Help cry for freedom of Turkey

Roger Hicks said:
Well, Hitler was elected...

But even if they aren't dangerous nut-cases to begin with, power often goes to politicians' heads. Generally, too, they can press a few buttons -- national security, religion, xenophobia -- that will have a disproportionate resonance with their less intelligent or informed supporters.

Cheers,

R.
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Common misconception - Hitler was not elected to the head of state position, In 1932, Hindenburg won the presidential election Hitler was 2nd, Hindenburg then was pushed to appoint Hitler Chancellor (Jan 1933?), then a week before the March 1933 General election, the Reichstag burnt down, Hitler convinced Hindenburg to give him emergency powers, and that was all she wrote...
 
Thank you again guys.

Mike, there is a video on social media today. A demonstration in Sofia. People say: "Turkey, you are not alone!" Love you guys, love you all.
 
There is almost no coverage of these demonstrations in the American media. If you are getting information on these events please post sites on the Net that can provide information & updates.
 
marcr1230 said:
Common misconception - Hitler was not elected to the head of state position, In 1932, Hindenburg won the presidential election Hitler was 2nd, Hindenburg then was pushed to appoint Hitler Chancellor (Jan 1933?), then a week before the March 1933 General election, the Reichstag burnt down, Hitler convinced Hindenburg to give him emergency powers, and that was all she wrote...
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You are of course absolutely right: I can only blame my lack of detailed knowledge of the German political system in the 1930s. I knew about the burning of the Reichstag and Hindenberg being pushed aside but I thought (until I checked) that Chancellor was an elected, not appointed, position.

Thanks for reminding me. I think I may have known this once, but I had quite forgotten.

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger, if my history lessons are remembered correctly, Hitler was not elected. Hitler lost the presidential election of 1932. He succeeded Hindenburg two years later, when Hindenburg died. After the Hindenburg's death, Hitler abolished the office of president, and replaced it with the new position of Leader and Reich Chancellor.
 
kbg32 said:
Roger, if my history lessons are remembered correctly, Hitler was not elected. Hitler lost the presidential election of 1932. He succeeded Hindenburg two years later, when Hindenburg. After the Hindenburgh's death, Hitler abolished the office of president, and replaced it with the new position of Leader and Reich Chancellor.
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Dear Keith,

You are of course right. See above post. And thank you too.

Cheers,

R.
 
There has been nothing about this, or I have missed it, on US news reports. But then, my wife told me that there was a train derailment on the subway line we take to work and I saw nothing about it on the news that morning......

I always felt so in touch with world news. I may have to go back to reading the NYT evryday again. I stopped when I got laid off 4 years ago. The expense started to add up. Now that I'm working again, it seems to be a small cost for information.
 
Turks are not Arabs in the Arab Spring part of the movement. furthermore sentiments with Arab Spring doesn't really ring true as Turkey has developed in a very unique fashion compared to the rest of the Middle East with Ataturk espousing a secularist military led republic that created a stability that lasted more or less with the military stepping in and then (very curiously) stepping out to shape politics but not control it overtly. There are many cracks however with this assessment as it seems to swing back and forth.

As Turkey is a interesting case, it needs to show the west it can be as progressive as Europe in order to develop their case to join the EU (a decade ago) but also to show the Arab world that it is not only Islamic but culturally one of Turks with their own unique history. My opinion is it needs to be proud of its own Turkish heritage and stop groveling to the Europeans.

I have subscribed to the OP's tumblr and find the images great, uplifting and inspiring. It is making my feet itching to out and try to document this myself by going to Istanbul....
 
Brother,
Stay safe. Continue to resist the evil and corruptness of the Erdogan government so that you and all of Turkey may live free.

Oh but that people everywhere (US included) were so willing to demonstrate and protest the poor actions of the government.

For those who don't see much of this in the mainstream media in the US, I would tell you that this is the norm. This is not meant to be a political statement, but MSM tends to act more as a court jester than a diligent reporter. If you want to know what is going on in the world, and want hard questions to be addressed, you really need to look elsewhere than the MSM. Most of what you will get from the MSM is standard press releases from governments. Again, I'm not trying to ruffle any feathers here or start a debate, just suggesting that alternative news sources typically will offer a much deeper, fuller story of what is going on.
 
A sense of humour is still roaming the streets of Istanbul (I hope the link works)...

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/943220_10200705783979429_1713364770_n.jpg

The park redevelopment plan also includes the demolition of the Ataturk museum (what a coincidence) and it's replacement by a military-barracks and a mosque. The restrictions on what would be called 'licensed premises' in UK (restaurants and bars selling beers and wines) seems intended to reduce tourism and international interaction in Istanbul. Istanbul is already the most secular area, from what I've seen.

These small steps are continuously combined together with, for example, a reduction in the number of study places for females in professions (in 10 years there will therefore be far fewer qualified females in law and architecture), increase of religion-based 'traditional' schools in the countryside and hurdles put in the way of non-approved (by Mr.Erdogan) activities of all sorts.

The political parties in Turkey seem all very traditional, they are directed from the top down with minimal internal democracy -- as is the whole state. Ataturk did well by early 20th. century standards, but even the achievements of the republic are being constantly 'revised' in teachings these days. Of course, it is possible that I have only talked to the 'wrong' people, but this is the impression I gained, of the gradual drip-drip-drip of changes, all headed in one direction and leading to the events we see.
 

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My heart goes to you and all protesting and risking their well-being to stand against what seems like a slow-paced usurpation of your democracy.

I hope this doesn't degenerate. A government that cuts off communications and the media cannot have the people's interests in mind, only its own.
 
My wife and I are old, so we read the newspaper and watch the TV news here in the US. We have seen coverage of all of this on CBS news and PBS News Hour and in the SF Chronicle and our local daily. It's not true that it's getting no coverage, but in tornado season, things like the massive destruction of lives and homes move to the "top story" position. I also heard extensive coverage on France-Info radio.
 
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