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Mavi Boncuk Reached 3000 Posting Mark on November 21, 2009
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Profile | Seyyit Rıza

Mavi Boncuk

Seyyit Rıza (Dersim, 1862? - 1937) (in Zazaki: Sey Rıza, in Kurmanji: "Seyîd Riza") was a member of the Abbasan branch of the Sheikh Hasanan [1][2] tribe in Dersim [3]. He was the son of Seyid Ibrahim Agha, from an Alevi sacred family descended from Sheikh Ahmed Dede. Despite being his youngest son, Seyyit Rıza was designed to succeed his father as a religious leader. He enjoyed religious, tribal and juridical authority. He also married the daughter of an important landowner and Dersim MP, Diyab Agha. He probably participated to the armed struggle against the Russians and Armenians during WWI around Erzincan. Although he reportedly participated in some meetings of the rebels, he probably did not participate directly in the Koçgiri uprising. On the other hand, he played an important role in the 1937-1938 revolt in Dersim, especially in opposing the growing penetration and assimilation of Kurds by the State and in rallying the different tribes. He was arrested, condemned to death and hung in 16 November 1937 [4]; most members of his family were also killed by the Army.

Notes [1] In Shaikh Said's revolt, led by Zaza speaking Sunni Kurds, the Kurmanci-speaking Mil confederation, and the Cibran and Hasanan tribes, participated; but Zaza- and Kurmanci-speaking Alevi tribes actively opposed the revolt: religious and tribal, rather than linguistic, boundaries were critical in these cases (cf Olson 1989: 95)

[2]Minorsky (1943: 78) states that 'the Goran are mentioned as a warlike tribe already in the tenth century' and (p.84) refers to the fourteenth century Egyptian scholar Shihab al-Din al-'Omari, who wrote that after the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Kurds of Shahrizur emigrated to Syria and Egypt, and their place was taken by another nation hasaneh/hasano whose members aren't veritable Kurds." Minorsky conjectures that the term 'hasaneh' points to Gorani tribes replacing earlier Kurdish inhabitants of the area.

[3] Dersim meaning 'silver door' in Zazaki and Kurdish. The name of the provincial capital, Kalan, was then officially changed to match with the province's new name Tunceli. As of the end of the 19th century, the "Dersim" region was included in the Ottoman sancak (subprovince) of Hozat and the province of Mamuret-ül Aziz (today's Elazığ)

[4] On 16 November 1937, Seyit Riza and seven of his comrades were hanged in Elazığ. Despite all attempts by the families, the grave sites of Seyit Riza and his comrades still haven’t been disclosed.

R. Olson 1989 The ShaikIi Said Rebellion and the Emergence of Kurdish Nationalism. Austin: University of Texas Press.

V. Minorsky 1943 The Gur an. BSOAS X111: 75-103

How Byzantium, not Rome, can help preserve Pax Americana

Edward Luttwak is a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and author of The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire.
Source: www.foreignpolicy.com

Mavi Boncuk
How Byzantium, not Rome, can help preserve Pax Americana.
BY EDWARD LUTTWAK NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

Economic crisis, mounting national debt, excessive foreign commitments — this is no way to run an empire. America needs serious strategic counseling. And fast. It has never been Rome, and to adopt its strategies no — its ruthless expansion of empire, domination of foreign peoples, and bone-crushing brand of total war — would only hasten America’s decline. Better instead to look to the empire’s eastern incarnation: Byzantium, which outlasted its Roman predecessor by eight centuries. It is the lessons of Byzantine grand strategy that America must rediscover today.

Fortunately, the Byzantines are far easier to learn from than the Romans, who left virtually no written legacy of their strategy and tactics, just textual fragments and one bookish compilation by Vegetius, who knew little about statecraft or war. The Byzantines, however, wrote it all down — their techniques of persuasion, intelligence gathering, strategic thinking, tactical doctrines, and operational methods. All of this is laid out clearly in a series of surviving Byzantine military manuals and a major guidebook on statecraft.

I’ve spent the past two decades poring over these texts to compile a study of Byzantine grand strategy. The United States would do well to heed the following seven lessons if it wishes to remain a great power:

I. Avoid war by every possible means, in all possible circumstances, but always act as if war might start at any time. Train intensively and be ready for battle at all times — but do not be eager to fight. The highest purpose of combat readiness is to reduce the probability of having to fight.

II. Gather intelligence on the enemy and his mentality, and monitor his actions continuously. Efforts to do so by all possible means might not be very productive, but they are seldom wasted.

III. Campaign vigorously, both offensively and defensively, but avoid battles, especially large-scale battles, except in very favorable circumstances. Don’t think like the Romans, who viewed persuasion as just an adjunct to force. Instead, employ force in the smallest possible doses to help persuade the persuadable and harm those not yet amenable to persuasion.

IV. Replace the battle of attrition and occupation of countries with maneuver warfare — lightning strikes and offensive raids to disrupt enemies, followed by rapid withdrawals. The object is not to destroy your enemies, because they can become tomorrow’s allies. A multiplicity of enemies can be less of a threat than just one, so long as they can be persuaded to attack one another.

V. Strive to end wars successfully by recruiting allies to change the balance of power. Diplomacy is even more important during war than peace. Reject, as the Byzantines did, the foolish aphorism that when the guns speak, diplomats fall silent. The most useful allies are those nearest to the enemy, for they know how best to fight his forces.

VI. Subversion is the cheapest path to victory. So cheap, in fact, as compared with the costs and risks of battle, that it must always be attempted, even with the most seemingly irreconcilable enemies. Remember: Even religious fanatics can be bribed, as the Byzantines were some of the first to discover, because zealots can be quite creative in inventing religious justifications for betraying their own cause (”since the ultimate victory of Islam is inevitable anyway …”).

VII. When diplomacy and subversion are not enough and fighting is unavoidable, use methods and tactics that exploit enemy weaknesses, avoid consuming combat forces, and patiently whittle down the enemy’s strength. This might require much time. But there is no urgency because as soon as one enemy is no more, another will surely take his place. All is constantly changing as rulers and nations rise and fall. Only the empire is eternal — if, that is, it does not exhaust itself.

EU president: Herman Van Rompuy no friend of Turkey

Mavi Boncuk
EU president: Herman Van Rompuy opposes Turkey joining
The poetry-loving favourite to become the first president of Europe, Herman Van Rompuy, is also a hard-line opponent of Turkey's bid to join the European Union because it is an Islamic country. Speaking five years ago, as an opposition politician, Mr Rompuy, a Christian Democrat, argued that Muslim Turkey could not be considered a candidate for EU membership.

"Turkey is not a part of Europe and will never be part of Europe. An expansion of the EU to include Turkey cannot be considered as just another expansion as in the past," he said. "The universal values which are in force in Europe, and which are fundamental values of Christianity, will loose vigour with the entry of a large Islamic country such as Turkey."

Herman Van Rompuy), born October 31, 1947 in Etterbeek) is a Belgian Flemish politician and member of the CD&V (formerly called CVP) and the current Prime Minister of Belgium, succeeding Yves Leterme.

Van Rompuy was the Vice President of the CVP Youth from 1973 to 1975, from 1978 onward, he was a member of the National Bureau of the CVP, from 1975 to 1980 he worked in the ministerial cabinets of Leo Tindemans and Gaston Geens and from 1988 to 1993 he was the President of the CVP. He also was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Budget from September 1993 to July 1999. After his party's defeat in the 1999 Belgian general election, he became a member of the Chamber of Representatives. In 2004, he was designated Minister of State.

On July 12, 2007, Van Rompuy was elected as the President of the Chamber of Representatives.

A trained economist, Van Rompuy worked at the Belgian central bank from 1972 to 1975 before going into politics, where he had stints in government in the 1980s and 1990s. As budget minister, he helped drive down Belgium’s debt from a peak of 135 percent of gross domestic product in 1993. It fell to below 100 percent of GDP in 2003.

New ATC Chairman | Ambassador Richard L. Armitage

Mavi Boncuk
AMERICAN-TURKISH COUNCIL ELECTS A NEW CHAIRMAN


In recognition of the vital role outstanding leadership plays in the promotion of U.S.-Turkey relations, the Board of Directors of the American-Turkish Council today announced that retiring Chairman Brent Scowcroft will be succeeded as Chairman by Ambassador Richard L. Armitage, President of Armitage International. Ambassador Armitage will begin his service as Chairman, January 1, 2010.

With the completion of his current term on December 31, 2009, Brent Scowcroft will have served nine years as Chairman of the Board of the American-Turkish Council.
The Board of Directors and the Members of the American-Turkish Council take this opportunity to thank General Scowcroft for more than a half-century of personal commitment to a strong U.S.- Turkey relationship and particularly for his highly successful leadership of the American-Turkish Council. He will continue to be an active member of the ATC Board.

Corporate members of ATC, both American and Turkish, welcome Ambassador Armitage and look forward to working with him to strengthen the business, defense, trade and investment, foreign policy and cultural relations between the United States and Turkey, two proven allies and friends. General Scowcroft and Ambassador Armitage will travel to Turkey November 16-20 for senior-level discussions with Turkey's government, military and business leadership. This timely visit will assure the smoothest possible transition for ATC.

American-Turkish Council, 1111 14th St NW, Ste 1050, Washington, DC 20005 | ph 202.783.0483 | fax 202.783.0511
BIOGRAPHY OF AMBASSADOR RICHARD L. ARMITAGE

Richard L. Armitage has been President of Armitage International since 2005, continuing a more than 40-year career of alternating private practice and government service. Previously, he served as the Deputy Secretary of State from March 2001 until 2005.

From 1993 until March 2001, Mr. Armitage was President of Armitage Associates L.C. In 1992 and 1993, Ambassador Armitage directed U.S. assistance to the Newly Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union. From 1989 until early 1992, Mr. Armitage filled key diplomatic positions as Presidential Special Negotiator for the Philippines Military Bases Agreement and Special Mediator for Water in the Middle East. President George H. W. Bush sent him as a Special Embassy to Jordan's King Hussein during the 1991 Gulf War. In the Pentagon from June 1983 to May 1989, he served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.

In May 1975, Mr. Armitage came to Washington as a Pentagon consultant and was posted in Tehran, Iran, until November 1976. Following two years in the private sector, he took the position of Administrative Assistant to Senator Robert Dole of Kansas in 1978. In the 1980 Reagan campaign, Mr. Armitage was senior advisor to the Interim Foreign Policy Advisory Board, which prepared the President-Elect for major international policy issues confronting the new administration. From 1981 until June 1983, Mr. Armitage was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia and Pacific Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Born in 1945, Ambassador Armitage graduated in 1967 from the U.S. Naval Academy, where he was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy. He served on a destroyer stationed on the Vietnam gun line and subsequently completed three combat tours with the Mobile Riverine Advisory Forces in Vietnam. Fluent in Vietnamese, Mr. Armitage left active duty in 1973 and joined the U.S. Defense Attaché Office, Saigon. Immediately prior to the fall of Saigon, he organized and led the removal of Vietnamese naval assets and personnel from the country.

Mr. Armitage currently serves on the Board of Directors of ConocoPhillips, ManTech International Corporation and Transcu Ltd. He is a member of The American Academy of Diplomacy as well as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He was awarded the Department of State Distinguished Service Award, is a four-time recipient of the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Award for Outstanding Public Service, the Presidential Citizens Medal, and the Department of State Distinguished Honor Award. He has received decorations from the governments of Russia, Thailand, Republic of Korea, Bahrain, and Pakistan, and he was awarded a KBE and became a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 2005.

I Bet You did not Know | 46

I Bet You did not Know that Havah Nagilah is a Hora (like Kasapiko). The melody was taken from Bukovina.
Mavi Boncuk |Havah Nagilah:

The man largely responsible for the song's existence in its present form is Abraham Zevi Idelsohn, and he was the father of Jewish Musicology. As a young cantor, he left his native Latvia, worked in Germany and South Africa, then went to Jerusalem early in this century to pursue his dream of collecting the oral traditions of his people and making them available to the world of music. In the course of his research he visited a group of Sadigura Hasidim there, in 1915, and wrote down some of their Nigunim. This was one of them. It was a wordless "bim-bom" melody, a mystic chant. Then came World War I. Idelsohn became a bandmaster in the Turkish Army.

Three years later he was back in Jerusalem again, leading a chorus in a victory concert. The Turks were out, the British were in, there was a Balfour Declaration, and the yishuv (Jewish community) was celebrating. He needed a good crowd-pleasing number to end his concert, and he didn't have one. But he had a file. So he browsed, and as luck would have it his hand fell on this Sadigura Nigun. He arranged it in four parts, put some simple Hebrew lyrics to it, and performed it. The rest, as you know, is history, as this became the best-known Jewish song in the world.

Source

I Bet You did not Know | 45

I Bet You did not Know that Ayten Alpman's "Memleketim" is actually based on a Jewish song called "Az der Rebe Elimelekh"

When the Rabbi Elimeylekh
became very cheery (means drunk here)
He took off his pylacteries and put on his glasses
And sent for his two fiddlers

did the fiddley fiddle
did fiddley fiddle, did they
Mavi Boncuk |


DER REBE ELIMELECH


Ayten Alpman - Memleketim Turkiyem