tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72336702024-03-14T01:12:46.434-07:00Kurdistan Bloggers UnionSpecial News & Commentaries from KurdistanUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger370125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1145316819282629852006-04-17T16:32:00.000-07:002006-04-17T16:33:39.296-07:00English women charged of murdering Kurdish citizenAn English woman has been charged with the murder of a Kurdish man in Hull, England last week. A Kurd who was arrested at the time has been released because the police are certain he is 100% innocent, a fact confirmed by CCTV cameras in the area where the murder occurred. He is the only witness and is important to prosecute the woman of the murder of his friend.<br /><br />The problem that remains is one of bad communication. The Kurdish community in Hull believes the other Kurdish man was the killer, but he was not. The police have tried to tell the Kurdish community the facts, but the Kurdish community does not trust the British police. This means that news of the murder has reached Kurdistan without the true facts.<br /><br />The two Kurds in this situation come from very close families and this could lead to a tragedy between these families in Kurdistan. Only because did not know the truth about this murder. The Kurd who was originally arrested by mistake was actually helping his friend before he died. He is now helping to make sure the woman who committed the murder is convicted and goes to prison. He did not murder his friend.<br /><br />"I just pray the two families in Kurdistan consider the facts before they act. I pray they read this and know it is true," said a resident of Hull, who wanted to remain anonymous.<br /><br />"I know how difficult a death in the family is, when you are so far from home. I do know your son will receive justice in the British system and that the murderer will go to prison," told the anonymous source.<br /><br />- VladimirWladimir van Wilgenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385344748812614455noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1140481092936314902006-02-20T15:51:00.000-08:002006-02-20T16:18:13.006-08:00An End?Death is a difficult event to handle whether it be quick or slow and painful such as the demise of this particular blog. The life of a blog depends on its authors, and the authors of this one have moved on to their own individual projects. The legacy of KBU has come to an end. It served as a place where we could all gather to find strength, and in that end the Kurdistan Bloggers Union has been enormously successful. Now life continues onward. I would like to think of this blog as a phoenix and that when the time is right (when it is needed again) KBU will arise from the ashes.<br /><br />Until then, here are links to the individual authors projects as the Kurdish Dialouge will always continue:<br /><br />Kurdo: <a href="http://www.kurdo.blogspot.com/">Kurdo's World</a><br />Hiwa: <a href="http://hiwakan.blogspot.com/">Hiwa Hopes</a><br />Vladimir: <a href="http://vladimirkurdistan.blogspot.com/">From Holland to Kurdistan</a><br />Piling: <a href="http://sohrawardi.blogspot.com/">Incoherent Thoughts</a> and <a href="http://northerniraq.info/blog/">Roj Bash!</a><br />Medya: <a href="http://northerniraq.info/blog/">Roj Bash</a><br />Dilnareen: <a href="http://iraqblogcount.blogspot.com/">Iraq Blog Count</a><br />Xosh 7al: <a href="http://worldofbeardie.blogspot.com/">Beardie's World of Crap</a><br />Sami: <a href="http://iraqithoughts.blogspot.com/">An Iraqi's Thoughts</a><br />Emmunah: <a href="http://peshmergawomen.blogspot.com/">Peshmerga Women</a><br />Swara: <a href="http://kurdishthoughts.blogspot.com/">Kurdish Thoughts</a> and <a href="http://learnkurdish.blogspot.com/">Learn Kurdish Online</a><br />Naz: <a href="http://learnkurdish.blogspot.com/">Learn Kurdish Online</a><br />Delal: <a href="http://www.kurdistanblogcount.wordpress.com">Kurdistan Blog Count</a><br /><br />If you would like to keep up on what is going on in the Kurdish blogs in general, I have set up a <a href="http://www.bloglines.com/public/kurdistanblogcount">Kurdish blog aggregator </a>with links to Kurdish blogs in multiple languages, or you can check my Wednesday weekly article on <a href="http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/">Global Voices</a>.<br /><br />So, goodbye dear readers, one day we will all meet again.Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1138286688060047132006-01-26T06:28:00.000-08:002006-01-26T06:44:48.126-08:00Jewish medical student visits Kurdistan"One thing alone seems clear: The Kurds are a people under siege. In the United States we are not."<br /><span class="guest-author-name"><br /></span>I would like to bring you to the attention of Jonathan Dworkin, who wrote those impressing words, you have just read. He is a medical student in his final year at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Currently he is travelling in South Kurdistan from January to March of 2006.<br /><br />In his recent post he shows more of the Kurdish sentiment towards Israel, that isn't so hostile towards Jews.<br /><br />To quote one part of his recent post:<b><br /><br /></b>Another friend, a KDP man, explained to me that he supports Israel because he believes chauvanism is an ingrained feature of Arab politics. <span style="font-weight: bold;">"They have 25 countries," he said. "And still there is this talk of pushing the Jews into the sea. In Kurdistan we have been fighting this thinking for centuries, and believe me we are very tired."</span><br /><br />I advise everyone to take a look into his articles. They are balanced and give a good view on the problems in South-Kurdistan. As a commentator posted:"His blog allows thoughtful insights into the problems we face today in this world".<br /><br />January 25: <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_01/008075.php">Kurds and Jews</a><br />January 18: <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_01/008033.php">At Home in the New Kurdistan</a><br />January 14: <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_01/008005.php">City of Refugees</a><br />January 11: <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_01/007981.php">First Impressions</a><br /><br /><span class="guest-author-name"><br /><br /><br /></span>Wladimir van Wilgenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385344748812614455noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1137979810383698462006-01-22T17:21:00.000-08:002006-01-22T17:30:10.416-08:00National Geographic ArticleWell I finally got around to reading this month's <span style="font-style: italic;">National Geographic</span> only to find that they had an excellent article about the Kurds in Northern Iraq/Southern Kurdistan. It spoke alot about hope amoung the Kurds and the efforts that they are making towards re-building. I found the article to be quite objective which is nice, sometimes main stream media protrayels of the Kurds are either too emotional or so dry as to whither away your interest in the subject entirely. The <a href="http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0601/feature1/index.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">National Geographic</span> website</a> has some extra features about their article that are fairly interesting.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">*And a quick note to some of the other authors on KBU, don't leave me alone on here, ok?</span>Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1137702611248416292006-01-19T12:20:00.000-08:002006-01-19T12:30:11.266-08:00Information and Help Network for the Bird FluI received this email from another group that I work with, and I thought that since so many are concerned about a link between the Kurdish areas and the bird flu (and probably would like to help) I thought that I would pass it along:<br /><br />From Avian Flu Help Team <br /><avianfluhelp@gmail.com><br /><br />Dear Editors/Admins,<br /><br />Please accept our apologies for the group mailing.<br /><br />You have all been doing a noble effort in collecting information<br />online about Avian Flu. As you can see there are many scattered<br />resources available right now to find scientific data, information,<br />news and other tidbits. This mail is an effort to invite you all<br />together to collaborate together on one effort so that we can put our<br />collective minds and hands together in one "Mega" CollaBlog/CollaWiki.<br /><br />We are members of a group called World Wide Help Group<br />(<a href="http://groups.google.com/group/WorldWideHelp/about">http://groups.google.com/group/WorldWideHelp/about</a>) who have<br />volunteer members all over the world with various skills. We started<br />working together on TsunamiHelp (<a href="http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com">http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com</a>,<br /><a href="http://www.tsunamihelp.info">http://www.tsunamihelp.info</a>) which became the one-stop resource to<br />find any and all information related to Tsunami. We had at one point<br />of time 3000 volunteer bloggers/editors helping us with the content.<br />It is one of the best example of what an unified online collaboration<br />effort could bring out. Another fine example is the People Finder<br />Project (<a href="http://katrinahelp.info/rdata/">http://katrinahelp.info/rdata/</a>) which collaborated with<br />industry to create PFIF, a platform-agnostic database interchange<br />format <a href="http://katrinahelp.info/wiki/index.php/PFIF">http://katrinahelp.info/wiki/index.php/PFIF</a>) that has since<br />been used by all the major People Finder projects (including Google,<br />Yahoo etc).<br /><br />Since then, with the help of the other members of the World Wide Help<br />Group, we have been working on several philanthropic sites of note<br />including:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.katrinahelp.info/">http://www.katrinahelp.info/</a> -- for victims of the Hurricane Katrina<br /><a href="http://www.ritahelp.info/">http://www.ritahelp.info/</a> -- for victims of the Hurricane Rita<br /><a href="http://quakehelp.blogspot.com/">http://quakehelp.blogspot.com/</a> -- for victims of the Kashmir Earthquake<br /><a href="http://mumbaihelp.blogspot.com/">http://mumbaihelp.blogspot.com/</a>-- for victims of the Mumbai Cloudburst<br />and floods<br /><a href="http://www.hcvaction.org/">http://www.hcvaction.org/</a> -- for victims of Hepatitis C, to<br />promote research and awareness and support for a cure<br /><br />At this point we are in contact with an international network of<br />volunteers including India, the Middle East, USA, and several European<br />countries. We have begun work on an H5N1 disaster-response web<br />information delivery system. We have developed a diverse volunteer<br />corps of online writers, "bloggers", wiki admins, and now wish to<br />take these efforts to a higher level.<br /><br />We expect you realize the tremendous value that such a collaboration<br />could have, both in terms of scientific achievement, humanitarian<br />concerns, and international relations.<br /><br />With the common goal of helping the affected and informing the general<br />public about Avian Flu, we would like to start the discussions among<br />the various admins of major Avian Flu websites (Blogs, Wiki &<br />Informational Sites), that is you, about coming together on this noble<br />cause. We can then work out the logistics on how, when, where and who<br />of this effort.<br /><br />Looking forward to hearing from all of you,<br /><br />With Best Regards<br /><br />Angelo Embuldeniya<br />Bala Pitchandi<br />Peter Griffin<br />Rudi Cilibrasi<br /><br />The World Wide Help Group<br /><a href="http://groups.google.com/group/WorldWideHelp/about">http://groups.google.com/group/WorldWideHelp/about</a></avianfluhelp@gmail.com>Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1137609692797452842006-01-18T10:41:00.000-08:002006-01-18T10:41:32.803-08:00An Evening with Joe WilsonBelow is a reprint from a post on my personal blog so if some of the personal info in there is confusing I apologize ahead of time.<br /><br /><br />Last night Mr.3 and I were given the oppurtunity to go and see Ambassador Joe Wilson speak in front of the Salt Lake Chapter of the Council on Foreign Relations. Actually we got to sit at his table, which including a brief 10 minutes of star-struckedness on my part which faded quickly.<br /><br />For those of you who don't know who he is, Joe Wilson has lately been known as Mr. Valerie Plame (who was "outed" as a CIA employee), but before that he was known as the last American Diplomat to speak with Saddam Hussein in Gulf War 1. But I believe that when the Gulf War broke out he was "acting" Ambassador as the real Ambassador was in the US warning about the possibility of war breaking out at the time war did break out. <br /><br />Impressions of him: Nice guy when he doesn't talk politics. Fantastic hair, and I would say 95% of the female population in that room would have slept with him if he was willing. He is a self-promoter to the point of being incredibly vain and arrogant. Mr.3 asked him a question privately after the talk and in answering that question told him 3 times to buy his book. Call me crazy but when someone asks you a direct question about 500 tons of yellow-cake uranium that was found in Iraq, the response to that question should not be "buy my book".<br /><br />What he said that evening: He has a lot of anger about the war in Iraq, as many US democrats do, however it is obvious that his anger is focused on the fact that the current administration did not listen and follow his recommendations. His bush-bashing is completely personal, I do not wish to really discuss the whole issue of his wife being "outed" but he used that in his speech (and probably his book as well) as a further reasoning why he must have been right...it was a case of "I was injured personally, I am a victim, and therefore my opinion is the most correct one", which logically is a load of crap. He wasn't listened to in matters about the Middle East because his knowledge is severely lacking, he may be great and wonderful with Africa, but the Middle East is a completely different animal...here is why:<br /><br />His definition of weapons of mass destruction: is limited to strictly Nuclear weapons because they alter society and civilization. Biological weapons are weapons of terror and do not affect society in the long term. Anyone who knows about the atrocities Saddam carried out on the Kurdish populations in Iraq can tell you that biological warfare effects you on a systemic level...hum...let's see birth defects, a skewed population demographic, low birth rate, high infant mortalitiy rate, and don't forget little things like the increase in the snake population as all of the birds in the region were killed and there was no natural predators for the snakes. But apparently those are only side effects of "terror weapons".<br /><br />His lack of knowledge on terrorism in general: Apparently he is under the impression that Ansar el Islam was a pro-Kurdish group rather than a group that was killing Kurds. He also stated that "25 million ethnic people" is no reason to not support our NATO allies. First, where did he get his numbers, secondly the Kurdish situation in Iraq and in Turkey are vastly different and you can't lump them together...but then again he seems to think that Kurds=terrorists. Oddly enough two seconds after he made that statement about the Kurds he stated that HAMAS and Hizbullah were doing things the "right way" in regards to elections, but he failed to mention the whole terrorist bombings which killed innocents. He classifies himself in the lines of a "Progressive" but he isn't really, just another diplomat/pseudo celebrity that believes in the cause that is most popular at the moment. But can you expect anymore from someone who prides himself on delveloping the US stragey in the Rwanda genocide, because we all know how well that turned out.Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1137394526906357342006-01-15T22:53:00.000-08:002006-01-15T22:55:26.923-08:00Because I liked the Title...a short post with some mildly interesting links...<br /><br /><a href="http://kisbacsnews.blogspot.com/2006/01/stan-of-their-own.html">A Stan of their Own</a>.Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1136786753071031882006-01-08T21:36:00.000-08:002006-01-08T22:05:53.143-08:00What we should be talking about?There seems to be alot going on there that this particular blog has been silent about, particularly the bird flu and predictions for the new year. I know that these are odd things to lump together in one blog but I am going to do it anyway.<br /><br />First, predictions for the New Year: last week the <span style="font-style:italic;">Daily Kos</span> <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/12/28/102647/79">wrote about a recent KnightRidder column that stated the Iraq army had 10,000 Kurdish soldiers that were loyal to the peshmerga leaders</a>...duh...nothing really new. However, it seemed with this news that the rest of the world realized that there is a definite possibility that an independent Kurdistan could arise if there was (God forbid) civil war in Iraq. Of course, as soon as the Daily Kos covered it, it seems that half of the political blogs in the US began to speculate as to an independent Kurdistan. The only Kurdish blogger (that I saw--I might be wrong and please let me know if I am) that covered even part of that news was <a href="http://vladimirkurdistan.blogspot.com/2005/12/kurds-sunnis-shias-agree-to-divide.html">Vladimir</a>. The lack of response from the Kurdish bloggers makes me wonder if we really missed an opportunity to bring the issue of an independent Kurdistan to a wider global audience? Or is it just more of the same?<br /><br />Next item up, the bird flu deaths in Turkey, specifically in the Van region in Northern Kurdistan. While the deaths have been in rural areas and also in Kurdish areas there has been speculation that the bird flu thing is another extension of the Kurdish question. Some of our Kurdish bloggers have written excellent posts supporting that position including <a href="http://rastibini.blogspot.com/2006/01/course-of-bird-flu-in-kurdistan.html">Mizgin from <span style="font-style:italic;">Rasti</span></a> and <a href="http://vladimirkurdistan.blogspot.com/2006/01/turkish-state-not-helping-kurds-dying.html">Vladimir in <span style="font-style:italic;">From Holland to Kurdistan</span>.</a> Ok folks, it is the bird flu, <a href="http://www.pandemicflu.gov/">a pandemic that is affecting the whole world</a>, it should not be used as an aid to point out the Turkish Government's treatment of the Kurds, rather it should be used to discuss poverty on a global scale. I know that there will be plenty of people who are mad at me for this point of view (and I have a feeling that some of the comments will be harsh but I will take them), I am just of the opinion that there are some things that it would be wise of us to exploit to further knowledge of the plight of the Kurds, and some things -like this- that are no help to us at all.Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1136695544162699092006-01-07T20:41:00.000-08:002006-01-07T20:45:44.173-08:00Interesting LinkHello Everyone and Happy New Year (albeit a little late)...I found this link a few days ago and thought that I would share. <a href="http://www.akakurdistan.com/">aka Kurdistan</a>Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1136032998952169242005-12-31T04:41:00.000-08:002005-12-31T04:43:18.966-08:00Lets hope 2006 will be a better year for KBU<p align="center"><a href="http://members.lycos.co.uk/hiwa/kbu1.gif"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://members.lycos.co.uk/hiwa/kbu1.gif" border="0" /></a></p><br /><br /><a href="http://members.lycos.co.uk/hiwa/kbu1.gif"></a>hiwahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07379113075837241077noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1135890434627746732005-12-29T13:05:00.000-08:002005-12-29T13:07:14.640-08:00BBC InterviewAs most of you know, I write a weekly column covering Kurdish Bloggers for a website called <a href="http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/globalvoices/">Global Voices</a>. I will be interviewed tomorrow to discuss the year in Kurdish blogs on the BBC Radio show <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/world_have_your_say/"><em>World Have Your Say</em></a>, from 1845 to 1900 GMT. If you have time, please tune in.<br />Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1135849274808080162005-12-29T01:37:00.000-08:002005-12-29T01:41:14.820-08:00Dr. Kamal Campaignplease spread the words and sign this petition to free Dr. Kamal.<br />I posted about the subject earlier in <a href="http://kurdo.blogspot.com">my blog</a>. If we don't report about this news and make the world aware of this more people criticising the Kurdish leaders might be thrown into prisons and our prisons might be full of intellectuals and writers.<br /><br />There is an English petition on this page please consider signing :<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kurdistanan.com/Nûche-December/chak-nûseran-Dr-kemal--12-27.htm">http://www.kurdistanan.com/Nûche-December/chak-nûseran-Dr-kemal--12-27.htm</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1135736560895517852005-12-27T18:18:00.000-08:002005-12-27T18:22:40.906-08:00Amed PhotosI found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/efendi/sets/144691/">this link to a photo set of Amed/Diyarbakir</a>. The pictures are wonderful, the faces familiar to me...Amed is the only place in the world where I have ever felt like I was at home, and these made me rather homesick. Enjoy.Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1135641918047111522005-12-26T15:40:00.000-08:002005-12-26T16:05:18.060-08:00Oh dear....MOBESE is moving South!You may or may not have heard about <a href="http://www.mobese.com/">MOBESE</a>, which is a massive surveillance camera system that monitors the streets for the Turkish police. The project was started after some success with similar systems in New York, Athens, and London. At the moment there are <a href="http://mobese.iem.gov.tr/">cameras in Istanbul and Ankara</a>. Part of me likes the idea of police officers watching the streets and responding when something is wrong, and then the rational side of me screams "IT'S BIG BROTHER! THEY AREN'T THERE TO PROTECT YOU! THEY ARE THERE TO MONITOR YOU!"<br /><br />Well MOBESE is moving south, <a href="http://www.zaman.com/?bl=national&alt=&trh=20051224&hn=27922">Zaman online is reporting that plans are in the works for installing the cameras in Cizre, Sirnak, and Silopi</a> as the FIRST PHASE of the project. Officials are openly stating that the cameras are being installed to find PKK sympathizers in the streets. Forget about fighting crime, trying to protect the people, let's spy on everyone and try to wrongly arrest even more people! If you ask me, the Turkish police would be a hundred times more effective if they were out walking the streets like police officers do all over the world rather than spend their time stopping every car that looks interesting on the highway! -sorry, I got carried away there...<br /><br />What can be done? Sadly not much, they are going to install the cameras no matter what happens...however there is a group of people, aptly named <a href="http://izleniyoruz.50webs.com/index7.html">NOBESE</a>-(ahh! people after my own heart)- who are protesting the cameras' installment by performing in front of them. Their motto is <a href="http://istanbul.metblogs.com/archives/2005/10/no_to_mobese.phtml">"since we are being watched, why not perform?"</a> So they perform in front of the cameras, partly to annoy (or entertain) the police watching, and <a href="http://istanbul.indymedia.org/news/2005/07/46733.php">partly to make a statement about how they feel about the system</a>. So let's hope that a Kurdish chapter of NOBESE is started soon!Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1135571016319135182005-12-25T20:14:00.000-08:002005-12-25T20:23:36.343-08:00NYTimes Book ReviewThere is an excerpt from the new Stephen Kinzer book <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18624"><span style="font-style: italic;">Kurds in Turkey: The Big Change.</span></a> I am not the biggest Kinzer fan, but it looks like it might be an interesting read. Here is a little bit of it:<br /><blockquote><br /> <p style="font-style: italic;">A book fair was underway while I was in Diyarbakir. At the first stand I visited, wedged between Turkish translations of War and Peace and For Whom the Bell Tolls, I found a selection of books with titles like History of Kurdistan and Turkey's Kurdish Problem. No such books could possibly have been sold here during the 1990s, when the very word "Kurdistan" was taboo and the term "Kurdish problem" was taken to refer to an illegal form of separatism.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">"Before, we were afraid to speak out," a Kurdish writer named Lutfi Baski told me at the fair. "The government was insisting that there were no Kurds, that there was no Kurdish language or culture. They arrested us and closed our organizations. Now, so much has changed, especially in the last few months. Our problems haven't been solved, not at all, but at least we can talk about them honestly. It's a huge difference."</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">Later that day, I walked past city hall and saw a large banner advertising a conference that was being held inside. Its subject was "The European Union Accession Process and the Kurdish Problem." When I walked into the packed hall, a local politician was delivering a passionate harangue.</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">"For so many years, the Turkish state called us criminals, saying that it was not possible to have dialogue with us and that we had to be crushed," he told the rapt crowd. "This is the repeated tragedy that created the Kurdish problem. The only reason Kurds were forced to begin armed struggle was the way the Turkish state has treated Kurds at every stage in the history of this country."</p> <p style="font-style: italic;">These would have been highly dangerous words a couple of years ago. Even now, police agents monitor and videotape conferences like this one. Their presence, however, did nothing to intimidate the speakers in Diyarbakir. "They watch us just like before, but they can't do anything to us anymore," one man told me. "This is a democracy now. We're becoming European. The state can't touch us."</p> </blockquote> <p style="font-style: italic;"></p>Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1135450597909235602005-12-24T10:39:00.000-08:002005-12-24T10:56:37.923-08:00Hyphenated EthnicityThe subject of hyphenated ethnicity is not new to this forum, I know that I have advocated it in the past. Within Turkey the advocation of acceptance of hyphenated ethnicity (a Turkish-Kurd or a Kurdish-Turk for instance) would lead to alot of the unrest being quelled. However that would also have to change a lot of Turkish ultranationalist mindsets in order to happen. <a href="http://americanturk.blogspot.com"><span style="font-style: italic;">Amerikan Turk</span></a>, which is a blog written by a moderate Turk (yes they DO exist) living in the United States, <a href="http://americanturk.blogspot.com/2005/12/un-turkish-ethnicity-versus-turkish.html">has a post about this topic</a>. I draw attention to it today because I think that it represents hope as the it shows how the mindset of the average Turk is changing. He also has a rather amusing post about <a href="http://americanturk.blogspot.com/2005/12/i-am-not-american.html">wanting to find a t-shirt that says "I am not a Turk".</a><br /><br />This may seem to be an odd post, but I find that at times we all tend to get rather pessimistic about the future (with the exception of the current happening in Southern Kurdistan), and in a little way, this sort of shows that all hope is not lost.Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1135133705510567692005-12-20T18:52:00.000-08:002005-12-20T18:57:38.073-08:00The Importance of Voice<p>I have been relatively blessed in being born in America, I have grown up in a world where I can state my own opinion without fear of reprisal...in fact, until I left the country and saw how others lived, I didn't even know that others could be persecuted for their thoughts and beliefs.</p>I now know better.<br /><p>In my dealings with the issue of Kurdistan and the Kurdish blogger friends that I have been so fortuate to make, I have realized the extreme importance of the individual voice and ensuring that voice is protected.</p>I believe that there are many many other Kurdish voices just waiting to break out and say what they have been so desperately wanting to say to the world. I also believe that many of those voices remain silent because they are afraid that they will not be protected if they speak out. Rest assured, you are part of a larger community, a larger family, who wants to ensure your welfare. There are many guides out there that can help you learn how to blog anonymously and safely. The best guide out there by far is the <a href="http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=542"><em>Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents</em></a> from <em>Reporters without Borders</em>. There are many <a href="http://anoniblog.blogharbor.com/blog/Guides">Anonymous Blogging Guide</a> sites out there to use as a resourse, as well as the <a href="http://kurdistanblogcount.wordpress.com/wp-admin/committeetoprotectbloggers.civiblog.org/"><em>Committee to Protect Bloggers. </em></a>These guides are also translated into multiple languages to aid you as well.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>So remember my friends, you have a family here just waiting to take you into our arms. Let yourself be heard.Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1134947548150201552005-12-18T15:11:00.000-08:002005-12-20T15:41:31.876-08:00Kurdish Bloggers in the NewsCharles Chapman of <em><a href="http://theisoughtproblem.blogspot.com/">the Is-Ought Problem</a></em>, recently had an article of his published on KurdishMedia, <a href="http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=10918">Will Iraqi Kurdistan teach Turkey about Freedom of Speech?</a><br /><br />He has consistantly proven himself to be an objective voice of the Kurds, and should be on your read list.<p></p>Bilal Wahab from <em><a href="http://bilalwahab.blogspot.com/">Better Kurdistan and Iraq</a></em> got to meet the President of the United States on December 15th, the day marking the parlimentary elections in Iraq. I have seen his photo all over the news in the US, and I think that it is wonderful!<br /><p>And for some work that should be in the news....The wonderful job <a href="http://northerniraq.info/blog/"><em>Roj Bash!</em></a> and<em><a href="http://vladimirkurdistan.blogspot.com/"> From Holland to Kurdistan</a></em> have been doing in bringing some of the personal stories of Kurds voting in the Iraqi elections in Europe. <em><a href="http://hiwakan.blogspot.com/">Hiwa Hopes</a> and <em><a href="http://kurdo.blogspot.com/">Kurdo's World</a></em> </em> have also had some excellent election coverage<em>.<br /><br /></em></p>Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1134858927005987322005-12-17T14:31:00.000-08:002005-12-17T14:35:27.016-08:00Kurdish Tea?I find something new everyday. Today I found a recipe for <a href="http://maviboncuk.blogspot.com/2004/05/chai-kurdi-kurdish-tea.html">Kurdish Tea</a>. I have never had tea like this when I lived in Northern Kurdistan, does anyone know what region it is from?<br /><br /><blockquote>CHAI KURDI (KURDISH TEA)<br /><br />Amount/Measure <br />1 tb India tea leaves<br />1 Cinnamon stick, 4"<br />2 c -water, boiling<br />Sugar cubes<br /><br />The Kurds like this sweet, aromatic tea. The cubes of sugar are dissolved in the mouth as the tea is drunk,the sweeter the better.<br /> <br />Put the tea and cinnamon in a tea pot and pour in the boiling water. Allow to steep for 5 minutes. Serve hot with sugar cubes. Serves 4.<br /> <br />From: "Sephardic Cooking" by Copeland Mark -- 600 Recipes Created in Exotic Sephardic Kitchens from Morocco to India -- Copyright 1992 Published by Donald I. Fine,Inc., New York, N.Y.</blockquote>Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1134774946155948952005-12-16T14:54:00.000-08:002005-12-16T15:15:46.203-08:00An alternative opinion?So I found this post today from a blog entitled <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://http//www.agnoiology.com">Agnoiologist</a>. He has an interesting perceptive about an <a href="http://http//www.agnoiology.com/archives/2005_12_15.html#000760">independent Kurdistan and why the US should have pushed for it</a>: <br /><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">We should've pushed for an independent Kurdistan, and I wonder if it's still not too late. I guess so because of the constitution. Perhaps certain persons in Iraq would not have liked it, but it would've been in the best US interests. I do not believe the insurgents would've attacked Kurdistan. It does not make any sense. Also, the Kurds would've been more willing to allow the establishment of a US base and maybe even to share in the oil revenue. I guess we'll never know for sure, but I think it would've helped stabilize Iraq. It would've been one less faction to worry about when drawing up the Iraqi Constitution and during elections in general. Heck, we might've even been able to set up a government more to our tastes in Kurdistan.</blockquote><br /><br />I think that he is correct on the possibility of an independent Kurdistan stabilizing Iraq, but I don't think he is on the mark about the United States setting up a government that is "more to our tastes". Either way, I thought that it was an interesting example of what people who are not well versed in the nuances of Kurdistan and typing about.<br /><br />*This is an aside, but I just ran the blogger spellcheck and the term "blog" came up as incorrect. Can somebody tell who was the numbnuts who let that slip by.<br /><blockquote></blockquote>Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1134405975702888272005-12-12T08:41:00.000-08:002005-12-12T09:40:23.776-08:00New BadgeI know that I am personally not someone to want big logos on my site, I prefer little badges. So I decided to make one for KBU, you are more than welcome to use it---and if you think that it is utter crap, you can make your own. However if you like it, just put the following code into your template:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/http;//kurdistanblog.blogspot.com/" title="Kurdistan Bloggers Union"><img src="http://tinypic.com/igkl7n.gif" alt="Image hosted by TinyPic.com" /></a><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span> Add our badge :<br /> <input type="text" name="T1" size="20" value="<a href="http://kurdistanblog.blogspot.com/" title="Kurdistan Bloggers Union"><img src="http://tinypic.com/igkl7n.gif"></a>"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/http;//kurdistanblog.blogspot.com/" title="Kurdistan Bloggers Union"> </a>Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1134352494237248232005-12-11T17:23:00.000-08:002005-12-11T17:54:54.303-08:00New Project from DelalHello everybody!<br />I have been toying with this idea for quite a while and I finally managed to get around to setting the whole process up. There is now a <a href="http://www.kurdistanblogcount.wordpress.com">Kurdistan Blog Count</a>. (Designed around the same purpose as the <a href="http://iraqblogcount.blogspot.com">Iraq Blog Count</a>) I felt that it was important to have a place to link all of the Kurdish links, and moniter the Kurdish bloggers to see if they are alright. For example, <a href="http://blog.medyadaily.com/">Medya's</a> site appears to be down, so is someone checking to see if he is ok--he is as he is posting on the <a href="http://northerniraq.info/forums/index.php">Roj Bosh forum</a>--but the question remains, what happens if someone stops blogging and we don't notice? We all hope that the worst wouldn't happen, but if something does, we need to be ready to mobilize. Other items...<a href="http://kurdishlily.blogspot.com/">Kurdish Lily's</a> site link has apparently been hijacked. As well as the <a href="http://www.geocities.com/kurdishclub/">Kurdish Club</a> site has been hacked into by the Turks. We need to be monitoring these types of things and help out where we can.<br /><br /> I know that the link list will never be complete, but if anyone else would like to help with this it would be much appreciated. I especially need someone who would be willing to help with the links/posts from bloggers who blog in Kurdish as there really isn't a list of blogs that include all of the languages that Kurdish bloggers blog in. (But I will take anyone that wants to help.) So if you are interested in helping out, please send me an email, or comment directly on the site itself. And before anyone asks, no this is not meant to take over the space created by the Kurdistan Bloggers Union, only to supplement it.Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1133913961908770392005-12-06T15:24:00.000-08:002005-12-06T17:00:31.693-08:00Problems with Kurdish democracy: Unrest in Duhok<img src="http://www.nefel.com/grafik/uploaded/yekgirtu_dihok_200_2005_12_06_h23m11s13.jpg" /><br /><br />Today in Duhok [South-Kurdistan] the political office of the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) went up in flames reported Nefel.com. This happened after a group of youngsters got into trouble with with members of the IUK. As a result a big fight broke out.<br /><br />The Asayish (Kurdish security forces) were right at the spot and the firemen tried to extinguish the fire. But this was in vain. The building could not be saved. Because of the unrest 24 people got wounded including 7 civilians, 7 members of the KIU and 10 Asayish policemen. According to Reuters there also were 4 deaths, including the leader of the Islamic Union in Duhok. Rumours say he was only wounded. But the reports about this event are very unclear. According to Netkurd there were also attacks in Zakho (a place near Duhok) against the KIU.<br /><br />Yesterday there were also problems, when young people tried to take away the Kurdish flag of the KIU building. These Kurdistan alliance supporters claimed, that the KIU doesn’t have the right to use a Kurdish flag, because they aren’t part of the Kurdistani Alliance, but went to the elections separately. The Islamic group has been criticised for the decision to leave the main Kurdish electoral bloc at a time when competition for votes is getting tougher. This decision of the KIU reflects rumblings of discontent with the two main Kurdish parties and their supporters, which are already predicted to lose some seats as more Sunni Arabs seek representation.<br /><br />The unrest in the city is still there. People tried to evade all political offices. This case is very sensitive and will be a big influence on the people of Kurdistan, because of the elections in 7 days.<br /><br />In the election three big parties will participate: <a href="http://hiwakan.blogspot.com/2005/12/pcdk-manifesto-sections-1-3-out-of-13.html">PCDK 779</a>, <a href="http://hiwakan.blogspot.com/2005/11/kurdistan-alliance-lists-manifesto.html"> Kurdistani Alliance 730</a> and <a href="http://hiwakan.blogspot.com/2005/11/kius-election-manifesto.html">Kurdistan Islamic Union 561</a>. (Thanks to Hiwa for translating the manifests of the parties)<br /><br />I translated this, because it’s important for the Kurdish people to realise this isn’t democracy. You cannot burn down someone’s office, because you don’t agree with them. Several KIU adverts were smashed too.<br /><br /><img src="http://tinypic.com/i737g9.jpg" width="200" /><br />Smashed Yekgirtu (Kurdish name for KIU) advert in Hawler<br /><br />The Kurdish president of South-Kurdistan Massoud Barzani condemned the attacks and promised to arrest the people who were behind the attack. He said that every party is free in his opinion. Although he claims to be democratic, the security agents of his party arrested the writer Dr. Kamal Said Qadir for criticism on Barzani and the Kurdish people. (Read more here <a href="http://thekurdistani.com/news/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1295">TheKurdistani.com</a>). It’s not clear if Barzani wanted the writer to be arrested, but later he said he could walk out, if he [the writer]wrote an apology letter. It’s clear there has a lot to be done to democratise Kurdistan after decades of war and insecurity. There was also an article of Michael Rubin, who spoke about corruption in the Kurdish government. He wrote that "<a href="http://www.theonerepublic.com/archives/Columns/MEF/20051122RubinBane.html">the Iraqi Kurdish leadership is more consumed with self-enrichment".</a><br /><br />I am not saying that South-Kurdistan is a non-democratic regime now or that I am against the ruling Kurdish parties. I am just saying it's still a long road to democracy and that this is a logicial situation. It was a long road for all countries and nations in the world to become fully democratic. But it's in my opinion that Kurdistan cannot become democratic without criticism!! If South-Kurdistan is really a democracy, the democratic forces [media, people, etc] will bring the system in check.<br /><br />Alastair Farrugia used to say:"Freedom is when the people can speak, democracy is when the government listens." It's time for the government to listen more, but also for the Kurdish people to think about the meaning of democracy.<br /><br />- <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/8950968">Vladimir van Wilgenburg</a>Wladimir van Wilgenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14385344748812614455noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1133715856012916112005-12-04T08:58:00.000-08:002005-12-04T09:04:16.023-08:00Delal has been very active recently..She has been doing a great job in introducing us to new bloggers..I would like to announce some great news for the Kurdistan Bloggers.<br /><br />A Kurdish website has agreed to support bloggers... <a href="http://thekurdistani.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1920#1920">They have created a page for technical support page. </a> (such as the two codes I use on my blog)... Feel free to ask them any questions regarding your blog issues...<br /><br />They have also agreed to create an active platform with a better blogging tool to host Kurdistan Bloggers Union.<br /><br />Weldone Bloggers... We are almost there...<br /><br />KurdoUnknownnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7233670.post-1133555509036208222005-12-02T12:22:00.000-08:002005-12-02T12:31:49.046-08:00Someone explain this to me....Last week, Vladimir posted an <a href="http://vladimirkurdistan.blogspot.com/2005/11/turkey-suffers-from-bird-flu-to.html">article from Rebar Jaff from <span style="font-style: italic;">The Globe</span></a>, siteing an incident where Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Erdogan left a news conference after learning that reporters from Roj TV were there. Erdogan has a history of not liking the Kurds in general, and just when we think that we have everything figured out he makes statements like this:<br /><br /><a href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1107AP_Turkey_Kurds_Identity.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">"We are all citizens of the republic of Turkey under that upper identity," he said. However all Turks have "sub-identities," Erdogan said. "No one should be offended by this. A Kurd can say 'I am a Kurd.'"</span></a><br /><br />Whoa! Please raise your hand if you saw that one coming. Yeah, I didn't raise mine as well. This sounds wonderful for the Kurds of Northern Kurdistan, but I feel a little apprehensive.Delalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518216049466112093noreply@blogger.com5