Random Politics & Religion #08

If he was in America according to Obama it is easier to get a gun than it is to get a book or computer or some *** !

Semi trucks then? they're also claimed to cause earthquakes.

He's right. My kids are always checking out weapons from the local gun library.

I know you're making a funny but people were injured, not killed. As scary as some *** coming at you with an axe probably is, it's not a rifle.

He's right. My kids are always checking out weapons from the local gun library.

Ted's dead. Been dead for years.

Turkey has now fired or suspended about 50,000 people after a failed coup over the weekend as it intensifies its vast purge -- battering the country's security forces and many of its democratic institutions.

Teachers, journalists, police and judges alike have been caught in a net authorities are casting wider by the day, in what is increasingly looking like a witch-hunt to suppress dissent.

Western leaders have urged President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government to respect democratic principles and act within the law in response to talk of reviving the death penalty and heavy-handed punishments over the coup.

The purge has gutted the leadership in the country's security forces, with at least 118 generals and admirals detained, stripping the general-rank command of the Turkish military by a third, according to Turkish state broadcaster TRT.
Authorities have also suspended 8,777 Ministry of Interior personnel, mostly police, as well as 100 Turkish intelligence service personnel, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.
Here's a tally of who has been affected, according to Anadolu:
- 21,000 teachers in private institutions have had their licenses revoked;
- 15,200 Education Ministry personnel have been suspended and are under investigation;
- 2,745 judges and prosecutors have been listed for detention, although it is unclear if they have all been detained, and;
- 1,577 deans have been asked to resign.
Anadolu reported that Turkey's top broadcasting authority on Tuesday revoked the licenses for 24 radio and television companies that it said are linked to Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan blames for masterminding the coup.

Turkey on Tuesday formally requested the extradition of Gulen from the United States, where he lives in self-imposed exile.

Rights group Amnesty International said that authorities had canceled 34 journalists' press cards and called on Turkish authorities to not "arbitrarily restrict freedom of expression."
"We are witnessing a crackdown of exceptional proportions in Turkey at the moment," said Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International's Turkey researcher.
"Turkey's people are still reeling from the shocking events of the weekend and it is vital that press freedom and the unhindered circulation of information are protected, rather than stifled."

State broadcaster TRT also lost 370 staff members, who have been suspended, according to CNN Turk.
Hundreds more have been suspended from the Prime Minister's office and government bodies dealing with religious affairs, family and social policy and development have been suspended. The total fired or suspended is around 50,000 people.
More than 9,000 people are currently in detention and are under investigation over the coup, according to Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus.
Turkey's Council of Higher Education also demanded all universities suspend academic assignments abroad and that an investigation be launched into all staff linked to what it calls the "Fetullah Gulen Terrorist Organization," Anadolu reported.
At least 232 people were killed and more than 1,4000 injured when elements of the military launched the attempted coup Friday night. Erdogan called on people to take to the streets, where bloody clashes broke out.

The government has imposed restrictions on the WikiLeaks website after the whistleblower organization dumped some 300,000 emails from Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Tuesday evening.

RELEASE: 294,548 emails from Turkey's ruling political party, Erdoğan's AKP #AKPemails https://t.co/1Yof7YZpH7 pic.twitter.com/vFw8KLMIsX
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 20, 2016

Access to the documents was restricted because of a "violation of privacy and publication of illegally obtained data," a Turkish official told CNN.
The most recent emails were sent on July 6 and the oldest dates back to 2010, WikiLeaks said.
The organization reported late Monday night that it had come under a sustained cyberattack after announcing on social media its plan to leak hundreds of thousands of documents on "Turkish power."

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke with Erdogan on Tuesday about the coup and the status of Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania.

Obama "strongly condemned" the coup attempt and "expressed his support for Turkish democracy," a White House news release said, without explaining whether Gulen would be extradited.

Under the U.S.-Turkey extradition agreement, Washington can only extradite a person if he or she has committed an "extraditable act." Treason -- such as that implied by Erdogan's demand for Gulen's extradition -- is not listed as such an act in the countries' treaty.

The Muslim cleric has denied any involvement in the coup attempt.
Gulen, in a statement released Tuesday, said Erdogan "once again demonstrated he will go to any length necessary to solidify his power and persecute his critics."

"It is ridiculous, irresponsible and false to suggest I had anything to do with the horrific failed coup. I urge the U.S. government to reject any effort to abuse the extradition process to carry out political vendettas," he said.
The reclusive cleric leads a popular movement called Hizmet, which includes hundreds of secular co-ed schools, free tutoring centers, hospitals and relief agencies credited with addressing Turkey's social problems.

Soldiers sent to apprehend Erdogan during the attempted coup were told they were to "capture an important terrorist leader," Anadolu reported.
The soldiers involved in the President's apprehension were informed of the details of the coup as they were being airlifted to a hotel in a resort town where Erdogan and his family were vacationing during Friday's deadly attempted takeover.

It is unclear how many soldiers participated in the attack, during which two of Erdogan's bodyguards were killed, and it is unclear how loyal the troops were, given that they were briefed on the coup so late in proceedings.
Meanwhile, Erdogan's military aide, Lt. Col. Erkan Kivrak, has been taken into custody in southern Turkey for alleged ties to the plotters, according to Anadolu.
Several senior figures in the military are facing court in Ankara, military officials have said.

Still thinking this was staged. I can't see how else he was able to arrest thousands of people so fast without a list ready beforehand..

and they were forced to attempt the coup earlier than planned because of it.

Looks like he's using the failed coupe as an excuse to purge people who disagree with him.

Looks like he's using the failed coupe as an excuse to purge people who disagree with him.

Still thinking this was staged. I can't see how else he was able to arrest thousands of people so fast without a list ready beforehand..

In memory of the brave who seeked to inform the citizens of the United States of America who were taken from us you will not be forgotten when the Constitutional Republic is restored.

Random Politics and Conspiracy Theories #08?

it's a wonder that his family hasn't tried to have him committed to an institution somewhere yet.

I mean, don't get me wrong. There's probably something wrong with all of us or we wouldn't be wasting time here anyhow.

But I digress.