Earlier quoted context omitted.
Really? Downvotes for this comment? Curious as to why.
They probably interpret your use of "emotional" as "irrationally emotional".
Sorry, I ever meant to imply that.
What is Happening in Istanbul?
161–170 of 519 posts
Re: What is Happening in Istanbul?
#162Earlier quoted context omitted.
You mean they're tearing down trees for new homes and jobs? The horror!
You know how long the typical suburb takes to build? About three weeks. Three weeks of seasonal employment. You know how long that natural habitat is gone for? Forever. Educate yourself on urban sprawl and "smart growth": http://www.smartgrowth.org
Out of all the ways to fight sterile sprawl, why choose a method that promotes sterile density? Smart Growth suffers from a very severe and unfortunate unintended consequence: Drastically increased barriers to entry.
It is sad to see how many higher density proposals are squelched because they don't fit the vision of Smart Growth planners, or because the developers don't have multiple years worth of cash flow behind them to support the permitting process, public approval process, and zoning approvals process. Oh, and if you happen to want to have small scale low impact manufacturing (such as clothes manufacturing) instead of Mid-Scale retail or B-Class Office space...good luck waiting another few years for the Smart Growth planners to determine if your appeal is "smart" enough for them. These barriers to entry are how Smart Growth developers (like Paul Allen's Vulcan Real Estate) end up owning entire neighborhoods (like Seattle's South Lake Union).
Manhattan was almost completely built out, with an extremely diverse and interesting landscape, long before the planners took over. There is no need for them and their vision.
Re: What is Happening in Istanbul?
#163CNN STORY (with images): http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/02/world/europe/turkey-protests/i... It's now a full blown anti-government riot. The park issue was just the last straw that set it off. The original poster was telling the truth now stop arguing about shopping malls.
When I see stories like this, I'm always impressed at the wide availability of gas masks. Are we even allowed to own those in the States?*
*Yes, I know how sad of a question that is.
Re: What is Happening in Istanbul?
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
What is the significance of being Kemalist?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kemalism Ideology that Kemalism brings defines the fundamental principles of Turkish Republic.
The revolutionism part is kindof odd, don't you think? A tradition that calls for the rejection of traditions.
Re: What is Happening in Istanbul?
#165Earlier quoted context omitted.
> People protesting against that by blocking the construction process (i.e. stand in front of bulldozers etc.) are effectively overturning democracy in order to protect their personal interests. how so? democracy is not limited to counting votes and stfu until the next election. it's not like authorities haven't been removed from office before and decisions haven't been changed due to public disapproval. getting into…
I have absolutely no problems with people protesting, I have a problem with ‘protesters’ forcing their opinion on the rest by use of passive (standing in front of a bulldozer) or active (undermining a railroad track carrying nuclear waste containers) violence. And yes, if ACTA protests had cut other people’s telecom lines to the US or some such thing, I would have called them anti-democratic, too. To me, a decent soc…
No problem with people protesting so long as they do so where you never have to bother with them, eh?
You seem to labor under the false belief that simply because something is voted upon, it is infallibly a correct decision.
Not every law, resolution and ordinance passed is actually good for all the persons it effects. Laws can be extremely adverse for sections of the public, but pass anyways due to disregard or active dislike by larger groups. Expecting people to knuckle under without further resistance simply because they've been outvoted is ridiculous.
Protesting via passive resistance is an excellent way to peacefully make known that something is extremely adverse to your section of the public, without damage to property or persons.
Your "decent society" is a society of insects, bowing to authority unconditionally rather than with individual consideration, without the will to resist evils where they encounter them.
Your equation of the "passive violence" of standing in front of a bulldozer with the active violence of spreading nuclear waste in an area seems purposely made to incite an outraged response. The lack of consideration for the difference in proportion between delaying construction and permanently poisoning an area with nuclear waste shows a damning extremism of thought. It is such equivocations that allows the justification of atrocity when other methods would better do.
Your choice to end your comment with a snide remark on zalew's lack of capitalization makes me wonder whether you believe a word of it, or are simply crafting your response to be purposefully invective for your amusement.
Re: What is Happening in Istanbul?
#166What is currently going on in Turkey is the Islamist ruling party pushing hard to make the country much more conservative instead of secular, all the while pushing their way back into the Arab world to regain their clout and power.
The youths are protesting because what was once a fairly liberal set of standards is rapidly being removed.
Ironically, it was the military that protected this set of freedoms.
Re: What is Happening in Istanbul?
#167CNN STORY (with images): http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/02/world/europe/turkey-protests/i... It's now a full blown anti-government riot. The park issue was just the last straw that set it off. The original poster was telling the truth now stop arguing about shopping malls.
When I see stories like this, I'm always impressed at the wide availability of gas masks. Are we even allowed to own those in the States?* *Yes, I know how sad of a question that is.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1/175-7511757-7036919...
Knock yourself out.
Re: What is Happening in Istanbul?
#168Via wiki's list of turkish newspapers ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_Turkey ): http://www.zaman.com.tr/ Democratic, Islamic, Liberal ENGLISH: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ http://www.posta.com.tr/ Populism http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/anasayfa/ Nationalism, Kemalist, Centre-Right ENGLISH: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ http://www.sabah.com.tr/ Liberal Conservatism, Center-Right http://www.s…
Could you please write ‟Wikipedia” instead of ‟wiki”? There are thousands of wikis on the Web, Wikipedia is only one of them.
Re: What is Happening in Istanbul?
#169Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't have any trouble believing there are many malls in Istanbul. I do have some trouble believing you can reasonably answer whether they are too many by just checking on the internet. In fact, as you point out, it's possible to visit NYC and not notice how many there are. I also have some difficulty with the idea that people are heading out to the streets, risking life and limb, in multiple cities across Turkey j…
Well, this exact crisis has been on Reddit for a couple of days and I even saw it on BBC News's online front page last night. I can't tell you exactly why people are doing it but it certainly sounds like a demonstration against a shopping mall was the spark.
Oh that part seems plausible. The bit that seems like over-reaching is that we can easily and quickly gain some insight into the situation by hitting google maps. Mohamed Bouazizi's suicide sparked popular protests in Tunisia and subsequently, across the middle east. Is there a lot we can learn about the Arab Spring by googling 'street vendors, Ben Arous'? Probably not.
Re: What is Happening in Istanbul?
#170CNN STORY (with images): http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/02/world/europe/turkey-protests/i... It's now a full blown anti-government riot. The park issue was just the last straw that set it off. The original poster was telling the truth now stop arguing about shopping malls.
When I see stories like this, I'm always impressed at the wide availability of gas masks. Are we even allowed to own those in the States?* *Yes, I know how sad of a question that is.
Ignorance, whether real or pretend, is often a great way of spreading FUD.