Category: News

Turkey, Asia | Incredible Ruins

The deserted ruins of a once bustling town are nestled against the Taurus Mountains, close to the world famous beaches and yacht-filled harbor at Olu Deniz. Although the stone buildings are roofless and weathered, and the narrow streets worm with age, this is not an ancient city, but modern ruin deserted for political reasons in the 1920s.

Originally built in the 1700s, the town called Karmylassos in Greek was home to as many as 20,000 Greek Orthodox residents by the early twentieth century. The messy fallout of WWI and end of the Ottoman Empire led to the land grabs of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). The resounding loss of the Greeks in this war ended with violence and retrobutions aimed at the remaining Greek Orthodox community with the new Turkish borders, and in turn, against Muslim Turks in Greece. Hundreds of thousands of Greeks fled the violence in Turkey, which led the governments to agree to a mutual compulsory population exchange starting in 1923 in order to staunch the bloodshed.

The residents of Kayakoy, who had thus far lived peacefully with their Turkish neighbors, abandoned the town and went to Greece, which was struggling to find places for the nearly 200,000 refugees of the exchange, added to the more than a million former Turkish residents who had fled before the official exchange. Over 300,000 Turks were forcibly removed from Greece to a war-ravaged, but land-rich, Turkey in exchange. The polar explorer and Nobel Prize winning Norwegian scientist Fridtjof Nansen was assigned the task of organizing the exchange,

In Kayakoy, approximately 3500 homes now sit empty and mostly roofless, along with two Greek Orthodox churches, and the fountains and cisterns that watered the city. Harsh winters and strong winds have stripped the buildings down to ruins, making the town look more ancient than it is. A private museum tells the story of the town.

The book Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres is set in a fictionalized version of Karakoy during WWI and the last days of the Ottoman Empire.

Kayaköy was adopted by the UNESCO as a World Friendship and Peace Village.

Musician Dan Bull seems to be carving out a nice space for himself responding to UK efforts to make copyright law more ridiculous than it already is, by voicing his opposition in song. A few months back, we wrote about his awesome open letter to Lily Allen (full disclosure: I get a brief mention) and now he’s informed us that he’s back again with an open letter (in song) to Peter Mandelson, called Dear Mandy:

I wonder if someone rich and famous has to buy Mandelson dinner before he’ll actually listen to it.

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Filed under: Budget, Specialty, Electric

Our sleuthing colleagues over at The Truth About Cars have dissected electric car maker Zap’s latest 10-Q filing, and they unearthed the following little tidbit: “The decrease of $1.5 million (in revenue) is primarily due to the phase out of our three wheeled Xebra vehicle with reduced selling prices.”

We can’t say that we’re particularly shocked that Zap has found it difficult to continue moving its little three-wheeled Xebra contraption, especially with discretionary spending money in such short supply these days and reasonably-priced hybrids flooding the used car market. Perhaps even more damning for Zap, though, is the admission that it is doing “less work on the development of the Alias prototype vehicle.”

Whatever the future has in store for Zap in 2010 and beyond, one thing is for sure: there will be no shortage of press releases to let us all know what’s (supposedly) going on behind closed doors.

[Source: TTAC]

Not-so-shocking admission: Zap kills Xebra, slows development of Alias originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Person of interest had history of mental illness

Editor, The Times:

I was not surprised to find out that the alleged murderer of the four Lakewood police officers has a documented history of mental illness [“4 officers slain; Seattle manhunt,” page one, Nov. 30].

We will continue to see innocent members of our community become victims of violent crime as long as the judges put the rights of the seriously mentally ill ahead of the safety of the public.

We deserve to be protected from people like this.

— Doug Hjellen, Mill Creek

Gun sales: a U.S. epidemic

The tragic massacre of four police officers at a coffee shop in Tacoma reminds us that even with John Allen Muhammad dead [“Life and death not black and white,” Opinion, Leonard Pitts Jr. syndicated column, Nov. 15], his spirit lives on.

Recall that it was a Tacoma gun shop that not only supplied this D.C. sniper and his sidekick with their guns, but which was implicated in selling guns that were involved in more than two dozen crimes. It used to be said that scofflaw operations and gun fairs accounted for a very high percentage of guns obtained without background checks, but dicey gun sales are now the rule in much of the U.S. No one thought to alert authorities, for example, when Fort Hood Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a former psychiatrist-turned-mass-murderer, bought his gun at Guns Galore.

The gun epidemic in the United States now costs at least 30,000 lives a year — as many deaths as influenza causes, with another 70,000 being injured each year, 10 percent of whom are children. The United States is painfully in need of civilian gun control, and I write this as a good neighbor from Canada with many relatives and friends living in the U.S.

American guns pouring over the border end up on Canadian streets, making police work in Canada much more perilous as well.

— Ron Charach, Toronto, Canada

Seattle should be proud of historical riots

Thank you for providing a balanced view in The Seattle Times reviews at the 10th anniversary of the WTO conference in Seattle [“10 years after the Battle in Seattle, an evolving national policy on trade,” Opinion, Gary Locke guest commentary, Nov. 29].

Too often the events have been portrayed as a few out-of-town anarchists took over the city. The vast majority of people protesting in the streets — I was one of them — had very real concerns about the anti-democratic WTO, a shadowy world government if there ever was one. The WTO was designed to benefit corporations, not people — even the WTO’s leader admitted that much in your article.

The Seattle protests started a worldwide discussion about trade and whom it should benefit. Seattle should be proud to have started this discussion.

— Jan Heine, Seattle

When will we start listening to the protesters?

Jon Talton’s column “Battle of Seattle protesters proved right” [Business, Nov. 30] is thought-provoking. Many other large protest movements of recent years have proved to be right, too, though initially discredited by the media and much of the mainstream.

Remember the civil-rights demonstrations? The anti-Vietnam War marchers? The anti-nuclear protesters? The grass-roots anti-poverty movement? The environmental groups that have been warning for years about global warming and depletion of irreplaceable resources?

There is much to learn from those with the gumption to speak out against injustice and inequity even if it isn’t popular to do so.

Will we ever learn to listen to them?

— Sarah Johnson, Kirkland

Seattle: a city of complete mismanagement?

It’s clear after reading Lynda V. Mapes 10-year anniversary article on the WTO protests that she needs to get out from behind her keyboard and actually talk with real Seattleites [“Five days that jolted Seattle,” Seattletimes.com, Local News, Nov. 29].

Real Seattleites have always wanted their streets plowed and basic city services met. Sadly, Seattle got hijacked years ago by elites obsessed with making Seattle a world-class city at all costs.

Of course, who determines what world class is and what benefits accrue from that magical status are mysteries that no one has ever got around to explaining. Judging from what’s going on in Seattle, world class to them seems to be an antonym to words like competence and livability. As a result, we get the WTO disaster, last winter’s failure and Boeing moving out.

Only an idiot would be shocked that over a decades worth of complete mismanagement is finally bearing bitter fruit. I’ve given up hope that Seattle is going to get better before it gets much worse. Want things to get better, Seattle? Ignore Paris and New York City, and worry instead about Phinney Ridge and Columbia City.

— Tim Mahoney, Bellingham

An Aussie’s take on WTO; memorial should be as loud as Pearl Jam

I visited Seattle this year for one week. One of my goals was to visit where the 1999 WTO protests took place. I knew of many other places to visit in Seattle and Washington state, but for people from outside the U.S., this is one of the things for which Seattle is known.

A friend took me to the Convention Center and I was disappointed — but not too surprised — that there is no monument to the momentous events that took place 10 years ago. It is poignant to reflect on those events after living through the continuing global financial crisis. There were many disparate groups and reasons that coalesced in Seattle, but most were protesting against the unfounded faith in free markets, against casino capitalism, for transparency in the operations of corporations and for a more equitable international financial system.

I hope the people of Seattle who did not understand the reasons for the 1999 protests at the time have joined the dots between now and then, since they and billions of others have felt the impacts of lack of regulation, bad policies and greed. If those messages from 1999 had been listened to and acted on, we could be living in a very different world today.

For these reasons, it is time that a permanent memorial is built in Seattle to explain what the purpose of the WTO meeting had been, discuss what the protesters were railing against, and to consider how those in authority escalated the tension through disproportionate violence and illogical decisions.

The memorial doesn’t need to be as high as the Space Needle, or as sublime as the Experience Music Project. But it does need to speak out as loudly as Pearl Jam. And if it doesn’t, the decision to not commemorate the protests will be even fishier than Pike Place.

— Jeremy Tarbox, Australia

Filed under: Hatchback, Audi, Luxury

After watching from the sidelines for years as arch-rival BMW found success with the Mini brand, Audi is finally gearing up to jump into the scrum with the new A1. But unlike the Mini One (which slots below the Cooper in overseas markets), Audi doesn’t intend to target the budget market. Instead, the new A1 will take aim directly at the Mini Cooper.

Don’t expect to see any engine badges on the back of the four-ringed Polo, however, as Audi reportedly intends on keeping the displacement on the A1 hidden. An S1 is tipped to be in the works, but short of that the only thing onlookers will have to distinguish one engine model from another is the exhaust note. Expect the pre-production A1 – previewed by the Metroproject and A1 Sportback concepts – to debut at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show with sales beginning later next year.

[Source: EVO]

REPORT: Audi intent on keeping upcoming A1 premium originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Answers on economics still inadequate

Gary Locke rightly says that concerns over the economics of trade haven’t been fully answered [“10 years after the Battle in Seattle, an evolving national policy on trade,” Opinion, guest commentary, Nov. 29].

Unfortunately, his only answer is more of the same: more trade and more rhetoric about how it benefits everyone.

His panacea seems to be more exports. But there’s nothing Americans can make for export that Chinese and Indians can’t make more cheaply. Wages will inevitably be driven down and economic insecurity will inevitably increase. A few will make it into the technological and managerial class, but most people will be stuck in low-wage, dead-end occupations in a continually churning economy.

Beyond that, our democratic sovereignty is eroded by global trade agreements that our political and business elites lock us into, with no public input and little ability to renegotiate.

Sorry, Locke — and President Obama — our answers are still inadequate.

— Chris Nielsen, Shoreline

The team investigates bizarre brain business.

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Added: Mon Nov 30 21:58:05 UTC 2009
Air date: Thu Dec 10 00:00:00 UTC 2009
Duration: 44:03
Closed captions available.

The defining difference of mentalities

I can’t believe that there is someone who regards running a red light to be the equivalent of illegal parking [“Red-light tickets veer off course,” NWWednesday, Nov. 25]. This defies logic, but of course politicians and the law have never been particularly concerned about logic.

Sadly, it looks like some of our citizens also have trouble with logic.

Running a red light is stupid and dangerous and reckless. It signifies an elitist mentality that pervades our citizenry. Howling about photo cops also smacks of an “if you don’t catch me, then I didn’t do it” mentality.

Where is the attitude of, “I am a citizen and therefore I respect the laws and my fellow citizens” mentality?

Running red lights and stop signs is a serious problem. In small towns, such as where I live, it is an absolutely endemic practice that everyone seems to tolerate. Such practices simply breed disrespect for traffic laws, and have a downstream consequence that implies, the only crime is getting caught.

One easy way to avoid a ticket is to behave responsibly. Don’t speed, don’t run red lights, don’t moan about the costs of doing so.

— Dick Swenson, Walla Walla

I’m a two-time recipient of camera citations

As a two-time recipient of $128 red-light camera citations, I have to say to columnist Danny Westneat and the whining 49: Get over it.

It was folly to ever equate, however loosely, running a red light with a parking violation. Only one of these transgressions routinely puts life and limb at risk. Only one needs a disincentive with teeth in it. Only one presents incontrovertible evidence that a driver was willing to endanger all who unwittingly cross his path on his way to shaving precious seconds off his all-important trip.

No doubt all have seen downtown intersections, teeming with crossing pedestrian traffic, where the occasional self-absorbed driver comes barreling through against the red, all the while chatting on a cellphone. This harried sort of behavior is practically an epidemic, and a measure that encourages one to chill for about 30 seconds every so often is a positive one.

It’s compromise enough that these citations do not appear on our driving records. Ratcheting the fine down to the parking-ticket range would turn it into an elaborate but forgettable wrist slap. Besides, in these days of the impossible budget mess, where public agencies are struggling to maintain services and keep people employed, it would be shortsighted to begrudge them this win-win revenue generator.

— Jeffrey Floor, Seattle

We knew the squeaky clean image China presented at the 2008 Olympics was too good to be true, but a recent cover-up scandal reveals just how hard Beijing tried.

Guardian: China will prosecute 10 journalists and dozens of officials over the three-month cover up of a mining disaster that killed 35 people, state media said today.

Mine bosses moved bodies, destroyed evidence and paid reporters 2.6m yuan (£231,000) to conceal the disaster, the China Daily newspaper reported. They used threats and large payoffs to keep relatives quiet, cremated bodies against the wishes of bereaved families and dumped earth to seal off the shaft, according to reports.

Chinese reporters have long taken hush money after accidents, according to the Guardian.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• China Executes Two Men For Selling Tainted Infant Milk
• China: The Vampire Squid Of Commodities
• China’s 14 Dominoes Of Destruction

We have seen the HTC HD2 withstand a knife attack, but some have expressed doubt that it was real. Today we bring you another video of the HD2 being torture tested, this time with a Leatherman Supertool 200, and we have first-hand eye witness testimony from our friend Dawid of PDA.pl that this in fact is horribly real, a fact confirmed by the real hesitation seen by the HD2 owner just before he takes the knife to his expensive smartphone, and that the HD2 survived unscathed.

Are any other HD2 owner willing to try this out themselves?  Let us know in the comments.

Source: Chip.pl via PDA.pl

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Budget, Sedan, Hatchback, Ford

The Fiesta Movement, Ford’s campaign to introduce the little global Fiesta car to the U.S. market, kicked off at the Chicago Auto Show earlier this year and will end this week during the LA Auto Show with, what else, a party. Oh, and the official unveiling of the 2011 North American version. We got a sneak peek of the Fiesta earlier today that it now seems was incorrect, based on these new pictures found buried on Ford’s website.

The U.S.-style three-bar grille is thankfully not present in these official pics, though the hatch and sedan do wear different grilles (we like the hatch’s version better, for what it’s worth). The rest of the car remains as good-looking as the Euro-spec version ever did, and the interior will be a big draw for this car – along with solid MPG numbers, of course. For those of you who hoped Ford would bring the Fiesta over from Europe pretty much intact, it appears your wishes have been granted. We’ll have all the details from LA right soon.

[Source: Ford]

2011 Ford Fiesta gets another early reveal originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve discussed in the past how the UK’s Premier League’s fear of the internet has been a case study in what not to do online. But it seems that the Premier League bosses still want to push forward with plans to make it more difficult and more annoying for fans to actually watch matches. Jeff T alerts us to an opinion piece in The Guardian from the CEO of the Premier League, Richard Scudamore, in support of Lord Mandelson’s Digital Economy Bill for kicking accused (not convicted) file sharers off the internet. It’s the usual rant against “piracy” without much basis or knowledge:

Without the safe passage of the bill — requiring ISPs to take firm measures against unauthorised filesharers who are currently streaming and downloading with virtual impunity — the marker that this is theft isn’t even set down, educating consumers cannot begin in earnest, businesses cannot begin to develop new models because the market won’t be functioning properly and, most importantly of all, the current levels of investment that create jobs as well as talent will be lost. And that is when the real cost of digital theft would become apparent.

And yet, even as he writes those words, the creative industries that he insists are dying have been growing. How? Because the business models have been adapting just fine — even without additional artificial barriers to competition or the ability to kick people off the internet. And, in the case of the Premier League, Scudamore seems to be leaving out an awful lot of important facts, such as how incredibly limited an online offering the Premier League has put forth, which is a large part of the reason why lots of people stream it illegally. He also tosses out some totally made up “facts” such as “the UK leads the world in illegal downloads of TV programmes, with up to 25% of all online TV piracy taking place here.” Well, perhaps it’s not totally made up since he uses the magic words “up to.” But if there is a problem with file sharing of TV shows in the UK, it’s likely (as Jeff noted in his submission) because the “creative industries” that Scudamore insists are so important still delay the release of popular shows in the UK and demand that online streaming sites like Hulu not work outside the US.

Piracy is not the problem. Piracy is only showing folks like Scudamore that they’re doing a terrible job in meeting demand. He doesn’t need people kicked off the internet to adjust his business model. Lots of others are already doing so.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Toyota

Reports of Toyota F1’s demise may prove to have been exaggerated as the latest rumors from the racing world suggest that the Japanese automaker is in discussions with a Serbian outfit about taking over the Cologne-based racing team.

Stefan Grand Prix is backed by Serbian engineering firm AMCO and headed by one Zoran Stefanovic, who, like N.Technology, filed an official complaint over the FIA’s selection process for new teams. His suit was rejected, but Stefanovic remained determined. The departure of Toyota from the scene and the availability of its assets – including its 2010 car design and the all-important entry slot for next year’s championship – may prove to be his way in. The deal could involve Toyota sticking around to supply engines for the next few years, and Kamui Kobayashi could be part of the package, operating from the current facility in Cologne, Germany, until the move to Serbia could be completed.

For its part, Toyota is likely trying to find a way to get around its commitments under the Concorde Agreement to remain in the series, the failure of which to honor could cost Toyota hundreds of millions in fines. Meanwhile if Stefan Grand Prix manages to pull it off, they’ll have successfully circumnavigated the allegedly flawed selection process and secured their spot on the grid. Stefanovic denies the prospect of his outfit simply stepping in to Toyota’s place, but confirmed that negotiations are under way.

Meanwhile Sauber – which just reacquired itself from BMW in the wake of the failed Qadbak deal – was hoping Toyota would default on its agreement, thereby giving them the green light. If the Stefan deal goes through, Sauber could be locked out, unless the powers-that-be opt to let them in as an unprecedented 14th entry.

[Source: F1-Live | Image: Clive Mason/Getty]

Serbian team reportedly in talks to take over Toyota F1 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sorry I’m late with this, I am setting up a new Microsoft Exchange 2007 environment for some clients, and my mind has been completely wrapped around that. Enough jibba jabba though. I am sure you want to know who won their Google Voice Invites.

In order to pick the winners, I plugged everyone’s name into an Excel spreadsheet and then using a random number generator, I picked the names corresponding to their number in the spreadsheet. The more entries, the better chance of winning.

The three winners are:

• @cscheidecker
• @mdwittenberg
• @DonnaLex

Thank you all for participating! Please DM me by 12/4/09 at midnight with your email address so I can send you the Google Voice invites!

Claire and Phil threaten to take away Christmas when the kids get in trouble; Cameron and Mitchell take Lily to get her first picture with Santa.

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Added: Mon Nov 30 21:58:05 UTC 2009
Air date: Wed Dec 09 00:00:00 UTC 2009
Duration: 21:36

Veronica discovers that her dad’s Alzheimer’s is worse than she thought; Harris faces hysterical paralysis; and Sonia helps a teen mother decide who should care for her baby.

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Added: Mon Nov 30 21:58:05 UTC 2009
Air date: Wed Dec 09 00:00:00 UTC 2009
Duration: 43:12

A wealthy man tries to get Jules’ attention.

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Added: Mon Nov 30 21:58:05 UTC 2009
Air date: Wed Dec 09 00:00:00 UTC 2009
Duration: 21:45

It’s make or break as the club competes in Sectionals.

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Added: Mon Nov 30 21:58:05 UTC 2009
Air date: Wed Dec 09 00:00:00 UTC 2009
Duration: 44:39
Closed captions available.