How many bloggers have we lost in the past year? I haven't given up on Ashley and her Deviant Anamoly blog and have kept her link, though we haven't heard from her in months. She was last heard recovering from a vicious assault by a hooligan in Australia.
The latest loss is more of a mystery, and I fear the worst. Istanbulwitchy was a strong-minded woman who always wrote what she felt was the truth, regardless of consequences. Her English language blog harshly criticized Islamic ways, heterosexual men, and anything else she considered distasteful. I didn't agree with her all of the time, but I loved reading what she had to say and always found her interesting. I removed her link because her site had been hacked in such a way that 1) her blog is no longer accessible and 2) instead of reaching her blog, my own computer was assaulted, automatically bringing up my anti-virus defense software. Instead of Istanbulwitchy, one is attacked by "Oriental Green Grocer" or something like that. Istanbulwitchy had defined herself as a lesbian feminist and she openly disagreed with Islamic customs. She posted her writing from Istanbul, Turkey. I hope she is safe and alive and free.
Meanwhile, on January 19, 2006 (today), Hrant Dink, a 53-year old editor who had written about the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire that occurred in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was shot four times in the head as he walked out of his newspaper office in Istanbul. He was apparently murdered for having "insulted Turkishness" in his writings. Horrible. What next?
Fellow bloggers, let's fight tooth and claw to maintain freedom of expression, free flow of ideas, and remembrance of the past -- and let's continue to seek truth and compassion in the present.
If anyone knows if Istanbulwitchy is all right (also if anyone knows the title of her published book and art criticism), please let us know.
Birthdays today include Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) and Janis Joplin (1943-1970).
Today's Rune: Partnership.
Adieu.
3 comments:
I agree. The freedom to put your views out there is a fundamental one here in Western Culture. We take that for granted sometimes.
I'm sorry to hear about those we've lost. A comforting thing is that the genie seems out of the lamp now. With the explosive growth in online communities it's going to be hard for "ideas" to be shut off. Sadly, we may take casualities in the process.
I just checked Istanbulwitchy - and got anti-virus warnings. The last entry was the 11th January and I wanted to keave a message - but couldn't. Hope she's up and running...
Yes - we must maintain freedom of expression. Yet, I'm sure the ideas explosion will see more casualties.
That news from Turkey is appalling.
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