Free Republic

urkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday warned Greece to demilitarize islands in the Aegean Sea, saying he was “not joking” and posting tweets in Greek and English, in a marked harshening of rhetoric against Turkey’s neighbor and historic regional rival. Turkey says Greece has been building a military presence in violation of treaties that guarantee the unarmed status of the Aegean islands. It argues the islands were ceded to Greece on the condition they remained demilitarized. Athens counters that the islands, which have been garrisoned for decades and lie within close striking distance of a large Turkish landing fleet,...

It’s always something to hear a over-privileged millennial actress complain about how hard it is to live in America. But the politically charged actress Shailene Woodley didn’t mince her words in an interview with New York Magazine’s Vulture. In the standard attempt to promote her new film to a woke audience (after all, progressives are the ones Hollywood wants to entertain), she talked about her experience getting arrested for protesting the Dakota Pipeline, her year spent on probation, and her politics. Woodley told interviewer Amy Nicholson, “It’s tricky to live in America right now.” Oh please. Is that $1.3 million...

There’s a new debate storming the internet that’s reminiscent of the furor over that white and gold dress back in 2015 (or was it blue and back?) People are torn over an audio clip of a computer-generated voice, with some listeners saying they hear the word ‘Laurel’ in a deep male voice, and others saying they hear ‘Yanny’ in a higher-pitch. The recording went viral after it first surfaced on Reddit earlier this week. It was later posted on Twitter, where it has been liked more than 50,000 times and stoked a fierce debate.....

But I mean, folks, as we told you yesterday, the rebels, who are they? I mean, suppose the rebels are the Muslim Brotherhood. It's a fascinating thing. Whose side do you choose here? It's not altogether clear. Do we sit around and want to openly help establish Middle Eastern regimes that are hostile to us? No, we don't, obviously we don't, but are we in the process of doing that? Only time will tell. Al Arabiya, quoting medical sources, says 25 people are dead in a bombardment of the Libyan city of Misurata after Khadafy forces ignored the ceasefires. It's...

New Speaker Vows to Share Power—a Tricky PropositionJANUARY 4, 2011 By NAFTALI BENDAVID And PATRICK O'CONNOR When John Boehner takes over one of the most powerful jobs in Washington this week, he says his first order of business is to make himself less powerful. On Wednesday the new speaker of the House of Representatives plans to offer a package of rule changes that, he says, will give minority-party members more of a say and decentralize power. In short, Ohio Republican Mr. Boehner is promising he'll be a different figure from many speakers throughout history—from Republican Joseph Cannon a century ago...

Joint Missions Tricky Affairs in Iraq Wednesday March 7, 2007 11:16 PM By RYAN LENZ Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - U.S. soldiers paced around their new outpost in Sadr City, checking their watches, drinking coffee and waiting for their Iraqi partners. They finally rolled up more than two hours late. It was supposed to be a seamless display of Iraqi and American cooperation in the urban fiefdom of Iraq's most powerful Shiite militia. What it became, however, was a wrangle of competing commanders, bruised egos and conflicting priorities. The troubles in launching just one joint mission late Tuesday...

Timing in case against Jefferson trickyElection may affect when feds tip hand Sunday, September 24, 2006 By Bruce Alpert WASHINGTON -- With the selection last week of a technology expert to copy documents from computer hard drives taken from Rep. William Jefferson's office, the Justice Department might soon have the material it says it needs to wrap up its 18-month investigation of the New Orleans Democrat. That could leave the agency with a dilemma: Should the department decide whether to seek an indictment of Jefferson before the Nov. 7 primary or wait until after the race is decided? **SNIP** "The...

Wednesday was Meth Awareness Day at the State Capitol, and just in time. Symptoms of methamphetamine use include a false sense of power, incessant talking and purposeless, repetitive behavior. Of course, those things in the Capitol only prove that the Legislature is in session. But whatever our lawmakers may be smoking, the warning signs are clear: They have begun neglecting their responsibilities and are having trouble setting priorities. This was a disgrace: While state officials were getting hip to crank yesterday, leaders of Minnesota's two largest religious faiths were two miles away, visiting the West Side of St. Paul in...

Mr. Lieberman's uncertainty about how much to tangle with his opponents is hardly unusual in the Democratic presidential contest. The early start and fast pace of the campaign has pressured all the candidates to get tougher and move more quickly than ever before, their aides said, defying the conventional practice of delaying criticism of other candidates for as long as possible. This is a result both of the crowded field and the unexpected dominance of a candidate none had taken seriously, former Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont, one target of Mr. Lieberman's undelivered shots. This unsettled environment has dizzied the...