Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
There goes Claire again, boring us with these weird Turkish conspiracy trials and that Prime Minister who keeps suing journalists, you've been thinking. Well, admit it: You all know enough about Turkish politics now--whether you wanted to or not--to fully appreciate the pricelessness of this:
Turkish PM threatens to sue US diplomats over leaked claims
In a harshly worded response to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Wednesday that he would file legal action again U.S. envoys he accused of making false claims against him.
Speaking during a municipal ceremony in Ankara, Erdoğan called on the U.S. administration to take action to discipline the diplomats who “slandered” him in the leaked State Department documents.
“This is the United States’ problem, not ours... Those who have slandered us will be crushed under these claims, will be finished and will disappear,” the prime minister said in his first comprehensive comments about the WikiLeaks release.
You just try that, Tayyip; it will work out really well for you, I'm sure.
And you'll all appreciate the richness of this:
Israel responsible for WikiLeaks in anti-Turkish plot, AKP members says
Israel could have engineered the release of hundreds of thousands of confidential documents on WikiLeaks as a plot to corner Turkey on both domestic and foreign policy, according to a senior ruling party official.
“One has to look at which countries are pleased with these. Israel is very pleased. Israel has been making statements for days, even before the release of these documents,” Hüseyin Çelik, deputy leader of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and the party’s spokesperson, told reporters at a press conference Wednesday.
Readers of Spiegel, by contrast, are very shocked, apparently, by all these developments. (Spiegel needs to hire itself some new journalists.)
In further news from Turkey, the prime minister has received the Gaddafi human rights award. which as Michael Rubin has it is "second only in prestige to the Captain Joseph Hazelwood environmental prize and the Chernobyl Award for Nuclear Safety."
So, if you want to know what's going on in Turkey years before anyone else, looks like Ricochet's your place. And if you want to know why you should want to know that, Ricochet's your place, too.
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Comments :
Jul '10
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
Now there's your reality show Claire. A season long trial on Judge Judy or some other People's Court deal. The producers could offer to pay any claims, or counterclaims, as part of production costs. At least one of these state department types must be nearing retirement. It'd be spectacular.
May '10
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
May '10
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
Claire,
Do you think Turkey should be allowed to join the EU or not?
Jul '10
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
1) Love the Turkey posts, keep it up. Much more interesting and insightful than the usual Western press pieces.
2) Is there any chance whatsoever that the AKP will relinquish power gracefully when the time comes?
Sep '10
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
second only in prestige to the Captain Joseph Hazelwood environmental prize and the Chernobyl Award for Nuclear Safety."
And the Frank Drebin award for law enforcement (insert wave file of whoopie cushion).
Jul '10
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
Only on Ricochet would I find myself calling for a moment of silence for Frank Drebin in a thread on Turkey.
Aug '10
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
Claire It's time start the Erdogan TIME Man of the Year campaign. After all, what better way to show the world the new Turkey ? And for the rest of us , we can rest easy knowing he'd been suitably damned with faint praise.
Sep '10
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
There goes Claire again, boring us with these weird Turkish conspiracy trials and that Prime Minister who keeps suing journalists
I can honestly say Claire that I look forward to your Turkish surprise posts more than any other posts on Ricochet. Certain Ricochet posters post in a definite niche and so I have some advance warning of what they are going to post about. Berlinski, Sajak and Lileks (the corporate legal firm with the k sound) can be relied upon to post something unusual and thought provoking but only Claire awakens my inner Bernard Lewis in such a way as to make me believe that, yes, indeed, a cat can rule an ancient empire.
Edited on Dec 1, 2010 at 9:06pmRe: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
Michael Labeit: Claire,
Do you think Turkey should be allowed to join the EU or not? · Dec 1 at 7:16pm
Yes, absolutely--when it meets the conditions for accession.
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Michael Labeit: Claire,
Do you think Turkey should be allowed to join the EU or not? · Dec 1 at 7:16pm
Yes, absolutely--when it meets the conditions for accession. · Dec 1 at 9:35pm
You saw that I had a long post about this, right?
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Michael Labeit: Claire,
Do you think Turkey should be allowed to join the EU or not? · Dec 1 at 7:16pm
Yes, absolutely--when it meets the conditions for accession. · Dec 1 at 9:35pm
You saw that I had a long post about this, right? · Dec 1 at 9:36pm
MInd you, if I were a Turkish prime minister (one who had his nation's best interests at heart), I would say, "We are going to fully meet the important parts of the accession criteria within eight years. Then we're not going to join, because the EU's a deathtrap."
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Michael Labeit: Claire,
Do you think Turkey should be allowed to join the EU or not? · Dec 1 at 7:16pm
And (finally)--if they really did that, in eight years' time they'd be such a powerhouse that the EU would be begging them to let them become Turkish. I'm not kidding. Clean up the corruption here, really expand economic opportunity, educate the population, bring women into the workforce, full democratization, a free press--Turkey would be unstoppable, and what's more, it could be done. About 8-10 years of good governance. It would take a generation to raise a well-educated workforce, but huge improvements could be made quickly.
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
Sisyphus: 1) Love the Turkey posts, keep it up. Much more interesting and insightful than the usual Western press pieces.
2) Is there any chance whatsoever that the AKP will relinquish power gracefully when the time comes? · Dec 1 at 7:36pm
Gracefully, no. Peacefully, yes.
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
They've started that already. No joke.
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
Pseudodionysius: There goes Claire again, boring us with these weird Turkish conspiracy trials and that Prime Minister who keeps suing journalists
I can honestly say Claire that I look forward to your Turkish surprise posts more than any other posts on Ricochet. Certain Ricochet posters post in a definite niche and so I have some advance warning of what they are going to post about. Berlinski, Sajak and Lileks (the corporate legal firm with the k sound) can be relied upon to post something unusual and thought provoking but only Claire awakens my inner Bernard Lewis in such a way as to make me believe that, yes, indeed, a cat can rule an ancient empire. · Dec 1 at 8:59pm
Edited on Dec 01 at 09:06 pm
I'm really touched--thank you. As for cats ruling an ancient empire, don't know about that, but this apartment--well, it's certainly not me in charge.
May '10
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
No. I'll find it. Thanks.
May '10
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Yes, I agree. It would be a waste given your awareness of the internal and external affairs of Turkey to not "spread the word," as they say, to us laymen. In economic terms, we should focus on that role in which we have a comparative advantage. If you've got such an advantage in being a "Turkey informant," then by all means proceed.
Furthermore, if Ricochet members didn't care about Turkey, our indifference would be expressed by our non-participation in Turkey related discussions. Ok, maybe if you talked about Malta or Bermuda in the same way you talk about Turkey, then some would be uninterested. But this would be a result of the fact that neither Malta nor Bermuda significantly influence the global politico-economic environment. By contrast, it would a crude error to claim that Turkey doesn't matter (ah, there goes the title of your next book, There is No Alternative: Why Turkey Matters or An Alternative? Are You Crazy?: Why Turkey Matters).
Edited on Dec 1, 2010 at 11:06pmAug '10
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
They've started that already. No joke. · Dec 1 at 9:45pm
Tayyip, Tayyip Erdogan:
TIME to see that he's The Man.
Gimme a T, A, Y,
Y, I, P,
E, R, D
and O and G,
A, N -- The Man!
Erdogan!
Tay-yip, yip, hooray!
May '10
Re: Because You Read Ricochet, You Will Understand the Pricelessness of This
It's a good thing I read the preceding post and comments. For a second there, I thought you were talking about California.