Meanwhile in Sensatori Turkey, near Side in Antalya everything is gloriously peaceful. Bit of a heatwave today, lots of sunshine, lots of alcohol and an awesome place to spend a birthday while on Honeymoon. Goodnight from paradise![]()
I hope we don't see you on CNN tomorrow being a hostage of [Generic] Martyr's Brigade.![]()
Hope is the denial of reality
Well this got pretty ugly over the weekend.
Awesome way to protest.
"Wer Visionen hat, sollte zum Arzt gehen." - Helmut Schmidt
I can only hope it will bring the entire country to a standstill.
The Padisah thinks he's fooling everybody by bussing in his supporters to a semi-empty square with a 250.000 capacity and call it a million supporters, but of course he's not fooling anybody. His brave supporters weren't even confident enough of their vast superior numbers that they dared wear their party colours away from Kazlicesme. Just to give you an idea of the numbers you have to think in in Istanbul; on any given saturday you will find more people on Istiklal Caddesi than on that party meeting.
Anyway, the newest poll in Todayszaman (an islamist owned newspaper) shows that only 35% of Turks still would vote for AKP and that a majority of thinks that there should be no presidential system and that the Padisah would not be fit to be President. His regime is on the way out, it's no longer a question of if but when.
Congratulations America
I heard the same about Assad before and see where we are now.
"Wer Visionen hat, sollte zum Arzt gehen." - Helmut Schmidt
Hazir, I think you vastly underestimate the amount of support Erdogan has.
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
I do not, but 35% core vote is not enough to rule the country in the autocratic style he does. Even his '50%' is merely 42% of the actual electorate. I think his behaviour will lose AKP Istanbul in the upcoming local elections, and once Istanbul is lost, Erdogan is out. The AKP will not want to go down with him and will replace him with a leader who's less controversial in Turkey. One of the likely candidates would be Abdullah Gül. Who also happens to be the candidate of choice for the Gülenites.
Congratulations America
Any opinion poll at a time like this is meaningless. People get either too scared/embarrassed to tell another person they support the government or conversely too scared/embarrassed not to. Online polls lose that affect somewhat but have their own issues.
Been here 6 days now (of 14) and unlike our week in Egypt where the locals were clearly concerned, not heard this mentioned even once by even a single person - local or tourist.
You miss, like most people would the place where this opinion poll is published. It is a given in Turkey that you can' t trust figures at face value, especially not if they are figures in an opinion poll. However, the opinion poll I was quoting from is seen as highly damaging to Erdogan (because it tells us that the general public disapproves of him and his style of government) AND it was published in a newspaper which is part of the Fetullah Gulen empire, which is a big chunk of the power base of Erdogan. It is widely percieved as a coming out in favour of moderation by Fetullah Gulen. If he (Gulen) continues along the lines he has recently Erdogan will find a considerable part of his party will have no qualms about switching their loyalty to a candidate who has the full support of Gulen. President Abdullah Gul at the moment is the most likely alternative.
The one reason we should call this a mere shot before the bow is that the poll was published in the English language version of Zaman (where it still attracted a lot of attention) rather than in the Turkish edition. Once the latter starts explaining us the weaknesses of Erdogan in quite the same way his career is over.
Two small pin pricks for Erdogan today from the Gulen HQ; it was not a good idea to name the 3rd Bosphorus bridge after Sultan Selim Yavuz and Alevi Cem evis should no longer be in a disadvantaged position compared to sunni mosques. That was after Gulen giving a big interview at the height of the crisis saying that the voices of the protesters should be heard.
Congratulations America
Eh, no. Turkey is not a dictature. It has elections that by and large are fair and free. Also, the AKP is a party with the ability to rid itself of its leader if it wants, and its members do at least not have to fear for their lives if they attempt to do so. To predict that a man like Erdogan will be out of power in a year or so is entirely different than predicting that a dictator actually willing to bomb his own citizens will be ousted.
Congratulations America
Hope is the denial of reality
Who are Turkey's enemies? Besides Kurds opposed to the righteous persecution by the majority?
Last night as I lay in bed, looking up at the stars, I thought, “Where the hell is my ceiling?"
Nice to see a healthy skepticism of "public opinion polls".![]()
Photos splashed across the intarweb are a bit different, though. That picture of a lone woman (who didn't seem to be part of the protests) being pepper-sprayed at point-blank range was rather disturbing. Regardless of who's protesting or why, that picture resonates as police brutality....and puts a mark on 'authorities' and its political leaders.
Yeah, far more disturbing than the half dozen killed and thousands injured.
Hope is the denial of reality
It wasn't just police brutality. Some of those brutal Acts were actual crimes.
Congratulations America
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23474404 Erdogan tops himself. Seriously, what is wrong with that man?
Hope is the denial of reality
Nothing a quick trip to Cuba or North Korea can't fix.
Hope is the denial of reality
http://news.yahoo.com/turkey-capture...141627495.html
Schizophrenia seems to be a national pastime...
Hope is the denial of reality