Slashdot Mirror
Prime Minister Wiretapped — Vast Corruption Upending Turkey's Government
cold fjord writes with an update on the political upheaval happening in Turkey "From the article: 'Dawn raids last Tuesday nabbed almost 60 people and implicated three government ministries, the directors of state banks, and some of Turkey's most powerful businessmen in a massive corruption probe spread across three different cases. Three members of Turkey's cabinet resigned on Christmas Day, and one called on Erdogan to follow suit as accusations of kickbacks, smuggling, and abuse of office continue to mount. The scandal has even acquired an international dimension as suspicions that Iran has been using Turkey's banks to shirk sanctions were further bolstered by the arrest of Reza Sarraf, an Iranian businessmen who is accused of bribing the Economic Minister while coordinating transactions from Iran worth $120 billion. The AKP is scrambling to defend itself by claiming the arrests are a result of a dastardly foreign conspiracy ... while police officials have been removed and reshuffled and special prosecutors appointed to a degree that makes Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre look like exemplary justice. The Turkish press continues to eagerly publish the latest colorful details that emerge from the probe, including police reports of $500,000 bribes administered in boxes of chocolate and news that Erdoan himself was being wiretapped as part of the investigation.' Erdogan has been urged to resign, three days ago Turkey banned journalists from entering police stations, and police are using tear gas on protesters."
Well, there is a point to "the islamists are taking over". It is a power struggle between Erdogan's party, which has a bit of an islamist agenda, and the Gülen movement, which is an islamist movement, whose goals are unclear. Turkey has always had a "deep state", mainly secular, Atatürk-oriented, which has done some ghastly things. And now either islamist movement is interfering there. It's not racism. It might be bigoted, but racism?
BTW, Turks are not brown people, although a few do have unpronounceable names.
You're the first person I've ever heard call Erdogan a Muslim extremist. Authoritarian, sure, but generally he's considered a secularist.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
There is no major news agency in Europe reporting about this outside of Turkey.
Apparently reading newspapers is becoming a lost art.
France
Germany
Belgium
The Netherlands
Great Britain
Fethullah Gulen has a huge following in Turkey. His disciples have invaded the police forces. They became buddies with Turkey PM to reach their anti-secularist agenda. They crippled the Turkish army using their pawn police and pawn judges.
The economy looks strong and religious zealots are praising the PM and this is getting to his head. He forgets that it is Fethullah that actually controls everything in Pennsylvania and he openly started fighting Fethullah by banning prep schools, which is the main source of fresh meat for Fethullah. (there must be other behind the scene issues, but we dont know them yet). That link is the Zaman newspaper, which is also owned by Fethullah
So now Fethullah/CIA is tired of PM's shit and they are unveiling what was already known for who knows how long. Interesting things are unfolding if you are Turkish.
Religion is a personal choice, you moron. At least it should be.
You might want to get out in the real world a bit more. Religion is often what you're born with. Yes, it would be nice if everyone got to pick and chose after careful deliberation, but that rarely happens. And, in many places in the world, religion is also a tag or badge or category that places significant restrictions on your life at many levels.
Very few countries have the separation between church and state that is jealously guarded in the US.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Many Americans are shocked to find out how religion and the state are still tied together in even Western Europe.
They are doing still stuff that was ruled out in the US before the revolution.
In a lot of ways the fact that America is so religious is due to the separation allowing for more freedom and diversity.
- This is a power struggle between an Imam who lives in a mansion in Pennsylvania vs. his servant.
- In the past week, 5 ministers resigned. That is almost %20 of the cabinet
- In the past two days, almost all the police chiefs in the country were suspended
- When district attorneys ordered police to arrest some key businessmen, police refused. Eventhough this is a constitutional offense and has a penalty of jailtime, no one is on trial
- A reshuffle is expected tonight or tomorrow. Definitely before weekend. The servant wants to pick up the pieces but the Imam is bent on destroying them
- These fractions were once united through their belief in Allah and were hell-bent on destroying the old regime which they claim was built by American servants and godless infidels
- No Muslim country in the area would interfere if these two fractions are to murder each other this very moment. Just like Assad is murdering his country and destroying history that dates before religion and no one does anything useful
List goes on and on and on. You wouldn't care and I can't blame you. Just know that these are not much different from any other crazy religious people in the world. Just like anywhere else in the world, there are some people in this country who are harming its future. The mistake is that they are ruling now. This too shall pass.
You're the first person I've ever heard call Erdogan a Muslim extremist. Authoritarian, sure, but generally he's considered a secularist.
You must not pay too much attention to what he's actually doing and said. If he's a secularist, then it should be very easy for you to explain why he's pushing for the destruction of churches, and blames everything "on da juice"(aka the Jews), and why he just went on a massive hunt, imprison, and disappearing act against the secular members of the military leadership. Going as far as imprisoning members who were responsible for installing a secular government the last time around and making those individuals actually disappear after a very quick show trial, then installing generals who are devoutly muslim.
Secular this guy is not.
Om, nomnomnom...
Its actually pretty interesting to read where the various state names originated. People don't really think about them, but its almost invariably not nearly all that ... impressive.
Half a dozen at least are named for Kings and Queens (Carolinas, Georgia, Louisiana, Virginias...) New York is named for the Duke of York. Kind of amusing the names stuck what with the revolution and all.
Indiana is roughly 'land of indians'
Oklahoma is literally 'red person' in a native dialect
Caliornia is 'hot oven' in spanish
Vermont is 'green mountain' in french
And perhaps most amusing Texas amusingly is "hello friend'.
With only minor changes in history, we could have had a nuclear superpower named roughly "The Republic of Hey Buddy"
Names are funny things. :p
Why is it then, that you better be Christian if you hope to attain any position of power in the good 'ol USA? Talk about superficial secularity.