We are officially **cked. They will expel the HDP and replace it with AKP reps to pass the needed constitutional revisions to allow Erdogan to become the executive President
How can Erdogan be stopped at this point? Is there any way to avert him plunging your country into disaster?
edit - because aside from the oft-discussed but questionably feasible military coup, it seems like what little room there is to oppose Erdogan politically will disappear soon
I don't think there's a democratic way. We'll have to wait until he dies naturally... On the other hand, I (and many others) would rather have a vasectomy than have children in this country with him in power, so the ratio of his supporters among the general population will likely increase in the future.
Am I right in thinking that, if Erdogan removes the HDP from parliament in the way you describe, the conflict in the south/southeast is likely to intensify?
You don't need Basar to confirm that for you Kap.
It would be a pretty blatant message to the Kurds that there is NO political solution to their problems.
Pretty much what Rchanen said.
Erdogan pretty much sees himself as the Sultan of the neo-Ottomanizm.
I took these photos on my way to work yesterday. He is calling for his supporters to join him in celebrating the 563rd anniversary of capturing Istanbul (Constantinople). He is everywhere, every 10 meters.
I hope you take precautions while posting these criticisms, @Basar. You seem like a good guy.
We are officially **cked. They will expel the HDP and replace it with AKP reps to pass the needed constitutional revisions to allow Erdogan to become the executive President
How can Erdogan be stopped at this point? Is there any way to avert him plunging your country into disaster?
edit - because aside from the oft-discussed but questionably feasible military coup, it seems like what little room there is to oppose Erdogan politically will disappear soon
I don't think there's a democratic way. We'll have to wait until he dies naturally... On the other hand, I (and many others) would rather have a vasectomy than have children in this country with him in power, so the ratio of his supporters among the general population will likely increase in the future.
Am I right in thinking that, if Erdogan removes the HDP from parliament in the way you describe, the conflict in the south/southeast is likely to intensify?
You don't need Basar to confirm that for you Kap.
It would be a pretty blatant message to the Kurds that there is NO political solution to their problems.
Pretty much what Rchanen said.
Erdogan pretty much sees himself as the Sultan of the neo-Ottomanizm.
I took these photos on my way to work yesterday. He is calling for his supporters to join him in celebrating the 563rd anniversary of capturing Istanbul (Constantinople). He is everywhere, every 10 meters.
I hope you take precautions while posting these criticisms, @Basar. You seem like a good guy.
Well I use a VPN service so my connection is always routed through the US but Basar is my real name, so just gotta make sure I don't leave any hints as to which Basar I am
I am also used to persecution anyways as I have both Kurdish and Alevi ancestry which are the lowest forms of society in the eyes of Sunni Turks. On the other hand, I have zero interest in promoting ethnic or religious values as I have traveled quite a bit in my late teens and early 20s to admire universal values of human rights regardless of one's background. I am also an atheist so pretty much whichever way you spin it, I should be stoned to death :twisted:
Thanks for your concern @Taranis. I really appreciate your concern
i live in a country with a batshit crazy president and no, english is not my first language
We are officially **cked. They will expel the HDP and replace it with AKP reps to pass the needed constitutional revisions to allow Erdogan to become the executive President
How can Erdogan be stopped at this point? Is there any way to avert him plunging your country into disaster?
edit - because aside from the oft-discussed but questionably feasible military coup, it seems like what little room there is to oppose Erdogan politically will disappear soon
I don't think there's a democratic way. We'll have to wait until he dies naturally... On the other hand, I (and many others) would rather have a vasectomy than have children in this country with him in power, so the ratio of his supporters among the general population will likely increase in the future.
Am I right in thinking that, if Erdogan removes the HDP from parliament in the way you describe, the conflict in the south/southeast is likely to intensify?
You don't need Basar to confirm that for you Kap.
It would be a pretty blatant message to the Kurds that there is NO political solution to their problems.
Pretty much what Rchanen said.
Erdogan pretty much sees himself as the Sultan of the neo-Ottomanizm.
I took these photos on my way to work yesterday. He is calling for his supporters to join him in celebrating the 563rd anniversary of capturing Istanbul (Constantinople). He is everywhere, every 10 meters.
I like how they're all the same photo of him.
Is this part of a campaign, election, or some program, or whatever? Or is it like this year round?
We are officially **cked. They will expel the HDP and replace it with AKP reps to pass the needed constitutional revisions to allow Erdogan to become the executive President
How can Erdogan be stopped at this point? Is there any way to avert him plunging your country into disaster?
edit - because aside from the oft-discussed but questionably feasible military coup, it seems like what little room there is to oppose Erdogan politically will disappear soon
I don't think there's a democratic way. We'll have to wait until he dies naturally... On the other hand, I (and many others) would rather have a vasectomy than have children in this country with him in power, so the ratio of his supporters among the general population will likely increase in the future.
Am I right in thinking that, if Erdogan removes the HDP from parliament in the way you describe, the conflict in the south/southeast is likely to intensify?
You don't need Basar to confirm that for you Kap.
It would be a pretty blatant message to the Kurds that there is NO political solution to their problems.
Pretty much what Rchanen said.
Erdogan pretty much sees himself as the Sultan of the neo-Ottomanizm.
I took these photos on my way to work yesterday. He is calling for his supporters to join him in celebrating the 563rd anniversary of capturing Istanbul (Constantinople). He is everywhere, every 10 meters.
I'm always amazed at the power of the US's global influence. Picture of a politician from thousands of miles away, from a completely different culture, and not a current/former US territory or some such; and what is the head of state wearing? A fucking flag lapel pin. It's like they make them in Coca-Cola factories.
That's actually pretty surprising? Doesn't sound like they suffered any casualties, so good on that front at least. Gotta be a morale win for the ISIS fucks though, hitting an enemy HQ, destroy key materials and get away scot free...
That's actually pretty surprising? Doesn't sound like they suffered any casualties, so good on that front at least. Gotta be a morale win for the ISIS fucks though, hitting an enemy HQ, destroy key materials and get away scot free...
This is Russia we are talking about.
There will be payback.
0
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knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
"Payback" in the form of continuing to bomb anti-Assad forces who have nothing to do with Daesh, maybe.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Yeah, I've been keeping tabs on both of those frontlines, I agree that these are potentially important developments. Fallujah more so - losing it would be a decisive defeat for IS in Anbar Province aside from a small part of the Syrian border, leaving them largely confined to Mosul and the surrounding northern region. I also think the city holds symbolic value to IS's Iraqi core, and that its loss will be a good propaganda boost for the government (assuming they succeed, which I think they will).
The SDF push toward Raqqa from the north is interesting. I'm still skeptical that the SDF plans to make an attempt on the city itself anytime in the near future, but putting pressure on IS's Syrian HQ is significant. I'm interested to see how hard IS will fight to defend the environs of their main stronghold - though from looking at it on wikimapia it seems like it might be the sort of environment where US airstrikes are essentially decisive (wide open spaces).
edit - if I am wrong and the SDF actually does attack and successfully take IS's capital, that would of course be a hugely significant defeat for IS in Syria, and a major shift in the power balance in the country. But I still don't think that's about to happen, despite some implying otherwise.
Yeah, I've been keeping tabs on both of those frontlines, I agree that these are potentially important developments. Fallujah more so - losing it would be a decisive defeat for IS in Anbar Province aside from a small part of the Syrian border, leaving them largely confined to Mosul and the surrounding northern region. I also think the city holds symbolic value to IS's Iraqi core, and that its loss will be a good propaganda boost for the government (assuming they succeed, which I think they will).
The SDF push toward Raqqa from the north is interesting. I'm still skeptical that the SDF plans to make an attempt on the city itself anytime in the near future, but putting pressure on IS's Syrian HQ is significant. I'm interested to see how hard IS will fight to defend the environs of their main stronghold - though from looking at it on wikimapia it seems like it might be the sort of environment where US airstrikes are essentially decisive (wide open spaces).
edit - if I am wrong and the SDF actually does attack and successfully take IS's capital, that would of course be a hugely significant defeat for IS in Syria, and a major shift in the power balance in the country. But I still don't think that's about to happen, despite some implying otherwise.
Yeah I have not heard anything about them going for Raqa (or Raqqa). Though if they clear and hold the northern area right next to the city, that will make Raqqa's defense more precarious.
This seems less like invasion and more like build the beachhead for a future invasion.
The Afghan Taliban have chosen a successor after the US's assassination of Mullah Mansour.
Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada was deputy to Mullah Mansour and held senior positions under the movement's founder Mullah Omar.
He comes from Kandahar in the Taliban heartlands of southern Afghanistan and seems to have been an acceptable choice for a significant number of Taliban shura (council) members.
The new leader is not as controversial as his predecessor, who led the militants for two years before news emerged that Mullah Omar was actually dead.
A Taliban statement said the new appointment had been unanimous, the same word the Taliban used when Mullah Mansour took over. Splits soon emerged after that - this time there could still be some disagreements, but probably not enough to challenge the new leader's authority.
...
It also said that Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, son of Mullah Omar, would become a joint deputy head of the movement, alongside current deputy leader Sirajuddin Haqqani.
I had been betting on Mullah Omar's son taking Mansour's place, but I've seen this guy's name thrown around by the news media recently as well. By the sounds of this and other articles, we might not see the same level of infighting that we did last year, though we won't know for some days or weeks.
Hamza bin Laden (OBL's son) has released an al-Qaeda-style speech or two in the last year, one of which included a pledge of allegiance to Mullah Mansour. This was pretty interesting, in that he did not pledge allegiance to Ayman az-Zawahiri like everyone else in al-Qaeda does, but instead made the same pledge that Zawahiri did - seemingly placing himself on equal footing with AQ's leader. If the Taliban had appointed Yaqoub, we might have seen Osama Bin Laden's son pledge allegiance to Mullah Omar's son, just as OBL had pledged allegiance to Omar so many years ago - this generational continuity would be pretty powerful symbolism in jihadist circles, I think.
IS in northern Aleppo has made major gains against the Azaz-based rebels. The rebels are now essentially isolated in Azaz and Mare, and IS has reportedly separated the two. If the rebels do not rebound they will be out of the game soon, and northern Aleppo will be reduced to IS sandwiched between the SDF in Kobane and Afrin. From the SDF's perspective, this is a very good thing - the presence of the Turkish-backed rebels around Azaz has been the main barrier preventing them from connecting their territories. But from the Turkish perspective, this is pretty mucb the worst possible outcome.
Frankly I was pretty surprised to see US spec ops guys wearing the insignia of the YPG too. Remember that this is a libertarian socialist militant group whose sister organization (the PKK) is officially considered a terrorist organization by the US. I suppose the US troopps were probably just trying to blend in? Although allowing their pictures to be taken was a weird choice if so. Apparently Washington told them to no longer wear the insignias.
Either way, I'll drink Erdogan's bitter tears with glee. Murray Bookchin is a socialist writer whose ideology is the main inspiration for the ideology expressed by the PYD. He largely introduced me to non-statist interpretations of socialism, and was a major influence on the development of my political thought. If you had told me at the time that, eight or nine years later, US special operations forces would be fighting alongside a Kurdish militant faction espousing Bookchin-esque socialism, I'd have laughed my ass off. I'd have told you that libertarian socialism as an ideology, being anti-capitalist and anti-state, is so opposed to the US's model that the notion of Washington supporting such a group was absurd.
But I guess when they're among the primary resistance to an expansionist terror-theocracy intent on destroying your society and that of everyone else, such concerns seem less relevant than they might have in the 20th century.
edit - damn, sorry for the typos/missing words, I need to proofread posts once before submitting or something
Honestly, I would give up all of my money (heh) or even give up an unimportant digit (pinky toe? or maybe the one next to it, it might not affect balance as much?) to sit in on some of the Obama administration's discussions regarding its Syria policy.
I hope somehow that goes well, but its tough to imagine. Fallujah is a center of Sunni discontent- as we saw in the two ugly battles the US fought there, in which they destroyed much of the city. Despite the destruction the discontent remained (shocking!). Having a repeat but with more Shia militia bodes ill. If this turns into a bloodbath, it only ensures IS or some successor group will rise again.
Really given the way IS lays claim to land and cities they kind of have to be ousted out of prominent physical positions like Fallujah for an attack to in any way damage them or their image
Unfortunately yeah even if IS is destroyed Fallujah is going to be a hot spot for violence, discontent and unrest for decades
Prohass on
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knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
Part of me thinks we should have evacuated the city and then leveled it years ago.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Part of me thinks we should have evacuated the city and then leveled it years ago.
Yeah that would have cleaned it up. Cleansed it, some might say.
**
Hum, seems like the Kurds might be on the move in a big way too, going after Manbij, amongst all the other offensives. Just a rumour though at this point.
Part of me thinks we should have evacuated the city and then leveled it years ago.
Yeah that would have cleaned it up. Cleansed it, some might say.
**
Hum, seems like the Kurds might be on the move in a big way too, going after Manbij, amongst all the other offensives. Just a rumour though at this point.
This is probably the best opportunity they've had to try and advance into North Aleppo, since the rebels are reeling from a nearly decisive series of defeats by IS. Though I haven't heard anything about advances against IS on the western (Afrin) front.
Part of me thinks we should have evacuated the city and then leveled it years ago.
Yeah that would have cleaned it up. Cleansed it, some might say.
For a moment, I swear, I thought you were talking about Jerusalem.
("There, now NO ONE has it." Solomon and the baby.)
Destruction of the Dome of the Rock would have astoundingly disastrous repercussions, I think it would be a major destabilizing thing across the middle east if even a natural disaster destroyed the Dome..Though that may be more to do with concern that Israel might use it as an excuse to rebuild the Temple of Solomon.
Part of me thinks we should have evacuated the city and then leveled it years ago.
Yeah that would have cleaned it up. Cleansed it, some might say.
For a moment, I swear, I thought you were talking about Jerusalem.
("There, now NO ONE has it." Solomon and the baby.)
Destruction of the Dome of the Rock would have astoundingly disastrous repercussions, I think it would be a major destabilizing thing across the middle east if even a natural disaster destroyed the Dome..Though that may be more to do with concern that Israel might use it as an excuse to rebuild the Temple of Solomon.
I would go with "certainty" rather then "concern" there.
On Thursday the German parliament will vote on whether to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Turkey isn't pleased of course and it's going to be interesting to see how this influences the current EU-Turkey talks on visas and refugees.
On Thursday the German parliament will vote on whether to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Turkey isn't pleased of course and it's going to be interesting to see how this influences the current EU-Turkey talks on visas and refugees.
There won't be a EU-Turkey visa&migrant deal. Erdogan is so used to getting what he wants without giving anything back, even if the agreement goes ahead, it won't last more than a few weeks or months.
By the way, anyone with the slightest bit of objectivity can sense the discrimination Armenian Turks face today in Turkish society. As much as they love to claim being nice and hospitable, Turks in general are extremely racist and ethnically nationalist.
i live in a country with a batshit crazy president and no, english is not my first language
Heavy fighting in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. al-Jazeera quotes government officials as admitting to over 50 Afghan soldiers (or "police") dead and dozens injured. The Taliban have reached the outskirts of the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah.
This is the first major offensive since their new leader, Mullah Akhundzada, was appointed. Lashkar Gah's fall would represent a pretty decisive defeat for the Afghan government in Helmand Province.
Part of me thinks we should have evacuated the city and then leveled it years ago.
Yeah that would have cleaned it up. Cleansed it, some might say.
For a moment, I swear, I thought you were talking about Jerusalem.
("There, now NO ONE has it." Solomon and the baby.)
Destruction of the Dome of the Rock would have astoundingly disastrous repercussions, I think it would be a major destabilizing thing across the middle east if even a natural disaster destroyed the Dome..Though that may be more to do with concern that Israel might use it as an excuse to rebuild the Temple of Solomon.
I would go with "certainty" rather then "concern" there.
I was trying to be slightly hopeful..but Yeah, I know.
On Thursday the German parliament will vote on whether to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Turkey isn't pleased of course and it's going to be interesting to see how this influences the current EU-Turkey talks on visas and refugees.
I'm wondering if there is something I'm missing here.
Is there any actual ramifications from countries recognizing the armenian genocide? The best I can tell it is basically one country saying "Dick Move, bro" to another. If every country in the world recognized it tomorrow what does it change?
On Thursday the German parliament will vote on whether to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Turkey isn't pleased of course and it's going to be interesting to see how this influences the current EU-Turkey talks on visas and refugees.
I'm wondering if there is something I'm missing here.
Is there any actual ramifications from countries recognizing the armenian genocide? The best I can tell it is basically one country saying "Dick Move, bro" to another. If every country in the world recognized it tomorrow what does it change?
Considering that the Armenian Genocide happened something like 100 years ago, its basically just a middle finger to Turkey at this point.
Posts
I hope you take precautions while posting these criticisms, @Basar. You seem like a good guy.
Well I use a VPN service so my connection is always routed through the US but Basar is my real name, so just gotta make sure I don't leave any hints as to which Basar I am
I am also used to persecution anyways as I have both Kurdish and Alevi ancestry which are the lowest forms of society in the eyes of Sunni Turks. On the other hand, I have zero interest in promoting ethnic or religious values as I have traveled quite a bit in my late teens and early 20s to admire universal values of human rights regardless of one's background. I am also an atheist so pretty much whichever way you spin it, I should be stoned to death :twisted:
Thanks for your concern @Taranis. I really appreciate your concern
I like how they're all the same photo of him.
Is this part of a campaign, election, or some program, or whatever? Or is it like this year round?
I'm always amazed at the power of the US's global influence. Picture of a politician from thousands of miles away, from a completely different culture, and not a current/former US territory or some such; and what is the head of state wearing? A fucking flag lapel pin. It's like they make them in Coca-Cola factories.
This is Russia we are talking about.
There will be payback.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
@Kaputa Hey Kap,
You know those Syrian IS borders you were talking about?
They may be about to change.
It appears the Syrian Kurds have been given the green light to kick some ass.
They are going to be pushing into the area north of Raqa
And all of this is simultaneous to the Fallujah assault.
The SDF push toward Raqqa from the north is interesting. I'm still skeptical that the SDF plans to make an attempt on the city itself anytime in the near future, but putting pressure on IS's Syrian HQ is significant. I'm interested to see how hard IS will fight to defend the environs of their main stronghold - though from looking at it on wikimapia it seems like it might be the sort of environment where US airstrikes are essentially decisive (wide open spaces).
edit - if I am wrong and the SDF actually does attack and successfully take IS's capital, that would of course be a hugely significant defeat for IS in Syria, and a major shift in the power balance in the country. But I still don't think that's about to happen, despite some implying otherwise.
Yeah I have not heard anything about them going for Raqa (or Raqqa). Though if they clear and hold the northern area right next to the city, that will make Raqqa's defense more precarious.
This seems less like invasion and more like build the beachhead for a future invasion.
I had been betting on Mullah Omar's son taking Mansour's place, but I've seen this guy's name thrown around by the news media recently as well. By the sounds of this and other articles, we might not see the same level of infighting that we did last year, though we won't know for some days or weeks.
Hamza bin Laden (OBL's son) has released an al-Qaeda-style speech or two in the last year, one of which included a pledge of allegiance to Mullah Mansour. This was pretty interesting, in that he did not pledge allegiance to Ayman az-Zawahiri like everyone else in al-Qaeda does, but instead made the same pledge that Zawahiri did - seemingly placing himself on equal footing with AQ's leader. If the Taliban had appointed Yaqoub, we might have seen Osama Bin Laden's son pledge allegiance to Mullah Omar's son, just as OBL had pledged allegiance to Omar so many years ago - this generational continuity would be pretty powerful symbolism in jihadist circles, I think.
Doesn't look like he's happy about it.
git gud, rest of world
hahaha that smile on the guy arresting him
:rotate:
What isn't Turkey angry over.
You want some breaking news tell me that Turkey/Erdogan are being shockingly chill about something. At least then it'd be an rare occurrence.
Frankly I was pretty surprised to see US spec ops guys wearing the insignia of the YPG too. Remember that this is a libertarian socialist militant group whose sister organization (the PKK) is officially considered a terrorist organization by the US. I suppose the US troopps were probably just trying to blend in? Although allowing their pictures to be taken was a weird choice if so. Apparently Washington told them to no longer wear the insignias.
Either way, I'll drink Erdogan's bitter tears with glee. Murray Bookchin is a socialist writer whose ideology is the main inspiration for the ideology expressed by the PYD. He largely introduced me to non-statist interpretations of socialism, and was a major influence on the development of my political thought. If you had told me at the time that, eight or nine years later, US special operations forces would be fighting alongside a Kurdish militant faction espousing Bookchin-esque socialism, I'd have laughed my ass off. I'd have told you that libertarian socialism as an ideology, being anti-capitalist and anti-state, is so opposed to the US's model that the notion of Washington supporting such a group was absurd.
But I guess when they're among the primary resistance to an expansionist terror-theocracy intent on destroying your society and that of everyone else, such concerns seem less relevant than they might have in the 20th century.
edit - damn, sorry for the typos/missing words, I need to proofread posts once before submitting or something
bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36410982
Between that and the Russian reprisal for Latakia. Which will probably involve blowing shit up combined with Turkey and the US growing more distant towards each other and not being able to agree over the Kurds.
Basically I get the feeling that the ceasefire may break down.
Unfortunately yeah even if IS is destroyed Fallujah is going to be a hot spot for violence, discontent and unrest for decades
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Yeah that would have cleaned it up. Cleansed it, some might say.
**
Hum, seems like the Kurds might be on the move in a big way too, going after Manbij, amongst all the other offensives. Just a rumour though at this point.
For a moment, I swear, I thought you were talking about Jerusalem.
("There, now NO ONE has it." Solomon and the baby.)
Destruction of the Dome of the Rock would have astoundingly disastrous repercussions, I think it would be a major destabilizing thing across the middle east if even a natural disaster destroyed the Dome..Though that may be more to do with concern that Israel might use it as an excuse to rebuild the Temple of Solomon.
I would go with "certainty" rather then "concern" there.
germany-risks-turkey-wrath-armenian-genocide-vote
There won't be a EU-Turkey visa&migrant deal. Erdogan is so used to getting what he wants without giving anything back, even if the agreement goes ahead, it won't last more than a few weeks or months.
By the way, anyone with the slightest bit of objectivity can sense the discrimination Armenian Turks face today in Turkish society. As much as they love to claim being nice and hospitable, Turks in general are extremely racist and ethnically nationalist.
This is the first major offensive since their new leader, Mullah Akhundzada, was appointed. Lashkar Gah's fall would represent a pretty decisive defeat for the Afghan government in Helmand Province.
I was trying to be slightly hopeful..but Yeah, I know.
I'm wondering if there is something I'm missing here.
Is there any actual ramifications from countries recognizing the armenian genocide? The best I can tell it is basically one country saying "Dick Move, bro" to another. If every country in the world recognized it tomorrow what does it change?
Considering that the Armenian Genocide happened something like 100 years ago, its basically just a middle finger to Turkey at this point.