Wordpress banned in Turkey

Just seen this at Raincoaster. Here's her article in full.

steal this: don’t block the blog letter

Here is a really quite flawless letter that cjwriter wrote to the Turkish Ambassador to Australia regarding the recent banning of all Wordpress.com blogs in Turkey (and, indirectly, Albania, because Albania gets much of its internet access from Turkey). I suggest, as he suggests, that you copy and adapt the text and send it to the Turkish embassy in your own country. Judyb12 has supplied an abbreviated list of them:

Turkish Embassy: USA
Turkish Embassy: UK
Turkish Embassy: Australia
Turkish Embassy: Canada

RE: Freedom of Speech

Dear Mr __________,

My name is __________. I live in ______ and I’m writing to you regarding an action a Turkish court has taken that is of great concern to me.

On August 17th, 2007, the Turkish Fatih 2nd Civil Court of First Instance blocked access to the Wordpress.com domain. The ban on Wordpress, a blogging platform hosting some 1.3 million blogs, was a response to a suit filed by lawyers for Adnan Oktar alleging that defamatory statements had been made about their client by several blogs on Wordpress.com.

The ban has resulted in all blogs hosted by Wordpress.com being made inaccessible to Turkey. I feel very strongly that this is an overreaction. I am a blogger on Wordpress; I have done nothing wrong, but my readership is being impacted.

Even more serious is the fact that there are many innocent Turkish bloggers on Wordpress.com who now cannot access their blogs or are being forced to use other means to access them. It is a violation of their free speech and that of readers from all over the world.

Please understand, this is not about whether Adnan Oktar was slandered, or about the Turkish legal system; I respect your country, as I hope you respect mine. But it has gone beyond that. Now it is about innocent Turkish bloggers being forced into silence, and countless others being denied the freedom to be read. The court could have ordered that the offending blogs and any subsequent offenders be blocked, but instead ordered the complete ban of Wordpress.com. It’s the equivalent of closing a library because of a single offending book, rather than just removing the book itself.

Many websites and blogs on both Wordpress.com and on other platforms are initiating campaigns in support of Turkish bloggers, and I am writing to you to express my concern, and to ask that the Turkish authorities reconsider their position.

Yours sincerely,

____________.

SMOKING BAN

BBC NEWS 24 has just run a story about Bingo Halls in England and how operators of these establishments fear a drastic cut in revenue after tomorrow. A survey was done in Scotland post-ban and there the takings were down by over 30%. (It didn't say by 22% or otherwise it would have been down by two little ducks).

As a libertarian, I can't really be seen to support anything which affects personal freedom as one has to consider what "they" are going to ban next.

Drinking?

Fatty foods?

Contact sports?

Kosher & Halal meat?

Demonstrations?


posted by Nosmo King

Another Blogroll Change

Got bored with *LGF. So they've been consigned (temporarily) to my Room 101. Instead have replaced them with another US web/blog - Daily Shvitz

* LGF do a grand job of highlighting Arab terror, rarely reported by the pro-Arab BBC, like this

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Terror Attack in East Jerusalem

The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, terrorist wing of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’ “moderate” Fatah party, has perpetrated a sneak attack against Israeli border guards in East Jerusalem: 4 injured in J’lem shooting attack; 2 gunmen killed.

Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at border patrol police in east Jerusalem late Saturday, injuring four, police said. Israeli border police at the scene fired at the attackers, killing both of them. Emergency services said four Israelis were injured and evacuated to hospital, one of whom was in serious condition.

The shooting took place in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheik Said, near the security fence. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a joint patrol of Israeli border police and civilian guards along the barrier. Channel 10 reported that the patrol was ambushed by the Palestinian shooters.

An offshoot of the violent Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, which is affiliated with the Fatah Party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, claimed responsibility for the shooting attack, according to the Palestinian news Web site Maan.

Are the citizens striking back?

I have gone on record in saying that we are closer now to widespread civil disobedience in Britain, than we have been for over a century and a half.

Whilst I don't condone the sending of letter bombs to those in authority, I can understand why some people would be motivated to do so. We are living in unprecedented times. Never before have we been spied upon so much, taxed, fined, patronized and treated in contempt by the state. Our justice system seems all to ready to hound those who drive at 35 mph in a 30mph zone, whilst paedophiles, robbers and other degenerates seem to get off lightly.

The Blair regime may have caused some, who prize personal freedom and libertarian values highly, to start taking extra-parliamentary action. They probably feel disaffected by the whole political process, uninspired by Her Majesty's Opposition and generally disenchanted by the "police" state we appear to living in.

Are citizens striking back?

What's your opinion?

"Blogroll" updates

Apart from the hilarious Welshman, Chip 'n Dale, I've also added ATW, or A Tangled Web. This site is well written by David Vance and his team. A rising star, I feel.

Another thought provoking site is Tim Kevan's clever Barrister Blog

Finally, I just love Drunken Blogging



P.S. I nearly forgot Tim Kevan's fiancee - Michelle Tempest and her Psychiatrist Blog

The weekend looms for two Jewish Princesses

Some writing, tidying and speech writing, and there's going to be a couple of sexy women coming over tomorrow night! About time for some fun and frolics with Rachel and Becky. I don't suppose politics, UKIP, Europe or football will be amongst the topics of conversation. More likely the oncoming cold weather which will be gripping the country for most of next week. Apparently!

Of course, there has to be time spent at the gym and walking around Hampstead Garden Suburb. For more details of the Trek preparation please visit here.

For more intellectual pursuits go here

For ogling at Penelope Cruz stay here

Publicly Speaking

I've just posted this

Over at the other place

As you all know by now, I'm very passionate about public speaking and how it can help individuals achieve a higher sense of self-expression, confidence and achievement. Also, I'm a advocat of my Victoria-based speaking club, London Corinthians and the organization it's part of, Toastmasters International.

If you fear public speaking or worried about that presentation you have to deliver at work, you may like to consider joining your local Toastmasters Club.

Sir Phillip Green

Was on Radio 4 this morning talking about his Retail Academy.

The main thrust this morning was his clear dislike of graduates who pitch up at Arcadia with "irrelevant" degrees wishing to have a career in retail. He said he'd rather take on a 17-year old with common sense and train them. A graduate at 22 or 23 years of age will still have to go through the same process. In fact they maybe a bit of a liability, all that student debt.

I think many of us share his view that university degrees for 50% of our youth is a flawed policy of this current Government. What Sir Phillip was saying, is that we need Technical Colleges churning out plumbers, electricians, engineers and so on.

Do you agree, or should we import labour from abroad to fill the skills gap?

6 things in 2007 - My Prophecies

1. The "cash for honours" row peaks in February/March.

2. Hezbollah will attack Israel again. (This time Israel will finish the job)

3. Political scandal in Australia.

4. Windows Vista launch unsuccessful.

5. Civil unrest in Iran.

6. Major earthquake in the southern hemisphere.


Iain Dale, Ellee Seymour, James Higham, Eastcliffe Richard, Shasinka, Stephen Pollard, Yid with Lid, Julia Buckley, Dizzy Thinks, Richard North, Chicken Yogurt, Franorama, Rox Populi, Beau Bo D'or,

Heathrow Airport Disaster

So Margate FC pitched up at NotquitesoShortLane this afternoon, hoping to pick up 3 valuable away points against a team called Ashford Town(Middx.) - who actually play in Stanwell not far from that dirty "Ali G" hole - Staines.

Ashford Town (who play in bizarre tangerine & white stripes) have a ground that is situated about 900 yards south of the main runway at Heathrow Airport. Immediately behind one of the goals is a fuel depot(see above pic) and fans can enjoy the whiff of those lovely aircraft exhaust fumes on most match days.
In fact, Ashford's miniscule home fanbase were heard chanting today "we are, we are, we are the negative carbon boys, and if you are a Margate fan can you give us a lift, we need some fresh air, fresh air" or some such bollocks like that.

After a frustrating first half an hour, normal service "resumed" when Danny Hockton smashed home a penalty. Moments earlier he had, himself, been brought down by the Ashford goalie, a slimey individual by the name of Burgess Hill. The bloody ref didn't even book him. Silly sod.

The huge Margate away support, who included Tony T. (See this) , were hoping to enjoy a cup of English Kerosene cancer inducing tea at half-time when the diminutive Ashford winger Scott "Tiny" Nohope somehow meandered between the legs of Justin Skinner then beat a worm before crossing delightfully for one of his colleagues to head home from 2 yards out. Little Scott was on cloud nine as was Burgess Hill, who then insulted a Margate fan by calling him something rather rude. A moment or two later the half-time whistle blew and the side who were sublime against Horsham and Hendon seemed to be out of sorts as they strode back to the dressing noroom.

The second half was more pulsating, as a result, the planes seemed to divert their path a touch so a clearer view of the game could be had - one of benefits of flying Al-Jazeera Airways from London Heathrow. Despite going close on a couple of occasions, kicking towards the "M25 end" in the second-half, Margate had to settle for a 1-1 draw. Not the best preparation before the Boxing Day clash-of-heads at Ramschavgate.

Luckily, there were no serious injuries to any of the Margate team despite playing against the aggressive Ashford Town side, who clearly get their inspiration from their Internet site's Webmaster, Mr Len Wellard!

So it's to be Ramsgate on Boxing Day. The two sides have not meet in a league encounter since the 1972/3 season. ( more on this here)


FINAL SCORE TODAY

Air Pollution (Middx.) 1 Margate FC 1

Starbucks Silliness in America

(Another beauty from Alan Caruba. This time he highlights whinging Yanks whinging about milk).

Here's a Caruba "extra", a commentary on a recent protest to get Starbucks to use "organic" milk. This kind of thing is part of the vast effort to frighten consumers regarding everything they eat and drink.

The “Organic” Milk Scam Continues

By Alan Caruba

On December 5 some Starbucks customers in New York and Washington, D.C., two major media centers, could look up from their double lattes and see a small group of idiots dressed up as cows protesting outside their favorite bistro. Unfortunately for the protesters, the media ignored their valiant effort to advance the interests of Food and Water Watch, but good news for consumers.

Food and Water Watch is a spin-off of Ralph Nader’s anti-everything Public Citizen, a self-appointed organization famous for its opposition to modern technology, corporations, and globalization. The silly people in the silly cow costumes were, in fact a marketing ploy to frighten people into believing that milk produced by cows that have received bovine growth hormones are a threat to the health of Americans.

Nothing in the many years that bovine growth hormone has been used demonstrates any threat at all, although the protesters described it as a “cancer-related hormone.” The growth hormone is a synthetic version of the natural cow hormone, bovine somatotropin.

In this insanely over-regulated nation of ours, any hint of a cancer risk would have pulled it off the market long ago. While science confirms its safety, the theater of protest goes on.

Americans are so distant from the actual source of how and where their food is produced, they often think it is some magical process that fills the shelves of their supermarket, their plates at restaurants, or their refrigerators at home.

In the case of milk it is the result of a lot of hard work by farmers and dairymen.

According to a 2002 U.S. Department of Agriculture survey, only about 22% of the nation’s dairy cows were receiving rsBST as an aid to milk production. If deprived of rsBST their production would go down while the hucksters of organic milk’s income would benefit.

It’s not about health. It’s about the dollars organic food marketers can wrest from consumers who are led to believe that it is healthier in some respect.

The simple truth is that milk always has been and always will be full of hormones, whether produced with rsBST or not! It’s made by cows, not machines.

The irony of this is that the human body naturally produces a comparable hormone called insulin, vital to good health.

According to Alex Avery’s blog, Milk is Milk, “Five years ago, the Organic Consumers Association had Starbucks squarely in its sights.” At the time, Starbucks stocked up on the “organic” milk and quickly discovered that managers were throwing away far more of it than they were selling. As Avery noted, “It is NOT consumers who were asking for premium priced niche market milk.”

This, of course, means nothing to Food and Water Watch, nor the Organic Consumers Association that organized the protests and a day in which consumers were urged to call Starbucks because, in the oily words of such fear-mongers, it is bad for cows “and may be bad for people.” The operative word here is “may.”

All fear campaigns operate off of words like “may, could, might”, et cetera. For now the cow costumes have been packed away and the creepy organizers of the protest are claiming victory.

For my part, whenever I see the word “organic”, I check to see if my wallet is safely in my back pocket.

Alan Caruba writes a weekly column, “Warning Signs”, posted on the Internet site of The National Anxiety Center, www.anxietycenter.com, a clearinghouse for information about scare campaigns intended to influence public opinion and policy. His new book, “Right Answers: Separating Fact from Fantasy”, has been published by Merril Press.

© Alan Caruba, December 2006

There's always something to complaion about isn't there!

Website Cloning

Looks like certain individuals are having a sexy time with other peoples web sites. Instead of plagiarizing pop stars on YouTube, or copying someone's Wordpress blog, Simon Moore's has pointed out a most-recent scandal in the legal world.

The Matrix - Well Sort Of

I was caught-up in today's Observer news story that Matrix Chambers may have had to resort to legal action to defend themselves against internet pirates who are using Matrix's personnel, host of awards and high reputation in an apparent money-making scam.

Matrix called in the police after they became the latest victims of the growing phenomenon of cyber-cloning, in which a firm finds that its website has been copied by rivals. A previously-unknown outfit called Lando Attorneys, which purports to be run by two experienced barristers based in London, has copied the entire layout of Matrix's site and much of the material used to promote the chambers's services - including their description in the prestigious Legal 500 guide as 'arguably the finest concentration of talent at the Bar'.

I'm not quite sure the author understood what I meant by "website cloning" but it's a passable story and for once we cansit back and watch the lawyers fight it to a conclusion at their own expense.

It's always worth checking to see if your website/blog is being copied. There's a website you can go to for this purpose. It's called Copyscape.

The Post Office Closures, or who runs this country?

Andrew Gilligan wrote a brilliant piece in the London Evening Standard on Monday about the scandal concerning the closure of our rural Post Offices.

The Devil wrote this.........................

Post Office closures: what nobody's telling us

Iain Dale has noted that a few thousand Post Offices are to close.

While Lord Stevens announced the findings of his inquiry into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the Government announced that 2,500 Post Offices would close. Another good day to bury bad news.

Indeed; up to 3,000 Post Offices, mainly in rural areas, face closure but there is something that the government aren't telling you: can you guess what it is?

I shall pass you over to the lovely Trixy so that she can spell it out for you.

So, Alastair Darling is going to ask the European Commission very nicely if he can provide investment of £1.7 billion for the Post Offices, is he? It's so nice to know that these people we elect to run our country, who have recently decided they just don't get paid enough, can't even decide how they are going to spend tax revenue.

Mr Darling said the annual £150m subsidy to help rural branches stay open will be extended beyond 2008 until 2011.

What, however, Mr Darling doesn't say is that under Article 88 of the Treaty of Amsterdam, a national government needs permission from the European Commission to grant state aid, and under Directive 2002/39/EC, this permission must be granted before the aid can be given.
...

Can you imagine the grief Mr Darling would get (oh, if only he was a Captain) from dear old Tone' if he stood up and, perhaps, told the fucking truth about this post office debacle?

"Sorry, chaps, the European Commission says we can't fund post offices, even if they are the only facility in a rural area or tiny village miles from anywhere, somewhere that the elderly rely on. Sorry, but that's the way it is. They are the bosses now, and if they want to bend me over and bugger me with the Acquis Communautaire then they can."

If you look at the BBC News article that I linked to, you'll see not one mention of the EU's part in all this. Just for your enlightenment, let's hop over to UKIP's Press Release on the subject.

The Postal Services Directive 2002/39/EC reduced the part of the postal market which could be reserved for the national monopoly.

The breakup of the Royal Mail was actually initiated by an EU Directive.

Treaty of Amsterdam , Article 88 demands that a national government seeks permission from the Commission to grant state aid.

EU Directive 2002/39/EC requires permission before any state aid can be granted.

So, who rules in this country? Our elected government—awful, devious, dishonest, venal, little shits though they might be—or the unelected bureaucrats of the EU Commission. Well, I think that the answer to that question is becoming increasingly obvious.

So, can we leave yet?

Felixstowe to Margate "Coast",on BBC this evening

What a brilliant TV programme! I haven't seen any of the previous episodes of "Coast".

There were some great topics discussed in this evening's episode. They ranged from Felixstowe's container port and the programme finished at the place I was born. Margate, not the treacherous Goodwin Sands!

Well done BBC.

This stupid country (3)

Also from yesterday's London Evening Standard.......this time news about another stupid decision. You see the English never see the "big picture". Hardly surprising, we've people in positions of authority, who in my opinion, are small-minded, minimalist, short-termist and lacking in vision. This is certainly the case when it comes to town planning matters. Aesthetics never come into it.

Museum St, SW7

The three museums in South Kensington-The Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the Victoria & Albert - are a remarkable cluster of cultural and educational institutions. Nearby there are other buildings of considerable importance, from the Serpentine Galery in Hyde Park to the Royal Albert Hall. Yet this area is divided by busy roads-Exhibition Road and Cromwell Road-which makes it difficult to see the buildings as part of a coherent whole. It can also make it a bleaky experience for visitors.
An imaginative solution has been propsed by Kensington & Chelsea Council, Westminster Council and the Mayor. This would involve redesigning Exhibition Road and the area around to make itmlore welcoming for pedestrians. The road would lose its narrow pavements and would be redesigned with bold markings, which, it is hoped, would cause cars to travel more slowly. There would be provision for good crossings for pedestrians at major junctions and centralised bus stops and space for taxis.
Unfortunately, this scheme has been turned down for inclusion for the shortlist for the Big Lottery fund on the grounds that it concentrates too heavily on road enhancements. This misses the point, which is that the redesign is not intended to benefit motorists, but to make the whole area more accessible and to help integrate important cultural institutions into a single space. The cost, at £25 million, is reasonable. Now an appeal is to be made for £5million from the Heritage Lottery Fund, with the rest made up by the Government. This eminently sensible scheme deserves support.

Of course, whether or not it gets it remains to be seen. I agree with the columns main thrust. For those of you who have visited the Spanish city of Valencia, you may have been impressed by the location of various museums and an aquatic centre, very easily accessed, in the centre of that remarkable city.

One of the best Blogs around?

Try this

No joke - really

In a chemists window, a neon sign says "Aids for the elderly".

Eastcliff Richard and The Devils Advocat would have chuckled at this one.

The Bloody mad Irish being bloody mad again

Lovely article by Kevin Myers of the Irish Independent. Taken from "Israpundit"

Israel deserves our sympathy, not knee-jerk anthems of hatred

Kevin Myers, Irish Independent

HOW does Israel choose its ambassador to Ireland? If he was struck by lightning two minutes after he was born; if his mother had inverted nipples so he could suck no milk; if the rabbi’s scalpel was rusty and blunt, leading to full amputation of the organ in question; if his school was infected by scabies and he spent his childhood scratching himself almost to death; if he went bald at the age of 14, and lost his teeth at the age of 18 - well, then clearly he is a chap who is used to misfortune, and is thoroughly qualified to be Israeli ambassador to Ireland.

For this appointment would wipe the smile off the face of the happiest Jew in the world. Indeed, when Danny Kaye was offered the job, he promptly became a Mormon, and grew a foreskin. Because, there is in this country almost no popular sympathy whatever for the plight of the Israeli people, and wherever the wretched Israeli ambassador goes, he’ll be met by renta-mobs of ignorant hullabalooing know-alls, howling their anthems of hatred.

The apex of this anti-Israeli pathology is in the Seanad - surely the most redundant, conceited and dim-witted upper chamber of any state in Europe. This is the home of that grisly and self-congratulatory Michael D Norris-tendency, with their regular, shrill peacock-screeches of denunciations of anything to do with Israel (usually after some disingenuous declarations about
their love of Jews). University campuses, in their more modest undergraduate way, tend to follow senatorial example, typically with their banners proclaiming, “Lesbians, Gays & Trans-Sexuals Against Israel”.

What welcome would the Seanad or our university campuses extend to Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, whose forces have ruthlessly showered Israeli civilian areas with rockets? What greeting would they give the Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh, or the Hamas political leader, Khalid Misshal? These fine fellows want to introduce full-blown Islamic law to the entire area of Palestine, including Israel. Would they howl these creatures down, as they do the Israeli ambassador every time that gallant tries to speak in public? Do you know, I rather doubt it.

The truth is that any anti-Zionist Arab who comes to Ireland, regardless of the vileness of his general opinions, will be greeted as if he were the recently discovered love-child of Albert Schweitzer and Mother Teresa. No inconvenient questions for him about by which manner he
prefers to execute homosexuals - by pushing walls on them with bulldozers, as Taliban did, or the rather more existentially satisfying one of the crowd being allowed to stone them to death, as in Iran and Saudi. Ditto harlots. Ditto women who have been raped and can’t prove they didn’t
give assent.

It is not merely the sheer stupidity of the reflexive anti-Israeli attitude in Ireland, but its
counter-emotionalism which is so stunning. If most people judge an issue by consulting their feelings - which, regretably, is usually the case in this country - then surely some hearts, if only out of sentiment alone, should be moved by Israel’s dilemma. After all, the Jewish state is
smaller in area than Munster, and is surrounded by a hostile Arab landmass the size of the continental United States. It has not known general peace in 60 years.

Instead, almost all traditions of supporting the underdog, of siding with the weakest, of sympathising with those who have been oppressed for hundreds of years, vanish completely when the weak, oppressed underdog is Jewish and Israeli. And please, please spare me talk about the powerlessness of the Palestinians compared to the military might of Israel.

Both are meaningless illusions when confronted by the demographics of the region and the cult of the suicide bomber. Laser-guided missiles can do nothing to prevent the Arabs of the region dramatically out-breeding Jews in the next half a century: smart technology cannot thwart the smarter suicide-bomber, who in a heterogeneous and open society like Israel will sooner or later blow apart the school bus or the bar-mitzvah.

The generalised Arab intifada against Israel took a new shape earlier this year, with the ceaseless rocket bombardment of Israeli cities - usually from the very areas which the Israelis had, under international pressure, obligingly just vacated. The Israeli response was exactly in
line with the expectations of Hizbollah. The latter’s men used civilian areas to attack Israeli towns, largely inaccurately, and imbecilic; but largely accurate Israeli counter-fire then killed sleeping civilians, as intended. Both sides were obediently following some abominable
master-plan in which Hizbollah behaved with diabolical cunning, and the Israelis with abysmal stupidity. The result? Thousands dead, and Israel’s international reputation even lower then before. Hizbollah is now the great political and military force of Lebanon, just as Hamas
is amongst Palestinians.

I write this today because I have just read - with weary predictability: and I say that with some justification, because I did, with great weariness, predict it - that Hizbollah are back in business on the Israeli border. Armed militants are re-establishing themselves in bunkers there, and Israeli intelligence reports they have 20,000 rockets. Their leader, Sheikh Nasrallah, disagrees. He says they actually have 30,000.

No doubt we’ll see who’s right over the coming months.

UKIP on the way up?

The Devil highlights a brilliant media coup for the United Kingdom Independence Party.

Europe must be destroyed!

No, not a Dalek rant but some words of wisdom from Tim Worstall's excellent blog and endorsed by the Devil himself

Latin You Can Use. (from a post in October 2004)

A phrase that we all need to learn, one that can unite us as Europeans in defence of our freedoms, lives, rights and properties while ending the rise of a faceless bureaucracy over us.

"Ceterum censeo Consilium Europaeum esse delendam"

And, therefore, I conclude that "the European Union must be destroyed".