Study shows that a simple act of asking yourself whether you will remember something significantly improves the odds that you will remember, in some cases by as much as 50 percent. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21443325/ 8 experiments revealed that pronouncing words aloud, instead of reading them silently, improves explicit memory.

“A simple but quite powerful mechanism for improving memory,” the studies said. doi.apa.org/doiLanding?doi…

Erdogan is arguably one of the history’s most cunning politicians. He is such a magician that Turkish opposition falls for his tricks every single time.

https://twitter.com/business/status/1387035324241567747

Nearly a decade ago, Erdogan tried to limit alcohol sale late at night, introducing restrictions that were not necessarily harsher than the ones in US. Instead of justifying it with reasonable arguments, he insulted Ataturk & said laws “created by two drunks” aren’t respectable.

Just like the militaries of Egypt, Pakistan, Thailand, Burma etc., Turkish military had been the fundamental tenet of the establishment that wanted to create a society that were Sunni (No Alawites/Shia), secular (No conservatives) and Turk (no Kurds or other nationalities). Every time there was a threat to the Turkish state, either through communism or Islamism, the military acted. It is in the army’s DNA to “protect” the nation as a Sunni, secular and Turkish entity. Those genes still exist in the military.

Azerbaijani Presidents signs a deal that ensures the surrender of Armenian forces and the end of the war in Karabakh. Azerbaijani president says it is a 'historic day' and 'very happy' over the agreement. Armenia agrees to surrender the province of Aghdam to Azerbaijan by November 20.

A lot of people have been asking me about the latest flare-up between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Here is what happened and why: Let me start with a little background. Throughout the history, Armenians were scattered around the region in the Middle East and South Caucasus, including eastern Turkey, Iran, Syria, Lebanon and some lands in South Caucasus.

Many people keep asking me what is going on regarding Trump-Erdogan meeting and why Trump seems like taking a step back in imposing sanctions on Turkey over its purchase of Russian S400 systems. Here is what's happening: Almost ten years ago, Turkey started negotiations with U.S. and European defense contractors to buy air defense systems to bolster its three-tiered Mediterranean air defense system and integrate into NATO's existing ones.

In the age of Trump, these polls don’t tell the entire story. That’s the reason why all polls failed to predict his victory. One reason is that some people avoid saying publicly (some ashamed, some fear backlash) that they support Trump, even to a pollster.

https://twitter.com/ryanstruyk/status/1138504022158204929

2. To win the presidential elections, you don’t need to win the popular vote or have high approval rating. You just need to win several battleground states like Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania. These are Trump strongholds.

As some of you already know, it has been more than a year since we launched The Defense Post, (thedefensepost.com). We have huge international audience, including government, military and defense officials, security experts and industry folks. In a very short period of time, thanks to our excellent editors and reporters, we have become the third most visited defense news outlet in the world. We are very happy over what we've accomplished and the sky is the limit.

FAQ: Erdogan could have easily avoided economic sanctions by releasing the pastor. Why is he insisting on this? Here is why.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1027899286586109955

Turkey's credit-driven economy had been sagging this year. To avoid crushing financial meltdown before the elections, he called for snap elections and easily won before the economic crisis hit. He is facing another local elections next year.

There is a reason why Turks risk death to flee with their babies. It's not that they are looking for a better life. They are fleeing torture and life imprisonment.

https://twitter.com/GlobePostTurkey/status/1023580631610081282

These are not criminals. They are teachers, doctors, IT specialists, journalists, professors. Women, elderly, babies. All of them are banned from working in bureaucracy. Their universities, newspapers, bakeries were shut down.

I am launching a $100,000 campaign for Turkish refugees in Greece. Let's show them that they're not alone. youcaring.com/turkishrefugee… It’s been only an hour and we raised nearly $8,000. Thank you, thank you, thank you 🙏. Please continue to donate and share.

Turkish court delivered verdicts in Cumhuriyet trial. Akin Atalay, Cumhuriyet Executive Board Chairman, was sentenced to 7 years and 3.5 months in prison. Orhan Erinc gets 6 years and 3 months. Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief @muratsabuncum gets 7 years and 6 months in prison sentence on charges of "aiding a terrorist organization."

Erdogan announces that presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for November 2019 will be held in 66 days. Bear with me as I will explain why he is rushing. turkey.theglobepost.com/erdogan-bahcel… Erdogan's biggest strength was to rally nationalist votes few months before each elections. It happened right before 2011 and his party won in landslide. He started Kurdish peace process and hence lost the election in June 2015.

NYT and New Yorker get Pulitzer for Harvey Weinstein stories. Well-deserved. Washington Post staff win Pulitzer for Roy Moore reporting.

There was no "perfect" option in Syria. Limited strikes clearly don't deter the Assad regime from using nerve agent again. Massive strikes would create power vacuums, prolong the civil war and risk dragging U.S. down in Syria and possible conflict with Russia. It is now clear that nearly 120 Tomahawk missiles were used tonight. This is apart from French and British strikes. This limited campaign that does nothing to degrade Assad's war machine will result in increased support by Russia and Iran.

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban ('Viktator') is set to win 3rd term today. Here is an extensive piece about Hungary, with remarks by Kim Lane Scheppele, Zslot Enyadi, @laszloan, Erika Harris, @peterkreko, @szekyjanos, Saling Gergo, and Michal Kowalczyk theglobepost.com/2018/04/06/201… @laszloan @peterkreko @szekyjanos Orban won 49 percent of votes, but his party will get nearly 70 percent of parliamentary seats. How is that possible?

Dogan Media, which owns bunch of news outlets including Hurriyet and CNN Turk, has always been crucial in transforming Turkish politics, including bringing down governments. It is owned by Aydin Dogan, Trump's business partner in Turkey. His media, including Hurriyet, played a significant role in creating a dystopian climate that eventually brought down an Islamist government led by Erbakan, Erdogan's former boss.

White House says lifting term limits is a decision for China to make. Of course. The U.S. can't really do anything if Beijing is determined to abolish the term limits. But what kind of message does it send to the world? Obama was no democracy evangelist abroad, but even he said the U.S. takes notice of autocrats who abolish term limits.

Children around the world have come under attack at “a shocking scale” throughout 2017, with parties to conflicts “blatantly disregarding” international laws theglobepost.com/2017/12/28/un-… @Manuel_Fontaine @Manuel_Fontaine In 2017, at least 5,000 children died or got injured in Yemen fighting. Thousands of children may die due to starvation and cholera outbreak.

Turkey's best and brightest officers are usually dispatched to serve at NATO in Europe or the U.S. Most of these officers were from the Air Force. Since they were not as loyal to the government as Erdogan wanted them to be, they needed to be purged. But how? Starting from April 2016, a rumor for a possible military coup attempt was deliberately started. The goal was to see who would be sympathetic to the cause. The military establishment, headed by Hulusi Akar, spread this rumor wherever he went.

Istanbul Police Department, a sprawling complex at the heart of Istanbul, has now become a notorious center for torture and police mistreatment. Last month, authorities fabricated a letter and pinned it on @fevziyazici. They threatened him with his family into a false confession. @fevziyazici Turkish authorities were aiming to discredit Iran sanctions case in New York. Fevzi withstood the mistreatment and he was then put in solitary confinement, another form of torture.