Turkey's Presidential Takeover?

[grumbler]

He swings, he misses.

Good job you're not the sole arbiter of taste in the world.

For the record, for the short time he was back in the UK he was homeless so didn't have access to a studio or much change of doing more works.

And its a good job you are the only person who thinks that this is "art."  Once you've run out of money to buy shit "art" with, all "artists" like this one will be homeless so won't have access to a studio or much change of doing more works...

[alfred russel]

Well, if the purpose of the art was to create discussion and debate in society, and portray Erdogan as something of a pathetic tyrant, it would seem to be massively successful. CdM's assessment nonwithstanding, I haven't seen to much elementary school art as effective at getting a message across.

[Jacob]

And its a good job you are the only person who thinks that this is "art."  Once you've run out of money to buy shit "art" with, all "artists" like this one will be homeless so won't have access to a studio or much change of doing more works...

He's not the only person who thinks that, with or without scare quotes.

[mongers]

Well, if the purpose of the art was to create discussion and debate in society, and portray Erdogan as something of a pathetic tyrant, it would seem to be massively successful. CdM's assessment nonwithstanding, I haven't seen to much elementary school art as effective at getting a message across.

Clearly this conflict with the official grumbler view and cannot be allowed to stand.

[The Minsky Moment]

So when is Erdogan going to be charged under the law against insulting the President?

Or does the law have an exemption for unintended self-parody?

[grumbler]

Well, if the purpose of the art was to create discussion and debate in society, and portray Erdogan as something of a pathetic tyrant, it would seem to be massively successful. CdM's assessment nonwithstanding, I haven't seen to much elementary school art as effective at getting a message across.

  Getting Mongers to defend something on languish isn't much of a "massively successful" accomplishment, especially given the small percentage of overall society that is made up by languish.  I'd think Mongers would be as taken by any other elementary-school-level art as he is with Dickenson's elementary-school-level art.  I would argue that, for Languish, Erdogan has already portrayed himself as a pathetic tyrant with the costume guards stunt.  He doesn't need the help of hack art.

[mongers]

So when is Erdogan going to be charged under the law against insulting the President?

Or does the law have an exemption for unintended self-parody?

I think things have now reach the stage in Turkey were it only matters who wields the law as a weapon, rather than the role they place in framing a civil society.

[mongers]

Clearly Grumber is getting so pathetic it's no longer worth discussing anything with him.

For the rest of Languish, I should emphasis that Mr D. was challenging Erdogen, starting back in 2006/7, so I'd say he was ahead of much of the pack by a fair margin.

[Valmy]

Labelling him as an American stooge, bought and sold by us yanqui jewish pigdogs is a little hard for me to embrace....but um good on him I guess.

[dps]

Labelling him as an American stooge, bought and sold by us yanqui jewish pigdogs is a little hard for me to embrace....but um good on him I guess.

On the other hand, if you do buy it, well, I don't see foreign leaders being stooges for us as a bad thing, necessarily.  It worked out pretty well for us with Tony Blair.

[Syt]

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/former-miss-turkey-faces-prison-for-insulting-president-erdogan.aspx?pageID=238&nID=78838&NewsCatID=341

Former Miss Turkey faces prison for 'insulting' President Erdoğan

Model and former Miss Turkey Merve Büyüksaraç is facing up to two years in prison for social media posts that prosecutors claim "insult" President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The indictment has been completed as a part of an investigation into Büyüksaraç's post, in which the prosecutor Umut Tepe demanded that she be sentenced to one to two years in prison. The Criminal Court of First Instance in Istanbul will now decide whether to initiate proceedings.   

Büyüksaraç, an industrial designer and writer who was crowned Miss Turkey in 2006, was briefly detained and questioned on Jan. 14 for sharing a satirical poem on her Instagram account.

"The Master's Poem," shared by Büyüksaraç, satirically criticized Erdoğan through verses adapted from the lyrics of Turkey's national anthem.

The prosecutor's indictment stated that "The remarks shared by the suspect could not be considered within the terms of freedom of expression."

Büyüksaraç told the prosecutor that she "may have quoted a poem" from the weekly humor magazine Uykusuz, but deleted it soon after when one of her friends warned that such messages could bring about criminal procedures in Turkey.

"I shared it because I found it funny. I had no intention of insulting [Erdoğan]," she said.

Also: http://www.dw.de/turkish-police-arrest-dozens-in-wiretapping-scandal/a-18278152

Turkish police arrest dozens in wiretapping scandal

Turkish authorities have apprehended dozens of suspects in a wiretapping case that targeted high-level officials, including President Erdogan. The scandal is allegedly linked to the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Nearly 40 people were arrested across Turkey on Wednesday as part of the government's latest efforts to round up suspects linked to a wiretapping scandal against officials.

The chief prosecutor's office in Istanbul had issued a total of 54 arrest warrants, according to Turkish media.

Suspects apprehended in past raids have been police officers, judges and prosecutors allegedly involved in eavesdropping on the country's politicians, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was serving as prime minister in 2013, when the scandal erupted.

During the course of the scandal, incriminating recordings leaked via social media indicated corruption at the highest levels of government. Among the conversations leaked, was one that emerged in February 2014, in which Erdogan allegedly instructed his son Bilal to dispose of 30 million euros ($34 million) in cash. The news broke just ahead of local elections, angering officials in Ankara.

Erdogan and his supporters accuse his archrival Fethullah Gulen of running a "parallel state" and orchestrating the wiretaps in a bid to bring down Turkish politicians, allegations which Gulen denies.

An arrest warrant was issued for the US-based cleric in December. On Tuesday, a Turkish court issued a second warrant for his arrest, upgrading the charges to include terrorism.

The court also issued an arrest warrant against police officer-turned journalist Emre Uslu, who is suspected of having leaked the recordings online and tweeted details of raids against Gulen supporters prior to their occurrence. Uslu, believed to be based in the US, has denied the claims.

Turkish police have carried out several mass sweeps in recent months, including one in December which targeted journalists. The EU and the US condemned the mass arrests as incompatible with the principles of democracy.

Also, several teenagers face long prison sentences for insulting the president during protests and threatening the national unity.

[Ed Anger]

I like her boots.

[KRonn]

Can't make fun of the Turkish President? Well, I guess there isn't much room for late night comedy shows there... 

[alfred russel]

Can't make fun of the Turkish President? Well, I guess there isn't much room for late night comedy shows there...

They can still make fun of the american president. And of course the jews. Many laughs on turkish comedy shows.

[Valmy]

"The remarks shared by the suspect could not be considered within the terms of freedom of expression."

You cannot yell mean things about Erdogan in a crowded theatre.