Annie · Mannie · Pants

The address is http://anniefulton.wordpress.com/.

"I am interested in how technology is affecting societies, and how it can be used to help them transform and progress."

Next step: Find a job.

Mexican food is on its way now.

Current Mood:

hungry

Access to the popular video-sharing website YouTube has been suspended in Turkey following a court order.

The ban was imposed after prosecutors told the court that clips insulting former Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk had appeared on the site.

According to Turkish media, there has been a "virtual war" between Greek and Turkish users of the site, with both sides posting insulting videos.

The clip prompting the ban reportedly dubbed Ataturk and Turks homosexuals.

Insulting Ataturk, the founding father of modern Turkey, or "Turkishness" is an offence which can result in a prison sentence.

The offending videos sparked a storm of complaints to YouTube and the clips were removed, but the court order goes further, blocking all access to the site.

Freedom of speech

Turkish visitors to the site are now greeted with a message in English and Turkish reading "Access to www.youtube.com site has been suspended in accordance with decision no: 2007/384 dated 06.03.2007 of Istanbul First Criminal Peace Court".

Paul Doany, the head of Turk Telecom, the country's largest telecoms company, said that they had blocked access to the site as soon as the court order came through.

"We are not in the position of saying that what YouTube did was an insult, that it was right or wrong," Mr Doany told Anatolia news agency. "A court decision was proposed to us, and we are doing what that court decision says."

Mr Doany said that for its part Turk Telecom will continue to enforce the ban as long as the order stands.

The European Union, which Turkey is hoping to join, has long called for an easing of Article 301 - the law which prevents insults to Turkish culture - arguing that the law places severe restrictions on free speech in Turkey.

About 50 writers in the country have been put on trial for allegedly contravening the rule, including Nobel prizewinner Orhan Pamuk, though most cases have eventually been dismissed by the judge.

Getting these Akbils is no small feat.  You cannot just walk up to a token station and buy one, you must apply for them.  We waited until we received our student IDs, so we could get cheaper rates.  With our IDs and two passport photos in hand, we took a bus and tramvay to the Municipality Office, which is the equivalent to the bureaucratic hell that is the DMV in the US, but on stimulants.

We entered a small room packed with old men and women in head scarves running all over the place (seriously, no one was sitting still).  We each pulled a number like you do at the deli, dreading the time our numbers came up.  We approached every young person who looked like they might know English, but they were just as confused as we were.  Men were shouting and raising their hands at each other, and the numbers were being ticked off so fast we were afraid they were dismissing everyone who entered.

Carrie had the smallest number and was called first.  We wished her luck while she approached the window where her number was flashing.  She handed over her student ID and passport photos while I blocked the view of Ayesha, the only black girl in Istanbul, from many old Turks who were blantantly starring at her.  The young man behind the class said a few words in Turkish sounding something like "askjdfhajshd internet cvnasierjsdnfdfikd internet internet internet!"

We left in confusion, and no Akbil.  In one last attempt, I approached a group of girls who looked like they may have been in high school. "Ingilizce?" I asked.  "Little" I got back.  It took five minutes to communicate that we must go online to print out some forms, fill them out, have them stamped by the university, and then return to the municipality office in 5 days to receive our Akbil.  It was such a feat, one of the girls kissed me twice when we left.

Current Mood:

exhausted

Things are really good so far.  I LOVE my class with Pamuk's brother (even though he tends to speak in Turkish sometimes and have to ask my neighbor to translate).  We studied the American "QWERTY" keyboard today and how it is inefficient for fast typing.  Other than that, I feel like a bit of a goof in Turkish, Russian is a piece of cake, Multiculturalism in Istanbul looks interesting, and I am going to audit Principles of Marketing tomorrow.