US - Turkey Relations: Pres. Trump’s deafening silence on Turkey dictatorship: Are business interests muzzling POTUS? - by Jordan Schachtel

Birds of a feather flock together

Are President Trump’s business ties to Istanbul stopping him from reprimanding the Turkish president for his authoritarian power grab?

On Monday, Trump congratulated Turkish dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a referendum victory (contested as undemocratic by multiple international monitoring organizations) that boosted his unilateral authority over his country.

Further, “[T]he leaders agreed on the importance of holding Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accountable,” a readout of his call with Erdogan said. “President Trump and President Erdogan also discussed the counter-ISIS campaign and the need to cooperate against all groups that use terrorism to achieve their ends,” the statement concluded.

Over the past several months, Turkey has continued to move in the direction of becoming a full-blown Islamist tyranny.

President Erdogan, whose AKP party continues to push for an Islamist ideology that rejects Turkey’s founding as a secular country, has continued to cozy up with terror advocates like the Muslim Brotherhood and its subgroup Hamas. Some have even alleged that top officials in Ankara are responsible for financing operations by the Islamic State terror group.

Erdogan has pushed a vicious crackdown of any type of dissent. After Erdogan said that members of a rogue party attempted a military coup, the authoritarian leader has rounded up tens of thousands of military officials, journalists, academics, students, and others who he has alleged are part of a movement that is attempting to overthrow his seat of power.

But this isn’t exactly a new problem. Under Erdogan, Turkey has, year after year, become less free and more authoritarian, according to Freedom House.

So why hasn’t President Donald Trump called Turkey out for its gross violations of basic human rights? Is it simply because he wants to hold together the NATO alliance, or are there more selfish and financial motives at play?

One explanation points to his notable business interests there.

The president has licensed his name to a towering development in Istanbul. The agreement makes him an estimated $1 to 5 million per year, according to reports. Trump even admitted in 2015 that he has a “conflict of interest” when it comes to Turkey.

“I have a little conflict of interest ’because I have a major, major building in Istanbul. It’s called Trump Towers. Two towers, instead of one. Not the usual one, it’s two. And I’ve gotten to know Turkey very well,” the president said in a December 2015 radio interview describing his Istanbul property.

And on social media, Trump has repeatedly tweeted excitedly about his property there, and his love for Istanbul.

But this isn’t exactly a new problem. Under Erdogan, Turkey has, year after year, become less free and more authoritarian, according to Freedom House. - See more at: https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2017/04/pres-trumps-deafening-silence-on-turkey-dictatorship-are-business-interests-muzzling-potus#sthash.IP3H104r.dpuf

But this isn’t exactly a new problem. Under Erdogan, Turkey has, year after year, become less free and more authoritarian, according to Freedom House. - See more at: https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2017/04/pres-trumps-deafening-silence-on-turkey-dictatorship-are-business-interests-muzzling-potus#sthash.IP3H104r.dpuf

But this isn’t exactly a new problem. Under Erdogan, Turkey has, year after year, become less free and more authoritarian, according to Freedom House. - See more at: https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2017/04/pres-trumps-deafening-silence-on-turkey-dictatorship-are-business-interests-muzzling-potus#sthash.IP3H104r.dpuf

Turkey Referendum Fraud: "Erdogan Uber Alles", as even the law is not sacred anymore in Turkey

Erdogan's Democracy In Action

Less than 24 hours after Erdogan declared "victory", Tana de Zulueta, head of the monitoring mission of the OSCE/ODIHR, offered a harsh analysis on the way the Turkish referendum was conducted.

In a damning statement, she said: "The legal framework for the referendum neither sufficiently provides for impartial coverage nor guarantees eligible political parties equal access to public media."

The ruling party and the president were given preference in the allocation of free airtime, she said. 

The campaign framework was described as "restrictive" and "imbalanced" because of the involvement of Erdogan and other national and local public figures in the "yes" campaign. 

De Zulueta also said that monitors saw 'No' supporters subjected to police intervention at events while also being equated to terrorists by senior officials in the 'Yes' camp, during a fractious campaign period. Monitors also said that the change in ballot validity rules was deemed to have undermined "an important safeguard and contradicting the law." 

The Turkish High Electoral Board at first said it would not accept ballots that were missing ballot commission stamps. But it announced a changed of course after voting was underway Sunday, saying it would accept unstamped ballots "unless they are proven to have been brought from outside." 

Given the fraud and controversy so far surrounding the Turkish referendum,  leaders of member states of the European Union have been cautious about the results of the referendum in Turkey.and no EU leader sent the traditional congratulations message to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his victory so far.

EU-Digest

Turkey votes to expand president’s powers wih minimal margin; critics cry fraud - by E. Becatoros, S. Fraser and Z.Bilginsoy

Turkey Referendum :Erdogan 's intimidation worked  barely

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won a historic referendum Sunday that will greatly expand the powers of his office, although opposition parties questioned the outcome and said they would challenge the results.

With 99 percent of the ballots counted, the “yes” vote stood at 51.37 percent, while the “no” vote was 48.63 percent, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. The head of Turkey’s electoral board confirmed the “yes” victory and said final results will be declared in 11-12 days.

Although the margin fell short of the sweeping victory Erdogan had sought in the landmark referendum, it could nevertheless cement his hold on power in Turkey and is expected to have a huge effect on the country’s long-term political future and its international relations.

The 18 constitutional amendments that will come into effect after the next election, scheduled for 2019, will abolish the office of the prime minister and hand sweeping executive powers to the president.

In his first remarks from Istanbul, Erdogan struck a conciliatory tone, thanking all voters no matter how they cast their ballots and calling the referendum a “historic decision.”

“April 16 is the victory of all who said ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ of the whole 80 million, of the whole of Turkey,” Erdogan told reporters in address that was televised live.

But he quickly reverted to a more abrasive style when addressing thousands of flag-waving supporters in Istanbul

“There are those who are belittling the result. They shouldn’t try, it will be in vain,” he said. “It’s too late now.”

Responding to chants from the crowd to reinstate the death penalty, Erdogan said he would take up the issue with the country’s political leaders, adding that the question could be put to another referendum if the political leaders could not agree.

Note EU-Digest: Given the result of the referendum and charges of intimidation, in addition to the possibility of electoral fraud, President Erdogan, in all reality, can not really claim he got a sweeping mandate to change the Turkish Constitution in this referendum

The fears of electoral fraud and government meddling is now more relevant than ever, fueled by the extraordinary powers the government wields under the state of emergency. 

The badly crippled Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the main Kurdish political force, which has been trying to soldier on with its “no” campaign against its main rival, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has also voiced their concerns.

HDP members say they have been facing the “unchecked power” of the government, reflected not only in obstructions to their campaigns, but also in moves to keep party activists away from polling stations today, March 16.

Read more: Turkey votes to expand president’s powers; critics cry fraud - The Washington Post

Turkey-EU ties: a bargaining chip on eve of referendum

Turkey’s president Tayyip Erdogan has ramped up his anti-EU rhetoric on the eve of a referendum which would hand him sweeping powers.

Erdogan said he would review Ankara’s relationship with Brussels, as he seeks to shore up support for the constitutional changes needed to transfer more power away from parliament to the president.

Turkey’s president Tayyip Erdogan has ramped up his anti-EU rhetoric on the eve of a referendum which would hand him sweeping powers.

Erdogan said he would review Ankara’s relationship with Brussels, as he seeks to shore up support for the constitutional changes needed to transfer more power away from parliament to the president.

“The EU has lost all credibility. We don’t defend democracy, human rights and freedoms because they want us to, we do that because our citizens deserve it. As we get closer to democracy, they are moving away from it,” Erdogan told supporters at a rally in Istanbul.

He continued saying that the EU feared the new system because Turkey would be ‘even stronger’. In his speech he said that the EU had left Turkey waiting 54 years for membership, and that the vote on Sunday would be a turning point.

Over the course of the campaign Erdogan’s speeches have shown a clear shift in ties with Brussels, becoming far more critical of the 27-member bloc. When ministers attempted to campaign in EU countries, there was a clampdown on rallies and Erdogan responded by calling leaders ‘fascists’ and ‘Nazis’.

Also in Istanbul, the ‘No’ campaign formed a symbolic human chain on the European side of the Bosphorous strait which divides Asia and Europe.

They fear the constitutional changes would see Turkey lurch towards authoritarianism. The new system could allow Erdogan to run for two more terms, potentially stretching his rule to 2029.

“I have two children. I’m here for my children and for a Turkey where the values I was born with remain, where my children can continue to think freely and where journalists and teachers are not put behind bars,” said one ‘No’ supporter.

The vote comes at a time of turmoil, with the country reeling from a series of bombings by ISIL and Kurdish militants, a failed coup and subsequent purge as well as a deep economic slowdown, something which the president says requires a stronger leadership to bring under control.

Turkey-EU ties: a bargaining chip on eve of referendum | Euronews

EU must say no to participating in any further costly US military adventures : war=destruction=refugees=terrorism

EU It's high time to stop these disastrous wars

Previously completely opposed to any U.S. action against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, Trump ordered a cruise-missile attack on a Syrian airfield—and then the next week criticized President Obama in a Fox Business interview for following the very advice that citizen Trump had pressed since 2013. Might the president yet reverse himself on the European Union too?

As new advisers replace the former Breitbart crew, President Trump might dial back the expression of hostility to the EU. European leaders can never again be certain, however, what might happen if those new advisers are in turn replaced. America has been immeasurably strengthened by its allies’ trust. Even as Trump’s aggressive words fade into reassuring conventionality, those allies will not soon forget their accumulated and well-grounded reasons for mistrust.

Within weeks of his inauguration, President Donald Trump had already wrought a strategic revolution in U.S. foreign policy. Russia, formerly an antagonist, has been promoted to preferred partner. In its place, Team Trump has identified a new enemy. With this enemy there can be no coexistence, no cooperation. It must be humbled and divided, not merely defeated but utterly overthrown. This enemy is the European Union.

Meanwhile, Trump has offered sharp personal comments on Chancellor Angela Merkel. One of his top advisers has called for Germany to flout the EU and negotiate bilaterally with the U.S. so as to reduce German trade surpluses. In a meeting with Merkel, Trump also called for direct negotiations, and suggested that Germany had outmaneuvered the U.S. On bad days, the U.S.–German relationship looks more strained than at any time since the end of the Cold War, including during the Iraq War. The Trump administration seems determined only to widen the breach.

Of course, it's easy to spot signs of disarray. Modern Europe is messy, and its institutions and policies are imperfect. Some of the threats facing the EU are real: slow growth and austerity, for instance, within the eurozone. Others, like rising right-wing nationalism and migration, are less so.

Yet amid all the hyperbole and hysteria, a basic point gets missed. Europe today is a genuine superpower and will likely remain one for decades to come. By most objective measures, it either rivals or surpasses the United States and China in its ability to project a full spectrum of global military, economic, and soft power. Europe consistently deploys military troops within and beyond its immediate neighborhood. It manipulates economic power with a skill and success unmatched by any other country or region. And its ability to employ "soft power" to persuade other countries to change their behavior is unique.

If a superpower is a political entity that can consistently project military, economic, and soft power transcontinentally with a reasonable chance of success, Europe surely qualifies. Its power, moreover, is likely to remain entrenched for at least another generation, regardless of the outcome of current European crises. In sum, Europe is the "invisible superpower" in contemporary world politics. Here's why.

Before turning to Europe's specific military, economic, and soft power assets, let's dismiss the nearly universal belief that Europe is too decentralized to act as a superpower. Europe is not a sovereign state. Yet in practice, it generally acts as a single force in world politics.

We ignore European unity at our peril. Most observers analyze Europe as 28 separate countries - even though doing so generates geopolitical nonsense. To see why, consider one recent example: Russia's foreign-policy options after its invasion of Ukraine triggered Western sanctions. Many predicted that China's rising economic weight meant the Kremlin would surely turn to Beijing.

In July 2015, leading newspapers across Eurasia ran the same story (originally from Agence France-Presse) reporting that "China has emerged as Russia's largest trading partner as Moscow turns east, seeking markets in Asia in the face of Western sanctions."

Treating Europe as disunited was geopolitically naive. Even though EU law imposes no legal obligation to implement sanctions, Europe acted - and paid more than 90 percent of the costs of the Western policy response to Russia. European power and unity are the glue that has held together this Western policy for the past two years. This despite all the nonsense the US Trump Administration has been declaring.

This is only one example of how, despite its fragmentation, Europe effectively projects power in those areas that count most for global influence. Certainly, European governments often disagree among themselves, sometimes vociferously and in public. Yet policy coordination, both formal and informal, permits European governments to act as a unit to influence the outside world.

Three modes of European coordination are critical: common EU policies, coordination, and tacit policy convergence.

For these reasons,the US should recognize Europe as a single superpower in projecting military, economic, or soft power - whether or not it acts formally as one.

As for the EU to avoid getting dragged into any more US failed military adventures, it is critical that all the EU participating nation,  as one unit, issue an ultimatum to the US, Russia and Syria to cease all military operations in the Middle East and immediately start bi-lateral negotiation  within a period of 90 days.

Bottom-line : war=destruction=refugees=terrorism. More military involvement will only increase these problems as they have always done.

EU-Digest

Easter - USA: Half of Americans Will Celebrate Easter in Church

Easter Church Services in America

Easter may not be the top holiday for Americans, but half will still honor the holiday in church. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

The survey of 1,000 American Adults was conducted on April 11-12, 2017 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence

Reasd more: Half of Americans Will Celebrate Easter in Church - Rasmussen Reports™

Christianity: The Goodness of Good Friday - by Chris Armstrong

Good Friday: a day of sadness and mourning but also of Hope 

What a supreme paradox. We now call the day Jesus was crucified, Good.

Many believe this name simply evolved—as language does. They point to the earlier designation, "God's Friday," as its root. (This seems a reasonable conjecture, given that "goodbye" evolved from "God be with you.")

Whatever its origin, the current name of this holy day offers a fitting lesson to those of us who assume (as is easy to do) that "good" must mean "happy." We find it hard to imagine a day marked by sadness as a good day.

Of course, the church has always understood that the day commemorated on Good Friday was anything but happy. Sadness, mourning, fasting, and prayer have been its focus since the early centuries of the church. A fourth-century church manual, the Apostolic Constitutions, called Good Friday a "day of mourning, not a day of festive Joy." Ambrose, the fourth-century archbishop who befriended the notorious sinner Augustine of Hippo before his conversion, called it the "day of bitterness on which we fast."

Many Christians have historically kept their churches unlit or draped in dark cloths. Processions of penitents have walked in black robes or carried black-robed statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary. And worshippers have walked the "Stations of the Cross," praying and singing their way past 14 images representing Jesus' steps along the Via Dolorosa to Golgotha.

Yet, despite—indeed because of—its sadness, Good Friday is truly good. Its sorrow is a godly sorrow. It is like the sadness of the Corinthians who wept over the sharp letter from their dear teacher, Paul, convicted of the sin in their midst. Hearing of their distress, Paul said, "My joy was greater than ever." Why? Because such godly sorrow "brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret" (2 Cor. 7:10).

I like to think the linguistic accident that made "God's Friday" into "Good Friday" was no accident at all. It was God's own doing—a sharp, prophetic jab at a time and a culture obsessed by happiness. In the midst of consumerism's Western playground, Good Friday calls to a jarring halt the sacred "pursuit of happiness." The cross reveals this pursuit for what it is: a secondary thing.

This commemoration of Christ's death reminds us of the human sin that caused this death. And we see again that salvation comes only through godly sorrow—both God's and, in repentance, ours. To pursue happiness, we must first experience sorrow. He who goes forth sowing tears returns in joy.

EU-Digest