Way OT: Military coup in Turkey
There appears to be a military coup in progress in Turkey. This is super OT, but I know there are days when I get all of my news via the MGoBoard, so I thought I'd post it. The coup attempt is frontpage news everywhere, so I'll let you choose your own sources instead of linking anything.
It'll be very interesting to see what happens. As some of you may know, President Erdogan had been fairly effectively trying to expand his power beyond the scope allowed by the Turkish constitution, while more or less waging war on Turkey's Kurdish population. For another bit of background information, Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian warplane 8 months ago, causing an international incident that could have easily had major implications for the US. (Turkey is a member of NATO, so we have treaty obligations that would be hard to ignore if Erdogan were to start a war with Russia.)
Turkey is also a key ally in the fight against ISIS, so this is worth watching for that reason alone. A step back from the direction Erdogan had been tending, including the restoration of peace with Turkish Kurds and cooperation with Syrian Kurds who have often been the most effective opponents of ISIS, would appear to be a great boon to American strategic interests. But who knows what the consequences of a military coup might be.
https://www.quora.com/How-much-did-it-cost-AOL-to-distribute-all-those-…
No, I'd never read this. Amazing. Money quote for me from the product manager:
When we launched AOL 4.0 in 1998, AOL used ALL of the world-wide CD production for several weeks. Think of that. Not a single music CD or Microsoft CD was produced during those weeks.
I used to use AOL CDs as coasters. A new one came in once a week.
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Starting to look that way. You don't stage a coup with a tiny fraction of the military. Doesn't make sense.
I dont think there is any way this was staged or fake.
the Turkish newspaper Milliyet.com.tr has posted photos of 13 leading officers
that were involved. Many of them are high ranking and highly respected generals.
These individuals put their lives on the line for their country and sacrificed themselves with no support from any foreign powers, and little support (it turns out) from the Tutkish people.
The foreign powere including the U.S. didnt support the coup because they cant support the toppling of a "democracy." Unfortunately, Turkey is not a democracy. There is no freedom of speech, no freedom of the press, and Erdogan controls the television stations and newspapers.
There are currently over 2,000 lawsuits against private citizens by Erdogan because he claims he has been somehow insulted and Erdogan has even extended his tentacles to foreign countries like Germany, accusing their citizens of insulting him through the press.
The military officers had little to gain personally and much to lose as their careers and lives are now basically over. While they wont be executed (unless Erdogan changes the law) they will spend the rest of their lives in jail and their families will also likely be discriminated against. It is a shame because they (and most educated Turks) believe that the Erdogan government is taking the country to ultimate ruin.
Erdogan is a fascist in the same way that Hitler and Mussolini were albeit his brand is called Islamo Fascism. He is a Muslim before he is a Turk and being a Turk means nothing to him.
For the Generals that planed the coup it was all about being a Turk and their country.
After the establishemnt of the Turkish Republic and the Turkish War of Indpendemce in 1923, the great Ataturk coined the phrase "ne mutlu Turkum diyene" which literally means,
"isnt it happy to be able to say that you are a Turk."
For the Generals that planned this coup they were happy to serve their country.
I feel sorry for those who don't want to live like 10th century Muslims. Soon all the women will have to where Burkas, the western influence on Turkey will be purged and who knows what will happen to others!
Erdogan's version of Islam (i.e. Islamic modernism) might be conservative by the standards of Europeanized Istanbul, but in Riyadh it's far out moonbat hippie stuff. His wife wears a hijab, not a burqa.
Erdogan is a tinpot elected strongman, like Hugo Chavez or Thaksin Shinawatra.
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that the most controverial "Islamization" of Turkey so far in Erdogan's regime is that college women are now allowed to wear hijabs if they choose?
So, that's a fairly ridiculous statement. There are plenty of legitimate criticisms of Erdogan's crackdown on the free press, judiciary, and political opposition without resorting to the kind of Fox News-driven Islamophobic hysteria fueling the right these days.
There's more to it than that. Erdogan's government has been gradually cracking down on alcohol, restricting advertising and sales. It's been expanding its support for Islamic education, including within the public system which had been previously secular. It is using public funds to construct a number of giant mosques, even in foreign countries, and has mused about converting Hagia Sophia back to a mosque. To describe Turkey as a secular republic at this point is a reach.
I really, really wish people took more initiative to educate themselves about the world around them. It's pretty staggering just how clueless the American public is about nearly everything that isn't spelled out on the front page news (I'm using the term very loosely). It's like because Erdogan isn't immediately plunging their society into a fundamentalist one, that he isn't so bad. Lots of evil men started out by doing the same type of things that he has, you have to start somewhere...
and everything will be just fine...
Possibly perfect reply.
I think things are a little worse than you think.
This is not just the loss of secularism.
People are upset because their basic liberties have been taken away.
The government (AKA Erdogan) controls all major newspapers except for 1 newspaper called"Sozcu." In addition they control ALL Television and monitor social media to the point of where people no longer feel comfortable sending texts or speaking on the telephone.
People are afraid to comminicate in any way lest they be rounded up, thrown in jail, and lose their job.
In the past while Police in Turkey did exist and were there to protect the public, their numbers have been vastly expanded under Erdogan and they now serve a very different role, mainly to protect Erdogan and his cronies and also to prevent ANY interference in his government.
Erdogan has created a police state and the public is terrified.
Here in the U.S., we have a system of checks and balances that help keep us free.
In Turkey, the Army has historically been that check to prevent abuse of government power and curb Islamism. Turkey's "special" system is what has (or rather had) always set it apart from other counties in the region. Unfortunately that is now all gone. The pictures in the Turkish newspapers make it crystal clear what Mr. Erdogan thinks about the Generals he had arrsested and what he wishes to communicate to his public, as many of these middle aged men who have served their country with distinction and honor have facial bruises and show evidence of being beaten.
So if you think Erdogan is making some minor changes that happens to be upsetting a few intellectuals think again. This is a very dangerous individual who like Hitler before him, is systematically and sequentially dismantling all opposition to his repression
and cruelty. The Turkish Army (the last real internal force in Turkey that could have stopped him) is the latest casualty.
That Turkey wants the the US to turn over Gulen a member of the Turkey government who now is living in exile in PA, due to a political fight that occurred between Gulen and Erdogen who were best friends in the 90s, until Erdogen joined the Muslim Brotherhood. I don't think Gulen played any role in the coup but it would be sad if the US government returns Gulen to Turkey where he will be killed or placed in prison for life. Yesterday, Turkey had cut power to our AFB in Incirlik and prevented US military personal from entering or leaving the base. But earlier Sunday Turkey restored commercial power and has opened the airspace to US jets to continue bombing missions against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.