29.1.08
last weekend I visited pAris. once again I could observe one of those French particularities that I normally do like about them. tThat is their irrational passion for rationality and being on principle. there is a sort of willingness to act uncompromising which makes them into quite moving people. sometimes, at least. but it can turn in the opposite and then they can get under my skin.
Sirma Oran is the daughter of Baskin Oran, a famous Turkish professor who fights for minority rights and reconciliation with Armenians in Turkey. he was a candidate in the 2007 Parliamentarian elections. Sirma's father didn’t win a seat in the Parliament due to envy at the Kurdish political party DTP. although Oran had a very positive approach towards this party, they nevertheless thought it necessary to nominate their own candidate in the same electoral district. this resulted in the election of neither Oran nor the DTP candidate.
like her father, Sirma Oran also misses out a political career, in her case for the Green Party in France. being candidate at the municipal elections in March 2008, she was challenged by one of her opponents to recognize the Armenian genocide. she did so in a closed meeting with some representatives of the Armenian community. but the politician of the Socialist Party (SP) was not satisfied by this gesture at all. it is this party who proposed a law to make it a criminal offense to deny the Armenian World War I massacres. her opponent said she should repeat her words publicly at the Armenian genocide monument in Lyon. something that is impossible without losing the backing of the Turkish community. then Sirma Oran decided to withdraw as a candidate because she had the feeling that she was reduced to her ethnic roots and that she didn’t want to carry the whole Turish history with her all the time. and so the SP politician succeeded silencing another adversary, by putting someone in an insoluble dilemma. a mechanism that appeared quite effective, but if I were the SP politician I wouldn’t be proud of the result.
09:23
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15.1.08
gilthead bream it reads like a romantic story. when gilthead breams in the Aegean Sea want to reproduce themselves, they head for the sandy bottoms around the Kardak or as the Greek call them Imia islets. around those islets the seabed is grown over with what is called almond leafs. the local fishermen say the breams like to rub themselves against this particular kind of seaweed before spawning. so these islets are not only the perfect place for reproduction, but also the ideal spot to catch this very tasteful fish. and that is exactly why both Greek and Turkish fishermen like to do their set fishing nets around Kardak. this results in growing tensions between Turkey and Greece, since the islets are both close to the Greek island of Kos and to Bodrum Bay. normally, nobody would have paid attention to these very tiny and not too attractive islands. but since the gilthead bream takes pleasure in the local seaweed it is heavily disputed area which sours the relations between the two countries once more. if the bream only knew, that his erotic pleasure may cause a war, probably he would look for some other kind of satisfaction.
09:42
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5.1.08
in the past days in Germany a virulent debate has arisen about the question whether or not it would be legitimate to expel people with an immigrant background, if they commit a crime and are penalized with more than one year in prison.
the debate came after two youngsters with a foreign roots had injured a man severely, after he had complained about their smoking cigarettes in the metro. of course, nothing to be happy about, but still. there is a positive side to it. it seems that this criminal act is also a sign of reconcilement. one of them was Turk and the other Greek. under any other circumstances they would have fought with each other. it won t be of any comfort to the poor injured man, but obviously contributed to fraternization of old ennemies!
16:21
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4.1.08
a new year starts with good intentions. that is at least what the Turkish prime minister Erdogan must have thought, when he proposed a ban on cigarettes in workplaces, bars and restaurants. Erdogan is well-known for his campaign for a sober life-style. as mayor of Istanbul he already tried to ban alcohol in pubs and discos. he had to give up his attempts because of strong public opposition against his so called islamist proposals.
yesterday his anti smoking lobby turned out to be more successful. even the nationalist MHP, led by the once three-boxes-a-day smoking Bahceli, voted in favour of the new law.
I was surprised to read that a newspaper asked for the opinion of one of Turkeys best-know journalists Murat Belge. he is professor at Bilgi university, where I studied last year. when I was there at the university library studying, I saw him entering the next-door reading room very often. he used to choose his newspapers carefully and then start making crosswords for some time. a paragon of quietness. but things seem to have changed.
Belge told the newspaper that the tobacco ban to his opinion was a direct intervention in people’s private lives. he himself quitted smoking years ago and thus the tobacco ban did not directly concern him, but, otherwise he would have been deeply disturbed by this new law.
it’s a pity, I would have liked to see the picture of the great Murat Belge carrying some banners, protesting against the ban. but no, around this time he will be crossing the small garden between his office and the university library once again, then sit down and start making some crosswords.
without doubt a much healthier habit than smoking.
15:04
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