Defiance: Host of Turkish Scrabble-Like Quiz Show Crafts 70 Questions Whose Answers Discomfort the Government

As you know, the Turkish media behaved cravenly through the protests, imposing a total blackout of the demonstrations. CNN Turk's decision to run cooking shows and penguin documentaries instead of news is lampooned in one of those Taiwanese videos.

One guy, a game show host (of all things!), decided to defy the complete ban on mentioning what everyone could see outside their windows by writing 70 questions for his show for which all answers related to the protests and provoked the government -- and not in a playful way, either.

Literally every question/answer defied the ban, but I'm just quoting the edgier ones.

Note how many deal with the media, due to its cowardice (only one station reported on the protests). There were even more about the media, but it got repetitive, so I stopped quoting them.

1- A journey undertaken to see, to have fun: GEZI –name of the park that is at the center of the protests.

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4- An activity geared towards trying to change or improve a situation: A PROTEST [EYLEM]

5- A coming together around a set of ideas without being divided: UNITY

6- The metaphor for understanding what the facts are: TO WAKE UP

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8- The ability to make decisions according to correct, meaningful interpretation: COMMON SENSE

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12-Democratic solution box: THE BALLOT BOX

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22-To resist, to not give up: RESISTANCE

23-To find an event or an application as unfair, and not accept it and resist it: PROTEST

24-To be able to decide without undue pressure from outside: FREEDOM

25-The act of supporting each other for shared thoughts and goals: SOLIDARITY

26-What happens when all workers stop working: GENERAL STRIKE

27-To come together for a common goal: ORGANIZE

28-A word that means to rise up, to march: INSURRECTION

29-The best name for a TV station: HALK (PEOPLE — the name of the [only] TV station that covered the protests)

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31-The thing that is referred to in Article 28th of the Turkish Constitution as "Free and Cannot be Censored:" PRESS

32-The communication medium defined by Nezihe Meriç as “A dragon with a thousand heads”: MEDIA

33-An action that means the same thing as approval: SILENCE

34-Limiting the freedom of press, communication, film or books by government: CENSORSHIP

35-The person who is supposed to learn about an event and write about in various outlets: JOURNALIST

36-The microblog and social network site that has been described as a “curse”: TWITTER

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39-The state of being able to resist power or injustice but being quiet: COWARDICE

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41-A piece of news that gets published by media outlets but that is not true: FALSE NEWS

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48-Naked power: VIOLENCE
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53-Word for use of violence without any common sense: DISPROPORTIONATE

54-A weapon that attacks eyes, nose, mouth and lung tissue, a weapon oleosresin capsicum: PEPPER SPRAY

55-What APC’s excrete: PRESSURIZED WATER [the big APCs' water canons are an emblem of the government's repression-- well, those, and blanket of tear gas that makes Istanbul look like London]

56-Democracy breather: GAS MASK

57-The main institution whose principle is “the power belongs unconditionally to the people”: TURKEY’S PARLIAMENT

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59-To limit rights and freedoms: REPRESSION

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61-The person who does not allow freedoms to people they rule: DESPOT

62-The internal court which is what propels people to judge their own actions: CONSCIENCE

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66-A person that concentrates all political power: DICTATOR

67-A person who serves for money: SERVANT

68-A ruling system in which executive power can act independent of judiciary: PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM (internal Turkish political transition discussion)

69-To voluntarily give up a position: RESIGN

70-The act that makes a person bigger by asking to be forgiven for wrong actions: APOLOGIZE

He has been relieved of his duties and his show is now cancelled.

This guy goes down in the annals of history as The One Game Show Host with B**** of Iron.

Video at the last link. It's in Turkish, though, or whatever they speak there. Still, maybe worth watching for the guy's deadpan.

Princeton can use a man like Joel.

posted by Ace at 07:57 PM

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