text:
Two people killed in early morning crash on I-75 in Valdosta
By: Dave Miller | WALB News
VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) —Two people were killed in a motor vehicle accident on I-75 southbound near mile marker 15 at about 2 a.m. Tuesday, the Georgia State Patrol says.
A passenger car and a tractor-trailer caught fire and were put out by the Valdosta and Lowndes County fire departments.
Two occupants of the car where pronounced dead on the scene. The driver of the tractor-trailer was checked by EMS but reported no injuries.
The cause of the accident is under investigation by the Georgia State Patrol.
The coroner's office was able to identify the occupants of the passenger car. However, those names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
The cause of death at this time appears to be from injuries sustained during the traffic collision.
"Thanks to the Valdosta and Lowndes County fire units for a swift response and great teamwork," said Coroner Austin Fiveash. "These types of calls are hard. Hard on everyone that answers that call, firemen, medics, troopers, coroners, tow truck operators, dispatchers, everyone."
Fiveash says he's sending his thoughts and prayers to the families who lost a loved one.
"Although tragic, I am proud of our fire guys and thanks to them, we are able to get the victims home to family. My deepest condolences to the family and friends of the victims. No one should have to get that news and my heart breaks for them. I hope our community will join me in lifting them up in our thoughts and prayers," Fiveash said.
Copyright 2019 WALB. All rights reserved.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Thee ol' ancient letter game! Name this letter and any interesting insights or fun things you might think or know about it!
In the player below, you will find the entire Urban Danger documentary accessible for viewing online. Simply click on the player to begin. Please remember, this feature is for those with a high-speed connection. Depending on your connection speed, it may take a minute for the player to start playing.
Also, don't forget about the full-screen feature that may be accessed by clicking on the bottom-right button on the player. This will allow the video to fill your screen. If you have an old or slow computer, using the full screen mode may cause the playback to stutter. IF that happens, you may find it better to return to the smaller screen by pressing the "esc" button on your keypad.
such a wonderful movie..i have been off grid in the country over half my life and i learned many things from this vid! very family friendly!


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KURDISTAN COMMENTARY
news, information, and reviews on kurdish issues in kurdistan, the middle east and beyond
Kurdish Info
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Malperên bi kurdî
Category Archives: politics
Kurdish issues in the latest HRW World Report
Posted on 1 February 2013 by KB
This year's Human Rights Watch World Report details events around the world from 2012. The report assessed progress on human rights during the 2012 year in more than 90 countries.
Kurdistan Commentary has selected issues relating to the Kurds from this massive 665-page report and posted them below. Turkey continues to garner to bulk of the Kurdish-related news in the HRW report, as it has in years past. In the Syria section there is no mention of the Kurds at all. That chapter is focused on abuses taking place in the ongoing civil war in Syria, with no reference to Kurdish regions. The Iran chapter contains minimal information and the Kurdistan section of the Iraq chapter focuses, as in previous HRW World Reports, on freedom of expression and female genital mutilation.
Excerpts below.
Turkey's Justice and Development Party (AKP) government maintained economic growth in 2012 despite a slowdown, and a strong focus on developing a leading regional role, but failed to take convincing steps to address the country's worsening domestic human rights record and democratic deficit. Prosecutors and courts continued to use terrorism laws to prosecute and prolong incarceration of thousands of Kurdish political activists, human rights defenders, students, journalists, and trade unionists. Free speech and media remained restricted, and there were ongoing serious violations of fair trial rights.
Cross-party parliamentary work on a new constitution to uphold the rule of law and fundamental rights continued, although it was unclear at this writing whether the government and opposition would reach a consensus on key issues such as minority rights, fundamental freedoms, and definition of citizenship.
In March, parliament passed legislation to establish a National Human Rights Institution, and in June, an ombudsman institution to examine complaints against public officials at every level. Human rights groups criticized government control of appointments to the national institution's board and its failure to meet the test of independence from the government that United Nations guidelines recommend.
With the AKP condoning the mass incarceration of Kurdish activists, and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) escalating attacks, 2012 saw a spiraling descent into violence with armed clashes resulting in hundreds of deaths of soldiers and PKK members, significantly higher than recent years. Throughout 2012, the PKK kidnapped security personnel and civilians, including local politicians, one parliamentarian, and teachers, releasing them periodically. A suspected PKK attack in Gaziantep in August left nine civilians dead, including four children. The non-resolution of the Kurdish issue remained the single greatest obstacle to progress on human rights in Turkey.
Freedom of Expression, Association, and Assembly
While there is open debate in Turkey, government policies, laws and the administration of justice continue to lag behind international standards. The government has yet to carry out a comprehensive review of all existing laws that restrict freedom of expression, although a draft reform package was expected in late 2012 at this writing.
The so-called third judicial reform package came into force in July 2012. It ends short-term bans of newspapers and journals, which the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has criticized as censorship. The law suspends investigations, prosecutions, and convictions of speech-related offenses carrying a maximum sentence of five years that were committed before December 31, 2011, provided the offense is not repeated within three years. Critics fear the threat of reinstatement will continue to muzzle debate.
Thousands charged with alleged terrorism offenses remained in prison throughout their trials. Most of those in prison are Kurdish activists and officials of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) standing trial for alleged links to the Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK/TM), a body connected with the PKK, and in general the ongoing clampdown on the BDP and Kurdish political activism intensified in 2012 with repeated waves of mass arrests and prolonged imprisonment. The trial of 44 Journalists and media workers (31 in detention) began in Istanbul in September. They are among the many journalists, students, lawyers, trade unionists, and human rights defenders imprisoned and prosecuted for association with the KCK.
There was little progress in the main Diyarbakır KCK trial of 175 defendants. The 108 defendants who have been in custody for up to three-and-a half-years include Human Rights Association Diyarbakir branch head Muharrem Erbey, six serving local BDP mayors, several local BDP council members, and five elected BDP parliamentarians.
The July reform package also introduced and encouraged alternatives to remand imprisonment pending trial. But there were no indications that courts apply this to those already held in prolonged prison detention under terrorism charges. Statistics from the Ministry of Justice from May, the most recent data available, indicated that 8,995 of the 125,000-strong prison population were charged with terrorism offenses, and that half of the 8,995 were awaiting an initial verdict.
Great obstacles remain in securing justice for victims of abuses by police, military, and state officials.
In December 2011, a Turkish airforce aerial bombardment killed 34 Kurdish villagers, many of them young people and children, near Uludere, close to the Iraqi-Kurdistan border, as they crossed back into Turkey with smuggled goods. Concerns that there had been an official cover-up were fuelled by repeated statements by the prime minister rejecting calls by media, opposition parties, and families of victims for a full explanation of the incident, lack of a public inquiry, and a protracted criminal investigation that had not concluded at this writing.
Key International Actors
Turkey's European Union accession negotiations remained stalled. The election of France's President François Hollande helped to improve French-Turkish relations. In October, the European Commission in its annual progress report voiced strong criticism in most areas relating to human rights, emphasizing the importance of work on a new constitution, and stressing "the Kurdish issue remains a key challenge for Turkey's democracy."
The United States government remains an important influence on Turkey, sharing military intelligence on PKK movements in northern Iraq.
In January, a groundbreaking report by the Council of Europe (CoE) commissioner for human rights focused on "long-term, systemic problems in the administration of justice," and its negative impact on human rights.
In its October review of Turkey, the UN Human Rights Committee recommended reforms including amending the National Human Rights Institution law, introducing comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, and addressing the vagueness of the definition of terrorism in law and prolonged pretrial detention.
In 2011 authorities carried out more than 600 executions, second only to China, according to Amnesty International. Crimes punishable by death include murder, rape, trafficking and possessing drugs, armed robbery, espionage, sodomy, adultery, and apostasy.
Authorities have executed at least 30 people since January 2010 on the charge of moharebeh ("enmity against God") or "sowing corruption on earth" for their alleged ties to armed groups. As of September 2012, at least 28 Kurdish prisoners were awaiting execution on national security charges, including moharebeh.
Treatment of Minorities
The government restricted cultural and political activities among the country's Azeri, Kurdish, Arab, and Baluch minorities.
In April, Iraq's parliament passed a law criminalizing human trafficking, but has yet to effectively implement it. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has not taken steps to implement a 2011 law banning female genital mutilation (FGM).
Security forces continued to respond to peaceful protests with intimidation, threats, violence, and arrests of protesters. On February 17, hundreds of security forces of the KRG surrounded a peaceful demonstration in Sulaimaniya's Sara Square. Dozens of men in civilian clothing attacked protesters and made many arrests.
The environment for journalists remained oppressive in 2012. The Iraqi parliament was at this writing considering a number of laws restricting the media and freedom of expression and assembly, including the draft Law on the Freedom of Expression of Opinion, Assembly, and Peaceful Demonstration, and a draft law regulating the organization of political parties that punishes expression "violating public morals" and conveying "immoral messages." In September, the Federal Supreme Court denied a petition by a local press freedom organization to repeal the Journalists Protection Law on the basis that it fails to offer meaningful protection to journalists and restricts access to information.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) ranked Iraq at the top of its 2012 Impunity Index, which focuses on unsolved journalist murders, and reported that there have been no convictions for murders of journalists since 2003. Iraqi authorities made no arrests for the murder of Hadi al-Mahdi, a journalist critical of the government, killed in September 2011. Another journalist, Zardasht Osman, was abducted and murdered after publishing a satirical article about KRG president Massoud Barzani in 2010. The KRG never released details of the investigation into his death.
Women's and Girls' Rights
In June 2011, the KRG parliament passed the Family Violence Bill, which includes provisions criminalizing forced and child marriages; abuse of girls and women; and a total ban on FGM. Implementation of the law is poor, and dozens of girls and practitioners said that they had either undergone or performed FGM since the law was passed. The authorities took no measures to investigate these cases.
To see the entire 665-page report, go to the World Report 2013 page on the HRW website.
Posted in human rights, politics	| Tagged AKP, BDP, Erdoğan, human rights, Iran, Iraq, KRG, Kurdish, Kurdistan, Kurds, Media, press freedom, Turkey	| 1 Reply
Remembering Roboskî
Posted on 27 December 2012 by KB
Remembering the victims of the Roboskî Massacre
28 December 2011, 21.37 local time
Posted in human rights, politics	| Tagged human rights, Iraq, Kurds, Roboskî, State Terrorism, Turkey	| 2 Replies
Turkey's Kurdish Impasse: The View from Diyarbakır
Posted on 30 November 2012 by KB
The International Crisis Group (ICG) has published a new report, Turkey's Kurdish Impasse: The View from Diyarbakır. ICG's summary of the report and recommendations are below. To view the full report, download it here.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
As Turkey's biggest Kurdish-majority city and province, Diyarbakır is critical to any examination of the country's Kurdish problem and of the insurgent PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party). The armed conflict has deteriorated in the past year and a half to its worst level in over a decade, with increased political friction and violence leading to the deaths of at least 870 people since June 2011. While as many Kurds live in western Turkey, particularly in Istanbul, as in the south east, grievances that underlie support within Kurdish communities for the PKK's armed struggle are more clearly on display in predominantly Kurdish areas like Diyarbakır: perceived and real discrimination in the local government and economy, alienation from central authorities, anger at mass arrests of political representatives and frustration at the bans on the use of Kurdish in education and public life. Yet Diyarbakır still offers hope for those who want to live together, if Ankara acts firmly to address these grievances and ensure equality and justice for all.
Across the political spectrum, among Kurds and Turks, rich and poor, Islamic and secular in Diyarbakır, there is a shared desire for a clear government strategy to resolve the chronic issues of Turkey's Kurdish problem. Official recognition of Kurdish identity and the right to education and justice in mother languages is a priority. The city's Kurds want fairer political representation, decentralisation and an end to all forms of discrimination in the laws and constitution. They also demand legal reform to end mass arrests and lengthy pre-trial detentions of non-violent activists on terrorism charges.
Control of Diyarbakır is contested on many levels. The state wants to stay in charge, channelling its influence through the Ankara-appointed governor and control over budget, policing, education, health and infrastructure development. The municipality, in the hands of legal pro-PKK parties since 1999, most recently the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), is gathering more power against considerable obstacles. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) that rules nationally has ushered in a more progressive approach to police, but this has not ended confrontations and defused local hostility. Turkey as a whole, and Kurdish-speaking cities like Diyarbakır in particular, need a coherent, informed debate on decentralisation and a strategy to implement it.
The current government has done more than any previous one to permit Kurdish language use in Diyarbakır and elsewhere, but most Kurds want nothing less than a commitment to education in their mother language. The government's initiative on optional Kurdish lessons should be fully supported as a stepping-stone in a structured plan to achieve declaration of that goal as a right.
Once Turkey's third best off economic centre, Diyarbakır and its surrounding province have fallen to 63rd place at last measurement. Investment has long been low due to violence, flawed government policies and PKK sabotage, kidnappings, terrorist attacks and extortion. But residents show their faith in the city's future through their investment, particularly in marble quarries and the booming real estate sector. Diyarbakır's location at a regional historic crossroads still makes it an important hub for elements of the service sector, such as courier businesses and hospitals. Thousand-year-old monuments could make it a tourist magnet.
Fighting between the security forces and the PKK, mostly in the south east, is rising. While Diyarbakır has mostly been spared the worst of the recent violence, the civilian population and local politics are nonetheless increasingly stressed and polarised by events. The AKP is losing its appeal, and the BDP, while uncontested as the strongest political force in the city, has yet to prove its political maturity and ability to be more than a front for an increasingly violent PKK. The moderately Islamic Gülen movement is trying to offer another way, and as a negotiated settlement seems less likely, Kurdish Islamic groups are boosting their already substantial influence.
Yet, voices from Diyarbakır insist that common ground exists, as it does throughout the rest of Turkey. Crisis Group, in two previous reports in 2011 and 2012, recommended that the government announce a clear strategy to resolve the conflict, focusing in the first instance on justice and equal rights for Kurds. It suggested that the government work pro-actively with Kurdish representatives on four lines of reform: mother-language rights for Turkey's Kurds; reducing the threshold for election to the national parliament to 5 per cent from 10 per cent; a new decentralisation strategy; and stripping all discrimination from the constitution and laws. Once these steps have been taken, it could then move to detailed talks on disarmament and demobilisation with the PKK. In short, both sides need to exercise true leadership, by eschewing violence, committing to dialogue and achieving the Kurds' legitimate aspirations through Turkey's existing legal structures, especially in the parliamentary commission working on a new constitution.
This companion report additionally offers recommendations specifically for urgent action by the government and legal leadership of the Kurdish movement in Diyarbakır to strengthen Kurds' trust in the state by working to resolve pressing local problems and to ensure the long-term development of the city and province.
To the Turkish Government and Diyarbakır community leaders, including the Kurdish movement's legal leadership:
To establish mutual trust between Turks and Kurds
1. The Turkish government should pass and implement legal reforms to allow the use of mother languages in trials, shorten pre-trial detentions and ensure that Kurdish and other suspects are taken into custody in a humane manner. It should encourage local police to continue improving engagement with the Diyarbakır community and end use of excessive force, even in response to unauthorised public meetings and demonstrations.
2. Community and Kurdish movement leaders should comply with procedures on public meetings and demonstrations; renounce all PKK violence; and continue civil society efforts, such as the recently established "Dialogue and Contact Group".
To guarantee use of mother languages in education and public life
3. The Turkish government should complete the implementation of optional Kurdish classes in the 2012-2013 academic year transparently; define a timeline for full education in mother languages wherever there is sufficient demand; continue to prepare teachers and curriculums for this transition; allow local elected officials to change relevant laws and regulations so as to restore or give Kurdish names to local places; and relax the ban on the use of Kurdish in public services.
4. Community and Kurdish movement leaders should acknowledge the government's positive steps in these areas, and stop boycotts of optional Kurdish classes.
To ensure a fair debate and eventual consensus on decentralisation
5. The Turkish government should lead a debate in Diyarbakır, as well as nationwide, about municipal governance and decentralisation.
6. Local government leaders should cooperate and meet with central government representatives who visit the province and clearly express their commitment to achieving Kurds' democratic demands legally.
To assist Diyarbakır's economic, social and cultural development
7. The Turkish government should ensure that Diyarbakır receives a fair share of public funds, particularly for education, international airport facilities, railway connections and industrial zones, equivalent to that of comparable cities elsewhere in Turkey; and pro-actively promote domestic tourism to this and other historic cities in the south east.
8. Community leaders should reach out to Turkish mainstream opinion to help overcome prejudices about the Kurdish-speaking south east through the exchange of business delegations, school trips and professional conferences.
Istanbul/Diyarbakır/Brussels, 30 November 2012
Posted in human rights, politics	| Tagged AKP, BDP, Erdoğan, human rights, Kurdish, Kurds, Media, PKK, Turkey	| Leave a reply
Amnesty International: Hunger strikers denied medical care
UA: 329/12 Index: EUR 44/022/2012 Turkey Date: 9 November 2012
HUNGER STRIKERS DENIED MEDICAL CARE
Hundreds are on hunger strike (some of them since 12 September) in prisons across Turkey. Lawyers told Amnesty International that prison authorities have denied many hunger strikers access to medical care, further threatening their health.
On 12 September, around 60 prisoners began a hunger strike in seven prisons across Turkey. The hunger strikes were initiated as a protest against the authorities' longstanding refusal to allow Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan to meet with his lawyers and to demand the provision of education in the Kurdish language. Since September, the number of hunger strikes has grown. According to the Ministry of Justice, 682 prisoners in 67 prisons had joined the hunger strike by 2 November.
Lawyers representing the hunger strikers told Amnesty International that prison doctors are routinely refusing to conduct medical examinations of the hunger strikers, including checking the prisoners' blood pressure. Lawyers also said that in some cases, hunger strikers are being denied access to vital vitamins taken to the prison by the lawyers. One prisoner on hunger strike in Sincan F-type prison was allegedly made to travel 36 hours for a court hearing, despite severe mobility problems and a doctor's report advising against the travel.
There are further concerns regarding reports that prisoners on hunger strike in Silivri and Şakran prisons have been placed in solitary confinement, and guards at Tekirdağ prison were ill-treating prisoners as a result of their participation in the hunger strike protests.
Please write immediately in Turkish or your own language:
Reminding the authorities that hunger strikers are engaging in a peaceful form of protest and the Turkish authorities have an obligation to respect their right to freedom of expression, including their right to protest;  Calling on the authorities to ensure that the hunger strikers have adequate access to qualified medical professionals and any medical assessment, advice and any treatment that they will accept voluntarily based on this assessment, and to ensure that there is no unjustifiable restriction on hunger striking prisoners from receiving vitamins provided by their lawyers or family members;
Calling on the authorities to ensure that no punitive measures are taken against prisoners on hunger strike and the absolute prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment is upheld; and to institute a prompt, thorough, impartial and effective investigations into allegations that prisoners in Silivri, Şakran and Tekirdağ prison were ill- treated or otherwise punished for their participation in the hunger strikes.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 21 DECEMBER 2012 TO:
Ministry of Justice Sadullah Ergin Adalet Bakanı Adalet Bakanlığı 06659 Ankara, Turkey Fax: +90 312 417 71 13 (keep trying) Email: sadullahergin@adalet.gov.tr Salutation: Dear Minister
Parliamentary Commission on Human Rights Ayhan Sefer Üstün Commission Chairperson
TBMM İnsan Hakları İnceleme Komisyonu Bakanlıklar, 06543 Ankara, Turkey Fax: +90 312 420 53 94
Email: insanhaklari@tbmm.gov.tr
Salutation: Dear Mr Üstün
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.
>>>ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
In Turkey, prison hunger strikes have been repeatedly used as a method of protest. On 20 October 2000, more than 1,200 prisoners went on hunger strike; this was in protest at plans to move them to new prisons where they were to be housed in small cells, rather than dormitories that hold up to 60 prisoners. Prisoners were concerned that they would be at greater risk of assault or torture. When raids began on 19 December, some 200 were still on hunger strike and many of them were reportedly close to death. Turkish authorities intervened by force to end the hunger strikes with the operation they termed "return to life". This operation led to the deaths of 30 prisoners and two soldiers during raids into 20 prisons. The Justice Minister reportedly stated that "at least 16 prisoners died, most of whom set themselves on fire". He did not say how the other prisoners had died.
Hunger strikes continued in the following two years, claiming the lives of dozens of people – some of whom were not prisoners.
Amnesty International does not support hunger strikes, nor does it try to persuade hunger strikers to end such a protest. The organization opposes any punishment of hunger strikers and attempts to coerce them to end their hunger strike. Such measures violate their right to freedom of expression, and may also amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The authorities have an obligation to ensure prisoners' right to life and health and must ensure that hunger strikers, like other prisoners, have adequate access to qualified health professionals and any medical assessment, advice and any treatment that they will accept voluntarily based on this assessment.
Name: Almost 700 prisoners on hunger strike in Turkey Gender m/f: both
UA: 329/12 Index: EUR 44/022/2012 Issue Date: 9 November 2012
Posted in human rights, language, politics	| Tagged human rights, hunger strike, Kurdish, Kurds, Turkey	| Leave a reply
Solidarity with Hunger Strikers: Urgent Call from BDP
Posted on 3 November 2012 by KB
URGENT CALL TO INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC OPINION FOR SOLIDARITY WITH HUNGER STRIKERS
Today, it has been 53 days since Kurdish political prisoners in the Turkish prisons began indefinite hunger strikes on September 12, 2012. At this moment, health status of prisoners on hunger strike is severely impaired and came to a very critical stage. This announcement is prepared in order to inform international public opinion that we are extremely concerned that loss of life may be imminent and ask your solidarity to prevent it.
On September 12, 2012; 64 Kurdish political prisoners have started an indefinite and irreversible hunger strike in 7 Prisons in Turkey.
On 22 September 2012, ten days later 79 more prisoners joined the hunger strike. With new participants these numbers have been continuously increasing. According to joint research of Human Rights Association, Progressive Lawyers Association and Law & Human Rights Commission of Peace and Democracy Party, at least 654 Kurdish political prisoners and convicts in prisons are on an indefinite and irreversible hunger strike in 66 prisons. Imprisoned members of parliament, Mr. Faysal Sarıyıldız, Ms. Gülser Yıldırım and Ms. Selma Irmak and Mayor of Derik, Ms. Çağlar Demirel are also participating to the indefinite hunger strike.
Specifically, the health status of 154 political prisoners that began the hunger strike with the first two groups is severely impaired and their life is under extreme danger and at great vital risk.
In a press release to the public, political prisoners on a hunger strike have made two specific demands and stated that they will not reverse their decision unless their demands are meet. These demands are:
1- The right to education and legal defense in mother tongue.
2- Ending the isolation of Mr. Abdullah Öcalan in Imrali prison in order to creating the conditions for dialogue and negotiation.
According to the above mentioned demands, reason of the hunger strike is not for individual interest or awful conditions of the prisons in Turkey. Political prisoners believe that their existence in prisons is directly related with the conflicts between the Turkish Government and Kurdish political movement. Therefore, the prisoners and arrested politicians are considering themselves as "prisoner of war" or POW. The existing judicial system, the anti-terror law that amended in 2006 and security oriented governing are created a total war against Kurds' fundamental rights. Freedom of speech, right to demonstration and demanding collective rights of the people perceived as "terrorist activity" by the prosecutors and the government as well. The existing Anti-terror law allows prosecutors to arrest everyone without concrete evidence. Therefore, more than 8000 Kurdish politicians, journalists, advocates, trade unionists and NGO members have been in prisons for many years without any verdict by judges. Many of the participants of the hunger strike are victims of the existing law system. Their legal defenses in mother tongue are not provided due to the monist mentality. This situation is one of the reasons of the hunger strike.
Unfortunately, AKP Government has not any sensitivity or attention to the ongoing hunger strike. Prime Minister Erdoğan clearly lied when he was in Germany. According to Erdoğan, only one prisoner is continuing to the hunger strike. At the same time Minister of Justice announced that 683 prisoners and arrested people are in hunger strike. It is very tragic that, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice are not from different countries. But their speeches are totally different. Unfortunately, PM Erdoğan is not focusing on solving the issue. The main approach of the government is disinforming the hunger strike.
On the other hand, while the people who protest the government because of its insensitivity, AKP Government and its police forces are continuing arrest BDP members and protestors. Yesterday, 97 students were taken custody during the protests in order to prevent democratic opposition. Today, 20 people from BDP, press and NGOs are take in custody by the police raids in Mersin. We believe that, the reason of the ongoing arrests is to prevent solidarity with the hunger strikers.
Therefore, we as BDP, call government to stop accusing BDP or hunger strikers. Government must respect to the Kurdish prisoners demands. The demands are fundamental rights of humanity. Therefore, PM Erdoğan must end this meaningless obstinacy. In case of insist to this negative manner, AKP Government will be main responsible of the closing tragedy.
No time to wait! Everyone from the earth should react to the AKP Government's totalitarian approach on Kurdish People and their fundamental rights. No state or power can prevent a human's freedom of speech or defense in mother tongue in democratic countries. No one should live without collective identity in their home country.
BDP urgently calls to government, international public opinion and institutions to prevent losing lives in prisons.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMISSION OF PEACE AND DEMOCRACY PARTY
ANNEX 1:
Events on Hunger Strikes
1. Prisoners who are on indefinite hunger strike since September 12 in Siirt E Type Closed Prison have learned aggravate health problems. İHD (HRA) lawyers Roja Arslan and Yavuz Çelepkolu who met with the prisoners on hunger strike in prison, said hunger-striking prisoners does not accept liquid.
2. Rıza Turan who is in Siirt E Type Prison has loss of sight and also director of prison didn't deliver blanket which is given to him by his family.
3. Eleven women prisoners who are started the hunger strike in Diyarbakır E Type Prison some findings on their health status; weakness, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to sound and noise, irregular blood pressure, excessive weight loss and nose bleeds
4. Four prisoners who are in Şakran T type Prison No 4 were single cells and a place to sleep, clothes, pen and paper to tell their status are not given.
5. Although Berivan Elter who is in hunger strike has health report, a new report was taken and she pick up from Ankara to Diyarbakır ( round trip 36 hours)
6. B1 Vitamin is not given any prisoners in Adana F type Prison
Posted in human rights, language, politics	| Tagged Öcalan, BDP, Erdoğan, human rights, hunger strike, Kurdish, Kurds, Turkey	| Leave a reply
The Stream – Turkey's Kurdish question
From AlJazeera's 'The Stream' on Tuesday, 30 October 2012
Posted in human rights, language, politics	| Tagged human rights, hunger strike, Kurdish, Kurds, Nationalism, PKK, Turkey	| Leave a reply
Press brief: Kurdish hunger strike
Posted on 30 October 2012 by KB
Please urge all concerned to contact all appropriate media outlets and use all their contacts to spread the below brief in order to draw international and local media attention to the ongoing human tragedy with the prisoners on hunger strike in Turkey:
I am writing to inform you about an international petition campaign launched in with regards to the hunger strike protest that has been carried out by Kurdish political prisoners in Turkey since September 12, 2012. The petition emphasizes the imminence of a human tragedy, given that the strike is as of today on its 49th day, and calls on the Turkish state to urgently address the prisoners' demands. A brief bulletin about the contents and participants of the petition is below.
An international group of social scientists with research interests in the Kurdish issue launched a petition campaign calling on the Turkish government to address the demands of the Kurdish political prisoners whose hunger strike protests have entered a critical phase.
Over 700 Kurdish prisoners are on the 49th day of a hunger strike as of October 30, 2012, for the right to defense in their mother tongue and the ending of solitary confinement of Abdullah Öcalan, the PKK's imprisoned leader. Medical experts confirm that the 40th day is a threshold in hunger strikes where physical and mental dysfunctions commence, as well as cases of death begin to occur.
Petitioners declare their full support to the Kurdish political prisoners' demands, which, they believe, are among fundamental human rights. The petition emphasizes that the international community's opinion on Turkey will be strongly shaped by the way the present hunger strikes are handled and reminds the addressees, including the President, Prime Minister and Justice Minister of Turkey, that they will be personally responsible should this protest end in a human tragedy. Recalling the devastating cost of the prison operations of the year 2000, the petitioners warn the Turkish government that any attempt at forceful intervention would cause irreparable harm and destroy the already dim democratic ground for a peaceful settlement of the Kurdish issue.
The petition has received great interest and support from academic circles around the world, reaching over one thousand signatures on its first day. Some internationally renowned social scientists sent support messages to the campaign. Professor Michael Taussig of Columbia University, an international authority in anthropology, signed the petition with the following note: 'To the Turkish State: please attend immediately to the welfare of these courageous prisoners'. The preeminent feminist theorist Professor Judith Butler of University of California, Berkeley, wrote: "Turkish government must enter into serious dialogue with these prisoners, who now risk their lives to expose the injustice under which they live." And Noam Chomsky stated: "Elementary humanity requires that the just and desperate plea of these prisoners for dialogue should be answered quickly and appropriately, without delay."
The campaign initiators state that they were inspired by Turkey's great novelist Yasar Kemal's recent statement on hunger strikes: 'Watching death is ill-suited to humanity'. The petition can be reached online at the link below:
http://www.change.org/petitions/hunger-strikers-in-turkish-prisons-engage-in-constructive-dialogue-with-prisoners#
The list of Initiators
Can Ağar, Translator, İstanbul, Turkey
Ahmet Hamdi Akkaya, Ghent University, Belgium
Emek Alici, University of London, UK
Ahmet Alış, Bogaziçi University, Turkey
Seda Altug, Bogazici University, Turkey
Shiler Amini, University of Exeter, UK
Mizgin Müjde Arslan, Bahçeşehir University, Turkey
Dr Mehmet Asutay, Durham University, UK
Ebru Avci, Istanbul Technical University, Turkey
Dr. Bilgin Ayata, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
U. Rezan Azizoğlu, Ankara University, Turkey
Hanifi Barış, University of Aberdeen, UK
Luqman Barwari, president, Kurdish National Congress-North America (KNC-NA)
Oyman Basaran, The University of Massachusetts, USA
Dr. Bahar Başer, University of Warwick, UK
Dr. Derya Bayır, University of London , UK
Fırat Bozçalı, Stanford University, USA
Dr. Katharina Brizić, Linguist, Austria
Adnan Çelik, EHESS, Paris, France
Umit Cetin, University of Essex, UK
Cuma Cicek, Paris Institute of Political Studies, France
Ozgur Cicek, Binghamton University, NY, USA
Ayca Ciftci, University of London, UK
Deniz Cifci, Fatih University, Istanbul, Turkey
Dr Barzoo Eliassi, Lund University, Sweden
Secil Dagtas, University of Toronto, Canada
Engin Emre Değer, Istanbul Şehir University, Turkey
Esin Düzel, UCSD, USA
Burcu Ege, Independent Researcher, Turkey
Delal Aydin Elhuseyni, Binghamton University, NY, USA
Muhammed Mesud Fırat, Bilgi University. Turkey
Bahar Şahin Fırat, Boğaziçi University, Turkey
Özlem Galip, University of Exeter, UK
Başak Gemici, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey
Frangis Ghaderi, University of Exeter, UK
Onur Gunay, Princeton University, USA
Azat Z. Gundogan, Binghamton University, NY, USA
Saed Kakei, Nova Southeastern University, USA
Fethi Karakecili, York University, Canada
Maryam Kashani, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Dr Janroj Keles , London Metropolitan University, UK
Yeşim Mutlu, METU, Turkey
Dr. Nilay Ozok-Gundogan, Denison University, USA
Dr. Cengiz Güneş, The Open University, UK
Serra Hakyemez, Johns Hopkins University, USA
Wendy Hamelink, Leiden University, Netherlands
Murat Issı, University of Panteion, Greece
Mithat Ishakoglu, University of Exeter, UK
Erkan Karaçay, University of Exeter, UK
Elif İnal, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey
Dr. Iclal Ayşe Küçükkırca, Mardin Artuklu University, Turkey
Dr. Kamran Matin, Sussex University, UK
Caroline McKusick, University of California Davis, USA
Dilan Okçuoğlu, Queens University, Canada
Ergin Opengin, Paris 3, Paris, France
Omer Ozcan, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
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Prof. Dr. H.Neşe Özgen, Ege University, Turkey
Erlend Paashe, Peace Research Institute, Oslo, Norway
Berivan Sarikaya, York University, UK
Dr. Besime Şen, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Turkey
Dr. Birgül Açıkyıldız-Şengül, Harvard University, USA
Ruken Sengul, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Dr. Serdar Şengül, Harvard University, USA
Dr. Prakash Shah, University of London, UK
Christian Sinclair, University of Arizona, USA
Prof. Dr. Nükhet Sirman, Boğaziçi University, Turkey
Ülker Sözen, Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, Turkey
Marcin Starzewski, Sabanci University, Turkey
Kelly Stuart, Columbia University, USA
Dr. Engin Sustam, EHESS, Paris, france
Dr. Raja Swamy, The University of Arkansas, USA
Mohammedali Yaseen Taha, University of Lisbon, Portugal
Dr. Latif Tas, Humbolt University, Berlin, Germany
Salima Tasdemir, University of Exeter, UK
Omer Tekdemir, Durham University, UK
Dr. Sebahattin Topçuoğlu, Hamburg, Germany
Dr. Nazan Üstündağ, Bogazici University, Turkey
Dr. Kamala Visweswaran, The University of Texas At Austin, USA
Muge Yamanyilmaz, Bilgi University, Turkey
Serkan Yaralı, EHESS, Paris, France
Güllistan Yarkın, Binghamton University, USA
Prof. Dr. Mesut Yeğen, Istanbul Şehir University, Turkey
İsmail Hakkı Yiğit, Fatih University, Turkey
Dilan Yildirim, Harvard University, USA
Emrah Yıldız, Harvard University, USA
Cagri Yoltar, Duke University, USA
Dr. Zafer Yörük, Izmir University of Economics, Turkey
Ayse Seda Yuksel, Central European University, Hungary
Dr Welat Zeydanlioglu, Kurdish Studies Network, Sweden
Max Zirngast, University of Vienna, Austria
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NFC predictions
My Gambling Nemesis: Guessing Each NFL Team's Record (NFC)
Posted on September 7, 2016 September 7, 2016 by Ross Gariepy
You know the drill by now. Guest blogger Neil and I have been competing in our own version of "Closest to the Pin" for four years now, and it pains me to have to say that the guy who spends every waking moment thinking about football (me) has a 1-3 record in this contest. Apparently I suck at predicting each team's win total prior to the start of the season, or there's some advanced math involved that Neil has used to crack the code on this game.
The rules are simple. We each guess the record of every NFL team, and whoever is closest to the correct record on the majority of teams wins the bet. The wager for 2016 remains the same as the past three years: Whoever wins gets to pick eight alcoholic beverages for the loser to consume during a 12-hour period during our annual Vegas trip in March.
I know our buddies who join us every year for this trip like it better when I lose because it's much more entertaining (like when I did my best Tom Cruise impression three years ago and jumped from couch to couch at the sportsbook proclaiming to anyone who would listen that I loved my girlfriend and was getting ready to propose to her). But I'm seriously sick of losing this bet.
Let's begin with the NFC teams.
Neil Prediction: 10-6
I'm starting to get a tiny bit nervous about how much of their season hinges on an older QB with an injury history.
Ross Prediction: 11-5
You have to try really hard to find more than 5 games this team loses in 2016. Short of a devastating injury, which is foolish to base season-long predictions on, this team is a lock for the playoffs.
Neil Prediction: 8-8
This feels like 11-5 or 5-11. Leaning towards the latter based on how last season ended.
Ross Prediction: 7-9
Even if you think they improved from last year (they didn't), they play seven games against 2015 playoff teams. Check out their first eight games and you'll quickly talk yourself out of any success for this team.
Probably not going 15-1 again, but we might not know how good or bad they are until the playoffs based on their division.
I'm pretty sure I know Neil is thinking Carolina might miss the playoffs, so I can be pretty conservative with their win total and still get what I want. A five-game regression from last season seems like the worst case scenario.
Who will be in the title hunt longer this fall: Bears or Cubs?
These NFC North teams get a little bump this year because they face the NFC East and AFC South, possibly the league's two worst divisions. There are reasons for optimism in Chicago, but it's probably too much to ask them to be better than this.
The division is soft enough that 8-8 might get a playoff spot, and they might be able to get half those wins without Romo.
Ross Prediction: 6-10
There's no doubt in my mind that Dak Prescott isn't walking into this league and firing off 8-10 wins. And there's no doubt in my mind that Tony Romo will be rushed back too early, get injured almost immediately and end up playing in less than three full games in 2016.
I actually think this team will surprise some people, but that probably means 8 wins.
You'll notice in my upcoming playoff predictions, I'm taking the Lions as the #6 seed in the NFC playoffs, but forced to make a specific prediction, I see them just above .500. They are better than most people are assuming, but I can't picture them climbing up to 10 wins or more.
This team is probably slightly overrated, but no way to tell until the playoffs in their crappy division.
I can actually see the path to 12 or 13 wins, but you gotta reserve a couple losses every year for the extremely subtle moments where Mike McCarthy proves he shouldn't be an NFL head coach.
This defense and run game deserve a better pass game. Also, can TMZ leak Jared Goff's Wonderlic answers?
They are a 6 or 7 win team, but are stuck in the NFC West and have to travel over 32,000 miles over the course of the season. By comparison, there are several teams that only have to travel 6,000 – 9,000 miles.
I wish there was a way to know what Minnesota's record would have been this season with Bridgewater because I think it is going to end up the same without him.
With a healthy Teddy Bridgewater, I would have only given the Vikings 8 wins. I was pretty down on them compared to the rest of the world prior to the injury. I think the season comes completely off the rails in November when they get 4 games in 18 days: Detroit, at Washington, Arizona, at Detroit.
I wish this defense hadn't been so bad last year. I would like them as a sleeper.
Just like the last two years, Drew Brees and an above average passing offense drag this otherwise-awful team to enough wins to barely miss out on a top 10 draft pick.
My "nothing really horrible has happened with them this summer so they win the NFC East" team.
What looked like a tough opening schedule got incredibly manageable over the last two weeks. The Giants start in Dallas (no Romo) and then play in Minnesota in week 4 (the Hill/Bradford experiment). If they sneak into the playoffs, I think the softening of that schedule is going to be the main reason why.
Neil Prediction: 6-10
Their week 1 game with Cleveland may determine the top pick in the next draft.
They'll be the worst team in the NFC East, possibly by a longshot. Easy overall schedule is somewhat negated by the NFL dicking them good: weeks 5 & 6 are road games, and then they play 3 consecutive teams in weeks 7-9 who are all coming off their bye.
How bad must Kaepernick be as a passer if he can't start in Chip Kelly's offense?
"With the 1st pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers select…" The schedule includes eight matchups against top 7 defenses from 2015, and weeks 10-17 feature five road games and three home games against New England, the Jets and Seattle. That would be impossible even for an NFL-caliber team.
I know every year they lose a couple important pieces, but enough of the defensive studs are still around that I think they have one more run in them.
I think they've learned to prioritize getting the #1 seed in the NFC playoffs, and I feel like I went through their worst case scenario on the schedule and see 11 wins as their absolute floor.
Is this the NFC sleeper or is Jameis Winston one year away? Yeah, one year away but frisky.
Possibly the hardest task we have going into this season is figuring out what to make of last year's up-and-comers: Jacksonville, Oakland and Tampa Bay. In all likelihood, one of them will go on to make the playoffs, one will stagnate and have a similar season to last year, and one will be a wreck. Clearly I'm expecting some stagnation from Tampa.
Their 1st place schedule means their extra games are against Arizona and Carolina, which keeps them out of the playoffs.
I'm actually expecting 10 or more wins, but why go any higher if I know Neil's going to take them for 8 wins or less? I really thought they were competent last year in a non-fluky way, and they've gone ahead and added Josh Norman and a few other complementary pieces. Cousins won't be a perennial Pro Bowler, but I don't think he's a one-season wonder either.
Check back later on Wednesday for the AFC side of things.
Posted in General BS, Sports Tagged against the spread, alcoholic wager, closest to the pin, football betting, guest blogger neil, NFC predictions, nfc team records, NFL, nfl betting, nfl picks, nfl predictions, sports gambling, vegas wager 1 Comment
More Football: NFC Win-Loss Predictions
If you missed the AFC predictions where I explain the bet that Neil and I have made on this guessing game of each team's win-loss record (and if you missed that you also missed an amazing compilation of photos from when I had to pay off this bet last year), check it out HERE.
No messing around today. Let's just get right into the NFC predictions:
2013 Record: 10-6
2014 Super Bowl Odds: 40/1
Neil: 7-9
Ross: 6-10
Comment We Strongly Feel You Need To Read
Neil: I wish I could move this team to the AFC for the season. Even with their inuries + Carson Palmer I think they could make the AFC Championship game.
Ross: Winning 10 games, having an effective Carson Palmer for a full season, staying extremely healthy…everything went right for Arizona in 2013. It's extremely doubtful they catch all the breaks again. Eight games vs last year's playoff teams don't help. It feels like Ryan Lindley is going to play a major role in this team's fortunes in 2014.
2013 Record: 4-12
Ross: 8-8
Neil: Every time Mike Smith tells this team they are going to be physical on 'Hard Knocks' I'm pretty sure they get less physical.
Ross: Potentially four easy division wins plus games against beatable teams like Minnesota, the Giants, Baltimore and Cleveland frightened me into giving them a .500 record, but I was very close to predicting an implosion and all out mail-in effort because of Mike Smith. I just think he's awful and this team has too many stars to keep wallowing in mediocrity every year. 5-11 isn't my official prediction, but it might as well be.
Neil: 6-10
Neil: What a disastrous offseason. They are going to waste at least three years of Cam Newton's career.
Ross: Everything you need to know about the Panthers: Vegas is so down on last year's #2 seed in the NFC that it's given them the same odds as Dallas, the Giants and Washington. Is there a bigger slap in the face than being lumped in with the three non-contenders of the NFC East?
2013 Record: 8-8
Ross: 12-4
Neil: If they can just have an average defense this year, they should be a playoff team. If they got to play in the AFC, they'd make the Super Bowl, right?
Ross: I didn't bother checking this stat because I'm certain it's true. I've picked the Bears to win 11+ games and make the playoffs each of the last three years. They haven't topped 10 wins, nor have they made the playoffs once during that span. I'm always tantalized by the offensive potential. I'm running it back once more. Top five offense, good enough defense, better-coached than every other team in their division.
Neil: Potentially awesome fantasy football offense. Potentially terrible real football team.
Ross: I'm predicting five wins with a healthy Tony Romo. Picture what could happen if he hurts his back early on and Brandon Weeden takes over. Don't worry, Dez Bryant fantasy owners. Josh Gordon put up 1,600 yards last year with Weeden as his QB for seven games. I'm sure you'll be fine when this scenario plays out.
Neil: After they don't make the playoffs this year they seriously need to consider trading Calvin Johnson for a bunch of picks and rebuilding.
Ross: Another NFC North team, another chance for me to say how high I am on their offense. As much of a prick as he is, I could see Golden Tate having a huge year. First time he's played in an offense with a quarterback who throws deep and often. First time he's had a fellow receiver like Megatron to take up all the defensive attention. I hate giving away fantasy secrets like that when all the other owners in my leagues read this blog religiously, but it's gotta be said.
2013 Record: 8-7-1
Neil: 11-5
Neil: One of these years they have to stay remotely healthy and make some noise, right?
Ross: The Packers simply have a lower ceiling than the Bears. Maybe Green Bay's more of a guarantee for at least a decent season, but the Bears have greater potential. Something about the Packers always feels a little off. Mike McCarthy is sketchy at best (one of several coaches whose head I'm calling for every year) and they seem to lose key guys to injury every year. Is Aaron Rodgers having the quietest Hall of Fame career among all QBs in NFL history? Some of that has to do with the Packers' poor playoff showings outside of their Super Bowl season. Some of it has to do with the fact that Peyton Manning won't stop winning MVP trophies.
2013 Record: 5-10-1
Neil: Unpopular opinion alert: I'm more excited to see Teddy Bridgewater play than Johnny Manziel.
Ross: Pieces of this team are starting to come together, but the likeliness of Matt Cassel starting most of the year at quarterback really limits the Vikings' potential. I think next year's Minnesota team led by Bridgewater is going to be fun to watch. Sucks that we have to wait a year for it.
Neil: A little top heavy personel-wise compared to San Francisco and Seattle, but have a much easier schedule. Potential to get the #1 seed in the NFC.
Ross: These guys make the playoffs every year*. It's not a question of whether or not they'll qualify for January football, it's about trying to figure out if they get back into that mix for a first round bye. The schedule is particularly easy and 5-1 in the division is pretty doable. They might benefit from the playoff teams of the NFC North and West beating up on each other while they waltz through the regular season.
*not including years in which Roger Goodell has a random ax to grind
Neil: As much I hope Eli is worse than last year, I feel like he has one or two average years left in him. Division is horrible so a little bounce back is not that hard to imagine.
Ross: They're probably not going to be as much of a train wreck as you & I would like, if only because their defense always seems to be a top 10 unit. There's a brutal six-game stretch in October/November that'll likely see five losses. They're going to have to be flawless the rest of the year to have any shot at the playoffs. Flawless and Eli Manning have never been known to get along very well.
Neil: My big conern here is that they were the healthiest team in the league last year, and that tends to regress towards the mean year over year.
Ross: Tough one for me to be objective on because of a bet I made in Vegas that says the Eagles will win the Super Bowl (12/1 odds at the time). While I'd love to throw down a 13-3 guess for them, it feels like they're a lock for that 10/11 win range. It's not so bad to have money on that four or five seed these days.
Neil: Two things about the Niners I am very excited to find out: a) How bad the defense might be and b) Has Harbaugh worn out his welcome?
Ross: They've only gotten worse since losing the NFC Championship game last January. What if they're more like last year's Bears or Packers teams? Top 10 offense but a slumping defense. It will never surprise me to see a Jim Harbaugh / Colin Kaepernick team get to the playoffs, but I think we finally see that 49ers drop off that everyone predicted two years ago.
2014 Super Bowl Odds: 13-2
Neil: Not worried about Seattle having a target on their back all season. They swaggered (is that a word) last year like they were defending champs. But is Pete Carroll really a coach that can win back-to-back Super Bowls?
Ross: It's impossible to poke legitimate holes in Seattle's chances at a repeat Championship. This could easily be a 13-3 or 14-2 season, but I'm dialing it back just slightly due soley to five road games against 2013 playoff teams.
Neil: Team most likely to have the bigeest gap between defensive ranking (top 3) and offensive ranking (bottom 3) at the end of the season.
Ross: It's telling that the Rams' Super Bowl odds dipped only slightly from 50/1 after Sam Bradford got hurt. Bradford being replaced for 16 games by a 34-year-old who's barely played a full season over an illustrious eight year career doesn't even move the needle. Wow. Bradford. Missing 31 of 80 games over his five-year career sabotaged any chance he ever had to be a franchise guy. Possibly one of the biggest busts this side of Jamarcus Russell.
Neil: Another potential "sleeper" team if they only had a competant QB.
Ross: I want to think an offense led by Vincent Jackson & Mike Evans, a healthy Doug Martin and a capable Josh McCown could get this team to the playoffs, but I just know something will go wrong. Tampa's apparently-terrible offensive line. The adjustment period to a new coach. A brutal six game stretch to end the season. For them it might be as simple as still being a QB short of a playoff team.
Neil: I think RGIII is fine. I just think it takes a year for the coaching staff to understand how to use him.
Ross: We're getting to the point with RGIII where our hearts are telling us he's going to bounce back and be electric again, but our brains are saying we might have seen the best of him already, however brief. Maybe the two knee surgeries ruined him. Maybe it's just a learning curve to a new offensive system. This team is a total enigma because Griffin's a total enigma.
We'll be back next week with a couple more blogs to help you get through the days leading up to Opening Night.
Posted in General BS, Sports Tagged chicago bears, football betting, green bay packers, mike mccarthy, NFC predictions, nfc win-loss records, nfl predictions, philadelphia eagles, rgiii, san francisco 49ers, seattle seahawks, super bowl odds, washington redskins 2 Comments
NFC Predictions Expanded
Posted on September 3, 2013 by Ross Gariepy
I wrote an expanded version of my NFC win/loss predictions blog on the website I Hate JJ Redick (a Baltimore-based sports blog that I'm writing for).
If you want to read more than the quick blurb I included with each prediction last week, and you want to read some funny recaps to each team's 2012 season in 140 characters or less, go to: http://ihatejjr.com/content/nfl-predictions-part-1-nfc-winloss-records
I'll be doing the same thing with AFC predictions on Tuesday.
Posted in General BS, Sports Tagged against the spread, baltimore sports blog, i hate jj redick, IHJJR, nfc, NFC predictions, nfl predictions, sports betting, sports gambling Leave a comment
The Best NFL Predictions You'll Ever Read, Part 1: NFC Team Records
For those of you who followed our football content last year, you remember that guest blogger Neil and I wagered on who could most accurately predict each NFL team's record for the 2012 season. He beat me somewhat easily and I still haven't settled up the bet yet, which was for me to do a full day of babysitting his son. If I can just keep pushing that payment off a little while longer, we'll get to a point where it would be extremely awkward for Neil's college-aged son to be babysat by his creepy Uncle.
We're running back the same competition this year, only the wager has changed. The winner will be picking eight different alcoholic beverages for the loser to consume over a 12-hour period during our annual March Vegas Trip in 2014. It's not that eight drinks over 12 hours is a lot (especially not in Vegas), it's that we can punish each other with some really terrible concoctions. My biggest complaint about this bet is that I've always been very vocal about the types of alcohol that immediately make me puke or start dry heaving. I'm not as familiar with which liquids will do that to Neil. Oh well. Just puts more pressure on me to win.
Below you're going to find Part 1 of this competition, where Neil and I predicted the record for each NFC team and included a comment we thought was relevant to the team or our prediction. We'll be back with Part 2, the AFC predictions, later this week.
2013 Super Bowl Odds: 125/1
Comment We Strongly Felt You Needed To Read
Neil: I don't think Carson Palmer is a great QB, but he has to be better than Skelton, Kolb, Lindley, & Hoyer, all who started games for Arizona last year. I would be higher on them if they were in the AFC, but they are in one of the top two divisions in the NFL. Very good and very underrated pass defense.
Ross: Their schedule is pretty brutal, playing seven out of 16 games against 2012 playoff teams. If it wasn't for their defense and some Patrick Peterson plays that'll swing some games, they'd be a four-win team. That's how much confidence I have in Carson Palmer.
Neil: This team was within one drive of going to the Super Bowl last season, why am I so down on them? They went 7-2 last season in games decided by a touchdown or less. And their division should be much tougher this year, probably one of the two toughest in the NFL.
Ross: I'm actually not worried about the potential offensive line problems. Their talent at the skill positions give me confidence they'll figure it out. Departures on defense in a tough division where they face potent offenses in New Orleans and Tampa could be the problem. Regardless, I'm excited for their return to being a playoff team that makes absolutely no noise in January.
Neil: I would not be surprised if this turns out to be 9 or 10 wins. I really like how they finished the season last year. Plus I think Cam Newton had an entire offseason to dwell on the fact that people don't lump him in with the "core 4" of great young QBs. My biggest concern is that Ron Rivera might be a terrible head coach. We should know the answer to that at the end of this season.
Ross: I'm worried the Panthers are doing to their fans what a golf course does to me whenever I play. I play like a lefty who should probably switch to righty for about 17 holes, but without fail I birdie the 18th, luring me into wanting to play again in the future. Carolina has started 2-8 in each of Cam Newton's two years on the team before winning the majority of their final six games to instill unnecessary hope in their fan base.
Neil: The Bears offense should be great this year. Probably their best offense in the last 25 years. Unfortunately their defense is getting old and I don't see it scoring eight TDs like last year.
Ross: Their schedule is tough not because they play many of the best teams but because they don't get to play any of the expected worst teams. It's 16 games of either good teams or frisky average teams, which puts a lot of pressure on the Bears to bring their best every game. They will for about half the schedule.
Neil: I cannot find a reason why this team will be any different than last year's 8-8 team. I'm going one less win because in early December they realize that Jason Garrett is not the answer and they mail-in the rest of the season.
Ross: Dallas is one of the many NFC teams who can lay claim to theory that they'd be a playoff lock if they played in the AFC. Another year of the dreaded 8-8 will be their fourth straight non-playoff season, obviously enough to get Jason Garrett fired. But what will be fun to keep our eye on (or perhaps start a betting pool on) is what week during the regular season he gets the pink slip if they dip way below .500.
Neil: A lot of people are expecting a nice bounce-back year from Detroit, and I agree with those people. Just don't get too crazy with the win total. Remember that 8 wins will double their total from 2012.
Ross: I think this team is average enough to initially put them down for eight or nine wins. But after watching them in the preseason, I realize they're still the same undisciplined cheapshot-loving team whose head coach is apparently letting the inmates run the asylum. They don't make any real noise in this league until they replace Jim Schwartz. And unnecessary dickheadedness will cost them a couple should-be wins in 2013.
Neil: They went 11-5 last year and were the most injured team in the league. Injuries have a way of evening out from year to year. If they've figured out that the read option is a thing, they might even go a win or two higher than this.
Ross: Opening the season against three consecutive 2012 playoff teams should tell us a lot about whether the Packers are back to their 2011 level when they rolled through the season and finished 15-1. This is a situation where I wish we could just fast forward to that day in January when Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers realizes he's facing the 49ers in the upcoming playoff game and spontaneously pisses himself. With the way those two teams are going, that could become an annual tradition for the next five years!
Neil: They went 5-1 last year in games decided by a TD or less. What Adrian Peterson did the last ten games of last season to carry this team into the playoffs was super human. Christian Ponder is still the QB. I think six wins is actually the ceiling for this team. Big crash back to earth.
Ross: Harder schedule than 2012 + No fucking way Peterson replicates 2012 + Trying to replace Percy Harvin and Antoine Winfield with Greg Jennings and rookies + Ponder might get benched quicker than Mark Sanchez…It all adds up to a 7-9 season. No logical Vikings fan should be expecting more.
Neil: I appreciate that they get the second best coach in the NFL back, but he is not an all-pro defensive end or defensive back, right?
Ross: Tough one to predict because of last year's unique circumstances. In case you didn't know, the Saints not only had to employ an interim Head Coach, but before that an interim interim Head Coach had to grab the reigns for the first six games. Not sure if the big drop from 13-3 in 2011 to 7-9 in 2012 was purely a product of the Bountygate fallout, or if it was an accurate depiction of who the Saints are now.
Neil: I still get angry (read: bitter) thinking about how mediocre this team becomes the two seasons after their last two Super Bowl wins.
Ross: I don't have much on them. They feel like the NFC's version of the San Diego Chargers. Not because they'll be as bad as San Diego, but because they're as forgettable as those Chargers. I've barely heard a thing about either team during the two months of preseason. I guess that's not a bad thing when the alternative could be lots of negative attention (*cough cough* that other New York team *cough cough*). And of course plenty of attention will be paid to the Giants when David Wilson breaks out or Eli Manning admits he was cycling with A-Rod during the 2008 and 2012 playoffs.
Neil: I really wanted to go with seven wins here, but it may take the league a few weeks to figure out Chip Kelly's offense, so that may be good for an extra win.
Ross: I actually think this Eagles team with a full season of Michael Vick could win nine games. But I was totally caught off guard when I learned that Vick has only made it through a full season twice in his NFL career. Even though he could buck the trend in any given year, it's just not possible to confidently predict this team's record without accounting for at least one or two subpar Nick Foles starts. That's why I put them in for only seven wins.
Neil: Seems like a team that is going to play everyone tough, but they have a difficult schedule and are probably a year away. Is it too early to pick them as my 2014 sleeper?
Ross: The Rams face either a 2012 playoff team or a team that's expected to be much improved every other weekend this year. I could see them winning about half their games but never stringing together consecutive wins.
2012 Record: 11-4-1
2013 Super Bowl Odds: 6/1
Neil: Solid defense, really solid offensive line. I think the Crabtree injury hurts them more than people realize, especially because the game plan should always be to make sure Kaepernick does not beat you with his legs. I'm very excited to find out if he's an accurate passer or not.
Ross: After dealing with Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and Andrew Luck to start the year, the 49ers get six straight games where they'll be big favorites. There's a reason they're the odds-on favorite to win the NFC, and only a Colin Kaepernick injury or Jim Harbaugh getting assassinated by a referee (due to the constant tantrums he throws every time they make a call against his team) can derail them.
Neil: They may lose out on the division championship to San Francisco by a game or via a tiebreaker, but this team is in much better shape that the Niners for a Super Bowl run. They have a better passing game and can stop the pass better than the Niners can, and that will make a huge difference come playoff time.
Ross: Seattle feels like a replica of the 49ers right down to me thinking their absolute worst case is 11-5. It would be shocking if both teams didn't make the playoffs, which means the difference between winning the division or getting stuck with a wildcard spot will come down to the two head-to-head matchups between them. I've got Seattle at 11-3 before factoring in those two huge division games.
Neil: Nine wins might be a bit low for them, but they are in such a tough division that one or two bad breaks can be costly. Assuming they stay relatively healthy, their entire season rides on Josh Freeman. The defense appears to be somewhere between "very good" and "stacked." Great offensive line. Great running back. Great receiving corps. So how far can Josh take this team? He's also in a contract year. No pressure.
Ross: I keep saying "explosive offense" over and over in my head when I think about this team because I love the combination of Doug Martin, Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams. But then I remember Josh Freeman. Is his ceiling essentially what we've seen from Andy Dalton the last couple years? That would give them a chance at the playoffs. But I worry his upside might be lower than that. And when I see that his combined stats from the Bucs' three preseason games are 12-of-26 passing for 101 yards and nine sacks taken, I'm not apt to shake this bad feeling about him.
Neil: If RGIII is healthy all year, the Redskins are going to be in very, very good shape. They might not be as good as Seattle, San Francisco, or Tampa, but they are in a much easier division than those three teams, which puts the #1 playoff seed in play, something that's going to be very important in the NFC. A healthy RGIII in a home playoff game is the great equalizer.
Ross: I stand by my comments at the start of last year's playoffs that the Redskins were good enough to get to the NFC Championship. If RGIII doesn't get hurt in their first and only playoff game, I think they do it. And a healthy Griffin this year will give me the same confident prediction. The NFC East is going through a slight down period and the 'Skins can take advantage. 11-5 seems totally reasonable if The Man plays 15 or 16 games. I'm thinking the 33/1 odds for Washington to win the Super Bowl might be the best longshot bet in all of football.
Not a ton of variation as we were more than one win apart in our predictions for only three of the 16 NFC teams. I think that actually says a lot about the NFC. It's extremely competitive with a handful of upper-tier teams, a HUGE middle class and only a couple bottom feeders. I'm thinking we were both hesitant to predict too many extremes in a conference where the schedules are so tough that "average" might be a really good year for most.
We'll be back with the AFC predictions later in the week.
Posted in General BS, Sports Tagged football, football betting, National Football Conference, nfc, NFC predictions, nfl 2013 season, nfl predictions, nfl prognosticator, nfl season predictions, sports betting, sports gambling 2 Comments


Kick off Erzurum BB-Akhisar Belediyespor in Super Lig on today 17:00. Referee in the match will be .
Team Erzurum BB is in the releagtion zone of the table. 18 position. Erzurum BB in 5 last matches (league + cup) have collected1 points. Erzurum BB from 5 matches can not beat any rival. Players Erzurum BB in Super Lig with the highest number of goals: Taylan Antalyal 4 goals, Jasmin Scuk 4 goals, Samuel Emem Eduok 3 goals. Players Taylan Antalyal 1 assists will have to be very well guarded by defenders Akhisar Belediyespor, because they have the most assists.
Team Akhisar Belediyespor is in the releagtion zone of the table. 17 position. Last 5 games (league + cup) finished balance 6 points. Players Akhisar Belediyespor in Super Lig with the highest number of goals: Elvis Manu 5 goals, Jeremy Bokila 4 goals, Yevhen Seleznyov 3 goals. Players Elvis Manu 2 assists, Jeremy Bokila 1 assists will have to be very well guarded by defenders Erzurum BB, because they have the most assists.
Direct matches: Akhisar Belediyespor won more direct matches. Erzurum BB won 0 matches , Akhisar Belediyespor won 1 direct matches, was a 1 draws. In 1 matches the sum of the goals both teams was greater than 2.5 (Over 2.5), and 2 matches teams scored more than 1.5 goals (Over 1.5). In 2 matches the both teams scored a least one goal (Both teams to score).


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Technology Expert & Founding Editor-In-Chief of WIRED, UK Edition
David Rowan
Using his skills as long-time WIRED Editor-in-chief, Rowan translates what really matters in tech to audiences and inspires them to seize the opportunities of emerging technologies and avoid the risks of disruption with dazzling examples from the front line– and also some gentle British humor.
David Rowan explains compellingly how emerging technologies will impact business — and how leaders should prepare now. As founding Editor-in-Chief of WIRED magazine's UK edition, David came to know the founders of WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Google, Didi, Spotify, Xiaomi, Nest, Twitter and countless other ambitious startups from Tel Aviv to Shenzhen. He has since invested in more than 80 early-stage tech companies, including three that became billion-dollar "unicorns", and has built a health-tech and climate-tech fund; and he's an adviser to Lakestar, one of Europe's largest venture-capital funds. His best-selling book "Non-Bullshit Innovation: Radical Ideas from the World's Smartest Minds" (Penguin, 2019) has been translated to Japanese, Korean, Russian and Ukrainian. The book, a 20-country quest for bold corporate innovation in the face of technology-led disruption, sets out 17 proven strategies for future-proofing a successful business — from "Turn products into services" to "Empower your team" and "Become a platform". David has been a technology columnist for The Times, GQ, Condé Nast Traveller and The Sunday Times, and founded the VOYAGERS.io not-for-profit community of 400 innovators working to solve health and climate problems. He has received repeat requests to keynote for clients such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Google, KPMG, McKinsey, Chanel and Unilever, and has moderated events for the World Economic Forum and the UK and French governments. And he is still searching for the future.
USI | Non-Bullshit Innovation
International Luxury Travel Market
The New Rules of Business
In fast-paced, fully customized talks, David Rowan tackles the latest trends in technology, innovation, and business and reveals how your company can get ahead. Drawing on his extensive research in the field—he has taken well over one hundred flights in the past year to understand from the front line how everything from genomics to 3D printing are changing the way businesses and consumers will operate—Rowan's clear-eyed, accessible talks guide audiences through the new rules of business.
Non-Bullshit Innovation: Radical Ideas from the World's Smartest Minds
I wanted to thank you for your time to moderate the G8 Innovation Conference on 14 June. You set the tone for the day perfectly, engaging the audience and steering the presenters through a very full agenda. The feedback from the day has been overwhelmingly positive, which is largely due to your dynamism, good humor and professionalism. The team here and I are extremely grateful for the part you played in making the day a success and helping to put innovation on the G8 agenda.
—G8 Innovation Conference
Thank you for joining us and sharing your insights at the Urban Land Institute dinner. We received a lot of positive feedback. Indeed, your name was dropped many times during the conference the next day. Your visions into the future provoked much discussion and provided an excellent start to the event.
Thank you for a brilliant performance. Feedback from the Unilever client was exceptionally positive. After three full days at the event when asked the question about the highlight of the event a large number of them cited your presentation. That's pretty impressive.
Wired UK Founding Editor David Rowan: A Lot of Innovation is Pointless
The business world is obsessed with buzzwords. While often annoying, if you're involved in a particular community, they can help build a common vernacular and act as a shortcut when talking about wider industry ... Read more
by Binary District
Non-Bullshit Innovation by David Rowan review — the businesses inventing the future
In the 1980s Naspers, the owner of a South African newspaper devoted to the cause of Afrikaner nationalism, hired an entrepreneurial chief executive. The company was persuaded by Koos Bekker, a brash young man with ... Read more
by The Times
Technology & Innovation Author, Academic and Futurist
Technology is creating the most exciting innovations the world has ever seen. It is also causing anxiety about our future. Vivek Wadhwa has become a globally respected voice on advancing technologies and innovation.
Eric Schurenberg
CEO of Mansueto Ventures, Publisher of Fast Company and INC.
Eric Schurenberg is the CEO of Mansueto Ventures. Previously, Schurenberg was the editor of CBS MoneyWatch.com and BNET.com and managing editor of Money. As a writer, he is a winner of a Loeb and a National Magazine Award.
Sheryl Connelly
Manager, Global Consumer Trends & Futuring at Ford Motor Company
With the unique ability to translate how consumer and lifestyle trends will affect organizations across industry sectors, Sheryl Connelly outlines how to develop a futuring mindset, to act decisively in high-stakes business environments.


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Paul Doktor collection
Aeon Request
L. Tom Perry Special Collections
Contains Paul Doktor's collection of manuscript scores and manuscript photocopies for viola and other accompanying instruments. Dated 1942-1987.
Doktor, Paul (collector, Person)
Open for public research.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from the Paul Doktor collection must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.
Paul Doktor (1919-1989) was an eminent violist and teacher in Europe and the United States.
One of the eminent violists of his time, the Viennese born Paul Doktor was the son of another distinguished violist, Karl Doktor, an associate of the violinist, Adolf Busch. He completed his studies at the Vienna Academy of Music in 1938 and moved to Switzerland the next year. He was the prize winner at the Geneva International Viola Competition in 1942. He moved to the United States in 1947, and became an American citizen in 1952. He gave the premieres of several significant compositions for viola, including concertos by Quincy Porter, Walter Piston, and Wilfred Josephs. He was a founding member of several ensembles, including the New York String Sextet, the Rococo Ensemble, and the Paul Doktor String Trio.
An influential teacher, Doktor taught at several institutions, including the University of Michigan, Manne's College of Music, Julliard School of Music, New York University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and the State University College at Purchase. He concertized in the U.S., Britain, and Europe and produced recordings under several labels. His editions and transcriptions for viola were widely used. In 1977, he was the recipient of the ASTA Artist-Teacher of the year award.
Paul Doktor died in 1989.
3 boxes (1.5 linear ft.)
Arranged in alphabetical order by composer's last name.
Prominent Violist, (Section IV Primrose International Viola Archive Collection Development Policy, January 2011).
Processed; Caryn Jackson, student manuscript processor, and David Day, curator; 2015.
Register of Paul Doktor collection
Caryn Jackson
Description rules
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English in Latin script.
Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository
http://sc.lib.byu.edu/
1130 HBLL
Provo Utah 84602 United States
Initial citation: MSS 8648; Paul Doktor collection; Music; L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University. Following citations: MSS 8648
Initial citation: MSS 8648; Paul Doktor collection; Music; L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University. Following citations: MSS 8648 https://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/resources/11589 Accessed February 01, 2023.


text:
Meireis, Cláudio and S. Serino, Filipa and Maia, Carlos and C. Fontes, André and M. Branco, Jorge Current Practice and Potential Associated with Timber-Based Solutions for Buildings Retrofitting. Special Issue Selected Papers from CEES 2021, the first International Conference on Construction, Energy, Environment and Sustainability (Coimbra, 2021), on the topic of Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies, 7 (2).
7/2/25 - Published Version
Official URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2412-3811/7/2/25
Current buildings are responsible for the highest energy consumption, exceeding polluting sectors such as industry and transports. In Portugal, a large part of the building stock was built in the 1970s and 1980s, but buildings dated from the 1960s and 1970s are the ones with the most anomalies and worst quality of construction and, therefore, worst energy performance. The renovation of those buildings can represent an excellent opportunity to correct and improve their energy deficiency and, with that, to promote a more sustainable building stock. The ETICS system is the most used for the renovation of buildings in Portugal due to its lower cost, quick application and thermal efficiency, but it doesn't solve other problems that may exist, such as structural safety and interior organization of the existing building. The application of prefabricated systems in the envelope has proved to be successful in improving energy efficiency, allowing new volumes and extra areas while contributing to the structural resilience of existing buildings. This paper aims to describe the current situation of the buildings renovation in Portugal and to discuss the potential of innovative envelope retrofitting solutions, using natural materials like timber, and is more concerned with the problems of existing buildings and the need for comfort and space for the occupants.
building stock; retrofitting; energy efficiency; architectural transformation; structural resilience; timber


Y'all, it's finally FALL and I want to scream that I'm done with apples!!! I've worked on creating apple activities the whole month of Sept. and I think even before that, so I'm soooo ready to move on! But down in my heart of hearts I know that I may not be done because there's more to do. I had a whole list of things I wanted to accomplish and I don't know that I even finished half. But for now, I'm moving on. For now, I'm letting this final Apple'licious Apple Bundle be the "apple dessert", if you will, that's going to wind things up for now anyway.
The Apple'licious Apple Bundle is the sum of all the apple activities that I've created the last month. 11+ files … 132 pages, and for a very short time I'm discounting the price! If you purchased each file separately, you'd pay over $34. This is what's included in the bundle.
You can purchase most of these files separately, but some activities are only available in this bundle. That's 132 pages. For a closer look, take a peek at the individual files in the Apples and J Appleseed category.
So run, run, run to get this before I change my mind! 🙂 Because it won't be this price for too long.
If you'd rather purchase the individual files or take a closer look at what's in the bundle, click on the links below.
Now, on to fall, stuff! Yay!!!


Underlines suddenly appeared in some of our earlier blog entries, and once again we have been rescued by the inestimable Joe Malchow, whose blog appears here, and whose technical excellence is invisibly everywhere.
Joe's blog has an item that will immediately interest readers. The first is that in Britain there was a jump in robberies and "There was also a rapid and unexplained increase in the number of times householders were confronted in their own homes by armed criminals. Robberies conducted within the home by armed criminals were up 46%." This is very bad news. It is explained in part by the next quotation, "We have some of the toughest firearm legislation in Europe," said Home Office minister Tony McNulty.
Fifty years ago, there was little violent crime in Britain. People have attributed this to the pacific qualities of the Brits living at that time. More realistically those who study violent crime in Britain and America attribute the low rates of crime at least in part to this fact: Many British homes had firearms and men and women were capable of using them. Criminals are unlikely to break into homes where an aroused homeowner may shoot them.
This argument is detested by those who believe that if we make the philosophically pretty law of outlawing all guns, they will disappear. They have not. Now only criminals have access to guns. Law-abiding citizens who since King Alfred's time were given the responsibility of protecting themselves and defending their families are left defenceless with police forces too far away, if I live in the country, and too overwhelmed, if I live in the city, to provide aid.
People who believe guns should be outlawed will have to face the unpleasant result of their logic which is this: If guns are gone, but violent crime with guns continues, then people, not guns, are the problem. Criminals are afoot, and they are preying on men, women and children who have been rendered defenceless by a witless government.
They may also have to face another disagreeable fact: In "violence-prone" America, where a number of states now allow concealed carry weapon permits, there is less violent crime than in Britain because criminals know they may be met by a hand gun or a shotgun. Deterrence works. We wish mortals were angels, but they are not. Measures to tackle the reasons for criminal behaviour should be put in place, but in the mean time, British citizens should insist that their fundamental right to defend themselves be restored.
Every people that has experienced genocide in the 20th and 21st century – Armenians, Ukrainians, Jews, Bosnians, Cambodians, Tutsis, Sudanese – has been unarmed. We repeat, every people, including the British, have a fundamental right to defend themselves.