Dr. Eddies Wingman
Brighter than thousand_suns
The number of terrorist attacks in Turkey this year is surely into double figures now? Shit ...
European Politics
- Thread starter Forostar
- Start date
The Flash
Dennis Wilcock did 9/11
Erdoğan is known for his u-turns. From denying his alliance with the Greater Middle East Project and calling accusers "filthy liars" only to accept that he was a supporter of the project months laters, to him being BFFs with Bashar Assad for years only to declare him an enemy after one meeting in the U.S., to him working along with the Islamic Fethullah Gülen organization for years and corrupting everything only to throw them under the bus when going got tough, to him having open roundtable discussions with PKK and defending their leader for his legitimacy as a voice only to declare war over them and pretend the discussions never happened.
But today, he created his magnum opus. After years of threatening Israel over the Mavi Marmara issue, adamantly supporting the Islamic aid workers who were carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians and trying to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza Strip and got killed by Israeli forces and publicly stating multiple times that he gave the permission himself; he called the aid workers out for not asking for his permission and damaging their relationship with Israel.
But today, he created his magnum opus. After years of threatening Israel over the Mavi Marmara issue, adamantly supporting the Islamic aid workers who were carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians and trying to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza Strip and got killed by Israeli forces and publicly stating multiple times that he gave the permission himself; he called the aid workers out for not asking for his permission and damaging their relationship with Israel.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
The Flash
Dennis Wilcock did 9/11
It's the biggest flip flop I've ever seen in politics. -And as you can see, I've seen quite a few- The government media is usually quite creative with their ways to shift and bends things and they're pretty much speechless so far. It's THAT bad of a screw up.
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I don't suppose you can have hostility on too many fronts.
The Flash
Dennis Wilcock did 9/11
The flip flop is not the policy change. It's that he declared that he was the one to give permission first, then called the aid workers out for not asking for permission a couple of years later.
The only reason they're normalizing relations with Israel (And Russia) is because declaring everyone enemies, as you'd guess, screwed up the economy. Erdoğan is perfectly fine with declaring everyone enemies otherwise. (His voters admire this quality immensely, actually) Turkey is an insane country right now, so I'm looking at everything as a means to saving ourselves from these guys. AKP voter base are strong anti-semites. It's gonna be hard to swallow for them.
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The Flash
Dennis Wilcock did 9/11
I will say this: Although I've been posting about the state of my country here for years and made my opposition clear, I refrain from fully expressing my sentiments. I am scared. They've prosecuted thousands of people for posting "insults" online. Therefore I try to be careful with my wording. And it does go over my head sometimes that you guys here are not familiar with Erdoğan aside from recent events and news that are brought up over here, and even more unfamiliar with his supporters. The threat is big enough to an extent that I have to compromise some views. I voted for the nationalist opposition party MHP in local elections once just to try to beat AKP, despite being a staunch anti-nationalist. The relations with Israel is similar. The anti-semitism of AKP voters becomes a "hope" for me. This is how ridiculous the situation is.
Here's a quick synospsis of where Erdoğan is at politically. His "ideal" would be transforming Turkey into Saudi Arabia, establishing an alliance -not unlike the European Union- between Muslim countries with Sunni Muslim leaders specifically and likely declaring the leader of that alliance as the caliphate. His background, his political moves, his statements have always hinted at this ideal. (e.g. his strong support for Muslim Brotherhood)
Here's a quick synopsis of where the core of AKP voters are at politically: They're staunch religious fanatics with a disdain for all Muslim sects other than Sunni Islam and other religions/non-religiousness. They've hated the Republic of Turkey since its very beginning and strive to restore the Ottoman Empire. They're vehemently male supremacist and homophobic. And they have a tendency to get violent.
(Other AKP voters include businessmen who are reaping the benefits of being AKP allies due to corruption and poor people who receive benefits. I'd say this group makes up about %10 of their vote base which is around %45 in total)
And you know the accusations that the government buys oil from ISIS in the black market, takes care of ISIS fighters in hospitals, has trained jihadists in the past and lets terrorists run freely along the Syrian border? The "accusations".
Here's a quick synospsis of where Erdoğan is at politically. His "ideal" would be transforming Turkey into Saudi Arabia, establishing an alliance -not unlike the European Union- between Muslim countries with Sunni Muslim leaders specifically and likely declaring the leader of that alliance as the caliphate. His background, his political moves, his statements have always hinted at this ideal. (e.g. his strong support for Muslim Brotherhood)
Here's a quick synopsis of where the core of AKP voters are at politically: They're staunch religious fanatics with a disdain for all Muslim sects other than Sunni Islam and other religions/non-religiousness. They've hated the Republic of Turkey since its very beginning and strive to restore the Ottoman Empire. They're vehemently male supremacist and homophobic. And they have a tendency to get violent.
(Other AKP voters include businessmen who are reaping the benefits of being AKP allies due to corruption and poor people who receive benefits. I'd say this group makes up about %10 of their vote base which is around %45 in total)
And you know the accusations that the government buys oil from ISIS in the black market, takes care of ISIS fighters in hospitals, has trained jihadists in the past and lets terrorists run freely along the Syrian border? The "accusations".
I'm a Canadian, so I will say this: Erdogan. Hey, you, Erdogan. And/or Erdogan's people who might read this.
Fuck you. You're a douche canoe.
Sue me, bitch.
Fuck you. You're a douche canoe.
Sue me, bitch.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Canada will deploy 1,000 soldiers in Latvia to one of four battalions Nato is assembling in eastern Europe in response to R’s annexation of Crimea, Canadian media reported Thursday.
In total, 4,000 NATO soldiers will stay in Poland and the three Baltic states. The US, Great Britain and Germany will lead the other three batalions. The Netherlands will possibly deliver troops with Germany for the Lithuanian battalion. I assume all NATO members will contribute.
In total, 4,000 NATO soldiers will stay in Poland and the three Baltic states. The US, Great Britain and Germany will lead the other three batalions. The Netherlands will possibly deliver troops with Germany for the Lithuanian battalion. I assume all NATO members will contribute.
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bearfan
Ancient Mariner
There will be a second vote ... in Austria
Austria’s highest court on Friday overturned the result of the recent presidential runoff over widespread regulatory breaches involving postal ballots.
The decision by the Constitutional Court upheld a challenge by the far-right Freedom Party, whose candidate Norbert Hofer narrowly lost the May 22 ballot to the former Green Party leader Alexander Van der Bellen. It forces a new runoff, which could take place in September.
While the court said it found no evidence of manipulation, it did conclude that some election officials did not observe the regulations for handling postal ballots. Specifically, a number of districts began counting those ballots on election day, instead of waiting until 9 a.m. the following day, as stipulated by Austria’s voting rules.
Local election officials from the areas in question confirmed over several days of court hearings that they had breached the rules in order to save time.
Though the postal ballot result was decisive in Van der Bellen’s victory, there’s no evidence the early tally in some polling stations influenced the outcome.
Nonetheless, Austria’s election rules require strict adherence to the regulations and there is legal precedent for overturning an election on the basis of such formal errors.
Austria’s highest court on Friday overturned the result of the recent presidential runoff over widespread regulatory breaches involving postal ballots.
The decision by the Constitutional Court upheld a challenge by the far-right Freedom Party, whose candidate Norbert Hofer narrowly lost the May 22 ballot to the former Green Party leader Alexander Van der Bellen. It forces a new runoff, which could take place in September.
While the court said it found no evidence of manipulation, it did conclude that some election officials did not observe the regulations for handling postal ballots. Specifically, a number of districts began counting those ballots on election day, instead of waiting until 9 a.m. the following day, as stipulated by Austria’s voting rules.
Local election officials from the areas in question confirmed over several days of court hearings that they had breached the rules in order to save time.
Though the postal ballot result was decisive in Van der Bellen’s victory, there’s no evidence the early tally in some polling stations influenced the outcome.
Nonetheless, Austria’s election rules require strict adherence to the regulations and there is legal precedent for overturning an election on the basis of such formal errors.
bearfan
Ancient Mariner
Yeah, on one hand you have to appreciate they go to such lengths to keep elections above board, but that does seem pretty minor. The key seems to be
"there is legal precedent for overturning an election on the basis of such formal errors."
I would be curious if they did the same if the election had not been so close
"there is legal precedent for overturning an election on the basis of such formal errors."
I would be curious if they did the same if the election had not been so close
That's rather interesting. Hopefully it isn't frightening.
bearfan
Ancient Mariner
Back to Austria ... now the re-vote makes more sense. A bit more than just "some were counted early"
In two weeks of hearings, it argued that postal ballots were illegally handled in 94 out of 117 districts, thousands of votes were opened earlier than permitted under election rules, and some were counted by people unauthorised to do so.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36714480
In two weeks of hearings, it argued that postal ballots were illegally handled in 94 out of 117 districts, thousands of votes were opened earlier than permitted under election rules, and some were counted by people unauthorised to do so.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36714480
Yes, that's pretty significant, if you ask me.
StormTheTrooper
Running to the Hills
And i thought Brazil was in a bad political situation. I feel sorry for you The Flash, truly. Considering how the press poses Erdogan, and the stories of turkish all over the internet, y'all live in a dictatorship. Elections don't cover a dictatorship (our own military rule had parlament elections every 5 years), and, considering the news, Erodgan is a dictator. Too bad he's probably not set to leave anytime soon, considering his recent turn against ISIS. But i really hope the turkish people can beat the semidictatorship with the vote.