Free Republic

https://babylonbee.com/news/heaven-confirms-people-who-prefer-ham-at-thanksgiving-will-not-enter-the-kingdom HEAVEN — Celestial sources have recently confirmed that people who prefer ham to turkey at Thanksgiving will not enter the kingdom of God. According to the Almighty, preferring ham on the fourth Thursday of November is a sure sign of reprobation and will lead to a person's eternal damnation if they do not repent. "It is harder for one who prefers ham to enter the kingdom of Heaven than it is for a man to thread a needle," said Gabriel, a heavenly spokesangel. "Woe unto them who reject the grace of God by choosing the much-inferior ham to the...

Trump signed an order designating parts of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations. The order focuses mainly on Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan and omits Turkey and Qatar altogether... Conspicuous is the absence of reference to the Muslim Brotherhood's branches in Turkey and Qatar, which in fact are part of the government in those countries...

The 15 States Bustling With the Most Wild Turkeys Wild turkeys were almost wiped out over 120 years ago. But, thanks to unregulated hunting and habitat loss, they’ve made a huge comeback across the U.S. There are even some states absolutely bursting with flocks of turkeys. Thanks to conservation and smart habitat management, wild turkeys have returned to forests and farmyards. Let’s break down the 15 states where you’ll absolutely see turkeys in.

Islamist strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued an address on Thursday in which he warned that Turkey was facing an impending “disaster” due to its rapidly declining birth rate, which has been under replacement fertility for nearly a decade. Erdogan has spent much of his tenure at the helm of the Turkish government encouraging Muslim Turks to have more children and raise large families — with, according to Turkish statistics authorities, minimal success. He has previously declared it a Turkish Islamic duty to have more children and condemned the use of birth control as “treason,” insisting women have a responsibility to...

This fundraiser is for the birds. Power-hungry “Squad” member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) cooked up a new way to have her cake and eat it too this Thanksgiving – by tying her annual turkey giveaway to her massive reelection campaign enterprise. And critics are crying fowl. “Thanksgiving is two weeks away,” the self-described “Bronx girl” wrote in an email pitch last week. “Will you chip in $5 or anything you can today to help us bring the joy of the holiday season into homes around NYC this year?” But clicking on the contribution link sends people directly to a campaign...

Rivers are shrinking, lakes are disappearing, and entire nations are facing the risk of mass migration due to extreme drought. Iran, Iraq, Syria, Türkiye, Jordan, and Yemen are all struggling with the worst water crisis in modern history. Yet one country stands almost completely immune: Israel. In this video, we explore how Israel turned seawater into its main source of drinking water, how it recycles nearly 94% of wastewater, and how it created one of the most efficient agricultural systems in the world—right in the middle of the desert. Why Israel Never Runs Out of Water? The Desert Nation That...

US special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet on Wednesday in Istanbul with a delegation of senior Hamas officials led by Khalil al-Hayya to discuss efforts to maintain the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza, an Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel. It will be Witkoff’s second meeting with Hayya after the special envoy along with fellow top adviser to US President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, met with senior members of Hamas’s ceasefire negotiating team hours before an agreement was inked in Egypt on October 9. That meeting was said to have been critical in bringing the deal across the finish line,...

A drone struck a Turkish-flagged tanker and set it ablaze on Monday in southern Ukraine’s Odesa region, officials said, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a deal to import U.S. liquefied natural gas through the area. The MT Orinda was hit during the offloading of liquefied petroleum gas at Izmail port, Turkey’s Directorate for Maritime Affairs said. All 16 crew on board evacuated and no one was hurt, it said. Russia has used drones, missiles and artillery to repeatedly batter the Odesa region, especially its Black Sea ports... Ukrainian officials didn’t comment specifically on the tanker, although regional...

While Farghali noted that it is typical of the Muslim Brotherhood to “exploit Gaza and Palestine for money.” The Muslim Brotherhood allegedly stole half a billion dollars from donations for the Gaza Strip in a single campaign, Egyptian researcher Maher Farghali reported on Sunday. While Farghali noted that it is typical of the Muslim Brotherhood to “exploit Gaza and Palestine for money,” the difference with this incident is that Hamas condemned the theft. The association Waqf al-Ummah/Ummet Vakfı, founded by the Muslim Brotherhood, is said to have been responsible for taking half a billion, which it raised in a single...

The potential for a military clash between Turkey and Israel is growing. There are several colliding points, and each one of them has the potential to become a full-scale war, despite mechanisms designed to avoid conflict. The most obvious is the Syrian front. Reports indicate that Turkey plans to help Syria’s transitional government develop a military force of approximately 200,000 personnel (approximately 10–15 divisions). Turkey has assumed the role of protector of Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa (al-Jolani, his nom de guerre). Israel, for its part, has assumed the role of protector of the Druze minority in southwestern Syria, an area...

Epstein was supposedly advising Arab countries on how to deal with America, had an audience scheduled with a Qatari prince, and close to Trump’s future ambassador to Turkey.

Nobody seems to have begun a Thanksgiving food/cooking thread, so I thought I would. I've never eaten okra, but have always wanted to try. This time of year, I can probably only get frozen here; does anyone have a recipe they like for frozen okra?

President Donald Trump is facing a pivotal decision that could define the next phase of his Middle East policy: whether to allow Turkish troops into Gaza as part of a U.S.-backed stabilization force. The move, which Ankara is lobbying for, has triggered alarm in Israel and among Arab allies who view Turkey’s ambitions and Islamist ties as a threat to regional stability. According to Middle East Eye, Turkey is preparing a brigade of at least 2,000 soldiers drawn from multiple branches of its military to join the mission once a U.N. Security Council mandate is approved. Israel has flatly rejected...

The Turkish Air Force C-130E went down in the country of Georgia as it was returning home from Azerbaijan. Videos show a Turkish Air Force C-130E Hercules cargo plane falling in multiple pieces from the sky earlier today. The center fuselage with the wings still attached is notably seen spiraling straight down toward the ground. The aircraft, which tragically had 20 individuals onboard, came down in Georgia as it was flying from Azerbaijan to Turkey. VIDEO AT LINK................. Footage of Turkish C-130 military transport plane crashing in Georgia after taking off from Azerbaijan https://t.co/6WPtqeJKc8 pic.twitter.com/ixA67w8Ndq— Polymarket Intel (@PolymarketIntel) November 11,...

Hürriyet Daily News reports that two bone awls and four beads dated to 13,000 years ago have been discovered in Direkli Cave in south-central Turkey. Cevdet Merih Erek of Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University said that differences between the awls suggests that one may have been used to pierce stone beads, while the other is thought to have been used in working leather or making clothing. The beads are thought to have been placed in burials to adorn the dead, he added. "The differentiation in this tool industry and the use of various materials in different fields point to a...

Greeks and Turks have been at each other’s throats for centuries over many different things, but a rivalry seldom mentioned revolves around the origins of baklava. The history of this scrumptious delicacy is quite controversial, and unfortunately not very well documented. Many ethnic groups such as the Greeks, Turks, and Middle Easterners claim baklava as their own and prepare it in their own way. The “Baklava Conflict” has been simmering for centuries, but it erupted into full-blown war in 2006, when Greek Cypriots decided to call baklava their own. A definite sacrilege according to the Turks! Turkey, as an aspiring...

The Armenian presence in Jerusalem dates back to 301 AD, when Armenia adopted Christianity as its national religion, and Armenian monks and pilgrims subsequently settled there. Today, Jerusalem is home to a small Armenian community comprised of descendants of Armenians whose ancestors came to the Holy Land after 301 AD, and descendants of Armenians who survived the Ottoman genocide and immigrated to Palestine in large numbers between 1915 and 1923, before the establishment of the Jewish state. On Tuesday, August 26, 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Patrick Bet-David — an American media personality — on his podcast, that...

Another Hezbollah terrorist killed while gathering intelligence on Israeli troops in the area. A commander of Hezbollah’s terrorist Radwan Force was taken out in an Israeli strike earlier today in southern Lebanon. “The IDF on Monday struck and eliminated the terrorist Muhammad Ali Hadid, a commander in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force in the Nabatieh area in southern Lebanon,” Arutz Sbeva/Israel National News reported. The 2500-strong Radwan Force, trained and armed by Iran’s Islamic Guard (IRGC), spearheads Hezbollah’s terrorist campaign on Israel’s border with Lebanon. 🔴 ELIMINATED: Muhammad Ali Hadid, a commander in Hezbollah’s “Radwan Force,” in the Nabatieh area, southern Lebanon....

When President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan arrived in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, it was not merely another state visit - it was a statement of purpose. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, two key pillars of the Turkic world, reaffirmed their shared vision for a future built on unity, connectivity, and strength. The visit symbolized the natural deepening of economic and cultural integration among Turkic nations, while sending a clear message that regional cooperation can serve as the foundation of global influence.As the strategic ties between Baku and Astana strengthen, Israel naturally perceives new opportunities for economic and security engagement across Central...

VENEZUELAN tyrant Nicolas Maduro is not merely complicit in organised crime — he leads it. From generals to judges, the very top of Venezuela’s political and military elite are deeply embedded in a powerful, sprawling cocaine trafficking network, experts say. Cartel de los Soles, translated as Cartel of The Suns, isn’t a cartel in the traditional sense. It’s a web of Venezuelan military, intelligence and political elites accused of taxing, protecting and moving cocaine with state resources. With parts of Maduro’s government deeply enmeshed in the drug trade, the lines between state power and organised crime have been blurred. Dr...