Free Republic

...its lowest levels against the dollar for almost a year, amid investor nervousness about emerging markets. By evening trade in Istanbul the currency had fallen beyond TL2.30 to the US dollar, more than 1 per cent down on the day and the weakest level since January, when the Turkish central bank moved to increase interest rates -- a dramatic shift in policy that at the time halted a precipitous drop in its value. ...Turkey is far from alone in being affected by strong US economic data that has heightened expectations of a US Federal Reserve interest rate rise and so...

It is a fundamental principle of German foreign policy that talks are the best way to solve diplomatic problems. Such was the rationale behind Gernot Erler's recent trip to Moscow to speak with Russian parliamentarians about the ongoing Ukraine-related difficulties. Erler is the German government's Russia liaison and he has spent much of his political career working towards better relations between Germany and Russia. But his recent trip to the Russia capital was a painful one. There was no one in parliament who was willing to speak with him.

Maria Bamieh, a British prosecutor at the heart of EULEX corruption revelations, says the only way to restore faith in the EU rule of law mission in Kosovo is by holding an external enquiry. The scandal erupted on Monday (27 October) when Kosovo daily Koha Ditore wrote, citing evidence from leaked EULEX documents, that senior officials colluded with suspects in criminal cases, took bribes to shut down investigations, and quashed internal EULEX probes. …

Concepts of forced marriages, honor killings, Jihad, as well as self-segregation are fundamentally un-Canadian and should not be tolerated When Trudeau père sold Canadians the conceit of multiculturalism as a workable societal foundation, most people eagerly bought in. After all, what harm can there be in turning the drab Canadian mangia cake uniformity into a colorful, spicy multinational quilt? The upside includes wondrous, redolent, zesty foods; quaint customs and celebrations that turn the old homogeneity into a vibrant heterogeneous stew of warmth and mutual respect. Of course, there were those who warned that the concept was pretty far-fetched and not...

Another embarrassing mistake by Rachel Maddow. This time Rachel has revealed her unfamiliarity with some simple world geography. On her MSNBC show this evening, discussing President Obama's impending trip to one of the Baltic states--Estonia--Maddow told anecdotes of "the last time a US President visited the Balkans." Whoops! Maddow waxed on about how the last time an American president visited the "Balkans," it was George W., visiting Albania. Rachel recounted the story of how W's wrist-watch disappeared when he waded into a crowd of Albanian well-wishers. With malicious glee, Maddow mentioned that in honor of his visit, the Albanians erected...

The author's husband, Slobodan Mitric, with a statue of one of Serbia's most famous generals [Voyvoda Zivojin Misic] at the 1914 Battle of Cer in Serbia. TEKERIS, Serbia – While western World War I history buffs will likely flock to fields in the region of Flanders in Belgium or retrace the gruesome reality of trench warfare in the French area of Somme this centennial summer, many Serbs will gather on Cer mountain to remember the young men who died over nine brutal and bloody days in August 1914. Repelling a much stronger and better-outfitted Austrian war machine, the ragtag Serb...

Aleksandra's Note: The following documentary evidence, the source of which is the Austrian Ministerial Council during the "JULY CRISIS" of 1914 confirms the "theory" that war with Serbia was a foregone conclusion regardless of the Austrian "Ultimatum" that would follow on July 23 and regardless of Serbia's response to that Ultimatum. War would be waged against Serbia, period. What these officials present at this council meeting did not foresee was that war against Serbia would be just the beginning... Sincerely, Aleksandra Rebic ***** Franz Ferdinand (in fur-lined coat) on a hunting weekend with Wilhelm II (left) in 1914. AKG Images...

DUSK June 27, 2014 / Photo by Aleksandra Rebic Today is Friday, June 27, 2014. Exactly 100 years ago today was the day before everything in the world changed forever. History tells us that it was a beautiful summer in 1914 - everything a summer should be. This peaceful atmosphere in Europe had only 24 hours left. The next day, June 28, 1914 was Vidovdan (St. Vitus Day), a most sacred day in Serbian history. It was also the day that an Austrian Archduke and his wife would come visiting and go for a ride in Sarajevo, a city in...

JASENOVAC -- A commemoration marking the 69th anniversary of the breakout of prisoners of the Ustasha death camp Jasenovac was held on Sunday [May 4, 2014.](Beta/Hina) Attending the event, Croatian President Ivo Josipović said genocide had occurred at that location and that it should never be forgotten. Josipović called on everyone to protect the memory of the people who had died in that camp, a place that would remain in collective memory forever, the Croatian electronic media reported. "Evil should be called by its real name, opposed and denied any opportunity to happen ever again," he stated. Evil is not...

Ukraine is on the frontline of Russia v US superpower tensions, while a major naval base there makes it the bottom line underlying this confrontation, Richard Sakwa, professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent, told RT. RT: Is Crimea becoming a new battleground between East and the West? Richard Sakwa: Putin describes the things in his speech that he told about on March 18. There is a mixture of two things going on at the moment. There is the enlargement of the EU which in the past was considered fairly benign. What happened is its mixture...

Angelina Jolie, is like the criminal in a low budget film who always returns to the scene of the crime. Jolie is shameless in returning to Bosnia after her propagandized rape movie entitled, In The Land of Blood and Honey—an irresponsible piece of film footage costing $50 million to produce that has failed miserably at the box office earning less then $5 million. Did she return to Srebrenica to mourn the dead or to rehabilitate her damaged career? Bringing with her William Hague, the British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs is like bringing a fox to a...

The Yugoslav Army Headquarters building hasn't been rebuilt after being damaged by cruises missiles in April 1999 during NATO's bombing of Serbia over Kosovo. Belgrade (AFP Photo) Exactly 15 years ago, on March 24, NATO began its 78-day bombing of Yugoslavia. The alliance bypassed the UN under a “humanitarian” pretext, launching aggression that claimed hundreds of civilian lives and caused a much larger catastrophe than it averted. Years on, Serbia still bears deep scars of the NATO bombings which, as the alliance put it, were aimed at “preventing instability spreading” in Kosovo. Questions remain on the very legality of the...

While many conservatives are crying “Communism” and “Marxism” these days, they have overlooked, and continue to overlook the dangers of a modernized fascism coming out of the heart of Europe. Although Jonah Goldberg’s bestseller, "Liberal Fascism," should have been a wake-up call, in many crucial ways, his work has since been largely ignored. Conservatives only took notice for a short while, and went back to fighting the Cold War after his book subsided from the scene. While today’s Russia and the old Soviet Union had close ties with Syria and Iran, it has been forgotten Germany’s deep interests in the...

Academics of the University of Sarajevo announce the [WWI] conference Aleksandra' Note: I have only one question at this time: Will Serbia's position be represented at this World War One conference in Sarajevo in June of 2014, and will Serbs be present at this conference? Sincerely, Aleksandra Rebic ***** A major international conference about the First World War will see 120 scholars from 28 countries meet in Sarajevo in 2014. The conference, The Position of the First World War in the History of Europe, will be held on the 19th-21st June 2014 at the University of Sarajevo. Scholars from 26...

"Night March of the Serbian Army" French WWI postcard Aleksandra's Note:As a lovely, sparkling snow falls steadily over Chicagoland on this last day of 2013, December 31st, it seems most appropriate to pay tribute to those Serb military forces and civilians who embarked on a now legendary exodus from Serbia in the late fall and winter of 1915/1916 southward through Montenegro and Albania to the coast of the Adriatic Sea. The Great Serbian Retreat, also known as the "Albanian Golgotha", was an extraordinary human event in the history of the 20th Century. Though it was a retreat, seen by the...

Legendary Serbian General Zivojin Misich The Miracle of Kolubara River 'Men still talk of the miracle of the Marne, where there is little that is miraculous. There would be more justification in talking of the miracle of the Kolubara.' British Official History of World War I ***** "'Only the passing of two or three centuries are needed to make the glorious heroism of the Serbian soldiers stand out as a legend to the generations that are to come. They will scarcely be able to believe what we have all witnessed.'" *****

BELGRADE, November 13 (RIA Novosti) – Russia and Serbia signed an agreement Wednesday on military cooperation as part of further development of the strategic partnership between the two countries. The deal was overseen in Belgrade by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, whose visit is being seen as a prelude to a possibly imminent deal on the sale of Russian fighter jets to Serbia. Shoigu said contacts between the countries had recently reached new heights. The agreements reached Wednesday included provisions, among other things, for collaboration in peacekeeping operations under the aegis of the United Nations. Russia and Serbia have agreed...

Michael Djordjevich Guest op-ed columnTHE CURRENT Middle East quagmire, with no end in sight, has now been further accentuated and brought into focus by President Barack Obama's "red line" regarding Syria and its civil war. Our attention and concerns have now been switched from our numberless difficult and complex domestic problems to our badly flawed and costly foreign policy. To buttress their case, the proponents of attacking Syria have been trying to draw on our imaginary successes in the wars for Yugoslav succession in the decade of the 1990s in order to convince people here and abroad. Nonetheless, these comparisons,...

<p>A delicacy for medieval monarchs, a plate for the poorest and a treat for Tito, animal testicles, with a pinch of humour, are back on the menu, at least at one Serbian food festival.</p> <p>A visitor needs no road signs to reach the tiny central village of Lunjevica, population 500. They can follow the smoke and smells from the barbecues and kettles at the 10th unofficial testicle-cooking "world championship".</p>