Again the Russian and South Ossetian Troops near South Ossetia begin to fire upon innocent Turkish TV Reporters. Georgia has mostly Turkish TV Reporters filming the war because they are the closest to Georgia. It is reported that one reporter was shot and blinded.  There are reports of a Journalist from Holland being killed.

There is video of Turkish TV Reporters being shot:

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A couple of days ago I published a post blasting the popular website Facebook for stifling debate (in this case about the so-called Armenian genocide). Facebook shut down two popular (pro-)Turkish websites in one week time: one called “The Greatest Leader of ALL Time: Atatürk,” the other called “The Armenian Genocide is a Huge Lie.”

Now, whether one agrees that it’s a ‘lie’ - or better, whether what happened constitutes genocide - or not, stifling debate is seldom the right course of action. There are cases in which it is - such as terrorism - but this issue deals with history, it was and is about historical events, about which a debate exists. Historians disagree with each other about this issue, (more…)

Traveling through the southeastern regions of Turkey can be a bittersweet experience. Not only is the region’s geography breathtaking at times, but so is the hospitality and incredible warmth of its people. Unfortunately, the living standard of most of the region’s ethnic-Kurdish population is tragically low. While the historic economic situation of this part of Turkey has never been as robust as in the country’s littoral areas, the Turkish military’s reaction to the Kurdish uprising during the early 1990s was responsible for considerable regression.

Turks are understandably frustrated when they discuss the conditions of their country’s southeastern region. They point to the preponderance of Kurdish families with seven, eight or more children and question why they should have such large families if they do not possess the financial means for their support. (more…)