istanbul (excluding Houston years, that is 38 years). [Although officially he was born in Bayburt, which has become a troll city in recent past]. He has driven more than 30,000 kms in 4 years [more than 100,000 I guess now and he has had his second car], he has 7-8 kilos he has to get rid of [still same], he could do 20-25 push ups just after he left the service [not a new success at at that front], he visited 5 European cities, visited 9 American cities [I could not find an exact stats for that but Swarm says I have visited 25 countries so far!], he has more than 100 [300, I have even curated an exhibition!] items in his local newspaper collection, he is an academic advisor for 45 students, he has 134 students registered in his 4 courses [I did not bother to collect new stats but there are definitely more].

[And I have more stats, new ones: 3579 connections in Linkedin. In every 7.76 days I finish a book. Since I finished up my military service, I calculate how much I read. My Klout rating is around 65. [I have deleted the last parts, it seems I was more desperate and depressed at that time although the future seemed to be more optimistic. However, I might still end up in my favorite metal bar to drink alone, which has become a ritual. I have thought of getting married twice in those years but it did not work and I do not care. I might get married one day but if not, not a big deal. In my own way, I challenge and may succeed the family ideology around here.

Vía Erkan’s Field Diary http://ift.tt/2p5grji


Filed under: Uncategorized

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

FP roundup: Turkey and her alleged “spy” imams in Europe…

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Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) announced on Feb. 10 the recall and discharge of Turkish imams who were accusing of spying by Germany.

‘Russian Jet Accidentally Hit Our Soldiers’, Says Turkish Armed Forces

 
In an operation into ISIS in al-Bab, a Russian jet has hit a building with soldiers from Turkish Armed Forces in it. Three soldiers have lost their lives, 11 soldiers have been injured.
 
Russian air strikes that accidentally killed three Turkish soldiers in Syria were launched based on coordinates provided to Russia by the Turkish military, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Feb. 9.

As Turkey prepares for new CIA director’s first visit

There is a popular Turkish saying: “The fire burns where it falls.” It basically means that nobody other than the victim can truly understand the pain suffered.

New CIA chief pays first visit abroad to Turkey

 
The CIA’s new director, Mike Pompeo, will pay a visit to Turkey on Feb. 9 to discuss regional issues in his first overseas visit under the new U.S. administration.

CIA chief Mike Pompeo visits Turkey to discuss policy on Syria and Isis

  • Pompeo due in Ankara 48 hours after Trump and Erdoğan spoke by phone
  • Turkey sees trip of reset of relations that were strained under Obama

Less than 48 hours after a phone call between Donald Trump and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the head of the CIA is due in Ankara on Thursday to map out ways of dealing with two of the region’s most contentious issues: tackling the Islamic State (Isis) and dousing the Syrian war.

Russian airstrikes accidentally kill three Turkish soldiers

 

Vladimir Putin calls Turkish leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to express his condolences, Turkish military says

Greece’s Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Katrougalos has told deputies from the country’s Eastern Aegean Region that the European Commission will not approve of visa validation at island ports, Greek media reported on Feb. 8
 
Russian Foreign Ministry official Aleksandr Botsan-Harshenko has said they did not see the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) as terrorist organizations

Turkish President Erdoğan to talk on phone with US president Trump

 
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to talk with U.S. President Donald Trump on the phone on the night of Feb. 7, Turkish broadcaster CNN Türk has reported.
 
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered Turkey to pay compensation to Turkish citizen İrfan Güzel, who was convicted of arms trafficking, for violation his right to effective remedy.

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has once again slammed credit rating agencies over their recent downgrading of Turkey’s credit rating, in which many cited the upcoming vote on constitutional amendments to shift from a parliamentary system to an executive presidential system.

Erdogan tells Merkel to abandon ‘Islamist terror’ phrase

 
Ahead of today’s EU summit in Malta (3 February), German Chancellor Angela Merkel paid a visit to Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lectured her not to use the expression “Islamist terror.”
 
Ankara and Moscow take steps to avoid the building of new tension following Russia’s killing of three Turkish soldiers amid disagreement on the strike
U.S. President Donald Trump’s unbelievable antics are being watched with disbelief around the world. The wish of fiercely anti-American Turks for Trump to win the elections so that he could cause chaos in his country seems to be coming true.
 
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Vice President Işıl Karakaş has called on Turkey’s Constitutional Court to “carry out coup trials rapidly” amid overcrowding in prisons.
 
In the eyes of his sympathizers, U.S. President Donald Trump is always great. Whatever he does, he never looks ugly to them. He may have unsettled the entire world, but Trump fans here in Turkey are still rejoicing. You can never hear them questioning the kind of disaster Trump’s presidency is.

Merkel Meets HDP Committee

German Chancellor Merkel has met with İdris Baluken, Mithat Sancar and Hişyar Özsoy from HDP. The party has published a fact sheet concerning the content of the meeting.

Turkish defense minister urges Germany to return suspected Gülenist soldiers

 
Germany must extradite 40 soldiers suspected of involvement in the July 2016 coup plot to Turkey as soon as possible, Defense Minister Işık says
 
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has sent a letter to his Greek counterpart Aleksis Tsipras to convey Ankara’s disappointment at the court decision rejecting the extradition of eight Turkish soldiers, calling on the Greek government to “act like a neighbor” and renewing his government’s demand.
 
A ruling Justice and Development (AKP) deputy has warned Greece over a freash rift over the Kardak islets, saying Turkey would shoot at the country if they “played any games.”
Senior Turkish and Israeli officials met in Ankara for the first time in nearly seven years on Feb. 1, seeking to find ways to further improve ties.
 
Turkey does not want to be the one to escalate tension with Greece but also will not “bow to any fait accompli,” Defense Minister Fikri Işık told the Hürriyet Daily News on Feb. 1.
Germany has ruled out giving Turkey unfiltered access to imagery gathered by its Tornado fighter jets operating out of the İncirlik Air Base in southern Turkey as part of a broader fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the German Defense Ministry said, according to a report on German website Bild.de on Jan. 31
 
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak has said U.S. President Donald Trump’s ruling to bar citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries into the U.S. is a “denial of the country’s own history,” as the U.S. is a nation of immigrants.

If you want to see America’s future, look at Turkey | Liz Cookman

 
From attitudes towards women to the media, they’re worryingly similar: Turkey’s spiral into authoritarianism is a warning about what could happen if Trump has his way
Two top aides of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan slammed a BBC reporter on Twitter accompanying British Prime Minister Theresa May on a visit to Turkey, mocking her messages that said there was “a lot of gold” in the Turkish presidential complex.
 
A Turkish warship yesterday (29 January) approached the small Greek island of Imia, reaching a distance of one nautical mile from the shore, triggering strong reactions from Greek authorities.
 

Just a few months ago, the situation between Russia and Turkey looked frightening enough. Not since 200 years ago had the risk of war between these two great powers been so real.

 
The Turkish military strongly denied a Russian claim that it provided ‘mistaken’ coordinates that led to the death of three Turkish soldiers in friendly fire on Feb. 9, saying that its elements were present in the same location for approximately 10 days

Turkey needs a moderating friend in Brexiting Britain | Ibrahim Dogus

 

With a rapprochement between Trump and Erdoğan, Theresa May’s balancing act in Ankara takes on even more importance, for human rights and trade

After hosting Theresa May last week, Turkey has now turned its sites to the US. An apparently fruitful conversation on security and trade relations between presidents Trump and Erdoğan has been followed up this week with a visit to Ankara by the new director of the CIA, Mike Pompeo.

Vía Erkan’s Field Diary http://ift.tt/2kSv0E1


Filed under: Uncategorized

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

#Eurosphere -An Al Jazeera piece on Israeli diplomats and UK politicians stirs some tension…

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Israelis parliamentary plot against UK politicians

 
Al Jazeera reveals discussions of Israel diplomat and British civil servant to ‘take down’ anti-settlement politicians.

Deadly icy spell grips much of Europe, including Greek islands

 
Plunging temperatures in Europe claim 20 lives, as even the Greek islands are blanketed in snow.
 
Brussels remains the hub of public affairs, according to a first-of-its-kind study into the state of EU lobbying.
 
The leader of Poland’s anti-government protest movement acknowledged on Thursday (5 January) taking money from the organisation, dealing a blow to the parliamentary opposition, but he said the funds were for contract work he had carried out.
 
Descendants of two Namibian indigenous groups sue Germany over early 20th Century genocide.

[Ticker] Czech president rebukes anti-propaganda unit

 
The Czech president has rebuked the interior ministry for establishing a unit aimed at fighting disinformation. Milos Zeman, who is an ally of Russia, and his spokesman have denounced the unit as “state censorship” and “idea police”. The centre was set up after warnings that Russia was trying to influence Czech public opinion over Nato and the EU through cyber-warfare, propaganda, puppet groups and support for populists and extremists.
The UK’s new ambassador to the EU, Sir Tim Barrow, can help make a success of Brexit, No 10 says.

Freezing conditions sweep across European continent – video

 

Heavy snowfall and below-freezing temperatures sweep across the European continent resulting in deaths and infrastructure chaos. At least 10 people have died in Poland since Friday, with temperatures dropping to -20C (-4F) on Saturday. Meanwhile, 650 flights have been grounded in Istanbul and schools have been told to remain closed on Monday in southern Italy following more than a metre of snowfall

Vía Erkan’s Field Diary http://ift.tt/2i9eC2d


Filed under: Uncategorized