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    Erdoğan stubbornly refusing to act as he blames traitors and foreign agents for the implosion of the Turkish Lira.

    I was there in 2001 when it doubled from 650,000 to 1.3 million pretty much overnight when Bülent Ecevit had a hissy fit and caused an economic meltdown by bringing into the public domain a clash with the then president.

    Erdoğan and his son in law are doing worse damage now. I can't see this being the end of his presidency but it's possibly the beginning of the end and the start of something far worse.

    I feel sorry for my friends left there, anyone with debts in foreign currency is screwed.

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      When I lived in Turkey every payday I'd go down to the gold bazaar and buy Deutschemarks (it was a long time ago) and then slowly over the course of the month change them back as a way of eking the money out a bit. The exchange rate seemed to nearly double every month so it was well worth it.

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        So this seems to have gotten out of hand very quickly. I know that it's only probably a cover story for something the White house wanted to do anyway, but who is this evangelical pastor that Trump is bringing in sanctions over

        BTW, just when did the president have the power to levy sanctions like this? And is this just the straw that broke the camel's back? BTW, what jolly good fortune that erdogan doesn't have to face the electorate for another decade. (provided he doesn't wind up strung upside down in front of a garage in the turkish version of milan, or torn apart in a drain)
        Last edited by The Awesome Berbaslug!!!; 14-08-2018, 10:46.

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          Here’s a short primer on Brunson, who seems rather unremarkable. If he’s supposed to be undermining the Turkish State, he’s doing a poor job.

          The more plausible explanation is that he is one of tens of thousands of victims of anti-Gulenist hysteria.

          Trump is using the national security exception to the WTO Rules (and US legislation) to implement all of these tariffs. Virtually all of them are manifestly NOT cases of national security. WTO is said to be apoplectic, but no one has brought a case as yet. The Kochs and the GOP establishment are similarly outraged, but appear to be incapable of doing much about it.
          Last edited by ursus arctos; 14-08-2018, 11:35.

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            yeah, it would seem that a massive fuck up is the most likely cause of the whole thing. Though surely the american passport still means as much as it did in 1916? This strikes me as something that should have been tidied up good and early. This is an extraordinary mistake by Turkey, and a clear sign that people now think that America is now the country you can take hostages from while still being an ally. I'm not sure that this would have happened at too many points over the last 73 years. It seems that they have misjudged Trump's love for Erdogan's understated decoration, and political style for some kind of personal relationship.

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              There was a good piece I read yesterday (in the Indy? Not sure) which actually compared Trump to Erdoğan and posited that the current economic meltdown in Turkey is what awaits the US in the fairly near future

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                Originally posted by The Awesome Berbaslug!!! View Post
                BTW, what jolly good fortune that erdogan doesn't have to face the electorate for another decade. (provided he doesn't wind up strung upside down in front of a garage in the turkish version of milan, or torn apart in a drain)
                He's said to be very ill. His palatial new residence has effectively a personal hospital in it and he's been off for some kind of experimental stem cell treatment in Cuba twice in the last couple of years.

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                  I think that's basically right.

                  It is also very possible that Brinson pissed off some Erdogan loyalist in Izmir who decided to make his life difficult or that some functionary thought he could help his boss by getting him a hostage to trade for Gulen

                  Once it became a big thing, of course, Erdogan felt that he couldn't back down.

                  I'm quite sure that the regime has no idea what many of the people they have jailed or ruined may have actually done. The whole enterprise looks rather like a neo-Ottaman version of the Cultural Revolution.

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                    Also worth recalling that the Turks had Flynn on their payroll, which likely gave them a false sense of security when it came to this Administration.

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                      What I want to know is what does this have to do with the Economy of Argentina, or India?

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                        Originally posted by The Awesome Berbaslug!!! View Post
                        What I want to know is what does this have to do with the Economy of Argentina, or India?
                        I presume "the markets" have concluded that as Trump slowly realises he can't bankrupt China or the EU by doing his macho posturing tariff shtick, he's now going to go after fragile mid sized economies so he can brag about his awesome power

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                          oops

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                            https://twitter.com/DavorKunc/status/1040962515742666753

                            https://twitter.com/DavorKunc/status...62515742666753

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                              https://www.socialeurope.eu/turkeys-kurds

                              A quite interesting piece.

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                                CHP set to win Ankara's mayoral election, but Erdogan will retain Istanbul:

                                http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/sec...ecim-sonuclari

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                                  Originally posted by Diable Rouge View Post
                                  CHP set to win Ankara's mayoral election, but Erdogan will retain Istanbul:

                                  http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/sec...ecim-sonuclari
                                  Despite near total media support he's lost a safe municipality. That's quite big news. Let's see what the other mayoral races look like.

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                                    Originally posted by Antepli Ejderha View Post

                                    Despite near total media support he's lost a safe municipality. That's quite big news. Let's see what the other mayoral races look like.
                                    And even Istanbul could yet be in play - has narrowed to 49-47%, with 12% of votes remaining.

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                                      I used to eat it a lot. Great on a sandwich with mustard, but I have gone vegan.

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                                        Just to get AE's hopes up:

                                        http://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/1112445966387499010

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                                          Originally posted by Diable Rouge View Post

                                          And even Istanbul could yet be in play - has narrowed to 49-47%, with 12% of votes remaining.
                                          The prediction was for both to go to the CHP. Huge if they do.

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                                            [URL]https://twitter.com/borzou/status/1112435116180193282?s=21[/URL]

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                                              Fair to say there'll be a recount in Istanbul!

                                              http://twitter.com/caferaydin/status/1112456151688536065

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                                                Strange one this, Dersim is a Kurdish and Alevi area so to see a communist, who are extremely nationalist, win is a big surprise.

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                                                  Originally posted by Diable Rouge View Post
                                                  Fair to say there'll be a recount in Istanbul!

                                                  http://twitter.com/caferaydin/status/1112456151688536065
                                                  The AKP will be gathering all the local cats to send them up the electricity pylons to ensure they win this one.

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                                                    Erdogan demands a full recount in Istanbul, unsurprisingly. This paragraph from Politico seemed almost too on the nose:

                                                    "There were not only some irregularities, almost all of it was irregular," Erdoğan said on Monday before flying to Moscow for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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