Can't Sell Turkeys in Turkey!

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Sözcü Newspaper, 31 December 2017)


He may be upset, but the turkeys look pretty happy about
the turn of events.

Last June, Çiğdem and Tuncay Mutlu obtained "entrepreneurial credit"
to enter into the turkey business in Lüleburgaz district of Kırklareli
province.  The "happy couple" ('mutlu' means 'happy' in Turkish) then
planned to sell their 1,000 turkeys in the Istanbul market prior to New
Year's. 

However, when the markets in Istanbul were closed, the Mutlu's were
left with all the turkeys and could not repay the credit they took out in
the first place.  The couple has mortgaged their home in order to pay
the debt and hope to get some help from the government.  Çiğdem
Mutlu added that "Generally, New Year's is the best time to sell turkeys,
but we're not totally dependent on New Year's.  If we find a suitable
market we'll sell all the turkeys."

New Year's Celebrations: Mixed Signals

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Sözcü Newspaper, 30 December 2017)


Posters decrying the national lottery as sinful and New Year's as
un-İslamic.

Posters hung at a university in Karaman have elicited a reaction prior to
New Year's.  At various spots on the Yunus Emre Campus of Karamanoğlu
Mehmet Bey University in Karaman, posters opposing both New Year's and
the national lottery have appeared, bearing the signature of the university's
Health, Culture and Sports Department. 


Meanwhile, the line stretches out in Istanbul for national lottery
tickets...

The posters read: "Moslems don't celebrate New Year's" and "The national
lottery is sinful".  A university spokesman stated that "as long as there's
nothing illegal mentioned, the university approves this kind of poster."

Imaginary Friends in High Places

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(HaberTürk Newspaper, 30 December 2017)


Imaginary reporters besieged Büyükişbir on his Facebook page. 

In Ankara, a fraud incident came to light when tens of people tried to
reach the General Secretary of the Presidency, Fahri Kasırga.  Through
his lawyer, Kasırga filed a complaint with the Ankara public prosecutor
stating that one Mehmet Ali Büyükişbir has been passing himself off as
an advisor to Kasırga in order to bilk job-seekers with his professed
'influence' in high places of the government.

In one incident, a woman named G.A. was promised a job by Büyükişbir
for 4,000 TL (about $1,000).  The prosecutor began an investigation
based on G.A.'s complaint and many others.  Police reviewed Büyükişbir's
Facebook page and found photos of political VIPs, such as Prime Minister
Binali Yıldırım, put there to give the impression that Büyükişbir was
close with them.

Police could not find Büyükişbir at the address given by the complainants
so his phone was tapped for two months.  On Monday, police apprehended
Büyükişbir in Ankara.  In his statement to the court, Büyükişbir claimed
that "people ask me if I'm an advisor to ministers or parliamentarians and
I must have concurred because people see me in such a role.  But I haven't
used this role for my own benefit.  I deny the charges and demand to be
released!"

Judge Sezer Söylemez ruled that Büyükişbir be jailed for fraud and sent
him to Sincan Prison in the western outskirts of Ankara.


            His friends here will be all too real.

Firefighters Light a Fire to Warm Critters

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(HaberTürk Newspaper, 29 December 2017)


Counterintuitive firefighters starting a fire instead of dousing 
one, to keep the animal kingdom warm on a winter's night.

Zafer Yiğit (81) lives in Güzelyalı village in Çanakkale province and
looks after 20 dogs, numerous cats and chickens in his home.  With
the coming of cold weather, Yiğit wanted to warm his home, lest the
creatures get cold, but he was unsuccessful.  So he called the fire
department (!).

When the firefighters arrived at Yiğit's home they lit the "soba" (stove)
and showed Yiğit how to do it himself.  Çanakkale Fire Chief Olcay Runa
said that "I got a call saying that an elderly man couldn't light his stove.
In response, I said 'we're always putting out fires, let's light one for a
change.'  I gave the order for the fellows to go and when they got there
they were amazed by what they saw, in terms of all the animals. We're
very glad we were able to take care of his needs."


Güzelyalı village is in Canakkale city.

Paving Paradise to Put Up a Power Plant

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(HaberTürk Newspaper, 29 December 2017)


          This is called "progress", right?

In Amasra district of Bartin province, members of the Bartin Platform
group and villagers are protesting the uprooting of olive trees for the
construction of a thermal power plant.  Ten months ago a 2-acre 
olive tree grove between Gömü and Tarlaağzı villages was purchased
and the other day 139 of the olive trees were uprooted.

In response, Zeliha Atav (63) declared that "this company first hired
our children and then they threatened us, saying 'if you don't give us
your land, we'll fire your kids.'  They didn't say 'we're building a power
plant', they just hoodwinked us.  We don't want a thermal power plant!"


                                     Ouch!

Prof. Dr. Erdoğan Atmış, who spoke on behalf of Bartin Platform, said
that "the environmental application for the Hema Thermal Power Plant
they want to build was rejected 5 times because the site is inappropriate.
Nevertheless, they applied again and in October 2016 they somehow
finagled a favorable outcome. In the successful environmental report
the negative effects of the power plant on the environment and peoples'
health have been discounted, or it is implied that the company will 
eventually address them."

İlyas Börekçi, the deputy chief of the company in question, Hattat
Holding, responded by saying that "there was an effort in 2000 to
encourage olive groves here but it was determined that the climate
conditions weren't right.  We've been in touch with the Olive Grove
Institute and we trimmed the trees (!) in a way they recommended.
We took out 60 trees, together with soil, wrapped the roots in cloth
and sent them to Izmir.  There are about 100 trees in the field that have
begun to degrade so they're not worth transplanting."

 

Girl Students in Sweatsuits Foment Adultery

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 28 December 2017)


Harmancı, seated center,  keeping any female temptresses at bay.

Ercan Harmancı (44) is a philosophy teacher at the Ayşe Kemal İnanç
Girls Anatolia İmam Hatip (religious) High School in Selçuklu district
of Konya province.  Harmancı posted messages on his Twitter and
Facebook accounts accusing girl students who wear sweatsuits during
gym class of committing adultery (!). 

In one of his posts Harmancı said "either I have deviant feelings or the
devil doesn't care about them.  After seeing the curves of a young girl,
if Satan hasn't cooled you off then you've either lost your manhood or
your faith. The sweatsuits that the girl students wear make them look
naked.  These girls see the school and the class as their home and the
male teachers, whom the girls see as their uncles or older brothers,
don't see these girls as 'other women' but they provoke thoughts that
amount to adultery.  These are not just my thoughts, they are the order
of the Prophet Muhammed.  If there is a dressing room in a school
then this is degradation."

In another post Harmancı said "if a body is looking alluring to a
gym teacher this is essentially adultery.  These days these menstruating
girls are forced to take gym class so they are in effect being made to
commit adultery.  And their fathers don't care."

Konya education officials reacted with outrage to Harmancı's comments
and began an investigation on Monday.  Yesterday, the National Education
Ministry (MEB) relived Harmancı of his position.  MEB Deputy Chief
Yusuf Tekin stated that "we're very uncomfortable about this.  I'm
encouraging students to take gym class and music in school.  Someone
who espouses to be a defender of Plato's Ideal State needs to examine
himself first before lecturing others.  That is why these kinds of
perverted remarks make me uncomfortable."

   

Silver Tongued "Canadian Doctor" Bilks Women

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(HaberTürk Newspaper, 28 December 2017)


For a pseudo-doctor, he's quite the operator.

A week ago, Esra B. (42) filed a complaint with the public prosecutor,
saying that a person she had met on social media had defrauded her.
Esra B. explained that a man identifying himself as a "Canadian doctor"
had made contact with her on the internet and "a week ago my phone
broke so he said to me 'I'll get you a new phone.'  We went shopping
and he bought a 7,000 TL (about $1,750) phone, paying 1,000 TL in
cash.  When I got home, though, the telephone wasn't in my purse."

The police were not at all unfamiliar with the culprit's modus operandi
or description and they went in search of Ferit Ö. (55), who has defrauded
many other women he met on social media by introducing himself as a
"Canadian doctor".  Ferit Ö. had gone to jail with a 14 year- 4 month
sentence resulting from convictions in 4 separate cases but, saying he
was ill, Ferit Ö. had been able to take a week's leave (!) from the light-
security prison he was being held in at Silivri, Istanbul.

(Perhaps predictably!) Ferit Ö. did not return to jail after his leave but
was picked up by police in Şişli, Istanbul.  He denied Esra B.'s
accusations and claimed that she had dropped her new telephone in
the car.  As for Ferit Ö.'s rap sheet, he has convictions for 11 counts
of fraud, two of which involved insincere marriage proposals; 6
robberies; fraudulent use of bank cards and credit cards; electronic
fraud; using a false ID - a total of 26 previous crimes and convictions.


Camera-shy after a long day of shopping with someone else's
money.