FF:NZ As in all good Kiwi traditions...

Drinks all round, steaks on the BBQ, time for a party!

Post 2000 for me, woo hoo.

 

Good on ya SWNZ....now I bet u feel so complete now lol

 

And rememeber my young Padawan..it's not the quantity it;s the quality

 

thats right.

 

As you'd all be aware my posts are always top notch quality.

 

//engages diplomacy mode

sure, SWNZ always makes quality posts, regardless!

 

Its like that old saying 'no good having a massive cannon if you ain't got the ammo to use it!'
Congrats SWNZ, now if you can just get 2000 posts on just the NZ forums!
EDIT: BTW you can award yourself a giant novelty comb!

 

Thanks guys

Right our aim is to hit 2000 posts by July 1st.

 

Here's

 

Three

 

More

 

If you do it that way Jace, it looks like you are cheating!

 

You should be adding posts like this, so that it doesnt look really suspicious.

 

Now look at that... 3 more posts and no one suspects a thing!

 

Damn good effort Centuri

 

It's good see we have some comitted posters here.

 

Posters who aren't afraid of being deep and meaningful. I urge you all to continue.

 

ok, you guys asked for it,posts with content.... here is the introduction sorta of an essay i recently wrote, it has depth, and 13 more pages:

Kurdish issues have dominated the Turkish government's attention for the last decade of the 20th century, both domestically and internationally and have severely tested the stability of the country as a whole. Legitimate attempts to gain recognition and acceptance have met with repression and demonisation by both the state apparatus/army and the majority of mainstream political organisations who seem trapped by their adherence to a strict unitary nationalist agenda .
However, despite the trans-state nature of the Kurdish population and the armed conflict there still does seem to be support for a solution within the framework of the Turkish State .

The Kurdish issue in Turkey could be seen as a competition between two different ideas of what the Turkish state should be, and the position of people and groups within this country. This competition has manifested itself in several forms, all interrelated, whether it be armed conflict in the south east of the country, repression of legitimate civil discussion and activity throughout the entire country or the tensions of relations with foreign nations.
The dominating paradigm of the modern state is the idea of the Western nation state, where all citizens are bound by more than just a location, they share some deeper aspect of community, be it religious, ethnic, cultural or usually all three. Recently this idea has included strong protections for the individual within this state, that is the recognition of individual rights, freedoms and responsibilities. It could be said, rightly or wrongly that successful states in the modern era have all been this type, nation states, and therefore success as a state relies upon being of this type.

Opposing this idea is the multicultural state, a community of perhaps disparate ethnic, cultural or religious groups living in harmony having both individual and group rights which are recognised and accepted by all within the state. The structure of this state type ranges from a simple recognition and acceptance of minority differences to a federal state with extensive regional devolution or autonomy. Opponents of this model question the stability of the state and the safety/prosperity of its various citizens, using recent examples such as Yugoslavia, Russia, and Indonesia.


The question of state structure may seem a little theoretical, but in essence the Kurdish problem is more than just the actions of a terrorist organisation, it is a multilevel struggle against a rigid concept of what Turkey should be. There is an apparent confusion though on the part of the Government, which appears to perceive the issues in simplistic, narrow terms . That is, that the main guerrilla organisation, the PKK was both source and the agent of the dispute, when in fact it has merely been the most successful of the armed groups. Confusing this type of activity with legitimate protest, political action, cultural activities among others have meant that the suppression of guerrilla activity has expanded to a general attack on the Kurdish people.

The main areas that have been affected by the Kurdish resurgence have been Turkey's foreign policy and the domestic stability. In the international relations arena the campaign against the PKK and subsequent violations of Human Rights has provided other countries with an effective, high profile tool in dealing with Turkey regardless of their complaint. Additionally the likelihood of a Kurdish state forming in Northern Iraq during the 1990s threatened regional stability and the established territorial order.
Domestically the campaign against Kurdish expression has driven Kurdish representation out of the mainstream political parties, while attacking the fundamentals of democracy in Turkey that is protection of politicians, activists and the freedom to critique Government action. The legal and illegal actions of government forces have severely weakened the government

 

I look forward to the rest <runs and hides>