Wanna-be Spies More Like Maxwell Smart

mit links to original article

(Habertürk Newspaper, 12 June 2011)

In Ankara, Ufuk D. duped a friend by saying 'I'll get you into MİT'

(Turkey's CIA) and then had him set fire to a woman's car. After that he

wanted the friend, Nihat K., to take naked pictures of the woman. For

his part, Nihat K. said that he wanted to be like the guys in the TV show

'Valley of the Wolves'. The woman turned out to be Ufuk D.'s sister-in-

law.

Ufuk D., who works as a carpenter in Ankara, showed his friend Nihat K.

a metal caster, a car and told him 'I'll get you into MIT. Prepare your CV

and bring it to me. But first I have to burn the car belonging to a couple

that works at MIT who leaked information.' Nihat K. prepared his CV

and in the middle of the night he set fire to the car Ufuk D. had pointed

out to him.

Nihat K., whose dream has always been to join MIT, kept on calling Ufuk

D., who told him 'Be patient. It's not that easy to get in. I talked with them

and they will take you.' After a year had passed Ufuk D. called Nihat K.

again and explained to him that 'they'll take up your application on Tuesday.

But first you have another mission. You'll enter the home of the woman 

whose car you torched and take nude photographs of her.' So the night

before last Nihat K. and his friend Hakan K. went into the house Ufuk D.

had shown them. 

The two friends put on ski masks and entered into the house of teacher

R.S., using a key that Ufuk D. had given them, and hid in the bedroom. 

When R.S. returned home and saw the two men wearing ski masks she

started screaming. During the encounter R.S. bit  Nihat K.'s hand, 

prompting the frightened intruders to spray R.S. with gas and beat her. 

They couldn't take any naked pictures, though, and fled. 

Neighbors who heard the woman's screams took down the getaway car's

license plate and informed the police. Shortly thereafter, the police found

the car's owner, Osman K., who said that he had given the car to his older

brother  Nihat K. Police took Nihat K. into custody and he told them that

'When Ufuk D. promised to get me into MIT I took on the missions he 

gave me. I felt like I was in 'Valley of the Wolves'’

Ufuk D. was sought by police based on the statement given by Nihat K.

He was found at the bedside of his sister-in-law who had been taken to

the hospital after the incident. Ufuk D. was taken into custody during his 

'get well' visit to R.S. at SSK Dışkapı Yıldırım Beyazıt Hospital. Ufuk D.

denied the charges but police are looking into why he set such a trap for

his sister-in-law. 

Cop Rides Hood After Drunk Runs Him Down

hood links to original article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 9 June 2011)

Driver Nail Işler, who hit a policeman trying to stop him at Dolmabahçe
and carried the cop on the hood of his car all the way to Karaköy, said
in his statement that 'the weather was stifling and hot so I don't remember
anything.'

Traffic policeman Ahmet Turan Alçin who survived certain death stated
that 'he was turning the car from side to side as I was clinging to the hood,
trying to throw me off. All the while he was screaming 'I'm going to kill
you!''

After the incident Nail Işler was held at the Karaköy police station so he
could sober up. He was then taken to the Beyoğlu court and from there to
jail. Işler has a rap sheet that includes drug use, robbery of homes and
businesses and car theft. He was arrested on charges of 'intent to harm,
damage to property, resisting arrest and threatening.'

Davut Ö., who was in the car with Işler during the incident, was released
by the prosecutor. According to Davut Ö., 'when the traffic policeman
stepped in front of the car to stop us Nail all of a sudden stepped on the
gas. As the policeman was about to be crushed he was able to jump on
the hood and hold on. Nail sped up and tried to throw him off and although
the policeman told Nail a number of times to let him get down Nail just
lost himself. We hit two cars and after the second one the policemen fell
to the ground. If I had tried to take control of the car and stop Nail during
the incident things would have been a lot worse.'

Mayor Wants His Name on School, Desperately

school links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 7 June 2011)

The process that has aggravated the administration and students of
Büyükçekmece Grammar School in Istanbul started with the naming of
the school after Dr. Hasan Akgün, the four-time mayor of the district,
because of contributions he began making to the school in 1996. But
municipal council member Ibrahim Bilgin objected to this and made an
appeal to the Istanbul Administrative Court, starting a battle over the
name.

The court decided that the school should continue to carry its old name,
Büyükçekmece Grammar School, but Akgün appealed to the governor
anew and had the school's sign taken down. So the school's name became
Dr. Hasan Akgün M.L. Grammar School. At this point, Bilgin went to
the Danıştay (a higher court), which confirmed the administrative court's
decision. The school's sign was taken down once again.

But Akgün had the new sign taken down by filing a protocol at the
governor's office, showing as the reason that he was having repairs made
at the school.  The school's new name became Dr. Hasan Akgün
Curriculum Laboratory Grammar School. Not to be outdone, Bilgin
appealed to the Ankara 15th Administrative Court and had the
Büyükçekmece Grammar School sign raised once again.

What had become a matter of pride for Akgün lead him to make another
effort. He had a sports arena constructed in the school's yard and went
to the governor's office in December to sign a protocol to have the
school's name changed again in January. But Akgün's sign lasted just
four months because the court's latest decision was to have the
Büyükçekmece Grammar School sign put up yet again. Two weeks ago
the sign with Akgün's name on it was removed.

These days the school's students don't know what answer to give when
asked 'what school do you attend?'  No new sign has been put up in
place of the latest one taken down. The school's principal explained that
'we don't have money to have a sign made.'

Akgün characterized Bilgin, who brought him to court, as his 'political
enemy.' He said that 'the Akgün family has made nearly 2 million TL in
contributions to the school up till now, in the framework of a protocol
signed at the governor's office. The protocol's conditions are clear. The
school's sign must show my name. I made this assistance not as mayor
but as a family. If the protocol's conditions are not put in place I will take
action to recover the nearly 2 million TL we have invested thus far.'

As for Bilgin, he stated that 'it's not ethical for a sitting mayor to use
municipal funds for this and to put his name on the school, as well.'

Palm Reader and Alex-the-Priest - Failed Treasure Hunt

priest links to original article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 3 June 2011)

Kurtuluş Savut (62) lives in Osmangazi district of Bursa province, where he
works as an accountant. Because of some family problems he called a palm
reader in Izmir to discuss things. The palm reader told Savut that there was
a fortune of gold and silver under the Bedrettin Mosque, which is next to the
building where Savut's brother Ayhan Savut (61), an expert on minarets,
has his workplace.

The palm reader added that a priest named Alex had been consulted and
had confirmed what the palm reader said. The Savuts and their friend
Mustafa Dağınık (58) began their work inside the three-story wooden
building where Ayhan's workplace is situated. The three friends, who began
their digging work 45 days ago, dug a tunnel two meters wide and 21 meters
deep in order to reach the underside of the mosque.

The suspects disposed of the dirt produced by their digging with trucks.
But although the palm reader had said that they 'would reach the treasure
after digging 16 meters', nothing turned up. Police evaluated a tip they got
about the activity and raided the address where the digging was underway
toward morning. The three suspects were taken into custody.

It was claimed that the palm reader had come to Bursa once during the
digging and after that had directed the operation via cellphone messages.
 

One Car CAN Make a Difference - Gridlock

traffic jam links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 3 June 2011)

Local and foreign tourists viewing Sultanahmet Mosque and St. Sophia
were confronted with an unpleasant surprise when they tried to leave the
area. Some foreign tourists departing by buses in order to catch their planes
couldn't get out of Cankurtaran for hours because of an improperly parked
vehicle.

The guides on the buses alerted the police and other officials about getting
the vehicle towed away and a tow truck was called. However, because
of traffic in the city the tow truck didn't appear on the scene and the
traffic in Sultanahmet was thoroughly gridlocked.

There were student groups among those who had come to tour the historic
peninsula but instead found themselves in a nightmare. The students in the
buses were taken to the shore by their teachers to pass the time. The
foreign tourists who needed to catch their planes complained to the police
and officials.

At this point the police, officials and storekeepers, along with the bus guides,
combined their efforts and tried to lift the vehicle onto the sidewalk. This,
however, proved to be impossible. Because of the confusion some tourists
missed their flights.

The expected tow truck showed up one and a half hours later at the street,
which by then had become an 'incident scene.'  Once the wrecker towed
away the vehicle the buses were able to set out on their way.

Stuck in Traffic? Buy a Saw

saw links to original article

(Sabah Newspaper, 31 May 2011)

It's very natural for drivers to see hawkers selling their wares during
rush hours when traffic is gridlocked. The hawkers have a talent for
appearing wherever traffic ties up. Their main locations are Beşiktaş,
Sirkeci and Taksim, where traffic is heavy. It doesn't surprise anyone
to see sellers offering water, bananas, bread wheels and ice cream
as drivers make their way through stop and go traffic, advancing
millimeter by millimeter.

But there was one seller in the middle of the highway the other day
and all who saw him couldn't help but be amazed. Eyüp Satıcı, who
was trying to find a customer for a motorized saw in this middle of this
traffic nightmare, surprized everyone. The 30-year old Satıcı says that
there are people among those stuck in traffic who want to buy a
motorized saw.

Continuing, he said 'but some people sitting in traffic are scared. When
they see a motorized saw in my hand they say things like 'everything
ok brother? Are you going to cut me up?'.  They're right to be scared
but what am I going to do, this is my living.'  Satıcı, whose father and
brother are traffic hawkers, says that bargaining is not sacrificed during
in-traffic sales. 'I open at 400TL. I know an interested buyer from his
look. In the end I sell it for 200TL and shake the customer's hand.'

Some drivers, though, are not all that pleased with seeing motorized
saws being sold on the highway. Some of them said 'everyone's nerves
are on edge in traffic anyway. God forbid but sometimes there are
even murders committed on the highway in moments of anger. The
authorities should take measure against these kinds of sellers.'

Anti-Theft Device Backfires Big-Time

trap links to original article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 31 May 2011)

Musa Göçmez (80), a retired mechanical engineer who lives in
Germany, set up a device using a pump-action rifle to trap would-be
thieves at his summer house in the town of Güre in Edremit district of
Balıkesir province. Göçmez positioned the electrically-based system
on the landing of a staircase in front of the room where his steel case
was located on the top floor of the house. The system was arranged
such that when someone stepped on the doormat at the house's
entrance the rifle would fire at the entrance.

However, Göçmez, who arrived at the summer house for a vacation
the other day with his wife Emmy Elze Göçmez (75), became the victim
of his own trap. When the couple stepped on the doormat the rifle
fired eight bullets, five of them striking Göçmez and three hitting his
wife. Both of them died at the scene.

It was determined that Göçmez had forgotten to shut down the circuit
breakers as necessary to cut off the electricity to the device. It was
learned, as well, that the unlucky couple had argued with their neighbors
about the device.