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Turkey Has Reportedly Banned Google
oxide7 and a number of other readers sent word (from mostly non-authoritative sources as yet) that Turkey had imposed an indefinite ban on some Google properties. "Turkey's Telecommunications Presidency said it has banned access to many of Google IP addresses without assigning clear reasons. The statement did not confirm if the ban is temporary or permanent. Google's translation and document sharing sites have also been banned indefinitely along with YouTube and Facebook in the country. Other services such as AppEngine, FeedBurner, Analytics, etc., have also been reportedly banned." Some real-time commentary (much of it in Turkish) can be found at Twitter hashtag #TurkeyCensoringGoogle. We have noted in past years the censorious ways of Turkish courts.
I think this quote applies here:
As the Americans learned so painfully in Earth's final century, free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny. The once-chained people whose leaders at last lose their grip on information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality, but the free nation gradually constricting its grip on public discourse has begun its rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master.
Commissioner Pravin Lal
"U.N. Declaration of Rights"
source
Shh.
You lack the imagination to apply structure to our world? That entire page is taken from a carefully constructed and coherent extrapolation of human activity and knowledge. There are quite a few examples of quotes on the same page that are taken directly from our actual history as well. Apply your sensibility and winnow out the impossible, what is left are situations to consider. Think.
Shh.
NATO doesn't care about dictators, look at how many right-wing military coups we've supported. Heck, look at how most of NATO supported just about everyone who was anti-Soviet. They don't care about human rights, just as long as they aren't communist or allied with Russia.
All NATO stands for is opposing Russia and its allies, if you think it stands for human rights or anything you should look at the conflicts in the cold war and which side the US supported.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
I dunno, but it seems to me that dogmatic, xenophobic, recidivist behaviour is on the rise worldwide -- Islam certainly has no corner on the market for running amok, not now, and not historically, and the term "Christian" probably carries as much negative baggage through the years as "Muslim" does.
Meanwhile, Christianity also has no corner on the market for truly pious, love-thy-neighbour actions -- one of my good friends growing up made it his life's mission to open an elementary school for the poor in his home town, and a book drive at our high school helped get him the beginnings of their library. A fellow named Ali, who is Bangladeshi, and Muslim.
Just sayin'.
Cheers,
"What in the name of Fats Waller is that?"
"A four-foot prune."
Ah Turkey. When they're poking their finger in Israel's eye, they're the darling of Leftists far and wide. When they censor, ban, and oppress themselves suddenly we're up in arms. Fuck 'em. It's Turkey!
"Muslim" is probably too big of an umbrella - Bosnia and Herzegovina is Muslim in half (and it seems that part of population was one of less warmongering during Balkan wars), is on the way towards EU membership with which it shouldn't have major issues; and generally with integrating. Germany has also large Muslim population, which despite any problems is quite succesfully integrated; Turks, accidentally. Spain should be do well in the future, too; with already over one million Muslims, and more (mostly Moroccans) surely to come.
There would be of course a problem with many Muslim countries of the group that is more or less bordering the EU sphere of influence, but nobody considers their accession; on either side(*). Except the case of Turkey, of course - and it seems that one might be clearing up soon, eh? (hm, I wouldn't be too surprised if the current situation is considered desirable by many parts of the EU; and with the hopes of slightly pouring oil on the fire - not as some sort of conspiracy of course, but as common goal)
(*) There's the issue of unwilling to integrate immigrants from many of those places, but that's a separate thing.
One that hath name thou can not otter
Historical allegory aside, my intent was actually more to point out the fallacy of couchslug's professing to have a handle on the "true Muslim character". What is the "true Muslim character"? What is the "true Christian character"? My friend is a devout Muslim, and one of the kindest, gentlest, most sincere people you could hope to meet. I'd much rather spend time in his company than with some of the self-identified Christians I've had the misfortune to know, who claim some personal connection with Jesus at one moment, and happily spout bigoted hateful venom the next.
Islam has its own foundational principles of modern civilization. That these foundational principles don't happen to match your own is an issue of cultural discourse, not absolutist violence. For that matter, some of the vaunted Enlightenment is actually predicated on learning imported from the Muslim world.
Swap "their" here for "our" -- for can we not say exactly the same thing about the US? The United States, for all its fanfare and mythologizing, has been one of the biggest thugs on the planet for the better part of a century.
Given that the core tenet Christianity is essentially "love thy neighbor", it sounds like you've hit the nail on the head here -- I'd hazard that neither Ann Coulter nor yourself are all that familiar with the underlying ideals you both seem to be espousing. Never mind the general ignorance of what Islam is. Yes, there are wacko bad apples, and yes, some of these elements happen to run countries. These do not define Islam, any more than Pat Robertson speaks for all Christianity, though they do appear to define the face of Islam as perceived by many here in the US.
Moreover, any look at the cultural friction between the many countries and political groups identifying themselves as Islamic must look as well at how the various governments of the West are fully implicated in helping to polarize and poison the dynamics at work. For instance, the situation with Iran and militant Shiism owes much to the hamfisted bungling of MI5, the CIA, and our friend in the Gulf, BP. Being ignorant of the West's role in defining the anger and resentment expressed by many of the more vocal elements of the Muslim world is fixable and excusable; ignoring it is hypocritical. The West helped create this problem, and the West must also help solve it, constructively. Sadly, Afghanistan, Iraq, and now Gaza, among other present issues, aren't helping.
Cheers,
"What in the name of Fats Waller is that?"
"A four-foot prune."
AKP is highly Euro skeptic. In fact, they're election was partially distrust of Europe.
Europe will not favor enlarging again for quite some time given the recent economic problems. In fact, Turkey would unquestionably join the ranks of the PIGS. I'm doubtful that Germany, France, etc. will ever feel like they've fixed the PIGS situation, so Turkey is effectively out permanently.
You know, Turkey never had very good odds for entering anyways. Greece would oppose them for military reasons. France would oppose them since France requires a public referendum for new admission into the E.U. Austria would oppose them for Austrian reasons. In fact, Switzerland would even oppose them now that Switzerland joined Schengen.
In the long run, Croatia and Montenegro will all be admitted before Turkey, but they'll vote against Turkey for religious reasons. Bosnia and Serbia might not be admitted for quite some time either, but Serbia would also oppose Turkey's entrance too.
p.s. E.U. expansionism has basically been a substitute for unpopular immigration that allows political elites to lower labor costs. Imho, they are crazy about labor costs not for competing with developing nations, but largely China. China cannot manipulate their currency indefinitely, which will remove the immediate pressure. All the newly admitted countries like Poland will provide cheap labor for some years, with the Ukraine another possible expansion if China holds out.
p.s.2 There has been however an European policy of educating people from Central and South America, kinda an opposition to the Monroe Doctrine. We're now seeing this policy provide higher quality and more culturally similar immigrants than Turkey, the Middle East, or Africa. Face it, if people see Turks or Africans they think Shira law or female circumcision, but if people see Brazilians they think Carnival and barbecue. And immigration from the Americas could easily provide the required labor force control.
The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell