The New York Times is reporting:
Two explosions at Turkey’s largest airport left at least 10 people dead and wounded some 20 others on Tuesday night, according to Turkish authorities and television reports.
The Turkish justice minister, Bekir Bozdag, said 10 people had been killed in an attack on Ataturk airport. He said that one attacker fired an automatic weapon before detonating explosives.
Another Turkish government official said that the police fired shots at two suspected attackers at the entryway to the airport’s international terminal, in an effort to stop them before they reached the building’s security checkpoint. The two suspects then blew themselves up, the official said.
CNN Turk reported that one suicide bomber detonated explosives inside the terminal building and another outside in a parking lot.
[...] Ataturk airport has expanded in recent years and is now the third busiest in Europe, ranked by the annual number of passengers, after Heathrow in London and Charles de Gaulle in Paris.
While normally this kind of news would not necessarily be appropriate, at least in my view, for Soylent News, I submitted it because of this story posted here on Sunday, in which NASA cancels all travel for its personnel to the COSPAR meeting in Istanbul. It seems that NASA may have been very prescient and wise.
Related Stories
In a recent article by Marcia S. Smith at spacepolicyonline we learn that:
NASA is denying all travel for NASA employees and contractors to the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) conference to be held in Istanbul, Turkey beginning just five weeks from now. The reason: security. COSPAR President Lennard Fisk worries not only about the impact on COSPAR, but the messages NASA is sending about its commitment to leadership in space science and its resolve to not let terrorism be rewarded by changing what we do.
COSPAR is the Committee on Space Research. On even-numbered years (2016, 2014...) COSPAR holds a Scientific Assembly, the 41st of which will be in Istanbul this year.
In a statement provided to SpacePolicyOnline.com, COSPAR President Len Fisk expressed his deep concerns:
NASA has cancelled all travel of NASA civil servants and contractors to the COSPAR-2016 meeting to be held in Istanbul on 30 July - 7 August. And by doing so it demonstrated that it has no intention of exerting strategic leadership in the world, and that terrorism should be rewarded. The leaders of all the major space programs will gather in Istanbul to discuss among other topics, the future of human space exploration, but NASA will be absent. The major scientists of the world will gather in Istanbul, to share the results of their research, to plan future projects, to promote international cooperation in space science, but NASA civil servants and NASA sponsored contractors will be absent. And for what reason: a misguided assumption that Istanbul is more dangerous than Paris, or Brussels, or Orlando, Florida, or for that matter Israel and Jordan where NASA Administrator Charles Bolden recently visited. Terrorism is rewarded if it causes us to cease to pursue that which is important, or for that matter our daily lives. [From Marcia S. Smith's article]
The US State Department currently has a travel warning for Turkey.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Capt. Obvious on Tuesday June 28 2016, @09:35PM
This would be appropriate for SN even without NASA cancelling their trip. This event, sadly, is the first example of the often stated "wouldn't a smart terrorist just target the people in line for security checks?" That meme pops up fairly often.
Sadly NASA was not prescient. There's been a travel advisory about Turkey for 3 months now, due to their ongoing issues with terrorist attacks.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:25PM
Sadly NASA was not prescient.
Perhaps, or perhaps not. NASA is full of Nazis with superior technology and insight into Islam (Nazis fought along side them in WWII). We brought over many National Socialists (Nazis) during Operation Paperclip. [wikipedia.org]
Von Braun, ex-National Socialist and key member of NASA's rocket program for his work on the V2, stated that the rocketry tech was only a small part of the larger Nazi aerospace program. The rest of the confiscated National Socialist technology was sequestered and advanced in Area 51 and other secret bases, such as the Electrostatic Drive which enables experimental aircraft resembling flying saucers to fly. The National Socialists realized that Explosions were responsible for nearly all of the energy in use, and some decided to research Implosion energy instead. The Americans beat them to the implosive technology of Nuclear Warheads. However, Nuclear implosion is not the only form of implosion to harness, and there was much research into such implosive engines, such as the electrostatic drive.
The German ex-patriots in NASA once studded prescience and mind reading [google.com], but only the latter yielded results (publicly). Since the Nazi aircraft utilizing electrostatic flight [youtube.com]were kept secret, there's really no telling whether NASA is actually prescient or not.
Regardless of your belief, TFA is evidence in the column that NASA is, in fact, prescient. Contrary to your claim.
Because I am a Scientist, I will also give data contrary to my own claims: The US Air Force has developed holographic technology which is claimed to be useful for holographic disinformation and PSYOPs (psychological operations). The archived link has since been removed from the government website. [archive.org] Many of the "UFOs" that are witnessed may just be projections which seem to travel in impossible ways for traditional aircraft. See also: Project Bluebeam.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Kymation on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:37PM
Where's my "-1 Batshit Crazy" mod?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:56PM
We brought over many National Socialists (Nazis)
Awww, you know what 'Nazi' translates to. How cute!
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2016, @01:47AM
...but we should note here that the "National Socialist German Workers' Party" was about Capitalism and Oligarchy (which further devolved into Totalitarianism).
They were Fascists, which is the complete OPPOSITE of "Socialist".
They assaulted, imprisoned, and killed (egalitarian) Trade Unionists and (egalitarian) Communists.
The reality of the Nazis couldn't have been more distant from what they called themselves (like the DPRK).
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Wednesday June 29 2016, @11:56AM
See, this is why you don't post on SN after smoking dust.
(Score: 2) by jmorris on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:27PM
Nah, if every Murder Death Kill by the Religion of Peace made the front page here it would quickly begin to resemble www.thereligionofpeace.com [thereligionofpeace.com]. Click the link. With 175 attacks so far this year it would be a daily topic. This one only needed covering because of the callback. Otherwise only the bigger more splashier attacks need coverage here and, sadly, only ten dead isn't big enough.
(Score: 2) by jmorris on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:30PM
Replying to myself.... Appears the article here is an early account. Drudge and FNC have the body count up to fifty now and CNN twenty-eight and rising. This one might be big enough for general news coverage.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by aristarchus on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:52PM
Replying to myself.
REPEAT:
Where's my "-1 Batshit Crazy" mod?
But I guess it would be redundant.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2016, @01:54AM
I've often wondered why we don't see headlines like
"God flattens town with a tornado; Kills 20"
or
"God kills 50 in airport bombing".
I mean, folks are so eager to give credit to their deity when good stuff happens.
Seems only fair that deity should take the rap for the bad stuff too.
...and, of course, for the actions of those who claim they are following his/her teachings.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2016, @04:00AM
Maybe its the same reason we don't hold children accountable for the sins of their fathers but are totally OK with letting them inherit the wealth of their fathers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2016, @05:11AM
Children aren't omnipotent.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Wednesday June 29 2016, @06:53AM
“Hasa Diga Eebowai”
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2016, @08:34AM
My knowledge of Mormonism is very weak but I'm picking it up a little at a time.
Once translated, that one sounds like it could have come from dissidents of Jewish heritage.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2016, @02:24PM
> Children aren't omnipotent.
True but irrelevant. You can use that excuse to avoid making any comparisons between religious thinking and anything else people do. But the common factor is that it is people making the judgment in all the cases.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2016, @09:23AM
The main point of believing in an imaginary magic sky fairy is to simplify the world and make a person feel better about themselves and the world around them. Therefore, their imaginary sky fairy must always be perfect and can do no wrong. So when "bad" things happen they have to blame it on someone else. Everything bad is therefore instead the result of an imaginary magic underground bad guy fairy while everything good remains the work of magic sky fairy. And the two do magic imaginary battles, all while the blissfully retarded human sleeps well because it is not their problem.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2016, @01:12PM
It's because the deity is not a true Scotsman! No true {muslim|christian|hindu|jew|...} would do this, therefore, they don't speak for the deity. That way, the deity only gets the credit for the good stuff, never the bad stuff!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anne Nonymous on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:29PM
This is why solid fuel boosters are not allowed in carry on.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:37PM
> this event, sadly, is the first example of the often stated "wouldn't a smart terrorist just target the people in line for security checks?"
No it isn't.
o 2011 - Domodevo bombing [wikipedia.org] (largest airport in Moscow)
o 2016 - Brussels airport bombing [wikipedia.org]
There are probably more, those are just the two that immediately come to mind
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:48PM
Totally concur. This *is* appropriate for SN.
The travel advisory for Turkey was just reiterated/updated last week prior to NASA's decision.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 28 2016, @11:20PM
Unfortunately, it may get like Israel, where ANY crowding together or long lines are a risk. Number boards or number tickets may be safer than queuing.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2016, @02:21AM
An item from back when "60 Minutes" was still serious journalism.
The Safest Airline [El Al] [googleusercontent.com] (orig) [cbsnews.com]
To have Israeli-type security, the first thing USA will have to do is fire all the high school dropouts currently assigned to TSA.
Israel uses officers who have mustered out of their military.
(You have to be a college graduate to be an officer.)
The next thing is to expand the perimeter by hundreds of meters.
(This sort of bomb-the-line incident would be unlikely.)
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by jmorris on Tuesday June 28 2016, @09:51PM
Yea, I said [soylentnews.org] NASA did the right thing and got modded Flamebait for it. Being vindicated two days later means I am darned sure going to gloat a bit and do an "I told you so!" or two.
And they want to put Turkey into the EU? Of course at the rate people are fleeing for the exits the EU is probably going to need some new members.... but preferrably ones they can extract tax money from, not another money pit.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:01PM
Turkey should get into a strategic alliance with Japan. It has already shown how rapidly it can assimilate Christianity, and has been working hard to assimilate Islam in the past decade or so. Plus Turks and Japs can bond over their mutual affinity for public baths and narrowminded suicide attacks :)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:05PM
It has already shown how rapidly it can assimilate Christianity, and has been working hard to assimilate Islam in the past decade or so.
I have a paper towel. It has no trouble absorbing water, vinegar and olive oil. But when I try to pick up Bunker C with it all I get is a sticky, gooey mess. Some things are harder to "assimilate" than others. Some things don't want to be assimilated.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:14PM
On a related note, Turkey did apologize to Russia for the downed fighter, and is now apparantly going all-out in cozying up to Russia. Does anybody care to speculate why?
Ethanol-fueled
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday June 29 2016, @01:52AM
Because Russia shut down trade with Turkey, and Erdogan's pocket book is feeling light. Russia isn't accepting shipments of fruits and vegetables, the tourist trade is gone, the gas pipe was put on hold, and probably more that I'm unaware of. It always comes back to money.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:18PM
???? If I'm not mistaken, Christianity was introduced to Japan sometime in the 1600s. Christians are still a tiny minority in the country, although today this is mostly because of benign neglect rather than active persecution. In contrast, for all their talk of being a "secular republic" there is quite a bit of persecution of Christian minorities in Turkey. Granted, it is often not directly at the hands of the government, but when the Islamic government turns a blind eye to human rights abuses...well, let's just say the locals quickly pick up on how far they can go in pushing those Christian minorities around before the government will step in to put a stop to it.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by julian on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:50PM
Christian missionaries try very hard to convert Japanese, but are largely ineffective. Despite Christianity's self proclaimed universal mandate it is still perceived as a foreign religion. Some aspects of foreign culture are tolerated or even accepted, but they're never considered part of Japanese culture or identity. Christianity has been fairly successful in South Korea however, largely as a reaction to oppression by the Japanese. The Japanese dislike of Christianity caused the South Koreans to adopt it out of spite.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday June 29 2016, @12:49PM
The Japanese dislike of Christianity caused the South Koreans to adopt it out of spite.
LOL on the other side of the planet, see how the Scotts opposed brexit because the Brits supported it.
If the brits or the Japanese voted on the law of gravity, the Scotts and Koreans would automagically vote against.
Some human behavior is like hard wired in the genetics or something such that you can't tell what side of the planet you're on.
(Score: 2) by quacking duck on Wednesday June 29 2016, @05:26PM
Their loss. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2016, @08:19AM
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Wednesday June 29 2016, @05:01AM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Turkey [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 4, Informative) by Tork on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:26PM
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:39PM
> Being vindicated two days later means I am darned sure going to gloat a bit
Who would have guessed? It isn't muslims who celebrate after terrorist attacks, it's actually christian fundies.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday June 29 2016, @06:41AM
IIRC Mr. Morris claims to be some sort of agnostic or apatheist. Which just goes to show you: you don't NEED to be religious to be an asshole. Hell, he's the introspective version of Donald Trump, in the sense that his own ego has the kind of gravitational field that bends starlight...
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 3, Touché) by VLM on Wednesday June 29 2016, @12:54PM
So you're in agreement that everything he wrote is completely correct, but you just don't like him?
If you're trying to tarnish his reputation to make the facts disappear, that's not going to work. That's more effective on clickbait sites, tumblr, containment zones like that.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday June 29 2016, @01:13PM
You were doing fine until that second sentence. Being an asshole doesn't make him automatically wrong; actually, and you can ask my other opponents about this, I UP-mod them when they say something insightful or interesting. The source doesn't matter; true is true.
On the other hand, there is social currency in not being a complete prick.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2016, @02:28PM
> IIRC Mr. Morris claims to be some sort of agnostic or apatheist.
Ok. Not muslims, just islamophobes who celebrate terrorist attacks. Covers Trump's self-congratulation after the Orlando shootings too and his chrisitain skin-walker act.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2016, @12:47AM
Exactly why I think any negative mod should require all 5 mod points.
Minority views still get modded into oblivion more often than not, with little counter-argument offered.
(Score: 1) by kurenai.tsubasa on Wednesday June 29 2016, @01:16AM
Goddess you're so fucking predictable, MikeeUSA.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday June 29 2016, @06:43AM
I don't think that's him. Way too calm and considered. Not a single mention of the word "cunt," and no paranoid ravings about how SN's moderation system is a tool of feminists, manginas, misandrists, lesbians, and white-knights hell-bent on suppressing the worship of the God of Deuteronomy and his divine mandate to schtup his kid sister.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1) by kurenai.tsubasa on Wednesday June 29 2016, @01:47PM
Maybe, maybe not. It's easy to tell when he puts in key words like “girl children.” However, comments like GP seem to pop up after Mikee posts a bunch of his crap and it all gets modded to oblivion.
If we were to implement GP's suggestion, that would mean that Mikee's crap would tend to sit at 0. Now, for normal people all that means is that nobody wanted to blow all their mod points for the day on his drivel. For a radfem, that's prime material to start up their crap and imply that the site has started to endorse whatever the crap it is he believes. (Not that I think anybody here would care, which is probably why he comes and goes as he does, hoping that something will be different in a few months when he pops up again.)
I was amused when you pointed out there are MRAs who also suspect he's a radfem. I'm guessing Mikee's operating from a Dianist Wiccan cosmology. I've been accused of believing essentially the same things as s/he by radfems. Watched friends get railroaded and destroyed based on the presumption that deep down they believe what Mikee believes. Mikee is a perfect personification of the stereotype radfems believe all who are assigned the male gender at birth are.
It doesn't take much imagination to jump to the conclusion that s/he's actually a radfem. Codes of conduct seem to spring up from his footsteps. The rape cultures can't be far behind. Note that Mikee refers to your “race.”
But, of course, there's always the possibility that he's just completely loony tunes or else gets off on being the most ineffective troll evar. Wouldn't be the first batshit crazy interpretation of the Bible I've come across.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday June 29 2016, @02:06PM
Trust me, the guy is crazier than mittens for snakes. He displays that distinctive disconnect from reality where he doesn't seem to realize he's dug himself a hole and keeps...on...digging. Then there's the odd fixation with his F/OSS patches to what looks like a very old FPS game. Then there is his unabashed pride in his ED webpage, which...apparently he wrote himself. Jeeeee-zus.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 3, Funny) by aristarchus on Wednesday June 29 2016, @07:05AM
Can we get some more Flamebait mods for jmorris, stat! I fear he might be starting to feel "mainstream", and that is only a step away from "liberal". Godspeed, jmorris! I modded you when I could!
(Score: 2) by Gravis on Wednesday June 29 2016, @04:16PM
that is not why you were modded Flamebait and it's disingenuous to say that you were.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday June 29 2016, @05:47PM
Yea, I said NASA did the right thing and got modded Flamebait for it.
Notice all the highly rated comments in that thread saying the same thing? Hmmm....whatever could explain such a difference, I wonder?
(Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Thursday June 30 2016, @12:31PM
You were not alone in the flambait mod, thankfully there are enough rational people around to counter negative mods.
(Score: 2) by GungnirSniper on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:07PM
Tuesday has been the unluckiest day of the week for the city. The final breach of the walls of Constantinople was a Tuesday, and Greeks have considered it an omen since.
Tips for better submissions to help our site grow. [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 28 2016, @10:43PM
It's kind of funny that most westerners don't know where our days come from.
Sunday is named after Sol, the Sun.
Monday is named after the Moon.
Wednesday is the day of Woden, or Odin.
Thursday is Thor's day.
Friday is Frig's day (the wife of Odin).
Saturday is Saturn's day.
The name Tuesday is "Tīw's Day", the day of Tiw, or belonging to Týr - The god of Single Combat. Tuesday is thus also associated with Mars, the God of War.
If you study enough ancient history you'll eventually run into the occult (that which is hidden). If you study beyond the fringe you'll soon understand why the dates are important. It is not that numerology or the days of the week are truly important, but those who orchestrate such events think them so and thus communicate via such methods.
(Score: 2) by Dunbal on Tuesday June 28 2016, @11:49PM
Tuesday is thus also associated with Mars, the God of War.
Only in Romance languages. Mardi, Martes, Martedi, etc = pretty straight derivatives of Mars, which also has the month of March. Funny how war gets a day and a month, and poor Bacchus and Venus are left without anything at all. Shows where human priorities are, but you just have to watch TV to know that.
I also find it curious that in all this time no one has come up with a name for September (Seventh month), October (eighth month), November(ninth month) and December (tenth month), although August is a pretty stunning coincidence: being grabbed by Augustus Caesar it was the 6th month in his time but it ended up as the 8th month. The coincidence part is Augustus' name was "Octavian" (Gaius Octavius), meaning "born 8th", and Octavian's major victories happened in the month that was named after him, which was the 6th month at that time...
(Score: 3, Informative) by vux984 on Wednesday June 29 2016, @04:05AM
and poor Bacchus and Venus are left without anything at all.
Um... Friday is for Venus. (Vendredi in French)
And while Bacchus got left out, Saturn has some overlap on the agricultural side at least. And Saturn (Saturnalia) is pretty much the underlying pagan traditions living on today underneath Christmas celebrations.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday June 29 2016, @06:53AM
Hmm...now I wonder where Japan got the day names. Probably a straight port from the Western ones: {Nichi,Getsu,Ka,Sui,Moku,Kin,Do}-you-bi, those being Sun/Moon/Fire/Water/Wood/Metal/Earth. Which kiiiind of matches up to the Greco-Roman pantheon: fire for Mars, water for Mercury, wood for Jupiter, gold/metal for Venus, earth for Saturn.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by jcross on Wednesday June 29 2016, @02:14PM
That's fascinating! Sunday and Monday are perfect matches, and the other days are the five phases (Wu Xing) of Taoism, but not in one of the usual orderings. Turns out the phases have traditional mappings to the planets, and sure enough, they're the same ones named after the Greco-Roman pantheon as used in day names:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Xing#Chinese_medicine [wikipedia.org]
So yeah, seems like you're right and the words got translated via correspondences in the names of heavenly bodies. Either it's a crazy coincidence, some contact happened between historical astronomers, or a modern person deeply familiar with both language families coined a really awesome translation. Either way it's very cool.
(Score: 2) by Capt. Obvious on Tuesday June 28 2016, @11:45PM
Why would the Greeks care when Constantinople fell?
Also, I'd imagine that if anything, it would be the flipside. Bad stuff happens on Tuesday because it's considered a lucky day for doing bad stuff. And the bad stuff actors often have freedom as to when to commit their acts.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 28 2016, @11:56PM
I always do my grocery shopping on tuesdays because the stores are the least crowded - monday clears out the people who ran out of stuff over the weekend and it is too soon for people to start thinking about what they need for next weekend.
(Score: 4, Informative) by aristarchus on Wednesday June 29 2016, @12:58AM
Why would the Greeks care when Constantinople fell?
Um, Turks? You do know that Constantinople was the capitol of the Eastern Roman Empire, and that it remained long after Rome fell, being sacked by Goths? Perhaps you do not. So perhaps you also would not know that the dominate language in the Eastern Roman Empire was Greek? For most of this period, western Europeans were always saying "It's Greek to me!" when they did not understand something.
On the upside, the fall of Constantinople sparked the Renaissance in the west, when refugees brought Greek learning and philosophy to the west once again.
(Score: 2) by Capt. Obvious on Wednesday June 29 2016, @03:05AM
But, IIRC, the Greeks had already split off by 1453, when Constantinople fell.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by aristarchus on Wednesday June 29 2016, @06:51AM
The Greeks had split off well before 410 AD, when Alaric and his Goths sacked Rome. And certainly before when
Theodoric became the King of Rome, and ran up against the philosopher Boethius. Maybe a little study of European History is in order? Always strikes me when all these descendants or Germans get all uppity about the "threat from the east". Do you know who that was? Do you know why they were a threat? Persians? White Huns? Turks? Moslems? Slavs? Communists? Republicans?
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday June 29 2016, @01:01PM
I think a useful historical analogy would be the USA calved off from the Brits in 1776 and there was some unpleasantness in 1812 but here we are in WWI and WWII bailing out Airstrip One yet again and superficially that seems weird but WRT world and regional politics and economics it kinda makes sense, sorta.
Also "in the old days" there was no need for separation of church and state because the kings little bros went into church leadership etc. And guess where Greek Orthodox Christianity was more or less lead from (more or less because its not nearly as centralized as the Roman Catholics)? So not only are your church leaders there, currently and historically, but the church leaders are more or less by definition in those days related to your own aristocracy.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday June 29 2016, @01:12PM
Oh I got the best analogy ever, a minute after posting: Its like asking why West Virginia would care if Virginia got nuked. Them being separate states in many ways, there having been considerable bad blood between them around the time of separation, there being some historical rivalry since the separation, etc.
(Score: 1) by justinb_76 on Wednesday June 29 2016, @11:59AM
on the topic of 'it's all Greek to me', here's a Scandinavia and The World webcomic about what other nationalities say besides 'Greek'
http://satwcomic.com/it-s-all-greek-to-me [satwcomic.com]
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 28 2016, @11:21PM
Mullahs in ancient times said the same thing: you use the religion as a political tool, you will only get your ass bitten. Ergogan pulled this shit, now it's coming to bite Turkey's ass.
Look what has happened, and continued to happen, in Pakistan.
And you watch. Saudis have been doing this for a long ass time, and they were able to do so with oil money and suppression, Saudi version of bread-and-circuses, but they will go down, and when they do, man, shit won't be pretty.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 28 2016, @11:51PM
I think you are mixing up all kinds of different issues.
This was almost certainly a bombing by ISIL because Turkey's been beating them up recently and Turkey is right next door so easy to hit.
Pakistan's problems are as much a result of the ISI (their most powerful intelligence agency) cultivating anti-india sentiment to fight over the land in kashmir. Its not religion so much as ethno-nationalism and in that part of the world everybody is muslim so of course those ready to fight over kashmir are going to be violent and they happen to be muslim too. You won't find any sufis who want to fight over kashmir though.
Saudi has indeed cultivated fundies to distract from their own poor governance - easier to let the fire and brimstone types keep the population focused outward on the west rather than inward on their own institutional failings. But ISIL took it too far even for the saudis and after they finished beating up the arab springers they switched to beating up the ISIL types. They still encourage the extremists, just not the ones who want to blow up the house of saud.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2016, @09:53AM
the arab springers
Is that a term at all? What, in Germany they get Jerry Springers?
(Score: 2, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday June 29 2016, @02:05AM
Citations needed.
You seem to miss the point that Islam is not "just a religion". Islam is a political system, in and of itself.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2016, @02:16AM
I suggest you check out this book from your local library:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Arab_Peoples [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday June 29 2016, @02:32AM
Or, I could just buy a copy - https://www.amazon.com/History-Arab-Peoples/dp/B0000545CQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1467167481&sr=1-1&keywords=A+History+of+the+Arab+Peoples+albert+hourani [amazon.com]
Sadly, there is no kindle edition, but there is is audible and MP3 CD . . .
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2016, @03:57AM
> I suggest you check out this book from your local library:
He has no interest. Runaway has literally declared himself a keyboard crusader against islam. [soylentnews.org]
The only facts he cares about are the kind he can cherry-pick.
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday June 29 2016, @02:11AM
For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind
Turkey has been playing cozy with DAESH/ISIL/ISIS for quite a long while now. I repeat that Turkey is engaged in a genocidal campaign against the Kurds. Turkey has been pushing "refugees" into Europe for years. Yeah, the chickens are coming home to roost.
Despite detractors of Jmorris' post above, that is NOT gloating over the act of terrorism. A dead Turk doesn't make me feel any better than a dead Frenchman - but there is some measure of justice in Turkey being hit this time.
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by kurenai.tsubasa on Wednesday June 29 2016, @03:04AM
This is God’s Message to Hosea son of Beeri. It came to him during the royal reigns of Judah’s kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. This was also the time that Jeroboam son of Joash was king over Israel.
Hosea 8:1–10 MSG:
Blow the trumpet! Sound the alarm!
Vultures are circling over God’s people
Who have broken my covenant
and defied my revelation.
Predictably, Israel cries out, ‘My God! We know you!’
But they don’t act like it.
Israel will have nothing to do with what’s good,
and now the enemy is after them.
“They crown kings, but without asking me.
They set up princes but don’t let me in on it.
Instead, they make idols, using silver and gold,
idols that will be their ruin.
Throw that gold calf-god on the trash heap, Samaria!
I’m seething with anger against that rubbish!
How long before they shape up?
And they’re Israelites!
A sculptor made that thing—
it’s not God.
That Samaritan calf
will be broken to bits.
Look at them! Planting wind-seeds,
they’ll harvest tornadoes.
Wheat with no head
produces no flour.
And even if it did,
strangers would gulp it down.
Israel is swallowed up and spit out.
Among the pagans they’re a piece of junk.
They trotted off to Assyria:
Why, even wild donkeys stick to their own kind,
but donkey-Ephraim goes out and pays to get lovers.
Now, because of their whoring life among the pagans,
I’m going to gather them together and confront them.
They’re going to reap the consequences soon,
feel what it’s like to be oppressed by the big king.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2016, @07:28AM
I was talking to God just the other day! It is amazing that She really is omniscient! She knew all about Runaway1956-2626. Now just imagine how many outside of SoylentNews know that! She was kind of sorry he was going to have to be cast into the pits of hell, because She is also omni-benevolent. But the whole anti-muslim thing, mortal sin. The following the pervert priests on child-molestation and abortion, deadly mortal sin. And the fetishism for weapons: he who lives by the 1911, dies by the 1911. Sorry, Runaway. We were happy to know you, even if you were a condemned bastard from the start. Although, God did say, there is hope for all, even one so perverse as this! Kinda makes you think God may not be such a bastard after all, right?
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday June 29 2016, @01:08PM
Frankly I'm relieved there is no "Reichskristallnacht" or whatever its called against innocent Kurds. At least not yet.
The turks are going to pull it off sooner or later; they have a history of genocide.
Its hard to feel sorry for a country that killed so many Armenians where official policy to this date is "didn't happen and if it did, it all good anyway". F the Turks. Go overthru your shitty dictatorship government and here's a nickel to buy a better one, would be hard to do worse than the one they have. Once the turks are civilized, they'll be able to participate in the civilized reaction of other countries feeling sorry for them. But when they intentionally refuse to behave in a civilized manner in numerous occasions, there's no point wasting tears on them.
(Score: 2) by DutchUncle on Wednesday June 29 2016, @02:21AM
. . . and if all you need is denial-of-service, that's the attack point. Morons in Congress talk about "expanded perimeter", and ignore the point that there must be a gate for the perimeter to be useful, and the gate will always be the same size with the same crowd waiting to enter.
(Score: 1) by mattTheOne on Wednesday June 29 2016, @05:12AM
Know some amazingly brilliant and amazing Turkish ppl in USA and Canada. Shame whats going on back home. Really sad and not their fault their gov is messed up.
Honestly though, unless its an emergency situation, why would U be heading to the areas that folks are FLEEING from?!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2016, @09:54PM
As in, Correlation =/= Causation???
And even then the correlation is questionable, as COSPAR doesn't start until tomorrow.
NASA has, however, certainly proven its cowardice and willingness to allow terrorists to dictate terms to it. Way to go, 'Murica! Keep on winning their battles for them!