something afoot in Turkey?

[Guvernator]

Digga said:

I know, it's almost a gift-wrapped apocalypse, isn't it? What's more worrying is how the people are lapping up the propaganda and also how toothless international criticism appears.

International criticism is toothless because no one really gives a crap as right now it's not really effecting anyone else and politicians are VERY short sighted. We'll then get to a point where it's way too late and the internal problem starts effecting everyone else at which point the West will once again go in far too heavy handed, thus causing even more issues for the local population and consequently breeding the next generation of terrorists as a result.

Unfortunately this has played out the same way, time and time again but we never seem to learn from history.

[davepoth]

It will affect Europe before long. Remember that Turkey is doing us a big favour by stopping all of the refugees from coming to the EU. How long will that last?

[SystemParanoia]

davepoth said:

It will affect Europe before long. Remember that Turkey is doing us a big favour by stopping all of the refugees from coming to the EU. How long will that last?

Depends how long we keep paying them!

[Cobnapint]

Digga said:

I know, it's almost a gift-wrapped apocalypse, isn't it? What's more worrying is how the people are lapping up the propaganda and also how toothless international criticism appears.

I don't think half the people dare 'not' lap it up.

A là North Korea, China, Russia or any other country where disagreeing is seen as a crime against the state.

Turkey is heading in the same direction as Syria. We now have the distinct possibility of NATO weaponry being used against a civilian uprising. Eastern Turkey (more hard-line Islamic voting tendency's) vs Western Turkey (more moderate, westward leaning mindset).

[motco]

Cobnapint said:

Digga said:

Aaaaand democracy is gone.

Oh goody. A hard-line Islamic nation led by a tyrannical nut case, who likes buying IS oil and killing Kurds that fight them, right on Europe's back lawn.

Just what the world needed at this moment in time.

With a weakened military and quite close to Putin's empire. What could possibly happen?

[Guvernator]

Erdogan has taken a large amount of money from the EU to keep the Syrian refugees in Turkey. Turkey's budget hasn't been audited for almost a decade now so I strongly suspect a lot of that will have gone directly into his pocket. In just 15 years he has gone from nothing to one of the richest men in the world and yet it's strange that no one in Turkey questions his new found wealth AT ALL.

As for the refugee crisis this will become more and more prevalent in all parts of the world now IMO. For quite a few years now certain countries have enjoyed a much more comfortable and lavish lifestyle then those less developed countries who were kept mostly ignorant. However with the world getting ever smaller due to the advent of instant communication\the internet that's no longer an option. Who wants to stay in their own war torn or far less affluent country and try to sort out their own issues when it's easier to just hop across a border or three to the lands of milk and honey?

Edited by Guvernator on Thursday 28th July 12:28

[Digga]

davepoth said:

It will affect Europe before long. Remember that Turkey is doing us a big favour by stopping all of the refugees from coming to the EU. How long will that last?

We were daft to ever wrap it up in those terms, but this is a key issue. Kind of makes the response from the likes of Macedonia seem a bit less rash and harsh, doesn't it?

[princeperch]

just got back from my week in patara. what a great holiday. so much so we are going to go back in a few months time.

[james_tigerwoods]

SystemParanoia said:

Cant varify the source

https://twitter.com/AndrewMarr9/status/75856310398...

But andrew marr has tweeted the following..

""

A disaster for all Europe; the slow murder of a great and lovely nation

Andrew Marr added,
Mahir Zeynalov @MahirZeynalov
Turkey shuts down 18 TV channels, 3 news wires, 23 radio channels, 45 newspapers and 15 news magazines and arrested 30 journalists today.

""

I heard this on Radio 4 late last night (although it was over 100 differing outlets)- It's ok though, they're only regional outlets and the current opposition parties "are ok with it" (!)

[gruffalo]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36924131

Lib Debs calling for Turkey to be suspended from NATO over the crack down on the press, I agree what do others think?

[Sam All]

A good start, if it ever happens.

[bigkeeko]

gruffalo said:

Lib Debs calling for Turkey to be suspended from MENU over the crack down on the press, I agree what do others think?

Never liked it that much. Find it kinda dry.

[Cobnapint]

gruffalo said:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36924131

Lib Debs calling for Turkey to be suspended from NATO over the crack down on the press, I agree what do others think?

I think that's what he wants. You can't tell me this protest outside Incirlik air base wasn't organised by the Turkish authorities. Nobody's sticking their head above the parapet in Turkey at the moment without having permission.

http://sputniknews.com/news/20160728/1043728040/tu...

Putin must be on oxygen, he's laughing so much.

[Mr Happy]

Sputnik News Site said:

Nationalists in Turkey have been emboldened since the failed coup attempt against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the country's Labor Minister telling HaberTurk news that Washington was behind the coup attempt and with Prime Minister Binali Yildirim threatening all-out war against the United States.

Yeah, I can see that going well for them. Is that not grounds for expulsion from NATO anyway for militarily threatening another member?

Not that he'd get very far, they'd probably take 89 of the 90 nukes away from Incirlik, leaving one of them ticking with a comedy countdown on a laptop!

[Halb]

Cobnapint said:

I don't think half the people dare 'not' lap it up.

A là North Korea, China, Russia or any other country where disagreeing is seen as a crime against the state.

Turkey is heading in the same direction as Syria. We now have the distinct possibility of NATO weaponry being used against a civilian uprising. Eastern Turkey (more hard-line Islamic voting tendency's) vs Western Turkey (more moderate, westward leaning mindset).

Eastern Turkey is also where most of the Kurds live too.

[davepoth]

Halb said:

Cobnapint said:

I don't think half the people dare 'not' lap it up.

A là North Korea, China, Russia or any other country where disagreeing is seen as a crime against the state.

Turkey is heading in the same direction as Syria. We now have the distinct possibility of NATO weaponry being used against a civilian uprising. Eastern Turkey (more hard-line Islamic voting tendency's) vs Western Turkey (more moderate, westward leaning mindset).

Eastern Turkey is also where most of the Kurds live too.

Urban Turks are still quite secular. It's the rural Turks that are very Islamic. The Kurds are another situation entirely, and it's sad that the Kurds will come off worst when this all shakes out.

[Sam All]

davepoth said:

Urban Turks are still quite secular. It's the rural Turks that are very Islamic. The Kurds are another situation entirely, and it's sad that the Kurds will come off worst when this all shakes out.

Many German Turks came out to demonstrate for Erdogan.

[davepoth]

Sam All said:

Many German Turks came out to demonstrate for Erdogan.

The German Turkish diaspora is quite diverse, and comes from all over the country.

[Pesty]

davepoth said:

Urban Turks are still quite secular. It's the rural Turks that are very Islamic. The Kurds are another situation entirely, and it's sad that the Kurds will come off worst when this all shakes out.

I keep reading that yet it was urban Turks who stood against the soldiers in the cities and stopped the coup.

It doesn't play out unless those guys dragging and torturing soldiers were bussed in just in time from the countryside.

[davepoth]

Pesty said:

I keep reading that yet it was urban Turks who stood against the soldiers in the cities and stopped the coup.

It doesn't play out unless those guys dragging and torturing soldiers were bussed in just in time from the countryside.

Military dictatorship or Islamist dictatorship. Toss the coin.