Another Berlinski

As a fan of Claire Berlinski's reportage from her post as a free lancer in Istanbul, it was a great pleasure to discover this interview with her father David Berlinski by Peter Robinson on the Uncommon Knowledge site.  Berlinski's daughter is extremely insightful on middle eastern affairs and one can understand how she comes by her intellectual firepower by watching a rather long but most interesting video.

Istanbul and earthquakes

Claire Berlinski, a free-lance writer who contributes to many media outlets and who lives in Istanbul, writes here about the threat of earthquakes to metropolitan areas, specifically Istanbul.  When one of these monster quakes happens in a vulnerable city that is unprepared, such as Istanbul, Claire predicts there could be millions of casualties.  As she points out, Istanbul is no more prepared for a monster quake than Port-au-prince, Haitti, and there are 30 to 40 times as many people living there.  It is her contention that the corruption of the political parties, all of whom are in cahoots with the construction industry, is the root cause of the lack of preparation.  This could be ugly.

Turkey, Istanbul, Claire Berlinski and Michael Totten

Here is an interview by one of the most entrepreneurial reporters in the ME, Michael Totten, of one of the most informed reporters in Istanbul and the region, Claire Berlinski.  This is definitely a twofer as these two probably know more about the region than any other reporters there, and they are both independents and free of MSM biases.  Very good read!