I am a little upset here. I feel left out. Is it that I am insignificant in this one sided battle between Cynic wotsit and Catwoman over the virtues of Thehandsom and his new country? How can I be noticed in between the glorisouly LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG posts (Yawn!!)

All I ask is, who is Mustafa Akyol ................ please? And no, I refuse to google!

You ought to be kidding...

First, you post replies to people (that's me in this case) without even bothering to read what they have written (what I had written in this case.) Then, having realized how ridicuolous you must have sounded with your first post, you confess to not having read my post in the first place, go back to read it, and with your half-understanding, you still attempt to shove words down people's throats. Do you really expect people to take you seriously when you post responses without knowing what you are responding to, since you haven't bothered to read?

On the contrary to your comprehension, what my post shows is not dissidence against anyone who criticizes Turkey. I am under the impresion that you still haven't bothered to read the post.

Regarding your fine example of comparing Turkey to Russia, where dissidents disappear over night, I regret to say that I don't agree with that statement either. Anyone who has ever been to Russia & Turkey knows very well that Turkey has never been as oppressive as the Cold War Era Russia.

I also love the way you make all these phoney assumptions about how we have been taught to "hate" each other.

You sound like you have been taught to hate a lot more than we do.

Quoting catwoman: Quoting armegon: Quoting cynicmystic: Because I am under the impression that handsom starts these rather "charged" topics with a bit of an "agenda", Quoting cynicmystic: I think your thread is insincere my friend. Thats what i share wholeheartedly . This fear of someone having an agenda is pretty funny actually . What can thehandsom do with his 'agenda'? Bring down the Turkish republic? Start a terrorist organization? What your response shows is that no dissidence from the state ideology is allowed, that's number one pillar of turkish nationalism. Kind of reminds me of Russia :-S where people who disagree with the state mysteriously disappear. In a normal country, dissident ideas should not only be widely known, but also discussed with mutual respect without suspicion or hate. It is pretty sad actually that you are taught to hate each other in case you see someone who may threaten your government and the 'republic' ideology.

Sure that many has disappeared.

What I would like to ask you is this.

In other places, such as North America, Western Europe and China, haven't people been dissappearing as well. Authoritarianism is everywhere, and criticisizing Turkey as if it is the only country in the worlds suffering from this is pointless.

How do you feel about the UK deriving 1/3 of its income from international arm sales, which eventually leads to war & oppression? Do I need to mention Guantanamo Bay? The Brazilian shot to death in the London subway, the Polish guy tasered to death by the Canadian airport police, or the numerous cases of police brutality from Europe or north America. There people going missing all over the world. Whenever you challenge or pose a risk to the established status-quo, you are eliminated.

Talking about these problems as if they are political issues that can be resolved with the right kind of legislation is not only annoying, but is naive.

If you live in a glass house, don't cast stones at your neighbour! The social issues you highlight are happening all over the world. So, don't single out Turkey as an example. All of our governments are equally involved in everything at the upper levels.

Perhaps it is about time to wake up...