Blogger.com Banned In Turkey 262
petermp writes "A Turkish court has blocked access to the popular blog hosting service Blogger (Blogger.com and Blogspot.com, owned by Google), since Friday, October 24th, 2008. According to BasBasBas.com, a Dutch blogger based in Istanbul, who alerted readers about the issue: 'It is suspected that the reason for this has something to do with Adnan Oktar, by some considered the leading Muslim advocate for creationism, who has in the past managed to get Wordpress, Google Groups, as well as Richard Dawkins' website [banned].'"
1 simple PGP script... (Score:4, Interesting)
You can block Blogger, but in its place will grow thousands of pages, you cannot stop them all! (but you can easily identify the creators I suppose).
This seems like a very irrational decision, surely this will be appealed.
Re:Turkey? (Score:5, Interesting)
What ignorance. What about Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia? They're all peaceful*, large Muslim nations. Indonesia has more Muslims than any other nation.
Besides, intolerance, genocide and xenophobia are a key part of any religious book. It might as well be in the job description. The problem is when people actually listen to the book, and that normally rises out of external issues (e.g. crippling poverty and corruption).
*Granted Indonesia and Malaysia fight a bit, but that's not religiously motivated.
Re:Turkey is a military dictatorship. (Score:1, Interesting)
There's a missing piece in all these comments. Turkey had to choose a side when cold war started and since USSR had made its intentions to control Bosphorus and Dardanelles this side had to be West. Since then Turkish military is part of NATO and military works for the benefit of West. It's not unknown that 80 coup was made under approval maybe control of US (as made in Latin America). The undemocratic climate of Turkey created by military was always for the benefit of West (and rulers of course). Interestingly the current Islamic government of Turkey still works for the benefit of US because US wants a western ally and mostly Sunni (opposed to Iran) Turkey to be an example for the middle east. Of course this can't be achieve with a strict non-muslim (secular) state because they want a religious influence.
Re:Turkey? (Score:5, Interesting)
"Turkey is the one Muslim country that does not directly attacks anyone with another religion, and commits genocide upon them."
Pretty much wiped out the Armenians in an inconvenient genocide. The Greeks are gone in repeated pogroms. Any equality was pretty much expressed in the form that everybody got genocided pretty much evenly.
They are now working on the Kurds. A decade ago it was illegal to speak Kurdish, name your child with a Kurdish name, broadcast in Kurdish, used Kurdish colors. This has been relaxed because Turkey wants in on international institutions.
I guess "equality" is a work in progress in Turkey with it trying it equalize everybody into being a particular Turk, God forbid if you are not.
You'd be insulting Turkishness (A criminal offense by the way)
G
Re:Turkey? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Turkey? (Score:3, Interesting)
Indeed, you are right in every aspect. Malaysia is a lot like Nazi Germany in this respect (compare their racist ideology of "Bumiputera" ie sons of the soil to Nazi Germany's "Blut und Boden" or "blood and soil"; same thing).
I am genuinely concerned about the situation with the Chinese and Indian minorities there. Race riots targeting them seem to be escalating, and Malaysian leaders like Najib Razak openly threatening Chinese Malaysians with genocide and Mahathir Mohamed who said that Indians in Malaysia are "as subversive as Jews" and so forth, Malaysia looks like another Darfur waiting to happen.