I think this about covers it.....I"m Free!

good to see the spirit of turkishclass.com still alive and well...i miss debates...at least we can debate without fear of being jailed for offending...´t-ness´....even public spaces like bars and restaurants my ´free´ friends lower their voices and whisper their opinions as if the secret police were watching our every move and recording our words...Yes, when you are raised to say pretty much whatever you wanted about our government and then you move to a place were it can land you in jail...believe me, you learn to appreciate what you had! i love my host country but have to admit i am not as free as i was before...but i do enjoy freely looking at the bosphorus...so there are the trade´offs...no youtube but great cups of cay...life is all about the trade-offs...

 Maybe it´s getting to be time to come home? I think you actually have an illusions as to how free we actually are in the US... It is a trade off.

I love the freedoms in the US, but I am not under many delusions about my "freedoms". You have heard of Free Speech Zones, have you not? I am not free to choose to or not to eat GMO salmon, drink fluoride or in general have my body polluted with a multitude of chemicals.

I think the freedom you speak of is a thing of the past....if it ever was. Most of the world, Europeans and Turks in particular, have a much longer view of history....they have seen the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, Alexander, Napoleon....Hitler, Stalin...and many many others.

Americans, on the other hand, are incredibly naive. Have you ever heard the song The Gambler?  Discretion is always a good policy.

I can write a book about these things unfortunately

After all those years living in a different country, I am just begining to feel more relaxed when I hear police sirens. Yeas after years, when I heard of sirens, if I was on the street, I was just cheking around with  my eyes very quickly, getting alert and ready for any eventuality. 

Of course it is better now..

That´s a fair point, Alameda, about the Americans taking freedom a bit for granted, not really having memories of what life is like in a police country. Not that Americans haven´t founght for their rights, surely they have, but it´s a bit different to compare countries whose history is over a thousand years old and one that was established a few centuries ago.

I know what Handsom means talking about police sirens. I know what it feels to lose a member of the family and never have any explanation of what happened, just because paramilitary troops could beat you to a pulp and you had no right to protest.

Sure there are more than one meanings of freedom, nobody is fully free in the world. But I´d rather live in a world where I can speak my opinions than one that has no parking rules...

Fair enough Daydreamer.......it´s all your point of view.....I sort of think of it like "Freedom is just another word for nothing left to loose...."    It all depends on your perspective......if you were Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Oscar Grant Mumia Abu-Jamal you may have a different perspective on things. .....

Si++ but we have changed the system since It´s safe to talk about such things now

I kind of agree with this (but wish you didn´t put in all those links!!!).  Personally, I feel less and less "free" in the UK.  

"I have freedom of speech" (but because I work for a local government, I may not speak out when I see wrongdoing or money wasting within that organisation).

"I am free to do what I like" provided I can support myself and pay all my taxes and have any money left at the end of it.

"I am free to use internet without any censorship" (provided I don´t type anything which may suggest national security is at risk, then just see how quickly your "private" emails are being monitored!)  

I can walk about wherever I like (provided I accept the fact that from the smallest town to the largest city, 90% of my journey will be recorded on surveillance cameras)

Basically, you have to join rat race, the capitalist dream, the materialistic society that we have become and the more you get, the more you want.  

An interesting article from 2007 in the Times Online has a few things to say about our "free society" and "freedom of speech" in the UK too! 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article2106422.ece

Sorry....force of habit I guess....but you don´t have to click on them.

I find it annoying when I get adds that are obviously designed for "me"....it lets me know they are building a profile...which I really do not like. BTW...your link hits it on the head exactly...so what will they do with all that information, what we look at where we go....and all....???? Interesting link you posted too....actually....it is like that all over now.

you are only as free, as you are free from desires.....

Yes it may be but I don´t think theh is happy with it being known publicly.