Could Turkey’s president Erdoğan be ginning up a casus belli in Syria to distract from his domestic problems? Maybe. Here, from Friend of the Gormogons Claire Berlinski, are Ten Things You Need to Know About Turkey. Read them all, but … Continue reading →
Today, thanks to time travel, we were able to hold our First Annual Turkey Contest yesterday. And the results were about what you would expect. As you know, all of us Gormogons are superlative cooks in at least one area … Continue reading →
Dr. J. received this inter-castle memo over the weekend from Confucius ( 孔夫子), the Œcumenical Volgi (The Notorious ŒV): To: GorT, Ghettoputer, The Czar of Muscovy, The Inscrutable Mandarin, Dr. J. From :孔夫子, the Œcumenical Volgi (The Notorious ŒV) Re: … Continue reading →
The Volgi has created the first Christmas Golem. He will be the first to tell you that the first golem was not the clay golem of Jewish folklore, but rather the wood golem, constructed of Lebanese Cedar wood by the … Continue reading →
Dr. J. would like to follow up on The Czar’s outstanding commentaries about Europe and Syria. Regarding Europe, the ‘One World Government Utopians’ would be the first to tell you that we are destined to be a united world with … Continue reading →
Sorry, KM, the pre-Islamic Allāh (either a proper name, perhaps from Aramaic alāhā, or a contraction of al-ilāh, “the god, deity, the one worshipped”) was a supreme—though not sole—god in the Arabian or perhaps Meccan pantheon. He was more of … Continue reading →
This post is a public-service announcement on behalf of Friend of the Gormogons Claire Berlinski. Claire is a really interesting American freelance journalist who lives in Istanbul. She recently had quite a scare with her brother Mischa, his UN-employed wife, … Continue reading →
How about one rescued from the streets of Byzantium (d/b/a İstanbul)? Come on, you know you want a puppy for Christmas. Give these guys a good home. Claire Berlinski uses her entertaining if questionable marketing skills for the puppies’ sake … Continue reading →
Let us give kudos where it is due. In what may be the Obama administration’s first tangible win, Armenia and Turkey have normalized relations, which is incredible if you have ever spoken to Armenians about Turks. Secretary of State Hillary … Continue reading →
…by amica Gormogonorum Claire Berlinski is up at City Journal’s site. It’s a great read. I walk alone through almost every neighborhood of Istanbul, often at night. This is a megacity of at least 12 million people, many of whom … Continue reading →
Maybe! At Gul’s May 27 press conference with Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev, the Turkish leader said that “the most important issue of our discussions was the stability of Afghanistan.” He added that talks were held about how the two countries … Continue reading →
So POTUS Obama arrived in Ankara, and strongly supports Turkey’s admission into the EU, and all the good things that could mean to the world. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is a bit annoyed with Obama’s decision to admit Turkey into … Continue reading →
Friend of the Gormogons Claire Berlinski pens a terrific, terrific article on some deep fault lines in Turkish government and society that may be headed for a crisis. Read it now. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass … Continue reading →
…and in the Darkness Bind Them.* Friend of the Gormogons Claire Berlinski† has written an excellent, very entertaining article on the Ergenekon case, in which Turkish prosecutors claim to have uncovered an massive, incredibly baroque, murderous conspiracy attempting to strike … Continue reading →
Amir Taheri says it looks like it. Looks like they’ve got their Operation Himmler false-flag operation all set up, and are just waiting for a Gleiwitz Incident. Credit where credit is due, the pretext of going after Islamist terrorism is … Continue reading →
Thus writes Ian Buruma (of Occidentalism fame) in the Los Angeles Times. His article is very much worth reading, but your Volgi would take exception to one assertion: The prospect of joining the European Union has strengthened the democracies of … Continue reading →
…not going our way? Maybe when the Russians are in Sevastopol, Odessa, Poti, Batumi, and Sukhumi… Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. gormogons.com
Continue reading →…as a key to Caucasian stability and freedom from Russian hegemony, presented very well here at MESH. The author’s correct to cite Atatürk’s policy of neutrality (“Yurtta sulh, cihanda sulh.”) as a long-standing guidepost of Turkish diplomacy, but in the … Continue reading →
…not only necessary as said, but possibly on-going. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. gormogons.com
Continue reading →…they could help the Turks out here with nuclear power expertise. Which would reduce Turkish dependence on Russian natural gas. Which helps everyone. (Except Putin.) Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. gormogons.com
Continue reading →These days. My own sense is that, however vivid Turkish anti-Americanism is at the moment, serious Turks understand that it’s a whim they can indulge only in the absence of external threats. And for all Turkey’s dependence on Russian natural … Continue reading →
…the Russians say, “Bah, we are not intimidated by your puny warships. Behold our making-stuff-blow-up skills!“ Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. gormogons.com
Continue reading →This columnist provides more evidence that Russian aggression in Georgia may be producing a re-thinking of foreign policy in Turkey that can only be welcome to NATO, America, and the West. Turkey is potentially one of the few large, capable … Continue reading →
Some reasonable speculations from Robert Freedman at MESH on the Middle Eastern repercussions of Russia’s invading Georgia. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. gormogons.com
Continue reading →Well, this would be nice, if it’s true and it sticks. It’s a welcome distance short of the deposition of the Georgian government I was expecting. If this holds, it’s because Russia’s made her point; now, the ball is in … Continue reading →
One victim, three-year-old Aleyna Çelik, was laid to rest in her parents’ hometown, the Aegean city of Amasya. Her mother, Melike Çelik, speaking at the funeral, said, “I died with her. Today (Monday) was supposed to be her birthday. Instead … Continue reading →
