Monday, April 28, 2014

Τα Υπ΄¨Οψιν της 27 Απριλίου 2014


Στα Υπ΄΄Οψιν αυτής της εβδομάδας, μεταξύ άλλων:

- Ελλάδα: Η εύγλωττη ασάφεια των δημοσκοπήσεων

-Ευρωεκλογές: Προς το Πρώτο Προεδρικό Ευρωπαϊκό Ντημπέϊτ: η ΕΕ αποκτά βάθος και ακροδεξιά πλειοψηφίες

-Ουκρανία: Οι εναλλακτικοί δρόμοι του αερίου και οι δυνατότητες ρωσικής  εισβολής

-Το ταξίδι Ομπάμα στην Άπω Ανατολή και τι …δεν κατόρθωσε.

-Η Οκλαχόμα απεμπολεί το τελευταίο δικαίωμα των θανατοποινιτών.

-Χαμάς - Φατάχ:  συμφωνία για τεχνοκρατική κυβέρνηση, ασυμφωνία για την αναγνώριση του Ισραήλ: το νέο αδιέξοδο

-Εκλογές Αφγανιστάν:  υποψήφιοι και ρυθμιστές

-Ιράκ: Οι Αμερικανοί επιστρέφουν-  τους καλεί το χάος

-Σερβία: ολοταχώς στο δρόμο προς την ΕΕ - αλλά το Κόσοβο δεν αναγνωρίζεται

-ΠΓΔΜ: Οι εθνικιστές και πάλι στην κυβέρνηση, η αντιπολίτευση και πάλι στο δρόμο.

 Και στο Μαγκαζίνο των Υπ΄Όψιν:

-Πούτιν:  Ο πρόεδρος τώρα και σε …νόμισμα – από την άλλη η Κριμαία.

-Η δίωξη των τατουάζ: πότε και πού δεν επιτρέπονται ( χώρες και μέρη του σώματος) – και πότε είναι …προσοδοφόρα !

-Η Βενετία λέει “Basta !” στους τουρίστες: η   στοιχειωμένη Poveglia ανατρέπει τα σχέδια της κυβέρνησης

-Δανία: Θρησκευτικές διαφωνίες για το πότε τα ζώα είναι halal και πότε  kosher – και τι σημαίνει αυτό για την κοινωνία και την οικονομία.

-Νιγηρία: Το γάλα καρύδας  κάνει τα παιδιά …κουτά: τα ταμπού των τροφών  ανά τον κόσμο.

-Ινδία: Το ανυπόφορα δύσοσμο πρόβλημα της χώρας και ο Mr.Poo – Η χρυσή εξασφάλιση των γυναικών τώρα δίνει τόκο 22% - Το νομικό κενό για τους transgender:  ζούν νόμιμα αλλά σχετίζονται παράνομα.

Ακούστε Τα Υπ΄Όψιν με την Έλενα Σπηλιώτη και τον Γιώργο Ζορμπά για ενημέρωση, συζητήσεις, συνεντεύξεις στα θέματα της επικαιρότητας.

Αυτή την εβδομάδα στο:

 


 

April sponsor: Brillakis Foods

 

Friday, April 25, 2014

Tornado Shelters Face Dilemma With Pet Lovers

By KRISTI EATON Associated Press
Jerry Starr thought he was taking the safe approach when a twister was reported heading toward his suburban neighborhood outside Oklahoma City last May. He grabbed his teenage daughter Dyonna and his dog and drove to the local City Hall, which serves as a public storm shelter.
But when he arrived, a police officer told him that the only way they could come in was if Tobi, his shih tzu-yorkie mix, stayed outside. No pets allowed. So Starr and Tobi rode out the storm in his car, one of the most dangerous places he could be.
"I love her and there's no way I was going to live knowing I was abandoning her," said Starr, of Del City.
Modern forecasting technology now gives residents hours of notice of threatening conditions and precise projections of a storm's likely path.
Residents are bombarded with broadcast warnings to take shelter.
But as the spring storm season arrives in Tornado Alley, emergency officials are still wrestling with a dilemma posed by man's best friends. Since many public shelters won't accept animals, people wind up dashing across town to rescue their pets or staying in unprotected houses rather than hunkering down in safety.
"Pets and sheltering is always a problem," said David Grizzle, emergency management coordinator for the college town of Norman, which closed its public shelters last fall because of problems with pets and overcrowding.
"Pets come in and sometimes they're hard to control," he said, describing past scenes of dozens of frantic dogs along with snakes, chickens and even iguanas brought inside.
Access to shelters has gotten special attention in Oklahoma this year after 79 tornadoes strafed the state in 2013, the second highest total in the nation, killing 34 people and injuring hundreds.
Most of the victims were in cars, houses or unreinforced buildings. A joint state-federal program offered up to a $2,000 rebate to help eligible homeowners install fortified "safe rooms" or above or underground shelters.
"One of the most common injuries that people may sustain during tornadoes, storms or straight-line winds are injuries from falling or flying debris, so it's important to take shelter," said Keli Cain, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
But while the number of in-home shelters is growing, most people in small towns and of modest incomes depend on sturdy public buildings like schools, hospitals and courthouses.
And more than 60 percent of households have pets.
At city council and campus administration meetings this spring, officials reviewing local emergency plans are again debating the implications of turning animals away.
"People are so attached to their pets, I don't think it's even possible to ban them," said Byron Boshell, director of Security at Oklahoma City's Integris Baptist Medical Center, where people from surrounding neighborhoods come when funnel clouds approach.
Staff members try to herd the pets to the basement garage, away from the patients. But at some shelters, 60 to 70 dogs may be packed in with the people.
Southwestern Oklahoma State University, in Weatherford, used to allow pets into the campus buildings until several bad scenes involving dozens of barking, lunging dogs and other panicked animals.The animals "were kind of terrified from the storm and also strange people," said Rick Bolar, chief of the campus police.
One of the final straws in Norman's decision to close its shelters came when one family was asked to put its dogs outside to make room for another family that had arrived.
"The adults actually got into fights over that decision and trying to boil down the priority of who should be inside a facility during a storm: a pet or a person. It's a constant fight," Grizzle said.
But holding to the no-pets policy isn't easy because of the chilling consequence — rebuffed people sitting outside in their flimsy cars as the twisters move in.
When a tornado approached the community of Tuttle last May 31, Suzanne Brown, 48, rushed to shelter at the local city hall, which was equipped to accommodate 1,000 people. She managed to sneak in her cat, but not her Pomeranian, so she remained outside as the storm came through. She was unharmed, but eight people in nearby El Reno were killed.
"My dog is like my child," she said. "I know some people don't understand that."The National Weather Service recognized the pet predicament in a recent report on last May's tornadoes in Oklahoma. The report recommended that local emergency managers get out the word on how to shelter pets during severe weather, but didn't have any options to suggest.
Emergency officials say that at the very least, pet owners should think ahead about where they'll go. Brown said she's already thinking.
"We understand that when we have to go, they get into a crate," Brown said.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Τα Υπ΄Όψιν της 20 Απριλίου 2014


Στα Υπ΄Όψιν της 20 Απριλίου 2014, μεταξύ άλλων συζητάμε:

-Ουκρανία: Η αδύναμη  εξ ανάγκης συμφωνία της Γενεύης, οι διϊστάμενες γνώμες για το μέλλον του Ντονέτσκ  και τί μπορεί να σημαίνει για τον Πούτιν Novorossiyia

-Χαμάς-Φατάχ: Οι  (ελάχιστες) ελπίδες για κοινή κυβέρνηση υπονομεύονται από τον Νετανιάχου: « Συμφωνία Παλαιστίνης-Ισραήλ αποκλείει  επίσημη συμμετοχή της Χαμάς»
-Ισραήλ - Παλαιστίνη: Ο Αμπάς βοηθά στη συνέχιση των συνομιλιών υπο όρους

-Ομπάμα στην Άπω Ανατολή για δύσκολες συμφωνίες εμπορίου και δύσκολες επιβεβαιώσεις συμμαχιών.

-Ιαπωνία: Ενώ ζητά  δυτική προστασία, προκαλεί την Κίνα με εγκαταστάσεις σε νησιωτικά σύνορα

-Ελλάδα: Οι αναποφάσιστοι ψηφοφόροι στο 30%, οι συντάξεις μειώνονται και  αναλυτές μιλούν για «φούσκα» ομολόγων στο Νότο - αλλά η κυβέρνηση ενθαρρύνει τους πολίτες.

-Ενώ ΝΔ-ΣΥΡΙΖΑ ισοβαθμούν ( προς το παρόν), το Ποτάμι κερδίζει συμμάχους και μελετά εθνικό σχέδιο δράσης: νέα μέλη του Ποταμιού μιλούν στα Υπ΄Όψιν για την επιλογή τους .

-ΗΠΑ: Το Obamacare ξεπερνά τις προβλέψεις αλλά τα θέματα ενέργειας δυσκολεύουν την κυβέρνηση: Δημοκρατικοί υποψήφιοι υποστηρίζουν  «ό,τι φέρνει δουλειές» - και ψήφους- διαφωνώντας με τις ρυθμίσεις για άνθρακα, πετρέλαιο, φυσικό αέριο.

-Νεμπράσκα: ομοσπονδιακός στρατός υποχωρεί μπροστά σε οπλισμένους παραβάτες νόμων: κακό προηγούμενο ή σοφή πρόληψη αιματοχυσίας;

-Μπλούμπεργκ σε νέα καμπάνια για τον έλεγχο των όπλων: ο αγώνας τώρα στις πολιτείες, όχι στο lobbying της πρωτεύουσας

-Μ.Βρετανία: Πρώην σύμβουλοι του Ομπάμα προσλαμβάνονται από... αντίθετα κόμματα: όταν ρεπουμπλικανός σημαίνει άλλο στην Ουάσιγκτων και άλλο στο Λονδίνο

-Η εγγονή του Μουσσολίνι και η ερμηνεύτρια του... Μίκη Θεοδωράκη στο ευρωψηφοδέλτιο του Μπερλουσκόνι.

Και στο Μαγκαζίνο των Υπ΄Όψιν, για την Κυριακή του Πάσχα πολλή, καλή μουσική.

Ακούστε Τα Υπ΄Όψιν με την Έλενα Σπηλιώτη και τον Γιώργο Ζορμπά  για ενημέρωση, συζητήσεις, συνεντεύξεις στα θέματα της επικαιρότητας.

Αυτή την εβδομάδα στο


April sponso: Brillakis Foods  

Γιατί στηρίζουμε Το Ποτάμι: Συνέντευξη με τον συγκοινωνιολόγο Νότη Παρασκευόπουλο, εκπρόσωπο της ομάδας εθελοντών πολιτών Εμείς οι πολίτες

Γιατί στηρίζουμε Το Ποτάμι: Ο συγκοινωνιολόγος Νότης Παρασκευόπουλος για την ομάδα εθελοντών Εμείς οι πολίτες εξηγεί στα Υπ΄Όψιν τους λόγους της επιλογής της κίνησης του Σταύρου Θεοδωράκη.

Ακούστε σήμερα την συνέντευξη στο
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1KU27prGcwUTFVXc0hZT0QzejA/edit

Τα Υπ΄Όψιν με την Έλενα Σπηλιώτη και τον Γιώργο Ζορμπά για ενημέρωση, συζητήσεις , συνεντεύξεις σε θέματα της επικαιρότητας.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Russia tests Obama's ability to stop its advances

JULIE PACE (AP)
For President Obama, the U.S. response to the chaos in Ukraine has become more than a test of his ability to stop Russia's advances. It's also being viewed through the prism of his decision last summer to back away from his threat to launch a military strike when Syria crossed his chemical weapons "red line" - a decision that has fed into a narrative pushed by Obama's critics that the president talks tough, but doesn't follow through.
While there has been no talk of "red lines" when dealing with Putin, Obama has said repeatedly that the Kremlin's advances into eastern Ukraine would be a "serious escalation" of the conflict that would warrant broad international sanctions on the Russian economy. But perhaps trying to avoid another Syria scenario, White House officials have carefully avoided defining what exactly would meet Obama's definition of a "serious escalation," even as they make clear that they believe Russia is fomenting the violence in cities throughout Ukraine's vital industrial east.
"We are actively evaluating what is happening in eastern Ukraine, what actions Russia has taken, what transgressions they've engaged in," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday. "And we are working with our partners and assessing for ourselves what response we may choose."
As with the situation in Syria, Obama faces few good options as he watches Russia destabilize Ukraine, the former Soviet republic that has sought greater ties with Europe.
There's little appetite in either the U.S. or Europe for direct military action, and the White House said Monday it was not actively considering sending Ukraine lethal assistance. That's left Obama and his international partners largely reliant on economic and diplomatic retaliation.
The president has wielded some of his available options since the situation in Ukraine devolved in late February, but those actions so far have had little success in stopping Russian advances. Obama's initial warning that Putin would face "costs" if he pressed into Crimea was largely brushed aside by the Russian leader, who went so far as to formally annex the peninsula from Ukraine. Economic sanctions on several of Putin's closest associates followed, as did Russia's suspension from the exclusive Group of Eight economic forum, but neither appears to have discouraged Moscow from making a play for eastern Ukraine.
On Friday, the U.S. slapped sanctions on more individuals connected to the Crimea takeover, and White House officials are weighing another round of targeted penalties against additional Russian and Ukrainian citizens.
But tens of thousands of troops massed on Russia's border with eastern Ukraine, Obama is facing calls from some Republicans to take tougher action now. Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent Obama a letter over the weekend calling on the administration to immediately ratchet up economic penalties against Moscow.
"Rather than wait for a Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine to implement additional sanctions, which seems to be U.S. policy at the moment, we must take action now that will prevent this worst-case scenario before it becomes a reality," Corker wrote.
Privately, some of Obama's advisers are also pushing for more robust penalties now to serve as a deterrent against a full-on Russian military incursion. But questions remain about Europe's commitment to take the kind of coordinated action that would stand the best chance of changing Putin's calculus.
Europe has a far deeper economic relationship with Russia than the U.S., meaning its sanctions would hurt Moscow more. But leaders on the still economically shaky continent fear that the impact of those sanctions could boomerang and hurt their own countries just as much.
European foreign ministers met Monday to debate whether additional sanctions should be enacted on Russia. A high-ranking European Union official said they did decide to sanction more Russians with asset freezes and visa bans, but they appeared to stop well short of targeting Russia's broader economy.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Τα Υπ΄Όψιν της 13 Απριλίου 2014


Στα Υπ΄Όψιν αυτής της εβδομάδας , μεταξύ άλλων, συζητάμε:

-Συρία: Η υπόθεση του τρίτου παίκτη στην νέα επίθεση με χημικά

-Ελλάδα: Μετά την έξοδο: απόψεις, διευκρινήσεις  και επόμενες κινήσεις

-Ουκρανία: Επείγουσα  διπλωματική συνάντηση: οι ΗΠΑ,  η Ρωσία και οι δύο Ουκρανοί.

-Αδιέξοδο στο ΔΝΤ: Οι αναπτυσσόμενες χώρες ζητούν φωνή, ο ι ΗΠΑ τους το αρνούνται

-Ινδίες: Εκλογές με... ολογράμματα αρχηγών – παγκόσμια πρωτοτυπία.

-Jebb Bush: Τώρα η παράνομη μετανάστευση είναι «πράξη αγάπης» και ενίσχυση της οικονομίας

-ΗΠΑ: Ρεπουμπλικανικά εμπόδια στους ίσους μισθούς ανδρών και γυναικών– και όχι μόνο στα ...ορυχεία!

-ΗΠΑ: Φορολογικές δηλώσεις και κίνδυνος εξαπάτησης από επιτήδειους

-ΗΠΑ: Η NSA χρησιμοποιούσε το κενό ασφαλείας Heartbleed και μετά το...κατείγγειλε.

-ΗΠΑ:  Ανακριτικές μέθοδοι και βασανιστήρια: σε τί ακριβώς ήταν ..ανακριβής η CIA

-Ιταλία: Ο Ρέντσι προτείνει: « Ο αγρότης να ξαναγίνει...της μόδας.»

-Μ.Βρετανία: Οι ευρωσκεπτικιστές σε ταχεία άνοδο

-Εκλογές ΠΓΔΜ: Προηγείται ο Ιβάνωφ, έπεται ο Πεντάροφσκι: προτεραιότητα στο όνομα ή στην αρχή της ισονομίας ;

-Καταλωνία: Το αίτημα για referendum απορρίπτεται, οι Καταλανοί επιμένουν στην ανεξαρτησία

Και στο Μαγκαζίνο των Υπ΄’Οψιν:

-Παλαιστίνειος πρώην φυλακισμένος διδάσκει εβραιϊκά σε παιδιά παλαιστινείων: «Η συνεννόηση με τους κατακτητές χτίζει τις γέφυρες για το μέλλον»

-ΗΠΑ: Η Ουκρανία είναι στη Γροιλανδία; Πώς η άγνοια ενθαρρύνει την υποστήριξη μιλιτιταριστικής αντιμετώπισης της κρίσης

-Ρωσίδες καλλιτέχνιδες στριπ τηζ ενισχύουν οικονομικά παιδικές κατασκηνώσεις  στην Κριμέα

-Νέος γερμανικός νόμος για τους μετανάστες: όσοι την «πατάνε» στα γερμανικά, κινδυνεύουν να μείνουν χωρίς ..σύζυγο.

-Selfies τώρα και από το ...κρεββάτι!

-Πανεπιστήμιο αποσύρει τιμητική διάκριση για υποψήφια, θύμα ακροτήτων του Ισλάμ: η μαρτυρία της «ενοχλεί» τους φοιτητές.

-Νιγηρία: Νύφη 14 χρονών δηλητηριάζει τον 35χρονο γαμπρό για να αποφύγει τον αναγκαστικό γάμο.

-Μίσιγκαν: Μουσουλμάνοι και πρεσβυτεριανοί γιορτάζουν μαζί το αυγό του ...Πάσχα!

-Εμίρης προσλαμβάνει 60 Ιταλίδες: όχι για χαρέμι αλλά για να εκπαιδεύσουν  το χαρέμι του. Μάθετε γιατί «Ιταλίδες» !

-Το φλυτζανάκι Μινγκ των $36 εκατομμυρίων.

-Πρώην πρόεδρος Μπούς: Έκθεση ζωγραφικής με ... “σκονάκι» την Wikipedia!   

- Ανδρικό στριπ τήζ  σε γηροκομείο: η γιαγια πέρασε ωραία ..κατά λάθος !

Ακούστε Τα Υπ΄Όψιν με τους δημοσιογράφους Έλενα Σπηλιώτη και Γιώργο Ζορμπά για ενημέρωση, συζητήσεις και συνεντεύξεις στα θέματα της επικαιρότητας.


Καλή Ανάσταση !

April sponsor: Brillakis Foods.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Τα Υπ΄'Οψιν της 6 Απριλίου 2014

Στα Υπ΄Όψιν της 6 Απριλίου 2014:

-Ελλάδα: Η αξία της μεγάλης ( ; ) εξόδου στις αγορές: υποστηρικτές και αμφισβητίες
-Ινδίες: στον πολυήμερο δρόμο για εκλογή Ινδού «Θάτσερ» ; 
-Ουγγαρία: Οι εθνικιστές θριαμβεύουν με όπλα φτηνή ενέργεια καικατάργηση των δανείων σε ξένο νόμισμα.
-Γαλλία: Η Μαρίν Λε Πέν τα βάζει με τα παιδιά του νηπιαγωγείου.
-Η ιστορική συνθήκη ΝΑΤΟ-Ρωσία ιστορικά σε κίνδυνο ενώ η ανατολική Ουκρανία απαιτεί επανασύνδεση με Μόσχα.
-Αφγανικές εκλογές χωρίς τραγωδία: Οι Ταλιμπάν υποχώρησαν ή καραδοκούν;
-Η έξυπνη κίνηση Αμπάς που εξοργίζει ΗΠΑ και Ισραήλ.
-ΗΠΑ: Μετά το νέο Fort Hood, οι πολιτείες αμφισβητούν την ομοσπονδιακή νομοθεσία για τον έλεγχο των όπλων.
-Το Obamacare δείχνει ότι θα μείνει: οι ρεπουμπλικανοί αναζητούν άλλα επιχειρήματα
- Τα κρυμμένα «ειδικά φαρμακεία» που στηρίζουν την εκτέλεση των θανατικών ποινών: το πρόβλημα της νομιμότητας
- Αλλαγές στην ιδιωτική χρηματοδότηση κομμάτων: δικαστές αναησυχούν για την δημοκρατικότητα αυτής της ελευθερίας της έκφρασης.
Και στο Μαγκαζίνο των Υπ΄Όψιν, μεταξύ άλλων:
-Η ουκρανική κρίση πλουτίζει το αρχαιότερο επάγγελμα
-Γαϊδουράκι με πηλίκιο και όνομα Αλ-Σίσι, βλέπει τον αφέντη του στη φυλακή.
-Οι Κινέζοι αγοράζουν άδειες οδήγησης από την Ν.Κορέα: εξετάσεις στη γλώσσα του σώματος
-Η Αυστραλία αναγνωρίζει για τρίτη φορά το «ουδέτερο φύλο»:νομική σπαζοκεφαλιά τί θα γίνει με τους γάμους

 ( όταν με το καλό...)
-Η Δανία πολεμά την υπογεννητικότητα με «εκπτώσεις γόνιμων ημερών»
-Η οδύσσεια των πανάκριβων πινάκων Γκωγκέν και Μποννάρ: κλεμμένοι και εγκαταλελειμμένοι, αγοράζονται πάμφθηνα και κρεμιούνται σε ιταλική κουζίνα: τελικά σε ποιόν ανήκουν ;
-Γάλλος καλλιτέχνης περνά 13 μέρες σε κουφάρι αρκούδας για κάποιο.... μπερδεμένο λόγο
-Ν.Καρολάϊνα: Γερουσιαστής απαιτεί την αναγνώριση της 6ης Ημέρας της Δημιουργίας για να ψηφίσει το επίσημο απολίθωμα της πολιτείας.
-Γιατί οι ζέβρες έχουν ρίγες.


Ακούστε Τα υπ΄Όψιν με τους δημοσιογράφους Έλενα Σπηλιώτη και Γιώργο Ζορμπά για ενημέρωση, συζητήσεις, συνεντεύξεις στα θέματα της επικαιρότητας. Αυτή την εβδομάδα στο
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1KU27prGcwUa29FWW5wbWtsakU/edit


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Friday, April 4, 2014

INTERVIEW Political analyst Guzeldere on the Turkish elections of March 30 2014 TRANSCRIPT


Political analyst and journalist Ekrem Eddy Guzeldere discusses the results of the 2014 local elections in Turkey with Elena Spilioti for TA YP OPSIN ( Consider These) podcast.
Elena Spilioti:  Mr. Guzeldere welcome back to our podcast.

Ekrem Eddy Guzeldere: Thank you for having me. A pleasure again.

E.S :                 So, Erdogan won the elections despite restricting the freedom of expression and despite leaked tapes and allegations. Does this mean that religious values have won over democratic ones, or is it that the opposition has not presented an alternative, a convincing alternative solution?

E.K:                  It's a mixture of everything you said, but I think that also important is that the economy in Turkey is still relatively okay and that one of the main indicators for the elections is the economic situation and they had the AKP performing relatively well. Another important factor is that ... in now 12 years in government the AKP controls a large part of the media and therefore many voters, especially outside of the big cities, they either do not hear about the corruption scandals and the fight with the Gülen movement or they only hear it filtered by the opposition. That, for them, is a part of an election campaign and not that real and that bad as for those that hear it directly. And therefore they say it's a campaign and all parties are more or less the same but the AKP at least does also something for us.

E.S :                 There is, however, evidence of real development especially in remote provinces of Turkey such as in Konya for example.

E.K:                  Yes, of course. This was a regional election, a municipal elections where about 1,400 mayors were elected. The overall result for the AKP is quite comfortable with 15% ahead of the main opposition party with still almost 45%. But there are some cities where also surprises were possible and the AKP did not win or did even lose cities, such as Mardin for example that was won by the Kurdish party or that the AKP could not gain cities like Izmir that they wanted to win very much at the Aegean and at the coast at the Aegean and the Riviera is still in the hands of the opposition.

E.S :                 Were the results expected to a certain extent?

E.K:                  Yes,  there are two most credible polling and survey institutes, Konda and A&G, and they more or less predicted this result so it is not a great surprise. The result means that the AKP won from the latest regional elections about 6%, that was in 2009, and lost about 4, 5% from the last national election that was in 2011. And this might have to do with this ongoing controversy and fight with and against the Gülen network. There were supporters of the AKP who also supported the Gulen movement.  They switched to the nationalist movement party, MHP, which could win 2, 3, 4% and could win cities like Manisa and Mersin and Adana. But overall this did not have a huge effect. Not as much as many expected.

E.S :                 Going back to what you said just before. If economy is a key, we saw that the Lira just went up just 48 hours after the beginning of the elections, maybe sooner. So, if the re-election of the Erdoğan party is a sign of stability, maybe the investors will return too. Does this mean that the international community needs the specific party or do they need Erdoğan's personality? And would the party still be there if someone else was heading it such as Gul, a personality that may be dynamic but also less controversial as a leader.

E.K:                  Yes, it's definitely very important for the economic community that there is political, economic and legal stability in Turkey and this was not the case over the last months. […]Already many investors left Turkey because of interference in the judiciary and no longer being a credible and stable partner. With the election results it won't change a lot. The Lira has gained a little bit but it is expected that there will be a kind of a witch hunt against the Gülen movement and also against their holdings. And this will even more frighten the economic community and it's rather expected that the situation concerning foreign direct investment will get worse over the next weeks and not better.

E.S :                 If Erdoğan moves on to become the president of the country, that would mean eventually lack of leadership in the party. If he doesn't win the elections, does this mean that the party will fall apart?

E.K:                  There is, of course, still a lot of speculation concerning this issue. But Erdoğan can interpret these election results as also positive for his own candidacy for the presidency in August of this year. If he becomes the candidate of the AKP then, of course, there will be another candidate for the national elections to become prime minister. This might be  Abdullah Gül or this might be another AKP politician. Everybody  else than Erdoğan has more difficulty of holding the different branches of the party together and the AKP will certainly not become more powerful with another leader. But how much influence this will have on the forthcoming elections and the future of the party, that is difficult to say right now.

E.S :                 Would you say that standards of voting for president would be different than the local elections, meaning that these good results in the local elections could eventually be a trap for Erdoğan instead of a blessing?

E.K:                  The next elections are still, kind of, a question mark because it's the first time in Turkish history that the president will be elected by the people. This will depend a lot on who won, if  it is the AKP candidate but also who will be the other candidate and how many will there be. There are two rounds planned. One is on 10 August and then a second round on the 24th of August with the two strongest candidates. From the current position it looks as if there is an easy victory for any AKP candidate but it will depend on who the opposition will appoint and whether there  is a candidate that can get the votes of the two major opposition parties, plus those that are alienated by the AKP policy of the last months.

E.S :                 What do you think the results of these elections mean for the European plans of Turkey, if there are still any?

E.K:                  Yes, the negotiations with the EU they are on a low scale for quite some time. There was some hope at the end of 2013maybe that there could be a change but with all these corruption allegations and interference on the judiciary ongoing there is not much to be expected. The regional elections, they won’t have a great change in these relations. I would hope that they are not completely stopped and the EU tries to continue the negotiations because this is the only way that they can influence domestic policy, even if it looks that they have very little influence on the AKP and prime minister Erdoğan.

E.S :                 Could it be that the removal of Erdoğan as a leader of the ruling party, could become an opportunity for the European Union to become more flexible and to give a new opportunity to Turkey to show how democratic a country it is ?

E.K:                  Yes, this is, of course, possible. It will depend on who will take over the AKP and which wing of the AKP, a more liberal one, a more open again towards Europe and towards democratization, human rights and respect of the rule of law and maybe also close in cooperation with the opposition. But Erdoğan is so powerful in the AKP that he will have a big say also on his successor and it is not expected that immediately after the removal of Erdoğan from the head of the party that there will be a huge change. There might be a slow change at the beginning and then there could be maybe, the chance that another party from within the AK party with liberals from the opposition's party that they form a new, more liberal version of the AKP and this could then be a real alternative.

E.S :                 What would you like our listeners to know about the reactions in Turkey today?

E.K:                  This is a very tough time and this was a very tense election campaign. There is an ongoing polarization of the population and of the voters and unfortunately it doesn't look as if this changes after the elections. Erdoğan gave a speech yesterday after the elections results were announced. This is a so-called famous “balcony speech” and usually this is approaching the opposition and that he is the prime minister of all and yesterday this was very different. This was even more frightening than what he said in the election campaign. It was saying that he will clamp down on the Gülen movement, that they are traitors, that they tried to weaken Turkey and that he will be fighting against them with all means. So, it doesn't, unfortunately, look positive for the next weeks and this polarization and the tense situation will continue but we expect mass arrests of sympathizers of the Gülen movement and an attack on their economic holdings and this will not create a more peaceful and tolerant and democratic society.

E.S :                 We will certainly be watching the developments. We are neighbors and  we are always a little bit concerned about the eventual exporting of the domestic troubles of Turkey in the nearby region. Would you be concerned, seriously concerned, about this possibility?

E.K:                  This is one of the things that I would not be so much concerned with. Especially concerning the west and north of Turkey. As we have heard from the meeting of the foreign minister with the chief of the secret service there were ongoing plans of provoking a war with Syria but that is, of course, a very different situation from the bilateral relations with Greece. In general, Turkey is very much occupied with itself in these days. It is a lot less active on foreign policy and I think that this situation, by and large, will continue and that an exporting of the troubles is not a major concern.

E.S :                 Do you think that Turkey has moved away from the model of a modern Islamic democracy that could help show the way to the future in the region?

E.K:                  Of course Turkey was closer to that model in 2007, 2008 and it has become ever more authoritarian in the past two, three years. As I have already said, this will most likely continue at least this and next year but there is also reason for hope. as all this movement and development around Gezi Park and of new forms of participation of young people being involved in politics of protests did not stop even despite clamp-down by the police and banning of websites, of arrests of activists and this won't go away, that people will be more concerned with domestic politics, with being involved in NGO's, in political social movements and maybe this will take some years but at the end this will have a result and the result will be more positive than now.

E.S :                 Mr. Guzeldere, thank you very much for this interview.

E.K:                  I thank you.


The interview can be downloaded from https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1KU27prGcwUUjFYR0hfRDBGcU0/edit

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Τα Υπ΄Όψιν της 30 Μαρτίου 2014

Στα Υπ΄Όψιν της 30 Μαρτίου 2014, μεταξύ άλλων συζητάμε:

-Εκλογές στην Τουρκία, Γαλλία, Σλοβακία, Ουγγαρία, Ταϋλάνδη
-Οι θεσμικές αλλαγές που συζητούνται για το μέλλον της Ευρωζώνης και οι ανησυχίες της Κεντρικής Τράπεζας
-Η Ταϊβάν κυλά...ει προς την Κίνα – και ο κόσμος της αντιστέκεται
-Τα δέκα αναπάντητα ερωτήματα για την χαμένη πτήση
-Ουκρανία: Και τώρα προεδρικές αναμετρήσεις: Ο «Βασιλιάς της Σοκολάτας» απέναντι στην «Πριγκήπισσα του Γκαζιού»
-Ο ΟΗΕ επιπλήττει τις ΗΠΑ για θέματα ανθρωπινων δικαιωμάτων
Και στο Μαγκαζίνο των Υπ΄Όψιν:
-Η ιστορική και κοινωνική σημασία του άρθρου στο όνομα της Ουκρανίας
-Η Αλάσκα ζητά να ...επιστραφεί στη Ρωσία
- Το χιουμοριστικό βιβλίο για τον Χίτλερ που κάνει ρεκορ πωλήσεων
- Νεαρός αποπειράται να αυτοκτονήσει γιατι δεν του πετυχαίνει το ...selfie ! ( και όμως είναι σοβαρό)
Ακούστε Τα Υπ΄’Οψιν με την Ελενα Σπηλιώτη και τον Γιώργο Ζορμπά για ενημέρωση, συζητήσεις και συνεντεύξεις σε θέματα της επικαιρότητας.
Αυτή την εβδομάδα στο
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1KU27prGcwUVEQ4VEN1RjJrTU0/edit
March sponsor: Brillakis Foods