text:
Istanbul Calling
News about Turkey
Borderline Nationalism, Cont.
The question of who will clear the hundreds of thousands of mines along Turkey's border with Syria continues to roil the country, with several newspapers running front page stories on the issue in the last few days.
First, some clarification regarding my previous post on the issue. My problem with the debate on the demining issue is not that the opposition is questioning the details of the legislation that the Turkish government is trying to pass in parliament, which would allow foreign companies to bid on a contract that would allow them to clear the mines and then get a 44-year lease on the cleared area and use it for agricultural purposes (organic farming, supposedly). I wish they were questioning the specifics of the legislation, since -- like so many other bills that have been approved by parliament in recent years -- it contains some serious flaws.
[UPDATE -- Hurriyet is now reporting that bill has been withdrawn from debate and sent back to commission.]
What disturbs about the way the issue is being discussed, both by opposition politicians and in the parts of the press, is the nationalist tone that's being used. Here's what Deniz Baykal, leader of the main opposition Republican Peoples' Party (CHP) had to say in parliament the other day: "It does not suit Turkey to allow a foreign company to clear its mines." Similar stuff comes from Devlet Bahceli, head of the hardline Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who had this to say recently: "We don't object to clearing borders of mines or opening demined territories to agriculture. What we are objecting to is the government's insistence on granting foreign companies the right to open these territories to agriculture."
Lurking beneath what both are saying is the fact that Israeli companies are expected to bid on the tender to clear the mines (and stand a good chance of winning the job). Writing in the daily Aksam, columnist Husnu Mahalli had this to say on the Israeli angle:
No matter what kind of precautions Turkey takes, Israelis who are equipped with the latest technological means may share all the information regarding Turkey's security during the time they work in the region and they may engage in dangerous acts. The Israelis, who will possibly come from a military background, will collect information for Mossad and perform special studies not only on Turkey, but also Syria, Iran, Iraq and the Kurds. We should not forget the fact that the Israeli state commissions nearly all of its citizens who go abroad, including Israeli tourists, with special tasks. So the Israelis who will be working along the Turkish-Syrian border will first lead to damage in Turkish-Syrian relations.
As far as I can tell, the "special tasks" the Israeli state commissions its citizens with doing while abroad is to shop like crazy, but it seems like Mahalli is worried about other, more nefarious things. That a column like this appears in a mainstream, mass-circulation daily certainly raises a host of troubling questions.
Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has certainly done his part to stir up anti-Israel sentiment in Turkey, is now playing the role of fireman, telling the opposition to cool it. "It is easy to say 'you are selling our land to Israel', but do not forget that it is Turkish people who will be working for the company responsible for the project," he said a few days ago. President Abdullah Gul has also stepped into the debate, warning against "taking the issue to extreme points." It might be too late for that.
Posted by Yigal Schleifer at 2:19 PM 4 comments:
Labels: Southeast Turkey, Turkey domestic politics, Turkey-Israel relations, Turkish nationalism
Jail the Children, Pt. II
In a previous post, I linked to a report that talked about the problem of minors being jailed as part of strict new anti-terrorism laws passed by the Turkish parliament in 2006. I recently went down to southeast Turkey to do some reporting on this issue and filed a story which was just posted on the Christian Science Monitor's website. From my article:
Hebun is one of hundreds of minors, some as young as 13, who have been arrested and jailed in Turkey over the past few years under strict new antiterrorism laws that allow for juveniles to be tried as adults and even be accused of "committing crimes in the name of a terrorist organization" for participating in demonstrations. Critics and rights defenders say the amended antiterrorism laws are deeply flawed and also violate international conventions on the detention of children.
"There is a lack of proportionality between the crime and the sentence," says Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey researcher for the New York-based watchdog group Human Rights Watch. "Counting what these children do, such as throwing stones or damaging property, as a terrorism offense is a problem."
"You are subject to a court system that doesn't see you as a child," adds Ms. Sinclair-Webb.
As part of its European Union membership drive, Turkey has updated its penal code to more closely reflect European and international standards. But observers say the country took a step backward with a 2006 amendment to the country's antiterror law that made it possible to try minors between the ages of 15 and 18 as adults when the crime is deemed to involve terrorism.
That same year, Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that children taking part in demonstrations supported by the PKK could be charged with aiding or acting in the name of the organization.
According to Turkish officials, 1,572 minors were prosecuted under the antiterror law and 174 of them were convicted during 2006 and 2007. Hundreds more court cases against minors have been launched since then.
"The court's decision is very dangerous for the rule of law and for individual freedoms," says Tahir Elci, a Diyarbakir lawyer who is defending several of the jailed children. "According to the high court's decision, prosecutors don't need evidence to claim that somebody committed crimes on behalf of the PKK. Just participating in a demonstration is evidence enough.
"We accept that these kids may have thrown stones, but they didn't do it in the name of the PKK," he adds. "They are children...."
....Turkish prosecutors have defended the heavy sentences given to the children arrested in protests, saying they are a response to an effort by the PKK to mobilize Kurdish youth against the state.
But Sinclair-Webb, of Human Rights Watch, says that sending children off to jail could backfire.
"It's a very hardening process for children and psychologically very damaging," she says. "If you go in as a child who was just having a lark throwing some stones, you may come out as a full-fledged militant.
"If you are trying to win hearts and minds and get people to not join the PKK, this is not the way to do it," she adds.
One teenager, imprisoned for 13 months after participating in a demonstration and now out on bail while he awaits trial, says he was "changed" by his experience in jail.
"I became more aware," says the 16-year-old boy, who asked not to be named because of his upcoming court case, where he could face seven years in prison if convicted.
"The things I learned in prison about myself, about the Kurds, about the PKK, it was like an awakening."
Posted by Yigal Schleifer at 5:42 PM No comments:
Labels: Civil liberties/human rights in Turkey, Kurdish issue, Southeast Turkey, Turkey domestic politics, Turkey-EU relations, Turkish judicial system
Borderline Nationalism
A proposal to clear the multitude of mines along the Turkey-Syria border has become a political minefield for the Turkish government and has given its opponents a chance to flex their nationalist muscles.
Turkey has a serious mine problem; there are an estimated 600,000 anti-personnel mines buried along the border with Syria, and another 300,000 in other areas. After signing the 2003 Ottawa Convention on the destruction of anti-personnel mines (APM's), Turkey pledged to destroy its mines by 2014. Although the Turkish military had initially started doing some of this work already before 2003, it was determined that it lacks the equipment and expertise to finish the job. One solution, proposed by the government, was to subcontract the work to a private company that specializes in mine clearing. The proposal has a kind of beating mines into plowshares angle, with the subcontractor also getting a 44-year lease on the land to use it for organic farming.
But the possible involvement of foreign companies -- particularly Israeli ones -- in the project has complicated things. From a new report by the Jamestown Foundation:
The plan to sub-contract the clean-up project to private companies has long been featured on the government's agenda. The MHP and CHP opposition parties expressed concern that foreign companies, especially Israeli firms, might become involved in the project. An earlier tender was canceled by the council of state owing to such objections. The government has delayed parliamentary discussions on a revised bill, which is intended to provide a more solid legal framework to conduct the project (www.rotahaber.com, March 17, 2008). Since it has also come under increasing pressure to meet the deadline set by the Ottawa Convention, the bill was finally presented to parliament last week, prompting heated discussion.
The opposition parties raised several objections. They claimed that allowing foreign companies to operate on Turkey's borders might pose a threat to its national security. Consequently, they demanded that the TSK should be given the sole responsibility for mine-clearing. Moreover, they alleged that the TSK also harbored reservations over the bill. In their defense, government officials referred to "classified" correspondence with the TSK in which the latter expressed a preference for sub-contracting to private companies. Equally, they noted the military's concerns had been incorporated into the draft bill. According to the government, land required for ensuring border security will not be leased to the contractor (Anadolu Ajansi, May 14). However, those statements failed to satisfy the opposition, who argued that the government had misled the public. One CHP representative invited the TSK to issue a statement clarifying its stance on the bill. He also called for its withdrawal, saying that if approved in parliament, the party will refer the issue to the constitutional court (Anadolu Ajansi, May 18).
Moreover, some opposition deputies claimed that the wording within the bill indicates it was drafted to favor awarding the tender to Israeli companies. They alleged that this proved the hypocrisy of the AKP's foreign policy, given Erdogan's earlier anti-Israeli rhetoric (ANKA, May 16)....
....Moreover, given the continued controversy over the possible involvement of Israeli firms, the conservative press favoring the AKP has also joined the rising criticism of the bill (Yeni Safak, May 20). Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a hastily convened closed door meeting to allay the concerns of the AKP deputies. In a bid to reassure them that bill adequately protected Turkish national interests, Erdogan allegedly claimed that "the controversy was a product of the opposition parties, trying to wear us down through their unfair accusations" (Hurriyet Daily News, May 20).
You can read the full report here. Speaking to Today's Zaman, Mehmet Günal, a MHP MP from Antalya had this to say on the subject:
"Awarding the contract to a foreign company will threaten our national security. Demining is a matter of national security, not of agriculture," he said. Günal underlined that the problem was that the tenders for demining and for agriculture were to be simultaneously held.
"We suggest that agricultural use of such a big and strategic stretch of land should not be merged with the mine-clearing tender. If such merging is made, we see that Israeli companies are being described. It would be a big thing for the Turkish-Syrian border to be controlled by Israel for a period of 44 years. We have identified that out of 14 applicants, seven have ties with Israel. Three more have indirect connections with Israel. If demining is merged with agriculture, there is no other company to do this besides the Israel companies," he said.
You can read the rest of the Today's Zaman article, which has some very good background on this story, here.
Ultimately, it seems like the demining issue has become hostage to a combination of nationalist reflexes and the ongoing power struggle between the AKP government and its opponents. "It's turned into a mess, simply because of a kind of anachronistic, nationalistic approach," one Ankara-based analyst I spoke with told me. "They are diverting attention from the real problem of mines in the southeast."
(Photo from Today's Zaman)
For Nabucco, Is It Kurdistan to the Rescue?
I have a piece up on Eurasianet looking at the possibility of supply from gas fields in northern Iraq breathing new life into the troubled Nabucco pipeline project (for some background, take a look at this previous post, as well as this one). The "Kurdish" gas option adds an interesting twist to the Nabucco story, although it's clear nobody checked with Baghdad before they announced that Iraqi gas would save the struggling pipeline project. From my article:
Could supplies from gas fields in northern Iraq breath new life into the troubled Nabucco pipeline, a project designed to free the European Union from Russia's virtual gas supply monopoly?
That was certainly the hope created by the May 17 announcement that a consortium of European and Middle Eastern energy companies completed a deal to develop gas resources in Northern Iraq, part of which would be used to kick start the flow of energy via the long-stalled Nabucco route.
"It's an important and promising development for the acquisition of a huge volume of natural gas for Turkey and for Europe via Nabucco," the pipeline project's managing director, Reinhard Mitschek, said of the $8 billion deal between Austria's OMV AG and Hungary's MOL, and the United Arab Emirates' Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, which currently operate a gas site in northern Iraq.
Representatives of the UAE companies said they believe the Iraqi fields could supply up to 3 billion cubic feet of gas per day, which is what Nabucco is being designed to carry. Crescent's executive director, Badr Jafar, said the projected volume was sufficient to justify the construction of Nabucco.
But experts are warning that Iraq's internal political squabbles may make it difficult for gas from the country's north to make it to Europe. The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) controls Northern Iraq, but the central government in Baghdad has rejected the KRG's attempts to make independent energy deals.
On May 18, a day after the deal between the European and UAE firms was announced, Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani slammed the proposal. "We will not allow any side to export gas from the region without the approval of the central government and the Iraqi Oil Ministry," he said. Baghdad has previously blacklisted companies that have made independent deals with the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq.
"I don't think there will be permission for both the development and the export of that gas before the problems between the central government and the KRG are solved," says Necdet Pamir, an energy analyst based in Ankara.
"There is a strong reaction from the Iraqi government to the announced deal and there may be some restrictions put in place. I don't think in the short term such a development will be fulfilled. This is just wishful thinking right now," he added.
Nabucco's proposed northern Iraq connection came to light just two days after Russia signed deals with Bulgarian, Greek, Italian and Serbian energy companies to facilitate the construction of a rival pipeline, dubbed South Stream. Those pacts seemed to signal the death-knell for Nabucco, which has been plagued for years by questions about profitability.
Announcing the Iraqi connection may have been a way for Nabucco supporters to make a statement that they won't be going away anytime soon. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. A few years ago, the Iraqi supply would have been further down the list, but now it's seen as more of a possibility," said Amanda Akcakoca, an analyst at the European Policy Centre, a Brussels-based think tank....
....The failure of the Iraqi connection to materialize for Nabucco would mark just the latest in a series of setbacks for the pipeline project. Two problems that continue to hover over Nabucco are a lack of reliable suppliers and disagreements between the European Union and Turkey over transit fees. According to recent reports, a May 8 meeting in Prague between the EU and countries involved in the pipeline project may have achieved a breakthrough in disputes between Brussels and Ankara, but Nabucco is still very much in danger, experts say.
"Within EU circles everyone is still talking about Nabucco positively, but if you talk to experts, most of them say it is dead," says Akcakoca.
"Perhaps they [analysts] re being too pessimistic, since Nabucco is still on the table and if enough of the right political and financial support were put behind it, it would still have a chance," Akcakoca continued. "The situation in Iraq itself makes it unlikely as a primary source for Nabucco. The main sources still remain in Azerbaijan and Central Asia."
(Photo - A gas extraction plant in northern Iraq)
Posted by Yigal Schleifer at 10:24 PM No comments:
Labels: Pipeline politics, Turkey-EU relations, Turkey-Iraq relations
Energy Security vs. Strategic Insecurity
A followup to the other day's post about the Nabucco pipeline project. At the heart of the project lies the increasingly important policy question of "energy security" – how countries can secure diverse sources, particularly of oil and natural gas, and diverse supply routes. One of my concerns is how to keep the search for energy security from becoming an adversarial and short-sighted one that will only lead towards greater insecurity.
As the Associated Press reports, a new Kremlin "National Security Strategy" paper puts battles over energy resources as one of the major challenges facing Russia. From the report:
A Kremlin policy paper says international relations will be shaped by battles over energy resources, which may trigger military conflicts on Russia's borders....
"....The international policy in the long run will be focused on getting hold of energy sources, including in the Middle East, the Barents Sea shelf and other Arctic regions, the Caspian and Central Asia," said the strategy paper that was posted on the presidential Security Council's Web site.
"Amid competitive struggle for resources, attempts to use military force to solve emerging problems can't be excluded," it added. "The existing balance of forces near the borders of the Russian Federation and its allies can be violated."
The Kremlin's thinking certainly seems in line with what's being considered in the United States and Europe. I recently came across a 2008 article entitled "The Militarization of Energy Security," which appeared in an online journal published by the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and was written James A. Russell and Daniel Moran, lecturers at the school. "It is in the energy sector that strategic planners now find it easiest to imagine major states reconsidering their reluctance to use force against each other," the authors wrote.
"'Energy security' is now deemed so central to 'national security' that threats to the former are liable to be reflexively interpreted as threats to the latter. In a world in which territorial disputes, ideological competition, ethnic irredentism, and even nuclear proliferation all seem capable of being normalized in ways that constrain the actual use of military force, a crisis in global energy supply stands out as the last all-weather casus belli when the moment comes to hypothesize worst-case scenarios."
Posted by Yigal Schleifer at 11:54 AM No comments:
Labels: Pipeline politics, Turkish energy politics
Star Dreck
This is a bit off this blog's normal beat, but since the new version of "Star Trek" has just opened in Turkish cinemas, it may have some "news" value. Either way, it's too much fun to ignore.
An article (in Turkish) in yesterday's Sabah brought to my attention a lost gem of 1970's Turkish kitsch cinema, "Turist Omer Uzay Yolunda" (or, in English, "Tourist Omer in Star Trek"). The film -- from which the image above was taken -- was part of a series starring a character called "Turist Omer," an urban hick who creates havoc everywhere he goes, mostly just by showing up. In this case, he somehow gets beamed up to the deck of a Turkified Starship Enterprise, where he meets "Kaptan Kirk" and a pointy-eared fellow named "Mr. Spak." Hilarity -- or what is supposed to be hilarity -- ensues, mostly as Omer chases miniskirted crew members around the bridge of the Enterprise. Some of the action takes place on another "planet," shot among the ruins in Ephesus and set to music from Pink Floyd's "Meddle" album.
A website called "Something Awful" has a great review and synopsis of the film, describing it like this:
Conceptually it is quite possibly one of the strangest movies I've ever seen. It has obvious comedy elements - namely the Turist Omer character and everything he does - yet it is a totally non-ironic duplication of Star Trek. Whenever Turist Omer is off screen, and sometimes even when he isn't, the plot and acting are deadly serious albeit unbelievably terrible. That makes this film either one of the most underappreciated works of genius of our time or one of the worst movies ever made.
The website describes the Omer character as a "surreal sadsack." He reminded of the Ernest P. Worrell character (star of "Ernest Goes to Camp" and other classics) crossed with the desperate and sinister lecherousness of Jerry Lewis. All told, not a particularly appealing or sympathetic character.
For the world's viewing pleasure, some good soul out there has distilled "Tourist Omer in Star Trek" down to an essential ten minutes on YouTube. Take a look (if watching in Turkey, you will need to use a proxy like ktunnel or vtunnel):
One other thing worth noting about the Turist Omer series is that the character comes from Istanbul's low-income and notoriously rough Kasimpasa neighborhood. In 1970's Turkey (and in the following decades), just the idea of putting someone from Kasimpasa in improbable situations (which, back then, really meant anywhere outside the neighborhood) was enough to generate big laughs. Today, Kasimpasa is better known as the place where Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan grew up. Who's laughing now?
Posted by Yigal Schleifer at 11:04 AM 1 comment:
Labels: pop culture and politics
New Life for Nabucco?
The Guardian is reporting on what may be a major breakthrough for the troubled Nabucco pipeline project (which was previously discussed in this post). Designed to break Russia's almost monopolistic control over Europe's energy supply, the pipeline would bring natural gas from the Caspian region and the Middle East to European markets via Turkey. Up until now, Nabucco has been dogged by questions over who will be part of providing its supply and by Turkish haggling over transit fees.
Following a recent summit in Prague that brought together the project's key players, it appears that Nabucco is being given a new lease on life. From the Guardian's report:
The European Union and Turkey have struck a ground-breaking gas pipeline deal unlocking a potential energy bonanza in the Caspian basin after more than a year of deadlock, according to senior EU officials.
The agreement, to be signed in Ankara on 25 June, represents a major boost to the EU's ill-starred Nabucco pipeline project, which is intended to transport natural gas to Europe from central Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East, and is the key to breaking the Kremlin's stranglehold over Europe's gas imports. "This is a complete breakthrough," said a senior EU official involved in the tough negotiations with Turkey. "The Turks have accepted our terms. There is no conditionality."
The €9bn Nabucco project is at the centre of a contest pitting Russia against the EU and involving Turkey, Germany, Austria, Azerbaijan and the authoritarian regimes of central Asia in the effort to secure Europe's gas needs while curbing the hold Moscow and the gas monopoly Gazprom have over the supply lines. The case for Nabucco is debated, but was reinforced by Russia's gas war with Ukraine in January, which caused havoc with Gazprom supplies to eastern and central Europe. There had been similar disputes in 2006 and 2007.
Nabucco, stretching more than 2,000 miles from Turkey's eastern border to Europe's main gas hub outside Vienna, would be the main route for pumping gas to Europe not controlled by Gazprom. But the plan had faltered over deadlock between the EU and Turkey over the pipeline transit agreement. More than half the pipeline is to be located in Turkey, making it the gatekeeper of Europe's energy supplies.
Ankara has been driving a hard bargain, insisting on collecting a "tax" on the gas being pumped and demanding 15% of the transit gas at discounted prices. This, say EU officials and the six-company consortium that is to build and run the pipeline, would render Nabucco financially unviable.
The stalemate was broken at a summit in Prague last Friday between the EU and the countries involved. "The 15% demand has gone," Andris Piebalgs, the EU commissioner for energy, told the Guardian. "We've agreed on cost-based transit. We're very close to a conclusion." A senior Czech official organising the summit likened the negotiations to "bargaining in an Istanbul souk", while an EU envoy to the region worried that "nothing is done until it's done".
But the European commission president, José Manuel Barroso, said President Abdullah Gül of Turkey assured him the deal would be signed within weeks. "That's what President Gül told me," he said....
....As well as Nabucco, the Europeans spoke specifically for the first time about supporting the building of a pipeline under the Caspian Sea connecting Turkmenistan and central Asia to Azerbaijan. The central Asian gas was up for grabs, said the senior EU official, and if Europe did not get there first, it would go to Russia or China.
If Nabucco is to happen, it will initially need the gas from Azerbaijan's BP-run Shah Deniz-2 field. But officials in Brussels view Turkmenistan, with its vast gas deposits, as the key to its longer-term viability.
The Russians are pressing the central Asians and Azerbaijan hard to try to put a stop to Nabucco and retain control of all the supply routes to the west. The Turkmens attended the Prague summit, but declined to commit, apparently deciding to try to play the Russians off against the Europeans.
Getting Nabucco off the ground would be a major triumph for the EU and a good sign that the bloc is starting to formulate a more cohesive energy policy. What should be remembered, though, is that once built, the Nabucco pipeline will supply only a fraction of Europe's gas supply. Creating an energy supply that is truly secure -- in terms of diverse sources and supply routes -- will require more long-term thinking and planning.
Posted by Yigal Schleifer at 12:31 PM 1 comment:
Labels: Pipeline politics, Turkey-EU relations, Turkish energy politics, Turkish foreign policy
After Massacre, Village Guards Under Fire
The fallout continues from last week's massacre in southeast Turkey, in which 44 people were killed at an engagement ceremony in a small village near the city of Mardin. Perhaps the most significant debate about the the event has revolved around the involvement of "village guards" -- members of govnernment-sponsored, paramilitary force created to fight the PKK -- in the attack. As mentioned in the previous post, the village guard system has long been criticized by human rights groups, who say it has created a violent division in Kurdish society and has allowed militia members to use their power to settle scores, expropriate land and engage in criminal behavior. Both sanctioned by law and above the law, the village guards -- armed and funded by the state -- operate with little supervision or accountability.
In the wake of the attack, there has been call for reforming or even eliminating the village guard system. Both will be difficult to do. According to government figures, there are more than 50,000 village guards on the state's payroll. In a certain respect, the system is a kind of public works project in the impoverished southeast. Meanwhile, decommissioning a force this large -- as well as then protecting them from revenge attacks -- seems like an almost impossible task, although one that will have to be part of any comprehensive solution to Turkey's ongoing Kurdish problem.
The Jamestown Foundation has a good roundup about the new debate over the village guard issue. From the report:
Village guards, numbering around 90,000 at the height of the PKK's campaign, are currently around 58,000-strong. Although the system began as a temporary measure, it has become an integral part of Turkey's security apparatus. The guards, however, have frequently been criticized for their alleged involvement in criminal activities or human rights abuses. According to Interior Ministry records, village guards were the target of over 5,200 criminal investigations and as a result 853 guards were arrested for various crimes (Cihan Haber Ajansi, May 8). A recent report released by the Human Rights Association revealed that between January 1992 and March 2009 village guards committed various human rights violations, including forced evacuation, burning villages, kidnapping and rape. In the last seven years guards have killed 51 people and wounded 83 (ANKA, May 9)....
....A spokesman for the Turkish military, Brigadier-General Metin Gurak defended the village guards during his weekly press briefing. He said that it would be unwise to hold the entire institution responsible (Milliyet, May 8). Interior Minister Atalay supported this view and defended the village guards. Though noting that the government will take into account the criticism of the guards, Atalay added that the dissolution of this institution was not on the agenda (www.cnnturk.com, May 9).
The deputy prime minister and government spokesman Cemil Cicek, also supported the system, arguing that it had emerged out of necessity and these conditions remained. Cicek added: "It is necessary to avoid hasty conclusions. If some of them are involved in wrongdoing, then necessary action will be undertaken... It is wrong to attack the entire institution, because of the recent incident" (www.ntvmsnbc.com, May 10).
The debate on the village guard system is likely to continue and the opponents of Turkey's anti-terrorism policy will repeat their demands for its dissolution. However, many security experts regard it as a necessary counter-terrorist tool and argue that Turkey will need this institution as long as the PKK remains active. Since the government and the Turkish military appear to share this view, and PKK terrorism is unlikely to end soon, a partial reform of this system may be more realistic rather than its complete dissolution.
Labels: Deep State, Kurdish issue, Southeast Turkey, Turkey domestic politics, Village Guards
Behind a Massacre, Ancient Traditions and Volatile Politics
I filed a report today from the small Kurdish village that was the scene of a massacre Monday where 44 people were killed. In the massacre, a group of masked gunmen raided a home where an engagement party was taking place. The horrifying attack, although blamed on a decades-long family feud, is also very much connected to the southeast region's troubled politics. From my report:
An attack by masked gunmen on an engagement party in a small village in southeast Turkey, which resulted in the deaths of 44 people, is being seen as a reflection of both the troubled region's ancient traditions and volatile modern politics.
According to locals in Bilge, a village that sits on a small hilltop about 12 miles from the city of Mardin, there was a decades-long dispute between the attackers' family and the family of the would-be groom. The semi-official Anatolia news agency reported that the masked attackers had wanted the bride-to-be to marry one among their own group of friends or relatives, but that her family would not allow it….
"….Honor is very important in this region, and it's very difficult to change the traditions that deal with honor. They are a very strong part of this society," says Mazhar Bagli, a professor of sociology at Dicle University in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir.
Experts believe dozens are killed each year in "blood feuds" in rural Turkey. Efforts to stop the feuds' violence have been limited, mostly left to individuals such as Sait Sanli, a former butcher in Diyarbakir who helps broker peace treaties between warring families.
But Professor Bagli says the fact that the families involved were part of the "Village Guards," a well-armed militia set up by the Turkish government in the 1980s to fight the rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), meant something more than tradition was to blame for the massacre.
Observers have long criticized the "Village Guard" program, saying it created a violent division in Kurdish society and allowed militia members to use their power to settle scores and even expropriate land.
"[The village guard system] has changed the balance of the society here," Bagli says.
"The problems created by the political situation and the traditions – I think both of them are part of this crime…."
….In Bilge, tractors were busy digging graves in the small cemetery near the entrance to the village. Inside the village, relatives of the murdered individuals and residents of nearby villages gathered near the one-storey house where the killings took. Inside the house, bullet holes riddled the walls.
"This comes from ignorance, nothing else. What's the reason for coming to this point and killing so many people?" said one relative who lives in a neighboring village and who asked not to be named. "How can life come back to normal here?"
You can read the whole article here. Also, take a look at this article from last year if you want to read more about Sait Sanli, the Diyarbakir-based peacemaker.
(Photo - Graves being dug at the cemetery at the entrance to Bilge village, the day after a massacre of 44 people in the village. By Yigal Schleifer)
Posted by Yigal Schleifer at 12:14 AM 2 comments:
Labels: Kurdish issue, Southeast Turkey, Turkey domestic politics, Turkish minorities
The Deep State's Deep Roots
The Middle East Institute, a Washington-based think tank, has a lengthy new report out about Ergenekon, the sensational coup plot case that has been dominating Turkish politics and headlines for the last few years. (For some quick background on the case, take a look at this article of mine from the Christian Science Monitor.) The report, written by H. Akin Unver, a visiting scholar at the University of Michigan, takes a close look at the Ergenekon case and its ties to Turkey's "Deep State," the name given to a phrase used to describe a shadowy zone where state interests intersect with lawless and corrupt elements of the bureaucracy, military, and the security establishment.
What I found interesting about the report was some of the background Unver gives about the Ottoman and Cold War roots of the Deep State in Turkey. From the report:
The bipolar system of the Cold War was seemingly simple. On the one hand, there was the Iron Curtain, which covered a massive area stretching across Asia and Eastern Europe, and on the other hand there was NATO, which represented the "free world." Along clearly defined borders and possible flashpoints, both sides remained on alert and ready for a major field war, in addition to building and stocking a nuclear arsenal that would act as a deterrent or means of retaliation. Yet, there was also a less visible preparation in the NATO countries: the establishment and organization of secret paramilitary networks — what Daniele Ganser had dubbed "NATO's Secret Armies"15 — which would act the same way against the Soviet occupation, as the Allied Resistance had acted against the Nazi invasions during the Second World War. Throughout much of the Cold War, "special units" from NATO countries participated in a silent mobilization and organization directed by the CIA and the British Secret Intelligence Service against possible invasions by the Soviet Union. They were trained to be ready to perform espionage, sabotage, and assassination missions. Such operations were generally termed as "stay behind operations" and included sub-operations or regional agencies….
…. Turkey was one of the first of the countries to join NATO's stay-behind networks, as an initial recipient of the Marshall Fund in 1950, and remained the only country where this network remained unpurged until very recently. The first institutional extension of the Turkish branch of the European stay-behind operations was Seferberlik Taktik Kurulu [Tactical Mobilization Committee]. It was founded in 1952 and later tied to the Office of Special Operations [Özel Harp Dairesi] under the General Staff. Similar to Gladio's extra-judicial mass killings that took place in Italy, there have been numerous such acts in Turkey attributed to the Counter-guerrilla Branch and the Ergenekon.
You can read the whole Ergenkon report (pdf) at the MEI's website.
Posted by Yigal Schleifer at 1:42 PM 1 comment:
Labels: Deep State, Ergenekon, Turkey domestic politics, Turkey-NATO relations, Turkey-US relations, Turkish judicial system, Turkish military
Istanbul Calling is written by Yigal Schleifer, a freelance journalist who between 2002 and 2010 was based in Istanbul, where he worked as a correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor and the Eurasianet website, covering Turkey and the surrounding region. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Ha'aretz, The Jerusalem Report, The Times (London), The Walrus and other publications. Schleifer is currently based in Washington, D.C.
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text:
Santorum screens movie on religious freedom, politics
Photo by James Kuepper
Sophomore Ben Stroka and Senior James Mara posing with Senator Rick Santorum following the screening of "One Generation Away."
BY RACHEL DEL GUIDICE
CATHOLIC VALUES COLUMNIST
Rick Santorum, attorney, former United States senator and 2012 Presidential candidate, visited Franciscan University of Steubenville, to screen his new movie, "One Generation Away."
"One Generation Away" is a documentary produced by Santorum and his company, EchoLight Studios.
The documentary featured many stories illustrating how religious liberty is under vicious attack here in the "land of the free and home of the brave."
Some of the stories covered included the supposed same-sex discrimination of Melissa Klein, the "anti-gay" baker, and her business Sweet Cakes by Melissa. Another story was that of the Mount Soledad Cross in the La Jolla neighborhood of the city of San Diego, California. This cross has faced harassment from the American Civil Liberties Union. While the cross is a religious image, it is also a prominent war memorial where many who have given their lives are prominently remembered.
Another attack on religious liberty discussed in the documentary was the Hobby Lobby case. The Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby, took a stand against the Obamacare mandate, saying that they could not in good conscience provide contraception and abortifacients to their employees. While Hobby Lobby did win this case, the movie sent the message that the fight for religious freedom is far from over.
"One spark of revival can change a nation," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. "Our pastors determine the success of the churches. Pastors should challenge congregations to live out their faith boldly," said Perkins.
"We need to be more committed to God and his truth than the ever-changing politically correct climate," Perkins added.
Following the showing of the movie, Santorum was greeted by a standing room only audience in the Gentile Gallery.
Santorum warmly thanked Franciscan students for coming and expressed his thanks for their interest in the issue of religious freedom.
Senator Rick Santorum speaking during the Q and A session following the screening of the film, "One Generation Away."
"America is not aware of this issue," Santorum said. "I was in a church recently with a congregation of 3,500 people, and, when I asked if they had heard of these various attacks on religious liberty, two people raised their hands."
Santorum said that the liberal ideology that seeks to do away with religious freedom is particularly dangerous because, "[Liberals] intend to win by making people conform to what they believe…I came here because I know how on fire you are and I want you to spread this message."
"I learned about the different kinds of attacks on religious freedom today," said sophomore Claire Littell. "It is frightening but uplifting at the same time because as Christians we must be aware of what is going on around us, and be full of hope."
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text:
Welcome to www.vincere.io. These terms of service contain the terms and conditions that govern all use of our Platform (as defined below) and Services (as defined below) and all content, services and/or products available on or through the Platform operated by HiringBoss Holdings Pte Limited, of 120 Robinson Road, #15-01 068193, Singapore, trading as ("Vincere").
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6. DATA STORAGE LIMITS
6.1 Data storage thresholds:
6.2 Charges for exceeding storage limits.
In the event that the contents of Your database, or the files stored inside Your database, exceed the database storage thresholds for the numbers of seats that You have on Your subscription, extra storage may be purchased at the following prices, or local equivalent:
Data: $100 USD per GB per month
Files: $4 USD per GB per month
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6.4 Record size estimates. When estimating the size of a database, We assume that records are of the following size:
DISCLAIMER: the figures above are based upon estimates. The average size of records inside any particular database may be significantly higher or lower than listed above. The figures in the third column represent the total number of each particular type of record that could be stored inside a Vincere database assuming: (a) that all records of that type were of the average size; and (b) no other data was stored inside the Vincere database.
The numbers are based in a per seat (license) basis.
7. DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY
7.1 Obligations. Each party undertakes to comply with its obligations under relevant applicable data protection laws, principles and agreements. To the extent that personal data is processed when the You or Users use the System or Services, the parties acknowledge that We are a data processor and You are a data controller and the parties shall comply with their respective obligations under applicable data protection law and the terms of the DPA.
7.2 Infringement. If a third party alleges infringement of its data protection rights, We shall be entitled to take measures necessary to prevent the infringement of a third party's rights from continuing.
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8. NON-VINCERE PROVIDERS AND APPLICATIONS
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8.2 Non-Vincere Applications and Your Data. If You choose to use a Non-Vincere Application through Vincere, You grant Us permission to allow the Non-Vincere Application and its provider to access Your data as required for the interoperation of that Non-Vincere Application with the Service. We are not responsible for any disclosure, modification or deletion of Your data resulting from access by such Non-Vincere Application or its provider.
8.3 Integration with Non-Vincere Applications. The Services may contain features designed to interoperate with Non-Vincere Applications. To use such features, You may be required to obtain access to such Non-Vincere Applications from their providers, and may be required to grant Us access to Your account(s) on such Non- Vincere Applications. We cannot guarantee the continued availability of such Service features, and may cease providing them without entitling You to any refund, credit, or other compensation, if for example and without limitation, the provider of a Non- Vincere Application ceases to make the Non-Vincere Application available for interoperation with the corresponding Service features in a manner acceptable to Us.
8.4 The Services may include links to other websites or services ("Linked Sites") solely as a convenience to You and Users. We do not endorse any such Linked Sites or the information, material, products, or services contained on or accessible through Linked Sites. Furthermore, We make no express or implied warranties with regard to the information, material, products, or services that are contained on or accessible through Linked Sites. ACCESS AND USE OF LINKED SITES, INCLUDING THE INFORMATION, MATERIAL, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES ON LINKED SITES OR AVAILABLE THROUGH LINKED SITES, IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.
8.5 In addition to third- party products or services that We make available through the Platform, You may connect your Vincere account to third -party products or services, or products or services that You have developed, or which have been developed on Your behalf, through the Vincere API.
8.6 By connecting Your Vincere account to any application using the Vincere API, you hereby accept that the entirety of this Section 8 of these Terms also applies to the interoperation of Vincere with any such application.
8.7 Support for the Vincere API. We do not commit that We shall provide any support for customers wishing to use the Vincere API and maintain the right to charge You for any and all support requested by You in relation to Your use of the Vincere API, or use of the Vincere API by a third-party on Your behalf.
8.8 Usage of the Vincere API to develop commercial products. If You intend to commercialize an application that is connected to the Services using the Vincere API, you must register this application with Us and Your access to the API shall be subject to the API Terms of Use.
8.9 Reservation of the right to charge. We reserve the right to charge for the right to access the Vincere API.
9. FEES AND PAYMENT FOR PURCHASED SERVICE
9.1 You will pay all fees specified in Order Forms. Except as otherwise specified herein or in an Order Form: (a) fees are based on Services and Content subscriptions purchased and not actual usage;(b) payment obligations are non-cancellable and fees paid are non-refundable; and (c) quantities purchased cannot be decreased during the relevant subscription term. Where any discount is included in an Order Form and applied to fees invoiced by Us during the Term, such discount shall cease to apply if any payments become overdue.
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9.5 Limitations on payment by bank transfer. We will not accept payment by bank transfer unless You are purchasing subscriptions on an annual plan. Additionally, We will not accept payment by bank transfer unless You are purchasing at least 5 user subscriptions.
9.6 Overdue Charges. If any invoiced amount is not received by Us by the due date, then without limiting Our rights or remedies: (a) those charges shall accrue late payment interest at the rate of 1.5% of the outstanding balance per month, or the maximum rate permitted by law in the jurisdiction in which the payment is being recovered, whichever is higher; and/or (b) We may make future subscription renewals and Order Forms conditional on payment terms shorter than those specified in Section 9.3 (Invoicing and Payment) and (c) We reserve the right to charge You Our published current list price for all Services provided for the remainder of the Term. The list prices shall apply to: (i) the Service provided for which payments are overdue; and (ii) for all Services provided thereafter.
9.7 Suspension of Service and Acceleration. If any amount owing by You under this or any other agreement for Our services is 30 or more days overdue (or 10 or more days overdue in the case of amounts You have authorized Us to charge to Your credit card), We may, without limiting Our other rights and remedies, accelerate Your unpaid fee obligations under such agreements so that all such obligations become immediately due and payable, and suspend provision of any of Our services to You until such amounts are paid in full. Other than for customers paying by credit card or direct debit whose payment has been declined, We will give You at least 10 days' prior notice that Your account is overdue, in accordance with Section 16.2 (Manner of Giving Notice) for billing notices, before suspending services to You.
9.8 Payment Disputes. We will not exercise Our rights under Section 9.6 (Overdue Charges) or 9.7 (Suspension of Service and Acceleration) above if You are disputing the applicable charges reasonably and in good faith and are cooperating diligently to resolve the dispute.
9.9 Taxes. Our fees do not include any taxes, levies, duties or similar governmental assessments of any nature, including, for example, value-added, sales, use or withholding taxes, assessable by any jurisdiction whatsoever (collectively, "Taxes"). You are responsible for paying all Taxes associated with Your purchases hereunder. If We have the legal obligation to pay or collect Taxes for which You are responsible under this Section 9.8, We will invoice You and You will pay that amount unless You provide Us with a valid tax exemption certificate authorized by the appropriate taxing authority. For clarity, We are solely responsible for taxes assessable against Us based on Our income, property and employees.
9.10 Future Functionality. You agree that Your purchases are not contingent on the delivery of any future functionality or features, or dependent on any oral or written public comments made by Us regarding future functionality or features.
10. PROPRIETARY RIGHTS AND LICENSES
10.1 Reservation of Rights. The Services, including without limitation, the web site, Services, System, Content (except Your data) and any parts or elements thereof are solely and exclusively owned and operated by Us and Our third party vendors and hosting partners.
10.2 Our materials are protected by European and United States copyright, trade dress, patent, and trademark laws, international conventions, and all other relevant intellectual property and proprietary rights, and applicable laws. Except for any of Your data or other content owned and/or posted by You, all of Our materials are the copyrighted property of Us, Our Affiliates and/or third party licensors. Furthermore, all trademarks, service marks, and trade names contained in the Our materials are proprietary to Us, Our Affiliates and/or third-party licensors. Your use of the Services does not grant to You ownership of any content, code, data or any part of the Our materials You may access on or through the Platform. Any commercial or promotional distribution, publishing or exploitation of the Our materials is strictly prohibited unless You have received the express prior written permission from the Us or the otherwise applicable rights holder. We reserve all rights to Our materials not expressly granted in these Terms.
10.3 Access to and Use of Content. You have the right to access and use applicable Content subject to the terms of applicable Order Forms, the terms of the Agreement and the Documentation.
10.4 License to Host Your Data and Applications. You grant Us, Our Affiliates and applicable contractors a worldwide, limited- term license to host, copy, transmit and display Your data, and any 3rd Party applications and program code created by or for You using a Service or for use by You with the Services, as reasonably necessary for Us to provide the Services in accordance with this Agreement. Subject to the limited licenses granted herein, We acquire no right, title or interest from You or Your licensors under this Agreement in or to any of Your data, or 3rd Party application or such program code.
10.5 License to Use Feedback. You grant to Us and Our Affiliates a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use and incorporate into Our and/or Our Affiliates' services any suggestion, enhancement request, recommendation, correction or other feedback provided by You or Users relating to the operation of Our or Our Affiliates' services.
11.1 Definition of Confidential Information. "Confidential Information" means all information disclosed by a party ("Disclosing Party") to the other party ("Receiving Party"), whether orally or in writing, that is designated as confidential or that reasonably should be understood to be confidential given the nature of the information and the circumstances of disclosure. Your Confidential Information includes Your data; Our Confidential Information includes the Services and Content; and Confidential Information of each party includes the terms and conditions of this Agreement and all Order Forms (including pricing), as well as business and marketing plans, technology and technical information, product plans and designs, and business processes disclosed by such party. However, Confidential Information does not include any information that: (i) is or becomes generally known to the public without breach of any obligation owed to the Disclosing Party; (ii) was known to the Receiving Party prior to its disclosure by the Disclosing Party without breach of any obligation owed to the Disclosing Party; (iii) is received from a third party without breach of any obligation owed to the Disclosing Party; or (iv) was independently developed by the Receiving Party.
11.2 The Receiving Party will use the same degree of care that it uses to protect the confidentiality of its own confidential information of like kind (but not less than reasonable care) to: (i) not use any Confidential Information of the Disclosing Party for any purpose outside the scope of this Agreement; and (ii) except as otherwise authorized by the Disclosing Party in writing, limit access to Confidential Information of the Disclosing Party to those of its and its Affiliates' employees and contractors who need that access for purposes consistent with this Agreement and who have signed confidentiality agreements with the Receiving Party containing protections not materially less protective of the Confidential Information than those herein. Neither party will disclose the terms of this Agreement or any Order Form to any third party other than its Affiliates, legal counsel and accountants without the other party's prior written consent, provided that a party that makes any such disclosure to its Affiliate, legal counsel or accountants will remain responsible for such Affiliate's, legal counsel's or accountant's compliance with this "Confidentiality" section. Notwithstanding the foregoing, We may disclose the terms of this Agreement and any applicable Order Form to a subcontractor or Non-Vincere Application provider to the extent necessary to perform Our obligations to You under this Agreement, under terms of confidentiality materially as protective as set forth herein.
11.3 Compelled Disclosure. The Receiving Party may disclose Confidential Information of the Disclosing Party to the extent compelled by law to do so, provided the Receiving Party gives the Disclosing Party prior notice of the compelled disclosure (to the extent legally permitted) and reasonable assistance, at the Disclosing Party's cost, if the Disclosing Party wishes to contest the disclosure. If the Receiving Party is compelled by law to disclose the Disclosing Party's Confidential Information as part of a civil proceeding to which the Disclosing Party is a party, and the Disclosing Party is not contesting the disclosure, the Disclosing Party will reimburse the Receiving Party for its reasonable cost of compiling and providing secure access to that Confidential Information.
11.4 Non-solicitation. You also covenant and agree that you will not, either during, or in the three hundred and sixty five (365) days following, the period in which you receive the Services, directly or indirectly, on your own behalf or on behalf of or in conjunction with any person or legal entity, recruit, solicit, or induce, or attempt to recruit, solicit, or induce, any employee of Ours to terminate their employment relationship with Us.
11.5 Consequences of breach of S.11.4 (Non-solicitation). If You breach Section 11.4 above you will be liable to pay Us an amount equal to the total compensation, including but not limited to salary, performance and non- performance based incentives and allowances, received by Our former employee in the first six (6) months in their new position. This amount shall include any compensation received after, but based on services provided or performance targets met during, this six (6) month period; and shall also include, on a prorated basis, any compensation received by Our former employee for completing a defined term of service with their new employer.
11.6 Exclusion of applicability of Section 14 (Limitation of Liability). The provisions of Section 14 shall not apply in the event of breaches of Section 11.4 of these Terms.
12. REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, EXCLUSIVE REMEDIES AND DISCLAIMERS
12.1 Each party represents that it has validly entered into this Agreement and has the legal power to do so.
12.2 Our Warranties. We warrant that during an applicable subscription term: (a) this Agreement, the Order Forms and the Documentation will accurately describe the applicable administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for protection of the security, confidentiality and integrity of Your data; (b) We will not materially decrease the overall security of the Services; (c) the Services will perform materially in accordance with the applicable Documentation; and (d) subject to the "Integration with Non-Vincere Applications" section above, We will not materially decrease the overall functionality of the Services. For any breach of a warranty above, Your exclusive remedies are those described in the "Termination" and "Refund or Payment upon Termination" sections below.
12.3 EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED HEREIN, NEITHER PARTY MAKES ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, AND EACH PARTY SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON- INFRINGEMENT, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. CONTENT AND BETA SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS," EXCLUSIVE OF ANY WARRANTY WHATSOEVER. EACH PARTY DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY AND INDEMNIFICATION OBLIGATIONS FOR ANY HARM OR DAMAGES CAUSED BY ANY THIRD-PARTY HOSTING PROVIDERS.
13. MUTUAL INDEMNIFICATION
13.1 Indemnification by Us. We will defend You against any claim, demand, suit or proceeding made or brought against You by a third party alleging that any Service infringes or misappropriates such third party's intellectual property rights (a "Claim Against You"), and will indemnify You from any damages, attorney fees and costs finally awarded against You as a result of, or for amounts paid by You under a settlement approved by Us in writing of, a Claim Against You, provided You: (a) promptly give Us written notice of the Claim Against You; (b) give Us sole control of the defense and settlement of the Claim Against You (except that We may not settle any Claim Against You unless it unconditionally releases You of all liability); and (c) give Us all reasonable assistance, at Our expense. If We receive information about an infringement or misappropriation claim related to a Service, We may in Our discretion and at no cost to You: (i) modify the Services so that they are no longer claimed to infringe or misappropriate, without breaching Our warranties under "Our Warranties" above; (ii) obtain a license for Your continued use of that Service in accordance with this Agreement; or (iii) terminate Your subscriptions for that Service upon 30 days' written notice and refund You any prepaid fees covering the remainder of the term of the terminated subscriptions. The above defense and indemnification obligations do not apply to the extent a Claim Against You arises from Content, a Non-Vincere Application or Your use of the Services in violation of this Agreement, the Documentation or applicable Order Forms.
13.2 Indemnification by You. You will defend Us against any claim, demand, suit or proceeding made or brought against Us by a third party alleging that any of Your data infringes or misappropriates such third party's intellectual property rights, or arising from Your use of the Services or Content in violation of the Agreement, the Documentation, Order Form or applicable law (each a "Claim Against Us"), and You will indemnify Us from any damages, attorney fees and costs finally awarded against Us as a result of, or for any amounts paid by Us under a settlement approved by You in writing of, a Claim Against Us, provided We: (a) promptly give You written notice of the Claim Against Us; (b) give You sole control of the defense and settlement of the Claim Against Us (except that You may not settle any Claim Against Us unless it unconditionally releases Us of all liability); and (c) give You all reasonable assistance, at Your expense.
13.3 Exclusive Remedy. This Section 13 states the indemnifying party's sole liability to, and the indemnified party's exclusive remedy against, the other party for any type of claim described in this Section 13.
14.1 Limitation of Liability. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF EACH PARTY TOGETHER WITH ALL OF ITS AFFILIATES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID BY YOU AND YOUR AFFILIATES HEREUNDER FOR THE SERVICES GIVING RISE TO THE LIABILITY IN THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE FIRST INCIDENT OUT OF WHICH THE LIABILITY AROSE. THE FOREGOING LIMITATION WILL APPLY WHETHER AN ACTION IS IN CONTRACT OR TORT AND REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY, BUT WILL NOT LIMIT YOUR AND YOUR AFFILIATES' PAYMENT OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE "FEES AND PAYMENT" SECTION ABOVE. THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY WILL NOT APPLY TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY LAW.
14.2 Exclusion of Consequential and Related Damages. IN NO EVENT WILL EITHER PARTY OR ITS AFFILIATES HAVE ANY LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT FOR ANY LOST PROFITS, REVENUES, GOODWILL, OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, COVER, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, WHETHER AN ACTION IS IN CONTRACT OR TORT AND REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY, EVEN IF A PARTY OR ITS AFFILIATES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR IF A PARTY'S OR ITS AFFILIATES' REMEDY OTHERWISE FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY WILL NOT APPLY TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY LAW.
15.1 Term of Agreement. Unless expressly stated otherwise in an Order Form, this Agreement is considered entered into force when the first of the following occurs: (a) You receive the confirmation of the creation of the account and necessary credentials from Us to log in to Your account; or (b) You and Us sign a contract or Order Form containing special terms and / or containing a reference to these Terms; or (c) for those Services, Platform and parts of the website use of which is not dependent on creating an account, upon the moment You gain access thereto and commence use thereof.
15.2 Modification of Terms. We may revise the terms of the Agreement from time to time and the most up-to -date version will always be posted on our website. If we, in our sole discretion, deem such changes to the terms of the Agreement to be material, we will notify You of these changes (for example, via email to the email address associated with Your account). Other changes will be posted on Our website: please check the website regularly. By continuing to access or use the Services after revisions become effective, You agree to be bound by the revised terms of the Agreement. If You do not agree to the new terms, You should cease using the Services and terminate your Agreement with Us.
15.3 Term of Subscriptions. The term of each subscription shall be as specified in the applicable Order Form. Except as otherwise specified in an Order Form, on expiry of the Initial Term each subscription will automatically renew for successive Renewal Terms unless and until either party, in writing, gives the other notice of non-renewal at least 60 days before the start of any Renewal Term. Except as expressly provided in the applicable Order Form, renewal of promotional or one-off priced subscriptions will be at Our applicable list price in effect at the time of the applicable renewal.
15.4 Termination. A party may terminate this Agreement for cause: (a) upon 60 days written notice to the other party of a material breach if such breach remains uncured at the expiration of such period; or (b) if the other party becomes the subject of a petition in bankruptcy or any other proceeding relating to insolvency, receivership, liquidation or assignment for the benefit of creditors. A material breach includes but is not limited to: Failure to pay fees when due, a breach of Usage Restrictions and a failure to adhere to Usage Limits.
15.5 Refund or Payment upon Termination. If this Agreement is terminated by You in accordance with Section 15.4(a) (Termination), We will refund You any prepaid fees covering the remainder of the Terms of all Order Forms after the effective date of termination. If this Agreement is terminated by Us in accordance with Section 15.4(b), You will pay any unpaid fees covering the remainder of the Terms of all Order Forms. In no event will termination relieve You of Your obligation to pay any fees payable to Us for the period prior to the effective date of termination.
15.6 Your Data Portability and Deletion. Upon request by You made within 30 days after the effective date of termination or expiration of this Agreement, We either delete or make Your data available to You for export or download as provided in the Documentation. After expiry of such 30-day period, We will have no obligation to maintain or provide any of Your data, and as provided in the Documentation will thereafter delete or destroy all copies of Your data in Our systems or otherwise in Our possession or control, unless we are required to keep copies as set out in the DPA.
15.7 Surviving Provisions. The sections titled "Fees and Payment," "Proprietary Rights and Licenses," "Confidentiality," "Disclaimers," "Mutual Indemnification," "Limitation of Liability," "Refund or Payment upon Termination," "Customer Data Portability and Deletion," "Removal of Content and Non-Vincere Applications," "Surviving Provisions" and "General Provisions" will survive any termination or expiration of this Agreement.
16. WHO ARE YOU CONTRACTING WITH, NOTICES, GOVERNING LAW & JURISDICTION
16.1 Who You are contracting with under this Agreement, who You should direct notices to under this Agreement, what law will apply in any dispute or lawsuit arising out of or in connection with this Agreement, and which courts have jurisdiction over any such dispute or lawsuit, depends on where You are domiciled and the rules set out in this Section 16 shall apply.
16.2 Manner of Giving Notice. Except as otherwise specified in this Agreement, all notices related to this Agreement will be in writing and will be effective upon: (a) personal delivery; (b) the second business day after mailing; or (c) except for notices of termination or an indemnifiable claim ("Legal Notices"), which shall clearly be identifiable as Legal Notices, the day of sending by email. Billing-related notices to You will be addressed to the relevant billing contact designated by You. All other notices to You will be addressed to the relevant Services system administrator designated by You.
16.3 Agreement to Governing Law, Jurisdiction and Dispute Resolution. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (Vienna Convention of 1980) shall not apply to the Agreement. Any questions relating to the Agreement which are not expressly or implicitly settled by the provisions contained in the Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Singapore, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law.
16.4 Dispute This Section 16.4 applies only to Agreements where You are domiciled in the United States.
In the interest of resolving any disputes that arise between the parties in the most expedient and cost effective manner, the parties agree that any and all disputes arising in connection with this Agreement or Your use of the Services or any part thereof shall be resolved by binding arbitration. Arbitration is more informal than a lawsuit in court. Arbitration uses a neutral arbitrator instead of a judge or jury, may allow for more limited discovery than in court, and can be subject to very limited review by courts. Arbitrators can award the same damages and relief that a court can award. This agreement to arbitrate disputes includes, but is not limited to all claims arising out of or relating to any aspect of this Agreement or the Services, whether based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation or any other legal theory, and regardless of whether the claims arise during or after the termination of your account for the Services. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT, BY ENTERING INTO THIS AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATE, YOU AND WE ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION.
16.5 Payment Disputes This Section 16.5 applies only where You are registered or You operate a business in the UK or the EU. Vincere shall have the right to pursue all claims for non-payment or payments disputes that arise against You under the Agreement in accordance with local applicable law in the UK or the EU country in which You are registered or operate in and Vincere shall be entitled to pursue such claims in -Your local courts. Furthermore, Vincere shall be entitled to claim interest at the applicable statutory rate on all late payments and to cover all costs and expenses of recovery, in addition.
16.6 Notwithstanding the contents of Section 16.4 and 16.5 above, the parties agree that nothing herein shall be deemed to waive, preclude or otherwise limit either party's right to: (i) bring an individual action in small claims court; (ii) pursue enforcement actions through applicable federal, state or local agencies where such actions are available; (iii) seek injunctive relief in a court of law; or (iv) to file suit in a court of law to address intellectual property infringement claims.
16.7 Notice; Process. A party who intends to seek arbitration must first send a written notice of the dispute to the other, by certified mail or Federal Express (signature required), or in the event that We do not have a physical address on file for You, by electronic mail (herein "Notice"). Our address for Notice is set forth in the table in Section 16.2 above. The Notice must: (a) describe the nature and basis of the claim or dispute; and (b) set forth the specific relief sought (herein "Demand"). You and We agree to use good faith efforts to resolve the claim directly, but if no such resolution is reached within 30 days after the Notice is received, You or We may commence an arbitration proceeding. During the arbitration, the amount of any settlement offer made by either party shall not be disclosed to the arbitrator until after the arbitrator makes a final decision and award, if any; provided that if the dispute is finally resolved through arbitration in Your favor, We shall pay You the greater of: (i) the amount awarded by the arbitrator, if any; and (ii) the greatest amount offered by Us in settlement of the dispute prior to the arbitrator's award.
16.8 No Class Actions. THE PARTIES AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. Further, unless both parties agree otherwise, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one party's claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of representative or class proceeding.
16.9 In the event that We make any future changes to this arbitration provision (other than a change to Our address for Notice), You may reject any such change by sending Us written notice within 30 days of the change to Our address for Notice, in which case Your account shall be immediately terminated and this arbitration provision, as in effect immediately prior to the amendments You reject, shall survive.
16.10 If the entirety of Section 16.4 or 16.5 is found to be unenforceable, then the entirely of Section 16.4 or 16.5 shall be null and void and, in such case, the parties agree that the exclusive jurisdiction and venue described in Section 16.1 and Section 16.4 or 16.5 above, and that any action arising out of or related to the terms of the Agreement or Your use of the Platform and/or the Services or any part thereof will be brought in the applicable jurisdiction.
17.1 Anti-Corruption. You agree that You have not received or been offered any illegal or improper bribe, kickback, payment, gift, or thing of value from any of Our employees or agents in connection with this Agreement. Reasonable gifts and entertainment provided in the ordinary course of business do not violate the above restriction.
17.2 Entire Agreement and Order of Precedence. This Agreement is the entire agreement between the parties regarding Your use of Services and Content and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous agreements, proposals or representations, written or oral, concerning its subject matter. Except as otherwise provided herein, no modification, amendment, or waiver of any provision of this Agreement will be effective unless in writing and signed by the party against whom the modification, amendment or waiver is to be asserted. The parties agree that any term or condition stated in Your purchase order or in any other of Your order documentation (excluding Order Forms) is void. In the event of any conflict or inconsistency among the following documents, the order of precedence shall be: (1) the applicable Order Form;(2) the Terms, (3) the DPA; (4) the API Terms of Use, (5) Email Acceptable Use Policy (6) the Documentation;(7) the Privacy Policy.
17.3 Neither party may assign any of its rights or obligations hereunder, whether by operation of law or otherwise, without the other party's prior written consent (not to be unreasonably withheld); provided, however, either party may assign this Agreement in its entirety (together with all Order Forms), without the other party's consent to its Affiliate or in connection with a merger, acquisition, corporate reorganization, or sale of all or substantially all of its assets. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a party is acquired by, sells substantially all of its assets to, or undergoes a change of control in favor of, a direct competitor of the other party, then such other party may terminate this Agreement upon written notice. In the event of such a termination, We will refund to You any prepaid fees allocable to the remainder of the Terms of all subscriptions for the period after the effective date of such termination. Subject to the foregoing, this Agreement will bind and inure to the benefit of the parties, their respective successors and permitted assigns.
17.4 Relationship of the Parties. The parties are independent contractors. This Agreement does not create a partnership, franchise, joint venture, agency, fiduciary or employment relationship between the parties; and You shall not represent to the contrary, whether expressly, by implication, appearance or otherwise.
17.5 Third-Party Beneficiaries. There are no third-party beneficiaries under this Agreement.
17.6 Failure of either Party to exercise or enforce any provision of or any of its rights under the Agreement shall not be deemed a waiver of future enforcement of that or any other provision or right.
17.7 If any term, condition or provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid, unenforceable or illegal in whole or in part for any reason, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to affect the intent of the parties. The validity and enforceability of the remaining terms, conditions or provisions, or portions of them, shall not be affected.
Updated 31st December 2021


Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani files her nomination from Amethi parliamentary constituency. She will contest against Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Irani had contested against Gandhi in Amethi in 2014, and lost by 1.07 lakh votes.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leader performed a puja earlier on Thursday before visiting Amethi District Magistrate Ram Manohar Mishra to file her nomination papers. Irani's husband Zubin accompanied her for the ceremony.
Voting will be held in Amethi during the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 6. Results for all the seven phases will be declared on May 23.


Though not a new hack, I thought I should blog this as it (well, the Thunderbird part) is hidden away in a userscripts.org comment.
When people reply to your LiveJournal posts or comments, you can receive e-mail notifications. It's lovely that these notifications quote whatever post or comment they are in reply to, but especially for comments on long posts with loads of images, things can get very scrolly and jumpy.
I wrote a Greasemonkey script to tuck the quote away in a small, fixed-size scrollable box when using the SquirrelMail web mail client.
I later realized this could be done in Thunderbird, too. It's simply a matter of changing your userContent.css to include e.g.
Obviously this has some risk of overgenerating, but I have never received any other mail with blockquotes after tables.
This CSS has been improved upon.


Buhari Opens Up; says "I Need Longer Period Of Rest"
» NEWS » Buhari Opens Up; says "I Need Longer Period Of Rest"
I guess Mr President is done with the series of tests, now it's time to rest before returning home.
President Muhammadu Buhari has today disclosed that results of the series of medical checkups he carried out in the cause of his vacation had shown that he needed longer period of rest.
He said this necessitated his staying back in London longer than initially planned.
The President said this in a four-paragraph statement made available to journalists by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina.
The statement read, "President Muhammadu Buhari thanks millions of Nigerians who have been sending good wishes and praying for his health and well-being in mosques and churches throughout the country.
"President Buhari wishes to reassure Nigerians that there is no cause for worry.
The Presidency's statement did not say how long the President's "longer period of rest" will take.
Title : Buhari Opens Up; says "I Need Longer Period Of Rest"


Neillemons - Traditional papier m�ch� cow toys seen as last hope for. A child gazing at cow toys while demand for some traditional animal papier m�ch� toys is falling fast, papier m�ch� cows are still handily beating out imported plastic toys and stuffed animals at pagoda festivals. Paper mache cow ebay. Find great deals on ebay for paper mache cow shop with confidence. Make a ram head art paper mach� recipes projects. Suggests: turn a mounted deer head into a fantasy being see the thrifted kids' toys and happy meal giveaways there in the head dress? n�ra brodszky tr�fea paper mache projects paper mache crafts paper mache clay paper clay diy paper paper art art projects paper mache sculpture soft sculpture unexpected visitor lori hough sculptor danette bristle faux taxidermy. Papier mache pull toys & video martha stewart. Apply papier mache a little at a time, allowing it to dry and strengthen before continuing if the animal is not stable enough to stand at this stage likely for the squirrel , it's helpful to work on one side at a time. Papier m�ch� wikipedia. Papier m�ch� has been used for doll heads starting as early as 1540, molded in two parts from a mixture of paper pulp, clay, and plaster, and then glued together, with the head then smoothed, painted and varnished. Tribal paper mache mask making youtube. Masks are made up of clay, paper pulp, metal, wood, bamboo, cow dung, tin and leather sharavan gavit from kalidaund village is a mask maker who makes only traditional masks. Japanese papier mache dolls nihon ichiban. The toy is made from two pieces of papier m�ch� covered wood, shaped and painted to look like a red cow or ox when the toy is moved, the head thus bobs up and down and side to side when the toy is moved, the head thus bobs up and down and side to side. Ryukyu hariko papier m�ch� figure google arts & culture. Despite the great popularity enjoyed by the folk toys markets in naha, toys made on mainland japan known as yamato iirimun yamato toys such as tin toys and wind up toys began to appear around the middle of the taisho period as a result of these toys of the new era, traditional folk toys like the hariko papier m�ch� gradually lost popularity at the toys markets eventually, the curtain. How to make a pinata with paper mache socraftastic. In this diy, learn how to make a giant ice cream cone pi�ata! this super cute, dessert shaped pinata is the perfect decoration or activity for a summer birthday party or cookout whether you're. How to create papier m�ch�: 11 steps with pictures wikihow. Papier m�ch� pap yay mash ay or paper m�ch� paper mash ay is an easy to make, hard material that can be used to cover various surfaces.


1. Noun. A form of infantilism characterized by physical underdevelopment but normal intelligence.
"ateleiosis: A Form of Dwarfism.—Hastings Gilford gives the histories of five cases of this disorder, the name of which is derived from the Greek ..."
"This kind of ateleiosis resembles cretinism in that it varies in character according to the age at which it begins. Hence it may be divided into three ..."
"ateleiosis is a form of dwarfism distinct from any mentioned ; it occurs in an asexual and a sexual variety, according to whether the reproductive organs ..."
"The only exception to this- is to be found in those instances of ateleiosis which commence during intra-uterine life, and of which one example has been ..."
"In asexual ateleiosis all the physical features of infantile life are stereotyped ; but in sexual ..."


text:
film by N. Cassavetes [2004]
https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Notebook-film-by-N-Cassavetes
Learn about this topic in these articles:
McAdams
In Rachel McAdams
…of Nicholas Sparks's best-selling novel The Notebook.
Rowlands
In Gena Rowlands
…disease in the romantic drama The Notebook (2004), which was directed by her son, Nick Cassavetes. Her other films included The Spiral Road (1962), Woody Allen's drama Another Woman (1988), Something to Talk About (1995), Hope Floats (1998), Broken English (2007; directed by her younger daughter, Zoe Cassavetes), and Six…


Chapter one of my story, tentatively titled The Family Historian. This is the second draft of the first chapter. So far I have about 350 pages, or 2/3rds of the first book in what I plan to make a trilogy. Lots might change, but the story is about Hazen, Charlie, what happens when the world Hazen's schizophrenic mother insists is real finally bleeds into the one the rest of us inhibit.
Chapter One: Losing Track of Angeline.