Academic Collegiality Takes a Hit

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 30 April 2018)


        All in the name of 'house cleaning', he says.

The Rector of Nevşehir Hacıbektaş University, Prof. Dr. Mazhar
Bağlı, removed former rector and university founder Prof. Dr.
Filiz Kılıç from her chairmanship of the Turkish Language and
Literature Department and then, while Kılıç was out of the province,
Bağlı had the lock on her office door broken and her belongings
removed. (!)


                         Mobbed

Bağlı, a long-time AKP (ruling party) politician, was appointed
as rector in March 2017.  Bağlı gained notoriety for some tweets
about the "deep state".  Kılıç, the founding rector of the university,
was, according to her criminal complaint, subjected to "mobbing"
by Bağlı and his cronies, culminating in her computer, test papers,
books and personal items being removed from her locked office
while she was out of town.

Dictionary's Anti-Women Meanings Can Stay

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(HaberTürk Newspaper, 29 April 2018)


"I know I hate her, I'll think of a reason (and a word) later."

In Ankara, the Turkish Language Council (TDK) was asked by
a citizen to remove certain words in its dictionary whose slang
meanings are demeaning toward women.  The words in question,
with their accepted and slang meanings:

"müsait": favorable, convenient/ready to flirt.
"esnaf": artisans/women on the path to ruin.
"teslim etmek": to deliver/for a woman to give herself to a man.
"serbest": free/flighty, loose woman.
"oynak": unstable/flırtatious woman.
"kötüleşmek": to deteriorate/woman who behaves contrary to
                        communal norms.
"kötü yola düşmek": become corrupt or bad/woman who becomes
                         a prostitute.
"yollu": having such and such roads/woman of suspect character.
"boyalı": painted/woman who wears excessive make-up.

TDK refused the citizen's request and the case went to court.  A
judge decided that the slang meanings should be removed from
the TDK dictionary.  TDK, though, appealed the ruling and
prevailed.  The higher court noted that a word's meaning is given
in a dictionary according to, in order: widest usage, figurative,
slang, sarcasm, insult and any others, along with the word's use
in a proverb or saying. 

The higher court found that the words' meanings with regard to
women were not put there to demean or to lay the groundwork
for violence against women.  Rather, "words in a dictionary reflect
their use in the community, whether good or bad, right or wrong.
Slang or insulting meanings of words ought to have a place in a
dictionary but their use in conversation may be against the law."

Continuing, the higher court stated that it would not be possible,
actually or legally, to remove all the words that constitute insults
in the Turkish penal code from dictionaries. 

Would-be Killer Jailed as Thief by Accident

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 29 April 2018)


      "I might be a killer, but I'm no thief!"

In Ankara's Altındağ district, İ.D. abandoned her husband and two
children to take up with B.P., but the situation turned into something
from an Aziz Nesin story (famous for absurdity).  Gökhan Orhan
Çevirenlerden waited in front of İ.D.'s house to kill her (his ex-wife)
and her lover but somehow (!) was instead arrested for robbery and
served 9 months in jail.

Çevirenlerden's lawyer Nuran Özdemir worked like a detective and
eventually proved that the thief was one G.A., rather than
Çevirenlerden, who had coincidentally been nabbed by police at the
scene of the robbery while he was sitting in his car with a rifle and
revolver, intending to kill İ.D. and B.P.

On 28 March, Çevirenlerden was acquitted in a new trial and right
away he opened a suit for wrongful arrest, demanding 50,000 TL
(about $12,000) in damages.  He noted that "I was going to kill
the wife who abandoned me and her lover.  But should I be glad
that I'm not a murderer or sad that I served 9 months in jail for a
robbery I didn't commit? I just don't know."

Bike Thief Pines for "An Honest Man"

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 29 April 2018)


Adem E. just wanted to ride like his mom used to do...

In Seyhan, Adana, Adem E. stole İbrahim Vuranay's bicycle. 
After riding around for a while, Adem E. stopped at a mosque
to wash up and take a rest.  When he emerged from the mosque,
though, someone had stolen the bike Adem E. had stolen. (!)

Adem E. went to the police station and asked that the police
find 'his' bike.  Under police questioning, however, Adem E.
could not tell them the make of the bike, how much he paid for it,
nor did he have a sales receipt. 

Ultimately, Adem E. confessed that he had stolen the bike in
the first place.  He lamented that "I stole the bike to ride around
with. I went into the mosque to wash up but someone stole the
bike.  How could he steal it at a mosque!?  There's no such thing
as an honest man in this country anymore." (!)  Adem E. was
placed under house arrest.


       Mom's hot wheels, in yesteryear.

 

Herkül the Pooch Freed from Kidnappers

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 28 April 2018)


           Herkül back where he belongs.

In the Çamlıca neighborhood of Bursa's Nilüfer district, a Chow
Chow breed dog, known as 'Chinese Lion', named 'Herkül' was
stolen last week from a garden by two individuals.  Police reviewed
video footage of the theft and set about to find the pooch.


                    Unscheduled departure.

With news of the dog's kidnapping circulating among the public,
a tip came into police about two people walking the dog.  Police
then determined that Herkül was being kept in a house in the
Yunuseli neighborhood of Osmangazi district.  The house was
raided and the two individuals seen on the video footage were
arrested.  Herkül was found chained to iron bars in the house's
celler.

Herkül's owner Ebru Boztekin thanked the police for their efforts
and said that "the day after Herkül was stolen was my son Emir's
birthday.  When he blew out the candles on his birthday cake he
wished for Herkül's safe return.  My son's wish came true."




 

Must Have Been a Horrible Boss

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(HaberTürk Newspaper, 27 April 2018)


     For a boss, seems kinda cuddly.

There was a horrible murder in the Kızılmurat neighborhood of
Tarsus district in Mersin province.  İbrahim Ateş (46), the manager
of  Şamata Bar on Tarihi Evler Street, known as 'Bar Street' in
Tarsus, was killed by his worker Mesut S. (30).  Evidently,
there was a dispute over money between the two.  They argued
and then fought in the sleeping quarters above the bar yesterday
morning.

Mesut S. stabbed Ateş to death and then cut up Ateş's body in
five parts (!), put the parts in bags and hid them in a closet under
the stairs.  Additionally, Mesut S. sent a message from Ateş's
phone to his wife Ümmügülsüm, saying "I've gone to Ankara on
business.  Give the cash box to Mesut and trust only him."


                         Horrible employee.

Ümmügülsüm hanım, however, became suspicious when she
could not reach her husband and called police.  A search was
made of the bar and the bags of body parts discovered. Mesut
S. fled but was captured by police.  He had recently been released
from prison after serving 11 years for murder. (!)


  Suspects taken into custody but later released.

Belly Dancing Lessons for Kids

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 27 April 2018)


                     It's all in the hips, kids.

A school principal and 4 teachers are being investigated in Edirne
for having students view belly dancers and 'zenne' (male dancers
in women's attire) at a place where alcohol was being sold.  The
administration of Edirne Yüksel Yeşil Primary School organized
a school trip for 4th graders (!) and their parents in connection with
the 23 April National Sovereignty Holiday to Cappadocia in
central Turkey.   

Principal Fatma Kılıç, the 4 teachers and about 70 students and
parents stayed at a hotel in Nevşehir and went to a "Turkish Night"
event at a nightclub in Uçhisar.  The event began with folklore
dancers and ended with the belly dancers and 'zenne' taking the
floor.  Some of the parents objected and wanted to take their
children out of the nightclub but their hotel was far away and
they had no alternative transportation.

The Edirne Governor's office went into action upon the complaints
of some parents and viewed video from the "Turkish Night" event,
prompting the investigation of the principal and teachers.
Principal Fatma Kılıç has been relieved of duty.