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Tag: Turkey

  • Huawei Sets World Record Single User 5G Speed

    Huawei Sets World Record Single User 5G Speed

    Huawei may be blacklisted by the U.S. and under scrutiny by governments around the world, but there is no disputing their status as a leader in the telecommunications industry. If there was any doubt about that, Huawei has just put it to rest.

    According to an announcement on the company’s site, Huawei has achieved a world record for single user 5G smartphone speed, achieving 2.92 Gbps, in conjunction with Türk Telekom. The test, conducted in Istanbul, Turkey, was performed on a Huawei Mate 20 X 5G smartphone.

    “We combined two 5G carriers and established a new world record by reaching speeds of above 2.92 Gbps in our live 5G test network,” said Yusuf Kıraç, Türk Telekom’s CTO. “We are also the first operator to experiment with the 5G New Radio Carrier Aggregation Technology (C-Band NR Carrier Aggregation), which doubles the 5G link speed. Türk Telekom will continue to lead the development of all new generation technologies that our country needs in the future, as we do today.

    “We have reached unprecedented speeds thanks to this technology, which provides many benefits for users and operators,” said Kıraç. “The high speed and large capacity targets promised by 5G technology have been achieved.”

    While governments around the world debate about how to address concerns and allegations that Huawei passes sensitive information to the Chinese government, operators have warned that banning Huawei will lead to 5G rollouts taking years longer and costing billions more. This latest test adds veracity to those claims and will no doubt be a factor in any negotiations moving forward.

  • Facebook Blocks ‘Insulting’ Pages on Muhammad in Turkey: Report

    Apparently, Facebook isn’t going to fight the free speech battle today.

    According to multiple outlets, which cite both state reports and a source inside Facebook, the social network has blocked access to some pages inside Turkey.

    The move follows an order from a Turkish court. The pages in question were deemed “insulting” to Muhammed.

    Facebook does have a history of saying no to these types of requests. In 2010, Pakistan wound up blacking access to Facebook entirely because the social network refused to censor pages about Mohammed.

    Then again, Facebook does comply with governments and removes content all the time.

    “We restricted access to a number of pieces of content primarily reported by the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority and Turkish law enforcement officials under local laws, especially law 5651, which covers a range of offenses including defamation of Ataturk and personal rights violation,” said Facebook in its latest Transparency Report.

    In just six months, Facebook restricted 1,893 individual pieces of content in Turkey.

    For Facebook, it boils down this: either comply with the order or face a country-wide, all-out Facebook ban.

    Facebook definitely doesn’t want to see its Turkish user base, which totals around 40 million, go dark. Why? Well, here’s a thought.

    The move is going to get a lot of attention – not only because of the subject matter of the pages (insulting Islam), but also because of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s strong free speech rally cry in the days following the Charlie Hebdo attack. Here’s what he had to say:

    A few years ago, an extremist in Pakistan fought to have me sentenced to death because Facebook refused to ban content about Mohammed that offended him.

    We stood up for this because different voices — even if they’re sometimes offensive — can make the world a better and more interesting place.

    Facebook has always been a place where people across the world share their views and ideas. We follow the laws in each country, but we never let one country or group of people dictate what people can share across the world.

    Yet as I reflect on yesterday’s attack and my own experience with extremism, this is what we all need to reject — a group of extremists trying to silence the voices and opinions of everyone else around the world.

    I won’t let that happen on Facebook. I’m committed to building a service where you can speak freely without fear of violence.

    My thoughts are with the victims, their families, the people of France and the people all over the world who choose to share their views and ideas, even when that takes courage. ‪#‎JeSuisCharlie‬

    Even having said all that, Facebook blocking content shouldn’t surprise you. Facebook is not and will never be a haven for free speech. It’s not set up for that.

    Image via Peretz Partensky, Wikimedia Commons

  • Turkey Demands Facebook Block ‘Insulting’ Pages

    Earlier this month, a day after the terroristic attack on the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, Mark Zuckerberg took to Facebook and said he is committed to making sure his site is a place where people can “speak freely without fear of violence”.

    Well, what about the fear of a court order and a country-wide ban?

    A Turkish court has ordered Facebook to block various pages that it says are insulting to the Prophet Mohammad. According to Reuters, the request was made by a prosecutor. Apparently, Turkey is threatening to just block the whole site in the country if Facebook fails to comply with the order.

    Let’s go back a couple of weeks and take a look at what Mark Zuckerberg had to say about free expression on Facebook.

    A few years ago, an extremist in Pakistan fought to have me sentenced to death because Facebook refused to ban content about Mohammed that offended him.

    We stood up for this because different voices — even if they’re sometimes offensive — can make the world a better and more interesting place.

    Facebook has always been a place where people across the world share their views and ideas. We follow the laws in each country, but we never let one country or group of people dictate what people can share across the world.

    Yet as I reflect on yesterday’s attack and my own experience with extremism, this is what we all need to reject — a group of extremists trying to silence the voices and opinions of everyone else around the world.

    I won’t let that happen on Facebook. I’m committed to building a service where you can speak freely without fear of violence.

    My thoughts are with the victims, their families, the people of France and the people all over the world who choose to share their views and ideas, even when that takes courage. ‪#‎JeSuisCharlie‬

    As Zuckerberg mentions, Facebook does have a history of refusing to ban content some see as “offensive”. In 2010, Pakistan wound up blacking access to Facebook entirely because the social network wouldn’t censor pages about Mohammed.

    Then again, Facebook does comply with governments and removes content all the time.

    “We restricted access to a number of pieces of content primarily reported by the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority and Turkish law enforcement officials under local laws, especially law 5651, which covers a range of offenses including defamation of Ataturk and personal rights violation,” said Facebook in its latest Transparency Report.

    In just six months, Facebook restricted 1,893 individual pieces of content in Turkey. It’s not just Facebook, as Turkey has been cracking down on social media freedoms for a while now.

    It’ll be interesting to see how Facebook responds to this one. On one hand, Facebook has no problem regionally banning content to comply with government requests. On the other hand, this is a hot-button issue and the company’s CEO just made a sweeping statement about free speech.

    To be continued …

    UPDATE: Facebook has reportedly blocked a number of page.

  • Westboro Baptist Flooded with Prank Calls Over Bird Flu Scare

    Westboro Baptist Church — the hate group that pickets at funerals of soldiers, children — recently got the bird from a spoof website. As a result, their phone lines were jammed up with calls from holiday cooks across the country.

    The National Report, a spoof news website similar to The Onion, ran an article titled “Millions of Thanksgiving Turkeys Recalled: Is Your Family Safe?”. The article has been shared over a million times on Facebook and gotten hundreds of thousands of Likes and Tweets.

    The article began with a dire warning about a deadly virus that had the potential to kill millions of Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey consumers.

    “The CDC has confirmed that millions of turkeys have been recalled due to safety concerns over an avian virus that the birds may be harboring. The virus is related to human influenza virus but was thought to lack the ability to infect humans. However, it appears that the virus has recently developed the ability to move from bird hosts into humans.”

    The article quoted a “CDC epidemiologist” as saying:

    “We are in a very hazardous situation here. From our sampling efforts, we know that millions of turkeys that have been sold in the last weeks are harboring this virus. The handling, preparation, and eating of these turkeys could infect millions of people during the Thanksgiving holiday.”

    The report went on to say that the virus could withstand cooking temperatures. They encouraged consumers to call a special 24-hour “Turkey Safety Hotline” at (785) 273-0325.

    And that phone number is for Westboro Baptist Church.

    According to Addicting Info, that prank resulted in much chagrin for Westboro followers and turkey cooks alike.

    The National Report site has a legal disclaimer that informs readers that:

    “Health statements and products that appear on National Report have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.”

    In other news, you now have Westboro Baptist Church’s phone number. With great power comes great responsibility.

  • Turkey Fryer Tips: Don’t Burn That Turkey

    Thanksgiving is just a few days away and most families are planning their dinner menu and trying to decide how to prepare their turkey this year.

    While most people prefer to toss their turkey in the oven for several hours, there are actually a variety of different ways you can prepare a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.

    One of the most popular is to fry it in a turkey fryer. Turkey fryers are made specifically for frying large birds and while they can make your turkey absolutely delicious, if you aren’t careful they can be dangerous.

    Turkey fryers are responsible for hundreds of house fires and burn injuries during the Thanksgiving holiday and some people are even nervous about using one.

    Don’t let the fear of a turkey fryer stop you from making a tender and tasty turkey, follow these tips and you won’t burn yourself, the turkey or anything else nearby.

    Stay On The Job
    It can take a while for a turkey to fry and it can be tempting to leave and watch some football or set the table while the turkey is in the fryer. You should never leave the turkey fryer unattended, even for just a few minutes. It could spill or leak out and cause a fire or burn someone. If you need to take a break, ask a friend or family member to keep an eye on it for you until you return.

    Don’t Fry Inside
    While it can be tempting to bring your turkey fryer inside, especially in cold weather, don’t do it. The safest place to use a turkey fryer is outside and away from your home or any other structures. This will prevent the turkey fryer from catching anything else on fire and give you more room to work.

    Handle The Bird Carefully
    Who isn’t excited to get their deep fried turkey out of the fryer and onto the table? Although you might be in a hurry to get the dinner ready, don’t yank your turkey out of the fryer. You need to be careful when removing it and always use oven mitts to reduce the chance of burns. Pulling the turkey out quickly could cause the grease in the fryer to splatter or drip, causing a fire or burning someone nearby.

    Frying a turkey is a fast and delicious way to prepare one, and you likely won’t have any complaints at the dinner table. If you are planning to fry a turkey this Thanksgiving, make sure you do so with care.

  • Turkey Continues War On Social Media

    After a court order forced the ban on Twitter to be lifted, I knew it was only a matter of time before Turkish officials shifted their attention to a different form of social media.

    I had guessed Instagram, but then what do I know?

    It’s actually popular website Youtube that is the new focus of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government allies.

    Erdogan declared war on the video-sharing site after a secret security meeting on Syria made its way to the site, courtesy of Fethullah Gulen. The US-based cleric’s YouTube followers are blamed by Erdogan for the leak.

    The uploaded material allegedly features high-ranking members of the military and government discussing fabricating an attack on Turkey. The act would then be used to justify military aggression against Syria.

    While government officials admit that there was a discussion about Syria, it is claimed that parts of the video were manipulated.

    The angry PM is calling the matter a “plot” related to the upcoming elections.

    Aside from the Youtube ban, Turkish government officials say they are taking the eaves-dropping situation absolutely seriously.

    President Abdullah Gul stated that officials will take “necessary” actions to find whoever is behind the leak. Gul also labeled it an “act of espionage targeting state security.”

    Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at the same time claimed that controversy has “only benefited the regime” controlling Syria.

    The move to block YouTube came after the site refused a government request to remove the recording.

    Despite previous efforts to ban social media sites in order to limit corruption scandals falling flat, Turkey’s government officials are determined to keep up their efforts ahead of elections.

    Assuming election results are an entirely corruption-free affair, it could be that Turkish government officials are only making their chances of being re-elected worse.

    After all, we saw that Twitter wasn’t nearly that popular in Turkey until after the ban. The greater lengths that Erdogan and other officials go to in order to suppress discussion of corruption, it could be that they are inadvertently shining a greater light on the issue.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • YouTube Banned By Turkish Government Less Than A Week After Twitter Ban

    Just a few days after the Turkish government blocked popular social networking site Twitter, it also imposed a crackdown on the video streaming site YouTube.

    Twitter, which has an estimated 10 million Turkish subscribers, was blocked by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the run-up to the local elections due to fears that voters will be influenced by what he calls “fake online tapes” that accuse him of corruption.

    International news agency Reuters quoted PM Erdogan at a rally last week, saying that he could not see why “people of good sense” could take the side of popular social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube because they carry “all of kinds of lies” there.

    Less than a week after the Twitter ban, Turkish YouTube users claimed to have been greeted by a message stating that  “administrative measure” had been taken against the site after “technical analysis and legal consideration” in accordance with Turkish law.

    A leaked audio recording of top government officials discussing potential military operations in Syria previously flooded the video website, thus prompting Turkey’s telecommunications authority (TIB) to take another administrative measure against it. There have been speculations that the government’s decision to remove YouTube access was made because PM Erdogan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) were trying to do some damage control over recent corruption allegations.

    However, it was also reported that some users are able to access YouTube, while others aren’t.

    Turkish Twitter users were originally getting around the crackdown by modifying their Domain Name System settings. The Twitter ban has since been lifted following a ruling imposed by an Ankara court. However, an insider from PM Edrogan’s office claimed that the TIB still had 30 days to appeal or implement the court’s decision.

    PM Edrogan made a promise during the campaign trail that he would “wipe out” the service and that he did not care about the reaction of the international community regarding the matter.

    According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the seemingly hasty move to ban YouTube came after search engine Google turned down several requests from the Turkish government to remove videos featuring corruption accusations.

    At a rally held today, PM Erdogan described the leaked video on YouTube as “villainous”, and one of his officials claimed that it caused an issue of national security. The same source also stated that the government was negotiating with YouTube and that it may lift the ban if the video sharing site agreed to take down the incriminating content.

    Image via YouTube

  • Twitter Ban Struck Down By Turkish Court

    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that the world would “witness the power of the Turkish Republic.”

    Now it is Erdogan who is witnessing the power of the Turkish court system.

    On Wednesday, a Turkish court ordered the lifting of the Twitter ban imposed last week. Erdogan pushed for the social media ban following the spread of recordings that many consider valid evidence of the prime minister’s corrupt behaviors.

    Turkey had moved to strengthen the block in recent days as millions found ways around the initial ban.

    The Twitter ban is expected to be lifted for all citizens shortly.

    Erdogan has been at war with websites and social media for months now, recently doubling down on his efforts with blocking Twitter.

    Despite claims to the contrary, it is clear to onlookers Erdogan is desperate to stop the spread of damning video and audio that shows him interfering with businesses, court cases, etc.

    Rather than face the music or work out some kind of refuting evidence, Erdogan thought he could simply silence citizens by cutting off access to social media.

    As the Turkish prime minister and his cohorts are learning, the internet doesn’t work that way and neither does the court system.

    Erdogan’s government has been vehemently protested for its corruption and attempts to suppress the freedoms of Turkish citizens.

    With elections approaching, it may be possible that the accusations spreading quickly around the world may factor into Erdogan’s future as prime minister. This would explain his actions towards social media despite embracing other technologies.

    However, nothing can justify a politician trying to hinder the internet access of millions of people in an effort to not look bad.

    Erdogan now looks bad on a global scale…and much of it is his own doing.

    What’s next for Erdogan with the court overturning the Twitter ban? He may try and find another way to make it happen yet again.

    Unless of course he decides to make Instagram the next target of his rage.

    Image via YouTube

  • Twitter Ban In Turkey: What Was The True Goal?

    “We’ll eradicate Twitter,” declared Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “I don’t care what the international community says. Everyone will witness the power of the Turkish Republic.”

    Then on Thursday at around midnight, Turkish citizens found that Twitter had been banned.

    Where did this sudden need to “eliminate” Twitter actually come from?

    It seems that Erdogan, who is otherwise supportive of new technologies, became adamantly opposed to social media sites like Twitter when they were used by the public to accuse him of political corruption.

    For instance, recordings were spread on the internet two weeks ago which allegedly featured Erdogan telling his son to dispose of large sums of money. Erdogan was described as enraged and no doubt that was the final straw for the embattled politician.

    As accusations against Erdogan are heavily featured on Twitter, it seems unsurprising in retrospect that Erdogan would take some sort of action. Especially since the site is a powerful organizational tool for those seeking to protest the government.

    What Erdogan failed to anticipate was the lengths that many would go to in order to get around the ban. Even now the Turkish government is working hard to crack down on the access that many have to Twitter. Though the IP-level ban has been successful at slowing access to Twitter, it has not made access impossible.

    Though Erdogan claimed he does not care what the international community thinks of his actions, with the elections nearing he should care about what the people of Turkey think.

    He should also be concerned that the increasingly secular Turkish public has not been happy about the direction of the government in recent years. Particularly the attempts to crack down on freedom of speech and information.

    By his very actions Erdogan has done nothing more than shine a bright light on himself and made the world that much more interested in himself and whether or not the various accusations of corruption are true.

    Erdogan thought he could force everyone to stop talking about him. Now, he’s a matter of global discussion and if there is valid proof of corruption, it will be readily shared on a global scale.

    The truth of the matter is that the Turkish Republic simply does not have the ability to stop the internet from making Erdogan look bad.

    The only thing the bitter prime minster has accomplished with his behavior is making Twitter more popular in Turkey than ever. In other words, if his goal was anything other than an epic backlash, Erdogan failed miserably.

    Image via YouTube

  • Twitter Turkey Ban: Facebook Called “Immoral” by PM

    In a statement at an election rally recently, according to AFP, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (pronounced ER-doo-won) continued his attack on sites like Twitter, Facebook and Youtube, saying , “I cannot understand how sensible people still defend Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. They run all kinds of lies.”

    Either Erdogan himself is fundamentally unfamiliar with the concept of social media and how it works, or he thinks that the kind of voters who support him are.

    Erdogan is more of an Islamic traditionalist than his political opponents. Many see his angle of attack on social media as shrouded in the kind of “rally against an external enemy” common in fundamentalist thought. But even if this is his line of appeal to the faithful, his opponents see a much simpler cause behind Erdogan’s recent attempt at “banning” Twitter in his country.

    Erdogan and his friends in the Turkish government have come under scrutiny for corruption. Twitter, YouTube and other social media staples have been a handy platform for materials, including audio recordings, that seem to prove these accusations. He wants them shuttered. He calls this exposure in social media a “dirty operation to tarnish the government.”

    Erdogan sees himself as “the government.” He said that he is action to oppose “any attack threatening my country’s security,” when the security threatened is his own. He speaks of “state secrets” being revealed on Twitter, but it is his own association with corrupt officials that is being spread on social media.

    He frames his difficulties as some moral struggle that his people have to contend with.

    “If Twitter acts honestly, we are ready to support it. If YouTube acts honestly, we are ready to give every support. If Facebook gives up immoralities… it will receive support,” he said.

    In contrast, Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul sees this all as ridiculous, hurting his country’s standing in the world community, taking them back to a darker, fundamentalist time when freedoms of speech and expression were squelched.

    “I believe this problem will be over soon,” Gul said in an interview. “This is of course an unpleasant situation for such a developed country as Turkey, which has weight in the region and which is negotiating with the European Union.”

    Image via Twitter

  • Twitter Banned in Turkey; Twitter Explodes

    The Washington Post reports today that Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has banned Twitter in his country.

    Yeah. Good luck with that.

    The rationale behind his obtaining a court order to block Twitter access in his country seems to be that unfettered communication within his country, as well as with the outside world, has made it easy for everyone to see the blatant corruption within his own government. So, like many good despots before him, he shot the messenger.

    The problem is, the Twitter bird is an elusive prey. Even though young Turks can not log in to Twitter, per se, the Twitter SMS service is still available to them, which allows them to text out a Tweet. The Twitter overlords themselves made sure that bit of knowledge was out there.

    The hashtag #TwitterisblockedinTurkey has been ablaze. If the point of the action was to hide the activity of Turkey from the rest of the world, it seems to have gone over about as well as Barbra Streisand’s old stunt. Streisand tried to keep photos of her Malibu mansion off the Internet. In attempting to do so, she attracted loads more attention than she otherwise would have had.

    Time Magazine reports that Erdogan has called social media “the worst menace to society”. And regarding Twitter itself, he declared, “We’ll eradicate Twitter. I don’t care what the international community says. Everyone will witness the power of the Turkish Republic.”

    Turkey will be holding elections on March 30, whereby the fate of Erdogan and his ilk will be determined. We will see if this ends up being the moment where he jumped the shark.

    Image via Twitter

  • Sasha Vujacic Signs with Clippers After Stint in Turkey

    Sasha Vujacic Signs with Clippers After Stint in Turkey

    Sasha Vujacic, a Slovenian professional basketball player, will return to Los Angeles under a 10-day contract with the Clippers.

    Vujacic played for the Los Angeles Lakers from 2004 to 2010.

    In an interview on Monday prior to suffering a painful 115-116 loss to the Denver Nuggets, Clippers coach Doc Rivers was noncommittal regarding Vujacic: “Just adding another player … no deep thinking to it. He’s another shooter … we’ll see what he’s got.”

    Vujacic is part of a recent spate of short-term signings by the Clippers as they seek to mitigate the loss of point guard Chris Paul, who has sat out 16 games with a shoulder injury.

    “[Vujacic] had a good workout with us about three to four weeks ago,” Rivers said. “We felt like getting another guard … we’ve got a lot of our guards banged up right now.”

    Post by Sasha Vujacic.

    Where has Vujacic been since he left the Lakers in 2010?

    He went to the New Jersey Nets in December of that year as part of a three-team trade also involving the Houston Rockets. At the time Nets General Manager Billy King called Vujacic a “a veteran NBA player who will add depth to our backcourt rotation.”

    Vujacic saw success with the Nets, tying his career high of 22 points in January 2011 and following up with a new career high – 25 points – the following month when the Nets defeated the New Orleans Hornets.

    In July 2011, Vujacic returned to Europe when he signed a one-year deal with Anadolu Efes, a Turkish professional basketball team based in Istanbul. In June 2012, it was announced that Vujacic would play one more season with the team.

    He was joined in Turkey by Jordan Farmar whose time with both the Lakers and the Nets overlapped Vujacic’s. Farmar took advantage of the post-season opt-out clause in his Anadolu Efes contract to return to Los Angeles. In July 2013 he signed for a season with the Lakers.

    It remains to be seen if Vujacic’s 10-day contract will turn into something more permanent. In the meantime, fans have mixed feelings about the deal:

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Turkey Pardon: White House Turkey Duel Shocks the Internet

    In a move that might have caused more complaints than the ObamaCare website, the White House announced a competition between two turkeys for the title of National Thanksgiving Turkey. This doesn’t sound bad until you remember that the National Thanksgiving Turkey receives a presidential pardon. In other words, it appears that the losing turkey will end up on the president’s table.

    A White House Hunger Games, as some people are calling it, sounds a little creepy, right? People have flooded Facebook and Twitter with posts slamming the White House for letting people vote on which turkey dies, but things aren’t quite what they seem.

    It’s true that the White House has set up a little competition on their website, just like last year. They have two turkeys going for the title, one named Caramel and one named Popcorn. Each turkey has been given a biography, including date of birth and favorite song. Caramel loves some Beyonce while Popcorn likes Lady Gaga. People who care enough go to the website and vote by clicking a button to share their favorite turkey on Facebook or Twitter.

    That’s cute and all, but the White House goofed up early on–they forgot to tell people on the website that the losing turkey wouldn’t die. The White House goofing up on a website? Talk about déjà vu. That has been corrected now, so everyone who was furious over the Thanksgiving Hunger Games can rest easy. The White House website now includes the following not-so-fine print:

    On Wednesday, November 27th, President Obama will announce the National Thanksgiving Turkey. Both turkeys will be pardoned, but only the American people will decide which bird takes the title. Learn about each bird, listen to their gobble and then make your selection.

    Even though the White House has updated their website, a lot of people still think the losing turkey is going to die and are still venting on Twitter. One can only imagine what this scandal will do to President Obama’s approval rating.

    [Image via Instagram]

  • Thanksgiving Recipe Last Minute Search

    Thanksgiving Recipe Last Minute Search

    The time to give thanks is swiftly approaching, and with it, the frenzy that comes when you realize you have 6 DAYS to get ready! I know I am starting to feel the heat.

    Whether you are looking for traditional fare, like green bean casserole and sweet potato recipes, or something a little different (thai steamed pumpkin custard? Yes, please!), if you haven’t found it by now, you had better get started!

    Gone are the days of cracking open that new cookbook full of holiday recipes or getting down that box of grandma’s best hits from above the fridge, where it’s been since last year. These days, women are taking to the web and searching for new holiday greatness, as well as long forgotten favorites. They are pinning to boards and adding to interactive recipe collections.

    Here are a few places to get started this weekend in your search for the next family favorite for your table!

    Of course, I’m just gonna get it over with and start with pinterest. If you’re Iooking for a one-stop shop, this is it. I mean, come on. Recipes, advice, even crafts for you and the kids. What more could you ask for? It’s just beautiful. Find your meal, decorations, ideas, and inspiration in one site.

    If you want more, head over to Martha Stewart’s Everything Thanksgiving page, and find solid advice and videos on how to do just about everything that you would need to know how to do in your lifetime, turkey-wise. Need to know how to do this brining thing everyone is talking about? Got it. Need ideas for turkey leftovers? Done. Need to know what in the world spatchcock is? So do I. They’ve got it! What about ideas for a meatless Thanksgiving? Yep. It’s there.

    For all things turkey, try Epicurious, where they have set up an incredible variety of articles and turkey recipes the likes of which you have probably never seen before in your life. Think Mole-Roasted Turkey with Masa Stuffing and Chile gravy, for those who like to get adventurous.

    Hope this helps in your last-minute searching this weekend! Happy Thanksgiving!

    Image via youtube

  • Turkey Fryer Remains Popular, and Dangerous

    More men are taking on the crown jewel of the Thanksgiving meal, the turkey. That means fewer turkeys will be roasting this year and more will be grilled or fried, and turkey producers, as well as grill and fryer companies, are keeping up with the changing times.

    For instance, the Butterball talk line, which provides assistance and advice to those who need a little help with their turkeys, added male staffers to answer calls for the first time in 32 years. They have also reportedly been looking for a male spokesperson, according to Today. They started taking calls November 1st.

    “Men are cooking more and more — 84 percent are involved in the meal and 42 percent are involved with the actual turkey,” said Talk-Line director Mary Clingman. She also said that about 25 percent of calls fielded by staffers come from men.

    In general, many times when men get involved in cooking, there is a search for a way to tweak it. Sometimes this involves a cool gadget. Carlos Faxas, for expample, found a meat thermometer that links to his iPhone. He can keep an eye on his turkey and watch football at the same time.

    The 31-year-old e-commerce manager for United Airlines said he brines and roasts his family’s Thanksgiving turkey. But, there was one year he experimented with deep-frying. “I think it’s more socially acceptable now and it’s sort of impressive,” he said of men tackling the main bird.

    Another company, Char-Broil, which has had an oil-less infared turkey “fryer” for six years, opened up its own Thanksgiving helpline three years ago. “We field thousands of calls each year and overwhelmingly, the callers are male,” a company spokesperson said via email.

    “A lot of guys will roast or grill the Thanksgiving turkey,” said Mike Kempster, chief marketing officer of Weber-Stephen Products.

    Between 18 percent and 20 percent of American families cook their turkeys on a grill, according to Kempster. The rest of the year, about two-thirds of grilling is done by men, and callers to Weber’s helpline during the days leading up to and on Thanksgiving are “predominantly” men, he said.

    “When we hear this in focus groups, guys say, ‘Well, it’s kind of a way to give back to my family or take some of the workload off my spouse at Thanksgiving,’” Kempster said.

    While using a giant turkey fryer also remains popular this year, so do injuries resulting from unsafe use of them. Some safety advice to follow, according to 7 News Miami, would be “Use it away from your house. Make a surface made out of pavers or gravel in case the oil were to spill,” said Fire Rescue Lt. Arnold Piedrahita. “Do not let anyone but the person frying the turkey to get near the turkey fryer … kids, pets, your buddies coming over.”

    “Oil gets over 350 degrees. Remember this is peanut oil, it’s meant to cook at extremely high temperatures. You can only imagine what 350 degrees hot cooking oil can do to the human skin.” he added.

    Yikes. I can imagine…

    Be safe when you take on that bird!

    Image via youtube

  • 4,000 Year Old Preserved Human Brain Found in Turkey

    Archaeologists in western Turkey have uncovered a 4,000-year-old human brain, preserved inside its skull. The brain, one of the oldest ever found, was dug up in Seyitömer Höyük, a Bronze Age settlement 25 kilometers northwest of Kutahya, as the crow flies.

    The brain was unearthed in 2010, amidst an ancient burial ground which appears to have been burned. Charred skeletons and wooden objects were also found. Meriç Altinoz of Haliç University in Istanbul, along with his colleagues, believe that an earthquake destroyed the settlement, burying everyone and everything, soon before a fire began to spread. The fire consumed a lot of the oxygen, and likewise boiled all of the moisture off of the brain, thus preventing normal tissue decay.

    The result is what appears to be a sponge-like block of petrified brain-wood. Another factor which aided in the preservation of the brain lied in the makeup of the soil at the site. It was full of magnesium, potassium and aluminum. These components, combined with fatty acids found in human tissue, make up a substance scientifically known as adipocere. Adipocere is known as “corpse wax” on the streets.

    University of Zurich researcher Frank Rühli states that “the level of preservation in combination with the age is remarkable.” Rühli goes on to point out that these old brains can be studied for ailments like tumors, hemorrhages and degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, adding that “if we want to learn more about the history of neurological disorders, we need to have tissue like this.”

    Researchers have also recently deduced that three 500-year-old preserved Inca children were drugged before being sacrificed. Though ancient preserved tissue finds are rare, they might be more common than one might think – Rühli says that most archaeologists don’t bother looking for the remains of brain tissue because they assume it is seldom preserved, adding ,”If you publish cases like this, people will be more and more aware that they could find original brain tissue too.”

    Image via Haliç Üniversitesi, Istabul.

  • Intel Report: Syrian Regime Confirmed Chem Agressor

    Recognizing the number of casualties is a moving target, at least 426 children are among the 1,429 people killed in last week’s chemical weapons attacks in Syria. The UN estimates 70,000+ have been killed during the two year conflict as featured in a Syria-focused Flipbook magazine by the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders.

    These casualty numbers attributed to the attacks were disclosed in today’s Unclassified US Intelligence Assessment, which included the above map. The report asserts, “with high confidence that the Syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs on August 21, 2013. We further assess that the regime used a nerve agent in the attack.”

    While policy makers have been saying this since early in the week, the assessment provides a platform for US responses moving forward.

    The assessment which was issued by the White House Press Office is a result of all-source analysis across the Intelligence Community and in addition to traditional intel reporting, utilizes testimonials from medical personnel, witnesses and social media. Social media reporting started at 2:30 am local time on the day of the attacks and after four hours, thousands had communicated from no less than 12 Damascus-area locations. Policy makers also received a Classified briefing on the report which will not be released to the public so as to protect sources and methods.

    “There is a substantial body of information that implicates the Syrian government’s responsibility in the chemical weapons attack,” the assessment concludes. Intercepts of Syrian officials give evidence that the regime initiated the attacks. Similar reports even revealed concerns about UN inspectors obtaining evidence in the aftermath. Intelligence suggests the regime continued shelling in nearby neighborhoods through the early hours of 26 August.

    President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry both issued statements today in response to the assessment. The President is still considering options but he stressed that any action taken would be, “a limited, narrow act,” that would not require, “boots on the ground.”

    NBC News conducted a survey shortly before the release of the assessment in which 35 out of 100 respondents approved of Obama’s handling of the Syrian case. Half would support a US military response if it was restricted to air strikes launched from US ships.

    Secretary Kerry urged the American public to read the intelligence assessment in its entirety, stressing the Administration’s desire to share available information, “with the citizens who have entrusted all of us… with the responsibility for their security.”

    “And we know it was ordinary Syrian citizens who reported all the horrors.” Kerry commended those who turned to social media, “we know, as does the world, that just 90 minutes later all hell broke loose in the social media.”

    Reasoning for the regime’s appalling actions is believed to be frustration with an inability to secure Damascus and its suburbs with conventional weapons against oppositionists. In fact, the Syrian regime may have conducted earlier, small scale chemical weapons attacks in the last year, the assessment goes on to report. The US is joined in confirming Damascus’ culpability in the attacks by Australia, Britain, France and Turkey; Britain alone has come out firmly against a military response.

    [Images via the White House Press Office.]

  • Turkish Officials Accuse Bird of Spying for Israel

    Israelis are getting a huge laugh from a story out of Turkey that read like a scene from a Sacha Baron Cohen film. Apparently Turkish officials have caught and “detained” a bird that they suspect of spying for Israel’s Mossad secret service.

    The Times of Israel reported that Turkish villagers captured a kestrel, a type of falcon, that they noticed was wearing a tag around its ankle. The tag read “24311 Tel Avivunia Israel”, which translates as “University of Tel Aviv”. The villagers, presumably reasoning that Mossad would obviously tag a spy bird with the name of the country using it, became suspicious that the bird was a spying device, and took it to officials.

    Officials x-rayed the bird, checking for implants, cameras, and other devices that Israel might use to spy on its neighbors. Finding none, they finally released the bird back into the wild.

    Apparently, the bird was just one of many that had been tagged by the University of Tel Aviv to observe its migration patterns, something that the Department of Fish and Wildlife in the United States does all the time.

    But Israelis have had a lot of fun pointing out the paranoia that its neighbors feel about non-human spies that Israel might deploy. As The Times reported:

    “Israeli use of non-human spies is apparently a large concern in the Middle East. In May of 2012, authorities in Ankara dissected a European bee-eater after becoming concerned that it was carrying an Israeli listening device, and in December an eagle with an Israeli tag in Sudan was captured and touted as a Mossad spy. In 2010, an Egyptian official said Israel-controlled sharks could be involved in a number of attacks on tourists in the Red Sea.”

    Here is America, we just think the headline “Turkey Captures Spy Bird” is funny in and of itself.

  • Facebook: We’re Not Giving User Data to the Turkish Government

    Facebook wants to make it clear that they are not handing over user data to the Turkish government, even if some reports may suggests otherwise. Not only that but Facebook says that they intend to “communicate strong concerns” to Turkish officials when they meet in Silicon Valley this week over what they believe are unwarranted requests for user data.

    Turkish Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs, and Communications Binali Yildirim had recently stated that Facebook had been cooperating with their government – unlike another social media outlet, Twitter.

    “Facebook has been working in coordination with the Turkish authorities for a long time. They have a unit in Turkey. We don’t have any problem with them. Twitter could also establish a similar structure. Otherwise, this is not sustainable,” he said.

    Facebook apparently felt the need to address these allegations, doing so on their newish “fact check” site:

    Facebook has not provided user data to Turkish authorities in response to government requests relating to the protests. More generally, we reject all government data requests from Turkish authorities and push them to formal legal channels unless it appears that there is an immediate threat to life or a child, which has been the case in only a small fraction of the requests we have received.

    We are concerned about legislative proposals that might purport to require Internet companies to provide user information to Turkish law enforcement authorities more frequently. We will be meeting with representatives of the Turkish government when they visit Silicon Valley this week, and we intend to communicate our strong concerns about these proposals directly at that time.

    Like we’ve seen in other global movements, social media has played a key part in spreading the word and has been the main tool for protesters in a climate where press freedom can often be limited. Social media use was demonized by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who called Twitter a “menace” and said that social media is the “worst menace to society.”

    The recent protests in Turkey were born out of dissatisfaction over a particularly rough eviction of a sit-in protest in Taksim Gezi Park in Istanbul. From there, the situation snowballed and protesters took the streets for a variety of causes, violations of basic freedoms of the press and of assembly.

  • Lipstick Ban For Flight Attendants, No Nail Polish Either

    A lipstick ban for Turkish flight attendants has been lifted after a public backlash ensued.

    Turkish Airlines says that several low-level managers put together a document saying that red and pink lipstick and nail polish would be banned for all female flight attendants without consulting the management. Chief Executive Temel Kotil responded to the document after receiving several complaints that the airline was moving too close to Islamic values for comfort.

    “As you know, some in Turkey are a little bit keen about these issues,” said Kotil. “We are a great global carrier and we know what we are doing. As to the lipstick, we had no problems but somehow low-level managers put together a paper without asking us and that paper leaked to the media and became a big issue.”

    Kotil now says that flight attendants are free to wear the lipstick and nail shade of their choice.

    “Staff can use the colour they want. This measure was not approved by the hierarchy,” Kotilo said.

    While they may not be getting that conservative, the airline has imposed a recent ban on alcohol served during flights.

  • Barış Manço Honored With Google Doodle

    Barış Manço Honored With Google Doodle

    Google is running a doodle for Barış Manço (sometimes spelled Baris Mancho) on its home page in Turkey today. The Turkish rock singer/songwriter, who also became a television producer, was born on this day in 1943.

    While we don’t get a Knowledge Graph result from google.com.tr,where the doodle resides (the Knowledge Graph is not available at google.com.tr yet), Google does provide a Knowledge panel for Barış Manço in the U.S.

    Baris Manco Knowledge Graph

    In fact, results for him make full use of the Knowledge Carousel, complete with song-specific results:

    Baris Manco Knowledge Carousel

    Baris Manco Songs

    Manço died in February, 1999.