Military coup underway in Turkey

Erdogan is very dangerous, IMO, not just to Turkey, but to the wider world.

Not just him, his hardline wife has a loud mouth .... and I have been told she is the power behind him AND wears the trousers, with her headscarf, in their marriage!! LL

Turkish president’s wife declares Sultans' harems were ‘educational centres that prepared women for life’ (and HE thinks a woman's main role is as a mother).
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3487154/Turkish-president-s-wife-declares-harems-educational-centres-prepared-women-life.html#ixzz4RbCbMjiq

Hareems probably sound like a great idea when you are Chief Sultana, or whatever the title is. Not so much when you're at the bottom of the ladder, and little more than some bloke's possession. And probably valued less than his horse or car.

bb1 wrote:Hareems probably sound like a great idea when you are Chief Sultana, or whatever the title is. Not so much when you're at the bottom of the ladder, and little more than some bloke's possession. And probably valued less than his horse or car.

She looks such a hard-faced biatch, doesn't she? I bet she whips her servants. LL

Agree, LL. I don't know where this myth came from that women in prominent positions are somehow 'nicer' than men - a lot of them are absolute horrors once they've clawed their way to the top.

bb1 wrote:Agree, LL. I don't know where this myth came from that women in prominent positions are somehow 'nicer' than men - a lot of them are absolute horrors once they've clawed their way to the top.

"The female of the species is always more deadly than the male."   LL

I would not want to greatly upset her.  

Turkey's leader renounces foreign currencies to boost lira

ISTANBUL (AP) December 08, 2016 — Turkey's leader has renounced foreign currencies in favor of the ailing lira currency in keeping with his appeal to Turkish citizens to do the same, his spokesman said Thursday, as a new measure was unveiled to help struggling businesses.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "exchanged all of the foreign currency in his accounts into Turkish liras," spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said. Last week, Erdogan had urged his citizens to give up the dollar and euros at a time the economy is teetering. Erdogan called on Turkish citizens to convert savings held in foreign currencies into gold and Turkish lira to help boost the ailing currency, which recently dropped above 3.5 lira per dollar, the weakest exchange rate in more than a decade.

https://www.mail.com/int/news/europe/4817676-turkeys-leader-renounces-foreign-currencies-to-boo.html#.1258-stage-hero1-6

Greek court rejects extradition for 2 Turkish servicemen

ATHENS, Greece (AP) December 08, 2016 — A Greek court on Thursday rejected Turkey's extradition request for the last two of eight Turkish servicemen who fled to Greece after a failed July military coup, their lawyer said.

The decision is the third in the case, which now sees extradition requests denied for five of the helicopter crewmen, and approved for the other three. The conflicting rulings have added to tension between the two NATO allies, which have longstanding disputes over boundaries in the Aegean Sea.

Greece has become increasingly concerned over statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Athens regards as challenges to the international treaties that delineated Greek-Turkish borders.

https://www.mail.com/int/news/europe/4817494-greek-court-rejects-extradition-2-turkish-servicem.html#.1258-stage-hero1-12

I bet they're relieved.

Turkey shifts closer to expanding powers for Erdogan

ISTANBUL (AP) December 10, 2016 — Turkey's ruling party on Saturday submitted proposed constitutional amendments that could greatly expand the powers and extend the mandate of the country's president. Private news channel NTV broadcast images of the parliament speaker receiving the proposal, which garnered 316 supporting signatures from the 550-seat assembly. If cleared by a constitutional committee and approved by parliament, the reforms would pave the way for a referendum on granting the largely ceremonial presidency full executive powers.

Critics feared the proposed reforms would allow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has retained outsized influence over his party and the levers of government, to rule unchecked. "This is a regime change, plain and simple: one-man rule," lawmaker Seyit Torun of the Republican People's Party was quoted as saying.

https://www.mail.com/int/news/europe/4823002-turkey-shifts-closer-to-expanding-powers-erdogan.html#.1258-stage-hero1-2

"This is a regime change, plain and simple: one-man rule,"

Yes, I very much fear it is.

http://news.sky.com/story/bomb-blasts-outside-istanbul-stadium-kill-at-least-13-10691657

At least 13 people have been killed in two explosions near a football stadium in Istanbul, it has been claimed.

At least one of the blasts was caused by a car bomb and targeted a riot police bus near the Besiktas stadium, interior minister Suleyman Soylu said.

He later said it was believed that a second blast had taken place in a park and authorities were working to establish the cause.

The interior ministry said initially at least 20 had been wounded but said it had no information of whether anyone had been killed.

Security sources later told Reuters that at least 13 had died and TV channel NTV said a total of 38 had been injured, without providing details of the number of dead.

TV footage showed fires burning outside the stadium, which is also called the Vodafone Arena.

Pictures from the scene also showed the shattered wreckage of a vehicle.

Other footage showed severely damaged police vehicles, while witnesses said the force of the blast had smashed the windows of several homes nearby.

Police sealed the area, setting up a wide cordon around the stadium where a match between Besiktas and Bursaspor football clubs had ended more than an hour before.

Witnesses said gunfire was heard, but the reports remain unconfirmed.

Turkish TV channel NTV claimed the interior minister had said that one of the blasts was caused by a suicide bomber....etc

Everyone knows he wants to be dictator of the empire.

Regards the bombing,  so sorry for all the victims and their families.

29 Turkish police officers in court for coup trial

ISTANBUL (AP) December 27, 2016 — Twenty-nine Turkish former police officers went on trial on Tuesday accused of aiding the failed military coup in July — the first trial in Istanbul over the attempt that led to some 270 deaths.

Renegade officers in Turkey's military used tanks, fighter jets and helicopters in their July 15 attempt to unseat the government, attacking the parliament and other key buildings. Turkey blamed it on a network of followers of the U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen — an ally turned foe of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

https://www.mail.com/int/news/europe/4858814-29-turkish-police-officers-court-coup-trial.html#.1258-stage-hero1-3

Turkish committee clears draft expanding Erdogan's powers

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) December 30, 2016 — A Turkish parliamentary commission on Friday cleared a set of draft constitutional amendments that would greatly expand the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The constitutional commission approved the reforms at the end of a 17-hour session that lasted into the early hours of Friday, opening the way for deliberations and a vote in the full assembly in January, with a possible referendum in the spring.

The reforms would turn the largely ceremonial presidency into one where the president enjoys full executive powers. Erdogan, who was prime minister before becoming president in 2014, has long advocated a presidential system, arguing it would give the head of state flexibility to make Turkey one of the top 10 powers in the world by 2023, when the Turkish Republic marks its centenary.

https://www.mail.com/int/news/europe/4864680-turkish-committee-clears-draft-expanding-erdogans.html#.1258-stage-hero1-4

Just what the world needs right now.

bb1 wrote:Just what the world needs right now.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk must be spinning like a top in his grave!  Erdogan is fast undoing all that Ataturk achieved when he founded the Republic of Turkey.    This is a good comparison of the two men.   LL

http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/ataturk-versus-erdogan-turkeys-long-struggle

I know, it's appalling. IMO, about the best we can hope for is that Turkey keeps it within its own borders.

Unfortunately, I suspect this is part of a growing reaction to the sheer chaos and bloodshed that has been unleashed not just in the Middle East, but the wider world, ever since the invasion of Iraq.

Istanbul new year Reina nightclub attack 'leaves 39 dead'

At least 39 people, including at least 15 foreigners, have been killed in an attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey's interior minister says.

A gunman opened fire in Reina nightclub at about 01:30 local time (22:30 GMT), as revellers marked the new year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38481521

A great start to the year - more innocents slaughtered. And more excuses for Erdogan to take absolute power.

Monica Marks ‏@MonicaLMarks 15m15 minutes ago
List of terrorist attacks in Turkey since summer 2015, including 5 on Istanbul over the past year. Source: New York Times



Worth remembering that those Kurdish militants are actually hardline communists, unlike the Kurds elsewhere.

And that, until recently, Erdogan was in cahoots with ISIS, buying oil from them, letting them smuggle arms in via Turkey, trading in looted antiquities, etc. They're not known for their forgiving natures when betrayed.

Maybe he isn't half as clever as he thinks he is?

I hope that is the case.  He is not liked in large parts of Turkey....