Free Republic

This month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intimated that his country might consider leaving NATO. Meanwhile, on a visit to Moscow last week, Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu referred to Russia as a “strategic partner”—a first. This talk is empty. Erdogan may well be angry at Washington, but ultimately, Ankara is going to have to do whatever it takes to restore its ties with the West. Doing so might not be enough to pull the country out of its economic crisis, but Erdogan has few other options if he wants to avoid a potentially worse political meltdown: He depends too...

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Member Hanan Ashrawi blasted the United States on Friday, after the State Department announced it would cut $200 million in bilateral assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA). "The U.S. administration is demonstrating the use of cheap blackmail as a political tool. The Palestinian people and leadership will not be intimidated and will not succumb to coercion. The rights of the Palestinian people are not for sale,” she said in a statement. “There is no glory in constantly bullying and punishing a people under occupation. The U.S. administration has already demonstrated meanness of spirit in...

Evangelical leaders have responded to the New York Times' claim that the Trump administration is undermining its own priority of protecting religious freedom by emphasizing the policy priorities of evangelical Christians. On Saturday, The New York Times editorial board published an opinion piece titled "A Too-Narrow Vision of Religious Freedom." The piece essentially argues that although "the Trump administration embraces a laudable desire to expand religious tolerance" across the globe, it is the administration's "own intolerance toward some" that "undermines the message." For examples of intolerance, NYT mentions "Trump's disgraceful attempts to ban Muslims from some countries from entering the...

American evangelicals and human rights advocates are encouraging the United States to pressure Turkey to release American missionary Andrew Brunson, who faces ridiculous allegations of complicity in Kurdish terrorism. Are they right to do so, even if the price is estrangement with a key NATO member and harm to US regional interests? How should Christians in their political witness balance Christian causes versus the wider national good? The president, vice president and secretary of state have all denounced Turkey's imprisonment of Brunson. Economic sanctions have been levied against Turkish products, and personal sanctions have targeted two Turkish officials. Congress has...

Gunshots have been fired at the US embassy in Ankara but caused no casualties, Turkish and American officials said, amid escalating tensions between the two NATO allies.

The Trump White House has turned down an offer from the Turkish government to release imprisoned evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson. The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the White House rejected an offer from Ankara to release the imprisoned North Carolina native in exchange for the United States' forgiveness of billions of dollars of fines against one of Turkey's largest state lenders, citing an unnamed senior White House official. According to the official, Turkey offered to release Brunson if the U.S. drops its investigation in Halkbank (formerly known as Turkiye Halk Bankasi), which faces fines for violating U.S. sanctions against...

Looking at the Washington Post’s August 15 op-ed warning that “the U.S. can’t afford to lose Turkey,” a casual reader might glance at the writer’s bio to find sparkling credentials – a former U.S. diplomat with long years of experience working on Turkish policy at respected think tanks. Yet among the crucial details that writer, former U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza, left off the bio was his employment by companies based in Turkey under the influence of the powerful ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). While this does not necessarily amount to a damning conflict of interest, Bryza’s article...

The 70+ year alliance between the US and Turkey has finally come to a dramatic end. But this turn of events was nowhere near unforeseen. In fact, I have been writing about the progression of this calamity for over a year. In April, I even wrote that Turkey was getting ready for economic warfare by repatriating its gold from the Federal Reserve. Well, now we are here. As the US rolled out economic sanctions against Turkey in recent days, the Turkish currency (lira) lost 35% of its value against the US dollar. This has caused inflation to skyrocket, which is...

Full Title: Anatomy of a Sting: Robert Mueller Likely Used FBI and Foreign Intel to Set-Up George Papadopoulos in July 2017 The Daily Caller has learned that a man named Charles Tawil gave Papadopoulos $10,000 during a meeting in an Israeli hotel room in July 2017. Papadopoulos gave the money to an attorney in Greece before traveling back to the U.S., a source told TheDCNF on the condition of anonymity. Papadopoulos was arrested at Dulles International Airport on a return trip from overseas on July 27, 2017. (read more) Do you see what they did there? The $10k payment to...

White House National Security Advisor John Bolton met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his official residence in Jerusalem tonight.... Salih Khater, a Sudanese born UK national, will appear in court Monday charged with two counts of attempted murder over a terrorist incident last week in London.... The FBI and Oregon State Police handling of a January 26, 2016 "felony traffic stop" that killed one Oregon Standoff protestor, LaVoy Finicum, and injured another, Ryan Bundy, came under scrutiny from an esteemed mainstream media outlet this weekend..... In South Africa, white farmers fearful of the government seizing their land are...

A certain Valerius and a certain Athanasius lived during the 5th century AD in Egypt. 1500 years ago, the certain Valerius wrote a letter to Athanasius in Ancient Greek. The letter contained insults and threats of lashing and burning. A fragment of the letter,  written on a Papyrus was translated by scientists. "You trickster, you traitor, you son of a b**** ..." Valerius writes to Athanasius. However, the reason why Valerius was fuming so much remains unknown as the rest of the papyrus is missing. An x-rated papyrus? 'Valerius to Athanasius: You trickster, you traitor, you son of a b****...

A farmer in Kentri Ierapetra on Crete attempted to park his vehicle in the shade of an olive tree and by pure chance, the over-irrigated dirt under his vehicle revealed a carved tombstone of the Late Minoan III period... In the grave, that had not been ransacked, archaeologists discovered two large Larnaka Late Minoan period embossed depictions that are in excellent condition. In addition, there were two skeletons found in the graves and about 24 vases with colored embossings and depictions. "Soil retreat was a result of the watering of the olive trees in the area as well as a...

Archaeologists have found traces of beer in Iraq that are super old, dating back 2,500 years to ancient Mesopotamia and the Babylonian Empire. While texts from those forgotten days speak of fermented drinks, this is the "oldest direct evidence" of beer discovered, Smithsonian reports. And now the archaeologists who discovered the traces are trying to replicate the recipe for us to enjoy in the modern era. Eons pass and civilizations fall, but beer is always good. Elsa Perruchini, the lead author on the study announcing the discovery, used a process called gas chromatography, which has never before been used to...

The eating habits of ancient Greeks were developed after a deep and detailed study of the needs of the body and the spirit. Their diet, which was an important part of their philosophical vision, was based on rules that combined enjoyment with well-being. Unlike what many modern nutritionists believe about the benefits of a hearty breakfast, the ancient Greeks, and especially the Athenians, used to start their day with a very frugal meal that included “akratisma“, a little barley bread dipped in wine. Sometimes they were adding olives and figs. More often, however, their breakfast was limited to a boiled...

Off the coast of the Black Sea in the Mykolaiv region, archaeologists have discovered a sunken ancient Greek shipwreck dating back more than 2.5 thousand years. The ship, discovered during a joint expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of NAS of Ukraine and the Warsaw Institute of Archaeology, is believed to be one of the oldest of its kind discovered in the region. According to the head of the black sea international underwater archaeological expedition, Vyacheslav Gerasimov, it may have possibly sailed ancient trade routes to Olbia or Chersonesos. “This ship is one of the oldest known in the Northern...

"The Patriarchate of Constantinople is struggling with the Russian Church for influence in the Orthodox world. The Moscow and Constantinople Patriarchates are in tense relations today because of Ukraine.” Russian Orthodox priests are complaining they are unable to obtain Schengen visas for EU travel through Greek missions as relations between Athens and Moscow worsens... In a report carried by the BBC’s Russian-language service on Thursday, a source from the church in Constantinople claimed this Greek “policy” is because “Russian priests … are perceived as potential spies and agents of influence”. Several priests told the BBC they had either been refused...

More than 1,000 tourists a day visit the island of Santorini from cruise ships in the peak season. They use traditional transport on the hilly terrain - where cars cannot go - and are attracted to idyllic white houses in places such as the principal town of Fira. Every day the donkeys make four to five journeys up its 520 white cobbled steps in temperatures of up to 86F (30C). Animal rights activists claim donkeys are increasingly left with spinal injuries and open wounds from ill-fitting saddles. They say that, with obesity on the rise, the animals are being forced...

Hello, happy weekend, what did you do last night? Because Lindsay Lohan was chilling in Mykonos when who should wander in? That would be Tiffany Trump, aka the daughter of President Donald Trump, man who is currently running the United States. Lindsay hit up Instagram to share a now-deleted photo of herself and Tiffany hanging with their mutual friend Andrew Warren at a fundraiser for victims of the Greek wildfires. And for reasons you can go ahead and file under "huh, okay," LiLo went ahead and tagged POTUS in her post....

Hundreds of residents of the seaside resort of Mati, east of Athens, sought refuge on Monday to nearby beaches to evade the approaching fire that has claimed the lives of at least 50 people.Heartbreaking photos have emerged of panicked residents trying to escape the rage of the flames and waiting to be rescued by the Greek coast guard and private boats. (note: many more photos at the link and 2 videos) -- Greeks Turn to Social Media to Find Missing Persons A group of Greeks have created an electronic database with photos and names of missing persons following Monday’s devastating fires...

At least 60 people have died in wildfires in the Attica region around Athens, in Greece's worst fire disaster in more than a decade. Flames fanned by strong winds devastated the seaside village of Mati, devouring homes and cars. Rescuers found the bodies of 26 adults and children who had apparently hugged each other as they died, trapped by the inferno just metres from the sea. Many calls have been made to the rescue services looking for missing persons.