Robert Mackey

Turkey Wants Ban on Mocking Its Leader Enforced Abroad – The Intercept

By ::· News, Turkey ::· October 20, 2020

The music video that prompted the diplomatic crisis was a parody of a 1980s song by the German pop star Nena, “Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann,” (“Anyway, Anywhere, Anytime”). The satirical remix plays on the fact that the German word for “anytime” sounds like the Turkish president’s last name. The new version of the song, “Erdowie, Erdowo, Erdogan,” broadcast March 17 on NDR, a public television channel, pokes fun at the autocratic president in part by mixing footage of him looking ridiculous with criticism of his egotism and intolerance of dissent.

Yazidis in Turkey’s refugee camps discriminated against – Hurriyet Daily News

By ::· Conflicts - Fronts, News ::· October 12, 2020

Asylum seekers who have fled conflicts in Iraq and Syria are still not formally recognized as refugees in Turkey, while Yazidis are not afforded equal rights, a new report by the Diyarbakır Bar Association Children’s Rights Center has found. According to the report, Yazidis from Iraq’s Sinjar province face discrimination and have been excluded from …

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The Rise of Diyanet: the Politicization of Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs – The Turkey Analyst

By ::· News, Secularism/Islam, Turkey ::· December 23, 2020

Since 2010, the State Directorate for Religious Affairs has risen in prominence. Diyanet’s budget has quadrupled under the AKP, and the Directorate now issues fatwas on demand, as well as wading into political issues and backing up the AKP position. Moreover, Diyanet has drastically increased its provision of Quran courses for students of all ages. …

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Aleppo’s businessmen blame Turks for damaged factories, looted equipment – Al Monitor

By ::· Conflicts - Fronts, News ::· October 12, 2020

At Sheikh Najjar Industrial City I heard even more damning accusations that may take Turkey to The Hague. Aleppo industrialists say more than 300 factories were plundered and their equipment sold in Turkey, hence their decision to settle their accounts with Turkey at the International Court of Justice. ALEPPO, Syria — It may not be a …

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Germany owes Greece money for the war – but morality needn’t come into it – The Guardian

By ::· Conflicts - Fronts, Germany, Greece, Modern Barbarian Acts ::· December 22, 2020

The triumph of Alexis Tsipras’s Syriza in last month’s elections means that the old debate about whether Germany still owes Greece wartime reparation payments is emphatically back on the table. “I can’t overlook what is an ethical duty, a duty to history … to lay claim to the wartime debt,” Tsipras said, while addressing parliament …

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Foreign Government Contributions to Nine Think Tanks – New York Times

By ::· News, Propaganda, Spain ::· December 28, 2020

SEPT. 7, 2014 Foreign governments and state-controlled or state-financed entities have paid tens of millions of dollars to dozens of American think tanks in recent years, according to a New York Times investigation. While the think tanks argue that the relationships do not compromise the integrity of their research, foreign officials say the contributions are …

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Foreign Powers Buy Influence at Think Tanks – New York Times

By ::· News, Propaganda, United States ::· October 12, 2020

WASHINGTON — The agreement signed last year by the Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs was explicit: For $5 million, Norway’s partner in Washington would push top officials at the White House, at the Treasury Department and in Congress to double spending on a United States foreign aid program. But the recipient of the cash was …

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Militant Leader in Rare Appearance in Iraq – New York Times

By ::· News ::· October 12, 2020

BAGHDAD — Wearing a black turban and black robes, the leader of the self-proclaimed Islamic state that stretches across eastern Syria and much of northern and western Iraq made a startling public appearance, his first in many years, at a well-known mosque in the Iraqi city of Mosul, according to a video released on Saturday …

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The Kurds and Turkey – Massacre at Uludere – The Economist

By ::· Conflicts - Fronts, Modern Barbarian Acts, News, Remember, Security, Turkey ::· December 28, 2020

The political aftershocks of a killing of Kurds still reverberate. TURKEY’S treatment of the Kurds has a grim new symbol. On December 28th Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish smugglers crossing into Turkey from Iraq, killing 34. Most were teenagers; the youngest was 12. All came from a pair of villages in the mainly Kurdish township of …

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