Any NPR/BBC listeners hear this today?

[tamisevens]

I was a little late for work this morning - partly because the subway was running slow, but mostly because I was really sucked in to an interview on the BBC World Service, which airs at 9am on NYC's National Public Radio station. The host was talking to a woman in Turkey - and I really wish I had been paying more attention at the start of the

Comments

[mordicai]

i did listen to that? she was all "....uh....uh....well, um...it is terrorism?" & he was like "but i asked 'what is terrorism.' answer me." & i was like, dude, he's ACTUALLY INTERVIEWING SOMEONE.

the best interview i heard on world service was some lady interviewing british airway officials about some price fixing conspiracy...she was the WORST interviewer i have ever heard. it was a COLOSSAL fuck-up.

[tamisevens]

do you know who the woman is? I hated that I had no idea while I was listening to her. i mean, she sounded like a politician...

[mordicai]

no, i got nothin' i was just listening to it in the same state as you, & both jenny & i commented that it was good. which is why it is weird to hear you bring it up...i guess it was good!

[pravda]

I missed the part where they introduced her, but her opening statement was gold, I didn't realize it was an interview because she was just shouting about her opinions. About how the Kurds' life in Turkey is fine, because they are allowed to speak their language and even put up their own billboards.

[yaramaz]

I'd love to hear it too. I live in Istanbul and the sudden rise in fervent nationalism in the past few months is seriously creeping me out. It's so Bushy in it's simplification of complex situations but no one will admit it. All the Turkish staff at my school have ben clad in black all week in memory of the 12 soldiers shot by PKK soldiers (read: terrorists). I'm waiting for the yellow ribbons to pop up (even though they have nothing to do with how Turks deal with jingoistic warmongering). Flags everywhere. Not looking forward to Republic Day on Monday- not looking very optimistic. Sigh.

[decamerenne]

Turkish nationalism never fails to be creepy, I agree. But the country's problem with the PKK, and thus with northern Iraq, at least makes some sense; whereas the US's problem with the ever-ambiguous terrorisss from ....Iraq? makes absolutely no sense.

[yaramaz]

True, yes. I agree with that. I just don't like the blind jingoism that goes with it from so many people. Very knee-jerk in so many cases. The thing is, so many people fear and loathe the Terrorists but so few people want to stop and think and discuss why they are so very pissed off and how the situation came to be and how we might change it in a more effective way, other than more years of fighting and more soldiers dead. In a half decade living here, I have yet to have a conversation about the South East and the PKK without it lapsing into racist stereotypes and memorised responses, even from the most thoughtful, eloquent people who are normally quite balanced and considerate. It's funny. But you're right: the American reaction to Terrrrrisssss is weirder.