The first thing I noticed was that it was a military aid operation. You generally want to get the members of another country's army out of your country asap - yes, even the doctors, they don't exactly come alone. It's weird given the circumstances, I suppose, but probably more to do with the politics of a foreign military delivering humanitarian aid on your soil than whether or not they're pagans. They getting closer to a final official toll?

(March 16, 2023 at 4:51 pm)The Grand Nudger Wrote: The first thing I noticed was that it was a military aid operation.  You generally want to get the members of another country's army out of your country asap - yes, even the doctors, they don't exactly come alone.  It's weird given the circumstances, I suppose, but probably more to do with the politics of a foreign military delivering humanitarian aid on your soil than whether or not they're pagans.  They getting closer to a final official toll?

- 56,000 but nothing is working the way it used to. So I would say 100,000 but of course I don’t know. I just happen to know people who describe the situation in the south-east as “still very difficult”. We live in a country in which we are now calling the leader of the main opposition party as “Mr. President”. That’s how bad it is
 
The E.U. + Germany is pledging us help. By the way I kind of admire this Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen. For me she is second only to Mrs. Angela Merkel. Although I don’t Agree with everything they do I simply like this kind of both rational + human way of doing politics.
 
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-eas...023-03-20/
 
But my point is: The Election in Turkey is set to happen in May 14th. The opposition is very likely to win (If we don’t you might as well forget about us for the next few decades to come). So People should know that whatever loan is given in extra to this government, we’re the ones who will have to start paying it back after May the 14th. (That’s just my personal point on that. I wanted to mention this somehow )

(March 21, 2023 at 8:36 am)Leonardo17 Wrote: But my point is: The Election in Turkey is set to happen in May 14th. The opposition is very likely to win ....

bolding mine
Isnt Erdogan going to make this NOT happen?

(March 21, 2023 at 8:43 am)Deesse23 Wrote:

(March 21, 2023 at 8:36 am)Leonardo17 Wrote: But my point is: The Election in Turkey is set to happen in May 14th. The opposition is very likely to win ....

bolding mine
Isnt Erdogan going to make this NOT happen?

There is a good political analyst on France 24 (He’s the North-Africa expert of the news outlet) called Ziyad Limam. He said some 3 months ago (that’s before the earthquake) that “he would be very surprised if the President for 29 more Days wouldn’t be elected again”.
 
I came on a very good article today. His party is making it difficult for earthquake victims who have mostly moved to new locations (there is about 1 million of them) to vote from these locations and there is no way all of them are going to be able to return to the affected regions in order to vote from there.
 
Dead people are probably going to vote. The official number of deceased people is about 50,000. But there are as many people who are said to be “missing”. So that’s his second rabbit coming out of the hat.
 
Otherwise he has this mass of fanatical supporters who are being constantly brainwashed by the state-controlled media + highly influenced internet + social media.
 
But the other element is that we are not complete morons. Most of us are now aware that this election is existential for us. It’s like the Maidan / honor revolution of Ukraine or the election of Lula in Brazil. If we lose we are more or less F…ed. Meaning that the whole country will surrender itself to some Salafist or Iran Backed religious sects, drug mafias and become the puppet of Gulf countries, Russia and mostly Iran. So it will be the puppet of puppet states. And people now are seeing that and people (from every side of the political spectrum) don’t want that.
 
+ The country is in a difficult situation in all areas. The President for 29 more days does not have the capacity, the intellectual support (meaning politicians, technocrats, experts who are able to make things happen) or even the will to make things better. So my point of view is the opposite of Mr. Ziyad Limam. I would surprised if we were unable to send him away this time
 
https://www.yahoo.com/news/turkeys-quake...14261.html
 
 

For those who might be interested here is a good article on the economic state of the country:
 
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/erdog...00352.html
 
   The economic situation is bad and we don’t even know how bad it is because true economic figures are being hidden by the state apparatus (which also controls 90% of the media so no one is able to investigate into that issue).
 
   In order to be able to function, this type of Regime (Iran, Syria, Russia) needs some type of resource it is able to loot, like oil, Gas, minerals, Diamonds etc… and we don’t really have that here, so the only other possible option is to be a vassal state like North-Korea. Since Russia + Iran are already in big trouble themselves and rely on China for the very survival or their regime, the only possibility for this regime would to become the Vassal of the M.B.S., The Arab League or something like that. And I’m not even sure if M.B.S. would really be willing to do something like that.
 
   So technically, if the regime doesn’t end this Sunday, it will be a whole new chapter in terms political history

Do you think erdogan would willingly step down if he lost?

(May 9, 2023 at 9:55 am)The Grand Nudger Wrote: Do you think erdogan would willingly step down if he lost?

There is this “aspect” in me who really wishes he doesn’t.
 
Anyway, if anyone is planning to stay in “Hotel Grande Bretagne”, “Four Season Astir Palace” or Even “King George Hotel” in Athens there is a good chance you will be able to meet this guy and his friends in the lobby or in the dining room (together with their invisible wife’s of course). If you are interested in unorthodox / completely unheard of / unscientific theories in the area of economics / construction / education / foreign policy / management of the Armed forces etc. They might be willing to grant you of their time (because that’s all they will be having within a few weeks or so).
 
[Not the handsome young man on the right / The one on the poster above]

[Bad Post]

The first round of the election is over (most ballots have been counted). Dictator Erdogan is re-elected. AK Party supporters are celebrating. Yet the economy is not in good shape. The stock market has crashed:
 
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/1-tur...31660.html
 
So people have their own alternate-reality or parallel universe. But reality is still hitting us in the face.
 
A typical dictator creates some sort of war or imagined foe in such situations. But I’m still hoping I might be wrong

Hafez Al Assad (Father of Bashar al-Assad) (1930-2000)



Erdogan (1953- ?) 

One funny aspect of Middle Eastern dictators: If you give them a uniform and sunglasses they all look like one another