Category: Regions

Sarah Palin Calls for Invasion of Czech Republic

Sarah Palin called for the invasion of the Czech Republic today in response to the recent terrorist attacks in Boston.

In an interview with Fox News, the former governor of Alaska said that although federal investigators have yet to complete their work, the time for action is now.

“We don’t know everything about these suspects yet,” Palin told Fox and Friends this morning, referring to Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who allegedly carried out the Boston Marathon attacks. “But we know they were Muslims from the Czech Republic.

“I betcha I speak for a lot of Americans when I say I want to go over there right now and start teaching those folks a lesson. And let’s not stop at the Czech Republic, let’s go after all Arab countries.

“The Arabians need to learn that they can’t keep comin’ over here and blowing stuff up. Let’s set off a couple of nukes in Islamabad, burn down Prague, then bomb the heck out of Tehran. We need to show them that we mean business.”

Can’t See Russia…

Although hosts Steve Doocy and Gretchen Carlson applauded Palin’s jingoism, they immediately attempted to rectify her multiple geographic errors.

“Well Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan, which isn’t Arab,” Carlson corrected, “and Tehran is the capital of Iran, which is predominantly Persian. But I do see your point.”

“Also Czech Republic isn’t really an Arab or even Muslim country, I don’t think,” Doocy added, “but otherwise what you’re saying makes a lot of sense. I think most Americans wish Obama would step up and lead on this one.”

Palin, however, didn’t take kindly to being corrected and defended her analysis.

“Steve, that’s probably one of the most ignorant things I’ve ever heard. How is Czech Republic not a Muslim country? You saw those brothers, they were Islamic and they were Chechen!”

“Yes there were Muslim and they were ethnic Chechens,” Doocy started, “but they grew up mostly in Kyrgyzstan and the United States. And more importantly, Chechens don’t come from the Czech Republic, they come from Chechnya, which is part of Russia. ”

“What’s the difference?” Palin responded. “Isn’t Russia part of the Czech Republic?”

“No, the Czech Republic is a separate country. It’s part of the European Union and a strong NATO ally,” Doocy noted. “But heck, why not? Let’s invade. What could go wrong?”

“Yeah and while we’re at it,” Carlson added, “let’s call the Queen of England and see if the U.K. will join us.”

In a statement released after the interview, Palin attacked Fox News and its “pro-Islamic” and “pro-geography” bias.

“This is just another case of the politically correct liberal media refusing to tell the truth about radical Islam,” she said.

April 23, 2013
A Cast-Iron Church In Istanbul

by Sean McLachlan

This church on the shoreline of Istanbul looks ornate yet pretty normal – that is until you go up and take a closer look. The Bulgarian St. Stephen Church isn’t made of stone but rather of cast iron. It’s a rare survival of a 19th-century craze in prefab cast-iron churches.Also known as the Bulgarian Iron Church, its parts were cast in Vienna in 1871 and shipped down the Danube in a hundred barges to be assembled in Istanbul. This building marks an important time in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Bulgaria and Greece were both ruled by theOttoman Empire. Bulgarian Christians were under the domain of the Greek Patriarch, but the Bulgarians complained that he favored Greeks over Bulgarians. So the Sultan granted the Bulgarians their own Exarch, giving them a religious independence that they have to this day.
If you’re in Istanbul, head on over to this church, pull a coin out of your pocket and tap it against the wall. You’ll hear a loud ding ding ding that proves it’s really metal! Needless to say, iron buildings need love and care. Currently the building is undergoing restoration work so that it can amaze visitors and churchgoers for generations to come.

Liverpool can boast two cast-iron churches, St. Michael’s and St. George’s, although they are only partially iron. For the full prefab effect, you need to go to Istanbul.

April 23, 2013
John Kerry Wants More Seminaries . . . in Turkey

Tristyn K. Bloom | @tristyn_bloom

US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, on April 21, 2013, in Istanbul (AFP, Ozan Kose)

AFP:

US Secretary of State John Kerry urged Turkey on Sunday to re-open Orthodox clergy schools near Istanbul that authorities have kept closed for more than 40 years.

“It is our hope that the Halki seminary will open,” Kerry said during a press conference in Istanbul after two days of talks on the Syrian crisis and the Mideast peace process.

Kerry said he discussed religious freedom in overwhelmingly Muslim Turkey and the possible re-opening of the theological schools in talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

The Halki seminary, where Orthodox clergy used to train, is located on an island off Istanbul and was closed in 1971, after Turkey fell out with Greece over Cyprus.

Those wishing to learn more about the state of religious freedom in Turkey can do so here (though I do not endorse HALC on all issues).

On Sunday, Kerry met with His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. From the transcript:

SECRETARY KERRY: It’s such a privilege to talk with somebody who has been such a voice for tolerance, a voice for interfaith understanding, who most recently visited with His Holiness Pope Francis and was at his investiture, and who has consistently talked out about protecting rights of minorities, protecting religious rights, and who is struggling for larger understanding in the world. . . .

PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW: Thank you, Your Excellency.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you for my reception. And he gave me a beautiful rosary that the Pope gave him that’s been blessed by the Pope and by him, and I will carry that with great, great privilege. . . . Thank you, Patriarch.

PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW: Thank you. So have a nice life.

April 23, 2013
John Kerry asks Turkish leader to delay Gaza trip

John Kerry asks Turkish leader to delay Gaza trip

The secretary of State also acknowledges frustration with the slow delivery of U.S. aid to Syrian rebels.

By Paul Richter, Los Angeles TimesApril 21, 2013, 9:22 p.m.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu shows U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry the skyline of Istanbul before the start of a meeting in the Turkish city. (Hakan Goktepe / AFP/Getty Images / April 21, 2013)

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Secretary of State John F. Kerryurged Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to delay a planned visit to the Gaza Strip, saying it could jeopardize efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Ending a two-day visit to Istanbul, Kerry told reporters Sunday that he believed that “it would be more helpful [for Erdogan] to wait for the right circumstance…. We’re trying to get off the ground, and we would like to see the parties with as little outside distraction as possible.”

He said this was one of a number of “important reasons” why Erdogan shouldn’t go on the trip, and implied that the Turkish leader hadn’t made a final decision on the plan.

Kerry met with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and other Turkish officials, but didn’t see Erdogan.

Both the Israelis and Palestinian Authority PresidentMahmoud Abbas have voiced unhappiness with Erdogan’s plans.

Erdogan has been pushing for Israel to ease its partial embargo on the entry of goods into Gaza, and has announced plans to visit the impoverished seaside zone in the next few weeks.

The move could complicate efforts to begin a rapprochement between Turkey and Israel. Former allies, they have been estranged since Israeli soldiers killed Turks when a Turkish flotilla sought to breach the naval blockade of Gaza in 2010.

At President Obama’s urging, Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu formally apologized to Turkey last month. An Israeli delegation is scheduled to meet with Turkish officials Monday to discuss compensation for the families of the Turks who were killed.

On another subject, Kerry acknowledged some frustration with the slow delivery of U.S. aid to Syrian rebels, but said U.S. officials have made progress in speeding deliveries, and insisted future aid will arrive more quickly. Aid that Kerry announced in February hasn’t yet been delivered to rebel forces, and it’s unclear how long it will take for delivery of a new round of nonlethal aid that Kerry announced at an international meeting in Istanbul on Saturday.

Kerry promised he would “press as hard as I can to make sure it’s a matter of weeks — it has to happen quickly.”

Rebel fighters have complained that the United States hasn’t given them enough military help, and the aid it has approved has been slow in coming. In late February, Kerry announced that the United States would provide $60 million in food and medicine, in a package that for the first time would be sent directly to rebel fighting units. That amount will now be more than doubled, to $123 million.

Kerry said it is still unclear what kind of gear will be bought with the new money. He said the Syrian opposition’s Supreme Military Council would be given its choice of goods, which may include body armor, night-vision goggles and armored vehicles.

U.S. officials say they remain opposed to providing arms, partly because they fear weaponry could end up in the hands of the religious extremists who are a growing part of rebel forces. But other U.S. allies, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are funneling arms to the opposition fighters.

April 23, 2013
Uncle: Dzhokhar ‘Used’ by Older Brother

Ruslan Tsarni, an uncle of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, told NBC’s “Today Show” that Dzhokhar was “used” by his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who had been radicalized, and warned that they may have been part of a larger plot.

“He’s just another victim of his older brother. He victimized others, but he’s been used by his older brother,” Mr. Tsarni said in the Today interview. Mr. Tsarni, who lives in a suburb of Washington, D.C., is a brother of the Tsarnaevs’ father.

He said the last time he spoke with Tamerlan in 2009, he was “shocked” by his radicalization.

Tamerlan was killed in a police standoff Friday morning, while Dzhokhar was taken into custody Friday evening after being discovered hiding in a boat in a Watertown, Mass., backyard.

Mr. Tsarni said he believed the radicalization of Tamerlan happened in the U.S., not Russia or Chechnya, and believes the person who radicalized him was of Armenian descent.

Mr. Tsarni said he was glad Dzhokhar was captured alive, so that he has a “chance to ask for forgiveness” and to help investigators unravel the plot. He also warned that his nephews may have been part of a bigger plot. “I strongly believe they were just puppets and executors of something of bigger scale,’’ according to the Today writeup.

On Friday, Mr. Tsarni had insisted to reporters that what his nephews had done had not been about Chechnya or a cause but because the young men were “losers.”

April 23, 2013
Britain and France renew efforts to lift arms embargo on Syrian rebels
Britain and France renew efforts to lift arms embargo on Syrian rebels

Britain and France will renew their attempts to lift the EU arms embargo on the Syrian rebels after western allies accused President Bashar al-Assad of using chemical weapons.

Members of the free Syrian Army during an attack against Syrian government forces in Aleppo Photo: AP

By Richard Spencer, Istanbul

7:03PM BST 21 Apr 2013

William Hague, the foreign secretary, said the two would take a “strong stance” in talks with EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday. The pledge came after Germany, a major stumbling block to arming the rebels, significantly softened its position on the issue.

Britain wants to widen the range of aid it is sending to the opposition, though it is not considering sending weapons “yet”. “We are in favour of getting more assistance to the Syrian National Council (SNC),” Mr Hague said. “There are many ways in which we can do that.”

The German foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, said he would accept the lifting of the arms embargo if other countries pushed for it. He said that if “one or two countries” thought there was no risk that arms would fall into the wrong hands, he would “respect” their decision.

Western ministers and opposition leaders met in Istanbul on Sunday and agreed that all aid to the opposition would be channelled through the SNC’s military wing.

The United States also announced a doubling in its aid, from $127 million to $250 million.

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In return, the SNC published a statement of principles that included pledges not to use chemical weapons, to renounce “terrorism and extremism”, and to respect the rights of minorities, including the Alawite sect from which the Assad family comes.

“Our revolution and vision are for all Syrians,” its statement said. “There is no room for sectarianism or discrimination on ethnic, religious, linguistic or any other grounds. Universal human rights principles will apply to all Syrians, men and women.”

Mr Hague last week said there was “credible evidence” of chemical weapons use in Syria, with a number of incidents where diluted chemicals appear to have been deployed.

President Barack Obama has made use of chemical weapons a “red line” which would trigger outside intervention. While officials do not believe that red line has been met in terms of conclusive evidence or scale of use, the western allies made a stronger statement than before on President Assad’s refusal to allow in a United Nations fact-finding mission.

“Such an approach suggests the responsibility of the regime,” said the statement, by the Friends of Syria group in which the UK, US, France, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are all prominent. “If these allegations are proven to be correct there will be severe consequences.”

Ministers fear the situation inside the country is deteriorating fast, with Syrian regime forces recently making tactical gains in the Damascus suburbs and near the Lebanese border around the town of Qusayr with heavy loss of life.

Rebel activists accused the regime of killing civilians as well as scores of fighters as it swept through the towns of Jdeidat Artouz and Jdeidat al-Fadl near Damascus.

The risk of the war spreading into Syria’s neighbours was highlighted when a rebels accused Lebanon’s Shia militia Hizbollah of fighting alongside Assad troops, and fired shells on Shia towns inside Lebanon in retaliation.

Britain, France and the United States want the rebels to get enough arms to turn the balance of the war, but not so as to win a quick victory, rather wanting them to force President Assad to negotiate a “managed” transition.

“The chances of a political solution at present are negligible,” a western diplomatic source said. “The best way of opening up more chances quickly is changing the balance of power on the ground to put more pressure on the regime.”
April 22, 2013