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2013-06-04 The Grand Turk
A teacher's blog from Istanbul Turkey regarding the "police riots"
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Posted by 3dc 2013-06-04 10:02|| || Front Page|| [11128 views ]  Top

#1 Would be more believable if the site hosting it wasn't chocked full of nutty conspiracy BS.
Posted by Rob Crawford 2013-06-04 12:04||   2013-06-04 12:04|| Front Page Top

#2 A similar tale over at City Journal by Claire Berlinski who is reasonably sane and seems quite fond of Turkey.
Posted by SteveS 2013-06-04 12:47||   2013-06-04 12:47|| Front Page Top

#3 A friend's daughter is working there and was gassed in a Starbucks while having a Chai Latte. I didn't want to post her story so posted this more detailed one. She has all sorts of photos on Facebook.
Posted by 3dc 2013-06-04 13:05||   2013-06-04 13:05|| Front Page Top

#4 She was in the Starbucks near the square because she couldn't take the commuter train the night before and slept at friends nearby. The commuter train and station had been gassed and pepper sprayed by the police so commuting home was not an option. Protesters ran into the Starbucks the next morning with police right behind them. She got gas and pepper spray with the chai latte and bailed out the back door. Some protesters helped her by poring milk an lemon juice in her eyes until she could see. She made sure to get lots of cellphone photos which she posted on facebook and sent to CNN. One of the CNN reports was hers.
Posted by 3dc 2013-06-04 13:11||   2013-06-04 13:11|| Front Page Top

#5 From the Berlinski report:

The three largest Turkish football teams, usually mortal rivals (in some cases literally), announced that they would unite to join the protests.


So long as they refrain from chanting "Zafer! Zafer!"
Posted by Rob Crawford 2013-06-04 13:43||   2013-06-04 13:43|| Front Page Top

#6 Also:

While no doubt some of the protesters committed vandalism, and some threw stones at the police, their social responsibility overall was impressive: as soon as the police pulled out of Taksim, they organized a cleanup of the square and its environs, even arranging makeshift first-aid stations for injured stray animals.


OK, at least SOME of them I respect. They're showing more care for the city than the government.
Posted by Rob Crawford 2013-06-04 13:49||   2013-06-04 13:49|| Front Page Top

#7 they organized a cleanup of the square and its environs,

Obviously not running off the Occupy handbook.

Interesting that Turkey is melting down given that it has long been regarded as the 'sensible' Islamic country.
Posted by SteveS 2013-06-04 14:42||   2013-06-04 14:42|| Front Page Top

#8 "'sensible' Islamic"

Now there's an oxymoron, Steve.
Posted by Barbara 2013-06-04 15:38||   2013-06-04 15:38|| Front Page Top

#9 Well, in the late 19th/early 20th century being Moslem meant something different than it does today, after the Wahabbis spent a couple trillion dollars to remake Islam in their own (or similar, like the Deobandis) image.
Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2013-06-04 15:44||   2013-06-04 15:44|| Front Page Top

#10 
Interesting that Turkey is melting down given that it has long been regarded as the 'sensible' Islamic country.


But it sounds like they're rejecting the Islamist parties, not running towards them.

My worry is that Erdogan's party ran on an "anti-corruption" theme then turned out to be more corrupt than the last group, the people will search for an even "purer" party.
Posted by Rob Crawford 2013-06-04 15:44||   2013-06-04 15:44|| Front Page Top

#11 Hmmm, I notice that just recently Erdokan got the "He's a good buddy" press and photo treatment from Obama. If you are a Democrat candidate from a Red State or a Muslim leader, it might not be a good idea to get too close to Obama.
Posted by Shump Ebbinesing8470 2013-06-04 15:56||   2013-06-04 15:56|| Front Page Top

#12 The three largest Turkish football teams, usually mortal rivals (in some cases literally), announced that they would unite to join the protests.

Does that include the Whites, Blues and Greens? We've seen that one before. Appropriate given the location.
Posted by Procopius2k 2013-06-04 17:07||   2013-06-04 17:07|| Front Page Top

22:57 JosephMendiola
22:53 JosephMendiola
22:46 JosephMendiola
22:41 JosephMendiola
21:31 SteveS
20:36 Frank G
20:30 Barbara
20:21 Winky Sproing5899
19:14 Procopius2k
19:09 crosspatch
18:03 irishrageboy
17:48 Rambler in Virginia
17:07 Procopius2k
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16:59 Glenmore
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16:46 Beavis
16:16 Ebbang Uluque6305
16:00 lord garth
15:56 Shump Ebbinesing8470
15:44 Rob Crawford
15:44 Thing From Snowy Mountain









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