jeez help my whole city is erupting around us...Twitter is the only way to find out what's happening...
Oh no. Can we help in any way? If there's information you need, maybe we can find it out via our news channels and feed it to you via the forum. I saw a news item just yesterday about riots over the wrecking of a public park in Istanbul. Has this spilled over? I'll check... This is part of the most recent BBC news online bulletin, from a couple of hours ago: On the edge of Taksim, at around 22:00 last night (Friday) vast, blinding clouds of pepper spray and tear gas were being deployed by baton-wielding officers in riot gear who turned on thousands of protesters. Bricks and paving slabs were pulled up and used as missiles by the crowds. Police in vehicles drove at them in an attempt to get them to disperse. With Taksim closed, demonstrators massed in the surrounding areas of Cihangir and Beyoglu and anti-government slogans and chanting continued through the night. Police also fired water cannon and tear gas in Taksim Square as demonstrators chanted "unite against fascism" and "government resign". Clashes were also reported in the Besiktas district. One Istanbul resident, who gave her name as Lily, told the BBC's World Service: "There are 40,000 people crossing the bridge between Asia and Europe today. All the public transport is on lockdown." She said that police had dropped tear-gas canisters from helicopters overnight. "About half past one the entire city started to reverberate. People were banging on pots, pans, blowing whistles," she said. The BBC's Louise Greenwood in Istanbul says police from as far afield as Antalya are being drafted in to help quell the violence. She says the central Taksim district and surrounding areas remain cordoned off and bridges are closed to traffic. In Ankara, hundreds of demonstrators gathered at a park, many drinking alcohol in protest at recent government restrictions on its sale and advertising. Some chanting anti-government slogans tried to march on parliament but were dispersed by police. In a speech to the exporters' union on Saturday, Mr Erdogan vowed order would be restored "to ensure the safety of people and their property". He said: "Police were there (Taksim Square) yesterday; they'll be on duty today and also tomorrow because Taksim Square cannot be an area where extremists are running wild." Mr Erdogan accused protesters of using the issue as an excuse to create tension. Many postings on Twitter have complained angrily about the lack of media coverage of the protests within Turkey. Istanbul's governor said a dozen people were admitted to hospital and more than 60 people detained after Friday's clashes.
Copied and pasted from http://rt.com/news/turkey-protests-second-day-114/ the link has videos Madhoca Riot police in Istanbul are withdrawing from Taksim Square and allowing the mass protest to continue unabated, Turkish state media reports. Istanbul and Ankara are seeing a second day of violent protests, with tear gas and water cannons being deployed. Follow RT’s live updates on Taksim Square protest Minor scuffles broke out after protesters lobbed fireworks at officers as they were drawing back, the state-run Anadolu Agency reports. Police removed barricades around the square, located in the heart of the city, which had previously been erected to prevent the anti-government protests, Private Dogan news agency said. Despite the authorities decision to allow tens of thousands to flood onto the square, the main subway gateway to Taksim, the central station in the city's metro network, has reportedly been shut down in an effort to keep more people from reaching the ongoing protests. In the capital, Ankara, security forces battled with demonstrators who had amassed at a park near Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office. Rallies have also been staged in the cities of Bodrum, Konya and Izmir. Confronted with the growing street opposition, Erdogan remained defiant, demanding that protesters “stop their demonstrations immediately." "Police were there yesterday, they'll be on duty today and also tomorrow because Taksim Square cannot be an area where extremists are running wild," the PM warned. On Monday, several dozen activists tried to stage a sit-in in Gezi Park, the last area of green space left on Taksim Square, after several trees were torn up to make way for a commercial redevelopment. Erdogan dismissed the small protest on Wednesday, saying authorities would go ahead with the plan, which entails the construction of a replica Ottoman-era barracks that could house a shopping mall or apartments. Following three days of police pressure, which saw officers douse peaceful protesters with pepper spray and tear gas, the sit-in attracted support from broad sections of Turkish society. On Friday morning, riot police stormed the camp, deploying water cannons and tear gas, sparking the ongoing unrest. Human rights activists said hundreds were wounded as clashes raged on throughout the night. The heavy-handed tactics deployed by police have been viewed by demonstrators as a sign of the government’s increasingly authoritarian bent, with the park demonstration turning into a broader, nationwide protest against Erdogan’s government. Similar demonstrations have flared up around the country despite a court decision to temporarily halt demolition of the park. Erdogan said that the Turkish Interior Ministry had launched an investigation into the use of excessive force by security forces. In a televised speech, the Turkish PM said police may have used tear gas excessively during their confrontation with protesters, although he insisted they did not represent the majority and were responsible for raising tensions. However, protesters have countered the claim, saying the violent police crackdown is to blame for the recent unrest. “This started simply as a peaceful sit-in to save a park, but it’s become one of the worst state attacks on protesters in recent memory -- and a frightening example of the Turkish government’s growing eagerness to crack down on its own citizens," an online petition demanding that Erdogan “End the crackdown now!” reads. "The security forces have been individually targeting protesters to terrify, wound and kill us. 12 people have already suffered trauma injuries from gas canisters -- one man died of heart attack, and hundreds are suffering from excessive gas inhalation,” it continues.
We can get news online and there are some things on TV but it's happening so quickly twitter and facebook are the most up to date. I'm on my laptop at the moment just checking my friends are ok but most are safe at home. Everyone's banging pots and pans and the cars outside are sounding their horns it's been a deafening racket for nearly 3 hours now. It's mostly the young people outside I hope my students are all ok there's been a lot of teargas in the city centre. Edit: I'm not in Istanbul, I'm in Turkey's 3rd largest city. There are protests going on in at least 5 cities now.
Wow, that's frightening. That whole part of the world is going through so much violence and rapid change, it looks like it's Turkey's turn. I hope you and your students and loved ones are safe.
Be careful about massive quoting like that. Fair Use does not extend to such large excerpts, and I doubt you secured permission to republish the article. It's preferable to summarize in your own words and give the article link as a reference. That way, you aren't violating copyright.
A Tumblr blog with lots of images (warning there will be blood). There's only a pittance of mainstream broadcast news in the US right now. It's cheaper to play videos of yesterday's tornados on continuous loops. On another forum one of the members in Istanbul has linked to the local English language news sites from Istanbul: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ http://www.todayszaman.com/mainAction.action Seems like a fair amount of context there.
This is going to be pretty common place soon. A lot of young people are getting sick of being forced into systematic crap, while the powerful are slowly screwing up everything, yet continue enjoying the high life. It's pretty much a media black out over here, though even as I type, little bits are coming over the news. But fear not, the riot squads will break skulls, which will make people happy. Keep safe. I can imagine it being a terrifying situation, especially when its in ones own hometown.
Some could say it's been in a steady progress towards that state for some time. Every year we're losing more and more of our liberties. All on the basis of fear and lies that most people accept as truth/reality. Fear is an incredible illusion that many outlets of our lives sell 24 hours a day. Sadly many buy into it.
He didn't really give you an answer. He asked what you didn't get about what he posted or the point he was trying to make. (Not really sure....both maybe?) The thing he posted seemed pretty self explanatory. He views Turkey's police brutality like 1984 (As in the Government is being a bully) and that article explained what happened. Um well I myself don't know what happened in Turkey (Besides only some of the details. Been to busy to catch the news or see friends who would tell me more of this issue). So I don't really have a place in this discussion but his point seemed simple enough.
He posted a single sentence that made zero sense to me. Why spend a half dozen posts explaining what I said in the first one, his single sentence made ZERO sense. 1984 is synonymous with Big Brother watching everyone with cameras. The torture that was part of the end of the story is not what I think of when someone cites 1984. Not only that, but the torture was used to brainwash people, not to stop riots. Other themes in 1984 were NewSpeak (war is peace), constant war to keep people from questioning the government (the ever shifting alliance and the enemy), and continual re-writing of history (he who controls the past controls the present). So, maybe you got something out of King's post. But it made no sense to me.
The fuck? I asked you what you don't understand and I get an infraction for it? nf level modding there
I don't know what that's about but I don't agree it needed an infraction. I certainly didn't report your post. It was annoying but not infraction level annoying.
You said you didn't get the point of my post. I asked you which part did you not understand. I meant the link or the comment.
Well I've never read 1984 so I was just drawing my conclusions from what I could work with. Yeah I know....I'm an evil man. Just haven't gotten to it yet.
Goodness, I didn't mean to cause this fuss. Madhoca has a serious situation on his hands, that's what the thread is about. Crimson_King, when you post a single sentence and someone says they don't know what you meant, how many parts could there be that the person didn't get? I still don't get your point. What does anything you've seen about the current riots in Turkey have to do with the book or story, "1984"? Big Brother watching everyone with cameras? Torture used to brainwash people? NewSpeak (war is peace)? Constant war to keep people from questioning the government (the ever shifting of the allied country and the enemy country)? Continual re-writing of history (he who controls the past controls the present)? "1984" is about controlling the population but it's not about simple brute force to do so. So can we please get back to the topic? I think the other forum members would appreciate it. (And I'm truly sorry about the infraction.)
Look, guys, the infraction wasn't really a serious one - it was a warning and no points were charged. The point was to keep the discussion civil. That's all. I'm not trying to shut anybody up. I like political debate (though I'm woefully underinformed about the topic of this thread, so I won't participate). Carry on.
I don't know much about Turkey's current events. I know a fair amount about the Middle East in general and it's awful. There are so many bad things I can't see a solution any time soon. The way women are treated in that part of the world is a tragedy. The mess we (as in the US and Europe proper) have made supporting dictators and interfering in legitimate democracies is horrid. My parents lived in Iran for a year just before the Shaw was overthrown, and I know quite a bit because I took an interest in the country and people. I don't even want to think about it, how much fault lies with the interference of the US dating back to the 50s and beyond. I've always been against those actions of my government but have so little power to effect any change. I just hope that with all the death and turmoil that all the countries emerge with peace and democracies and some kind of secular agreement to respect each other's beliefs, but not so much women suffer for it.
Would that be Izmir? In the other forum I'm reading about this, the gentle-person from Istanbul says Izmir is one of the cities most anti-government. Violent protests spread to Turkish coast (0:44) June 1 - Protesters in the Aegean coastal city of Izmir clash with police as they take to the streets in solidarity with thousands demonstrating in Istanbul. ... ( Transcript )
The UK newspaper The Guardian has an up-to-date report for today, Sunday, posted online. It says that while events are being reported around the world, the Turkish government has more or less engineered a blackout of Turkish media on the event. The immediate violent clashes seem to have eased, and the police have left the park site, but I do get the impression there is a LOT more to be done before things return to 'normal.' I hope that 'normal' will also mean 'better.' Madhoca, I'm so sorry. This must be very very scary for you.
Well, after a very noisy 5 hours my part of the city was fairly calm again and we got to sleep. Apparently there were armoured police cars and water cannons and tear gas deployed the other side of town, however. Now there's a slight feeling of depression in the air. Really, no one wants civilisation breaking up around them, this is a modern cheerful place with a very young demographic wanting to enjoy life. The police are not usually brutal, actually, it seems like they were practically being ordered to use force. Over 1,000 police officers have resigned, I heard. Ginger coffee: These distubances are all about keeping the country secular and western-oriented. The women here are completely liberated and Western, with full rights as citizens. Protesters are not wanting Islamic values or something like that, absolutely the reverse. This city was almost totally against the ruling party in the last general and city council elections. For this reason, we are the poor relation when it comes to grants, city budgets etc. You can see why people are angry. The population here are young and well-educated, so simple repetitive speeches do not work on them like they do with peasants who like father-figures. Our Leader will have to try harder. BTW, the tourist resorts on the coast are not affected by all this. People were really upset about the few tourists caught up in the heat of things in Istanbul, they were looked after by the locals although one person was hurt. Thanks for the sympathy, everyone. I hope we get back to a better form of "normal" soon, too. Especially as my family has suffered bankrupcy once before and I couldn't stand the business to crash again just as it's been doing so well and my kids are both at university needing money.
