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Thread: More Erdogan madness

  1. #91
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    Quote Originally Posted by Khendraja'aro View Post
    So, the European Parliament consists of religious fanatics. This is rich, coming from Erdogan.

    I'd really like to see Merkel use this statement by Sonneborn: "Listen, dude. If we're saying it was a genocide then it must be so. After all, we have some experience in the matter."
    I would be the last to defend the man, but even though he's giving the usual pavlov reaction to the G-word, there can be no doubts that he admits that the actual gruesome facts did happen.
    Congratulations America

  2. #92
    Let sleeping tigers lie Khendraja'aro's Avatar
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    By qualifying them. That's the usual weasel tactic: "Oh, it was bad but others were equally bad or even worse! And we had victims, too!"
    When the stars threw down their spears
    And watered heaven with their tears:
    Did he smile his work to see?
    Did he who made the lamb make thee?

  3. #93
    Quote Originally Posted by Hazir View Post
    I would be the last to defend the man, but even though he's giving the usual pavlov reaction to the G-word, there can be no doubts that he admits that the actual gruesome facts did happen.
    The Turks minimize the number of Armenian casualties, grossly exaggerate the number of Turkish casualties, and deny the fact that there was an organized effort to commit the genocide. So the only thing they admit is that people were killed, and not necessarily by the Turks.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  4. #94
    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/18/wo...ts-racism.html

    Apparently accusing someone of genocide is now a form of racism. I wonder if Erdogan remembers what he accused the Israelis of.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  5. #95
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    Quote Originally Posted by Khendraja'aro View Post
    By qualifying them. That's the usual weasel tactic: "Oh, it was bad but others were equally bad or even worse! And we had victims, too!"
    Not exactly and you'd be surprised about how open the actual debate in Turkey is. However, for a politician like Erdogan both over-reacting to the usage of the word genocide and reacting tough to both Pope (as head of Christianity) and Europe (both hated and admired) could mean extra votes from the extreme nationalist sectors of society.
    And in the upcoming election every vote counts because Erdogan needs a 323 seat majority to be able to change the constitution in order to become an autocratic president (without the risk of losing powers due to a change of heart in Parliament. That to Erdogan would be worth a bit of derission and angry reactions abroad.

    Today at least one AKP office was sporting a banner reading 'Paskaliyaniz Kutlu Olsun'. That translates into Blessed Easter, and it's an absolute first. Up till today those banners were reserved for muslim holidays exclusively.
    Congratulations America

  6. #96
    Let sleeping tigers lie Khendraja'aro's Avatar
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    I'm a bit leery of "open debates" which end with the forced retirement of government officials just because they used the "g"-word.
    When the stars threw down their spears
    And watered heaven with their tears:
    Did he smile his work to see?
    Did he who made the lamb make thee?

  7. #97
    http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-32549012 Apparently Erdogan hasn't obtained his sexist credentials yet.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  8. #98

  9. #99
    http://www.todayszaman.com/national_...et_381912.html The guy seems to have the emotional intelligence of a 5-year-old.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  10. #100
    Senior Member Flixy's Avatar
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    Keep on keepin' the beat alive!

  11. #101
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    We're gonna have a party on the eve of the elections, we decided to call it 'Freedom Party'.
    Congratulations America

  12. #102
    Senior Member Flixy's Avatar
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    Heh, sounds like our US election party
    Keep on keepin' the beat alive!

  13. #103

  14. #104
    Senior Member Flixy's Avatar
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    AKP lost its majority still the biggest party of course.
    Keep on keepin' the beat alive!

  15. #105
    Seems like good news that he's lost his majority and the ability to turn Turkey into a Presidential nation, though we'll see what happens from here. If the AKP remain in power we'll have to see if they accept moderation as the public have voted or just turn away from democracy. Either seems possible right now.
    Quote Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer View Post
    ℬeing upset is understandable, but be upset at yourself for poor planning, not at the world by acting like a spoiled bitch during an interview.

  16. #106
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    I am very happy with the results, I was in a plane waiting in line to take off and the last thing I got on my phone before I was made to switch it off was that HDP had made it into parliament and that that effectively has ended the authoritarian rule of the Padisah. Everybody knows the constitution should be changed, but the Erdogan plans would have been a disaster for the country.
    Congratulations America

  17. #107
    Do you seriously think Erdogan is going to stop being authoritarian now he's lost his majority?
    Quote Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer View Post
    ℬeing upset is understandable, but be upset at yourself for poor planning, not at the world by acting like a spoiled bitch during an interview.

  18. #108
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    Quote Originally Posted by RandBlade View Post
    Do you seriously think Erdogan is going to stop being authoritarian now he's lost his majority?
    To be authoritarian he needs his party to be able to rule without any partners. That has become impossible as of last sunday. Now that he's lacking a party with a majority in parliament, it will be quite doable to pin him to his constitutional role. Which is largely ceremonial.

    He hasn't been on TV in 2 days; that's quite remarkable for a man who was on TV near non-stop in the run up to the elections.
    Congratulations America

  19. #109
    Its not impossible so long as he can maintain his grips on power, which means primarily if the military will chose him over Parliament (which I extremely doubt but is possible). That is how nations sometimes transition from democracy to dictatorship.
    Quote Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer View Post
    ℬeing upset is understandable, but be upset at yourself for poor planning, not at the world by acting like a spoiled bitch during an interview.

  20. #110
    The Turkish military has been defanged. They decide nothing. The power is in the hands of the bureaucracy, which has mostly been put in power by Erdogan. I'm not sure I trust them to respect constitutional rule if Erdogan decides to push things too far (e.g. ban one of the opposition parties).
    Hope is the denial of reality

  21. #111
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    Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
    The Turkish military has been defanged. They decide nothing. The power is in the hands of the bureaucracy, which has mostly been put in power by Erdogan. I'm not sure I trust them to respect constitutional rule if Erdogan decides to push things too far (e.g. ban one of the opposition parties).
    Even Erdogan knows he's got nothing to win from a full blown civil war. He can't afford to ban the HDP and there is no way he could justify banning either CHP or MHP.

    The impunity Erdogan could operate with was contingent on a majority in parliament that now has been lost; the army won't save him and neither will the bureaucracy.
    Congratulations America

  22. #112
    Doesn't mean he won't try. I hope you're right, but Erdogan hasn't been a model for constitutional niceties.
    Quote Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer View Post
    ℬeing upset is understandable, but be upset at yourself for poor planning, not at the world by acting like a spoiled bitch during an interview.

  23. #113
    Quote Originally Posted by Hazir View Post
    Even Erdogan knows he's got nothing to win from a full blown civil war. He can't afford to ban the HDP and there is no way he could justify banning either CHP or MHP.

    The impunity Erdogan could operate with was contingent on a majority in parliament that now has been lost; the army won't save him and neither will the bureaucracy.
    Erdogan isn't actually the beacon of rationality, especially when he feels slighted.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  24. #114
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    Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
    Erdogan isn't actually the beacon of rationality, especially when he feels slighted.
    But you must have noticed his one-man-rule plan has been thwarted. So it doesn't all boil down to his personal rationality.
    Congratulations America

  25. #115
    Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, sees high strategic stakes. He says he would ditch efforts to join the European Union if Turkey were accepted by the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO), formed in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The SCO “is better and more powerful, and we have common values with them,” Mr Erdogan declared.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  26. #116
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    He knows Chinese tourists are being attacked in Istanbul?
    Congratulations America

  27. #117
    Korean tourists.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  28. #118
    He sounds like our SVP, always when they get confronted with the fact that the EU is our main business partner they suggest we should do more business with China and Russia instead of Germany
    "Wer Visionen hat, sollte zum Arzt gehen." - Helmut Schmidt

  29. #119
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    Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
    Korean tourists.
    That was his luck The chinese restaurant that was destroyed was Turkish owned and the 'chinese' chef was an Uyghur (or however you write that).
    Congratulations America

  30. #120
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    This topic seems to be as good a place as any; it has turned out that one of the two suicide terrorists who killed 106 people in Ankara is the brother of a suicide terrorist who killed 33 people in Suruc (a Turkish town accross the border from Kobani). Both were members of a radical group, both went to Syria to fight for IS. The state obviously didn't care to have a closer look at either of them. Not even when the first brother blew himself and 33 other people to pieces.

    I am no big fan of conspiracy theories, and I am totally aware that if IS is behind this they managed to kill two birds with one stone, but I have to wonder. How the hell did this second brother manage to be in Ankara bomb and all when it was a given that he would pose this type of threath?
    Congratulations America

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