Breaking: Assassination 2 hours ago (Warning: Graphic Video, Rated R18)

Warning: Graphic video (already shown by CNN and other news organizations):

     Rated R18 here.

     This footage is now owned by the Turkish government (now being used in the investigation). It shows the Russian ambassador to Turkey being shot dead two hours ago while delivering a speech in a photo exhibit.  

From the New York Times: “Istanbul.  — Russia’s ambassador to Turkey was assassinated at an Ankara art exhibit on Monday evening by a lone Turkish gunman shouting “God is great!” and “don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria!” in what Russia called a terrorist attack.

     “The gunman, who was described by Ankara’s mayor as a policeman, also wounded at least three others in the assault, which was captured on Turkish video. Turkish officials said he was killed by other officers in a shootout. xxx”

         

        According to the CNN translator, the assassin also shouted, in Turkish: “Only death can remove me here.”

     The video  is  cut  when he was shot dead.  

         He  was  prepared  to  die  ( no escape plan here — he did not design any other scenario):    just  so he could shout to the world:

       “Allahu Akbar!

       “Remember Aleppo!

         “Remember Syria! ”

 gunman

       (Photo by the Wall Street Journal, video by the Turkish government; click the soundcloud pod below the video to stop its autoplay. All materials here are  used non-commercially for academic purposes)

From The Daily Beast: ” xxx The Russian Embassy in Turkey tweeted confirmation of Karlov’s death at around 1 p.m. EST: “At 19:50 the Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrei Gennadievich Karlov was taken to Gyuven hospital,” it stated, “where we were informed at 20:30 of his death.”   The assassination occurred on the eve of a scheduled meeting of Russian, Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers to discuss next steps in the Syria crisis after the Assad regime, with the help of Russian airstrikes and Iranian-commanded Shiite militias, captured rebel-held East Aleppo and expelled tens of thousands of civilians.
The last convoys were expected to move Tuesday, Turkish officials said. xxx

earlier paragraphs: “The gunman was dressed in a black suit, the standard plainclothes uniform for protective security details, and got into the event by claiming to be Karlov’s bodyguard, witnesses said.

   “As he started to fire, he shouted in Turkish that he was avenging the deaths of civilians in Aleppo and in Arabic that his action was a part of jihad or holy war.

     ” “We will not forget Aleppo, we will not forget Syria,” he said in Turkish. “No one can be safe as long as our brothers there are not. Get out of my way.”

     “Then he declared in Arabic, “Allahü Akbar!” (God is great!), and quoted a follower of the Prophet Mohamad, ‘We are the ones who pledged Bai’a (fealty) to Mohammed on the terms of jihad as long as we live.”
Several Turkish media outlets are now reporting his identity as 22-year-old riot policeman Mevlut Mert Altintas and the mayor of Ankara has said that he was off-duty at the time of the incident. The Daily Beast cannot confirm this information.
      “According to Russian news website Gazeta.ru, the shooter allowed people to exit the art gallery after he shot the ambassador. xxx”

(updated) Weekly Photo Challenge: Solitary

(updated) Weekly Photo Challenge: Solitary

 (Photo by Myra Lambino: Trek to the Transit of  Venus, Griffith Park,  

 Los Angeles, California)                                     

trail to Venus in transit

telling time on  planetary trail

on a visit to Venus in transit

without veil only chance can tell

Opalescent will be kissed but by kismet

xxx           xxx            xxx           xxx

From:  Weekly Photo Challenge: Solitary

Explanation of the theme: Weekly Photo Challenge: Solitary by Cheri Lucas on September 21, 2012: “Solitary. I love capturing a person in a quiet and often unexpected moment. These kinds of images can be reflective, mysterious, or even sad, conjuring strong emotions and stirring up stories in my head. I snapped this photograph 

in the grand Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey. That afternoon, it was very busy and crowded inside, but I turned a corner at one point and walked into the empty, bright, airy space pictured above. I experienced a few moments of silence as I watched a woman walk to the end of the room. We were strangers—yet alone, together. A solitary moment, frozen with my lens.

xxx     xxx    xxx     xxx       xxx

i wrote four lines for the photo above (shot by Myra, a man trekking a hilltop on his way to the Griffith Observatory) because more people were liking my photo-post in the other blog http://www.chattel.wordpress.com , supposedly an inactive blog —  maybe because i wrote three lines for it; based on the word “sliver” — a man was balancing himself on a bamboo raft that looked like a sliver because of the way it was photographed by Myra). here it is, click link below:

Weekly Photo Challenge: Solitary