Why did Constantinople get the works?
Why did Constantinople get the works?
donalson wrote:novaderrik wrote: the only thing i know about Istanbul was that it was once Constantinople..why'd they change it
people just liked it better that way
JohnRW1621 wrote: Why did Constantinople get the works?
that's nobody's business, but the turks
I saw this on Google news on Friday, I don't think there is some big conspiracy to keep it out of the media.
Here is a link to a video a Turkish friend of mine shared explaining why the protests are going on. This is a college student explaining why it is happening, not footage of the actual events:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEapNRakzDI
Well, now I'm going to listen to TMBG's version of that song.
In reply to crankwalk:
I posted a linky. 
Denial is not just a river in Egypt apparently:
It looks like the protesters have an excavator...
...that may not end well.
aircooled wrote: It looks like the protesters have an excavator... ...that may not end well.
looks fun to me
Some more updates I've seen get shared:
http://defnesumanblogs.com/2013/06/01/what-is-happenning-in-istanbul/
http://solobasssteve.tumblr.com/post/52152931013/update-from-a-friend-in-taksim
A potentially interesting development:
Some of the Turkish military might be sympathetic towards the protesters. Yes, that is a translation from a German newspaper.
restarting this thread: cnn is showing live footage. Police are using tear gas and water cannons to try and clear the square
Some may not realize that the government has a media blackout in Turkey, that is one reason why a lot of this has not hit the news.
I wonder how CNN got a camera in.
No idea.....that may be why they were doing nonstop coverage....they knew they'd be shut down at any time. It's the first time I've watched a reporter wearing a gas mask on top of their head while talking.
From what I've read, the protesters are mostly middle-class Turkish folks who are concerned about the loss of secularity and real democracy in their society after Prime Minister Erdogan took power. There's also a side-current of people speculating that Erdogan is on a power trip and thinks he can rebuild the old Ottoman Caliphate, but IMO, that's a conspiracy theory. He is part of a political party that has has appealed to the poorer folks with promises of making the society more "friendly" to Islam. It seems that he may be the "Ronald Reagan of Turkey" (i.e., appealing to religious folks' votes in a bid for power). But unlike Reagan, Erdogan seems to want to be like Mubarak was in Egypt or al-Assad was in Syria before the recent civil war there. With the exception that Erdogan is anti secular, of course.
Erdogan's timing may be a bit off as he makes that bid for power. Most of the current "democratic" revolutions in the Mideast seem to be more of an example of mob rule, rather than a real democracy that would protect the interests of minorities. Educated Turks have observed what happened in Egypt (and what is happening in Syria) and understand this.
As an example of what I'm talking about--here's a cartoon posted to Reddit (yes, I used to participate on r/atheism..sue me) quite some time ago by a young Egyptian woman considering life after the "revolution" against the government in her own country. I'm not defending Mubarak..he was a bad guy. But he seemed to understand that Islam, with its code of complete submission to the supernatural, could be a danger to an egalitarian society. Kemal Ataturk knew this fifty years before Mubarak was even born. The Turks I've been talking to online say that the army used to just take over when Ataturk's secular ideals were in danger, but Erdogan has apparently purged the army of the officers who'd be tempted to do such a thing these days.
One last bit: we haven't heard from the Egyptian girl for quite some time..I hope she made it to Europe or Australia or something
Sorry about the vent, folks. I'll shut up now.
Erdogan: "They think we don't know anything about art and music. They think we are black people."
Apparently the PM just recently said this, translated. Thanks for bringing back the thread I was unaware of new police intervention and tear gas. Traveling from June 4 till 27
Things are still going on heavily there. Not sure how this will play out.
Apparently on the 15th, police actually managed to clear the square of people through the use of tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets. But this whole mess has been going on for three weeks now, and I don't think this is hardly the end. The police cleared the park near early on in everything happening, and the people came back. I think they'll keep coming back.
I've been getting lots of reports that the police are doing things like gassing the hotel lobbies where dispersed crowds are running to take refuge. Reports of arrests being made against doctors who are trying to aid people injured and against lawyers trying to go to the justice ministry to say these actions are unlawful.
Beer Baron wrote: ....police actually managed to clear the square of people through the use of tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets...
It is interesting how governments think this will discourage people. It generally just serves to motivate them more.
It's kind of like someone who beats / abuses their kids. That works for a while, you get perfect obedience, but.... at some point in the future they are likely to show up in your house with a slingblade...
aircooled wrote:Beer Baron wrote: ....police actually managed to clear the square of people through the use of tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets...It is interesting how governments think this will discourage people. It generally just serves to motivate them more.
Well, this isn't the first time they've cleared them out. I figure this just means the people will be more organized and better prepared when they come to take the square back again.
I also gather that the military is getting increasingly perturbed at what the police have been doing. They seem to be supporting the protesters indirectly by providing things like gas masks, first aid kits, and supplies to neutralize pepper spray on people's faces. I've heard rumors that the police have been getting pissed off at them for this. I wouldn't be surprised if they incite the military to take more direct support of the protesters.
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