Can Okar

There are two reasons why Brexit will not be like TARP: 1) Brexit is entirely intentional, self-inflicted and expected. The markets have had time to prepare for this mess. 2) Despite what some Brexiters may think, the UK is small fry compared to the US.

Of course, winter has arrived so you have to warehouse onions. I do wonder what will happen once the onions run out or go off because they’re badly stored. 50 kuruş tomorrow, 50 lira and your first born next month. After all, that onion menemen isn’t going to make itself.

At first I thought we’d had a fight with the French and this was some postmodern addition to our habit of stabbing oranges (when we fell out with the Netherlands) and breaking iPhones (when the US pissed us off) but no. This is how we fight inflation, one onion at a time.

Me, looking at Brexit, Trump and AKP Twitter: Just don’t say it

The argument often put forward by AKP talking heads is that the post-coup SoE created a backlog. The SoE is over now but one might also argue that the leader of a party representing over 6 million citizens might be a priority. Indefinite pre-trial detention can't be an option.

Turkey's response to the ECtHR Demirtaş decision has been to reiterate the independence of Turkish courts. Whether they are independent is another debate. The fact that Demirtaş (Kavala in same position) has remained in pre-trial detention for two years is the real issue here.

If I know my authoritarians (and I think I do), Trump’s “maybe he did, maybe he didn’t, we may never know all of the facts” line is a trial balloon. When Mueller’s investigation lands, expect to see that line parroted all over the media.

Regardless of whether the Demirtaş decision is binding (it is but no-one’s going to compel compliance), the ECtHR has given Turkey a golden opportunity to do something with no downside but with a massive impact on perceptions of normalisation. Almost 100% Turkey won’t take it.

For reference, this was League C this year: Israel Scotland Romania Greece Bulgaria Finland Albania Hungary Estonia Cyprus Slovenia Serbia Norway Montenegro Lithuania A veritable smorgasbord of footballing giants.

Turkey’s been relegated to League C of the UEFA Nations League. The population of the 15 countries in League C this year was 84 million. The population of Turkey is 81 million. Something isn’t right in Turkish football but watch it get blamed on foreign players in the league.

As a belated, post-flight addition to this thread: the point made by the dinosaur academic about emigrants being waiters is also incredibly ignorant. 1) Many aren’t but 2) nothing wrong with being a waiter and 3) many would prefer being a safe, happy waiter to danger at home.

Brain drain will continue and even speed up as long as opportunities to pursue happiness are severely curtailed at home. Turkey is, as always, seeking to put plasters on gaping wounds. In this case, only dramatic root and branch change will work to end the exodus.

If you are able to speak foreign languages (and this is key - you can be academically gifted but language is a sine qua non for success abroad), the world really can be your oyster in ways that are no longer possible in Turkey for those not in the government elites.

By system, I don’t necessarily mean government (although they are likely one and the same thing). If you are talented, you can’t work for someone who is only above you because of who they know. You also can’t just auto-censor forever out of fear of incarceration.

International corporates and academic institutions are full of talented Turks who have left in the last few years for a more meritocratic and secure future. No amount of money would bring those people back if the entire system doesn’t also change.