Rest In Peace Suleyman Seba

Rest In Peace Suleyman Seba

Allah Rahmet Eylesin,

Topragi Bol Olsun, 

Ruhu Sad Olsun, ve

Allah Gunahlarini Af Eylesin. 

Saygilarimla 

Ben

😥

Rest in Peace Tito

Rest in Peace Tito

Today, is a sad day, we have lost a gentleman to 'cancer'.   

Rest in Peace, Tito Vilanova.  

(Allah'tan rahmet diliyorum).

          Tito Vilanova 

Sincerely, 

Ben

😥

Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

I read the below article, and wanted to share with everyone.  

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/04/04/world/middleeast/syrian-refugees-one-million.html?_r=0&referrer=

It is devastating to read that the number of registered Syrian Refugees who have entered into Lebanon, has exceeded one million; this number is given by the United Nations. 

There is a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon as this small country is overwhelmed and severely taxed with this many people, now living there.  

Lebanon now has the highest concentration of refugees as a percentage of population in the world, with about one Syrian for every three Lebanese. 

These are staggering figures and the World needs to join together to conclude this conflict and end the suffering.  

As a World Citizen, I am appalled at the nonchalant attitude and non-action by our Leaders. 

Thank you for reading, 

Ben here 

Twitter Blocked in Turkey

Twitter Blocked in Turkey

Twitter has been blocked in Turkey since March 20th, though many found ways around the ban even thereafter. Turkey initially placed the ban as protests rose and a corruption scandal began to embroil the government ahead of an election.  Blocking Twitter has only brought it more negative attention though: the block was the subject of further acts of protest and was condemned by the United States and United Nations Human Rights office, among others.  Given Turkey's 30 day period to unblock Twitter, it's possible that service won't be restored.  I have researched on-line and found 3 ways for citizens in this country to work-around the block.  Below are the 3 ways users can get around the ban:

1. SMS

In what is likely the simplest way to get around the restrictions, users can send tweets via SMS; though this solution is limited to sending outgoing tweets.  Twitter provided both English and Turkish instructions for doing this.

2. Change Your DNS

Many users are reporting they are able to bypass the block by changing their DNS settings.  Non tech-savvy users will need to exercise caution when changing these numbers, but solutions like OpenDNS or Google DNS are reliable.  Wikileaks posted step-by-step instructions in Turkish. 

3. Use a VPN or Tor

Another solution is to use a VPN connection.  Setting up a VPN usually requires paying at least some cash up-front, though there are free versions. But as one user pointed out, people should be cautious when using free VPNs.  They can be unreliable, or in some cases, malicious software.  Users can also get around the restrictions by using Tor, which makes you anonymous in the Internet connection.

Thank you for reading,

Ben

Snow In Turk Telekom Stadium

Snow In Turk Telekom Stadium

If you are following this blog, I wrote about the stressful 6th, and last game of 'group B' of the Champions League; the title of the blog is simply 'Galatasaray vs Juventus in December 2013'.  

The game was played on Tuesday, December 10, but only for 31 minutes.  Why? you ask, since a soccer/football game is played for a total of 90 minutes.  

Due to snow, and hail falling onto the pitch, the game was 'called off' and after speculations of 'will the game be played' at all.  It was decided by the governing body of Europe, UEFA, that the game will be played the next day, for the remaining 59 minutes, that was today, December 11, 2013. 

Here are a few pictures of the game, while/when it was being 'called off'. 

Thank you.