Free Republic

In April, the language-learning app Duolingo added its 40th language to its program arsenal: Yiddish. A couple of decades ago, it would have been unthinkable for a mainstream non-Jewish language program to offer an expansive, comprehensive course in Yiddish. But Duolingo’s Yiddish addition only serves to reflect the increased global interest in learning a language that once had as many as 12 million speakers. Ladino, a Romance language of Sephardic Jews still spoken by hundreds of thousands worldwide, has also garnered much interest in recent years. Ladino classes, both online and in-person, are widely available to prospective learners. But while...

The chair of a new super PAC supporting former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential bid is a registered foreign agent for Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic, according to The Federalist. The Federalist’s Sean Davis reported Tuesday (original links): Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has a brand new Super PAC in his corner, and it’s being run by a registered foreign agent for the government of Azerbaijan. Larry Rasky, a lobbyist who previously worked as a top campaign operative for Biden, is listed as the treasurer of the PAC, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

AZERBAIJANI ELECTIONS: And the Winners are Aliyev and... Putin Asim Oku, AIA Turkish section Aliyev and Putin, the winners of the elections The wreck of the "Orange revolution" in Azerbaijan was predictable. It was caused by disunity of the opposition, inconsistent position of the West, Aliyev's "carrot and stick" policy and fears of impoverished population. However, the priorities of the Azerbaijan governor who just strengthened his grip of power are also predictable. Trying to keep more or less good relations with the West, he will sail in the wake of the Russian policy... The West Condemns and... Accepts as a...

Washington • The state-owned oil company of Azerbaijan secretly funded an all-expenses-paid trip to a conference at Baku on the Caspian Sea in 2013 for 10 members of Congress and 32 staff members, according to a confidential ethics report obtained by The Washington Post. Three former top aides to President Barack Obama appeared as speakers at the conference. Lawmakers and their staff members received hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of travel expenses, silk scarves, crystal tea sets and Azerbaijani rugs valued at $2,500 to $10,000, according to the ethics report. Airfare for the lawmakers and some of their spouses...

WikiLeaks: The sleazy criminal organization dedicated to publishing U.S. secrets may loudly deny its leaks led to the hanging of a man in Iran Tuesday. But that's irrelevant because WikiLeaks gave Tehran the pretext it sought. A 24-year old Iranian man was the latest victim of the mullahs' monstrous tyranny this week, executed as a spy for Israel, supposedly for killing an Iranian nuclear scientist on behalf of his Zionist masters. That's a whiff of the twisted kangaroo court verdicts typical of Iran. In reality, Majid Jamali Fashi was a young kick-boxing instructor who visited Baku, Azerbaijan, for a tournament...

There’s fallout from the July 27 Houston Chronicle exposé of a trip to Azerbaijan by 10 member of the House that violated House rules. The trip was ostensibly sponsored by nonprofit groups but was actually funded by oil companies BP, Conoco Phillips and SOCAR, the national oil company of Azerbaijan. According to the New York Post today: Rep. Gregory Meeks pushed to let an Iran-backed natural-gas project dodge US sanctions — after attending an illicit junket paid for by energy companies. Also from the Post: “Congressman Meeks went on a 2013 Congressional trip to Baku, Azerbaijan, subsidized in part...

As the US and world powers approach a November 24 deadline on nuclear talks with Iran, governmental sources in the Islamic regime have reported that they are conducting secret talks with America about renewing diplomatic ties for the first time in 35 years. Iranian government advisers spoke to the British Times, and said secret talks with American officials have centered around the possibility of opening a US trade office in the Iranian capital of Tehran if a nuclear deal is reached. Those talks are to continue this week, and according to the officials will take place in the Azerbaijani capital...

Hasan Faraji, 31, was arrested by Azerbaijani police after displaying “suspicious behavior” while wandering around the Israeli embassy in Baku on October 31. Faraji, who resisted arrest, was sentenced to 30 days of administrative detention, according to the APA news agency. According to Channel 10, Faraji is a part of the Iranian Quds Forces, a special unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard that, among other oles, is tasked with planning and executing terrorist attacks against Israeli targets overseas. On Thursday an Iranian diplomat said Faraji denies he was planning any attack... Iranian embassy officials met Faraji in custody... Azerbaijani police raided...

Explanation: A Full Moon rises in this waterfront scene. Its colorful, watery reflection is joined by harbor lights and a windowed skyscraper's echo of the western horizon just after sunset. The tantalizing image is a composite of frames recorded at 2 minute intervals on November 28 from the Caspian Sea port city of Baku, Azerbaijan. Still, this Full Moon was not really as big or as bright as others, though it might be hard to tell. In fact, November 28's Full Moon was near apogee, making it the smallest Full Moon of 2012. As it rose over the Baku boardwalk...

Explanation: An analemma is that figure-8 curve that you get when you mark the position of the Sun at the same time each day throughout planet Earth's year. In this case, 17 individual images taken at 0231 UT on dates between April 2 and September 16 follow half the analemma curve, looking east toward the rising sun and the Caspian sea from the boardwalk in the port city of Baku, Azerbaijan. With the sun nearest the horizon, those dates almost span the period between the 2012 equinoxes on March 20 and September 22. The northern summer Solstice on June 20...

Operatives linked to Iran tried to kill foreign diplomats, including Israelis and Americans, in at least seven countries over 13 months, the Washington Post reported. New evidence uncovered by investigators in four countries linked the assassination attempts to either Iran-backed Hezbollah militants or operatives based inside Iran, the Post reported Monday, citing U.S. and Middle Eastern security officials. The officials reportedly said that the assassination attempts stopped in early spring, when Iran began to take a softer tone with the West. Shortly after, Iranian officials formally accepted a proposal to resume negotiations with six world powers on proposals to limit...

In 2009, the deputy chief of mission of the U.S. embassy in Baku, Donald Lu, sent a cable to the State Department's headquarters in Foggy Bottom titled "Azerbaijan's discreet symbiosis with Israel." The memo, later released by WikiLeaks, quotes Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev as describing his country's relationship with the Jewish state as an iceberg: "nine-tenths of it is below the surface." Why does it matter? Because Azerbaijan is strategically located on Iran's northern border and, according to several high-level sources I've spoken with inside the U.S. government, Obama administration officials now believe that the "submerged" aspect of the Israeli-Azerbaijani...

SNIPPET: "Azerbaijan has arrested 22 people on suspicion of plotting attacks on the US and Israeli embassies in Baku on behalf of neighbouring Iran, the national security ministry said Wednesday." SNIPPET: ""On orders of the Sepah they were to commit terrorist acts against the US, Israeli and other Western states' embassies and the embassies' employees," it said. The ministry said that the suspects were recruited from 1999 onwards and trained in the use of weapons and spy techniques at military camps in Iran to enable them to gather information on foreign embassies, organisations and companies in Azerbaijan and stage attacks,...

    Summer 2000 (8.2) Scandinavian Ancestry Tracing Roots to Azerbaijan by Thor Heyerdahl Above: Thor Heyerdahl with Peruvian children who still construct traditional boats made of reeds, the principle material that enabled early migrations on trans-oceanic voyages. Courtesy: Thor Heyerdahl. Archeologist and historian Thor Heyerdahl, 85, has visited Azerbaijan on several occasions during the past two decades. Each time, he garners more evidence to prove his tantalizing theory - that Scandinavian ancestry can be traced to the region now known as Azerbaijan. Heyerdahl first began forming this hypothesis after visiting Gobustan, an ancient cave dwelling found 30 miles ...

"Azerbaijan thwarts terror attack against Israeli, Jewish targets Security official in Baku links Iran to planned operation; three men detained." SNIPPET: "Three men were detained last week after planning to attack two Israelis employed by a Jewish school in Baku, the Azerbaijan Ministry of National Security has revealed. Meanwhile, an Azeri commentator considered close to the republic's president has launched a scathing indictment of Iran. The Azeri ministry said it had arrested a cell that planned to "kill public activists," before it became apparent that the intended victims were two Israeli Chabad emissaries, a rabbi and a teacher employed by...

Azerbaijani youth group on Saturday held a protest in front of the house of Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) Head Ali Kerimli. The action was organized to protest against the policy pursued by Kerimli. The action was attended by over 200 people, who voiced slogans "Shame on Ali Kerimli", "Shame on those who split the Azerbaijani youth" and "Azerbaijani youth know who you are". The protesters stressed that the Azerbaijani youth stand for the social and political stability. Eggs were thrown at the protesters from Kerimli's house. Obscenities were also shouted from the opposition leaders' house. This is the...

SNIPPET - quote: YOU ARE HERE: Home > Reports > Consular Affairs Bulletins > Report Warden Message: Baku Increased Security Awareness CONSULAR AFFAIRS BULLETINS Europe - Azerbaijan 11 Dec 2009 U.S. Embassy Baku issued the following Warden Message on December 11: The Azerbaijani press is reporting that an Azerbaijani citizen, Azer Misirkhanov, was killed in a U.S. missile strike in Afghanistan. Misirkhanov was said to be the commander of a paramilitary group in Afghanistan that was engaged in fighting U.S. and Afghan forces, and was also alleged to be a leader of a radical religious group in Azerbaijan. In addition,...

Azerbaijan media publish segments from hearing of 2 Lebanese, 4 locals accused of planning terror attack on Israeli embassy in capital city, Baku. According to indictment, suspects admit to being sent by Hezbollah, Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and al-Qaeda Ynet Published: 07.09.09, 00:20 / Israel News

ONE OF THEIR TARGETS WAS THE GABALA RADAR STATION The Gabala radar station is evidently capable of detecting Iranian missile launches. The facility was built by the Soviets and is now leased back from Azerbaijan by Russia. There has been talk of US/Russian cooperation in operating the site for the purpose of monitoring Iranian actions, much to the chagrin of the mullahs.

At least 10 people were shot dead this morning and eight injured after a student went on the rampage at his campus in Baku, the capital of oil-rich Caspian state of Azerbaijan. The student opened fire after a dispute with other members of his college faculty, the Russian news agency Interfax reported this morning. He then shot himself. According to witnesses a quarrel erupted on the campus of the Azeri state oil academy in Baku. One student produced a pistol and started shooting at the others point-blank. He then ran into the academy building and continued to fire. The news...