Special Coverage- Devastating Earthquake in Turkey

As of 8:30 p.m., New York Time (4:30 a.m., Istanbul time), there are 137 confirmed dead as the result of a devastating earthquake in the province of Van which occured at 6:41 a.m., New York time (1:41 p.m., Istanbul time; the same time as Van).

But, the reports from two of Turkey's most-read newspapers "Hurriyet" and "Zaman" are far more devastating as the competing publications are both stating that there could be up to 1,000 dead in the region.

The earthquake registered 7.2 on the Richter Scale, and tens of thousands of residents in the area are homeless. Many are also without water and electricity. The cities of Van and Ercis were among the most affected. The province of Van borders Iran.

"The Huffington Post" reported that the earthquake was felt in both Iran and Armenia. The Van province is an area of ethnic hostility as it is claimed by both Kurds and Armenians around the world, and sadly many Internet posters, Turkish, Kurdish and Armenian alike are already posting comments with highly inappropriate comments regarding ethnic politics as children are being pulled from the rubble.

According to Hurriyet, Turkish Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan flew to Van. Earthquake politics have played a significant role in past earthquakes as the late Bulent Ecevit, who served as both president and prime minister of Turkey during his life, suffered major political setbacks for his alleged mishandling of the 1999 earthquake near Istanbul which killed some 20,000 people.

"Zaman" said the earthquake was also felt in the provinces of Batman, Hakkari and Diyarbakir. The BBC has confirmed (as of 9:00 p.m. New York time) that the city of Ercis has suffered the most casulaties so far. The BBC is also reporting that Turkey is so far surprisingly not asking for international aid, which would be a shocking misjudgment in my view.

The BBC is also reporting that at least 80 buildings have collapsed in the Van province. The city of Van, which is a fairly large city though the surrounding area consists of village dwellings, is some 28 hours away from Istanbul by bus.

Hakki Erskoy of the Turkish Red Crescent told the BBC that aid teams have been sent in from throughout Turkey.

"Hurriyet" reported that Israel, which has been having diplomatic squabbles with Turkey, over last year's Blue Marmara Raid Fiasco, was among the countries offering foreign aid.

President Barack Obama said: "We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Turkish ally in this difficult time."

The English language web site for The Turkish Red Crescent is (www.kizilay.org.tr/english).

Sports/Political Humor

First of all, there is nothing funny about the earthquake in Haiti which has killed at least 100,000 people so far, but the Rev. Pat Robertson (R-Va) is another matter.

I don't watch "The 700 Club" regularly, well not at all actually, but I do watch "NBA Coast-to-Coast" on ESPN fairly regularly. Given what he said yesterday on his show, I can imagine that if the Virginia Beach televangelist were to guest-host on 'Coast-to-Coast' he might say something like this:

"The New Jersey Nets' futile season* is because there are way too many Muslims living in Passaic....some of them even own Turkish restaurants."

*- The Nets have won three games so far this year. Last night, they lost a home game to the Boston Celtics by a 111-87 margin, but they were down by 36 in the first half! The Nets next face the Indiana Pacers who are having a slightly better year.

SIDEBAR- I was hoping to see the North Carolina State Wolfpack's women's gymnastics opener against Rutgers University, which is in New Jersey, but I have come down with a nagging cold and my presence in Raleigh, NC, seems as unlikely as the Nets making the playoffs. Nevertheless, I wish them well with the Rutgers meet and the rest of their season.


SIDEBAR 2- If you are looking for Turkish restaurants in New Jersey, we recommend the Marmara Restaurant in Trenton. Tell them I sent you, even though they have no idea who I am. Closer to home, there is Talulla's in Chapel Hill, NC, which is harika (wonderful).