Here we go. Up front: I'm not particularly in favor of the Gaza blockade (though I do think when it is lifted some provision needs to be in place to ensure Hamas doesn't import rockets along with the coriander), and I agree with the many Israelis who think the raid was just plain bone-headed as a matter of policy and of execution. But really, given Turkey's history with its own minority populations, shouldn't we have seen this coming? These images were captured at the June 5 protest in Istanbul, organized by the Islamic Saadet Party.

The text translated: "Legendary leader Adolf Hitler, our patience is running out, we need your spirit."

Here's another gem:

The text translated: "Well done."

Why, just last week, the Turks gave a clear official demonstration of how far their humanitarian concerns extend: "On June 4, Sevahir Bayindir, a Kurdish MP, was attacked by the police and hurt in Silopi during a protest against the military operations in the Kurdish regions. A day earlier, Firat Basan, a 14-year-old Kurdish boy, was killed when a tank rolled over him during a similar protest in Sirnak. Also on June 4, Irfan Aktar, a Kurdish journalist, received a prison sentence of one year because of an article he wrote on the Kurdish issue in a magazine. Over 1,400 members of the pro-Kurdish party DTP are in prison since 2009—some of them are elected mayors and prominent members of human rights organizations. More than one million Kurds have been displaced in Turkey in the past decade, and they can not go back to their villages because the state does not clear landmines."

The display of humanitarianism is just overwhelming, isn't it? Peace activists, indeed.

Read the whole thing.