Can Okar

Turkish-US relations will continue to plummet to hitherto unexplored depths in an apparent reciprocal death-spiral. To put all this another way, I’m unconvinced by the political virtue of putting that vote on 29 October unless the intention was to poke Turkey with a sharp stick.

I fully expect Turkish Parliament to propose & quickly pass a motion which recognizes Native American Genocide. Soon after, the media will start unraveling US history in all its viscerality, from slavery to My Lai, from Nagasaki to Abu Ghraib. It won’t help but it’ll feel good.

Whilst I think it's possible or even likely that the AKP/MHP alliance is haemorrhaging votes, I'd add that it's more likely that Doğu Perinçek, Kemal Sunal or the Vengaboys would get 8% in a Turkish election than Davutoğlu. The man is electoral kryptonite.

I stopped reading after, "Davutoğlu’s party could achieve results higher than expected and could command around 8 percent of the vote." Admittedly it was the last sentence but I would eat several hats if this ever happened. Sidenote: still love @DuvarEnglish...https://twitter.com/DuvarEnglish/status/1189182251327610883…

"But you can't have too much democracy!" "Wanna bet?"

Updating my Turkish/British election hell-cycle from which there is no escape: TR Local - 2014 TR Pres - 2014 UK GE - 2015 TR GE 1 - 2015 TR GE 2 - 2015 Brexit ref - 2016 TR Pres ref - 2017 UK GE - 2017 TR Pres & GE - 2018 TR Local 1 - 2019 TR Local 2 - 2019 UK GE - 2019 Urgh.

Of course he pretty much 100% said what I joked he would say. I don’t know whether I should be happy that I can predict the most predictable man in the world or unhappy that this moron is the most powerful man in the world.https://twitter.com/canokar/status/1188448060709523457…

How long until Trump can’t hold himself any more and just blurts out, “This is much bigger, 10 times bigger than killing Bin Laden”?

That was one of the most remarkable team performances in Rugby World Cup history. Truly immense from all involved. We just watched something truly historic. Sheer will mixed with brilliant handling skill. Come on England! #ENGvNZL

TMO and World Rughy to New Zealand... #ENGVSNZLhttps://twitter.com/KevinLangue/status/1187920427554705408…

TMO is somehow even worse than VAR. 20x zoom on a non-existent forward pass in the maul: NO TRY NZ literally throw it forward 3 meters: WHO CARES? This is infuriating. #ENGVSNZL

Apart from the underlying disdain, he genuinely believes the Middle East is just sand, doesn’t he?

Student: “I can submit my thesis on time but you have to read it and sign off tomorrow.” Professor: “You’ve had 3 years. How can I possibly read it all in a few hours?” S: “It’s only some manic scribbles on a napkin - be reasonable?” So that’s now, apparently, Brexit.

Overshadowed by other news but this is actually quite tragic. Everyone knows this means someone close to the AKP wants to build some concrete monstrosity on one of the most beautiful parts of Turkey. Another day, another reason for crippling anxiety about the future.https://twitter.com/p_zalewski/status/1186615711688511488…

I tweeted about Syria. I got this response almost instantly. I have no idea what to do with this tweet. Sometimes Twitter is a frightening yet mystifying place.https://twitter.com/sheba_beta/status/1186698095033274368…

Russia is now so influential that somehow (I mean, really, SOMEHOW) Assad is on the verge of being fully rehabilitated. It’s almost as though the last 8 years never happened.

I am basically sitting here in Bangaluru salivating at the thought of a simit with menemen (no onions), a few olives and good Turkish tea.

Probably the best news of the day, if not the year. World, meet the simit, the best breakfast food in the world.https://twitter.com/TheTurkishLife/status/1186538140863029248…

In Switzerland, the closest we get to street animals is a cow who’s ventured into the road. In Turkey, we had dogs and cats on every street corner, each of them hungry for love and attention. Glad to see India has its fair share of kind-hearted friends :)

If any developing world leader was this brazen about their corruption, the West would be talking about sanctions. This is nutso levels of malfeasance.https://twitter.com/EliStokols/status/1186317188858298370…

“We have secured the Oil.” This whole tweet is a hot mess of lies but that capital “O” on oil has to take the biscuit. This man is madder than a sack of rabid ferrets. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1185907415499378690 …

I’m surprised it took this long for Brexit to go full jackboot fascist. These people really are poundshop authoritarians at heart. If a non-Western country tried to jail people for speaking to foreigners, the UK would send diplomatic notes. How far the nation has declined.https://twitter.com/StandUp4Brexit/status/1185881644777033728…

I am unconvinced the official Turkish comms account should be tweeting phrases like “crushing heads of terrorists”. That isn’t the language of a “peace operation”.https://twitter.com/communications/status/1185617581354422272…

“As we look towards the next week, the only thing that is certain is more uncertainty. But in the meantime, the two sides edge ever more wearily towards an irreconcilable outcome that will define generations. This is Şemsettin Türkoğlu, reporting for TRT World, London.”

Turkish (and non-Western) media are really missing a trick with their coverage of Brexit. “The UK continues to edge towards the abyss, riven by factionalism and a Parliament that seems to have lost control. International observers sense this may be the calm before the storm.”

Americans have got to face up to what they have created here. This man is dismantling something far more important than the international order. He’s starting to talk about people’s lives as though they are just a game. That kind of sociopathy has to be removed from power.

I've lived in Turkey and been to Iran countless times. Turkey is no Iran. This kind of reductive and disanalagous hyperbole undermines the good people who have very real concerns about Turkey's present direction. It actively weakens their case at home and abroad.https://twitter.com/mdubowitz/status/1184879603053223936…

Two questions about the ceasefire that gives Turkey everything it wants: 1) Does the US have authority to call shots when it has withdrawn and ceded all power to Russia? 2) Can Trump promise no sanctions when he appears to have lost control of Congress, at least on this matter?

Of course, he will never ever win a Nobel Peace Prize because everything he touches turns to ashes. But because Obama won one (he shouldn’t have won but there you are), he really feels he has to win one too. And I’m telling you, this is his play. He’s going for it.

Reasons I was suspecting the Nobel was his angle: 1) He kept on talking about a 200 year fight that couldn’t be solved 2) Random twists from obliteration of economy to praising Turkey as an ally always with him as hero Seriously, he’s going to claim a Nobel from this.

I was suspecting it but now I’m 100% certain that Trump has played out this entire Syrian affair, affecting millions of people, with the sole purpose of winning a Nobel Peace Prize. He really thinks he’s solved a historic crisis when in fact he’s made everything chaotic.