Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Turkey Blocks Access To Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Facebook (itpro.co.uk)

Posted by msmash on from the censorship dept.

Turkey has blocked Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube, according to censorship monitoring site, Turkey Blocks. From a report on IT Pro: The group broke the news today around 1am local time, saying the government was throttling these services. This is a method of slowing down websites to the extent that they become difficult to use or unusable. Initially, issues with the social media and messaging apps detected on national provider TTNet, Turkcell, and they were soon reported on other big internet providers as well. The block follows the arrest of 11 politicians from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) overnight in the south-east of the country. Many reports are linking the social media block to these arrests, with the HDP the main opposition party to that of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

52 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Again? by Fire_Wraith · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Given all the things that Erdogan has done in the wake of the 'coup', it makes me wonder whether it was actually a coup attempt, or just Erdogan's version of the Reichstag fire.

  2. Re:Productivity increases by 200% by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    These are basically glorified chat apps and scrapbooks for neurotic people to try to appear important online so they can ignore their failed lives. If they go away, what exactly is lost?

    We know we cannot trust our media or any centralized service like censorship-prone Twitter, Facebook and Reddit. Best solution is to go back to NNTP.

    But the decision to partake in these activities should be left to the people.

  3. Turkey and Kurds by unixisc · · Score: 2, Insightful

    And this, is the reason that the US can't have an open-ended alliance w/ the Kurds. The Kurds, whether in Iraq or Syria or even Turkey, would be happy to join forces to combat Jihadist terror in their lands, be it ISIS, Saddam, Shias or Sunnis. Just one problem - Turkey

    If the US followed a policy that made sense, it would have endorsed an independent Kurdistan, where not just Kurds, but Christian Assyrians, Chaldeans, Yazidis all could have lived peacefully - they would not have been a wannabe Islamic theocracy like their Arab neighbors. This would have encompassed Iraqi, Syrian and Iranian Kurdish lands. There would have been no reason to pander to the likes of Rouhani or Assad, so such a place would have been a safe haven for people of the region who are not Muslim fanatics

    Reason they couldn't - Turkey. A country that has been on the back of the Kurds not only as an Ottoman Caliphate, but also as a secular Kemalist state. Once upon a time, during the Cold War, it might have made sense to pay lip service to Turkish sentiments. Not since 1991, and certainly not since Erdogan came to power

    If Trump gets elected, then one way he can work w/ the Russians - while Russia helps Assad completely regain power, the US can help the Kurds of Syria and Iraq both unite unto one Kurdistan. No need to pay lip service to either Ankara or Baghdad or Damascus. Let there be an independent Kurdish land, and within Syria, maybe in Tadmor, let there be a safe zone for Syrians that's not controlled by Assad, ISIS, FAS or any of the combatants.

    As far as Turkey goes, Trump is right about NATO. It is a Cold War relic, given that the membership still reflects what it was when the Soviets were the adversary. Since 2001, when Islam replaced Communism as the main enemy of the West, it makes more sense to form a new alliance of non-Muslim countries in the periphery - Russia, Israel, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and some others. Maybe expand that alliance to the East to include Thailand, Philippines, Myanmar, India and Sri Lanka. But keep Turkey out!!!

    1. Re:Turkey and Kurds by Zontar_Thing_From_Ve · · Score: 4, Insightful

      As far as Turkey goes, Trump is right about NATO. It is a Cold War relic, given that the membership still reflects what it was when the Soviets were the adversary. Since 2001, when Islam replaced Communism as the main enemy of the West, it makes more sense to form a new alliance of non-Muslim countries in the periphery - Russia, Israel, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and some others. Maybe expand that alliance to the East to include Thailand, Philippines, Myanmar, India and Sri Lanka. But keep Turkey out!!!

      I liked your suggestion of an independent Kurdistan, but I can't get on board with this one. The only thing keeping the Baltic States independent is NATO. I have no doubt that if not for NATO Putin would have already manufactured a crisis in them where ethnic Russians were supposedly at risk and used that to justify invading them. The whole reason NATO exists is to protect member states from Russian invasion. That's a real threat. Russia has even tried to intimidate Finland and Sweden, the first one especially, by warning them of the dire consequences of joining NATO. However, Russian threats to both have pushed them closer than ever to joining as his air force's fly bys have made both think that they may have to join to be protected.

      Additionally your lists are well-intentioned but not likely. Ehtopia and South Sudan are of questionable stability. Cyprus is completely under the control of Turkey in the north (it invaded in the early 70s to "protect" ethnic Turks and it never left). Serbia and Russia have some bizarre ties that don't really to me make a lot of sense, but they exist nonetheless and Serbia is if anything somewhat of a Putin apologist. Greece has always been kind of iffy in NATO although they have dropped the constant anti-American bs that propped up some pretty bad governments they had in the past. Thailand is now so pro-China that their usefulness to the USA is really under question. The Philippines have a president who is either mentally ill or at best badly playing over head in a game he can't win. Myanmar is still too closely tied to China, although that may change. I'm not sure that Sri Lanka wants to do much more than focus on their own issues at the moment.

    2. Re:Turkey and Kurds by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

      And this, is the reason that the US can't have an open-ended alliance w/ the Kurds. The Kurds, whether in Iraq or Syria or even Turkey, would be happy to join forces to combat Jihadist terror in their lands, be it ISIS, Saddam, Shias or Sunnis. Just one problem - Turkey

      Correction, 2 problems: you forgot Iraq. Any independent Kurdistan would take a large chunk of land(with a lot of oil) from Iraq. Iraq doesn't want to give up control of that area and would firmly resist any policy that could cause it. If the US supported a Kurdistan then Iraq would very quickly turn to others(namely Russia, but possibly China) for support. It's sad too, as the Peshmerga have made strong gains against Daesh in Iraq and are one of the more effective groups fighting in Syria.

      In regards to Turkey, it is important to note that they have already begun moving troops to the Iraq border and made some very troubling comments regarding the fighting near Tal Afar, namely that they would retaliate if any ethnic Turk citizens are mistreated during the fighting. Things could quite possibly get even more complicated in the Levant than they are now.

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    3. Re:Turkey and Kurds by unixisc · · Score: 1

      We went through the entire 90s in a post Cold War era, pretending that we had no enemies, and one fine day in 2001, 4 planes got hijacked and changed history forever. Before that, it was okay to pretend that Islam was not at war w/ us. Since then, it wasn't!

    4. Re:Turkey and Kurds by Gavagai80 · · Score: 1

      Sell the Peshmerga real weapons and Iraq won't touch them. It's not as if Iraq has any of their oil right now, it's being sold by Kurdistan to... Turkey. The problem for the KRG is their only choices to sell to as a land-locked region are Turkey, Iran or Iraq.

      --
      This space intentionally left blank
    5. Re:Turkey and Kurds by unixisc · · Score: 1

      The alliance I'm talking about is one meant to contain Islam. There is nothing stopping the US from signing multilateral agreements protecting the Baltic states (including Sweden & Finland) from Russia. The reason NATO existed was to protect member states from a Soviet invasion and a Communist takeover. It's inane to pretend that today's Russia has the same global geopolitical goals as did their Soviet predecessors.

      My list was based on the fact that all the countries in question are either externally threatened by Muslim neighbors (Ethiopia, South Sudan, Israel) or internal (Thailand, Philippines, Sri Lanka). Cyprus implies the southern part of the island that is internationally recognized, which is not under Turkish control. Serbia has a good reason to be tied to Russia, after the West not just bombed them in 1998, but also recognized Kosovo's secession on ethnic grounds, while denying the same rights to the Serbs of Srpska, in Bosnia. Thailand has a Muslim insurgency in their border areas w/ Malaysia, while Philippines has an insurrection in Mindanao run by Abu Sayyaf and MILF. Myanmar has just got a new government - it's the previous junta that was tied to Beijing, due to its isolation from everyone else. India currently has a Hindu nationalist party in its government, which is the most anti-Islamic that it can ever be. This will be a distributed alliance against Islamic forces in the Middle East

    6. Re:Turkey and Kurds by unixisc · · Score: 1

      The US did help set up the first government in Iraq, but it doesn't owe the current government in Baghdad anything, particularly given the way they've been drifting towards Iran and enabling what's known as the Shi'ite Crescent that starts in Iran and goes thru Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Given that Iraq is working against US interests by getting in bed w/ Iran, the US needs to trim their coverage. That's why supporting an independent Kurdistan makes sense. If it broke away, and if the US allowed the Sunni areas to break away as well - maybe form a part of the safe zone for refugees from ISIS, then that crescent would be disrupted

      Turkey was an ally during the Cold War, when it had a Kemalesque regime. Erdogan's Turkey is more a wannabe Ottoman Empire. Kemal and his successors wanted to make Turkey a part of the West, but omitted to wipe out Islam from their country, which would have helped. Erdogan has created a group called the Turkic Council, which created a club of 4 Turkic countries, and he has also allied w/ the Saudis and Qatar in trying to destabilize the Assad regime next door. During the Iraq war, Turkey refused to let the US use the base in Incirlik. It's time to either remove them from NATO, or disband NATO altogether and form another military alliance that does not include Ankara. And if they throw a hissy fit, support the PKK and include Turkish Kurdistan in the proposed independent Kurdistan state

    7. Re:Turkey and Kurds by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

      Sell the Peshmerga real weapons and Iraq won't touch them.

      We already have special forces...I'm sorry, "advisors"....embedded with the Peshmerga in Iraq/Syria, so we probably aren't too far away from arming them if we haven't already. There's even photos of special forces fighting with Kurds in Syria (if you need proof besides the beards that they are special forces, in the second picture the soldier in the back is carrying an FN SCAR which is only issued in special forces in the US military).

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    8. Re:Turkey and Kurds by unixisc · · Score: 1

      The reason Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey support the Sunnite insurrection to topple Assad has nothing to do w/ any oil or gas pipeline. It is historical, and dates back to the regime of Assad's father, Hafez, who ruled Syria as the strongest military power in the region besides Iraq during the 70s, 80s and 90s.

      The Baath Party in both Syria and Iraq is/was a nominally secular party, dominated by minority Muslim sects in alliance w/ non Muslims. In Iraq, Saddam's Baath coalition consisted of Sunnis, Turkmen and Chaldean Christians (although it excluded Kurds, who live nowhere near where the Shia majority lives). In Syria, Assad's Baath coalition consists of Alawites, Shi'ites, Druze and Christians, and again, excludes Kurds. This is why during the Iran-Iraq war of the 80s, although both Syria and Iraq had Baath regimes and were closely allied w/ the Soviet Union, Syria supported Iran in the war for a simple reason: their constituents had enmity w/ Sunni Arabs, which is what Saddam's regime was dominated by. As a result, while the rest of the Arab League supported Iraq, Syria (and for a while, Gadaffi's Libya) were alone in supporting Iran.

      As a result, the Assad regime was (and is) hated by Sunni Arabs, as well as the ruling elites in all Arab capitals. When the Arab Spring started, they saw it as a golden opportunity to settle their old scores w/ Syria and managed to con the West into supporting them, even while they themselves curbed similar Arab Spring movements. E.g. in Bahrein, which is the flip equivalent of Syria - a Shia majority ruled by a Sunni dynasty, the Saudis marched in troops to curb a similar Arab Spring uprising, and the West looked the other way saying that the democrats were allied w/ Iran. But in Syria, it's about democracy, human rights, blah blah blah. No wonder they are in such a mess there.

      There is a qualitative difference b/w Soviet geopolitical ambitions during the Cold War, which was global - they set up their tentacles in places like Cuba, Ethiopia, Angola, Mozambique, Nicaragua, South Yemen, et al - countries that were nowhere near theirs, vs Russian geopolitical ambitions today. Russian ambitions have been largely limited to their 'near abroad' - countries that have significant numbers of Russians in their population, like Latvia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan... Also, Russia has an Islamic insurgent problem that is largely Sunni - the Chechens, as well as Islamization attempts in the stans, which have large Russian minorities and much of that has been coming from dawa artists from the Gulf countries. That is why Russia has been backing Iran - to destabilize those countries so that they are too consumed by their own internal conflicts to have any cash left to fund Islamization anywhere.

      I am surprised to read that Europe is dependent on Russian gas - I have read so many stories here on /. on how European countries have excess solar capacity and can't figure out how to consume all of it. Maybe run their grid right up to places like Kharkiv, Tallinin and so on and get as many Teslas into those countries as possible

    9. Re:Turkey and Kurds by Ionized · · Score: 1

      i think you mean to say 'a vanishingly small percentage of Islam', you bigot.

    10. Re:Turkey and Kurds by unixisc · · Score: 1

      That 'vanishingly small percentage' has a huge support in countries from Indonesia to Morocco

    11. Re:Turkey and Kurds by del_diablo · · Score: 1

      >It's inane to pretend that today's Russia has the same global geopolitical goals as did their Soviet predecessors.
      ?
      Is it now? The same leaders that basically led the Soviet lead into its fall, also got to lead Russia when it rebuilt post Soviet. We are entering a era where Russia is starting to finish its Cold War Recovery.
      We already had a Crimean war, where we got a "axaaxaxaxa" as a passager plane was shot down.
      We had Soviet pilots come on record with their Soviet stuff, and what is essentially bullying in International Waters praying US won't just open fire and deny it.
      In International space, something like was left behind on Svalbard, mostly due the Post Soviet economic crash. Its neighbor, , is still alive, and one of the few places where Russia exports its.... imperialism.

      The Russian International trend so far since Post Soviet has been to Bully, but back down if Bully has no effect. You can see this in effect if its about Nuclear subs, air territory, International fishing waters. Or the gigantic department of foreign trolls, to exist to AstroTurf foreign communities.
      Or on wars it has fought, where the entire strategy is that the enemy will not shoot back properly.

      Just remember: Russians do not respect Public Space. The world is their for the taking, and then poorly maintained. It doesn't matter if its Crimea, Sweden, Svalbard, International Fishing Rights, or Putins 2nd wife.

    12. Re:Turkey and Kurds by bloodhawk · · Score: 1

      A quick history of the past 40 years would quickly tell you what a batshit crazy idea that would be. ISIS, Al Queda and many other groups are the result of meddling in politics and wars and supplying arms in that region by the west. It is sad to see that some people think more of the same is the way to fix it.

    13. Re:Turkey and Kurds by stephanruby · · Score: 1

      Yes, the Sunnis are against Assad. Please tell me, when did I ever say otherwise?

      My point was about why the US was arming and supporting religious extremists against Assad.

      And whoever downvoted me, don't take my comment as an indirect support of Trump. It is absolutely not. When you've personally helped a drug trafficker escape justice thanks to your sister's professional connections as a judge, then you can't claim the moral high ground on drugs anymore.

      I am surprised to read that Europe is dependent on Russian gas - I have read so many stories here on /. on how European countries have excess solar capacity and can't figure out how to consume all of it. Maybe run their grid right up to places like Kharkiv, Tallinin and so on and get as many Teslas into those countries as possible

      In Europe, the goal is to replace natural gas energy with solar power (and other renewable energies).

      But don't confuse that goal with the reality. The reality is that in Germany at least, solar power must not only replace natural gas, but solar power (and other renewables like wind power) must also replace nuclear power (which Germany has planned to have completely phased out within its border by 2022).

      70% of the natural gas consumed in Europe comes from Russia. In Germany, that figure is more like 35% (with most of its own natural gas coming from Norway). But even that is not a closed system. If the Russian natural gas stopped coming into Europe, everyone would start bidding on the natural gas from Norway, and what little comes from Ukraine and Qatar (driving up those prices). And the same goes for the decision to abandon nuclear energy by Germany. The amount of energy that Germany can't replace from nuclear will have to either disappear or be imported from its close neighbors (driving up those prices). After all, solar power is great (and so is wind power), and so is the "Tesla" ( by the way, I hope you were joking on that one), but the excesses that you're talking won't come during winter nights, nor will they be able to serve all European power grids and all European cities equally.

  4. Re:Again? by Maritz · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Even before the coup, Erdogan was shutting down newspapers and universities. Hilariously, the Turks voted him in. Democracy lately has been doing its best to prove the chinese model right. I know for a fact the Chinese leadership were delighted by the Brexit vote for exactly that reason.

    --
    I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
  5. Re:Let Them by Maritz · · Score: 1

    WhatsApp is used almost exclusively by under 25s

    Go ahead and link your citation for that. Thanks

    --
    I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
  6. Re:Again? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    Demonization and banning of opposition parties, jailing of political opponents, suppression of free press.

    Pretty much by the numbers totalitarian rule.

  7. Re:Productivity increases by 200% by c · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If they go away, what exactly is lost?

    I hear they're a handy way for ordinary people to make fun of particularly thin-skinned aspiring despots...

    --
    Log in or piss off.
  8. Re:Again? by NatasRevol · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Will it be more or less scary when the headline reads 'Trump' instead of 'Turkey'?

    --
    There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
  9. Re:Again? by known_coward_69 · · Score: 2

    with the amount of people arrested or fired, i can't see how he didn't know about the coup and simply let it happen to grab power. there is no way you can keep a secret like this with so many people involved

  10. Re:Productivity increases by 200% by known_coward_69 · · Score: 1

    and Tier Z internet celebrities

    social media is like TV but lower cost of entry and lots of people on there someone might follow but most won't care about

  11. Re:Again? by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think it's almost certain that the coup wasn't really a coup. It's a shame, Turkey was really making strides towards being a true modern democracy until Erdogan came along. Even before the coup he was beginning to show signs of Trump-like behavior. I think democracy is done for Turkey now, at least Turkey is cooked as long as Erdogan lives.

    --
    "That's the way to do it" - Punch
  12. Re:Productivity increases by 200% by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    These are basically glorified chat apps and scrapbooks for neurotic people to try to appear important online so they can ignore their failed lives. If they go away, what exactly is lost?

    While we may consider these applications to be casual needs for our entertainment, they can be effective means of communication. The purpose of blocking access is for the government to severely limit the population's ability to communicate and organize against it. Erdogan feels that his power is being threatened, so he and his government are going to do everything they can to retain control. The loss of any particular service isn't what's important - the overall situation related to a government crackdown on its people is the big picture... and it's troubling.

  13. No, not Turkey, nor government! by no-body · · Score: 1

    It's people doing it to and with other people. The question is why is this happening again and again?

    Fear, stupidity or what else is causing this it on one side, pathology on the other?

  14. As a reminder... by darkain · · Score: 5, Informative

    As a reminder for anyone who may need Facebook for communication of any kind (especially in countries attempting to prevent free speech), Facebook officially runs a Tor hidden service.

    Details: https://www.facebook.com/faceb...

    Tor Hidden Service: https://facebookcorewwwi.onion...
    (or as they call it, Facebook Core WWW Infrastructure)

  15. Re:Again? by Zontar_Thing_From_Ve · · Score: 1

    Given all the things that Erdogan has done in the wake of the 'coup', it makes me wonder whether it was actually a coup attempt, or just Erdogan's version of the Reichstag fire.

    You are not alone in thinking that. As an outside observer somewhat interested in Europe in general and how Turkey relates to it, I figure either the whole thing was concocted by Erdogan to justify what followed or the coup plotters very badly underestimated the dissatisfaction with Erdogan's rule. There are plenty of people in Turkey who don't like Erdogan or what he's doing. The problem is that they're in the minority and have no power any more.

  16. Re:Again? by jellomizer · · Score: 2

    Just like a Trump Presidency. How else do you make your nation great without silencing all those negative retractors who goal is to prevent your vision of greatness.
     

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  17. Re:Again? by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

    Given all the things that Erdogan has done in the wake of the 'coup', it makes me wonder whether it was actually a coup attempt, or just Erdogan's version of the Reichstag fire.

    A couple thousand troops (most of whom had no idea what was going on at all anyway) mobilized only in the capital, halfhearted attempts to take over local media outlets but no attempt to take over media outlets or military bases in other parts of Turkey, and most of the "leaders"of the coup miraculously killed riding in the same helicopter and you couldn't realize the coup was staged until Erdogan started arresting hundreds of generals and admirals (gee, you'd think with this many high ranking officers involved that the coup would have been more widespread, huh?), thousands of soldiers, teachers, and school administrators; declared an opposition figure living in exile in the US as Turkey's Osama bin Laden; starting rounding up political opponents; and lastly cutting off social media(well, this one I can support at any rate)?

    --
    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  18. Re:Again? by MachineShedFred · · Score: 2

    And I'm sure there are legitimate charges against every single one of them, and they will all get fair trials.

    --
    Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
  19. Re:Again? by MachineShedFred · · Score: 2

    To be fair, Germany voted in the National Socialists to the Reichstag too, to the point of giving Hitler enough power to seize the Chancellory.

    Nobody ever said Democracy was perfect.

    --
    Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
  20. Re:Again? by Maritz · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That's the only positive I can think about the US being dumb enough to elect orange Hitler. We'll get to see if these checks and balances can stop a madman from fucking everything up. This guy wants to be a tyrant, and lots of dumb sheep are all too willing to help him out.

    --
    I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
  21. Re:Again? by Maritz · · Score: 1

    Takes a long time to establish power using only divine right by birth, so I expect there'll be a squabble between his top lieutenants when he goes.

    --
    I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
  22. Re:Let Them by jellomizer · · Score: 1

    While for the most part these tools are used for rather benign activities. But to a lot of countries even pointing out that they have problems is a big deal to them. That stupid political post on facebook pointing out that Hillary Clinton may not be truthful, may cause a person to laugh at it, get angry at it, or just ignore it.
    However if you live in a country where society says your country is perfect. Such changes to spark the idea that they are problems can cause major up rest.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  23. Correction by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 2

    "Turkey Blocks Access To Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Facebook"

    Correction: "Turkey Thinks They Blocked Access To Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Facebook"

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  24. Context by Orgasmatron · · Score: 2

    Here are a couple of links that I hope are not in any way connected to this:

    http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    The youtube clip is 8 years old, and has approximately the same borders as the new October map. This has been simmering for 98 years, and seems to be gathering steam in recent years. Note that Turkey is following the long established practice of demanding territory where ethnic Turks live while refusing to give up territory where non-Turks live.

    Erdogan has been consolidating power since the failed plot to remove him, which was about 4 months ago now. (Also see Sledgehammer.)

    --
    See that "Preview" button?
  25. Re:Again? by gtall · · Score: 1

    Erdogan is a whore who sold out his country and democracy for a bag of beans. His modus operandi is to hide behind a Muslim face veil claiming to be pious while he wastes his country.

  26. Re:Again? by Nidi62 · · Score: 3, Informative

    I think it's almost certain that the coup wasn't really a coup. It's a shame, Turkey was really making strides towards being a true modern democracy until Erdogan came along.

    This coup also had the side effect of allowing Erdogan to purge a lot of the top military brass and replace them with officers more loyal to him. This is important as the Turkish military had traditionally played the role of maintaining Turkey's secular status by undertaking coups. He has pretty much assured that there will be no military intervention any time soon in domestic politics.

    --
    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  27. Re:Again? by gtall · · Score: 1

    Yes, but Hitler had the Depression to do a bank shot off of. Turkey has no excuse. For nothing they elected the one person most likely to destroy their democracy. And they are still too stupid to see the problem.

  28. Re:Erdogan is a schmuck by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

    Which is why he's become friends with Russia in recent months. Russia doesn't care if you're a dictator, most of their allies are. Russia however would LOVE to turn a NATO member away from NATO.

    --
    "That's the way to do it" - Punch
  29. Re:Productivity increases by 200% by ItsJustAPseudonym · · Score: 1

    I hear that Slashdot is another way to do that, too. Especially the brittle, whiny aspiring despots.

  30. Re:Again? by TFlan91 · · Score: 1

    And yet, here we are, today, about to have a vote where someone like Trump is a possible victor...

    Using the exact same tactics.

  31. Re:Again? by erebrus · · Score: 1

    Sorry, what madman and dumb sheep are you talking about? Erdogan and turks or orange Hitler and his voters?

  32. Iran & Saudi Arabia by unixisc · · Score: 1

    You really have to ask how? Iran is a mortal enemy of Saudi Arabia - something that came to the fore last year, when Saudi Arabia executed a Shi'ite cleric and snapped relations w/ Iran when the Saudi embassy in Teheran was set ablaze. Iran sees its Sunni Arab neighbors as major threats to them, and therefore does what it can to destabilize the 'Whabist Nazis', as you put it.

    First of all, there is no country called 'Persia' - the 5th century called, and they want their country name back! Persia was an empire in ancient times - during the time they had those battles w/ the Greeks. Even before the Muslim conquests, that country was first Parthia (today's Khorasan) and then Sassania (today's Iraq). Persia refers to what's today the Iranian province of Fars, and some extended versions of it include Isfahan as well.

    Second, Russia has no interest in protecting the peace in 'Arabia' (sic). For one thing, the billionaires of that region, who have nothing better to do w/ their money, are busy sending dawa artists to countries in their near abroad and formenting trouble. It would be a nightmare for Russia if they ended up w/ an ISIS or Taliban style regime in Astana. So Russia, smartly, is helping Iran destabilize the region by supporting the Houtis in the Yemen civil war, while the Saudis support the ISIS side. Also, Iran backs any Shi'ite unrest in al Hasa province in Saudi Arabia, as well as in Bahrein.

    For the record, I don't support either side over the other: I see this as an Alien vs Predator battle, and want both sides to fight forever and lose. Only reservation I have is Russia backing Iran's nuke program, which is a threat to Israel. But otherwise, the Saudis will probably get the Pakis to support them, and balance it out. But a civil war like the one in Syria, if it takes place in the Arabian peninsula, will be a godsend, or an allah-send, if you will

  33. Turkey blocks... by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    How's the circumvention going?

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  34. Ataturk by dbreeze · · Score: 1

    Mustafa Kemal was truly cutting edge when he led the creation of modern Turkey. Freedom of the press was core to his plans. He's rolling in his grave because of what they're doing now.

    --
    When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law he tore his robes.2Kings22:11
  35. Congratulations. by Z80a · · Score: 1

    Now everyone you want to suppress the speech is most likely using tor, and you can't read what the hell they're talking anymore.

  36. Re:Again? by Pow.R+Toc.H · · Score: 1

    Demonization and banning of opposition parties, jailing of political opponents, suppression of free press.

    Pretty much by the numbers totalitarian rule.

    Happening here in Brazil also, we already have #1 and #2. #3 will never happen because the Brazilian media always preferred to blowjob the government as long it keeps taxes over press paper zeroed, pays media companies' debts and prevents competition from foreign news services.

    --

    --------
    Fighting the herd since 1985.
  37. Re:Again? by dbreeze · · Score: 1

    Stop it. Please tell me of a Trump critic who has been silenced. Get real.

    Here's what being silenced looks like... https://www.wikileaks.org/pode...

    --
    When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law he tore his robes.2Kings22:11
  38. Re: Again? by untoreh+ · · Score: 1

    The general opinion is that he knew about the coup beforehand but let it happen anyways so that he could bring forward all the not so democratic things he probably planned without much justification

  39. Re:Erdogan is a schmuck by unixisc · · Score: 1

    Only problem - Erdogan is in bed w/ the Saudis and Qataris, who wanna remove Assad, while the Russians want Assad to remain in power b'cos they then get one country that will still give them unfettered access to the Mediterranean. So Erdogan will either have to break w/ his Sunni Arab comrades in Riyadh and stop supporting any attempts to topple Assad, or he'd have to rebuff Putin and continue his plan to destabilize the Baath regime, in which case, the Russians gain nothing by having him break w/ NATO.