Cow-Man Steals and Shares Milk in Virginia

//ed. note: although our blog almost always has a Turkish connection,
one of our faithful readers was kind enough to share this blog-worthy item
from the USA. Perhaps a copycat incident is not far off in Malatya or
Artvin or Kadıköy...//



http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/stafford-cow-pulls-walmart-milk-heist-never-in-nova/2011/04/27/AFYzdX0E_blog.html?referrer=emaillink

New Istanbul Canal Project's Ottoman Forefathers

canal (links to original article)

//ed. note: with the very recent announcement of the new canal project
to link the Black and Marmara Seas, some historical perspective is
warranted.//

(Sabah Newspaper, 28 April 2011)

In the event that the KanalIstanbul project to join the Black Sea and the
Marmara materializes then a dream that began during the reign of Sultan
Süleyman and continued for nearly five centuries will have been realized.
Prof. Dr. Said Öztürk, an economics history professor at Yıldız Technical
University, stated that the canal initiative began during Sultan Süleyman's
time and he explained the process as follows:

'The project to join the Black Sea with the Marmara with a canal was on
the agenda of the Ottomans. According to existing information, the project
was attempted seven times. In fact, it is said that The Lawgiver (Süleyman)
even had it started. Sokullu Mehmet Paşa was involved with the project and
Mimar Sinan was personally in charge of the endeavor. It is known that it
advanced some 15 kilometers from the (Izmit) Gulf.'

'The second attempt was made in 1591 during the reign of Sultan Murat III
and a ferman (order) was issued in this regard on 6 March 1591. It was
anticipated that this canal would be used by ships at Izmit. The project
came up again in 1654 during the time of Sultan Mehmet IV but again it
could not be pushed forward. Sultan Mustafa III tried twice in 1760 but
was thwarted by financial problems. The project came up again during the
reign of Sultan Mahmud II who put the effort on the agenda once again
after receiving a report on it in 1813. He even assigned a committee.'

'The project was taken up yet again by Sultan Abdülmecid in 1845 and
1857. An order from the Sultan was issued for linking Lake Sapanca
to the Gulf of Izmit and for the Sakarya River to be connected to the
lake. Studies were done by engineers Riter and Hayri Bey for the linking
of Lake Sapanca to the Gulf of Izmit in 1863, during the reign of Sultan
Abdülaziz. The main aim was to ensure a way to transport fuel to meet
the need for heating.'

'Katip Çelebi (Ottoman scholar and writer of the 17th century) wrote
quite a bit about the idea in his Cihannüma (world geographical atlas,
written 1648, 1654). There was also a project to connect the Black
and Caspian Seas in Ottoman times.'

Help Wanted: Boondocks Town Needs Shepherd

shepherd (links to original article)

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 26 April 2011)

Residents of Yeşilyurt village in Taşova district of Amasya province
have had the following announcement made from the town's loudspeakers:
'shepherd wanted to look after cattle and grazing animals; monthly salary
of 1500TL, housing, three meals a day.' The village chief, retired teacher
Fikri Seyhan, said that they are looking for a shepherd to tend about 200
animals in the 150 house village which is 50 kilometers from the district
center and which has no negative infrastructure issues to speak of.

Seyhan stated that they won't take just anyone for the shepherd job and
that the winning candidate will conform to the criteria the village has set
and will have to pass a test.  He explained their search this way: 'since
most of the people are abroad there's no one left to look after our
animals in the pastures of our village. And while raising livestock has
waned in our village it nevertheless continues. We've been experiencing
a need for shepherd to put the animals out to pasture for some years
now. That's why we've started to look for a shepherd.When we didn't
find one who met our conditions we had announcements made from
the loudspeakers in Tokat's Erbaa and Amasya's Taşova districts.'

Seyhan said that they are very fussy about who they will select for the
shepherd job and he described the kind of person they want in exchange
for 1500TL per month, housing and three meals a day: 'we want the
shepherd who starts work  to love animals. We want him to look after
the animals as he would if they were his own. He must pay attention to
providing feed and water to the animals in hot weather. Also, he should
ensure that there's no damage to the lands under cultivation nearby. We're
looking for a shepherd with these conditions.'

The selected shepherd will only work during the six month summer period,
according to Seyhan. He added that 'we've provided every kind of amenity
and comfort for the shepherd. He can come with his family. They can tend
a garden and grow fruit during the summer season. Interested persons
can make an application to our village chief's office.'

Just What's Needed - Gold Bus for Saudi King

magic bus (links to article)

//ed. note: this one too bizarre to translate...suffice it to say that the
Saudi monarch has seen fit to have a two million Euro, gold-plated
bus made for himself here in Istanbul. As the Middle East burns, Nero
comes to mind...//

Pitbull's Picture Lands Curious Expat in Court

pitbull (links to original article)

(Sondakika Haberleri Website, 21 April 2011)

Muhteşem Demirağ came from the U.S. years ago and settled in Bodrum.
She got a court order to change her name to that of her late husband, an
animal lover who died at the age of 65. Now she is on trial for having put
a picture on her Facebook page of the head of a baby pitbull in a bullseye
placed over the Turkish flag. Demirağ faces a jail sentence of between one
and three years.

American fashion designer Rose Mary Taramantona came to Turkey in
1983 for a vacation and met film actor Muhteşem Demirağ, eventually
marrying him 13 years later. Taramantona and her husband settled in the
Yalakavak town of Bodrum. He died five years ago but Taramantona
continued to live in Turkey. Three years ago she became a Turkish citizen
and took her late husband's name.

The fashion designer now known as Muhteşem Derirağ has conducted
festivals and other events to collect money on behalf of the Yalakavak
Homeless Animals Group, which she founded along with the Bodrum
Animal Rights Association. The collected money is spent on street cats
and dogs.

Recently Muhteşem Demirağ, who has lived in Turkey for 15 years (sic),
has gotten into trouble for putting the picture of a baby pitbull inside a
bullseye on top of the Turkish flag in order to protest the pittbul law. As the
result of a complaint, the Bodrum state prosecutor opened an investigation.
In her statement to the prosecutor Demirağ said that she has lived in Turkey
for 28 years, considers herself a citizen and loves dogs and other animals on
the street.

She stated that 'on the day of the incident the issue was protesting about
pitbull dogs. With the aim of showing that these dogs are not intrinsically
violent but are victims of their owners' wrongful training I put that emblem on
my Facebook page. There is a baby pitbull inside a bullseye in a picture on
the webpage. It's on top of a Turksh flag as a symbol. My intention was to
show that pitbulls should not be a target and I wanted to share this view.
I did not intend to commit a crime or insult our flag. Anyway, this emblem
had come to me from other people. Hundreds of animal lovers have shared
this emblem and I haven't heard of anyone filing suit about it.'

While she was giving her statement Muhteşem Demirağ's telephone rang
and the ring sound it made - that of a horse neighing - was documented in
the statement, as well.  After questioning a suit was filed in Bodrum's 3rd
Court of First Instance, requesting a jail sentence of between one and three
years, in accordance with paragraph one of article 300 of the Turkish Penal
Law. Muhteşem Demirağ will face a judge for the first time next month.

'Topkapı' Redux - Gold Heist in Istanbul

gold

(Hürriyet Newspaper and Haberinyeri Internet Site, 25 April 2011)

An international gang has emerged in the aftermath of the theft of 20 kilos
of gold belonging to Kapılıçarşı (Covered Bazar) jeweler Arif Üstündağ,
stolen from an armored car in Istanbul. It is understood that the gold
belonging to Üstündağ was melted down in the workshop of  his fellow
jeweler Apraham Ohanyan.

The armored car carrying 39 kilos of gold owned by Arif Üstündağ, a jeweler
for 25 years, left Kapılıçarşı en route to the mint in Beşiktaş on 12 April.
Guards in the armored car stopped it when passengers in another car warned of
a flat tire. It is understood that while the tire was being changed one of
the briefcases in the armored car went missing.

Police waded through 160 hours of images from 60 cameras and determined
that the armored car had been followed by a rented car and a taxi after
leaving Kapılıçarşı. When the armored car stopped at a red light in Eminönü
a taxi came up along side and the guards were told that one of the tires was
flat. At the same time a motorcycle rider plunged a knife into one of the tires.
While two of the armored car guards fixed the flat tire two people who had
followed the armored car opened its doors and took a case holding 20 kilos
of gold.

Leaving the scene of the incident, Venezuelans Juan Jose James Baracamonte
(42), Jose Angel Badillo Gomez (50) and Diyors Alexis Volcan Molina (28)
met with the heist's mastermind, Brazilian Al Saight (41), and his assistant,
an Italian named Plojian, at a hotel in Taksim, where the Venezuelans handed
over the case to Saight. The suspects then went to the workshop of Apraham
Ohanyan (53), who like Üstündağ has a jewelry shop in Kapılıçarşı, in the
Ikitelli section of Istanbul. Here four 24-carat ingots, each weighing one kilo,
were melted down into 22-carat form. The othe ingots were made into two-kilo
bricks.

Ohanyan's specifics were inscribed on the gold ingots and the Brazilian Saight
and the Italian Plojian took the gold from the workshop. The Venezuelans
flew out of Atatürk Airport for France, while Saight and Plojian went to Beirut.
It was reported that Ohanyan, who melted down the gold, has a jewelrey shop
close to that of the gold's owner Üstündağ. The gang may have had a hand in
the theft of 12 kilos of gold in Karaköy last year.

Apraham Ohanyan, his brother-in-law Garabet Bododoğan and taxi driver
Murat Ö. were arrested. Ohanyan's partner and the workshop workers were
released. The gold has not been located. Information has been passed to Interpol
with regard to the Brazilian, Italian and Venezuelans.

Cellphone Deviant Can't Skirt Arrest

skirt (links to related article)

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 18 April 2011)

Barber Fikret A. (27) lives in Ereğli district of Zonguldak province.
Four months ago he was arrested based on the claim that he was
taking pictures under women's skirts with his cellular phone. He
was incarcerated by the duty court at the time but the married
father of two children was released by the court at the first hearing
11 days ago, pending trial.

The day before yesterday a police officer assigned to the district
police incident examination team noticed Fikret A. as he was
walking down the street and started to follow him, thinking that
Fikret A. might engage in another harrassment activity. The policeman
saw Fikret A. enter a clothing store, come up behind a women whose
head was covered,  and then bend over a couple of times while
attempting to take pictures underneath the woman's skirt. Fikret A.
was caught red-handed.

Fikret A. tried to run away when the policeman wanted to take his
cellphone from him. Shortly afterwards he was captured. Fikret A.'s
harrassment, moment of capture and activities in front of the store
were all recorded on the store's security camera. He was taken into
custody.