Cyprus that is located in Eastern Mediterranean has a great strategic importance for European countries as much as other North Africa and Middle East have. Sovereign states made big wars especially to keep the artery of commerce under control and the island was occupied by so many forces throughout the history. (more…)
Category: America
-
FORGET ARMENIA, TURKS SHOULD CONDEMN AMERICAN INDIAN GENOCIDE
Turkey is today beset on all sides by the shock doctrine strategy of the west, and from within by its US-backed marionette government. Now the Armenian Genocide issue has once again bubbled to the surface. Apologize! Apologize! yell the so-called Turkish liberals, egos stroked and, no doubt, palms greased by their western puppeteers. It’s the same old drama with the same stodgy cast burbling the same trite lines. As usual, the Turkish government does nothing, thus contributing to the confusion, apathy, and fear that stalk the land. But that’s the whole idea isn’t it?
Turkish people! Instead of handwringing and moaning, ACT! Turkish people, you heirs of the Atatürk Revolution, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk gave you the right (and responsibility) to save your country. https://yunus.hacettepe.edu.tr/~sadi/dizeler/hitabe2.html ) Fight the rush-to-judgment efforts of the Armenian Genocide lobby. Every “Turkish child of future generations” should demand that their parliament immediately enact a resolution that condemns the American Indian Genocide. Turkish people…ACT! Defend your country against the dark powers that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk foresaw over eighty years ago. The facts of the catastrophe done to the American Indians are in plain sight and beyond dispute. Spain, Portugal, England, and, most importantly, the United States of America should stand condemned in the eyes of the world for the crimes committed against the aboriginal population in the Americas.
More than 200 million Indians lost their lives on the combined North, Central, and South American continents after Columbus landed in 1492. The Indians in South and Central America were mostly enslaved to extract precious metals. The Indians in North America were displaced, starved, and slaughtered to make way for the enormous flow of European immigrants. Vast numbers died from European diseases, perhaps the first weapon of mass destruction, in this case, biological warfare. Surely Turkey has the right to defend itself from the Western claims of genocide, given the historically bloody hand of the West.
From approximately 15-18 million North American Indians present in the days of Columbus, only 190,000 were left in the territorial United States in 1890. The destruction of the Southern Indians (the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek tribes) resulted in the seizure and clearance of their enormously fertile forest lands (the Southern black belt) in order to expand both slavery and cotton production in Arkansas, Alabama, and Mississippi. In this manner, the red and black races were displaced, enslaved, and murdered in order for white America to prosper. The proof of this assertion is fully documented and unassailable.
Turkey has welcomed the persecuted minorities of many nations. The same year that the destruction of the American Indians began, 1492, Turkey’s Sultan Bayezit II accepted with kindness and consideration the Jews expelled from Spain and Portugal. Similar compassion was rendered to Jews centuries later who fled Hitler’s genocide. Surely Turkey has the right, the responsibility, and moral authority to counter the orchestrated, poorly documented, rush-to-judgment of the Armenian Lobby and its collaborators, both western and Turkish.
The horrific destruction of the sophisticated Native American cultural system was encouraged by the government of the United States, particularly under the administration of that so-called champion of so-called democracy, Andrew Jackson. By 1890, the American Indians were finished. Their numbers had been reduced by 98 percent over the 400 years since Columbus landed. By 1890 the United States government had seized 98 percent of their land. No greater genocide or land grab has existed in the history of the world. Surely Turkey has the right to challenge the unproven claim of so-called genocide by affirming through parliamentary resolution the well-documented genocide of an entire race of people by an act of policy by the government of the United States of America.
It is high time that Turkey takes the offensive on the matter of genocide. In this day of widespread destruction, it is high time to remind America, Americans, and their government, that they are up to their ancestral elbows in the blood of the American Indians. The Turkish government must condemn the American Indian Genocide, or itself be condemned. And if you, the Turkish people, think that makes you a traitor, then read again Nazım Hikmet’s magnificent poem, Vatan Haini (“Traitor”) below, along with Atatürk’s statement of your “primary duty.”
Cem Ryan, Ph.D.
Istanbul
21 December 2008
TRAITOR“Nazim Hikmet is still continuing to be a traitor,
We are a half-colony of American imperialism, said Hikmet.
Nazim Hikmet is still continuing to be a traitor.”
This came out in one of the Ankara newspapers,
Over three columns, in a pitch-black screaming streamer.
In an Ankara newspaper, beside a photograph of Admiral Williamson,
smiling in 66 square centimeters, his mouth in his ears,
the American admiral.
America gave 120 million lira to our budget, 120 million lira.
“We are a half-colony of American imperialism, said Hikmet.
Nazim Hikmet is still continuing to be a traitor.”Yes, I am a traitor, if you are a patriot, if you are a defender of our homeland,
I am a traitor to my homeland, I am a traitor to my country.
If patriotism is your farms,
if the valuables in your safes and your bank accounts is patriotism,
if patriotism is dying from hunger by the side of the road,
if patriotism is trembling in the cold like a cur and shivering from malaria in the summer,
if sucking our scarlet blood in your factories is patriotism,
if patriotism is the claws of your village lords,
if patriotism is the catechism, if patriotism is the police club,
if your allocations and your salaries are patriotism,
if patriotism is American bases, American bombs, and American missiles,
if patriotism is not escaping from our stinking black-minded ignorance,
then I am a traitor.
Write it over three columns, in a pitch-black screaming streamer,
Nazim Hikmet is continuing to be a traitor, STILL!Nazim Hikmet
28 July 1962(Translation: Hüda Cereb and James Ryan, 1 June 2005)
ATATÜRK’S SPEECH TO TURKISH YOUTH
O Turkish Youth! Your first duty is ever to preserve and defend the national independence, the Turkish Republic.
That is the sole foundation of your existence and your future. This foundation is your most precious treasure. In the future, too, there will be ill-will, both in the country itself and abroad, which will try to tear this treasure from you. If one day you are compelled to defend your independence and the Republic, then, in order to fulfill your duty, you will have to look beyond the possibilities and conditions in which you might find yourself.
It may be that these conditions and possibilities are altogether unfavorable. It may be that the enemies who desire to destroy your independence and your Republic represent the strongest force that the earth has ever seen; that they have through craft and force, taken possession of all the fortresses and arsenals of the homeland; that all its armies are scattered and the country actually and completely occupied.
Assuming, in order to look still darker possibilities in the face, that those who hold the power of Government within the country have fallen into error, that they are fools or traitors, yes, even that these leading persons may identify their personal interests with the enemy’s political goals, it might happen that the nation came into complete privation, into the most extreme distress; that it found itself in a condition of ruin and complete exhaustion.Even under those circumstances, O Turkish child of future generations, it is your duty to save the independence of the Turkish Republic.
The strength that you will need for this is mighty in the noble blood which flows in your veins.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
From”The Great Speech”
20 October 1927https://yunus.hacettepe.edu.tr/~sadi/dizeler/hitabe2.html
VATAN HAİNİ“Nâzım Hikmet vatan hainliğine devam ediyor hâlâ.
Amerikan emperyalizminin yarı sömürgesiyiz,” dedi Hikmet.
“Nâzım Hikmet vatan hainliğine devam ediyor hâlâ.”
Bir Ankara gazetesinde çıktı bunlar, üç sütun üstüne, kapkara haykıran puntolarla,
bır Ankara gazetesinde, fotoğrafı yanında Amiral Vilyamson’un
66 santimetre karede gülüyor, ağzı kulaklarında, Amerikan amirali
Amerika, bütçemize 120 milyon lira hibe etti, 120 milyon lira.
“Amerikan emperyalizminin yari sömurgesiyiz, dedi Hikmet
Nâzım Hikmet vatan hainliğine devam ediyor hâlâ.”Evet, vatan hainliğine, siz vatanperverseniz, siz yurtseverseniz, ben yurt
hainiyim, ben vatan hainiyim.
Vatan ciftliklerinizse,
kasalarınızın ve çek defterlerinizin içindekilerse vatan,
vatan, şose boylarında gebermekse açlıktan,
vatan, soğukta it gibi titremek ve sıtmadan kıvranmaksa yazın,
fabrikalrınızda al kanımızı içmekse vatan,
vatan tırnaklarıysa ağalarınızın,
vatan, mızraklı ilmühalse, vatan, polis copuysa,
ödeneklerinizse, maaşlarınızsa vatan,
vatan, Amerikan üsleri, Amerikan bombası, American donanması topuysa,
vatan, kurtulmamaksa kokmuş karanlığımızdan,
ben vatan hainiyim.
Yazın üç sütun üstüne kapkara haykıran puntolarla:
Nâzım Hikmet vatan hainliğine devam ediyor hâlâ.Nazım Hikmet
28 Temmuz 1962https://nazimhikmet.fisek.com.tr/siir/vatanhaini.htm
ATATÜRK’ÜN GENCLİĞE HİTABESİ
Ey Türk gençliği! Birinci vazifen, Türk istiklâlini, Türk Cumhuriyet’ini, ilelebet, muhafaza ve müdafaa etmektir.
Mevcudiyetinin ve istikbalinin yegâne temeli budur.
Bu temel, senin, en kıymetli hazinendir.
İstikbalde dahi, seni bu hazineden mahrum etmek isteyecek, dahilî ve haricî bedhahların olacaktır. Bir gün, istiklâl ve cumhuriyeti müdafaa mecburiyetine düşersen, vazifeye atılmak için, içinde bulunacağın vaziyetln imkân ve şeraitini düşünmeyeceksin!
Bu imkân ve şerait, çok nâmüsait bir mahiyette tezahür edebilir.
İstiklâl ve cumhuriyetine kastedecek düşmanlar, bütün dünyada emsali görülmemiş bir galibiyetin mümessili olabilirler. Cebren ve hile ile aziz vatanın, bütün kaleleri zaptedilmiş, bütün tersanelerine girilmiş, bütün orduları dagıtılmış ve memleketin her köşesi bilfiil işgal edilmiş olabilir. Bütün bu şeraitten daha elîm ve daha vahim olmak üzere, memleketin dahilinde, iktidara sahip olanlar gaflet ve dalâlet ve hattâ hiyanet içinde bulunabilirler.
Hatta bu iktidar sahipleri şahsî menfaatlerini, müstevlilerin siyasî emelleriyle tevhit edebilirler. Millet, fakr ü zaruret içinde harap ve bîtap düşmüş olabilir.Ey Türk istikbalinin evlâdı! İşte, bu ahval ve şerait içinde dahi, vazifen; Türk istiklâl ve cumhuriyetini kurtarmaktır!
Muhtaç olduğun kudret, damarlarındaki asil kanda, mevcuttur!
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
“Nutuk”
20 Ekim 1927Source :
-
Obama should visit Istanbul
ISTANBUL – President-elect Barack Obama, who pledged to visit a Muslim capital during his first 100 days in office, should choose Turkey or Indonesia, two key Muslim-majority countries going through a steady democratic transition, according to the Washington Post.
In an article published Saturday, Egyptian sociologist Saad Eddin Ibrahim said delivering a message of U.S. reconciliation with the rest of the world may begin with the 1.4 billion Muslims.
“Since democracy, a deeply held value of Americans, has become an aspiration for most Muslims, democracy should be central to Obama’s message Ğ and to his choice of where to deliver it,” he noted, adding that Turkey and Indonesia were the places to deliver the message. “By their example, Indonesia and Turkey have laid to rest both Samuel Huntington’s ‘Clash of Civilizations’ proposition and the idea that Islam and democracy are incompatible,” he wrote.
Ibrahim argued that many of the Muslim countries’ rulers were despotic, repressive and corrupt, but some of them have also been friends or outright allies of the United States. “While the rest of the Muslim world has a long way to go toward democracy, Indonesia and Turkey should be celebrated as role models. Nothing would speak louder and clearer to that notion than an early visit by the universally popular Barack Obama,” he said.
Source : Hurriyet
-
Turkey and the world
Dec 18th 2008
From The Economist print editionSIR – Your report on Turkey’s prime minister contradicted the real situation (“The worrying Tayyip Erdogan”, November 29th). No one can question the dependability of Turkey as a Western ally. Relations between Turkey and the United States are based on a strategic partnership and for more than half a century Turkey and America have enjoyed ever-strengthening co-operation based on shared values and mutual trust.
On the Kurdish issue, the government has invested $12 billion in the region, and has announced a major economic package to complete the south-eastern development project (GAP). And having passed laws that for the first time allow the Kurdish language to be spoken on radio and television, the Turkish state broadcaster (TRT) will start airing Kurdish programmes on January 1st. The prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the Justice and Development (AK) Party have formed the most reformist and liberal government in Turkish history and represent the true face of modern Turkey, where individual freedoms need to be respected for all and where all citizens enjoy an advanced democracy.
A biased argument based on a rumour about a deal between Mr Erdogan and the chief of staff, Ilker Basbug, does not reflect the truth and misleads your readers. Moreover, labelling the AK Party as “Islamist” is groundless. The AK Party is not Islamist, but a centrist-conservative, democratic political party.
Egemen Bagis
AK Party vice-chairman in charge of foreign affairs
Turkish Parliament
Ankarahttps://www.economist.com/letters/2008/12/18/on-indigenous-people-turkey-rusal-asteroids-pensions-words-james-bond
-
Tomris Azeri: “I do not think that Obama will recognize the so-called “Armenian genocide”
Turkey is an important state for the United States, therefore, I do not think that Washington will take any step against Ankara, said chairman of the American Azerbaijani Society Tomris Azeri, speaking about possible recognition of the so-called “Armenian genocide” by B.Obama. She noted that any possible anti-Azerbaijani step of any US president will depend on the effectiveness of the activity of the Azerbaijani diaspora of America. “It is possible to inform them about the Azerbaijani position, in case our diaspora is strong”, said she.
Speaking about the Baku charter adopted this year, she voiced hope that the charter will make an important contribution to the development of the diaspora movement.
“I took part in the second session of the World Azerbaijanis in Baku in 2001 and I remember this event well. I also spoke there. I remember well the speech of deceased Heydar Aliyev. He said important words to us: “Unite, be united, be strong and do not separate”. But, after seven years I state with regret that we have not done all things that he told us to do”, noted Tomris Azeri, adding that she has always been pessimistic and hopes that the charter will promote the development of the diaspora movement.
According to her the Azerbaijani diaspora is closely cooperating with the Turkish and Jewish communities, as there are many Jews, originating from Azerbaijan and Turkey who are devoted to the land where they were born.
“At the time, it would be better for us to cooperate more a greater number of ethnic groups. We do not contend ourselves only with the said two groups. Why not cooperate with the Georgian community? Georgia is a close friend to Azerbaijan. Or Pakistani community and so on. There are many ethnic groups in the United States and we are open for cooperation with all of them”, noted the head of the Azerbaijani Society in the United States.
As for the plans to inform the Americans with reliable information about Azerbaijan and its problems, she said a large conference will be held in the Yale University in February when our compatriots commemorate the victims of Khojaly tragedy.
“It is necessary to stress the important of the constant work wth congressmen. It is necessary to meet each of them, hold talks. The US policy forms not only in Washington. Each member of our community must meet with his congressman and tell him: “I can vote for you but our problems are …” This is done by Armenians. They have two big organizations in New Jersey and they constantly invite congressmen and disinform them/
For example, New Jersey is a large and important state, where there are many Turks, coming from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and so on. There are all opportunities for this state to become exemplary for Turks.
Few currently know about Khojaly. Therefore, I try to invite for Americans to each of our event. More Americans should know about it. Therefore, I think that the planned event in Yale University is of great importance in this sense.
/Day.Az/
URL: http://www.today.az/news/politics/49695.html
-
MAKING AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES AFFORDABLE
It was reported on December 3, 2008 in the media that the costs of the universities have been rising at more than twice the rate as the cost of living. Thus, universities are no longer affordable. If nothing is done, the cost will be prohibitive, but still more people will apply and will keep them open. It is a supply and demand situation. A better idea is of course to analyze the various costs of learning, discard the unnecessary, and reduce the cost to an affordable level.
I made my high school education in Turkey and my university education in Germany. My high school education was equivalent to the French high schools of 1930’s which were the best in Europe. With what I learned in h igh school, I got directly in Chemical Engineering at the Technical University in Darmstadt.
Unfortunately the American High school is much weaker and a four-year college is needed to bring the high school graduate to a level at which he can be starting a professional studies. [See: Allan Bloom, “The Closing of the American mind”, Simon & Schuster, 1987]
Thus, a first cost–cutting would be possible by strengthening the high school to the level of a European high school and thus, saving at least a few years. That would include a course in philosophy in 12th grade. That is perfectly possible. My grand-daughter Erin took university-level courses in high school and now has done the 4-year college in three years. But the highest gain would be obtained, when high school level courses would become strong enough not to need the 4-year college. At present rates, this would be a saving o about $120,000 per student. Youngsters would also eliminate four years from the duration of their education. They would start four years earlier in life.
A big difference between a German University and an American one, is that in Germany the university is just a place of learning. The living is done outside and outside of the interest of the university. Students live in private homes., as a sort of guests.. Many families have extra rooms they can rent. If one is lucky, as I was, one can be treated almost like a family member.
In American universities, learning and living are done in the same campus. Students, at least the first year, live in a new student society, where excessive drinking, hazing, and similar youthful acts are common. I propose to get rid of the campus living , primarily to cut costs. The together-living during the first year has also some advantages. One makes friends, just like in a boarding school or in the army. Eating together in the same cafeterias or restaurants will do just as well and Campus living can be eliminated. I understand that fraternities and sororities are not in the University budget.
Information coming from one nearby university indicates that fighting the energy waste might tremendously reduce operating costs. As example, the elimination of cafeteria trays is mentioned. The washing of the trays is eliminated which is an energy-intensive operation. Also, without trays, students do not take things they are not going to eat and food waste is reduced.
At Lehigh University, in Bethlehem, PA., some of my friends professors were experimenting with a new idea. They thought that, in stead of teaching the students by many second-class teachers, it is better to teach them by videos, or DVD’s, of the best professors and have an assistant present to answer questions. This too would save considerable money and besides, improve the teaching. Universities would then retain only a few of the very best professors. Those DVD’s would have to be often up-dated.
Of course teaching methods can be improved to cut costs. I remember one Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering in the U.S. who spent his time in class in developing and integrating complex differential equations. Since he was not teaching mathematics, he could have given us prints that show how the integration is done, and he could have taught the chemical engineering facts that he was supposed to teach during that time. If he would do that, he would need to teach a one hour a week course, in stead of three. Of course there are all sorts of other ways to cut costs by planning the lectures intelligently.
One of the heavy expenses of an American University are its sports teams and a high salaried coach in every sport. I propose to form an outside sports club and get the sports out of the university budget. Students who are interested in sports will become members of the Club. I was told that Football is a generator of income. I still think that show-sports should be divorced from the university.
These are some of the cost cutting ways that came to my mind. I am sure there are others too. I will conclude that it is perfectly feasible to make the universities affordable.
T H E O R HAN T A R H A N L E T T E R
(Issued twice a month by M. Orhan Tarhan and distributed free by e-mail ).
Article No: 142 December 15 , 2008
……………………………………………………………………………………………..
To Readers’ Attention: Any one who wishes to receive THE ORHAN TARHAN LETTER should sent an e-mail to [email protected] with his/her full name, e-mail address , and PLEASE phone number, in case there is an interruption caused by the server, or in case of e-mail address change. It is free. Comments are welcome. These LETTERs are also published in AmericanChronicle.com