Indeed, Kurds are taking to the streets in Europe (and seemingly being opposed by local salafists in Germany and killed as per norm in Turkey) but for some reason the Stop the War Coalition in London seems less outraged when the war is against the Kurds and the Zarzidis, and those tens of thousands moved by events in Gaza aren't taking to the streets in the same way in London or Paris every week...

Doesn't mean events in Gaza aren't awful or that many, including on here, aren't outraged by both events, but nonetheless interesting the lesser reaction among some of those on the streets re Gaza last summer and so outraged by that, when the perpetrators now aren't the devil incarnate Israelis but rather an example of something a little more akin to real genocide.

And to those who might say the difference is that ISIS aren't a state, and that we aren't supporting them, those Turkish government cnuts who have been cynically offering support to ISIS and sitting back letting the Kurds get it in the neck (and a long history of brutally repressing their own kurds) , are a state and indeed our own NATO allies... and are (or were as of 2012) listed as a "priority market" by our government arms sales support unit...

Edited by legaleagle (11 Oct 2014 6.27pm)

Maybe the 'the powers that be' are quite happy with the situation they've created?
Just a thought.

Certainly seems like the powers that be in Turkey are quite happy, and they are certainly a "valued" ally...

Mustn't forget our good friends in Saudi and the Gulf and their ever so kind promotion of salafism worldwide.

Edited by legaleagle (11 Oct 2014 6.12pm)

Our esteemed NATO ally..

[Link]

One reason for the smaller protests may be that Israel has been massacring Palestinians for decades and there are, rightly, well organised and popular movements resisting their aggression. These people can be mobilised quickly when Israel decides to "cut the grass" (murder palestinian men women and children) again.

The recent events in Syria and Iraq are a newer phenomenon and do not have organised movements opposing them built up over decades with global networks of activists. Nevertheless there ARE people protesting in support of the Kurds and others threatened by ISIS and denigrating them by comparing them unfavourably with the likes of the Palestinian resistance and its supporters does them no favours whatsoever.

"You can feel the stadium jumping. The stadium is actually physically moving up and down"
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I was not denigrating those demonstrating against ISIS in any way. Far from it. But, most of your examples were of Kurds demonstrating against repression of Kurds, rather than those internationally so outraged by human rights abuses by one particular group elsewhere in the Middle East. Personally, I fully support the Kurdish demonstrations in Europe and Turkey, just as I oppose Israel's actions in the occupied territories.

Some of what you write explains a part of why. But not fully.

The Kurds have been being massacred (in the true sense of the word) for many, many decades,longer than the Israel -Palestine conflict. During the First World War, the Turks ethnically cleansed up to 700,000 Kurds, around half of whom later died.

Taking Mr Galloway (Respect) as an example .Israelis are the devil. He won't even share a platform with an Israeli citizen. Yet the regime (Saddam) which killed around 5,000 Kurds (and many more dead in later years from diseases and birth defects etc)with gas, seemed less of a problem...Imagine if 5,000 Palestinians had been killed with gas by the Israelis... puts the term "massacre" into perspective. It's estimated that in Iraq in 1986-89,around 182,000 Kurdish civilians were killed by the regime and 2,000 villages destroyed.

The phenomenon of repression of the Kurds is far from new, but has never aroused public interest in the same way as the plight of the Palestinians. Blame in part lack of media access, lack of cross-border funding of support networks.. and the elevation by some of the Israelis to a near unique devil incarnate status.

Similarly, the potential for the likely outcome of the global spread of salafist jihadism (not necessarily in Iraq admittedly) is not something only arising in the past year...if anyone wanted to look hard enough ...and yes, "we" certainly played our part in incubating the baby...

It would be interesting to know the extent to which the main support networks which mobilised so successfully in France and the UK in the summer re Gaza, have been bombarding their supporters with similar outrage re ISIS. After all, human rights and "massacres" are indivisible.

Many many good people (such as you) are rightly outraged by Isis and by Israel's actions in Gaza and other human rights abuses world wide. But, I am still left with a weary cynicism about the actual commitment to universal human rights of elements of those who took to the streets so readily against the devil incarnate Israel only weeks ago in France (with spin offs chanting anti-Semitic slogans and vandalising Jewish shops and synagogues)but seem, for some reason, to not abhor in quite the same way, salafist jihadi excesses on a far worse scale.

Edited by legaleagle (11 Oct 2014 8.27pm)