https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Böhmermann_affair
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/16/opinion/erdogan-and-merkels-comic-comeuppance.html?_r=0
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7878/german-satire-erdogan
Alright, so basically, a German comedian named Jan Böhmermann made fun of Turkish president Erdogan on his satire show, Neo Magazin Royale. Böhmermann was inspired to do so after a German tv station aired a music video mocking Erdogan, which you can watch here; it currently has over 8 million views (isn't the Streisand Effect awesome?). Anyway, Erdogan flipped out, summoning the German ambassador and demanding that the video be removed from the internet and never be shown again. Of course, this signaled to everyone that Erdogan cannot take an insult. Like a true shit-stirrer (I say this lovingly; Böhmermann could be a Kiwi), Böhmermann published an "Offensive Poem" on his show, which deliberately played with the limits of satire (most of it is devoted to accusing Erdogan of having sex with goats and sheep, among other things).
Of course Erdogan flipped the fuck out and called for the criminal prosecution of Böhmermann, which Angela Merkel is granting. The entire thing hinges on an obscure and never used law from 1871, which makes the "slander of institutions and officials of foreign states" an offense carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison. Germans immediately accused Merkel of kowtowing to Turkey in light of the migrant crisis; Turkey is all that stands in the way of waves and waves of migrants flooding Europe.
Can we please talk about how Erdogan is a huge fucking lolcow? He literally jailed someone over memes and has been cracking down hard on satirists and everyone else who makes fun of him. He cannot take a joke. But instead of ranting on YouTube or Deviantart he arrests people. And I literally laughed out loud when I learned that he demanded that the music video be removed from the internet. That belongs in the "Take that off the god damn Internet!" section of this forum.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/16/opinion/erdogan-and-merkels-comic-comeuppance.html?_r=0
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7878/german-satire-erdogan
Alright, so basically, a German comedian named Jan Böhmermann made fun of Turkish president Erdogan on his satire show, Neo Magazin Royale. Böhmermann was inspired to do so after a German tv station aired a music video mocking Erdogan, which you can watch here; it currently has over 8 million views (isn't the Streisand Effect awesome?). Anyway, Erdogan flipped out, summoning the German ambassador and demanding that the video be removed from the internet and never be shown again. Of course, this signaled to everyone that Erdogan cannot take an insult. Like a true shit-stirrer (I say this lovingly; Böhmermann could be a Kiwi), Böhmermann published an "Offensive Poem" on his show, which deliberately played with the limits of satire (most of it is devoted to accusing Erdogan of having sex with goats and sheep, among other things).
Of course Erdogan flipped the fuck out and called for the criminal prosecution of Böhmermann, which Angela Merkel is granting. The entire thing hinges on an obscure and never used law from 1871, which makes the "slander of institutions and officials of foreign states" an offense carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison. Germans immediately accused Merkel of kowtowing to Turkey in light of the migrant crisis; Turkey is all that stands in the way of waves and waves of migrants flooding Europe.
Can we please talk about how Erdogan is a huge fucking lolcow? He literally jailed someone over memes and has been cracking down hard on satirists and everyone else who makes fun of him. He cannot take a joke. But instead of ranting on YouTube or Deviantart he arrests people. And I literally laughed out loud when I learned that he demanded that the music video be removed from the internet. That belongs in the "Take that off the god damn Internet!" section of this forum.
