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[detailer]

[erolz]

[detailer]

[cannedmoose]

Is there a problem with this Detailer? It is a quote from Sir Samuel Baker's book "Cyprus as I saw it in 1879". Baker was one of the first British people to arrive on the island once it had been exchanged between the Ottomans and the British. He was there to conduct a survey of the island for the British government, in terms of how much tax revenue was to be expected and the conditions of the people, infrastructure etc. etc.

The quote in my signature is from the first chapter of his book entitled 'Arrival at Larnaca', in which he describes steaming down the coast of Cyprus and seeing a parched, arid and generally bleak landscape. It has no implications for the Ottoman's whatsoever, although in his book he does describe the state of the Cypriot people and does lay a degree of the blame for the state of the island at the feet of the former Ottoman governors. But in no way is his book a diatribe against the Ottomans, rather it is a pretty faithful, if rather quaint description of the island as he found it in 1879.

Why have I used it as my signature. I love the quote as I love the book, it chimes with the first time I landed at Larnaca airport, flying down the coast and seeing an apparently bare landscape in the mid-summer heat. I've also used it as a metaphor to head one of the chapters of my thesis, where I relate this phrase to the EU's perspective on Cyprus as a 'new possession' - one in which there is ongoing ethnic division and no clear path down which to end it.

I think therefore, you need to step back and think about the source before you jump in and assume that it's aimed in an offensive way. The number of times I've stood up for Turkish Cypriots in debates has demonstrated that I try to steer an impartial route, thus why would I post something offensive to Turkish Cypriots? I'll therefore take it as a misunderstanding and move on.

[detailer]

Hold on cannedmoose. I definetely dont think that you meant to be offensive against Turkish Cypriot or ottomans. I just wondered why you put such a "sharp" argument as a signature?

Note: I am a bit lazy; I don't write enough to describe myself sometimes. That's the reason of mis-understanding. Thanks for the long explanation.

[cannedmoose]